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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



silver-gilt wire ; the finest wires are inserted 

 to serve as tbe hairs within the eyepieces of 

 the telescopes of surveying and astronomical 

 instruments ; and wire is largely used in 

 fencing and netting. Steel wire forms the 

 frames of spectacles, and has replaced whale- 

 bone in the ribwork of umbrellas. It is also 

 employed for the strings of pianos and other 

 musical instruments, and has found a more 

 recent application in the spokes of cycle 

 wheels. Copper wire forms the coils round 

 the magnets of dynamo machines for gener- 

 ating electricity, and it transmits the electric 

 current to a distance after its production, for 

 the purposes of illumination. It, moreover, 

 furnishes the vehicle for the transmission of 

 messages by the telegraph and telephone ; 

 and when inserted in submarine cables it 

 forms a connecting link between distant parts 

 of the world, and permits the firing of un- 

 der-water mines in security by an electric bat- 

 tery at a distance. The great diversity of 

 uses to which wire is applied is due to the in- 

 creased tensional strength possessed by metals 

 when drawn into wire, which is owing to the 

 great tensional resistance acquired by the outer 

 skin ; to the flexibility, combined with 

 strength, possessed by wire cables ; to the 

 facility with which wire can be drawn out to 

 a variety of gauges ; and to the extreme 

 fineness that can be attained with certain 

 metals in the process of wire drawing. 



Cereals in Japan. The most important 

 cereal crops of Japan, according to a report 

 recently issued, are rice, barley, and wheat. 

 Rice is cultivated in nearly all the provinces, 

 and, either as flour or whole grain, boiled 

 with rice, is a common food. It is whitened 

 like pearl barley, steeped five or six hours in 

 water, and then boiled. One of the most 

 common articles of food is miso, which is 

 prepared by pounding together boiled soy 

 beans, salt, and the koji or yeast, prepared 

 from common barley. Barley is also used 

 for brewing beer and making confectionery, 

 and as food for horses and cattle. Its straw, 

 bleached and plaited, is used in summer 

 hats. Wheat is also generally cultivated, 

 and is principally used for preparing soy, 

 vermicelli, and confectionery, and its straw 

 for thatching roofs, etc. Some barley and 

 wheat is exported to foreign countries, barley 

 chiefly to Hong Kong and Vladivostock, 



and wheat, in flour, to Russia and Korea, 

 and as grain to Hong Kong and England. 

 The manufacture of straw plaits and other 

 goods from bleached barley stalks is assum- 

 ing large proportions. Although Japanese 

 straw is not so good as that of Italy, it is 

 better than that of China. Articles of 

 straw, especially toys, have been made for 

 many centuries, but recently, stimulated by 

 the demand for exportation, the manufacture 

 of plaits has increased rapidly. 



Chitral. Chitral, where the British re- 

 cently conducted a successful military cam- 

 paign for the relief of their post, is described 

 by Captain Younghusband as " a mountain- 

 ous country, which, if you could get a bird's- 

 eye view of it, you would see to be composed 

 partly of gigantic snowy peaks, partly of 

 barren rocky mountains, and, in a very small 

 degree, of cultivated land. The valleys are 

 narrow and confined, the main ones in their 

 inhabited portions running from five thou- 

 sand to eight thousand feet above sea level. 

 It is only in them that any cultivation at all 

 is found, and even there it is not carried on 

 very extensively. But what there is is gen- 

 erally very good, and Chitral is a country 

 noted for its fruit." All the ordinary cereals 

 are grown, though in the higher part of the 

 valleys it is only possible to produce barley 

 and buckwheat. The whole food production 

 is small, and barely suffices for the people of 

 the country. The climate varies, of course, 

 according to the height of the valley. The 

 population of Chitral is probably about sev- 

 enty thousand or eighty thousand. The peo- 

 ple are all Mohammedans, but not of a very 

 strict or fanatical type. In the lower part 

 of the Chitral Valley, where they touch on the 

 Pathans, so noted for their fanaticism, they 

 have become to a certain extent tainted by 

 it ; but in the upper valleys the people are 

 very quiet, and do not seem to trouble them- 

 selves much about religious observances. On 

 the whole, the Chitralis may be described as 

 a peaceable race, who can fight well enough 

 when they are roused to action, but who 

 really prefer to keep quiet and be left alone 

 to enjoy life in peace. They are very fond 

 of sport, and delight in polo, which they 

 play in an offhand, " go-as-you-please " way. 

 The ruler of the country is designated the 

 Mehtar, and has absolute power up to a cer- 



