IQO 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



trained to seek out wounded soldiers in the field. 

 The experiments so far have had excellent results. 

 A number of men hide in a wood or behind hedges, 

 lying on the ground face downwards and with orders 

 not to move. As soon as the dogs are let loose they 

 begin the search. When they find one of these men 

 they place their fore-paws upon the prostrate body 

 and begin to bark, an exercise which is continued 

 till the bearers appear and carry the man off, where- 

 upon the dog starts afresh. Each company of the 

 Liibben Jiiger has about twelve of these dogs. 

 Hunting-dogs cannot be relied upon on account of 

 their love of the chase, and therefore sheep-dogs or 

 Pomeranian Spitzhunde are chosen for the work. 



Flogging Machines in Russia. — Flogging is so 

 indispensable in Russia that some inventor has per- 

 fected a machine which saves the human arm the 

 infamous labour of blows. Under the flagellation of 

 the machine taxes and arrears are to become speedily 

 collectable. " These latest fruits of Russian civiliza- 

 tion catch the arm and feet, allowing the head to 

 repose on a kind of Japanese pillow, while that 

 portion of the body which is to be operated on is 

 raised to a convenient position for the executioner." 



Fatalities in the Crater of Vesuvius. — The 

 brief period of quiescence in the eruption of Vesuvius 

 has been followed by renewed activity and an in- 

 creased discharge of lava. A few days ago, two 

 Brazilian tourists, accompanied by a guide, ascended 

 the mountain, and advanced to the mouth of the 

 crater. They were soon enveloped in smoke, and 

 when it had cleared away it was seen that one of the 

 two had fallen into the crater, and that the other was 

 in danger of doing so when he was rescued by the 

 guide. It is probable that these gentlemen were 

 overcome by the noxious fumes of the smoke by 

 which they were surrounded. 



Formation of a Dead Sea in California. — A 

 geological phenomenon of considerable importance 

 is stated to have appeared in San Diego County, in 

 the extreme south of California in the almost sudden 

 formation of an inland sea. A few weeks ago, a trick- 

 ling of water was observed to damp the ground 

 around the Salton Salt Works, and now it has ex- 

 panded into a lake ten miles square, and from three 

 feet to eight feet deep. Then at Indian Wells, 

 sixty miles south of Salton, another new sea, forty 

 miles square and from three feet to five feet deep, 

 has been formed. It appears possible that these 

 bodies of water may unite, and form a lake fifty miles 

 long and 400 feet deep. Indian runners have been 

 employed to go round the rising waters, and as they 

 have failed to find any surface inlet, a boat has been 

 provisioned for a week, and started to explore and 

 try to discover the connection with the Colorado 

 River, whence the water is believed to come, 

 whether above ground or by a subterranean com- 

 munication. The so-called Colorado Desert, lying 

 to the east of the new lake, resembles the bed of a 

 dead sea. It has an area of 3,000 miles, and lies 

 270 ft. below the ocean level. Shells and other 

 marine deposits abound. Engineer^ have often 

 planned to make this area fertile by irrigation, after 

 the manner of the Valley of the Nile, which would 

 add two million acres to the State, but all their 

 efforts so far have been in vain. The Southern 

 Pacific Railway crosses the Colorado River at several 

 places 160 ft. above the ocean. For twelve miles 

 near Yuma (Arizona City) only a loose water-sodden 

 ridge nine feet high and a mile wide, separates the 

 district from the Salton Sink. All the district 



appears now to be reverting to the condition de- 

 scribed in Indian tradition. The stoppage of several 

 artesian wells conflicts with the theory of a subter- 

 ranean ocean, having a current running inland. The 

 very idea of a "Subterranean Ocean" shows how 

 much such engineers have yet to learn from 

 geologists. 



Wood-pigeons in London. — A great increase 

 has taken place within the last few years in the 

 number of wood-pigeons frequenting the London 

 parks. Formerly a few pairs bred there every year, 

 Kensington Gardens and the grounds of Buckingham 

 Palace being their favourite nesting-places ; but a 

 few years since their numbers began to increase, and 

 they aienow — sparrows excepted — the commonest of 

 London birds, and are certainly, without any excep- 

 tion, the most noticeable. Curiously enough, the 

 greatest increase has taken place in the most fre- 

 quented parts of the park. One of the most notice- 

 able characteristics of the park pigeons is their 

 excessive tameness, which seems to have grown as 

 their numbers increased. They walk about uncon- 

 cernedly within a few feet of the constant stream of 

 pedestrians ; and, especially in St. James's Park, are 

 ever on the alert for the food which is often thrown 

 to them ; indeed, four or five may frequently be seen, 

 in company with a small army of sparrows, almost at 

 the feet of some person who is feeding them with 

 pieces of bread or grain. The increase in the number 

 of wood-pigeons has added a charm to the parks, as 

 they are beautiful birds, whether seen on the ground 

 or on the wing, and, though the London smoke and 

 grime darkens the brightness of their plumage, it 

 cannot destroy it. At this time of the year many 

 young birds are about, which may easily be distin- 

 guished from their parents by their duller tints and 

 by the absence of the white ring on the neck from 

 which the bird obtains one of its names — the ring- 

 dove. 



Flying Machines. — Mr, Maxim's experimental 

 flying machine is really a steam kite, thirteen feet 

 long by four feet wide, and propelled through the air 

 by a light screw making 2,500 revolutions a minute. 

 When properly inclined and the screw going at a 

 certain speed the kite moves horizontally through the 

 atmosphere. With a higher speed it ascends, and 

 with a lower it descends. The inventor is now 

 engaged in building a much larger kite for practical 

 purposes. It will be 110 feet long, by forty feet 

 wide, and be driven by a screw eighteen feet in 

 diameter. The power is to be supplied by a petro- 

 leum condensing engine weighing 1,800 lbs., and 

 capable of raising 40,000 lbs., of load along with the 

 kite. The estimated weight of the flying machine 

 complete with two engineers on board is ii,8oolbs. 

 Mr. Maxim therefore calculates on being able to 

 carry ten or twelve tons of freight or passengers 

 through the air. 



Woollen Cloths and Dyes.— A technical 

 journal describes the practice of the Donegal people 

 in weaving woollen cloths which possess a grey 

 colour derived solely from the natural colour of 

 various grades of wool, being thus independent of 

 dyes. This cloth stands the weather admirably, and 

 is not encouraging for the tailor who sees in shoddy 

 or mungo the means of a livelihood. The manufac- 

 turing appliances of the region are, however, very 

 limited, and no large supply of such cloth is possible. 

 Such market as exists for the production of such 

 cloth is no doubt welcome to these primitive people. 

 A similar practice exists on the Isle of Man of 



