SCIENCE— SVPPLEMENT 



in Ohdle, liave left tlieir mark on the physical 

 geography of our own country. For instance 

 there is a break in the earth's crust which can be 

 seen at Great Falls, Va., near Washington. It 

 has been traced from near Boston, Mass., through 

 Pennsylvania and New York to the James River 

 in southern Virginia. The Hudson Eiver valley 

 was created in the distant past by a similar slip- 

 ping in the earth's crust. 



An earthquake may occur anywihere on the 

 eai'th's surface and no place is immune, yet they 

 are most lUcely to happen at the ,present time in 

 the newly formed geological regions such as are 

 found along the western coast of South America, 

 our own western coast, up to Alaska arid down the 

 other side of the. Pacific by vcay of Japan, the 

 Philippines, Java, and other islands in the South 

 Pacific. 



Because an eartlliquake occurs in one place is no 

 indication that at will be followed by another in 

 some other quakey regions. They do not run in 

 series, unless the changes made in the load at one 

 point may be so great as to cause additional 

 strain at another place sufficient to cause a break. 

 There are sometimes more sHvers in the •sacinitj' 

 of an oiiiguial break caused by further settling of 

 the tremendous masses of rocks. 



PARAFFIN AND POISON PROTECT WOOD 

 FROM TEREDO 



DiscovEBY has been made of a way to seal 

 poison in wood w'hich promises complete protec- 

 tion for railroad ties, wharf piling, mining and 

 ship timbers against the ravages of land ajid 

 water creatures like the teredo. Dr. Paul Bartsch, 

 curator of moUusks of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion at Washington, has found that by forcing 

 hot paraffin containing copper or arsenic salts 

 into timbers under pressure the wood can be pre- 

 served from damage by shipworms and other de- 

 structive forms of life. The method of applica- 

 tion is the same as that now ased in treating 

 timber with creosote. 



Heretofore it has been found liard to keep pre- 

 servatives in the wood. Gradually the poisons 

 leached out, and left ithe timber unprateced. By 

 the use of paraf&n, which is resistant to water, 

 acids and alkalis. Dr. Baitsch claims this leaching 

 can be overcome and the Avood protected more 

 effectively and with less expense than by present 

 preservatives. 



The Forest Products Laboratory reports that 

 the hot paraffin solutions have a great penetrative 

 power and blocks treated by the new method with 

 iodides of copper and arsenic sealed in have been 



found by officers at tlie Key West Naval Station 

 to be unaffected by ship worms after three months 

 exposure in infested waters where the untreated 

 Avood to which they were attached was promptly 

 attacked. 



Dr. Bartsch now has a less expensive highly 

 poisonous copper salt and is working to obtain a 

 cheaper arsenic preparation, which he believes 

 will eventually displace present timber preserva- 

 tives. When the Pamama Canal was built the 

 greenheart wood was used in the lock gates on 

 account of it being largely resistant to marine 

 borers. Some difficulty was experienced in get- 

 ting men to handle the wood, as on some it has an 

 effect similar to that of our poison oak. Eecently 

 it has been found that even this toxic timber is 

 attacked by the mollusks, which chisel out their 

 homes inside it with impunity. They use the 

 tooth-like edges of their shells. 



A colony burrowing through the wood weakens 

 the timber and often results in heavy piling being 

 completely cut lin two. Unta-eated wood shO'WS the 

 holes which the mollusk makes in three months 

 and some creosoted timber after two years in the 

 water has been found to be infested. Copper 

 solutions of one in 2,000,000 have been found 

 deadly, and Dr. Bartsch cla;ims that when the 

 tender tentacles of marine forms come in contact 

 with his preparation they will curl up like the 

 victim of a wood aleoliol party. When the ship- 

 worm swallows impregnated sawdust his boring 

 days will be prompitly ovetr. 



Any number of poisons can probably be effec- 

 tively kept in the wood by mixing them in the 

 paraffin. So resistant is paraffin to the effect of 

 acids that bottles are made of it to hold hydro- 

 fluoric acid, which eats tilirough glass. Heat alone 

 would melt it out, but for railroad ties a paraffin 

 too hard to be affected by the sun's heat would 

 be used. 



ALUMINUM SULPHATE MAKES RARE 

 FLOWERS AND FRUIT THRIVE 



Magnificent orchids and rhododendrons and 

 gigantic blueberries can 'be grown in ordinary 

 soil to which aluminum sulphate is added, Dr. 

 Frederick V. Coville, chief botanist of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture, has discovered. Such 

 rare plants will not flourish in untreated soil that 

 is alkaline. 



The farmer applies lime to make Ms soil alka- 

 line and capable of raising bumper jdelds of the 

 common crops, but the nurseryman can now re- 

 verse the process and apply aluminum sulphate 

 to make the soil acid and capable of raising blue- 



