6^ West Atnerican Scientui. 



probably be givea our readers in a future issue. Any assistance 

 will be gladly received that may increase our knowledge of the 

 natural mineral resources of this reor-ion, or of our fauna and flora. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



A worm has been discovered that seems to delight in boring 

 holes in lead plates and pipes. 



A Wisconsin young man was seriously poisoned by a red silk 

 handkerchief used to wrap up a wounded hand. 



Unclaimed dogs in London are killed painlessly by being sent 

 to sleep in an atmosphere of chloroform, bisulphide of carbon, and 

 carbonic oxide. 



A French geographer reports that all the peaks of the Alps, 

 extending over a distance of more than 150 miles, are easily vis- 

 ible from the summit of the Dole, which has an altitude of about 

 5,500 feet. 



To exterminate the rabbits, which have become a plague in 

 AustraHa, it is proposed to propogate a contagiou'i disease among 

 them, and the experiment is to be first tried on Torrens Island. 



Lake Rivers. — Surveys made during the past two years have 

 shown that the River Rhone has cut for itself a channel in the 

 bottom of Lake Geneva, through which it flows, between parallel 

 banks, like an ordinary stream on the earth's surface. The Rhine 

 makes a similar passage through Lake Constance. 



The remains of a distinct type of dog, widely differing from any 

 of the ordinary wild or domestic dogs, have been described by 

 Mr. J. A. Allen. The bones were found in Ely cave. Lee Co., 

 Virginia. In general form the animal was short-limbed and 

 heavy bodied, resembling in its proportions a badger rather than 

 a dog. It is proposed to consider the remains as belonging to a 

 new genus, and has been named Pachycyon robustus. 



On the Transcaspian railroad in Russia, now approaching Merv, 

 it is claimed that about $800 per mile is being saved by the use ol 

 ozokerite, or mineral wax. for ties. When purified, melted and 

 mixed with limestone and gravel, the ozokerite, which is abundant 

 in the vicinity of the railroad, produces a very good asphalt. 

 This is pressed into shape in boxes, and gives ties which retain 

 their form and hardness even in the hottest weather.' 



Limit of Hearing. — It has been found by Dr. Tait that the ear 

 in woman can perceive higher notes — that is, it sounds with a 

 greater number of vibrations per second — than the ear in men. 

 The highest limit of human hearing is somewhere between 41,000 

 and 42,000 vibrations per second. Few persons have equal sensi- 

 bility to acute sounds in both ears, the right ear usually hearing a 



