NATUBAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



2* 



The Canadian mines are located 

 in a wild, rough country almost 



outside of the pale of civilization. 

 The hills have worn themselves 

 bare of earth, and the bleak rocks 

 glare out in great bald patches. 

 At one time a scraggy growth of 

 pines clung to the remaining ridges 

 of soil, but forest fires, the hand of 

 man and the ravages of wind and 

 weather have left only the dreary 

 waste of burned and blackened 

 stubs. The sides of the hills gape 

 with great holes in which the men 

 — mostly French Canadians — are 

 at work. The veins of chrysotile, 

 as the Canadian asbestos is called, 

 are from two to four inches in thick- 

 ness and are separated by thin lay- 

 ers of hornblende crystals. The 

 nearer to the surface the veins run 

 the coarser are the fibers and the 

 less valuable. 



The mining is done by means of 

 the most improved quarrying ma- 

 chinery. Holes are drilled in long 

 rows into the sides of the cliffs by 

 means of steam drills. They are 

 then loaded with dynamite and ex- 

 ploded simultanously by wires con- 

 necting with an electric battery in 

 such a way that a whole ledge of 

 the rock falls into the bottom of 

 the pit at once. Then the work- 

 men break out as much of the pure 

 asbestos as possible, load it into 

 great tubs or trucks, which 

 are hoisted out by means of steam 

 derricks, ond run along to the "cob 

 house." Here scores of boys are 

 kept busily employed crumbling or 

 "cobbing" the pieces of rock away 

 from the asbestos and throwing the 

 lumps of goodfiber to one side, where 

 it is placed in rough bales or sacks 

 ready for shipment to the factory. 



The greatest work in connection 

 with the mining of asbestos is in 

 disposing of the waste rock and the 

 refuse of the quarry. Only about 

 one-twenty-fifth of the material 

 quarried is real asbestos and the 

 rocky parts have to be lifted out 

 and carried to the dumps at great 

 expense. 



As the asbestos comes from the 

 mines it is in small lumps of a 

 greenish or yellowish hue and the 

 edges are furred with loose fibers. 

 The more nearly white the asbestos 

 is the better its grade. The length 

 of fiber is also of great importance, 

 the longest being the most valua- 

 ble. 



As if in keeping with the forlorn 

 and blasted appearance of the 

 country, the miners are a hard, un- 

 canny class of men, migratory in 

 disposition and exceedingly super- 

 stitious. Their wages range from 

 $1 to Si. 50 a day. — Chicago Record. 



Turkey and Black Vultures. 



In his article in No. 2 of the 

 News - Mr. Eugene Pericles asks 

 for authentic notes on the Turkey 

 and Black Vultures. He stated 

 in his article that the Black Vul- 

 ture lived in colonies, and when 

 they took possession of a locality 

 they expelled all Turkey Vultures 

 and kept them away. This is cer- 

 tainly not the state of affairs in 

 Texas. In many localities I have 

 observed both species in large 

 numbers and both are common 

 over a large part if not all of 

 Texas. 



Both have been seen in consid- 

 erable numbers at San Marcas, 

 Velasco, Corpus Christi, Galves- 

 ton, Giddings and many other loc- 

 alities. 



In inland localities the Turkey 

 Vultures are generally more num- 

 erous, and on the Gulf coast the 

 Black are more numerous. 



'Twas only last week that I saw 

 two Black and three Turkey Vul- 

 tures feasting in apparent harmony 

 on the remains of an unfortunate 

 calf. 



The Black Vulture seems to 

 prefer the coast to the interior and 

 this may account for their being 

 more numerous in certain locali- 

 ties in Mr. P's neighborhood than 

 in others. 



I have never noticed any racial 

 war between these two species, 

 though I have been familiar with 

 both for many years and have seen 

 them many times feeding together. 

 James W. Brown, 



Giddings, Tex. 



To All Michigan Observers 



la December last, the 'Michigan 

 Academy of Sciences' was instituted at 

 Lansing, with eighty-six charter mem- 

 bers. Departments were formed, and 

 a sub section of ornithology for the ad- 

 vancement of study among our birds 

 was organized. 



The honor of chief of the sub-sec- 

 tion of ornithology, was conferred upon 

 me, as a centre of communication for 

 observers in the state, and it is hoped 

 and expected, that by our combined ef- 

 forts, we shall gather much valuable 

 information and which will be publish- 

 ed in the tran«actions of the Academy. 



There are many observers in Michi- 

 gan w r ho have tot yet joined our ranks, 

 and to these, an invitation is extended, 



as all lovers of the sciences are wel- 

 come. Others, who are extralimitory 

 in their residence, are also eligible; 

 those living just over the border in ad- 

 jacent states, or the Dominion, are es- 

 pecially desired for our work. 



T'le initiation fee of $1.00, and an- 

 nual dues of $1.00, may be sent, to- 

 gether with application for membership 

 to Prof. E. A. Strong, Ypsilanti, Mich. 



Our State possesses such a large num- 

 ber of observers, that personal letters 

 would involve much labor, and it has 

 been thought best to issue this com- 

 munication. All observers, whether 

 members of the 'M. A. S.' or not, who 

 are willing to undertake observations, 

 will please to communicate with — 

 Yours Respectfully, 

 Morris Gibbs, 



Kalamazoo, Mich. 



The 



Spreading Adder; Hog- 

 nosed Snake. 



Hcterodon platyrhinus. 



.Prof. E. D. Cope informs us 

 that these snakes do not attempt 

 to bite from the ground, and this 

 is no doubt correct regarding the 

 most of them, but there are ex- 

 ceptions to this rule, for when a 

 small boy I received a bite in the 

 foot from one of them which 

 caused such a severe sore that I 

 shared for a long time the prevail- 

 ing belief that these reptiles were 

 venomous. It is certain, however, 

 that their long posterior maxillary 

 teeth are not grooved, and are not 

 connected with any source of 

 poison. I have been bitten by 

 them on several occasions when 

 handling them carelessly, and find 

 that their bite resembles a series 

 of punctures made with a very fine 

 needle, and is no more serious in 

 its effects. Still it is easy to un- 

 derstand how their recurved teeth 

 on being forcibly pulled through 

 the skin of a little boy's foot would 

 leave a scratch that might possibly 

 result in a sore, just as any other 

 abrasion of the skin might. 



The pairing of the //. platyrhin- 

 us has been repeatedly observed. 

 The intromittent organs, (hemipe- 

 nis) are oval in form, an inch long 

 and over half an inch thick. 

 When the male organ has been in- 

 serted into the oviduct it cannot be 

 withdrawn until invagination has 

 taken place, for the hemipenis is 

 set with strong horny spines, pro- 

 jecting backwards and having al- 

 most the appearance of the claws 



