42 



NATURAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



Mr. Hatcher goes with practically 

 an unlimited leave of absence, and 

 the results of his researches prom- 

 ise to be very interesting. — Scien- 

 tific American. 



Progress of Scientific Work. 



A year or two ago attention was 

 called to the prediction 01 an emi- 

 nent authority that we were enter- 

 ing upon a period of scientific ac- 

 tivity that would far transcend any 

 previous experience. The most 

 indifferent observer cannot fail to 

 be amazed at the manner in which 

 this prophesy is being fulfilled. 

 Chemists are surprised to find that 

 the long familiar atmosphere con- 

 tains a large proportion of a sub- 

 stance hitherto unknown — the 

 strange and inert argon; and hel- 

 ium, so long known in the spect- 

 rum of the sun, is discovered as a 

 terrestrial element. With the 

 liquefaction of air and hydrogen 

 we are introduced to new chemis- 

 try of cold. The development of 

 the electric furnace brings great 

 possibilities in the reduction of 

 certain metals, and among its re- 

 markable products yields calcium 

 carbide, the source of acetylene, 

 which is the first hydro-carbon to 

 be produced artifically on a large 

 scale, and a revolutionary achieve- 

 ment in chemical synthesis. Most 

 surprising of all is the new form of 

 radiant energy. Eager students 

 everywhere have quickly begun ex- 

 perimenting with the mysterious 

 X rays, and in a few days we are 

 given the new art of "shadow- 

 graphy," which promises, among 

 other marvels, that the sick can 

 have their diseased organs brought 

 to view, while the curious can have 

 their skeletons photographed while 

 they wait. The details of this new 

 photography are being improved 

 daily. Other epoch-making dis- 

 coveries are almost grasped, and it 

 is clear that, with so many roads 

 opened to peaceful conquest, our 

 end of the century days leave no 

 time for demoralizing wars over 

 political boundaries. — Mining. 



Prairie Dogs and Their Neigh- 

 bors. 



For many years and 1 believe 

 even yet to some extent, it has been 

 held that prairie dogs, burrowing 

 owls, and rattlesnakes, occupied 

 burrows in common and in peace 

 but I have never been able to rec- 

 oncile myself to the idea. 



Dogs and owls might agree, but 

 the addition of a snake would be 



very apt to upset the domestic har- 

 mony. 



Believing this I have always tak- 

 en great interest in articles relat- 

 ing to the matter, but a chance ac- 

 quaintance, whom I met in this 

 city has given me a great deal of 

 light on the subject, and as his ob- 

 servations suited my own theory I 

 was very much pleased to learn 

 what I could from him. 



He bad been for a number of 

 years a rancher in South Dakota, 

 and as there were several villages 

 near his home he had every oppor- 

 tunity for observation. 



In the spring as soon as the 

 bright days commence the dogs 

 come out of their burrows, and in 

 fact are often seen before the spring 

 fairly sets in, if a few warm days 

 come. 



Old and young dogs live in the 

 same burrows in winter, but in the 

 spring start out for themselves, the 

 young females showing their in- 

 clination to matrimony, by their 

 peculiar actions, probably with an 

 eye to attracting the attention of 

 the males. 



They walk a short distance 'then 

 erect themselves on their hind legs 

 with fore paws in the air, at the 

 same time uttering a peculiar 

 squealing noise. 



Soon a male will come up and 

 after satisfying themselves as to 

 the suitability of each other they 

 start off to make their home, and 

 after trying a number of places 

 will finally get one to their likeing, 

 and the work commences. 



The hole is generally about five 

 or six inches in diameter, though it 

 becomes larger through use; and 

 all the dirt that is taken out, is 

 placed in a space about two feet in 

 diameter around the burrow, being 

 brought up in little balls in the 

 fore paws of the animals. 



These burrows are sometimes 

 very deep: in one instance my in- 

 formant cited, a neighbor of his 

 was digging a cellar, and after 

 completing it to a depth of thirteen 

 feet had not come to the end of a 

 burrow. 



Rattlesnakes are almost always 

 found around dog villages, but 

 why should they not? A nice 

 young prairie dog is probably as 

 juicy and nice a morsel as they can 

 wish, and the}' can always have it 

 for the chasing. 



In two instances my friend told 

 me he had killed large rattlers and 

 noticing they had a considerable 

 bulge in them, cut them open, and 

 found they contained young prairie 

 dogs, one not yet dead, though it 



died soon after. 



These dog villages are one of the 

 greatest pests to the rancher, and 

 every expedient is used to get rid 

 of them. One of the most efficient 

 is to drown them out, but it re- 

 quires lots of water and more pa- 

 tience 



It was in a deserted hole treated 

 in this way that my friend noticed 

 one of the burrowing owls, and on 

 closer investigation, found that it 

 had hollowed out a little place just 

 inside the burrow to sit in, where 

 it could look out. 



He had never seen any of the 

 owls in a burrow regularly occu- 

 pied by dogs, and did not think 

 they ever occupied burrows in 

 common. 



E. G. Haymond, 

 Seattle, Wash. 



Curiosity of Plant Life. 



It has been long been consider- 

 ed very curious, that the two lobes 

 of the leaves of the Dioncca — the 

 Venus flytrap — will close over and 

 capture an insect that alights on 

 the leaf, 'and more recent study 

 shows that the plant really eats the 

 insects it captures. But little is 

 yet known of the nature of the me- 

 chanism by which it is enabled to 

 do such marvelous work. Dr. J. 

 M. Macfarlane has recently discov- 

 ered that leaf blades will not re- 

 spond to a single touch. No mat- 

 ter how severe a single stimulus 

 may be, the blades will not close. 

 There must be a second stimulus 

 before an attempt at closing is 

 made. But even here the stimuli 

 must have an interlude. If the two 

 stimuli follow closely, no response 

 follows. Dr. Macfarlane finds that 

 there must be a period of nearly a 

 minute, fifty or sixty seconds, be- 

 tween the two. There is, however, 

 some variation under different 

 temperatures. The effect of the 

 first touch or stimulus will be re- 

 tained for some four minutes. The 

 second excitation, if made after 

 that, stands as an original motion, 

 as a parliamentarian might say. 

 Those who are fond of speculating 

 on the "motives" of plants will see 

 in this a wonderful provision of na- 

 ture, most wonderful possibility 

 than anything that has yet been 

 brought out in connection with 

 plant life. Knowing now, as we 

 do, that the leaf closes on the in- 

 sect for the purpose of eating it, 

 there should be some way of dis- 

 covering whether that which alights 

 on the leaf's surface is eatable or 

 not. It has no eyes to see with, 

 so it cannot tell whether it is a 



