Tl2e Qa^ur-alist. 
Official Organ of the Kansas City, 
(Mo.) Academy of Sciences. 
K. B. Trouslot, Editor. • 
Charles H. Davison and Edward T. Kenn, 
j'libliciitioii coniiiiittet^ for the Acadeiiiy. 
K. B. Tioiislot & Co., 
Publishers and Proprietors, 
1808 ]M, 6tli S;,, Kansas City, Kas. 
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I^PTUI^JILl histokv, 
jNIakiii^' a Spechilt}', liowever, <»f 
Geolosy, Ornithology and Ooioj,^v- 
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KANS.4S (JlTY, APKIL, ISOO. 
The SiGN.Vb Service forecasts for iVn ty- 
eii^ht hoiH:; in advance, have been iiroveu 
correct with almost mathematical accuracy. 
\Vf, prefer to Idl sultscriptions for 'I'llE 
N A4 t' KA LIS r beginning with the first number 
of Vol. IV. 
Messrs Naiman Josi-.rii and Co?^,^ii .... 
Francisco, Cal., have favored us with Photo, 
proofs of a large line of Indian goods from 
the Hudson ]!ay (Country. 
A prominent corner in Kansas City. Mo., 
attracts the attention of passers by to a dis- 
play of stuffed birds, native and foreign. It 
is quite creditable to the average intelligence 
to note the reinarks of on-lookers. 
Thk disappearance of the vast herds of Bison 
from the Western Plains, the cultivation of 
the ground and the repression of prairie hres, 
begins to aflect the arid climate. The rain 
fall is increased, the heat radiates from the 
surface less and the average mid-day tem- 
perature is not so oppressive. 
Dr. Wolfe of Reno county, Kansas is an 
enthusiastic corn-raiser. He recently pre- 
sented secretary Rusk, of the Department ol' 
Agriculture, with a half-dozen huge ears 
which measured fourteen inches in length. 
Wolfe's last year's crop was 38,500 Intshels 
from 500 acres. 
It is gratifying to note that Prof. F. II. 
Snow has been chosen Chancellor ofthe Kan- 
sas state university and director ofthe muse- 
uin of natural history. The regents establish- 
ed a chair of Geology and S. W. Williaton, 
assistant geologist at Vnle, was elected to 
fill it. Miss, (jertrude Crotty was chosen 
as assistant in Zoology. 
\Vn(.i can name them? We received a 
copy of the March San Louis Vulleij 
Graphic recently, and in glancing over its 
well filled columns, had our attention attract- 
ed by the following; " Mr. Finch brought 
a pair of mountain quails down from Stunner, 
Tuesday, to be mounted by taxidermist 
Woodbury. These birds are white in winter 
and brown in summer. They are beauties, 
decidedly too pretty for the sportsman's rifle, 
and should be spared by the dictates of refined 
sympathy, if not under compulsion of law. " 
Earl Bros', have a grocery store at the 
corner of Twelfth and Central streets. Easter 
morning when pulling a banana from a bunch, 
one of the proprietors dislodged a huge ta- 
rantula and a nest of hundreds of little ones. 
The customers present hustled themselves 
out in a lively manner, the doors were closed, 
the old tarantula killed and those of the 
little ones that did not escape were bottled. 
Some fear is entertained that thosc escaping 
may mature, though there is not much 
ground for fear of them so doing. No 
doulit however but the dudes of "Quality 
Hill " will steer clear of Earl Bros', store for 
some time to come. 
Prof. E. N. Plank, the Kansas botanist, 
who resides at Kansas City, Kan., is writ- 
ing a volume on Kansas Botany which will 
add many new species to the flora of Kansas. 
Prof. Plank says no state in the union is 
richer in botanical specimens than Kansas. 
There are over 2,000 species of flowering 
piants.— Topeka Journal. 
Referring to the above item the Tinws 
man sa);: "Prof. E. N. I'lavdc, a fiutaaist 
of Kansas, asserts that there is no state in 
the union that is richer in botanical specimens 
than Kansas. The professor will have to 
get something" belter than that to tell the 
people before he can have his name inscribed 
upon the rolls of fame. Every farmer's wife 
u ho has ever gone down to the banks of the 
"run" to pick greens knew that before the 
prolessor announced it. " 
If Prof Plank is at all like several other 
scientific men with whom we are acquainteil 
who have assiduously laljored for years for 
the .advancement of science M ith no th.aiglu 
of remuneration, it makes little dilTerence to 
him whether " his name is inscribed upon the 
rolls of fame " or not. It occurs to us that 
the Times man was not only hard up for 
copy on that particular day but was just a 
little "fresh" as well. He probably thinks 
'^f tlie Kaw as a "run." 
I Till", Editor of the Ornithologist ami 
Oologist of Boston, says; " the great major- 
ity of oological collectors are honest and 
when they send out eggs which are not cor- 
rect, it is owing to ignorance or to want of 
proper identification. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, there are those who are positively dis- 
lionest, and whose "errsrs" are the result of 
a deliberate intention to defraud. " Then he 
proceeds to describe a number of "errors" 
some of which are so palpable that the col- 
lector must either have been a great fool 
himself or supposed tliat Ins customers were. 
Fortunately we have had no ■iuch trouble 
nor have similar irregularities been reported 
by our corresponde«-ts. There is a phase of 
possible dishonesty we have been troubled 
with, however, which we wish to mention. 
Collectors, especially amateurs, haveorderetl 
eggs which were sent by mail securely pack- 
ed and bearing our imprint, together with 
postal notification. Several weeks or possi- 
bly months later we have been notified that 
"those eggs we ordered so and so have never 
reached us, please fill our order at once." 
During all the years we hare been is busi- 
ness only one or two ofthe hundreds ofpack- 
ages sent us by mail have ever miscarried. 
Of course we are anxious to have our custo- 
mers receive their goods, but when they go 
by mail and are lost, we cannot be lesponsi- 
ble. There is a matter of three premiums 
however, that we have ready for mail- 
ing, but are unalde to send for want of prop- 
er address, same having betn lost by a gust of 
Kansas wind. If these parties will notify us, 
the premiums will be mailed forthwith. 
Stephe.m M. Allen, A. M., LL B., F. 
R. H. S., presents, in April Arrma, "A 
New ly Discovered Law in Physics." This 
"new law pre-supposes two primary and 
creative principles in nature," which he calls 
"Actien" and "Ether, " He says; "'Our 
sun, though its axial revolution, is constant- 
ly throwing oft" from its surface, through 
dark and cold etherial space, toward the 
earth, a surplus, imponderable, subtle energy 
or fluid, which, neither heated nor luminous 
on leaving the sun, passes through interven- 
ing space and enters the atmosphere of the 
earth, in which, through combustion, light, 
heat, electricity, magnetism and the gases 
are produced, and that the earth does not 
receive its light, as light or as heat from the 
sun." etc. etc. For untold ages science has 
taught us that light was the result of com- 
bustion in the sun, which flowed in a cur- 
rent so intensely heated that it passed through 
the more than 90 million miles of space 
separating us from the sun — space so cold 
that Secchi estimated it to be 18 million de- 
grees, and still reached the earth sufficiently 
warm to frequently give us 110 degrees in 
the shade. Mr. Allen's "new law" is a radi- 
cal change from the old order of things and 
w ell it is that he did not live a few hundred 
years ago when he and his "new law" might 
ha\ e been roasted. There is combustion in 
tlie sun, no doubt, but according to the "new 
law " has nothing to do with supplying us 
with light and hcr.t, v\hichai-e entirely due 
to combustion -in the earth's atmosphere. 
We need 110 longer think of the fixed stars, 
including the sun, as uninhabitable fire balls. 
Mr. Allen's discovery, that the sun, jilanets 
ai.d stars shine by their own inherent light, 
substantiated, completly revolutionizet 
whatever physics has lieretofore taught. 
This new iliscovery will lead toothers fully as 
impoi tant.all of which will help to harnioni/e 
the principles fif nature and enatile us to bet- 
ter understand the creative power of nature. 
Cui!,\N and fajianese belles seem to be 
just about as highly civili;:ed as the Sioux. 
Louis Quintana is a Cuban, bound for Japan 
via Chicago and San P'ransisco. He has 
witli him a number of glass jars half filled 
witli sugar cane and lightning bugs, which 
were contracted for some weeks ago by an 
emissary of the Japanese ruler. The bugs 
are like those seen about here summer even- 
ings, except that they measure two inches in 
length. They have luminous sparks on each 
side of the head that constantly glow with a 
sulidued yellow light. The under part of 
the bug is also luminous, but the full beauty 
is not seen untill it spreads its wings. Then 
there is a perfect flame of gulden light. The 
little fellows are worn by Cuban belles in the 
coiffure, on the corsage or anywhere that 
ornaments can lie displayed. The bug is 
secured by pushing a fine hairpin down its 
neck. In its constant struggles to escape 
the wings are lifted, display ing the full glow. 
After wearing them at the reception or ball, 
the living gem is released and put under a 
glass jar with sugar cane. Under this 
treatment a bug will live over a month, re- 
taining its bright quality all the while. 
Any person who can give information 
as to the p'resent address of Prof. I'dliot 
Crane, formerly of Grand Rapids, Mich., 
will confer a very great fovor by com- 
municating with the editor of Thi N.^.iu- 
ralist. 
