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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1900)
'LiVV nvnpn i it i no A MICROSCOPE REVEALS BEAU I TIES OF ANIMAL LIFE, j Marvelous Arrangement of a FplJer's ts-yea tiaady uonslegs lan bee la Any Direction Revelations About Mos quitoes, Flies and Other Things. Dr. B. L. Rlese i3 a Chicago scientist "who devotes his leisure time to bug hunting. Ills forte is microscopy ami th? use of this delicate instrument in connection with insect anatomy has resulted In same extremely Interest ing discoveries of late. He disposes of one or two theories which have been held for years, notably the one which provides insects with cup-shaped feet, the suction of which enables them to walk on polished surfaces in seeming defiance, of all the laws of gravity. His microscope shows that the Insects -always have hooks of great relative pow- KEELF.lt OF A MAT FLY. er on the ends of their legs, which are used to grasp Inequalities invisible to numan eyes. Under the mlerosi-ope the polished surface of plate glass is shown to be really a mass. of. Inequalities. The naked eye, the touch, will not reveal them to man. Under this same instru ment the feet of the commou house fly Is shown to ba re-enforced by hooks small enough to find lodgment In the Inequalities of the glass surface. The Toot of the mosquito has a wonderful -double hook which gives it the power of holding to almost any smooth sur face. In fact, the foot Is frequently entangled in some meshes which to the been attracted to its existence by the microscope. The eyes are on each side of the tower, very near the top. "That insect can see as well over Its shoulder as It can in almost a direct line In front," said Dr. Itlese. "Possibly that is the reason in fact, It may be said to be certainly the reason that a spi der can run backward aa well as for ward. The ouly spot where It does not seem to see well is right in front. You can capture oue from that side much easier than from any other. This spider is not fitted with the additional eyes which other Insects have. Usual ly the compound eyes are supplemented by simple eyes set In front and low down on or near the proboscis which enable It to see at short range in front. But the spider lacks these supplement al eyes. "Here is the head of a grasshopper which shows the more ordinary style of eye with which Insects are fitted," continued the doctor, placing another slide under the glass. "You will see that this insect has a huge eye on each side of the head. They resemble the eyes of a horse in a measure, but are Immensely larger lu proportion. Now they are fixed lu the head Immovably so that the bug can hot turn them In the slightest degree. They have none of the delicate appliances of the human eye to reduce focus or change direc tion, so naure has compensated. "You will see that the eye Is enclosed in a transparent sack and that It has the appearance of hundreds of glassy tl.di eggs. These enable the Insect to catch pictures In all directions. But Just lu front the lines are rather ob scure, so nature has b?stowed some ex tra eye.s on the grasshopper. Look closely to the base of the antennae and you will see one of these extras. Some Insects have them In the tips of their noses, as it were. These are for short range seeing and give the Insect an advantage not possessed by spiders. This is an excellent type of the com pound eye." The slide was moved slightly that the REVELATIONS OK INSECT ANATOMY AS SHOWN UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. 'Wingnntl bill of a Mosquito. Ank'e of a Cockroach. Footof Spider. Foot of Cockroach. Foot aod leg of the Mo.quito. Proboscis of a House Fly. F.ye of a Grasshopper. eye appear to present no Inequality. When the mosquito struggles as can frequently be noticed these hooks have clasppd something which is clasp ed the tighter as the Insect tries vainly to fly away. But It Is In the visual apparatus that nature shows the most marvelous adaptability to the lives of the bugs. Borne of the eyes Dr. Riese has placed on microscopic slides are marvels of Intricacy. The fact that they are sta tionary, without lateral or vertical power they can not niter the focus or direction of gaze makes It necessary 'i'Uit&k ;wa 1" '''' k v'J WATCHTOWKK OF A Bl'IDBK. for the insect to be provided with lens es so cut up with facets that they will capture and retain pictures In almost every degree of the lateral and vertical planes. Insects can see as well be tween what In man would lie called the shoulder blades as they can direct ly In front In many cases they see to much better advantage behind than - before. Dr. Klese adjusted his microscope at this time and placed a slide In position whereon was pasted the body of a "daddy long legs," or common garden spider. This specimen Is an excep tionally fine one and Is so mounted as to bring the eyes directly under the searching power of the Instrument The eyes are wonders In themselves, but their position is even more won derful. They are perched on top of a- watch tower In the middle of the ' tmck, . They project Into the air to r vyt - ..n i ,.t. .. .i ... . i een by the naked eye this tower In indistinguishable until the mind has leg of the Insect might be examined under the powerful lens. The Joint work of the limb Is like a ruby rush, the delicate blood vessels Imparting a brilliant hue thereto. The structure is extremely powerful, the Joints fit ting Into each other so as to Impart the greatest elasticity and power. On the end of the leg are strong hooks which can close on any object with great force. They also give the Insect the power to grasp any inequality forci bly, to use the enormous muscular pow er which results In a leap of hundreds of times the length of the Insect. "The theory," said Dr. Rlese, "that Insects have cup-shaped terminations to their legs, which enable them to travel up a wall or up a glass Is not correct They have nothing of the kind at least none I examined has. Suc tion, the supposed force which keeps them in the'r seemingly unscientific po sition, is not useu at all. Those hooks are used as a monkey uwn the Ion fingers and as a bird uses Its claws, to grasp any roughness on the surface If the smoothest piece of glass known were examined under a powerful mi croscope it would be seen to be a mass of Inequalities. Now, the hook or hooks wnw have several on oue leg- are so small that they can be Inserted In these Inequalities. Thus what seems to be a violation of natural laws Is seen to be merely an accommodation there to. "Look at this set of hooks on the end of the leg of the mosquito. A close glance will reveal the fact that this Insect has powerful double hooks working from opposite sides of the leg, These can close up on anything too small to be seen and hold on with great power. The spider you will -also see has a set of hooks which he uses with legs several times as long as the dlam eter of his body. He must have tre mendous muscular power to use those legs at all, yet he handles each In sue cession at will." f One of the wonders of nature' was shown on another slide. It was the head, and particularly the proboscis, of the common house fly. Projecting out from between the feelers Is a broad net hooked up to the head by extension ropes. This net or web can be thrown out to a distance several times as far as the diameter of the fiend. It Is used to suck up fluids and convey them to the greedy r.outh. The net is a mar velous exempllflcailon of uature's art. lstle power. The web is traced with beautiful lace work, the cords are twined in regular strands, as if they really are ropes, and the tackle Is nj Intricate, yet simple in use, as anything used on a ship. Seen under the most powerful glass some 300 diameters were used the tracery of the net Is very clearly worth the study of engineers, for Dame Nature exceeds In skill any of her Imitators. The study of this pecu liar proboscis, with the beady eyes lying near to thrw a brilliant light over the object assailed, is a work of art unsurpassed, lu Its mechanical purposes It Is another evidence of the skill of the Creator In fashlouiug ap pliances to fit all needs. Oue thing noticed In all the speci mens displayed was that insects are usually covered with feathery hairs all over their parts. A glistening fly which to the human vision seems to be superlatively smooth Is shown to b covered with a full suit of hairy feath ers. The mosquito Is literally Ingulfed In feathers, with here and there spi rals entwined among them. The wing of the uiOHouIto shows the same courses of feathers running along with each strand of the structure, while the web or sails are covered with delicate hairs. One of the most interesting wings seen was takeu from a May fly, the mothllke insect which lives but oue day, flutters about an electric or gas light and falls dead by the million. The lace work of tills wing would fur nish a pattern tor t he most ui-lieau and filmy laces produced in Belgium, France or Austria. Under a power ful glass its intricacies are so clearlj revealed that an accurate copy could t easily made. THE FILIPINO GIRL. Her Habit of SniokinK Is One Which Shocks Americans. A Filipino girl whose parents make any pretensions to wealth or social am bition will not walk a half dozen blocks unless escorted by I NEW WAY OF STOPPING TRAINSj . Consumption. Nearly one-fourth of the . deaths among the animals at the British Zoo logical Gardens last winter were due to tuberculosis. This Is nearly double the human average, and confirms the rapidly growing belief that the disease Is emphatically one of confinement and overcrowding, far this society's superb menagerie is very much cramped for room. The difference In the distribu tion of the disease between the various classes of animals at the Zoo Is marked. Reptiles of all sorts are al most exempt probably because the tubercle bacillus cannot live at the low temperature of thelr bodies, although two or three suspicious oases' ""Were found In tortoises and pythons. Ani mals suffer nearly 50 per cent, sjrore severely than birds. But the most striking difference is that between the meat-eaters and vegetable feeders. Among vegetarians, (monkeys, ante lopes, deer and kangaroos) It causes 20 per cent of all deaths; among meat eaters (lions, wolves, small cats, civ ets) barely 3 per cent Among grain ea'tlrig birds (pheasants, pea-fowl, grouse, ostrlchs) tubercle Is responsible for 30 per cent of all deaths. Among flesh eaters (eagles, vultures, owls, crows) 11 per cent Comment Is super fluous. An open-air life and a meat diet are clearly the best protection against consumption. Costly Fruit In England. At a farmers' club In Devonshire, England, not long since, an experienced gardener in the employ of one of the nobility mnde the statement that the Income from ten acres covered with glass beneath which early vegetables and fruits were grown would exceed that from 10,000 acres of the best farm land as ordinarily tilled. No doubt that assertion was extravagant, but It can be said within the lines of conservatism that the Britisher wasn't off In his fig ures more than 00 per cent. One man, to our knowledge, a German gardener, sold early cucumbers, melons, and celery, from one acre tinder glass cold frames to Loadvllle and Aspen (Colo.) miners to the amount of from $3,000 to $4,000 a season. lu England, where, on account of the damp, chilly climate, even peach trees must be trained flat against a brick or stone wall like vines In order to Insure fruit, and where corn cannot be grown, extremely fancy prices are paid for extra early fresh fruits and vegetables. A dollar a pound for strawberries and 75 cents apiece for cucumbers are only ordinary prices for these products, when put upon the markets early. Early fruits and vegetables bring handsome returns In Inrge cities In any country. California Vlneyardlst Tall Men Scarce In England. The directors of the Great Northern railway of England have Issued a cir cular letter to the station agents stat ing that In future the standard height for porters In the passenger depart ment shall be 5 feet 0 Inches and In the goods department 5 feet 4 Inches. This Is a considerable reduction, forced by a scarcity of taller men. A FILIPINO TYPE. have heard that Their Steam Is Cut Off When Danger of Disaster Is Ahead. Judge Albion V. Tourgee, who Is now consul at Bordeaux, France, writes to the state department of a recent lmpro remeut upon tha "block sj stem" oa rail- some relative, even roads designed by a French inventor, lu broad daylight, which, It is claimed, will greatly lessen but she will sit on a the danger of collisions on railways, balcony lu full view j "The fact that the United States Is tho of the street and most profitable field for the exploitation puff contentedly at a af useful Inventions," writes the judge, long cheroot, per-1 "has takeu a firm hold upon the luven fectly conscious that , tlve minds of other countries, and the she Is within the' first thing a man does who has a novel Idea of any sort is to seek to have It patented in the United States. That this Is especially true of Inventions -pertaining to railway appliances Is only smoking b y girls ' uatural when one contemplates the fact and women Is one! that the United States, with its 183.000 miles of railway track, has six times the mileage of any other country lu tho world. "French Inventions are usually de fective in the mechanical character of the means by which the end sought to be effected Is attained. This Is, no Soubt, due to the fact that so small a proportion of the population have any Al- bounds of strict pro- j prlety according to native standards. I T h I s habit o f which Americans lu Manila find very hard to become ac customed to. We some women of our own race, members of a class of so ciety more noted for Its money than for Its good morals, sometimes smoke a cigarette or a small clear, and. If lie exhibition of their fhirlni?. nml It la1 rtl'flf,t Ion 1 muni in nfin 1 L- iwtwlnrt vi generally believed that their numbers ' most every man lu the United States are rew. l he I-Iliplno woman who does knows the use of tools. Very many not smoke, however, Is a rare excep- who have no manual occupation are tl0n" t ,wrltt'1 lu tho Outlook says of fairly skilled workers, and those who them: "They are always glad to accept have Inventive tendencies are not a cigarettes or a small cigar, and, If ashamed to devote their leisure time to you are not prompt in offering one. In the acquirement of technical skill neces- all probability will produce oue from sary to prepare their working models Klectrlo Street 8wcenr. Electric automobile street-sweeping machines are being prepared to clean the streets of Farls. The old clumsy dirt machines now In use are to be done away with. their own supply and ask vour norniis- sion to light it. This habit oulcklf and perfect their Inventions. In Trance, on thecoatrary. such knowljdge ceases to attract your notice except ' is considered derogatory to anyone in uuuer unusual circumstances." EMPHASIZED HIS LAST WILL. How an Old Stciuiihont CantHlti TrUA to Prevent n Contest. "I am free to admit this storv sounds a trifle fishy," said a .New Orleans lawyer, chatting over an after-dinner cigar, "but I happen to know It is absolutely true. Last summer a lo:al business man, whom it isn't necessary to name, made a uew will of rather an elaborate aud peculiar character. "1 an: bound to say to you,' remarked his at torney, when tho document was com pleted, 'that I think it more than likely your children will make a contest If this will isever probated.' 'I'm going to have a talk with them on that very subject,' retorted his clent. 'Yes,' re plied the attorney, 'but when your voice lj8tljlpd oi'eyej thfy may think dif ferently about lt.' - "That remark set the old man t pondering, and he flnolly hit on a very picturesque expedient He had a phon ograph at his oflice, and, putting ou a fresh cylinder, he roared his last In junctions iuto. the receiver, In his most impressive style. Then he carefully removed the record, swatlud It In cot ton wool, and filed it away with the will. Next day he sent for tkJfiiwyer and gave hlni specific directions what to do after the demise. 'I want you to call the family together,' he said, 'and read the will carefully from beginning to end. As soon as you get through and bef ve they have time to talk about It start the phonograph going and let 'em hear my last message. Be sure to have a good, big horn on the machine and s c that everything Is In first-class working order. You had better keep the thing lu your offlce,' he Continued, 'and any t.me a contest Is mentioned Just turn It loose.' :, "The old gentleman was a steamboat captain in hit early days and he has a way of glvii.fr an order that makes one Jump to here it I am Inclined to be lieve that his scheme is a good one, and that his parting adjuration coming as It were from the grave, will have a highly discouraging effect on litiga tion." New Orleans Times-Democrat. the higher walks of life. A clerk will not close a shutter nor dust off the top of the desk at which he works, since that Is the business of an 'ouvrler,' nor will a man who moves In good society permit himself to be keen carrying a package of any sort along the street, "One result of this exclusive use of tools by laborers Is that French Inven tion usually has, to an American, a . certain sense of awkwardness In ltJ mechanical application. The Idea may be a good one, but there Is very fftlom any of the haiidlness which oire finds In an American invention. In Jho many ;ases of application for American pat ints which come before me1,' I am almost ilw'ays' struck by this lack of directness jf application, which leaves them open to competition, thus destroying the value f the inveutiou ,by improvement of application of a prlnHple $ 'SS '"This doesThot apply to an Invention by Pierre Paul Gnlbcrt of Mill iu, depart ment of (vveyroii, France, Intended to prevent railway collisions. It is, In effect, a simple and natural application of fiio 'block system'; but, instead of iiverely displaying a signal at each end jf'at a section of track showing that the same Is occupied, Mr. Gulbert's system acts also on the engines of the ap proaching locomotives, and, by cutting off steam automatically, brings tho train to a standstill. "As a preventive of head-on collisions this Invention would seem a positive Improvement on the block system, through It Is quite possible that the In creased cost of Installation may prevent Its general adoption. I send Inclosed a set of drawings and a copy of the speci fications for his patent which Mr. Gulbert was kind enough to send me. Whether his system Is of practical Im portance or not, It serves to show how the United States Is regarded by the In ventors of Europe, who make haste to secure protection under our law, so as to take advantage of the wonderful market It opens to really meritorious devices." After a man has been sick six weeks people quit worrying about him, and) begin to wonder why he hangs on bo lomr. Wone than a He Lawyer. Sea time as most people know, In stead of being reckoned by hours, Is divided Into "Watches" of four hours each. From 4 o'clock to G, and 0 o'clock to 8, there are half divisions, uautlcally termed "dog watches." In a recent admiralty case the counsel asked an old sailor at what time of day a certain collision occurred, and receiv ed the reply, "About the middle of the first dog watch." In summing up the cafe, the newly admitted admiralty proctor enlarged upon the Information thus Imparted as follows: "You can Imagine, gentleman of the Jury, the care which existed on this occasion, when, us appears from one of the plaintiffs own witnesses, this valuable ship and her cargo, and the lives of passengers and crew, were Intrusted to what, gentleman? why, to the mere watch of a dog!" Co' Iter's Weekly." Big Royal Family. The Bourbon Duke of Parma, win was obliged to quit his duchy In 1850 has a larger family than any othei royal personage In Europe. By his first wife, a rrlneess of Bourbon-Sicily, he had nine children, all of whom survive except the eldest, the late Princess of Bulgaria. By his second wife, who was 'a Princess of Braganza and a sister . of the hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, he has nine more children. Every fall the women put up "plenty of preserves," and have none aftei Christmas. God Needs the Help of Mother. "The grave mistake of repressing children," writes Barbetta Brown In the Ladies' Home Journal, "Is caused by the mother's failure to be keen enough to see where She may touch a child's life and where she may not; where It Is for her to guide, to help, to encourage, and where the child-life Is sacred to Itself alone. That the child Is another Individual never occurs to some moth ers, nor that ho has his own possi bilities for growth, not to be tampered with; his own privacies, not to be In vaded ; his own 'holy of holies,' to be held holy. The Tower that Is working In the vast life of this universe Is work lug In your son or daughter as part of It; and It has Its own purpose In regard to each child life as surely as for each planet In Its orbit. God needs much help from mothers, but God does not Intend to be effaced by mothers. Co operate, then, with the Power working through your children, mothers. Do not make the great mistake of attempting to compete with It" ' The Oldest f-team Eaclne. The oldest steam engine In the world has recently gone oft duty after work ing more than 120 years. It was built In 1777. It Is a beam engine, the beam being of wood; the cylinder 32 Inches la diameter, with an 8 ft stroke. This veteran engine has been In tho servlco of the Birmingham Canal Navigation Company. Western girls like to road of yachting and automobile costumes; they hopo to own yachts and automobiles after they have married princes. A credulous woman is one who be lieves a dentist when he promises not to hurt her.
