Popular Science

The largest flower in the world grows n Sumatra. It is called the Rafflesia Arnoldi, and some oí the specimens are thirty-nine inches in diameter. "The central cup will hold six quarts of water. The "cold moon" is not cold at all when is visible, but very, very hot. Her day is about a fortnight long, and during her period of brightness her temperature probably rises to 220 degrees F. During the period of darkness, on the other hand, the lunar thermometer is supposed to drop to about 300 degrees below the Fahrenheit zero. Then she may be truthfully said to be cold. French peasants have a belief that iï a firo with much smoke is made in the stove on the approach oL a storm, safety from lightning will bn insured. Schuster shows that the custom is based on reason, as the smoke serves as a very good conductor for carrying away the electricity 3lovly and safely. In one thousand oases of damagfi by lightning, 6.3 cliurchea nul iL milis have been struck, but the nuinber of faetory chlmneys was only 0.8. "It has passed curront," says Popular Science News, "that sea air contains an appreciablc quantity cf salt. To test this M. Ohaix made a series of experiments. He passed about thirty ieet of cubio. air through a sohition of siJ'er nitrate. In every caso thero wac not the leasr cloudiness of the solution whicli proved that the air contained no Balt. The air contains salt only vhen the wind carriea salt spray. St we wish to benefit by the salt in the air we must go where the sea is sumciently agitated by the wind to continually hold sea water in suspension."