HREE thousand four hundred and thirteen
years ago the children of Israel, as the Bible
narrates in the book of Exodus, crossed the
Red Sea and came into the wilderness of Chur.
While traveling through the wilderness of Sin
they suffered from hunger and murmured against
But God heard their cries and
The Lord
Moses and Aarlln.
sent them bread from heaven to eat.
said unto Moses:
“Behold I will rain bread from heaven for
you; and the people shall go out and gather a
certain rate every day—mt even ye shall eat flesh,
and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread."
And in the morning there lay a small round thing,
Just How ' Manna Is
' Marketed - '
, The Children
of Israel
Gathering '
——:" Manna. The
Illustration Is
a Reproduction
from an ‘Old
Wood Cut.
as small as hear-frost, on the ground.
And when the children of Ilsrael saw
it, they said one to another, "It is
manna." And Moses said: “This is
the bread which the Lord hath given
you to eat."
Throughout the intervening cen-
turies hundreds of millions of the
earth’s inhabitants have accepted as a
miracle the biblical account of how
the children of Israel were fed on
manna during their forty years of
wandering in the wilderness while
journeying to the promised land of
Canaan. Twentieth century science,
however, does not record this event as
a miracle, but rather as a very prosaic affair after
all. This is the opinion of one investigator, Oscar
S. Heizer, American Consul at Jerusalem. In
one of his official reports Consul Heizer state;
that manna is being found in the regions of Upper
Mesopotamia and Kurdistan and along the Per-
sian frontier. It falls, he says, in the form of
dew during September, October and November,
«and lodges upon the leaves of oak trees.
Immediately after failing the manna hardens'
and assumes the form of a grain, that is, “a small
round thing, as small as the boar-frost, on the
ground." A piece of manna, however, varies in
size from that of a pea to that of a Brazil nut.
The average weight is about one dram. ,
Is ODOR Due to VIBRATIONS?
HE sense of smell is the most acute of all
the five senses, yet it is the one about which
the least is known. Each of the five senses
is the reception of something from outside the
body; sight and hearing are the effect of vibra~
fion of the other, of energy. In other words, is
odor in the same category? ask, W. G. Ungcrer
and R. B. Stoddard in Ungcrer's Bulletin.
The authors reject this: hypothesis and say that
all the evidence of observed facts tends to sup-
port the thcory that it is instead the result of
molecular action, the contact of the molecules of
the odorous material with the olfactory nerves.
It seems strange that science has never ex-
plained odor, so that the blenders of perfume are
still “making use of forces and laws regarding
the true nature and correct application of which
they can have no real comprehension.” They
are working empirically: “The master perfumer
is not the scientist, but the artist, the genius. the
man with a flair for an instructive grasp of the
elusive and baffling odor values."
,Ungerer and Stoddard suggest a hypothesis
upon which odor may scientifically be explained.
They say: “There are few volatile substances
which are completely odorless. That there are
conspicuous exceptions to this rule is well known,
the gases of the atmosphere being the most
prominent. Yet a little consideration of these
"Xceptions soon leads: one to the discovery that
nearly all the odorless substances possess a very
simple molecular structure. Is there, then. some
connection betwacn complexity of molecular
structure and odor?
"We have assumed that odor is produced by
the impact of molecules on the olfactory nerves,
and we know from experience that certain mole-
cules are almost without effect, while others are
so marvellously effective that our senses will dc-
tect their presence even when they are diluted to
an unbelievable extent" with the inert atmosphere.
This difference might be sought in the variations
in the site and shape of the molecules, just as
the physical chemists, have sought to correlate
structure and physical properties, such as melt-
ing point and index of refraction.
"Modern chemistry offers a far better solution
of our problem in its conception of the dynamic
condition within the molecule. The atoms with—
in the molecule are no longer supposed to be rigid
and motionless, but to be in a constant state of
vibration. This must giv'e to each molecule a
certain characteristic vibration which
influences if it does not indeed determine the out-
ward properties of the molecule.
“Here then lies the foundation for a real the-
ory of odor and odor values. Odor is the re-
sponse of the delicate olfactory nerves to these
intenmolecular vibrations, vibrations which the
most delicate instruments yet devised can hardly
detect, much less record and measure. Here is
the explanation of the observed differences in the
odors of substances. Every pure substance has
its own rate of vibration; this vibration may be
such as to influence the olfactory nerves and pro-
ducc the sensation of odor, or it may be too low
or too high to be detected, just as certain ether
vibrations are outside the range of the eye and
ear; vibrations within a certain range may pro-
duce a certain odor, while those of another range
produce a different one."
i’é‘ivoRTHMPOLE
.\' analysis by the United States Coast and
Geodetic Survey indicates that the north
pole point is shifting southward toward
the continent of North America. This means in
cfl’cct that the cities of the United States are
moving slowly to the north. However, you need
havu no worry that you will awake some morn-
ing to find the north pole in your back yard. The
shift is almost negligible because of its slowness.
I'hc southward drift is a trifle over six inches a
your, or less than a mile in 10.000'ycurs. At this
rate. New York would move to the latitude of
ins-ton in a million years.
A London astronomer asserts that the dis-
tance between Naples, itnly. and fhn equator has
shortened a mile and a half during the past 51
years and that Greenwich has moved half a mile
toward the tropics in lwu decades.
. The National Geographic Society says there
is no question that latitudes change, but such
changes are of no considerable magnitude and do
not continue for any great length of time in the
some direction. The variations are due to a slight
wabbling of the earth like that of a top which ~
is not spinning evenly on its axis. This irregu-
larity does not change the direction of the axis
liFOlf but it does change the point on the earth’s
surface (the pole point) from which the axis
emerges. By suuh changes most points on the
earth would have their positions altered with
reference to the poles and to the equator, which
1,4 always 90 degrees from the pole point and
therefore follows it in any movement which it
makes.
If the earth’s simplest possible rotation hid
buf a single wobble added to it, the pole point
would trace a closed path; that is, it would return
to the same position again and again after the
completion of definite, equal periods. But the"
are at least two distinct and unequal wobbles
kmm’n. one completed in about a year and “10
other m about 14 months. Their combination
(Wu-“E's the pole point to trace lines that are very
roughly elliptical and which c‘ros'a andare-cms
each other. I V
HoweVer, these would, change the". '
Moving to SOUTH?
V latitude of any city at most only 30 feet north or
south of its mean position. '
There are other possibilities in regard to
change of latitude. One is that there are other
as yet unrecognized wabbles extending over
longer periods which cause the pole point to
wander in circles or ellipses larger than the 60-
foot radius ascribed to the two known wobbles.
Another is that there may be forces in operation
which shift the pole point steadily southward al-
most along a definite line of longitude. Finally,
latitude changes might, be due to local movements,
either a sliding of relatively small sections of the
earth’s crust, or to a recently postulated “float-
ing” of the continents.
How Baseballs Are'Made
NEARLY all of the work of making a sand-
ard baseball today is done by machinery.
Some of the most highly developed ma-
chines are still “trade secrets" and are operated
in locked rooms where no outsiders are permitted
to see them in operation. ,
The ball is weighed five times in the course
of manufacture, for it must weigh exactly flve
ounces. - ,
A small rubber ball about an inchyln diameter I
forms the centre of the ball. Around this rubber
sphere is wrapped arfew; layers of coarse twine.
By means of accurately; adjusted machinery lay- .
era of blue and white yarn are then wound. Dur-
ing this process the ball is several times soaked
in‘ a, cement solutiOn and laid aside to dry in order '
to give it~compactnoss. Finally a still smaller
‘ cord is wrapped snugly around the ball.
" The, cover is made of best grads horsehlde, '
cut byhand and prepared for the purpose in a
special solution. After the ball is put into clamps
the cover}: sewed on with cotton thread, which
has great ”frictional'strength.‘
are ironed out and the
completed ball is“ polished.
in effect '
'At Right—The Common Swallowtail
‘ hundred dollars.
The cover seams "
“MIRACLE” FOOD of’slthe' Bible. still 'FALLS to FEED
* the. FAMISHED"
f” and deserts of Armenia, the Caucasus, Persia}
The
. Manna
Plant, Which
- A Blossom Is Shown at the Left.
Early in the morning. before the heat of the
day, it is gathered by spreading sheets under the
,trees, which are shaken. The manna is then col-
lccted and stored for winter to be used as a food,
or shipped to Bagdad for sale in the bazaars.
United States Consul Owens of Bagdad also
has sent samples of manna to the Department of
Commerce at Washington. '
Scientists say that this remarkable food that
“fell from heaven" and kept the children of
Israel from starving during their‘wanderings, is
in reality a variety of lichen, a scrubby, stunted
growth that forms on stones.
is grayish yellow, but, when broken, the interior
is white as a crushed grain of wheat.
As it gets older it loosens its grip on the
rock, its edges roll back. and soon it becomes
detached altogether, forming a rounded body with
a central cavity. It is feather-light. and the
slightest breeze will blow it hither and thither.
Thus it often happens that a wind storm car-
ries great quantities of these lichens long dis-
tances, and afterward they are found piled in
heaps and windrows. It appears as if they have
fallen out of the sky, and ignorant people swim
to the phenomenon a supernatural cause.-
In the desert regions where these lichens grow,
heavy rains usually follow a long dry season.
Rivulcts wash quantities of them into depres-
sions in the ground, and subsequent evaporation '
of the water leaves heaps of them behind. The
superstitious natives consider such a happening
miraculous. ‘
Analyses have shown that the dried lichens
contain 65 per cent. of oxylate of lime and 25
per cent. of a starchlike and highly nutritious
substance which is also-found in the moss on
which the reindeer feed in the. frigid areas with-
in the Arctic circle, and which in the latter case
is the principle element of food. Botanically,
mosses and lichens are closely related.
The lichen growing on a rock derives its water
supply from the atmosphere. It can absorb from
that source» 35 per cent. of its weight in three
days. On the other hand. it surrenders moisture
with equal rapidity and by the time it is ready
‘to detach itself. it is almost absolutely dry, which
fact accounts for its lightness.
It is reported that the manna crops in western
Asia Minor are bountcous and supplies of this
food are now [being imported into this country.
The public may soon have an opportunity to taste
manna such as that on which the children of
Israel were fed nearly 35 centuries ago and to
decide whether it is a worthwhile article of food.
The time may soon come when manna can be
bought in paper containers at the corner delicates-
Grows in the
Sinaitic Desert. "
- station that has since taken place.
Its outside color ‘
sen store. In fact, so plentiful is lithe. supply of
manna at certain times that one man in a single
Working day has been known to collect from
12,000 to 20,000 pieces, amounting to from five to
eight pounds. ,
When the wheat crop is deficient in certain
districts in Western Asia Minor,,,manna'isvused
as a substitute. It is ground into a flour which
is baked into bread.
In Bagdad and Mosul the marina is cooked
with sugar and made into round white cakes
three inches in diamater and half’an inch thick,
with a sprinkling of wheat flour on the outside.
Street pedlers sell these cakes as candy and ‘in
this form manna'is greatly liked by both natives
and, Europeans as well. These manna cakes have
a delicate aromatic flavor. It was samples of
manna in this form that Consul Heizer sent to
the Department of Commerce at Washington. , '
Botanists explain that the reason only small
quantities of manna are found today in the region
traversed by the Israelites on their journey from
Egypt to Palestine nearly thirty-five centuries
ago may be attributed to a radical change in veg-
In the days
of the Exodus vast tamarisk forests covered moat
of the “wilderness" spoken of in the Bible. These
forests have been destroyed by the Arabs, largely. .
' for .the production of charcoal, and the territory
has become desert and desolate.
Elsewhere rains of manna have fallen fre—
quently. Amongnsuch districts that have been so
favored from prehistoric times are the steppes
_ _ _
Kurdistan, Arabia and northern Africa.
Within the last one hundred
“rains" of manna are recorded as having fallen "-
in 1824, in 1828, in 1841, in 1846. in 1863. and in ,
1864. 'All 'of them occurred between January and
years great ’ 7..
March, the season ‘of heaviest rainfall in the .7;
’regions where the lichen grows: This circum-
stance is at least suggestive, although the natives
believed that. the manna fell from heaven. ’
Two of the most notable rains of manna hap-
pened in the years71828 erg. 1841. During the
former year the haturalist, Parrot, observed) afj‘i
shower of manna in Persia which covered the T?
ground? to a depth of six inches. It was un- ' .,
doubtedly carried by storm-winds from some-' “
where 'far distant. _ < ,
Thirteen years later there was an astonishing
fall of manna near Lake Van, in the eastern part
of Asia Minor, covering many square miles to’a‘
It wbs gray in color and
depth of four inches.
Live stock devoured it
pleasant to the taste.
greedily, thereby suggesting to the inhabitants;
They fit?
that it might be good for them to eat. ,
? ground it into flour and made bread. which proved
palatable and nourishing.
Thus again science and history in confirming a
j :
historical fact as told in the Bible; unite to show.‘ I,
that the falling of'm‘anna may be called neither
a miracle gar a rarity.
Are CELLS of the BODY IMMORTAL? g;
HE individual cells of the human body are
potentially immortal, according to Dr. Al-
bert H. Ebelingof‘the Rockefeller Institute
for Medical Research inldescribing how he has
kept‘alive for 10 years some connective tissue
cells from the heart of an embryo chicken.
In the Journal of'Experimental Medicine, Dr.
Ebeling says he obtained these cells on Jan. 17,
1912, and placed them in glass tubes filled with
a medium containing the substances necessary to
their growth. On Jan. 17, 1922, the incubators
at the institute contained about 60 cultures,
which represented the 1860th generation of the
connective tissue cells.
This means that the cells have multiplied in
than 30,000 cultures have been derived from a
fragment of heart less than one cubic millimetre
in 5size. If it had been feasible to multiply the
tissues to their greatest passible extent. today
their mass would be very much larger than the
sun. Thus it is evident that some of the food
material contained in the medium has been trans- ‘
formed into protoplasm. ,
Dr. Alexis Carrel observed that after 28
months of life in vitro the. rate of growth of
the aptive tissue cells has not decreased. It was
evident that fibroblasts living under the conditions
of his experiments were no longer subjected to
the influence of time, as they are when living
within the organism. They could be compared to
unicellular organism, such as Paramecium, which
Woodrufl' has cultivated for over 14 years, and
could be considered potentially immortal.
Why Martial MUSIC Makes You MARCH
HY is it that military music makes you
want to match; that jazz music makes
you want to,dance; and plaintive music
makes you sad? ‘At last science has discovered
that it is all due to a little gland situated at the
base of your brain.- This little gland is-known as
the pituitary gland, and it controls the rhythmic
beating of the heart, acting on it in much the,
same way as a governor controls a steam engine.
It prevents it—u’and other organs of the body—-
from racing, 01' working irregularly.
.But the curious thing, medical science has
found, is that this gland is sensitive to music.
Different kinds of music affect it in difl‘erent 7
ways, and it is the [way a. tune afl'ects this gland
that makes you think the tune either lively or sad.
Martial music excites the pituitary gland very
much, and in response the gland manufactures
and 'sénds into your blood more than its normal
amount bf fluid. It is this fluid that controls the
speed of your heart, and with the extra amount
your heart beats much faster, giving you that
exhilarated military feeling. ‘
Another type of music acts on the pituitary
gland in just the opposite way—it slows it down.
At once your heart’s action decreases, and with
it comes an accompanying depression or sadness.
A man who is worried or excited will find
jazz music irritates him. It stimulates the al-
ready fast-beating heart, when at the moment a
soothing tune is what he wants.
How to FIND RELIEF at HOME from HAY FEVER
from hay fever, “rose colds,” asthma and
similar afflictions will welcome the informa-
tion that in a large number-cf instances it is pos.
sible greatly to relieve the symptoms and some-
times to cure these diseases permanently without
THOSE who have suffered year after year
' going away from home, says Dr. Hermann M.
Biggs, New York State Commissioner of Health,
in one of his radio health hint broadcasts which
is quoted by the Medical Times.
”Before discussing the method of treatment
we should first consider some of the causes of
hay fever. True hay fever is due to a peculiar
sensitiveness on the part of some persons to the
pollens of certain grasses. Weeds, plants or trees.
Formerly, it was supposed that the pollen of the
goldenrod and rag weed were alone the cause of
hay fever, but now we know that while these two
cause some cases many other pollens are also to
blame. The earliest group of cases of true hay
fever develop in April, are very few in number,
and are due to the pollen of certain trees such as
the birch and maple. The next group appears by
the middle or end of May and lasts until mid-July,
FORTUNES Made in- BUTTERFLIES
things. Even the scientists are at present
unable definitely to say exactly what .causes
variation in the wing-markings of these insects.
The fact that these markings do change, how-
ever, has awakened an extraordinary interest
among collectors in all parts of the world. S.°
much so that large sums of money are being paid
FASHIONS change in butterflies as in other
Above—The Butterfly with Ordinary
Speckled Wings ls Practically Value-
less, While the Black-White Variety
Easily Brings SeVeral Hundred Dollars.
Butterfly and the Black Variant],e
Lattcr Bringing More Than‘saoo,
_ for these so-called "varieties” of species otherwise
' common. - ' '
qultgne rem. arkable “catch” 13“ season was that
swallow-tail butterfly in the 'Fen dis-
gic: :fgccla‘mbridgfihire: England, and this almost
unique insect has found 3.110198 in the cabinet
bf a? famous collector at the price of some three
' Had the butterfly been of the
ordinary color (black and yellow), it would scarce-
ly have been worth a quarter. ,
‘ In England, the swallW-tail is what dim ed
’ one'of the “local” butterflies. It can be taken
- , every year. butionly .11? th? Fe“ dmi?“ 9f cam'u‘
’bfidgesbire and Linwlnshu-e. The prize-winners
of the present seasonmust therefore confine thsrs—
selves to those parts if they would .find black
swallow-tails.
Black is undoubtedly a highly valued color,
however, in any butterfly or moth. Considerable
sums are paid for black magpie moths, the insect
itself being a pest on the current bushes of the
fruit garden. Those with ordinary speckled wings
are quite valueless, while “varieties” will be .
snapped up at five dollars each. ,
Perhaps the record for a “freak” common but-
‘ terfly was reached in England recently when a
black “white” butterfly was put up to auction side
by side with some magnificent specimens of the
greatly prized extinct large copperu
Curiously enough, there was actually a “va-
riety” of the large copper itself in the same sale.
This found a purchaser, at ninety dollar-5a bar-
. gainyby the way, which, in truth, could not pos-
sibly be repeated, as the insect itself is now ex-
tinct. ' 'j "‘ » .7 , .
The blue “whi ’_' butterfly, however, created
such a furore of excitement amougfimentomolos
gists that» it wa's'eventually.’ bought? underthe
hammer atone .hundmdjnd seventyifiveidoll'ars, ' ‘
almost twice’as much aathat pastor thévformer
T is marbled Whitc‘rbu‘tterfiy’
mon meadow subject; ,Thougan’ds
every fyjear,and it: is by no'meamr‘
andther‘black “white"
’while late hay fever begins in mid-August and-
lasts until frost. The.pollen of the different
grasses is responsible for a great majority of the
cases. The pollen of roses and goldenrod is heavy
and therefore not being widely scattered causes
few cas Occasional cases are caused by the
pollen of dai s, asters, sweet clover. corn and
far less often by that of other flowers and plants.
“What has been said applies to hay fever that
occurs only at stated periods of the year. Many
cases {Jailed bayfever that occur at odd times
throughbut the year-r and certain tws of asthma
are due either to the presence of adenoids for
other nose obstructions. Such cases may also re-
sult from the sensitiveness of those persons to
certain substances, such as dandruff from horses,
dogs, cats Or other animals, dust from feathers
used in pillows, hair- used in mattresses, etc., cot-
ton, insecticide powders and orris root used in
talcum powders. Asthma may also be caused by
the use of certain foods to which those particular
persons are sensitive. Eggs, strawberries and
some of the cereals sometimes cause this trouble.
“In hay fever coming at practically the same
time each year, a fairly accurate guess as to the
cause can often be made by noting the particular
grass or weed or flower pollen most common at
' that time.- In hay fever or asthma occurring at
odd times during the year it is wise first of all to
have a competent physician examine! the throat
and nose for any obstruction in the upper air
passages. If none can be found there, it should
be noted whether the attack is preceded by con-
tact with certain animals, absence of which" gives
' relief. It should next be noted whether the pa—
tient is free from symptoms when away from
home. If so, then experiments should be tried to
determine the exfict cause by substituting hair for
, feather pillows, cotton for hair mattressa, etc.
‘ “the W, 7":
Women andgirls afflicted-with either hay fever ‘
for asthma should be careful not to use talcum
powders containing orris root. Note should also
be made to whether the symptoms always ap-
pear eating certain foods. such as those
previously mentioned and others known to affect
some persons unfavorably. '- .
“If these simple tests all fail, a physician can-
ofteutimes decide. definitely by inoculpting into
the skin of the arm minuteamounts of a sterile
extract _:of‘_¥each;of _the,,pollens_ and other sub—f
_ onéidered capable 3of producing the . "
symm:‘,fNo. discomfort .is" felt until the sub-
; stance actua‘llyeuusing? the trouble is’iujected _ '
i when as sfightW-reddening and itching oc- .
‘
,a
cure. Oneetheright Sikhfi'ceds thus dflbectéd ~ ,
reli'clfmm thea315:tioncan usuaHybe obtained '
ibyuv’mklyf" inoc some: mi ‘ rdbfiééiaf
' nmfifiememaum thaws- .
its own antidote.” '
Norwalk Chronicler