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' A WEATHER KITE.
To Be Used in Ascertaininmthe
Condition of the Upper Air.
Attached to a Captlve' Balloon It ~VVlll .
Aid the Weather Clerk in His Obv
servatlén‘sz, New Sclen-.
. ,» $90 'Idea.
The meteorologists have admitted for;
many years that some knowledge of the
condition of the upper air will be very
valuable as an' aid'to weather predic—
tion. The upper air strata are peculiar-
1y inaccessible in the case of an attempt
to suspend meteorological instruments
for many hours above any local pomt,
owing to sudden gusts and equally sud-
den calms. A captive balloon durinfig
strong winds is apt to be disabled by
the variable pressure upon its immense.
globe of confined gas. The wind, if i
very powerful, may drive the. tethered i
balloon downward sidewise and force I
the gas out of its neck, causing loss of '
buoyancy.
According to recent drawings, made ,
in London, Prof. “lillis L. Moorc,gchief 1
of the United States weather bureau, is
experimenting with a combination of
the balloon and the kite,_by which dur- .
in: dead calms the gas bags at the
back of the kite may carry it upward,
while during strong winds the kite ~
would take the pressure and protect:
the gas apparatus behind it.
The Moore kite, as drawn, has a tail,
which may ultimately be dispensed
with, as in the case of the kites devised
l.v me in 1891, says the writer, Prof.
William A. Eddy, and used recently in
the Sunday World photographic ex-
periments above New York. The tail
kites used by me on February 4-, 1891,
for probably the first thermetric kite
observation in the world, were hexa-
gonal, and carried upward a very steep
string, almost equalizing the perpen- .
dicular ascending power of the tailless
kite, the first experiments with which ‘
were begun in the spring of the same i
rear. ,
‘ Instead of a very large kite, such as .
the drawing of Prof. Moore’s kite in- '
dicates, I sent. .up several hexagonal
tail kites, abOut five feet in diameter,
flying in‘ tandem from one main line. 1
(-i course, in using tail kites, the =
branch line, extending to each kite,
had to be about three times as long as i
that used for tailless kites, so as to pre-
vent the tails of the upper kites from
becoming entangled with the branch-
ing tandem lines below. 5
I found that when sufiicient line was
allowed to each kite there was no i
trouble in using tail kites with which
to send up my thermometer. Prof.
ll'oore’s possible plan for sustaining a
1calloon by means of a tail kite is more
likely to be immediately successful than
if. he attempted to balance in the air
a balloon tailless kite, because I found !
(luring hundreds of kite ascensions
that nobody knows What the wind will 5
do next.
Since flat kites of light construction,
in mild winds, require little tail, it
seems to follow that a gas-inflated kite
will need very small tail weights to
balance it if the wind is light. In a
strong wind—a tail about 300 feet in
length will be. required. Prof. Moore‘s
proposed line of experimentis interest—
ing and valuable, and if all the weather
bureau stations are equipped with such
an apparatus the predictions would be
more exact.
The experiments made with my kites
at Blue Hill observatory, near Boston,
where ink-recording instruments were
held up in the air during successive
days, amply established the fact that
cold waves reach the upper air several
hours in advance of their appearance
on the earth’s surface. I announced
this theoretically in the American Me-
teorological Journal fer July, 1891, but
l had few observations from aloft in
support of it, and I thought then that
‘ ii might have been due to a coincidence.
Since that time the elaborate experi-
’ ments at the Blue Hill observatory in
.3. ugust, 1895, have reaffirmed it. The
curves have been carefully worked out
at the observatory by H. II. Clayton,
indicating that abnormal coolness of
he air aloft denotes the approach of a
cold wave which soon reaches the sur-
face. When the air rushes up‘Mount
Washington or Pike‘s Peak it carries
with it the kite observations. A re-
leased balloon drifts away with the ap-
proaching cold wave, and so the de-
cline of temperature aloftis not proper-
l y compared with the surface tempera-
ture.
Kites of light construct-ion can main-
tain themSelves aloft six days in seven
at New York, and probably four days,
in seven at Cincinnati, where the wind
is light, if night winds in both cities
are included in the estimate. But
I'rof. Moore‘s kite. if he uses gas, would
doubtless make the record almost cox.-
tinuous. Since there is often plenty of,
v. ind aloft and none at the surfacc of
the earth, the facts are onlyapproxi-
mately known at presents—N. Y. World.
Outdoor Neckwear. ,
Just a suggestion of outdoor neck-
wear to those who have. no furs and
cannot afford them or feathered boas
either. - Get two yards of black India
silk, that which cost, about. 50 cents
a yard, and cut it in six-inch strips—
!engthwise. Sew them together neat—
ly, pink each edge and plait it in triple
box plaits. It will be a yard or more in
length when completed, and is an ex-
cellent. substitute for a boa of fur or
feathers. I’ut’ narrow black ribbons
where you wish to fasten it close about
the throat. such a boa, if bought at
the shops, would cost you aboutthree
dollars. (It need not cost you over one
dollar. If you desire one-for the neck
only a. yard of silk cut in' three strips
will suffice. It ‘will be very pretty
edged with narrow lace—St. Louis Re- I
public.
——The tail of the otter serves not only
as a rudder, but also as a means of pro-
pulsion, its movements closely resem-
bling those of a screw propeller.
I
amusement -«al;‘xeg_,.;ha,d the other ,day.
' dance.
. hold with his little slim fingers like a
I' when, after an evening spent in look-
‘hands grows very interesting. I have
A SAVAGE AND MAeIe mamas.- ‘
‘ Robert Louis SteVenson Tells of the Mys-
tification of One o‘f'His' Retainers.
“But I have told you-a great deal too
much about poor Arickl's savagenature,
and now I must tell you of a. great
There came tin-English ship-of—war into
the harbor, and the- officers good-na-
turedly gave an entertainment of songs
and dances and a magic lantern, to
which Arick and Austin were allowed
to go. At the door of the hall there
were crowds of black boys waiting and
trying to peep in, as children 'at home
lie about and peep under the tent of a.
circus; and you may be. sure Arick
was a very proud person when he passed
them all by, and entered the hall with
his ticket.
"I -wish I knew what he thought of
the whole performance; but-a friend
of the lean man, who sat just in front of
Arick, tells me what seemed to startle
him most. The first thing was when
two of the officers came out with black-
ened faces, like. minstrels, and began to -
Ariel: was sure that they were
really black and his own people, and he
was wonderfully surprised to see them
dance in this new European style.
“But the great afi'air was the. magic
lantern. The hall was made quite dark,
which was very little to Arick’s taste.
He sat there behind my friend, nothing
to be seen of him but eyes and teeth,
and his heart was beating finely in
his little scarred breast. And present-
ly there came out on the white sheet
that great bright eye of light that I am
sure all of you children must have often
seen. It was quite new to Arick; he
had no idea what would happen next
and in his fear and excitement he laid
bird’s claw on the neck of the friend in
front of him. All through the rest of
the show, as one picture followed an-
other on the white sheet, he sat there 5
; grasping and clutching, and goodness l
knows whether he were more pleased or ;
frightened.
".Doubtless it was a very fine thing to ,
see all those bright pictures coming out
and dying away again, one after an—
other; but doubtless it was rather
alarming “also, for how was it done?
At last, when thereappeaired upon the 3
screen the head of a black woman (as ’
it might be his own mother or sister), .
and this black woman of a sudden be-
gan to roll her eyes, the fear or the ex-
citement, whichever it was, wrung out
of him a loud, shuddering sob. I think
we all ought to admire his courage
ing at such wonderful miracles, he and
Austin set out alone through the forest
to the lean man’s house. It was late
at night and pitch dark when some of.
the party overtook the little white boy
andrthe big black boy, marching among
the trees with their lantern. I have
told you this wood has an ill name, and
all the people of the island believe it
to be full of evil spirits; it is a pretty
dreadful place to walk in by the mov-
ing light of a lantern, with nothing
about you but a curious whirl of shad-
ows, and the black night above and be-
yond. But Arick kept his courage up,
and I dare say, Austin’s too, with a
perpetual chatter, so that the people
coming after heard his voice long be-
fore they saw the shining of the lan-
teru.”—Robert Louis Stevenson, in St.
Nicholas.
The Nerves Say Thumbs Up.
“When I went to a nerve specialist
first,” said a man who was once an in-
valid. “he told me that one way to judge
of the condition of a person’s nerves was
to watch his thumbs. Ever since that
time I have found the greatest fascina-
tion in looking at people’s thumbs. The
doctor said that if they moved involun-
tarily outward it was a sign that the
nerves of that man or woman were not
in the best condition. I find mysrlf
now sweeping the line opposite me in
a canand if that doctor’s test is a good
one, there is a surprising number of
people in this town whose nerves need
looking after. There are few among
the women who do not involuntarily
move the thumbs outward at intervals
of every few minutes, and when your
attention has been once attracted. lo
it the process of watching their gloved
found the habit much less frequent
among men, but take the average num-
ber of women in a street car and it will
be a surprise to you to see how ma :i)‘
of them indulge unconsciously in this
little habit. I only hope it does not
mean anything as serious as it might
indicate if that nerve specialist’s diag-
nosis was a good one.”—Bos.on Ca-
sette.
Dress for the Fgenc‘h President.
An esthetic French tailor, who is dis-
satisfied with the evening dress that
forms the oflicial attire of Presidrnt
Fapre on all formal occasions, has de-
signed a uniform that he thinks will
be neat, but no: gaudy. It consists of a
black frock coat with ample folds and
velvet collar and cuffs, richly cmbrmd-
cred with gold laurcls; the trousers to
have broad laurel-leaf embroidery down
the side-s. The lapels of the coat are to be
decorated with the insignia of the
legion of honor in diamonds, lent by
the state, and the garment is to be
buttoned across a white waistcoat,
with heavy bullion buttons bearing the
effigy of the republic. The whole is to
be completed by a neat tri-colorcd
sash. The headgear is to consist of a
low cylindrical felt or velvet hat with
a plume of black feathers. The sword
is to have a black sheath, and hilt of
diamonds, also lent by ’the state.
After these fogs have been donned the
president is. to be put in a carriage
and surrounded by a. squadron of
dragons for the delight of all Paris.—
Chicago Inter Ocean.
—Properly, there is no other knowl-
edge but that which is got by working;
the rest is all yet a hypothesis of
knowledge; a thing to be argued of
in schools; a thing floating in the
clouds, in endless logic-vortices, till
..\
‘ oughly conversant.
we try and f‘ it.—Carlyle.
HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS. '
To decorate a grate that is not re-
quired for use, place in it some small
pots containing ferns, Collect small fir
cones, varnish them and throw around
in the grates so the pots shall be hidden.
If you possess a cozy corner with a
shelf'at the top have a. zinetrough made
to fit it and fill this with some hardy
foliage and flower plantsgl" They Will
last a long time and add greatly’to the
beauty of the room. ’ u.
The. latest -card cases and ,r pocket-
books are made from a leather, that is
called elephant’s hide. It ,has rather
a rough surface and is of a light tan
color. They are mounted at the cor-
, 11ers in dull gold, or havg a_ plain gold
band around them, headed by a narrOw
. beadintr.
It is not necessary to have fresh and
green things for all salads. -The cold
Ecooked vegetables may be utilized—
asparagus tops, peas, beans, cold pota-
‘toes and beets, cut in cubes, or'any of
them, mixed together with a few capers
and sliced olives. The dish, for any
salad should be rubbed inside with a
raw onion. .
Furs will look much improved if they
are cleaned with bran heated in the
oven. Rub the hot bran well into the
fur with a piece. of flannel, then shake
the fur to remove all particles, and
brush thoroughly. Fur collars that
have become soiled from rubbing
against the hair may be made to look
like new by using hot bran on them.
Apply the bran a second time if the fur
is badly soiled.
WOMEN EVERYWHERE.
Miss Helen M. Winslow, of Boston,
was the guest of honor at the Profes-
sional Woman’s league meeting in New
York. She is said to have made one of
the brightest impromptu speeches ever
heard at the league. ‘
‘* Mrs. John Ward .Dunsmore,‘ of Cin-
cinnati, wife of the artist, has made
quite a success as a speaker on art
topics, a subject with which she is thor-
Mrs. Dunsmore,
who is an exceedingly graceful and
charming woman, was a Boston girl,
Miss Corrinna Buflinton. ~
It was after ex-Empress Eugenie of
France that Princess Beatrice‘s little
daughter was named. The unfortunate
' empress holds the children of this prin-
cess very dear to her, and is seen much
vith them during her residence in the
highlands and when she stays with her
majesty. She probably remembers that
had her son been spared to her Prin-
cess Beatrice‘s children would have
been her own grandchildren.
The duchess of Albany has come to
the front as an inventor. She has de-
signed a. schoolmom desk, for which
the Sanitary institute has awarded her
a gold medal at its exposition in Lon-
don. It was designed some time ago,
and is now in use in most of the royal
and imperial nurseries in England and
on the continent. The invention has
special reference to the effect of pos-
ture on the health of school children,
and is very suitable and practicable, its
parts being adjustable to the work of'
physical dechOpment of a child.
THE MOUTH AND TEETH.
The star fish is all month. .When
this creature intends to make a meal
he simply surrounds his prey and waits
until it is digested.
The enamel of the teeth is composed
of 95 per cent. of calcarious matter, a
larger portion than enters into any
other part of the system.
The squirrel is provided with apouch
on each side of his mouth in which
he can carry a. considerable amount of
nuts, corn or other food.
According to the physiognomist, a
projecting under lip is a bad sign, indi—
cating pig-headed obstinacy and dull-
ness, if not actual stupidity.
“The Principles of Dental Surgery,”
by Leonard lx'ueekcr, in 182-}, placed
dentistry on its proper footing as an in-
dependent branch Of surgery.
Every tooth is provided with a nerve,
and if any doubt is felt on this point,
an exposure of the nerve will demon-
strate the accuracy of the statement.
Several kinds of apes are provided
with large pouches on the sides of the
month. One kind of African ape can
carry a quart of corn on each side of
his jaw.
AT THE JEWELERS.
A cut glass inkstand with silver
mounts, much favored this season, is
square in form.
Rings for men continue to be richly-
carved and chased, Indian style, with
stones iinbedded. .
The silver skirt grip, a practical de-
vice for securing the back of the skirt
to the- belt, recommends itself .to tidy
women. -
Zone-shaped belt clasps, incrusted
with small stones and receiving addi-
tional enrichment from colored enam-
els, lend distinction tr.- the simplest
evening gown.
Silver pen extractors are a new ac-
cessory for the writing desk this sea-
son, and, although small, are strong
enough to extract the most stubborn
pen from its holder and fill a long-felt
Want.
The present mania for-Louis XV.
styles has added to the sumptuousness
[of the modern woman’s jewel case, for
many of the brooches, coronets and
watches are copies of the old court
jewelry. ‘
PEN POINTS.
Advice is one of the unpleasant
smaller vices that the truly good forget-
to condemn. _ ,_
Don’t persist in error—after you’re
found out; and don’t be found out if
you can avoid it by persisting in it.
Paste this in your hat: “The easiest
way to become immortal is to be the
first to say what is self-evident.
The average man feels complimented‘"
when you call him bad in a laughing
sort of. a way.-——Truth. ' ,
i
"rabbit.
the eye of a human being is, so repulsive ‘
QUESTION APPARENTLY. '
A Tale From Texas Which Supports the
Ami-motive, but, There Are .Eatumlisu
Who Say Nos-Claim That the Snake’s
Victims Are Self Hypnotized.
A gopher snake at Escondido has been
~the cause of much earnest discussion.
among local naturalists. The question
discussed was, “Do Snakes ' Charm or
Hypnotize Their Préiy?” One of the
naturalists had the unusual but fortunate
experience at Escondido of happening
upon ailarge gopher snake just, .the.
reptile was about to overcome a .-em-
bling cottontail rabbit and envelop the
animal in its deadly coils. For some
time the naturalist watched the snake’s
' m0vements.
It was within 10 or 12 inches of the
apparently; fascinated rabbit. Silently
and almost imperceptibly the snake had.
wormed its way nearer and nearer to its
victim. Its eyes glistened with an in;
tense brightness. Not a movement did’
it. make which might alarm the timid
The forked tongue, which to
and intended to be terrifying, appeared
to exert an entirely different influence
upon the mind of the innocent rabbit.
This darting tongue either excited
the victim’s curiosity or caused the ani-
mal to so concentrate its mind on the
snake’s tongue as 'to throw that mind
into a hypnotic condition of such
strength that it could not break the
spell and run away from impending
death. The forked tongue darted out of
the snake’s mouth almost as regularly
and rapidly as the needle of a sewing
machine rises and falls in the cloth. The
lithe body crept nearer and nearer. The
rabbit was motionless. Its eye was fixed
on the piercing eye of the snake. Even
the waving of the wind kissed shrubs
about the rabbit failed to break the spell,
and softly and slowly grim death in
. snake form wreathed its folds about the
creature. Then Was the spell broken.
But the strong'coils of the snake were
in position. Never a rabbit lived that
could break that embrace of death.
Realizing at last the terrible peril, the
terrified rabbit struggled vainly to es-
cape, .and as the rings of the snake drew
closer about the frail form so tightly
that breathing became difficult the rab-
bit uttered a despairing cry almost hu-
man in its intenseness and sound. It
was the rabbit’s last earthly utterance.
An extra twist of the cruel coils and
poor bunny was no more. Lungs, heart
and bones were literally crushed. The
snake did not relax the pressure for ful-
ly ten minutes. Unwinding itself, the
snake dragged the prey under an ad-
joining bush for dinner.
To the naturalist who Watched the
capture of the rabbit it appeared as if
the snake had certainly fascinated the
animal. As a gopher snake is not poi.-
sonous and"has no well-developed fangs, »
its only means of killing prey is by con-
striction. In order to catch an animal
it seems almost necessary for the snake
to fascinate the victim.
Other naturalists claim that snakes dd
not possess the power of fascinating ei-
ther bird§ or animals. One man who has
given the matter much study remarked
that “no error is apparently more rooted
in the humap mind than that which at-
tributes to snakes this peculiar power of
fascination.” By this power they are
said to be able so to paralyze their vic-
tims that the birds or animals are ren-
dered utterly incapable of movement and
wait for the attack of a snake or even go
forward to meet itin fear and trembling,
but without any power of retaliation.
N cw, any one who watches the be-
havior of small animals placed alive as,
food in the cages in which snakes are,
kept in captivity in the hope of seeing
this marvelous power in operation will
be grievously disappointed. Chickens,
rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, all move
about with an utter absence of fear of
the snakes. My belief is that it is possi-
ble to account for the popular belief that
snakes possess a power to fascinate for
several reasons. An observer may come
on the scene and find a number of birds
mobbing a snake just as they will mob
an owl or a buzzard. The dashes of the
bird toward the snake and their flutter-
ing round it may easily be put down to
the effect of the snake’s glance. while
they are in reality merely attempts of
the birds to drive off the intruder. A
mother bird whose young are attacked
will almost certainly behave in this way
and may herself fall a victim, not to the
power of fascination in the snake. but
to do force of her maternal feelings.
It may be the mobbing of the snake
by the companions of a victim that has
been seized or of a mother whose nest
has been, robbed; it may be simply the
effect of poison already injected before
the observer has come upon the scene,
or it may be simple curiosity. 1n ninety-
nine cases out of a hundred one (n‘the
other of these causes has been at work.
What. then, of the hundredth case, and
what about the fascination exercised on
man, cases of which have undoubtedly
been recorded? The explanation lies in
the probability that it is a case of self
hypnotism.
It is an error to suppose that will
power has anything to do with the ef-
~ fact. The matter has been taken up sci-
entifically by the medical profession and
it has been found that the hypnotic
state of 'slecp or trance, or whatever it
may be termed, can be produced by
looking fixedly at the operator or at a
coin or at. the tip of one’s own nose. It
is not necessary to go into the question
of how the result is brought about, but
there is a physiological explanation.
What happens then in the hundredth
case, is that the man or the animal may
be self hypnotized by gazing fixedly at
the snake, the subject being thus thrown
into a sort'of trance, making no attempt
to move out of danger unless roused by
some exterior influence. —San Diego Cor.
Chicago Times-Herald. , .
F?‘ .
...h-:: ‘ {New
It' if I...” armyhas no
-du'...;-.,' g .migx ..-~:-...z
Do. SNAKES cfiARM?
THERE ARE P'Ros AND CONS TO THIS; '
i ,
——-—'—.' >———o o-4—.—c-+ 0—4.‘—.——5
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Its local news is bright.
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After once reading The Evening Gazette you will
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