Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 40.djvu/877

Rh a3 well as in the unusual season at which it is fresh. The seed is all grown in Teneriffe Island, of two varieties, one producing white and the other red bulbs. The white bulbs are a little earlier, but the red ones are sweeter. The seed is sown very thickly in seed-beds—the soil of which has been prepared with special care and highly enriched—from the last of September till early in November. The plants are transplanted in December and January. The fields are little pockets of earth scattered here and there over the island, in depressions between the rocks. They seldom contain an area of more than two acres, and the larger proportion of them contain less than half an acre. The soil is carefully prepared and laid out, by treading paths into beds about three feet wide, into which the little plants, about as large as a goose-quill, are transplanted from the seed-beds. The whole number of acres cultivated on the island of Bermuda in the winter of 1890-'91, in onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and beets, was 2,422.

Manufacture of Silk Gauzes.—Silk gauzes are manufactured by a special method distinct from all other modes of weaving, in which, according to M. G. Henneberg, of Zurich, the first consideration is the selection, from among the best brands of raw silk, that which will give the most uniform and the firmest twist. The twist is obtained by spinning two threads, one upon the other, about a thousand turns to the metre of length. When the threads intended for the chain have been stretched uniformly with the most delicate care, to prevent a premature wearing away (which occurs when the tension is unequal, by the two light threads snapping) each of the threads of the chain is passed separately between two meshes of the weaving harness, and between the teeth of the comb or of extremely fine steel. To show how carefully this work must be done, we mention that a steel comb used in weaving a gauze one metre wide, No. 17, has 6,517 teeth, with as many spaces between them. Next is the preparation of the chain for the operation of weaving, by moistening it with soft brushes. Some of the valleys of eastern Switzerland, on account of their elevated position and special climatic and atmospheric conditions, seem particularly well adapted to the weaving of a strong twist, exceptionally brittle and hard. The weavers do their work in couples or threes in specially constructed cellars abundantly lighted and aired, the temperature of which should be kept nearly the same—about 50° Fahr.—through the whole year, and the moisture seventy-five per cent. Whenever a notable variation in temperature takes place, the weaving should be stopped till a favorable change occurs. The weaver should be a strong, hearty man, because the management of the loom demands much skill and a more than ordinary toughness of body. When the piece is done, it is washed, stretched on a frame to dry, and dried by drawing a pan of hot coals back and forth under it. Silk gauze must be kept in perfectly dry and well-aired places.

Habits of the Wandering Albatross.—Of the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) a Mr. Harris, who has carefully studied it, says that at a certain time of the year, between February and Juno, the old birds leave their young and go to sea, not to return till October, when they arrive in large numbers. During their absence the young birds never leave the breeding-ground. Immediately after the return of the old birds, each pair goes to its old nest, and, after a little fondling of the young one, turns it out and prepares the nest for the next brood. The deserted young ones are in good condition and very lively, being frequently seen off their nests exercising their wings; and when the old birds come back, a young bird will often remain outside of the nest and nibble at the head of the old one, until the feathers between the beak and the eye are removed, and the skin is made sore. The young birds do not go far from land till the following year, when they accompany the older ones to sea.

Railway Accidents for 1889-'90.—According to the statistics of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the total number of passengers, employés, and other persons not trespassers, who suffered death or injury on railroads in the United States during the year ending June 30, 1890, was 29,196, of whom about five sixths were employés. The number of casualties to employés was greater by