Elementary Science Section, This Earth of Ours

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Part of The Young Citizen: The Magazine for Young People

Title: Elementary Science Section, This Earth of Ours
Year: 1937
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Fulltext: 282 THE YOUNG CITIZEN October, I rJJ; ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SECTION THIS EARTH OF OURS HOMES IN THE ANIMAL EARTHQUAKES Are you still aSking your friends and relatives what they did during the earthquake of August 20? You can not readily forget your fright that night, or the many funny and pathetic actions you saw around you. You must have thought it was the end of the world. And th.! next day you must have asked for and heard different explanations of earthquakes. Let us have some facts abcuc earthquakes. An earthqtlake is a trembling of the earth's surface due to causes not conn~cted with human activities. Earthquakes differ much in strength. Some are so gentle as scarcely to be felt; oth~r.s are so violent that buildings are overthrown. holes known as crevasses are opened in the surface of the land and masses of rock are loosened from cliffs and thrown into the valleys below. Earthquakes sometimes disturb the waters of the sea, causing destructive sea waves: Danger from earthquakes comes largely from the fall of buildings and from the great sea waves. Earthquakes are perhaps most common in volcanic regions, though not confined to them. Earthquakes are probably due to many causes. It is very interesting to hear what the old people have to say about their causes. Tell your classmates some of these explanations you have heard from your neighbors and acquaintances. Some small earthquakes are perhaps due to the falling in of the roofs of underground caves. Earthquakes accompany strong· volcanic eruptions. Great landslides and avalanches or the movement of ice on mountain sides may also cause earthquakes. But the principal cause is the slipping of one great body of rock past another. This is known as faulting. The changes in the surface of the land made by earthquakes are many. Springs are disturbed, old ones stop flowing and new ones appear. Some earthquakes cause landslides. From some holes in the earth escape bad-smelling gases. Earthquake waves destroy animals and fishes of rivers, bays, <md even of the ocean. (Plerue turn to page 294) . KINGDOM THE ROOM OF A MASON WASP Some men are called masons. When masons · build, they use different materials from those that carpenters use. Do you know what masons 'build with? They are workers in stone and bricks. Now, some of the little creatures of nature build their homes of stone and some in day. Have you never found or seen a little clay jug 01 jar on the branch of a tree or just outside vcur' window at home? When you go home today, try and look for one. If you should watch it daily, perhaps you will be able to see a queer little creature alight near the jug. She has a very, very slender, pinched-looking waist; but you must not blame her for that, because she is a kind of wasp and grows tha~ way naturally. She walks with a restless shake of her wings to the open jug and drops in something that she brought in her mouth. Then with a jerky flirt of her wings she flies away without even noticing you. Before long she is back again, and this time if you look sharply and quickly you will see that it is a little green caterpillar that she drops into the jug. The caterpillar is limp and it does (Plerue tuni to page 289) 294 JAR-MAKING (Continued from pa,ge 271) vincial customers. The tapayan is generally used for holding water. but it is also used for storing bagoong, syrup, native sauce, salted fish and other food products. These sizes of jars are manufactured in the kamalig: I Capacity kerosene cans liters Kaang 6 I 08 Primera 5 Yz 99 Segunda 4 72 Tercera 3Y, 63 Gusi I Yz 27 Other sizes and shapes of jars for various purposes may also be ordered according to specififi.cations and prices agreed upon. Defeci:ive jars are mended with cement and sold at reduced prices. Broken ones are sold to Paraii.aque customers who use them for lining their' salt field beds. Workers in ·a jar factory are paid by quantity production, the master potter and the beater being the highest paid. Jar making is a very old industry. The methods and implements used are primitive. Some of the terms used show later Chinese influence. The output is not large due to foreign competition in the form of empty oil drums. and galvanized iron and glazed containers imported from abroad. With government assista~ce and private initiative. the quality and the quantity of the locally produced jars may be improved and thus save this useful industry from finally dying out. ' Most of the data in this short article were secured at the factory locate<;! in Baranka, Mandaloyon, just opposite Makati, Rizal. The owner is Mr. Ceferino Francisco. THE YOUNG CITIZEN JOE AND THE BURGLAR (Continued from page 267) Father and Mother came home from s c h o o 1 at five o'clock. "Get ready, Joe," the mother said. "We shall all go to the show after supper." "May I spend the night at home with Rod, Mamma?" Joe asked. "Rod's mother has already given her consent." "They are showing a beautiful picture at REX. Joe. but if you prefer to stay at home with Rod, you may do so." the mother replied. At eight o'clock, father and mother were ready for the show. "We're going, Joe," said the mother as she d'escended the stairs. "Be good boys, while we October, 19-17 EARTHQUAKES (Continued from page 282) No one feels safe during ,an earthquake. All that one can seem to do is to pray and go out under the open sky, far from houses .and buildings, and wait in terror until ·the earth is safely stable again for frightened feet. the lower part of the window. "That's a ladder," Joe whispered. In reply Rod gripped Joe's hand. Then something below the window .creaked at shaft intervals. "He is climbing the ladder now," again whispered Joe. Rod gripped Joe's hand hardare away. We shall not be back er. until eleven o'clock." S"oon the blind moved. A As soon as his parents were gone, Joe and Rod went to the window and loosened the ends of the wire that held the window blind. They replaced it in such a way that a little weight placed on it would cause the blind to drop down. Then they tied the lower end of the wire that hung from the wood above to the center of the wire across the window. "All set. Joe?" asked Rod. "All set," Joe replied. "Now let's lie down and pretend to be sleeping." With eyes shut but ears open, they waited patiently for any sound from the window. The clock struck ten. Nothing happened so far. Ten minutes later. they heard a faint sound. Then there was a light tap on hand grasped the wire. One end fell down. The man pulled it with a jerk. The wood above fell down hitti~g the man on the head. Man and wood fell to the ground. The two boys jumped up from the bed and ran to the window. The man was lying flat on the ground with the wood across his body. He was unconscious. "Rod, run ro 'the muiticipal building and report the matter to the Chief of Police," said Joe. "They must come to arrest him before he regains consciousness. 'Tm off,'' Rod said as he ran toward the door. Ten minutes later, rhe Chief of Police and two policemen came. In a few words, Joe explained what had happened.