219. In what country are the forests without shade?
With few exceptions, the Australian trees are evergreens, and they show a peculiar reverted position of their leaves, which hang vertically, turning their edges instead of their sides toward the sun, and giving no shade. There are great shadeless forests of eucalypti and other trees.
220. Which are the tallest trees in the world?
The loftiest product of the vegetable kingdom is the eucalypti-trees, indigenous to Australia and Tasmania. They are sometimes called “gum-trees,” because they abound in resinous exudations. The Eucalyptus gigantea, called “Stringy bark,” sometimes attains a height of four hundred and eighty feet, and a diameter of over eighty feet; over one hundred feet higher than the highest specimen of the mammoth trees of California (Sequoia gigantea), now standing. These trees form a characteristic feature of the peculiar vegetation of those islands, having entire leathery leaves, of which one edge is directed toward the sky, so that both surfaces are equally exposed to the light. They also have the peculiarity of shedding their bark annually instead of their leaves.
221. Who was the most famous heroine of antiquity?
Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra. Her second husband, Septimius Odenathus, prince of Palmyra, was assassinated in A. D. 266, by his nephew Mæonius. Zenobia put the assassin to death, and assumed the vacant Palmyrene throne. For five years she governed Palmyra, Syria, and adjoining parts of the East with vigor and judgment, independent of the Roman power. She assumed the title of “Queen of the East,” and exacted from her subjects the same adoration that was paid to Persian monarchs. She maintained her power through the reigns of Gallienus and Claudius, but was finally defeated and captured by Aurelian, 273 A. D. Decked with splendid jewels, and almost fainting under the weight of gold chains, she adorned the triumph of the emperor, but was presented by him with large possessions near Tivoli, where she passed the rest of her life in comfort and even splendor. Her daughters married into noble Roman families, and her descendants were still living in the fifth century. She was exceedingly beautiful, dark in complexion, with large black, fiery eyes. She spoke Latin, Greek, Syriac, and Egyptian, and wrote for her own use an epitome of Oriental history. She was a passionate hunter, and thoroughly inured to fatigue, sometimes walking on foot at the head of her troops.
222. What is dynamite?
This explosive, of which we hear so much, looks very much like moist brown sugar. It is made of nitro-glycerine, a heavy, oily liquid which explodes with great violence, mixed with an absorbent to make it safer to handle. Nitro-glycerine is composed of nitric acid, sulphuric acid, and that clear, sweet, soothing liquid called glycerine. The absorbent material is a fine, white powder, composed of the remains of infusoria. This takes up two or three times its weight of the nitro-glycerine without becoming pasty; the ingredients are mixed in leaden vessels with wooden spoons to avoid friction. If fire is applied to this mass, it burns with a strong flame without any explosion; but the application of a full sudden blow causes it to explode with tremendous force.
223. Who was the “Great American Commoner”?
Thaddeus Stevens (1793–1868), of Pennsylvania, an American statesman, was so called on account of his opposition to slavery and secession. He was elected representative in Congress in 1848 and re-elected in 1850. He strongly opposed the Fugitive Slave Law and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. He was again elected to Congress in 1858, and held his seat till his death.