Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-09-30
THE MAD- SToNR.-The editor 81 the

The Mxr sroNn.-The editor 81 the
jackson Tenn. Hing has been shown
by DR.. R. H. Ayers, Of that place, one
Of the famous Mad Stones, the exis.
tence of which has been generally
doubted. The Doctor thinks the stone
is Of coral formation. He says:
When used, it is dipped in water
quite warm and applied to the wound,
when the patient feels the sensation of
drawing; and it is said that small
ones will stick till full of poison and
then drop off, and after being dipped
into water and re-applied, will stick till
all the poison is extracted Mine is too
large to stick in this way, being over
two inches square, containing about.
seven solid inches. Yet thoseto whom
l have applied it asserted that they felt
it draw. - sa -. -, a.. -, ~
This stone was used in Buckingham
county, Virginia, from about 1915 to-
1882, and in the west since, in my own
neighborhood, and has never failed to
cure in any case, although in several
instances, forty-eight hours, and in
one, several days elapsed before twas
applied. In "a case bitten by cotton
mouth snake last week, in the vicinity
of Mifliin, the remedies prescribed by
the family physician were used until
the leg and thigh were badly swollen,
bit on the ankle, and the body had
commenced swelling slept none
through the night, and had no ease till
I applied the mad stone, which gave
relief Immediately, and she fell asleep
in twenty minutes. Seventeen hours
had elapsed before it was applied. 1t
arrests the swelling and pain in case of
the sting Of insects in few moments,
as l will prove at any time, on my own
person or any one else. a 8 a.
THE Precious MErALs.-The latest
reliable investigations as to the dispo-
sition of the immense quantities of the
precious metals now produced, point to
an annual consumption Of twelve mil
lions sterlings in the arts, seven and u
half millions by loss and abrasion of
coins, and ten millions boarded up in
Europe and Asia. ..-s
From England alone the foreign ex-
port of silver during seven years 1851
-1S57) was AZ millions sterling, and
gold g4 100000. In 1856 equivalent
to sixty millions Of dollars; in 1857
to eighty millions of dollars, and from
the Mediterranean ports, from ten to
fifteen millions annually. p
In competition with domestic manu-
features we buy goods where laborers
are paid fifty cents to dollar, for
males, and twenty to twenty five cents,
for females and where capital is
abundant, at three per cent. interest.
AS laborers make two-thirds or three
fourths Of the value Of manufactured
goods, Of course we pay double such
wages to our operatives.
Europe, on the other hand, imports
from the East, where the laborers can
be had at ten to thirty cents per day.
Hence the outgoing of twenty millions
sterling, ($1O0, 900, 00O) annually,
from Europe to Asia.-.N. Y. Cour-
Ger and Enquirer.
The DOLLAR MARK.-There is no
small difficulty in ascertaining the orr
gin Of the Dollar Mark. The Cyclic
pedia Of Commerce says that, as the
Spanish dollars once circulated here
were called ''pieces Of g." Consisting
of eight reals stamped on the coin
1"S R." the two vertical lines were run
through the figure 8, in this manner 5,
to distinguish il from the mere numer-
al. A correspondent reminds us ''the
same mark is used on the mil refs of
Portugal or Brazil, where there are no
dollars nor piece Of eight thus mil
RE is indicated 11,OOO." Speaking
Of the Spanish dollar, the New Amer
! lean Cyclopedia says the best known
variety was the pillar dollar, so called
from the two pillars onits reverse, rcp-
resenting the Pillars of Hercules, the
ancient name Of the opposite promon-
tories at the Straits Of Gibraltar. The
rude limitations Of these rude pillars in
writing, connecting them by q scroll, is
said to have been the origin Of the DOL
lar mark s. now universally familiar"
The same authority adds, however, that
the derivation Of the mark from ssthe
Spanish dollars being called pieces Of
Eight" is a more plausible explana-
tion. -Phila. Press. @
THE PRESIDENT IN 19oo.-The boy
is now living who will be president Of
the United States in 1900. He is about
ten or twelve years Of age. His pa
rents are in humble circumstances, but
of sterling traits Of character, and their
son is not one Of those dirty noisy boys
that spend their days, evenings and sab
baths in idleness and rowdyism. On
the contrary, he is Of a serious cast, is
very studious, and withal is we'll behav-
ed. Teachers, weigh well your respon-
sibility! The future president may be
in that grammer class that you think
scarcely worthy of a respectful atten-
ton. What boy Of all our readers will
lay claim to this distinction ? Recol-
lect, the future president is not found
amongst the sabbath breakers, the every
day idlers, the evening rowdies, the
blasphemous, the vulgar, or among
those that love and make a lie. He IS
not one Of those who pride themselves
as being Young America, and despise
the authnritv of q fathnr Or hroal,