The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-11-24

Mr.. A. A. Bishop, Of Petersburg, has been elect
ed an Assistant Professor in the Virginia Military
Institute.
A Humane warning-It is dangerous to become
Doctor of Divinity. DIR. Peter Cartwright says ::
The very day got the certificate L was taken i'll
with pain In my back.
Tea and Silk in California-A letter writer at San
Francisco says: The culture of tea is really likely
to add one more resource Of importance TO the
many which are building up California The tea
plants numbering S000,000) planted out BY our
new settlers have so far thriven. 1t is not generally
known, too that one of the elearest burning oils
China OIL is the product of the tea nut, and
adds considerably to the profits of its culture
Should the experiment succeed, we shall soon have
hundreds of tea plantations laid out, and 1t is evil
dent that the suitable labor is to be obtained from
our Chinese and shortly from our japanese, popu-
latons
The mulberry trees, which were three years old
when brought from Japan, are growing rapidly
and consequently the Japanese colony in EldOrado
County California, are in high spirits over their
prospective good fortune.
Wearing MOurning.-The Central Baptist thinks
that mourning for the dead belongs to the heart
and not to outward apparel:
We long for the day, when the custom of wear
ing mourning shall be obsolete. 1t is unbecoming
the truly afflicted one. The wearer says by the
black garments | have lost dear friend | am
in deep sorrow But true grief does not wish to
parade itself before the eye Of the stranger much
less does it assert its extent. The stricken one
naturally goes apart from the world to pour out the
tears. Real affection seeks privacy. 1t is no re
spect TO the departed friend to say we are in sor-
row. If we have real grief, it will be discovered.
The Tslmud.-The author of the article in the
British Quarterly on the "Talmud," which APP
peared two years ago-Mr. Deutseh-has furnish
2 ed an eSS1y-sn- che current number of the same
review on Islam" His view of Mohammed is
tolerant in the extreme; his theory of the Arabian
prophet system is that it was derived from Juda-
ism, as exhibited in the Talmud: so that Moham-
mechanism is, strictly speaking a branch Of Juda-
ism. The fact that both religions are mOnotheistic
Is of course, not sufficient of itself to prove the
theory but Mr.. Deutseh lays stress upon the ad-
ditOnal facts that Jewish tribes were scattered in
MOhammed's time all over Arabia and furnished
Its cultured classes, and that the Koran abounds
in translations from the Talmud and adaptations
of its many legends. Mr.. Deutschs familiarity
with the Talmudic literature will secure wide read
g. ing for this article.
Forests of the ssa.-The sea has not only its
mountains, its fountains, and streams, its high
cliffs, and low abySSes but also Its ancient forests
with their peculiar plants, their spendOr of color,
their lovely flower gardens and extended prairies;
1t has Its landscapes, that are more splendid and
fairy like than any that are to be seen on the earth
Let us take the sea fir for example. 1t grows in
such beautiful form, and its color is so lovely,
Fthat those who have seen it growing out under the
water say that it SurpasSes their powers of des-
criptiOn. The fir gardens at the bottom of the
sea stretch over the prairies of the sea, and climb
up the mountain sides. They are covered over
with the beautiful gold colored coral moss Its
leaves wave to and fro with the currents of the
water, and the long branches are agitated some
times with the great storms that pervade the bot
tom as well as the surface Of the sea The largest
forest in the world is in the sea of SaragoSsa, be-
tween the Azores and the Antilles and is six times
larger than Germany; so that Columbus needed
fourteen days to sail over it.