New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-10-28
GENERAL NOTES.

GENERAI NOlLS.
An extraordinary instance of the skill power,
and perseverance OF the spider is furnished in
authentic shape from Knoxville Tennessee. and IL is not
alone worthy OF record for its curiosity in natural his
tory but may take its place in juvenile literature as an
example with divers kindred specimens for the nclte-
men Of youthful ambition to patient perseverance IN
the achievement OF magnificent aims. At Messy Creek.
in unfrequened part Of his store. came upon SHAKE
apparently standing bolt upright yet curonsly enough
moi touching floor. Upon examining. he found to his
amazement that the nest Of the reptile was completely
cncrcled by the web OF spider ana tha he,e Icleal
strands alone held the snake in sulecOn lie dld not
disturb the curious group, but sent for ph0tosrapher,
OF "a camera, he removed the suspchded eptue, anu
found it quite vigorous The vanqulsher OF tle sIke
a simple spider about the size Of a common hoise-fy.
and way differing from ordinary insects of the class
Ii is one of the inevitable concomitantS OF
collective benevolence that dollars and cents must al
WAYS come into the story You read touching report;
scene OF suffering sorrow poverty. ia brought up be-
fore VOL The messenger OF mercy enters; there Is
kind word said aid Is afforded; you almost see the
happy smile Of the recipient. For a moment you have
forgotten the of business the value OF money you
happiness Of their relief You the page and come
upon-the report of the treasurer 30 many dnars, 80
tons so much expended, much received equal to
And The equation is not less prosac because
true. There is but exception Give Boston inc cIet
F lo MISSION Its Whole occupation is to receive
ecrs and fruit and distribute them 10 the sick and the
destitute of anecdotes Of the happiness these
slight gifts have conferred are already III circulation
l5 in plants ca in fruit IS; bouquets distributed, H.
900; pond lilies, 1900 distributions Of fruit 3is" 1t -
ask how such books are balanced how for IN
stance fruit RECEIPTS & are re, set on sdf @ s
counts of Mammon There is fragrance about such
bookkeeping of which bank-notes never partake. de
facatOn in such affairs would be moral impOssibity.
The odor Of purity accompanies the gifts of Nature
That Undesirable disorder, aptly described
| by a native hmOrst as Ohmy," in a considerably az
gravaed form, attacked st. Louis household not long
ago. with results of serious character not altogether
unmngled with the ludicrous. The inmates OF large
and popular boarding house had barely finished the even
| ing meal, when alarming symptoms seized smutane
ously Young and old and frantic rush made for
lief. The house, might be expected was thrown into
violent and divers distracted queries were
prOponded to what could have been the good house
wifes edbles TO produce such rightul destruction IN
the ranks OF the bOarders arriving IN nedds
! res the by reassuring fact was announced
that the whole group were poisoned by arsenic: " AZ
to pledge himself keep life In the whole party which
he happily succeeded in doing II and the fact Is
given for the benefit boarding house keepers generally
aud Ncw-YoTk boarding landadies in particular, that
"ereen girl" had mixed arsenic with the -four, MISLEADING
il for saleratus soda. The poison was with that ha
bitua lack of caution or precauiOn, usual Ill servants
placed III saucer to kill rats and naturally enough went
boarders Thirty people barely escaped fatal results
from this bit OF carelessness.
The law courts will probably be called to
decide question OF resulting from OF the
most extraordinary marine disasters in the whole range
OF nautical experience. The ship Austria lying at
lock in the port Of NewOreans, her way thher from
Boston was struck by heavy Hericargo consisted
OF mackerel gunny bags and cloth, large quantities OF
rope, and considerable consignment of household fur
boys Of vitrol Of about five gallons each Part Of the
cargo including the boiler and all the carboys was on
deck The vessel was herself quite new, which
hardly be said Of the phrase in which she described
" a splendid specimen of naval architecture" Hood
an Atlantic trip: Sometimes perhaps you ship sea;
catastophes happened to the Austria, the csrboy float
ed and 30 Of them knocking around, broke flooding the
deck with yitrio and water. The corrosive fluid de
stroyed all the ropes deck including the lashngs OF
the boiler; and attacking the nastcoat oosened the
acid TO run down between decks The boiler liberated
from its asenngs rolled about deck, adding 10 the leak
age Of the and otherwise increasing the destruc
ton. Even the capetan and afterhatch broken,
and the rnnnggea and braces eorroded by the Wit
ro that the yards could not be baced and the ship had
TO before the wind The captain and second mate
were injured about the legs by the fluid ITSELF and all the
badly affected by the steam of the vtriOl.
Most of the cargo and the itself present the APP
pearance OF having been charred by fire and the damage
seems TO be very extensive. Whatever distinction the
underwriters may discover there appears 10 be- but little
practical difference in the apparent result whether the
combustion In air or c0rroson IN acid.
One of the subjects discussed at the meeting
OF the Massachusetts Teachers Association the use
Of the Leigh system OF Typography primary education
This system consists In printing primers and spelling
DOCKS III peculiar type, which differs from that In 0rd
nary use by slight changes in the forms OF the
and some OF the consonans which indicate the varieties
or the sounds OF letters in different words Thus where
letter In word II silent IL Is printed with hairline
letter; an that has the sound Of V, the word o"
has slantng hairlne from the crOssne of that letter
to the base suggesting the sound; letters taken from
italc and other fonts, and some peculiar shapes
pressed into the service Of the vowel sounds but let
Yer Is ~ much altered 10 be unacceptable by
binary reader IL If said TO be little and but little ad
dtOna trouble In the first instance for the teacher To
make clear 10 the pupil these shades Of sound but
learned, the progress in reading II rapid and the
teacher saved To great extent all further explana
lions The child perceves at glance the difference Of
sound between for instance the yOwes In hear head,
heart great and them correctly at In
educational matters the only Trustworthy test
Dr. eghs system, according To the statements Of teach
ers, IL found 10 accomplish results In primary schools
never before known Children taught TO read by IL
IN one-half the time that il required by any other
th0d their pronunciation il accurate to degree before
unknown; they from reading books printed on this
system to those printed In the ordinary way without diff
hcu the teachers themselves gain In accuracy by the
use OF these books aud this experience applies TO care
fu comparison OF results ia public well as In private
schools IN st Louis during several years, and within
comparatively recent period In Boston. Anything which,
VIII facilitate the instruction of children deserves
iu consideration. but an Improvement which effects
uch as Is claimed for this stem cannot be long Ia find
ing It's way into general uso