Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1871-02-02

kE A correspondent Of the Broaltys |
Ea;ea-understood to be q dintingaished |
literary gentleman from the West. nos ON
. visit 20 the Capifal-has elected from
- very sssacioas member Of the Hoase
Il Representatives the following opinions:
Firsk: We have had no lead since old
Thsd. Stevens died" Second ..Butler
is aoisy man. INSCRIPTIONS. cunning.
infinite in resources. Of unabashed front.
and as fond Of notnricty as topper i OF
cups. No one can deny that he has brains
Just rs good brains as can be had with
out conscience But he does not lead
u.s." Third: s.Mr. Dawes is 4 strong
man in the House-strong BY his long
membership. and the prestige Of great ex-
perience. and by his industry, and by the
credit he enjoys Of being an honest man.
He is not a great man. No one ever ac-
cused him Of that. But his opinion on
many subjects is really Of great weight
with us. Aud vet his opinion would be
more valued If he was more economical
with it. He bestows it too lavishly. In
short, he talked too much" Fourth -
Banks has the carriage, the dashing
presence of an uncommon man. lie Of
ten looks as The knew more than be would
! willingly tell. Indeed / am sometimes
reminded of what Fox said to Lord Thur
low: mo man ever was 80 wise as Thur
low looks" Banks has magnificent
voice and on the whole he is the most
brilliant orator on the floor. But orato-
ry-who cares for oratory any more p
Legislation is committee work: and the
fine orator is now but carpet knight
Banks is a man whose glory is in the
past" Fifth Clarified has on his eide
truth, splendid health. learning. high
spirit, great power of application, and good
habits. Garfield may feel happy whether
he looks either way-into the past or into
the future" These opinions certainly
have the benefit of great positiveness and
frankness in their expression.
rE- Muskrats have curious methods
Of travelling long distances under the ice
In their winter excursions to their feed
ing grounds, which are frequently great
distances from their abode. they take in
breath mt starting and remain under water
as long as they can. Then they rise up
to the ice and breathe on, the air in their
lungs, which remains in bubble against
the lower part of the ice. They wait until
this air RECEIVERS oxygen from juxtapcsi-
ton with the water and ice, and then take
it in again, and go on till this operation
has to be repeated. In this way they can
travel almost any distance and live almost
any length of time under the ice. The
hunter sometimes takes advantage of this
habit of the muskrat in the following man
ncr: When the marshes and ponds where
the muskrat abounds are first frozen over,
and the ice is thin and clear. on striking
into their houses with his hatchet for the
purpose of setting his trap, he frequently
sees whole family plunge into the water
and swim away under the ice. Follow
ing one for some distance, he sees him
come up to recover his breath in the man
ner above described. After the animal
has brcathed against the ice, and before
he has had time to take his bubble in
again, the hunter strikes with his hatch
ct directly over him. and drives him away
| HUH HIS bEcdtH. III tuis SdSS hS Wv" Hs
in swimming a few rods. and the hunter,
cutting hole in the ice, takes him out.
Mink, otter, and beaver travel under the
ice in the same way, and hunters have
frequently told Of taking otter in the man
ncr described.
CrRIoUs FACTS or NATURAL HIsroRy.
A single horse fly produces in one sea-
son %, 100000
Some female spiders produce nearly
1000 eggs
! DR.. Bright published case of an egg
producing an insect so years after it must
have been laid
A wasp's nest usually contains $1,000
or IL, 900 cells.
The Atlantic Ocean is estimated al
three miles, and the Pacific at four miles
deep.
There are six or seven generations OF
gnats in summer, and each lays BOG
eggs.
There are about Q, 900 cells in a square
foot of honey-comb: 5000 bees weigh 8
pound.
The bones of birds are hollow and filled
with air instead of marrow.
Fish are common in the seas of Surf
nam with four eyes; two of them on horns
grew on the top of their heads.
Capt Beaufort saw near Smyrna. il
1911. cloud Of locusts 46 miles long
and 800 yards deep, containing, as h'
calculated, 100 billions.
With view to collect their webs fol
silk, 1900 spiders were once obtained
bat they soon killed each other. Manu-
facturers and war never thrive together
EFThe completion Of the Mount Gems
Tunnel is a great triumph Of engineering
art 1t is the longest tunnel, so far as W.
know, that has been driven from the op
posi,e ends with the two borings meeting
with precision. From the great height o
superintendent matter over the tunnel, il
was impossible to sink shafts according I,
the ordinary mode, so that the ventilation
had to be effected from the two ends of thu
tunnel. The boring machines were put
to work in 1861. The tunnel is over II.
600 yards. or about 4 miles in length
and is 26 feet 5 inches wide by ~ feet
inches high, which affords space for two
lines of rails. The excavations were for
nearly two-thirds of the distance through
schist, the remainder being through lime
stone and very hard quartz, which caused
great trouble and occupied comparative
| iv long narioa Darficularlv during the