Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-05-14
VOL. LXXIII.
ALEXA. GAZETTE & VIRGINIA ADVERTISED

81
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DAYS WITHOUT NIGHr-Rev Dr. Baird,
ln recent lecture gave some interesting
facts There is nothing that strikes a
stranger more forcibly, if he visits Sweden,
at the season of the year when the days are the
longest, than the absence of night. DR.. Baird
had 20 conception of it before his arrival. He
arrived at Stockholm from Gottenburg, 400
miles distant, in the morning, and in the after
noon went to see some friends-had not taken
notes Of time-and returned about midnight; !;
it was as light as it was here half an hour be-
fore sundown. You could see distinctly
But all was quiet in the streets; it seemed
as if the inhabitants were gone away, or were
dead. No signs Of lite-stores closed
The SUI in June goes down at Stockholm
little before ten o'clock. There is great illu-
mination all night, as the sun passes round the
earth towards the north pole, and the refrac-
tlon ol It's rays Is SuCu lndI you cah ses W Ieau
at midnight. Dr. Baird read letter in the
forest, near Stockholm, at midnight without
artificial light. There Is mountain at the
head of Bothnia, where, Oh the Dist of June,
the sun does not 90 down at ALL Travellers go
there to see it. 4 steamboat goes up from
Stockholm for the purpose of carrying those
who are curious to witness the phenomenon.
1t only occurs one night. The sun goes down
to the horizon. you can see the whole face of
it. aud in FIVE minutes it begins to rise.
At the North Cape, lat. y degrees, the sun
does not 60 down for several weeks. In June
it would be about - degrees above the hori-
xon at midnight. The way the people there
know it is midnight. they see the sun rlSe.-
The changes in these high ATTITUDES, from
summer to winter are so great that We can
have no conception of them at all. In the
winter time the sun disappears and is not seen
for weeks. Then 1t comes and shows Its face.
Afterwards, it remains for ten, fifteen, or twen-
ty minutes, and then decends, and finally it
does not set at all, but makes almost circle
around the heavens. DR.. Baird was asked how
they managed in regard to hired persons and
what they consider day He could not say.
but supposed they worked by the hour, aud
twelve hours would be considered days work
Birds and animals take their accustomed rest
at usual hours The doctor did not know how
they learnt the time, but they had land they &c to
rest whether the sun goes down or not The
hens take to the trees about ! p. m and stay
there until the sun is we'll up in the morning;
and the people get into this habit of late rising
too The first morning DR.. Baird awoke in
Stockholm he was surprised to see the SUI
shining into bis room. He looked at his watch,
aud found it was only three o'clock; the next
time he awoke, it was FIVE O'Clock: but there
were no persons on the streets. The Swedes
in the cities are not very industrious, owing
probably to the climate.
"MEscAL. THE collector of internal reven-
:ue for the District of Arizona has written let
ter to the Commissioner, in reference to the
manufacture of liquor from the mesca plant,
in which he states that he had received letters
from several persons in his district, who ex-
press desire to engage iu the manufacture OF
''mescal' and who want to know if the process
of distillation from this plant will come under
the laws and regulations governing dlstllng
from fruit, and who ask him to grant permits
for the erection of stills for the purpose men
toned The collector states that he has visit
ed the mescal region and taken great pains to
inform himself thoroughly in regard to the sup
ply OF the plant to be had, the process general
ly used in the manufacture of the liquor, its
quality when properly made, and the quantity
that could find market in Arizona. He finds
the supply inexhaustible, the rocky mesas for
miles in some sections. being literally covered
with it, and the growth rapid and of enormous
size. The soil and climate seem to be adapted
to the production Of mescal. aud good for moth
Ing else.
The collector states that he is satisfied very
considerable quantity of this liquor would hnd
a steady market there, and, from its known
III haDr imDoccif,la to conntarfeIt Or
doctor" it, it would be sought. and the de-
mand rapidly increase. He thinks that if a
pure liquor could be distilled there from a
plant otherwise useless, and a new industry
created, which would retain much money now
sent out of the Territory for supply of this
article, or its equivalent, the Territory would
profit thereby and the General Goverum eDt
derive new source of revenue, fully as large
as all that is now collected in Arizona: The
Commissioner has therefore decided that the
exemptions allowed to distillers from fruit ap.
ply only to such as distill apples, peaches, or
grapes exclusively, and that any dlstlller using
the mescsl plant will have to do it under the
law and regulations governing grain dlstllle-
ries- Washington Patriot
CONDITION OF SOUTH CAROLINA.-The fol-
lowing editorial was published in the Charles
ton IS. c., News of a few days SINCE Two
DAYS ago, the State Lunatic Asylum In Colum-
bia in which there were two hundred and ninety
five patients at the date of the last report, was
absolutely without provisions, and the superin-
tepdent was indebted to the charity of private
citizen for the means Of feeding the afflicted
creatures under his charge. The Legislature
appropriated, at its last session, sum of lightly
thousand dollars for the support of the asylum,
aud the taxes levied last year were sufficient to
pay every honest claim against the State A
State tax of seven mills on the dollar amount
ing to over million dollars, fell due on the 10Th
of January last, and was promptly paid, and
since that time large sum has been obtained
under the license law. Yet there is not dol
lar left iu the treasury for the public lnstltu-
tions which have the strongest claims upon the