The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-04-04
CURIOsIrIES OF SCIENCE.
PONIPEY 5 PILLAR.


gate OF Alexandria, the famous city Of
Lower Egypt, and once its capitol. 1t
Is composed Of red granite the c.fui-
tai, which Is nine feet high. i Corin-
THAN, with palm leaves and not indcnt
ed. The base, which Is one solid block
+ Of marble, fifteen feet square, rests on
/ two layers of stone. bound together
! with lead. The shaft and the uDDcr
! member of the base. are of one piece
/. Of granite ninety feet Ioag and nine
! feet in diameter The whole column
/ Is one hundred and fourteen feet high.
1t Is perfectly we'll polished, and only
/ a little shivcred on the eastern side
/ Nothing can equal the majesty OF this
( monument, which, seen from a dis
/ tance, overtops the town, and seems
/ to be a signal for vessels Approach
! ing it nearer, Pompey's Pillar produces
/ astOnishment mixed with awe; and
/ the beauty of the capital the length
! Of the shaft, and the extraordinary
/ simplicity of the pedestal, excite the
admiration Of all travellers.
THE SEPENTHES.
One of the most singular prOduc-
tions of the vegetable world i foHffI
in the Monkey Cup, a tropical plant of
the genus Nepenthes. This plant has
always excited the admiration Of those
who have examined its structurs with a
view to the contri saace which It 50 strt-
kinglv exhibited in the formation of its
leaves. 1t l. a native OF India
| herbaceOus plant, with thick roots. and
q simple stem crowned with flowers
| disposed in branches. The leaves are
alternate, partly embracing the stem
at their base, and terminated BY ten
drills, each of which Supports a deep
membrauGuS urn of an OblOng shape
closed by little valve like the lid of
a box. This aPpcndage To the leaf
appears to be as designed and studied
q piece Of mechanism as anything we
Gan meet within Natures more com
plicated productions. The leaf as We
have already said. Is terminated by a
| deep, Ohlong Urn; this in general is
| filed with 4 sweet, limpid water In
/ the morning the lid is closed. but it
/ opens during the heat of the day, and
! a portion OF the water evapOrates this
! Is fepEenished in the night. and each
morning the vessel Is full and the lid
| shut. The plant grows in 4 climate
/ where the parched traveller Is frequent
/ ly in want of refreShment. and gladly
avails himself Of the water which this
/ vegetable affords. each urn containing
| the measure of about half 4 wine glass
| The use of this plant Is too evident to
need anv comment, 1t Is one Of the
many instances in nature of the bounty
| of Providence, who has flied the urnS
of the Nepenthes with a treasure, Of
all others the most refreshing to the
inhabitants of hot climates
Whatever Is sufficiently singular to
raise eur admiration, frequently be-
comes the object Of superstition this
| Is the case with the Nepenthes among
! the Inhabitants Of Madagascar. who
! believe that if they overturn one Of
/ these vessels Of water, no rain viii fall
on that day.
MELON WINE
! How true il Is that 1t takes every
! body to know everything. Pumpkins
J and Z. ,..Ii,t, or tIeiirIous wateImeI-
| Ons grow spontaneously in Arabia.
Perhaps they develop more richly
| there than in Persia, where they are
extremely good.
They abound in great plenty, i'm
menselv beyond the demands OF con-
! sumers and the prudent lockers ahead
! cut hole through the rind, while on
( the vine, down into the pulp. 1t Is
then closed with wax. Under a genial
sun the core soon begins to melt away
till it disappears. leaving the shell
nearly full OF a delicious fluid which Is
called mellon wine. Like the drink OF
/ the gods. 1t Is not TO be compared with
any other beverage on earth, say the
! consumers. i hint here for an cX-
/ pertinent the coming season
MONSTER GRAPEVINE.
| 4 little way from Windsor Castle,
/ the out-of-town residence of the Queen
/ of England. and belonging to the royal
domain. there Is probaJ bly,, if not the
/ largest. the most prolific grapevine on
/ the globe In the first place, it Is
I eighty-three years old-yet vigorous
and thrifty rs in youth. The trunk.
large and rank, divides into two
branches a few feet from the ground,
which are tTailed in different direc-
tions for rods. One entire glass house
is given up TO the protection Of the
veteran, which was reputed 70 have
had fifteen thousand lunches, plump,
full and inviting, when we saw it IN
August In green house chronicles
that vine is without a parallel The
annual yield Is equal 70 phalanx of
ordinary vines in their best condition.
sTAGNANT WATER.
The impression that still water
in pools and canals where there Is
scarcely a movement. l. extremely
dangerous, and especially when cover
ed with confervp. admits Of a ques-
ton. 1t the Hague the capital Of
Holland. threaded with canals, in
which no current Is peIceptible, they
are SO densely carpeted with a thick
green scum, strangers turn away from
them in fe 7, is though they were Poi