The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-11-05
CURIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC.

| 1HE nudity OF the Berlin iron, IRON
which the finest and sharpest, although
not strongest, castings are made, is at
tributed to the presence of arsenic in iron
IN London birds are the fashion fol
| decoration, both for table and center
pieces and for the wall among pictures
Stuffed birds, monkeys, and other ami
mails are being used as stems to lamps, {
| bear even serving as a dumb waiter
perched on his hind legs, and now and
then a swan, its wings set and its grace
tul neck curved naturally, will form the
exterior Of a drawing-rOom seat, a satin
covered stool being introduced behind
the wings and between the neck.
IT makes some difference which side OF
a postal-card is written upon. Nothing
except the address of the person for
whom the card is intended is permitted
to be written upon the stamped side.
According to the ruling of the postoffice
department, any other writing upon the
stamped side will subject the card to
three cents postage, and if this be not
paid in advance the recipient will be
subject to the collection of five cents
that is, of double letter postage less the
cent already paid for the card
L H.
From statistics recently published it ap-
pears that oak timber especially is rap
idly disappearing from Europe, although
half of the area of Sweden, One-fourth
of Norway, one-sixth of that of Switzer-
land, and 10000 square miles in Russia
are said to be yet in the forest. The con-
summation of oak in'France has doubled
during the last fifty years; she requires
100000 cubic feet yearly for wine
casks alone, 100000 for building pur-
poses, 100000 cubic feet for her fleet,
and 100000 cubic feet for railway car
riages 100000 worth of slaves were
imported in 1862; e5,000,000 worth are
now needed. Since losing Alsace and
Lorraine, France contains 150,000,000
acres; 100000 Of this surface is COW
cred with forest. Holland and Belgium
are nearly denuded of timber, and are
large importers. North Germany is rich
in forest, but within half a century has
commenced to cut down young trees.
Austria has sold her forest since railroads
have been introduced. In Italy no for
ests remain. Spain and Greece are
almost wOOdless. The southern coast of
the Mediterranean is amost forestless.
How are monkeys caught? The ape
family resembles man. Their vices are
human. They love liquor and fall. In
DarfOur and Senior, the natives make
fermented beer, of which the monkeys are
passionately fond. Aware of this, the ma
tives go to the parts of the forest frequented
by the monkeys, and set on the ground cal
abashes full of the enticing liquor. As
soon as the monkey sees and tastes it, he
utters loud cries of joy, that soon attract
his comrades. Then an Orgie begins, and
then in short time they show all degrees
of intOxicatiOn. Then the negroes appear.
The few who came too late to get fuddled,
escape. The drinkers are too far gone to
distrust the negroes, but apparently take
them for a larger species of their own ge-
nus. The negroes take some up, and these
begin tOweep ard cover them with maud
lin kisses. When a negro takes one by the
hand to lead him off, the nearest monkey
will cling to the one who thus finds as sup
port, and endeavOrtO go on also. Another
will grasp at him, and so on until the ne
gro leads a staggering line of ten ora doz-
en- monkeys. When finally brought to the
village, they are securely Gagged and grad
ually sobered down; but for two or three
days a gradually diminishing supply of
IlitlOI 10 given lICll, oO tlS W lCOOllSIIC
them by degrees to their state Of cap
tivity.
A CALIFORNIA CITY ONE HUNDRED
AND EIGHTY THOUSAND YEARS OLD
In the current number of the Overland
Monthly California geologist reviews
the geological evidence of the antiquity
of human settlement near the present
town of Cherokee in that state, and esti-
mates the age of that most ancient of
discovered towns to be not less than $50,
900 years. The traces in question are
numerous stone mOrtars, found in undis-
turbed white and yellow gravel of a sub
aqueous formation, not fiuviatile, under
living the vast sheets of volcanic rock OF
which Table mountain is part. In one
instance a mortar was fOnnd standing up
right, with the pestle in it, apparently
| Just as it had been left by its owner. In
some cases the mortars have been found
at the depth of forty feet from the surface
of the gravel underlying Table noun
| tain. The distribution of the mOrtars
is such as to indicate with gravel posi-
| tiVeness the former existence of a
| a human settlement on that ancient
beach when the water stood near the
/ level at which they occur; time ante.
riOr to the volcanic outpOuring which
Table mountain records, and anterior tC
the glacial epoch. The recent geological
history of sthat region may be briefly
summed as follows: Previous to the
placing of the mortars in the position il
which they have been found the early
and middle tertiary sea level had recedec
to the position of the coal beds under
lying Table mountain, fully one thou
sand feet below the level of Cher
okee. Subsequently, in the plio
Gene period, there was a further
subsistence of about fifteen hundred feet
something like six hundred feet occur
ring after the mortars had been aban
doned. All this, as has been noticed
took place before the volcanic overflow
which covered up all the ancient detrit",