The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-10-23
TIMELY TOPICS.

The towing of vessels on canals by
means of locomotives has recently been
successfully tried in France. A railroad
is laid on the tow-path, near the side of
the canal. on which are run small loco
motives of four or more tons, according
to the weight to be pulled. One man
manages the locomotive. Vessels are
thus drawn at a speed of two miles or
more an hour-about twice the mean
rate of horse upon the tow-path. The
locomotive has drawn an empty vessel
six miles an hour, but such speed in
lures the banks of the canal.
The speed of carrier pigeons appears
to depend as much on the clearness of
their sight as on the strength of their
wings. The London Spectator relates
that in an experiment recently made
with some Berlin pigeons, on a clear
day, distance of over 300 miles, from
Cologne to Berlin, was accomplished in,
| five hours and half, or at the rate of
sixty miles an hour; while the most ex-
pedition of group let loose the next
day-a day not of the same kind-took
| twelve hours to reach Berlin. Hence it
would appear that in the latter case a
good deal of the pigeons time was taken
UP in exploring the country for land
marks, as was some of Mr.. Forbes in
his ride from Ulundi with news of Lord
Chelmsford's victory. 1t is not instinct
but sight by which the carrier pigeon
guides its flight.
Calistoga is famous mineral spring
resort, sixty-eight miles from San Fran
cisco. 1t was intended to be the Sara
toga of the Pacific coast, the name being
an abbreviated combination of California
and Saratoga. The waters are princi-
pally sulphur, iron, soda and magnesia.
Some of them will boil an egg in two
mer house. 1t is called the chicken soup
spring. Here the guests resort, after a
bath, with pepper, salt and crackers, and
if you are very hungry and of an imagin-
ative turn of mind, you may, perhaps,
be induced to believe that nature has
indeed prepared in her subterranean
kitchen this delicate decoction for her
visitors. After people have been in
California awhile they learn not to be
surprised at anything that comes from
the heavens above or the earth beneath.
The colony of New Zealand has a very
extraordinary prime minister in the per-
son of Sir George Grey. This gentle
man was twice governor of the Cape,
and then appointed to the government OF
New Zealand. When his tenure of the
latter office expired he elected to remain
in the colony, and took up his abode in
a remote locality, an island, where he
lived almost exclusively among the
| Maories, with whom he cultivated the
most intimate relations and domestic
ties. He has now been for some time
governor, but of late serious dissensions,
assuming the character of violent per-
sonal antagonisms, have arisen in the
cabinet, and the retirement of the
premier is expected. Sir George is 8
man of force and ability, but decidedly
eccentric, both in character and habits
| New Zealand, whose area is estimated
at l22, 600 square miles-about that oi
the British islands-is divided into
eight provinces, each of which is gov
erned much after the fashion of one OF
our States, while the general govern.
ment consists off cabinet of five officers
In ore of the suburbs of London, the
other day, medical district officer
called in to see the children of a man
named Bailey sick with an eruptive dis.
ease, declared that they had smallpox
and ordered the whole family to go into
hospital. When they had been there {
fortnight they were discharged with the
consolatory assurance that the doctors
diagnosis was erroneous, that they never
as matter of fact had smallpox, anC
that what the children had caught wa
chicken-poX, an innocuous form of in
fantile disease. Thus the whole family
had been exposed for a heightened tim,
to the contagion of a most mortal ant
loathsome malady; the bread-winne
lost his situation and two weeks pay
and the local authorit; es, by way @
compensation, magnanimously Offered
the sum of a five shfngs III nggScaas in money tw
loaves of bread. A family is broken up
house disinfected at considerable cost
and no end of mischief done because al
incompetent health officer could not dis
tinguish between variola and varicella
The moral is obvious.
| n