The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-09-24
TIMELY TOPICS.

Mr.. Penders, the director of one Of the
largest submarine cable companies, has
communicated to the members of the In
ternational Telegraphic Conference, held
ut London, the information that The
length of the terrestrial telegraph lines OF
the world is about one million two hun
dred and fifty thousand miles, that the
total cost of them was over $500, ,0OO, 900,
and that the length Of all the submarine
cables is sixty-six thousand miles, repre-
senting q capital of $l25, 100000.
1.-THE yellow fever is a curious dis
ease" says the Memphis Avalanche, land
the more it is studied the less we seem to
know about it. One of the greatest
curiosities in connection with this
plague of mankind is the case of the
island of Jamaica, where the disease
prevailed for years, but where during
the last half century it has not been
known. Yellow fever is round it on
every side. in Cuba and in San Domingo,
but in Jamaica it is unknown. Jamaica
has no State Board nor National Board,
and consequently does not quarantine.
A German journal speaks of the de-
scription of a storm that is often found
in novels in more or less varied forms,
but usually somewhat like this: "The
waves rose mountain high over the frail
vessel, threatening every instant to en-
gulf it. Then suddenly they lifted it to
the clouds, only the next moment to let
it sink again into a watery abyss" etc.
This is poetic, but by no means accurate.
Careful scientific observations have es-
tlblished the fact that ocean waves sell
dom attain to height of twenty feet,
and never rise higher than twenty
seven.
AsFrench astronomer has found out
what is the trouble with the weather
in Europe, which has been unusually
wet and cold for months. It is because
there haven't been any sun-spots to speak
of. Sun-Spots are now generally agreed
by astronomers to be boiling eruptions
of white-hot hydrogen, large enough
sometimes for the earth to be tossed
bodily into one of them, and when they
are in operation the heat given out by
the luminary is greatly increased. These
spots have certain periodicity, and the
French astronomer already predicts a
very hot summer in 1881, SO that every.
body will have plenty of time to get
ready.
The number of imprudent persons who
have been killed since the Franco-Prus-
sian war in trying to empty the German
shells that have been found unexploded
in the fields round Paris MIS-: extraordi-
nary. At St. Dennis, not long ago, a
charcoal dealer, an old man of sixty
eight, who had earned some celebrity in
the neighborhood by hi, collection of
German shells, was trying to empty
another when it exploded and blew him
and his shop to pieces. The remnants
of his body were found scattered in I'll
directions. A similar accident is also
reported from the arsenal of Belfor
where one artilleryman was killed and
five wounded.
During the jumping contest ut the
horse show. in Birmingham, Mr. Robert
I.eaman's hunter, Surrey, ridden by Mr..
Henry Grayson, made such splendid
great audience applauding frantically.
The horse, wild with excitement, went
right on down the ring. and rising at the
barrier of the ampitheater with one tre-
mendous bound, literally sailed over the
bars and five rows of spectators, alight.
ing in safety and injuring nobody. The
distance was measured and proved to be
tlIirty-seven feet, jump even more sur
prising than that ever made on any
steeplc-chase course, all things being
taken into consideration.
According to q summary issued by a
Marseilles firm the aspect of foreign
crops is represented as follows: France
The crop will be worse than last year.
Will have at least the same want as in
1878. Algiers-Will be obliged to i'm
port. 1taly-Bad harvest. Spain-Con-
siderable deficit. Switzerland, Belgium,
Germany-Very Indifferent crop. Rus
sia and Iurkey-The crops began to look
satisfactory; now they are below the
average. These countries will, at the
utmost, be able to send half the wheat
they did last year. Hungary--Will just
he able to suffice for her own wanrs
England will import eight or ten milli,
hectolitreS more than last year.
At meeting of the board of managers
of the International Dairy Fair, it was
resolved to hold the fair during the Sec
ond and third weeks of December, at the
American Institute Rink, New York.
The president, Mr.. Thurber, was about
to sail for Europe, and was empowered
by the association to invite all the agri-
cultural societies of England and the
Continent to send butter and cheese to
tie fair for exhibition and competition
with American products. Letters from
cattle raisers in various parts of the
country encourage the managers of the
fair to believe that they will have much
larger number of blooded bulls and COWS
on exhibition this year than they did last.
At the recent convention Of the
National Cotton Exchange, in New
York, Mr. Trenholm estimated the cot
ton crop of this year in the United States
at 5,250,OO bales. If they were placed
together in one long string they would
measure about 4,5OO miles, and stretch
from New Orleans to New York, and
thence across the Atlantic Ocean. Every
linear foot would represent 100 pounds
of cotton. With regard to the pl ospects
of the future, Mr.. Trenholm said that
now but one bale Of cotton was produced
to Q 4-l0 acres OF land, but it was posi-
BILE, by proper management, rs expert
ence had demonstrated, to raise one bale
to every acre. He believed that ulti-
mately the crop would be l2,500,000
bales.
"A distinguished physician who has
spent much time ut Quarantine. re-
marks the Memphis Appeal, said that
q person whose head was thoroughly
washed every day rarely took contagious
diseases. but where the hair was allowed
to become dirty and matted it was hardly
possible to escape infection. Many per-
sons find speedy relief for nervous head
ache by washing the hair thoroughly
in weak soda water. l have known Sc
we're cases almost wholly cured in ten
minutes by this simpleremedy. A friend
finds the greatest relief in cases of rare
cold,' the cold symptoms entirely leav-
ing the eye and nose after one thorough
washing of the hair. The head should
be thoroughly dried afterward, and
avoid drafts of air for little while
A Long Thread.
According to the return of our cotton
goods and print manuEcturs, almost
|, SOC, 900, 900 yards were produced in this
country in 1878. New England furnish
ing nearly two-thirds Of the amount.
Geographically speaking, this produc-
tion would be sufficient to encircle the
earth at the EQUATOR nparlY forty times