The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-12-24
TIMELY TOPICS.

The late inundation of the great plain
of Murcia, in Spain, washing away four
ffths of the surface coil, cutting it into
assures, destroying orchards: buildings,
vineyards, and gardens, and drowning
5000 people, might, it is asserted. have
been avoided if the range of mountains
to che north had not been denuded of
their trees. Had the original forests re-
mained, they would have absorbed a
large portion of the sudden rainfall and
saved the plain from overflow. The
floods last summer at Szegedin, in Hun
gary, are traceable to the same cause.
The neighboring highlands were left
shorn Of trees, without the power of
either attracting or absorbing rains.
Naples journals contain some details
rs to the new phase of the eruption of
Vesuvius. The volcano has a very
striking aspect at present. Around the
great cone three craters launch steam
and incandescent lava, which loses
itself in the deep valley between Vesu-
vius and Mount Somma. At the end OF
October two small craters opened, blow
ing off portions of the mountain which
obstructed the issue of the lava. This
is flowing slowly in a northeasterly
direction, and is visible to the naked
eye from Naples. In spite of the smoke,
showers of pumice-stone, scoria and red
ashes, curious visitors no not hesitate to
approach the edge of the crater. Tue
heat fs bearable there at distance OF
twenty-five to thirty meters.
In the last two years the city of Mem
phis has buried 5000 of her people and
lost nearly Ss,OOO,OOO in capital and
business. through the yellow fever cpl
denies. The appeal asserts that filthy
cutters, bad drainage and accumulated
garbage caused all this distress and
ruin. That paper now demands all
methods of publication by fire, drain
age, fumigation, street paving and the
most trigorous enforcement OF the we'll
:,scertained laws of health as shall in
sure the city against a recurrence OF the
epidemic. Otherwise, Memphis is
threatened with decay if,not extinction.
The citizens of Memphis are evidently
alive to the importance and necessity OF
sweeping sanitary processes and OF Wig
orous measures being adopted to carry
them into effect. The great good SINH
lar measures did in New Orleans last
su inner should afford the utmost en-
couragement to the sorely tried people
of Memphis.
One of the bottles in every castor, in
every household, restaurant and hotel
in the land. is supposed to contain gen
uine olive oil, from France, Italy, Spain.
Adulteration of the true oil has in
creased to such an extent as to induce
the French government to have the mat
ter investigated by the chemists of the
academy of sciences. One of the latest
authorizations is with an oil made IN
France from cotton-seed oil-cake.
brought from the United States, or even
with the American cotton-seed oil itself.
Both oils can be rendered colorless. and
having neither taste nor smell, afford
great facilities in falsifying olive OIL"
The great French chemist, Dumas,
points out some of the siml lest methods
for detecting adulteration. Genuine
olive oil drops, if poured on the surface
of water, in saucer, will take quite m
irregular shape. If well shaken in a
bottle. air bubbles in the genuine oil, are
merely transient.