The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-05-22
TIMELY TOPICS.

The sharks voracity is something
wonderful. When the British bark Lut-
terworth was becalmed in the tropics,
large shark was observed swimming
around the ship. A large hook with "a
chain attached was baited with four
pound piece, of pork. The shark made
for it, bolted it, but in hauling him up
the chain parted, and he coolly swal-
lowed the hook, chain and pork. An
other hook was then baited, which he
instantly seized, biting n three-inch rope
in twain, and, also swallowed it with
another. four-pound piece of pork.
! Another hook was then rbaited with a
similar piece of pork, and with this the
shark was caught and landed on the
main deck. When at last he was killed
and cut open, the large hooks, chain and
rope, together with eight pounds. of
pork, were found in his stomach. ..
A recent examination of French black
silks in New York city showed that they
were heavily adulterated. The weight
of dye in American silks is about seven
teen per cent, but the French silks show
ed weight of from thirty three to fifty
per cent. The principal article used in
weighting is iron The silk is repeatedly
inserted in a solution of nitrate of iron.
! 1t then receives blue tint from prussiate.
Of potash, followed by several baths in,
gambler, and treatment with acetate of
iron. 1t is then made bright by logwood
and soap. To make the silk soft, little
oil and soda are added, while to make it
stiff and rustling an acid is used. The
of the soap and alkali. which develop,
under friction. q sort of grease. The
cracking of silk is owing to its inability
to carry the great load of material used
in the dying. ,-r-- .--..,
A careful estimate respecting the cir
culation of the Bible during the past cen
tury places the total at the enormous
number of nearly l5O,OOO,0o0 copies.
The British and Foreign Society is in ad-
vance of any other institution ofthe kind
as regards the number of copies issued.
1t was founded in 1904, and has circulated
upward of 82,000,000 copies. The Amer
lean Society, founded thirteen years later.
has caused circulation of $4,000, 900.
These two organizations are far in adj
vance of all others. Next in respect of
copies circulated are the German Socie-
ties, which together have issued $780,
600. Then comes the National society of
Scotland with nearly 4,768,000 then the
Hibernian with 4, $4,000, the Swiss with
nearly 100000 and the French with
100000. The National Society of Scot
land has circulated its 4,16S, 900 copies
since 1861, the year in which it was
founded.
Speaking of the attempt of lunatic to
assassinate Edwin Booth in Chicago
theater, New York paper suggests that
there are probably many more such
dangerous persons uncontined through
out the country. many of them
through the connivance and conceal
ment of their families and friends, who
think that it would be inhuman to send
them to an asylum, whereas the inhu-
manty is in permitting them to remain
at liberty. This is the mischief of much
that has been carelessly said of the
management of lunatic hospitals, and
which may be referred still further back
TO the mismanagement of some of them.
One ill-regulated establishment may
1 bring great many well-regulated re-
treats of the kind into disrcpute. Mr..
Edwin Bootli no doubt has strong opin-
ions upon the subject, and so would
every reader of this have after escaping
from a similar peril"
Mr.. L. Delmonico, the celebrated New
York restaurateur, has been telling the
public the best way of cooking fish.
Boiling seems to him the ''most legiti-
mate" as well as quickest and most con-
venient. His direction is to "put them in
cold spring water-the less the quantity
of water that the fish can be boiled in the
better-with handful of salt. Rub a
little vinegar on the skin of the fish, to
prevent it from cracking, and to make
the flesh solid. Ten minutes to the
pound should be allowed for a salmon,
and three or four minutes for almost any
other kind; but good general rule is
that the fish is done when the fins pul
out easily.n Mr.. Delmonico also says
that broiled fish should be carefully
split in two from head to tail, dried,
seasoned with salt and pepper, creased
with a little oil (Which is preferable TO
butter), and broiled to u nice brown
color, the gridiron having. been pre-
viously well CREASED, too;" and that
small fish may be deliciously fried in
oil, after dipping in milk and then flour,
or in very hot grease, after being Dreaded
with beaten eggs and crumbs"
Despite some ones dismal prophecy
that on account of certain changes in the
heavenly bodies during 1881, the earth
will be overwhelmed by pestilence,
famine and other disasters too numerous
to mentions. an astronomical writer says
There will be no catastrophe in 1881.
The conjunction ofthe four great planets
at perihelion is not going to take place.
: 1T is an idle. scare. 1t is true that the
longitude. of the perihelion of these three
planets will bring them somewhat near
each other Jupiter will be in perihelion,
| think, about 1881. Saturn will be in
conjunction near that time, and Neptune
will not be near enough to help any mis-
chief that may be feared; while the po-
sition of the planet Uranus in the
heavens in 1881 will be about l49 degrees
right ascension. Every one hundred
years we have five conjunctions of Jupi-
ter and Saturn, and always have had
without the least damage thus far. Re
ing in conjunction so near to Jupiter's
perihelion may possibly produce higher
tides than usual, as Jupiter's position
will be twenty three million miles nearer
the sun and the earth than he is at his
mean distance. Let us not delude our
selves, nor be frightened by chimeras.