Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1879-05-06
MIscELLAM NE GUS.
Strength. Of Insects.

The following are striking illustrations of
the superhuman strength with which the
commonest insects are endowed. The COM
mon flea, as every one knows will, without
much apparent effort, jump two hundred
times its own length, and severnl grasshop-
pers and locusts are said to perform leaps
quite as wonderful. In the case of the in>
sect they scarcely excite our notice; but if
man were coolly to take standing leap of
three hundred and eighty odd yards, which
would be an equivalent exertion of muscular
power, perhaps our admirers of athletic
sports might be rather startled a. such per-
tormance.
Again, for a man to run ten miles within
the hour would be admitted to be a tolerably
good display of pedestrianism; but what are
we to say to tho little fly observed by Mr..
Delisle, SO minute Us almost to be invisible,
which ran nearly six inches in second and
in that space was calculated to have made
one thousand and eighty steps? This, ac-
cording to calculation, is as if man whose
steps measured only two feet, should run at
the incredible rate of twenty miles in min
ute. Equally surprising are the instances CT
insect strength given by Mr.. Newport. The
great stag-beetle, which tears off the bark
from the roots and branches of trees, has
been known to gnaw hole, an inch in Dis
in which he was confined, and on which the
marks of its jaws were distinctly visible, as
proved by Mr. Stephens, who cxhib ed tie
canister at one of the meetings of the Ento>
biological Society.
RATS SUCKING HonsE's B1ooD.-A
prominent horse dealer in this city told us
the following curious story this morning
about the fancy his rats Gas he calls them)
have for change Of diet: He keeps horse,
and noticed lately that it showed symptoms
of lameness in his foTelegs. He examined
him carefully, but could not discover the
cause. On going to the stable one day, he,
before entering looked through the window
when, to his establishment, he counted eleven
rats stuck on the horses legs, sucking his
blood. He waited, expecting every moment
that the horse would shake them off, but in
stead of doing this he remained motiOnless
and seemed to eDj the strange visitors. A
rap on the window sent the rats scurryipg
off. On examination of tho horses leg he
found twenty two little holes, from eleven of
which the blood was flowing. The horse was
removed to another stable and soon recovered
from the sores, but, strange to say, his APP
petite has almost failed him. He refuses
oats, and as a consequence, has fallen off in
flesh, SO much SO that now he is almost uses
less.-M0ntredl Post.
THE WEIGHT OF CATrLE-To an inqui-
rer who asks for informationi in regard to the
exact rule or measurement for ascertaining
the weight of cattle aud what the weight Of
stone is, the New York Herald makes re-
ply thus:
a stone, in British measure, implies
weight according to the article measured.
Thus stone Of oats is II pounds weight,
of barley 16 pounds weight; when q
Jockey is said to ride 10 stone he weighs $50
pounds; while a stone of dressed meat is only
pounds weight-just as 100 pounds of
meat in the United States Of America rep
resents Sc pounds of actual weight. Thus,
if your OK or steer shall weigh alive 200
pounds, the beef to be obtained from him. or
in other words the carcass when dressed,
ought to way CTS pounds net. In extreme
cases a dressed carcass may not weigh more
than SO ipounds net to 100 pounds on the
hoof, or again may yield as high return as
90 pounds net ANY weight outside of this
range is entirely outside the general rule.
WICKED FOR CLERGYMEN.-"I believe it
to be all wrong and even wicked for clergy
men and other public men to be led into CIV
ing Testimonials to quack doctors or vile stuffs
called medicines, but when really meritori-
Gus article is made up of valuable Common
remedies known to all and that all physicians
use and trust in daily, we should freely COM
mend it. therefore cheerfully and heartily
commend Hop Bitters for the good they have
done me and my friends, firmly believing
they have no equal for family use. l will not
be without them.
Rev. -. Washington, D. c.
THE CULTIVATION OF Roses.
Crosses are her cheeks,