The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-03-17
TIMELY TOPICS.

TIMELY TOPICS.
There has been less inventive genius
displayed in the production OF ma
chinery in the pottery business than IN
| any other branch of manufacture unde
! the sun. The creation of pottery is al
i.most entirely dependent upon the
! manual skill of the operative potter
! and the only improvement that has oeeh
made in 1000 years is in the Substitution
! of steam power for the hand and foot
in revolving the "jigger" and the
throwing wheel.
: The ubiquitous grasshopper has ap-
peared in Russia and has alarmed the
government, which has already sent "a
Scientific commission to investigate the
habits and possible ~depredations OF the
unwelcome visitor, and with most I'M
welcome results. But it is thought that
certain birds inhabiting the Caucasus
naturally prey upon the locusts and
would be on.y too happy to make their
acquaintance, and IN effort will be made
, to Introduce them to each other.
That agriculture is the basis or All
prosperity is generally conceded, ana
current statistics give emphasis to the
fact. Thus, while the estimated yield OF
the American gold and silver mines IN
the twenty seven years from l649 to 1873
was 81 l7, 900, 900, the value OF leading
! agricultural products of the single year
! 1877 was 81, 594, 600, 900 in round num-
| hers. In other words, the farmer in a
single year extracted nearly as much
wealth from the soil as the miner OBJ
tanned in twenty-seven years OF mining
activity.
A fearful sight was seen by a New
York policeman, u short time since, IN
a miserable hovel, close to the Harlem
river. 1t was a family OF three. Inc
father lay on the boardless floor: dead;
the wife croached moaning at his side,
demented; their child. q pitiful little
starveling, was crazy. There were no
signs of comfort, nor a particle of food
in sight: but there were mum berless
empty rum bottles, and the smell from
! them told the story Of the ruin ana
death the scene presented.
It is estimated that the following ad-
ditiops have been made to the fortunes
of some of the principal New York
m%illionaires by speculations and prohta-
BILE investments during the past year:
Added to the Vanderbilt estate, 10000
600: to the wealth of Jay Gould, Sl5,-
600, 600; to the wealth OF Russell Sage,
$40, 900, 900: Sidney Dillon. Sl0,0 DOC, 900;
James r. Keene, So, GOO, 900; to the First
| National bank, 50, 900, 900; to Drexel,
Morgan & Co., 50, 200, 900; and to three
or four Other great operators. $4,000, 900,
giving a total of profits of $50, 600, 900 to
about ten or twelve estates IN a single
year.
Two boys of Davenport. Iowa, can
rival the Lone Fisher man for pecu-
iiarity Of catch. They were casting
their lines in the Mississippi and one OF
the hooks caught on an object near the
shore which proved to be the handle OF
an iron safe. With pulley and tackle
they landed the prize, and were so un-
romantic as to sell it,unopened, to a Junk
dealer for 81. so. The safe proved to
have belonged to the steamboat Etfe
! Alton, that burned and sunk twenty-five
years ago. and is supposed to contain
several hundred dollars. search is be-
ing made for the clerk of the steamer,
and in the meantime Mr.. Junk is re-
strained from opening the safe.
John Bright in Il recent speech gave
4 graphic statement Of the land troubles
in ireland. There are 10000 900 acres
in Ireland, and $500, 600 acres OF this
are occupied by 292 people. Seven
hundred and forty-four persons own
9,6l2, 100 acres, or about half of the en-
tire island. One hundred and twenty
two people own more than los, 500 acres
each. There are more than $500, 600
people who live ON land for which
there are no leases, and are liable to
eviction at the will of tire persons own
ing the land. Most Of the owners, MI.
Bright charges. spend all their money
in London or Paris, and thus the mil
lions of pounds produced on the soil ar
taken directly from the country. inn
poverishing it to that extent.
The causes or occasions for which
people are he'd to be liable for damages
are in 4 fair way of embracing nearly
every species Of accident TO which
human beings are exposed. An ONO
woman has prosecuted a hotel keeper
for not guarding his piazza with a balus
trade, thus giving her an opportunity to
fall off and injure her hip; and AL In
dianapolis man has sued a political COM
mittec for IS, 900 for persuading him, by
advertisements and posters, into attend
ing q political meeting where he was
injured by the fail of the stand. He
q v that but for their opportunities and
inducements he shouldn't have gone.
The Detroit Free Press thinks that if the
, Gar of Russia lived in this country,
| those of the late conspirators, if there
were any. injured by the recent explosion
| in the Winter palace, would sue him for
damages.
The regicidal mania seems to be
spreading beyond the frontiers of En-
rope. King Tibau, of Burmah, recently.
narrowly escaped being the victim Of
certain malign sorceries which it was
supposed would prove fatal. The con-
spirators were Khin Apau, an old lady
Of honor ut court, and her two sons,
Moung-Rwah and young IIssait. The
old lady was the nurse of Salin Supyah,
the favorite daughter of the late king,
! who had refused to become the Queen of
Burmah by marrying Tibau, and had
her hair cut in order that it might be
impossible for him to marry her. The
would-be witch has had the word
"Rebel" branded with hot iron on her
forehead. and bee. consigned to a con-
vent. Her two sons were logged to
death. Salin Supyah has also died, her
death being attributed to q" disease of
the neck" which is probably a euphuism
for strangulation.
The wheat production Of America
formed a topic of discussion ut q recent
meeting OF the Farmers club held
in London. A paper read by
Mr.. Finlay Dunn entered into de-
tails showing that the United States at
present produced about one fourth the
wheat grown in the world, the weld for
1870 being about Sc. 000. 900 quarters.
According to the statistics, the wheat
area is upward OF 80, 200, 900 acres, or
ten times that of the British islands.
The area of the crop of 1873 was
twenty-five per cent. greater
+Lon that Of 1877 whila dUrinp