The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1881-11-02
FACTS FOR TIE CURIOUS.

THE rocs of various kinds of fish con-
tain from about $4,000 to over3, CSC, 600
eggs.
The lions teeth seem formed rather
for destruction than for the chewing OF
his food.
A rouR-FINGERED monkey, in its ma
tive state, has been seen to go down
to the edge of q stream, rinse its mouth
md then clean its teeth with one OF its
fingers.
IL Bavaria medical men are shorter
/ lived than any other class. Out OF eve-
ry 100 individuals, 50 Protestant clergy
men, Al professors, 80 lawyers or mag
istruteB, "a Catholic priests, but only rs
doctors reach the age of so.
The octopus has n gland which Sc
cret.s an inky fluid, and this he squirts
out, making thick, dark cloud behind
him which battles his pursuer at the
same time that it helps himself to dart
away. Mr.. Darwin asserts that the oc-
topus often takes deliberate aim at an
enemy when it squirts out this unpleas-
ant fountain.
OsTRICHEs, when the full number OF
eggs has been laid, invariably place one
! ut them outside the nest-tho nest con-
sisting naturally of 4 hollow scooped out
of the land by the action Of the wings
and legs of the birds. 1t has been found
/ that these eggs are reserved as food for
the chicks, which are often reared in o
natural stall, miles away from blade of
grass or ether food.
TIE periwinkle has COO rows of teeth,
three III II row, growing on long strap,
like pins in n cushion. This strap often
two inches long, closes the edges
together at the back of the mouth so as
to wrap over the rough points, and is
then rolled up into coil and slowed
AWAY III fold Of the neck. As the front
teeth wear away, this strap comes grad
unlly forward on the floor Of the mouth,
the new teeth grow up and are sharp
encd ready for use.
PAPER rots under the influence of
moisture until it is reduced to white
decay which crumbles into powder when
handled. Damp attacks both the inside
and outside of books. The mold spots
which are SO often seen upon the edges
of leaves and upon the sides of the bind
ing under microscope are seen to be
miniature forests OF lovely trees, covered
with beautiful white foliage. "They
are upas trees" says a bibliophile,
"whose roots are imbedded III the leath-
cr and destroy its texture"
TnE thirty-three nayigabe rivers of
the Mississippi system comprise If, 900
miles Of nnvlgable waters, intcrsccting
or bordering on eighteen States and two
Territories The extent Of territory
subject to overflow was, i'll 1874, estl-
mated to be fl, 1913 square miles, an area
rs great as the combined areas of Now
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island and New Jersey, and much
more productive under proper condIe
tions. Up to the year 1878 Congress
had made for the Improvement OF tho
Mississippi river and its various tribu-
tarics about 200 appropriations, amount
ing i'll all to the sum OF SlS, 100000.
A THOUSAND wonders in nature are
lost to the human eye, and onlyrevealed
to us through the microscope. Think
Of dividing II single SPIDERS web into a
thousand strands, or counting the arter-
les and nerves in the wing OF gosssmer
moth. Yet, by the aid OF the powerful
lens of microscope, it is fouud there
are more than 1000 muscles in cater
pillar. The eye of drone contains A.
900 mirrors, and the body of every spi-
der is furnished with four little Jumps,
pierced with tiny holes, from each OF
which issues a single thread and when
II thousand OF these from each lump are
joined together, they make the silk line
of which the spider spius its web, and
which we call II spiders thread. Spi-
ders have been seen us small as grain
Of sand, and these spin a thread so fine
that it takes 1000 OF them, put together,
to equal in size single hair.