Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1881-01-27
FACTS FoR THE CURIOUS

THE great city OF london requires d
milk.
TIE life of a submarine telegraph
cable is shown by experience to be from
ten to twelve years. If cable breaks
~ deep water after it is ten years of age.
It cannot be raised for repairs, as it will
break OF its own weight-a fatal difficult
W, and Tor which there seems 10 be no
practicable remedy:
In 1880 Marshal Soult brought par
rot named Jacko to the French war
Office, where the bird remained for forty
years. He served under eighteen differ
ent Ministers, but was always a stanch
royalist. Through every change OF adj
ministration Jacko cried, "yive lie roll"
but would never say without painful eff
fort, Viye PEmpereur F" He died on
the ann yersary OF the death of Napoleon
l., in 1870.
THE greatest amount of cold ever
known to be endured by white men over
took Lieut. Schwatka's party in search
OF information about Sir John Franklin's
party. They were over eleven months
IN sieds, and journeyed about 1900
miles. On Jan. 3, 1880, the therInome-
ter sunk 103 deg. below the freezing
point. The highest temperature that
day was 60 deg. below freezing point
For twenty seven days the temperature
was % deg. below the freezing point.
WHEN rivers are much warmer than
the air, they give rise to fogs, because
the rapid evaporation from the warm
water pours more water into the atmos-
phere than it cln hold suspended in an
invisible state, and consequently the
surplus vapor is condensed into mist bv
the colder air through which it rises
There are conditions OF atmosphere when
no actual fog Is apparent In which dark
ness prevails, and what are called dry
fogs, or sometimes blight. In some
cases they are clearly due to smoke, as,
for instance, the smoke of burning
prairies, which may extend over vast
distances
THE following calculation as to the
total number of existing botanical spe-
es has been made by DIR, Muller. of
Geneva: We have at present in our
books about 1870 600 species, and, if we
suppose that 80, 900 Tin round numbers)
belong to countries like Europe and
North America. where there are hardly
any species, but some cryptograms to
be discovered, the remainder, or 100.
600, representing exotic plants, more or
less tropical and southern, we may
double the latter Cor new species, giving
300. 600 for these less-known regions,
and altogether $50 600 for the whole
globe, with tho exception of countries
still quite unknown botanically. Add
ing only 20, 1000 for the latter, we reach
minimum sum of 250,000 species of
plants:
Mosr people remember the terrible
railway accident III which Dickens him.
self and his proef-sheets escapes, while
80 many victims persisted. In the train
there was gentleman and lady Just
landed in England after their return
from India. The lady said to her hus-
band: 81 see the great wave rolling on;
it is close to us, mud then the crash
came, and she was a corpse. The hus-
band was unhurt, and, at later time,
explained his wife's strange words Ever
since they set sail from India she had
been haunted III sleep by the dream OF
the vast silvery wave, and always as it
was about to break ON her she had
wakened iii terror. This was the phs-
nomenon which she recognized I'M : edi-
ately before the accident which caused
lA7r death.