River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-07-12
MISCELLANY.

The First Congregational church of
Oakland, Cal. has made an innovation
in church work which might be initiated
with good effect elsewhere. 1t has de-
cided to pay its Sunday school superin-
tendent good salary and have him de-
vote his entire time to work among the
children. Inlarge Sunday schools some
thing of this kind will soon become nee
essary if all the work required of super
intendants by the orators ard theOrizeTs
at Sunday school conventions, is to be
done.
Six members orthe Methodist Epis-
copal church of Allentown, Pa, have
been placed on trial before the author
tiles of the church on the charge tina
i've OF them have been IN
the habit of dancing. and
that the other one is not only in the
habit Of dancing, but also attended q
certain entertainment known To the
world as the opera. A point made in
the favor of the accused is that they
contributed more than any other six
members toward the building of the
church editice, while they pay literally
toward current expenses.
Hotels are springing up like mush-
rooms in London Just now, according to
Truth, of that city. The other day the
doorway in Victoria Street, with build
ing attached TO it, which attracted so
much attention during its construction,
through its being erected without the
use of outside scatioldng, was opened as
hotel. IT is fitted mp with every mod
crn convenience, including Turkish
bath, swimming BATH and every other
description of bath A novelty, too, 10
that several of the rooms are divided oil
into separate fats, 50 that visitors eau
have the privacy of a Hat with the ad-
vantage OF the accommodation OF a MOTEL.
An enterpr.sing young American of
fcer, Mason A. Shufedt, has secured
the cooperation Of the secretary of the
navy in the exploring expedition across
the great Island Of Madagascar through
a wilderness whic has never yet been
penetrated. The plan Is TO start at the
mouth of the BetsibnOk, a river on the
northwest coast, and, after following the
course of the stream for about 10 mTles,
to push across the country to Tananarl-
vo, the capital, which has a population
of 100, 900, and from thence to Tamataye
on the east coast, where government
Fs1SSGl VIII tft ibuild III 6tRAAt @'Att'5tNi
Shufeldt will take With him party of
about twenty natives and one assistant
Duplicate reports of the results Of their
researches Will be sent to the naval de-
partment and to the Smithsonian lnstl-
tute.
An official statement shows that more
than 1874 900, GOO tons of coal were taken
out of the Briti@l, mines last year, and in
.dloing this vast work neaifJ het mil
lion persons we're employed. Sir Henry
Bessemer has made the calculation that,
if this coal were formed into cylindrical
columns offftv feet diameter and )J0feet
in height, and if these were placed
in a row their own diameter apart, they
would make a colonade eighty i've miles
and 80 yards long, the product OF eaGh
working Dig beiue sufficient to make
fourteen such Cuiurars, br the coal thus
extracted would make wall ~" miles
long, 100 feet high, and about torty-tW9
thlek-a mass exceeding that OF thessrea a.
wall of China by enough to add some 90
miles 10 its length.
The vegetation Of New Sonth Wales is
noticeable for the large number Of dis
tinct species it contains, and for theii
dissimilarity from the 31ecIes ,.of. other
countries. There exist about 1O,Co0 sb4-
cies of towering plants in Australia, be-
ing more than IS contained in the whole
rf F.nropc. Over 1900 spacies of native
plants Ia Fe been observed in the county
of Cnmberiard aore, and large numbers
remain vet to be recorded, MI these
plants are highly organized, and capa-.
BILE Of withstandinA great extremes OF
cold. Some Of the noble eucalyptus
trees, with their peculiar vertical branch
es and evergreen leaves, reach to a
height Of 100 teet. with Q curve OF from
twelve TO twenty f&st. The, highest tree
in the world, $50 feet, was discovered IN
he seen over 420 feet high. There are
about 800 different species Of scacia, or
Mattles. with eNerareen. branches.