The Arizona sentinel., 1884-08-02
FACTS FOR TIE CURIOUS.

THraR is a weekly sale of toads in
Paris which are brought in casks filled
with d. imp moss. One hundred good
toatls are worth from sixty to seventy
shillinss. These are bought for gardens.
In Peru, as soon as death occurs, ASH
es are strewn on the floor of the room
and the door fastened. Next morning
the ashes are carefully examined for
footprints and the soul OF the dead Is
said to have passed into the body OF
whatever animal the imagination traces
in the m;.IKs on the ashes.
ONE method used by the ADglo-Sax-
ons for ascertaining the intentions OF
fate was to take slips of wood from some
fruit-bearing tree, mark them, and after
q solemn prayer shake them together
and throw them into white garment
spread for the purpose. The number
of marks lying uppermost decided the
greater or less degree OF fortune to
come.
BANDS of music are forbidden to play
on most of the large IRON bridges OF the
world. This is due to the weil-known
phenomenon that constant succession
of sound waves, especially such us come
from the playing of a good band, Will
excite the wire vibrations. At first
these vibrations are very slight, but
they increase as the sound waves cont1n-
ne to come.
MINERS in the quartz mines believa
that the rats-there are thousands OF
them in mines that are being worked
Ill 1.+1111IoEo or
the walls of the mine is coming. They
claim that before anything OF the KIND
occurs the rats will be seen trying to
crowd into the cages or buckets, as tho
case may be. in which the ore is hoisted
TO the surface. There is a similar be-
lief about the cockroaches, which are
said to crawl up the shaft before an accl-
dent happens.
If gravitation were to cease, and steel
wires were used to hold the earth In her
orbit, each wire being as large as the
heaviest telegraph wire (No. 4 }, it would
REQUIRE nine to each square inch of the
earth's surface, and the whole srlnward
hemisphere of our globe would have to
be covered as thickiy as blades OF grass
upon a lawn. A man who on earth
would weigh $50 pounds would at the sun
weigh nearly two tons, and be unable to
stir. A planet as far away as the near
est fixed star, which is more than 200,-
GOO times more remote than the sun from
3, the earth. if not disturbed by any Other
attractions, would still be governed III
its motion by the sun, though, if NOV
ing. in circle, nearly 0,000, 900 years
would be required for a single revoIu-
ton.
THE reindeer, which in one way OF
another manages to be almost the entire
support of the Lapps who have herds,
is large, heavy animal, with remark
able independence of character. H.
will not accept shelter under cover. no
matter how inclement the weather may
be. Neither will he eat any food that Is
offered him he prefers to seek his oWli
Eustenance, which consists PRINCIPALLY
of a peculiar moss, and as this grows
very slowly, requiring about seven years
in which to reach maturity, the Lapr
must shift his home from time to tlTt
to meet the necessities of his herd. IL
mid-winter the moss may be covered by
several feet of snow, but the deer digs
hole with his feet and disappears iron
the surface, burrowing his way through
the snow as he follows his nose from one
turf of moss to another. The flesh oil
the reindeer is quite palatable and nu
tritjous, his skin makes very warm gar
ments as well as durable harness, anl
cheese made of reindeer milk Is yer.
rich, although the quantity OF mils
yielded per day seems scarcely WORT
lhe taking, as it amounts to mere tea
rupful.