The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1884-06-06
TOPICS OF TIE DAY.

TOPICS OF TIE DAY.
Milne Edwards, the naturalist, is
giving in Paris an interesting exhibi-
tion of submarine plants and animals
found during his exploration of the
Mediterranean. lie took soundings to
the depth of 1865 feet, and brought
up some of the most remarkable or
ganisms ever seen. They are said to
have puzzled the most accomplished
naturalists, some of them being of
such a nature as to make it difficult to
classify them either as belonging to a
botanical or geological species. The
dredgings were on n large scale, sam
pies of rock weighing over two hun
dred pounds being brougt up.
Farmers in England are taking to
beet growing. In Norfolk they have
undertaken to grow this season at
least 900 acres of sugar beet from Sc
lected seed, and on the faith of this
an association has been formed, which,
long Before the beet is ready, will have
100000 worth of plants on the ground
ready to make sugar as fast as the
roots come in. The farmer will get
s. q ton for the white beet delivered
at the works, and as he can grow from
fifteen to twenty tons to the acre he
will, after allowing for heavy manur-
ing and all cost of land, labor, seed,
and transport, be able to reckon, even
in an Indifferent season, upon a return
of at least SIS an acre, which must
seem to him, after recent experience
"wealth beyond the dreams of avarice,'
as DR.. johnson said of the revenue of
Barclays brewery.
The annual loss by fire in the Uni
ted States is about $100,000,000. Iti
about twice as much per inhabitant as
the fire loss of Great Britain, four
4imes as much as that of France, and
six times that of Germany. At the
average rate of production it would
require the constant labor of about
100000 men to replace the loss. The
loss is nearly as much as the amount
collected on internal revenue, and one
third more than the annual interest OF
the public debt. The amount Of pre-
miums collected by insurance compa-
mics is considerably less than the loss
so that some insurance companies
must fail every year. 1t is estimated
that So per annum is collected for
every man, woman, and child in the
United States to pay for careless con-
struction and negligence in guarding
against the dangers Of fire.
The widow of the famous Mexican
General, Santa Anna, is now living
quietly in her native State, and seldom
intrudes into the outer world. Mrs.
Santa Anna is but 40years old, though
it is a wonder she does not look a hun
dred. Santa Anna was President OF
Mexico three years before she was
born. She was plighted to him in her
cradle, and married to him when she
was 13. He was then military die
tator, sleeping on his sword, beset by
constant peril. In six months he had
lost his leg and got into a TeXa
prison. For twenty years her life wa
spent in camp, surrounded by the
whirl of warfare Her husband was
five times President of Mexico, foul
times military dictator in absolute
power. lie was banished, recalled
banished again, and finally died wher
with his wife in exile as a traitor
She has seen much "glory," and ha!
received unlimited adulation, but sht
hardly ever enjoyed one thoroughly
peaceful month in her life.
A French physician, DR.. Mayet,
has just published the results of hi
inquiries into the nature of singular
malady known as "yanillism," which
science has, it seems, lately added tt
the sufficiently long catalogue of hu
man disorders. Bordeaux is the CHEF
emporium of vanilla, some 7000'
pounds of that spice being annual.
imported. The men employed il
cleaning and sorting it have long beel
known to suffer from a peculiar atfec
tion, of which DrLayet's investigation
have now revealed the cause. 1t
symptoms are redness and itching o
the skin, often attended with desqua
llullOu sOl llc Cubitit, dil't 10 uft J.
accompanied with general malaiSt
lasstude, ana gidiness All the troubl
is caused by minute white acaru
which lives in the vanilla, and find
its way to the person of those hani
ling it. DIR. Layet's labors have nc
as vet been crowned with the discover
! of any cure Cor the new disease.
A paper dealing with an outbreah
in 2 German town, of that terrible iii.
ease known as trichinosis was recent
read before the French Academy {
Medicine. 1t is worthy Of attentio
as going far TO prove that this diseas
usually contracted by the econsumptio
of unwholesome pork. is avoidable.
the usual precaution of thorough
cooking the food be resorted to. !