Morris tribune., 1884-08-20

of the form used by A. Graham Bell
in his radiophone, the sound-which
NAV be tones of the voice-is repro
duced and made audible.
The comparative prospect of
longevity of some eighty specified
classes of workers, according t. the
statistics collected by DR.. Ord was
piyen at Il recent conference at the
London Health Exhibition. If 1000
be taken as the average standard
number of deaths among all classes
taken together for given period, then
the number of clergymen who die
during the period is only $50, or bare
" more than half of the average that
of gardeners, whose occupation is
nearly as favorable to long life, is
$50: that of agricultural labOrers, $50;
of farmers, 675, and Of medical men,
1925. The highest death-rate, that of
persons engaged i'll Rhotels, is 2205;
that of inn.keepers is 1921 and of
brewers, 1851.
It Will doubtless belong ere the
popular belief in the influence of the
moon upon the weather is completely
graduated, and Nh. r. II. Scott is not
sanguine of early success in dispelling
the nearly as deeply-rooted faith in
equinoctial gales. From records eN-
tending over fourteen years, this me-
teorol0gist finds however, that the
equinoXes are not remarkable as Will
dy or stormy periods i'll the British
Isles, although the seasons Of storms
appear to occur at quite regular inter-
walls. The summer half of the year,
for instance, is almost entirely free
from severe storms, which begin
gradually to increase about the close
of August and reach the maXium in
the latter half of January. after which
they grow less frequent and severe
until the latter part of April. Two
lulls, OF periods of comparative free
dom from storms, are noticed during
the winter half-year, one appearing in
November and the other in February.
Mr.. Pryor, has visited the two caves
of GOrmantOn, in North BOrneO, from
which is obtained nearly all of the
material used for that famous and re-
markable delicacy of the Chinese
birds NEST soup. These caVes-one
of which is 800 feet high and rather
more than 100 feet wide-are situated
in limestone cliff 900 feet in height,
and are inhabited by sWifts and bats
in countless numbers. The nests are
built in clusters on the sides and roofs
where in places seemingly lnaccessl-
bic to man, they are reached by dar-
ing nest-gatherers with rattan stages,
ladders and ropes. The material of
the nests is soft funguoid growth
dark brown on the outside and white
on the inside-that incrusts the lime
stone in all damp situations. and has
thickness of about an inch. With
their mouths the birds draw it out
in tilaments, weaving black nests from
the outside of the fungus, and finger
white nests from the inside. Three
crops of nests are gathered yearly.
with total value of $500 or $4,000,
and although this has been going on
for seven generations, the supply ap-
pears to be undiminished. GuanO de-
posts of unknown thickness cover the
floors of the caves.
':Does the head think OF feel after
being cut from the bOdy!' is the start
ling and CHASTITY question which is be-
ing revived among some physlloglsts.
The failure of a trial made q few weeks
ago, to restore consciousness to be-
headed Partisan criminal has led to
experiments upon dog, in witch the
animal is said to have recognized its
masters voice after being beheaded.
Accounts of earlier observations have
been given. In 1854, q condemned
French physician, whose professional
instincts were retained in the face of
death by the guillotine, agreed with
Surgeon Velpeau to lower his right
eye-lid thrice Immediately after his
head should leave his body if he were
able to do so, and Velpeau has aSser-
ted that he was Mortified at seeing the
trunkless head attempt the prear-
ranged signal by lowering the eye-lid
once and slightly moving it again.
Mons. Petitgand relates that in 1875,
he watched the decapitation of an
Annamite at Saigon, and that as the
head reached the ground the eyes
were fixed Oh his own, turning in their
sockets as he moved in a quartercir
Gle and following his movement for
an instant as he turned back. Con-
seriousness seemed to last fifteen or
twenty seconds, and the observer
thinks it may possibly continue in
some cases for half a minute. 1t is
concluded, however, that unconcious-
ness is usually produced instantly,
making the execution painless.