Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-07-10
IN GENERAL.

A 12.pound colt, which is perfectly form
ed and doing well, is the pride and astonish-
ment of an Indiana farmer.
The mosquito nuisance is avoided in Flor
ida by throwing oil into ponds and standing
water, which prevents the insects from hatch
ing.
An annual review OF the California grain
market gives the wheat exports for the cereal
year ending June 80 at PC, 23O, 900 bushels,
and -four at 300, 900 barrels.
The study of the English language is
prevailing all over Japan. In Toyama pre-
lecture every man of any means, and even
the local officials and police authorities, are
studying the language. The general belief
there is that those who do not know the Eng
lish tongue are in the rear Of civilization.
A new street-car motor is on trial at Gam
den, Pa. 1t is operated by means of q gas
engine of 20 horse power. Among the origi-
nal features of the motor are the automatic
feet, which act entirely upon the principle Of
the action in horses front legs. They are
beneath and extend to the centre of the mo-
tor, and are to be used at grades and slippery
places where the wheels slide. The feet push
the motor along.
The "pure white light" of the sun is a
delusion of our Senses according to late soien-
tiic discovery. The true color OF the sun is
blue, and becomes white only as we see it
through our atmosphere, which acts like g
sort of sieve holding back the excess of blue
in the original sunlight. Hereafter, the scien-
ti6c poet will sing of the blue sunshine sift-
ing through the leaves from the white sky,
and ''blue we're her eyes, like the sunbeams
fair. Accuracy and poetry are not incompst-
ible.
In Augusta, Ga, many of the colored peO-
pie have joined the building associations,
and secured homes in this way on the INSTALL
ment plan, while others are able to pay cash
for houses. The Charleston News and Courier
bears testimony to equally encouraging i'm
provment among the blacks of South Caro-
lima. Everywhere in the suburbs of the
city, it says, ''are the modest homes which
the colored people of the city have bought or
built in the last ten years, while in the coun-
try are many eolored persons who have &C.
cumulated property and are succeeding rea-
sonably we'll as farmers."
The famous Panama hats are all made in
Guayaquil, Ecuador, and get their name be-
cause Panama merchants fOmerly controlled
the trade. They are made of the pita fibre,
a sort OF palm, and are braided under water
by native women of strands often twelve and
fifteen feet long, and fine ones are very ex-
pensive. 1t often takes two or three weeks
to braid single hat, which sells for five or
six dollars and lasts forever. A traveller
speaks Of one made Of a single straw or fibre,
as fine as thread and soft as silk. The Wo-
man who made it was engaged four months
in the work. and it was valuedat $3.50.
The Japanese of the higher classes, As is
generally known, have adopted very general
ly European dress in place of their own grace
full garments. The higher class of officials,
having for the most part become accustomed
10 foreign dress in Europe, have retained il
on their return home. Hitherto, however,
the wearer could select what dress he pleased,
except in certain court oeremOnials, when Eu-
rOpean clothing was de rigeur but now, ii
appears, the option is no longer to be given.
Officials of all CLASSES must give up their ma.
tive dress and adopt the European when en-
gagged in their official work, and, as the latter
is beyond the means of those who get only
sraall salaries, a suit of European clothing Is
to be furnished to each of them at the cost
of the state. Such, at least, is the story that
comes from Japan by the last mail.
1t has lately been decided TO increase the
already large staf Of German military pigeons,
of which there are at present In different for
tFesses about 1000. These pigeons are
taught not to Alight on the doyecote, but, on
their arrival at their destination, 10 knock
against the closed wire wicket, which motion
causes a leaden ball TO drop, thereby opening
the wicket aud setting a mechanism IN mo-
tion that connects with bell in the room OF
the keeper. The officer then detaches the
message from the tail feathers Of the pigeon,
the message being rolled up In the hollow
quill Of pigeons tail feather, which feath-
ers are carefully collected for despatch pur-
poses, as being most easily hidden among the
natural feathers of the carrier bird. These
| quilts contain In interchangeable reduc-
ton, about eight pages (Ootavo) OF writing,
which by the hydrogen-oXygen-ga micro
scope are reproduced in natural size.