The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1885-10-15

h'uciiCols hNCu III ClticS III ltJU.
The city population had increased in
lS40 to eight per cent, and is now
twenty-five. There are only seventeen
States with more people than New
York city.
The growth of American public
libraries since the revolution has been
something phenomenal. There were
in the country in 1875 but twenty of
these institutions, with an aggregate
of 45,623 volumes. At the present
time there arel nearly 1900, containing
more than 100000 volumes.
Paper is made in France from hop
vines, and it is claimed that the fibre
secured is the best substitute for rags
yet obtained, as it possesses great
length, strength, hexibility and deli
cacy. Papermakers near hop growing
districts should investigate this mat
ter, for the vines are now waste
product.
The boundary between Massachu-
sets and New Hampshire has been in
dispute 100 years. No strictly legal
line exists. In l74l the King of Eng
land directed representatives of both
provinces to jointly make map, in
accord with some general directions,
but Massachusetts, did not obey, and
New Hampshire did the work alone
A strip of Merrimac valley is the
doubtful ground.
The center of population is moving
rapidly westward. 1t is now a little
to the south of Cincinnati, having long
since crossed the Alleghenies. The
movement has been about 44.5 miles
west for every mile south. In 1890
the movement westward will probably
be even greater, and, so rapid has
been the settlement of the Northwest,
the center of population will be far
ther north than at present.
One of the most interesting features
of the big cranberry marshes of Wis
consin are the pumps used to flood the
ground. The Sacket marsh near
Berlin has two that draw their supply
+. from the Fox river and throw $4,000
gallons a minute. The stream is 20
| feet wide, deep and moves at the
rate of 100 feet minute, flooding the
lOOOacre marsh to a depth of II to
Is inches in 10 hours. The water is
depended on as protection against
frost, also to drown the insects which
infest the cranberry blossoms in May.
The British colonies include the
richest and largest forests in the
world, extending over millions of
square acres. In India alone about
10000 square miles are afforested, and
the forests of Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and Cape Colony are second
to none in size and the variety and
value of their productions. But there
is no knowledge of forestry and nc
school Of the art in France and Ger
many. Consequently the acreage
under timber there and in Great
Britain itself is small and constantly
decreasing. OF the 20.000,000 square
acres of Scotland. only about 100000
to 100000 acres are woodland.
M. Delaunay of Paris predicts that
earthquakes on grand scale will oc-
cur next year either when the earth is
uuder the influence of planet of the
first rank. like Jupiter, OF under that
of group of asteroids, or at time
when the sun and moon are nearest to
our planet simultaneously. This spe-
cialist in earthquakes foretold the
frightful catastrophes which occurred
in South America in 1877. He an
nounced vast seiZmic disturbance in
1888, and the appalling disasters in
the Indian Archipelago followed He
raised his voice of warning also before
the late extensive shaking of the earth
in Spain. 1t is no wonder that his
latest utterances have caused consider
able attention in various countries.
An Englishwoman just home from
America sends to the Pail Mall Ga
zette her opinion that an influx OF
highly cultured Englishwomen into
Canada and the United States would
be as great boon to those countries
as it would be relief to Great
Britain. although the ladies in the
older cities of the North American
continent are," she says, "with scarce
ly any exceptions, superior to English
Al