Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1886-05-21
Some Curious Things.

Cartersville, Ca, is proud Of joe, q
dog of superior intelligence. He has
been known to seize an ear Of corn,
carry 1t to rat hole, shell of few kerr
nels, back of out of sight, and then
pounee upon the rat thus enticed to de-
strIction.
The curious and remarkable discovery
is reported that South American shrub
called "aliza" exudes joice which acts
so powerful in stopping flows Of blood
that when knife is smeared with 1t
and used for surgical operations the
largest vessels may be severed without
any hemorrhage.
"Two of the toes of my buried leg
overlap each other and pain me dread
fully" said the wife of Jacob Bereau,
of Marlboro, Mass. The leg had been
amputated aud buried one month. The
husband, unknown TO the wife, had the
leg exhumed and the toes Strengthened
out, and she said she knew by the re-
lief that followed the exact moment tho
act was performed.
Tobacco blindness Is becoming a COM
mon afiiiction. At present there are
several persons under treatment for it
at one London hospital. IL first takes the
form of color blindness, the sufferers
who have smoked themselves into this
condition being quite unable to distin-
guish the color Of a piece OF red cloth
held up before them. Sometimes the
victim loses his eyesight altogether.
Although smoking Is to large extent
the cause of the malady, aud so gives IL
its name, heavy drinking Is also partly
responsible.
A prairie dog is ingenious. Place a
headless barrel over the prairie dogs
hole, and half fill IL with sand. The little
turnover will soon scratch his way TO
the top of the same. But the fine sand
falls into the hole and fills it up, auu IL
cannot dig through the half-iluld parti-
cles, neither can he climb up the sides
of the barrel. All he can do is to reverse
the familiar lines of Virgil and exclaim:
''The ascent to the upper air Is easy,
but to recall ones steps and re-enter
Avernus, how hopeless the attempt"
This Is without doubt the way In which
the prairie dogs In Central Park were
captured.
A scientific journal gives an account
OF a pianoforte made I'm Paris In which
paper was made TO take the place Of
wood, the whole case being made from
paper so compr ressed that Il was enabled
to receive n hard surface, which took
perfect polish. The color was white.
The tone of the instrument Is reported
not to be loud, but very sweet. The
short, broken character Of the sound
emitted BY ordinary pianoforte is re-
placed by soft, full, quasi-continuous
sound resembling somewhat that Of the
organ. 1t has been suggested that the
evenness Of texture Of the compressed
paper may have some influence Ia nj.
fecting this modification Of sound.
A gentleman who has lately returned
from visit to Washington, says the
Reading Eagle, speaks OF many curious
things he saw In the Patent Office. Two
Of them are particularly worthy Of note.
The irst Is a small, hollow cone Of gold,
shaped like capsule, at the bottom OF
which Is slide from which projects
something In the nature Of n fish-hook.
At the top is an eye, TO which Is fast
ened a silken cord. IL is intended rs a
trap for tapeworms. The hook is baited
with something to tempt the appetite OF
the worm and the capsule swallowed.
As soon as his wormsbip bites the slide
closes and fastens him, the apparatus 10
drawn up by the fishers at the other end
and there you are.
A correspondent In Montana, telling
of the fortuitous discovery OF silver
mines, relates this incident: A prospcc-
tor In New Mexico with the bODored
name of John Quincy Adams, found bis
haversack on fire, bis prospector's gla's
having focused the suns rays upon it.
As the hayersack contained about n
dozen pounds Of powder'be dropped IL,
and got out OF the way in a hurry. IL
fell into crevice, and large mass OF
rock was thrown up. Adams returned
mournfully to gather up what might be
left Of his effects, and found an exceed
ingIy rich vein of ore which the cxplo-
sion had exposed 10 view. He sold
third interest In bis find for tl6, 900, and
very consistently named the mine "'rbe
| Nick Of Time"
a particular man receives a blow on
the head, you see. Now perhaps he
thinks he RECEIVERS from that blow; be
Is apparently perfectly well; but the
effect OF the blow continues. A son 10
born to the man. What has become Of
the energy expended In that blow upon
the mans head? It Is bound 10 con-
tinue. You can not get rid Of that.
The persistence Of force makes Il inevi.
table. Perhaps the mans son gets
along all right and perhaps he doesn't.
But suppose that the son. or the sons
son, turns out to be forger, or Grim
inal Of some sort--possibly murderer.
How do we know that this IL not the re-
suit Of the original blow on the head,
producing q slight accidental impress
sion on the brain, the force Of which
takes the form Of moral perversicn In
the offspring?
Professor Bickmore, 10 recent New
York lecture, gave couple Of bours 70