The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1888-04-05
NEWS IN BRIEF.

Pennsylvania recently, there were
present eight near relatives; the young.
est or whom was over seventy years O,
age.
"A silver. r.haired patron Of the fifth.
avenue Hotel, New York, who has
lived there for twenty-five years. claims
that IN that time his lodging and meals
have cost him $700,FO0.
There are over 2,6OU soldiers in
the Russian army afflicted with optIi.
alma In the hospitals OF the Odessa
district alone. These cases are en-
ttrely treated by nurses and hayo no
skilled medical attendance.
"A cowboy and his horse suffered a
singular and violent death recently
near Cheyenne Wells, Col. Lightning
struck the iron In the saddle and ex.
iploded all the cartridges in ths man %
be)t, also setting fire to his clothing
and trappings.
The forest fires in Illinois have
done much good as we'll as great dam.
age. Ihey have destroyed the myriads
OF chinch bugs that ruined the corn
orc p last season. Before the fires started
the fields and woods we're swarmino
with the huxs.
AN year-old ri in Marlboro.
Conn. Is we'll supplied with living an.
cestors, having, besides her faith n aud
mother, two grandmothels two and
latners. Two Observation-Disclosures. two
great-grandfathers, and one g,eat
great-grandmother who is almOsr a
centcnarian.
The use o. electric light on public
buildings ,at Washington has led to q
great increase In the number Of spiders,
webs. The lights attract maltitudes cf
insects, and these In turn attract tho
spiders. In many cases architectural
outlines have become badly obscured by
the webs.
Manufacturers complain that the
African rubber5 now received do not
yield, when strained and cleaned.
more than thirty Or ffty.tive per cent.
OF pure rubber gum, owing to the ma
tives adulterating with saw dust. bark
dust, etc., to overcome the lnconven.
lent sickness Of the juice.
The physicians OF louisville, Kv..
are mystifled by case in the hospital
OF that city. 1t is that Of a Polish
man who freely perspires blood, AS
far as can be ascertained his affection
Is the result Of q avlrulent fever con-
tracted in equatorial regions. AT last
accounts he was improving.
Y, ----In 1862 the United States govern
ment sent small herd OF camels into
Texas with the idea Of using them and
then get to cross the so-called Grent
American Desert. The camels pros
rered anu multiplied; but when the
war came they were scattered through
tho State and Arizona, and MANY OF
them became wild. Railroads have
solved the Great American Desert
problem, and the camels have fallen
into lnuocuous desuetude.
Eighteen years ago, when the air
brake was tried, 1t required eighteen
seconds to apply it to a train 8. 900 feet
long. -Four years later tha time was
reduced four seconds. Recent experi-
ments with tho air brake on freight
trains show that it can be applied to
every car In train Of that length rum
ming at the rate OF forty miles an hour.
and that this train can De stopped
within 500 feet. or one-fourth Of Its
own length, and all this without any
serious ioltlhg. 49,. s-&'
"A card was Issued to Nina Van
Landt under the name Of Mrs. N.
Spies. The library Is under control of
the city government and when, re.
Gently, she applied for permission to
draw books as Mrs. Spies the managers
were undecided as to the proprlety Of
granting her request anil thus giving
quasi. official recognition Of the validity
of the proxy marriage. They sought
legal advice, but with no definite 70.
suit. Recently 1t was decided in the
absence OF well-deflned objection to
give out the card as applied for-to
Mrs. N. Spies.
The year 1900 will not be a ssleap
year," as centurial years not multiples
OF 40O, even though divlsible by four.
are not reckonei bissextile, or lean
years. About forty-hve years before
Christ julius Caesar decreed that every
fourth year should DO held to consist
or 3G6 days, for the purpose Of using
up the odd hours. Seeing that day
every fourth year was too much. it
followed chat the beginning of the year
moved onward, From the time Of the
Council Of Nice, in 32J, when the YER
nal equinox fell correctly ON the 2lst Of
March. rope Gregory found, in 1882,
that there had been an overreckonlng
to the extent OF ten days, and that on
that time the vernal equinox fell on the
llth Of March. To correct this he do.
creed that the 9th OF OcLoher OF that
year should TO reckoned as Tie III,
and to keep the years right III future,
the overplus being eighteen hours,
tWenty-seven minute, anu ten seconds
In century, he ordered that every
centurial year that coul T. not De diyi,lel
by 400 should not bs Dissextile, an it
otherwise would be. The Greg ,iiln
g calendar sIna was decrted by Pops Giegnsy