Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-01-13
STRAY BITS.

cents in Western and Southern cities.
 -s->->-
 STRAY BITS.
 The length of the streets of London ih the aggregate is 3,6O0 miles
 Bells were first introduced into churches as a defense against thunder and lightning.
 It is said in England that the Russian wheat crop this year has been better than for ten years.
 Announcement is made of the discovery of rich gold quartz in Buckingham township, Province of Quebec.
 Bookkeeping as a system was originated ln Italy, where it was derived from system of algebra, published by Burgo at Venice.
 Roundhead, term of contempt applied to Puritans in the time of Charles l, arose from the custom of cutting their hair close.
 The inhabitants of London consume an nually 400, 900 oxen, 1,5OO, ,OO0 sheep 5000, 900 chickens and game birds, and 800, 900 oysters.
 Fifty-nine survivors of the 600 who charged at Balaklava thirty nine years ago held their annual reunion in London short time ago.
 The British government is making efforts to cultivate oysters on the shores of Tasma- mia, and is said to be meeting with good sue cess.
 It is said that Alaska will become great mining country within few years, and will furnish canned salmon enough to supply all creation.
 In Virginia newspaper of thirty years ago is long account of the sentence of woman to two years imprisonment for teach ing slaves to read.
 During the past seven years more than 100000 acres in England have gone out of cultivation. This means an immense loss to the land owners and farmers.
 In the Desert of Sahara rain falls in tor rents at intervals of five, ten and twenty years. In winter the temperature frequently falls below the freezing point
 The islands on the eastern coast of Virginia are being restocked with hares imported from England Several thousands of the animals have been turned loose.
 Elihu Stevens, of Snaithfeld, Me-, is at the head of family which is probably the largest in the country. In this family there arc five generations, which comprise 319 per sons.
 MT. Holcomb, lately secretary of the American legation at Pekin, says that out of the 400, ,OOO, 900 inhabitants of the Chinese em- pire fully 300, 900, 900 spend less than $1.5O a month for food.
 Sea otter has only been known to Euro peans as a fur for about 150 years. It is the rival of seal in fashionable favor. Minever, or gray squirrel, is a very old fur, and was at one time the special favorite of royalty.
 It is said that scales for weighing diamonds are brought nearly to that delicacy of balance which would enable dealers to detect flaws in the stones by minute variations in weight. They weigh accurately the Cloth part of a carat
 Dr. Gross, of Geneva, has lately experi- mented with himself in hanging. His ex- periments established that the sensations were only warmth and a burning in the head, without convulsions. Of course his expert ments didn't go very far. The monument of Gen. Toonbs has been at last shipped from Italy. This is the third monument that has been built. The first was lost at sea. A bed of crystals was found in the second after all had been completed except the base block.
 The Lincoln Journal while it does not claim that the town has the prettiest women in Nebraska, is quite certain that it has the homeliest men. ''They are warm hearted and nice,' it says, 'but as homely as sorrel horse with a blazed face"
 
 England turn out 10, 0,SO0, 900, 900 pins yearly and that other factories in the states bring the number up to 18,OOO, ,OO0,0OO This is equal to about one pin 8 day for every in- habitant of the United States. English etiquette has decided that unmar- ried ladies should never use a crest on any thing-note paper, servants buttons, brushes or any other article. It is usually found tha. the people best entitled to crests and coats of arms make the least use and display of them.
 A curious law case in Liverpool concerned chewing gum. A confectioner was fined for selling the article for food, which, it was claimed, was as indigestible as button, but the defense stated that the article was per fectly harmless and not intended to be swal- lowed.
 In order to retain one's place on the pen sion rolls of Germany it is necessary to ap- pear there in person once in ten years. A. Ruddatt, of Glenmore, Ga., had nearly lapsed the time, and at the last moment sold his ten acre farm, with good house, two cows and his entire crop and effects for $50 to raise money to go.
 An experiment is being made on the Cali fornia coast to test the utility of ocean wave force. At an opening in some cliffs great fans are suspended, and their movement at the ebb and flow of the waves is so geared as to work immense pumps, which are designed to fill large reservoirs on elevations these be- ing used to supply water power to manufac- tories of various kinds. The United States is the largest consuming country of raisins in the world, and the an nual consumption is about 100000 boxes of about twenty pounds each, which at an aver age of $2 box shows an expenditure of $4 GOO, ,0O0b bper annum for one article in the dried fruit line. The amount referred to repre- sents, say, 100000 boxes Valencia, $50, ,0OC boxes California, 100000 boxes Malaga and 100000 boxes Smyrna. PERILS OF WINTER. Vr 11 nr. c vxr....... ,1r:. --,1. :1. l.....4