The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-03
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

THEY are having hard work finding hard pan
| for the foundations of the new bridge across
the Thames at East New London, Conn. They
! have put spiles down 113 feet, and have not got
| TO solid earth. 1t is thought that bottom will
be reached at about 1870 feet.
JAPANESE THEATERs naturally have their PEI
culiarities. A person familiar with them says a
very singular custom prevails of allowing a
visitor, for a small extra foe, to stand up, and
the unfortunate individual behind him has no
right to demonstrate, or to rise and try to get a
peep at the stage. He may hear, but he cannot
see. Another popularity is that the extrava-
gantly disposed visitor may purchase the right
to sit upon the stage wherever he likes, and the
actors go with their parts in apparent uncon-
seriousness of his presence. Our authority says
he has seen a broad-sword combat fought all
| around a visitor, who showed no disposition to
move.
NEW plan of irrigation has just been inaug-
urated on the Pawnee river south Of Larned,
Kan. A large wheel is placed in the edge of the
water which resembles somewhat double
windmill The wheel il so constructed and con-
nected that it is kept constantly turning by the
current. To the rim of the wheel is attached
eight large troughs, each holding eight gallons
OF water AS the wheel turns these troughs
dip up water carry it to the highest point of
the wheel and there empty it into the irriga-
ton ditch. Through bitches and lateras it is
then carried to the adjacent land By this
means the river by its own force is constantly
country
EXPERIMENTS are still being made under the
direction of the Russian government with the
view of finding a process, at once practicable
as well as desirable on the score of economy
and cleanliness, of solidifying the petroleum
used as fuel. According to the report made by
DIR. Kaufman, who has had the principal
charge of these experiments, a successful
method of accomplishing the desired result CON
sists simply in heating the oil, and afterward
adding from to per cent OF soap. The latter
dissolves in the oil, and the liquid on cooling
forms mass having the appearance of cement
and the hardness of compact tallow The prod
uct is hard to light, burns slowly and without
smoke, but develops much heat, and leaves
about per cent of hard, black residuum
THE glass; eating mania has lost its popularity
of lace, and now young man who has been
astonishing the natives in st. LOUIS by his ap-
petite for goblets, wineglaSses, etc, gives the
craze another set back by declaring that glass
eaters are not always what they seem. In other
words that they are more careful of themselves
than would appear, as instanced In the case OF
a colored man, who had a set of false teeth
with rubber tube attachment, which he pushed
down his throat with a wire. When the tube
was full Bill had to quit glaSseatng and slip
off and empty his tube One day the thing
didn't work right, and big chunk OF glass got
: in between the tube and Bills throat. He tried
all his might to get it out but it wouldn I come
out, and Bill died" Such, at least, is the st.
Louis eaters curious" story, which he does not
apply to himself as he insists that he has actu-
ally swallowed for number of years
AN EXPERT in Photographic reproductions
states that the most favorable illumination for
oil paintings is a direct front light, by which
shadows cast from very thick strata of paint
and strong brush marks, are considerably
allayed, and the structure of the canvas is made
invisible Black or neutral coored screens
placed at certain angles toward the object to be
copied, will absorb the Objectionable light, and
leave the original free from reflections Gloss
and flares may cause disturbances, but these
may be overcome by placing rejecting mirrors
behind the lamps, and by adjusting one hori-
zontally directly under the picture When very
old paintings have hung far long time exposed
and subjected to dust, moisture. and other
damaging influences, the surface of the paint
ing is so much incrusted with dirt as to make
good copy from 1t an impossibility; under these
circumstances. the picture should If practicable
be cleaned with a soft sponge, water and soap,
and, after allowing to dry slowly, rubbed over
with dry soft sponge. then with oil or glycer-
inc and water.