Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1888-03-28
NEWS IN BRIEF.

y
of chinch bugs that ruined the corn
crop last season. Before the fires started
the fields and woods were swarming
with the huGs.
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-
ploded all the cartridges in the mans
belt, also setting fire 10 his clothing
and trappings.
An S.year-old girl in Marlboro.
Conn, is well supplied with living an
cestors, having, besides her father and
mother, two grandmothers, two grand
fathers, two great-grandmothers, two
great-grandfathers, and one great
great-grandmOther who is almost a
centcnarlau.
The use Of electric light on public
buildings at Washington has led to a
great increase in the number of spiders
webs. The lights attract multitudes OF
insects, and these in turn attract the
spiders. In many cases architectural
outlines have become badly obscured BY
the webs.
Manufacturers complain that the
African rubbers now received do not
yield, when strained and cleaned,
more than thirty or lfty-hve per cent.
of pure rubber gum, owing to the ma
tives adulteratlng with saw dust, bark
dust, etc, to overcome the Inconven-
lent sickness Of the Juice.
The physicians OF Louisville, Ky.
are mystided by case in the hospital
of that city. 1t is that of a Polish
| man who freely perspires blood. AS
far as can be ascertaiued his affection
ha ,E
| tracted IN equatorial regions. at last
accounts he was improving.
in 1852 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 Grea,
| American Desert. The cauels pros
! pered and multiplied; but when the
war came they were scattered through
the State and Arizona, and many OF
them became wild. Railroads have
! solved the Great American Desert
| problem, and the camelS have fallen
, Into mnocuoUs desuetuds.
Eighteen years ago, when the air
| brake was tried, 1t required eighteen
seconds to apply it to a train coo Teet
long. Four years later the time was
reduced four seconds. Recent expert
ments with the ar brake on freight
! trains show that it can be applied to
every car in train OF that length run
ming at the rate of forty miles am hour.
| and that this tram can be stopped
within 500 feet. or one-fourth of its
own length, and ali this without any
serious iOltlng.
"A card was Issued to Nina Van
Zandt under the name of Mrs. n.
| Spies. The library is under control of
the city government and when, re-
| Gently, she al pied for permission to
draw books as Mrs. Spies the managers
were undecided as 10 tho prOprIsty of
| granting her request and thus giving
quasi official recognition Of the validity
of the proxy marriage. They sought
legal advice. but with 10 definite re-
suit. Recently 1t was decided in the
absence of well-danued objection to
give out the card as applied for-to
Mrs. y. Spies.
! colorado wolves are, some of
them, great lovers OF music. a COW
| boy near WetmOTe, Whiled away the
time by playing a harmOnioa. One dav,
as he rode and played, wolf came to-
ward him and followed him closely.
He dismOunted, still playing, got a club,
and walked Up TO the animal, who all in
!
killed. i young girl, when she went
after the cows, used TO sing to herself.
A wolf heard her and followed her.
When a second person went with the
| girl the wolf did not appear. Then her
brother rode behind her on the horse.
and the wolf came too near the sing
ing and was shot.
The mint at Hamburg, Germany.
has received a contract for 25, OOO, 900
| bronze coins, which VIII constitute a
new currency for the Kingdom of
Siam. The coins VIII be of several de-
nominations, and will bear on one side
the portrait of the King OF Siam, while
on the other side VIII be an allegoricaI
figure representing genius. A West
phalla firm furnishes the metal. The
new coinage VIII replace the present
zinc currency, and the number issued
is about five CONS per head foT the
population of Siam. 1t will keep the
Hamburg mint busy for five months.
As recently as 1850 the Siamese silver
coinage atill consisted OF roughly spher-
ical pieces OF silver Of various sizes.
which were formed OF portions of sill
yer rods, which were first bent to-
Cether and afterward trimmed at the
ends and hammered, the whole being
then stamped with two or three de-
vices denOtlng the value. In 1861 the
SIamese embassy TO England made a
contract with a Birmingham firm for
the circular silver coinage Of seven de-
nominations, which has Siace been the
money Of the realm.
The year 1900 Will not be a 'sieap
year, as centural years not multiples
of 400, even though divlsibIe 10y four.
are not reckOned bis5eXtile, or leap
years. About foTty-aYe years before
Christ Julius Caesar decreel that every
fourth year should be held to consist
of 800 days, for the purpose of using
up the odd hours. Seeing that "a day
every fourth year was too much, it
followed that 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. Pope Gregory found, in 1882,
that there had been an oyerTeckonIng
10 the extent Of ten days, and that on
that time the veTnal equinox fell on the
1lth of March. To correct this he de-
creed that the jth of October Of that
year should be reckOned as the 18th.
and to keep the years right in future,
the overplus being eighteen hours,
tWenty-seyen minutes and ten seconds
In a century, he ordered that every
centurial year that could not be divided
by 400 should not be Dissextile, as IT
otherwise would be. The Gregorian
calendar was decreed by Pope Gregory
in 1882, on this basis, and was readily
adopted by Catholic, though not by
Protestant countries II did not OBJ
tain in Great Britain until 1852, by
which time the difference between the
Julian and Gregorian periods amounted
to eleven days. An act Of Parliament
was passed dictaLing that the Sd OF
September that year should be reck-
oned the l4th, and that three out OF
every four of the centurial years