Telegram-herald., 1889-10-07
POPULAR PALACES.
a Few OF she Mistssen Ideas that the
Public Indulge In.


A common error Is To suppose that
birds sleep with the head beneath the
wing. No bird ever sleeps SO the head
Is turntd round and laid upon tho back,
where it is often concealed by feathers
That dogs are kept IN health by the
addition OF birthstone 70 their drinking
water. Seeing that stone birthstone Is
utterly inSoluble IN water, fail 70 ger
ceiye use it can possibly De 10 tie dog
That cows are fond OF buttercups
Cows, as we'll as horses, in grazing care
fully avoid these plants. which, like al
the Rangnculi, arc harsh, aStrIngent,
aud somewhat poisonous.
That washing the face in morning
dew improves the complexion. Dew is
distilled water: but, being merely pure
water, il cannot exercise any special
influence on the skin. | am unwilling
however, 70 dispel this pleasing illU-
sion, and therefore say: ''By all means
young ladies, WASH your faces in thf
morning dew, IN full belief in It's eff
cacy. To do so you must rise early and
breathe the pure morning air; this will
benefit your health, and no doubt your
complexion at the same time" This
Is undoubtedly the lesson intended TO
be incUlcated.
That fire is extinguished by the sun
shining on it. The effect in this case
is apparent, not real. A fairly good fire
looks little better than heap of white
ashes under the powerful light of the
suns rays.
That there is economy IL putting fire
bricks or clayballs into a fire. Consid-
ering that whatever heat they give out
is derived from the fire itself, and that
being themselves utterly incombust-
ible, they contribute nothing 20 the
heat Of the fire, there can be no econ
omy In their use. Our method of using
fuel is, however. terribly wasteful; a
large percentage of cOmbustible matter.
as well as heat, goes up the fue and Is
wasted.
That pipes are bust by sudden thaw.
The thaw merely finds out the bursting
that has already been effected by the
frost. 1t is the expansion of water
when passing into the icy state that
bursts water-pipes of whatever material.
That the bones are brittle in frosty
weather. No doubt more bones are
broken in winter than in summer, but
this is due to the slippery state of the
roads at that season, not to speak of &C
cidents on the ice. and not to any alb
normal condition Of our bones.
That "thunderOolts' are tangible
realities that can be handled and pre-
served as curiosities. The only thun
derbolt is the fash of lightning, often
no doubt destructive, but never accom-
panied by any solid. The only solid
bodies that ever fall 70 the earth from
the sky are aerolites, or bodies coming
from outer space and having nothing TO
do with thunderstCrms.
That mirrors attract ligh thing, and
should be covered or turned 10 the wall
during thunderstorm. This is pure
Ilusion, arising from the fact that mir
-=rs reject the lightning fash and thus
add 20 the terror and apparent danger Of
-he storm
On Mount Victoria.
Sir William McGregor, governor Of New
Guinea, has recently made the ascent Of
Mount Victoria, l3, l2l feet high, the highest
peak Of the Owen Stanley range On the
summit daisies, bUttercups, forget-me- nots,
grasses and heather were growing. and larks
we're seen. lcicles and white frosts were met
with. The country travcrsed by the party
was very mountainous Natives were met
with only on two occasions. They were stout.
well built men, with short legs No women
were seen They were destitute of warlk.
implements Many new plants and BIRDS were
discovered and one animal resen bling a bear,
but with . long tail. TIA extreme length iszS
feet inches. the tail being IS inches long.
Chicago Herald