The Washington critic., 1889-04-11
MATTER WORTH READING.


V"e VI 'iV 'h"ou S"i'o" Va sii h"9V'"i
animals Is the ornithorhynchus paradoxus.
IL Is paradoxioal, being half bird and half
mammal. IL lives chiefly In the water, aud
seeks its food by means OF its bill In the
mud, like ducks. The young are produced
In very imperfect state. The animal Is
indeed strictly oviparous. The foetus re-
ceives no nutrimcnt from the parent before
birtn, except what IL derives from the
ovum, which, however, is Matched within
the BODY Oh the parent put the young are
sucked, ana the mouth Is adapted TO this
by inc comparative shortness OF the Dill
ana greater length OF the tongue at TINS
penou Oh IRE AS this animal mas hau
great attention caileu 10 " oy the Oar
"imans, VINO use IL as an Illustration OF
connecting hhk between specles,n VIII oe
wen 70 give ra.ner minute description OF
W. IL certainty a most odnlooking
anair. Inc auult amman is about twenty
inehes IN ieng.n rom 'ne enu Q, tne p'ii 70
cnu Vi Vnc 'an. me oouy is ra'net
iong anu conpresseo anu tnickiy covered
WIN very g'ossy na'r, among tne roots Oh
wnicn is layer Oh soi'' snort, waterproof
ici' Ut 'wauuing. ine neau ID smaii ana
iounu' WIN sn'hiii pfigne eyes, ana no OK
ternal ears, although the internal ears are
perfectly developed and the hearing acute,
anu lns,eau Oh tne inuzzie, mouth ana
'nc lee'n Vi ah oruihary quadruped the
creature is furnished with bill like
the fore feet have each Gvetoea WITH strorr
burroxino clawa and n connoot,,o, ,no,,,.
brane for swimm;pg v,,,,oh axtands aror
peyonu 'he Claws put is capable OF being
'ioioeo PACK, SO as not 10 impede their use
III purrowing. Inc nino Ieet are smaller
than tne lore ieeti they also nave hvo toes,
armed WIN claws ana wepoed' but the web
uoes not eNtenu peyond tne pase oil the
cia"s' Inc hihu ieet OF the male nave
snarp spurs IKE that Oh the COCK, which are
merely documentary IN the female. These
spurs were al one tmo erroneously sup
poser 70 DC venomous' Inc tail is strong,
proau' anu na'teheu, ABOUT haif as long as
.he pooy' covered with long and coarse
Da'r' anu nearly nakeu ON lts under surface.
inis amman is livery ana active, aud 80
readiiy alarmed Dy the approach OF danger
US not 10 pe easily shot' diving before aim
can pe 'ahen' ~ rs usually 10 DC seen with
only its head ABOVE tne WAFER. III prefers
tne twingnt 10 tne glare Oh the day, and It's
voice resembles the growiof a small puppy.
~ carefully dresses ana pecks Its fur, aud
"heh asleep roiis itseii INTO q oaii'
Ben Buffers Manufacturing Company.
On the,virginia side of the Potomac, lust
below Great Falls, stands a decrepit old
wooden structure bearing huge signboard
which reads "Great Falls Manufacturing
&c. (Limited'D The big sounding inscrip-
ton Is In decided contrast to the insignif-
caut appearance OF the building, which is
the properly OF Gen. Benjamin +. Butler.
The establishment has story, and OF course
1t illustrates the business shrewdness Of the
great MASSACHUSETTS, lawyer and politician,
as nearly all stories In which he Is concerned
DO. lew years ago II was Thought that
this great water power would be utilized to
turn the wheels OF scores OF busy manufac'
turing concerns on the Potomac, but when
the attention Of Congress was turned to the
question Of water supply for Washington
city It did not require great deal of time
for some engineer TO see the opportunity Of
utilizing the force to carry and distribute
water into the Capital. The plan WAS re-
cognixed as q good one. and was carried
out, but In order to increase the force of
the water long dam extending one-half or
perhaps three-quarters of the distance
across the river above the falls was pro-
jected, by means Of which the flow OF the
river over the falls was compressed into
narrow channel
No sooner had the dam been completed