The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-04-10
PERSONAL AND PECULIAR.


A race between bees and pigeons lately
took place in Westphalia. The bees were
marked by rolling in -four. and the first
reachedihome over the distance of 81 miles
TWENTY-FIVE seconds before the first pigeon,
three other bees arriving before the second
pigeon.
In Egypt.ladies used to carry their devo-
ton for their feline pets so far as to go into
mourning for them when they died, by
shaving off their eyebrowsI Favorite cats
used to. be embaimed, too, and these NAV be
seen today at the British Museum. Even
now eats are held in high esteem in Egypt,
and In at least one of the Khedives palaces
at Cairo there is free ration distributed
every day to any cats that may care to apply.
1t appears from communication made to
the Regli Lincei, at Rome, that cells and MUIR
en@ possess a poison similar to that of vipers
In them 1t is not found lin the mouth, and
they have no organ for inoculating their
enemies with it. So 1t is usually without
any effect upon man, because in the eel eaten
by him as food the poison is destroyed by
neat Oh cooking, and also because, as is the
case with the venom of the ripper, it has no
effect upon the digestive ways.
The Smithsonian people are immensely
pleased at find they have recently made in
bottle-nose whale. The National Museum
which is practically the peoples annex to
the Smithsonian, has splendid collection,
the finest Ia the world, of fish and fisheries.
Now, while the whale isn't fish. vet it
swims, and the Museum wanted bottle
nose whale badly: and it was delighted to
get this one that was captured off the Jersey
coast. The whale will have a plaster cast
taken from him, and then a perfect model
made In papier mache, probably obtained
from the macerating of greenbacks in the
| treasury. The skeleton will then be articu-
latec and preserved. The museum possesses
several PAPER mache whales. all taken from
from life, but the bottle-nose was not in the
collection.
There Is an epidemic OF suicide in the
Austrian army. The latest aud most sensa.
tional was that of Lieut.. Mangesius, at
Klausenburg. He seemed depressed. and,
leaving his comrades, went into room
where a number of rifles were kept. Taking
one of these, he called soldier and ordered
him to show. If he could aim properly.
Point at my left eye," said the lieutenant,
| and the soldier, without any idea that the
gun was loaded, did so. The lieutenant gave
the usual commands to make ready, present
and ire, the soldier obeying each, and being
| Mortified at the last to see the lieutenant fall
dead. The correctness of the soldiers aim
| was proven, for the ball had gone through
the left eye. The lieutenant had left letter
10 ms captain saying that the soldier who
would shoot him would be entirely innocent.
A few years ago twenty-inch telescope
was the maximum size of the astronomers
friend. Today we have from the hand of
Alvan Clark the thirty-six inch telescope, the
largest instrument in the world. The daring
of this tremendous undertaking was the won
der of the scientific world. Now Mr.. Clark
proposes to construct telescope that will
snrpass In size, and probably in power,
fight Of the astronomers imagination.
This will be forty-inch telescope for the
observatory of the University Of Southern
California. Hon. G. +. Spence of Los An
geles has guaranteed the price asked by Mr..
Clark-S100, 600 and the contract is now
being formulated with President Bovard
that will insure its completion. 1t is to be
placed on the top Of Wilson's Peak, one mile
above the level of the tsea, said to be the
] finest site for an observatory in the world.
Wilson's Peak is near the city of Pasadena.
The Paris correspondent of the Medical
Press and Circular reports that at the last
meeting of the Academic DIES Sciences, Prof.
Brown-Sequard referred to some experiment
he had conducted. with view to determine
what, If any, were the toxic effects of the
human breath. In condensing the watery
vapor coming from the human lungs, he OBJ
tanned poisonous liquid capable of produc-
ing almost immediate death. This poison is
an alkaloid (organic), and not microbe or
series Of microbes, as might have been i'm
agined. He injected this liquid under the
skin Of rabbit, and the effect twas speedily
mortal. The animal died without convui-
sions the heart and large vessels were en-
gorged with reddish blood, contrary to what
is observed after ordinary death, when the
quantity of blood is moderate and of dark
color. In conclusion, this eminent phsiolo-
gist said that 1t was fully proved that
respired air contained volatile toxic princi-
acid which was also one of its constituents,
and that the human breath, as well as that
of animals, contains a highly poisonous
agent.