Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-02

ing 149 miles about one-third in practically
finished. The passage of the Andes is eff
tected at Cumbre Pass, which is 13,O45 feet
above the sea. The railroad, however. does
not reach the summit OF the pass, but pierces
the mountain by means of tunnel upward
of three miles long, at an elevation of 10, 450
| feet above the sea. 1t is thus the highest
railway in the world, and in many respects
! the most remarkable. The ST. Gothard
Railroad is only 8, 1888 feet nigh, and that on
] the Rigi 5,753 feet. The grades are. of
! course, very steep, and for considerable
distance the rise is more than 400 feet to the
mile, or l foot in every 121S. On this por-
| ton of the line a rack rail similar to those
on the Hartz and other mountain railroads
is employed. The opening of this railway
across the Andes will do away with great
| deal of the navigation around Cape Horn,
which has been the only means of commerce
| between the East and West Coasts of South
America, and will have an important in
fuence on the DEVELOPMENT of the commerce
and industry of that wealthy and fertile
region OF the world.
| FRUIT TREE FOR THE SoUTH-The Ny
rica rubra. an evergreen fruit-bearing tree,
indigenous to japan, has lately attracted
the afeution of botanists, who are loud in
their concentrations of its commercial
value. The foliage resembles the magnolias,
being of firm leathery texture, and the tree
attains height of 40 feet to so feet, and the
stem girth of 2H to feet The fruit bios
som appears in early spring, and the fruit
ripens in July. 1t resembles a firm black
berry, an inch long by three-fourths of an
inch in diameter, and contains single seed
stone of light weight. There are two varie-
/ af frui IL rod aln o4e4
black, and the other light rose, superior in
flavor to the dark. The fruit is highly
| favored, vinous and sweet, delicious as a
| dessert, and makes a fine preserve. The
juice extracted from it in its fresh state
makes refreshing beverage; allowed to fer
ment it makes afne wine, or set with alcohol
brandy is obtained.
Apart from its extreme fruitfulness the
tree is ornamental and useful, the bark being
! employed in Japan for dyeing pleasant
fawn color, and the timber for the most ele-
| CANT cabinet ware-having finer mottled
| grain than the blrd's-eye maple. The tree
| is perfectly hardy in all latitudes where the
| thermometer does not fall below 15O above
| zero, and would succeed admirably in part
| of Australia, California, Texas, Mexico,
| and the Southern States OF the Union. 1t is
easily propagated, but has never previously
| been cultivated BY the Japanese. From the
interest which its discovery has evoked,
| however, the probability is that its distribI-
| ton will in a short while be widely extended
beyond the limits OF Japan.
| PENNY PoSTAGE-Postmaster J. B.
| Harlow, of st. Louis. in speaking of 1-eent
postage in the Globe Democrat, says: SIT
will reduce to the minimum the sale of
postal cards, which are a nuisance to handle,
inasmuch as they stick together and get into
unsealed envelopes and cause considerable
trouble. Unsealed circular letters, which
are now so numerous, will cease. These are
also troublesome to handle, as oftentimes
| smaller letters get into the unsealed enve-
| lopes, and in many instances cause delay
Then, in a given time, from 10 to 20 per cent
more sealed letters can be handled than
| postal cards or circular letters. One.cent
| postage would be the same as the present
| postage on tourth-class matter or merchand
ize, and would wipe that entirely out of ex-
istance. 1t would give an opportunity to
persons sending presents to seal the package
and inclose note, which is oftentimes very
desirable. and at the present rate. The
| volume of first-class matter would grow
enormously, but with it would come addi-
tional postage, as more packages now car
ried by otacr systemsof delivery would be
sent by mail at the cheap rate, as there is
| no limit to flrst-class matter as to weight.
In other words, 1t would take the place of
the parcel post, such as is in use in foreign
countries. 1t would be the cheapest rate in
the world. Another point. First-class mat
ter is returnable without additional postage,
and by the public taking advantage of.the
/ plan of attaching card or request on the
| envelope to return if not delivered, the
amount of dead matter would be greatly re-
| duced."
DREGs OF THE MINT.-A hundred big,
blue barrels. old whisky barrels, were rolled
out of the United States Mint in Philsdel-
phia few days ago, and afterward carted
away. These barrels had been taken from
the dark, subterranean recesses under the
mint by large force of brawny laborers who
found it no light work to handle them be-
| cause of their weight.
The contents of the barrels consisted OF
we'll packed dirt-dirt in the sense of an old
scientific definition, "dirt is matter mis-
placed" This dirt was the refuse of the
daily sweepings and periodical gatherings
! by processes of the dust and fine particles of
bullion from the several departments of the
institution. They were detached by
abrasion from the masses of precious metals
while undergoing the changes of form from
| that of bars or pigs as cast in the distant
mines to the beautiful shiny pieces of coin
money.
The average weight OF barrel of this re-
fuse is about quarter of a ton, and the
money value of all the barrels was more
than S. 600. The stuff thus taken away was
the accumulation of less than three months
time, and evidences the care exercised by
the mint authorities in saving the tiny fakes
of bright metal along with atom-like bits
that float about in the warm atmosphere of
! the workshops.
HIRING OUT BIBLEs.-There is a firm
| in New York that hires out Bibles. There
| is a popular impression that every family
possesses Bible, dictionary and a copy
of Shakespeare. This impression, like
many popular impressions, seems to be an
erroneous one. The Bibles thus hired out
are expensive ones, and suitable to hand
| over to fashionable clergyman or bishop,
if church dignitary so high as bishop is
favoring the family in question with a call
or visit. Such an interesting religious cpl
| sode in the life of fashionable family as
the appearance of bishop is usually un-
| known in advance, and the Bible is secured
| in proper time. The leaves between the Old
| and New Testaments are of course perfectly
blank, and if a representative OF the church
| should chance to turn to them he would find
that his fashionable friends were alarmingly
| destitute Of genealogical records. Such a
| discovery would strike the family discovered
with more horror than it would anyone else.
They seem willing, however, to take the
chances. Men who hire out the Bibles de-