Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-03-24
ODDS AND ENDS,

Fifty thousand Bank OF England
notes are, on the average, made daily.
About 300 organ grinders arrive in
London every June from Italy, and
leave again about October.
\ New Hampshire woman has set
out to count the kernels of corn on
so, 900 full sized cobs, and at last re-
ports she had got through with 5000
cobs and was not discouraged.
The British military authorities an
nounce as tho subject for the prize es-
say of the United service institution for
1890, ''The tactical operations of the
future as affected by the introduction
of magazine rifles and machine and
quick firing guns and smokeless pow
der"
Last year there were 3, 131 calls to
fires in London OF these 594 were
false alarms, 1919 were chimney fires
and 2,330 for other fires, 153 of which
resulted in serious damage. Forty-four
persons We're burned to death. To ex-
tinguish the fires 20, 900, 900 gallons, or
90, 900 tons, of water were used.
The highest meteorological station in
Europe is on top of the Sounblick, in
Austria, 10, 16S feet above the level of
the sea- The operator is Peter Lech-
ner, who lives there with no human
companion, and with no communica-
ton with the outer world except by
telegraph and telephone.
The Pixies Peak cogway will be IL
Illuminated the entire seven miles by
electricity. Cartoons will sparkle on
top of the old giant of the Rockies,
and night train will be run for the
benefit Of those who enjoy novelty. 1t
will require an enormous outlay of
money to put in the plant, but the
contractors say it will be done.
The English army and navy is being
outraged by the sight of men in the
uniform of the highest officers parading
about the streets of London at the
head of professions of sandwich men
advertising soap, and it is found that
there is no law to prevent any one
from wearing any uniform except that
of policeman.
The Russian government has taken
a step toward alleviating the condition
of prisoners. It has purchased a
steamer to convey prisoners on their
way to Siberia down the Volga instead
of sending them on the old barges,
which made the voyage a terrible
cruelty.
The rag ball at Vienna at the close
of the carnival season was a great sue
cess and netted 1000 for the poor of
the city. The highest members of the
local aristocracy in costly caricatures
of ragged costumes danced at the ball,
grand ladies assisted as beggars, there
were ragged quadrilles of honor, three
imperial archdukes figured as scaven-
gers, and military officers, disguised as
beggars, danced a cancan.
On a half acre of land in Middles-
borough, KY, the town which is now
having a boom, there are twenty-four
distinct varieties of trees, as follows:
White oak, walnut, red oak, poplar,
cherry, sassafras, perslmmon, plum,
maple, mulberry, pawpaw, hickory,
water beech, dog wood, sycamore,
willow, ash, elm, red haw, box elder,
sweet gum, spicewood, black gum,
black haw.
During a storm which recently
ragged in the canton of Neufchatel, in
Switzerland, a shower of living cater
pillars fell on the hill of Cretets They
were in myriads, and of three species
some yellow, the others black and
varying in length. Among the cater
pillars were many other insects. The
source from which the gale conveyed
them is unknown.
Stanley says that during his recent
African expedition he came across a
new and interesting race of blacks, the
Wahoumas, who were absolutely Eu-
ropean in type and very intelligent.
They appeared to be descendants of the
ancient Philippians, who settled in
way not known to him in Equatorial
Africa. These people never mingled
with the aboriginal races, but kept
their blood intact, considering the or
binary negroes beneath them.
Two years ago the condition of that
beautiful monument of Moorish art,
the cathedral of Seville, once a mosque,
excited great anxiety. A pillar and
part of an arch in the nave fell, and
fears were entertained that the whole
building might suddenly collapse. 1t
is now believed that by massive sub
struction the danger of further mis-
chief has been averted. The fallen pill
lar and arch are being replaced, and
other extensive repairs and restora-
tons are being CARRIED out.
The question of whether or not it is
cruel to dishOrn COWS is before the
Scotch courts, the defense being that
it is necessary to cut off the horns of
Irish and Canadian cattle to keep
them from goring each other in the
feeding courts used in Scotland dur
ing the winter. One witness testified
that experience had converted him to
favor dishorning, and that he now
practices it with all his Guernsey
cows, who seem to suffer little pain
from the operation and the quality of
whose milk is not affected by it. The
English courts have held that the