Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1892-02-19
FOREIGN GOSSIP.

"A German resident on the isthmus
of Panama claims to have discovered
large beds of pearl oysters in the Car
ribean sea, on the coast above Colon.
He is arranging for expert pearl divers
to do some experimental fishing, and he
expects to develop with the beds the
fact that he has something more valua-
bic than gold mine.
The French baker is not only re-
ouired TO conform to laws regarding
weight, but he is also told at what price
he must sell his bread. He is further
required to deposit certain sum OF
money in the hands of the municipal
uthorities as surety of good behavior
In the large fortified cities he has to
keep specified quantity on hand to
provide for warlike emergencies.
Partisan dairymen and grocers have
a self-dispensing system of selling milk
etc, similar to the nickel-in-the-slot
plan, except that it requires some one
TO sec that the money is honestly paid.
Cans with taps are placed on table or
shelf outside the store, with measure
holeing about half pint. The GUS
toner helps himself, puts down his coin
and gaes, 50 there is no tedious waiting
to be served.
The French government has been
experimenting with several patents
submitted for the purpose of making
army overcoats waterproof. A solution
of acetate of alumina seems to produce
the desired effect at moderate ex-
pense, but the question remains If
clothing thus prepared will not be liza
BILE to the Objectionable popularity of
rubber coats, viz: The tendency to OBJ
struct perspiration.
"A fortunate farm laborer in Kent,
England, has attained to considerable
skill in the very difficult business of
catching stoats alive. These animals
are similar to the ferret and weasel,
and are particularly fond of killing rab-
bitr. The man receives Sl.S0 from an
Australian agent acting for the gov
eminent of New South Wales for each
stoat, the animals being in great de-
mand for thinning off the rabbits.
Explorer Buttikoffer says that a
clock is rarely seen in the farm-houses
of Liberia, and many of the town resi-
dents have no timepiece of any sort.
He adds that there are few civilized
countries where timepiece can be dis
pensed with so conveniently. The sun
rises at a. m. and sets at 6 p. m. al
most TO the minute the year round, and
at noon it is vertically overhead. Many
of the people become so expert in telling
time by the sun that they are rarely
more than a quarter of an hour out of
the way. In place of alarm clocks they
depend upon the growing chanticleer to
arouse them in the morning.
Since the mikado of Japan permit
ted his subjects to emigrate to other
countries nearly 100, 900 of them have
left their native land. There are about
90, 600 of them in Hawaii and more of
them arrive there every month. TIL ere
is large number of them in Australia.
They are TO be found in various coun-
tries of the Asiatic continent, and some
of them are in Europe. There are
about 1900 of them in California, and
others are constantly arriving there to
work in the vineyards. In the city of
New York there may be 200 japanese,
and there are few of them in many
other American cities. Wherever they
| go they have the reputation of being
industrious and inoffensive. The pop
ulation of japan is $1,000, 900.