The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-10
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

a HHINoCERoS mas been IN tue London zoo for
twenty eight years. This is stated to be the
longest time an animal of this kind has lived In
captivity.
AT the food exposition in Madison Square gar
den, New York city, a lot of lsrgs vegetables
are being shown Among the collection are
cornstalks seventeen feet high, peppers ~ feet
long growing on the vine, and white plumed
celery "a feet long.
IT IS PROPOSED TO introduce the kangaroo Of
Australia into North America as a substitute
for the extinct, or all but extinct, bison Parts
or the country, especially in the west, unsulted
Tor cultivation or other stock might, it is
thought, be utilized in breeding kangaroos
which not only afford good sport, but flesh,
fur and footwear"
ARTISTS in Paris have been known to i'm iuate
the work of masters and sell them to earn
bread. The most conspicuous recent case was
that OF man who successfully initiated the
superficial characteristics of Corot and sold
many false Corots at prices ranging as low as
$40 each. He made no concealment Of the fact
among his fellow students.
A MAN who met with shipwreok of the coast
OF Cuba and had to take to an open boat tells
OF the peculiar hallucination, called by sailors
the Paradise craze, brought on by exposure
to the terrific heat of the suns rays observes a
writer in the New York Tribune, He says:
The sea appeared to be transformed into a
mighty meadow, bright with flowers and mu-
sical with song of birds Cool springs burst
from crystal rocks and trickled over golden
sands. and men and maidens danced beneath
the trees. They seemed beckoning me to Join
them, and plunged over the sidA of the boat
into 40 fathoms of brine. The bath brought me
to my senses and reached the Cuban coast
more dead than alive. The mania is of frequent
occurrence in tropical seas, and is often referred
to by poets"
IT Is RUMoRED that one Of the brigands who
have been making havoc in the Campagna lis a
brother Of the vicar general: Not long ago he
headed party Of desperadoes that attac1 ed
the vehicle of church. Ignitary on the outskirts
OF Rome. The divine was horribly frightened
but was treasured by the hiRhwRyman
VINO declared he would not harm so well mean
ing man as himself. In short while Monsg-
more and the masked man were 10 deep CONVEX
sation, the former having been completely won
over by the distinguished manners of the
brlgand. A few day. later Monsignore received
courteous note explaining that fur-lined
cloak was needed, and stated that it might be
left at a certain spot. There was polite hint
that the garment was desired by the friend who
had the pleasure of granting a free pass on such
road at a recent meeting. 1t il necessary to
add that the cloak was gratefully forwarded to
ITS destination.
MATCHES, saws the Chrfstidn Union represent
the difference between barbarism and civiIiza-
tion, and how much we owe to the intelligent
genius which has made them so cheap that
there Is no one so poor that he cannot buy a
box OF matches Years ago the making of
matches furnished employment to thousands of
girls and boys Little bits of wood cut the
length of the match were laid on strips of wood
in which notches had been cut to hold them
The girls spread the matches along so that each
slip OF wood fell in its right place, laid another
strip Of wood on top Of 1t, and so on until
pile of dozen was arranged. These
were clamped together and then were
ready for the sulphur bath. After
they had BEEN dipped on both sides they were
laid in frames until dry, and then PACKED in
| boxes. Now all this is changed. The slips Of
wood are handled entirely by machinery This
has reduced the cost OF production very much
and, of course, reduced the cost to the individ-
ual buyer: 1t was considered formerly that the
making Of matches was very unhealthful labor,
| but it has been discovered that with cleanliness
| and care it is no more unhealthful than many
| other forms of labor in which chemicals are EN-.
| ployed."
WITHIN the last two or three years Algeria
has been sorely plagued with locusts, and the
French government has been compelled to take
active measures against the pest A French
| naturalist NJ d'Herculais, was sent 10 Algeria
| to study the question. Il was soon reported
that he had been overcome by heat or vertigo
while out on the desert investigating the habits
of the locusts, and that they had come upon
| him in a swarm and devoured his body and
| even his clothing. The story proved to be false
but was not denied until fRtterinR obituaries of
| NJ. d'Herculais had appeared in many quarters
| The work of the first two years against the To-
Gusts was Ineffective because of the general ig-
norance Of the life history Of the insect In
| 1891 the question was better understood and
| adequate means were adopted to reduce the
numbers Of the insects, IL they could not be
| exterminAted. The country was divided into
sections and subSections each 10 charge of a
civil or military officer, and power was given
these chiefs to impress native labor when
needed. In February the campaign was opened
by an energttc collection OF the eggs of the
locusts. The eggs are laid in the ground, about
two inches below the surface and are easily
found by means of the holes made by the female
In laying them. In the provinces Of "Kaidats"
Of Susa, Diemel and Mehedia over $4,000 kilo-
grams about 125 900 pounds-of eggs were col.
lected, and other provinces harvested as many
They we're destroyed by burning. In spite of
this enormous destruction of eggs, hordes of
locusts appeared at the usual Matching season
and the next move against them began. This
columns into which the young locusts form
themselves six or seven days after Matching
Their speed at first is about sixty ards an hour
and the crawling srage lasts forty-hve to fifty
days. When first Matched they are somewhat
sluggish. and many were crushed while thus in
active. The destruction of a marching column
was effected by the use Of the screen system
long known and used in Cyprus for the same
purpose. A screen of cloth is erected across the
line of march, with openings about five yards
wide at regular intervals These openings are
spanned by bitches into which the locusts fall as
they pass through the openings IN the screen
while projecting strips Of zinc prevent them
from ascending the sides OF the ditch and es
Gaping. The locusts caught in these traps are
either burned or killed with asphyxiating LIQUIDS
such as diluted oil of creosote or carbolic
acid. In the Zaghouan and Fahs districts
It is estimated that 900 cubic meters of locust
we're destroyed in the traps. IL was noticed
that the migrating swarms OF young locusts
were usually officered by older ones, and this
is thought to account for the unerring accuracy
with which column would make for suitable
vineyard or other feeding ground. 1t was found
necessary, in erecting the screens, to make no
great noise or hustle, or the approaching army
would take tho alarm and change its direction
Operations on such scale are, OF course pos
slble only where labor Is cheap. In this instance
the natives employed, when put to work
on the farms of their own district were sup
piled by the kaid, or governor, with ratlons OF
bread and oil, but when summoned to meet a
sudden emergency at distance they received
IS cents a day. besides ratons Of coffee and
mutton. The results obtained were considered
satisfactory, but little damage having been
done 70 vineyards or other crops IL is certain.
however, that without the intelligent super
vision of the French army officers success would
not have been attained, and they in turn we're
dependent upon the previous study Of this in.
sect's habits by entomologists for the data
upon which to plan an intelligent campaign.