The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

| A1@hAo VI I'm IEhLO4s
CONTEMPORARY, says the London Globe, re-
| marks that, in spite of the large sums paid
| every year in India as rewards for the destruc-
ZION OF poisonous reptiles the latter seem to be-
| as numerous as ever, no less than 500 persons
having been killed in the Puniaub last wear by
snake bites. Our contemporary suggests that
the prevalence of snakes may be attributed
partly To the MusSulman prejudice against
swine and to the British love of pig STICKING.
Snakes and hogs cannot live together, and in
the struggle for existence 1t is the hogs that
survive. On the whole we should be more in
olined to attribute the snakes to the high re-
wards that are offered for their destruction
Inc witty native is quite capable of keeping
preserves of them, and thus earning dishonest
end rather risky livelihood.
GREAT SOURCE OF annoyance aud expense
to electric railway companies is the encroach-
ments of the grass which grows around the
rails OF their lines An effective mode of get
ting rid of this nuisance has just been devised
In the shape of an electrical vegetation de.
stroyer. This consists of a wire brush. very
much in appearance like an ordinary scrubbing
brush. This is connected by wire with dy-
namo in the nearest available electric light or
power station. \ powerful current is turned
on, and an operator drags the fully charged
brush, which Is supplied with a wooden handle
over the grass killing il Instantly. There are
many ways in which this ability 70 instantly de-
stroy vegetation can be utilized Gardeners es-
pecially, are likely to be grateful for such a
ready method of getting rid of noxious weeds
OA koA uSu WdiNS do wen hS IN mower DSQB.
DR.. r. W. ST. CLAIR, of Fort Wayne, Ind,
tells how, a few years since, he was riding on an
engine and caught cInder in his eye that
caused the most excruciating pain. He says
that he naturally began to rub the afflicted or
gan. when the engineer called out: Let that
eye alone and rub the other one." the doctor
looked incredulously at his advisor but the lat
ter only continued: Il know you doctors think
you know it ALL but il you will let that eye
alone and rub the other one the cinder wRl DO
uve mi ba ha
began to rub the well eye vigorously and soon
felt the cinder move down to the inner corner
de was preparing to take it out by the aid of
small mirror when she engineer again ad-
monished him to keep rubbing the well eye,"
which he did for minute longer, and then
found that the clnier had slipped down onto his
cheek.
A GERMAN has patented a process for making
barrels without stavas. says the New York sun.
The trunk Of tree is sawed into lengths to the
size OF the barrel required, and the chunks are
placed in boiler for few hours 1t is be-
ieved that If a current of electricity be passed
through the boiler chemical action Is gener-
ated that softens the wood for working After
the boiling the bark is striped from the chunks.
In front of cutting tool the Chunks are held
by forks in manner similar to that in which a
piece of wood is held in a lathe. The chunk re-
wolves rapidly against the edge Of q fixed broad
blade that cuts continuous sheet Of soft wood
of any desired thickness, The strip passes TO a
fiat table, where it Is cut transversely into
lengths OF the required size. One machine cuts
grooves for the head and bottom and another
cuts V-shaped lots out Of the edges Then the
pieces are bent into cylinders and hooped.
Molstur9 Is extracted by drying apparatus.
GUsTAvUs STEINBERa, Swedish coin dealer,
recently received through the custom house
collection of exceedingly unique coins. which it
is proposed to exhibit at the worlds fair, says
theColumbus t0l sun. The coins came from
Sweden, where they circulated in the sixteenth
century. They bear more resemblance to pieces
Of hA5l las irCn ftar fnor
The coins are great fiat pieces of copper cut
into very poor squares. The smallest coin IS
four inches square and worth 30 cents, and the
largest over a foot square and with a face value
af 81. Each slab of copper it stamped in several
places with an inscription giving Its dates of is
sue and It's denomination. The largest weighed
over four pounds These enormous and cum
bersome coins were the result of an absurd
craze which prevailed several hundred years
ago regarding the exclusive use Of copper for
money. 1t carried the coinage of copper to sb-
surd lengths and the people discarded its use.
In those days of copper coinage, wealthy ladies
were compelled to hire an attendant to accom-
/ pany them to carry bucket full of the coppeFs
while shopping.
THERE is only one factory in Russia for the
manufacture of playing cards. says the London
Public Opinion. 1t has monopoly Of the bust
ness and belongs to the Founding hospital. 1t
is figured that there are sc, 100000 people in
Russia who play cards, and 70 supply the de-
mand this factory puts out 6,oOo, 900 packs OF
quantity Of cards oaly 329 women. aged from IS
to % years, and slxty-eight men are employed.
And they are chosen amid the sisters wives and
daughters of the workmen at the factory. Both
exterioriy and interiorly the factory is a model
OF cleanliness This is one Of the essential con-
ditions OF this branch Of production All the
employees live attthe factory and earn IS to SIS
month. They work from in the morning 10 8
O'Clock at night, and are allowed two hours
day for their meals. Besides the ordinary play
ing cards of different qualities the factory pro-
luCes annually l2O.UDO packs of figured cards
for the German colonies. besides 10, 900 packs of
miniature PLAYING cards as toys. The annual
profit Of the factory amounts to about 100000.
The cardboard is supplied by the Neva paper
mill.
AMONG the predacious insects the species
which probably destroys the greatest number
Of grasshoppers is tie black wasp, says the
Washington Star. The female digs her burrow
in the earth and provisions it with choppers, -
which she catches on the wing stupefying them
by repeatedly thrusting her sting into their
bodies. The victim being thus paralyzed the
wasp gets asLride of ir, seZes 1t by the antennR
and drags 1t TO her burrow Having placed it
in the bottom OF the burrow she deposits one or
more eggs upon it aud then with her fore feet
fills the burrow up with earth. Thus when tie
eggs hatch out the young wasps will And plenty
of nutritious food. So busily does the wasp
occupy herself in this useful work that she may
be seen searching for and burying grasshop-
pers all through the day. Curiously
enough, she always seems TO select
devastating locust for her prey. Grasshop-
pers have also certain animal parasites which
prey upon them and kill them, nothing remain
ing of their corpses finally but mere shells
Individuals thus affected have been gathered
for the purpose of propapating the mischief
among tteir kind. Healthy living ones have
Dlaced with the infected bodies of dead 'hOu-
pers. and, when they have become inoculated
others will be treated likewise. Finally num-
beers OF the diseased insects will be scattered in
the fields with a view 70 spreading the COM
plant How effective this method will be re-
mains 10 be seen.