The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-10-30
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
The umbrella is Chinese invention.

|
| The anclents thought that silk grew On
trees. ~
The State OF Kansas has o. railroad
employees.
An electric light. devised by Holmes. wss
tried In Dover lighthouse in 1858.
! In the seventeenth century the German
swords were the most highly esteemed.
Calhoun County, H.. has no railroad, tel
egrapb or telephone within its borders.
Lettuce Is an European plant ana was
used by the Greeks and Romans B. G. 200.
Probably the first electric railroad in Brs-
I'll has been put in operation in the city Of
Bahia.
Mexico has q Jail that is stated to consist
OF iiyeoak tree, with chain and staple at
tached.
The monument to Alexander II In the
kremlln IS nearly done. 1t has front OF
l6O feet. The interior will contain a cOios-
sal Droize statue Of the Emperor in corona
ton dress, the right hand extended in bless-
ing.
The Brazilian pottery tree contains sueS,
large ercentage of silica as TO make its
ashes valuable ingredient in pottery:
making. When green its wood cuts like
soft sandstone. To the botanist it is known
as mcQuiIed utilis.
A young Salinas man named Charles Gar
side has mvsteriOusly disappeared from his
nome. lie had become an inveterate Gig
arctic and tobacco fend. and it was feared
from recent actions that the weed had IN
balanced his mind.
The first street railroad in New York CITY
was the New York and Harlem. which was
chartered in 1881. 1t WAS steam railroad
at first, but being forbidden in 1885 to use
steam below Fourteenth street, horsecars
were then put on.
The first steel gun. properly so called, bulls
In THIS country was constructed for expert
mental purposes at the South Boston Iron
WORKS Ia 1887. The FIST steel guns made
lot actual use were constructed at tue
Washington Nayy-yard in 1884.
Grace. the great cricketer. has joined the
committee for the promotion of the athletic
section OF the new scheme for periodical
Pan-Brltannlc gathering and Anglo Saxon
Olym piad, when the athletes of England
America and the English colonies will COM
pete.
A Canadian electrician states that cleo
tricity causes the tides and demonstrates il
by electrfying rubber comb by rubbing il
through the hair and then drawing it over
the top OF glass filed with water, the re-
suit being that the tidal wave follows the
comb.
Tulare County Supervisors have refused
to allow the Tulare COrOneT's bill for the
Inquest held over the bodies of Evans and
Sontag,s late victims, on the ground that
the killing was done in Fresno County and
that the Coroner of that county should have
offcated.
Japan is rapidly increasing her manufae-
lures. There is steady decline in the im-
portation of matches. printing paper, toilet
soap, lead pencils, bricks. tires, umbrellas,
boots, leather, and particularly beer, cot
ton. yarn. Poland cement, gunpowder and
saddieTy.
A London woman well known in society
opened curiosity shop. One day friend
came in and left an umbrella which had
cost 80 shilllngs. lie returned to find the
handle OF 1t IN the window labeled, An
tlque Venetian silver umbrella mounting,
10 guineas."
A band Of women robbers has been dis
covered in Paymago. Spain. They met
once month in a cave on the outskirts Of
the town to plan burgaries, and here they
had tull stock OF burglars tools and about
$4,000 francs worth of plumber. They
usually worked in mems attire.
A new stamp is TO be issued In Great
Britain OF The value OF f0urpenee halfDenBy
g cents-tO be available for all postal tele-
graphic and revenue purposes 1t will be
the hrst stamp issued Of this value. and its
issuance is called for by the new features Of
telegraph and parcel post business.
The law OF Denmark now gives TO every
Danish subject, man or woman, the right TO
a pension al 60 years OF age. except In cases
OF convicted criminals, OF those who haVs
fraudulently made over their property 10
relatives and of those who have brought
themselves to distress by extravaganza.
A meeting was held In San Jose on Tues
day with delegates from adjacent towns aud
villages for the purpose of deyising a way
to extend the Y. NJ. c. A. into the smaller
towns OF the county. Funds for preliminary
work were collected and a county secretary
was appointed with headquarters al Los
Gatos.
A two-years' study al Gizeh has convinced
Mr.. Flinders Petrie that the Egyptian stone
workers 0f & O00 rad
acquaintance with what had been consid-
cred modern tools. Among the many tools
used by the pyramd-builders were both
solid and tubular drills and straight and
circular saws.
Raymond farmer unwarlIv stsked his
horse out near his house last week. Some
thing scared the animal and it succeeded in
hauling the picket from the ground and at
once made eff at gallOp. Crossing over
ledge the picket caught between the crevieeS
and held the fleeing horse up with a sud
denness that broke its neck.
The value Of the dried potato as an srti-
Gle OF food is urged by Dr. Jacov NJ.
Schmulevitch. Among the advantages
claimed is that it keeps much better than
the fresh potato, and being far lighter ana
less bulky IS the more rapidly transported.
Before cooking the dried potato is mace
rated in water for ten or twelve hours.
Mrs. Mary Green of Scarboro, Mo-, who
is 81 years old, has during the last six
months spun thirty-six skeins of yarn.
knitted five pairs of stockings, picked three
bushels Of blueberries and tended large
focks of chickens aud ducks, besides doing
much general homework She has six
grandchildren and eight reat-grandchiL
dren.
w. Brown, an old bachelor and veteran
OF the late war, residing at Salt Spring
Valley. Calaveras County, put a box con-
tanning giant powder on the fire by mistake
on Saturday night. It exploded, aud Brown
was blown out of his abin, which imme-
diately caught fire and was burned. Al
though considerably shaken up aud bruised.
the old man miraculously escaped with his
life