The morning news., 1892-03-31
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


the British postof1ce. 1t is a copy of our letter
sheet idea, and is spoken of as filling "a mnch-
felt want" The idea is to make it possible to
senc short notes without the publicity Of post
card and at less cost than letter The letter
card simply folds once. gummed down. The
space available for writing is 6A by ~ inches.
a BEACH may resist the sea for years, yet in a
few hours it may be stripped bare to the solid
rock. Shells may be covering the bottom
mile off shore. undisturbed by on-shore gales:
a storm, with winds and waves apparently
much the same as usual, may sweep them all
on shore. In other words, the will of old ocean
in modifying shore lines is practically irresista-
bic and his occasional devastation remediless.
THE number of students entered this winter
at the twenty universities of Germany shows a
marked decline. The total is only 1886 as
compared with nearly $4,000 last summer.
This decrease is general exccTt at Berlin,
where the number have risen from 4,427 to
b,SIl and at Halle, where they have risen from
1.493 to ,522. Leipsic still holds the second
place with S,431. followed by Munich with 1922.
THREE THINGS are seen rarely nowadays on
the streets Of New York, They are a runaway
horse. a runaway steer and the hue and cry of
stop thief" Years ago in New York these
things were very frequent and every old New
Yorker can recall 70 mind the excited. startled
ana shouting crowds which seemed to overflow
all barriers in pursuit Of frightened runaway
horse or steer, a fleet-fooued pickpocket,
highwayman or houseoreaker.
ACCORDING to the new military laws of the
Turkish empire the Turkish army on a war
footing will be increased shortly from 100000 to
LOCO, 900 men. With this prospective increase
has come the necessity for new arming of the
sutan's soldiers. Cannon for the new artillery
will not be ordered for some time, probably, as
the army has 1000 large guns. Only about 400
of these are mounted and ready for the field
The equipment OF the other 600 will be begun at
once.
Prof. ROBERTSON made a statement at the
New York Dairy Convention, as an illustration
Of the value Of good feeding. that he knew of a
man in tae province of Quebec VINO had four
COWS. In 1888 they gave 7s pounds of butter
each. He commenced feeding little corn and
bran, and in 1889 they gave 1871 pounds of but
ter each. He kept increasing the ratio and
good care. and in 1890 it was 2041$, and this
year 1t will be 250 pounds. This shows what
men can do with the common COW.
THE average amount Of fire alarms in a year
In New York city is little more than 1000,
which is at the rate of more than ten alarms a
day. Less than one-Quarter of the fires start
between II p. m. and p. m, while about
three-quarters start between a. m. and II D,
m. Oddly the alarms are rarest between 6
and a. m, when fires for household and busi-
nest purposes are kindled generally. The
busiest time for firemen is between aud D. m.
about the time that fires for household purposes
go out.
WHEN the head of a Bulgarian family per-
ceives that he is about to die he sends for the
priest and begins to bargain with him about the
cost Of his funeral. The moment he dies all
pots, pans and kettles in the house are turned
upside down to prevent his soul taking refuge
in any OF them, and great care is taken to pre-
vent either man or Enthusiastically cat or
dog-from stepping across his body, as other
wise, in the opinion OF his family he would turn
into vampire and so be continual nuisance
to them and their neighbors.
In a microscopical article in one Of the great
German quarterlies DR.. g. A. Lndner discussed
the occurrence of the 'eels" which are SO COM
mon in weak or impure vinegar. The male OF
the female from ix to 20 mil.
limeters in length. They move very actively in
any fluid medium, but in thick or sticky concoc-
tions coil themselves into knots and lay dormant
for days together. They thrive well II fed on an
egg diet; will also live on fruits and
bulbs. bulbs They can survive tolerably strong
put in pure, acetic acid. One of the most
wonderful facts concerning the reproduction of
vinegar eels is that the female reproduces
viviparously or oviparously. according to the
nutritive medium and the temperaturel They
flourish best in a temperature between 60o and
500 Fahr., and are killed when the temperature
runs up to above lO7o, or below the freezing
point. How they get into vinegar is one of the
unexplained mysteries. Some eminent men Of
learning have attempted to prove that they get
In during manufacture; exactly how, they do
not explain.
AMONG new fabrics for household decoration
are the shadow Silks designed by the Society
Of Decorative Artists. They present exquisite
color combinations of softly shaded tints in in
distinct patterns on changeable backgrounds,
and are most rich and artistic in effect They
are used for portieres curtains mantel drapes
cushions and spreads. In the form of curtains
they are simply hung and frequently made up
with no trimming except hem folded up on
the right side of the silk ITSELF which is SO un.
like on the two sides as TO have the effect of a
band of entirely different material when folded
back upon itself. In mantel covers the silk
may be bordered with fringe or have tassels
only at the corners The scarf is draped but once
near one end. For table spreads. If more than one
width is required for the spread, length is split
overhanded by the selvages, hemmed all round
either plainly or with the hem turned back on
the right side across the ends. and has tassels at
the corners. "Bee brocade" is another effective
material for table covers. 1t comes in all art
colors, shell blue. green or terra Gotta and has
a selt-coloTed all-over design of the Napoleonio
emblem. In the corners of the spread a flight
of bees is selected and outlined with gold thread
The edge is simply hemmed. Mail cloth Is an
other handsome material well used for spreads
or portieres 1t is heavily woven material
somewhat resembling large meshed canvas. IL
is effectively wrought with conventional pat
terms done in rope silk, caught down to the pat
tern with finer silk, an operation not involyinga
great deal Of time and labor