The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-08
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.
WILLIAM HAMILTON GIBsoN. who is a trained
| observer OF plants and animals, satisfied him
sef some time ago that rooster makes the
! Tapping noise that accompanies his Growing by
striking his wings together over his back, saws
the Chicago Post. The popular notion is that
the bird produces the noise By striking his wings
| against his hard, fat thighs. Mr. Gibson dis
cussed the subject with farmer once, and the
| latter laughed at the artists idea aud said:
| I've been brought up among chickens and
guess know how rooster flaps his wings. !"
! Very good" said Mr.. Gibson. but Just watch
| your own fowl for a week, and tell me what you
thiuk then. The scornful farmer promised,
and returned at the end Of the week with the
humble confession that Mr.. Gibson was right.
WHEN examining horse with a view to pur-
chasing, always have him led down a steep or
stony descent at the end Of a halter and with
Nc whip near him, says the Chicago Post
Nsny horses when brought out of the stable
are excited by the presence of strangers aud
become still more so at the sight of a whip. A
slight lamenesS may, therefore, be momentarily
overlooked by the horse himself, Just as a man
under strong excitement will sometimes forget
a sore foot. Leading the horse down a Stops
will show any defect Ia the fore quarters. and
running him back will develop any weakness
that may exist In his hind legs. Horse sharpers
know these facts as well as anybody, so that IL
the horse is IN the least affected they will gen
orally avoid hill when showing ofsa horse TO a
probable purchaser.
IT Is EsTIMATsD that bees, in order to collect
one pound Of honey, must visit and extract all
the nectar contained in $4,000 heads of clover Of
the average size. This herculean task (for the
bees) would necessitete 8, f50 900 trips to and
from the hive. Wax is q substance Secreted by
the bes, and is analogous to the fat OF the
higher animals. The wax Of a species of bee
common in Patagonia, Terra del Fuego and
other parts Of Southern South America and the
adjacent islands, ls q dark blue in color and Is
said to 30 more poisonous than arsenic. A hive
Of 5000 bees will produce about fifty pounds Of
honey annually, and will multiply about tonfold
In five years. According to latest statistics the
total number Of hives Of bees IN the United
States and Europe is 7,l24, 900. and the annual
product of honey 1888, 100000 pounds.
ZERAH CoLBURS, who was born in Vermont
IN 1904 and died in 1910 At the age OF So, was,
without doubt, the most gifted natural
mathematician the world has ever known. says
the New Orleans Pic1yune. He was taken TO
London hen only years old, aud whIls there
was examined by all the great mathem aticians
of England. Az one OF these examinations he
raised the number eight successfully to the
sixteenth power, and In naming the last result
which consisted OF fifteen figures, he was right
in every one. On being asked the square root
or lOj, 929. he answered 327 before the old gray
haired philosopher questioner had time TO put
il down. He was next asked how many
minutes there were In forty-eight years and IN
stantly replied % 22S SEQ and flva seconds later
gave the sstonished sayants the exact number
of seconds.
The smallest railway in the world is probably
that from Rayenglass TO Boot, In Cumberland
The ono in question ia like large toy The
guage is three feet, the engine an absurd little
| thing and the carriages Ike miniature CAGES
AS TO the stations, they rssemble douhls bath
log boxes more than SAytAiAg else. The rail
way officials are easily summed up Tbs en- zine
driver IS also stoker, guard, ticket collector
TICKET distributor and porter. Being late for tbs
train is not serious disaster. since eny enc OF
| the most ordinary activity can run after and
oversize ii, the railway officials being tbs most
obiiG1ns o. mOrtalS, Wno will stop Rnd pick I'D
passengers anywhere. IL is not advisable Of
course, to be in hurry when using this line
and 1t IS hardly surprising 80 flad that in spite
81 the smallnsss OF the star, IL fails TO pay \
horse ana trap could give the train long start
and beat It easily.
IT IS SAID that Teresa Urea, the 1s.year.oIS
daughter Oft Mexican don OF sonora. has for
months past been working many notabls
miracles. Some time ago she was taken Ill aad
! went into trance which lasted thirteen DAYS
| She YVES pronounced dead and was about to he
J buried, when abe revived and Immediately
! began to perform wonderful cures BY the
simple touch Of her hand. A lame woman was
her FIRST case. This becoming rapidly Rosginsd
about, the lame, blind, and Otherwise eiine
began 10 arrive in crowds walking ON thar
/ knees as soon as they came in sight OF Tia
house and reciting prayers, and calhsg the
young lady the holy maiden" The suthori
/ ties have thought it worth while to
/ investigate, and the result Is a report signed
by Seniors 1iourcio Esquer, Parsde, Castro and
Amparan. all o. whom are the opposite of su-
perstltious. According to what they have dis.
covered, Miss Urea has cured more than 400
suffers from all kinds OF complsinte. The hn
cienda OF her parents sixty h,iles from Ala.
mos, between the Yaqai and the MAYO And
there al day long and day afner day. IN the
eternal summer suDfghs Of tAat land tue crowd
OF sufferers come walking on sheir. knees and
dronlng their prayers and beseeching the holy
maiden, " and Teresa meets them with beneisn
seif-confdence. and bids them to be well AID
depart in peace.
IN the Plotzen lake, near Berlin, Germany
! which is OF considerable depth lin some places
as much as elSaty feot) an interesting expert
ment has oesn made in the raising OF sunKen
vessels by means OF balloons chareed With
carbonic acid gas. The method, which ia de.
scrlbed below, is the in Vention OF Herr Eiduer
OF Vienna. The German Scientific Experi-
Tnentlng society gives this description of the
learned professors contrvauce: A glass ves.
gel filed with sulphurc acid Is placed in a baq
which is filled with Bullrich's salts the whole
afterwards placed in the balloon proper. The
then sunken and attached TO whatever the ex
perimenreTs wish raised to the surface
BY turning screw the glass vessel
containing the acid 10 broken, tue substances
| mix and the carbonio acid gas thus generated
fills the balloon, which. OF cotirse, cxerts an
eisvaSlng force upon whatever the balloon is at
| taohed TO. In the Plotzen lake q small boat
weighing some l 400 pounds was first sunk A
diver wsnt down with the apparatus attaohad
1t TO the boat and set it in operation Hardly
was this done before the boat appeared at the
surface, held firmly by the balloon. In making
a second experiment i've heavy sandbass were
thrown overheard In water 90 feet deep. Tho
diver again went down. attached the sandhags
to each other, and then to the raising appara
tus, whereupon the whole was successfully
brought up. Wreckers are highly elated with
the success Of this new mode or raising supkan
vessels and other objects.
HERBERT SPENCER the philosopher, lives very
nnietlY near Regents PARK INndnn hnnr.. A.