The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-17
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

fancy FOR uimaunCs aud calendars. OF winch
DE collected very large number during The
bench.
u is the testimony o. those who have seen
the great trees Of California. says
the New York sun. that much Of the
eject 81 establishment IS lost because the vlsi-
tor approaches the tres through forest OF
giants that gradually increase In size. MANY
pines ten feet ia diameter are passed on the
Journey and in this way the visitor slowly
works mp TO trees that measure above thirty
feet in diameter. If "a horse be placed IN
front Of a tree. with his side toward the ap-
preaching traveller, some notion OF the enor-
nous size Of the giant is obtained.
A report by Grant Bey Of the discovery at
Alexandria of the veritable tombs of Alexan-
der the Great and Cleopatra is said 10y the
Aberdeen Unworthy authorities, TO whom II
is made to be extremely convincing in tone
and details. The tombs. says "A London ca
bic were unearthed on the site OF the ancient
city during excavations for a new terracCu
garden overlooking the sea. AleXanders Is
the solitary sarCOphague, 30 feet below the
level. and near IL are several Suhterraneau
cham 5crs filled with ancient and parchment
manuscripts. presumably OF great historical
interest I hrty feet nearer the surface ana
some distance away is u row Of connected
tOmbS Of the PtOlemy dynasty. Of which Geo
patra 5 is the only one uncovered. At the
time Grant wrote he said there was no room
for doubt since the names of the occupants
are over the dOOrways of the tombs. and the
bronze doors are covered with COnhrmatOrY
Greek inscriptions. Thus far none has been
opened. only peered into through corrOded in
terstices in the doors by the aid of magne~
stun light. But the contents seem not to
have been disturbed since the original inter
mentS
Capt. W. c. Pidge, the superintendent of
the Inyo marble quarries near the lake, has
two jars of alcohol in which are several OBJ
lectS of unusual interest, says the Bishop
(Cal) Register There is one of the little
rattleSnakes known as the "Side-winder' be-
cause Of his peculiar method of progression,
which is Sidewse, one end at time, rather
than straight ahead. like other reptiles. The
s1de-wtnder is found in great numbers in the
not deserts, and during the warmer summer
nights keeps moving all night long unless he
happens to fetch up in a comfortable place like
the folds of a blanket. It's said his bite is
certain death: nevertheless, we never hear Of
any deaths from that cause. The captain S
specimen was one of seven he found under
the same rock near the quarry. With this Is
another snake foot or so in length, which
for certain powers and peculiarities can chal-
lenge the reptile world This little snake
has d perfect head on either end of his body
not only that but during his lifetime he could
and did go in either direction without
turning, just as readily one way as the
other. AS a reptile he is as complete dou-
ble-ender as one of these double-ender ferry
boats. or even more, since his reversing gear
works quick as a flash; and no matter which
way he goes he has a complete lookout a
stern as well as ahead. This specimen was
found under rock which had been turned
over. He would dart ahead foot or two at
time then as suddenly stop. Then when
cane or stick was put in front Of his eyes he
would reverse and dart right back. the other
end or head first precisely as If that were
the only head he possessed. and as II that
were the front end he had depended on all his
life. Then, when an obstacle was placed in
front of that end, back he would 60 the other
head first as if that were the only head he pos
Sessed. This is considerable of a snake story,
and same Of the snake editors may not believe
it, nevertheless it is given as the actual truth
The odious "black-beetle, which is, prop
erly speaking, not a beetle at all, is, like a
number of Other insect pests, not indigenous
to England though 1t is now a resident
alien, says the London Spectator, The only
use which we ever heard found for black
beetles. was to feed the first birds of paradise
! brought to England by ship from the Malay
| Archipelago No fOurfOOted creature that
| we know will eat them except the hedgehog,
| and cats, which are said to be poisoned by
| them This is hardly strange for everything
which they touch is contaminated by their
| repulsive odOr Even hedgehogS are failure
though tradition makes them
thrive on cockrOaches. An early
| ambition of the present writer s
| was to live in house stocked with black
| beetles in order to keep a hedgehog. At
| last this came about. The new house
| swarmed with the insects; and we had the
! luck to find a hedgehog in cow-shed ana
| brought it home. II would not uncurl in the
! kitchen, so we put it in dark cupboard.
| where there were enough of the creatures to
| feed right great hog as the cook who
| was disappointed in the animals size. re-
| marked disparagingly. But the hedgehog
never uncurled. We looked at him night and
| day, and found beetles running over nm, and
| specializing when they would begin to eat
| him. At last we carried him to the lawn,
where he did move, and walked into the
| tennis-net, and had to be cut out, to the
! great destruction of the meS1es. Black
| beetle killing is limited but respecta-
| BILE calling in London; and leading ucmber
! of the craft sends his card round at intervals
! to owners of the larger mansions in LCndon,
! to intimate that, in his opinion, the time mas
! come when his services ought to be required
! II u c houses which he has attended during
many changes OF owne ship or occupation.
! One habit of the beetle il the observers are
| correct itself tends to their destruction. The
! eggs are carried under the body OF the te-
male, and not dropped at hap hazard. So that
! il the creatures are once eXtermlnated, their
| quarters can only be repCOp!ed by immigrants.
/ On the other hand, it is asserted that the
cockoach gums its eggs in cases to the
| wall Which of the statements is true, the
| writer has not yet been able to discover.
Two large apple trees stand side by side in
an orchard not far from Sydney, N. S. W,
says the Chicago Record. On one hung fruit
which looked Ike tails of gold in the sun
| light The apples on the neighbOring tree
we're a bright red. One day the owner of the
| orchard sent his men to pick the fruit. II was
| to be sent TO the world fair and he followed
them out among the trees to see that the
work was properly done. When at last the
apples were packed in barrels the fruit-grow-
er decided that these two barrels should sep
arate in the orchard and not meet again until
| on the exhibition to bles in the horticultural
building at the fair. The red apples were to
go east and the yellow apples were to go west
The golden fruit was loaded into steamer
and started toward the SueZ canal, while the
red fruit was started the same day in a vessel
across the Pacific ocean. The fruit-grOw-
er marked No delay Perishable goods. -
cOnspCuOusly on each barrel. He
wanted to ascertain which was the quickest
route to the world 5 fair The barrel of vel
low apples passed through the canal through
the Mediterranean sea, up the English chan
mel and finally reached London. Here IL was
taken from the boat and sent by railroad tC
Liverpool. Then the barrel of New South
Wales fruit was loaded into an ocean racer
and started on its way across the Atlantic &c
New York whence it came to Chicago by
railroad. Il was just slxty-siX days to an hOul
yesterday when Thomas Pugh the Assistant
! General Superintendent of the New South
Wales exhibit. received il. In the meantime
the red apples had crossed the Pacific
| ocean to san Francisco in twenty
DAYS. Then they were sent by freight tC
| Chicago. After numerous delays along the
way the apples arrived. They had been fifty
two days on the way and had been admired
by world fair visitors for almost two
weeks before the golden apples which grew
! ho fraa them in Australia