Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-07-13

VI ueiE having uFeu 10 beyond The
age Of 800 years.
Swedish women often work as farm
labOrerS Those who have babies carry
them on their backs in a leather bag
as Squaws carry their young This plan
permits the mother TO use both hands
at her farm work.
Snow appears white because it is an
aggregation Of an infinite number OF
minute crystals, each rejecting all the
colors of the rainbow: these colors,
uniting before they reach the eve.
cause it to appear white to every nor
NAL eye
In Norway the horses always have a
bucket Of water placed beside each
animals allowance Of hay. After each
mouthfu Of hay they take a sip of
water. 1t is said that this mode of
feeding is beneficial; and to it the fact
is attributed that a broken-windel
horse is rarely seen in Norway.
| The purgatory of the Islamites is
called Al Araf, and it is supposed to
be located half way between hell and
paradise. MOhammed is believed by
the whole sect Of Islam to be the only
person who has ever gone to paradise
without being forced to go through a
preparatory course at Al Araf
In the american newspaper pavil-
ion at the centennial exposition in 1876
every newspaper in the United States.
excepting four, was on file and avail
able for any visitor who might call for
it. In this particular, at least 70 was
ahead of the worlds fair of '93, where
nothing Of the kind has been under
| taken.
The Icelandic Sagas contain the ear
lest allusion to the distinctive charac-
ter of the Highland dress They relate
how Magnus OlafsOn. King of Norway.
and his followers, when they returned
from ravaging the west coast Of Scot
| land, went about bare-legged. having
short krtles and upper wraps, and so
men called him .'bare-legs." This was
in 1893
At Hatfield House, the residence of
Lord Salisbury, in the James II picture
gallery, there is preserved the garden
hat worn by Queen Elizabeth and a
pair Of her majesty's siken hose. The
room is also remarkable for beautiful
alabaster sculptures, and it is the rule
for every royal visitor to leave behind
a photograph, to which is added an
autograph Of the donor.
Eighty years ago, in Edinburgh, it
was the custom for a man to walk
through the town every day at noon
bearing large sl1inbone of beef His
cry was, Three Stirs and a wallop for
q bawbee" All the housewives had
their vegetables steWing for the family
soup, and gladly paid their bawbees
for the privilege Of three stirs with the
bone which was supposed to flavor the
stew
An English rainmaker now operating
in India has an apparatus consisting
Of a rocket capable of rising to the
height Of a mile, containing a reservoir
Of ether. In its descent it opens a para
chute, which causes it to come down
slowly. The ether is thrown out in a
fine spray and its absorption of heat
is said to lower the temperature about
it sufficiently to condense the vapor
and produce limited shower
A new vegetable is about to be intro
duced to the people Of the United
States through the department of agri-
culture. 1t is the root of the Gala lily.
which resembles somewhat in appear
ance the ordinary Irish tuber, with the
addition of 4 few fibrous roots. that
have nothing to do with the qualities
OF the article as an eSculent. So pro-
life and paIatable is the root Of that
plant that their propagation in many
parts of the United States, where con-
ditiOns are favorable, may reasonably
be looked forward to as an agricultural
industry of the future.
Our Australian cousins have hit upon
Il pretty device as a substitute for the
Objectionable practice of throwing rice
over a bridal pair as they leave the
church or start for their honeymoon.
At a recent marriage the guests shower
ed rose leaves over the happy couple
when they took their departure for the
wedding tour until the bride was liter
ally covered with the fragrant roseate
petals as she sat in the carriage This
, is a more poetic way Of symboliZing
ones desire that the union may be
prosperous and fruitful than the more
| irritating shower Of rice that scratches
the skin, rutf1es the tempers and pos
sibly lodges in the eyes of the groom
and bride.
WEIGH is the greatest game of the
Chinese, especially with the literary
class, and is ranked by them superior
to chess. Like chess, this game is of 4
general military and mathematical
tended scale, the board containing POI
places and employing nearly 200 men
on a side. All of the men, however,
have the same value and powers. The
object is to command as many places
on the board as possible. This may be
done by inclosing empty spaces, or sur
rounding the enemy's men. Very close
calculation is always essential in order
that a loss in one region may be met by
gains in another, thus employing skill
full strategy when the contestants are
evenly matched The game has come
down from great antiquity, being first
mentioned in Chinese writing about
625 B. G. 1t was in all probability
introduced by the Babylonian astrono-
mers, who We're at that time instructors
Of all the east.
BANTING'S ANTI-FAT SYSTEM.
Scheme for Overcoming Obesity Lv a
Course of Semi-Starvation.