The morning call., 1893-01-20
ITEMS OF INTEREST

Washington had hands of medium size.
but an enormous thumb.
1t is stated that there were ninety-three
deaths by suicide in Bombay last year.
Newiehannock and Pennamagum are
names OF two towns in Maine.
There are at present about $500, coo mileh
cows in the British Isles.
Tie fixed stars are suns, and each may
have its own planetary system.
An average of 26,OO0 letters are posted
without addresses in England every day.
intoxicating liquors have been made
from the sap OF the birch, the willow, the
poplar and the sycamore.
A study of German map, on which Is
plated the stations of the troops in their
hinge army, shows that the majority are so
placed as to be conveniently moved in sec
tons TO the French frontier.
Among the superstitious natives Of Bull
gaIia the prophet Elijah is believed to con-
troll the elements. During heavy thunder
storms the women fall on their faces and
pray: Dear Lord Elijah. do not drive SO
fast with your fiery horses"
Vanilla Is an orchid, which, in the West
Indies, creeps over trees and walls like ivy.
A substance called 'salep," somewhat re-
sembling arrowroOt or sage, is obtained
from the tubers Of a variety that grows in
Turkey and Persia, where it Is highly
esteemed.
Recent studies Of cancer not only indicate
that IL is an organic growth. but q ost GER
tainly prove that il is itself liable to the at
tack OF another parasite. Better acQuaint-
ance with the relations OF these parasites
may possibly bring the long-sought method
Of arresting cancer.
Senator Don Cameron has seeded 100 acres
Of his Donegal farm, near Marietta, with
Kentucky bluegrass, which be believes will
do as we'll on his ground as ii does on the
historic " g
tends to put the nutritious pasturage TO the
use of fancy blooded stock.
The results of recent experiments made
in Berlin By Professor Uffelmann show that
cholera bacllh remain alive in water from
one to six days. in butter six DAYS, in cab
bage three days. on postal cards twenty
hours after drying, while on silver coins
and copper they die ia half an hour
Reports from Southern waters are al
most unanimous as 10 the unprecedented
number of wildfOwl. The cold weather of
the past four or FIVE weeks and the re-
msrkable extent of the fight Of these birds
down the coast during The autumn are re-
sponsb BILE for this abundance.
Within the past few weeks young people
at Sharpsbure have been the participants
in SIX clandestine marriages, four of which
have been elOpements, and all the young
people were under age. All the couples
have returned to their homes. with the ex-
The most curious character on the island
of Borneo is the white Sultan or Rajah Of
Sarawak. He is an Englshman, Sir Charles
Brooke, and the United States Is the only
nation that recognizes his sovereignty. He
rules over part of Borneo as large as Ire
land and his subjects pay tribute to him in
rice.
An accurate Indication of the depressed
condition of trade in England Is the fact
that the percentage of unemployed men,
bers of the twenty-five principal trades
unions daring last November was S27.
The percentage of those out OF work in the
same month the year previous was only 3SI,
and In Novemb Der, 1890, only $40.
mo living germ of disease can resist the
antiseptic power of essence of cinnamon
for more than few hours" is the concu-
sion announced by NJ. Cumberland as the
result of prolonged research and expert
ment in Nj. Pastaur's laboratory. IL is said
to destroy microbes as effectively, il not as
rapidly. as corrosive sublmate.
Over 5000 acres OF land in four townships
of the State OF Washington are held by
womsD. and FIVE or six more women are
holding claims in the same region waiting
a favorable time 10 prove I'D on them and
acquire patents. Some of The land is under
cultivation, and the ranches bring in COM
Portable income TO the plucky women who
own and run them.
In the window of a Maiden lane New
York; jeweler Is exhibited the shell of
NingpOo (China) fresh-water mussel, upon
the inner surface OF which, while the mol
lusk was yet alive, had been dropped little
lea0en images OF the Chinese god of wealth.
In the course of time the images became
covered with pearIy excretion, through
which are still visible the grotesque out
lines OF the inclosed deity.
Alcohol is one of those strange substances
which has the power of producing appar-
entity opposite results. In small quantities
it stimulates the action OF the heart. in large
1t depresses it; in small Quantities it in
creases the secretion of gastric juice, in
large 1t destroys the pepsn and arrests di-
gestoD; IN small quantities it has an exhil-
arating effect on the nervous system, In
large II Is narcotic.
The largest steam shovel in the world is
digging phosphate in the mines at ST.
Johns Island, near Charleston, S. C. Its
weight is ffty-six tons 1t can dig ten feet
below its track and to distance of forty
five feet on either side. The dipper, which
can swing through two-thirds Of circle,
has capacity OF one and three-Quarters
cubic yards. and about two dippeTs full can
DO handled in minute.
A new idea about tea culture comes from
Florida. As is we'll known. the best Chi
mesa tea will not stand n sea voyage. and
never gets any nearer 10 us than Russia.
But Mrs. Increase Sumner of Starke Brad
lord County, Fla, has discovered that this
same delicious and delicate tea can be
grown in her own garden. She has three
crops year. and owing to the rapid growth
OF the bushes she has TO cut them down
evoEy three or four years. while in China
the cutting is only necessary once in seven
years.
During 1891 about $50 more persons were
killed by wild beasts in India than
during the preceding year. The number
killed In 1890, however. was very low; still
the figures for 1891 are about go in excess Of
the mean. The yearly average of persons
killed by wild beasts in Inuia is between
2500 aud 5000. The mortality from snake
bites Is much greater varying from 2l,0o0
TO %, 600 annually. In che district OF Ben
gal, Hazaribagb, no fewer than 205 deaths
were due In 1891 to single brood OF man
eating tigers.
Exploration is improving the popular
knowledge of the Sahara. Instead of being
largely below the sea, the greater part of it
is from 5000 to 5000 feet above that level;
instead oil being ranless, showers make ii
bloom and cover it with green grass for
few weeks every year; large fiocks and
herds are maintained upon its borders; the
GASES are depressed where water can be
collected and stored. All are villainously
unhealthy In hot weather because Of this
stagnant water and the filthy habits Of the
In ho hit nnta