The morning call., 1893-10-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

In 1860 the American papers printed
92S. 000. 900 copies.
Ouly 43 per cent of the arabic land in
Austro- Hungary is cultivated.
The first regular effort to instruct the
eaf and dumb was by Pedro de Ponce. a
Spanish monk. in 1870.
The curious custom of placing horse
shoe on the grave of the colored d Is
still practiced down South. The belief Is
that the horseshoe Will keep the witches
from riding the deceased'S spirit.
In British India the ancient. Brahmanic
religious belief still counts 211. .000. 900 IN its
different sects. The Buddhist form of be-
lief is held by 100000 in Farther India
(Burmah), not in India proper.
In house in London there is room the
walls of which are completely .papered
with postage stamps. 1t is estimated that
these stamps would be worth S5, 000, 900 but
for the circumstance that they are not gen.
uine.
On the side of Old Rag, spur of the
Blue Ridge Mountains, near LHray. Va,
about three-fourths the way up its side
glOws "a strange and beautiful light.
Every effort to reach 1t CT to solve the
mystery has failed.
A new-fangled Austrian. cigarette tube
contains a glass compartment in the
middle. BY placing blank sheets of paper,
which are negatives, ia the glass part and
smoking few minutes you find printed
on the paper the photo Of an actress.
An advertisement in one Of the great
London dailies read: Daniels Defiance,
the finest variety of cabbage in cultiva-
1ion. 1t Is early, shOrt-legged and COM
pact Sow now" Many old,clothes men
advertise for "Left-off wearing apparel"
g. c. Kennedy. Of Lancaster, Pa. has
a curiosity in the shape of sign beard
painted by Benjamin West, Americas
first great painter, in 1771. 1t is still in a
in front of a tavern all these years.
When screws were made by hand five
minutes were consumed in making one,
and they were so expensive that wooden
pins were used wherever practical BILE
Now, by the cold-forged process, single
machine will turn out five dozen in min.
ute.
The Kongo is the most wonderful water.
way in the world. 1t is twenty-five miles
across in parts, so that vessels may pass
one another and yet be out of sight. Il
has twice the extent Of the navigable
waters of the Mississippi and its tribu.
taries and three times its population.
Very queer fish are caught In the waters
of Puget Sound. One kind is called the
candle fish. 1t is dried and packed in
boxes like candles. We are told the fish
| eIIn6D use tUetu W ilSuG tU6lf MONIES, dnu
that at one time all the boats on the sound
used them instead OF sperm-oil lamps.
| On certain parts of the coast Of France
"perfumed mists" come in the morning
| especially during the spring, and only
when the wind is in the northeast. Some.
| times they only last few minutes, a
others they hang about all day. They
have a smell similar to that Of lime
| kiln.
| DR.. Charles Fere, a well-known authority
oH nervous and mental diseases. says these
disorders are increasing at terrible rate
in France. and attributes the fact to the
increase of beer drinking aud bars. There
was scarcely such thing as bar years
ago, but now they are all over the town.
An order recently issued by the Engiisi
Admiralty appears TO indicate that it ma,
been determined to adopt the use Of fer
rules as a means of strengthening the
boiler tubes of the navy. The order is no.
general. being applicable for the presen
| only to boilers having pressure exceeding
ninety pounds.
The common people of Russia, as rule
speak only their own tongue. A large
proportion Of them cannot read the Devil.
dering characters-Roman. Greek and com
posite--which form their alphabet. aud tt
help their ignorance the shop walls are
covered over with rudely painted pictures
of articles for sale.