The morning call., 1893-06-04
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

hold $4,000 apiece.
Twice as much sorghum sugar is pro-
ducrd in Kansas as SIX years ago.
A large number of seal are reported off
the Columbia River bar In Oregon.
1t is said TO cost $4,000 year to keep
st. Peters Church at Rome in repair.
The largest tomb in the world Is the
Pyramid of CheOps. 461 feet high and COW
ering thirteen acres of ground.
The deepest English cOlliery at present
is Moss colliPry. near Ashton under-Tyne,
which is sunk 1920 feet.
postmaster was chosen by ballot at
WardSboro, Va, last week, for the first
time in the history of that town.
The Austrian Government in order to
increase the fighting power of its army has
armed the drummers with rifles.
During the complicated process of manu-
faclurlng stamps they are counted eleven
times in order to guard against offering.
The highest railroad in the United States
IS the Denver and Rio Grande at Marshall
Pass, 1855 feet above the sea.
The imperial train in which the German
Emperor and Empress travelled to Italy
consisted of thirty magnifcently decorated
cars.
In 1889 the Spanish postal service handled
1881, COO letters, l. al, 900 postal cards and
%, I52 GOO papers aud samples. There are
$3.50 postoffices.
holes in swamp. near Norfolk, Conn.,,
and residents of that place are reported to
be hunting the FISH with guns.
BalPs Cave, in Schoharie County, New
\ oTk, is traverSed in boats, which follow
the course of subterranean river 100 feet
below the surface of the ground.
Off the shore near Point Rouge. Trini-
dad, there is a submarine spring of petrol
cum, and sailors are al times able to skim
the floating oil off the surface of the sea.
MIR. Gladstone is one Of those incautious
people who do not destroy letters. The
venerable statesman is said to have col
lection of 10000 letters deposited in a
strongroom at Hawarden Castle.
In the good old times when oil was used
in lighthouses 5000 candle power lamp
was considered immense. The fastest
electric lighthouse built in France (Heye at
Havre) Will have the power of 2,50O.O00
candles.
The variety of calcite discovered by M.
Schafer of Gainesville. Fla, on the
Suwanee River. is said to vary in color
from rich pink to deep magenta. On
further examination 1t may be found to
display other coiOrs much sought after for
recommendations and useful articles of
marble.
According to experts who have recently
been examining it, the Lion of st. Marks.
at Venice. dates back to the twelfth CEN
tury. NJ. Casati, the wel-known arch8-
y uSiAl, UOHtNtt, u aces Tie uaIo mUcn
earlier, and still adheres to the popular
notion that the Lion is of Etruscan origin.
a large portion of the novels of Dumas
pere were not written by that author. He
employed writers to do his work for him:
sometimes would give them plot and
allow them 10 formulate the story, some
times would furnish title and direct them
to prepare the story accordingly, some
times would leave plot story, characters,
dialogue and description to his sub
novelistS.
1t is the custom in Madrid for friends
and acquaintances to send presents of bon
bons OH birthdays, name DAYS and festivals
A large silver tray is piled with sweets of
various kinds, with a cake made of eggs in
the center. This is often surmnunted with
silk flag or pretty porcelain figure.
WE'LL known people receive as many as
nifty OF these trays on their birth and name
DAYS.
The total debt of Great Britain, handled
by the Bank OF England amounts to 1884,
07o.959. Yet this enormous sum is only
4l4,0OO GOO more than the gross annual
value of the property and profits assessed
TO income tax, is less than half the esti-
mated national income, and a64 000,0 600
less than the tota value of British i'm
ports and exports for 1890. 1t is Els % cd
per head of the present population.
An original portrait of Oliver Cromwell
on copper. by "Iroutbeck, the Flemish
artist. is said 10 be in the possession OF
Thomas de Leon of Mobile, Alabama 1t
was lett him by DR.. Thomas Cooper. his
godfather, and the tradition is that DR..
Cooper. who was president of the South
Carolina College, bought it in London at
the en1 of the last century from the Hart
ford collection.
Among the interesting exhibits at the
Worlds Fair is model of the Nicaragua
canal. measuring So feet by 5 feet, which
shows all the oceans, mountains, jungles.
lakes. rivers and harbors which make up
the proposed method of communication
between the Atlantic and Pacific. In
order to enhance the realistic nature of
the profile, real water is used to cover the
ocean and lakes, and this fills the canal
and river.
During the past few weeks there has
been formulated plan to irrigate what Is
said to be the largest tract of land In one
body to be found in Southern California.
This will be accomplished by damming the
MoJave River at Victor, creating an artifi-
cal lake nine miles long, three miles wide
and $50 feet in depth, water sufficient to
irrlgate 200, 600 acres of desert land. The
water will be diverted upon Government
lands now unOccupied and subject to set
tlement ana reclamation.
There is at the executive mansion a So
called eccentric file," on which all letters
from palpable cranks are put. Most of
these contain threats and warnings This
HE mas Detn Kept ever since the episode OF
Guiteau, who wrote many such notes be-
fore he SHOT President Garfield. An en-
tirely sane office-seeker the other day sent
a lock of his own fiery-red hair with an
application for the place, saying that he
understood that character could be OWNED
by persons capillary traits.
Coin collectors especially value the trial
pieces" or experimental coins that are
made by artists connected with the mint
for submission to the Coinage Committee
of Congress when a change of design is
contemplated. AS only ten or dozen
strokes ire made of each pattern they are
extremely rare. The secretary of a late
member IF the Presidents Cabinet says
that the Congressman who get these trial
pieces are usually ignorant of their value,
for he has seen them paid out for shoe
backing and cold tea.
Vegetarlans say it is popular fallacy
that meat is needed for strength. One
prominent exponent of the faith says it is
a fact that the strongest animals in the
world are vegetarian and not carnvorous.
1t IS the feroclty of the lion rather than
his strength that makes him fOrmida able
An elephant is a match for several lions
and is vegetarian. The animals with
NEST speed and endurance-the horse. the
reindeer, the antelope and otbers-are also
vegetarlans. Dog-traiuers. says this au-
thority. always feed their trick animals on