St. Landry democrat., 1893-11-18
NOTES AND COMMENTS.


that in the great cotton-produc;ng State
Of Georgia there is county that has
never produced bale of cotton. The
county in question is Union, with an area
of 32J square miles. The surface is
mountainous and extensively covered
with forests.
TIE "electric city," Niagara Falls,
grows with much rapidity, notwith-
standing the fact that the Gigantic cleo
trical tunnel and motors are not yet in
operation \ new city directory Just
issued shows an increase of over 7C0
names the last yea-. This indicates an
increase of over 5000 population within
year.
A PROMINENT medical journal expresses
the opinion that too much cycling is not
| good for children of either sex, as while
the body is rapidly developing it is easy
to produce distortion Of trunk or limbs
by any 70 ced or constrained position,
and an injury to the skeleton should not
be ri>ked until it has attained certain
| tirmncss of structure. Girls should ride
but little until they reach the age Of
| seventeen years. In learning. and ever
| eftcrward, they should be taught to sit
| straight upon the seat. The dress should
be free about the waist and chest, and
| should be short enough not 10 embarrass
the movement of the feet.
An exchange, soberly, it is hoped,
declares possibility that the toe Of the
human race will ultimately follow the
pfchensile tai into the oblivion born of
disuse. Already, in theory, the hair,
teeth and on" eye have vanished. But
the toe will stay 1t must remain to bear
tue corn, just as the vermiform appendix
has fingered to corral the truaut grape
seed. Let the exchange, sarcaslically
observes the San Francisco Examiner,
discuss the probability of being brain
less some time in the future, and its
avcrmcnts will have substantial base.
TIE Philadelphia Press calls attention
to the necessity, emphasized by the ter
rife storms, Of having IL station for
weather observation on one of the Lee.
ward Or Windwaru islands. The Signal
Service maintained such a station at one
time, but it was discontinued in fit of
Congressional economy. If the United
States had two or three stations in the
only to predict the approach of the ter
rible West Indian hurricanes, but in a
measure to forecast their track, to the
saving of many lives and much property.
TIE rebuildingof the old ship of-war
Hartford, at a cost nearly equal to the
cost of original construction, recalls the
history Of United States ship that was
at the time of her launching perhaps the
swiitest ship of the Navy. 1t was impos-
sible at that time to obtain appropria-
tions for new ships, SO it was determined,
under the pretence Of repairs, to build a
new and modern ship around the hawse-
holes of an old hulk. The name of the
hulk was retained, but in all else the
product Of that repairing was a new ship,
and in cveryway she was up to the stand
ard of naval cruisers twenty years ago.
She astoni he'd foreign officers in Medi-
terrancan harbor by her speed at time
when the ships of the United States Navy
were held in low esteem.
THE Penobscot Indians retain good
many of their tribal characteristics, in
spite of their civilized surroundings and
the infusion of white blood. All the
islands in the Penobscot River belong to
their reservation. and on one of them, at
OIdtown, Me-, they hav- large settle
ment. Several of them are well to do, |
and none of them shows marks of pow
erty. They find ready employment as
lumb rmen in the Maine forests in winter !
and as guides for hunting and fishing
parties at other times. At Oldtown they !
make light and se,viceable canoe that
is said to be better than a white man can |
make It is built of wood and canvas, |
but is modelled on the lines of the birch. |
A PAPER of an investigating turn of
mind recently undertook to find out for
what object women chose their dresses.
Several prominent people expressed opin-
ions on the subject, among them Harriet
Prescott Spotford, who said that they
"were actua,ed only by their perception
of the beautiful; that they dress neither
to dazzle women nor to attract men, but
to please themselves Kate Sanborn said
"Some women dress to win envy, ieal-
ousy and admiration all at once. A very
few sensible women dare to dress for
neither man nor woman, but for health
and comfort, and women acknowledged
ly over fifty sometimes dress to suit
themselves"
THE New York Evening Sun says: "For
the privilege of wearing trousers the
French Government charges women tax
of from ten to twelve dollars year.
This by no means gives every woman
who is willing to pay the tax right to
wear trousers. The Government, instead,
eonfers the right as tribute of great
merit Trousers are, in fact, a sort of
decoration given to women as the ribbon
of the Legion of Honor is given to men.
The only women to whom has been
granted the right to weir trousers are
George Sand, Rosa Bonheur, Nine. Dicu-
lafoy, the Persian archeoogist; Nine
FoucauIt, the bearded woman, and two
feminine stonecutters, Nine FOUR an
and La Jeanette. How jealousy the
right to wear trousers has been guarded
in France may be seen in the recent case
of Nine. de Valsavre. This lady is we'll
known for her propensity to fight duels
and her efforts to get elected to the
French Assembly. Last year she petit
toned the Government fol right to
wear mems clothes. Considering she is
of an elegante, a pretty woman
with profuson of blond hair, and
dresses richly in fine taste, the French
men, who are versed in such matters,
prudently refused her petition.''
New YORK is the most crowded city in
the Union She has fifty nine people for
every acre of her area, and, taking only
the built-up part into consideration, the