Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1894-02-22

posse ssions to thirty-fve miles, and the
trustees who managed the fortune allowed
the late Prince Nicholas an income of only
500. 900 year.
DR.. Tergler, q German scientist, is of the
opinion that it will be posaibls to predict
the wea' hsr by means of photographs of the
sun far more accurately than by q study
of the barometer. Circular or eiliptical
halos round the orb of day. he says. indi-
cate violent storms, especially If the halos
are dark in tint or of large diameter.
Lightning and magnetic disturbances may
also be expected from these signs.
Investigation Is being made concerning
the silk spider of Madagascar, with the
object of creating a new industry. A sim
gle female spider gave . French missionary
5000 yards of fine silken thread recently
in twenty.seven days. Small textures
woven by these spiders are used by the
natives of Madsga.car for fastening flowers
on sunshades and for other purposes.
A Roman Catholic paper says that the
Archbishop of Cashsl, examining little
boy on the cstechism, asked him, "What
is mstrimonyr The little fellow couldn't
recall the words of the answer, but deter
mined not to be beaten, replied: 1.-TWO
people getting married, your Grace"
"Could two little boys get marriedr pur-
sued the Archbishop "Yis, your Grace"
Chow is thsta" ITO two little girls, your
Grace"
Among the New York clubs recently
formed is the Parole Coterie," made up
of about twenty men-about-town, who
have taken an oath never to write letters
to any body but men. It Ia sort of mu
tusl protective society, and each member
pledges himself to act as far as he Is able
as . ve1b messenger for the other. The
club has no note paper, and q member who
writes private letter to a woman is liable
to expulsion.
As to the speed with which the migra-
lion flights of birds are accomplished,
Canon TrIstrsm, in the British association,
quoted Herr Gatke as maintaining that
godwits and plovers can fly at the rate of
$40 miles an hour. DR.. Jerdon has stated
that the spine-tailed swift, roosting in
Ceylon, would reach the Himalayss, 1000
miles, bsfore sunset. In their ordinary
flight the swift was the only bird the su
thor ever knew to outstrip an express
train on the Great Northern railroad.
An interesting amendment to the Massa-
oh 70 Ia lofi TO fho Of
libelous articles is now before the senate
judiciary committee. 1t reads: In an &C.
ton for libel sgainst the proprietor or edi-
tor of any newspaper or other periodical,
the defendant may plead In his answer
that the libel was inserted without malice
and without gross negligence: and that al
the earliest subsequent opportunity he in
serted in such or in some other publication
of equivalent circulation full apology,
and that the apology was printed in as
large an clifton and equally as conspicuous
in it's position and style of type and degree
of publicity as was the insertion of the
original libel; or If such publication was
published oaly at intervals exceeding q
month, that he offered to publish such
apology, with equal degree of conspicuous
ness and publicity in any paper the plain
tiff might name. And If such plea is filed
in the OF wer evidence of Its truth may be
admitted, and may be taken into consider
alton by the jury estimating the damages.
A notable example is furnished by the
| city of Berlin in its treatment of water by
| artificial publication, the present system
being, ss stated, tho result of exte nsive ex-
periments for fifteen years past. 1t seems
| q plan of natural filtration by digging deep
| Wells near the river and lakes from which
water was obtained, and allowing the water
to drain through the soil from the souIes
of supply to the wells, from which 1t was
hen pumped to the city reservoirs; but
this plan was abandoned on the fact being
demonstrated that the water thus supplied
remained impure. Artificial filtration was
consequently substituted, the water being
filtered through sand, large numbsr of
filter basin meeting this re equirement; they
are covered by roofs of stone. earth and
sod, in order to prevent atmospheric con
tamiration and the formation of ice in cold
weather, as we'll as to facilitate the fire.
quent removals of those Impurities which
gather upon the surface of the sand. The
| careful examinations of the water constant
ly made by official experts show that, while
there Is q small reduction in the quantity
of organic matter in the filtered water, the
important fact also appears that there is q
retention Of solid Impurities and of large
percentage of bacteria.