The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-07
ITEMS oF INTEREST.

throp." says the New York World, Leaves
Col Dick Thompson OF Terre Haute, Ind,
the sole survivor Of the Twenty-seventh
congress. There is but one other man liv-
ing who served IN congress as long ago as
Col Thompson. He is George ". Jones
OF Iowa. who was a delegate from Wis
consin 10 the Twenty-sixth congress. and
subsequently, senator from the new state
Of Iowa
To Claude Vautin, a London inventor, is
credited a simple method Of obtaining
some OF the rare metals in any desired
quantity in an absolutely pure state: that
IS he nnds that aluminium will take away
me oxygen from the oxide of almost any
other metal, leaving the latter pure. Net
ais like chromium, cobalt, nickel, lungs
ten, uranium, and manganese are easily
obtained in the oxide form, the trouble
being to reduce the oxide and get the pure
metal Vautin's device, il appears. causes
the materials to produce their own heat
for this purpose Thus the process may
De- oxide OF chromium taken in pow
dered form, certain quantity OF lime
mixed with it. to this mixture being added
a certain portion OF aluminium reduced to
minute separate granules, the whole
compound being then placed in a crucible
with magnesia lining, which is placed in
a furnace. At a certain moderate tenn
perature the reaction takes place.
The Chinese emperor speaks Of Little
Japan, and the phrase is not an uncOm-
mon one in this country, but as a matter
OF tact Japan is not an especially little one
among the nations of the earth. either in
area or population. The area of Japan is
l4l, boo square miles, which is p 600 square
miles larger than that Of the United King
dom. There are Al. 100000 people subject
to the mikadO. against IS. 000,0 600 in the Uni
ted Kingdom, taking the largest census
returns in both cases. Japan's population
is larger than that of Italy by fully TO-
100000, while her area is 81 900 square miles
greater. No one speaks of Italy as Lit
tie Italy" although she is not nearly so
populous as Japan. Japan has nearly ten
times the area, and twenty times the
population of Denmark. Japan is not
little country, save as compared with the
unwieldy masses of the Chinese empire,
or with the giant United States. She
proved herself big enough to hold her
own in fight even with the giant.
Thirteen million bayonets prop up the
cars throne, says the Boston Journal
That is the full strength of the Russian
army on war footing. Germany comes
next, but after a long interval with g.
100000 soldiers; Italy has 3,155000 and
France 2S50000, excluding $4,000 auXilia-
ries. Austrias fine army, which in quail
tty is reckoned scarcely second to Kaiser
Wilhelm's, contains a maximum of l.
79i, US men. England at home and in her
colonies can mobilize a force OF $4,000
The little martial republic of Switzerland
can summon $500 soldiers to her BAN
ners in an emergency, and even poverty
all the powers, has the most burdensome
military establishment. Her annual eX-
penditures on her army are $3.50, 000 900.
while RuSsias, with an army seven times
as large. are only S1s6, 600 900, and Germa-
ny S Sll3,000O 900. In proportion to size En-
glands army is, perhaps. the most costly.
Her 662, 900 men require $50 900, 600 annually
for their support or only S3s. 100000 less
than the amount which provides France
with an enormous host of more than four
times England's numbers.
1t is no doubt a startling conclusion,
says London cable, but DR.. Louis Rob
tnson, who has been investigating the
mysteries of canine language, has prac-
tically set up the theory that dog speaks
d f1n in In ha. na= Of oil hun
ing dogs. which pack together, the tail
Is carried aloft and is very free in move
ment. There is 40 doubt that fox hounds
haDitually watch the tails of those in
front of them when drawing a covert.
If a faint drag is detected, suggestive of
the presence of fox, but not sufficient to
be sworn to vOcally, the tail of the finder
is set in motion. and the warmer the
scent the quicker does IL wag Others
seeing the signal instantly join the first.
and there is an aSsemblage of waving
tails before even the least whisper is
heard. Should the drag prove a doubt
full one the hounds separate again and the
waving ceases, but if it grows stronger
when followed up the waging becomes
more emphatic, until one after another the
hounds begin to whine and give tongue
and stream off in Indian file along the line
of scent. When the pack is at full cry
upon a strong scent the tails cease to
wave. but are carried aloft in fulrview.
Nature seems to have provided some
animals with wonderful mimetic adaDta-
says the Cincinnati Enquirer. Mr. Hudson
cites an example of this. He had fired at
a South American heron which was steal
ing through some PUSHES, but on coming to
the place could see nothing of the bird |
He was on the point of turning away
when strange sight met his eyes. This is
how he describes the scene; There stood
my heron on reed no more than eight
inches from my knees and on a level with
them. The body was erect and the point
of the tail touched the reed grasped by
his feet; the long, tapering neck was held !
stin, straight and vertical. and the head
and beak. instead of being carried oblique-
~ We're also pointing up. From his feet
to the tip of his beak there was not a
perceptible curve of inequality; but whole
was the tigure-the exact counterpart-of
a straight, tapering rush. the loose plum
are being arranged to fill al inequalities
The wings, pressed into the hollow sides
made 1t impossible to see where the body
ended, and the neck began, or to distin-
gu1Sh head from neck, or beak from head
This was front view and the entire nm
der surface of the bird was thus displayed,
all of a uniform duh yellow. Not a move.
ment did the bird make. I placed nv
hand on the point of his beak and forced
the the head down till it touched the back. !
head, like a steel spring to its first nosi-
ton. / repeated the experiment several |
times with the same result, the very ewes
immovalble. WY
The various optical Illusions" Inv
means or which straight lines are caused /
10 appear crooked, and objects of eouaI /
SIZE are rendered, to all appearance de- !
cldedly unequal, are more or less familiar
10 every reader, but there are other eoual- |
~ striking receptions of the senses that /
are not so frequently experimental With /
A French saVant has recently pointed o1f /
several surprisingly easy ways in which /
we are misled in our perception of heat
and cold and of pressure. A simple and [
convincing experiment of this kind NAV !
be tried in the following manner. TAKE /
TWO silver dollars and place one of them
upon marble table or manteI while the
other is rubbed briskly between fhe
hands. In this manner a slight difference \
OF temperature between the two pieces Of /
metal Will be produced. Then ask some
one to incline his head backward clos
ing his eyes. Lay the warm dollar 1non
his forehead for a moment, remove If
and quickly substitute the cold one YoIi,
VIII hardly be able to convince him tbat
they are OF equal weight The cold niece
always seems to be much heavier than
the other. The explanation of This me-
nomenon Is that the metal which has
been rubbed between the hands has as
stunned nearly the temperature Of he
body, and when it is placed upon the for re
head the sense of touch is affected h.
the pressure alone. But the metal Whit
has been cooled, being al a lower ternnara -
ture than the skin, affects the sense in q
double manner, and the subject of tho "a "a a
nRTlmPnf haf inc oil