The morning news., 1894-11-21
ITEMS oF INTEREST.

j MI n -. I1OEdELnr Well knOWU lot MS
I Intelligent work i'm Egyptian exploration,
/ tells of the high hopes he entertained when
] working to discover the site of a temple
. which he believed had hitherto been un-
I touched. After digging down some sixteen
/ feet he came upon a small fragment Of
I German newspaper of 1915. he says;
/ This was by no means singular cXpe-
I rience.'
Mr. W. L. Dallas reports that the OBJ
I SerEatiOnS of twenty-five years, made in
. the Bay Of Bengal by the Indian govern
E ment meteCrologists. have shown that the
. average temperature rises during years
/ that sun spots are numerous, and sinks
when they are few. When the number Of
/ sun spots exceeded the average the bar
/ ometrlc pressure was less than its av
. erage.
] What can be accomplished in the way of
decorative gardening that is unique and
( effectively serves the purpose Tor which
/ It IS designed is shown in the station
grounds Of the Michigan Central at
y pslldnu Mich, says The Buffalo Courier
me chief feature is a locomotive that
{ from CAB to pilot, IS made of q variety of
plants, ingeniously selected for their re-
/ specuYe purposes, the whole structure pre-
/ sentlns something that is both novel and
/ attractive. In the composition of the en-
/ glne some thing over 300 plants are used
LHS polahicaI names Of which are given
/ below: Boiler, Althernanthera Spathula1a A.
! wheels, Althernanthera. Sp2thulate. with
/ Sedum NarlegaUum between wheels and
| spOkes OF wheels; rods, EcheVeria Metal
| lica; bell. Althernanthera Aurea Mana;
! whistle. Colius Compactai headlight, Sc
| NerisColor; roof of cab. Achyranthus Lin
( denil; windows of cab. EcheVeria Secunda
/ Gloca; cowcatcher, Althernanthera Veris
/ color and Sedum Neriegatum. The device
/ was designed and executed by John Laid
! low, the Michigan Centrars official florist
| who has charge OF its greenhouse at Ypsi-
/ ldnu. Some idea OF the extent of the Mich
/ lgdn Centrals greenhouse at Ypsilanti
/ may be gained from the fact that in the
/ twelve months ending Sept. l. 1894, there
were distributed to passengers upon
/ trains 2S,3S3 boutOnnieres, and in addition
/ 400 large bouquets were sent TO the hos
pital at Detroit. The cOmpany's green
! houses at Niles are about as large and
/ the two together undoubtedly make the
Michigan Central the largest grower of
! flowers among the railway companies of
! the world. That the beauty Of the station
| grounds (and the station buildings them
] selves, for that matter) along the line of
/ the Michigan Central mas contributed to
/ the fame and popularity of the road and
/ has been of financial benefit to it is prob
/ ably ndisDutable.
/ Advices received from Prof. Won Eulen-
| SpleSeI and party state that in delVing
/ among the ruins OF ancient Tyre there
/ has been unearthed what seems TO have
/ been the workshop of an ancient armOrer,
Z or ''WaftenSch chmidC. - with a quantity Of
/ sword blades in different stages of man
/ utdcture, though badly cOrrOded. says The
/ Berlin Tageblatt. A copper cylinder with
/ a close-htting tap was found among pie
! of dry rOJled wood, evidently the remains
/ Of an arm chest, the brass nails and
/ copper bands of which had retained their
/ original form. This cylinder contained
/ parchment inscribed in ancient Syriac
/ characters and Ia "a fair state OF preserVa-
| close study, mas pronounced II an extra
! ordinary QiSCCVery-OIe calculated to cast
/ much light upon the heretofore mysteries
! OF the ancient craft ot Ne2pon-making,
/ giving in detail the methods followed in
! making the perfect Damascus blades, The
/ manner OF tempering these blades when
| intended for a ruler or an officer Of high
/ rank was as follows: Let the high dig
nit4w furnish an Ethiop Of fair fame and
/ let him he bound down, shoulders upward,
/ upon the block OF the god Bal-haI, his
/ arms fastened underneath with thongs,
| strap of gOatskin over his back and
/ wound twice around the block; his feet
/ close together, lashed 10 a. dOwel of wood,
/ and his head and neck projecting over and
/ beyond the end of the block Then let the
/ master workman, having cold hammered
! the blade TO a smooth ANA thin edge, thrust
/ IL inJO the fire OF cedar wood Goals in and
/ out the while recltlng the prayer to the
! god Bal-hai until the steel be of the color
! of the red Of the rising sun, when he comes
/ up over the desert toward the east. and
/ then with a quick motion pass the same,
! from the heel thereof to the point, SIX
| times through the most heshy portion of
the slaves back ana thighs, when It shall
/ have become the color of the purple of the
| KING. Then, II with one swing and one
stroke Of the right arm OF the master
| workman it sever the head OF the slave
| from his body and display not nick nor
! crack along the edge, and the blade may
! be bent round about the body Of a man
and break not, it shall be accepted as a
| the god Bal-hal, and the owner thereof
| may thrust 1t into a scabbard of asses
| skin, brazen with brass and hung to IL
| girdle of camels wool, dyed i'll the royal
| purple"
The invention of bells is attributed by
some Of the best foreign campanologists
| to the Egyptians, who are credited with
| having made use of such percussion in
| struments to announce the sacred fetes
of Osiris says the Magazine of Art In
| China they are said to have been known
| nearly 5000 years before the birth of
| Christ; The Greeks ana the Romans, it
IS said, never used bells of large size
| Yet the hour OF bathing and the opening
| OF the market places were advertised
daily by ringing bells, ana it appears to
me that small ones would scarcely nave
answered the purpose. In the time OF
Thucydides, 400 B. c., the patrols who
Went the midnight rounds IN garrisons
| and camps had d hand-ben or Codor nv
in their setry boxes. You may read 100
IN Theocritus, how the priests of Cybele
| the delirious Corybantes or CALI al
Wa$S Ungled bells during the wild cele-
/ bratiOns of their festivities: and also thar
the priests of Cabiri did the same while
| performing their obscene rites. Tydeus
one OF the seven chiefs of the army Of
/ Adrastus, puts bells on the handle If his
shield; ana Rnesus. king of Thrace and
a warrior OF difficult and ravaging
hand used to decorate the harness Of
! ms SWlft emo noted horses. As we have
seen, india ana China had very large
| bels long before the rest Of the world
| TWO Arabs who journeyed through China
in the ninth century have delivered down
to US an interesting account of the great
popular justice bells, then in use through
town there was q bell Of large size fixed
to the wall above the head of the prince
or governor, and to it was attached a
rope a mile or so in length and laid so
temptingly along the main thoroughfare
that the humblest sufferer from iuiUstice
seldom hestitated TO tug at it without
rear. AS soon as the bell sounded the
governor sent for the petitioner. and Sc
rlous business, craving quick dispatch %
met with instant and honest recogni-
ton. and even above the head of the
emperor himself there was such a moist,
friend 70 the people but he who rang Il
without sufficient cause-aud his celestial
majesty was often difficult 10 please in
thus partcular-was switched in q Verv
nV=ly manner As or the celebrated quar-
tet or monster bells at Nankin. one is
nearly twelve English feet high. with a
diameter OF seven ana a half and a cir
| cumterepce Of tWenty-thrce. its metal
about the edges is seven inches thick its
| weight computed at $1,000 pounds. and it5
shape but or the bulging in the middle.
would be cylindrical. Father lie Connie
ADDS there are seven others i'm PFkin
cast in the time OF Joula and yyei,gbirli,
! lptlIs 1HHe N,.t.