The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-17
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Various elegant preparation have supc

seeded the coarse unguents and salves Of
former times. says Chambers Journal 1t
would be lmpOssit lie in our limited space TO
give Just idea OF the wonderful improve
ments that have been made in his branch or
pharmacy. Perhaps one Of the most nota-
Bile Improvements is the preparation OF an
animal fat. called lanOllne, which Is now used
as the basis of large hunter of ointments
Unlike lard, which has generally been en-
plOyed for this purpose. Il never turns rancid
and il has the valuable property OF being
readily absorbed by the skin, and penetrating
with friction to its deeper layers; there
fore, 1t becomes most emclent
vehicle for conveying medicines through the
skin. When mixed with mercury and ru0oed
into the pores, it has caused the peculiar me
tall1c taste OF the drug to be perceptible IN
the mouth three minutes after Its application
In its impure crude form, this fat was known
to the ancient Greeks. and employed by them
in medicine, being extracted from the wool OF
sheep The chemist has now purified 1t. and
made it one OF the most useful agents that we
possess for applying medicines to the skin.
Under the Norman Kings gloves or, more
strictly speaking, gauntlets, for they were
made to cover the arm as well as the hand.
were often richly embroidered and the backs
set with precious stones, says Good Words.
No doubt he Norman ladies', whose skill In
needlework is shown by many al old trag-
ment Of tapestry still preserved. shut up as
they were in the gloomy receSses of their
strong castles, would find pleasant change
OF occupation in ornamenting their lord S
ElONeS WIN curious IEdCSEA anu Quaint QC-
vices in gold and silver thread. lThe glove
she was embroiderlng, with It's suggestions
OF merry hawking parties by the
reedy mere, of friendly contests in the
fitting yard, would seem to the noble dame
the token Of peaceful recreation when the
iron gauntlet, with its heavy links and chains,
could be safely laid aside. AS proof that
gloves at this period formed a distinctive
part of the dress of persons of high rank, ira
dition tells US that Richard Cdur de Lion. on
his way home from Palestine, through Aus
tria. was recognized by the servants of his
enemy, Duke Leopold, by the pair Of jeweled
gauntletS which he wore in his belt, these
latter Ill according with the disguise he had
assumed of travelling merchant or home
returning pilgrim.
1T looks queer to me-" said Capt L. E.
Greer and ex-army officer who was at the
Southern last night, says the St. Louis Globe
Democrat, Ito see here and there woman
treaSuring a cactus In hanging pot, when 1
have frequently seen large tracts of land ont
west covered with that growth and nothing
else. l remember once riding over sandy
plain thickly covered with cactus plants,
which appeared to be literally alive with rat
tlesnakes. Every now and then l would dis
cover one either seeking shelter from the
broiling sun under the plants, or writing
along from one to another. In Arizona these
plants grow so large that good-szsa boards
are sawed out of them. One species. known
as the organ cactus, is used Tor fences 1t
grows very compact and also quite tall and
forms the best natural fence I ever saw. being
difficult to penetrate. and is easily repaired.
It is well named. for it looks for all the world
like the pipes of an organ. Another
that is quite common in the southN estern
part OF the country is called the hop stone
cactus. You see whole acres of the crooked,
ungalnly-lOok1ng thing. covered all over with
sharp splncS and bumps. resembling warts.
The flower is very delicate in its texture 1t
is pale yellow. and looks strangely out of
place, starting from the coarse leaf"
One of the remarkable characteristics OF
various mineral crystals Casually those Of the
silicates. such as pure Quartz) is exhibited in
the fluid drops which are contained in MANY
specimens. says the st. Louis Republic Sir
David Brewster, in experimenting with this
| fluid has ascertained that it is not water, as
m my suppose but that 1t IS OF an OleOginOuS
nature, one part being volatiue. the other
nine fixed OIL, the former ignitinq at 127 de
grecs. Dana has named the volatile portion
cryutoltne, the oil Brewsterine Some beau
tliul specimens OF quartz crystals belded
with these imprisoned drops have at different
times fallen into the writer's hands
and are now among collection of
oddities certain individuals OF which
nave frequently been brought to the
notice Of the readers OF the Republic In 1851
L was shown curiosity in the shape of a
fossil specimen Of the Ehynchonella ,apax.
II was OF ABOUT the size OF a small Fl lbert
OF light straw color an / almost transparent
Inc shell Lori1on appeared to be auout one
twentieth OF an inch in thickness, the interior
being taken up with fluid and a small bub-
BILE Of air, the latter changing position with
every motion of the person handling the
shell, almost precisely as does the bubble in
a carpenter spirit level In this instance
the fluid could not have been composed of
Brewster $ "oleOginous matter because the
owner of the oddly Mr. James Inkeep Of Des
MONIES, la, declares that it finally froze and
ira ctured the she'll
1t is not often that a single figure has en-
joyed the distinction of being the subject of
long study and investigation on the part of n
German university professor But ~ he
Number Nine" is the title of a long and
learned article in a recent edition of Am
Urquel!, by Prof. Reinhold, at present rec
tor OF the University of Berl n. In early
times writes the professor, the first IN
even number 90 and It's multiple t9l were
considered OF especial Importance, likewise
all numbers which contained 8. Heather
philosophers, or Christian mystic writer's
the legends OF nations, the religions
OF modern peoples, all go to prove
the holiness or Sanctity of the numher
9: In Ancient Germanic life In poetry.
| in religion and law. the number 9 is met
everywhere. 1t still has its influence in Ger
man customs and German belief. In the
scandinavian mythology we find groups of
nine walkYrles, nine discs, nine giant mer-
maids or women of the sea. nine mothers of
the good Heimdel, nine Virgins of the Men
g!ood-rreyIa and nine dwarfs n the mid
ule ages nine heroes were usually grouped
together, as is to Le seen on the Leautiful
fountain at Nuremburg and the Hanse salon
Of the Cologne City Hall. In the poetry of
- - - SSH.ul y SlpupS OI nine are
favored. Proofs of this are to be found i'm
the festival plays, Nos IS and a. of the Keller
coIectlon, and in the poem, The
Nine Poor Wanderers Of Hans Sachs
There We're nine judges in Icelandic and Ger
manic law, known as the Mines In Lucerne
there existed until 1875 the nine men who sat
IN Judgment on ordinary police cases Nine
children were formerly looked on as the ideal
number for family Even aninaIe
are named in old tales in groups of nine, In
German fairy tale nine birds quarrel over
the wishing clock. They say in Tyrol:
When nine parents meet there is a witch
among them We also ind nine a favored
number for those people who make a sacrifice
OF human beings and animals"
The piano was developed from the clavi
chord and the harpischord, says the New York
Herald. This idea was conceived in
dependently about the same time by three
persons in different parts Of Europe The
planoiorte, first seen in England was made at
Rome by rather Wood, an English monk
there. 1t Is interesting to trace the origin of
the violin back to the time of Ravena the
KING of Ceylon, 5000 b, c., who is supposed to
have invented it, The Indian instrument the
ravanastron, is still played by poor Buddhist
monks who beg from door to door
The most important reign of the violin
was during the seventeenth century
when at Cremona, in Italy the family of
Amatt attained its great reputation Antonio
Stradivari, a pupil Of one of the sons Of Amati
surpassed the family in his finish of
these instruments. In Egypt the hgure of
the harp IS found delneated from the earli
est ages in many different forms This in
strument is still used in Wales and Ireland
although II has disappeared altogether from