Evening star., 1894-03-24

SSSZl skim through it and
~ pick out here and
/lkSA = there solid chunks of
p<@/ entertaining and even
~ Joyous information
Take the item of
skeletons, fer ex-
aHpie They are on the free list being re-
sarded as necessaries. Obviously, no one
can get along without a skeleton. To the
poor man it is even more essential than
TO the rich man, inasmuch as the former
Is compelled to work for his living, while
the latter, if boned like a turkey, might
still repose comfortably in a fauteuil and
be fed by his valet. About l,5OO skeletons
are imported into this country every year
nearly all of them from Paris, where the art
of preparing such osseous remains is I'M
derstood better than anywhere else in the
world. They cost $40 each, but one can
buy nice skull for S.
Turtles are free, too, as well as snafls and
shrimps So are fish skins and fossils
People must have fossils. and there would
be no sense in making them expensive by
tax. 1t Is the same way with the eggs
OF all kinds of insects They will pay no
tariff. Imported varieties of bugs are thus
brought within easy reach Of anybody who
wishes to raise them. Bees will come in
without duty under the head of animals
imported for breeding purposes"
Fish Eggs and joss Sticks.
Fish eggs are set down in the free list
and likewise joss sticks. Congress 'las no
desire TO make religion luxury 20 the Chi
nese in this country. Two familiar volcanic
products. lava and pumice, Will not be re-
quired TO pay customs tax. Inasmuch as
there are no active yolcanos worth men
N ha
industry is threatened by this provision.
No duty is placed on ice, though it has
been suggested that iceDergs might be tow
ed down from Labrador to Boston or New
York, to be broken up for market. Cnfor-
tunately, the water Cf the Atlantic shore
is SO shallow as to render this plan difficult
of accomplishment. one observes that the
metals iridium, osmium, palladium and
magn esium-all of them more valuable than
gold-are free. On the other hand, alumni
mum leaf must pay 80 per cent al valorem.
The foil of this new metal is coming into
use to a considerable extent 4 like duty
is assessed on gold leaf. one dollars
worth of gold will make loo leaves OF or
dinary commercial size, 3 by inches
Fire crackers are set down at 80 per cent
ad Valorem. All of them are made ina
China-that is TO say, the small ones OF
familiar pattern. Attempts have been
made to manufacture them by machinery
All inns country, out without success. They
could be produced, but had the disadvan-
tage that they would not explode. Tor
this purpose the most artful mechanism
| fails 10 do work that requires the Geft rnanp-
ulation Of human fingers. At the Chinese
factories each little cracker passes through
the hands of sixty persons before il is fin
ished and tied up with bunch for mar
ket There is a duty also on magic lantern
slides These little paintings on glass are
imported i'll great quantities from abroad
where they are produced at an incredibly
cheap rate. Some of them are done in
water colors, but the best are in trans
pI'ent oils. Masks are assessed at - per
cent. All of the pasteboard ones come
from Germany. The method of their manu-
facture is very simple. comic face is
modelled first in clay, and from this a pies-
ter mold is taken. In the mold the mask
is formed by successive sheets of moist
paper pressed into it, the final process being
the painting.
Snuff Consumers.
There will be tariff on snuff, Of course
The coasl mption of tobacco in his form
in the United States is en- )rnously larger
than most people imagine. mounting 10
millions of pounds annually. The old-fash-
toned Germans in this country take snuff,
and il is said that music teachers and
Roman CAtholic clerfg-men are generally
addicted to it. Canadian-French girls, no
are employed in cotton mills, particularly
in New England, have the habit almost to
woman. but lttS greatest uSmanI Is bl
roor whites and negroes IN the south. who
dip" snuff. THIS process consists in mois-
tenins stick, dipping II IN snuff, making
d little ball. and putting the latter between
the lips and teeth. Soft felt hats must pay
duty. These are male Of rabbit-fur usu-
ally. Chiefly to supply material for this
purpose, 5000 bales II rabbit skins are
shipped to London annually from Australia
| and New Zealand. IN his way some small
bencii; is got out of the plague in those
| countries. The fur Is cut or by machinery
and passed through a blower, which throws
| 1t upon a revolving copper disc. AS IT ac-
| cGmulates it adheres together and forms a
scrt of cloth.
Evidently there is more sporting blood In
, the Senate than might have been imagined.
| That body has cut down the tariff on dice
and billiard balls, well as on playing
cards. Shaving may or may not be regard
ed as luxury. Anyhow, razor blades are
required to pay duty. Immense numbers
| are imported from England, to have handles
put on them here and to be sold under the
names of various manufacturers. Lenses.
brought over in the rough, for spectaces
and other purposes, are likewise dutiable
This applies to great telescope glasses,
which are fetched from abroad in a rude
state to be subsequently ground into form
with emery and rouge, the final touches be-
Ing done by rubbing with the bare hand.
Human Hair and Dyes.
Human hair must pay 20 per cent. Wo-
men wear little that is not their own
nowadays. comparatively speaking, that the
quantity imported is only small fraction
Of what 1t used to be. The '.chignons" of
| quarter of century ago, by the way,
were said to be composed largely of hair
from the heads of African savages. Quite
a good deal of the hair that comes to mar
ket is made up into artificial boards and
mustaches. One can buy a mus.ache of
real human hair for a cent. though, for a
first-class mustache, the price runs up to 81
A duty is set on coal-tar dyes. 1t seems
astonishing that all the colors of the rain
| bow should be obtained from such a sub
stance, though not more than that the
same material should be made to furnish
such a great variety of medicines as are
now the market, with names ending in
| Inc and ''ol." The latter fact is due 10
| the circumstance that coal tar is an ideal
organic base for the chemist TO work with.
| The Senate has pared down the duty
on cut diamonds from 30 per cent to 10
| per cent. There is no use in putting high
tariff on gems, because IL would merely
offer extra inducement to smuggling.
| Precious stones are 50 easily concealed that
1