The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-12
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

People who visit the east coast of Florida,
and especially the Indian river and the Lake
Worth region, often wonder why the climate
Of that section is so delightful at all times Of
the year, and so different in almost every par
ticular from what one would expect in those
ATTITUDES. And it is doubtful if even the old
est resident there could give all the causes
which produce this difference. But the ex-
PLANTATION is simple enough. The difference
between northern and seml-tropical Florida,
apart from the latitudinal distance, is due to
the elevation OF the former and the distance
from it of the gulf stream. The waters Of the
Gulf Of Mexico temper the immediate coast
line. Their effect does not extend far inland.
The stream is pressed close to the east coast
shore along Dade county by the Banana
banks. Atlantic steamships, southwark
bound, to avoid the force of the current
stand in so near the shore that they can, at
some points be hailed from the land. The
gulf stream is an old story. but it is great
fact This vast, deep blue ocean river, a
thousand times the volume of the Mississippi
is 30 miles wide, 1900 feet deep, and has
velocity Of miles an hour the year round.
The temperature of the stream is So, or g
degrees higher than the waters of the ocean
through which it flows The trade winds
blowing nine-tenths of the time, winter and
summer, from She eastward, bear the stratum
Of warm air formed by the gulf stream west
ward across the land. This is why the east
coast is mllder and more equable than the
west coast in the same latitude. With the
gulf stream are found three other equalizing
agencies-the trade winds, the everglades,
with water surface, preventing land
breeze, and the zone OF high barometric
r1rng la MD haa hat
might otherwise be 950, is reduced to some
thing like $50. The midwinter chill, which
might get down to 9O' is warmed up to some
thing like 400.
Every part Of the country is the scene of
activity due to the expiration of the Bell
patents on the telephone hand receiver, says
the New York Post. Several companies are
starting the manufacture of apparatus. and
many have been bold enough to announce
their intention to undertake the construction
ana operation OF exchanges 1t may be
pointed out that considerable caution is nee
essary before very heavy investments are
made in this field by those unfamiliar with its
conditions. For nearly the full seventeen
years OF the patents the American Bell Com
pany has been organizing a system of tele-
phone exchanges, each complete in itself, but
with a supplement to the hundreds of ex-
changes, in the shape of most sub
stantially built long -distance' service,
on which millions of dollars have
been spent In almost all the large cities the
existing telephone exchanges have pre-
empted all the subway space with their I'M
derground wires, and have established them
selves in ine buildings, erected with a special
view TO efficiency and economy Of operation.
But this Is not al, as the patent company
has reinforced itself with large numbers of
patents, covering details of magnetic calls,
switchboard appliances, receiver hooks,
cross connections, plugs, spring jacks, the
use Of the transmltter with induction coil,
and many other complex but vital features.
In spite OF all this. there are likely to be
many new and mplc exchange services, es-
pecially in small communities, where it has
been impossible to support the ordinary ser
vice; but the most active field is that OF in
terror telephone work for Offices, houses
stores, etc, with many rooms or departments,
requiring Accommodation of quick and
perfect kind. There are in reality few places
where the telephone cannot be uSefully en-
ployed and much ingenuity has of late been
shown in devlsing systems to answer just
such needs. 1t is estimated by those familiar
with the art that within a couple of years
there will be more telephones thus in use
than are now served in the exchanges, for the
reason that while one exchange telephone is
enough for even large Office, the various
branches Of the same establishment require
twenty or even forty telephones for intercom-
municattOn purposes.
Great interest is felt in Photographic cir
cles in New York and the whole country in
the astonishing feats recently achieved in the
line OF color phOtogr lphy by r. ID. Gray, OPP
ttcian and photographer, of New York. 1t is
said that he mas o. tanned far more perfect
results than any of the European experiment.
ers in this line, whose efforts have been 50
much talked about of late. His pictures Of
landscapes, fruits, flowers and colored draper
les. exhibited by means of the stereoptiCOn,
demonstrate at least the praCticaoility of pro-
iecting upon screen photographs in colOrs.
Mr. Gray calls his work 'tri-color photo
| Graphy.' He obtains three 'posltives' OF the
object to be pictured. From one Of these. by in
terpOsng a blue glass between the camera
and the object photographed, he excludes all
the red and green rays. From the second, by
means Of a green glass, he excludes the blue
and red rays. From the third. by the use of
a red glass, he excludes all blue and green
rays. Then by superimposing these three
pos ttves, one upon the other, each appro-
priately coiOred q picture is formed with
every color shade and tint in its proper place
and proportion. The inventor, for obvious
reasons, does not. it seems, give full details
OF his process, but this is the outline. 1t is
! needless to say that if it can he generally ap-
piled it has great future. Photographic in
colors is the last step of an art which has
| thousands OF devOtees, and every advance in
| it will be noted with interest.
The fact that the Spanish woman enjoys no
social freedom until she marries or attains
her majority, says a writer in the North
American Review, has given rise to the suppo-
| sition among those who know us only through
! the fantastic tales Of INSCRIPTIONS travellers.
| that in Spain the women live subject to the
most absolute of tyrannleS and that we are
| the victims OF the brutal selhshness of MAJ.
| Nothing could be further from the truth, or
| more calumnous. The Spanish women
! yielding cheerfully and willingly the obedience
! to praternal authOrioy enloined by reugion
| receives with the nuptal benediction the
liberty to go about alone and TO guard I'M
| aided the good name and respect with which
! in childhood and youth she had seen herself
| surrounded. But let it not therefore, be
| imagined that the Spanish girl leads the life
! of a reeluse, subjected to monastic rules. So
| far from being the case, perhaps there Is no
! women in the world who enjoys herself moro
while she is married who is a greater coQuette
| or who tyrannlZes more completely over her
! suitors; and when long dresses give her the
| right TO present herself into society, a period
| of amusementS and divers oJts begin TOR her
| which terminates Withoutre ret on the part
of the good wife soon as the duties of
| maternity come to fill her life, and to com
pletely occupy both her thoughts and her
time.
Samuel A. Bard. in his Adventures on the
Mosquito Shore" describes the reefs on
which the Kearsarge was wrecked the other
day as follows: - Roncador the Snorer. is a
small cay three-Quarters OF a mile long and
at its widest part not more than four hundred
yards broad--a mere bank Of white sand At
the eastern end is an acre or more Of scrubby
bushes and near them three or four low and
distorted palm trees. Around Gays of this
description there is always a reef of coral
I 80.