The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-24
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Mr. Burdett, in this years issue Of his
Othclal Intelligence, gives the estimate
of the amount of foreign stocks held IN
Great Britain, says the London spectator.
This can be gathered pretty accurately
from the income tax returns, and they
show that the total amounts to fi65,SJl,UV,
or , per cent. of the total quantity of
foreign stocks in existence. The interest
receivable on these stocks is f29, 600
year. or rather less than half the income
supposed to be derived from land. The
sum is very great, and it tends to become
greater as the gradual rise in price of
the best home securities, which are slowly
but steadily absorbed by trustees, insur-
ance offices and large capitalists drives
small investors to look abroad. The sum
of money in the hands of small men is.
In the aggregate, very great and in
creases every year, and as they seek in
comes lot 0Iu age they cannot holu con-
Sols or railway debentures or municipal
bonds. Ten years hence, when Cos
chens pay only ~ per cent, there will be
rush on much more risky foreign in
Vestments.
At recent meeting of the Engineers
| cup OF Philadelphia, Joseph T. Richards
made some interesting remarks on the
6Ctual Work OF lifung performed by the
sun rays in the absorption of water
from through the atmosphere. He said:
For many years past I have been much
interested in matters relating to the COM
position OF the atmosphere and the work
| zone by the sun in raising the moisture
atterward precipitated as rain. Prof.
LOOMS claims that the average height of
clouds Is two miles. Although this is
PROBABLY correct, l think there Is no doubt
on the other hand that many clouds
are within half a mile of the surface of
the earth. To make a moderate calcula-
Ilon let us assume as minimum distance
5000 feet. If you figure it out you will
find that a rainfall of one inch an hour
would amount to 72.60 tons of water de
posted on each square mile, to elevate
which 1900 feet would mean an amount of
work equal to 100000 horse power. To
raise this water in an hour by pumping
a
pounds would require the consumption of
10 gross tons of coal l think this will
help us to appreciate the immense amount
OF work being done by the sun in storing
up our natural water supply. If the aver
age elevation of Philadelphia is eighty
TOUR feet, then we have 4,5l7 horsepower
developed for each square mile for
rainfall run-on in an hour. When these
quantities are considered, the wonder is
that when we have such downpours as
that which caused the JOhnstown flood
the damage Is not much greater than
1t was on that occasion"
Something of a stir was made at the
Ravine house in Randolph, N. H, by the
arrival on Tuesday afternoon of three
dilapidated men, says the Boston Tran
gabonds? Evidently not. Nor were any
limbs broken. But all three had been
burned by electricity from a clear SKI, or
which more probably was discharged
from the mountain peak on which they
We're sitting, into the clear sky above.
They were upon the tiptop of Mt Adams
watching thundeTstorms below them,
when all were knocked over. Mr.. Gilbert
| Traitor at once sprang to his feet and he
thinks he remembers a great noise. But
the Rev. Arthur Patten of Gorham re-
/ members no noise, although he did not
! lose consciousness Both speak of hot
| ieellng, Mr.. Trafton being somewhat
burned on each foot and Mr.. Patten
/ rather more on one foot. The shoes and
! trousers of each were badly torn. Mr..
| George Goodwin of Gorham was more
| severely hurt. Probably his fall of sew
/ eral feet bruised him, as he was struck
quite unconscious for, a time, and was
| badly burned, from his hair down his
! neck. body, and legs, to his feet. Both
! he and Mr. Patten were partly paralyzed
| on the right side, the effect lasting about
a half hour After resting nearly an hour
| longer, Messrs. Patten and Trafton were
able to help Mr.. Goodwin down to the
Monntain nut CLUB although the hAPpfia'R Was
then dark. Here the night was
| passed, and next day five hours work
brought the party down to the hotel. By
this time Mr.. Goodwin had recovered
/ from the state of mind when he would re-
! peatedly inquire where he was and what
! had happened; but he needed all the en-
/ coura cement his companions could give;
/ and this made the party seem more light
| hearted, on arrival, than their appearance
! warranted.
Perhaps the best of all nuts is that
| species of hickory known as the pecan,
| says the Boston Transcript. 1t is native
to the United States, growing wild in the
| Mississippi valley and in Texas. The lar
/ gest and finest nuts come from Louis
| lana, some specimens attaining length
( of two inches and a diameter of three
| quarters Of an inch. Comparatively few
| from that state reach the north, how
ever. In Bee county, Texas, pecans are
! grown vita very thin shells, that may
! be crushed in the fingers. In Texas the
| pecan industry has obtained great i'm
| portance Thousands of people, white
| and black make a living by gathering
the wild nuts, while many plantations of
the trees have been set out, and are al
ready in bearing. So long ago as $780,
| 1850, 900 pounds of the nuts were marketed
in San Antonio. OF all the hickory fam
| lily, the pecan seems most susceptible of
improvement in the size and quality of
the fruit, and much has been accom-
plished in this direction by planters exer-
ciSlng Judgment IN the selection OF va
rieties. F: A. Swinden of Brownwood,
Tex, has 400 acres of pecans, comprising
1000 trees The usual method of harvest
ing pecans is to shake the trees when the
hulls begin to open in the autumn or to
thresh them with long. light poles like
fishing rods. The nuts that fall are picked
gathered quite commonly in the forest by
cutting down the trees-a practical applf-
cation of the principle of killing the goose
that lays the golden eggs. The freshly
gathered nuts are placed in revolving
churns by which they are cleaned and
frightened. factory in New York CITY
city gives employment to fifty men and
women engaged in the business of pol
ishing or Furnishing pecans for market
Eventually cleaning establishments will
be set up in the neighborhood of orchards
The finest nuts grown from selected
stocks are Kept for planting, pecans for
seed being in great demand at present
Such seed brings as much as $3.50 pound
the trade is carried on mainly by orders
through the mails, Small nuts could be
used for making Oil Before many years
the big pecans, an inch and a half and
two inches in length, with paper shells.
will be on the market in plenty. The in
dustry of preparing the meats of pecans
for market, free from shells, has already
assumed considerable proportions In 1890
one manufacturer sold 100000 pounds of
the kernels. Being relieved Of the trouble
of cracking the nuts and picking out
the meats-these processes are now per-
formed by observation-disclosures are
beginning to use pecans quite generally
Three pounds Of nuts contain one pound
of meats. The meats sell for 50 cents a
pound. Pecan oil is excellent for table
use. It makes a fine illuminant. A ker-
mel, when lighted, will burn for some
time brilliantly. The expense Of gather
ing nuts is an important item in the
growers accounts. A Texan pecan plant
er thinks that something of the style of a
street sweeptr which would gather
the nuts into winrows might he
helpful; after which they could
| be collected and run througb
/ a machine for sorting and CLEANING 30