The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-24
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Children in this country, however much
they may enjoy birthday celebrations and
gifts, are quite content TO have them once
year, but the fortunate children Of Sweden
, nave three birthdays in the course of every
( twelve months, says the PittSburg Dispatch
First, and no Il important is the real Jlrtb-
DAY, but the otner two are also occasions Tor
! festiyity and the presentation of small gifts.
hese two DAYS are those whose names the
swedish boy or girl bears. For every day IN
the swedish calendar has Its own sOeclal
name, besides the weekly name which II
bears like the days Of other COT ntries Some
times the parents give child one name
which is not to be found IN the Swedish cal
endar, so that there is occasionally a sorrow
full plant such as the one made by a little
girl who explained regretfully to some
friends that she had "only two birthdays"
One OF my names is S1grld,' she said, and
there ism I any day for that" Every day has
special name IN the German calendar as we'll,
and some OF the names, allowing for the diff
ference In language. are the same for CORE
spending dates in the two calendars. The OBJ
servance Of such 'namesake day s" however,
Is not by any means so common IN Germany
as IN Sweden. To our ears the glib state
ment made by little Swed .sh girl, who was
asked as TO the date of her birthday, The
10th OF March, 22nd OF May and 1 3th of No
vember," has at tirst a decidedly strange
sound.
A break was noticed in the Erie canal near
Rochester the other day and if it had not
been mended expeditiously. the consequences
would have been alarming says the New
York Post. Through hole in the bank the
water was pouring like sluice. 1he lock-
gates to the east as far as Brighton were
opened, and the water was thus lowered two
feet so that repairs could he made. The
break was the work of muskrats. Only few
weeks prev ously these little animals under
mined the Oank on the thres-mie level east
OF Brighten, and the result was break which
involved the expenditure of a onSideraDle
sum of money. About seventeen years ago,
before the canal free bOUnfV Of u
cents was paid for every hide of a muskrat.
and the state by this means saved the ex-
pense of repairing the damage which this
industrious little pest would otherwise have
done along the great watercourSe If the re-
cent break at Brighton had occurred during
the night, twenty or thirty feet of the EN-
bankment would have been carried away
BEFORE anything could nave g IN done to check
the rush of water. Breaks III the canal which
compel boatmen to tie up along the banks for
several days before the level can be restored
cause a great loss to them on the seasons in
come. The loss OF one trip amounts to sew
eral hundred dollars, and this is often the
result of such a delay. Canal officials think
that 1t would be wise measure to restore
the muskrat bounty law. .
The first person detained during the plea
sure of the sovereign was man named
Hadfeld, who. in the year 1880 made an at
tempt on the life of King George, and was,
after long and tedious trial, pronounced
insane. says a London exchange. No pro-
vision existed at the time as to the treat
ment of insane persons convicted OF crime.
who we're Unfortunately mixed with the
ordinary criminals. The result of public
action In the matter was an act for the safe
custody OF insane persons charged with Of
lenses which, with certain notifications
and amendments has Leen in force ever
since. these were known to the chiefs of
asylums and others who had to deal with
them as queen 5 Pleasure lunatics and
those who became insane while undergoing
sentences as secretary of State" lunatiCs.
The first special accommodation for the
use OF insane criminals was an addition to
Bethlehem hospital at cost of 425,00),
which sum was doubled within a few years
on account OF the remarkable increase of In
mates the result of the plea of lunacy which
counsel invariably set up for their clients
when all other chance of escape failed There
have been several improvements in the law of
late years with regard to this subject, but
until recently Judges were empowered to send
lunatic to an asylum without making any
provision for his release in the event of his
recovering his reason; so that. at all events
at that time, the life of person detained
during his majesty pleasure" was likely to
| be fairly unhappy one when he awoke from
his lunacy to the fact that he was incarcerated
until 1t should so please the sovereign to re-
| lease him. therefore, the plea of insanity
| was not OF very great advantage to Criml-
nal, always excepting. OF course. when there
| was likelihood of capital punishment being
| inflicted Wrong doing mad people are kept
at Broadmoor, and there are very few dis
| charges, those which are granted being made
| conditionally.
1t is said that theAmericans excel the Euro
peans in the way of silverware in many par
ticulars, says Hardware. Designs are more
artistic, AMI when required, more elaborate
and in number of pieces there is an infinite
variety, and in some cases an equipment in
the homes of the wealthy that is wonderful
Two or three families in New York have as
MANY as 900 pieces in constant and occa-
sional use, collection that has taken almost
a lifetime to accumulate An enumeration of
the articles of the smaller kind carried by
families who entertain is given as follows:
Twelve dinner forks, six dozen dessert forks,
three dozen oyster forks. the same number
each of iceCream, fish. salad and fruit forks
| two doZan sardine forks, SIX dozen each OF tea
and coffee spoons, three dozen table spoons
one dozen vegetable spoons, three dozen des
| sert spoons, one dozen salt spoons two dozen
| sorbet spoons one dozen m Istard spoons.
| half dozen gravy spoons, one dozen orange
| spoons, besides a miscellaneous lot of
! spoons for serving the various pickles
! conserves and jellies that lind their way
| into the homes of those who can afford to set
! an ultra. luxuriant table Then there are
! sauce ladies, berry scoops, as paragus tOngs
! salt cellars and such, in dozens. OF the
! larger articles of the receptacle order there
! are, of course an endless variety, all richly
/ chased, aud unnecessary to say practically
| solid. In some instances. heavy plating of
| gold is placed upon the silver in various de
! signs and IN pickle, olive and preserve dishes
! this is now considered essential. In one
! family point is made that nothing shall ap-
/ pear on the table except the linen, the food
! the Culud anu glass; anu Inc SOllu SILVER. An
| other has the drinking glasses of French
| glass with silver rims handsomely chased In
/ this eXpenS1VeneSs and luxury the principle
! seems to be followed that it Is as well to in
! vest money in this manner as to place it IN
| diamonds or paintings, CT to search European
| capitals for what Is Old and musty.
Ages are required for the building of a for
est, says Rene Bache in the Boston Tan
script. First lichens and MOSES cultivate
the naked rock, forming the beginning of a
soil by their decay, until at length 1t is able
! TO support higher plants. Sedges and grasses
! follow, transforming the surface of the
ground into meadow or a prairie. In the
course OF time the meadow becomes rfpe for
/ trees. Shrub-like, stunted forms first appear
| increasing in number ana improving in form
| gradually. The aspen is one of these fore
| runners OF the forest. Even to-day 1t is one
! OF the earliest plants to take possession of
! areas that have been denuded by fire its
| feathery seeds being waited by winds hun
! dreds of miles. perpetual struggle Tor ey-
| lStence goes on in the forest. 1t is a fight
among the plants for survival. The whole
| aim and end of each one is to obtain o share
! OF SUNLIGHT. In the tropics the contention
| goes on all the year, no winters seen being
possible. From dawn to sunset the trees are
| nard at work; one can almost see some of
| them growing. At nigh they are completely
! exhaused; their branches lose their stiffness
While the leaves droop and fold them selves
| together In tropical forest the trees have
| not only to contend with each other but the
| struggle must be carried on against inter
lopers of various kinds. Creeping tvlning
| and scrambling vines climb up them, some OF