The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-06
OF GENERAL INTEREST.


| air the buds will open at sunrise and
the dish makes charming ornament
( for the breakfast table.
"A hawk was shot by Albert New
lin, Of Lawrenceburg, Ind, the other
day. When he went to pick the body
| up the birds mate attacked him with
beak and wing and finally bore OF the
| body of its dead mate in triumph
Musical culture among working
people has been tried successfully by
Charlotte Mulligan in Philadelphia
Beginning with Sunday school elias.
of bootblacks, she has had twelve thou.
sand working men il the last twenty.
eight years.
A canal connecting the Elbe and
Danube has been pi ojected 1t would
start near Vienna near Kronnenburg,
extend 13S miles northwestward to-
ward Budweis. and from the latter
point the channels of the Moldau and
Elbe would be ''canaiized" FOR 1891
miles. The greatest difference in level
along the route is Isle feet 1t is esti-
mated that $4,000. 600 forms 49,, 900,
O00) would cover the cost
"A widowers' association has been
formed in Dresden. No man can join
unless his wife is dead, and If he mar.
Ties again he becomes an honorary
member merely. One of the chief pur-
poses Of this association is to hS,P
newly made widowers by looking after
their wives funerals and caring for
their children. Members will also
meet for mutual sympathy aud enter
tainment There are at present forty
members
George Augustus Sala wants mems
evening dress reformed" and offered a
prize for the best suggestion to that
end The winner, lady, suggests
that the present harmony in black and
white would be admirable with "a
trifiing addition which would lend the
necessary touch of color and effect
namely: the gold embroidering of the
coat collar and waistcoat over colored
materials, such as crimson or dark blue
velvet"
Any persons interested in the
work of the vessels which surveyed
the California coast would be surprised
TO see how very level the ocean bed is
$50 level" as one of the survey
officers remarked, shat if on dry land
railroad train could run over a
stretch Of five hundred miles of the
bed at a speed of sixty miles an hour
without the grade belt being altered
anywhere"
Prof Thomas Kirk. of Wellington,
New Zealand, some time ago wrote to
one of the Harvard professors that he
had selected two logs of the rata tree.
Metrosideros robusto. for the college
museum. The logs arrived on Friday.
4 and ~ feet in diameter, respectively.
The seeds of the rata tree terminate in
the forks of lofty trees, sending down
aerial roots which reach the ground
and draw therefrom a supply of moist
ure, while the young plant above sends
out branches with foliage to appropri-
ate from the air the other requisite
materials of food. The roots increase
In thickness. and the branches continue
their growth until this interloper
actually crowds out of existence the
trees which Graded it in its infancy.
The wood is used for shipbuilding and
ca binet work.
While much Of the area Of New
Mexico and Arizona is ''arid land" on
which such hardy vegetation as can
exist is low, sparse and dr., wherever
the soil is irrigated its enduring fertil-
ity is revealed. The water turned over
the land in all the lower valleys carries
ton. which makes a fertilizing deposit
akin to that left by the annual inunda-
tions in the valley of the Nile Such
soil. in many places composed of dis
integrated Volcanic matter, is natural
" favorab BILE to the cultivation of the
vine, and the visitor is not surprised at
the fine quality of the Rio Grande
grapes, and-under proper vintage
processes-the wines Such fruits as
apples, peaches, nectarines and plums,
raised on the higher slopes and levels,
are unsurpassed anywhere in beauty
and flavor.
Maj. William Downie. one Of tho
most noted pioneers of 40. died in San
Francisco harbor under singularly pa
thetic circumstances. One of the feat
ures of the midwinter fair is 40 min
ing camp, in which are the identical
ca bins in which lived some of the most
famous miners, now mostly million
aires, of those days, such as Mackay.
Flood and O'Brien- Maj Downie's
ca bin is prominent in the camp, and he
was on his way from Victoria, E. C., on
the steamer City of Puebla to occupy it
during a portion of the time the fair is
TO be open. A committee went aboard
TO welcome the old miner, and while
they were telling him of the grand old
time. that awaited him, and he was
ecststic over the prospect of again meet
ing his old partners of pioneer times,
an attack of heart failure, undoubtedly
brought on by emotion. came on. and
ne fell over on the deck dead
Branding . Maverick
In a dell IN the forest we espied some
mavericks. or unbranded stock. Tho /