The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-08-22
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

All of the states, kingdoms, princi-
palities, empires, etc, of Europe lex
cept Russia) and all of the United
States, including Alaska, could be
placed side by side in Siberia, and yet
but little more than cover that inn
mense country.
"A Detroit dispatch says that for a
consideration of S415, 900 the Mergen-
thaler Linotype company has secured
all the rights, title and interest in the
patents on the machines of the Rogers
Topographic company, thus ending
the long pending litigation.
A cup of coffee is thus used to fore
tell the weather: Drop two Jumps of
sugar carefully INTO the middle of the
cup; if the air bub bles remain in the
center of the cup, the weather will be
fine; if they rise rapidly and go at once
to the sides. it will rain all day; if they
gather in the center and then go in q
cluster to one side, prepare for show
ers.
Two burglars who broke into a
confectioner's store on North Gay
street, Baltim ore, the other day, after
emptying the money drawer and gath
ering together all the small articles of
value in the place, sampled all the
kinds of ice cream in stock, and then
sat at table and ate about two quarts
of assorted cream before leaving with
their plumber.
Intense cold, as is well known,
burns-if we may use the term-like
heat. If a drop" of air at a temper
ature of one hundred and eighty de-
grees below zero were placed upon the
hand, it would have the same effect as
would the same quantity of molten
steel or lead. Every one who has the
care of horses ought to know the pain
inflicted by placing frosted bit in a
horses mouth. 1t burns like hot iron.
Spiders are met with in the forests
of Java whose webs are SO strong that
it requires knife to cut through them.
A spider weighing four pounds, which
has taken up her residence in Il ca
thedral at Munich, regales herself with
large supply of lamp oil. A Texas
spider wcaves balloon four feet long
and two feet wide, which she fastens
to a tree by a single thread, then
marches on board with her half dozen
little ones, cuts the thread and away
goes the airship to some far distant
point on the prairie,
"A rope of Cradock's improved cru
chile steel. an inch in diameter, after
fourteen years constant use, during
which it was never repaired, though it
has hauled 100000 tons, has been
taken out of a Nottingham collicry;
another steel rope, 3, 40Oyards long and
~ inches in circumference, was used
continuously in Sheffield colliery for
eleven years and eight months; third
rope, 1902 yards long and five inches
round, was used on the under side of a
drum, near Barnsley, for three years
and ten months, lifting 735, go tons of
coal in that time.
Cheshire, Conn, held the palm for
several years for having the largest
apple tree in the country. 1t fell a
few years ago, but correspondent has
found another to take its place. ''On
the farm of Walter Brooks in the east
part of the town, stands an apple tree
which we feel sure has few, if any,
rivals The spread of the branches is
about eighty feet and the trunk is from
four to four and one-half feet in diam
eter. Several huge limbs in variety
of shapes grow from the trunk. .Nhis
tree has borne over 12O bushels of APP
pies in season and is adjudged to be
about $50 years old"