The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-19
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Mr.. J. W. Spencer. who has been exam
ing the evidence that the West Indies
were once a part of a great continent. con-
cludes that II existed and that these IS
lands were once connected with what is
now the mainland Of North America.
The English government in India col
lects about 100000 pounds a year from
the sale Of opium. This is an interesting
fact in connection with the psychology Of
recent arguments by English statesmen
that the moderate consumption of opium
IS good for the health and morals.
---.Australia has a population of less than
S,vvVVV. but economists declare II could
support q hundred million with ease. As
means OF showing how far the world is
from being Overpopulated they assert that
the entire population of the United States
could live comfortably in the single State
Of Texas.
"A report TO the English parliament
shows that from 1871 TO 1898, inclusive, 353
English convicts We're sentenced to be
nogged under laws which allow this pun
ishment TO be inflicted in certain gross
cases OF assault 1t Is said that such crimes
have not diminished in frequency as a re-
suit OF the severity Of the punishment.
Down in Punta Arenas, a port on Ter
"a del Fuego Island, nearly all the huge
hocks OF sheep are Owend by Europeans,
says the Plttsburg Dispatch. A manager
Tor French company, owning something
over iOO,OO sheep, with necessary horses,
said they made francs (abOut 2-6) on eV-
cry head clear of all expenses from the
sale or wool alone The one disease 10
scab. This is kept under by dipping them
IN various kinds of baths. The next great
est expense is for the killing of panthers.
A common nights work of a pather is the
killing OF sheep to the value of go. Every
Snepherd, therefore, carries a carbine.
Foxes, and a species of wildcat make
havoc with the young lambs and so these
must be eXterminated, too. What with
hunting down vermin, and looking after
the sheep to keep them on the range, and
TO dip them for the scab. the French man
ager has to employ man for every $500
sheep in his flock, numbering little over
10000 sheep, cost the company 200 900
francs (about $4,000 per year, while the
sale of the last clip yielded 5O0.O0O francs
(about f2O,OOO and the price was not high.
The city authorities at Rivigno, on the
peninsula of Istria, in the Adriatic sea,
have discovered, little south of the pen
insula, the ruins of a large town at the
potion OF the sea, says the New York Sun.
1t had been observed for years that fish
ermen's nets were sometimes entangled in
what appeared to me masses of masonry,
OF which fragments were brought up from
the sea bed. Then a diver declared that
he had seen walls and streets below the
water, and so the authorities of Rovigno
decided to investigate. They sent down a
diver, who, at the depth of eighty feet.
found himself surrounded at the bottom OF
the sea by ruined walls. Continuing his
explorations, he traced the line of walls,
and was able to distinguish how the streets
were laid out He did not see any doors or
windows, for they were hidden by masses
of seaweed and incrustations. He traced
feet and there he had stop. for his diving
cord did not permit him to go further. He
had proved beyond a doubt that he had
found the ruins of a once inhabited town
which, through some catastrophe had been
covered by the sea. 1t is probable that
these are the ruins of the lost town of Cissa
upon the island of that name, mentioned
by Pliny the elder.
The money necessary for the constrlrc-
ton of one of the most famous mosques
at cairo was. according to the Pittsburg
Dispatch, procured by the following in
genius device: The Sultan Hassan was de-
termined TO build a mosque and a tomb
Tor himself, but, finding a paucity of
means in his treasury, he sent out invita-
tions to all the principal people Of the coun-
try TO repair to a grand feast at his court,
when ne said he would present each of his
loving suDJectS win roDe OF honoF. On
the appointed day they accordingly all
made their appearance. dressed in their
richest robes Of state. There was no one
but had a cashmere shawl round his tur-
ban, and another round his waist, with a
1ewelled dagger stuck in Il, besides other
ornaments, and caftans of brocade and
cloth OF gold. They entered the palace of
the Roumayli, each accompanied by a mag
nihcent train of guards and attendants
who, according TO the jealous custom of
the times remained below while the chiefs
with one OF two of their personal follow
ers only. assembled into the citadel and
were ushered into the presence of the Sui
tan. They We're received most graciously.
When the feast was concluded the sultan
announced that each guest at his depar-
ture should receive the promised robe of
honor, and as these distinguished person-
ages one by one left the royal presence,
they were conducted to a small chamber
near the gate, in which We're several arm
ed officers Of the household. who, with ex-
pressions of the most profound respect
and solicitude, Invested them of their
clothes, which were Immediately carried
or. The astonished noble was then invested
with long white shirt, and tremendously
handed out by an opposite door, which led
TO the exterior of the fortress where he
found his train in waiting. The Sultan kept
all that he found worth keeping of the
personal effects of his guests who were
afterwards glad to bargain with the cham
berlain of the court for the restoration of
their robes of state, and these were ulti-
mately returned to them for a consdera-
ton.
The castor-oil plant, from the brown
seeds of which this useful oil is extracted,
Is among the tropical plants that grow
readily here during the summer, and its
deep. metallic-sreen, muehly pinated
leaves, make It an ornamental plant says
walking by the arsenal in Central park
with friend who has spent several years
in India. was surprised to hear what a
really useful plant it is. 1.-The plant
said the friend, land many of It's viz
tues have been known in India for CEN
turtles, but 1t is fact, nevertheless that
the first of this oil was exported to Eu-
rope from the West indies near the end of
the eighteenth century. In India the oil
is much used as an illuminant If the oil
has been cold drawn and has been care
fully and properly separated, there is
none better. Another thing in its favor
is that, owing to it's slow combustion a
saving of one-Quarter to one-half is made
by using it, as compared with other oils
1t makes an excellent lubricant and is
much used in the dressing of tanned hides
and skins. The natives use ii largely for
preserving their waterbuckets, and with
out ii the beeste wallah,' or water-car-
rier, would have to renew his leather bag
or bucket In which he carries the water
around, much oftener than he does now
The 'syce.' or groom, uses 1t to keep the
sahib's' harness in good order and a val
liable attribute of the oil is, especially in
such a climate as India that II reueIs
rats and vermin. In Assam the plant is
widely cultivated as a food for the silk
worm. The stalks. which give an excel
lent pulp, are used for matching mr.
poses. The oil cake is largely consumed
as fuel. and is also used as manure
In Jeypore, the palace. public offices and
streets are lighted with gas made from
cheap variety of castor oil, grown for the
purpose. The natives use the leaves as
fodder for their cattle. declaring that II
increases the yield of milk. One thing
they have not succeeded yet in doing i5
India, and that is to produce a marketabla
medicinal oil. This is chiefly made in
France, Belgium and England, from the
imported seeds, Bombay doing a large
exDort trade in this induStrx o.