The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-01
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The wings OF the owl are lined with a
soft down that enables the bird 20 fly
without making the slightest sound.
"A pair OF American "buffaloes." or
rather bisons, are on their way TO Bis
marck 70 be presented on his birthday,
on April J. They were sent from the
/ Cincinnati Geological Gardens in re-
| Spouse to a desire expressed by Bismarck
Tor American buffalOes for his collection.
-One Of the latest theories-which is
sald 70 be receiving general acceptance
concerning the moons face assumes that
the material constituting that luminary
once surrounded the earth In the form
OF a Saturnian ring. and that the small
ering around a large number OF nulcei
and nnally all uniting in a single sphere
the moon, the lunar craters being the
scars resulting from the collision of the
moonlets." 1t IS claimed that this hy-
pothesis recOnciles the impact theory
with the circular outline Of the lunar
craters.
1t is not generally known that in
france It is forbidden, under severe pen
altles, for anyone to give infants under
! year any form of solid food, unless such
pc ordered by written prescription, signed
Dy a legally qualified medical man.
Nurses are also forbidden to use in the
rearing Of infants eonhded to their care,
at any time or under any pretext what
ever any nursing bottle provided with a
rubber tube. Several other sim
liar and equally stringent laws
the French government. which, despair
ing OF obtaining any increase in the birth
rate of the land. is now turning its at
tention to the saving of the few children
that are born.
"A physician points out that several fall
lactes are common with regard to the
weight OF the human body. The man who
congratulates himself on his gain of sew
eral pounds in weight over a given period
may have 10 cause for rejoicing for he
may be under delusion. Very few per-
sons, says this investigator, have any cor
rect idea of their own weight As a mat
ter or fact the weight of the body is con-
tlnuously changing, owing to snnumerable
influences. On a warm day after break
fast man VIII lose more than third Of
pound per hour. Seventy per cent. of the
body consists of water, and its weight
drawn from the loss or gain of a pound
or two may be mistrusted. Fluctuations
OF a lev ounces are a sign that the body
Is in healthy state.
"A grand International wooden-leg
race has just taken place at Nogent-sur-
Marine, says the London Graphic, where
the nateh was organized by the inhabi-
it is estimated that over $500 persons
| collected on the ground to witness the
start. Inc race was run in nine heats
the dis dda being the same in EACH
about 20 yards. The winner was ulti-
mately declared to be NJ. Roulin, who
covered the course in thirty seconds He
accordingly received the grand prize of
of the World" NJ. Roulin is 50 wears of
age, and had journeyed from Orleans
IN order to take part in the race. He
lost his right leg in 1870. NJ Blanzy, Of
Nogent, took the second prize, the third
falling to NJ. Hienne, one-legged acrobat
A consolation race followed. and after
ward a competition for one-legged chill
dren. The days doings terminated in a
ball.
The shooting of Ii Hung Chang recalls
the attack on the czarowitz, now Car
N lou d, fI, l..
Japan on his journey around the world
says the New York Tribune He was visit
ing Otsu, place near Kioto. when Jap
anese policeman, Tsuda SanZo, struck him
with sword infiicting a cut on his fore
head. The czarowitz's sun helmet broke
the force of the blow, and Prince George
OF Greece, his travelling companion, felled
the Would-be-aSsassin with a heavy walk
ing-stick before the man could infiict an
other wound. Various explanations Of the
attempted assassination were made. 1t
was said that Sanzo was a half-crazy fan
attic, who belonged to the Samurai sect,
noted for their hatred of foreigners, and
also that he was a nihilist, who had es-
capped from the Island of Saghelien, be-
longing to Russia and had succeeded in
entering the japanese police service. 1t
was at nrSt proposed to inflict the same
penalty as If he had attacked a member
OF the japanese imperial family-death-
but as the japanese law contained no pro-
Visions regarding assaults on foreign
princes, the supreme court pronounced
him guilty of an ordinary assault with
intent to kill, and sentenced him to inn
prisonment at hard labor for life This
w.ll probably be the penalty in the pres
ent instance, unless the law has been al
tered to mt cases like that of the caro-
Wits assailant, in which event Koyama
would probably be put to death, since the
viceroy represents in his own person. as
envoy, the power and dignity of his i'm
perial master
The Independent reports the following
strange declaration by an Anglican GU
rate: Il do abcminate all Ncnconformists
as the bitterest enemies Of God and man.
Ihey are a wretched and rebelllcus peo-
pie. l do not, of course mean literal
nell, when l wished you all to go there
II you do not return to the mother church.
II was the strongest langua ge / could COM
mand TO express my thorough indigna-
ton at all who dare to stay outside and l
reiterate my statement that I shall not
be sorry If you all are literally dashed
into hell if you refuse him that s2eaketh'
Sir Herbert Maxwell, writing to the
London Times, draws attention to a, form
of cruelty, which, he claims, should be
sternly discouraged. On recent occa-
sion he attended a most deliberately APP
pointed dinner The center of the table
was occupied by crystal bowl, in which
were half a dozen gold fish. Among
these an electric lamp had been introduced
and its strong light beat on the FISH with
an effect that must have been excruc4at-
ing. Fish are extremely sensitive to light
not only in their eyes but (some of them)
over the whole surface of their bodies. as
is shown by the faculty possessed by
to that of the ground over which they
swim. The popularity which renders ex-
posture to strong light intolerable to fish
IS that they have no eyehds. Sir Her
bert asks: How would the guests have
enjoyed their feast If the center of the
table had been occupied by a. pillar of
intense light, six feet high, that being
the proportion to their stature which the
burner bore to the size of the gold fish?
He believes that this is one of the Thought
less uses of the electric light, which will
be abandoned as soon as those who have
adopted it realize its cruelty
1t is surprising how few people in
this country who have money enough to
go abroad know the significance of a
passport, says the Chicago Times Heralds
Washington letter, and the conditions I'M
der which passports are issued. Since
Mr.: Gresham became Secretary of State
l,325 passports have been issued from his
office alone, not to mention several thou
sands granted by ambassadors and min
listers of this country abroad. More than
10 per cent. of the applications made to
the Secretary of State have been returned
because they were not in the proper form
or because some important detail has been
omitted Passports are issued only to
United States citizens. and citizenship