The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-08
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

A peculiar substitute for window glass.
known as "tectorium, = stated 70 have
been for some time employed IN Austria.
Italy, Germany. Switzerland and Russia,
as a covering for hothOuses. marques
verandas. windows Of factories, roofs of
stores, etc II IS a special. insoluple, bl-
chrOmated gelatin. translucent as opal
glass and Incorporated in wire ga1lZe-
1t possesses. We are told. he transluCencE
Of opal glass. is tough and flexible. bends
without breaking, does not dissolve in
water. and Is not injured by frost. 1t is
stronger, IL is stated, the longer II is eX-
posed 10 the air.
Some noteworthy speeds have been made
in this country by the Herreshom and
other steam launches. The fastest boat
IN England at the present time Is the
Hibernia. which makes n rate Of g miles
an hour with the stream and -6le miles
against II. The boat is 8 feet 9 inches
long feet 5 inches broad and 1 foot AZ
inches in draught- Her engines are two
cylinders. both high pressure. rs inches
IN diameter, stroke inches revolutions
IRON ~ 70 l,g59 per minute The propeller
is three bladed. At ordinary speed the
boat makes but little wash. With a slight
touch OF the regulator, she leaps forward
and as the speed increases sinks slightly
10 the stem, while rising by the head.
until at a critical high speed the bow
rises clean out of the water. and resting
on her keel. the boat shoots along between
double wall that hides about two-thirds
OF her hull completely.
a precious stone on which the decree
or fashion has. at the present moment
SET fancy value is the peridOt, or even
ing emerald as il has been called 1t
IS certainly lovely stone, with its ex-
qulsite shades of transparent green. the
best suggestion Of whose hue is the effect
produced by looking al the light through
delicate leaf. jewelers. say that the
peridot is a species of Divine of the same
class as the beryl aqua-marine and topaz
and that II is, in fact. the ancient Ito
pazlon, otherwise known as chrysolite.
II Is found in Egypt, Ceylon, Peru and
Brazil-good crystals being extremely
rare. OF its various shades of green
olive, leaf. pistachio or leek-the clear
leaf-green is the most admired as rule.
At recent fashionable wedding. one
OF the most beautiful and costly Of the
presents was set OF ornaments com
posed OF peridots set in amethysists: the
blending of the soft mauve and green was
exquisitely artistic. OF all the precious
stones the peridot is the most difficult
to polish. The final touch is given On
copper wheel, moistened with sulphuric
acid-a process which requires the great
~ az ~, II uIppeu lIIto me dclu tIie
stone has the popularity OF becoming sol
uble. Sometimes ii is cut in rose form, or
en- cabochon, like a carbuncle. but is bet
ter and more valuable when worked in
small steps as the brilliance is thereby
increased.
According to the "Evangelisch-Luthe
ische kirchenZeitung," Berlin, a horrible
caricature of the conversion of heathens to
the Christian faith is being enacted in
/ CamernoOn. The Old services of the fetish
are prohibited under German rule. but the
/ DQallaS nave no intention TO renOunce
I heathentSm and have now organized them
selves into body having an the appear
ance of religious community. The au-
thOrities have been asked to investigate
/ the matter. our contemporary SAYS: ITO
! md substitute for the worship of idols,
| the Duallas have organized the Almela
Church Almela is the god of whisky.
/ and well known through all the coast dis
/ trtcts. To keep up the semblance of a re-
hgiouS community, the Almelas demand
that intending members of their COngre-
I EaIfOn examination
their fitness. The convert is then inn
mersed after the manner of the Baptists.
When he arises from tho water he is given
a glass of liquor, and eXorted to remem-
Der that liquor shall henccforth be his
god. The convert is thus bound to drink
plenty of alcohol. Meetings are held
on Sundays, and the leader takes book
/ from which he pretends to read, but in
reality dlscourses on the harmlessneSs
and pleasures of vice. Many people of
Bongo have sought admittance into this
body They were told that Almela wor-
ship came from Europe. being one of the
many religious Sects Of the Christians"
The great Edison incandescent lamp
works are no longer turning out lamps
with bamboo filaments. This simple fact
covers a whole period without parallel
Tor lndefaugable research and Ceaseless
! invention. When the art Of making mean
descent lamps began fifteen years ago
all kinds of carbOnizable substances were
diligently experimental wildwood, pa
per, silk, hair, puttY-and Edison has
stated that he has made no fewer than
1900 separate tests of such materials be-
fore he settled finally on bamboo as the
best for reduction to carbon and for sub
| sequent durability. But there are many
different varieties of bamboo, and Edison
ransacked the earth in the quest for the
kinds having the toughest, straightest
hberS. His emissaries visited all the trop-
ical quarters of the globe, penetrating
to regions up the Amazon, in India and
Japan, never before reached by an Amer
lean. The result of their adventurous dis
coveries was the selection of a species
l q " hq. sol
until very recently. Now newer processes
have come to the front. and bamhpO gives
way TO paper as the basis of the delicate
black t1lament that glOws golden when the
current passes through it. We are said
10 be on the eve OF cheaper lamps, due
not alone to improved manufacture, but
to foreign competition. The expected ar
rival of 1900 German lamps in New York
was noted the other day, although in
England lamp dealers. after using them
have begun to advertise their lamps as
mot of German make"
The dead sea, or more properly the Salt
sea, IS also called in scripture the sea of
dOmitish sea, in the Talmudical books
Sea of Salt and Sea of Sodom. The name
Dead sea seems to have been first used
in Greek, and the Arabic name is Bahr
Lut, or the Sea of Lot. 1t has a length
varying from forty to fOrty-SiX miles
and is only about three miles across at
/ its broadcast part From the analysis Of
the United States expedition SAYS the
Brooklyn Eagle, it appears that each gai-
ION OF the water. weighing twelve and
one-quartar pounds contains nearly three
and One-third pounds 3.319) of matter in
solution, an immense quantity in view of
the fact that sea water, weighing ten and
one-qu2rter pounds per gallon contains
less than Ope-h4lf pound. OF this three
and One-half pounds nearly one pound is
common salt Chloride of sodium about
two pounds chloride of magnesium and
less than one-haf pound chloride of cal
cium tmuriate of lme). There does not
appear to be anything about it ninical
to life, and the story of a recent tourist
confirms this. He says: LAS for the
Dead sea. it WILL in contradiction of the
name, forever preserve a green and living
memory in my mind. No fish can survive
in it. we all know. but for a place for
swim, or, above ALL for float. commend
me 10 it beyond all the Undergraduates
in the world. How it bears YOU UP in
arms How it annihilates the tlresome
ponderositY and dignity of the laws of
eravitation! How il introduces you into
the inner consciousness of dainty Ariel
and thistledom and all other airy fairy
creatures, The more you weigh the less
You weigh. there is the real hydrostatic
paradox. An elephant in the Dead sea
would feal himself a sazelle. Then what
a mirror its steely surface was that morn
ing, and how beautiful its reflections Of