The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-26
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


| tries, but nature has made amends by
furnishing a supply Of wood in the most
curious shape imaginable. The visitor
TO the Falklands sees. scattered here ana
there, singular shaped blocks of what ap-
pears to be weather-beaten and moss
covered powders Of various sizes. At
tempt 10 turn one of these powders"
over and you Will meet with surprise, be-
cause the supposed stone is actually an
| chored BY roots of great strength.
1t has been shown that cotton wool,
cotton cloth and black silk would be set
on nre IN two to six minutes II satu-
rated with India rubber and packed
around an electric glow lamp of thirty-
| two candle power, but would not take fire
| IS not saturated with India rubber. Capt.
EXler has now found that a siXteen>
candle lamp, sunk in paraftin, reaches
maximum temperature of "a degrees c.,
| and p candle lamp 1Ol degrees c. (2l5
degrees F.). A layer of gunpOWder, ecras-
/ lite of pulVerulent pyrOxyln was not set
on fire, but when spread on wood or
| other material Opaque to heat rays the
ecraSlte melted, the gunpowder lost its
| sulphur and its inter melted, the pyroxy-
| lin darkened and the wood charred.
With two lamps in a cavity of wood the
| temperature rose to 2l5 degrees C.. stin
without igniting the explosives, however.
The breaking of lamp did not explode
\ pyroXyin or gunpowder, but fired an ex>
| plosive gaseous mixture.
| -Kafirs are known as Zulus saws the
Rlttsburg Dispatch. They are very ignor-
| ant, and go about almost naked. They
| travel on foot hundreds of miles from
| different sections of South Africa, to
| these gold fields, work about six months,
save wages, return home, purchase ten
bullocks, look up wife. deliver the bull
| locks to the prospective father-in-law,
| and get married. Kafirs are illiterate and
| perfectly harmless, and have a peculiar
| language OF their own. There is a strn-
| gent law in force in the African republic
| which cOmpels the Kafir to be in his home
at p m. At this time a bell is rung in
/ home Should he be found out on the
| street without permit from his mother,
/ a policeman or constable puts him under
/ arrest ana he IS fined ten shilling by the
/ magistrate, and ten rawhide lashes are
/ applied on his naked back. Kafrs are
/ prohibited from enjoying the sidewalks
/ or paVements, and must walk in the
| street.
According to Prof. John Milne, the
| crust OF the great globe upon which we
! live and have our being is in a constant
/ state OF agitation, weaving in and out,
! up and down, like a circus tent in a
| cyclone. There are earth movements that
| arc being experienced al all times and
| IN all lands, but they are so slight from
| month to month and from year to year
that they generally escape detection. In
| all the countries in Europe and in many
| of those in Asia, most notably Korea
| and Japan, these fittings, are so great
as to be noticed even by the unscientific
| and inexperienced representatives of the
| lower castles. Germany seems to be the
| seat of greatest European earth-crust
agitation, Japan occupying a similar po-
| sltion in Asia. OF the above two countries
| Prof Milne says: I'm both Germany and
! Japan a tide-like movement too great
| to be produced by lunar attraction, has
| been observed, the ground being gently
! tilted once every twenty-four hours and
| sometimes twice, in which case the night
| disturbance would be greatest, and in ali
| cases buildings, trees, etc, stand slight
| ~ inclined, like cornstalks in a gentle,
| steady breeze"
| Diamonds have been found occasionally
! at different places In the United States
| but never in sufficient quantities to rem
| der systematic mining profitable, says the
| New York World. The largest authenti-
| Gated diamond ever found in this coun-
| try was picked up by a laborer engaged
| in grading the streets of Manchester, Va
! Its original weight was about twenty-four
| carats, and after cutting, a 12-carat stone
| resulted. on this stone, called by Capt
| Dewey, Its owner the Oninoor. John Nor
rissey once loaned $1,000. but Mr.. Kunz, the
| diamond expert, appraised its value at
| less than 1900, as II is poorly colored and
! imperfect Next to this stone comes To-
carat diamond found in 1884 at Waukesha,
| Wis. stone over four carats came from
| Dysartville N. c., In 1886, and one weigh
ing just little less was found in Dane
| county, Wis, In 1893. In Georgia and
| North Carolina, itacolumite or flexible
| sandstone is found This stone so elias
tic that slab Of it can readily be bent into
a curve by the fingers, Is found associated
with diamonds in Brazil, and this fact led
to search for the gems in the southern
| states. Quite a number of small stones
| were consequently found there, mostly in
the gold washings of Hall county, Ga In
| Cahfornias gold diggings, diamonds have
| also Deen IOunQ IN some numbers. About
seventy stones have been obtained from
one locality at Cherokee Flat the largest
weighing about 2l5 carats, and the coiors
varying from rose through various shades
of yellow to pure white. The largest price
ever paid for California diamond in the
rough was some $500. There are twenty
diamond cutting establishments now in
this country, handling during each year
about I,25O,0o0 worth of stones.
a seaside hotel proprietor, wishing
70 close his seasons account with one
| o baa1e fsay~fr,e ~
ments n this city, wrote for his balance
a Few days age, requesting a check for
6he w. th3t stood to his credit, says the
New York Herald He was surprised the
day Following to receive a registered let
ter containing four 81 bills and sixteen
2-cent stamps. He made inquiries of his
neighbors and learned that not only this
particular business house but many 9TH
ers in New York city were in the habit
than by check THE reason for mail
ing cash instead of checks in settlement
of small accounts" said the manager of
one of these houses in, answer to my
question, lis two-fold For one thing,
our banks object to small checks. We
have accounts only with big banks do
ing a business OF MANY hundreds of thou
sands or millions year, and a mass
of small checks would tend to bother
them greatly. Some banks won't take
accounts except with the understanding
that small checks VIII not be drawn
upon thems except occasionally. The
principal reason, though, is to guard us
against the raising of checks. Any check
under so is very easily raised, and there
are so many petty sharpers engaged in
that business that we. are apt to be
greatly bothered and fretted by these
little frauds. We find that it is much
cheaper for us. in these days of cheap
| registry to settle suc5I accounts in bills
and postage stamps and pay the registry
charges than to run the risk of loss and
| trouble by sending a lot of little checks
| all over the country"
Among the inventions of women on ex-
hibiton at Atlanta is one notable be-
cause it dates from way back and be-
cause of its field. mechanics, which has
seemed homogeneous for women. 1t is a
machine for sewing. entered by permis-
sion of its inventor, Mrs. Mary p. Car
penter Hooper of New York. 1t was
while she was still Miss Carpenter, re-
| 1ates the New York Times, that she
learned through some interested friends
of the curious state of affairs in the
straw-sewing trade. Up to that time,
1871, there had been but one practical
straw-sewing machine invented, which
| machine was controlled and used by a
combination of three or four firms en-
gagged in the manufacture of straw hats
| and bonnets. 1t was called the Bosworth
| machine. and was immensely valuable