The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-18
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

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notions. The planking of the deck ran
/ athwartship. the anchor hung over the
/ stern, the rudder had a large number Of
/ diamond shaped holes In It. and the bat
/ wing like sail was hoisted with an uncouth
Wtndlass, though II would be quicker and
/ easier 10 give the hallyards a few pulls,
I Then the ribs came up few inches above
| the deck and the sideplanking ran beyond
l the stern. as II the ship-carpenter had
forgotten TO come back with a saw and
nnish MS JOB. Nevertheless the captain Of
/ the sand Lune regards her as clipper.
The obstinate attempts made by some
european powers to cOlOniZe the SOudan
| and even the Sahara are explained by the
knowledge that even the latter. which was
| formerly considered to be a mere desert, is
capable Of giving profitable results for
commerce and industry. says Information.
In the Sahara, for instance, there were,
only in the Algerian portion of 1t, 100000
sheep which produced a taxation amount
ing, in 1892, to l.763.00O francs. These sheep
are worth 20 francs each. and thus repre-
sent total value of 100000 francs. The
same co-called desert possesses, in its
nothern portion, 100000 goats and 10000
camels. besides a large number of palm
trees, and especially date trees, the latter
valued at from 200 to 25O francs each.
The people of Servia are forever fast
Ing, says the Philadelphia Telegraph The
most severe fast is that Of Lent, which
lasts seven whole weeks. Then. on the
Both of June, is the fast of St. Peter, which
lasts two weeks, and is observed by some
persons for four weeks From the
| lst to the 18th of August. the fast of st.
I
" days fast. Apart from these lengthy
fasts every Friday and every Wednesday
throughout the year is held to be a fast
@ nay c5sn9s Of d Ssfyia it means n9
real abstinence and privation.
At Prot this fasting has assumed
a grave medical problem and a national
danger, for il affects seriously the health
OF the population, the strength and fight
ing. capabilities of the soldiers. The med
ieal men reckoned that, on the whole half
the days in the year were fast. days. mis-
year the population of Prot and neighbor-
hood is only fed on bread, raw onions and
raw vegetables. No cooking is done; not
morsel of meat allowed.
"A recent libel suit at Mariaburg Ger
many, has brought to light some horrible
cruelties inflicted upon the unfortunate in
mates Of private asylum for insane.
| The testimony at the trial showed that in
many cases patients, after being stripped,
We're bound hand and foot and immersed
head downward in a large receptacle fun
/ OF ice cold water. In this position they
/ were kept until the bubbles showed that
| they were in danger of suffocation. They
| were then allowed to come to the surface
| for breathing space, after which the
/ same treatment was repeated. One wit
/ ness gave evidence to the effect that he had
/ suffered this torture for half
an hour, and the medical experts who
| were consulted a the trial confessed that
| they were unable to find a fitting express
/ sion to characterize such inhuman action.
! Other equally horrible methods prevailed,
| and deaths were not of infrequent occur
| renee. The trial ended in a complete vic
| tory for Herr Mellage, and a thorough in
4 vestigation of the whole system of private
! asylums has been ordered by Chancellor
/ Hohenlohe.
! The ruins of Baalbec, the ancient me-
| tropolls OF Syria, especially those on the
| Platform" where the temples stood, are
| the grandeSt in the orient, SAYS the ST.
Louis Republic. The platform referred to
! above, and upon which the largest of the
| famous Baalbec temples were erected, is
an artificial mound about thirty feet high
er than the surrounding plain which gave
room for immense vaults under the gigan-
! tic structures which in ancient times
graced the Wonderful City of the East"
| A good Idea of the immensely of these
ruined temples may be gained when 1t is
! known that there are several stones in
what remains of their foundations which
| are 65 feet Ions, 10 feet wide and IS feet
| thick; and what is still more remarkable
some of these giant blocks of limestone
| were raised to hight of twenty feet from
I the ground. Three temples formerly stood
| upon the artificial platform-the Temple
| of the Sun, the Temple of Jupiter and the
! great circular temple. The first was 290
feet long by l6O broad. and was surrounded
| by Corinthian columns of granite Is feet
! high and Z feet inches in diameter. Six
| only of these immense columns now re-
main standing. The ruins of the Temple
| of Jupiter stand on portion of the arti-
fetal mound some 10 feet lower than that
| upon which those of the Temple of the Sun
are now scattered about. Its dimensions
were originally 2G0xl20. The circular ruin,
almost as imposing as either of the two
| whose dimensions are given above, is sup
| posed to have been the chief seat of the
Sun worshpers of very ancient times The
| gigantic blocks of stone which contribu-
| ted towards forming the graceful outlines
of this once famous circular temple were
| so scattered about by the earthquakes of
| S22, 975 and 1883 that its dimensions in feet
cannot be accurately given. These three
temples and the platform upon which they
| were erected were once surroundd by a
| wall which was a wonder within itself,
| many of the separate blocks which formed
it being 80 feet long, Is feet wide and Il feet
thick.
Every one understands what is meant
by the imbecile when speaking of human
| beings says Mehan's Monthly. The mental
development of the child is checked and
even when such a child reaches the age of
manhood 1t is still but n child in its feel
ings and wants but 1t is not alone among
human beings that the characteristics of
imbecility are found. In almost all trees
the characteristics of the foliage or the
habit are very different during the first few
months of existence than they are in after
life There is a matured characteristic as
| well as an infantile one. The tulip tree,
| for instance, has Its first set of leaves en-
tire. without any appearance of the lobe
| or the truncate termination, which II as
| sumes in old age, but sometimes these tu.
| Ventle characteristics will be maintained
| known as the Liriodendron integrifolia-
| that is to say, the entire leaf tulip tree
| This is more particularly marked among
| evergreens. During the first year of arbor
similar plants, the leaves are health-like-
| that is extending from the stem quite
separate and distinct. but occasionally
| there are individuals carrying these char
acteristics through life, and many of the
so-called Japanese species are merely veg
etable imbeciles. 1t is not uncommon for
acute observers to find branches assume
their adult form in many individuals in
| this imbecle class just as in the case of
human beings there are occasional in
| stances where tmbeciles assume matured
CHARACTERISTICS. This is also true of the
animal world A friend of the writer has
an aquarium in which tadpoles as wen as
other aquatic creatures are raised. AS
! every one who is acquainted with the COM
! monest events in natural history is aware
the tadpole during its first season throws
off it's tail, pushes it's legs and becomes a
| frog. In the case of the friend referred to.
he has tadpole which thrust out its legs
and then ceased to develop further. After
three years it is still tadpole with its two
frog legs, retaining its tail and in all other
| respects it is a tadpole, with the tadpole
characteristics intact. 1t may be termed
| a frpggy imbecile.
Awarded