The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-03
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

THE farm is full of barometers, all
more certain than the best almanacs ever
concocted. Before the rain comes the dog
is lazy and wants to steep, the cat washes
its face, and the horses are restless and
easily frightened At the same time the
geese are very noisy, the poultry seek
their roosts, ants are all in a hurry and
skurry laying in supplies. spiders crowd
together on the wall, toads and snails and
slugs are on the garden paths; the birds
cry ''Weet, weet," the frogs croak and the
peafowl becomes very excitable and talk
alive.
Did you ever see the death-watch?
The superstitious think it never sounds,
but just before the death of some friend
or relative, says the Pittsburg Dispa tch
1t is really small beetle which frequents
decayed rotten wood, and is of lonely and
retiring habits. 1t is one Of the smallest
of the viglpennia; is dark brown in color,
with irregular bright brown spots, the
helmet turned up and upper lip hard and
shining 1t produces the ticking sound by
pecking at the wood with small hard
proboscis when in the act of securing
food.
Years ago, when specimens of those
beautiful creatures, birds of Paradise "
were first sent to Europe, the strangest
tales were in vogue concerning them. They
were thought to be legless and footless.
1t was commonly said to pass it's time
floating in the air, only taking an occa-
slonal rest by suspending itself from the
branches of a tree by the feathers of its
tail. The eggs were laid in the hollow
formed by the plumage of the male, and
the mother sat upon them while resting on
The back of her husband, both birds float
ing iuxuriously in the breeze and feeding
on the soft dews of heaven" The idea of
the birds being legless arose from the fact
that the natives always cut off the legs
before preserving the skin, and all speci-
mems that reached Europe were minus the
limbs mentioned.
Previous to the discovery of the sey-
chelles the double cocoanut was called the
cocoa-de-mer, meaning cocoa of the sea-
This name was given it from the fact that
being picked up at sea long before the
seychelles was known, it was thought to
be a product of the ocean. Rumphius
speaks of it as "a wonderful miracle of
nature, the most rare of marine produc-
tons. The Malays went so far as to as
sert that this fruit was often seen at the
bottom of the sea, but vanished as soon
as the diver swan toward it. The negro
doctors also had a story which gave it SUBJ
marine branches in which lived a great
griffin, which visited the shores at night
10 kill and carry off elephants and tigers.
In those days immense prices were often
paid for a single nut. 1t was deemed an
antidote for poisons and cure for cpl
lepsy.
The Smithsonian Institution during the
past week has mounted the rarest bird
specimen in this country, says a Washing
ton letter. The new acquisition is an ex-
tinct parrot from Philip Island, a little
spot of land between Australia and New
Zealand. Nestor as he is called from his
gray head, has been extinct for fully half
a century. The Smithsonian specimen,
which is the only one known in this coun-
try was buried for many years in a gar
ret down in Southern New Mexico. Mes
tor productus, which is the rare parrots
proper name, is an inoffensive looking
bird, olive gray as to back and wings,
with a pale vermilion necktie and a red
and yellow waistcoat. The most remark
able thing about him is a long, cruel
looking Deak, which is one sign of his
close relationship to the famous sheep
killing parrot of the Alps. Like the great
aux this unfortunate fowl owes it's ex-
tinction to the sailors, who hunted it's
whole family to death.
1t is a common thing for people to
| scoff at the idea of the worlds coming
to an end. Science scarcely recognizes
the possibility of such an event, unless the
earth should come in contact with. an
other heavenly body, or that it should
cease to revolve or some other such phe-
nomena occur which would really mean
the lend of the world" so far as the peo-
pie of this planet are concerned. But
there is another way that is seldom
spoken of or considered. 1t is not alto
gether impossible that some day "A great
volcanic eruption or earthquake may rend
the crust of the earth so that the waters
of the sea could pour down into the CEN
| ter of the mass What would be the re-
suit? Would not this water rushing
down into the great subterranean fire
be Immediately turned into steam? Would
| it not be possible under the circumst ances
that enough steam be generated to blow
the entire globe to pieces? Here is a nice
| problem for some science to answer.
Without a doubt, the most novel ex-
change is the cigar stump exchange, held
in Paris, in the ancient Place Maubert,
where is the resort of more curious char
acters than any other place in the world.
| On the steps which lead to it from the
| Boulevard Saint German, the Partisan
| cigar stump exchange meets every pleas
ant afternoon All members of the ex-
change bring their wares to these meet
ings in paper boxes. There is no dealing
in futures Each broker sells only the ci-
| gar ends actually in his POSSESSION. The
! buyers on this exchange are wholesalers
and retailers. The wholesalers buy up all
the stumps they can get for about franc
a pound, clean them, cut them up fine,
and sell the product in packages with fan
cy covers as smuggled tobacco for three
or four francs a pound. The government
| tobacco of similar quality costs between
| five and six francs a pound The retail
buyers purchase only two or three pounds
OF stumps at a time for their own con-
sumption. The prices on the tobacco
stump exchange vary, of course. as on
other exchanges, according to the rela-
lions of supply and demand. In winter,
when fewer persons smoke In the street
fewer stumps are found in the cutters and
brought to the exchange, and the sellers
get 10 to 10 per cent. more for their
stumps than they get in summer, when
the boulevard and squares are crowded
with smokers.
An interesting piece OF rapid structural
engineering work was accomplished on the
Great Eastern railway system during the
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