Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-02-20
NOTES OF THE DAY.


The annual profits of the Suez canal
amount to sS,000,000, and the ships
using it save 100000 a year after
paying the tolls.
Dimmick, the great elephant catcher.
is authority for the statement that but
twenty-four white elephants have been
caught since the commencement of The
Christian era.
A stick of timber 119 feet long and
twenty-five inches square, without a
knot or blemish, was cut in a mill at
HOQuiam, Wash, last week. 1t is the
longest piece of timber ever cut in that
neighborhood, and the most nearly per-
feet any Of the old lumbermen there
have ever seen.
The timidity of fish afforded one of
many interesting discussions at a re-
cent reunion of the Boston Piscatorial
society. 1t was remarked that big gun
practice on the sea-coast, while it
would cause Holsters out of sheer fright
to cast one of their claws, would drive
millions of fish into other waters.
The California Indians bow is made
from the white or sap wood of the
cedar, the outside of the tree being also
the outside of the bow. The stick is
scraped and polished with the sharp
pieces of obsidian, roasted in ashes
and bent into shape. Their arrows are
made of button willow twigs, of the
buckeye and canes.
Brass plates, bearing appropriate in
scription, now mark the site of the
pews in Old Christ church, Philadel-
phia, once occupied by Betsy Ross,
maker of the irst American flag;
Franklin Hopkinson and his son, Jo-
seph Hopkinson, author of Hail Co.
lumbia;;" the Penn family, Benjamin
Franklin and George and Martha
Washington.
Captain Kidd's quadrant, or one of
his quadrants, or at least an ancient
quadrant bearing his name, is in the
possession of a family at Rockland,
Me. 1t is more than 200 years old and
bears the name and address of the
London maker. Part of it is of ivory,
now dark brown with age. The name
Captain Kidd is engraved on the
metal part of the instrument.
The Boston school authorities are
now discussing the furnishing of cheap
lunches to the pupils of the public
schools. The experiment has been tried
in some of the schools in that city, but
it has been found that there is a ten
dency to bolt the food. One visitor
found a boy who devoured three sand
Wlches, a piece Jf cake and a cup of
chocolate in four minutes by the watch.
The mOquilea utilis is one Of the
most extraordinary vegetable products
of Brazil. The bark contains a large
amount OF SILICA, which is employed to
great extent in the manufacture of
pottery. The bark is first burned and
then pulverized, and afterward mixed
with clay. With these ingredients a
strong, serviceable earthenware is OBJ
tanned, the natives employing it for all
KINDS of culinary purposes.
The delicate and infrequent operation
OF removing steel silver from mans
eye by magnetism was successfully
performed at Anderson, Ind, a few
days ago. John Garter, a workman in
the wire nail works, had a steel silver
three-fourths of an inch long buried in
his eyeball. The piece of steel could
not be seen. A very high power mag
net was placed over the eyeball and the
silver was thus drawn out. The sight
OF the eye was destroyed.
1t is announced from st. Petersburg
that new Russo-Chinese bank, with
a capital. of 100000 gold rubles, has
been definitely formed and has been
empowered to open branches in Europe
and Asia for the emission of bank notes
in taels, dollars and sterling, for The
coming of Chinese money, for the re-
ceipt of Chinese taxes on deposit, for
the acquisition of concessions for rail
ways and telegraphs, besides special
privileges in Siberia and on the Chi
nese frontier.
DR.. Grace, England's greatest crick-
eter, recommends cricket as game for
the working people, as, in his opinion,
it is the most educational' Of open-air
pastimes. He declares it has about it
"a glorious uncertainty" which will
very soon teach a player not to be
selfish or conceited."
President Crespo of Venezuela, has
the advantage of an intimate personal
acquaintance with the geography and
physical peculiarities of the Venezuela
Guiana country. He was born and
brought up in the Orinoco valley; is of
mixed Spanish and Indian parentage,
and has the fighting qualities of both
races.
Emperor William of Germany rises
at O'Clock every day. King Humbert,
of Italy, King Oscar of Sweden and
King Karl of Roumania leave their
beds at o'clock, and the queen regent
of Spain is arrayed in full splendor at
z o'clock. Queen Victoria of England
never rises before o'clock, and the
prince Of Wales is still later.
Mrs. Elizabeth Duane Gillispie of
Philadelphia was Is years old the other
day, and her friends marked the day
by giving her $4,000. Mrs. Gillispie
is a great-granddaught Of Benjamin
Franklin, the celebrated philanthropist
and patriot, and is the daughter of
William ]. Duane, for a time secretary
of the treasury under General Jackson.