The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

ITEMS VI
An English lad was recently savagely
attacked near Newbury by Norwegian
bird known as the black-throated duel,
which measured over a yard and halr
boys assistance and killed the bird, which
is supposed to have been blown inland
during the gales.
One of the most curious enemies or
British fresh water fishes is a small float
ing water reed-the bIadder-wort. Along
its branches are a number of small green
veAles OF bladderss which, being 1ur-
nished with tiny jaws, seize upon the
little fish, which are assimllated into its
substance. This is a subtle poachers the
true character of which has only lately
been detected
The largest walnut tree ever hewn in
Pike county. Pa, was cut down i few
days ago near Milford, Pa, by William
Angle Of Washington, n. J., for gun
stocks for the United States government.
The first sixteen feet will make about
1000 feet of lumber and will furnish
enough gun stocks to supply regiment.
1t was Pike county which furnished the
for the mainmast of the frigate ConsIi-
tuition many years ago.
The wife of a farmer living near Ser
geant Bluff. Ia, was caught in a wolf trap
out on the prairie recently and held cap
tive some eighty hours. A neighbor had
set several wolf traps made of steel jaws,
with heavy spring closing them when
sprung, about his farm. He placed them
far away from the road, where there was
no apparent danger of anything but a
wolf getting caught. But the woman took
a short cut home one evening. saw the
trap, stopped to find out just what il was
ana was firmly caught by one hand. She
was unable to open the jaws with the
other hand. and remained fast in the trap
all night and until the next evening, when
a searching party found her. She was
unconscious and near death from pain and
exposure.
One of the most extensive laundries
in the world is situated in a southern
suburb of London, says Answers, and was
recently visited by one of our own repre-
sentatives. The principal building, he
writes is upwards Of 400 feet long and four
stories high. over 200 hands are employ
ed and the machinery cost about f1S, COO
There are ten solid ironing machines 3
feet long, and each capable of finishing
1900 serViettes per hour. The vast ex-
tent of this business may be realized on
learning that 1850 articles a week are
received from one great West End club,
and $1,000 in the same period from each
| of several mammoth hotels. A hotel like
| the Metropole or the Grand by the way,
| uses upwards of 1000 towels every day.
! Nearly 100000 pieces of linen of all kinds
pass through this laundry in the course
| of a week, and seven miles of drying lines
can be run out at once.
Representative White of Illinois wears
on the little finger of his left hand a seal
! ring whose historic interest far surpasses
| the intrinsic value of the jewel, although
| 1t is probably the finest intaglio in WASH
| ington, says the Washington Post. 1t is
/ a plain, transformations hyacinth, bearing
| the classic head of Antonius Plus, ruler
| of Rome from 1873 TO 16l, and was cut and
] worn by the great Roman philosopher and
| emperor LOO years ago. Mr.. White Sc
| cured 1t during his sojourn in Italy, pay
| frlir1 100 for nh i,a
| American money. It had a Roman setting
| of great antiquity Mr.. White took the
| ring TO Tiffany's, in Paris. and ordered
| the stone to be set in plain gold band.
| The great Jewelry firm specified that IL
| would do so only at the owners risk on
| account of the incalculable value of the
| stone. The head is engraved in a pure
| hyacinth, which, when held to the light,
| is perfectly translucent and gives out a
| remarkable play of colors. The engraving
| is perfect, and leading lapidaries have as
| sured Mr. White that il required two
| years to complete the head in it's per-
| fected details.
The Oldest herbarium in the world is
doubtless that of the Museum of Egyp-
| tology at Cairo. 1t consists of a large
number of crowns garlands, wreaths and
| bouquets of flowers collected, one and all,
| from the ancient Egyptian tombs, most
| OF them being preserved in excellent con-
dition. Some flowers were better protect
ed than others, and in spite of their eX-
| IRENE delicacy, have retained the original
colors in an astonishing manner. Bios
SONS from the watermelon plant, for in
stance, show after being Immersed in
water, that they still possess the green
| coloring matter. This should certainly
seem surprising, since most of the sarco-
| phagt dated back twenty-five centuries b.
9. 1t is, however, very difficult to state
| the precise age of the flowers correctly,
| since, in many cases, the tombs had been
| opened by the ancient Egyptians them
selves, and it is almost impossible to
| know whether the flowers found in them
| belong to the period of Ahmes or Ram
esis II. At any rate, they cannot be less
| than 5000 years old, while the oldest col
| lection of flowers and herbs in Europe is
| hardly 400 years old. Among the plants
| of the Cairo collection are found blue and
| water white lotus flowers, red poppy
blossoms, the oriental larkspur, the holly
| hook, several species of chrysanthemums
| the pomegranate, leaves from the willow
and celery, and several other species of
flowers of which we also hear in the
| Graeco-Roman period.
The fire walk is undertaken by mem
bers of a certain clan of F'ijians, Ma Ivil-
ankata, who have a. traditional fairy tale
as to how they acquired the power, trick
the scene the pit was "a white-hot mass,
shooting out little tongues of white
flame" The wood was extracted by poles
| and the glowing stones were laid level
tongues of flame still playing among
| them" Then fifteen men, in garlands,
! with anklets of dried fern, walked bare
! ing down the green leaves as they were
| thrown in by the lookers-on. The volume
of steam rose thick and dark. Now a
few minutes before the men entered the
| furnace, a hot stone was hooked out on
which Mr.. Thomsons handkerchief
was laid; the men went in, and it was
! removed when the last man left the oven.
Every fold that touched the stone was
! charred, as, indeed, may be observed on
the handkerchief which lies before us
as We write" The feet of the performers
| being examined were cool, and their ank-
let's of dry fern leaf were not burned. MIR.
! Thomson wrote his published account on
| the day after the event. He has heard
of a similar ceremony in the Cook group
of islands, and it is attested both in the
| journal of the Polynesian Society and by
| private correspondence, among the Killings
of Southern India and elsewhere. Elise
where" curious to say, includes modern
| Bulgaria. Mr.. Thomson's photograph
has not been published; the fine shapes OF
men, like figures of polished basalt. are
| partly obscured by the steam arising from
the leaves thrown into the furnace A
| representative of popular science has we