Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-10-29
Current COMBINATIONS.

Leon Valiant describes more tian
300 species of fish, heretofore unknown
to naturalists, as inhabitiLg the lakes
Of Borneo.
The mere cost Of producing the Six
ty-four volumes Of books containing
the evidence given Mt the English Ia
Dor commission was almost 100000.
Toads and frogs carry a supply OF
water about with them in n sack pro-
vided for the purpose, and If by acci-
dent the supply becomes exhausted the
animal dies.
Russian punishments comprise conf
pulsory labor in the Siberian mines
for life or for term of years. conpul-
sorry labor in fortresses or In factories.
the loss of rank, personal rights anu
privileges, and deportation To Siberia
or elsewhere as colonists.
The importance of the movements OF
the port of Paris, which includes the
whole department Of the Seine, Will
astonish many readers. The arrivals
in 1898 gave total tonnage OF 1,62l,-
566 tons and the departures 6,Oo4,SO4,
which, compared with the preceding
year. shows an increase OF 81, 1S5 tons
and 7S, $50 tons, respectively.
A form of sport very popular in Nor
mandy is that of flying kites, which are,
some of them, of very large, dimen-
sions. There has been competition
Mt Rouen, on the heights of st. Cath
arine. The victorious kite rose to the
height of $500 feet and would have
scared higher but for lack of string.
A French electrician, NJ. Trouve.
catches fish by sinking in the water n
net with an incandescent lamp attach
ed, The curious fish collect around
the light, when n pneumatic tire around
the edge of the net is silently inflated
and rises to the surface, entrapping
them without frightening them and,
hence, without destroying thesspawn.
When the Mercer County On. j.
Medical Association was IN session a
few years ago colored individual
named, William King came before them
for examination. He claimed to have
two hearts, but n careful examination
revealed the fact that his heart was
double instead of being two separate
blood-pumping organs. Besides hav-
ing two distinct pulsations which could
easily be felt, he had wonderful con-
troll over his double life engine, being
able to stop its beating for sixty sec
onds without Inconvenience.
The French mode of conducting auc-
tiops Is rather curious. In sales Of inn
portance, such as OF land, houses, etc.,
the affair is placed in the hands of 4
notary, who, for the time being, be-
comes an auctioneer. The property,
whatever be its nature, Is first examin-
ed by competent judges, who fix upon
1t a price, considerably less than Its
value, but always sufficient to prevent
any ruinous loss by preconcerted plan
or combination Of bidders. The prop
erty Is then offered with the fixed vaE
uation stated. The auctioneer Is pro-
vided with number of small wax
tapers, each capable of burning about
five minutes. AS soon as bid Is made
one of these tapers Is placed in full
view of all interested parties and light
ed. II, before it expires, another bid Is
offered, it Is Immediately extinguished
and fresh taper placed in its'stead.
and so on until one flickers and dies
out of itself, when the last bid be-
comes irrevocable. This simple plan
prevents all contention among rival bid
ders and affords a reasonable time for
reflection before making higher offer
than the one preceding. BY this means,
too. the auctioneer is prevented from
exercising undue influence upon the bid
ders or hastily accepting the bid Of a
favorite.