The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-04-02
FRENCH INDUSTRIAL FOLKS GOSSIP
Happenings and News of Special Inter-
est in the Various Fields Where Me-
chanic and Artisan Hold
Sway Night and Day.

| United States nave l-,OuO,oVV ho"''''
England has penny-in-slOt gas metres
The Georgia peach crop is expected to
be the largest ever known.
The Hartford, Ind, city council has
passed an anti-cigarette ordinance.
The greatest number of sponges grow
in water from 500 to 1000 tathoms III
depth.
A factory grinding 1000 bushels will
turn out the enormous quantity OF ~ tons
of starch day. o.
Our coal mines produce 1929, $40
tons of bituminous coal and 46,S5O,45
tons of anthracite.
The valuation of the labor of our hens
in eggs and spring chickens is every year
estimated at $2OO,OOOOOO.
Since the organization of our mint in
1893 it has coined, of gold, S1,612,405,-
1880, and of silver, $3.50, 029, 323.
There were only 100000 song birds
killed last year for the purpose of adorn-
ing women's hats with their plumage.
The total valuation of all the farm
products of every description in this
country was by the last census $780,
107, 454.
The farms of this country possess
implements and machinery for the cult
walton of the soil estimated to be worth
$494, 247, 467.
| If pure milk only was sold in London
it is estimated that from 10000 to 10000
more cows would be wanted to keep up
the supply.
Out of the worlds cotton crop of H.
100000 bales the Southern States of this
country produced nearly 100000, or
about four-ffths.
An orange 16 inches in circumference
| was taken from tree at Pomona, Cal.
1t is to be sent to Europe as Il specimen
of California fruit.
Our people have sufficient inventive
ability to take out 25,0G0 patents a year
on the contrvances they bring to
greater or less degree of perfection.
The ice business is booming on the up
per Mississippi. Six hundred and four
| carloads were recently handled in one
| day between Burlington and st. Louis.
The telephone line recently stretched
from New York to Chicago is twice as
long as the longest line known. Nearly
1,WO,0OO tons of copper wire were used.
The use of electric traction on the street
railways of the United States is now
almost universal. Out of total of 49,
1I6 miles, 1O,23S miles are run by electric
power.
| Telegraphic communication between
England and the continent has so enor-
mOusly increased of late that the British
postal department must lay new sub
marine cables to France and Germany.
| Those now existing are quite inadequate.
| for the traffic.
In the United States there are churned.
pounded and patted into proper condi-
ton every year 15,O0O,00O pounds of
| a of
immensely larger quantity which is daily
spread upon home made bread and CON.
sumed instanter.
| What is probably the largest boiler of
the locomotive type ever built was re-
Gently designed by Mr. +. w. Dean, me-
chanlcal engineer, of Boston. The boil
er Is 10 feet in diameter has two cor
rugated furnaces and has 300 square
feet of heating surface.
Inc telephone and the telegraph are
| rapidly making inroads into the arid nor
tons of the Desert of Sahara. Engineer
Bayole is now on the way from Biskra
10 luggurth with working force of 100
men Tor the purpose of laying telegram
wires between the two places.
| orange growing is being abandoned ON
the peninsula of Lower California. and
the orchardists are cutting down their
trees and planting. the land with coffee.
cotton and sugar cane. The low prices
obtained lately for oranges grown on the
peninsula have discouraged the growers
Inc United States is claimed to nut
| coal on the market cheaper than any
| otner country in the world. The census
OF lS9O showed that the average price
OF bltumln0us coal was for 1889. 90 cents
per ton. The present price at the Penn
sylvanla mines is 90 cents per ton: and il
costs AT the mines in Illinois something
less than 81. -''"s
Some hopeful spectators who have
been counting Unmatched chickens "a are
about to start poultry ranch near San
FRANCISCO which is to be the largest in
!he world, 1t is to reach its full capacity
III tnree years when it is to put on the
market annually 100000 eggs and 90
oo0 chickens for broiing. The plant viii
include two incubators, with capacitv
OF 2oo0 eggs each, and no end of houses
ana ,au pens, which will be contained in
to-acre ranch. There will be 900 hens
laying for the market. The whole tbip~
ngures out a handsome profit, but peonie
VINO nave had experience with hens aro
doubtful of its success, "i'
Iapah industrial awakening. about
when some manufacturers in this conn
Try appear to be alarmed. is rosnonsihIe
iol .ne CLOSING up of an old-established
s s;daniy at Milford. Conn. For con.
siderable period a big straw mating
n niianulactory was in operation in that
place, A short time ago il was de ,ha'
hmn;s 10 remove the entire plant and
business S to Kobe, Japan. where labor
ana raw material are to he ohtoinoJ ~
an enormous discount from tha rates
pTeValllng in Connecticut, LAST Wool,
.ne maj step in the removal was taken
a4u the Milford industry was closed ont
In L. ne mating syndicate will. of courSe
sell It's product in the American morLotl,
as heretofore. N"i lii'rhets
petroleum is said to have been worloa
III burmah for upward of 1000 yaa na
" ..th according to the official renorts
,i mere appears to exist an unfailinp SIM
Ply III many parts of the province Much
OF the oil is of very high GnoIitv " ona
can be burned in lamps even in it's cr rde
STATE. up to now," writes Profns uu
r nhSler' Il have never found similar oils
when, being of the same consstancr,
contain such a high percentage Of iIInm;
t tnI.ng OIL. The natives of India have
u nhen to the use of mineral oils With
tha rapidity. Thirty years aen
f fnu rlieap vegetable oils of the countrv
i; the universal source of ortit;o;s,
mgh,' Inc production in 1891 in Rur.
man was 100000 gallons. A largo D or-
pors trade in refined petroleum has
sprung up at RangOon. VII mas