The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-14
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

the trichinosis Of hogs, etc.
Interesting results are arrived at if il
is figured out how much water is lost by
the leaking of a faucet from which water
escapes IN drops If the washer IS not tight.
A chemist, who measured exactly the
amount Of waste found that about 70
drops fell every minute; within 90 minutes
there would be 4,500 drops Of water which
IS equivalent to a quart. so that there
would be a loss of four gallons of water
every "a hours. In a year almost so gal-
ions OF water Will have been wasted use
Iessly from such faucet. 1t is considered
that leaking faucets are quite freauent
ana the immense waste Of water becomes
more apparent.
Travellers in Spain and in several other
parts Of Europe are invariably struck
with the simplicity of diet of the poorer
natives. The quantity and apparent nu-
tr1tive quality of the food found neces-
sary TO sustain the Spanish day laborer
Tor instance, seems ludicrOusly dispro-
pOrtionate to what his English brother
demands A pound Of beef, potatoes,
bread-and-butter, and cheese, is Ordina-
rily the dinner of the Yorkshire rustic.
IN spain member of the same class
contents himself with a couple of onions
Plus a crust of bread-when he can get
II II Is now known, in explanation of
this circumstance, that onions possess
more nourishment than any other Vege-
table. The standard living in Scotland
mas greatly improved during the last fifty
years; but even a Highlander, with few
raw onions IN his pocket and crust of
bread or a bit of Oatcake, can work or
travel to an almost incredible extent for
two or three days together. In France a
soup made from onions is now universal
~ in use after all violent eXertiOns, and
ways on the bill of ratiOns prepared by
the commissariat after a battle or re-
treat.
Now that horse cars have been almost
entirely superseded by electric motor cars,
says the Philadelphia Record, bus com
"a he 10
coming uneasy and are Experimenting
with various systems of electricity to re
place horsepower. Thus. the Omnibus Com
pdny OF Bernn mas recently made a con-
tract with the AccumulatOr (stOrage bat
terry Company Of Hagen, Westphalia,
who have guaranteed a type of bus fitted
with storage batteries beneath the seats
which Will meet all the requirements for
bus traffic in a large city. These 'busses
VIII not run in tracks, but anywhere on
the streets, ana are guaranteed TO climb
any hill of a grade less than one foot in
ten; The accumulator storage battery
VIII provide power for four consecutive
hours and the reoading which is done
by exchanging the exhausted accumula-
tors IN the cars for others, will take burt
from two to three minutes. The only diff
nculty at uhe present moment for the &C
ceptance of the project in Berlin is the ne
cesslty OF creating large electric power
plant for the purpose of loading and
handling the Hagen accumulators 1t is
very probable, however that by next sum-
mer BUSES propelled by electricity will
"A new army rife has been constructed
by Paul Brand, of Berlin, whose invention
has excited considerable comment in army
and sporting circles. 1t differs in its con-
sTuctlon from all other guns in that no
provision Is made for the firing of a dis
charge, since the shooting of the projectile
Is caused by the sudden expansion of COM
pressed gas The greatest advantages
claimed Tor the new system by the inVen-
tor are: First the trifing heat generated
md fhaas
Sence OF smoke; and third, the impossible
1ty OF the formation of dross in the gun
Ihe cartridges are also entirely different
~ constructed; from the present style;
since there IS nothing but the projectile it.
SELF, there is no danger handling it. and
considerable space and weight are saved
to the soldier or hunter. The reservoir
carried with the gun contains a quantity
OF compressed gas sufficient for $500 dis
charges. The force of shot surpasses
that of the present repeating army rifle
one and one-half times. About so shots NAV
be delivered without interruption. The de-
sSno,nt 70 0 % ngat WITHIN the barrel
heat occasioned by the friction of the ball
alone, when forced through the barrel
Inc new gun has been patented in all coun-
tries, and its manufacture in great guam
titles Is now being provided for.
The queer little Italian republic of San
Marine, with its SO square miles of terri
tory and its population of 5000, lies up in
the eastern spurs of the Apennine Noun
tains, says Harpers Round Table. 1t is
governed by grand council of CO. who
are elected for life and two presidents
one of whom is appointed by the council
the other elected by the people. The little
republic has an army of $50 men, who are
employed only as policemen. San Marine
is the only country in the world that pro-
hibtts the introduction of the printing
press. The CITY of San Marino, with
population of ], 200, is one of the queerest
old towns in the world. 1t has undergone
no change in 500 years. The republic be-
in A lar Go
Marine in poulation, but six times as
large in area, is the republic of AndorTa.
1t lines in valley of the eastern Pyrenees
between France and Spain. 1t became
free state in Sl9. 1t is governed by a SOW
eretgn council of "a members, elected by
the people pie ,q and d, syndic or president.
army of LOO men, and one big gun planted
in the center of the republic. This gun
carries a ball twenty miles, and Europe
trembles at the thought of it being fired
In Andorra, the capital, is the palace-a
stone building several hundred years old.
Here the councilmen meet. The ground
floor is the stable where their horses are
kept and fed by their masters themselves.
The army rules, says the Engineering
Mechanic, are that Pinch ice Will sustain
a man or properly spaced infantry; 4-inch
ice will carry man on horseback or
cavalry, or light guns, such as S0-pounders;
S-inch ice a battery of artillery, with car
riages and horses, but not over 1 900 pounds
per square foot on sledgeS; and 10-inch ice
SuStalnS an army or an 1nnumerable null
titude. On 15-inch ice railroad tracks are
often laid and operated for months, and
ice two feet thick withstood the impact
of a loaded passenger car, after a so foot
fall (or, perhaps, 1850 foot tons), but broke
under that of the locomotive and tender
Cor, perhaps, 5000 foot tons). TrautWine
gives the crushing strength of firm ice
as 1920 pounds per square inch. Col.
Ludlow, in his experiments in 1881 on 6l5
inch cubes. found 292-SS9 pounds for pure
hard ice, and 222-820 pounds for inferior
yoo
pounds for clear ice, and 400 pounds or
less for ice near the mouth where it is
more or less disintergrated by the ac-
ton of salt water, etc. Experiments of
Gzowski gave 20S pounds; those of Others
310-320 pounds. The tensile strength was
found by German experiments to be 142-
22S pounds per square inch. The shearing
strength has been given as 75-119 bounds
per square inch. The average specific
gravity of ice is 0.92. In freezing ice in
creases in volume from 10th to l-1Sth. or
an average of 1-11th; when floating 1l-12ths
is immersed.