The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-21
ITEMs OF INTEREST.


One would think that y any ship
should neglect wind and weather II would
be the great mail steamers-those that
run across the Atlantic, for instance.
But We md that the American liners
take weather very much into c0nsidera-
ton The captain OF vessel L went
across with. says Rear Admiral Maclear
in the Nautical Magazine. made very
great study OF Ihe weather that he would
meet on the coast on both sides. and es-
pecialy Of the fogs- He took care 10
note from tine TO time where re met
fogs, how long he was running through
them. and what the size Of the fog was,
and he came TO the conclusion that the
general size Of a fog in the Atlantic was
about thirty miles in diameter, and he
could run through Il IN certain lime.
There were two sorts Of fOgs he had TO
encounter. one was the thick, low FOG,
with a fairly bright sky overhead, and
the other a dense mist He could calcu-
late. generally speaking. how long he
would be in each, and whether II was
better 70 run through II at full speed
and get out OF Il, or 90 slow and wait
for il 10 lift.
Scientists are already wondering
where the world will get its future supply
of camphor. says the Druggists. Large
quantities OF the drug are consumed in the
manufacture Of cellulOid, which is now
shell. ivory and horn This has increa sed
the demand and raised the price. CamphO
Is produced by several trees. which differ
materially in their ha bits, while other trees
closely related TO them. do not produce
the drug. Nearly all that IS used in Eu-
rope or America IS exported from China
and Japan. a species of tree in BOrneO pro-
duceS camphOr of a very high order which
sells for eighty times the price OF the com
mon article. 1t is nearly all used in China
where II IS esteemed as an incense. one
species of smokeless powder requires cam
phor in its formation, but II has never
been used in sufficiently great quantities
10 affect the market price. The trees from
which camphOr is produced grow slowly
Nan is their greatest enemy, and unless
Efforts are made to protect the trees now
living and others are planted, future gen
erations Will have little camphOr.
The Papazo Indians inhabit country
of broad plains, with mountain ranges
between. The mountains are remarkably
rugged and rise sharply from the low
lands, says the Baltimore American. All
over the plains live the Indians. The
country is one of the most arid regions on
the face of the globe, whole year pass
ing sometimes, without a drop of rain. The
streams rise in the mountains. but never
reach the sea. and the debris carried by the
rivers, instead of finding its way to the
ocean, is spread out upon the plains,
| the rivers drying up before they reach the
sea. Seriland, in the state of Sonora, was
never seen by a white man until about two
| years ago, when the bureau of ethnology
| sent an expedition to explore that region
| The natives are constantly vigilant every
moment, from day to day, week to week
month to month, year to year. expecting
and dreading the approach of an enemy
! Ihey are always prepared for an emer-
| gency. The dearth of water was the great
| est obstacle to the exploration. Every drop
we used was carried from twelve 20 ff-
/ teen miles by men under heavy guard Wa
10 npV Is Trra hi h1., oil
! often We measured II out in spoonfuls In
| counting the dangers and labor of secur-
| ing water we estimated its worth at from
| 50 to 81 quart
Millions of violets. says Chambers Jour
nal, 'sweeter that the lids of JunO's eyes"
nestle at Grasse and Nice under the gray
| shadow of the orange groves, yet the
100000 pounds of the flower sacrificed
| every year to the flower press are not
/ sufficient for the toilet. The perfumer is
| glad to fall back on the intense violet
| odor Of Cassie, sweet to SMELL for sicKly
/ as it's scent is when used alone it gives
| the indispensable note to many bouquets,
| and is longer available than the violet,
| the blossoms Of Acacia Farnesfana being
| successive, while those of its better
| known floral ally are quickly over. There
| cannot be a greater contrast than that
existing between the lowly tufts of the
/ Parma violet, and the tree fifteen feet
| with its stem thick a mans wrist, and
/ it's branches six feet long. Yet the bios
SONS have the same characteristic Odor.
| Cassie, too, the flower farmers latest
| crop, forms a fitting Introduction to the
| violet harvest, occurring as the former
| does in November and December while
/ the purple shadow of the latter is not
| seen under the olives till the beginning of
| February. Both odOrs are obtained by the
| characteristic enfeurage system; pure,
/ inodorous lard being placed on sheets of
| glass and covered with flower petals.
/ Forty or fifty of the trays are pied on
| one another, till the lard is charged with
| their perfume, the flowers being changed
| from thirty to forty times before the POM
/ ade is considered sufficiently scented.
-Greenlanders have no regular meal
times but eat when they are hungry,
says the Hartford Times. They seem able
to go without food for a remarkably long
period, and also to eat at a sitting the
most astonishing quantity. Among their
| principal dainties is the skin of different
! kinds of whales. They call it matak, and
| look upon it as the acme of deliciousness.
| 1t is taken off with the layer of blubber
next to it, and is eaten raw without cere
| mony An Artic explorer, In his recent
work, declares that he must offer the
| Eskimo his sincerest congratulations on
| the invention of the dish. Il can assure
| you, the reader, that now, as I write of
| it, my mouth waters at the very thought
| of matak, with its indescribably delicate
| taste of nuts and oysters mingled. And
| then it has this advantages over oysters,
| that the skin is as tough as india rubber
! to masticate, so that the enjoyment can
| be protracted to any extent. OF vegetable
| food the primitive Greenlander used sew
| eral sorts; may mention angelica, dande-
! lions, sorrel, crow berries, bilberries and
different kinds of seaweed. One of the
| greatest delicaces is the contents of a
| reindeer 5 stomach. If a Greenlander kills
/ a reindeer, and is unable to convey much
of it home with him, he will, 1 believe,
| secure the stomach first of all; and the
! last thing an Eskimo lady enjoins upon
her lover when he sets off reindeer hunt
| ing is that he must reserve for her the
stomach of his prey. 1t is no doubt be-
cause they stand in need of vegetable
| food that they prize this so highly, and
also because 1t is in reality a very choice
| collection of the finest moss and grasses
which that gourmand, the reindeer. has
picked out for himself. 1t has undergone
a sort of stewing in the process of semi
digestion, while the gastric Juice pro
vides a somewhat sharp and aromatic
sauce. Many will no doubt make a wrv
| face at tie thought of this dish, but thew
! really need not do so. I have tasted ii.
and found 1t not UNBEATABLE, though some
VIII Sn1lr like farn1er7 Cd Mill