San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-02-14

bees fluttering to and fro in front of
the big hive, whose ordinary entrance
had been barred by the addition of
tin case with very small entrance holes.
The bees. therefore. could not get in
until the master had unfastened the
paper containing the message from
their backs. Then they crawled in,
the holes being just large enough to
admit their bodies.
These experiments were repeated I'M
til the bees in the hive got quite accus-
toned to them and submitted grace
fully to the method of fastening and
loosening the messages.
The paper on which the message is
written is fastened by one end, cut in
two parts. The uninitiated may think
that so small paper would hardly do
for war dispatches or any other sort
of correspondence, but they forget the
possibilities of microscopic writing, the
best specimen of which is exhibited at
the United States Army Medical mu-
scum at Washington.
square inch will accommodate, in
microscopic chirography, 29,431, ASS let
tiers.
The number of letters contained in
the entire Old and New Testaments is
but S,566,4S0. Hence the number of
letters which square inch might ac-
commodate. written out in microscopic
writing would be more than eight times
this last number.
The inadequate travelling capacity of
the bee alone seems to stand in the way
of the employment of the insect for the
purposes intended. They can be used
only over very short circuits, and to
cover longer distance-say from Paris
to the frontier-there must be many
hundred relay stations.
Another circumstance in disfavor of
the bee is that the little insect is easily
blown about by the wind, and is there,
fore liable to lose its course,
But if the French employ bees for
hids-de-camp the Germans are equally
advanced, for they have already in
stalled dogs in their ambulance service;
The German army dog, Of whom
much is expected in time of war, is
trained to discover wounded soldiers
on and near the battlefield in places
where otherwise they might be over
looked.
Lately the efficiency of the intelligent
animal in this new sphere was tested
at Neuwied. One of the dogs succeeded
in discoveringwithin half an hour eight
soldiers who had hidden themselves III
bitches. In each case the animal re-
turned to his trainer and conducted
him straight to the wounded" man in
the ditch. At night the ambulance dog
carries small electric lamp, so that his
master may not lose sight of him.
A Soldier of the Revolution.
Tourists wandering about the cour-
try near Rye, N. Y, recently found the
neslecte,; grave ot Maj. Gen. Thomac
Thomas, of revolutionary fame. 1t was
found in an out of-the-way place, near
the old Rye bridge, on the Boston post
road. The grave was so covered with
bramoles as to be almost hidden from
view. The tombstone was so crumbled
ana broken that il was with difficulty
the inscription could be deciphered-
The attention of the Westchcster
County Historical society and of the
Sons and the Daughters of the Revolu
ton has been called to the neglected
grave. He was born in Harrison town
ship in 1855 and died there in 1924. He
commanded a regiment in 1776 and par
ticipated in the battles of Harlem and
White Plains. In the autumn of that
year detachment of the British army
burned his home and took his aged
father a prisoner to New York, where
he died in the provost Jail After the
war Gen. Thomas served frequently in
the state legislature. None of the old
residents of Rye know of any living
relatives of the dead generally. Y.
World.
Had NO TaIth In Ills :. onesty.
She was evidently from the country.
and when she boarded car and handed
the conductor a dollar, with instruc-
tons to be sure that he made the right
change, he knew that she was not
woman to be fooled with. Following
the usual custom of conductors who are
short of change. he pocketeG the note
and returned to the platform, intending;
to give her the 95 cents when he haa
taken in more fares. The passenger
followed his every movement with
suspicion until the car stopped at Wash
ington avenue, when the conductor ran
ahead to see that the railroad tracks
were clear. Quick as fash the wom
an jumped from the car, pursued the
astonished conductor, overlook him,
and belabored him with her green urn
breIla, shouting: II knowed you was