The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-13
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

in an article on the measurement of
the force of wind, recently published in the
Monthly Weather Review, an interesting
story is recalled of how Sir Isaac Newton
undertook such a measurement when a
boy. 1t was during a great gale on the
Sd Of September, 1858 The fact that New
ton had no apparatus did not battle his
ingenuity. He stood out in the wind and
jumped as far as he could against it and
then as far as he could with it and a COM
parison of the distances gave him the
data for calculating the force of the gale.
"A striking picture of the official cor
ruption that prevails in China is afforded
by some diplomatic reports submitted by
the English foreign office to the houses
of parliament at Westminster. Among
other things it is shown that so great is
the stealing that, were the imperial gov
eminent to abolish the rice tribute from
the provinces of Kingsu and Chekiang
alone, it would effect an economy of more
than $2000,000, which is the sum that its
collection now costs over and above the
revenue that it yields.
The number of species of plants which
have become extinct is very large. and yet
generic groups rarely die out. Compare
tive researches show that much the great
er proportion of plants whose remains
have been preserved in a fossil condition
from earlier geologic periods belong to the
general which are representa- by pants
now living, although many of these exist
ing plants differ specifically from the ear
lier ones. From this it seems that new
types are outgrowing the old ones con-
stantly and take their place in the general
scheme of life
-Servia has SIS persons who are more
than 100 years old; Roumania, 1854; and
P1lc rio In rio
has a centenarian to every 1000 inhabit-
ants, and thus holds the worlds record for
old inhabitants. The German empire, with
So 00O, coo population, has but seventy-eight
subjects who are more than 100 years old.
France with fewer than 100000, has A3
persons who have passed their Tooth birth
day. England has 146; Ireland 579; Scot
land, 46; Denmark, 2; Belgium, s. Switzer-
land does not boast a single centenarian;
but Spain, with about 1S000,000 population,
has 40.
Interesting results of an investigation
of the effect produced by a railroad train
on the air through which it moves were
presented al a recent meeting of the St.
Louis Academy of Science by Prof. F. Z.
Nipher. 1t appears that motion is COM
municated to the atmosphere many feet
away so that a large amount of air is
dragged along with the train. A pecu-
Il
train from the tendency of the moving air
to topple a person over, and at the same
time to communicate a motion of rota-
ton to the body, which may cause it to roll
under the train.
-ISince the death of Baron Hirsch. his
widow has been making lavish gifts to
various charities in France, England and
Austria. Besides the 10000 francs which
she has given for the building of a labora-
tory for the Pasteur Institute, she has re-
Gently given 100000 francs for the pen
sion fund of the Oriental railroads, in
building which Baron Hirsch laid the
foundation of his colossal fortune. Be
sides this, she has given 100000 francs
for the foundation of hospital in London,
and several beneficent institutions in
Paris have just received large sums from
her. 1t is estimated that within the last
two months Baroness IIirsch has dis
tributed 100000 francs in charity.
Farm Poultry says that Isaac Wilbur
of Little Compton, R. l., has the largest
poultry farm in the world. He ships from
1870, 600 to 10000 dozen of eggs a year. He
keeps his fowls on the colony plan, hous-
ing about forty in house Sx10 or 8x12
feet in size, these houses being about $50
feet apart, set out in long rows over the
gently sloping fields. He has 100 of these
houses, scattered over three or four fields.
The food is loaded into a low wagon,
which is driven about to each house in
turn, the attendant feeding as he goes;
at the afternoon feeding the eggs are col
lected. The fowls are fed twice a day.
The morning food is a mash of cooked
vegetables and mixed meals; this mash
is made up the afternoon of the day be-
fore. The afternoon feed is whole corn
the year round.
While the flowers of California, says
a writer in the New York Independent
are famous for brilliant coloring, it has
been remarked that flowers with frag-
rance are remarkably rare among them
| On the other hand, ii is said that the
fragrance that the flowers should possess
| has been transferred to leaves and
| branches. 1t is believed that California
| can present a larger list of odor-bearing
| leaved plants in proportion to the num-
Der of species known than any country
| in the world. The peculiar odors of stems
and leaves are credited by one or the
| schools of modern biology with the duty
| of protecting the plant from predacious
| creatures. 1t is said that there is no ac-
counting for tastes, and among such a vast
variety of scented leaves it might be that
| the tastes of some wild animals would
be just suited to some particular class
the Objectionable to others. But there
| seems to be no end to the purposes" for
which the pecuiarites of plants may be
| construed to serve.
The astronomical opinions of the late
Prof Newton of Yale University are be-
ing quoted as showing the different views
| entertained by him from those held by
some of his scientific contemporaries
| Thus, he believed comets and meteors TO
| be identical, and that the meteors were
merely disintegrated comets while the
discovery of other comets moving in the
orbets as other meteor streams strength
ened him in his opinion. 1t is said that
| he showed bits of meteoric iron 10 his
! classes with the remark, Gentlemen, this
was once a portion of a comet" Others
however, who are not inclined to accept
this explanation, use such arguments as
the fact that comets have no appreciable
weight that the faintest stars can be
seen through them-which could not be
the case did the solid particles enter into
them-and, to explain the harmonious re-
lations of the meteors and comets, assume
that the latter have been captured by the
former and have adoptqd fha oh Ia agterfet-