The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-15
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

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air or engines of the earth, says the New
York Press. The inventor works on the
principle that graYitation is the sole pro-
pelling force of all flying creatures and
his machine is modelled after huge moth
In the past all air ships have sought to
force their way through the air by means
OF propulsion based on the analogy of the
railway locomotive and the steamer. The
Scotchman, acting on an extensive KNOW
edge OF the flight of birds, has devoted all
his motive power to lifting the machine
When it reaches a certain hight and the
raising force is suspended the tendency is
to fall forward, owing to the ballast in
front. tail is then moved upward to
such an angle as produces a Swooping
flight ard the machine glides forward on
decline however slight, being dragged
down and along by gravita ton.
An ostrich chase is very attractive
sport, or rather the sale Of booty is so
great as to attract hunters, says the Par
is Univers Illustre. The Arabs give them
selves to it with real passion. Mounted
on their fine little horses, they try as much
as possible to fatigue the ostrich, for as
it is eight feet high and has very strong
legs, it possesses a quickness of movement
that the best horses cannot attain. 1t has
great endurance. Overtaken by the hun
ter it seeks to defend itself with it's feet
and wings, but more often it will strive to
escape by flight, uttering a plaintive cry.
In fact, the ostrich is deprived of the pow
er of fight by reason of its great size The
muscular force with which nature has
endowed it is not equal to lifting such a
weight It's peculiar organization has
made it the courier of the desert, where it
is able to quickly traverse the almost lin
itless expanse. The Arab knows very well
that it is the habit of the ostrich to make
great detours about its nest in a circle. He
chases it then without ceasing until it is
almost there, when worn out, it succumbs,
conCealing its head in the sand in order
not to see it's enemy. or instinctively hop
ing to escape danger which it cannot see
any more. This chase requires eight or
ten hours, but it offers large rewards. The
skin makes a good leather and the Arabs
are very fond of the flesh. Besides, in
spite of the fact that it reproduces it's spe-
cies rapidly, the ostrich is all the time
becoming rarer, and is hunted for export
and domestication in other countries. 1t
is one of Africa's greatest resources, and
may become new source of prosperity
to Algerians if they are willing to make
the effort. The truth of the popular say
ing, the stomach of an ostrich" has been
confirmed, recently, by an autopsy on one,
doubtless for a time captive, when the fol-
lowing was found in it's stomach: A par
asol handle, a glove, a handkerchief, a
pair Of eyeglasses, a ring, comb three
large rocks, the necks of two beer bottles,
the sole Of a shoe, a bell and a little har-
monica.
The present year is the SOOth anniver-
sary of the planting of the potato in Eng
land says the New York Sun. The seed
brought from America by Sir Walter RAJ
eigh was first planted in 1897 in the garden
of Gerard. the botanist. For 200 years
the use of the tuber was confined to the
so-called higher classes. 1t was not I'M
til the close of the last century that it
became a common article of food among
the masses. To the improvement of no
other vegetable has been given such So
licitous study. In this respect the United
States have taken the lead, and the vari-
Gus sorts which have originated here are
accepted throughout the world as repre-
sentative of the highest attainment in
quality, rapidity of growth, and size. In
some directions this has led to the loss
of distinctive flavor and texture, as in the
case of the Bermuda potato. Through
the general use of the seed of our early
varieties the tuber now grown in Ber-
muda has undergone a radical change.
The merit of the Bermuda potato was
due to its firm, close, waxy flesh, which
peculiarly adapted it to certain forms of
culinary treatment. The substitution of
American seed has completely changed its
it is the same as our early varieties. The
efforts of cultivators appear to be direct
ed toward the production of a potato
from which firmness and closeness OF
flesh are eliminated, and to the substitu-
ton of a dry, fiowery consistency. For
merly there was a marked difference be-
tween a new and an old potato; but now,
apart from the color and texture of the
cuticle, il is difficult to distinguish the
one from the other. So universal has be-
come the use of the seed of American va
rieties throughout the world that only
through the color of the skin, due to diff
ference of soil, is it possible to detect
whether potato is grown here or in a
foreign country. The Irish tuber is i'm
ported into this country for special uses.
Some amateurs think that no other is fit
to bake in the skin. Apart from its black
covering, due to the peat earth in which
1t is planted, 1t in no way differs from
our varieties. A few years ago, before
American seed was so universally en-
ployed in Ireland, the Irish potato, raised
from what may be called native chts,
was noted for a special SAVIOR and tex
ture OF flesh. That is no longer the case
"A thoughtful observer, who has Just
concluded a twelve months tour of South
Africa. during which he traversed and
studied every part of the region below the
Zambezi. describes the population as "a
seething mass of unassimilated elements"
with antagonism between the English and
the Beers as the most noticeable feature
of the situation, and underlying and com
phcating this an eager desire on the part
of the blacks to take advantage of any
falling out between their masters by ris-
ing in bloody revolt, says the New York
Times. The hostility with which each
Boer views, and is viewed by each Eng
lshman rests on something more than race
feeling. 1t is jealous fear on one side ana
bitter envy on the other. OF the two white |
races in South Africa, one is backward and
slow in movement, while the other is es- |
sentially progressive. over the greater |
part OF the country the progressive race |
is in power, but the richest portion of the |
land Is held by the unprogressive Beers.
And the development of the whole OF |
south African depending, as IL does upon |
the development of the Transvaal the I
pushing, energetic Englishmen are kept |
IN state OF constant Irritation at the de- !
liberateness of the degenerate Dutch. !
while the latter arc ever In a nervous /
dread lest the English may fitch their por- |
ton from them Rhodes and his follow /
erS declare with more than "a ehouy 80 |