The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-05
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

and are taken from horses used by the
Cossacks after the animals have outived
their usefulness. Horses are cheap in
Russia, and after having seen better days
their names and tails are the only things
left of commercial value. Very often
these h1rsute appendageS are taken from
sound animals, and the beasts left to
their fate Here the upholsters use the
hair for stutfing chair backs and other
articles of furniture, and the material
from Russia brings The best price, be-
cause tne hair is The longest. and conse-
quenty the best"
1t is on record, says an exchange, that
the queen of Great Britain and the En-
press of the Indies fully appreciates the
virtues of home brewed and is not
averse to a glass of bitter" or a mug of
'"arf and arr " and at the brewers eXhi-
bitiOn recently opened at Islington the
prince cOnsOrts farm was represented by
some fine barley, which received favorable
mention, but did not receive a prize. But
what an advertisement for an enterprisng
brewer, such as flourish in the states,
would be the purchase of that barley
How many huge butts of malten beVer-
ages could be turned out from a very
small quantity of material; with what
gusto loyal snobs would drink themselves
into ecStacies of maudlin patriotism over
the queens brew, We knaW." Pope Leo
Is also Jealous viticulturist and takes
great pride in his vatican vineyard, which
produced this year, eight hOgsheGds of
wine, small part of which was reserved
for his own table, some sent to churches
In Manchuria and along the Monaghan
borders of China, says the Popular Science
News, there are thousands of farms on
which nothing is raised but dogs. of
breed peculiar to this region. Each pro
prietor keeps several hundreds of them.
They are of a large size, and when eight
months old are killed usually in midWn-
ter, for the sake of their skins AS a re-
suit of the severe climate, they are COW
cred almost from birth with a magnificent
nVTf n how mn oh in
demand among the Northern Chinese as
material for winter clothing. They con-
stitute the only wealth of this desolate
country. In each family certain num-
Der of dog skins is laid aside as the daugh-
ter's marriage portion. Yet they com
mand no very high price, eight skins be-
ing required for a gown about two yards
long, and worth some SO or 81. This would
make the average value of each but little
over 40 cents, from which must be deduct
ed the cost of sorting and dressing; also
of manufacturing the garment. The hides
find their first market at several main
depots. whence they are taken to h1ouk-
den, Fou-Tcheou, and other cities to be
made up. Last year the estimated pro
ceeds of this traffic at Newchaug,a leading
emporium, amounted to 100000 francs,
against 100000 francs the year before.
The wonderful alertness and activity
of sea lions in the water which enables
them to get fish for their food in arctic
seas are qualities that are manifested in
a still more striking way by the captive
specimens at the zoo, says the Phiadel-
phia Record. These three sprightly indi-
Viduals in the big outdoor tank have de-
Veloped into ratcatchers that never miss
their prey. Rats are pests that naturally
thrive about the animal houses, and at
nights, when the zoo is deserted by NiSl4
tors, the rodents run in all directions.
They are fond of water, and they find
their way in considerable numbers to the
sea lion tank to dabble at the Watefs
edge They may go to the lake and seal
pond with impunity, but when they ven
ture to the home of the sea lions that visit
is their last. Swiftly and noiselesSly the
sea lions glide about in the water, and
when a rat approaches one of them quick
ly marks it for victim. The sea lion dives
and reappears at the surface precisely at
the spot where the rat is peering into the
tank. One slap and it is all over The
rat goes down the hungry throat at a sin
gle gulp. So many rats do the sea lions
catch in this fashion that they are some
times indisposed to take their early morn
ing meal of fish thrown TO them by the
keepers.
In the Arizona papers of late there
have been frequent complaints of serious
injury, both to crops and to pastures,
caused by the raids of wild horses Some
thing like 10000 of these creatures, il Is
estimated, are now roaming the plains of
that territory, and they have become seri-
Gus nuisanCeS. There is some cause for
surprise in the fact that al this late day,
even in Arizona, an animal alien to tho
country can resume the habits of his al
can multiply rapidly without care or pro-
lection of any kind. The horse in domes-
tication is a rather delicate creature, sub
ject to many ills, and often hard to keep
in health though watched with close at
tention and allowed to want for nothing
whatever, When forced to rely on his
own resources, however, he shows a mark
ed capacity for resuming the wild state
and for guarding himself against enc
mics of all sorts. Ever since the days of
the Spanish explorers the horse at every
OnnOrfnnitV demon Ct n 1ilrincr
for freedom and his adaptabilty for meet
ing without aid the conditions of life in
the west and south. Large herds were
often seen years ago, but that they should
still find room in the United States is real
ly notable, as proving that the country is
not nearly so well settled as the opponents
of immigration would have us believe.
"A correspondent of the Chicago Record,
writing from Gelivara, Sweden, thus de-
scribes the railroad conductor as he exists
beyond the Arctic circle: The conductor
is not the uncrowned king he is in Amer
lea. You have met this king in your own
land, and you have more than once felt
Ike doing something to punish him for
his sometimes intolerabe top-loftiness, his
amazing assumption of superiority. his
occasionally urbane condescension. Here
the conductor is q gentlemanly person, po-
lite, helpful, considerate The station mas
ter is his superior, and the train may not
leave the station until the station master
says it may. The conductor, when the
the side of the station master takes hold
of the tongue of a little bell fastened to
a metal arm, gives the tongue some sharp
claps on the inside of the belts throat
invariably ending with two decisive taps
Then his duty is done, and he stands
around with his hands in the pockets of
his linen pantaloons, or impatiently strides
up and down, awaiting the moment for
the train to start. AT last the station
agent unfurls red flag, gives it a wave
blows sharp loot on his shrilI little
whistle, the engineer answers with one
sharp toot, never more, and YOU are off
The conductor looks very neat and naftv
an his white linen suit when he starts on
his rip-neater-looking, indeed than
when he gets to the end of his division.
Visitors to Central park were startled
to-day at the appearance of new vehicle
propelled by man power and carving two
persons, which sped along the smooth
roads, says a New York dispatch dated
Dec. 2. 1t had three wheels. and one of
the passengers, the man behind diG eli
the work It went up all the steen hills
without any great slackening of snend
and, when il struck a down grade Inc
man behind simply pressed his feet down
on the pedals, and it slipped along SLOW,
or fast, as he desired This machine is "
cabeycle,' designed by Fredrk and Bir-
ger LJungstrom, engineers of StockboIn,
Sweden, which the former has brought ~
Il -