The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-09
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

virginia raises bigger frogs, fatter frogs
and prettier frogs than any other state in
the union. Moreover, these frogs can
jump higher, jump further, splash more
water when they do jump, and emit a
greater variety of notes in their concerts
than any other frogs on the face of the
globe. 1t is a poor specimen, indeed, of
the Chickahominy frog that could not,
even after dinner of shot, have beaten
Mark Twains jumper and had a few feet
to spare"
According to La Medicine Modern, Dr.
p. Penta has studied the fingers and toes
of 4.5O0 criminals, and finds a deficiency
in the size or number of toes quite ire
quent among them, although very rare
among ordinary men. He has also OBJ
served that prehensible toes, marked by
a wide space between the great toe and
the second toe, is a condition quite COM
mon among criminals, also a webbed con-
dltlon OF the toes, an approximation to the
toeless feet of some savages. The little
toes are also rudimentary in many cases,
showing a tendency toward the four-co
animal foot; but the most common of all
the abnormalities was the webbed condi-
ton Of the toes.
"A new textile prepared from gelatine
is patented in Germany. The gelatine is
dissolved in hot solution of bichromate Of
potash, the action of the bichromate be-
ing to render the gelatine insoluble in
water after exposure to light. The solu-
ton, having the requisite consistency, is
placed in a vessel, the bottom of which
is provided with a number of. fine aper-
lures, and is forced through these by
pressure into threads. The threads (fila-
ments) are fed onto a revolving drum
the speed of which can be regulated, and
from the drum they pass on to an end
less band. from which they can either be
reeled separately or several thrown into
one thread, as in the case of silk yarn
The strength and pliability of the fila
ments can be varied by the addition of
suitable quantities of glycerine castor oil
etc, to the original solution. The latter
can also be dyed by the addition of finely
divided colors or color extracts.
The rare and sometimes doubted phe-
nomena called ''will-o' -the-wisp" usually
appears in marshy places or in graveyards.
1t is believed to be due to the spontaneous
combustion of phosphureted hydrogen
arising from decomposing organic matter,
and it issues from the soil as a long fame
while on water it infames at the surface
with the production of long wreaths of
phosphoric anhydride. 1t can be pro-
duced artificially by throwing calcium
phosphate into water or buryiug it in moist
soil. a French observer writes that dur
ing last August at Crosic. a seaport of
France, the lights appeared every>evening
over a considerable area of water The
bubbles were very large in August, but
decreased in size as the weather grew cold
err The bubbles were mostly confined to
two basins. that contained no mud, but
were receptacles of much fish refuse. Elk
periments lead to the belief that the phe-
nomena is due to the presence of rare
stances rich in PHOSPHORUS in a manner
to set free phosphureted hydrogen.
If tree climbing, as some learned
professors will have it, is a legacy from
our arboreal ancestors, the natives of the
east have got their share in a wonder
fully intact condition, says the London
Sketch. OF course, there are lazy natives
who keep monkeys to save them the both
er of climbing cocoanut palms for din
ner, but the best of monkeys fight shy of
wild bees nest, however we'll stocked
it may be with honey. The monkey likes
the honey well enough, but fears the bee,
and so leaves this business to his mas
| ter. The jungle bee, too, has the habit
| of selecting the very top of the highest
| branches tree it can find for its nest.
| That is no great obstacle to the profess
sional honey-gathering jungleman. The
| jungleman, throwing his mantle over his
| shoulders encircleS the bole of the tree
and his body in a loose loop of rattan.
| Then, leaning back in the loop and plant
| ing his feet against the tree, he practi-
| cally walks up the side of the tree, sup
porting his weight in the loop as he scales
| upward. Reaching the nest, he deftly en-
velops it in his mantle and quickly re-
turns to the ground, commonly without
a sting, and with a stone or two of hon.
| ey for his pains.
Continuous rails, made up of ordi-
nary rails length welded together electri-
cally, are in use on many miles of cleo
| trio street railways in the United States,
| says Casters Magazine, and with ex-
cellent results too, having shown them
| selves to constitute an ideal track.
Whatever misgivings may have arisen
| at one time as to the serious pranks
which expansion and contraction might
| play with such continuous tracks have
been effectually allayed, as experience
| has shown that the difficulties likely to
grow from these causes are not extraor-
| binary. 1t is interesting, however, to
note that of the troubles from tempera-
ture variations in the track, that due to
| temperature lower than the one at
which the rails were welded is the only
| one requiring serious consideration. II
\ is found in the tendency of the rail to
| shrink in a longitudinal direction, and
| this must be counteracted by a pull on
DTOuuCe
a corresponding amount of stretch Tenn
| peratureS above that at which the rails
were welded cause compression, and this
has never been found to make trouble
where the track was at all secured by the
roadbed. Experience, therefore, would
seem to point to the winter season as the
time for welding continuous track, as
| then the rails are materially contracted
and, though exceptionally cold snaps may
be productive of a slight state of tension
in the rails, vet the maximum stress
would be nothing like that in rails weld
ed in the summer, and probably far be-
low the strength of the YIELDS.
Nearly everybody knows, says Pear
sons Weekly, that the Kafir has an extra
skin beyond the number apportoned to
| the white man, and the fact of this addi-
| tional cuticle may account for the extra
ordinary insensibility of this race to ply
! steal pain. The following facts are vouch-
ed for by the writer as being absolutely
correct: In smithy near Bloemfontein
one afternoon some one noticed a strong
and pungent smell as of flesh burning
On inquiry being made It was discovered
that stout Kaffir boy was standing bare
| footed on a redhot horseshoe which had
somehow fallen to the ground. Strange as