The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-08
ITEMS OF INTEREST

has ever been killed or hurt by one. THIS
is a mis- axe. In the year GIG a meteoric
store fell in China, shattering a cart and
killing ten men. 1t may be asserted that
the population of the Monaghan empire is
so dense that ii would be difficult TO miss
a Chinaman But other countries have
known similar accidents About the close
of the seventeenth century, a Capt Will
mann reported that two of his sailors were
killed at sea by the ia of a nine-pound
meteOrite. Not long after this monk
was killed near Milan in the same way.
while meteor which fell near New Con-
cord in 1850 broke a railroad tie in two.
An interesting offer has been made to
the British Museum by one of the numer-
illusions. 1t is an offer of a number of
the celluloid strips of photogra phs which
have been taken of such popular events
as 1.-The Derby" or "a member of the
royal family laying a foundation stone"
The British Museum does not quite see
its way to accepting the gift, owing to
the difficulty of preserving the strips of
celluloid-which have a knack Of shrivel-
ing, and so spelling the appearance of the
photographs. But the idea of the laying
of foundation stone, as a subject likely
to interest future generations, suggests,
says London paper, another use for
them. Why not, it says, encase them
III ali -liSill luDeS anu lay them IN 1Oun-
dation stones instead of the customary
coins and newspapers of the day? Then
generations unborn might have an oppor-
tunity of seeing US in our habit as we
lived and moved.
The aluminium bronzes, now becoming
so generally introduced, are the alloys of
aluminium and copper, in which the
amount of copper considerably exceeds
that of the aluminium, says the New York
Sun. aluminium containing small quanti-
ties of copper is not designated as alum
mum bronze, while copper containing
from 10 to 80 per cent is brittle, having
no use in the arts. The useful bronzes
are those containing from one to twelve
parts of aluminium. The value of these
aluminium bronzes consist in their non
corrosive properties and in their strength.
In respect of the former, they nearly
rival the nober metals, and in respect of
the latter they surpass iron and compare
favorably with steel. The non-corrosive
property is not confined to any particular
mixture, but is characteristic of all the
alloys, and is undoubtedly due to the
minute film of oxide of aluminium which
is formed on the surface of the metal
when exposed to the air-this film, though
imperceptible, doubtless protecting from
corrosion.
Some idea of the remarkable character
of the proposed telescope for the great
Paris exposition of 1900 may be gained by.
comparing the size of its ffty-one inch
object lens with the most wonderful yet
constructed, says the New York Sun.
/ Thus, the largest instrument of this kind
now in existence is the Lick, having an
object glass of thirty-six inches diameter;
the second largest is at Pukowa, Russia,
with glass of thirty inches; the third is
at the University of Virginia, its glass be-
| ng twenty-six inches; Harvard has the
| fourth largest, with a twenty-four inch
| glass, and the fifth in size belongs to
| Princeton College. The famous Yorkes
| telescope glass, the latest of the celebra-
| ted productions at Cambridge, Mass, is
| rated at forty inches diameter. And so,
| by some eleven inches, the Paris instru-
ment is in excess of all others, and thus
| able, it is anticipated, to bring the moon
| within one mile of us. The telescope at
| Paris, as planned will be $50 feet long
| and so arranged that 600 persons will be
| able simultaneously to view the heavens
| with it. The image, it is explained is to
| be received on a level mirror seventy-five
| inches in diameter, and from that reflect
| ed on screen.
In recent number of the Lancet it was
shown that with proper apparatus and ex-
| pe-tence the y rays could be turned to
| practical account in the diagnosis of the
internal
| gans. When focus tube is placed behind
person so that the rays pass through
| the thoraX, striking effect is produced
| The bones are very clearly depicted, while
| the heart is seen as a definite shadow in
| contradistinction to the light area around
! This light area is occupied by the lungs
| which are not dense enough to stop the
rays, but allow them to pass through and
| give rise to a fluorescence on the screen
| The shadow of the heart is not uniform
| in intensity, being lighter at the margins
| than towards the center, but the outline
| can be clearly seen and its pulsating move
ments detected. The lower limit of the
thorax is bounded by a dark shadow
| which corresponds to the diaphragm, with
the liver beneath it, and the ascent and
| descent of the diaphragm with each res
| piration can be clearly SEEN Several re-
| cent cases of the determination of the ex-
| istence of suspected aneurisms are also
| given in the Lancet, the enlarged growth
of the arteries showing up quite distinctly
on the Horoscope and proving beyond a
| doubt the nature of the trouble.
Edward Page CASTOR, writing in
| "Breadmaking in Mexico and Zululand,"
| in the January Woman's Home Compan-
| ion, thus describes the making of Next
can tortilla: The tort.lla is typical of old
| Mexico, and is encountered wherever the
! influence of the cactus republic has reach
| ed. 1t was found as the main article Of
| food among the ancient Aztecs at the
! time of the Spanish conquest, more than
! three and a half centuries ago, and the
! little hand-ground and palm-fashioned
corncake has well held its own down
through the ages, being to-day as popu-
| lar and in as general use as ever. .
| Sheiled corn intended for this use is first
! soaked over night N limewater until the
! outer husk of the kernels is loose enough
| to be removed by being rolled between the
hands and is then ready for grinding This
| is done by the Mexican women of the
| lower class. who often work in the door
ways of their homes, bending over the
historic stone hand mill, called in Mexico
a metate. The mill is simply a rough
| slab of stone supported by four stocky
| legs, and is made of volcanic tufa, the
| coarse grain of which is best adapted for
| the grinding of the corn, beans, chile
| seeds, cheese, or whatever it may be de-
| sired to finely pulverize The stone hand
mill is an indispensable item in the cuin.
airy outfit of the tropical home. The ac-
companying hand-piece, looking like a
| rude rolling Din Is also Of etnna SO