The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-15
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The Philadelphia bourse is the home
Of very intelligent cat, says the Phila-
delphia Record. This tabby, which is coal
black, without a single white spot upon
her, has a fondness for travelling in the
elevator She is perfectly 1t home there,
and travels up and down many times daily.
She goes TO the door of the elevator shaft
and news until the car comes along and
takes her on. The various elevator men
are very careful of her. for she is a great
mouser, and III the bourse, as in other
big buildings, mice are troublesome. These
little pests frequently destroy valuable
documents supposedly sa sely slowed away
in desks and drawers. Tabby notifies the
elevator men what floor she desires to
get off upon by mewing loudly as the car
comes to the particular story. In this
way she makes tour Of inspection of the
entire building.
The announcement from St Louis of a
magazine published in twelve different
parts and twelve languages and dialects
is most interesting, says the Boston Tran
script. 1t is the intention of the publisher
TO make this publication serve the inter
ests of good American citizenship. The
proprietors are men of business, who per-
ceive that there is a field for a popular
magazine TO reach immigrants newly ar
rived in this country, among the great
numbers of Germans, Swedes, aNorweg
ians, Russians, Italians, HungarianS,
Louisiana French, California and New
Mexico Spanish ETC., who never learn to
read the English language. In the second
generation many foreigners read ana
speak our national tongue with facility
on the other hands, there are thousands
of Americans born under the stars and
stripes living in communities where only
the parental tongue is used and who new
er come into any useful knowledge of the
English language. For these people as
well as for the newly arrived, a separate
magazine in their own languages, yet all
tending to explain American institutions,
may become vast power for good citi-
zenshp.
The so-called system of building up
lumber, says a contributor to the Boston
Transcript, is now employed inltne manu-
facture of most of the best furniture. This
is a great improvement over the old-fash-
Toned one-iayer veneer work, and it is the
most durable ever made. 1t consists of
cementing together thin veneers of differ
ent woods transversely with the grain. The
veneered wood runs in thickness all the
way from one-sixteenth of an inch to half
an inch. Generally only hard woods are
used for Veneers; but a core of soft and
light wood is nearly always employed On
| this core of pine the veneers are cemented.
| The first layer has the grain running from
| grain running up and down; and the third
and fourth diagonalIy cross-wise, and
| every other direction. The result is that
| the "built-up" board can neither crack
split, warp nor twist Moreover, it is
| lighter than any solid hardwood board
| more flexible and durable. This 'built-up''
| idea of wood originated in the shops of
| America, and it has been worked here
more generally than abroad, although all
| of the European factories now avail them
| selves of the system.
| The comet discovered by Perrine at
the Lick observatory, Oct IS, is still Wis
ible through telescope. but it is now
only three-fourths as bright as when 1t
/ was discovered. 1t was then of the eighth
| magnitude, just visible through an opera
| glass. When discovered it was between
the Pole star and the bright star in she
! breast Of Perseus, at about one-third of
! the distance from the former to the latter
| star. 1t has been moving in a southwest
| erly direction, toward the head of Draco
! and 1t is now very near the star Gamma
Draconis the more easterly of the two
| third magnitude stars which form the
Dragons eyes" The comet is on the side
| OF the Pole star, opposite the Great Dip
| per, and its course has been nearly par
allel with a line drawn from Lhe second
star IN the bowl of the Dipper TO the star
at the extremity of the handle The dis
lance it has thus far traversed is about
twice the length of this line
OF course, to see it will require a tele-
| scope; and when seen it will not be found
a particularly interesting object for the
/ ordinary observer-a faint nebulous star
nothing more. The only notable fact re-
ported about it is that when first seen
ii hadsa small TAIL, which is not unusual
in the case of SO small a comet
The west coast of South America from
north of Callao, Peru, to the port of Co.
quimbo, Chile, as a rainless region. From
the Andes to the Pacific no rain falls and
no vegetation or animal life exists beyond
what man brings there. 1t is a dead world.
| The last rain which fell in Antofogasta
Chile, was the first that had fallen in six
| teen years, and the last shower in Iuuidue
Chile, was the first rain which had fallen
| IN "A years. The hills or mountains back
of both these cities are bare rock and sand
ana red loose clay, yet the day after the
rain greenish tinge began to show it,
| self and by the second day these bare and
| unacceptable hills were dressed in green
coat from top to bottom. AS no more rain
| tel, this Verdue quickly dried up and died
| The query rises naturally whence did this
| vegetation come? If from seeds living dor
| mant in the soil, then once sprouting would
finish this source and the short life of this
plant gives no opportunity for the deva1
when rain falls in these regions in periods
Of from IS 10 40 years, the same phenomena
occurs. The growth evidently springs from
someeroot which lies dormant in the soil
and is another remarkable proof of the
powers of nature to adapt life to hard con-
dltlon, as there is no evidence that for sew
eral million years past there have been
any more favorable conditions for life on
| TINS coast than exist now. No evidence ax
lsts that at any time vegetable life has ex-
lsted IN all this region, and until the course
OF the winds change, all this region is
destined to remain, as it Is to-day. q bar-
rem desert, but this strange phoenix-Iike
vegetation is worthy of the attention of
the scientific querist.
Nowhere in the cars new electric
launch will there be any visible machin-
cry, says the New York Tribune So
far as the car will be able 10 see as ba
| steps aboard, the boat will apnarantl1y
traVel without motive power. No brass
runner OF the naphtha design will spread
slckenng odors throughout the harbor
ana the circumambient air will not be