Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-09-06
Notes Of the Day.

man died at a st. Louis hospita
recently from lockjaw, caused by wear,
ing tight shoes.
Canada has given more than $l9s,Oos
for the relief of the plague and famine
sufferers of India.
The savings banks of New York state
have $4,000 more depositors and $4,000
GOO more deposits than they had year
ago.
Statistics prove that nearly two
thirds of the letters carried by the
worlds postal service are written, sent
to and read by English speaking PEG
pie.
Keneshaw mountain, Georgia, around
which there We're weeks of furious
fighting in 1861. is terraced now and is
covered with peach orchards in fun
bearing.
| new bicycle trust is being formed to
| bolster up prices. 1T is stated that seven
manufacturers-the biggest in the coun-
| try-have signed a preliminary agree
ment, and by November the trust will be
| completed.
A novel idea in vacations has been
adopted in Boston The firemen there are
| allowed annual vacations, and the com
/
horse owned by the department out to
| country pasture two weeks every year
! The Parthenon. at Athens, is virtually
| in ruins and likely to tumble down II an
/ other earthquake occurs before certain
| repairs are made An immense scaffoId
of American timber now props up the en-
tire entablature and prevents collapse of
! the building,
! y Eau Claire, Wis, correspondent
| tells of a dry goods firm which adver.
| tises that its store is the coolest place
| in town. as the trade winds are kept
| constantly circulating from aisle to
| aisle. and there is such an air Of polite
| attention"
| Two constitutional amendments have
been adopted by popular vote in Swift
zerland, one of which places the con-
! troll of the forests under the govern
ment The other subjects the manu-
| facture, sale and Importation of food
products to federal control.
England, Germany, France, Aus
tralia, Africa, Canada and less impor
tant countries purchased over s7,o00,ooG
worth of bicycles from this country
during the year ended July l, 1897. For
the previous year the value of the ex-
ports was less than 81 600, 900.
A Frenchman named Turpin has de-
vised what he claims to be a preventive
of tornadoes in towns. As tornadoes in
variably come from the southwest, he
would build on that side of a city num-
bcr of metal towers about 1876 feet high
and place on their tops cylinders filed
with some extremely explosive material
such as mclinite. To the cylinders are
attached arms with discs. The tornado
strikes these arms and eXpodes the mel
mite. producing an enormous displace-
nent of gas and breaking up the rotary
motion of the storm,
Old building materials are at present
drug in the New York city market. owing
to the number of structures that have
been demolished of late to make room
for public parks and other improvements.
AT public auction sale of condemned
buildings within the lines of the Elm
street widening operations, the houses
some of which were comparatively new.
could hardly be given away. Most of the
old tenements offered brought less than
s.. some going as low as 81. A six-story
fireproof building fetched s.. and a ten
story brick business building sold for $40.
The section of Massachusetts where
William C. Whitney has acquired some
1000 acres for park and other pur-
poses is that in which lie the greater
part Of the abandoned farms which
the state has for several years been
a certain way, then Mr. Whitney ap-
pears as public benefactor. In serv-
ing his own luxury he puts to use a
large domain which. in the hands of its
separate owners, has been mostly
given up as useless.
a reporter recently noticed three
men in London addressing envelopes in
the street by the uncertain glare of the
gas lamps. They had not enough
| money to pay for lodgings. Although
chased about by the police. they per-
severed. and at 10 o'clock in the eve
ming they had each addressed 500 en-
velopes for which they received one
shilling six pence each. This enabled
them to purchase some food and pay
for lodgings. I'VE are used to it," said
one of the men stolidly.
An interesting exhibit at the trans Mis-
sissippi exposition at Omaha is to be the
Tom Thumb" train called because it
IS said to be the smallest in the world
1t is the work of a young man without
technical training. The engine weighs $50
pounds and its length, with the tender
is feet 7l2 inches. The cylinder is 1isx
2ia inches. and the driving wheels are
inches in diameter The engine however
hauls six observation cars. in each of
which two children may be comfortably
seated. The entire length of the train is
29 feet. Six gallons of water in the ten
der tank and five in the boiler will fur
nish sufficient steam to propel it for two
hours.
The United States government depart
ment OF agriculture has a hospital for the
treatment OF sick plants. In it investiga-
ton goes on of the diseases which affect
vegetable nature and the discovery of
remedies for them. An Interesting exper-
iment mas just been made with a violet
plant. The plant was put under a glass
bell Jar and no air was allowed to get in
or OUT TIE germs OF disease found ia
inJnre vioiets We're mixed with water and
sprayed upon the plant. Soon its leaves
pfohe out III large yellow spots. Ii would
not nave caught the malady had not its
system been first injured by i'll ventila-
tion. Alter the bell jar was removed the
patient rapidly recovered
Elk Mayor Benjamin r. Atkinson Of
Newburyport. Mass. died Friday. as the
result OF paralysis. He was born in Maine
20, years ago In early life he was n
school teacher and later was postmaster
at Bradford Me, He went to Newbury
"a -.