The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-09
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The process of preparing gold until il
is reduced to a thickness of 1-2sO,OOO of an
inch is necessarily elaborate. The gold is
first cast into ingots four inches in length
and one inch in width, which weigh from
ten to seventeen ounces, according to
thickness. 1t is then passed between pol
ished rollers, worked by steam, until it
forms ribbon twenty-eight yards long
and 1900 of an inch thick These ribbons
are then cut into $50 pieces, one inch
square, and placed between velum, and
then the real business of the gold beater
is begun. He beats for ha.f an hour with
twenty-pound hammer, making the inch
square into three inches square; then these
pieces are quartered, becoming one and a
half inches square. He beats again for
one and a quarter hours, until the one
and half inch square becomes four
inches square. The four-inch pieces are
again quartered and beaten and finally
cut to proper size, viz. squares of three
and three-eighth inches, of a thickness Cor,
rather, "thinness') of 1-2S0,0O0 of an inch.
and in this shape the leaf ls lifted into
books of tissue paper.
One of the old ideas which recent
scientific research has revived is that the
weather is influenced by the moon. The
moon, being $50 times nearer than the
sun, eXerts a more powerful influence
L
lleved that great tidal wave of air is
swept around the outer atmosphere twice
every twenty-four hours, which influences
the weather. The particles of air and wa
ter are free to move among themselves
and may be easily heaped in these wave
forms, but the particles of which the por-
ton of the earth, which we are accustom-
ed to call solid, is composed, are not free
to change their relative positions. When
the moon is between the earth and sun,
or when the earth is between the moon
and sun, or, twice a month, great force is
brought to bear upon the earth's crust
Where there have been recent slight
changes from cooling and shrinking, the
effect is felt most and earthquakes result.
At least, this is the theory Just brought
before the royal society in London. The
same investigation shows that there are
more earthquakes when the moon is in
perigee at its nearest point to our globe.
Now comes the travelling nursery to
take its place alongside the barber shop,
bath room, ETC., on our fast trains, says
the Railway Review. The travelling nurs-
cry is to take up about the same amount
of space as the private stateroom of the
ordinary sleeping car There will be a
saving of space of several feet. however,
as the wide seats on the sides of the state
room below the berths are not needed in
and tiny easy chairs scattered over the
floor. In this way any danger from sud
den starts or sharp curves is obviated. AS
a further protection against injury to the
little ones, the walls of the nursery are
heavily padded and the floor quickly car
peted, so that bumps and bruises will be
altogether avoided. At each end of the
compartment and firmly secured are two
cosy cots in which the smaller children
lie and watch the games of the older ones.
Each car containing the nursery attach
ment will carry matron or nurse, who
will be selected with a special reference
to her ability to amuse and care for her
little charges, and she will have at hand
supplies of milk, cookies and other edibles
and drinkables dear to the -infantile heart
She will also have charge of medicine
chest containing a full assortment of the
simpler remedies for childish ailments
miniature toy shop is another adjunct of
the travelling nursery, and it will contain
everything from baby rattles to picture
books and fairy tales. Nothing, in short
will be missing that would add to the
comfort or amusement of the young trav-
elers.
In one of his recent reports to the de-
partment of the interior, Maj. A. E. Wood
son, agent of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
Indians of Oklahoma, says that the reign
of the medicine men is one of the greatest
outrages of the present day, and as a di-
rect result of their practice, one-third of
the children born of Indian parents die
every year. Two of Black Coyotes chill
dren were taken sick, and, instead of TAX
ing them to the government hospital, he
sent for the medicine man, who blew
green powder into the lungs, ears and the
nostrls of the little patients. The med-
cine failing, the medicine man made an in
cision with his knife under the tongue of
child Kyif hot
followed. When the green powder failed
to restore the child to health the medi-
cine man declared that there was a ghost
under the child's tongue and to kill the
ghost he made the incision. The medi-
cine man then adopted heroic measures to
save the other child. He took it on a cot.
Then he heated a big pile of rock in the
tent, and when they were hot he threw
water on them, filling the tent with steam
and causing the child to sweat copiously
When the child was covered with perspira-
ton he took it out in the cold air and sent
1t home, without having taken any pre-
caution to keep it from getting cold Next
morning the child was dead. This is only
one of the hundreds of such outrages
against the heath and life of innocent peo-
pie. The big medicine man of the Chey-
ennes is Little Man, who lives near can
tenement. He makes his medicines every
year, and distributes them to the other
In recent scientific assemblage, SAYS
the Medical Record, a discussion took
place upon the influence of sleep in skin
diseases. One of the gentlemen who took
part stated in his criticism of the paper
which had been read that one might as
well talk of the influence of music upon
the growth of the hair. 1t would seem
that the suggestion of a possible connec-
ton thus thrown out in TESTING way has
been taken seriously. At least a CORE !
spondent of the Temps has made the dis- |
covery that music of certain kinds does In |
reality prevent the hair from falling, while |
that produced by certain Instruments has
the most disastrous effects in causing
rapid development of badness. He finds |
that while composers are as prone as 9TH
ers to lose their hair at an early age, those |
who play their compositions upon the pi- |
ano preserve, If they do not acquire n |
luXurant growth of hair. on the other |
hand wind instruments, and especially |
the cornet and trombone, are fatal to mir |
suite adornment. The violoncello and the |
harp keep the hair in pretty well, but the |
flute cannot be depended upon to preserve |
a strong growth after the hftieth year ~ |