The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-19
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


dyers, as well as journeymen of those cor
porations, gave notice by beat of drum,
that they would not drink any liquor
whatever brewed by the husbands of the
said women who would encourage for
eign manufacture when there are num-
bers of poor weavers in a starving con-
dition in this town and all over the king
dom. for want of employment"
A fact which has attracted no little
attention in astronomical circles is the
superiority exhibited by the twenty-four-
inch telescope lens of the Lowell obser-
vatory at Flagstaff. Ari., as compared
with the greater Yerkes and Lick lenses.
About 800 new double stars have been dis
covered with this instrument, many of
the new stellar systems being large and
brilliant, and therefore of the highest in
terest. Some of these new stars are very
close and are barely separated in the
great telescope, while others are very
unequal in brightness and require the best
atmosphere for effecting a good separa-
ton of the images. Curiously enough, it
is proved that the two inner planets, Mer-
curry and Venus, rotate on their axis in
the same time in which they revolve in
their orbits.
Experiments made recently by ecien-
tific men in France, says the Pail Mall
Gazette, have developed a curious and
altogether unexpected fact, namely that
certain persons posses a magnetic polarity
that is, they are found 10 act after the
manner of magnets, having, in fact, north
and south poles. In such a case, the in
dividual on being completely undressed and
placed near a sensitive galvanometer will
when turned on a vertical axis, cause a
DETECTION first in one direction and then
in Ntl i,,erf LII i
is not assumed that all persons posses this
polarity, but in the case of Prof Murani
an Italian, upon whom the experiment
was tried, the phenomenon was unmistak-
ably exhibited, it being found that his
breast corresponded to a north pole and
his back. to a south pole.
If man falls so as to strike his head
violently on the ice or on the pavement
or if he gets a blow over his eye he is
said to 'see stars" The cause of this Gu
rious phenomenon is found in a peculiar
ity of the optic nerve. The function of
that nerve is to convey to the brain the
impression of light. 1t recognizes nothing
in the world but light. 1t is susceptible
to no other impression or if acted upon
by any other agent, it communicates to
the brain the intelligence of the presence
of that agent by sending along its fiber
with probe or other instrument, and it
conveys no sensation of pain, but simply
that of luminous sparks. The pain of the
blow on the eye or the fall on the head
is realized through the nerves of general
sensation; but, insusceptible to pain or
other feeling, the optic nerve sends to the
brain its report of the shock by flashes.
sparks and stars"
You have often heard of the ferocity
of birds, no doubt said William Ander-
son, hardy old woodsman, to the Louis
vile Post, but doubt if you ever heard
OF birds attacking and killing an animal
that one would imagine could whip three
or four fierce ours. While hunting down
IN the hats down near the
mouth of Green river several
years ago l saw large and fierce skunk
beat an ignomniQus retreat after trying
in vain to best several English sparrows
and later, when the skunk had screwed
his courage up to the sticking point again.
saw those same Observation-Disclosures lit
tie birds tear the animal to shreds When
my attention was first attracted the SPAR
rows were flying from one side of the
thicket TO the other, twittering like mad
When went to learn the cause the skunk.
badly frightened was lodging from one
side to the other OF a log, trying to escape
N-AO
The birds didn't mind me, but kept dash
ing their little bills into the skunk's we'll
punctured hide. When the skunk started
across an open space to the cover of
nearby driftwood his tormentors bounced
upon him and riddled the poor cats hide"
"A plant that grows at the rate of nine
inches every twenty-four hours without
earth or water is curiosity in the pos
session of Capt. S. R. Vaughn, of No. 524
Heed street. Capt. Vaughn calls the
planC snake N.Y." 1t came to him
through a friend in Cochin, China. and
when it first arrived as a bulb it looked
like huge Indian turnip 1t Law during
the greater part of the winter in a dark
closet, but recently it began to show signs
OF awakening from its long sleep Mrs
Vaughn knew the symptoms. for the hulb
has been in the familys possession for
several years now, and she has watched
ats successive bloomings and witherings
during that time. Mrs. Vaughn took it out
of its hiding place and set it in an ordinary
peach basket with nothing at all about
it except some newspapers. A notified
green stalk pushed its way out of the top
of the bulb and grew at the amazing rate
above mentioned, until now 1t has reach-
ed the hight of eight feet one inch. and
IS just beginning to wilt OF this total
HlSnt tHe plSllI or tongue issuing from the
cup of the lily represents four feet enc
inch. Cup and pistil are both of a beau
tiful dark maroon color. The flower and
stalk will gradually wither away and drop
off the bulb. The latter will then be plant
ed in earth, and in July and August will
show great umbrella-like spread of To-
liage. In September this, too, will with
er, and the bulb will go to sleep for the
winter.
Prof. Won Bruins of Tubingen, well
known authority on questions of military
surgery, has published some interesting
experiments with the new automatic re-
volver which it appears is being adopted
by nearly all the European governments.
says the British Medical Journal The ex-
perimenis were made on pine wood on
plates of iron, on a living horse and on
portions of human corpses, at distances
varying from ten to 800 meters. The re-
suits were as follows: There was little diff
ference between the effects on living and
dead material. The hole made is from
five to seven milmeters In size and de-
-creases with the increase of distance: the
aperture of exit is usually slightly larger
than that of the entrance. The effect of
the projectile on the long hollow bones was