The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-26
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

0eSSl lilly Tor an oyster. he suggested ina
there was something of absardity in ac-
cept!ng the idea that because there was no
''r'' in the month Londoaers should be de-
prived Of the toothsome bivalye, and prom
isod when he returned home to see what
could be done in, organizing a summer sup
ply for Londoners. This has been done, and
the oysters are being used for cooking pur-
poses, soups, sauces, stews, patties and
the like. The frozen oysters have not yet
reached the dignity of being consumed on
the half-sheil. They are said to be fine,
white and plump, and more of them are
to be imported.
"A distinctive feature of the new court
house in Baltimore win be eight marble
monoliths. In their finished state these
columns will each be thirty-two feet long,
four feet three inches in diameter, and
weigh thirty-tive tons apiece While there
are columns of greater size on buildings
elsewhere, the Baltimore Sun says, there
are no marble monoliths that equal the
proportions of those that viii adorn the
Baltimore building. Marble columns even
of equal size in other cities are built up
in sections or drums, and are not compos-
ed of a single stone. The marble mono
liths on the capitol wing IN Washington
are not as large. On the north and south
fronts of the treasury Building in Wash
ington there are granite monoiths of this
size, but, owing to, the regularity of gran
lite at the quarries. it is not considered a
difficult task to turn out monoliths of such
proportions. Over a year has been spent
in quarrying the court house monoiths,
and before stones Of sufficient size could
be gotten out many times the weight of
these monoliths was quarried. The drill
ing and channelling. process necessary to
get out such huge stones required expert
work, and many failures were experienced
hsafn ttN hon .E..1
other serious problem was to get the mar
Bile of the proper color.
While lightning may be seen and its il
Illumination of clouds and mist may be rec
ognized when it is even 200 miles distant
thunder is rarely audible more than len
miles, says Industries and Iron. The thun-
der from very distant storms, therefore.
seldom reaches the ear. The reason of
the great uncertainty in the audi
bility of thunder is not difficult to I'M
derstand. 1t depends not merely on the
initial intensity of the crash. but quite as
much on the surroundings of the observer,
even as N the quiet country one will OBJ
serve feeble sounds that escape the ear in
a noisy city. Perhaps the most curious and
important condition of audibilty is that
the thunder-Wave of sound shall not be
refracted or reflected by the layers of
warm and cold air between the observer
and the lightning or by the layer of wind,
swift above and slow below, so as to en-
lirely pass over or around the observer
Sound in its wave-like progress obliquely
through layers of air of different densities
is subject TO refraction, and this refrac-
ton may occur at any time and place
Thus, observers at the topmast of ship
frequently hear fog-whistles that are in
audible at sea level; those on hilltop9 hear
thunder that cannot be heard in the val
sounds that are inaudlble TO those behind
it. The rolling of thunder, like that of
distant cannonade, may be largely due to
special reflections and refractions of
sound Again, the greater velocity of the
air at considerable altitude above the
ground distorts the sound-waYe and short
ems the limit of audibility to the leeward,
while increasing it to the windward.
An authority on road construction says
that Romans made their main roads to
last forever. They were composed of sill
ceous and calcareous materials and were
far superior to the highest type of modern
work The large roads averaged 4 to AZ
meters, the smaller ones 10 So meters In
mountain regions the road was narrowed
down to single carriageway, IA meters.
The sidewalks were larger near the cities,
but reduced to siX-tenths of a meter in the
outer districts. They We're built of cut
stone, at least on the border. At every
twelve PAGES mounting stones were placed,
and at every 1000 PAGES milestones. Some
of the best roads were paved with marble
The minor or secondary roads were not so
carefully made, though of a solidlty with
which few modern roads can compare. A
ditch was dug 10 the solid EARTH which
was stamped, rolled or astaked; then on a
floor of sand, 10 or Is centimeters thick, a
layer of mortar was spread. This formed
the basis OF the four courses which consti-
tuted the road The first was a course OF
several layers of fiat stones bound by
hard cement or clay. This layer was US
uaily so contlmeterS thick, and twice that
in bad lands. On this came a concrete Of
pebbles, stones and broken bricks, strong
~ ranmed with iron-sheathed hammers.
The ordinary thickness of this layer was 25
centimeters. In the absence of mortar.
loan was used. Superimposed on this was
layer. of 50 to 50 eentimeters of gravel or
coarse sand, carefully rolled. The top lay
er, or crust, was convex and ran to a
thickness of 70 to 80 centimeters or more.
It was made differently, according to the
materials hand. 1t was either paved with
cut stone or laid with pebble and granite,
or metaied.
An East Indian correspondent gives
some entertaining details of the odd, clum-
sy continuance which makes the life of the
dWeiler IN Indian cities endurable. With
rare exceptions the punkah is made by the
nearest jobblng joiner, and he either cop
les some punkah he has seen, or devises
something of his own which shall contain
the greatest quantity of timber, curtain.
or mating, sandbag, hooks, rings and
ropes; everything, in fact, that will swell
the bill. The coolie who Is given charge of
the punkah, although he may never have
had lesson in pulling before proceeds to
work out system in which the punkah
shall be made to move with the smallest
effort on his part. He sits on the floor or
Oh chair, ties big knot on the rope, and
shortens il until it supports his arm. al
lowing few inches of pun. If he is let
alone he viii take care that his labor shall
not exceed the one-fortieth of a horse DOW
ers The punkahhangs conspicuousIy in the
middle of the room. There is only one part
which needs to be heavy, and that is the
bar, which has to receive during one pull
the power that must serve during two
movements. The bar is covered with leath-
er cloth of suitable color, to the seam of
which, lying underneath the curtain
should be sewn, and not hooked, as hooks
make noise in working. No material can
be 100 light for the curtain. The finest and
thinest silk or muslin, or even tracing cloth
will blow as well as the heaviest mating