The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-28
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The most expensive tobacco ever i'm
ported to this country was sent to the
New York public stores for appraisal last
week. There were six bales each weigh
ing seventy-fve pounds. and each bale
was invoiced at 81, OO0 or at the rate OF
SO, 80 a pound. 1t was Havana wrappers,
the duty on which is $l.s5 a pound.
The violin used by Nine. Camilla Ur-
so. who is giving concerts throughout the
country. was made in Itaiy in 1927 by Jo-
seph Guarnerius Del Jesu. Nine. Urso
purchased the instrument in London sew
eral years ago. and has on several oc-
casions been offered $500 for il. She
would not part with it for any price.
An inventor has hit upon a method of
putting stone soles on boots and shoes He
mixes a waterproof glue with suitable
quantity of clean quartz sand and spreads
a over the leather sole used as a founda-
ton. These quartz soles are said to be very
flexible and practically indestructible, and
10 give the foot a firm hold even on the
most slippery surface.
Preparations are on foot in Honolulu
to test the applicability of the United
States immigration laws to the Hawaiian
Islands by the importation to the cane
fields of 1000 Korean laborers. The con-
tract form, as advertised by the agent
who proposes to furnish the Koreans, pro-
vides that they shall be paid $12. so per
month each, United States gold.
Rats and rabbits are becoming plague
in the Azores. The rats now attack fruits,
such as oranges, bananas grapes, and in
fest the granaries. The rabbits are de-
stroying the vineyards Moreover pigs
run wild, and have nearly eXtermiuated
the partridges by eating their young. The
Islands of the BEST" are in a quandary
as TO how they should remove the curse.
According to the Journal d Agriculture,
onval, Pas+de-Calais. finds that molasses
mingled with their fodder tends 10 fatten
sheep, pigs, cows, and horses; TO increase
the supply of milk, butter, and cheese
Though this does not of itself warrant the
recommendation of molasses as food for
mich cows.) The treacie makes dry fodder
like straw, appetizing and easy TO digest.
The function of "bloom" the white,
powdly coating on some leaves and fruits.
is not generally known. According to some
notes by the late Prof. II. L. Jones of
Oberlin College, published by his assist
ant, Miss Roberta Reynolds, it has been
shown by a series of experiments that
bloom serves to check the Transportation of
water With several forms of agave, which
We're tested, the loss from this cause when
the bloom was removed was from one and
one-third to two and one-third as great
as when it was left on the leaves.
In a paper read recently before the
American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers, F. w Dean showed that the cost
of steam power had decreased nearly 40
per cent. since the year 1870 Seventeen
per cent. of this is attributed to the use
of multiple cylinder engines, steam jack
citing, higher steam pressure, and super
heating the steam. Five per cent. is due
to the use of verticle engines, Z per cent.
to improved boilers, Z per cent. to econ
omy realized in heating the feed water,
and per cent. is put down to the credit
of improved construction of CRATES. The
least consumption of steam per horse pow
ef in 1870 was twenty pounds, whereas,
the least in 1897 was twelve and a half
pounds.
The use of enamel as the insulator for
resistance wires of electric heating and
cooking apparatus is now general, and
manufacturers have found out which
enamels give the best results. The desider-
alta are firstly that the expansion of the
enamels shall be about the same as that
Of the metals employed and, secondly
that the enamel shan be about the same as
that of the metals employed, and, secondly
that the enamel shall not be very brittle
Mr.. Sag}io's researches on highly expan-
sive enamels, contained in his paper to the
Societe Encouragement de pIndustrie
Rationale, are of interest in this respect
He found thai silica, kaolin, petalte, and
zircon impart to the enamel infusibility
but lessen the expansiveness; that calcic
phosphate increases the eXpansiveness
gives viscosity to the enamel i'm fusion
and imparts TO it a certain insolubilty
that cryolite. fluorspar, and, above all, ru-
tile. (Which seems to fix the boracic acid
well) increase the eXpansiveness and the
fluidity of the enamel.
Instances of natural selection in the
animal kingdom and of the survival of
the fittest are always of interest, espe-
cialy when The particular instance is not
due simply to the long results of time.
but due TO a local cause, the effect of
which can be appreciated in few years.
Such an instance was recently brought
forward by Dr. II. L. Jameson, who ex-
hibited before the geological section of
the British Association examples of
race OF protectiVely cOored mice that are
found on d sandy island in the Bay of
Dublin, known as the North Bull The
marked FREEDOM nance of sand-colored
mice, or mice distinctly lighter in color
than the ordinary variety, is considered
by DR.. Jameson as due to the action of
natural selection. A reference to old
charts shows that this island came into
existence about a century ago. so that it
is possible to fix time limit within which
this light-colored race has been evolved.
The explanation given for the survival
of this particular coored mouse is inge-
NOUS, and is a typical example of the
survival of the fittest. 1t is explained that
the hawk and owls, which frequent this
island and hunt by sight, are the only
enemies that the mice have TO compete
against. 1t is evident that the dark-color-
ed mice are the most easily seen when
viewed against the sandy ground, and
thus a weeding-out process of the darker
colored mice has been going on for some
hundred years.
The Belgian government is following
out a scheme of technical education which