The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1898-01-20

According TO IN llSSOn, tHe ZOOlO-
gist. the weight of the Greenland
whale is one hundred tons, or 224,-
600, pounds, or equal to that
of eighty-eight elephants or 44O
bears.
4 great many people still be-
lieve that the jackal is a sort Of
mascot for the lion, guiding the
royal beast to his prey. The con-
trarv, however, is the truth; the
iackal depends for subsistence al
most entirely on the remnants of
the lions feast.
The oldest field game on the
American continent is Lacrosse.
1t was first played by the Indians
and was considered a nonsensical
barbarism but the sporting pro-
clivities Of our forefathers reduced
the game to science.
The cucumber is one of the veg
etables named in early Bible his
tory, though some claim that mel
ons were really meant. AS to the
melon. the date of it's first cultiva-
ton is lost in antiquity, but Pliny
records its use and, as he died
A. d. 70, it probably is as old as
the cucumber.
In Germany Christmas trees
have been known ever since the
introduction Of Christianity Be-
fore that time the dressing of a
tree with candles and presents
was a feature of the midwinter
Druidical festival, so that, in fact,
the Christmas tree dates back to
an era before the dawn of written
history.
a remarkable experiment which
may mean a great deal in the linn
tied garden space of Europe
has been successfully tested at
Troyes. Tomato plants grated
upon potato stalks just above the
ground have been proved to do
better than on their own roots,
while the potatoes underneath
were certainly unimpaired, if not
actually better.
Last year DIR. Abbott of Phila-
delphia published some researches
which tended to show that mi
crobes which could not accom-
plish the death Of healthy animals
proved fatal to animals under the
influence of alcohol A French in
vestigator has gone step further,
and has succeeded in demonstrate
ing on irrefrayable evidence that
alcohol not only destroys what we
may call natural immunity, but
tends to prevent the acquisition
Of the immunity conferred by the
various Serums.
ltis proposed to construct the
matches OH ships so that pressure
from below will fix them firmly in
their seats. This implies that
they shall be alright Then as
long as a ship with a hole in her
does not capsize, the confined air
III her will give her a chance at
least of floating. At present
matches are put in from above, and
are designed to exclude deck water.
not TO retain air. An air-tight
hold would make it possible to
force water out down to the level
Of leak by pumping in air.
1t Is interesting to others than
statisticians to know that the hairs
of our head are numbered. Ger
tain scientific men have labori-
ously calculated the number of
hairs on a square inch Of heads of
different colors. and by estimating
the total area covered have arrived
at aggregate numbers. which may
be taken as fairly correct. To show
the well-intentioned accuracy of
these calculations, a head of hair
consists of $4,000 hairs. Dark
hair is coarser. and only totals
100000: while those who boast a
poll of red must be content with
total of 29,200. 1t is estimated
that the hairs on a fair head
would support five hundred people
Surnames We're introduced into
England by the Normans, and
were adopted by the nobility about
100. The old Normans used Fitz
which signifies son, as Fitzherbert
The Irish used O for grandson