The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-07-24
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Montreal has Chinese butlers.
Ireland contains 100000 houses.
England boasts motor milk vans.
Germany makes Scotch whiskey.
| Holyoke plumbers demand SO a day.
oklahoma has a 500O-arce wheat
| farm.
Scotland has American printing
| presses.
Queen Margherita has $4,000 hand
| kerchief.
The receipts OF the Suez Canal in 1898
| were $i7,5Sl. 200.
European railroads have smoking
| cars for women.
Tn France there is one saloon for
! every 80 adults.
1t is estimated that one crow will
destroy 100000 insec every year.
There Is only one sudden death
among women TO eight among men.
Yields OF 80 bushels an acre are ccin-
mon in some Rush county und) wheat
fields.
1T IS believed that in China there
is 20 times as much coal as In all
Europe.
New talor-made costumes OF all
silk are being introduced by Paris
dress makers.
Among the coachmen OF Berlin are
seven retired army officers, three pas
tors and sixteen mobiles.
over quarter of million OF people
have already per.shed in consequence
Of the famine in Russia.
The telegraphic and telephone lines
OF the world aggregate 2,O29,Ss3 miles.
The miles OF wire S.254.04.
In ST. Petersburg is the largest
bronze statue in existence-that Of Pc
ter the Great. which weighs 1000 tons.
Several towns near Boston are TO
have steam power omnibuses soon, 10
run i'm streets where there are no cars
at present.
A successful firm OF tea merchants
i'm London is composed entirely of wo-
men, The blenders. tasters and pack
ers are also women.
The smallest salary paid TO the head
Of civilized government is Go year
10 the president OF the Republic of An
dora, I'm the PyreAees.
There are parts of Spain where the
hat is unknown except in pictures. The
men, when they need a covering, tie up
their heads. and the women use flowers.
new dog has appeared i'm England.
Too high-bred and too rare to become
common, IL Is called the butterfly or
''papillon,' and weighs less than three
pounds.
English naval engineers have light
ened the machinery in their third-class
cruisers by $50 tons Their torpedo boat
destroyer makes 400 revolutions per
minute.
England, France and Germany have
regular travelling statesmen who visit
Mexican trade centers every three
months. and they get the cream of the
business.
The largest mass Of pure rock salt in
the world lies under the province OF
Galicia. Hungary. IL is known TO be
$40 miles long, 20 broad, $50 feet in
thickness.
Consul Macrum pretoria Transvaal
Republic). writes that the average ex-
ports of gold from the ports of South
Africa amount now 10 about $2,092, 595
each week
Famine is general i'm no less than
seven provinces of Russia and the
number of peasants bordering on star
vation is variously estimated at from
FIVE TO twenty million.
Los Angeles draws it's electricity from
a turbulent mountain river 80 miles
away The 1900 horsepower runs
street cars and machinerv and sup
plies the city with light and heat.
The sales Of local Java petroleum for
1898 were l,476, ,412is cases. This was
the best year known for this trade, and
evidently one OF the causes of the de-
crease in importation OF foreign oils.
The demand for coal cars. box cars
and gondolas is beyond precedent. The
orders range from 100 to 1000 cars, and
the larger plants are now unable and
unwilling To make new engagements.
Electric road construction is proceed
ing steadily northward from Chicago
and southwark from Milwaukee. and
IT is intended to make a complete line
between the two cities as soon as pos
sible.
Ii is a curious fact that the Queen
should have an equal number Of grand
children and great -grandchfldren-3
of each--which. together with her seven
children. makes the number of her de-
scendants n.
At present there are only twenty
three cities i'm the United states and
Canada in which carpenters work ten
hours per day. One hundred and FIVE
have the elght-hour rule, and 42i work
nine hoursN day.
Parallel lines can bs drawn on a
blackboard by a Massachusetts mans
device. comprising "A handled block.
with number of fingers pivoted 20 IL,
having sockets at the ends for the re-
cept,on OF crayons. the fingers being
adjusted TO make the lines of the desir-
ed width.
An improved trunk hinge Is placed at
the end. instead OF at the rear of the
lid. being formed OF triangular piece
OF metal. with the front edge slotted TO
receive the head OF a pin inserted in
the trunk. while the upper edge Is fixed
on the lid. and a pivot pin NJ the rear
acts as the hinge.
An Alabama woman has designed
dress guard for bicycles which viii pre-
vent the skirt from catching between
the rear brace OF the frame and the
wheel. consisting OF two vertical wings
attached TO the frame 20 extend out ON
either side and keep the dress from
Inlfflipr tho kyhpa1