The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-28
NUBs OF KNOWLEDGE.

The Prusslan army includes nearly 1900
officers, among them 206 generals.
There are only 100000 Britshcrs in In
dia-one to every 5000 of the population
The toll of an ordinary ship passing
through the Suez Canal averages about
$1,000. The distance is ninety-two miles
II is estimated that at the present
rate of growth London, which now has n
population of 5,G57,OOO. WILL in 1911, have
over 100000.
At the commencement of Berea Col
lege. in the Eastern Tennessee Noun
tans. 1900 saddle horses were picketed
on the grounds.
The machinist employs a dog on his
lathe; he takes n hog cut. II the tool will
stand 1t; the castings are made of pigs
OF iron, which in turn were fed from a
SOW.
The Salvation Army has opened several
stands in Boston for the sale of ice cold
lemonade and butteTmilk Mt one cent a
glass. over 5000 drinks are being dis
pensed daily.
Notwithstanding the fact that there
is nothing new under the sun, the United
| states patent office granted nearly 25.GO0
patents last year to people who had hit
upon a new Idea
The president of a large telephone sys-
tom has offered to pay Sl,OO0,OO0 for a
| telephone repeater which would be as efti-
Client in telephony as the telegraph re-
| pcater Is in teegraphy.
The boom in lake trafRc is unprecc-
dented. Rates are Is per cent. higher
than they were in '95 45 per cent higher
than in '96, 30 per cent higher than in '97
| and 50 per cent. higher than in 9S. There
is more business than there are boats.
| Tho Illinois Central is constructing a
| freight car yard at New orleans which
| will have 2S miles of tracks and will hold
5000 cars. The yard Is being so arranged
that cars can be distributed from the
receiving point 10 any other point by
| gravity. This will save an immense eX-
pense for switching cars in.
The game Of whist originated in Eng.
land. 1t Is believed to have developed
from the older game of triumph. oil
trump. which was played as early ms
| 1880. In fact, in that year sermons were
preached denounCing the game as one
that tended to take the mind off tho
truths Of religion. In 1921 whist is frs
mentioned in English literature.
In comparing the countries by the
length of railroad compared with Tho
amount of population that they serve
we find that the colony of South Aus
tralia stands first with 52.3 miles for eacl
due to the comparative sparseness of th'
population. In the United States are 2
miles to each 10000 inhabitants.
The law recently passed by the Con
| necticut legislature for the protection o
the trailing arbutus is said to be the frs
measure ever passed in any state of tht
Union to foster the growth of a wilC
flower. The enactment of the law II
question is said to have been largely du
to a newspaper article calling atten
ton to the need of such a measure.
Caviar, which is made from sturgeon
eggs salted in brine, is the most cost.
product of the fisheries of this country
and while largely relished by epicure5
taste for it must usually be acquired
Until recently its manufacture was mo
nopoliZed by the Russians most of 1t be
ing prepared on the Volga river and Cas-
plan sea, and at the present time abou
5000, ,O00 pounds of it are exported annu
ally from the dominions of the Car.
The Indian population of the Unite
Statse is increasing rather than decreas
ing, contrary to the popular idea. +
the census of 1880 we had 256127 Indian
enumerated. BY the census of 1880 tn
total was given as 2i3,52i, but it is elaine
to have been imperfect, as the enumera
tors failed to do their duty on scvera
reservations, and the vital statistics wer
} so incorrect as to be almost useless. !
1898 a census taken by the Indian burea
showed 262, 065 Indians of adult age.
A painting representing four barrel
stuffed with United States bills of all de
nominations. from the one dollar silve
certificate to the $1,000 treasury note, wa
seized by the Secret Service authorize
AT Boston the other day. 1t was yer
cleverly executed, and represented thre
months of diligent work on the part c
the artist. In size. colors and the small
: est details the bills were faultless faC
: SMILES of the denominations they repre-
sented. even the signatures having til
= shades and characteristics of the orig
, inals. The luckless owner had refuse
: an offer of $500 for the painting two day
; before it was coniscated.