The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

lucky, credit for the invention of which
has generally been given to Admiral Samp-
son. were really devised by Lieut.. Joseph
Strauss, a young Virginian. whose knowl-
edge OF ordnance matters generally is admit
ted TO equal that of any officer of the ser
vice. He was an ensign when the kedr-
sarge and Kentucky We're being considered
and was then on duty in the ordnance bu-
reau. He developed while at Annapolis a
decided turn toward ordnance, and mis- in
ventions are now among the most valua-
bic in use by the navy.
When Deweys arrival was announced
in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning some
body had the city hail bell tolled seven
teen times. Great sadness was created by
the sound" says the Record. None under
stood that the bell was ringing a salute
to Dewey. The people mistook the melan-
choly tol.ing for the announcement of
some irreparable national calamity-the
death of Mckinley, the capture of OTIS,
the sinking of the Olympia, or something
like that. In the stock exchange all BUSH
ness was suspended while the brokers lis
tened in huddied groups, with awestricken,
anxioues eyes, to the long drawn out
no.Gs."
"A Nauvoo man, who knows whereof he
speaks, says the Nauvco Rustler: IF you
want to know what kind of weather we
are going TO have just watch the birds.
When they stop singing suddenly ID is
time to seek shelter, for there is going TO
be a thunder shower. If all the birds be-
gin 10 pick their feathers, wash them
selves and fly to their nests, look out for
rain. Parrots ana canaries dress their
feathers, and are restless and wakeful in
the night before a storm. If the peacock
cries when he goes to roost there will he
rain before morning. Robins will perch on
az
when a storm is coming on
During cold weather most of the birds
about the farm feed extensively upon seed,
and gorge themselves until their sEomachs
and outlets become distended, / is not a
all uncommon for a crow bfackbird 10 ca
from thirty to fifty seeds of smartwood or
bind weed, or field sparrow 100 seeds of
crab grass a single meal relates the
st. Louis Globe Democrat. In the stomach
of a Tree sparrow have been found 40
seeds of pigeon grass, While a snowflake
from Shrewsbury, Mass, which had been
breakfasting in garden in February, had
picked up 1000 seeds of pigweed. The birds
most actively engaged in consuming weed
seed are sparrows finches. horned larks.
birds, cowbirds meadowlarks. doves
and quail.
About twenty members of the Water
town Historical Society visited the Cam
bridge cemetery recently and inspected
pear tree planted ESQ years ago by Simon
Stone. who evnigrated from England to
New England in 1885, says the Boston
Transcript. The tree is said to be a mate
10 the famous ESdicott pear tree in Salem,
Mass. The party was accompanied by the
superin tendent of the cemetery, Mr..
Childs, who explained what he knew con-
corning the trees history. The tree trunk
Iov
filled with cement to protect it from the
weather. 1t has several healthy branches
which bear about a bushel of very large
pears. Each member of the party was
presented with a pear, and several were
cut and pieces distributed The tree trunk
is large, being three feet in diameter six
feet from the ground.
Some very interesting experiments
with the Roentgen rays on several of the
mummies at the British Museum, says the
Birmingham Post, have been most success
full in showing as clearly as possible the
bones which for numbers of centuries have
remained hidden in the folds of their COW
ering. The X-rays were applied by one
of Sir w. Crooke's assistants at the in
stance of DR.. J. Anderson, who is engaged
in a great work on the zoology of Egypt
and wished to ascertain whether it was
possible to determine the species of the sa-
cred animals of the ancient Egyptians by
means of their anatomy. In this he has
been successful in several cases, and nota-
bly, in the mummies of the sacred balloons.
The skulls and bones of the animals are
clearly indicated in the spiagraph, and one
photograph shows a little monkey which
has been identified as belonging to a sDe-
cies found in Northeastern Africa. Rep
resentatives of this species occur on the
monuments of ancient Egypt This par
wa Nv II
ers Petrie, at Deuderah, and it probably
dates from the fourteenth century before
the Christian era.
A great many pleasant memories of
yacht racing will be revived next season
when the famous old cutter Arrow is seen
again under canvas, says the London
Times. The Arrow. which was one of the
boats defeated, by the celebrated schooner
America in 1851, in the race around the
Isle of Wight for the cup which has since
become so historical, is probably the most
expensive boat ever built, for it is be-
lieved that since her launch, something
about 1923, she must have cost something
like $56000O. Hardly a plank of the orig
inal remains. so often has she been re-de-
signed and rebuilt by her owner Mr.. Tan
kerVille Chamberlayne, NJ. P, who is re-
ported to have bought her from dealer
for few pounds. At one time in her ca
reer the Arrow was so successful that Mr.
Chamberleyne was requested by other
owners not to enter her at regattas. In
the race against the America the Arrow
would probably have won had she not
gone aground in Sandown bay, and she
afterward decisively defeated the New
World crack in 1852 in The match for the
Queens cup at the Royal Yacht Squadron
regatta at Cowes. The Arrow, which was
raced so recently as 1878, has been lying
IN in Mr. Ua.,l l.
berlayne's private yard, at Southampton
and il is more than probable that her own
er viii fit her out for cruising again next
summer.
No play may be publicly performed in
England until it has been passed upon aud
agreed to by the stage censor, says the
Chicago News. A certificate must be Sc
cured from the Lord Chamberlain, who is
an official not to be confused with The
Hereditary Great Chamberlain of England.
He has nothing to do with the oraa. oe