The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-05
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

COIuHDla river, near Portland, ore. II Is
fixed near the bank of the river, a place
being selected where the river is most
rapid. The wheel consists of three re-
ceivers. These are inclosed on three sides
by wire netting, and. the wheel re-
wolves by means of the current, each re-
ceiver is submerged beneath the water
and scoops up the salmon as they jump
up the rapids. The receiver then con-
ttnueS on It's upward journey. the salmon
meanwhile slipping down toward the axle
of the wheel, until at last, when it be-
comes perpendicular, the fish is shot into
a wooden slide. From this point il slips
into the longer wooden slide and is hurled
downward into boat. These wheels
catch thousands of fish daily.
The catfish uses his lungs as an or
gan of hearing, says the Popular Science
Monthly. The needless lung becomes a
c.osed sac filed with air, and commonly
known as the swim bladder. In the cat
fish Cas in the suckers, clubs and most
brook fshes) the air bladder is large, and
Is connected by a slender tube the re-
mains of the trachea, to the oesophagus.
Al its front it fits closely to the verte-
bral column. The anterior Vertebrae are
much enlarged. twisted together, and
through them (passes a chain of bones
which connect with the hidden cavity of
the air. The air bladder therefore as
panum and its bones assist the ear of
the higher animals An ear of this sort
can carry little range of variety In sound
1t probably gives only the impression of
jars or disturbances in the water.
Possibly the smallest letter ever sent
through the United States mails, and GER
tainly as small as any could De 70 carry
the present postage stamps, was received
b. Miss Grace Miley of Anderson Ind,
asst week from a friend Al Minden, Neb..
says the Cincinnati Characterization
So small, in fact was the tiny letter that
for fear of losing il in some corner of d
mail bag, the mail CLERKS inclosed It in a
little box, and thus it was :eccived at this
end of the line. The envelope was evident
ly home made" 1t is just the size of a
2-cent postage stamp. The front was
given over entirely 10 the address, and
there was a little fringe" hanging over
The postmaster, in cancelIlns the stamp
at Minden. had to hi it twice, and the
Anderson postmaster then added mark
indicating its arrival. The contents of The
tiny envelope We're as minute as the COW
ering. There was a sheet of paper just
four times the size of a postage STAMP
when spread out This vas covered on
each side with writing that had 10 be
figured out with a magnifyinS sjass. Sull
there were over 400 words in The tiny en-
veiope-a much larger number than found
in the ordinary friendship letter. Miss
HIey will keep the letter as souvenir.
In ancient times, before the printing
press was invented, and, in fact before
paper came into use, Sunday was the
favorte day for the disseminate ton of news
by means of wax tablets and sheets Of pap
yrus, says the London Mail. In the eX-
cavations recently made in Mesopotamia by
the expedition sent out by the University
Nf Wei
inscribed with public notices, which We're
exposed to the public on Sundays in front
of the royal palace. These, however,
were not Sunday newspapers. 1t has re-
manned for Messrs. Grenfeh and Hunt.
and other English explorers in Egypt, 10
unearth sheets of papyrus which may
well be regarded as showing what the
first Sunday newspaper looked like. Proc
lamadons of victory were issued on Sun
days. The people were likewise exhorted
on that day to pray for rain or for the
humiliation of their enemies A strange
fact is that the first Sunday newspapers
dating back to the second century of our
era not only conveyed informa ton to the
people, but were illustrated. Crude
sketches have been found on some of these
old papyri referring more or less directly
to current events. As these ancient man
uscripts through the passage of time have
acquired a faded orange tint they have
of yellow journalism"
A correspondent of the New York
Tribune writes: Riding out the other day
along one of our many beautiful country
roads, 1 CHANGED on an echo. To my in
terested surprise I found that. try as hard
and as long as I might, l could get no
echo to the sound Of the vowel ''e," al
though every other sound gave a clear and
stnct answer. l tried coaxng. 1 shout
ed at the top of my voice, zee, 1 tell
you!" SIN no response. 1t is not quite
true TO say at the top" of my voice, for
I found that a high and loud falsetic did
give back a faint reply. None of the
many friends l have named this to can
explain this negation of result-as new
to them as It was to me. A New York
friend, however, writes: THE only rea-
son l can suggest is the fact that as you
doubtless know, there are more letters e.
used in the English language than any
| others; so, perhaps, the echo has been
overworked on this particular member of
! the alphabet and has grown tired of an
swering, although 1 would not care to
have this theory published in any sc.en-
| tific paper without a more thorough in
vesigation being made. Seriously speak,
ing, however, l would think it may be due
to the same cause which prevents one
or more notes in every violin or cello
from responding as well as the other
tones commonly called a wolff, and of
this, although l have asked a great many
musicians, l have never been able TO get
any explanation" Another friend tells
me that for some reason unknown to her
her skilled fingers dislike the re" sound
at the end of syllables, and slur il over
as well as they can Perhaps the explain
alton of a little schoolgirl friend is as good
as any--that the "e" sound is what is cali
ed a "closed" sound, in contrast with the
| broad, open sounds, for example, of "a"
and 60 from which the most distinct
echoes are obtained.
There is at present. says the London
Leader, gorgeous gig in Messrs. Mes
sums Richmond boat house which Is
'wropt in mist'ry." Rumor hath it that
a sultan has ordered 1t, and whether that
be so or not, il is a fine specimen of
Thames craftsmanship. 1t is a 20-foot
gig, feet 6 inches WIDE and built of
mahogany. The canopy over the passen-
ger portion is of quite oriental splendor,
10 Of ciIlr 10 \,