The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-26
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

I
On the Mackenzie river, 200 miles farther
north than Sitka. Alaska. a splendid wheat
crop was grown last season.
The New York Tribune in one editor
lad column notes a decline in the sense of
humor and the next column solemnly re-
marks: 'Mr. Jansen, the French astron-
amer, is now more than 70 years old and
is not so vigorous as he was once"
New York city Is preparing to fight
| connagrations with dynamite. Under
section ISL of the city charter, the corps
of sappers and miners is now empowered
to blow UP buildings surrounding a con-
iagration when circumstances warrant it.
Fifty walnut trees In Cass county,
Michigan, were recently sold for $4,000.
These trees have now been felled and will
be shipped to English buyers The largest
tree was seven feet in diameter at its
base, and will yield lumber worth from
500 to $1,000.
of Shakespeares famous characters,
Hamlet speaks ], $50 lines, Iago / ,067, Othel-
10 $50 and Lear TO. Cyrano de Bergerac,
however, speaks more lines than any char
acter of any Importance since Hamlet.
Cyrano has 622 speeches. varying in trnas-
lations, but containing in all about $500
words.
Under the workings of a new rule Bos-
toms policemen are receiving instruction
in the law. Every week a number of legal
questions pertaining to matters which
clme under their daily observation are
propounded to them, and this system of
examination is believed to have greatly
improved the efficiency of the force.
"A Joplin CMo.) paper says a woman
preacher at that place recently stopped
in the middle of a discourse, and, picking
up Bible, said she was going to throw
it at a man who was unfathful to his
wife. AS she swung her arm forward
every man in the church but one ducked
under the seat He was a deaf mute
"A wedding was celebrated in Cloudland
few days ago, when Mrs. Alice Mott Of
New York and Mayor Smith of Fort
Steele, East Kootenai, Vancouver Brit
ish Columbia, were married on the top
of Mount Sullivan. The idea was the
| brides, who fancied she would prefer 10
be married at a distance from the earth,
where clouds would be beneath rather than
around her.
The Oldest clocks of American manu-
facture were made by Gideon Roberts of
Bristol, Conn. According to the best
| authorities, no clocks were manufactured
| in what are now the United States prior
to 1900, at which time Mr.. Roberts placed
| his timepieces on the market. His clocks
were made with the greatest care and
much time was spent in perfecting them.
They were all of the style commonly
known as half clocks.
The new year directs attention to some
of the curiositles of the calendar. A CEN
fury, for instance, cannot begin on a Sun
| day or Wednesday or a Friday. Again,
the same calendars can be used every
twenty years Ip years that are not leap
| years the year begins and ends on the
same day of the week So January be-
| gins on the same day as October, April as
July, September as December. while Feb
ruary, March and November begin on the
same day.
"A new word applied to Americans, says
the st. Louis Globe-Democrat, is "quino-
phAgists," indicating that they consume
| more quinine than any other people In the
world. The total imports exceed 1900, 100000
| grains a year, an average consumption of
| twenty grains to each inhabitant. Its price
| to importers within twenty-five years has
fallen from 81 an ounce to 16 cents. Two
| thirds of the quinlne comes from the Gin,
chona trees of Java, planted by the intel
! ligent Dutch Governors since 1852
1t is said the Hon. Walter Rothschild,
recently elected to the seat in Parliament
lett vacant by the death of his uncle, Ba-
ron Ferdinand, no longer drives his four
| INLAND team of zebras. He has taken TO
the motor car craze instead, and has made
| a present of the team to one of his cous-
ms in France, who, instead Of using these
| beautiful animals to draw either his car
| riage or his drag, has set them to work on
| his farm, to draw plows, harrows and
carts 1t Is difficult to conceive greater
come down for these beautiful and spirited
animals than their being set to do farm
| work.
The use of betting in driving machin-
cry is discussed by an expert in the Age of
| Steel. One point noted is that ma
jority of belts are too short. For this
| the architect of the mill-these fellows
| who get up blue prints-are generally to
blame. A belt fifty feet long will outlast
| by far one that is only twenty-five feet.
The slack of a belt viii enable 1t TO
withstand and recover from the shock OF
the variable load put on them The adj
ditlonal cost of mill arranged for all
the belts to be reasonably long will be re-
paid many times over in the saving in
| belts, and the Joss of valuable time coca,
stoned by short belts and especially large
ones that are used with a tightener.
breaking, is that entirely too much weight
| is put on the tightener-in the tightener
boxes. The object of a tightener is TO
prevent slipping of the belt If the tight
ener is not heavy enough to prevent this,
then large box is put on, or adjusted by
weights, to the frame. Into this box.
without any judgment whatever, hundreds
of pounds of old castings or brick are
placed to stop the belt from slipping No
mathematical calculation whatever is
used. A thousand pounds of extra weight
is often used when fifty pounds would an
swer. The result is that the belt is under
constant and severe strain night and
| day.
The secret OF casting copper, says the
Chicago Tribune, has been discovered.
Chemists ana workers in metals have been
experimenting with this problem for many
years, but complete success, it is said, has
not been attained until within the last