Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1899-09-07
FACTS IN A FEW LINES.

! A proposal Is on FOOT 10 STOCK the
river Thames with salmon.
For more than five years there has
! been a scarcity of rain in Arabia.
AT the present rate of increase the
/ United states will have in 1900 about
125,OO0 physicians.
1t is a popular hellef that a holly
bush planted near a dwelling protects
the house from lightning.
A Paris journal declares that pc
troleum drinkers" are becoming plenti-
full In the Baaile quarter
The government of Uruguay Is about
to expend not less than $15,O00,O0O on
harbor improvements at Montevideo.
A foul breath may be sweetened by
n simple mouth wash of crystal per-
manganate of potash in "a tumblerful
OF water
] American printing presses have APP
peared i'm Edinburgh, and the only adj
verse criticism made is that they turn
out papers faster than is necessary.
Belgium exports 100000 dressed
rabbits yearly to England They weigh
from six to eight pounds apiece, and
the rabbit crop sells for $1,170,000 on
the average
Women do the mining in Colombia
No man with any self respect can be
induced to engage in that occupation,
because in Spanish times it was the~,
work of slaves.
In Kansas, since 1859, every year
ending with the figure 8 has been a
great corn year, while every year end
ing with cipher has shown failure
of the corn crop.
Successful experiments have been
made In Paris with an automobile
watering cart, and 800 of these will be-
put in service, replacing 500 horse
power carts now in use.
The Spanish are among the most
charitable people on earth. Without a
poor tax Spanish communities Of So
/ 600 self supporters feed pauper pop
ulatlon Of 1900 or more.
Old age pensions have been establish
ed IN Korea, but are not large item in
the national expenditure. Old age pen
sions To men over go years of age swal-
low up a total of more than $3.50
A Whangarei (New ZeaIand) youth
who advertised for wife was amazed
to find among the replies letters from
two of his sisters with photos inclosed.
In this case the mania for matrimonial
alliances seems to have been quite "A
family disorder.
1t is said that an unfinished romance
of Rome in the days of the Caesars,
from the pen Of Or John Moore, the
father of the hero Of Coruna, has been
discovered In n house in London which
he occupied at one time and that 1t
may be published.
1t is curious to note that wood tar Is
prepared just as ii was in the fourth
century Il. &. \ bank is chosen and
hole dug into which the wood is plac
ed, covered with turf 4 fire is lighted
underneath and the tar slowly drips
into the barrels placed to receive it.
The city of New York is made de-
PENDANT each year in suits. claims OF
which amount To about S5,O00000 but
the sum set aside for the payment OF
Judgments actually recovered against
the city in such cases is S25o000 this
year, and a greater sum will not proba-
bly, be needed.
Thin women may gain plumpness by
carefulness as to diet and by keeping
warm. The prescription of one physi-
clan to such patients is simply eat
root vegetables and keep warm" Soft,
warm tea gowns, down touches and
chairs to lounge in should be part Of
the belongings of the woman who
wants To gain flesh.
The one thousandth anniversary OF
the death Of King Alfred the Great
will be celebrated in 1901. and the com
mittee has decided that the city OF
| Winchester should occupy prominent
position i'm the commemoration and
that n national memorial should be
erected there, which was the royal
burial place and residence of the king.
The game Of whist originated In
England 1t is believed to lave de
veloped from the older game of tri
umph, or trump, which was played as
early as 1880. In fact, in that year
sermons were preached denouncing the
game as one that tended to take the
mind off the truths of religion. In
1421 whist is first mentioned in Eng
lish literature.
In comparing the countries by the
| length of railroad compared with the
amount Of population that they serve
we find that the colony Of South Aus
tralia stands first. with 523 miles for
each 10000 people, this result, OF
course, being due to the comparative
! sparseness OF the population. In the
| United States there are % miles to
each 10000 inhabitants.
1t has been decided that the fisheries
and forestry exhibit of the United
States at the Paris exposition shall be
unitarian only. An exhibit of nat
ural fish will be avoided, but timed,
preserved and dried fish and fishing
tackle will make the department OF
| forestry and fisheries one of the most
attractive sections in the United States
division at the exposition.
There is not city in the world that
consumes 50 many frog legs as New
York. While years ago the French