Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-12-06
CHRONICLE S.
Items of Interest from Sources Far
and Near.

Items of Interest from Sources Far
and Near.
An American who visited the Paris
exposition thinks its failure to realize
expectations was due to two things.
It was not sufficiently localized and its
magnificent distances made people
weary The other trouble was disap-
pointment with what had been an
nOunced as some Of the biggest fea-
lures, like the telescope that was to
bring the image of the moon within
few miles. The visitor says the show
resolved itself into a Sunday after
noon parade.
A firm in Lyons, France, takes ad
vantage Of the shortening of cotton
dbers under nonmerceriZed treatment
by caustic potash to produce in silk
webs certain peculiar and very rich
embossed effects. The silken webs
have cotton threads at fixed distances,
which, when the chemical solution is
applied, shrink, while the silk, keeping
it's original length, is gathered in tiny
folds. In this way the most diversi-
fed patterns are produced.
Devotees of golf are fond of refer
ring to it as 'the ancient and royal
game" 1t is probably more royal
and certainly far more ancient than
most of them have any idea of. At all
events a pictured tablet was recently
unearthed at Carchemish, the old CAPT
tai Of the Hittites, Whereon are de-
picted men and women engaged in a
played at present, is something ex-
traordinaryily like it.
A new federation is in prospect. 1t
is rumored that following upon the
formation of the Austrian common
wealth the long-talked-of federation of
the British West Indies is to become
an accomplished fact. The imperial
government is credited with the inten-
ton of welding the whole of the Lee
and Windward islands into one confed-
Grafton, with Barbados as the seat
OF government.
Two of the old cannon wulL.. the
English took from the French in 1745
and threw into the harbor of Louis
bourg have been brought to Toronto.
They are among number recently
ished out of Loulsbourg habor and
ment. The cannon have been lying at
The bottom Of the sea for $50 years.
Each canon is about nine feet long and
weighs over 5000 pounds.
NewZealand seems to be prosperous.
The revenue for the year shows a
record surplus equal to more than 3d.
900, 900 over expenditure. The public
debt of the colony stands at G47,-
100000 ($228, ,0OO) and the finan-
cial statement proposes that parlia-
ment should authorize another G1,-
100000 ($4,866,000 loan to be expend-
ed chiefly in the extension Of railways.
The loan will no doubt be authorized.
News comes from Danish West
Indies that species of grasshopper,
hitherto unknown in the island, has
made it's appearance in st. CroiX and
the planters complain of the damage
done to the canes. 1t is feared it is
similar to that which made it's appear
ances some time ago in Cuba and was
supposed to have been brought over in
hay imported from the United States.
Microbe light is the latest Paris
invention. A French chemist, Raphael
Dubois, has found way Of nourish-
ing phosphorescent animalcules IL
glass vessels, which soon emit Light
about as bright as the moon. He eX-
| poets to increase it's intensity and be-
lieves that its being entirely free from
heat will give it scientific value
The number of disconnected Turks
must be enormous. Forty-eight thous
and have been exiled during the last
eleven years. To these must be added
| those who have fed and those who are
related to the exiles. During the last
| five years more than $4,83S,000 has
been spent by the sultan in trying to
persuade the fugitives to return.
| The photographers of this country
and Europe would be in sore straits