The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-09
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

nIontina Grasspana ModderriYa Brown
are names which have been given to ba-
bies in Cape Colony, says the London Star.
A Boer named Troske has had his son
baptized Emmanuel Kruger Steyn Triom-
phus-a combination sacred and pro-
fame"
Dutch feeling against Chamberlain,
England's colonial secretary, is being ex-
hdbited in unique fashion Many years
ago the eccentric painter Wiertz painted
a picture representing Napoleon in hell.
A Dutch artist has reproduced the pic
ture but has placed Chamberlain head
on Napo,eon's shoulders. The painting
is exhibited with success in Holland for
the benefit of a Boer fund.
The French army has taken hand in
the war against alcoholism. Although
the great military organization has not
decided upon any united action in the
matter, certain eminent generals have
given an example that may be later fol-
lowed by the supreme heads of the army.
The steps taken by these officers are in
the direction of restric ting the privileges
hitherto enjoyed by soldiers for obtaining
liquor.
Heretofore the geological history of the
earth, writes Prof. LIE Conte in Popular
Science Monthly, has been studied only in
the record of stratified rocks and their
contained fossils. But in every place there
have been land periods in which, of
course, erosion took the place of sedimen-
tation. This kind of record is very i'm
perfect, because there are no fossils. Until
recently no account was taken of these
erosion periods except a S breaks of indef
mite length in the record-as lost intervals.
But now. and mainly through the work
of American biologists, Interpretation of
these erosion periods has fairly commenc-
ed, and SO important has this new depart
ure in the study of geology seemed to some
that il has been hailed as a new era in
geology, connecting it more closely with ge-
ography. Heretofore former land periods
were recognized by unconformities and the
amount of time by the degree of change
in the fossils, but now the amount of time
is estimated in existing land surfa es Ly
topographic forms alone. This idea was in
troduced into geology by Maj. j. w. Pow
ell, and has been applied with success Y
William Morris Davis, w. j. McGee and
others.
The transfer of bacteria by subsurface
water has lately been tested by a number
of experiments in a clearing of the for
ests bordering the Rhine near Strasburg
In an elaborate article by Prof. E. ~Pfuhl
in the Zeitschrift fuer Hygiene, ii is sta
ed thdt two parts were used in the tests.
One was 3.3 feet deep, and in 1t the ground
water IOS6 " WllIilil dDOul 10 Ittl Vi lAlG
surface. The other was "A feet distant in
a line perpendicular to the direction of the
flow of the subsurface water. This second
pit was 40 feet deep, 3.3 feet wide and 80
feet long. Two species of bacteria, Micro
coccus prodigioSus and the ffuorescent vi
brio, which do not occur in the Rhine,
were selected for the experiments. The
cultures of these species were introduced
into the first pit, and at intervals of about
half an hour samples were taken from
the second pit and cultivated in the usual
way on gelatine or agar. plates. 1t was
found that in an hour the mcrococci and
in two hours the Vibrios had passed
through the "a feet of gravel separating
the pits. In other experiments, the mi
crococci were found to pass into the sup
ply of a tube we'll drawing its supply
through gravel from a distance of twelve
feet from the place where cultures of the
bacteria were inserted in the water near
the surface.
The influence of the Imagination is a
factor with which physicians have to
reckon very largely, and in the minor all
ments of life, at any rate, the most sue
cessful practitioner is he who possesses
the faculty of inspiring confidence in him
self to begin with, and then in the treat
ment he advises. recent number of the
Psychological Review relates an interest
ing experiment made by Mr.. Slosson with
the view of demonstrating how easily this
faculty can be called into play. In the
course of popular lecture he presented to
his audience a bottle containing distilled
water which he uncorked with elaborate
precautions, and then, watch in hand. he
asked those present to indicate the exact
moment at which the peculiar odor was
perceived by them. Within fifteen sec
onds those Immediately in front of him
held up their hands, and within forty sec
onds those in the other end of the room
declared that they distinctly perceived the
odor. There was an obstinate minority,
largely composed of men, who stouty
declared their inability to detect any odor
but Mr. Slosson believes that many more
would have given in had he not been com
PEELED to bring the experiment to a close
within a minute of opening the bottle
the odor so powerful that they hastily
Quilted the lecture room.
The deepest oil well that has yet been
sunk in this country, says the New York
Sun, is in the vicinity of the Mononga-
hela river about twenty-five miles from
Pittsburg, and is not yet completed, I'M
less work has been resumed quite recent
ly. few months ago the hole had been
drilled 10 a depth of 1882 feet, or a little
more than mile, and then work was sus-
pended on account of an accident. 1t Is
intended To SINK the well TO depth of
5000 feet. The two deepest bore holes in
the world were both sunk in Germany,
at government expense, to ascertain the
thickness of the coal measures, and also
whether other beds underlay those that
were known. With the exception of the
borings on the Monongahela and Wheel
ing and the deeper of the two wells sunk
at st. Louis, all the drilled holes that
have reached an exceptionally great depth
are in Germany Here is a list of the
deepest bore holes:
Feet.
Paruschowltz. Upper Silesia. SO
Schladebach. near Leipzig .............6 G, PCS
Monongahela (thus far sunk) .........5, 532
Wheeling, w. Na........................ 800
Sperenberg Gypsum beds near Berlin. A. $50
Lleth, near Altoona ......................4,3S 1888
Eu. near Stassfurt .....................4A1
Lubtheen In Mecklenburg ............394s
St. Louis Mo....................... S4S
Sennewitz, near Halle ..................36f4
InoWraZlaW, Posen ...........,..........362 4
Friedrichsaue. near Aschersieben ....3542
The popular belief that clipping the
hair makes IL grow faster is acc0rdino