The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1900-06-21
THURsDAY..~..,""JUNE 81. 1900.
FACTS IN A FEW LINES.

Scandlnavians are numerous In New
Zealand and Germans In South Austria
LA.
The British and Foreign Bible socie-
~ recently celebrated its ninety-sixth
birthday.
There are 344 cities and towns In
New York state which have a public
water supply.
Regina, the headquarters Of Canada's
northwestern provinces mounted po-
lice is a typical prairie city.
The Americans in the Klondike have
exactly the same rights and privileges
and pay the same taxes as Canadians.
The report Of the Ontario department
Of immigration for 1899 shows that
k015 steerage passengers settled in
Ontario.
The income tax in India is levied on
I'll incomes Of f83 and upward, and
then only one man in 700 comes within
its scope.
The number Of persons In Berlin
whose income exceeds $225 year and
who must therefore pay an income tax
Is $4,000.
Waiter girls In Munich restaurants
seldom receive any pay from their EN-
bloyers. Their fees amount to from 80
bents to So a day.
About $50 women servants are en-
gagged by Emperor William to look aft
er the % royal palaces and castles that
belong to the crown.
Westralia Is the only Australasian
colony that pays neither the members
Of the legislative council nor those Of
the legislative assembly.
"Gnat fever is the new scientific
name for malaria, since 1t has been
shown that It is through mosquitoes
that the disease is conveyed TO human
beings
One Of the companies Of Canadians
which took part In the final attack on
CronJe was wholly composed of French
Canadians who were unable to speak
English.
The total capacity Of the boiling
down, chilling. freezing and meat pre-
serving works In New South Wales is
estimated at 100000 head Of sheep
and cattle.
The principal rivers and streams Of
Tasmania have been stocked with the
fry Of English salmon. brown trout,
salmon trout and Loeb Leven trout
bred In the colony.
The Ferris wheel was composed Of
R.200 tons Of iron and steel and con
tained thousands Of separate pieces
While on the Midway 1t carried 1850
600 people and made about SS25, 1000
gross receipts.
The Berlin Tageblatt remarks that
while many laborlng men were without
work in Germany last year this was
not owing to an absence Of demand,
but to the insufficient supply Of raw
material and coal.
Saturday sessions of congress are al
most always such dull affairs that
many members have suggested II
would be about as well If both houses
were to adjourn over each week from
Friday to Monday.
Engineers say q 100 foot wide canal
~ to 10 feet deep between Lake Supe-
rior and Grand Forks, n. D., is an engi-
neering possibility. The scheme is a
grand one, and the agricultural north
west wants 1t carried through.
In the Eve years from 1894 to 1898
India produced nearly 100000 tons Of
salt or about 100000 tons every year.
This is obtained by evaporating the
brines Of lakes and wells and the sea
as well as from rock salt mines.
An electric railway to be 400 miles
long and to cost $14,OOO,OO0 is to be
constructed, with the appreciation Of
the government to the extent of $6,O0O,-
900, connecting the states Of Tabasco,
Yucatan, Chiapas and Campeche, Mex
leo.
For preserving timber from decay an
Australian has patented a new treat
ment consisting Of immersing the tim
Der In a solution of arsenous acid and
an alkali until thoroughly impregnated,
after which a coating of sulphate of
copper is applied.
The Americans introduced the first
sewing machines into China after great
difficulties and taught the Chinese their
use, and today In the fourishing cities
Of Shanghai, HongkoDg and even in
Picking the tailoring establishments are
benefited by them.
German army authorities are now
experimenting on a cotton stuff as q
material for balloons. 1t is treated
with rubber before being used. The
fabric is said to have great strength
and Is better than silk, which is apt to |
generate electricity.
An odd cycling freak is to trim a
piece Of brown paper to fit the lens Of f!
the lamp and In 1t to cut eyes, nose and
mouth. The effect is certainly star
Ting. 1t resembles at a short distance
the deaths head that rustic youths |
carve from turnips and light up with a
candle fixed inside.
The enlarged portrait swindler, who |
has found so large and fruitful field |
IN this country, has reached Paris.
The concierges Of apartment houses in
the VendGne quarter have been work
ed to the extent Of 2 francs each for
frames to enlarged photographs, which
are never delivered.
It is perhaps not generally known
that In the United States, on the banks
Of Yogo creek, Montana, an extensive
mine Is In operation producing as fine
sapphires and rubies as are found In
the world. Sapphires and rubies are
both varieties Of the mineral corun-
dun. Burma and Siam were formerly
the only localities for these gems. |