The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-28
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

than that which was erected at the Hotel
de Vile by the Inhabitants of Luneburg,
in Hanover, in honor of a pig. This,
which took the form of kind of mauso-
leum, contained a large glass case in
which was Theoretically Enclosed fine
ham cut from the animal whose MEM
ory was to be handed down to posterity
Above was handsome slab of black mar
BILE, on which, engraved in letters of gold,
was the following inscription in Latin:
"Passers-by contemplate here the mortal
remains of the pig which acquired for it,
self imperishable glory by the discovery
of the salt springs of Luneburg."
Truth" of London, says: "As the
number of Boer prisoners seems to be
causing increasing embarrassment to the
government, and as 1 see that the num-
Der is now growing at the rate of 1900
a month, l make the government pres
ent of the suggestion sent to me by a
large landowner who is one OF their
strongest supporters. He is much ex-
ercised over the famine in the agricul-
tural labor market caused by the embodi-
ment of so many militia battaions; and
he asks why, if the militiamen have to
be withdrawn for the purpose of the cam
paign, the balance should not be adjust
ed by bringing a corresponding number
of Beers over here and allowing them to
take service as agricultural laborers."
There is no danger that any one will
carry away Uncle Sans money stored in
the new Philadelphia Mint" says ]. K.
Taylor the supervising architect of the
structure. THE vaults are built on the
solid rock underlying the city. Fortunate
ly it came to the surface here and eX-
tends under the building and clear across
the street. Wa found early in our work
that there would never be any danger of
tunnelling, as the rock is so fun of springs
that the smallest opening is Immediately
flooded. The Would-be tunneller would be
drowned. The vaults are built of solid
steel, the gold vault being seven inches
in thickness, while the silver vaults are
an inch thick. 1t is not necessary to take
so great precautions with the silver, as
1t is so bulky and heavy it could never
be carried away except with drays. Even
now there are big ingots of silver lying
about the hallway just covered with tar
paulins. But we have no fear of its be-
ing stolen.''
"A Pittston, Pa, dispatch says A dis
covery which may revolutionize science
and make this city the mecca of historic
research has been made in the mines at
this city. Tonight students of physical
geography from every section of Luzerne
John Silinske, "a Polish miner, who has
in his possession a piece of coal bearing
the imprint of a human foot The lines
are distinct and there is absolutely no
doubt that it is genuine Men who have
seen the specimen say it will refute the
verdict of science that the earth during
the local age" was not inhabited John
Silinske, while employed in the Pennsyl-
vania mines, came across strange strata
of On min he i'm
print of what seemed to be a human
foot. When his work was done, in silence
he left the mines and for days spent his
idle moments reading books on the sub
ject. When approached with a price for
his discovery he refused and became
frightened and has not been seen for days.
One of the commonest errors is to
speak of moist air as heavy. You find
the error everywhere-in the newspapers,
in magazines, in books by the best writ
ers-the damp heavy air. the "heavy
moist air. is the universal phase. Ten
! persons out of twelve, old or young, will
tell you that when the smoke from Chin
neys hangs close to the ground it is be-
cause the air is damp and heavy" and
| that keeps the smoke from rising. Now,
all this is just the other way about,
| everybody ought TO know, since the
! Weather Bureau has made US so familiar
! with harometric conditions and changes.
! 1t is dry air that is heavy, and moist
air that is light; it is dry air that bears
| down on the on the mercury cup of the
! barometer, and sends the column UP in
the tube; it is damp air that bears less
heavily on the mercury, and let's the col
umn fall. A high barometer indicates
| dry air and fine weather; a low barome-
| ter ,-damp air and stormy weather. And
SO far as the smoke is concerned it lies
| close to the ground when the air is damp
! and light it does not ascend because it
is heavier than the air; on the contrary,
when the air is dry and heayy-as it is
ON fine day-the smoke ascends because
it is lighter than the air.
Water boils at a temperature of 212
degrees, but having been brought to that
| temperature, it cannot be made any hot
ter. The reason of this is not generally
understood and yet it is quite simple,
Boiling is only another name for steam
! making, the agitation and bubbling being
| caused by the escape of the steam into
| which the heat has converted the par
| tices of water. 1t is the escape of the
| steam that prevents the water from get
ting any hotter than 212 degrees, for it
| takes heat away with it, thus keeping
| the temperature from rising. The inf1u-
ence that the pressure of the air has on
| stood. Water can be heated to a tenn
! perature of 212 degrees at the ordinary
sea-level pressure-15 pounds to the
| square inch-but it cannot be made so hot
on the top of a high mountain, because
the air up there is so much lighter. This
is the point that needs explanation.
| Water can be made to boil there, but the
| atmospheric pressure on its surface is so
| light that the steam escapes before it
| reaches temperature of 212 degrees.
! The boiling point on a high mountain,
| therefore, is much lower than it is at
! the sea level. At the ordinary pressure
| of the air it takes heat of 2l2 degrees
| to force steam out of the water; al
| light pressure less heat will force it out.
1t is impossible, therefore, to boil an egg
| on a high mountain, for less heat than
| 212 degrees will not do it.
Flying fish, called by naturalists Elk
ocaetus,' is common sight to all voy-
ayers in tropical and sub-tropical seas
says the Philadelphia Record. Their us
ual length is from ten to twelve inches,
though one eighteen inches long has re-
| Gently been described. They are enabled
to execute flying leaps by means of the
great development of their forward or
pectoral fms During the flight the fins
/ are kept quietly distended, without any
motion. Their fight is rapid, greatly ex-
ceeding that of ship going ten miles an