The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-05
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

ton of Prof. Copeland's successful investi-
CATION as to the cause of distemper in
dogs. AS a result of his efforts, he has
isolated a specific micro-organism, a
small bacillus, grows readily in sll
common cpture-media at the tempera-
ture of the body and is obtained from the
exudations from the lungs, the tracheal
mucus, and the nasal secretions of dogs
suffering from the disease. cubic CEN
timeter of a horticulture OF these mi
crobes, injected beneath the skin of the
abdomen in dog weighing fifteen pounds,
induces an attack of distemper. which
terminates fatally in a week from the
date of inoculation. vaccine neces-
sary to protect dogs from the disease has
also been prepared. and is said to be
efficacious. This vaccine is obtained by
heating a horticulture of the bacillus at
a temperature of 60 degrees Cent. for thir-
ty minutes, with the subsequent addition
of a small quantity of carbolic acid. Two
cubic centimeters of this vaccine have
been found sufficient, when injected, to
ward off the disease from fox terrier pups
weighing five pounds which had been ex-
posed to infection. The length of time
vaccinated dogs remain immune has still
to be ascertained., Tests on a large scale
are at present being conducted.
While the highest official authorities
still prefer to maintain reticence as to
the relative performances of the Ameri-
can engines, says writer in Engineering
Magazine for March, it has been possible
to CLEAN a good deal elsewhere as to their
working. After collating much independ-
ent information / gather that they do
their work well and satisfactorily, eX-
cept that they burn more coal than the
British locomotives employed on similar
work. The question of repairs is still in
the future, but as to the matter of coal
consumption there is, 1 think, little doubt
that that of the American engines is
somewhat higher than that OF the British
machine. And the excess, if it really do
exist, may very probably be attributable
in large measure, if not wholly, to the
fact touched upon just now, that these
engines do not represent the matured re-
suit of American experiences as applied
to this particular type of locomotive de-
signing. l may at once say frankly that
even were the details of coal consump-
ton accessible they would not impress
or even interest me. The experience of
that memorable discussion, or rather dis
pute before the Institution of Civil Engi-
neers at the conference of 1899. constitut-
ed an amusing object lesson as to the
value of coal consumption returns even
when presented by some of the most emil
nent living mechanical engineers. The
discrepancies were so hopelessly irrecon-
cileable as to amount to absolute contra
dictions.
in The Times Of Wednesday. says the
writer of communication to that paper
there is an account of the discovery of
a papyrus containing large part of the
first chapter of the Gospel of st. Mat
thew, and stress is laid upon the fact that
it corroborates the accepted version in
the words. Joseph, thou son of David
fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy
WIFE for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost" This is in no way
remarkable when we consider that every
known early version, whether Greek or
Aramaic, contains the same passage,
while elsewhere in the New Testament
sundry personages are referred to as full
OF the Holy Ghost" The crucial words
of the chapter in question win be found
in the sixteenth verse, which in the
Aramaic of the Sinaitic palimpsest dis
covered in 1888, reads al follows: 10
seph, to whom was betrothed Mary the
Virgin, begat Jesus, who is called the
Christ" Twice, subsequently, it is stat
ed that Joseph was the father of Jesus
and there is also a significant omission
of the Greek words fKai ouk eginoslxen
auten," in verse %. Aramaic, not Greek,
was the vernacular of Palestine, and we
have the testimony of Papias and Irenaeus
| that the first Gospel was originally writ
| ten in the language of the Hebrews, the
Greek version being of doubtful author
ship. There is another Aramaic manu-
script agreeing substantially with the
Greek Goddess, but the text of the pail
impsest must have been used in a num-
Der of Syrac church between the Sec
ond and fifth centuries, and many early
Christians hos ha1i nd haa
grounds for believing, that the coming
of Christ into the world differed in no
essential respect from what is customary
with the rest of humanity. Tales of
miraculous conception were associated
with Buddha Horus, and several others
in ancient times.
One of the most common ways of bet
ting in China is with oranges, says the
London Daily Mail. This goes ON at the
fruit stalls and also in private houses. The
bet is on the number of seeds in an
orange. Sometimes it is as to whether the
number is odd or even, and at others as
to the exact number of seeds the orange
contains. If at fruit stand the dealer
will pay the lucky guesser five times his
debt; but the loser must pay the value of
the orange, and also five times as much
as he has wagered. Quail fighting is done
CH u tdbit WIN d little renee ABOUT It's
edge. The fighting quails have been
starved for some time. As they are put
into the pen few grains of rice or
wheat are laid before Them and they at
once begin to fight over them. They are
trained for the purpose, and a good fight
er is worth f2O and upward. 1t is the same
with the crickets. Their prize rings are
little bowls. The crickets have been
trained. They seem to understand their
masters word. and they are urged on
to the combat with straws. Some of them
are very fierce, and many will fight until
they die. Those which chirp the most
loudly are considered the best fighters.
The Chinese understand how to feed and
groom the crickets for the fray They
give them honey, boiled chestnuts. and
boiled rice, and certain kinds of FISH.
They do not allow any one to smoke near
them, for they think that tobacco is in
furious to them. If tho crickets grow
sick, they feed them upon MOSQUITOES
and red ants. In a cricket fight the crick-
cts are weighed before they are put into
the ring. They are matched as 10 size
and color. The betting is done just as
carefully as at an English horse race.
The stakes are held by a committee which
deducts a certain percentage for those
who own the fighting houses During
the fight the gamblers grow excited. Thew
scream and yell and hop up and down.
as one insect gets the better of the other.
and go almost mad when one wins. The
haV all.