The Savannah morning news., 1901-04-17
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

One of the most elusive Photographic
objects has been the aurora borealis-ln
fact, until recent years all attempts TO
photograph 1t have been uniformly unsnc-
cessful, even with rapid plates and long
exposure. Success, however, has been
finally attained by Herr o. Baschin, in
journey which he made to Lapiand 10
study the ghetto elements. The cam
era which he used was intended for Pho
tographing luminous night clouds. 1t mad
a focal length of q centimetres and an
aperture OF ceutimetres. The plates
used were 9x12 centimetres, and were
stained with erythrosine. The first eX-
posures were of three minutes duration,
but this time was afterward lessened to
seven seconds. The resulting photo
graphs form beautiful objects, the dra-
perry arrangement characteristic of the
aurora being peculiarly plain.
Mr.. H. H. Vreeland, the New York
railway magnate recently delivered an
address to young men, and spoke very
emphatically on the question of personal
manner and outward appearance. IF you
ere looking for a job and have one in
sight" said he, land have but S24 in the
world, spend $50 for new suit of clothes,
$3.5 for a pair of shoes, 50 cents for a
hair cut and shave. Then walk where that
J
day following the delivery of this adj
dress, says the New York Commercial
Advertiser, a spruce looking young man
walked into Mr.. Vreeland's Office. please
give this card to the president" he said.
Mr.. Vreeland looked at the card when
it reached him, and read the following
message: 81 have paid $40 for this suit OF
clothes, So. so for a pair of shoes and 80
cents for a hair cut and shave. l have
walked from Harlem. 1 would like a jon
as conductor on your railroad" He got it.
The well-known fact that sugar is
heat producing was proved recently in
an interesting manner by a captain in
the British Medical Service. The Indian
Medical Gazette relates that this captain
had noticed that the bodily temperature
OF the Goorkha Sepoy is below that of
the generality of mankind. This Is a sur.
prising thing, for the bodily temperature
in a state of health is one of the most
constant of physiological phenomena. The
medical officer argued that the lower
temperature of the Goorkha must be due
to lack of proper heat producers in his
food or to defective assimilation. So he
took six healthy Goorkhas of a native
regiment, noted their temperature for
eleven days. during which it remained at
@1 Fahrenheit, and then for eleven days
administered to each of them six ounces
OF sugar day. During this period the
temperature of the Goorkhas rose to 9.4.
ana for eleven days after the administra-
ton of the sugar their temperature fell
only tWo-tenths of a degree, at the end
of the treatment being a tenth of a de-
gree above their normal temperature.
II believe" says an insurance man
quoted in the Philadelphia Record, chat
insurance against being buried alive
would pay. 1t is surprising how many
people have dread that suspended ami
nation may be mistaken for death.
know woman who has actually made
her husband promise that if he survives
her he will stick hatpin through her
heart before she is buried, to make sure
that no spark of life remains. In GER
tain parts of Europe they have what are
known as mOrtuary houses, where the
dead are taken and subjected to various
tests to make sure that death is abso-
lutely certain. 1 believe there is bill
providing for a somewhat similar course
now before the Massachusetts Legisla-
ture. If such a mortuary Building is es-
tablfshed multitudes of people would
gladly pay, say, 800. to be insured in a
company that would guarantee to make
the necessary tests before burial or ere
nation" But suppose the alleged corpse
should come to life under the treatment
asked a listener. I'm that case" said the
man who had previously spoken, lit
ought to be worth something to the COM
pany.
odd effects in jewelry are the fad just
now, says the New York Sun, and it is
noticeable that the taste of the women
who set the styles run to the irregular
pearls, called baroque, whose price is out
! of all proportion to their irregularity.
DeDutantes and young matrons are the
chief uphoders of the pearl fad, as the
pearls give touch of elegance to simple
costumes. One Of the favorite combina-
tons is made of two rows of seed pearls
with pendant jewels hung around at in
tervals and a large baroque pearl pen
dant from the center. The other Jewels
are often cut topazes, amethysts, moon
stones and sapphires, and the whole give
brilliant effect. Besides irregular pearls
there is a craze among the women who
can afford such luxuries for uncut gems,
particularly of turquoses, in both buck
les, waist brooches, cuff buttons and UNI
brella handles. Rough turquoises are set
in rough gold, and the stone is frequently
inscribed with hieroglyphics in gold.
They gave a barbaric touch to a costume,
the erect OF winch Is enhanced by the
peculiar hue of the stone in contrast
with the gold setting. 1t will be a dainty
picture Of herself which the debutante of
1901 can show to her children ten years
hence.
Certain work. remarkable in its results
and important in its bearings, has recently
been presented. in a note by NJ. Henri
Coupin to the Academic des Sciences. The
note deals with the sensibility of the
! higher plants to very small quantities of
toxic substances in a state of extreme di-
| luton, and the remarkable character of
| the work lies in the almost infinitesimal
| quantity of such substances needed 10
cause serious disturbances in the health OF
| the plant organism. The most deadly sub
| stance discovered by VI. Coupin was sui
| phate of copper. of which only one seven
| hundred mllionth of its weight in water
was sufficient to react upon plants disas-
| trously. Bichloride of mercury came nexl
| in toxic effect, aud was about twenty
| times less poisonous than suaphate of cop
| per. one part of chloride of cadmium In
ten million parts of water. and one part
| of nitrate of silver in one million parts
were found also deadly to plants. The
| foregoing amounts, poisonous as they are
| 90 plants, are altogether too small to be
| detected by chemical analysis; and the re.
search raises the important question as tc
| whether or not the character Of the vege.
| tation OF a country Is largely Influenced
! by minute quantities of such substances
! contained in the soil. The whole research