The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-28
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

d. canary breeder of the name of Bou-
rez is going to raise red canaries by
feeding the parent birds on cayenne
pepper. He has succeeded so far in rails
ing birds of an orange-red tint. French
poachers are making big hauls of par
tridges and other game birds by using
automobiles with nets and a bright
light. They run the automobile at a
swift pace along the public roads. and
the birds, attracted by the light fly in
to the nets. There seems to be no vi
olation of existing game laws in the
practice.
"A Philadelphia man suggests that
trees planted in public squares and on
streets should be of the nut bearing
variety. He believes that a sense of
honor would be cultivated in boys, even
in the worst neighborhood, If it were
explained that the nuts belonged to
them. and that they would only dam
age their own property If they inter-
fered with them before the proper
time. Then, when the nuts were ripe.
they would be taken from the trees
under the direction of the city forestry
department and a new festival day be
inaugurated, marking their distribu-
ton.
One difficulty that our soldiers in
South Africa had to contend with, says
the London News, is not realized by
the folk at home, who sent pounds of
tobacco and cigarettes by the million,
only too often to lie untasted and I'M
smoked for want of serviceable matches
to ignite them with. Imported matches
were next to useless during certain sea-
sons of the year, and cry went up
for something that would light Mr..
Atkins pipe or cigarette. 1T remained
for an individual unconnected with
the war office to move that august de-
partment to give trial to the old flint
and steel After much trial and trou-
BILE suitable steel was selected, and
the languishing flint industry of Bran
don, in Norfolk, received an immense
flip by very extensive orders which
We're there placed for fiints. These
We're artificially Clipped to the
proper shape, at the munificent rate
of shillings a thousand, and exported
in tons to South Africa.
"A dispatch from Princeton, N. j.,
says: DR.. A. e. Ortmann, curator of
paleontology of the University, has
made a discovery which is expected to
prove that two, instead of five, origi-
nal continents existed. His discovery
will confirm the theories of Ibering and
Hedley. DR.. Ortmann noted that one
family of the fresh water crayfish is
found in one part of the world, while
a second family occurs in a different
part. The peculiar distribution, he says,
tends to prove that the continents on
which the crayfish are found must have
originally been connected, forming one
main continent, and that the places
where the fish do not occur must have
formed the other. DR.. Ortmann says
the apparent division of the two con-
tinents in the Western Hemisphere
would be made in Brazil, about on a
line parallel with the Amazon river and
that in the Eastern Hemisphere would
be made in Africa. near the Tropic Of
Capricorn, passing through Madagas-
car Island. He holds that the extremi
ties of South America, Australia and
Africa were once united.
1t is doubtful if the liveliest stage
kicker of them all can kick more Wig
orously than Miss Emma Veale, daugh-
ter of Charles NJ. Veale, superinten-
dent of the agricultural department at
the New Jersey Training School. Vine
land, says the New York Times. The
school is located in the outskirts of the
town. Miss Veale went to the postof-
flee the other evening about dusk for
her fathers mail. On her way home
she saw a carriage containing two
men standing at the side of the road.
When she came up one of the men ask
ed her the way to MillVille. Miss
Veale gave him the information and
turned away, when the man seized and
tried to drag her with the carriage,
saying he would kill her if she made
an cutlery. The girl, who is athletic,
fought vigorously, scratching the fell
lows face and kicking him with all her
strength. He had his hand over her
mouth but was forced to let go. where
upon Miss Veale made good use of a
healthy pair of lungs. This frightened
the would-be abductors, who whipped
up their horses and disappeared. As
her assailant sprang into the carriage
Miss Veale gave him one final swIpe
with her foot. So vigorous was this
parting effort that she kicked the heel
off her shoe.
What may properly be called the
eccentricities of plant life was early
made the subject of careful study by
the elder Darwin. His son, Francis. is
now an enthusiastic investigator in
that field. He devoted an evening lee
ture during the recent meeting of the
British Association for the Advance
ment of Science to presentation of
the movements of plants. A series of
how the movements # the stem and
root are normally controlled by the
growing tip in all cases and how the
directions of both portions of the plant
are kept vertical in spite of disturbing
causes. 1t was also shown that when
the growing tip of the stem was blind
ed by covering it with sheath of tin
foil, the guiding influence of light is
abolished. The tip of the stem, or root
acts as a sense organ, directing the
growth at the zone of elongation, which
is seated further back and corresponds
to the motile organ of an animal. A
previous address had expressed the
view that the laws of nature could not
be interfered with by living matter
The neo-vital school would. in the
main, agree with this view. Their as
sertion is that to describe completely
the phenomena of life the notions of
chemistry and physics are necessary.
but not sufficient. Mr.. Darwin empha-
sized this view by demanding that the
phenomena of plant movement should
be regarded as psychological; and by
describing them in terms of memory
and even of consciousness.
"A Frenchman has devised a plan
for keeping the st. Lawrence river open
to navigation all winter. He is w.
Nordin head Of timber firm in Paris,
and is said to have mastered the Diff
cultieS attending the winter navigation
OF the Baltic. He spent last winter
and spring In Quebec studying the va
riouS and varying currents of the river