The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-03-13
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

A remarkable statement mas just Deen
telegraphed from Kiel that DR.. e. Won
Oppolzer has discovered a variation in
brightness of the newly discovered planet
Eros. This variation, it seems, amounts
to about one magnitude, and the change
takes place in a few hours. DR.. Won
Oppolzer requests telescopists TO verify
his observation, and from the strange
character of the observation, it apparent
ly needs it; for a variable planet is
rather an anomaly.
The Revue dArtillerie gives a long no.
tice of Joseph Cugnot, for whom it claims
the invention of automobile locomotion.
He was born at Viod, in Lorraine in 1725,
and gave his attention chiefly to military
matters. In ITO he constructed a steam
automobile for artillery transport. 1t was
tried in the presence of the Duke de Choi-
seul and others and was, on teh whole,
satisfactory. Another vehicle was finish
ed in I'LL, but was not used, owing to the
change of ministry. Gen. Bonaparte ex-
amined it in 1893 and communicated no.
tice of it to the institute, but his interest
went no further at the time. After Bon
aparte's return from Egypt a pension of
1000 francs was granted by him to the in
ventor, who died in 1904
There is a lively mayoralty campaign
going on in Topeka, Kan. The rival can
didates are Col. Hughes and Col. War
ner and, although they are both noted for
their goodness and religious zeal, the
friends of each say that their candidate
has the better record in this respect. The
supporters of Col. Hughes the other day
put forth the statement that he had not
once missed a weekly prayer meeting in
the last eighteen years and they conclud-
ed by asking: "Can Col. Warner say as
much?" at is true" retorted Col. War
ner "that during eighteen years I have
been absent from prayer meeting twice,
but what are the facts? I can prove that
1 had malaria, and could not leave my
bed Nothing but severe illness would
have kept me from weekly prayer meet
ing, and Col Hughes knows it." This
explanation evidently impressed the pub
lie, and the Warnerites followed it up by
declaring that during the last eighteen
years Col. Warner had entertained preach
ers at his house thirty times, including
the Bishop on two occasions. In addition,
he had entertained ninety-two delegates
to Sunday-school conventions, whereas
Col Hughes has always been backward
in doing his duty in this respect, saying
that his house was too small, whereas
it is generally known that his house is
larger than that of Col. Warner.
The history of the bicycle reads like
a fairy tale Ten thousand years hence
the plainest statement of the facts of its
origin, development, uses it serves, and
the place it occupies in our civilization
will be regarded by the scholars of that
time as we of to-day regard Plato's story
of Atlantis or the fable of Deucalion.
That men and women could sit balanced
on a wheel of WIRE braced and corded
like a spiders circular miracle which it
fashions in the witching hours of night,
and on it sitting, outrun the horse, out
speed the dog and go flying down wooded
lanes with the flight of a bird, will be
reckoned as a myth that haunts the i'm
agination and laughs at the guessing of
the wise. What, for improbability can
equal this strange and weird creation Of
mans inventiveness. Or what so elusive
ly mock human belief when once it has
passed into oblivion and losing ell record
as fact, has become merely a vague
tradition? And if amid the ruins of some
old library a fragment of manuscript
should be discovered which told how it
was used by rich and poor alike, how it
was adopted into armies, added to the
splendor Of great public pageants. obliter-
ated castles so that princes and peasants
rode side by side in public parks, con-
llAOutAlS 10 pDDuidI health happiness
beyond any other single invention of the
world. what wonder and establishment
that old-time, long-buried document would
cause among the then existing peoples on
the earth.-Leslie's Weekly
An article in Nature of Jan. 10. 1901
treats this interesting topic at some
length and point cut that while zoolo-
lists deserve our gratitude for their stud
les during the century, they have not eff
fectively interfered to prevent the disap-
pearance of certain species. India has the
best record In this respect, for during the
past century not a single species of mann
NAL, bird or reptile has been extermi-
mated, although the Indian lion has be-
come extremely rare. The Persian lion is.
however still abundant. In 1915 the last
living aphanapteriX, or flighuess rail was
seen at Mauriiius, and the last dodo was
seen alive in 1851. The great northern sea
COW was only discovered on the islands
OF Boring Sea in 1741. and yet il had en-
TREY disappeared by about 1867. The great
tortoise OF Reunion disappeared there be-
fore the nineteenth century began. Rut
the disappearance of the great aux can
be laid to the century just closed. II be-
came extinct on the American side OF the
Atlantic about lS40 and I'm Europe about
lSi4 The South African quagga dlsap-
peared about 1878 owing TO the Slaughter
by hide-hunters. The thin-shelled tortoise
Of the Galapagos Islands became extinct
In all probability about 1915 The black
emeu Of South Australia was also EXTERN
mated during the century. though Il was
abundant Ia 1895. The great cormoraut
Pallas cormoranD was last seen alive
about 1870. and many other species OF
birds, from all parts Of the world. have
likewise been eXierminated In the Dam
len West India islands. for example. out
OF fourteen species cntaloguod ln 1925 only
~ stu exist ANA similar history can
be told of many other IoraIfffa.