The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-05

London as under secretary to Minister
ReVerdy Johnson, and it is reported
that he kept a diary of every days
events since that time. Because of Mr..
Herricks varied experiences this diary
would make interesting reading. There
is scarcely a prominent American who
has resided in England within the last
quarter of a century with whom Mr.
Herrick was not on terms of familiarity
and who did not address him by his
Christian name of George. He was a
cousin of Senator Mark Hanna He was
offered a government appointment last
year, but he refused 1t. 1t is said he re-
ceived yearly allowances from his
wealthy American relatives.
We have all heard of the use to
which the large firefiies of tropical
countries are put-sometimes for orna-
ment to lady's ball dress, sometimes
for more practical purpose. 1t is
said that certain specimens emit light
enough to read by and are made use
of in that way when other light is not
at hand. But professor in the Uni
Versity of Lyons has gone several steps
beyond the FREELY in obtaining animal
illumination. He has succeeded in Gull
tiVating luminous marine microbes in
liquid medium contained in small
glass vessels The nature of the liquid
is not yet made known, but the profess
sor's experiment is so far successful
that few of these queer little lamps
hung about a bust in a dark room
make it plainly visible. The light is
feeble, but is sufficient. with several
hours exposure, to make a photograph
of the bust. With another form of
lamp, filled with phosphorescent bac-
terra, he obtained enough light to read
by.
Many persons think that gutta-
percha and India rubber are substan-
TALLY the same product, but, while they
resemble each other in some respects,
they are distinctly different in others.
A writer who was formerly forester
in the Dutch East Indies has recently
called attention to these differences. So
far as the qualities of the products are
concerned the most noticeable differ
ence is that rubber is elastic, while
gutta-percha is not. Gutta-percha is
obtained from one plant only; rubber
from upward of 60 different plants.
The gutta-percha tree is cultivated
with great difficulty, and the natives of
the countries where it grows cut it
down to get it's sap. Three-fourths of
this product come from Sumatra and
Borneo The total annual production
is only about one-twentieth of that of
rubber, which is estimated at about
10000, 900 pounds, two thirds of it com.
ing from the Amazon valley, one-third
from Central Africa and one-twentieth
from Asia.
The death of Uncle Jacky Martin
of Effingham, at the age of 80, removes
a remarkable character, says the Kan
| sas City Journal In the very early
| days Uncle Jacky was a freighter
| across the plains, and he had many
| thrilling encounters with the redskins.
| 1t is said that the old man had one
| story that was so extended in its de-
| tails that not one had ever heard it
| from start to finish. For something like
| so years it was his favorite story, and
he could be easily started on it by the
guests at the hotel of which he was
| the proprietor. People would listen for
| a while and then go away, the crowd
| being kept constant by new arrivals,
| but no one ever stayed to hear the
| finish. Indeed, it is current in Efing-
| ham that the story never was finished,
and that as it went along it grew wider
and more amplified until it took in
| thousands of miles of territory and
| hundreds of personages with such a be-
| wildering complexity of circumstances
| that a climax would be impossible.
"A German scientist recently point
| ed out that snails were able to draw
| immense weights, and now a French
naturalist claims that there are few,
| if any, animals which have a higher
appreciation of music than snails. This
! naturalist is M. S. Jourdain, and he
| says: "Place some snails on pane of
| glass and you will find that, as they
move over it, they will make musical
sounds similar to those which a per
| son can produce by wetting his finger
and then rubbing it around a glass
tumbler. Complete airs, he points out,
have been played on tumblers in this
way" and he expresses the opinion that
! quite as good results can be obtained
| by using snails instead of fingers. 1t
| is a curious fact that at least half
| dozen scientists are now carefully
| studying snails. The reason, according
to one of them, is because these little
| animals are extraordinarily sympa-
| thetic and intelligent. Indeed, so high
| ly gifted are they supposed to be that
writer did not hesitate to ascribe to
| them a few months ago the honor of
| being "the precursors of the wireless
| telegraph system"
Through nature we learn that on
July IL the st. Petersburg Academy of
Sciences received a telegram from the
| leader of the expedition which is short
ly to bring to ST. Petersburg the man.
moth found in Siberia. The telegram,
which was dispatched from Yakutsk,
reports that the expedition arrived at
that place on June IA. 1t is proceeding
by steamer up the river, and will then
journey overland to Kolymsk, which is
5000 versts off, where it expects to ar
rive in ten weeks. The mammoth
found is unique of it's kind. It's hair,
skin and flesh are entirely preserved,
and there are remains of undigested
food in its stomach. This will certain
ly be one Of the most important dis
coveries made for many years. To be
sure remains of mammoths are not I'M
| common, but only their bones and frag-
ments of their flesh and skin have so
far been preserved In 1899 there was
found near the Lena river in Russia,
imbeded in the ice, a perfect mammoth,
but this was destroyed almost entirely
by the united attacks of the peasants,
who sold the ivory. and the dogs,
wolves and bears, which fed upon it's
flesh. The bones and a fragment of the
skin and hair were at last rescued and
| preserved.
A careful test was recentley made
in Boston to determine the comparative
heat radiation of four kinds of street
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