The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-23
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

in the world has lately been discovered
in Trans Caspia, Russia. The geologi-
cal formation is very similar to that
in which he Sicilian deposits occur.
1t is only in recent years that sulphur
has been found in Russia.
"A rare phenomenon attended an
earthquake that visited a little town
IN Mexico recently. Having wrecked
several houses in the town the tremor
passed on to a lake in the neighbor-
hood the waters of which it put into
violent agitation. The agitation ceased
after few minutes, and then the wa
ter gradually disappeared, leaving the
bottom of the lake exposed, when it
vas seen that the earthquake had
| opened tissure in the bottom, and
thus drained it.
The operation of trepanning the
skull consists in removing a circular
piece of bone by means of special in
strument. The operation is undertaken
for the relief of fractures of the era
MUM, and also in cases in which brain
| tumorS require to be removed In an
| cient skulls, brought from very wide
tracts of the earth's surface, evidence
| that the trepanning process was resort
| ed to is plainly apparent. In certain
| savage or semi civilized races to-day
| the practice is also carried out for the
| treatment of fracture, but in ancient
| times the operation appears to have
| had distinct connection with religious
rites. In New ireland trepanning is
performed for the cure of certain forms
| of insanity and also for the relief of
| headache. In a recent communication
| to the Anthropological Institute the
Rev. ]. A. Crump stated that in some
cases certain subjects had been operat-
ed on no fewer than five times.
Every school boy is familiar with
| the story of the cave constructed by
Dionysius. tyrant of Syracuse, as a
| prison, which was ingeniously shaped
like the human ear so that even the
| whispers of his prisoners might be
| heard. A traveller who visited the cave
| tells a wonderful story of some expert
ments in acoustics that he made there
For example, standing at the entrance,
he struck the edge of a sheet of letter
| paper lightly with his finger three
| times, when there came from within
the great ear three heavy blows, as
loud and resonant as though they had
| been made with a sledge-hammer on
| the roof of house of iron. He then
ratified the sheet of paper lightly, and
| that the feeble sound was increased a
millionfold, reverberating through the
| cave like the roar and crash of thun-
| der. When he spoke or whistled every
| note was repeated as if a thousand
stentors were inside and calling to him.
We have our echo caves, our echo val
leys and our echo mountains, but there
is no structure, natural or artificial,
| of modern times that has such acoustic
| properties as Dionysius' ear.
Incidents of a trifing character
| INF ha IF
successful inventors. says Success. E.
| ]. ManVille was a Woodworking ma
chinist, living in Waterbury, Conn,
| when, one day, he heard a woman com
planning because she had pricked her
| finger with a pin. A pin that would
not prick fingers, he thought, sWould
have a ready sale. A week later he
had worked out the safety pin, and
within five years his invention had
made him rich. Carlos French, anoth-
| er Connecticut mechanic, in the course
of railway journey, noticed the jar
| ring and jolting of the car, and fell to
thinking how they could be overcome.
The problem kept him awake nights
for some two years, but in the end he
solved it so successfully that his car
spring is now used on all the rail-
roads of the land. George WeSting-
house was led, in a somewhat SINH
lar manner. to invent the air brake
He was the son of a manufacturer and
possessed a marked mechanical bent.
Once he was in a railroad collision, the
result of a brakes failure to do its
work. He Immediately started to de-
wise brake that would operate more
quickly and with greater certainty
than the ones then in use, and, like
Carlos French, he was completely sue
cessful in his efforts. His air brake
brought him great wealth, and for
thirty years he has constantly added
to his fortune by inventing new de-
wees OF his own, and buying those of
other inventors. The result, in life
saving, has been simply enormous.
Now at last we shall have a legal
decision as to what constitutes a
square meal" says the New York
Times. A Coney Island hotel proprie-
tor refused to serve a party because
as he held, the order was not as large
as the number of persons required that
il should be. The guest, who had or
dered among other things a steak and
a Spanish mackerel for his party OF
three adults and four children, has car
ried his case into court. He means to
ind out whether he or a hotel keeper
is to be the 'arbiter of appetite for him
self and his family. 1t is nice point
ana should be cunningly argued. For
instance, how far will the testimony
of the children go? Will they declare
under oath that they desired steak and
Spanish mackerel, or will they say that
If their appetites had been consulted
the menu would have consisted chief
ly of cake and pie and ice cream
Again, is ii not the province of the
parent to decide what is best for his
minor children to eat in order that
good digestion may wait on appetite
even If a hotel waiter will not? Al
any rate, something ought to be done
about this matter and that right quick
ly, or there is going to be endless trou-
BILE in the quick lunch resorts AS
for the Coney Island hotel landlord
he no doubt will rest his case on time
honored precedent, the foundation case
in these matters, celebrated in rhyme
He surely cherishes in his soul the re-
frain of that ancient song which said
THE waiter roared ii through the
hall:
We don't give bread with one fish
ball."
; Prof. Berthelot reports in a recent
number of the Complies Rendus. says
Science, that on the metallic box from
Egypt, covered with inscriptions, he
found a portion of one of the charac-