The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-03
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

failed to produce pure helium. he sdld
he Ionged to find a r.ch man generous
enough to supply fumes for the expert
ments Necessary for the discovery of
pure helium. but the possible expenditure
would be great. Its discovery would en-
able the realization of Lord Kelvin's
idca that q temperature w.tain hve de-
grees of the solute zero can be reae Ell.
Professor Dewar added that he old not
know why the reaching OF the absolute
zero should be regarded as hypothetical
The current number of the New York
Medical Journal gives an account OF
new disease attacking the eyes, and In
many respects resembles pink eye"
which is epidemic in Chicago 1t is intec-
tious and is not confined to any particu-
lar part of abe city or class of people.
The explanation offered for the origin OF
the maIady is that it is due to the CLOUDS
of dust driven about the streets since the
windy season set in The streets are no
toriously dirty, and even people not at
tackled by the disease have reason 10 COM
plain OF the discomforts suffered by nav
ing their eyes filled with dirt, especially
when one considers of what this dirt Is
largely composed. These dust particles
are with reason supposed to have caused
Inflammation, which has developed the
infectious epidemic affection, concludes
this authority.
"A recent German electrical locomotive,
with which experiments have been made
since last April, seems to promise COM
plete revolution in the transportation sys-
tenn Of Germany. The tests, which were
quite successful, were made on piece OF
road offering great distractions In the
way of curves, crossings and steep grades
w. t. ,cad m
rent which is an alternating one of 12,OOO
volts This is supplied to the locomotive
by overhead wires, and is reduced 20 one
twelfth of its tension by the coTnmutator
placed on the locomotive. The greatest
practical speed of the new electrical 10
conceive is expected to reach velocity
OF 100 miles an hour. The eost of running
a locomotive with steam power is esti-
mated at 81 day, while the cost of run
ming one of the new electrical railroad
motors is only $3.50 day.
The advance of cremation in Eng
land. shown by the establishment of a
municipal furnace in the north and the
projection of a new crematorium not far
outside the four-mile radius in London,
recalls the interesting history of Japan
in the matter. Cremation followed Budd-
hism into Japan about 1900 years ago, but
it only partially superseded the Shinto
custom of disposing of the dead by in
terment. In 1873 cremation was totally
prohibited by the japanese government,
whose members seem TO have had some
confused notion as to the practice being
un-European and therefore barbarous.
Having discovered that, far from being
un-European, cremation was the goal of
European reformers in such matters, they
rescinded their prohibition before two
years had elapsed. Crema ton in Japan
is carried out in a somewhat rough and
ready manner. The cheapest process en.y
costs about $1.12 This is scarcely adapt
ed to Western requirements and is suf-
ficiently described by the title which the
foreign residents of a certain settlement
in Japan gave to the native cremation
ground among the hills-"Roast Meat val
ley"
"A Washington dispatch says: The Te-
hauntepeo Railroad, with artificial har
bors at it's termini may become an i'm
portant competitor with our Isthmian ca
nal. At beast. Sir Wheetman Pearson,
who is a large owner in this railroad,
crossing the narrowest part of the MexiT
can isthmus presents this view TO friends
in Washington, where he is now visiting.
He called on the President yesterday. He
10 ItpOItcu as saying our ilE6 Is little
more than $50 miles between the Atlantic
and the Pacific. and we shall be able
to move cargoes on it from shipside to
shipside at three dollars a ton. Our
Atlantic port is only 800 miles from New
Orleans, and our Pacific port is 1900 miles
nearer San Francisco than Panama is.
We figure that a cargo can be shipped
from New Orleans to San Francisco in
seven days less time than il would take
% pass through the proposed Isthmian
canal. While the three dollars a ton
which we shall charge is in excess of the
canal tolls, it will not make our route a
more expensive one when all things are
considered Our railroad is already in
operation, and We expect to have our har-
oors ready next year"
The Index of books at the British Mu-
scum is at last complete, after twenty
years of hard work, says the St. James
Gazette. When the printing of the great
catalogue began in 1884, the manuscript
catalogue then used contained three nil
non references to about ha.f as many
books-cross titles account ng for the di
ference between the figures. Since then
something like half million new books
have been received at the Museum, their
average yearly number being now forty
LnouSdhu. Inc preparation of the print
ed catalogue has, of course, been enor-
mously expensive. 1t was hoped at the
start to reduce the cost by issuing it to
subscribers, and for a yeary subscrip-
ton of CO los subscr Der received all the
parts published in the year. As the num-
Der OF volumes issued annually, however
rose from fifteen to thirty, while the sub
scrlption rema ned the same, the price
of each volume fell from the low sum of
is Sd to Is 4d, and the revenue from this
source has not been great. Only about
25O copies of each issue are printed, aad
only about eighty are circulated-half bf
them given away! In all there are over
six hundred volumes of the catalogue,
containing the titles of two million books.
The subject index will be the great task
of the British Museum i'm the new CEN
tury. 1t is to be commenced at once. but
will not be ready for fifteen years at
least.
According to Professor r. H. Thurs
ton, who writes of 1.-THE Steel Industry
of America" in the february Century,
Sir Henry Bessemer's invention has adj
ded more to the worlds wealth than any
other save the steam engine The follow
ing figures give an idea of the extent of
the product on of steel throughout the
world: The worlds product of Bessemer
steel in 1892 would have made a colonnade
of pillars twenty feet in diameter and 100
high, 672 in number, extending over
three miles, 1886 on each hand or a single
row over six miles. Every working dav