The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-10
ITEMS OF INTEREST,


| some scientists out West as to whether
it be possible for a snake to move
| backward. One of them contended that
it is, for he said he had seen a rattle
snake enter it's hole tail first. The
sense of the meeting was against him,
however, the others claiming that it is
physically impossible for a snake to
move backward. A cowboy, who has
heard about the discussion, and whose
life on the plains has given him many
chance to learn the habits of rattlers,
settles the disputed point by a very
simple explanation. A rattlesnake, he
says, starts into his hole head-first,
but, being too wise to leave the rear
part of his body unmatched, he makes
half turn after going in few inches,
thus bringing his head to the entrance
again. That being down he allows the
rear of his body to glide down out of
sight.
The most expensive clock now in
existence is one owned by the Roths-
child family, says the Montreal Star. 1t
dates from the time of Louis XVI, and
cost $165,0O0. There are many other val
liable clocks, some of them very old
| and exhibiting seemingly inexplicable
features. One of these has on top a
| basin, marked like dial and filled
with water. on which oats a miniature
swan of iron. The bill of this swan in
| dicates the hour as correctly as does
| the second hand of an ordinary clock
| AS the swan floats freely in the basin
| and the basin rests loosely on the pc
destal, the clock greatly puz-
zles the uninitiated. Yet the
explanation is simple. The
basin rests on thin copper plate; I'M
derneath this plate the clockwork ro-
tates O magnet instead of an hour hand
and this magnet attracts and holds in
proper position the bill of the iron
swan. A springless clock is operated by
balls falling on the right side of an
| overshot wheel and by their weight ro-
| tating the hands. Whenever ball
| reaches the lower-most position IL
| drops through an aperture in the box
at the bottom and at the same time
| another ball drops from the box on top
on the wheel. From time to time the
balls in the lower drawer have to be
removed by hand to the upper recep-
| tacle.
According to Dr. Eydam, a German
physician, there are no more reliable
! weather prophets than telegraph wires.
! This novel discovery was made by him
| in the following manner: AS he was
waiting for a train at a country sta
| ton he heard a shrill sounds which
was made by the wind as it passed
through a network of nearby wires.
! At once the doctor remembered that he
had frequently heard a similar sound
| either Immediately before or after
storm or heavy fall of rain or snow,
and it naturally occurred to him to try
and ascertain whether there was any
connection between the sound and such
changes in the weather. AS heavy
shower of rain fell within forty-eight
hours after he had heard the sound at
the railroad station he concluded that
there was such a connection, and he
then determined to investigate the
matter thoroughly. AS a result he now
maintains, first, that any unusual dis
turbance in the telegraph wires is an
infallible indicator of bad weather and
second, that the nature of the changes
in the atmosphere may be learned from
the sound which the wind makes when
passing through the wires. Thus a deep
sound, he says, which is of considera-
BILE or medium strength indicates that
there will be slight showers of rain
with moderate winds within from 30 to
As hours. and, on the other hand,
sharp, shrill sound is the sure token
of heavy storm, which will be accom-
panied by much rain or snow.
For a number of years long wooden
fiat cars were loaded arduously by
shovel with ore, coke, coal, gravel.
broken stone or whatever loose mate
rails were to be shipped from point to
point, and unloaded arduously the same
way, says the Worlds Work. Large
capacity steel cars were introduced,
which reduced repairs and wear and
tear greatly, and made large shipments
easier to handle. Machinery came in
with derricks and lifts and travelling
cars to make loading more rapid and
economical, and now a car has been
invented which does away with the toll
some unloading. In three quarters of
an hour seven men used to be able to
unload twenty-five tone. Now a man
without manual labor can in a. few sec
onds unload twice that amount. Mere
force of gravity does the work. Ad-
Unstable steel valves or floors make II
possible to discharge on either side, on
both sides at once, on either or both
sides of the center, or on both sides
and center at the same time. In mo-
ton they will spread the load from five
to thirty feet from the track the
width of spread depending upon the
speed of the train. This Is all done
without careening or moving the body
of the car. This car is naturally adapt-
ed for ballasting. The load can be
spread in any or all of it's various ways
by one ordinary laborer, and the
spreading is regulated by the speed of
the train. The average car has a ca
pacity of $4,000 pounds. The car has
also a convertible use. Being made of
steel, II can be changed in a minute
into a well-armored car for military
operations with narrow loop holes and
well-covered defense. II has. therefore,
a double advantage for armies in the
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