Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1901-07-25
Some Strange Things Worth Knowing

! statement Is ABSURD. lney claim luat
it may occasionally fly FIVE or six miles,
but as a usual rule bees must find
their supplies within two miles or so
of home, otherwise they will die.
The figure of fish was well-known
emblem among the early Christians,
and the name was often used as
countersign, when secret meetings
were held. 1t has been found en-
graved on seals and tombs, and small
ornaments in the form OF fishes were
worn about the neck. The symbol
was chosen because the Greek word
for fishes is made up of the first letters
of Greek words which mean, Jesus
Christ, of God the Son, the Savior.
Spiders are met with in the forests
of Java whose webs are so strong that
it requires a knife to cut through them,
we are told. A spider weighing four
pounds, which has taken up her resi-
dence in a cathedral at Munich, re-
gales herself with a large supply Of
lamp oil. A Texas spider weaves a
balloon four feet long and two feet
wide, which she fastens to tree by a
single thread, then marches on board
with her half-dozen little ones, cuts
the thread, and away goes the alr-ship
to some distant point on the prairie.
Hundreds of thousands of nests are
built every year in trees and hedges.
What becomes of all these homes af'
ter the birds have fitted from them at
summers end ? asks Cassels Little
Folks" Most of them are lined with
sleeps wool, with feathers, and other
materials that bind them together
Now it happens that beetles and moths
and other insects devour these things,
and by thus destroying them loosen
the nests so much that wind and rain
soon scatter the rest of the materials.
But for this timely help the trees
would be clogged up with a mass Of
old nests, the leaves could not sprout,
and many trees would perish.
There is in the interior OF Brazil,
according to Forward" an Indian
tribe which has a highly ingenious tel
ephone. Every savage knows that by
placing his ear to the ground he can
hear sounds long distance away, for
vibrations of sound travel through the
ground. But these Indians have util-
lied their knowledge in fashion wor-
thy of the civilized paleface. Pits are
dug in the floor of two neighboring
huts a mile or less apart, and filled
with chips Of wood, India rubber, and
other sonorous or elastic materials.
They are then covered with rubber
membrane, and on speaking to one pit
the words can be heard at the other
pit.
There are seventy-one recorded eggs
of the great aux, now extinct bird.
Twenty-nine of these are in museums
and forty-two belong to private own
ers. The largest that has ever been
placed on sale was sold last summer in
London for an amount of money which
in our currency would be nearly ff-
teen hundred dollars. 1t was four
and -fOurths inches long and very
rough, being heavily blotched on top.
A peculiar circular yellow mark
around the top attracted attention,
but it is not known whether this mark
is natural. The first bid was FIVE
hundred dollars, and many bidders
were anxious for it. It was secured
by the Edinburgh Castle Museum,
Regents Park.
The mechanism Of the leg and foot
Of chicken or other bird that roosts
on limb is a marvel of design. 1t
often seems strange that bird will
sit on a roost and sleep all night with
out falling off, but the explanation is
perfectly simple. The tendon Of the
leg Of bird that roosts is so arranged
that when the leg is bent at the knee
the claws are bound to contract, and
thus hold with a sort Of death grip
the limb round which they are placed.
Put chickens feet on your wrist,
and then make the bird cit down, and
you will have a practical illustra-
tion on your skin that you will re-
member for some time. By this sin
gular arrangement, seen only in such
birds as roost, they will rest comfort
ably and never think Of holding on,
for it is impossible for them to let go
till they stand up.
There are lot Of little arithmetical
problems with a simple "catch" to
them floating round :he country.
Here is one:
A banker found a ten-dollar bill.