The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-01-10
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

IGNentl@ OlSCONCICu liNb SCiiiPiCSs OAA'N
in Doric style. the largest one being SO
feet in length and IS feet in width,
and supported by 20 magnificent COL
umns-
John Higgins, a brakeman who had
both legs cut off in an accident near
Emporia, Kan, last September, has
made a curious settlement with the
railway company. He is to be taught
telegraphy at the company's expense
and is to have employment for life.
He is also to be provided with artificial
les. -
C. Trouve of Paris, has invented
an apparatus by means of which dry
objects, such as rice grains, glass and
celluloid balls, ETC., are thrown sew
eral feet high into the air and stimuli
taneously lighted by various colors of
electric light. Instead of water COM
pressed air is used. The effect attained
is said to be wonderful.
The two famous travellers Lortet
and Gaillard recently delivered an ad-
dress on the above subject before the
French Academy of Science. They had
collected over 1000 mummies of birds
in Egypt, most of which were vultures,
eagles, falcons, sparrow-hawks Sand
ibis. In conclusion the explorers stated
that the fauna of ancient Egypt did
not differ much from that of the mod
ern Land of the Nile.
According to Prof. McKendrick, of
the British association, the smallest
particle of matter that can be seen
with our present microscopes is about
1870 900 of an inch in diameter. The
attraction of light in the microscope.
he says, prevents us from seeing
smaller objects. And yet the living
spores studied by Psychologists are
sometimes, probably, even smaller than
the most perfect microscope can snow.
Two beautifully painted glass win
dows have been placed in the south
wall of the royal pew at Whippingham
Church, Isle of Wight, in memory of
the late Prince Alfred. Duke of Sake
Coburg- Gotha. One is representative
of ST. Elizabeth of Hungary and the
other gives the figure of the angel OF
the apocalypse, with an anchor be-
low. An inscription says: Erected
by Victoria. r. l., in memory of her
dearly beloved son, Alfred Ernest Al
bert, Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha,
Duke of Edinburgh"
Man could not live in a birdless
world. A French naturalist asserts
that if all the birds in the world were
to die suddenly, human life on this
planet would become extinct in nine
years. In spite of all the sprays and
poisons which could be manufactured
to kill off destructive slugs and in
sects they would so multiply that in
that length of time they would have
eaten up all the orchards and crops
in existence, and man would be starved
to death. All that man does in the
way of preserving to our use the
kindly fruits of the earth is as moth
ing compared with what is accom-
plished by the vast army of birds which
prey upon insect life and thus keep
it down to a point which permits of
the growth of sufficient food to sup
port human life. Take away the birds
and in nine years not a man, woman
or child would be alive-all dead of
starvation.
The last volume of the Photographic
Durchmusterung of the Berlin observ-
atory shows that the S. d. NJ. maps
contain asa, 1884 stars from the south
pole to ~ degrees south declination.
For each star is given its approximate
position and it's Photographic magni-
tude. 1t is the opinion of Prof. Kap-
teyn, who reduced all the observations,
that there is a real and progressive
change of color in stars as the milky
way is approached, such as to make
the stars photographically brighter
Chat is, bluer to the eye) at the rate
of about one one-hundredth of a mag
nitude for each degree of galactic lat
itude. The measurements of brightness
can be interpreted in this way. 1t is
however, pprt n n ftat he
| between visual and Photographic bril-
liancies near the milky way are not
due to the errors of the visual estima-
tons OF magnitude, which would be less
exact where the stars are more
crowded.
A missionary stationed at Lake
as follows to the st. Petersburg Jour-
nall The heathendom is still very ex-
tensive here. A few days ago an old
woman was cut to pieces in spite of
my energetic protests. According to
the stories of the natives the woman
had come some time ago to their dis
tr:ct and had asked foE a cocoanut
When this was refused she had rested
against big tree. which at once dried
up. A week later she met a little boy
and asked him for a drink of water
The boy gave it, but afterward drank
of the same vessel. He died seven
days later, and it was now clear that
the woman was a witch She was
conducted before the chief of the tribe
and forced to put her hand into boiling
rosin. In case the hand remained un-
injured she would have been declared
innocent, but the hand naturally was
burnt up, whereupon the poor woman
was literally cut to pieces.
The following details regarding the
making of a new Pope are quoted from
Mrs. Belloc-Lowndes' paper in Lippin-
colts Magazine: Let us pass the
Jeaiously guarded barriers and place
ourselves in the vast Pauline Chapel.
where, morning and evening, the Car
dnals come TO vote until the Pontiff
is chosen by the necessary two-thrds
majority. See, there are the three
presidents of the ballot, cardinal
bishop. a cardinal-priest. and a cardi-
nal-deacon. At the altar is a cardinal.
making oath that he will cast his vote
without intrigue or favor of man, but
on his conscience for the greatest glory
of God and the best welfare of the
church. Rising from his knees. he
passes to the center of the chapel and
there before the three presidents he
places his vote in g. chalice and so do
all the other cardinals present in turn
Each ballot-paper bears in a felgned
hand the name of the cardinal for
whom the vote is cast, while on one
corner is written the name of the voter.
The latter is carefully folded over and
mn 10 10 st.lNIs 4