The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-15
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

| coming the focus or an enormous syS-
tenn of rural trolleys. This system is
destined to furnish wonderfully IN
creased facilities for reaching the city
from a territory radiating out nearly
100 miles from it. Many of the lines
are laid with heavy rails and ballasted,
which permits them to use heavier and
more comfortable cars and make much
better time than has ordinarily been
undertaken on most trolley lines. Be
! ing constructed in this manner they
are able to take over many of the
functions ordinarily performed by the
steam roads, such as carrying the
mails, newspapers and freight.
in an interesting paper read before
the railway section at the Interna-
| tional Engineering Congress at Glas-
gov, on the proposed tunnel between
Scotland and Ireland Mr.. James Bar
ton, member of the council Inst. G. E.,
referring to the water question, gave
his reasons for believing that water
in the strata is not likely to be a very
| serious difficulty. In the first place,
| in the case of both the Severn and
| Mersey tunnels no large water leakage
was encountered under the sea, the
great Severn leak being fresh water
and quarter of a mile from the sea.
| This view is confirmed in the case of a
| tunnel driven for some distance under
! the river Forth, giving good ground
| for believing that the sea bed under the
Irish channel, which is generally COW
cred by a Shiny ooze, has throughout
ages during which it has been undis-
turbed gradually sealed all interstics
| so that excavation sufficiently low may
be expected to be fairly dry.
Salt has not always been thing
held in high favor. The faddists who
| think their own petty little ideas are
| to reform the world long ago declared
| salt to be the enemy of life. Salt, it
was said, causes disease in men, dogs,
sheep and cattle, and indeed every be-
| ing that partakes of it. A terrible in
dictment Of a habit which, of all 9TH
ers, is assuredly one of the most nat
ural to man and his neighbor animals
| -that OF salt eating. Even insanity,
| which DR.. Clouston attributes largely
| to alcoholic abuses, some say, is caused
| by salt. Maledictions such as are di-
| rected against salt have been passed
| on starch as a food by faddist vegeta-
| rlans, who consequently take to nuts
as an article of dietary and endeavor
| to comfort themselves in a fashion that
few sensible men are ready to imi-
tate. We see the same style of denun-
| Citations applied to tobacco, to tea, to
| coffee, and, in fact, to most things that
| the average man, not given to excess
In anything, finds wholesome enough.
Charles M. Hobbs, inspector of the
! electrical department of the Baltimore
| and Ohio Railroad, gives an account
| or the strange behavior of flexible
bonds used on the Belt Line of the
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Balti-
more says the Baltimore Sun. The
bonds were covered by the angle bars
at the rail joints, there being sufficient
clearance to prevent crowding the
bond. Under the severe conditions of
| service the metal of the bond at a
! very large number of the joints
! squeezed out over the top of the angle
| bar and below the head of the rail
! The metal is forced out in Irregular
sheets about .005 inch and over in
thickness. In some cases these rib
| bons are or 10 inches long, and in
others four or five strips are forced
out The metal ribbons are formed
on both sides of the rail and occur
mostly on tracks of the heaviest train
! service, although the same action has
| taken place on the other tracks No
explanation Is offered of this peculiar
action.
The most wonderful snowstorms of
all that may be seen every winter in
the Adirondacks are those that pre-
vail when the sky is cloudless, says
Scribner. OF these there are several
| varieties. Every week or two we
would see what looked like a fog form
about the distant hills, and then come
drifting across the creek valley. Doubt
less it was real snow laden cloud
l that had been drifting along until il
struck our level Q,o00 feet above the
seal in the Adirondacks, when the
| conditions became favorable for the
Ie.,1 -. 81
| these clouds fill the air with flakes that
were driven along almost horizontally
by strong gale, although the tops of
our old hemlocks and spruces rose in
to the clear air and unobstructed sun
light above the highest level of the
snow producing air stratum. We even
saw the snow so thick in the air about
us that the trunks of trees six feet
| above the earth were not visible, al
though the tree tops could be seen, and
| the sun shone down through the shall
low storm with strength enough to
cast distinct shadows. We have stood
on quiet sunlic hilltop and looked
down into valley less than 100 feet
below us, where snowstorm was
raging with violence, and the temper
allure was frigid.
In Gen. F. c. Latrobes varied and
extensive mail during the past year,
says the Baltimore Sun, there have
been hundreds of letters begging him
to send the writer's some of his re-
nowned silken strings for the cure of
lumbago. While Gen. Latrobe was at
tending the sessions of the last Legis-
lature, and was incidentally nursing
a severe case of lumbago S. w. Petit
son met him one day and suggested
that IL he would simply tie silk
string about his waist next to the skin
he would be cured. The general ex-
perienced an unusually severe Ninge
that night, and in desperation. ordered
his man servant, Robert, to tie on the
string. From that time the lumbago,
began to depart until the next day,
when it entirely disappeared. Gen.
Latrobe was enabled to stay in An
napolis. The story of his cure becom-
ing noised abroad. letters began COM
ing in by the score, until finally, in
order to find time to attend to any
other business, Gen. Latrobe, whom
referred all letters to his man Robert.
whom he thereupon gave the name OF
DIR. Wilson. Since that time "Dr."
Wilson snecialist in lunbagO has