The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-01-29
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

SlOHdl RECORD. WINE ueDdIlHS tne
Nicaragua canal bill he spoke of
waiting the sailing vessels that de-
sired to cross the continent" A roar
of laughter greeted the remark, to be
renewed when some one suggested that
"the gentleman from Iowa had prairie
schooners in mind"
-Naturalists say that New Zealand
is the land of freakish animals and
birds. The kea. big parrot, is one
of these. It's special delight in the
way of food is the kidney of sheep.
and 1t gets it In a manner that recalls
the harpies of old. 1t boldly lights on
n Sleeps back and digs down into it's
body with its big beak until 1t reaches
the kidneys. What the naturalists do
not understand is how the kea develop
ed this peculiar taste and how it knows
where the kidneys lie, for it digs down
directly to them. 1t was not very long
ago that sheep were introduced into
New Zealand, and before that the kea
had to live on berries and insects. 1t
is probable that some accident led it to
the discovery of the kidneys, perhaps in
a dead sheep.
The phenomenon of phosphores-
cent light at the masthead is one so
rarely witnessed by other than super
stitious sailors that it is seldom one
finds an intelligent account of it, says
the Youths Companion. The following,
by the Rev. DR.. Mason, of Berma, is,
therefore, of interest: ION one occasion
L was with others on board a small
schooner at anchor off Tavoy Point,
when severe squall of wind and rain,
accompanied by much thunder and
lightning, came on. After the storm
began to abate we were aroused by a
cry on deck: There is a ball of fire
at the n1aSthead' We went up and
saw, what is very rarely seen, the
fire of st. Elmo or the fire of St.
Elmo and st. Anne 1t exhibited an
appearance quite different from all the
descriptions l have read. Phipson says:
Lord Napier observed the fire of st.
Elmo in the Mediterranean during a
fearful thunderstorm. AS he was re-
firing to rest a cry from those aloft.
st Elmo and st. Anne!' induced him
to go on deck. The masthead was
completely enveloped in blaze of pale
phosphoric light The st. Elmo that
saw did not envelop the masthead
in a. blaze at ALL but it took the form
of a perfect globe of phosphoric light,
perhaps a foot in diameter. 1t was
not on the summit of the mast, but
touched it on one side, playing about
it, when the vessel rolled, as a large
soap-bubble, trifle lighter than the
air. After remaining some ten minutes
the light grew fainter, and finally died
out like a soap-bubble."
You often hear people who go down
to the sea in ships talk about waves
mountain high" but such waves exist
in the imagination only, for the pur-
pose of adjoining a tale, says the Lon
hn Iop
an elevation thirty-eight feet high, you
wouldn't call it much of a mountain;
yet If it is very seldom that an ocean
wave reaches that hight. A scientist
of an inquiring turn of mind has re-
Gently been measuring waves, and has
given an interesting report on their
proportions. He didn't measure with
his Imagination or his sensations when
being violently rocked in the cradle of
the deep while on a wave-washed deck;
but he used unimaginative. unimpres-
sible, matter of fact Instruments that
recorded impressions only in metres
and hundredths of metres. In the
Southern Indian Ocean, between the
Cape of Good Hope and the Island of
st. Paul, he measured thirty waves,
during a violent northwest gale, and
they averaged 1858 feet in hight The
largest of them were 1858 feet high. OF
these latter six followed each other
with remarkable regularity. In the
open ocean a quite strong wind caused
waves 1874 feet high. East of the
Cape of Good Hope, during strong west
winds, which blew with great regular
ity for four days, the hight of the
waves only increased from 1859 to 229
feet. Such waves as there latter are
very rare on the usual transatlantic
route, and persons who tell tales about
the great seas should be moderate in
their estimates of hight.
Statistics issued by the Ministry Of
Commerce and Industry show that
last year 100000 francs worth of
toys were exported from France, says
a Paris letter In that total is, how
ever, comprised a very considerable
| number manufactured in foreign coun-
tries and re-exported such, for in
stance, as German toys shipped from
Marseilles to the Indies. The expor-
tation of purely French toys is esti-
mated at about 20,00O,O00 francs, and
the total production of French toys at
from 100000 to 55,00O,000 francs. The
production of toys in Germany is SUI
perior to that of France by about H.
900, 600 francs but the growth of the
French industry has been rapid and
uninterrupted. In 1860 the Chamber
production of toys in France at only
3,534,990 francs. In 1887 it had reach
ed 1O,500,0 600 francs, and in 1873 $4,000,
900 francs. Since then the production
has been tripled. Nevertheless the
French export but few of their toys
directly. The organization for their
sale abroad, and even in the French
colonies, is so defective that il is often
English merchants who buy in France
the toys which are shipped by them
to such French colonies as Tonduin
and Madagascar, and sold by the En-
glish dealers there. The French toy
makers are, moreover. handicapped by
the customs dues, whereas the Ger
man toys pay only 60 francs per ton
on entering France. The French toys,
on entering foreign countries, with
the exception OF England, are taxed
so francs, 100 francs, and even. as
much as 300 francs per ton.
The first entry for the airship con-
test at the Louisiana Purchase Expo
sition has been received. The inventor
who announces his intention to compete
for the prize of 100000 offered by the
exposition is Gustave Whitehead of s41
Pine street Bridgeport, Conn. Mr.
Whitehead has been at work along
practical lines, building one machine
AFTER another, preserving the good
points of each and discarding those
that have been found undesirable. This
is the process by which all valuable
machines and devices have been
brought to present-day perfection. Mr..
Whitehead has met with an encourag-
ing success In his efforts He