The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-26
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

hose or the Sprinkling-pot does not
give it the life and vigor that a show
er of rain brings. The reason is that
the rain, falling from great hight.
gathers from the atmosphere various
elements that are nutritious, for in
stance, carbonic acid and heterogeneous
particles. and carries them down to
the ground.
The Bishop of Quimper. in Brittany,
has published some curious statistics
to show the necessity of giving relig-
ious instruction to Breton children in
the Cymric dialect He tells us that
cut of 30 parishes in Finistere only
five uses French as the common lam
guage while in III parishes no child
of ten knows a word of French. In
further Brittany 4S3.O0O persons are
preached to in Breton, French being
just as foreign to them as Russian,
German or English.
Business methods are largely reg
ulated by law in Germany, and there
is not the individual liberty in such
matters as there is in this country.
For example, if a manufacturer makes
false statements of any kind about
his products, any business man may
bring suit against him, the penalty
being fine or imprisonment. Nor can
a dealer advertise removal SALE"
and then restock his store and con-
tinue business at the "old stand"
Such phrases as 1.-THE best in the
world" and superior to all others
are not allowed in advertisements, as
they are considered detractions Of
competitors.
Some curious experiences are re-
ported from Italy as to the effect of
colors on the nerves of the sick and
insane, says an exchange. In the hos
pital for the insane at Alessandria
special rooms are arranged with red
or blue glass in the windows, and also
red or blue paint on the walls. A vio-
lent patient is suddenly brought into
blue room and left to the effects of
that color on his nerves. One maniac
was cured in an hour; another was at
peace in his mind after passing a day
in a room of violet The red room is
used for the commonest form of de-
lancholia-usually accom-
panied by a refusal to take food. Aft
er three hours in the red room pa
tient affected in this way began to be
cheerful and ask for food.
Dignity, pomp and etiquette are
particularly strong points with Edward
VII, says a London correspondent of
the Boston Herald, and woe betide any
light-minded subject who overlooks the
smallest detail of dress or department
IN the royal presence-that is woe be-
tide all such subjects save one. The
exception is Jack, a stray Irish ter
rier, who strolled into Marlborough
House not long ago, adopted the King
without leave or ceremony, took charge
of his majesty forthwith, and has
helped to run the empire ever since.
1t can be said without exaggeration
that no one item of the business of the.
King of England gets so much atten-
ton daily as the care of Jack. His
food and exercise are personally super
vfsed by his royal comrade, and the
general question of his health and con-
dust are matter of personal concern
to the King.
The pet monkey of German pro-
fessor, having made his escape, climbed
into a tree and tlefied all attempts to
catch him. Well knowing the initiative
habit of the animal, his master hit on
curious plan to regain his pet. He
looked at the monkey through an opera
glass, pointing the small end at him
for some time, and then he retired to
a short distance, leaving the opera
glass on the ground. The initiative
monkey descended from the tree, and,
a
similar manner, at his master who
seemed to the deluded ape to be half a
mile distant. The monkey, still looking
through the same end of the opera
glass, supposed his master was several
hundred yards distant, when the latter
reaching out secured the chain and
led the victim of an optical illusion
back to his cage.
Platinum to-days, says the Detroit
Free Press, is worth over 80 an ounce.
and the demand for it is steadily in
creasing. In the manufacture of GER
tain scientific instruments and appa-
ratus 1t, is indispensable. and chemists
would find great difficulty in getting
along without vessels of the metal
Whlch endure an extraordinary high
temperature without melting. An inch
OF platinum wire is required for each
lncandescent electric lamp. to lead to
the carbon thread. and X-ray ma
chlnes also utilize the substance. GER
tain salts of which have been diseov
cred to be an important aid to the
photographer Platinum was first dis
covered in South America. and was
brought to Europe in 1875. Nearly 100
years elapsed before it was found in
the Trails, whence more than four
fifths of the worlds supply of the met
al is now obtained. The deposits occur
in gravels which through centuries
have been washed down from the
mountains.
THAT is my diamond incubator"
said the jeweler, as he pointed to a
glass jar that was set on a high shelf
according to the Philadelphia Record.
We hatch out diamonds there-real
diamonds, pure diamonds the kind that
will cut glass and scratch steel. He
laid on the counter piece of black vel
vet wherein sparkled and flashed like
dewdrops a handful of beautiful but
tiny brilliants, handful of perfect dia-
| monds, each no bigger than the head
OF a pin. III tell you how you can
make these things yourself" said the
| Jeweler You put in jar an equal
| weight of carbon sulphide and of phos-
phorus, being sure that both of these
substances are as pure as possible.
Fill the jar then with water. The wa
ter will float on top of the Jar and
will prevent the sulphide from turning
to vapor and catching fire. Place the
| jar in quiet place, and leave it alone
for six months. During that space of
| time the sulphur of the sulphides will
combine and release the carbon, which
will fall to the bottom of the lar and
crystalline into. perfect diamonds. Fol-
low these directions and you, like me.
can conduct diamond farm upon your
mantelpiece."
New lines of industry are constant
ly springing up suggested by all sorts