The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-07-29

Potatoes that grow too near the
surface of the ground, and are, there
fore exposed to the rays of the sun
become green in color. Sometimes
only a small green spot, other times
the green may cover most of the po-
tato. Such potatoes are harmful.
The idea that cherry stones. grape
seeds and the like are the cause of ap-
pendicitis does not seem to be borne
out by experience. They are some
times found in the vermiform appen-
dix, but there is no good reason for be.
lieving that they really cause appen-
dicitis.
-Chicago's seven dog catchers will
henceforth receive SIS a month. The
chief of police says: "They have beer
so efficient in capturing dogs and get
ting bitten on the calves, thereby prov
ing that there was no hydrophobia
that I think them entitled to more
than $50 a month"
Frau Charlotte Wechssler, of Stutt-
CART, attained her Tooth birthday or
June 8. She has been a widow for six
ty-four years. The mayors of Stuff
CART and Ulm personally congratulated
her on her centenary, and the King OF
Wurtemberg sent her magnihcently-
bound Bible, through her grandson
Maj. Fabre du Four.
OF all the land over which our
starry flag floats there is none more
utterly desert, lonely, desolate and for
bidding than the borax regions of Ne
vada and California, says Mines and
Minerals. In the summer months the
heat is intense and unbearable, with
very little water, grass, or fuel to sup
ply the wants of man and beast; IN
winter high winds carry clouds or dust
across these deserts, and at times the
cold is as bitter as summers heat is
unbearable. The favorable regions for
its existence, in paying quantities, oc-
cur most generally, where old, dry
lakes are found, situated in VOLCANIC
regions A strange feature about boz
rax is that regions producing 1T have
in no case as yet been exhausted, the
mineral in the old lake regions con-
tinuing to send up borax from below
as an alkaloid, and where worked this
year it may be worked again the year
following. Especially if there be any
precipitation of snow or rain at any
time of the year, the waters Will pene-
trate the soil and produce chemical
action that brings the boraX, in either
a powdered or chrystalized state, to
the surface.
Our navy consists Of 100 vessels
and Al vessels under construction, &C
cording to figures collected by Capt.
Sigsbee The existing fleet consists OF
10 first-class battleships, 1889 tons;
10 other battleships and coast-defense
ironclads, Al, 0O2 tons; armored cruis-
ers, H. AIS tons; first-class protected
cruisers of Ia, $50 tons displacement; IL
second-class protected cruisers, 41,lDO
tons; % unprotected and partially pro-
tected cruisers of Pill tons; gun
boats, 4020 tons; Il torpedo-boat de-
stroyers, $3.50 tons; % first-class tor
pedo boats, 1913 tons; second-class
torpedo boats 2S5 tons, and l subma-
rine boat of Is tons displacement. The
vessels building are flrst-class battle
ships, aggregating 200 tons; 2 other
battleships and coast-defense vessels
of 6,428 TONS armored cruisers, ILL.,
500 tons; first-class protected cruis-
ers of 2S8O0 tons; 6 second-class pro-
tected cruisers, 1860 tons; destroy
ers, 1920 tons; 3 first-class torpedo
boats of LIS tons. and submarines
of $40 tons. We are building no un-
pTOl6ClSQ llO GuiAOOdbS cAAN ~
second-class torpedo boats.
If the tails of comets consist of
actual matter what law is il that
causes them to shun the sun? This
has been one of the puzzles of astrono-
my but it appears now to be solved,
says the Pathfinder Light exerts pres
sure. This was theoretically proposed
by Maxwell, and it was demonstrated
only year or two ago. While the
sun attracts all matter by gravitation,
therefore the light of the sun tends
at the same time to repel such matter
by pushing against it. In the case OF
a comet the head of the comet is dense
enough so that the suns attraction of
gravitation exceeds the repulsion of
it's light and that part of the comet
is drawn toward the sun; whereas the
tail of the comet, being far more diff
fuse, is driven away from the sun be-
cause the repulsion of it's light and that
part of the comet is drawn toward the
sun; whereas the tail of the comet, be-
ing far more diffuse, is driven away
from the sun because the repulsion of
the suns light exceeds it's power of
gravitation when applied to very fine
ly divided particles of matter. The
reason for this apparent paradox is
that gravitation attracts in proportion
to the mass of the cometary matters,
while light acts on the whole surface
of the particles.
Prof. Shaler of Harvard University
is of the opinion that plants are pos
sessed of intelligence that serves the
purpose of self-protection and self
qualification to a very considerable
degree. Recently after discussing the
automata observed in growing things,
he said: 1--WE may accept the state
ment that our higher intelligence is
but the illuminated summit of mans
nature as true, and extend it by the
observation that intelligence is nor
maliy unconscious, and appears as
conscious only after infancy, in our
waking hours, and not always then
In summing up the professor uses the
following sentences: Looking toward
the organic world in the manner above
suggested, seeing that an unprecedented
view of life affords no warrant for
the notion that automata anywhere
exist, tracing as we may down to the
lowest grade of the animal series
what is fair evidence of actions which
we have to believe to be guided by
some form of intelligence, seeing that
there is reason to conclude that plants
are derived from the same primitive
stock as animals, we are in no con-
dition to say that intelligence cannot
exist among them. In fact, all that
we can discern supports the view that