Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-06-22
Odd Items of Interest

| Miss Edna l.. Foley has just resigned
her place in the Boston consumptive
| hospital to become the head of the Chi
| cago tuberculosis institute. She is a
graduate of Smith college, class of 1901.
| The Chicago institute has seven dis
pensarieS in different parts Of the city
| and employs nine trained nurses to as
sist IN treating the patients. Miss Fo-
| ley will have entire charge of the dis
pensares and nurses.
F,nlistments in the Union army dur
| ing the Civil war numbered 1888, 304.
This number includes about 100000 mill
| tia and emergency men who served
| for short terms, and some of whom
We're not mustered into the United
States service. The number of indivi-
uals under arms was considerably less
| than the number of enlistments be-
| cause of repeated enistments by indi-
viduals 1t is probable that many of
| the 100000 men who served for short
| terms in 1S61-1S62 enlisted again.
A new form of arc lamp has Just
been devised, says the Scientific Amer
| lean, in which carbon disks are used
| instead of carbon rods. These disks
| are constantly rotated, and the arc
| takes place between the peripheries of
the disks. Owing to the continuous ro-
| taticn, the disks are consumed uni
| formly The lamps are small as COM
pared to the ordinary type. The size
of ten-ampere lamp is but twenty in
cnes over all. 1t is claimed Cor this
lamp that it will burn so per cent. ion
ger than the rod type.
Tea table etiquette was somewhat
complicated in the days of that ''hard-
ened and shameless tea drinller," DR..
Samuel Johnson, when many people
thought nothing of drinking ten or
twelve cups at sitting. 1t was con-
Sidered proper for the cups and SaucerS
of party of tea drinkers to be all
passed up to the hostess in one batch
when replenishment was considered
necessary and in order that each per-
son might be sure of getting back the
right cup the teaspoons were num-
bered-London Chronicle
One of the curiosities at the st. Ma
rvs (O) reservoir this season is Il
brace of wild ducks inhabiting the open
but responding to the call of Peter Ru
dolDh, a fisherman. Several incredu-
lous persons visited the reservoir.
When Mr.. Rudolph began to call,
neither of the ducks was in sight In
few minutes one was noted far out
from the shore. swimming rapidly to-
ward the landing. Arriving near
shore he ate the scraps thrown him.
The other did not arrive for quarter
of an hour. Both are males of the blue
bill variety.
III Il, ,o,.1-p
BILE train crew in the United States is
that of the Chicago express over the
Philadelphia & Reading and Lehigh
Valley railroads which leaves the ter
minal at $50 +. M. daily. The con-
ductor of the train is H. M. Saltman,
and both the engineer and fireman are
his brothers. If there is another case
where three brothers compose the ma
jor portion of a train crew it is not on
record The conductor is the oldest of
thirteen children, twelve of whom are
living. He climbed to his present post
via tile brakeman route. while his
brothers chose the locomotive end
Philadelphia Record.
1t is not common to find person
who can correctly estimate the lapse of
a single second. But, as an English
writer remarks, in these days of speed
ing automobiles. the exact time when
each of two collding vehicles must have
occupied particular spots may be
matter of great Importance. In a re-
cent experiment a car took nearly two
seconds to stop after brakes were APP
piled. and in that time it moved nine
teen feet So even fractions of a sec
on,i are important One can train one
self to estimate even tenthS of a sec
ond. But one must count very fast to
do it,
Pleading for a national crusade
against flies in England. the Lancet
writes a strong indictment against the
little winged nuisances and suggests
home exterminator. I'm our expert
ence" says the Lancet, 1.-The best eX-
eliminating agent is weak solution
of weak formaldehyde in water (sav
two teaspoonfuls to the pint and TINS
experience has been confirmed by
others. 1t would appear that ines are
attracted by a weak solution N 1or-
maldehyde, which they drink. Some die
in the water, others get as far only as
the Immediate vicinity of the plate OF
water. but all ultimately succumb, and
where they occur in large numbers.
hundreds may be swept up from the
floor.
One professional man has devised
an effective plan for handling persist
ent conversationalists. He has on his
desk small alarm clock. When a
visitor Of unpleaant propensities is an
nounced this man picks up his clock.
sets the alarm for three minutes ahea1
and receives the caller. Time goes by
and then the clock does its duty The
busy man starts as he hears the soun],
conult his watch and then rises with
hasty apology. I'm mighty sorry we
won't be able to discuss that longer"
he says. "but I've an important en-
gagement at this hour and simply
must keep it."
More or less credence is still given