The Warwickshire Herald. — 1885-09-24 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

COMES FROM.—Alone the Peru. vian coast, stretching for hundreds of miles, are the famous beds of nitrate of soda, which purified is saltpetre. These deposits, snore rrofitablo than silver or guano, were di-covered accidently by is vagrant Englishman named George Smith, but were not operated to any extent until recent years. Now nitrate having been found a valuable component o, a hundred chemical forms, is in demmid the world over, and millions of dollars' worth is shipped from the ports along the coast annually. Before its came was fully. known a number ot far-sighted men heated "claims," after the fa, hion in voguo in inining,amps everywhere and then the government stepped in, and forbade any further pre-emption. Rut the original locations cover enoueli of the ders”rt to supply the market fora century or two, and to keep up prices they have formed a pool, a monopoly combination, under which they charge from two to three dollars per cwt. for what costs them about fifteen cents. There apperently no limit to the stuff, tips bed stretching up and down the coast for :40 or 400 milts.  SUICIDE IN NArri:E.—Early in- December, 1879, an apparent epid.lnic of suicide attacked the herrings and sprats in Deal Wads, and they rushed ashore in such myriads at Wain' r that the fehermen got tired of carting them ..n, ~nd they were left on the beach for all who Cal, • to help themselves. Nature seems now and then t.. put leanala to orer-population, but if this be the case, no herring fr.mine+ neer.l be  • - feared, for econonuca Nature would never have played into the hands of the Ili-diem/en who are always at war with her. Such wholesale suicides occur among other forms of animal life. In Africa regiments of ants have been eon oleliberately marching into streams, where they are immediately devoured by fish. Rats have migrated in myriads, stepping nowhere neither day nor night, and have been preyed upon by both large birds and beasts of prey. In the Seychelles some year s ago several hundred turtles compired to die tozether on the island in front of the harbour, and carried out their decision. Were they the victims of hydrophobia, delirum tremens, or some other disease? Even the gay and sprightly butte, fly has been known to migrate inimmense clouds from the land straight out to sea, without the remotest chance of ever reaching another shore. What could he the reason for such a suicidal act? The Sea :Ifs Stirring Story of A flrtnture, and Heroism:  CHESS IN The EAsT.—The Hindoos say that chess was the invention of an astronomer, who flourished several thousand years ago and who was possessed of supernatural knowle.lge and acuteness. The Greeks claim that it was i thenvention of Paluntedes, to beguile the tedium of the siege of Troy. The Arab legend is that it was devised for the instruction of a young despot by his tutor, a learned Brahmin, to teach the youth haw a king was dependent upon his subjects for his safety. Orawal chess is of two kinds, Chinese and Indian elm as. The Chinese game is played generally in Eastern Asia, but in India and the adjacent islands, awl, with some slight modifications, all over the civibsed world, Indian chess is played. The bishop, is the elephant of India, the castle the boat, and the queen tie minister; otherwise the pieces are identical With those as known to us. There is a chess school in India, with its salaried profespois' and succ ,se in the game is held in very high regard. Mohesh Ghutuek, it was said, could play a fabulous numb T of games when lying on the ground with his eyes closed. The complication of the game called the Indian problem is known all over the occident as one of the most difficult ever devised. The Chinese ches—board has sixty-four squares and a board strip called the River Ho across the middle. The castle is known to them as the war-chariot, the bishop as the elephant, the knight as the horse, arid for king and queen they have a general and two officers. They have but five soldiers or pawns, and two cannon, the latter being able to move over the heads of the others. The general, cannon and chariot cannot cross the river. The Persians call chess Timour's game, because of the favour in which it was held by Tamerlane, the great Tartar ruler, who lived in the fifteenth century. This king found the game so easy that he introduced additional men and moves to complicate it. This was the origin of what is knewn as great chess in Persia, in contradistinction fans little chess, the common game. This is played on a boari with 110 squares and fifty-six men.  I