I Paris has the largest anil most com
plete sewerage system in the world,
A statistician estimates that Ameri
rans expend $400,000 a day for amuse
ments.
A statistical person has figured out
that the average life of a cabinet under
the present French Republic has been
nine months.
' By a new route which is proposed
from England to Australia, across
Canada, the trip from London to
Sydney, it is believed, may be
shortened to twenty-eight days.
The Chicago Record confidingly ad
mits that "of all sads words of tongue
or pen a few of the saddest sre those
which would proper ly describe a view
the World' s Fair grounds at the pres- j
cut time."
Of all the States New York has the
greatest number of savings bank de
positors, 1,510,389, and also the great
est amount of deposits, $588,425,421.
Massachusetts comes next with $1,131,
203 depositors, having on deposit
8369,550,386.
Twenty-two years ago there wero
222 bearers of titles in the French j
Chamber of Deputies, where now i
there uro but sixty-five. Only three '
marquises are left out of thirty, while j
the counts have declined from thirty- '
two to fifteen. At this rapid rate of
disappearance a few decades more will
see almost the entire extinction of
titles in the Republic.
The recent use of the guillotine in
Paris has started anew the discussion
as to relative merits of methods of
rendering the murder innocuous. It
must be admitted, argues the San
Francisco Examiner, that a man once
beheaded is fully as incapable of act
ing on criminal impulse as though ho
had been hanged, and that an electro- ;
cuted person is at an equal advantage. '
Therefore all the methods have points j
of excellence.
A manufacturing company in Wil
mington, Del., stopped its whistle
thirteen years ago because it was com
plained of as a nuisance, and at the 1
same time informed its workmen that
any man who was late would be lined
twenty-five cents. In all the years
since then only two men have been
lined for tardiness, and the question
is asked by the Chicago Herald : What
need is there for a noisy whistle to
call employes to work anywhere?
In a little coffin about fifteen inches
ong the heart and other portions of
the body of a man, whose disgrace aud
suicide in the year 18*92, brought
about the overthrow of a cabinet, is
sued forth from the morgue in Paris a
few days ago on its way to the Peri
la Chaise cemetery. They were flu
remains of Baron de lieiunch, who ir
the heyday of his power was one ol
the financial magnates of Europe, con
trolling even the destinies of minis- 1
ters and influencing the policy of the j
Nation.
There have been great changes in !
the United States Government depart
ments in the lust thirty years. The !
first woman regularly employed was
put on the rolls of the Navy Depart
ment thirty-five years ago Sim* was a
young widow, and the officials consid
ered it an awful problem how to dis
pose of her. Finally they hit upon a
plan. They treated her as if H hc was a
contagious disease and isolated her in
an attic room. She received and re
turned her copying by a messenger.
But the disease caught on, so to speak,
and to-day there are 1000 women in
the Treasury alone. There is one
woman to every seven men.
Two or three recent railroad catas
trophes, fortunately of the minor
sort, have directed public attention to
the fact, remarks the Washington
Star, that the use of stoves for heating
purposes and oil us an illuminant is
still indulged in by ancient and moss
backed corporations, to which the
safety of the passengers is apparently
a minor consideration. Public senti
ment should be strong enough to work
the necessary reform, but the trouble
about public sentiment is its failure i
to declare itself until some frightful
combination of collison or derailment
and conflagration arouses general in
dignation. The Pullman and Wagner
companies worried over even the
small quantity of oil used for cooking
purposes on the buffet cars—have
completely banished the dunircrous
fluid, and will in future do their cook
ing with gas, thus removing every
clement of danger that can possiblv
be gotten rid of. The public should
insist strenuously upon th. universal
adoption of every safeguard, and the
time to insist is in advance of and uot
alter a great railroad horror.
UNAWARE.
Somo day, when falls a sudden sense
Of perfect peace on heart and braid.
That comes, we know not why or whonce,
And ere wo seek is gone again.
When breathes the unexpectant hour
Ktrango beauty of an instant blown,
As if a roso were full in flower
Whoso earliest buds wo knew not grown.
Ferchanco one winded moment sped
Down the white htghts of heavenly air,
home spirit of our blessed dead
Hath stood beside us unaware !
THE BOTKLVE 11A TIL
BY ADELtSB 8. WING.
ffe HO F E SSOI?
A Botkine, of the !
J University of '
™ California, was
sitting on his I
, Berkeley in the
J? morning of a
i'WMX Bultr y July !
I ( ' a - v " was j
• jjijfxGS&tyl <leli ghtedly '
'ww 9w r / watching the ,
M lp- efforts of bis pet |
,y/ JL toad to rapture i
a very large 1
atigloworm, ami his enjoyment was j
enhanced by the fact that his beauti- j
fill German wife, who usually declined
to interest herself in anything which
she even suspected of a connection .
with science, was seated beside him, ,
j giving eager little pressures to his j
! hand and uttering a pleased exclama
; tion, in her pretty foreign accent, j
; whenever the toad made au extra
j effort.
j The tact was that she, while cutting
roses, had been the one to see the be-
I ginning of the eon test, and felt the ;
I proper pride of a discoverer. Tin* j
I toad bad been sitting still, looking as j
! if carved by a Japanese artist, and ;
giving no sign that it saw anything,
j The worm gave a little wriggle as it j
began to come out of the ground, when,
quick as a flash, tile toad made a leap
and seized the end of the worm in its
I mouth.
Then began a tug-of-war. Every
lime that the toad gave a pull, the !
worm drew back. But the toad was
uot to bo discouraged. It jerked and ,
jerked until it fairly stood on its bind
legs. Still, it could not dislodge the
Worm.
At this interesting point a train
whistled.
"Why, Selraa !" said the professor,
"there is the train already. I had
quite forgotten that I must go the city
to-day. Where is my hat?"
"Do wait an instant, dear; just see
what that toad is doing," she ans
wered, holding him back.
Ho glanced down ami saw the toad
twisting its leg about until the worm I
was wrapped twice around it, then the
toad gave a hop, and out came the
worm.
This hud been too' hscinating a
spectacle to the unwary professor. !
He dashed into the house and back
again, kissed his wife, and, with a i
regretful glance at her rippling hair, 1
aud soft blue, eyes, started off.
Suddenly he rushed back.
"Why, dear," ho cried, "I forgot to
tell you that, that Mr. Smith, the Ca
nadian. who wrote the paper on !
bacteria, will be here this afternoon
to stay a day or I vo. He may come
before I am back."
She clasped her bauds in mock
despair. "But what shall I do with
him i she wailed; "you know T can
not talk science aud pollywogs!"
"Oh, don't be alarmed. He isn't,
sc very dried up. .lust let him have a
good soaking in a bath-tub. Then he
| will come out perfectly human and
i happy. He's ui Englishman, you
know," and the professor, with a
laughing glance at his little wife's rue
ful expression, throw dignity and his
coat-tails to the winds as he madly ran
down the street, "looking like a great
black bird of prey, " as Mrs. Botkine
laughingly remarked to herself.
Hut she grew sober as she thought
how ruthlessly science and scientists
seemed to dog her unwilling footsteps.
Her husband certainly loved her, but
he bad away of becoming utterly
absorbed in his studies, and then burst
ing into hei reflections with remarks
which Rimnih.il positively ghoulish.
He 1 in, 1 appeared only yesterday in her
own private sanctum carrying s "hor
rid snak- l,y the tail, and, although
• V 'l 1 " 1 s,t the pitch of
I rofcssor Agassi/, who was said to
have consigned infant serpents, for
safe-keeping over night, to his wife's
boots—she did uot know where his en
thusiasni might lead.
"I'm half nfruid to go to sleep," she
had roguishly said to him one night,
j "I'm afraid that your deepest interest
even in me is only scientific, and I be
lieve you are capable of cutting me
open If) see what queer thing there is
in my hear* that I love such a bookish
old bear with."
"Now here.was this Canadian com
ing 1 And bow wab he to be properly
in crested in his old bacteria and not
disgrace her husband by betraying her
i iguovance on the subject?" slm asked
herself.
| Manifestly, he must take a bath, and
everything possible must be don- to
make that bath-room attractive, so that
he should stay there as long ns possi
ble. She went upstairs, and with her
own dimpled hands got down a new
cake of perfumed soap. She eyed it
critically. Perhaps his severe scien
tific mind would be disgusted with
! such effeminate luxury. Perhaps—
who ' new? —he might discover even
l in it the presence of bacteria! She
had heard it said that a man with n
theory finds examples of its truth in
j ev. rytliin*j about him. Never mind!
Hie would place bosi ! ! it a cake n
bile castilc and one oi tar soap.
Then, wluibvir It is tastes, lie must be
, pleased. She put the alcohol and i
cologne bottle within easy reach ; got
out smooth and rough towels and a
bath-blanket; saw that the shower
bath worked ; and with a sigh of relief,
• went down stairs to impress the cook
that during the entire afternoon there
must bo plenty of hot water in the
boiler. i
Suddenly a happy though struck i
her: she went into her husband's study |
and brought out every book on bac
teriology that she could find. These
she rauged on a shelf at the foot of
the bath-tub. Standing out a little
i beyond the others, as if but just
shoved in, was Mr. Smith's own pam
phlet on "Bacteria." She was sure
of the vanity of authors. He would j
at least take this down to see if any
passages were marked, and might be
j lured into the perusal of some other j
I books.
! Mrs. Botkine pinned on the wall
I some colored illustrations of various
I forms of bacteria, and then surveyed
the effect with the calm satisfaction of
a general who foresees the success of
his mameuvres. She sighed regret
-1 fully that she could uot bring herself
i to introduce into the room a few sam-
I pies of the "germ culture" that her
I husband was carrying on, but she felt
that she must draw the line at living
i germs.
• She smiled again. To be sure, Mr.
| Smith might think her husband rather
■ eccentric in pursuing liis studies in
this room, but he would certainly feel
that he had found a congenial spirit
in a man who could not tear himself
away from his beloved bacteria even
i in his bath.
She had done rII she could. With
this virtuous feeling she was able to
go about her occupations for the day,
and in the afternoon even banished
the thought of her expected guest
enough to take a quiet na) .
She was awakened by a knock at her
' door, and the maid handed her a card
1 bearing the seemingly innocent in
; scription, ".Mr. Worthington Smith." i
She was iillc-d with a nervous fear, J
and her heart beat fast as she walked j
down the stairs. She lingered outside
the drawing-room as long as she dared, '
and then, putting her trust in the
| bath-room, walked in and greeted her
visitor with a smile of timid welcome. :
Ho did not look at all alarming, i
She was surprised to see that he was j
young, darkly handsome, and dressed |
with more regard to fashion than the
' scientific min I generally deigns to be
stow. He saw her timid air and blonde j
! beauty with evident admiration.
After the first polite commonplaces,
Mr. Smith smilingly observed: "Pro- I
| feasor Botkine's recent researches ,
I have been of such interest to scieu
rifio men that tliey must lay him open
to a great deal of persecution from in- j
quiring admirers, but —"
i "Oh, not at all," Hhe answered, 1
! rather incoherently; "or, rather, I
; should sav, he likes to be persecuted I
; —that is" (with some confusion) "he
will be delighted to find you here when
he returns. In the meantime, I hope ;
that you will let me look after you." i
| Mr. Smith thought that he should
j like nothing better, but contented :
himself with remarking:
"Thank you, very much. Perhaps j
you would be so kind as to explain to
me a few things I should like to know
about Professor Botkine's theories on i
bacteria."
He was surprised to see a deep flush I
and a look of distress come over her
face, and, before she could answer, he ]
hastened to add : "But I fear that I
am trespassing on your time. Pray,
do not let me incommode you. I have ;
some uncut pamphlets in my satchel
here, and will look them over as I
wait," and he looked down embar
rassed.
A furtive feeling of relief crept for
Lj a moment into her eyes. Then the
i 1 thought that she could not be guilty
i of ruch iiihospitality as leaving her
guest to shift for himself forced itself
s ; upon her. But herein* was, pluugijig
i into science the very first thing atnl
I turning shy besides. Oh, she must
4 j send him off to that bath ! It seemed
! rather awkward, but she nerved her
self to the effort.
"No, Mr. Smith," she said, gayly,
I "J am sure that I could not tell you
anything on the subject, and I can
j not think of leaving you here alone.
' You must let me make you comfort
able. I know that after your journey
j you would like a bath."
He looked amazed and then em
barrassed.
"Thank you, very much, Mrs. Bot
kine," he stammered, "but I do not
care at all for a bath. 1 shall do very
well here, and—"
"No, no!" she said, nervously; "I
know that you are only afraid that
there is no hot water on such a warm
day, and you do not wish to give
trouble."
He put out bis band and tried to in
terrupt her. but she shook her head
and went on rapidly:
"It is all ready. Everything is in
the bath loom, au I I will ring for
•lames to show you up.'
He looked thunderstruck at her in
sistence.
"But, I assure you, Mrs. Botkine,"
he exclaimed, "it is not at all worth
while. I~"
"Not another word, if you please,
Mr. Sfuith. You will really aunov
me if you refuse."
She thought to herself that he little
I knew how more than annoyed she was
l at the thought of his possible ques
tions. As the man-servant appeared,
she said :
"James, take this gentleman's
satchel to the guest chamber and show
him to the bath-room."
Mr. Smith endeavored to hang back
and say something, but Mrs. Botkine
smilingly waved her hand toward the
stairs and walked into another room.
She had looked alternately vexed and
triumphant.
As he followed James, Mr. Smith
remarked to himself that before this
j experience lie would have vowed that
I she was too pretty to be eccentric,
j Ho had no wish to bathe, but fearing
j to vex her, meekly proceeded to per
form hiR ablutions,
j She, meantime, was vastly relieved.
I She smiled to herself at the thought
j of how unwilling he had seemed to
I give the slightest trouble.
"I suppose he thought wc Ameri
\ enns never had any decent facilities
lor a bath," she reflected. Then:
"He really is remarkably good-look
ing, for a scientist. If I had not
known what he was, I should have
thought he was just a nice young fel
low and rashly tried to get on with
him. Oh, if George had not told ino
lin time!" She shuddered as she
! thought of her escape,
i "I suppose ho will be dried-tip look-
I ing before long. He is a wliited-se-
I pulchre kind of man now. I could
not see the slightest sign of baldness
in him, but his seething intellect is
bound to cook his hair off in a few
years. Even George is a wee bit
bald. But how delightful that Mr.
Smith did not fathom my ignorance."
She was so elated that she went to
the piano and sang for a half-hour.
She was startled by hearing some
ono come rushing into the room be
ll iud her. She wheeled on the stool
and encountered the gazo of Mr.
Smith, who stood before her, looking
decidedly uneasy.
"I beg pardon for interrupting you,
Mrs. Bodkine," he said; "but I wish
to thank you for your kindness and to
innke my adieux."
"Why, Mr. Smith—" she began,
but he waved his hand apologetically
and contined :
"I am very sorry not to have found
Professor Botkine, but perhaps 1 can
come again. There is just time for mo
to catch the five o'clock train."
It was her turn to be astonished.
She opened her lips to speak, but h
went on, nervoufly:
"Pray forgive my leaving yon so
abruptly. Thank you very much.
Good afternoon,"" and, bowing pro
foundly, he was gone.
For a moment she felt stunned.
Then a flood of questions poured
through her mind. Was the man in
sane? Or what had she done to offend
hiui? What would her husband say?
What was there in science to turn an
apparently "nice" young man into
such a distraught savage?
"Ah! recommend me to a plain,
commonplace man who has not bacilli
on the brain J" she sighed.
The rest of the day seemed endless,
but at last she descried Professor
llotkinc, and with him a rather desic
cated and "dug-up"-looking man.
j "Ob, dear!" shj moaned; "there id
another scientist, I know to look at
him. What will he do, I wonder?,
| Dissect my cat, or say that he cannot'
dine with us because he never eats
| anything but bacteria?"
| "Here we are at last," said the pro
fessor; "I found our friend on the
train. He had mistaken the traiu aud
gone to Alameda. Mr. Smith, let mo
I present you to Mrs. Botkine."
She welcomed her guest cordially,
hut the minute she was alone with her
husband, she seized him by the lapels
j of his coat.
"What joke have you been playing
! on me?" she demauded ; "who is this
Mr. Smith?"
1 The professor looked astonished.
| "Why, my dear, there is no joke.
This is the Mr. Smith that I told you
i I was expecting this afternoon. What
is the matter?"
"Matter!" she cried; "who is tho
Mr. Smith that came here this after
noon with a satchel, and asked about
j your theories?"
"Why, we met him at the station.
He had a few specimens to show me.
He is the son of my friend, Commo
dore Smith, of Siiu Francisco. Ho
had just run ovei for a short call."
"A short call!" she echoed again;
"what will he think of me? I sent him
upstairs to take that bath!" —Argo-
! uuut.
Monkeys.
Moukeys, with some notable excep
tions, are some degrees worse than
savage men in their treatment of the
sick. On the new Jumna Canal, at
Delhi, monkeys swarm in trees upon
the banks, and treat their sick com
rades in true monkey fashion.
The colony by the canal being over
! crowded, and as a consequence un
healthy, did, and probably does still,
I suffer from various unpleasant diseases.
| When one monkey is so obviously un
well as to so offend the feelings of the
| others, a few of the larger monkeys
watch it, aud taking a favorable op
' portunity, knock it into tho canal. If
it is not drowned at once, the sick
j monkey is pitched in again after it re-
I gains the trees, and either drowned or
I forced to keep aloof from the flock.
At the London Zoological Gardens
. the monkeys torment a sick one with
out mercy, and unless it is at once re
moved from the cage it has little chance
of recovery. The small monkeys bite
und pinch it ; the larger ones swing it
around by the tail. When it dies, as
many moneys aa can find room sit on
its body.—Xew York Dispatch.
Horse-Power ot a Whale.
An interesting study of the horse
power of the whale has been made by
the eminent nnatomist, Sir William
Turner, of the University of Edin
burgh, Scotland, in conjunction with
John Henderson, the equally eminent
Glasgow shipbuilder. The size and
dimensions of a great whale stranded
several years ngo 011 the shore at
Longriddy furnished the necessary dnta
for a computation of the power neces
sary to propel it nt the rate of twelve
miles nn hour. The whole measured
oighty feet in length, twenty feet
across the flanges of the tail, aid
weighed seventy-four tons, It was
calculated that 145 horse-power was'
| necessary to attain the speed inen-
I tioned. s
BIG GUNS OF BIG NAVIES'
' I
WEAPONS THAT CAN BE FIRED
ONLY SEVENTY-FIVE TIMES, y
Powder Charges Weighing 960
Pounds—Heavy Projectiles and
Their Terrific Effect.
Two of the mammoth 110-ton
guns, upon which the British admiral
ty has so proudly commented as the
"modern naval artillery," and which
Cost about #IOO,OOO each, went down
into seventy fathoms of water with
the battle ship Victoria, and in con
nection with this fact) says the Wash
ington Star, there must have been
uwakened much interst. amoug readers
kk to whether such heavy war weapons,
heavier than any yet made for tho
United States navy, and heavier than
will probably be built, are a wise ad
dition to a modern war vessel.
And yet this big gun is not a new
thing, as it practically dates back
twelve years. About forty of these
big guns have been built, and some of
them were sent to Italy. It is easy to
comprehend among navy officers that
such guns are an expensive luxury,
aot. only iu tho actuftl eost of the gun
nnd its ammunition, but also iu the
size of the ships required to carry
them. But what will be of most in
terest to lay people is the quantity and
cost of ammunition and tho life of the
gun itself. The best ordnance experts
calculate the life of tho 110-tou gun to
be seventy-five rounds with full
charges. The 110-tou gun, and, in
deed, all largo guns, are fired with
slow burning coacou powder, the name
coacoa being derived from the brown
color of the powder. It is shaped in
hexagonal prisms, this being the most
convenient form of packing, and 10,-
000 of these prisms are needed to make
a full charge for this monster gun.
Each prism is pierced with a hole in
the centre to give ready access to the
flame and insure an equable ignition.
For nearly all naval guns the pow
der charge is made up of four car
tridges, but owing to the extraordi
nary weight of the 110-ton gun charges
(060 pounds) it is divided into eight
cartridges, each weighing 120 pounds.
To load tho gun it is necessary to
bring it to its extreme elevation--that
is, the muzzle is pointed upward as
far as it eau bo on the mount, and
these operations follow: 1, Unlock
and unscrew the breech block; 2,
withdraw tho breech block; 3, tra
verse breech block to one side'. 4,
place the loading tray in tho gun ; 5,
swab out the gun ; 6, ram home, or put
into place, the projectile , 7, place tho
first, charge; 8, place and ram homo
the second half charge; 9. withdraw
the loading tray; 10, replace tho
breech screw ; 11, screw up and lock
the breech screw.
The gun is then ready to be sighted
by tho captain of the turret from his
conning tower. It is tired by elec
tricity. The gun can ho loaded and
tired within two and a half minutes.
The projectile used in tho gun, when
ships or forts are attacked, weigh
1800 pounds, or nearly 200 pounds less
than a ton, and it leaves the muzzle
with a velocity of 2105 feet a sec
ond and a destructive energy
equal to 55,305 foot-tons. When
tested before mounting ou tho
Sauspareil three years ago the
shot toro its way through specially
manufactured steel armor twenty
inches thick, and yet the armor belt
of tho Victoria ranged from sixteen to
eighteen inches iu thickness only. In
addition to the twenty inches thick
ness of steel the shot went through
eight inches of iron fastened in a heavy
wrought-iron frame, twenty feet ol
oak baulks, six feet of granite blocks,
eleven feet of concrete, and six feet ol
brick. In other words it went through
forty-four and one-third feet of a wall
unique iu history for combination ol
width and variety aud strength of ma
terials. The cost of ouo firing of this
gun was S4OO for the powder and SSOO
for the projectile anil fuses, and after
seventy-five rounds there would be the
cost of the gun to add, nainolv,
8100,000.
In firing the gun against, a body of
men or a flotilla of boats it is intended
to use schrapuel, a drum-like cylinder
of steel, inclosing 2300 four-ounce
bullets. As soon as tho schrapnel
bursts the bullets go flying on, the
spinning of the shell caused by the
rifled grooves of the gun spreading
them out over a large area. When n
shell is used it is charged with powder,
which causes it to explode and scatter
its pieces with great destruction.
English Law to Acehleats.
The term "accident" would appear
to be easily defined, but the late Lord
Chief Justieo Cockburn thought not,
and on several occasions insurance
companies have sought a definition in
the courts of law. It has been decid
ed that a sunstroke is not an accident,
but that injury to the spine by lifting
a heavy weight is one. Even if physi
cal ailments cbutribute to an accident
it is oovered by the policy. The rela
tives of a man who, while bathing in
shallow water, wao seized with a fit
and suffocated sustained their claim, as
did those of a man who, when similar
ly seized, fell under a train and was
killed. Again, a person having fallen
and dislocated his shoulder was put to
bed and carefully nursed, but in less
than a month he died of pneumonia.
The connection between that complaint
and a dislocated shoulder is not at
once visible, but ou the ground that
the restlessness aud susceptibility to
cold produced by the accident led io
the disease which killed him, the rela
tives were held to entitled to claim.
"The influence of intoxicating liquor"
has been authoritively defined as
fluenco which disturbs the balance oU
•nan's mind or tho intelligent exorcico
of hie faculties," and injuries received
while in tlint condition are not covered
by an insurance policy.—Chambers's
Journal.
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL.
The proposed Hoboken (N. J.)
Bridge will have a single span of 5850
feet—the longest in the world.
The greatest depth recorded of
Lake Michigan is 870 feet, or about
one-sixth of a mile. The mean depth
is about 3SO feet, or one-sixteenth of
a mile.
The flea is covered with armored
plates very hard and overlapping each
other. Each is set with spikes, and
bends in conformity with the move
ments of the body.
The largest engine is at Friedens
ville, Penn. ; its driving wheels are
thirty-five feet in diameter, the cyl
inder is 110 inches, and it raises 17,-
500 gallons of water per minute.
A new process of rain making was
recently brought before the Academie
des Sciences, Paris, by M. Baudoin.
His theory is that electricity main
tains the water in clouds in a state of
small drops, and that if the electricity
be discharged the water will oome
down.
An instrument has been invented
for sounding the depths of the sea
without using a lead line. A Binker
is dropped containing a cartridge,
which explodes on touching the bot
tom ; the report is registered in a
microphone apparatus and the depth
reckoned by the time at which the ex
plosion occurred.
The air brakes on railroads are being
built with a view to their use on trains
of 100 cars. The plant on each train
is being built so that it can be used in
Buch away as to bring tho speed down
from eighty to thirty miles per hour
within five seconds. Great power has
to be used, and every part of the
apparatus has to bo perfect to stand
the strain.
Dr. Hughes, of Meriden, has re
ceived a letter from K. W. Sawyer, of
Nassau, New. Providence, one of the
Bahama Islands, felling of the finding
of a pink pearl in a conch shell there
that is the finest ever brought to
light. This pearl is nearly as large as
a pigeon's egg and of the same shape,
having no flaw or blemish, and of per
fect color and marking. It was sold
to the local agent of a Paris house for
over S2OOO, the largest price, it U
believed, received for a pearl at the
Nassau conch fisheries.
At the recent meeting of the chemical
section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science the arti
ficial diamonds that have been made
by M. Moissans, of Paris, were ex
hibited and awakened much interest.
These, as yet, are of hardly sufficient
size to be marketable, but there ap
pears to be no longer doubt that this
and the cost are but questions of
technical detail, aud that another de
cade at most will suffice to reduce
diamonds to the vulgar level of tho
amethyst or the Rhine stone.
How Old Is the Human Race?
The fullest answer that science can
yet give to the three most interesting
questions perhaps ever asked in the
world are explained in an article in thi
Forum, by Dr. Daniel G. Brintou, the
ethnologist. These questions are
"When did the first man appear?'
"By what process did he appear?" and
"Where did he appear?" Summing
up all that geologists and anthropolo
gists know he appeared certainly 50,.
000 years ago, and it may be as many
as 200,000 years ago. The evidences ol
his existence which date back 50,001
years are unmistakable. By what pro
cess he came into being science has uc
definite uuswer. If it refuse to accepl
the doctrine of specific creation, il
must refuse also, for lack of complete
evidence, to accept the doctrine oi
gradual evolution —the old Darwinisi
doctrine. Dr. Brinton thinks th<
theory of "evolution by a leap" is ni
good as any other theory. According
to this, man sprung from some higL
order of mammal, the great tree ape,
perhaps, by a freak, just as men ol
genius are freaks, and as all the vege
table and animal kingdom show freaks.
As to where man first appeared it is
beyond doubt that his earliest home
waH in southern Europe, or Asia, oi
North Africa. No earlier traces ol
him have been found than those found
in the area that is now England,
France and Spain.
Natural Curiosities.
Curious resemblances iu Nature
etart with the cocoanut, in many re
spects like the human skull and almost
a facsimile of tho monkey's. The
meat of the English walnut is almost n
copy of the human brain ; plums and
black cherries like tho human eye,
almonds like the human nose, and an
unopened oyster and shell a perfect
likeness of tho human ear. The shapo
of a man's body may be traced in tho
mammoth squash, the open hand n
growing scrub willows and celery, the
human heart iu German turnips and
egg plant, and dozens of the mechan
ical inventions of the present day to
patterns furnished by Nature. Thus,
the hog suggested the plow, the but
terfly the door hinge, the frog stool
the umbrella, the duok the ship, and
the fungus growth on trees tha
bracket.
New Process for Enameling.
Fletcher, Russell & Co., London,
have introduced a new process to su
!>ersede the use of Berlin black and
>lack lead for protecting cast iron.
The casting is coated with a film oi
enamel, which is so thin that even th i
finest details on the metal are pre
lerved. This enamel is said to be ab
lolutoly proof against rust, and pre
lerves its qualities at any temperature
rip to bright red heat. All colors aro
obtainable, including gold and silver,
bright or dull, and as many as nrj
wished can be produced on one cast
jag. The process is said to offer great
facilities for decorative work of all
kinds. —Scientific American,
IN OKEEFINOKEE SWAMP.
A GREAT AREA OF SUBMERGED
LAND IN THE SOUTH. J
Noted For Its Valuable Timbers and
Its Dense Jungles—Penetrated by
a Canal.
OKEEFINOKEE SWAMP is
larger than the Dismal
Swamp in Virginia. It ex
tends from the eastern pari
of Pierco County, Georgia, to the
eastern part of Columbia County,
Flordia. It is sixty miles in length
and twenty miles in breadth. Its
jungles are quite as thick and impass
able as those in Africa and India.
Two-thirds of the swamp is inundated.
In its interior are several lakes'and
islands. i
There is a dense growth of rose
mary pines on the islands. Tho block
cypress, which is used for manufactur
ing purposes, is found iu abundance
throughout the swamp. The timber
in the Okeefinokee is estimated to bo
worth nearly $5,000,000.
interior of the swamp is reached
by means of canoes. The depth of
the water ranges from three to ten
feet. The mud is very deep in somu
places, which makes traveling difficult;
The jungles consist of reeas, briers,
bamboos, cypress, tussocks, thorn
bushes, pine saplings, dwarf palmet
toes, creeping vines and small trees.
A pathwpy for canoes is made by cut
ting a swarth in the jungle large
enough for two canoes to pass each
other. \
An area of several miles has never
been explored. It is in the south
western part, near the Florida line'
The surface of the mysterious place ifl
covered with a dense growth of reedi
and vines. A fog hovers over it con
tinually. The surface is composed of
a yellow-colored mud, which is formed
by decomposed reeds, leaves and vines.
Its depth at the outer edge is ten feet,
while its depth in the interior is un
known.
The quick mud is treacherous ami
dangerous. Without a moment's warn
ing or any sign of danger, the feet slip
and the victim falls in the mud's deadly
grip. Underlying the surface is an
underground lake. Old hunters say
that a floating island can bo seen nt
mid-day in summer, when the weathec
is fair and the fog is less dense. Tho
place is as silent as the grave, and not
a bird can be seen.
Several attempts havo been made
during tho last twenty years to get a
correct survey of the Okeefinokee.
Three years ago the greater part of the
swamp was purchased from tho Gov
ernment by a syndicate of Atlanta capi
talists. The price paid was very small,
as it was not kuown that the timber
was valuable. The syndicato organi
zed a company, known as the Suwanee
Canal Company. Preparations were a<
once made to make a cureful survey of
the entire swamp and to begin the con
struciion of a canal from some place in
the timbered belt to the St. Mary'*
River, for the purpose of draining the
swamp and the transportion of timber
to the wharves on the Atlantic coast.
A corps of civil engineers was em
ployed.
The chief engineer, with Obadiab
Barber as a guide, set up cam]) in the
western part of the swamp. Mr. Bar
ber was familiar with almost every
place in the swamp, having explored
it over one hundred times. The sur
vey was made through the jungles and
mud with great difficulty. An opening
for the canoes was cut with axes and
brier hooks. When canoes could not
bo used, on account of the shallowness
of the water, the men waded through
mud and water at the depth of two
feet. The next survey was made from
the northern part to its southern
boundary, in Florida. Then a survey
was made around the swamp. This is
the only survey yet made that gave
nearly tho exact dimensions of tho
Okeefinokee.
The construction of the canal was be
gun in March, 1891. It will be completed
early this year. It extends from the
St. Mary's River to "Cam]) Cornelia,'!
near the Suwaneo River, a distance of 1
over twenty-five miles. It is forty
feet wide and ten feep.
The plan decided upon to get tho
timber is to thoroughly drain the in
undated portions of the swamp and
drag the timber to the canal by means
of chains drawn by machinery. The
timber will then be rafted down tho
canal. Several extensive sawmill
plants will be built on tho St. Mary's
River by the syndicate. The timber
will be made into lumber and shingles.
The beautiful Suwanee River, tho
subject of song and story, has its
source in the northwestern part of the
Okeefinokee. It flows in a southerly
direction through the swamp and
through the western part of Florida to
the Gulf of Mexico. The natural
scenery along the river is beautiful.
Its bunks are covered with the most
beautiful flowers and trees and several
varieties of tropical plants. Numer
ous springs of excellent mineral water
are on its banks. It is believed by
some that the Suwanee Spring i
really the one mentioned by the Indi
ans to De Soto as containing proper
ties for maintaining perpetual youth.
The water is certainly remarkable for
its efficacy in the treatment of many
diseases of men.
There are beurs in the swamp be
sides deer and other animal game.
Billie's Island is near the centre of
the swamp. It is eight miles long and
three miles wide. It was for many
years inhabited by the Seminole In
dians.—New York World.
For Chapped Lips*
A good remedy for chapped lips ifl
made by mixing together two spoon
fuls of clarified honey with a few
drops of lavendar water. Anoint tho
lips with tho mixture frequently.—
New York World, - j