4444444448 | A DIVIDED EYE. | S A Flgli Which Sees Above and Be- * low the Surface. V KWWWWWWWWW* WW* IN the shore waters and rivers of Central America there are thou sands of little fish with very cu rious eyes. They are called four eyed flsli, and the eye is very much like a double eye; and then, too, it Vounh. flour-E\/ed Fish _ With. La.rc,e Food'S&Ci - Oh. Eye.-"' apparently has to do the work of two eyes. It has a broad, dark, horizontal band, nearly as wide as the pupil, right across its centre. This band en ables fish when feeding and swim ming at the surface, on the lookout for food, to see above the surface with part of the eye and below the water with the other part. The band which divides the eye into two equal parts, striking the surface or edge of the water, divides the line of vision. Of course, this is a great advantage to the flsh when seeking food. And since the band seems to serve no other purpose than to enable the tish to swim thus at the surface of the water, it is but reasonable to suppose that it has been formed there because of this peculiar 1 way of swimming. No other tish are w known to swim at the surface in just the same way as do these iish, and if they were to do so, it may be supposed that they, too, would sooner or later get a similar band on the eye, lor it is quite likely that this habit of holding the eye at the surface of the water evilile seeking food, extending through centuries with this fish, very gradually caused a gristle or blurred band to form on that portion of the eye which struck the water, or edge of the water. Now, as it is a custom of nature to take away the usefulness of any mem ber or organ of the body never used, she has caused this band to form here, four-Eyed FTsfy Tf\e Surface since that part of the eye -which struck the edge of the water was not used, and could not be used while the tish was swimming thus. This band has, therefore, by slow degrees, become more and more permanent, until now it is firmly fixed, and destroys the sight of that portion of the eye over which it extends. While very young the band is not on the fish's eye. This ' . fact helps to prove that the band was 4 ,not always on the eye of these fish, j| Silt it has been formed by their habit of swimming at the surface. Some scientists do not call this fish four-eyed, for they say there are no ' . four-eyed fish. They say this eye is exactly like any other eye, except for i the band across it, and that the human eye would represent a like condition were one to fasten a narrow band across it. Other scientists claim that each of these two parts of the eye can Le contracted or expanded independ ently cf the other. The Pear. The pear is undeniably the favorite fruit of modern times, indeed, we be lieve the pear of mcdern times, thanks to the science and skill of bortlcultur . ists, is quite a different morsel for the m palate from the pear of two or three f centuries ago. So long ago as the earliest time of the Romans the pear was considerably cultivated. It was common In Syria, Egypt and Greece, and from the latter countries was transplanted into Italy, and from there into Germany and Holland and eventually into the United States.—New York hiews. semmnroOTmuuOTtrotJusi | The First Auto in America | P It Was Constructed in 1884 by a Chicago Tlte first automobile used In America was constructed by a Chicago man. In 1884 Edwiu F. Brown, then a well known bicycle rider, evolved the idea of a steam-propelled vehicle for use ou ordinary roads. His first machine was built on the running gear of an old style tandem tricycle, with a boiler in front. He managed to operate it with some success and was encouraged to undertake an improvement. After a season of experiment he pro duced a second vehicle on totally dif ferent lines. It having four wheels in stead of three, and with the weight hung below the wheel shafts. This was operated successfully, but no great speed could be attained, us the boiler was still mounted in front and the es caping smoke and steam blew directly Into the face of the driver, blinding bis range of vision and making it danger- OUB to run faster than six or eight miles an hour unless he was certain the road was clear. The idea of placing the boiler at the rear of the vehicle did not occur to Mr. Brown until 1889, when he made a rad ical change In the body of the carriage. mounted it on pneumatic-tired wheels, and for short distances operated it at a speed of twenty miles an hour. All those machines were constructed en tirely of bicycle parts. Arkannas Cordiality. J. B. Rutherford returned from Little Rock and says that Jeff Davis is the biggest man in the State. "The State House," said Mr. Ruther ford, "was just crowded with people congratulating the Governor on his nomination. I sent in my card and the first thing I knew Davis came out in his shirt-sleeves and said: " 'Say, Jim, you don't need any card when you come to see me. If the other fellow had been elected you might have needed a card, but when you come to see me, just walk right in, and hang your hat on a peg, and unpack your trunk.' "—Arkansas Gazette. Don't burn your bridges behind you, under the impression that you are set ting the world on ffre. Most women seem to think there are no secrets worth keeping. Wands of Office. In some of the Lithuanian villages in the extreme northeastern corner of the German Empire, says the New York Herald, the Mayor, or Chief Magis strnte, still uses a wand of office. The use of this symbol of authority can be traced back to the conversion of the Lithuanians to Christianity at the end of the fourteenth century. These wnnds are appropriately called "krywuls," or crooks, for they are made of the most strangely contorted boughs and saplings that can be found. The more fantastic the shape of the krywul, the more highly is it valued. Many are made by training young shoots into queer forms. The krywul is carried by the Magis "XKVWULs" USED IN LITHUANIA. trnte on all ceremonial occasions, and It is also used as a representative of his person, like a royal signet ring. ON SPARING THE ROD. Public Education Association Discusses the Whipping of Children. "Is It worse to spnuk another wom an's child than your own?" asked the President of the Public Education As sociation, apropos of a member's as- ; sertion that "No person has a right J to whip another woman's child." A ! discussion on corporal punishment had been brought about by an incident re- , iated by the speaker of the day, Sirs. | A. J. George, of Brookline, Mass. | Sirs. George was asked if corporal punishment is permitted in Massacliu setts schools, and replied that State laws do not refer to it, every city anil town making its own regulations. "In Brookline the practice was dis continued some years ago," she said, "but it has been found necessary to resume it in a slight degree." The ad mission created a stir, as the Presi dent, Mrs. Schuyler Van Itensselaer, | had just stated that Frederick Olm- 1 sted, the landscape architect, told her that he had selected Brookline for his home, because it is "the most civ ilized place Iu America." A member was heard to remark, sotto voce: "If the cream of American civilization can't get along without whipping boys, how can New York, which is the mud, j expect to do it?" Animated arguments followed, some | advocating the moderate use of the ! rod, and others denouncing it iu any and every degree. One quoted a teacher as having told her that he had whipped j a certain boy every day for six mouths, j and the boy lived to thank him for | it. Somebody asked what became of the boy, and the answer was, "He went on the police force." The Presi dent told the advocates of whipping j that this horrible example should be a warning. Sirs. George's subject was, "The j Home and the School." She said that | in Brookline the conditions ure wholly | different from those in New York, as there the best home life is represented j in the schools. In all places, how ever, the home must seek to work with ' the school and to strengthen the iuflu- ! ence of the teachers. "No school can be higher than the | average of the homes represented in it," she said. "One of the difficulties experienced by teachers is the lack of home co-operation. Sometimes this takes the form of allowing children j to pursue social pleasures for which | they are not old enough. The girl or j boy sits up late at theatre or party, and lias to work harder to keep the I pace in ihe school, cud when he or j she breaks down under the strain it j is called 'the result of modern educa tion!' " Mrs. George asserted that high sal aries should be paid In order to secure teachers of high culture for every grade, as the best is needed nowhere more than at tl o •beginning of school life. She urged that mo • social at- | teution should b- paid to teachers by 1 the families of pupils, as many of them come from a distance to the city and have no social ties, thus narrowing their outlook upon life. "Where the Gluepot Came In. There was the usual collection oi j commercial travelers in the hotel, and the inevitable quiet man was one of them. They iiad been asking conun drums, many of which had been re ceived with roars of laughter, as being particularly clever. Then the quiet man spoke: "It is easy," he said, "to think of such riddles as, 'Why is your hat like a baby?' which contain one simile, but those with two are far more difficult. For instance: "What are the differences between the son of a millionaire, an organ and a gluepot?" "I give it up," said the mustard trav eler presently. "The son of a millionaire is an heir to millions, while an organ has a million airs! D'ye see?" "But what about the gluepot?" in quired tile hosiery representative. "Oh, that's where you stick!" re turned the quiet man. And the waiter smothered a guffaw behind a tray he was dusting, while the hosiery repre sentative howled for soda water.—Lou don answers. Art of Blacking Shoes. "The art of blacking a shoo is more complicated than it used to be, and the trade is not learned in a day," said the proprietor of a uootblack stand. "Anyone can black shoes, but it takes an artist to give the polish that is essential now. No less than three and frequently four or live ingredients are used 011 each pair of shoes. First there is the blacking, which is applied lib' erally. Then follows a clear colored oil, which is sprinkled from a bottle and then well rubbed ill by hand. "After this the first polishing takes places with big brushes. Next a pol ishing paste is smeared on with the lingers, and then the shoe is polished with bands of cotton flannel rubbed briskly over the surface. This is for calf-skin shoes. "For enameled or patent leathei shoes and for the russet or tan shoes a different preparation is used, and the skillful bootblack knows at a glance just what is most needed to give the highest lustre."—Philadelphia Record. A Soldier's Reply. A soldier of Marshal Saxes army, be ing discovered iu a theft, was con demned to be hanged. What he had stolen might be worth five shillings. The marshal, meeting them as he was being led to execution, said to him. "What a miserable fool you are, to risk your life for five shillings!" "Gen eral," replied the soldier, "I have risked it every day for my pay, five pence." This repnrtee saved his life.—Boys of the Empire. FACTS This notice is affixed to the church gate in a German village: "Cyclists and hens are forbidden to wander round the churchyard." Government engineers have found that the amount of solid matter car ried in suspension by tlie Mississippi River past Vieksburg is sufficient to make a square mile block house of earth 300 feet high. This would make a solid river of earth five feet deep and nine feet wide flowing as fast as a man can walk. It would make 25,000,- 000 wagon loads every year. The following advertisement recently appeared in a London paper: "Wanted —Loan of fifty pounds for a few years by man of integrity anil ability. Idle inquirers and weak-minded Christians need not apply, hilt persons of a phi lanthropic turn of mind and willing to net the part of a good Samaritan may find this a profitable investment. Apply by letter only to Aristides." A remarkable case of a man, still living, with a bullet iu ids heart, was brought out in the thirty-first congress of the German Chirurgienl Associaton, which convened last week at Berliu. After the bullet penetrated his body the wound healed quickly. Subse quently X-rays revealed the bullet ly ing in the left ventricle, bounding witli each bent. It now causes no inconve nience. A unique method has been adopted by the Council of Minmisburg, Ohio, to determine the speed of electric cars on its streets. The city ordinance places the maximum rate of speed at six miles per hour, and It is stated that a man who can walk at that rate lias been engaged to keep watch on the cars. He walks along tlie track, and, if he cannot keep up with any car he reports the fact to the Council, which takes up the matter with the railway company. There is a tree that grows in .Mexico called the "chljol," or stone tree. It is of enormous proportions, both in cir cumference and height. It has a num ber of branches spreading out widely aud carrying leaves of a yellowish green color. The wood is extremely fine and easily worked iu a groeu state It is not given to either warping or splitting. The most remarkable tiling about it is that after being cut tlie wood gets gradually harder, and Iu the course of a few years it is absolutely Ijetrifled, whether left in tlie open ait or buried in tlie ground. From tills timber houses can lie built that would in a few years become completely fire proof. aud would last as though built of stone. Royal Confessions. The most fascinating confession al bum is that possessed by the Queen of Greece. To this book nearly every crowned head in the world lias con tributed something, and vastly enter taining Is it to read the various an swers given by these august person ages to the questions asked. Iu answer to the question, "What is your idea of happiness?" the King of Greece has wittily written, "To always have a sovereign without a crown." The question, "What is your idea of un happiness?" has been answered by the King of Sweden as follows: "Tight boots, a corn and a heavy foot on top of it." Opposite the question, "What kind of personage do you consider the most objectionable?" his majesty King Edward VII. has written: "The most objectionable being iu the world, iu my opinion, is the man who will in sist on pointing at you with his um brella and shouting, 'There- he is!'" Athenian Soeietj'. Athenian society is divided into sets, as it is everywhere: first the court set, made up of the higher officials, the members of the diplomatic corps, officers of the army aud navy, rich residents, both foreign anil native, who entertain extensively, and others who are honored with a personal ac quaintance with the royal family. This set is more or less exclusive, anil in cludes only a small fraction of those who are entitled to invitations to court functions. The king's balls anil receptions are very much like these at the White House in Washington, and people with shabby clothes and muddy boots are often present, le eause their political Influence if not their social position entitles them to invitations.—Chicago Record-Herald. First Justice to Wear Gown. "Few people, I venture lo say, even in high official positions, know what justice first wore the gown iu tlie Supreme Court of the United States," said Hannis Taylor, former Minister to Spain, who is a recognized authority among the writers of law books. "When Justice John Jay took tlie office he thought tlie members of the Su preme bench should wear a gown of some sort. Accordingly he appeared in his own academical gown, which lie wore by virtue of having received a degree from the University of Dublin, or, as it was then known, 'Trinity Col lege.' It was a tricolored gown, too. Such a garment would look peculiar now, since the lilack gown has been adopted."—Washington Post. Meaning of "Infantry." The term "infantry" was first used by the Spaniards iu tlie wars with tlie Moors to designate the bodyguard of a royal prince or infanta. It was ex tended to the entire body of foot sol diers and finally adopted throughout Europe—Boston Globe. CAPTURINC A PYTHON. Traveler's Tale of Methods Adopted by Moros of Mindanao. A man who had been in the Far East tells this story of catching snakes. Says he: "The natives of one of our new colonies, the Moros of Mindanao, have a curious but effective way of capturing the huge pythons that infest the jungles anil morasses of their country. Almost all the larger houses there have stone walls built about them to jirevent wild ani mals from entering the yards to prey on the fowls or live stock belonging to the family. These same walls are also made to serve the purpose of serpent traps. A hole about fifteen inches in diameter is cut through the rough masonry near the ground. Shortly after dark tile natives tie sucking pigs to stakes on each side of the wall, not far from the hole. Then they go in side tlie house, smoke their pipes anil patiently wait for something to turn up. Nor are they often disappointed. The occasional cries, and more espe cially tlie odor of the pigs attract a python from the nearby swamps. Cau tiously he crawls up to tlie wall until he reaches the first pig outside the hole. In a twinkling he has thrown his jaws about the pig, and, struggling, the poor animal glides down the snake's body alive and whole. The serpent feels good, although tlie pig was not a large meal for him. So when lie hears and smells another such meal on Hie other side of tlie fence, he naturally shoves his head through the hole to in vestigate. There is another scream anil the second little pig is on its way down the snake's throat. "Now comes the critical moment. The natives inside the house rush out, and, flashing a torch in the pyth on's eyes, blind him long enough to slip a small leather strap over his head. Tlie python struggles hopelessly, for each pig he lias swallowed is like n knot in Ills body that prevents hint from slipping through the hole either way. Tlie natives soon have him se curely bound by stout ropes to stakes in tlie ground. Then they remove ills leather collar and force him to disgorge the last pig he has swallowed. The other is cut out, still alive, and neither of the pigs is much the worse for their experience. Thus the python Is not only captured, but also cheated out of the meal which led him to bis mis fortunes." Deferable Royal Jehu. "One of the most desirable posts at Windsor Castle," says a correspondent of the Chicago Record-Herald, "is that of the 'king's limner,' who in an cient times decorated books and manu scripts with initial letters, and who now prepares the parchment commis sions when his majesty is pleased to confer knighthood or some other honor upon one of his subjects. The man who now fills the post has extraordi nary skill with the pen anil the brush, anil Ills diplomas and certificates were greatly admired for their exquisite taste and skillful execution. He re ceives a salary of $2500 a year. The clockmaker at Windsor Castle receives the same compensation, and it is his business to keep all the timepieces in repair. The historiographer, who is supposed to keep a record of events, holds a hereditary office, with a salary of $2500 a year. The master of music received SISOO and arranges concerts for his majesty's diversion. The sur veyor of pictures is pnid SISOO, the librarian receives $2500, the examiner of plays SIOOO, the keeper of the swans is paid S3OO, and the bargemaster, who looks after the boats used by the royal family, has a similar compensation." A Mixed Roclpe. A fashionable young lady visited a cooking school the other afternoon, where her attention was equally di vided between a new dress worn by an acquaintance and the directions for making a cake. Upon returning home she undertook to write down the re cipe for making the cake for her mother, and the old lady was paralyzed when she read the following: "Take two pounds of flour, three rows of plaiting down the front, the whites of two eggs cut bias, a pint of milk ruffled round the neck, half pound currants, with seven yards of bead trimming, grated lemon peel with Spanish lace fichu; stir well, and add a semi-fitting paletot with vlsito sleeves; butter the pan with Brazilian topaz necklace, and garnish with icing and passementaric. Bake in a mod erately hot oven until the skirt is tucked from the waist down on either side, and finish with large satin rosettes." Her mother said she wouldn't eat such a cake, and she thought these new-fangled ideas in cooking ought to be frowned down.—Michigan Badger. Bring the tnilH Together. A certain colonel somewhere in the South (no matter where) was in the habit of telling yarns anil greatly ex aggerating. He hail a negro servant who corroborated everything his mas ter told. One day the Colonel had some gentlemen to dinner, and they were enjoying some line venison very much. The Colonel said: "Yes, I went hunting the other day and saw a Hue buck. I took a good sight at him ami shot him through the head, and the bullet went through his hind leg." Tlip gentlemen looked at each a little mystified. The negro scratched his head and at last said: "Yes, indeed, gemmen, just as massa raised the gun to shoot de buck he raised his hind log and scratch his ear, and the bullet went through tlie bead and right through de hind leg." The gentlemen looked more satisfied. After the guests had left the negro said to his master: "Gorry mighty, massa, next time you tell one of dem yarns do get the ends closter togeilder. I had hard work to make both ends meet."—New Orleans Times-Democrat i I The smallest known bacillus bus been discovered at Buenos Ay res. It Is only just discernible when magnified 1300 times. It causes a cattle disease known as manquea. The common superstition that there Is little or no twilight in the tropics has been disproved by S. I. Bailey, af ter carefully verified observation and experiment. He reports a twilight at Vincocya to be an hour and twelve minutes long. A comparison has recently been made of the power of the lights in French lighthouses at various periods In the last thirty years. In 1873, when only oil lights were used, the highest power was equal to 54,000 candles. In 1883, when the electric light was intro duced, the power rose to a maximum )f 820,000 candles. Since then frequent improvements have been made in the electric light until, at present, the most powerful lighthouses project an Illumination nearly equal to 3,000,000 candles. Anthropologists have remarked that taking aim Is a human characteristic which even the anthropoid apes can not be said to share. Apes and mon keys frequently throw nuts and sticks, sometimes with unpleasant conse quences to others, but they show little or no ability to take accurate aim. The baboon is said to excel somewhat In this regard, but still he would never pass for a marksman. The accuracy of eye and judgment of direction and distance which are involved in real aiming have only been developed by man, aud are among the tokens of his Intellectual superiority. Dr. F. 11. Knowlton, of the United States National Museum, says that perhaps the longest straightawn.v flight made by birds in their migrations is accomplished by some of the shore and water birds that nest in the isl ands of Bering Sen and spend the win ter at Hawaii and Fanning Island. 2200 miles away. As some of these birds live entirely on the shore, and nre probably unable to rest on the sur face of water, they must, says Dr. Knowlton, accomplish the whole dis tance in a single flight. Yet, although there are no landmarks for them upon their long journey over a waste of waters, they make their way to their destination "with the precision of a rifle shot." It has been the custom lately to fast en wire ropes and chains at perilous places on the Alps to assist climbers. Some of these nre to be seen on the upper tower of the Mntterhorn, where the climbing is most dangerous. But last summer's experiences have indi cated an unforeseen peril arising in unsettled weather from the wires and chains themselves. A number of tour ists were severely shocked and stunned by charges of electricity passing through the safety guards, which act as lightning conductors. Any one who has been on the Matterhorn can easily understand how a shock of that kind, experienced at certain points, might, without being severe enough in itself to produce fatal results, cause a terri ble disaster. Labial Movement In Reading. "Either I am becoming more ob serving as I grow older or else there are many more things to observe," said the man with the red moustache. "At any rate, I see a good deal more nowadays than I used to. For in stance, It was only recently that I no tlced how very many people move their lips reading to themselves. When I was a youngster I was taught that the labial movement was peculiar to the poorly educated, who could make no sense out of what they were read ing unless they pronounced each word. But the appearance of many of the people whose lips are constantly on the go while reading tends to refute that theory. Certainly not half the street car passengers whom I see por ing over their newspapers night and morning nre in any wise illiterate, yet fully that proportion move their lips in silent pronunciation. "Several suggestions have been of fered in explanation of that fact. One Is that the manifold noises of thi Btreet so confuse the mind that in or der to concentrate his thoughts upon the printed page it becomes necessary for the reader to give form to the words. Another person advances the opinion that as a large percentage of our population is foreign born they are not sufficiently familiar with the Eng lish language to read it without a tussle, hence the visible if not audible expression of their thoughts. I doubt if either of these guesses hits the mark. If it does not, and anybody else has a more plausible theory on tap, I wish he would stand up and make it known."—New York Times. .StampH Sent Front All Lands. In the Fostoffice Department there is n book that is always kept under lock and key. It is one of the most treasured articles in the department. The hook contains a set of postage stamps of every country in the world. These stamps come from Berne, Switz erland. Seven hundred and fifty sets of each United States postage issue are also distributed from that point. Each country comprising the Interna tional Postal Union when a new issue of stamps is out sends a certain num ber of sets to Berne. The officials at that point then distribute the stamps to the different postoffiee departments throughout the world,—Washington Star.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers