Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 February 1881 — BITS OF INFORMATION. [ARTICLE]

BITS OF INFORMATION.

Sun dials were invented 550 B. C. The sextant was invented in 1550. The first locomotive built in this country was at West Point in 1830. It was named the Phoenix. Calico received its name from Calicut, a city of Lidia, which was discovered by the Portuguese in 1498. The English is the most difficult of all modern languages for a foreigner to learn with accuracy. The German comes next. The French is easier to acquire, and the Italian easier still. Fog is caused by the union of tw’o masses of vapor of different temperature. The sun heats the earth in a much shorter time than it does the ocean, and when the warm air of the land unites with the colder air of the sea the vapor is condensed and rendered visible. During a time of scarcity the ancient Lydians invented several games, among others that of dice. One day they would engage in games so entirely as not to feel any craving for food ; the next day they ate and abstained from games. In this way, according to an old historian, they passed eighteen years. The following thirteen States formed the Union at the time of the Declaration of Independence : New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaw'are, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The last six were slaveholding States. The gift of a red rosebud means, “ Thou hast stolen my affections ;” of a white rosebud, “lam to be w'on,” or “I shall win you if I can.” Both are declarations of love, differing only in intensity. “ One is a hint, the other a dead ‘ give-away,’ ” said a recent writer. The moss rose means, “ Thou art one of a thousand;” the white rose, “My heart is free;” the damask rose, “Blushes augment thy beauty;” the cinnamon rose, “Without pretension;” the wild rose, “Simplicity;” a withered white rose, “ Transient impression;” a withered red rose, “Our flirtation has ended. ” The average daily temperature or daily mean temperature is found by adding the temperature at 7 a. m., 2 p. m. and twice the temperature at 9 p. m. and dividing this sum by four; to find the monthly mean temperature, the. daily mean temperatures of each day are added and divided by the number of days of the month. The annual mean temperature is found by taking the sum of the twelve monthly mean temperatures divided by twelve, and the mean temperature of a place is ascertained by adding the annual mean temperatures and dividing by the number of years.