Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 February 1910 — FACTS IN TABLOID FORM. [ARTICLE]

FACTS IN TABLOID FORM.

Early historic times in Norway are to be illustrated at an exposition to be held at Bergen next summer. Iceboats have long been in use, and now a German inventor has patented a simple sail vehicle, which makes fair progress over good roads. The board of trustees of the Univeristy of Pennsylvania has authorized the establishment of a bureau or institution of German-American research. In the nlneetenth century twenty feet a minute was regarded as a good standard rate of cutting for a planing machine. To-day forty feet a minute may be considered the standard. Uoal is obtained in many parts of New Zealand, but the chief mines are in the Westport district, in South Nelson; the Grey district, in Westland; in Otago and Auckland. The best coals occur in the two former, the Westport mines producing a quality scarcely equaled throughout the world. Accessions of almost priceless value form a part of the 167,677 volumes which were added during the year to the library of Congress, making the total number of volumes- in that great library 1,702,635. The valuable additions Include a set of the great Chinese encyclopedia given by the Chinese government. The Brazilian government has placed an order with an English shipbuilding firm for a floating dock to be used in connection with the two big Dreadnoughts now being built for her in that country. The dock is to be one of the largest, if not the largest, of its kind in the world, and will have a lifting capacity of 22,000 tons. It is to be constructed in eleven months, at a cost of $913,500. —Popular Mechanics. At the museum at Innsbruck, in Austria, there has been for a number of years a piece of pottery in the form of a basin, which experts were unable to locate as to age. It has now been determined that it was made in the twelfth century, and the great bowl is remarkable more for the design which it bears on the inner side than for its age. It shows Alexander the Great riding in an airship, which* is propelled by griffins. Alexander stands holding with a great rod food oyer the heads of the griffins. x German inventors have at last produced a product which should minimize the casualties so frequently caused by the exploding of spirit lamps. This is no other than denatured alcohol in the form of solid cubes, which can be burnt in a special lamp by simply igniting them with a match. The cubes, which are about the size of a lump of sugar, look like gelatin and burn slowly with a hot, blue flame. They will not evaporate and are said to be cheaper, for the heat developed, than is liquid alcohol.—Van Norden Magazine.

William O’Brien, the Irish political leader, is reported. to have taken up his permanent abode in Jerusalem, Half a century ago another Irish leader, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, got disgusted with the situation in the Emerald isle, threw up his seat in the House of Commons and went into voluntary exile. But he preferred Australia, where he entered on a new career, became a minister to the crown, premier, speaker and the recipient of a political pension of >5,000 per annum, which he enjoyed for forty years. Odd evidence against an inattentive schoolboy was delivered to the parents of an urchin the other day by his teacher. It seems that while the history class was in session the youth, instead of paying attention to his teacher, was looking up toward the celling with his mouth wide open dreanflfcg. The teacher did not disturb him until after he had drawn a sketch ot him in that position. After the class was dismissed the teacher mailed the sketch to the parents, adding a caption which explained all. Next day the boy was unusually alert —New York Sun. A feature of the winter season In Quebec is a competition for the bee. snow statue to be made in Dufferin terrace, directly opposite the Chateau Frontenac. Snow lends Itself admirably to modeling, as several successful statues made in past winter carnivals in Canada testify, it is probable that one ot the three Judges, will be M. Paul Cbevre, of Paris, who is the sculptor of the Champlain status on Dufferin terrace. M. Chevre is spending several weeks in Quebec at the chateau. The Chateau Frontenac offers a purse of >SO In gold to the sculptor of the best snow statue and. two other prises, each of >25 in gold, are offered by business firms. Mr. Knight’s proposed expedition to the Interior of the Sahara will concern Itself chiefly with that still unsolved mystery, Lake Chad. Recent explorers have signally failed to agree as to the shape and size of this extraordinarily situated sheet of water. Apparently the lake Is divided into two by a belt of Islands and reedy swamp land, but whereas the maps of the French explorers show an open channel across this belt a late expedition has declared it impassable. And that is not the only question to bo solved, for there are very varying accounts of the size of the lake, tt la" said to be shrinking, There is even a theory that it contracts and irnpanW within a certain cycle of years.—Lour, Am Standard.' r -