Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 April 1916 — SCRAPS [ARTICLE]

SCRAPS

In Wieliezka, near Cracow, there are houses built of the salt which is abundant in that vicinity. The Baltic sea’g wreck record is one a day—greater than that of any other part of the world. The Chinese have cared for their fish resources for centuries, but the United States leads in scientific fish propagation. A Pan-American fair to be held in San Antonio, Tex., two years hence, will be in commemoration of the Franciscan .brothers who early brought civilization and religion to the great southwestern corner of North America, founding four missions in what is now Texas between the year 1720 and 1731. Havana, or San Cristobal de la J-Jabana, as it was originally named, v’as' the last of seven cities founded in Cuba by the. island’s conqueror, the Aa e,antado Diego Velasquez, the date bCi n S July 25, 1515. Since that was 23 vears after the well-known Columbus d. ate , there can>t be many new world c’il. ’ es °l^ er than Havana, assuming that n 10St of the other six in Cuba have sineb disappeared. A new feature i’ n New York theatricals Is the neighborhood circuit, a series of small, ifirh t-class nouses here and there in thick 1y populated sections far from the v'hite light district, to which the be, attrac-

tions go on leaving the “Broadway’' houses in which they have been offered. Even companies which have been out of the city for some time and traveled considerable distances, return for runs of a few nights or a week in these theaters. For the education of the 325 seniors at Yale college slightly more than $1,000,000 has been required. While it is figured that $4,073 for the entire four years is the average cost a student, one man alone has spent $15,000 in the process of going through college, while another has required only SBOO to provide his education. In this connection it is a noteworthy fact that 120 members of the class have earned their way through college either in part or in whole, having earned to d.ate a grand total of more than $300,000. The pith of the sunflower stalks is by far the lightest vegetable substance. Dried sunflower pith, in fact, is 10 times lighter than cork, while the pith of the elder tree is three times as light as cork. The sunflower is cultivated to a great extent in central Russia, where every part of the plant is put to some use. The pith, in particular, is carefully removed from the stalk, and used in making life-saving appliances. A sufficient quantity can be carried on a person to keep him afloat, and it is so light that he will never notice its weight.