Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 July 1916 — SCRAPS [ARTICLE]

SCRAPS

Grass snakes are legless lizards. Scotland now has 124 agricultural co-operative trading socities. Glass windows were first used in private houses in England in 1180. At the last survey there were 417 ocean cables in the world, representing 235,492 miles. Plumbago is the most important mineral product of Ceylon, which has about 1,000 mines. The Chinese governement made profit last year on i&s telegraph lines of nearly $1,000,009. Quickly adjusted molds for concrete steps have been patented by a Missouri inventor. The American immigration in 1014 was 1,218,480, the Russian empire sending more than any othc; nation.. It has been estimated that the sense of smell in a human being can detect the three-hundredth-milliontb part Of a grain of musk. The invention of the cravenetting process for waterproofing textiles was the result of an accident in an English dye works. The French government has appointed a commission to study the general use of motion pictures in the different bram-ues (i public education. - A chemical process renders noninflammable all the woodwork employed in the construction of the rolling stock for London’s underground railways. A Grand Rapids (Mich.) trash collector makes most of his living from the brass eyelets, steel stays and other bits from decrepit corset’ found in the dump. Pedometers are worn by the senior girls in the domestic science department of the Kansas State Agricultural college in Manhattan, Kas., ot determine how many unnecessary steps they take while preparing meals. To safeguard painters’ health a British commission has recommended a law prohibiting the importation, sale or use of any paint material containing more than five per cent of its dry weight of a soluble lead compound. Impressment—the seizing of men for the British navy—was practiced for centuries, and did not become obsolete till just before the Crimean war. Sometimes the crews were taken from foreign ships on the high seas. In granting concessions for development of its recently discovered potash deposits Spain is requiring concessionaires to reserve for na tional consumption such parts of t H salts as the government deems advisable. The death rate from cancer in Pennsylvania is said to be increasing at a rate out of all proportion to the growth in population. It is predicted that there will be 6,000 deaths from the disease in that state this year. Butter’s constantly increasing pric-. in France has led the authorities to consider various remedies. The sale of oleomargarine has been author ized temporarily as a war measure in establishments where butter is ordinarily sold. It is from the Boston Traveler an 1 is supposed to have been spoken by’ a clergyman’s small son, whose older brother was to be confirmed ar church. “It’s like this,’’ quoth the youngster, “the bish’ is going to put his mitts on brother's bean.’’ Just as a problem is practical psychology, how many can tell the initials of Mr. Bailey, one-time par s ner in the Barnum & Bailey circ.'S. And who is there doesn’t know, on the other hand, that Mr. Barnum’s name was Phineas T.?-r-Springfield Republican. Arizona’s national forest reserve is now traversed by en excellent automobile road, the route following a famous Apache trail and passing tne huge Roosevelt dam, the home of ancient cliff dwe’lers and others of the state’s most interesting scenic and historic spots. Stephen Babcock of Yonkers, X. Y., recently dead, though blind al ways earned his living and at ore time had in his employ Grover Cleveland, later President of the United States. Mr. Babcock invented the raised maps so extensively used in schools for the blind. The Rev. F. Ch Nol of Chambersburg, Pa., was recently annoyed by not finding his morning paper on his doorstep. The next day on opening his mail box he found a cent with a note stating that it was to pay so» the paper which a conscience-strick-en citizen had taken. H. L. Jacobs of Providence, R. i., has a bungalow on his place which is for the exclusive use of cats. Tua building is 25 feet long by 12 feet wide, one-story high, with a cellar. The cats have their own separate apartments and sun parlors; connect ed to the house by a runway is an exercise yard. The insect world represents an unlimited field of life and activity. Ti e number of insect species is greater by far than of the species of al’ other living creatnes“combined. A -

though more than 300,000 have be«m described, probably twice that number remain to be examined. Virtually all living animals, as well as most plants, supply fool for these incomputable hordes. The Argentine republic does net figure in most people’s mind as a wine-growing country, yet some of its provinces boast of wine growing as a leading industry and the output during recent years has increases rapidly. The Argentine vintage now averages about 130,000,000 gallons a year, of which the province of Mendoza produces about four-fifths In 1905 the toal output of the republic was some 4 0,000,000 gallons, less than one-third of what it is now f .