Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1896 — BITS OF KNOWLEDGE. [ARTICLE]

BITS OF KNOWLEDGE.

Woolen manufacture employs 220,000 Americans. The man who will not improve hia chance is bound'to lose if, no matter whether It has to do with seeking salvation or making a fortune. A 634 carat diamond, the finest ever found in Africa, was discovered at Jaggersfontein, in the Transvaal, 'on the day after Christmas. When cut it is expected that it will be worth £300,000. - Charlemagne possessed a tablecloth woven from asbestos. He used to astonish his guests a’fter dinner by gathering it up and throwing it into the fire, from whence he drew it cleansed from gravy and other grease. New Hampshire has reason to be proud of her free public library system. Splendid work has been accomplished since 1892, and of the 233 cities and towns in the State there are now not more than fifty that have no free public library. Negotiations are in progress . by which the Art Institute of Chicago may become the possessor of the sixtyfour paintings by Gustave Dore which for the past few years have been exhibited in this country. The price is said to be $1,000,000. A cave alleged to rival in extent and grandeur the great Mammoth Cave has been discovered in Edmonson County, Kentucky, in which Mammoth Cave is situated. The newspapers of that region tell many stories of the remarkable character of the new cave. In commemoration of the victories ■won by the Japanese troops in China, the Buddhists of Kioto, Japan, will erect a gigantic bronze statue of Buddha in that city. It will be 120 feet in height, and the cannon captured by the Japanese during the war fire to be used in making the image.