AUGUST 28, 1903.
in London an electric sculpturing machine, the solo
rights of,whiclvthoy have purchased from a Mr.'
BontempI, of Naples. The workman is seated on
one side of the machine. In front is a plaster cast,
and with one- hand he guides a rod 'backward and
forward 'over the plaster. A revolving steel drill
protrudes from the machine two feet. away, and
another further on. In front of each of those
drills is fixed a block of marble, and a jet of
.water is played on the point of each drill. Every
movement of the "rod in the workman s hand is
followed by a similar movement on the part of
the drills, which rapidly cut away the surface
of the marble until it corresponds with the sur
face tof '-the plaster." . . :
rpHE LONDON CORRESPONDENT FOR THE
X' . New. York World further say that when he
saw .the "m,aqhine jit had roughly cut the face of a
classic, poet out oftthe marble, aijd was at work
on the side of the head. Some superabundant
stone having been rapidly cleared away, the rod
.was applied to the fillet binding the poet's hair,
and in a few minutes the ribbon was reproduced in
marble. The rough outline of the "hair then made
its appearance, every lock being hewn but of the
jhard stone with astonishing celerity and mar
vellous fidelity. This machine can sculpture two
busts simultaneously, and this number is capable
.of '.considerable increase. It is believed that the
.invention will have a great influence on the future
o sculpture.
A' STRANGE FUNERAL RECENTLY TOOK
XJl place at Kishineff, Russia, at which place,
it will be remembered, outbreaks against the Jews
took place not long ago and many Jews were
killed by mobs. The New York Times says:
"During the troubles in Aishineff, thirty of the
parchment scrolls, containing the Jewish law and
held in the holy ark at t-io synagogue and taken
out only am great occasions, either of mourning or
of joy, .were so mutilated that it was decided to
bury them with the honors of the dead. Accord
ingly, ai great ceremonial was arranged and car
ried out Oh August 2, which is the 9th day of the
Jewish month of Ab. It was on this day that
-the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed, and it is
therefore observed with great ceremonial by the
Jews. But the ceremony of the funeral made it
an extraordinary day among the people of
Kishineff. The scrolls were placed in vases, on
which was written the story of the massacre, and
' followed by great crowds to the cemetery, this
cemetery being the one near where the massacre
took place, 'ine scene of the funeral, recalling as
it did thoughts of sorrow to the Jows, is said to
have been moving, the crowd weeping while the
rabbis conducted the ceremony."
TRAVELERS IN THE ALPS AND OTHER
mountainous regions of Switzerland will re-,
call the pretty mountain flower known as the
"edelweiss."- For some time it Was feared- that
this flower would become extinct, owning to the
great demand for It. Recently a dealer in Zurich
advertised for 125 pounds of the flower and this
prompted a writer in the New York Herald to
say: "The trade in this pretty Alpine flower has
'within the last few years developed into quite a
large industry In Switzerland. It is extensively
used for funeral wreaths and some time ago a
large wreath was made here composed entirely of
edelweiss, the value of tLa flowers being over
seventy-live francs. It may be aaued that a fair-
ly extensive allied industry is the manufacture of
artificial edelweiss. The disappearance of some
of the rarer Alpine flowers is continually being
reported in the Alps, and edelweiss in particular
is altogether extinct in some places where it was
abundant not many years ago,"
af
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A. QUAINT CUSTOM OF ANCIENT ORIGIN IS
about to terminate in London. According to
the New York Tribune, "London bridge pays taxes
for imaginary houses on it. At any rate, it still
yields the rates and taxes of the houses which the
old bridge supported. A correspondent of the
City Press explains that when, about the year
1756, it was decided to clear the houses from the
bridge, certain taxes and tithes survived, and
have been paid, ever since by ttie Bridge House
Estates to the rectors of St Magnus and St Olave
churches. Not less than 60,000 has been paid to
these two parishes since the decrepit houses which
formerly yielded them were pulled down. They
survived not only the houses, but the old bridge
itself. And now there is a movement to stop this
serial ghost fltpry of taxation. But it Is certain
that the stoppage can only be effected by regular
commutation or some other equitable arrangement"
The Commoner,
SO FAR AS KNOWN, THERE ARE, VERY FEW
.. . , factories in htwcountry for making artl
iicial flies for bait, nnd of these few, one is sit
uated at btevons Point in Wisconsin. The Mil
waukee Sentinel, which makes this claim, also
Bays that the factory is owned and operated by a
"woman and all of the employes aro girls and
women. The Sentinel adds: "Miss Carrie Frost,
who is the proprietor, learned how to make artl
licial flies from her fishermen father and uncle,
who learned in England and have always been
enthusiastic sportsmen. Sho herself can chooso
her bait and cast and catch as well as any, and
frequently indulges in the sport Sho made her
fly hooks so well for her father and uncle that
their friends clamored for her work, and when
she soon had so many" orders that she could not
fill them she began to employ and teach a few
girls to help her. After that she undertook the
manufacture of fly hooks as a regular business.
She rents a long, low one-story building, original
ly put up for a' bowling alley, xhcro sho employs
from sixty to seventy girls, who, working all tho
year around, turn out 3,000 and 4,000 flies every
day. Miss Frost herself manages tho whole busi
ness, sees to the ordering of supplies, teaches mo
girls how to do tho work, fills her own orders,
keeps the books, and, when sho wants an extra
good one, makes It herself."
sc tr
THE BERLIN UNIVERSITY HAS FITTED
out an expedition to hunt for and capture a
huge bird that has for mar years been reported
as extinct, but recent reporta encourage the belief
that it is yet to be found far In tho interior of
Madagascar In Africa. Prof. Krause has been
appointed as tho head of this expedition and has
already started on tho hunt for the giant bird.
Ihe Berlin correspondent for the St. Louis Globe
Democrat says: "Tho scientific name of the
giant bird is Aepyornis, and it was supposed to be
extinct up to a short time ago, when one of Its
eggs was found on the southwest coast of Mada
gascar, swimming in a river that had carried it'
from the interior. .This egg was 16 inches high,
measuring 12 inches In diameter. It was sawed
apart and Its contents filled a liters vessel, being
i" equivalent of 190 chicken eggs. fThe weight
of tho egg was 27 pounds and the shell measured
G millimetres in diameter. Madagascar being a
tropical country it must bo assumed' that the egg
was laid no more than eight days ere it was found,
as otherwise it would have gone putrid. For that
reason the Berlin university fitted out an expe
dition to hunt and capture a giant bird and find
out all about its life and condition. The bird is
supposed to be between 14 and 15 feet high."
AN INTERESTING EPISODE TOOK PLACE
in Pittsburg, Pa., recently. On August 10, .
according to a correspondent of the New York
World, $8,500,000 passed through the streets
known only to a few persons. The Pittsburg cor
respondent says:- "The money comprised the
contents of the vaults of the Tradesmen's and
Columbia national banks, which were moving
from their former locations to the new Jb armors' .
Eank Building. Tho treasure was made up of
specie, securities and the contents of the safe de
posit vaults. It was all placed in huge sacks. In
some instances two men were required to lift a
sack. Two trips were made, and in both in
stances the wagons were filled. A score of city
and private detectives were about tho neighbor
hood to see that nothing happened to the treas
ure." AN ENORMOUS INCREASE IN THE NUMBER
of insane in England and Wales has been
noted in recent years. A writer In the Kansas
City Journal, speaking on this subject, says: "In
1859 the total number of Insane was 36,762", or one
in every 536. On January 1, 1903, tho number had
risen to 113,964, or one In every 293. The rate of
Ircrease has been greatest since 1894, the leap be
ing from 92,067. In 1902 tho increase over 1901
vas 3,251. The total number of insane cases In
1902 was 22,581 over 400 a week. Of the increase
over tho preceding year 188 vere private, 48 crim
inal and 3,015 pauper. The proportion of private
cases is about the same now as in 1859, but the
pauper rate has doubled. To drink Is attributed
t 23 per cent of the male cases and 9.6 of the female.
' To herldity is attributed 18.8 per cent of tho
male cases and 24.6 of the female."
THOMAS A. EDISON, THE FAMOUS .INVEN
tor, has perfected a phonograph which, It Is
believed, will revolutionize the taking and pro
ducing of testimony and dictation. Mr. Edison
claims that with two machines, om for recording
and the other for reproducing, a single operator
can do tho work of eight under the present y- .
tern. Tho Orango, N. J., correspondent for th
Chicago Chronlclo says: "Although no larger
than ordinary phonographs, tho now dovlce Is dif
ferent In many particulars. Tho record In nine
inches long and half an inch thick and will tako
lrorn eight to nine lottors of ordinary length. An
other advantage claimed for the record of tho now
machino is that it can bo shaved 175 times, mak
ing its cost no more than tho cheapest papor.
1 ho machino Is operated by olcctrlcity. After tho
person dictating has finished his work tho typo
writer operator takes the record nnd transfers It
to a phonograph nt his desk. When ho touches a
button wan hlB foot the machino begins to repro
duce. The invention is not claimed to bo an n
t rely now and untried ono, but K has not been so
thoroughly perfected that it could be profitably
used for the purposo referred to until now."
a? ar
TVrEWSPAPER READERS ARE FAMILIAR
IX with the rigid censorship exorclsod In Rus
sia as regards publications. The London Express
recently gave a curious example of the uso of
this powor In Russia in another direction: A
manufacturer of swoots was In tho habit of wrap
ping up bonbons in colored paper, which was cov
eied with' all manner of little pictures. Ono of
these pictures was that of a landscape with a
storm coming up from tho sea. Underneath was
tho sentence, "Tho storm rages; it approachen
nearer.' These papers were confiscated by tho
censor and their further uso forbidden under a
heavy penalty, as it. was thought that they wero
political propaganda. '
FOR-MANY YEARS THE FORTH BRIDGE IN
England has been regarded as tho largest
bridge undertaking ever completed In tha: coun
try. ThiB fame is in a fair way to be eclipsed,
however, by a now bridge that is to bo erected
over the Tyno at Newcastle, England. The Phil
adelphia Public Ledger says that tho estimated
cost of this structure is $2,350,000, and adds: "Tho
new bridge will be used for railway traffic only,
and besides affording greater care and speed in
working the railway lines 'concentrated at Now
castle, it will save at least $100,000 per annum in
locomotive power. The three main piers will be
rounded on steel caissons 4o feet long by 35 feet
wide, sunk 69 feet below high water mar .. The
?ianIn ,brd,ge wlu b0 a Btcel rioted lattice truss,
1,100 feet long, consisting of three river spanc each
300 feet long and two side spans of 540 feet. Each
main span will include five lattice girders 320 feet
long, 27 feet deep and .4 feet wide, and each
main girder will weigh over 300 tons. The four
lines of rails on this bridge will bo 110 feet abovo
high water, with 83 feet headway under tho Kir
dors." A STRANGE STORY IS REPORTED FROM
Oacoma, S. D., by tho correspondent for the
Qhlcago Tribune. This correspondent says that
immediately preceding a heavy showor, nearly
every kitten less than six months old In the vicin
ity died, apparently from tho effects of some
gaseous matter In the air. A bunch of eighteen
cattle was seen coming from the flats, when eight
of them fell to the ground. A farmer living near
by ran out to them and found six of the eight al
ready dead. John Morris, a stockman living on
White river, reports the loss of six head in tho
same way. It is generally believed that the copi
ous rains which have fallen since haye neutral
ized whatever poison to-anlmal life may have been
in tho air. It was a phenomenon heretofore un
known there.
r
THE LONDON DAILY MAIL RECENTLY AN
nounced that another of London's show
places was to be taken away from that city. Tho
building known as the original of the "Old Curios
ity Shop," which was immortalized by Dickens, tho
novelist, has been sold to an American who in
tends to take It to pieces and re-erect it in tho
United States. According to a cablegram from
London to the St Louis Republic, the Drily Mall
says: "Thousands have paid for the privilege of
seeing the venerable edifice and of purchasing
Dickens curios, caring but little whether the house
written about by the master novelist really ex
isted there, or, as many suppose, in Fetter Lane.
Thirty-five years ago the observatory of a house
in St Martin's street was bought by an American
syndicate for ?500 and shipped across tho seas.
The Yankees were delighted, for they thought they
were purchasing the room which had ben used by
Sir Isaac Newton. Plenty of English people, how
ever, knew better."
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