Palo Pinto Tribune. (Palo Pinto, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, May 24, 1895 Page: 8 of 8
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SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
SOME RECENT INVENTIONS AND
DISCOVERIES.
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'Jim of Nature'! Stereotype Flute*—A
Chicken House Uwl< of Bod—Cut of
thm Moving Tabernacle—Acids and Al-
kallea—Note* of Industry.
ONE of the great
difficulties that sur-
veyors encounter In
attempting to fol-
*T low the lines of old
jf surveys Is the dis-
luMMt appearance of old
ww- landmarks. This
may occur from
heedlessness of man
or the forces of na-
ture. An example of
the latter Is shown
In the accompanying cut. It shows with
jome degree of accuracy the perfect
stereotyping that nature Is capable of
9zecutlng, though she takes years to
accomplish the task.
In 1834 the United States government
lurveyor made surveys of certain lands
in Florida, and, as Is the custom, noted
jorners and angles by blazing the trees
and marking on them with gauger's
tools the range, township and section
numbers, says the New York Sun. The
lurveyor employed by the Florida Land
and Lumber company of Volusia coun-
ty.Florlda,recently during the course of
in examination of the lands of the com-
pany spilt up a cypress tree in search of
juch corner marks. The ax separated
:he chip, of which the above Is a picture,
ind disclosed on the trunk of the tree
the marks for which he searched. The
marks: "R. 30, T. 14, S. 33," appear
in bas-relief on the concave side of the
Jlab or chip, and are as distinct as the
original marks were when the surveyor
made them on the trunk of the tree
)ver sixty years ago. Every feature of
^he matrix is distinctly reproduced. The
land company's surveyor sent the fol-
lowing explanatory letter with the chip:
"This curiosity is a chip cut off a cy-
press tree standing near the southwest
sorner of section 33, township 14, range
10. These marks of the section, rani^e
and township numbers were cut into
the tree by the United States govern-
ment surveyor In 1834, and the new
growth of the tree covered up and grew
pver the marks, taking the reverse Im-
pression of the marks yet remaining
pn the tree. The chip was split off by
me while examining the lands of the
Florida Land and Lumber company.
By reference to the map you will see
that this corner is In the edge of a
:ypress swamp. Many such marks were
found by me, and this Is one of many
proofs of the accuracy of my survey."
The specimen will be sent by the own-
srs to the New York Museum of Natu-
ral History.
A Chicken House Made of Soil.
The sod house shown In the Illustra-
tion I have found healthful, convenient
and large enough to accommodate 75 to
100 hens. In a bank sloping southwest
I made an excavation 12 feet east and
west by 22 feet north and south. At the
southwest corner the excavation was on
a level with the surface of the ground;
at the north side it was 2% feet deep.
Around the edges I built a sod wall
making its upper edge five feet above
the floor. I roofed the north half with
boards and covered with tar paper. A
border of sod was placed all around
the edge, then the whole overlaid with
six Inches of gypsum taken from a pit
near by. In the south half of the roof I
put two hotbed sashes 3x9 feet and cov-
ered the remainder of the space the
same as the north side. In the walls
were placed two glass windows and a
door with glass In the upper part. In
the north wall there is a window level
with the roosts 18 inches high and five
feet long. It Is used for ventilation in
the summer. In winter It is covered
with boards and flanked with earth. The
windows are hinged and covered with
heavy wire netting. I have an extra
lattice door for summer. The walls were
5iven two coats of gypsum or poor
man's plaster (very abundant in the
southwest), and when dry a heavy
whitewash was applied to fill all cracks.
Roosts occupy the north half. The south
half under glass Is reserved for nests
and a feeding ground during stormy
weather. The floor under the roosts Is
made of gypsum, cement and sand.
From this the droppings can be readily
taken. I feed boiled wheat In the morn-
ing. dry wheat at noon and a feed
Df meat at least once a day in winter,
t have kept 75 to 100 single comb Brown
Leghorns In this house for three win-
ters without having a frozen comb. The
hens lay well also. The bank feature. Is
not essential; walls made entirely of
sod will answer.
V I
I'm of Taper.
Paper pulp is one of the most useful
articles within the reach of mankind.
Mixed with glue and plaster of Paris or
Portland cement, It is the best thing
to stop cracks and breaks in wood. Pa-
per pulp and plaster alone should be
within the reach of every housekeeper.
The pulp muBt be kept in a close-stop-
pered bottle in order that the moisture
may not evaporate. When required for
use, make it of the consistency of thin
gruel with hot water; add plaster of
Paris to make It slightly pasty, and use
It at once. For leakages around pipes, to
stop the overflow of water In stationary
washstands where the bowl and the up-
per slab Join It Is Invaluable. Used with
?are, it will stop small leaks In iron
pipes, provided the water can be shut
aft long enough to allow It to set.
Around the empty p!v wrap a single
thickness or two of cheesecloth just
wide enough to cover the break, then
apply the compound, pressing It In placa
and making an oval of It somewhat aft-
er the fashion of lead pipe Joining, only
larger. The strength of this paste, when
oi%?e It Is thoroughly hardened. Is al-
most beyond belief. The bit of cheese-
cloth prevents any clogging the pipe by
the paste working through the cracks.
An iron pipe that supplied a hausehold
with water had a piece broken out by
freezing. The piece was put in place,
bound with a strip of muslin, then
thoroughly packed with paper pulp and
Portland cement, and was, to all ap-
pearances, as good as new. Paper pulp
and fine sawdust boiled together for
hours and mixed with glue dissolved
in linseed oil, makes a perfect filling
for cracks In floors. It may be put on
and left until partly dry, then covered
with parafflne and smoothed with a hot
Iron. The surface, If properly man-
aged, Is equal to a polished wax floor.
Almost every day new uses for paper
pulp are suggested.
The Moveable Tabernacle.
The cut Illustrates a moveable taber-
nacle In use by a western evangelist.
It Is made of cardboard and weighs
less than two tons. It has a seating
capacity of 800.
Scientific Facts.
The largest volcano In the world Is
Etna. Its base Is 90 miles In circumfer-
ence; its cone 11,000 feet high. Its first
eruption occurred 474 B. C.
The largest tree In the world, aB yet
discovered, is in Tulare county, Cali-
fornia. It is 275 feet high and 100 feet
in circumference at its base.
The largest desert Is Sahara, In North-
ern Africa. Its length is 3,000 miles and
breadth 900 miles; having an area of
2,000,000 square miles.
The largest suspension bridge is the
Brooklyn. The length of the main span
is 1,595 feet 6 inches. The entire length
of the bridge is 5,989 feet.
The first deaf and dumb asylum was
founded in England by Thomas Braid-
wood, 1760; and the first In the United
States was at Hartford, 1817.
The largest diamond In the world Is
the Braganza, being a part of the
Portuguese Jewels. It weighs 1,880 car-
ats. It was found In Brazil in 1741.
The grade of titles in Great Britain
stands in the following order from the
highest: A prince, duke, marquis, earl,
viscount, baron, baronet, knight.
The "Valley of Death," in the Island
of Java, Is simply the crater of an ex-
tinct volcano, filled with carbonic acid
gas. It Is half a mile In circumference.
The city of Amsterdam, Holland, is
built upon piles driven Into the ground.
It Is intersected by numerous canals,
crossed by nearly three hundred
bridges.
Coal was used as fuel in England as
early as 852 and in 1234 the first charter
to dig for it was granted by Henry III.
to the inhabitants of Newcastle-on-
Tyne.
Tobacco was discovered in San Do-
mingo in 1469; afterwards by the Span-
iards in Yucatan in 1520. It was intro-
duced in France in 1560, and into Eng-
land in 1583.
The present national colors of the
United States were not adopted by
congress until 1777. The flag was first
used by Washington at Cambridge,
Jan. 1. 1776.
HE LIKED TO FIGHT.
CHRIS PACE TAUCHT IN THE
MAINE BACKWOODS.
The Hardest School That Could lie
Found Was a Pleasant Kecreatlon to
Hlw—Could Whip a Whole Gang of
Bad Bojrs Single-Handed.
Popular Science.
Experience in electrical welding
shows that the metal is strengthened
at the point of welding.
The Jungle fowl of Australia builds
a nest that is about twenty feet In di-
ameter and fifteen feet high.
It has been shown that the color yel-
low, both vegetable ar.d animal, is more
permanent than any other hue.
Over forty million trees have been
planted In Switzerland In seven years,
In the effort to "reforest" the country.
Ceres was the first of the asteroids to
be discovered, and It was found on the
first day of the nineteenth century. Sit-
uated in the midst of the broad gap of
space that lies between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter, Its mean distance
from the sun Is about 257,000,000 miles.
Prof. Virchow, the eminent German
pathologist, has affirmed his belief that
no trace of "the missing link" between
man and the lower animals has been
discovered, either in the physical struc-
ture of modern savages or in the human
skulls which are believed to be the most
ancient.
Jupiter takes eleven years and ten
months in making hlo Journey round
the sun. Thus, our eastk travels near-
ly twelve times around the sun while
Jupiter goes round only once. This Is
easily explained, since Jupiter is five
times farther from the sun than our
earth, and therefore lus a greater dis-
tance to travel. For the same reason,
Jupiter receives much less light and
heat from the sun than we do. In each
second of time Jupiter's great bulk
moves eight miles, a rate which Is
about five hundred times faster than
the swiftest express train.
Although flowing In so deep a trough,
the present Ohio river Is considerably
elevated above the ancient bottom. This
is owing to the fact that during the
glacial period such an excessive amount
of gravel was brought down from the
Alleghany river and other modern
tributaries that the old channel was
silted up to a considerable depth. At
Cincinnati there Is more than one hun-
dred feet of gravel bettveen the pres-
ent river bottom and ;.he rock bottom.
Below the mouths of ?he most impor-
tant northern tributaries the accumu.
latlons were much greatsr than this.
T IS OWING,
perhaps, to my
long absence from
my native State,"
said a Maine man
residing in New
,York, to a Sun re-
'!/ porter, "that I
have not in recent
years heard much
' of Chris Page. In
the fifties he was a
famous schoolmas-
ter in Maine, where I have no doubt
his exploits are still often recounted,
as in many another part of the country
to which Maine men have wandered.
His specialty was the teaching of hard
schools in rural districts, a vocation
at that period calling for much the
same qualities required in wild beast
taming or the breaking of wild horses.
The boys that attended these scools In
winter were many of them grown men
in size, and, taken altogether, were as
unruly a set of wrestling, fighting,
hard-fisted youngsters as the world
could produce. It took pluck and
muscle to run a district school, and,
lacking these, a master would better
resign his office in time than await the
indignity of being thrashed by his own
pupils, or the humorous attention of
being carried bodily out of doors and
deposited in a snowbank.
"To undertake the hardest school
that could be found was a pleasant rec-
reation to Chris Page, and his services
in this direction were much in de-
mand. Tall, thin, and wiry, a rollick-
ing daredevil by nature, he had a vein
of quaint humor that took sometimes
a grim and startling turn. Catching
an offending small boy by the collar
and pantaloons, he would throw him
through the open scuttle in the ceil-
ing, calling after him as he disap-
peared : 'Take him, Gabriel!'
"He delighted to open a school cam-
paign with a surprise. Being called to
a certain school, notorious for its gang
of tough boys, the terror of their
teachers in the past, he agreed to coma
under the condition that his name
should not be revealed by the school
committee. On the opening day of
school he let the scholars behave about
as they liked, and, in the enjoyment
of the pandemonium they created, the
big boys thought they had a teacher
whom It would be a picnic to walk over
after their usual fashion. On the sec-
ond morning, after he had called the
school to order, the master gave the
pupils a short address on their misbe-
havior otthe day before and wound up
by sayirgT
" 'Yesterday, boys, you ruled the
school.* To-day Chris Page rules It by
help of the Almighty.'
"At that the big boys waited for no
more, but jumped from their seats and
made a rush for him. Chris Page, who
was quicker than chain lightning,
pulled from his pocket a short cowhide
whip and met them on the open floor
before his desk, cutting them across
the face with the lash as he leaped
and turned so as to keep them always
in front of him. They soon fell back
under his rain of stinging blows, and
then dropping the cowhide, he knocked
them all down in succ,uc.:o l with his
fists. He kept them lying on the floor
as they had fallen until the noonday re-
cess, then dismissed ihf>m with a brief
lecture. After that episode he had a
school of very docile pupils, who, by
one of the laws of human nature, soon
came to idolize their fighting teacher.
"It is a part of the story as it is
usually told in Maine that Chris Page,
out of school hours, became the leader
of this same gang of tough boys. He
organized them into a following, and
under his lead they used to go to dances
held in neighboring towns. At some
hour of the night they would, at a
concerted signal, start a row, clean out
the town's boys, and break up the
dance.
"One school that Chris Page engaged
to teach had for years been dominated
by a ring-leader in mischief, a big,
two-fisted fellow will defied ell rules,
and sooner or later each winter had
thrashed the teacher. When Chris
Page arrived on the scene the school
committee, seeing a tall, thin'loosely
built man, who affected a cough and
an appearance of general debility, had
grave doubts as to whether he could
manage the school. The father of the
bad young man came to Chris and of-
fered to keep his son away from school
for fear he might hurt the fragile look-
ing teacher.
" 'Let the boy come,' said Chris,
mildly. 'Perhaps I can do him some
good by precept and Christian ex-
ample'
"So the big young fellow appeared
at the opening of the school, and, for
the first week things went on smoothly.
The next Monday morning after school
had opened the master sent him out
to fetch an armful of wood for the
great open fireplace that warmed the
school-room. The young man, eager
to show his strength and independ-
ence, came back carrying a heavy log
on his shoulder, stamped noisily down
the aisle, and flung the log down upon
the bed of glowing coals In the fire-
place, roaring out as he did so;
" 'Lie there, four and sixpence, d—n
you!'
"As h* straightened back the flst of
the master caught him in the back of
the neck, knocking him into the fire-
place across the log.
" 'Lie there, four and sixpence, d—n
yx>u!' said Chris Page, who had fol-
lewed hSsi silently down the aisle,"
FROM THE NEIGHBORS' CANS
A I>og With a Craving for Milk aud Ilia
Manner of SalIsTying lu
A strange tale comes from Dorches-
ter, which, If true, discounts anything
which the foebie Imagination of Mun-
chausen was able to originate about
any of the numerous and gifted ani-
mals with which he came In contact.
The story is vouched for by a patrol-
man and a milkman, and It is about a
big Newfoundland dog belonging to
Mr. Kennedy, of Armanllne street, Dor-
chester. Just what the dog does
through the night" is not stated, but it
is certain that in the early morning
hours he Is afflicted with a terrible
thirst, and that the only way in which
he can satisfy it is by drinking large
quantities of milk. For weeks past the
residents, especially in the vicinity of
Morton street, have found their supply
of morning milk missing. Complaints
at police station 11 have been numer-
ous, and patrolmen have been spend-
ing their time in the early morning
hours hunting for the thief, but until
this morning they were unable to catch
him. For a long time certain mint
dealers have been suspected of commit-
ting the larcenies, and for that reason
the trade of some has fallen off percep-
tibly. Early one morning a patrolmen
and a milkman were on the lookout for
the thief, and were watching a can of
milk which had been placed on the
steps of one of the houses by the milk-
man. Pretty soon they saw the dog
coming down the street, but paid no
attention to him until he went up to
the can which they were watching, and,
taking it In his teeth, made off with it.
This struck them as rather unusual,
but it was nothing to what followed.
They "shadowed" the dog and saw him
go up onto the piazza of his master's
house on Armaline street. He sat
down on his haunches, and with a
"here's-looking-at-you air," took the
stopple out of the can and then "poured
the milk down his throat," as the two
witnesses assert. This nearly reduced
them to a comatose state, but there
was more to come; for when his dog-
ship had had his drink, he took the
can between his teeth and made off to
a clump of bushes with it, where he
carefully placed it out of sight and then
returned to the house. When the two
men looked in the bushes they found
no less than fourteen cans, which had
been placed there as the result of prev-
ious thefts. Why it is that the dog
had not sold these cans or taken them
back to be refilled, is not stated. The
facts of the case were reported to po-
lice station 11, and on consultation with
the persons interested it was deter-
mined not to prosecute the thief. His
master had never known that ha had
acquired the milk habit, but after this
he will be kept in the house in the
morning until after the neighbors
milk has been taken in.
TO MRS. STEVENS' CREDIT.
She Once Crushctl un Inquisitive Society
Snob In a Clever Manner.
One story is repeated of the late Mrs.
Paran Stevens which may be placed
here to her credit, although it is not
long since it was told in print. An op-
ulent woman, who had got into socie-
ty, as it were, by climbing over the
fence, when the policeman's back was
turned, once asked Mrs. Stevens in a
supercilious way about a young lady
she was introducing. "Who is youi
friend. Miss ?" she said.
"Miss is a charming girl," re-
plied Mrs. Stevens; "well bred, as you
see, accomplished, entertaining."
"Yes, I know," persisted the snob,"
"but dear Mrs. Stevens, of course you
know what I mean—who is she?"
"My dear wc "ttn." retorted Mrs. Ste-
vens, "I can no more tell you who Miss
is than I could have told those
who asked me who you were when you
first came to Newport."—Worcester
Gazette.
Mew flonsumptlon Cure.
United States Consul Gen. de Kay,
at Berlin, reports that a New York doc-
tor has discovered the means of cur-
ing consumption, lupus, and perhaps
cancer. The doctor announces in the
German medical papers an extraordin-
ary action of minute injections of pilo-
carpine, a crystalized extract from the
Brazilian jaborandi plant, on the lym-
phatic system. This, in a sense, com-
pletes the celebrated "heil serum," act-
ing favorably on patients whom the
serum does not cure. The key of th«
discovery is this; By successive injec-
tions of minute doses of pilocarpine in
the veins he arrives at a gradual stim-
ulation of the lymphatic system. That
system Increases the white corpuscles
in the blood which, in some way not
agreed upon, certainly overcomes par-
ticles in the blood that produce dis-
ease. The report closes with a state-
ment of a case of lupus of twenty-two
years' duration, regarded as incurable,
which was relieved immediately after
the first injection, and is now almost
cured.
Bests on Cushion*.
The brain is not affected by the
movements of the body, even though
these are sometimes very violent, be-
cause it rests on a basis of soft cuBhr
ions between ttie I es of,the spin*.
A MARE'S STRANGE FREAK.
Slie JtufuaiHl to Drink Anywhere but at a
Certain Htreaiu.
Perhaps tho friends of that noble
animal, the horse, will be interested in
tho following bits from the history of
Nita, a fine old mare, which, until re-
cently, might have been seen In the
stubies of J. L. Hester, a resident of
Haughton, La., according to a Phila-
delphia Times correspondent When
Hester wus quite a lad Nita was pre-
sented to him by hU grandfather, the
late Henry Thompson, of Oaklawn
plantation, but, strange to relate, the
mare, then only a young filly, could not
be Induced to remain away from her
native heath. After Hester became
possessed of her she refused to drink a
drop of water. In fact, it is believed
that she would have starved herself to
death had she not been taken back to
her old home. When turned loose in
Oaklawn pasture, however, she rau a3
fast as she could caper to a clear, cool
stream which crossed the meadow,
slaking her thirst eagerly. After this
singular behavior no further effort was
made to remove her permanently from
her first home, and whenever she was
taken away for a day she would drink
no water until her return, when she
would go to the little pasture stream.
In the course of time Hester inherited
his grandfather's estate and moved to
Oaklawn. Nita thus for a second time
becoming his property. Fifteen years
have passed since that event and Hes-
ter asserts that he has never during
that time known Nita to drink any-
where but at the little meadow branch.
Some three months ago Hester moved
to his Red river plantation, about
twenty miles distant, of course, carry-
ing Nita with him, though she had
passed beyond her days of usefulness
and was almost decrepit. After her re-
moval the old mare began to pine and
droop, and at the end of the third day,
when she had not drunk a drop of water
her kind master led her back to her old
home. So soon as she felt herself iu
the neighborhood of Oaklawn she
pricked up her ears and began to canter
almost spryly, and when the pasture
was reached ahe betook herself at once
to the branch, drinking long and deep
of its waters. Hester says that the
poor, dumb creature's evident delight
was pitiful to behold, and he deter-
mined never more to take her away.
He slipped the bridle, thinking it would
please her to be left in the meadow all
night, and the last he saw o£ her as he
closed the gate behind him the mare
was standing knee-deep in the stream,
letting the water trickle between her
lips. The next morning, when he went
to feed her, the poor thing was lying
Dn the bank, cold and stiff in death, her
head overhanging the water that she
loved so much.
Fretting Under the Law.
There Is said to be a law in Massa-
chusetts making it an offense to give
away any object or thing as an induce-
ment to purchase other things; for ex-
ample, to give away a picture with
"very certain amount of other things
purchased. There was once a law which
made it an offense for a man to kiss his
wife on Sunday, but was strangely
3ilent about kissing some other man's
wife. Many a man still living can re-
member when it waa not permissible
to open the theaters in Boston on Sat-
urday evenings, and there was a law
to punish &ny dissipated individual
found smoking on the street. Some of
these fantastic old legal freaks have
been done away with, but there are
some communities which, like some in-
llviduals, require quite an unconscion-
able time to get wide awake.—Boston
Traveller.
A Battalion of infants.
A paper upon Spain by M. Rene
Bazin, in the Revue des Deux Mondes,
relates a trip to the northern province
sf Spain, and describes a review of the
Infant Battalion, got together to please
the little king, composed of boys be-
tween the ages of 10 and 15, with a
little girl of 12, Constantia Serfo, for
their cantlnlere. This troop is armed
with small Mauser guns and is accur-
ately drilled. It contains 400 soldiers,
reckoning officers, corporals, and troops
of the line, and the children are drawn
from families of every rank.
Husband and Wife Ask for Lodging.
Accompanied by his young wife
rhomas Broderlck walked into a Chi-
2ago police station recently and asked
for lodging. Both were weak and ex-
hausted from lack of food and from a
lay spent in walking the streets. Brod-
;rick isa lawyer, having been admitted
tothebarin 1891. Up to a few days ago
his home was in Lincoln, Neb. Mrs.
Broderlck was sent to the woman's an-
nex and her husband was given a
bench in the court-room.
Elected Major and Will Not Serve.
East Dubuque, 111., is confronted
with the problem of having elected a
mayor who absolutely declines to serve.
His name is Merritt Piatt, and he gfaa
nominated and elected against his
wish. Mayor Peaslee, who holds over,
Joes not wish to serve another ttrm,
and he asks the city council to call a
special election for his successor,
ivhlch will probably be done.
\
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Wallace, W. M. Palo Pinto Tribune. (Palo Pinto, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, May 24, 1895, newspaper, May 24, 1895; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth233317/m1/8/: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.