Miscellaneous.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXI, Issue 1043, 20 July 1894, Page 7

Miscellaneous.

» The oldest of the world's records have, come down to us, not in bronzes or marble, J but in clay. Tho Babylonian cylinders of fine terra cofcta are sharp as the day they left the kiln, and tell us of the earlisfc civilization of the East, the cradle of humanity. ' The broken potsherds which are found in cavt-s and alluvial drift tell us almost all we, know of primitive man, the dwellers in tho cliffs or in the lake villages, and the time may yet come when this nineteenth century life and civilization may be- judged more by the, records we leave behind us in clay, than by all our stately creations in iron and steel, or even in hewn stone. The broken vessels that are thrown into the harbour to sink in sand and mud will last until antiquarians of a fortieth century may dig them from v .he upheaved bod, and count themselves rich in such relics of a barbarous age. The roof of the new Greenwich Observatory will be made of papier macbe. It will weigh over twenty tons, but it will be revolvable almost by pressure of a finger. Everything will be paper bye and bye, and we are not surprised to learn, therefore, that the Germans have commenced by making paper socks and stockings. These are said to absorb moisture as rapidly as it is formed, and the feet remain dry and warm, while the constant temperature maintained in the shoes is said* to be a great preventative of colds. But paper roofs is an idea which would suit the Australian climatp, because, being a poor conducter.of heat, buildings would be cool in the hottest weather. The exaction that modern railway speed makes on the physical stamina of railroad men is demonstrated in the fact that seven engineers are required to take the Chicago flier out and seven back. The running time between New York and Chicago is 20 hours, and the average speed 48 miles an hour. Each engineer and engine runs three hours. Machine and man return with a slow train to their starting point to relieve the strain on both. The engineer is given 48 liours' rest before he goes on the flier again. This rest is absolute, no work of any kind beYng required of the engineer. Though the average speed is 48 milps an hour, the locomotive must at some points be driven at 60 or more. The physical strain on the men in the cab at those bursts of speed is something terrible. The engineer has fifty things to look out for, and is being shaken and swayed all the time. The fireman is constantly feeding the insatiable furnace. Fast travel not only wears out rails and machines, but human creatures' lives," .