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Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 23, 17 December 1874, Page 3

h. notorious miser, having heard a very eloquent charity sermon, exclaimed, " This sermon strongly proves the necessity of alms: I have almost a mind to turn beggar."' Population of the United States^—Professor Elliott, of Washington, in an interesting paper read some time ago before the American Association at Hartford, Connecticut, gave some curious calculations regarding the population of the United States. The population at June 1, 1874 is estimated at 431,167,000, an ihcreas of four andn-half millons since the last census was taken.; The estimate for 1875, when a census may probably be taken, is. 44,384,000,;. for 1876, the centennial year, 45,627,000; and for 1880; when the next decennial census will be taken, 50,858,000 But for the loss of life in the civil war, the Professor believes the pensus of 1870 would have shown, a

'population of 41,718,000.,. instead, of 38,558,371. The larger, figure.; was not reached till 1873, showing, that the >var caused a loss equivalent to three years'increase. '

* The Altitude at which Man can Live. •—There has been a great deal of dis- . cussion, says * Chambers's Journal/ asto the altitude at which human beingscan exist, and Mr Glaisher himself car* tell us as much about it as anybody*' In 1872. he and Mr Coxwell as r sended in a baloon to the enormous height of 38,000 feet, Previous to thestart, Mr Glaisher's pluse stood at 7& beats a minute, Coxwell's at 74» A.fc 17,000 feet the pulse of the former stood' at 84, that of the latter at ;100v At j 19,000 feet Glashier's hands and legs; were quite blue, but not his face. Atr : 21,000 feet he heard his heart beating,, and his breathing became oppressed. At 29,000» feet he became senseless;, notwithstanding which the aeronaut, in? the interest of science, went up another 8000 feet, till he- could no longer use his hands, and had to pull the strings; of the valve with his teeth. Aeronauts who have to* make- no> exertions have, of course, advantage over members of* the Alpine Club> and those who trust their legs; even atr 13,006- feet these 4 climbers feel very uncomfortable, moreso in the Alps, it seems, than elsewhere, At the monastery of St-Bernard, 8,117 feet high, the monks become asthmatic* and are compelled frequently to descend into the Valley of the Rhone for—anything but a breath of fresh air ;• and at the end of ten years' service are obliged: to give up their high living, and comedown to their usual level. At the same time in South America there are towns, such as Potosi, places as high as the top of Mont Blanc, the inhabitants of which feel no • inconvenience. The highest inhabited spot in the world is,, however, the Buddhist cloister of Hanle,. in Thibet, where twenty-one priests • live at an altitude of 16,000 feet, i The ■ brothers Schlaginsweit, when they explored the glaciers of the Ibi-Gamin in the same country, encamped at 21,000----feet, the highest altitude at which a European ever passed the night Even at the top of Mont Blanc, ProfessorTyndall's guides found it very unpleasant to do this, the Professor him- ' self did not confess to feeling so bad as they. The- highest mountain'; in the ■ world is=. Mount Everest (Himalay's), 29,003 feet, and? the condor has been seen " winging the blue air" 500 feet higher. The air, by the bye, is not " blue," or else* a* De Saussure pointed out, *' the distant mountains which are t covered with, snow would* appear blue also;" its apparent color-being due to the reflection of light; What light can do, and does, is marvellous;; and not. the least is its power of attractiohvto humanity. , Earthquake Elbquence.. — Colonel Carroll is a native of the Sunny South,. is tall and erect as an Indian—a man •- of mild and benevolent aspect—and with his long snowy beard and white ■*• locks, that hang about his shoulders, he presents a most striking and patriarchal appearance. The colonel, although a Southerner, swears by President Grant, and on one occasion made &■ fiery speech in his favour and was about taking his seat when a fellow hanging upon the verge of the audience cyied out: " It's easy talking, colonel, . but we'll show you something nextfall !" Straightening up, tossing his whitemane in the air and pointing his finger in the direction of the man who ;• had' assailed him, the colonel burst forth as follows :—" Build a worm-fence around supply of summer weather;: slfim the clouds.from the heavens .with a-tea-spoon; catch a thunderbolt, in a. bladder; break a hurricane to harness; ground sluice an earthquake; bake hell in an ice house; lasso an avalanche; pin a diaper on the crater of an active volcano ; hive all the stars in a inailkeg; hang the ocean out on a grapevine to dry; put the sky to soak, in a gourd; unbuckle the belly band of eternity, and paste. "To Let" on sun and moon, but never, sir, never* fdr* a moment, sir, delude yourself with' the 37 * idea that any ticket of your party \eansta beat Grant!" This was the, colohejfftri'] great peroration. Seen standing )f itself it looks unnecessarily strong,, but.-.. taken in connection with what preceded? 3, it- it would be . seen .that the. colols£l merely rose slightly in his stirrups-in" striking his last blow.—' Virginia City Enterprise. Improved Medium of Artificial IJighy<j for the Eyes.—The painful effect nmw some of the most usual-kinds . ficial lightoipon the eye is weU knosvjm even to many whose natural vision is '.?•' quite unimpaired. This is by recent investigators to. the great • proportion of really non-luminous irays, pr : raysot merecalpric bearing,»no ination. It is claimed t&Jbei 4 demonstrated, by accurate analysis, that in sunlight there are 50 per cent; of such raYs, in gaslight nearly 90, in electric light 80, and in kerosene light as mariyas,94r. Without vouching for the en--tire correctness of these; figures* the- . announcement _ latjsjy made is--worth. repeating— namely,■< ;that a *&&&&£ chemist named to have discovered that,.by passing any ; kind of artificial light) tbrbugtei&rthln'V layerof alum or mica, jhese calorio rays are wiile v iiluminaftng " power of the irw Kghtirays '• is V diminished, ancli 4 exceedingly.v mild and pleasant eve-. To. Marking^hkiffoai. .;: — a BolutwhJof ounce.of cyanide of potassium andifoir f water. fewS^lp is highly fully removed. '. ■ rtm^gtßm