gleanings. 
New Material for Paper. 
IiEATHEHOiD is a DOW article made of paper. It consists of a num¬ 
ber of thicknesses of cotton paper wound one upon another over a 
cylinder. The remarkable qualities of strength and adhesion it pcs- 
sesses are derived from a chemical bath, through which the paiper 
is drawn on its way to the cylinder. It is moulded wet, and retains 
its form. When dry, it outs like rawhide. 
Insects as Talkers. 
“Two ants,” says Buchner, “when they are talking together, 
stand unth their heads opposite to each other, working their sensi¬ 
tive feelers in the liveliest manner, and tapping each other’s head.” 
Numerous examples prove that they are able in this way to make 
mutual communications and oven on deflnite subjects. “I have 
often,” says the English naturalist Jesse, “ placed a small green 
caterpillar in the neighborhood of an ant’s nest. It is immediately 
seized by an ant, which calls in the assistance of a friend after in- 
elfcotual efforts to drag the caterpillar into the nest. It can be 
easily seen that the little creatures hold a conversation by means of 
their feelers, and this being ended, they repair together to the cater¬ 
pillar in order to draw it into the nest by their united strength. 
Further, I have obseiwed the meeting of ants on their way to and 
from their nests. They stop, touch each other with their feelers, 
and appear to hold a convereation, which, I have good reason to sup¬ 
pose, refers to the best ground for food.” Hague uTites a letter to 
Darwin that lie one day killed with his fingers a number of ants who 
came eveiy day from a hole in the wall to some plants standing on 
the cliimney-piece. He had tried the effect of brushing them away, 
but it was of no use, and the consequence of the slaughter was that 
the ants who were on their way immediately turned back and tried 
to pereuade their companions, who were not yet aware of the dan¬ 
ger, to turn back also. A short conversation ensued between the 
ants, which, however, did not result in an immediate return, for 
those who had just left the nest convinced themselves of the truth 
of the report. 
The Rag-pickers’ Harvest. 
As many as 2,000 rag-pickers find employment about the streets of 
this city. They are almost exclusively Italians, who have displaced 
the Irish and Germans who used to do the work. Their gatherings 
of rags are valued at S'i'50,000 a year. The hand-cart dealers do a 
business of 33,000,000 a year. The aggreg.ate rag trade of tho city 
amounts to $30,000,000 year. A prominent dealer estimates the num¬ 
ber of rag dealers in the city at 600, about a fifth of them doing a 
large business. The general trade is controlled by a few ex¬ 
tensive dealers. Last year the cotton rag importations retiohed 
310,000,000 in value, the homo gatherings being worth 312 , 000 , 000 ; the 
paper mills taking the whole supply. The cotton rags are worth 
from 1!4 to 0 cents a pound; tho woolen rags from 3 to 3S cents a 
pound. The latter are used in making shoddy goods. Tho rags ore 
sorted by women, who earn 33 a w'cek, and packed by men whose 
wages range from 312 to 314 a week. Some of the larger dealers 
have accumulated large fortimes. 
Daguerreotypes. 
The first likeness ever successfully obtained in this country by the 
Daguerre process, was taken by the late Professor J. W. Draper n 
the Autumn of 1830. His camera was a cigar box in which was 
placed a spectacle lens. During the next winter a smaU gaUeiy was 
opened, and some notable pictures were taken. Professor Morse, 
who invented the telegraph, succeeded Professor Draper to next 
winter, and from this small beginning the art of photography grew. 
How the Bey of Tunis Lives. 
The palaces of tire Bey are splendid and taf ; the 
an hour from the c.ipital, is a fine sample of Oriental 
and decoration, spoiled by Parisian upholstery and 
carpets. Dar-el-Bey, his only town residence, is magmAcrat 
neglected; his real abode is in a separate 
standing in a gm-den, near the Bardo. He goes to t e , 
week, to sit in judgment on his subjects, and brief stir 
dots and Consuls of the Great Powers; and then e ^ 
and the Court presents a stately picture. “ It fa, 
external iDrilliancy, and it cannot deceive the cttAnrV Pacha 
reigning within the Moorish Empire.” . j ehlldtcn, 
Bey is an amiable enough prince, by all accou , 
but childless, and very simple in his habits. duration at her 
and though he pays her a formal visit of an hour s dura 
castle every day, he rarely sees her, os the hour of his visit is gen¬ 
erally one appointed for devotion, and on his arrival he goes to a 
small room in the palace to pray. 
He is supposed to know nothing of tho management of his pos¬ 
sessions ; before him all fa splendor, behind his back all fa desolate 
ruin. 'Whiehever of his palaces ho shall die in will bo dismantled 
and left to decay, for a Bey must not live in a palace in which a pre¬ 
decessor has died. “None of them has had himself transported 
into tho street on death approaehing, and there are more than a 
dozen palaces in Tunis to-day which cannot bo used by the Beys. A 
melancholy example of this absurd custom fa Mahomedia, once the 
magnificent residence of Achmot Bey, who had it built thirty-five 
years ago at a cost of 10,000,000 francs. This palace, with its secon¬ 
dary buildings and villas for ministers and dietaries, was situated 
two miles out of town ; and when Achmet Boy dipd, tho fiffnlturo 
was moved, the fioors, glazed tiles, doors and windows wore broken 
out and dragged to another palace. The heavy marble columns, 
statues, the curbs of tho walls, etc., remained behind with the walls, 
and he who passes those imposing ruins to-day, might think thous¬ 
ands of years had passed over them. Tho hand of tho Arab destroys 
thus in our day in the midst of peace, as his ancestors, tho Vandals, 
did centuries ago, only in time of war I So much for Oriental cul¬ 
ture. 
Whittier’s Birth-place. 
The bh'thplaoo of Whittier, near Haverhill, Moss., is now tho prop¬ 
erty of Mr. George Elliott, of Boston, who has rescued It from decay 
and is preserving it for future generations as a memorial of tho 
great Quaker poet. 
How Dry-Goods were named. 
Many kinds of dry-goods possess old English names, which are 
used, more or less corrupted, throughout tlie world. Tho origin of 
these old names fa given by Sir George Birdwood ns follows: Dam¬ 
ask is from the city of Damascus, satin from Znytown in China; 
calico from Calcutta, and muslin from Mosul; buckram derived Its 
name from Bocara; fustian comes from Fostat, a city of tho middle 
ages, from which the modem Cairo fa descended; taffeta and tabby 
from a street in Bagdad; cambric is from Cambral; gauze has Its 
name from Gaza, baize from Bajae, dimity from Dnmietta, and jeans 
from Jnen; drugget isderivedfromacityinlrelond, Drogheda; duck, 
from which Tucker street in Bristol fa named, comes from Torque, in 
Noi-mandy; diaper fa not from D’Ypres, but from tlio Greek dia»- 
proii, figured; velvet fa from the Italian veiluie, woolly (Latin, vcllu* 
—a hide or pelt); shawl is the Sanscrit sala, floor, for shawls were 
fli-st used ns cai-pets and tapestry; bandanna is,from an Indian 
word meaning to bind or tie, because they are tied in knots before 
dyeing; chintz comes from the Hindoo word cliett-, delaine is tho 
Fi'onch of wool. 
Spectacles. 
Those who are compelled to wear spectacles are often tho victims 
of a good deal of personal ridicule nowadays; but tho time was when it 
was considered fashionable to wear them, even by people who wore 
not in the least near-sighted. In Spain they foi-mcd part of the cos¬ 
tume of every woU-bred person. This absurd uso of glasses was 
meant to increase the gravity of the appearance, and consequently 
tho veneration with which tho wearer of them was regarded. A 
young monk having, through the assistance of hto family, caused his 
convent to succeed in an important law suit, thought himself liberal¬ 
ly rewarded when tho prior, having embraced him, said, to testify his 
gratitude: “Brother, put on spectacles!” The glasses of spectacles 
wore proportioned In size to the rank of tho wearer; those worn by the 
Spanish nobles wore nearly three inches in diameter. The Marquis 
of Astotga, Viceroy of Noples, after having his bust sculptured 
in marble, particularly enjoined tho artist not to forgot hto beautiful 
spectacles. 
My Garden. 
Evehy one of you, my chUdren, have been given a garden to take 
care of, in which you are continually sowing seeds. This garden is 
your hearts. If good seed only Is sown there, the garden becomes 
beautiful and all its blossoms are of the purest and sweetest. But 
if neglected, even for a short time, weeds will be sure to creep in 
among the flowers and spoil their beauty, and unless they are at 
once pulled out they win take deeper root than the flowers, and 
win even crowd them out and take all the soU for themselves.— 
Cumberland PreAyterian. 
