Oddities From The Register Abridged Journal Notes
A miscellany of curiosities and observations from The Register including trivia on time use, innovation, widow naming, crocodiles in Florida, tramp lodging, and a dying liver remedy. Reports mention the Welsh Patagonia colony, Chicago police, and a captured rare butterfly sent to Smithsonian for a $1,500 reward.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dernesy
United States
Sierras
Smithsonian Institution
Washington
Fossil moth find thrills scientists. no more specimens found
A fossil moth of a supposedly extinct species sparked excitement among scientists after a recent alive specimen was found. Despite searches by paid workers, no additional examples have been located.
Evolution of the National Bank System and English coinages
The text outlines the 1864 National Bank Act creating national banks with 50 000 capital allowed notes up to 90 percent of government bonds, plus a Comptroller of the Currency and interbank redemption. It notes the act’s expiry in 1884 and extension to 1904, then surveys pre and post gold mintage and various English coins from Edward I through Queen Anne, detailing shillings, pence, nobles, and the guinea’s evolving value under Newton.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Congress
National Bank
Edward I
England
Constantinople
James I
Charles II
Isaac Newton
Curious lecture links 1663 Royal Academy findings to Pasteur
A Nature lecture cites a French traveler who attended the Royal Academy in May 1663. The observer described preserving animal intestines in glass with cotton wool for six months, preventing maggots, suggesting insects do not arise from decay. The note parallels Pasteur’s later experiments excluding insects and microscopic germs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nature
England
Royal Academy
Pasteur
The Mortgage and the Ghost Farm Debt Ordeal
A poetic tale traces a legendary mortgage from God-Be Glorified through generations. The debt consumes labor and life, ending with Jim, who loses the land, becomes rich through industry, and regains the farm only to face renewed control by the mortgagee and state power.
Romance of the Revolution A Philadelphia tale of duty
In September 1777 General Howe advances into Philadelphia with 18000 British and Tory troops. Philip Knowles a Philadelphia blacksmith and his wife Phoebe help the American cause by molding bullets from pewter ware while fearing a raid. They resist British intrusion and endure a tense night of defense, later receiving a note from Captain Brown, a British officer who courted Phoebe after the war, culminating in an unlikely marriage.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Howe
Philadelphia
Philip Knowles
Phoebe
Lord Howe
Philbe
Mrs. Knowles
Philip
Germantown
Washington
Phabe
Amerika
Mia
Knowles
Phebe
Phobe
Yonde
Brown
New Milch Cow Hints for Sophisticated Buyers
A humorous, cautionary guide on buying a “new milch” cow. It warns buyers to distrust flashy claims about milk yield, explains how sellers may misrepresent a cow, and offers rustic, comic tips on evaluating horns, tails, voice, and temperament. The piece ends with a blunt verdict: avoid buying a cow and instead buy an old wagon.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Irree Press
Siafu Invasion Turned Fort Into A Battlefield Of Ants
A diary recounts swarming army ants invading a fort after rain. They flooded huts and roofs, drove inhabitants to fire rings, bit everyone unless smoked first, loaded with cockroaches and mice, then scattered toward the hill. By next day cockroaches and rats vanished from the fort.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Siafu
Oats, Blight, and a Yankee Elevator Tale
In a small country town a stranger asks a Yankee elevator operator about oat prices. The exchange spirals into rambling boasts and jokes about blight, mildew, and the stranger's future wife. The tale ends with the narrator driving away as the joke lands.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Walt
Jess
Terrific Explosion at Dupont Powder Works Recalled
A century old Dupont powder factory near Wilmington shows only two major explosions, the latest last year, with ten deaths and half a million in damages. The piece notes strict safety measures, including felt footwear, but recounts the disastrous blast that stunned Philadelphia and nearby towns, and questions the proximity of explosive storage to workers homes. The second part reviews the rise of the Baring financial dynasty from Bremen to England, highlighting Francis Baring's 22 years as East India Company director, parliamentary service, baronetcy, and the founding of the Barings firm.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Duponts
Wilmington
American Science Journal
Philadelphia
Barings
Bremen
Germany
Franz Baring
Biering
John Baring
England
Exeter
Devonshire
Francis
East India Company
Great Company
House of Barings
Baring Brothers
Also Mentioned on This Page
the Register
New Harmony, Indiana
New York
StRazo
Anacharsis
Solon
John Brown
Florida
Patagonia
Chicago
Bureau of Vital Statistics
Ohio
South America
Buenos Ayres
Jiimy PuItiivs
the Crab
Inspector Byrnes
Jopx Turner Incuanam
Providence
Ki. T
Tir
New York Central Park
Adam Forepaugh
William Snyder
Snyder
John ¥. Murphy
Tip
London Lancet
Innerale
Glatz
Breslau
Lunenburg
Malabar
Calicoda
Calicut
Arthur
Cambria
Cadwalder
David
DY G. W. Foss
God-Bé
Jones
God-be
Melchizedek
Paul Adoniram Jones
Eliphalet
Egan
Thomas
John
Eleazar
Murph
Peter
Eli
Absalom
Paul
Jim
Yankee Blade
Romance OF the Revolution
Flossie Miller
Africa