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QUEER ANALOGIES IN NATURE.

The cocoanut is, in many respects, like the human skull, although it
closely resembles the skull of the monkey. A sponge may be so held as to
remind one of the unfleshed face of the skeleton, and the meat of an
English walnut is almost the exact representation of the brain. Plums
and black cherries resemble the human eyes; almonds, and some other
nuts, resemble the different varieties of the human nose, and an opened
oyster and its shell are a perfect image of the human ear. The shape of
almost any man's body may be found in the various kinds of mammoth
pumpkins. The open hand may be discerned in the form assumed by
scrub-willows and growing celery. The German turnip and the eggplant
resemble the human heart. There are other striking resemblances between
human organs and certain vegetable forms, The forms of many mechanical
contrivances in common use may be traced back to the patterns furnished
by nature. Thus, the hog suggested the plow; the butterfly, the ordinary
hinge; the toadstool, the umbrella; the duck, the ship; the fungous
growth on trees, the bracket. Anyone desirous of proving the oneness of
the earthly system will find the resemblances in nature a most amusing
study.--Scientific American.

MODERN FABLES.

Luxury.

Of two cats, one, thinking to be very fine, hunted only humming birds,
and the other hunted only mice. The first had to hunt much longer than
the other, because humming birds were scarce, so that it spent nearly
all its life in getting food, while the other had little trouble to get
all it wanted. "How unfortunate it is," said the first cat, "that I have
formed my liking for what is so hard to get and is so little when I have
it."

Fastidiousness.

A fastidious ox would not drink while standing in the water with his
head turned down stream lest he should soil the water with his feet. But
once when drinking with his head turned up stream he saw a whole drove
of hogs washing in the water above him.

Attracting Attention.

A flea, which saw many people trying to get the attention of a king and
waiting long for that purpose, said: "Though I am but a little thing, I
will get his attention." So he jumped up the throne until he got on the
king's head. Here he received recognition from the king by a slap, and
when he boasted to a dog of his success, the latter said: "Some get
attention by their merit, others by their demerit. In making yourself a
nuisance you get recognition before the lords of the realm, but only as
a flea."

Gambling.

A monkey playing with a steel trap got his tail cut off. He went back
the next day to get his tail, when he got his foot cut off. "Now," he
said, "I will go back and get both my foot and my tail." He went back,
and the third time he got his head cut off, which ended his monkeying
with the trap.

Mugwumpery.

A mule on one side of a fence was discontented because he was not on the
other side. He finally jumped over, when he was equally discontented
because he was not back again. "Which side of the fence do you want to
be on?" asked a horse. "It does not matter," replied the mule, "provided
I am on the other side."

The Non-Partisan.

A dog, running about in an irregular way, was asked where he was going.
"I am not going anywhere," replied the dog, "but only running about to
learn where to go."

Partisanship.

The swans, wishing to drive the peacocks from a park, procured a law
against big feet. The peacocks retaliated by getting a counter law
against big necks. Soon one side could see nothing but ugly feet, and
the other nothing but long necks. At last they came to think peacocks
were all feet and swans all neck.

NUMBER OF MILES BY WATER FROM NEW YORK.

To Amsterdam, 3,510;
Bermudas, 660;
Bombay, 11,574;
Boston, 310;
Buenos Ayres, 7,110;
Calcutta, 12,425;
Canton, 13,900;
Cape Horn, 8,115;
Cape of Good Hope, 6,830;
Charleston, 750;
Columbia River, 15,965;
Constantinople, 5,140;
Dublin, 3,225;
Gibraltar, 3,300;
Halifax, 612;
Hamburg, 3,775;
Havana, 1,420;
Havre, 3,210;
Kingston, 1,640;
Lima, 11,310;
Liverpool, 3,210;
London, 3,375;
Madras, 11,850;
Naples, 4,330;
New Orleans, 2,045;
Panama, 2,358;
Pekin, 15,325;
Philadelphia, 240;
Quebec, 1,400;
Rio Janeiro, 3,840;
Sandwich Islands,

The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing / A Manual of Ready Reference