CROPS OF LARGE PROPORTIONS LOAD THE RICH SOIL. Wheat Stacked in the Roade---Corn Has to be Out From Balloons. Every one who comes to Kansas City from Kansas these days has his own particular stock of stories to tell about the wonderful crops in that State. Among the Sunflower pilgrims who landed in the city on Saturday was Charley Barrett, the good-looking and talkative travelling passenger agent of the Missouri Pacific. He had spent four or five days in Southern Kansas, and his mouth was going at the rate of 500 revolutions & minute about crops, when he wae flagged by a Times man on Main street, “Wheat!” he exclaimed. ® «You never saw the like! The farmers down in Southern Kansas had to rent the public roads to get room enough to stack the wheat. Wasn't room enough in the fields to hold the stacks. I saw one—" “How is the fruit crop?” “Fruit! You never saw the like! Apples as big as cannon balls growing in clusters as big as hayvstacks. I saw one apple that—" “‘Don’t the trees break down?” “Trees! You never saw the like! The farmers planted sorghum in the orchards and the stalks grew up like telegraph poles and supported the limbs. I saw one stalk of sorghum that was two feet—" “‘How is the broom-corn crop?” “Broom corn! You never saw the like! There hasn’t been a cloudy day in Southern Kansas for a month, Can't cloud up. The broom corn grew 80 high that it kept the clouds swept off the face of the sky as clean as a new floor. They will have to cut the corn down if it gets too dry. Some of the broom corn stalks are so high thai—" *‘How is the corn crop?” “Corn! You never saw the like! Down in the Neosho and Fall River | and Arkansas bottoms the corn is high as a house. They use step lad- | ders to gather roasting ears.” “Areu’t step ladders pretty expen- sive?” “Expensive? Well, 1 should 80, but that isn’t the worst of it. The | trouble is that the children climb up into the cornstalks to bunt for eagle's nests and sometimes fall out and kill themselves. Fourteen funerals in one county last week from that cause. | attended all of them: thatis why I am 80 sad. And, mind vou, the corn is not more than half grown. A man at Arkansas City has invented a machine which he calls ‘the solar corn harvester and child protector.” It inflated with gas like a balloon and floats over the corn tops, and the occupants reach down and cut off the ears of corn with a cavalry saber. Every Kansas far- mer has a cavalry saber, and—"' “Do they make much cider in XKan- sas?” “Cider! You never saw the like! as say is Oceans of it! Most of the farmers in terns with cider. A propositien was pelled to decline because they were afraid the cider would rust the pumps. They were sorry, but they said they have to continue to furnish water, al- though it cost more. 1 saw one mer who—" “How is the potato crop?” “Potatoes! Yen never saw the like! A man in Sedwick county dug a potato the other day that was so big be used the cavity it grew in for a cellar. 1 saw one potato that—" “The people must be happy over their big crops?” “Happy! Yom never suw the like! I know men in the Arkawssas Valley who were too posr to flag a bread wagon, snd now they have pie three times a day. Ope fellow that-—" Bat the reporter, just at this point, had a pressing engagement elsow hese, ~Kansas City Times. A Millionaire's Floating Palace, A strange looking craft appeared off the ocean: mont 4 day or twe ago, be ing pulleu along at a slow ve bya tugboat. The fog was so dense that not even the many seafaring people around could make out what it was Some suggested that it might be Noah's ark, sent here by the Almighty im amtics- pation of a flood: others said it was’ the floating palace from Couey Island. and others even made the foolish re- mark that it was one of the homses carried away by the Johnstown; flood It finally reached the bar buoy and was brought into the inlet on the flood tide, when its true character was disclosed to the curious throng in waiting. It is a magnificently appointed float ing boathouse, on the lower floor of which is resting a very handsome steam-launch, which can be run out at pleasure. The name of this floating lace is the Falcon, and it is owned y Mr. Alexander MacGaw, a promin- ent and wealthy bridge-builder of Phil- adelphis. It was brought here from New London, Conn., and left Sandy Hook last Sstarday in tow of the tug- boat Alert, Capt. Seat, who Teporis havi a very ro 1 . is — lying o THe Ti Pavilion wharf, and will remain in these waters for several weeks. M.. Mactiaw’s two sons accompany him on board the Falun and ure ever ready to inform the curious as wo the «« why and wherefore” Fe of their craft.—Ex, f- a I i IS Some men puy their debts only with the intention of deceiving their Spitting Diamonds, Hatton Garden (the great diamond district of London) had quite au une plessant experience last year, All the dealers lost a great number of stones, aud they couldn't understand how leakage occurred until about Christ- mas. After sorting and sizing up they would put the stones in the usual par- cels with the weight marked. When whey 90ld the parcels they would find that the weight had decreased and that one or two of the stones had van- ished. Many small dealers, who never let the stuff go out of their sight and who had no assistants, suffered as well as the others, and for months it re- mained a mystery of the deepest kind, Everybody was afraid of everybody else; some quit coming to the diamond exchange, but whether they came or not their losses went on just the same. At last almost by accident the mystery was solved, and the solution was sim- ple enough. There was alsmall dealer who lived in Clerkenwell. He wore glasses and professed to be very short sighted. This gentleman bought sparingly last year, but he did a tremendous amount of going around and examining. An employee of a large Hatton Garden firm became suspicious of this small dealer and had a talk with his employ- ers. The next time the eveglasses came in, before the safe was opened and anything handed out, two men were posted where they could watch every movement of the visitor. He opened a paper of stones (about 1 1-4 carat apiece) with ninety-six stones in the parcel. He put them quite close to his eves and then lowered them a little, as if he wanted to damp them. Damping, it may be stated, is breath- ing on the stones. Most dealers do this when examining a parcel, as any flaws or faults can be better observed as the moisture evaporates. After damping them he looked again, handed them back, made an offer ( which he knew would not be accepted) The two men watching had not seen him do any- thing suspicious, but still he was kept in conversation while the parcel he had just handled was taken into the private office and weighed. It was found Two of the had somehow disappeared. There was a consultation, and it was decided that he had them in his mouth. One of the men was instructed to get stones This was done, and Mr. Eyeglasses spit out the two 1 1-4 carat stones. He was pounced upon, and was given the choice of restitution of all former losses or arrest. He chose the former, and having a large sun in Bank of England notes in his inside pocket, he settled the score. He was thea al- lowed to go. dent got aronud the next day, when a He was out, and he remained out until I left London. He will most likely stav aw av, for if he ever shows his face around Hatton Garden again Less, I nisin A Married Newport Bella, $300 for every day in the year, includ- ing Sundays, and her villas in Newport is valued at a quarter of a million dol. lars. She is a daughter of George Henry Warren, of New York, a man great wealth sud high position. eves, and has a profusion of golden hair. She is about twenty-eight per haps. Her manners are bigh bred and Not- withstanding her enormous income she Ezeps an account book in which are entered the expeuses of each day. She dresses handsomely and ker gowns sel- dom cost less than $208 or £300 each. Her jewels are exquisite. She has among other things a diamond neck- lace of which the centre stone is half an inch in diameter. She has also four diamond stars for the hair, a star pen- dant of diamoads sud ene of diamonds. rubies, pearls and emeralds, a superb necklace of sapphires and a set of ru- bies purchased of an Austrian noble- woman. Like the mother of Gracehi she has two other jewels—a littie son and daughter, whe are her constant companions and in whom she takes great pride. ici —————— The Waiter Confers A Title, An American visiting English clubs (says Marshal P. Wilder, in his book, “The People I've Susled With") is sure to be surprised at the number of Besides the nobility, nearly every one seems to have a #pecial handle to his name. Colonels tucky or Georgia, but for eaptains and majors we can’t hold a candle to them. Bat it was reserved for me, an Ameri- ean, to + knock them out” on rank in a most unexpected manner. An old waiter——an ex-soldier at the Savage called me Marshal several times one evening, and was reprimanded by one of the members for addressing a guest by his first name. + His name!” ex- claimed the old fellow, looking astonishied-—and then, turning, said: ** Why, your honor, I thought Marshal his rank!” General Grant prophesied that I should be a general, but the old waiter went him one better, and the title stack to me for awhile, too. ona The Fountain Head, Johnnie has [:.tely taken root rapidly in the educational line and thinks there is nothing quite so grand as stud onary. But this doesn offset for waiermelon, and alarmed at he was JERRY KUSK IN BATTLE. HOW HE CARRIED A CROSSING IN A STORM OF SHOT AND SHELL. o——— Jomplimented by General Mower, A Man who wasn't Easily Bcared. Uncle Jerry Rusk, now Secretary ot Agriculture, had his share of experi- ence during the war. At the battle of the Twenty-second of July, when the heroic McPherson fell, Rusk was in command at the front, and lost one- third of his men. During the battle he was once fairly cut off from his command and surrounded by Con- federate soldiers armed with sabre bayonets. His sword was seized, and he was ordered tc surrender; but, drawing his pistol, he used it with such deadly effect that he broke through his assailants and escaped with a slight wound in his leg and with the loss of his sword and horse—the animal being literally riddled with bullets. At the battle of Jonesboro, Colonel Rusk followed Hood back into Ala- bama, then returned to Atlanta; and in Sherman's “march to the sea” he had the command of the advance of the Seveteenth corps, having the skir- mishers, pioneers, engineers and the pontoon train under his charge. In the Carclina campaign, from Beaufort Island north, he was brevetted colonel, to date from March 13, 1865, and on the same day he was brevetted briga- dier-general for his gallantry in the battle of Salkahatchie, in February previous. A very exciting occurrence attended the crossing of that river General Mower was in command of the division which was the regiment The division was moving north from Beaufort directly toward the river, while the remainder of the army of Sherman was converging toward the same point. Where the crossing had Ww be made the was in strong force on the other side, and defending the crossing w infantry column and batteries of artillery, The only approach to the ford was along a narrow road through a swamp was then covered with wate too deep to permit the movement of cavalry or heavy guns. It was a posi- tion almost as strongly protected and as difficult to capture as the celebrated bridge of Lodi. There was a race among all the divisions to first reach the crossing, and on the morning just before the point was within attacking distance Mower's division was in the lead, and the brigade in advance of the division was that to which Rusk’s command attached. Mower rode up with his stafl and could not find the com- He inquired officer was, to enemy ith a heavy of Rusk where the know, but that he was ready to move at once. Mower replied that he could not wait for the return of the officer, would move another brigmie, Rusk was indignant that he should be “He did mot wish,” as he sald, «to Going up being left behind, my fault that the officer is absent. | want the advance.” Mower, bowever, would not listen. He went away, ordered the division forward and put the other brigade in the advance. Later Mower seems to have recalled the protest. He found the romte to the cressing an embarrassing one, whereupon he said to one of his staff officers, Captain de Grasse: «Dring up that Colonel who objected te pemain- ing behind and we'll give him a taste of what he's vearning for.” Rusk re eeived the order from the aid, and rede up 10 Mower and asked him if he kad any orders. “Drop right it is not “Xone,” he said. down there,” pointing to the crossing; “threw your men im and clear that road. d wish to get the river. If yeu don't<de it right I'll know it. That's all now go.” Rusk got his command im positien and charged down the narrow cause- way that led to the ford, amd swhich was swept by the shell and musketry of the enemy. His suen were cut down im dozens, but he persevered, and gained the posi- tien afier a desperate contest. In the charge a shell cut the brow-band of the bridle of the colomel’'s horse; the animal fell to the ground and threw the rider over his head. The «colonel scrambled te $e foot, and although considerably bruised, headed the columu on foot. The same shell oak off the head of his bugler and killed two other men whe were immediately behind him. The tre- mendous canonade demoralized the stall of Mower, who were following in the rear of Rusk’s column, snd they took cower by leavi the causeway and taking refuge in swamp, but found that route impases’le, and were obliged te dismount and make their way on foet. Colonel Rusk carried the crossing “1 made the crossing,” he says, “and was successful-—as | who ordered another brigade in to relieve us, and then we went back into “I was in doubt,” afterward Wnele Jerry. “Mower used to ed ot. J what to expect. fixed rode to Mower's sage which be wished to send. Rusk replied that he was ordered to report to Mower, and must see him in person, Just then Mower from within the tent called, «Come in! Comeinl” Colonel Rusk pulled aside the flap of the tent, entered and saluted the general. The latter glared at him an instant and then said: «Yes, sir, I sent for you. You are the only man in this army that I ever saw who could ride further into hell than Mower.—Consul Whitshire Butterfield in Milwaukee Sentinel, Em oi, Musical Twin Girls, The other day there came into my place of business two prepossessing young ladies whose similar dress, forms and features proclaimed them to be twins. They were followed by two other young ladies, and a second glance showed that they too wery twins Ella Ida and Emma Ada Alton were born November 9, 1865, in Putnam, Conn. They were the children of Mr, and Mrs. Sylvanus Alton. From Put- nam they moved to New Britain, and have since lived in Woodstock, South- bridge and Worcester. Their futher died while they were vet children, and and their mother is married to Mr. Phillips and resides in Pascosg, RR. 1. The young ladies are tall and slender, with dark bajr and very black eves, In childhood it was impossible to distinguish them, and even their father gave it up as an impossible task, whiie the mother, although she could tell themm when waking, was quite non- plussed when they were sleeping. One had a string of red beads and the other blue. But when they grew large enough this was no sure sign, the little rogues were apt to purposely mix them. At school the teacher conle not tell them and it often occured that they exchanged seats without detection. But if canght in the wrong place a sharp scolding surely followed, “The twins were always healthy,” said their mother, « but if one was sick | the other was sure to They have always dressed alike, looked alike and been exactly in disposition.” The voung ladies at present reside on Prospect street in Worcester, Mass. , snd work in Whitney's art ro {| where they have been for the last { years. Fach has an organ, one { they Keep at their Worcester home | and the other at their mother’s home ue be, alike WE, six one cations. They are both musical, able to play and sing well. Both are mem- bers of the First Baptist Church Salem Square, Worcester, A Handsome Adirondack, Among these Adirondack guides whose services cost $3.50 and #4 a day there are several of the finest examples of physical manhood that I have ever seen. 1 do not exaggerate when 1 say that one young man in particular, whose i on quite the handsomest fellow that could be made. By association with refined people he has scquired the manners of & gentleman, and his picturesque garb axl his abilities as a hanter and =» guide make of him a very romantic and theatrical figure. He wears a { large cartwheel hat, with a bright | flannel shirt, and boots. John L. Sullivan, but his head is re- markably beautiful. He bas dark curly hair, his complexion is a deep red, and his eves are gray and gentle He is known as the best oarsman and fighter in the woods. A clubmsan from New York took this handsome fellow down to New York a few seasons ago, and wherever he went a crowd stopped to gaze at him. He was photographed {in his rough costume snd more than { one woman in New York still tressures ! that picture. The best thing about this Adirondack Adonis is that he dis- likes being an object of admiration, and some time ago be declared that be would guide only men and old ladies, as the young girls made him feel like a fool, and he couldn't do his work with any effect. tight-fitting top SE —— um —— Selling a Second-Hand Coat, A Marietta merchant tells how he sold a second-hand coat that had been worn but a few times. He had repeat- edly tried to sell the cost to different colored men, but always failed. So he tried a mew scheme. He got a cheap pocketbook sad stuffed it gener- ously with paper and put the book in one of the pockets of the coat. He accosted a negro swan and wanted to sell him the coat. The “colored man” said he didn’t desine to buy the cesat. “Yes, but von just try it en. It be- longs to a man who bas plenty of money but has no use for the cost” The negro put the coat om, put his hands in the pockets, and of course be felt the pocketbook. Iie eves fairly dilated with an astonished but pleased expression. “Boss,” he inquired, “what do you sax for dis coat?” “Three dollars and 8fty cents.” «| takes it, boss!” and with the satisfied air of a man who had just come into the possession of a fortune the darky Boomerangs. More has been written, and less is understood, of the boomerang than of almost any other weapon. It is gener. aily known to be a flut stick of wood bent in a shape which suggests a com- bination of & “VV” and a «+ U,” although with the extremities spread apart anti they are at right angles with each other. In point of fact, boomerang: are of almost every shape from semi- circular to nearly straight, and seem to | depend for their efficiency not so much upon the evident form as upon the curves which are shown upon their flat side. The boomerang maker knows instinctively just where his boomerang will go when he throws it, although he never seems to aim any two in the | same way. More lies have been told | about the boomerang than can be well | enumerated. One hears of men who cat: 80 throw a boomerang that it kills | an enemy behind a tree and then comes | cheerfully fluttering back to its owner, i who thereupon hurls it ou a fresh! mission of carnage. A flock of fright- | ened cockatoos, speeding in intricate | | gyrations through the air to escape the { attack of natives who want a bird for | | dinner, are pursued at every turn by | these erratic weapons, which strike them down a dozen each, and so return | i to the hand that cast them. Old wives’ | | fables, these, at which Australians | | laugh. i The boomerang is sufficiently re. | markable without being regarded in | i i the light of a long bow, and drawn by every tourist in the colonies. It is | held perpendicularly and taken firmly | | in the hand by one of its extremities, ! with the other pointed forward, end is i | hurled with & full arm and assisted by | a run and swing of the whole body, | A slight turn of the wrist at the | moment of discharge causes it | assume various erratic courses, Some- ! | times it will fly straight forward for | | 100 or even 200 yards, then rise sharply {to a great height, lose its force, and | flutter down to the feet of the thrower. | Again, it will rise in the air, swoop down with immense rapidity, and skim around in a great semi-circle a few inches from the ground, more, and return t started. It will also start off ina great swoop to the right, roves turn to the left, skim a series of ever-narrowing circles, and, | finding their centre, fall into it like an | exhausted bird. There is something | uncanny about the thing; its move- | | ments are so nnexpected and out of | { reason that it seems to be alive, and to | take a savage delight in strange shoots | { and dashes, which make the new chum (Australian equivalent for tenderfoot) | dodge every time it turns, lest it should koock him on the head. John Brown's Iroms. James N. Atwood of Livermore { Centre has in his possession the veri- | | table “leg irons” worn by John Brown | to rise once o the spot whence it ge it and around the thrower in ————— being hanged at Harper's Ferry. H. Atwood, Jr., (Company I, First Maine Volunteers), was at the jail shortly after John Brown's death. The officers in charge of { vouched for the | ut the time, and Mr. Atwood was thor- {oughly satisfied with the proof. also formed the scquaintance of the {old negro and his wife who had the care of the cell where Brown was con- | fined, | On the day of the execution the old | man, being afraid that he would for. | from the quilt on John Brown's cot | and tied it into the key of the shackles, | but the old negress, his wife, sald: i “Law! I didn’t forgit nuffin, for it | was de only pair of irons in de whole | jail where de key turn de wrong way.” { (It was a left-handed key.) Untying the dirty strip of calico Brown's cell and found the tora place in the quilt, the figure of the cloth matching perfectly. Mr. Atwood tried to buy the shackles from the authorities, but they good- naturedly told him they «Had no right to sell;” then he made this prop- osition: «If these irons should dis- appear and a mew pair be found hang- ing in their place would there be any investigation?” “Probably met.” He then paid $8 for a new pair and made the transfer on his own respon sibility. The shackbos were sent home. For a few years previous to the death of exhibition in the museum in connection with the Boothbay Custom House. Mr. Atwood after returning from his service in the war, entered the Free Will Baptist ministry. He was 8 brother to James N. Atwood, who now has these shackles in possession. The present proprietor prizes them very highly, and says they are not for sale, being almost the only souvenir he has of his departed brother.—Aubur - Gazette. A New Material. “Celluvert” is the name of a materi- al which is placed on the English market, It is from cellulose To eat slowly, for both health and manners; not to lounge on the table, or sit too far back; to pay as little at. tention as possible to accidents: never to help yourself with your own knife once your preference when asked go without the saying. Many people think a cold bolled or fried egg unusel must be thrown away but a boiled egg can be put into water reboiled and poached, or fried eggs may be minced nud put on to toast, or warmed up with seasoned gravy or mixed with bread crumbs and fried in hot fat, or they may be mixed with salt fish snd made into croquettes, Always keep a clean dishcloth ; dirty, ill-smelling dishcioths and towels have been known to create typhoid fever. it is a good plan to have three dish- cloths, one for glase and silver, another for china and a third for the cooking utensils, keeping each one perfectly sweet and clean, washing, scalding, rinsing and drying out of doors after each meal; also the towels for drying dishes, To preserve lemons put a laver of dry, fine sand, an inch in depth, st the bottom of an earthenware jar. Place a row of lemons upon this, stalks downwards, and be careful that they do not touch one another, Cover them with another laver of sand, fully three inches in depth, lay on it more lemons, Store in Lemons thus preserved will keep for months. # cool, dry place. Legs of sirloin of beef, steak, veal cutiet, coptain as much as 70 to 75 per cent. of water. There are some vegetables which con- tain much more water, viz., potatoes, tarnips, and carrots: but there are vegetables which oon- Jess ex- good mution, 4 n pork chop, cabbages other Oatmeal, for tain walter. ample, contains 5 cent. Wheaten four, #, 14; rice, 15; and good bread, 40 water. or 6 per barley meal, beans and re a 10 45 of A small home is far more easily managed than a large one, and refine- ment and delicacy may be just as well displayed in the arrangement of the dishes on a coarsely covered pine table as in grouping silver and china on the mahogany of a millionaire. Skill in of mashed potatoes as a he charm lies in attention to little things. While manners at table or elsewhere for the comfort and con- venience of our fellow beings, still all social observances have some good reason and common sense back of them ; therefore, why should they ever be omitted, or ever sought to be elaborated? If we remember that the source of all politeness is unselfishness and a nice perception of and consider- sation for the rights, feelings and even | whims of others, one can never go | very far astray. an — ALS = A handful of wild flowers and grass- | most the garden or hothouse, or even | the fields and meadows, afford—will | lend a charm to the plainest table. The | capabilities of a screen are quite inex- | haustible; it forms both a protection | from draughts and a picturesque back- | ground for the mistress of the house | —presumably young and fair—agsainst its contrasting or harmonizing bsck- | ground. To make a good picture is | always a great point gained in dress | or furniture. - i — : EP. i Just now one of the most important | items about the whole household econo- i my is cleanliness—absolute, uncom- | promising cleanliness in the kitchen, : the chief feature of which is the sink. | Wash it daily with soap and water, Thies | cannot be insisted upon too strongly. | Twice a week, all summer, pour hot water, containing a little chloride of ! and rinse with boiling water. unpleasant and unhealthy odors. Don’t use, or allow to be used, quanti- ties of soap in washing dishes: instead, substitute washing soda, and sec how you will like the change. Look scrupulously after the re. frigerator every morning. Iu thous a of families, cellar and storervom are combined within its zine walls. For Sunday's dinner (and 1 thick the idea of a specially nice dinner on Sunday is lovely) I know it entails extra labor on the wife, but it payvs— it certainly pays 10 note the enjoy went of our own especial lord of creation who has all the time he wants this one day in the week to enjoy his dinnet and
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers