Wonder* of Plant* mid Fitter*. Most of the flowers sleep during the nipht. The marigold goes to bed with the sun. Many plnnts are so sen sitive that their leaves close during the passage of a e loud. Thedamlelion opens at live or six In the morning, and shuts at nine in the evening, the dnisy opens its day's eye to meet the early beams of the monifng sun. The ivy-leaved let tuce opens at eight in the morning and closes forever at lour in the afternoon. The niglit-flawering cereus turns night into day. It begins to expand its magni eent sweet-seented blossoms in the twilight, it i in full bloom al midnight, and closes forever at the dawn of lay. In a elover field not a leaf is open until after sunrise. There are some plants that may he used as went in T prophets. ; Vb.> pimpernel spreads lis leaves al the end of wet weather, while the different sneeies of elover eontroet theirs, if the ehiekweed droops and its flowers are not open, there is rain in prospect. The J crowfoot anemone foretells the eoniing j of rain by elosing its blossoms; the anc- i mono nientaisa carries its flowers ereet when tlie weatJicr is tine, and drooping when overcast. It will rain if the whit low grass lets its leaves hang drooping, if the gallium verum swells and exhales strongly, also if the birch scents the air. The sensitiveness of plants to light, heat and moisture was made by l.innn-u.s the great botanist, the basis of many experiments and observations, resulting in the arrangement called bis "floral 1 clock " It is a curious fart that there are twenty-four varieties of plants whose blossoms open successively at the differ- . cut hours of day and night. The flow- ! ers of the water lily close and sink into the water precisely at sunset, rise again | to the surface and expand with sunrise. j Pliny described the lotus of the Ku phrates, which followed thesame order; and the reverence which was paid to the lotus by the Egyptians is supposed by some to be from ibis association with the sacred sun. Flowers and fruits of the lotus are engraved on Kastern toiubs and monuments, and adoi n the heads of their sculptured deities. Besides the " floral clock," there is a floral calendar, in which each month is marked by its own loyai flower. It is well known that plants sleep at night; but their hours of sleeping are a ( matter of habit, and may tie disturbed artificially, just as a cock may be waked up to crow at an untimely hour by the tight of a lantern. A French chemist subjected a sensitive plant to an exceed ingly trying course of diseip.ine, by com pletely changing its hours, exposing it to a bright light at night, and putting it in a dark room during the day. The plant appeared to be much puzzled at first. It opened and closed its leaves ir regularly, sometimes nodding in spite of the artificial sun that shed its beams at midnight, and sometimes waking up, from force of habit, to find the chamber dark in spite of the time of day. Such are the trammels of use and wont. But, after an obvious struggle, the plant Mib p no it ted to the change, and accepted the night for the day without any apparent ill effects. We noth * tliat an Italian chemist lias recently made some experiments which have resulted in the discovery that vege table perfumes exercise a positively healthful influence upon the atmosphere by converting its oxygen into ozone, and thus increasing its oxidizing influences. The essences found to develop the largest quantity of ozone are those of the cherry, l&urc), clover, lavender, mint, juniper, lemon, fennel and bergamot: those that give smaller quantities are anise, nut meg and thyme. Flowers destitute of perfume do not develop ozone, and those i which have but slight perfume develop it only in small quantities. Reasoning from those facts, the professor recom mends the cultivation of flowers in marshy districts and in ail places in fested with animal emanations, on ac count of the powerful oxidizing influ ence of ozone. The inhabitants of such regionssbould.be says, surround their houses with beds of the most odorous flowers. There is a mystery about per fume. It eludes the most subtle analy sis. So fine, so subtle, so imponderable, it lias eluded our most delicate measures and our stropg-st lenses. If we could come to the essence of each Valor we would make an enormous stride in hy giene and in chemistry, and no profession would profit so much by it as the mod', j cal profession if it could lie conclusively demonstrated that such an odor pro occded from such and such a cause, as we already knowot sulphur, suljdiumtc hydrogen. ammonia, and 'he like.— Jn dmnap Jit Journal. F.lectrlc Lights, Introduction of the electric light is be- I ♦oming so general in Tans that it now attracts very little attention. The pro- 1 prietors of hotels, restaurants, theaters, and even stores, are ▼rectina electric candles in front of their establishments, and there arc quite a number on the steps and around the Madeleine. All the public gardens and squariw have a dozen or more lights, and the Place POpera literally blazes with them, mak ing the gns jets look like farthing can dles. Tlie Arch of Triumph has twenty electric candle* around it, and where ever it was ntrodueed by the authori- lies to add brilliancy to the great illumi nation it remains as a permanent illumi nating process. In nearly all the great centra! plaef sof Paris electricity is grad ually superseding gas, and wherever it is extensively used the gaslights are ex tinguished. whether it will ever be used for indoor lighting is very doubtful, as it is too glaring a light when very close to it; it in shaded out of doors with large and heavy frosted shades. For railroad stations and all central public ' place* it is superseding gas, but it re quires motive power near at band to the candles to keep up a steady current of electricity. A Cooking Contest at a Fair. Mias Corson, the scientific cook, having pass-d through Ohio some months ago, m the young women of Hamilton county, in that State, got an idea that it would be awfully nice to have a cooking con test at the county fair. So a space in ! the grounds was inclosed by means of a rope, and in the midst of a thousand spectators, who pressed the lines from every point of the eompa*s, Miss Mary Leehy.of Wyoming, rolled up her sleeves and pltclif •cl in. in# judges [ladies, of course) pulled out their watches at the moment when the water began to boil in the kettle, 12.43 v. and sixty-five minutes later six persons sat down to n royal dinner prepared by Miss Mary's j 9 hand. At the same hour the next day ! Miss Mary's contestant, Miss Mitebe Hill, tried her hand, and in exactly fifty four minutes rang for the feast. The judges awarded the prize, an improved snn the most valuable stove made, to Miss Leehy, becouse Miss Phmhe's din ner, though ready eleven minutes earlier, was inferior in quality. flow Coffee Is Raised. Coffee is a plant of Turkish origin or discovery. Many years ago some person ivith a speculative turn of mind begun sxperimentiiig with the seeds of the plant, which were discovered to bo growing in great profusion in Southern Abyssinia, in the ilistrlct of Koffa, from which the name Coffee. The plant also grows well in many places in Western Africa. It thrives only in warm situa tions upon the slopes oi hills and in soil not retentive of rain, its cultivation is now carried on in nearly all the tropical countries, especially in Brazil, Java, Ceylon, Sumatra, the Isle of Reunion, along the western coast of India, Arabia, Abyssinia, West Indies, Central Amer ica, Venezuela, Guiana, Peru, Bolivia | ami a few of the Pacific islands. The coflcc plant reaches a height vnry ; ing from eight to thirty feet. '1 lie trunk is covered with a grayish bark, some thing like beach. White flowers put out j in thick clusters around the branches, then comes the fruit, the seed or the j h rry in like clusters. The plant is usually kept down by pruning? so that it j does not rise more tlian five feet in height. This increases the productive ness and adds to the convenience in gath ering the lierries. The slender, pliable branches spread out and bend down like those of apple trees. Tit • plants are raised from the seed in nurseries, and when a yearold are transplanted and set out in rows. In three j cars the young plants begin to yield fruit, but they are not expected to do their best until live year-, old, when they may be counted ■ upon as valuable, and for tlie next twenty years, with proper care, give fruit. Tie oi.int itself is an evergreen, with the j leaves always flesh. At certain seasons ; the blossoms extensively appear, scat tered among the leaves likesnoW: but i they arc hardly ever absent from the | trie itself, which may be said to be a per ; petual bearer. So it is that the coffee plant is putting forth blossoms while the i ruit itself i* coming to maturity, as those berries which ripen are gathered almost any and every season of the year, though the great harvests are gathered j at intervals of twice or three timies a | year. The fruit itself when ripe resembles a cherry, the th-shy portion surrounding 1 the seed being very sweet and palatable. It is at first red and then dark purple, the bright red showing in sucli contrast • to the green as to make the fields look very beautiful. Every one of these cher ries or fruits contain two seeds, their flat sides b-ing opposed to each other in the center of the meat or pulp, and are sep arated by a thin layer of something re sembling tissue paper, but which is a very tough membrane, and •which not only separates the seeds, but still wraps around theni to hold tfieni close together, 'flic fruit is picked as are cherries and dried, when the pulp itself becomes a pod, which must be removed before the seeds are ready for mnrk"t. In some countries the fruit is packed by bund at j intervals during the seasons of harvest. In Arabia and oine portions of Btazil it is allowed to remain on the tree* till tliorougly ripe, when the tnx-s arc shaken and the fruit falls upon cloths spread upon the ground. Tlie twos eds inside | the pulp are male and female, the male seeds when planted producing more tries, while the female seeds bring forth nothing. In Brazil and *ote portions of India : the curing and preparing of coffee for market is performed by spreading the fruit to the thickness of several inches on smooth bed* or surface* under the beat of the sun. so that fermentation sets I in and the entire mas becomes anything but pleasant to ta-te or smell. Altera time the fermentation censes, th n moist ure disappears, when the dried fruit is i shoveled or passed between wooden roll ' ers, and sometimes pounded as clothes :rre pounded in a barrel, with wooden pestles, until the pulp is broken, after which it is entirely washed away. Next comes the separating eif the tough mem brane so that the seeds can be separated, which is done by pa-sing the seeds be tween heavy rollers which tear and prick and pull tills membrane to pieces, so that it become* as chaff, which is re moved by winnowing, as wheat is i cleaned by running it through a fanning , mbl. An American Ilrama. ACT ONE. Coi'NTILT EDITOR (to Well-to-do mer chant) —" Wouldn't you like to take my paper. Mr. Blank?" MERCHANT (with great cordiality)— "Of i-our-e I would! Have bism in tending to suliserih.) for a long time. I Send it up, by all means." AIT TWO—THREE MONTHS I.ATKR. EXTRACT, from leading editorial in the W 'cr.kly [fugle —" We must urge upon our readers the necessity of prompt set tlement of their subscriptions, many of which are largely in arrears. I'lease bear in mind that it costs us a large amount to print our paper. Country produce received !t t ruling market price*." MERCHANT (alter rending leader)— "There! I must call in and pay Bangs that 92. I'erlmps he needs it. But there can be no particular hurry. Two dob ; lnr* isn't much." ACT THREE—THREE MONTHS LATER. DEVII. from [fugle office (presenting biU to merchant) —" I'lease, sir. Mr. Bangs wants to know if you won't pay this to-day, as he has got to raise some money to pay his hanils." MERCHANT F somewhat nettled)—" Tell Bangs I'll call in: am pretty short to day. [Exit Devi 1.1 Bang* needn't be so mighty sharp with his bills." ACT FOI R —THREE MONTHS LATER. EOITOR (with a sick and weary smile) —" Good morning, Mr. Blank." MERCHANT (slmrtly)—" Morning." EOITOR (weakly)— This little bill ! that—" MERCHANT (fiercely)—" How much is j it?" EDITOR (softly ) —"Only 92. I wouldn't trouble you if— MERCHANT (in a great rage)— "There's j your 92, and I want you to ptop the paper. I ain't In the habit of lieing dunned to death for a mean paltry sum as that. Now stop your miserable sheet ! and you hoar me!" Tlie poor editor, with a careworn face, feebly staggers out the door. Having i first gathered up the 92. N. B.—Plot taken from real life, and ' is not fictional .^—UocklatulOtmrier. I The fastest run on record of a steamer was that of tlie Durban, from Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, to England; 0,000 miles in eighteen days, sixteen hours, of nctual steaming, an average of 13.1 knots an hour. It is far eaaier to run 3.000 miles in nine days than t.OOO in eighteen days, because ol the extra weight of coals that must lie carried. A Father's Sacrifice. Not a great while since a prominent physician of Denver, Col., was called t® attend a patient in tlie last stages of what appeared to lie consumption, but | which, upon examination, proved to be I simwly a wearing away of life—a decay lof the energies of mind and body. Af ' though well supplied with money, the stranger was seemingly without friends or relatives. He wrote no letters anil received none. An alien to tlie tender ness and charities which sanctify the affections, he seemed to be drifting out of tlie world, in which, for liini, all the flowers of the heart had perished—h bleak and desolate old man, hastening out of the sunshine into the winter of the grave. After inuking a thorough examination of tlie case, the doctor told him tluit although lie could llnd no or ganized disease, yet lie was dying. " 1 know it," replied the patient. "Hut have you no idea of what brought you to this plight?" inquired the inter ested man of science, "It is a curious phenomena. You have heard a great deal about cases like mine —more as a visionary < xaggrralion of the fancy than a* an actual occurrence— hut, strange as it may appear, 1 am 'ly ing, as you say, of a broken heart." " You surprise nic!" "Yes, I surprise myself. I did not come to your fp uiUi-giving climate as others do—i.i search of a longer lease of life—hut to die in peace, and alone." " Hut have you no friends?" asked the doctor. "None that lean claim. My past is sealed with the shadow of a crime, and over my nameless grave not even a inerii >rv must bower. lam alrt luly dead to all whoever knew my. name." " You say you are a criminal!" pur sued the doctor. " No. I am none. Hut I assume the stigma to shield another." " And that other." " Was my son!" " What was the nature of his crime?" The physician's ruiiosity had got the both rof liis prudence. The shadows of twilight were falling around tiiem. Through tlieopcn window streamed the soft brilliance of the dying day. Clouds of amethyst and purple floated lazily on the far-off hill*. Hut in the chamber where tlie fevered breath was drawn quick and short there was a hushed still ness which seemed in keeping with the ghostly shadows. " It was murder!' " And was fixed on you?" "On me—l assumed it. and then e.. cnp'il—but not to evade the vengeance of the law. but to spare to him I loved tin* stigma of a felon's death." " How long ago was this?" " Twelve years." " And have you la-en a wanderer ever since?" " Ever since!" Tlie feeble pulse was fluttering—the glazing eyes sheathed under waxen lids, and the shattered form was growing rigid momentarily. " Will you tell nie no more?' whis pered tlie physician. " It is ail I have to tell!" The next instant the man was dead. He had kept his secret, and sacrificed lii lifein keeping it. Walking on Snnrinr. It is somewhat unusual to find a court of law engaged in determining whether walking in the open air on Sunday tor exercise is illegal. Tills question. It >**- ever, arose in a recently reported case which was argued in the Supreme Court ol the State of Maine. The plain tiff brought an action against the city of Portland for damage sustained hy him owing to the defective stntc-of tlie high way. He was in charge of tlie eity water works, and. wishing to vary tlie mono tony of las employment, went lor a two hours' walk for recreation one Sunday afternoon. This was in tlie winter After setting out he called at an inn and drank a glass of ale. Then lie resumed Ids walk, but before returning slipped upon a quantity of iee which lay on a much frequented sidewalk, and brok one of the bone* of Ills right leg. A statute in force in tlie State of Maine prohibits "traveling on tlie f/ird's Day." Tlie defendants made a j>oint of this, and likewise urged that it was il legal to walk on Sunday for tlie purpose 1 ol |purchasing and drinking ale. N<> such purpose, however, was proved. Tlie judge at tlie trial told the jury that walking on Sunday for recrmtion was not illegal, and that although the step. I>ing aside for the aic under the rirrutn stnn*-os might he illegal, yet if the ad did not contribute to produce tlie dam age, it would not prevent a verdict for j the plaintiff. The jury accordingly foiim' for the plaintiff: whereupon tlie defendants took exception to the ruling and appealed. Tlie Supreme Court, aft firming the proposition that walking on Sunday for exercise in tlie open air was not illegal, distinguishing between walking on Sunday for tlie purpose of buying ale, which would lie illegal, and cases .where the intention at starting was merely to obtain exercise and re creation. In tlie latter case a person who drank a _• is* of ale and then re sumed his waik. and therein suffered damage from a defective highway, was not, hy the laws in force in Maine, pre vented from recovering for the damage unless he contributed to it. Tlie appeal was consequently dismissed. Tussle with a Mad Elephant. Among tlie elephants that swing around the circle with Forepaugli is one known a* " Dick." This young mon ster got to sulking at Lsniwter, N'. 11., the other night, nnd rifWcd to trot along with tlie others. Young Adam Forepaugli, tlie old man Adam's son, rode up to Diek and gently tapped him with liisriding whip. Dick lunged for the lad nnd unhorsed him. Aihvm was stunned hy tlie tail and lay hut a few feet from (lie enraged beast, whose ter ribie bellowing indicated tliat lie was thoroughly aroused. It seemed impos sible lor any one to rescue young Foro patigh. The keepers and trainers knew that the least motion would hasten the hoy's death, and so st'iod speechless nnd aghast. Hut old Rett*, the monster ele phant of the herd, acting witli wonder rally human impulse, ran with a speed that seemed incredible, considering he enormous bulk, and threw the force of her fotlr ton*' weight against tlie side of the advancing aid murderous Dick. Tlie shook of tlie c dlldlng elephants was fearful, upsetting bad Dick and throw ing liirn on his *r c. Quick as a flash, Forepaugli'* son was upon his feet. Old 1 letts threw dowp ner trunk at the signal, just as she does in the performance, and lifted her master upon her head. Every time tlie recreant Dick ar. Merton, n well-known traveling salesman, had occasion to drive from Conneautville, PH., to Ashtabula, Ohio, via Jefferson. While driving lei surely along through East or Southeast Denmark, Mr. Merton lieurd a strange Hound issuing from a dense undergrowth at the hide of the road. The gentleman got out of the buggy to investigate the cause of the noise, heing of a curious turn of mind. Hitching hi* horse he cautiou*- ly parted the bushes and stealthily mode Itis way Into the thicket lor perhaps the distance of one hundred feet. 1 fere was a spot of ground about twenty feet in diameter, which wassueli a plnee as one would imagine for a fairy's ball-room. The slieks and brush were all cleared away in the space, doubtless by lite burning of a brush-heap. Notwithstand ing the gentleman had made his way into the brush ho quietly all sounds were hushed at his approach save the chirping of a melancholy cricket or tin- drowsy singing of a distant harvest fly. Mi. Merton. not to lie nonplused, sat down upon a log in full view of litis arena and awaited developments. He had hut a short time to wait, for not more than a minute had passed ere a small striped snake darted out of a hunch of grass at thesideof the arena and commenced run ning around tit • space in a circle. An other snake a little largi r soon followed, and then a rattlesnake about two feet in b ngth joined in what seemed to lie a sort of snake jubilee; every one after that seemed to bring a new-coiner of some kind. It wits a noticeable fact that striped snakes, milk snakes, rattlesnakes, black snakes and water snakes nil joined the throng in the greatest harmony. When perhaps seventy-five or eighty snakes had entered the space a cur lolls combination of purring, rattling sounds arose at one side of the circle. A glance in that direction disclosed live large snake*— two rattlesnakes, n striped snake and two biack snakes—lying stretched upon a log. The rattlesnakes were slink ing their rattles violently, and each of the three remaining reptiles nad a frog in its mouth which it was torturing into croaking and making noim * frog fashion, apparently for the amusement of the snakes in the ring below. The rattles and the croaking frog* made tude music, which furnished very fair marching time to the squirming mass of serpents, unit our informant says t ley kept very fair time with the music, their head* all swaying in unison from one side to the other. The gentleman wan thunderstruck at tlie wonderful sight, and could scarce ly believe it was not aciream. He said to us "Of eourse you will think it an improbable, ridiculous story, a* I would myself if anyone told the same to me; hut my own eyesight is theonly evidence I want." After watching this scene for perhaps a quart' rof an iiour. Mr. Mi tie-light it would be a mtleb safi r place out on the road, and stait'-d to move in that direction. No sooner had lie made a stir than the music ceased, and every serpent disappeared a* if by magic, it was a scene Mr. Merton will probably remember to his dying day, and such a one as no other man ever witnessed. In telling us the storv, Mr. Merton would involuntarily shudder every few minute*, a* though the mass of reptiles w its before him. — Jcfftrmm (Ohio) A Remarkable Recovery. The recovery from a wound generally pronounced mortal, nnd the restoration of the organ wounded to healthy action, occurred in the Ouachita country, in the ease of an eminent citizen who filled the highest political others in the State, and was always regarded as a leader of the dominant political party. We refer to tlcncral Solomon W. Downes, who once represented tlii* State in the i'niteii States Senate. In a duel let ween Gen crnl Downes and tlcncral Morgan—the weapon* being ritb-s—General Downes was shot through the lungs. The |>a]l which penetrated his Issiy carried with it a piece of cloth in which it was the '•tistom to wrnp the twills used in the old-fashioned rifle*. The tnall was ex tracted. hut the cloth remained and pro duced inflammation, which gave great pain and distress to the wounded gentle man. His lungs, which had Iwcn pro. nounecd before in* was shot as in a very unsound condition and had elicited the most gloomy apprehension of his early decease from consumption, were much infl.uipd and irritated by the presence of this cloth, which had pcrfornt'd tlc-m. and thus increased and aggravated the violent coughing to which he had lcen subjected. His physician thought there was bu' cry. and tlie g< parations for the tal career. (>ne day, in a spasm of violent ing and copious hemorrhage from the lungs, the wadding was thrown up. and carefully examined by a surgeon from this city, who astonished the afflicted f "tenth-man by cheerily congratulating lim on the event, as not only a relief from a cause of great suffering, hut ns furnishing grounds for a hope and be lief of the restoration of lia lungs to a sound snd healthy condition. And so it proved, for General Downes lived thirty years longer, and was one of the most active and ooniylcuousof our pub lic men and one of the most vigorous and successful political and parliamen tary speakers and advocates in the StaU*. ,\7 w ftr/e/ias Democrat. A Urate ttsbbit. The common opinion is that a rabbit is too timid to bo aggressive. A writer in /•bred arul fllream tellstliestory of a tight between a rabbit and a snake, which shows that, when a mother, the gentle rabbit can l>e tierce and brave in defence of her offspring: During the morning, one of my chil dren came in with a very white face, nnd an account of a large white snake, just seen in the buck ynro. A few minutes later, a peculiar squeal ing or crying in the corner where the snake was reported attracted my atten tion. nnd running hastily in that direc tion. I was astonished to seethe last half of a long chicken snake projecting from under a picket-fence, and a wild rabbit biting and stamping on it, apparently making a determined effort to hold on and prevent the snake from going en tirely under. A second later, and before my presence seemed to be noticed i.y the combatants, the cause of tlie rabbit's efforts and of the peculiar noise wa on i Tested hy tlie ap pearand on one side of tlie fence of tlie snake's head willi a tiny rabbit in its jaws. The little rabbit was held hy the hind quarters and was struggling and crying vigorously for tlie liberty that a blow from my stick, administered to the hack of the snake, secured to it. Tlie Httls fellow seemed unlpjured, and ran off a md or so, when the mother rabbit, who liad retreated a little at my near approach, joined it, and leading the way at a deliberate gait, took It to the woods near bv. TIMELY TOI'ICH. Cabul. tlie capital of Afghanistan, where tlie massacre of Cavagnari and tlie English embassy took place, is not a eity whose palace* and public institu tions would allure the sightseer to any lengthened stay in its vicinity, for with out exception a more neglected or tum hled-down collection of houses, without the slightest pretence to sanitary arrangements, can hardly Is- found in Asia. The only sliopsot any inU rest are tlie leather andiron workers and others dealing in skins and stuffs peculiar to L'abul. The fruit stalls in tlie autumn are crammed from tip- ground to tlie roof witli every kind of both ripe and raw fruits. The X club is a society offline dis tinguished llritons—Sir John Lubbock, Mr. Herbert Spencer, Sir Joseph Hooker, I'rols. Tvndall, Frank land. Husk, Hux ley and Hurt, and Mr. William Spott- Iswoode. The invitations to the club meetings are very mid, displaying mere ly the letter X linked to the date of meeting, thus: " X—9." Sometlmes but rarely—the wives of the member*- aie permitted to grace the least, and then the card reads: "XxYVS— u." I'rof. Huxley and. Mr. Spottiswoodc are reported to Ic the Ufe and soul of these hilarious meetings, the only mcnibcrwho ; approaches them in vivacity Ix-ing Mr. I Herbert Spenc r. We may yet travel hy lightning as well as send our messages by that agency. They have n electric railroad in Berlin that works wonderfully w-11, and many scientific people think the electric loco motive limy yet pull real trains along our present railroads. The Berlin loco motive draws three carriages. Each carriage bold* from eighteen to twenty persons, and all thri-c arc drawn in from . one to two minutes round tlie eirculai .railway of three hundnd meters in length. The locomotive was originally made for the purpose ol drawing up coal I out of the pit. Nevertheless its per , formanecs are very remarkable, and ren der it certain that tli'-re are many case* : in which electric locomotives may be employed with advantage. One ol tin-novelties at an Idaho fair were exhibits made |,y the Indians on the N< r. Pcr< <• reservation at tin- Ixtpwai Agency. Exquisitely point'-d ar ! row-head*. Isad-d moccasins and em broidered scalps, does one surmise? Not !at all. The exhibit* consisted of choice vegetables, corn ol large grain and luit j tcr—actually gilt-edged butter. This ?■ car the Indians around Lapwai have iarvesU-d 46,000 hushcis ol grain from I.IQP acres, an average of over tiiirty , six bushels to the acre. 3,170 acr<-* of Land are cultivated hy them, most of tin land being along the creek bottom*, ; where tlu-re is a very rich loam. The vegetable* this year will Im- about a* three to one of last year's tillage in quantity and the reservation ag< nt is tickled that hi* red men are self-sus taining. The fir-t gold bullion from Alaska recently left Sitka in the steamer Cali fornia for the Son Francisco mint. For many months it ha* in-cn known that gold existed throughout various por tions of the territory in paying quanti ties, and various explorations for it have been conduct's!. During the Russian occupation of Alaska the Indians from th" interior frequently brought to the frontier trad ing-post* specimens of pure native gold, and the explorations ol the country as have since lecn made have resulted in substantiating the opinion that the country wa* rich in placer mine* nnd probably in quartz mines. The placer mines are said to be extraor dinarily rich, and certain indications lead to the belief that discoveries equal to those in Australia during tlie earlier period* of tlie gold excitement there will ere long be made in Alaska. The great importance which ostrich farming lias acquired in South Afrha may Iw seen from an ostrich auction re cently held at Middlehurg, Cape Lor I. Tlie lowest price paid for one pair of the*e bird* was s'■♦oo. nid several pai * fetched ll.tlt. A rets year* ago triohe* were obtained by hunting onh . and at that time a good bird could ' • caught Torn menagerie or a zoolog" .tl garden at a moderate price. Hut ;nee their domestication an n own* - ostrich. From the Cape ST 8.3M7 pounds of ostrich Iff' export'*! in I*oo. at a hut in 1*73 the expor- yen to 31,5*1 pound*, at a value 2f1,35, and recently a hunch of picked blood* were sold at I'ort Elisabeth for $337 .60 a pound, is, about $3.60 a feather. Tlie disproportion between the cost of collecting tlie t'niled States internal revenue and the customs revenue is very great. Some interesting facts appear from a study of tlie amount of rcv-nii* derived from customs and from inter nal revenue and the cost of collecting tlie ame respe found in Ahvssinia and all along North coast, and even in the- Saharen oases, frequent ly acting as intermediaries between the Mohammedans and Christians. (M the Asiatic Jews, 20.000 are assigned to India and 25.000 to Palestine. The jxipu -lat ion of Jc-rusaleum i given as 7,000 M ohnmmedans. 5,000 Christians, and 13.5410 Jews; tliese last are classified as Herman, Spanish, or Arabic Jews. The report gives no details concerning America, except that in New York there are thirty synagogues. A Centenarian's flventfal Life. Just leyond the M'cosic mountain*, a Jew miles northeast of Scranlon. Pa., in the village of Salem, there lives a cen tenarian whose- history reads like a page plucked froi.l one of the Iwattier-stock ing romance*. Abraham Johnson is now 106 yarn old—hale, hearty, unim paired in intellect, and eifted with a re markable memory. His family records shows that he was born in the State of Vermont early in the year 1773, near I