TIMKLY TOPICS. The surface of Great Salt Lake, in Utah, has risen eleven feet since 1807. Professor King believes this rise to be due not to the cultivation of the sur rounding country hut to a climatic os cillation that began about 18S0, and which is the first ot its kind and extent that has occurred within at least 850 years. One hundred and sixty odd entries of American race-horses in England this year, 130 announced races in Saratoga, from July 17 to September 1, the new Coney Island and other courses, with the great races at Jerome Park, I,on g Branch, and in the South and West, promise to keen up a pattering of hoofa to the snow- of December. According to Dr. Kmil Hoiub, relics si an extinct race, of a much higher cul ture than now belongs to any native tribes, have been found in tlie interior of South Africa. Among the' remains ;in > seen workings of ancient mines, some even of gold, and the ruins of rude for tifications. These evidences remind the gn at traveler of the African empire of Atonomatapa, as mapped on old Portu guese charts. That certain insects possess a power akintc reason is illustrated by Gleaitsch, • a Gorman naturalist, who relates that he one day spitted a loud on a stick which lie fixed upright in the ground. The odor of the decaying body ol the reptile attracted a number of burying beetles; hut as they found they eoula do nothing with tne toad while in the air, they mined under the base of tlie *tick until it fell, when they buried toad and stick together. Such an engineer ing attempt would seem to indicate the presence of a definite purpose. A Quebec telegraph-operat or claimed te have invented a multiplex instru ment hy which any number of messages could he stmt over one wire at the same lime. After opening negotiations for tlie sale of his discovery to tlie Ameri can Union company, of New York, se curing assistance from several specula tors. and selling to a company organ ized for the purpose of pushing the patent a three-fourths inlet est in it for £2,500, tlie genial operator irft for parts unknown. Eighteen wires leading to the instrument on which lie "experi mented," which were discovered under ihp flooring, solved the mystery ot his remarkable feats in telegraphy. People who thir.k mild winters are unhealthy, wili learn from the records that the past winter, " unseasonable " as it was, has been a very healthy win ter. The mortuary reports of Philadel phia inny be cited in this connection. The Philadelphia Ledger publishes a table showing tire number of deaths in Philadelphia during the thirteen weeks of this winter, compared with tlie dentils during the same period of the preceding year. Tlie months of December. Janu ary and February, I*7B-9, which were "seasonable," showed 4,008 deaths; while the same months in 1*79-86, which were held to be "unseasonable" and " unwholesome," because they were mild, show but 3,996 deaths—or 606 less in the mild winter than in its immediate predecessor, which was of tiic average Kind. Mr. Carroll D. Wright,the statistician, who has recently perfected the statistics of divorces in Massachusetts from 1860 to 1878, inclusive, supplies food for re flection to all interested in nreserving the marriage relation. Tlie figures pre sented by Mr. Wright are startling. Since I*6o 7,233 divorces were granted by the State of Massachusetts for forty four assigned causes. The records show that the marriage bond was dissolved in '2,400 cases on complaint of the hus band, and in 4,833 eases at the request of lho wife. In other words, twice as many divorces have been granted to women as to men in the period covered by the statistics. From this report we learn that " desertion " was invented as a suilable plea lor unmarrying people in Massachusetts in 183*. We also dis cover that nparly half the divorces were granted for eausea that would not have been entertained half a century ago, and causes which would not have been regarded as valid twenty-five years ago. _______ A Lightning Proof Reader. The New York Stm has this account of the late .John C. Robinson, known as the " lightning proof reader." who was found dead in his hod in Williamsburg one morning a short time apt: Mr. Robinson was born in this city forty years ago. He attended school in the Seventh ward, nnd entered John A. Grny's printing establishment in Cliff •treet as a "copy boy" when thirteen years old. In 1854 he entered the Tri luw. proofroom. In deciphering manu scripts he wasn marvel. He read Rich ard Hildreth's, Horace Greeley's, Count Pulaski's. Gerrit Smith's and other crabbed manuscripts almost at a glance. When Mr. Greeley himself was unnhle to decipher one of his own written sen tences, he referred it to Mr. Robinson, who looked at it steadily for a minute or more, and made out its meaning. In the municipal canvass of 1860 a letter from Mr. Greeley, written under the Spingler house heading, wns sent to the night editorol the Tribune. It enclosed an editorial article in the same hand writing, favoring the election of a well known politician, who was running on an independent ticket. It was the night before ele<-tion. The article was put in type. In assorting the copy before read ing the proof the manuscript fell under the eyes of Mr. Robinson. Something about it attracted his attention. He ex amined it as a paying teller would ex amine a doubtful bill. "Thai's not the old man's handwriting," he said. He was so confident that it was a forgery that he called the editor's attention to it, nnd the article was suppressed. So skill ful was the forgery that on the follow ing day Mr. Greeley said that, had he not known different, he would have taken it to he his ow.n handwriting. Mr. Robinson's rapidity in reading a proof sheet aloud was unparalleled, and Ids enunciation was perfect. Timed by the writer he bus pronounced 086 words in a minute. This is at the rate of 41,760 words per hour. The words w%o pronounced in a monotonous tone of voice without accent, and came from Ids lips as though sent from the wheels of a machine. Long before the death of Mr. Greeley. Mr. Robinson wss given charge of the Tribune proof room. He left that journal in 1875 and accepted a similar position on the Sun. He was straight as an arrow, had clean-cut haturis. light curling hair, and an eye like a hawk. He had many friends and no enemies. Life In tke Animal World. A Middleburg (Pa.} mouse tunneled nn ear ol corn, built her nest in it, and whs living on the grain on the outside. The ear whh *4 inches in length and tty inches in circumference, and it con tained 1,000 grains of corn. A drunken sparrow was recentv seen on the streets of Easton, Pa., ana was picked up and cared lor by a peanut vender until It became sober. Some.one had dropped a flask of whisky on the sidewalk, and the bird drank ot the liquor until It staggered and fell. Monkeys are caught in Africa by means of fermented beer. It is plnccri by the natives within reach, and as soon us one monkey tastes it he screams with joy, and many answer his call. They soon get too drunk to realize the ap proach of a person, and are cashy cap jured. A missionary living among the Dutch Boers of Natal says that a hunting party came upon a large herd of elephants, and as they tired at the leader the entire herd fled. They were in a valley, and in trying to escape they ran around in a circle three hundred yards in diameter, and were shot down. After awhile a new leader broke out of the beaten track, and led off the remainder of the herd in safety. Ninety elephants lay dead in the valley, and each man's share of the valuable tusks of ivory was con siderable. Russian wolves show great sagacity in the capture of wild horses. They roll and frjsk about utuil the unsuspecting victim is completely put oil his guard. One wolf then approaches tlie horse's head, and another his tail. Botli wolves then spring at their victim at the same instant—one at the throat, and the other at the Hanks—and they do not let go until the horse is disabled. Tlie horse turns round and round without attempt inn a defense, and is soon on its side, and the victory is won. At a signal the pack close in. but the small fry wait un til their superiors are gorged. A traveler in the forests of Brazil saw a hairy spider witli a body two inches long, and eight legs, measuring seven incites each. It was on a tree trunk be neath a deep crevice, across which was stretched a dense white web. Tlie lower part of the web was broken, and two small finches were entangled in tlie pieces. One was still alive, hut died soon niter its rescue. The hairs of these crab spiders come off when touched and cause a maddening irritation. He says that he saw the children of an Indian family with one of these monsters se cured by a cord and lending it about the house like a dog. i Old Jake is a one-eyed pointer dog of Sardis, Miss. On a cold, rainy uay he : made a call on an old sportsman, and spent the afternoon by the tire. When i bedtime came he was driven out and the I door-Uiumb bolted on the inside. In the course of the night he was awakened by a cold wind blowing on him. Hearing a slight noise at tlie lire, he looked, and there sat old Jake. The fire had nearly died out, and the dog was putting the chunks together with his paws, and act ually blowing the dying embers Th man got out of tiis bed, put on more wood, tnadc a pallet for Jake near the fire, closed the door and again retired. When Henry Lascar, of Lafayette Corners, Pa., returned from a day's liunt he looked as though he had la*en put through a threshing machine. He went to a panther's den, crawled in, and, drawing a bead on tlie animal, fired. When Tie recovered consciousness the panther was tossing him about as a cat does a mouse, nnd with one stroke of her paw she sent him headlong outside the cave. Early in the fight Lascar's rifle was made useless by breaking the nip ple. The animal tore his (ace in shreds. I With a hundred wounas on his body and his clothing torn to ribbons, the old man was well nigh exhausted, when, by an almost superhuman effort, he reached his hunting-knife,nnd. hy a well-directed blow, quieted the beast. Russia's Dictator. Gen. lioris Melikoff. who is now the military dictator of Russia, is the son of an Armenian merchant, nnd began Ids military career as an officer in a hussar regiment in Bt. Petersburg. His talents were recognized hy Mouravicff. the gov ernor general of the Caucasus, hut until tlio campaign of 1877 lie had never had an opportunity to handle a large body of troops, or to learn the scieuce of war in the open field. Melikoff is a handsome soldier, with blaek curlv hair, large, dark, sparkling eyes, a somewhat bronzed complexion, and features which, without being quite regular, are comly and refined. He is of middle stature, of a slight nervous structure, and spare in person. His man ners are polished and extremely affable, while his conversation is light and easy. He has been one of the most successful of the military governors who have been invested with supreme power in their districts during the Inst year. He is a man of great and varied accomplish ments. In addition to his native lan guage, Armenian, he is familar with and spenks Ru-eian. Turkish, Persian and French, but is ignorant of Herman and English. He was a grent favorite with his soldiers. He visited them in their bivouacs, tasted their soup, and inquired after their comfort. He took especial care of the sick, frequently in specting the hospitals and ambulances. At the same time he was a strict dis ciplinarian. and required from all. and particularly the non-commissioned offi cers of his army, a punctual perform ance ot their duty. His age is fifty seveti. 11 The Luck ttulnea." The Baroness Burdette-Coutt* was created a peeress on account of her large gifts to public objects. Her wealth is derived from her maternal grand father, tlie rich Ixindon hanker, Thomas Coutts. In the banking-bonne there is pre served a gold coin called the "Luck Guinea." It has a curious history. Old Mr. Coutts wns in the habit of visiting a town in the vicinity of the country seal of one of-Ids married daughters- On one of these visits, his neat but some what worn clothes attracted the atten tion of a benevolent old gentleman. Noticing the hanker, he imagined that he must be a decayed old gentleman who had seen better days. It was near Christmas, and as the "(Jood Samari tan " passed by Mr. Coutts, he put a guinea into his baud, bidding him get a good dinner. A few days after the benevolent man received an Invitation to dine at Mr. Coutts' daughter's bouse. There tie was introduced to the recipient of his charity. The banker told the story to the guests, and amid their amusement announced that the guinea would re main nmnn - the heirlooms of Ooutta' hanking- hcassj The Corel Fisher* or Capri. Coral fishing is a slavery to which nothing but sheer poverty drives the fishermen. From April to October tbolr life is n life of ceaseless drudgery, Packed in a small boat without a deck, with no food but biscuit and foul water, touching land only at intervals of a month, ana often deprived of sldop for days together through shortness of hands, the coral fishers are exposed to a constant brutality from the masters of their vessels which is too horrible to bear description. . The fishing is itself bard work. The two beams of wood laid crosswise, with hemp and loose netting attached to them, which serves! :is a dredge, are dragged along the gen i bottom with a rope, which it some-! times requires the crews ofhalfa dozen boats to haul to the surface. If it breaks the whole boat is in peril; if the sailor who is paying out fails to note the moment when it catches the coral, his thigh, over which it runs, iscut to the bone. A long pull tears the branches entangled in the net from the rock, or breaks oil rock and all, and a shout of joy bursts from the wearied fishermen as the tangled muss of coral appeal's above the waves. To the masters the fishery is luerativc enough; of the eight thousand francs which form the returns of a single boat, some two thousand are clear profit, But, measured by our no tions, the pay of the men seems miser ably inadequate to the toil and suffer ing which they undergo. For the whole period of eight months, it varies witli the strength and experience of the seamen from £6O to £00; the boys re ceiving as little as $80; and of this much is absorbed by the extortionate shopkeepers of Torre. Knough, how ever, remains to tempt the of the Caprese fishermen to sea. Even a boy's earnings will pay his mother's rent. For a young man, it is the only mode in which be can hope to gather a sura suf ficient for marriage and his start in life. The early so common at Naples and along the adjoining coast arc unknown nt Capri, where a girl sel dom weds before twenty, and where the poorest peasant refuses the band of bis daughter to a suitor who cannot fur nish a wedding settlement of some twenty pounds. Even with the modern rise or wages, it is almost impossible for a lover to accumulate such a sum from the produce of bis ordinary toil, and bis one resource is tlie coral fishery. —Saturday Review. The Iron Age. There are forty-six rolling mills in Ohio, thirty-two of which are in opera tion. The rolling-mills of Chicago now cm ploy over 3,000 men, and are running night and day. One firm in Baltimore has made a contract for 300,rt00 tons of iron and iron ore, and another for 140,000 from Eng lish ports. Wheeling, W. Va., makes about a fourth of all the nails manufactured in the United States, and turns out over 1,000,000 kegs annually. St. i/ouis lms 4,000 men employed in iron mills and foundries, who turnout daily 700 tons of finished iron, 160 tons of cast iron, 800 tons of pig and 375 car wheels. The number of iron and rail mills of all kinds in the United States amount to 100, or about five times as many as there were in 1856, with a greater aver age capacity. It is estimated by railroad statisticians that the probable demand on our steel and iron mills will be equal to 1,500,- 000 tons,of which 840.000 will be for new stock during the year 1880. The production of Bessemer steel rails in this country since I*o7, when they were first made, has increased to a mar velous extent. In 1807 it nmounted to only 2,555 tons, in 1M79 to 34.000 tons, and last year to 570,000 tons. Experience has shown at the Pe troleum iron works. Titusville, Pa that a barrel of petroleum will generate heat sufficient for making a ton of iron, while a ton and a quarter of coal would be required for the same result. An unprecedented quantity of iron will be made in the United States this year. In England furnaces are also be ing rapidly blown in. There is no danger of an iron famine. On the contrary there will be plenty of it. and the pros pects are it will all be sold at good orices.— Pittsburg Pre**. Sold Himself. A Correetlonville farmer sold a load of corn at that town the other day. When it wns weighed he slyly stepped on the scales, ana then drove off to un load. When the wagon was weighed he took good care not to be in it, and congratulated himself that he had cheated the buyer in good shape. The grnin-dealer called him in, and after figuring up the load, paid him in ftill. As the farmer buttoned up his coat to go out. the buyer kindly asked him to smoke with him, and then talked over *' ,e Price of hogs, and the likelihood of the Maple Valley railroad uilding up that way, till the farmer fairly squirmed in his chair with un easiness about Ills chores at home. At Inst he could stand it no longer, and said he must go. The dealer quietly said that was not to be thought of; that he had bought the farmer at full weight, and paid lilm his own price, and that he would insist on doing as lie pleased with his own property. The raiser of corn saw that he had In deed sold himself, in one sense, at least. He acknowledged his cheat and com promised the affair. Now when he markets grain he don't stand on the scale.— Sioux City (la.) Journal. Extinction of the Buffalo. According to the Montana Flerrßd, a Canadian paper, very few buffaloes, comparatively, have ranged during the past year nortli of the boundary between the United States and the British posses sions in America. Tills important and useful animal is every year becoming more and more warde, and before very long will probably be extinct. Forts Walsh and Macleod have for some years been important centers for the collec tion of buffalo robes, the market value of which to tlie Indian hunter may be estimated at two dollars each. In 1877 some 30,000 robes were gathered at Fort Macleod, and a large numlier at Fort Walsh. In 1878 the number was 18,727 at the former and 10,887 at the latter place; while last year only ft.704 came in at Fort Macleod and 8,877 at Fort Walsh. This steady decrease in the number ol buffaloes slain by the Indiana and half-breeds of the North west affords a ready explanation ol the suffering prevalent among them. FOR THE FAIR SEX. A Unp Year Proposal. r "r, gentle being, Rive mo keod, As kneeling humMy at tby aide, With laaoerated heart I plead That thou'ltbeoome my blushing hrido. I king—l wildly long to press Thee to my heart, yet stand alwah— -1 pine to print a land caress Upon thy meek and mild mustache. Why, tell mo why thine eyelid* drop And turn away HO pettishly, . And why with fierce, tumultuous flop Thy lm*om heuvee coquettish]/ ? I know that thou art young nr.d luit As tiny buds in early spring— Hut thou shnlt be my consent care, Thou trail and fragile little thing. I'll sew thy shirts and darn thy hose. Thy victuals cook, thy flies will light I'll grease thy gracious Grecian nose Each snowy, croupy, wintry night. Ho, surely, thou'lt not tell ine nay And bid trie dying quit thy side— lirace up, pull down thy vest nnd say That thou wilt Ire my blushing bride. Kantat City Timti. Fashion .Holes. Short shoulder capes of mate rial re sembling the dress or harmonizing with it are talked about as a feature or walk ing suits. In both evening and walking dresses any and every combination of colors and materials tliatdii's not conflict with I artistic requirements is admissible. Black or iridescent beads and appliques of silk and velvet are largely employed upon silk, satin and cashmere fabrics. The close-fitting l>onr. loose loons and a strap placed quite low down on one side. One of the new long spiked ornament* is then stuck through this rosette.and indeed through the bonnet Itself. This spike may ee gilt or jet. and is in quaint new shapes, such as the half comb with one long U-otb worn by Japanese women, instead of the arrows and darts worn last year. The hrlm is then cowed with plait lege of gold lace, or of Laaguedoc, or elm a border of the tiniest flowers edges it, or erhaps a cluster of roses, or or poppies, r of pansies. is massed directly on the top. The inside facing of the bonnet is of silk, satin or velvet slightly shirred, and some of the handsomest bonnets dis pense with even this, and are made double of the Tuscan braid, or el*,- lined with the gold braid. When rilihoti w used, it is twisted easily around the crown,and then bangs in string* fin pwli side, each string being fasten* <1 by an ornament,such as a tiny spread Japanese fan of engrnyed giit, or a bulterliy with pearl-fined wings, or a square brooch with pink eiirneo setting, or else a round clasp of *ut jet. Soft satin or brocaded ribbons are toed for stringy, and are much wider than those of last year, measuring three anil a half or £>ur in ches in breadth. Soft brocaded silk is also doubled for strings, and there are many lace strings for cjiip and Tuscan bonnets, as well as for those made of lace. The Gobelin figured rib bons are also stylish for strings. Hew* and Hole* for Women. Adelina l'atti gets seven dollars a minute in opera A recent evening toilette in New York was decked with thirty birds. The ladies of Chicago have three clubs devoted to literature and philosophy. Mrs. Lydia Sexton, seventy years of age, is preaching in Little Rock, Ark. Women convicts in the Kentucky penitentiary are dressed in pantaloons. Donna Frencesea. Garibaldi's new wife, was the nurse of his grandchil dren. The New Yerk woman's exchange employs four saleswomen and four book keepers. Eighty young women are fitting at the Boston latin school for the Harvard " annex." A blind girl has outranked all her seeing competitors in the Portland, Me., high school. Mead, the sculptor's wife, is a beauti ful Italian lady *ith whom he could not at first talk. Mrs. South worth says she began to write from necessity, and continued from the love of it. Mrs. Alex. Agassiz pays from her own pocket the most of the expenses of the Harvard museum of zoology. A New YorkengTaver got out cards in these words: "Mr. and Mrs. request your presents at the marriage of their daughter." Sir William Gull savs that drinking habits ar? not on the increase among English ladies; but the B:-v. Dr. Nor man Kerr is of a totally different opinion. The wife of United States Senator Walkinson Call, of Florida, is the youngest of all Senators' wives, and is said to be the most beautiful. Site was a Miss Sinking, of So.uth Carolina. Mrs. Marie L. Ellis, for eighteen years favorably Jinown as a custom house in spcctress at New York, died recently, aged fifty years. It is stated that she captured more diamonds from women smugglers than ever were taken from male smugglers. The Mormons evade the legal de cisions against polygamy by secret mar riages and takin; the new wife borne as helper or teacher, and the old wives submit because they religiously believe it to be their duty. Mrs. John W. Markay, wile of the California bonanza king, is solemnly re ported to have engaged the exclusive services of one of the most celebrated | Parisian dressmakers, so that there might be no duplicates of her gowns. A young man at Omaha did not wish j to marry the girl to whom he was en gaged. but she would not release him j until he gave her his grocery business as a recompense. Sbe now runs the | store, while he works elsewhere on 1 small wages, and the bargain pleases ! both. The inability of an ingenious woman to purchase a sealskin sacque led to a very i original garment. According to an cx ; change she stripped the down of turkey and other feathers from the quills ana wove it into a light soft thick cloth, out of which, when dyed a desirable hue. a luxurious sacque was fashioned. Miss Charlotte A. Bcott, of Girton college, Cambridge, daughter of Rev. i Principal Scott, of Lancashire Indepen dent college, has obtained the position of " equal to the eighth wrangler " in the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge. The highest place hitherto won by any lndy has been among the senior optimes —i. second rlass. Miss Scott's achievement is the most remarkable on record in the annals of female education in England. The Pleasure* or Life In Mt. Petersburg. A St. Petersburg correspondent of the ixmdon Time* gives the following illus trations of affuirsatthe Russian capital: A military attache of the French em bassy was dragged before the chief of police for looking too attentively at the fortress. The correspondent in calling on friends in the daytime and early in the evening has been refused admission by the dvornik (hall porter) on the ground that he (the correspondent) did not live there and so could not go in. Ht says: Within my own street, which last night was Illuminated at every window by command of the police I witnessed three quarrels with dvornika who refused to give admission to per sons wishing to visit Iricndsor relations. In an adjoining street I saw one arrest for the same reason. On Sunday there was a storm of wind and driftipg snow. The emperor in passing from toe w inter palace to Uie parade at the riding school was escorted hv a suite of Cossacks and followed by one of the district police masters in a sleigh. Those who saw his maie Ay's cortege of course removed their caps. One unfortunate individual whose sight was impeded by a large haahlik over his head did not doff his head-dress. The police master noticed it and shouted to a policeman to take him off. The unhappy individual, who through the blinding snow and sleet had failed to notice the imperial cavalcade, protested to that effect, but was never i holes* dragged off to the police station. These are a few illustrations of how di rections, very good in themselves, are carried out by utterly incompetent sub ordinates who are incapable of exercis ing common sense ana discrimination. The latest instruction to the dvorniks is that they must not sit at their posts. The streets at night present the pictures of groups of big, drowsy houae-por . is, muffled up in their sbeepekina leaning against each gateway carefully nursing the large keys which have turned the locks on tlie whole town within doors. As each person passes by they rouse themselves, each watching him until be disappears from sight and passes into the jurisdiction of another watchman. Blasting In Heosae Tonne). Generally twelve hole* are drilled, and these an* filled with large cartridges, from! cocli of which protrudes a wire. These wire* are connected with two othfriwiri'H. about MM) f< rt ionjr, &ttftcti£d to a " powder k<-g battery." When all is ready the hands fall rapidly to work covering up the rails in the vicinity of the blast, with heavy timber, as some, time# a large stone will break or bend a rail, and thus delay train*. This bein" done, the foreman shouts " fire." and ail the workmen in the vicinity drop their tools and retire some three or four hun dred feet, either way, to a safe distance. One man stations himself at the battery to (ire the blast. Suddenly, while yon are listening for the report, you experi ence a quick, powerful reefing of pres suie, which seems to spring away from you as ouiek as it came, and there fol lows such a " bangas you never heard before. You feel as if an attempt had been made to throw you from your ioct, and then the air rushes by you in a rapid succession of waves of roars. It seems as if the whole mountain above you were trembling with the echoes, and you hear the rumble of the report even after the men have got back to the scene of the blast. A person can have no conception of a loud report until he hears a blast in iloosac tunnel. There is no chance for the noise to spread, ex- . ccpt through the long hole, and the ex planation of the sensations one has there when a blast is made is easy enough. Some of the miners themselves dread it, and cover up their ears before the elec tric spark is sent. Sometimes a cart ridge will not explode, and then the foreman has to draw it. Every time he does this he takes his life in his hands. After every blast the track is covered with broken rock, which is promptly removed in order not to delay the trains. A Paper Dome. There seems no end to the new use of paper. Trunks, bricks, Pullman car wheels, chimney flues, carpets, roofs, buckets, basins, scu.l boats.no longer excite much astonishment. The Rail rcxul Gazelle says the paper car Wheels, in ÜBe since 1876, have proved a success. They are about forty inches in diameter. Sixty-six of these wheels were lately made over new after running an average of 11.188 miles. Some were still good after still further running. The price of one of these wheels, according to Lt Devoir, is 425 francs, or about $B5. We have in this country an astronomi | <-ai tower made of paper. This is at the j Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N. Y. The interior diameter of {the revolving j dome is twenty-nine feet. Made in the ' ordinary manner this dome would weigh from five to ten tons, while quite exten sive works to support it and quite im portant machinery to revolve it would be necessary. In place of the ordinary metallic armature, there is a light but . strong framework of wood. On this framework the paper rests. By enor . moos pressure it is reduced to one-sixth of an inch in thicknegp and made as hard as the hardest wood. The weight of this paper dome is not more than one tc nth that of the ordinary construction. It is supported by twelve or fifteen cast iron balls, about six inches in diameter, all of which revolve in a circular groove provided for the purpose. These balls may be regarded as casters, upon which the vast dome moves with so little friction that a child's hand could turn it. The idea of making this dome of paper first occurred to Professor Dasoome Greene, of the department pf mathe matics aid astronomy, by whom it was suggested to Messrs. E. Waters & Sons, manufacturers, who are largely engaged in making paper boats. Tendencies to Disease Seventy thousand persons in America die yearly of consumption alone. Vast numbers inherit a tendency to rheuma tism. epilepsy, insanity, cancer, dyspep sia. headache, neuralgia, asthma or to early loss of sight or hearing. Probably some 26.000,000 inherit some constitu tional defect. Hitherto little has been done to exlir fiate these tendenoies. Even when they lave begun to show themselves, a course is generally pursued by friends the re verse of what is needed. Moreover, a thoughtless squandering of vital reserve is encouraged by the whole force of our social usages. Ilence we are degenerat ing as a people. The birth rate, already lower in New England than in any country of Europe, except France, Is steadily gained on by the death rate. But there is no inherent difficulty in the way of extirpating hereditary dis ease. It may be accomplished by hy gienic care, such as can he given only by a medical expert, and such as, when downright sick, we all resort to. A physician thus describes the case of his family: "Consumption on my fath er's side, ne having lost one, if not two. sisters by the disease. Mother died of it in her forty-third year. Six children were born to them. Ail are alive and hcaithy, the youngest being past his fiftieth year. They are all free from any signs of tuberculosis, as are also thirty one grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren." This is a sample statement of many that might be given. The same intellir gent care would generally show simila results. _____ The Amount of Candy Hade The amount of candy manufactured in this country, sayg a New York paper, is far greater than is usually thought, the Americans—the women, mainly—eating more, it is said, than all the rest of the world combined. New York has, until recently, made most ol the oandy, hut now Boston is a large manufacturer. Within a few years many small houses, mostly French, have sprung up in New York, and reduced the price materially. Boston has three large manufactories, employing some 300 workmen, and pro ducing over 4.000 tons of candy annually. Not more than one-fourth ol this is con sumed in New England, the remainder going chiefly to the provinces and the West. Boston makes, altogether, mors than 5.000 tons, using something over 25,000 barrels of sugar for the purpose. New York, it is estimated, makes about 6,500 to 7,000 tons, which goes to all parts of the Union, a good deal of it be ing, it is said, ex orted to the West Indies, South America, and even to Eu rope. It has been supposed that the French candies were the beat, but we now make candy regarded superior to those. Out side of Bosun, and New York not much candy is made, though thr Philadelphia make has considerable reputation. Mr. Henry W. longfsllow has been presented with a uniqoely-bound vol ume containing the autographs of nearly all the 890.children who contributed, a year ago, to the cost of the chair mde from the wood ol the famous chestnut tree.