TIMELY TOPICS. , • An attempt is to be made to introduce into this country what is known in Eu rope as the red trout, a fine table fish, that often attains a weight of twenty-five pounds. Fifty thousand of their eggs were given by the German government to Professor Raird, who in turn gave them to New Hampshire. When hatched they are to ho placed in Lake Winnipieeo gee. German colonists on the hanks of the Volga, in Russia, are in extreme desti 4ition, and a St. Petersburg journal publishes n pitiful aeoount of their suf ferings. The number of the destitute is stated at 200,000, and there are very few well enough off to furnish oven the most meager aid to their impoverished neighbors. The Russian authorities do nothing for their relief. Ir. Wilson, said to lie an an authority on ear diseases, says that when the hearing is good the ticking of a watch can ho heard at the distance of twenty oiglit inches from the ear. This would lie worth more as a test were it not that some watches tick two or three times louder than others. The test is therefore about as definite as saying that some thing is about as long as a piece of string. Scientists are no longer content with tho five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Ono proposos to add the sanso of weight whereby we can tell that some things are heavier than others, and another urges that there is a •olor sense distinct from the sense of right. If the sense of heat and cold can also he separated from tho true * sense of touch, then we havo eight senses in all. If to these Ih> added •nmmon sense and non-sense, which every body has more or less of, then we have ten senses. The editor of the Mexlieril ami Surgical believes that trichinosis is more prevalent than wo suspect. He believes that |>ersous die of it, and the death is recorded to lie from such disease as typhoid fever, the physicians in charge really not being familiar enough with trichinosis to know a case when they see it. He instances an ex ample occurring in Erie county, Penn., r where six members of a family died within a few weeks of supposed typhoid fever. Tho health officer finally inves tigated and found that in ail probability trichinrc were tho real cause of the deaths. It is said that the Jajianese minister, Mr. Mori, once seriously proposed to Professor Whitney, of Yale college, to eonstruct a new language for Ja;ian. Professor Whitney, who is the most learned scholar in linguistics in the eon ntry, is also known to be an advo cate of the sjielling reform. Mr. Mori projiosed to him to form a compact vo eal llary of a few thousand English words, divested of all absurdities of orthography and of all synonyms and superfluities of every sort. This lan guage, if Professor Whitney wonld pre pare it, tho ambassador promised him ahonld he adopted by rfis government ami forced npon the Jajmnese people. The Boston Fish Bureau's report con tains a table giving tho number of larg<*r vessels engaged in tho New England cod fishery, crews, ami quan tity of fish canght dnring the year. The Massachusetts fleet numbers 370, New Hampshire 14, and Maine 180 ; total for New England 570 vessels, with 6,008 men. Tho total catch of fish by these vessels foots up 647,420 quintals. It is estimated that the •mall fishing Imats on the coast caught altont 300,000 qnintals of fish in addi tion to the above, so that the entire New England catch may lie pnt down at about 1,000,000 quintals, whioh, at a low valuation, is estimated to lie worth $3,500,000. A remarkable circumstance in con nection with tho recent cold snap was the effect on the fish along tho coast, large school* lieing driven in shore and in shallow water. Strange as it may seem, it is asserted that tho fish, par ticularly liass and trout, were observed to throw themselves bodily ont of water on land. An old negro caught thirty one very fine large l>ass in this way at Raccoon Key, near Warsaw, Ga. On St. Catherine's a net thrown in tho water was almost instantly filled by fine bwge fish, and fishermen fonnd some difficulty in hauling the neta in. Others were observed to kill them in the water with oars. This novel occurrence was witnessed generally all along the islands to the southward and in the rivers near the roast. The nter of population in the United States has, dnring the last ten years, shifted from Colnmhns, Ohio, ot the Indiana boundary line; "in a few diodes more," the Detroit Fre- Prm de clares, "it will roach the Mississippi river. At the rate of increase prevailing dnring the present century, the eonntry will,' in 1020, contain between 150,000,- 000 and 160,000,000. This ia only forty years hence, a space easily grasped by those who can remember "the Harrison presidential campaign.'' Ten or twelve jesrs mere, equal to a look backward as far as the'days of Jackson, nnllifioation and the United States bank, the country A . will bo found to contain 200,000,000- equal to the present population of Euro|>o exclusive of Russia, Austria and Turkey." A curious experiment has been tried in Germany for some months past with success. It is tho importation of live hogs from the Unitod States at the port of Bromorlutven, from whence they are shipped to Hanover, finding a ready market at Brunswick, Magdeburg, Casscl, and other North German cities. East .Tune a decree was issued forbid ding the importation of American chop ped pork and sausages into Germany, presumably on triehinntons grounds, and some ingenious butchers hit upon this method of evading the act, which said nothing about live hogs. It was at first, thought that so many hogs would die upon the voyage as to make the experiment rather uuremunemtive, a loss of five per eeiit. being the lowest that was thought possible. Experience, however, has proved that the loss is un der two and a half per cent., which gave such an impetus to tho undertaking that a company has been formed for tlio pur pose of building large lairs for the ar rivals at Bremorhaven, which is to he the hog depot for Germany, tho nniuials being killed there and dispatched into tho interior by rail. Tho American hog has more fat substance and less meat than his German relative, and a sugges tion has been mode to import a number of German pigs into America for brood - ng purposes. A Italian; on Ice. Winter in Holland, Denmark, the Norwegian peninsula and Northern Rus sia sets in early and breaks up late. It is no novelty in those countries to sec frozen rivers and hays made use of for temporary railways and even boat-yards. In St. Petersburg one of the famous sights of tin- season is a palace built of ice on the frozen current of the Nava. In Holland enormous traffic is carried on over the ice in all sorts of heavy motors. A railroad on the ice on this continent, however, is a novelty only to bo seen between Quebec ami Montreal, on the frozen waters of the swift St. Ijawronoo. A railway on the most approved principle was laid on the ice, the hod having been smoothed and the ties laid somewhat more closely than on terra finna. This was rendered conqwt by filling in with soft snow and broken ice, the freezing process, of coarse, solidifying both the roadway and the firmament. Everv thing worked smoothly and heavy freight ears drawn by engines passed successfully, hut a fatal defect in con struction brought the enterprise to grief. That was the neglect to make the bed way wide enough to resist the action of the sulxrarront. The consequence was in one trip the engine careened slightly, displacing the road, ami then tumbled in, sinking in sixty feet of water. Josh Billings' Whilom. The man who gets bit twice by the same dog is letter adapted to that kind of business than any other. There is a great deal of religion in this world that is like a life preserver, only put on at the moment of immedi ate danger and then half the time put on hind side liefore. Exjwrienoe is a schdol where a man learns what a big fool he has l>een. The man who doesn't believe in any hereafter has got a dreadfully mean opinion of himself ami his chances. There are two kinds of fools in this world—those who can't change their opinions and those who won't. A good doctor is a gentleman to whom we j>ay three dollars a visit for adviting us tu eat less and exercise more. Out in the world men show us two sides to their characters ; by the fireside only one. The world is filling up with educated fools - mankind read too mnch and learn too little. Every man has his follies and often times they are the most interesting things he has got. Cnok Hook. Kerosene. According to Professor ,1. I a wren en Smith, good kerosene should have the following characteristics: 1. The color should be of white or light yellow, with a bine reflection. 2. The odor slionld he faint and agreeable. 3. The specific gravity, at sixty degrees Fahr enheit, ought not to he below 708 nor almvo 0.81. 4. When mixed with an equal volume of sulphuric acid of the density of 1.58, tho color ought not to become darker, hut lighter. A petro leum that satisfies all these conditions, and possesses the proper fiashing-point, may lie regarded as pure and safe. " Your little birdie has leen very sick." she wTnte to the young man. " It was some sort of nervous trouble, and the doctors said I shonld havo jierfeot rest and quiet, and that I must think of nothing. And all the time, dear George, I thought constantly of yon." The yonng man rNxl it over, and then rood it through again very alowiy, and pnt it in his pocket acd went ont nmler the silent stars, end kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking. But ha didn't say anything. Ha only kept thinking. —Rowland Otmritr. FOR TIIE PAIR SEX. Mnklni l.nrr l> ftlnrlilnrry. A Now York paper's Paris eorroepond | entsaya: Tho feminine world of Paris in ! greatly exorcised over a now machine, in i vontod by a Frenchman for the mannfnc turoof real laces. Its inventor claims that I wiU manufacture any lace nnvdo by tho bobbin, if it fulfills its promiao, it will, of course, prodnoo an enormous depreg- Hion in tho valno of tho fashionable) wardrobes, and will bo hailod with joy by all stingy husband*. i wont yester • day to an experimental oxhibition of j tho maoliino at a factory noar Paris, | where I Haw it work. It in certainly ono I of the moat ingenious incchaniam over I invented, it haH four or five dinti not | movements in a single bar, and irai j tatea bobbin weaving by the hand to perfection, blonde, Valenciennes and I thread laces were woven in the presence |of the visitors. Of several lady connois seurs present, all said the specimens shown, with one exception, were fully I equal to laces made by hand. The Mlarrnblr Nortrtr Woman. The intoxication of society is like the intoxication of alcohol. It grows upon ! one. No lady likes to see another outdo her; the larger her arch, the greater her i social iui|Mirtance. She would gladly es | eape half her engagements did she not I know that her social rivals would be j busy in her absence. To maintain her j prestige she must be everywhere. Then, I too, her depraved np]>etito refuses i healthy mental food. Books, she will l have none of; reflection is horrible. \ She is miseiable out of society, she is I not happy in it. The society girl is ; oftentimes no vain silly thing, but a woman with a capacity for something nobler. She must be educated, amiable and brilliant to shine in the social j world. She will need to talk in French ! with members of the foreign legations, ; to have a little smattering of seienee or philosophy for the savant, and some j political talk for the politician. She should be good at rejmrtee, and it will he well for her if she can sing, plav Beethoven's sonatas, and take a hand at whist. All these talents and aceom ! plishments she will need to use in | holding her place in the soeial world, and in capturing a rich huslmnd. | Wnahingtnn l.rtifr. Fnsblon Notr*. Tuscan straw Imnnets will remain in ' fashion, it is said. j The long gloves that are worn with out buttons have crowded the bracelets , up above the el!>ow. I.nd|cs wear costumes of rts and ml silk mittens. Costumes are made with lambrequin effects. Cords and tassels loop up rich brocades over lace flounces. An elegant toilet showed small ostrich tips lightly placed down the tahlier. The shade was a delicate mauve. Tulle is again in vogue for evening , dresses. It is cliarming for voung ladies, and is combined with white satin. Garlands of real violets Itetwccn two frills of white lace are worn, going down from the neck to the waist. Hleev,*, ojirn to tho shoulder and i laced across with white silk cords to I match the dress, are elegant for evening ■ wear. ' Bracelets and necklaces are composed !of old silver and gold coins ; each piece is joined by a small double silver chain. Bracelets and necklaces are more ' worn than ever, as the former are |m*i ! tirely necessary with ollinw sleeve* and ! long gloves. French dressmakers substitute a shirred satin yoke, pointed at the back and in front, for the plainness of the , round waist tnwd by American dross | makers. , Milk handkerchiefs are worn this sea j son folded corner-wise ami tied behind, j the point being either tucked into the Itosnm of the dress or held by a lace j Pi" j A great quantity of enameled jewelry |is in vogne. Some of those articles are ; in designs of flowers and birds on dead gold groundings, and others arc all ' enamel. Flush collars are made in such colors , a* orange, rod, blue, or pink, and are | trimmed with lace. They arc sqnare, j with a rovers forming a long point, j terminating with ribbon loojis. At n fashionable wedding the bride- J maids were dressed in short costumes of ) very dark green velvet, trimmed with i rows rtf silver braid, with large soft bats of the same material ornamented with silver oars, long tan-colored gloves, and a bnnoh of crimson chrysanthemums on the left shoulder. Six draperies, three on each side, are placed on the skirts of ball dreascs. In front thcao drajmriea are arranged in horizontal plaits, and the bottom of Hie skirt is always mncli trimmed almvc and below. The large, oddly-shaped silk cloaks worn in England have come into so great favor here inat it ia safe to say that they will he in fashion next winter. Styles taken *p at the end of a season alwaya last into the following winter. In a Boston Sunday school there ia a •lam which contains fifty Chinese pupils llaron Itothschlld's Porcelain Sendee. A rorroMjKindo lit in Euro|M< writes Baron Bothschild tells the following story as he exhibits bis porcelain ser vice: One day nn old man, careworn, wrinkled, feeble and apparently totter ing on the verge of the grave, presented himself before Baron James Hotbsi'liild, soliciting the honor of nn interview with the famous banker. The old man w as so aged, so poor and bad so dejected ari aspect that the baron was imme diately impressed with a compassionate feeling, and this became a lively interest on learning that lie was u Jew. Tho aged visitor took from bis bag a rich and beautiful plate, so splendidly wrought that tho baron admired it ex ceedingly. "Sir," said the patriarch, "will you buy this of mo? I hove the whole set, and a service so beautiful must find its fitting place in the mansion of the prim financiers." " It is indeed very line," said tho baron. " How much do you wish for the service?" " Look you, sir," said tho old man. " I am bowed down with many years, and have not long to live. lam poor, and wish to end my days in comparative comfort. Will you in exchange fur this valuable set of |H>rcelaiu give me an in - come for life of 100 francs (S2O) a month? It is not much for you, and I urn so old." The liaron looked at the poor old man, examined tho plate again, and after a few minntes' reflection, said: " Well, be it so; here is the first payment. Send rne the service, and give your name that I may have it enterrcelain was de livered the same day to tie- baron, and a month afterward, while be was funted in his counting-house, a man entered and asked for the second payment of the proposed income. But the man was young, scarcely thirty.four years of age, of a vigorous constitution and great muscular development, and looked as if lie would live- for ono hundred years. " But you are not the man!" exclaimed the astonished banker. " Excuse me, baron," said he, " I am indeed the man." " But yon apjM-arisl at host eighty years old," said the baron. "But, sir. I ar.i only thirty," said the man. " In fact," continuisl the baronet, " I thought your venerable appearance did not lclie your assertion." " I have wonderfully recovered," ob served the man, " and thanks to your generosity." The baron laughed heartily, and gave orders for the payment of the money, exclaiming : "Ah ! you are an excellent comedian and have taken me in thor oughly." " I am probably the first who has done so." replied the Jew, jtolitcly low ing to the millionaire. For years Bothschild paid the monthly allowance. His porcelain sor vice is so exquisite tliat he does not complain. Keep the Life Pure. Once ujion a time an Arabian princess was presented by her teacher with an ivory casket, exquisitely wrought, with the instruction not to open it until a year had rolled round. Many were the speculations as to what it contained, and the time imjatiently waited for when the jeweled key should disclose the mysterious contents. It eatne at last, and the maiden went away alone and with trembling haste unlocked the treasure ; and In ! reposing on delicate satin linings, lay nothing but a shroud of rust ; the form of something beautiful could le dis cerned, but tho beauty bail gone forever, Tearful with disap]Miintnieut. she did not at first see a slip of |>ari'hinont con taining those words: "Hear pupil: May you learn from this a lesson for your life. This trinket, when inclosed, bail upon it a single spot of rust; by neglect it lias lecome the useless thing you now behold, only a blot on its pure surroundings. Ho a little stain on your character will, by in attention and neglect, mar a bright and useful life, and in time will leave only the dark record of what might have leen. If you now place within a jewel of gold, and after many years seek the result, yon will find it still as sparkling as ever. Ho with yourself; treasure up only the pure, the good, and yon will ever bo an ornament to society and a source of true pleasure to yourself and yonr friends." A patient in one of tho New York hospitals was tiy physical examination during life found to have a lateral mis placement of nil the internal organs, the heart and spleen lieing upon the right side, the liver upon the left and other jwrt* similarly changed from their usua. position. In the cabinet of " Mary the Witch,' lately deceased at Davenport, lowa, were found a oat 'a skull, a chicken's head, huts' wing*, toads' feet, spiders' webs, Various bones tt various animals, dried blood, and eyes of owls and eats deposited in various places wrapped ia llAMff. Courtship of A slight glance at a few of the well authenticated cases of animal courtship serves to show that bird* but too closely imitato the actions of the fond lover of tho genua homo. One of the Iwat ex amples ia cited bv Mr. Gould, the well known authority on ornithological nub jccta. He aaya the actiona of tho aatin bower bird bear a clone analogy to thoae of man in aimilar circumatauooa. In carrying on ila courtahip the bird, not content with plain udvuucea, erects a structure of graaa, decorating it with innumerable urticloa of bric-a-brac and virtu, und into tliia " hall of courtahip' the female ia invited, and alio generally succumbs to tho blundiahuicnta of the mab and tho gorgewua adornments of the boudoir. Mr. Gould aaya that these bowers are entirely distinct from the nests, which are built in trees, and are intended as " halls of courtship." They are outwardly built of twigs 'and beautifully lined with tall grasses, so disjsised that their heads moot ; the decorations are very profuse, and con sist of bivalve shells, crania of small mammalia and other bones. Evident and beautiful instances of design are manifest throughout the bower, appar ently to keep the grosses with which it is lined fixed firmly in their places; these stones diverge from tho mouth of the run on each side, so as to form little paths, and the immense collection of decorative material, bones, shells, etc., arc placed in a heap before the entrance of the avenue, this arrangement b< ing the same at both ends. " At times the male will chase the fe male all ov r the aviary," Mr. Gould says, in describing their actions ; " then go to the'bower, pick up a gay feather or a large leaf, utter a curious kind of a | note, set all his feat hers erect, run round j the bower, become so excited that his eyes appear ready to start from his head ; lie continues opening one wing and then the other, uttering a low, whis tling note, and, like the domestic cock, seems to be picking up something from the ground, until at lat the female goes gently toward him. But they are sad flirts, as they often keep the jssir fcl- I lows cutting up their strange antics for days, and when the ex|tcctaut lover a->ks ( for some token of a return of affection, he is met with peck and cuffs." j The courtship of the house martin is conducted on the wing. The female i | pursue,! sometimes by forty or fifty ' mab-s; sometimes rising in the air in 1 great circles, and then diving down, ! wheeling and curveting and throwing thcmai Ives into numerous erratic js.si tiona to ntlrac! the attention of the fair , one. and when she makes her selection the others are driven off. The ludicrous actions of the lover arc mil>oiimlcd caressing her with bill and wings, and ruffling his short feather* in an amusing manner. The courtship of the wood , |ss-kcr is a severe o| M ration for the fe male, as she is followed constantly by eight or ten gay followers, who vie with each other in showing her attention, and at last, utterly fatigued, ahe alights, and makes her choice of one of the males, and the rest are soon driven off by tho bride and groom. The courtship of the great English bustard is an extremely interesting sight. The love-making is done en tirely in the air. The male will sail around in curves, start up and hover over the female, then drop almost to the ground, only to rise again and con tinue its odd and fantastic courtship. Similar in its actions is the Otis len galensis, an allied bustard. At such period* it rises |>orpcndirularly into the air with a hurried flapping of his wings, raising his crest and puffing out the feathers of his neck and breast. and then drops to the ground. He repeats this maneuver several times snc<-c*s j ivelv, at the same time humming in a peculiar tone. Such females as hap|>cn , to be near obey bis salutary summons, and when they approach lie trails his wings and spreads his tail like a turkey cock. Andulvon says in regard to the conrt ship of the Canada goose ; " Those that hail) leen previously mated re newed their courtship as early as the month of January, while others wonld lie contending or coquetting for hours everyday, until all seemed satisfied with the choice they hail made, after which, , although they remained together, any jerson could see that they were careful to keep in |xtira. I have obscrvisl, also, i that the older the birds the shorter were the preliminaries of their court ship. The bachelors and the oh! maids, , whether out of regard, or not wishing to I le disturlwNl by the bustle, quietly ! moved aside and lay down some dis tance from the rest, 'wall flowers' or ' 4 gossiper*,' evidently." In the courtship of the Ampunga, | or Guiana lull bird, the male makes a curious note in the night, that can lie heard at a distance of three mile*. The ! true I toll bird of New South Wales attracts the attention of the females by i its powers of ventriloquism. Its notes | often sound as if at a considerable dis- Uuico, when in reality the bird in perched over the branch of a neighlwring tree, the volume of aonnd gradually increas ing until it appeal* to be just over the head of the listener. The collared goatsucker, a native of the Gape of I Good Hope, is also very assiduous, in its attention* during tho brooding season, which commences in the month of KejiternlxT. Ho indulges in a r<-rj loml and singular song, which he be gins about an hour after sunset, and often continues ul 1 night, if the w<-athor he fine and light. Le Vuillant hays that when lie hs|i]Mf a large vessel, and in our shipbuilding jorts it is not uncommon for a thousand js rsons to lie present to enjoy the sjKy trembling in the back in-at at'school the day after ho lias played hookey." " Or," said the man on the woodbox. " like a man going into the bank to get a note extended after it has gone to protest." "Or," said the man with the sample j eases, " like a man going up into a flfty j dollar town after he had seen SI,OOO worth of sample trunks and kiesters ! piled upon the platform, all from otbrtr hands in his own line." "Or," said the brakeman, "like the man without a ticket, sliding into the worst seat in the shabbiest car." "Or," said the woman who talks bane, " like a man in a millinery atom at a spring opening." The crowning picture of abject timidity and she|iish humiliation was reached, and the committee rose.—ltmr