Tones OF THE DAY
Many of the farmers who spend Har
vest tinio on the prairies of thu North
west aro residents of other states.
They attend to business at tjieir homes
winter and summer, and at seeding
and harvest visit their prairie farms
-and work with a will.
A Louisiana convict made a saw
from the buckle on his vest, and con
structed a key from a splinter of wood
with which he unlocked the chain that
bound him to tho door. The ingenu
ity that is expended in evil - doing
would, if properly directed, make this
world an abode of bliss; but nobody
ever makes saws out of vest-buckles,
in a good cause.
To Belgium we must look for one of
the most stupendous engineering works
of modern times—the new Antwerp
docks, which will 1* completed In
1884. There is to be a quay two miles
long ami 3(K) feet wide. The uniform
waterway will be 10. r 0 feet wide and
20 feet deep. It is calculated that
fifty Atlantic liners will be aide to lie
broadside on the quay at once.
Somebody unkindly reminds us that
It is just a century sinco the Washing
ton monument business began. Con
gress in 1783 ordered an equestrian
statue of Washington erected, the gen
eral died before anything was done,
and then the monument was decided
ujxin, and not until 1*33 was the first
step taken by organizing an association
to collect subscriptions.
The fame of an American ladv doc
t>r is declared by Suture to have
"spread far and wide over North
China" Her name is Miss Howard.
Some time ago she attended the moth
er of Li Hung Chang, the great vice
roy, and now she is treating his wife.
She is said to have a great number of
applications for assistance and advice
from the women of wealthy families,
"who would die rather than l>e treated
by a foreign male physician."
'
Siberia now ranks only barely below
the United States and Australia as a
gold - producing country. The best '
Russian authorities think its mines
will yield nearly or quite 125,000,000
worth of'the metal this year, and the
output is steadily increasing. The
great mineral richness of that land of
cold and convicts offers some encour
agement to those who believe in Alas
ka's underground wealth. The diffi
culties of location and climate will
hinder miniag n the Yukon little, if j
any, more than on the headwaters of
the Lena and tho A moor.
Oregon farmers have been raising
what they rail goose-wheat, because all
of that kind grown in the state came
from wheat found in the craw of a
wild goose that a sportsman had
brought low. It was a peculiar wheat
and made a peculiar grade of flour.
Nothing like it was known in this
country, and the mystery remained a
mystery which the Oregonians vainly
endeavored to solve, until the agricul
tural department, in examining its
samples of foreign wheat, found the
xact duplicate of the goose wheat of
Oregon, which came from a small
province in Spain, the only place w here
it had ever grow n until it was smug
gled into this country by a goose that
died In the act.
The statistics of the German empire
for 1883 prow quite interesting when
compared with this country. The pop
ulation of the empire is a little below
ihat of the United States, lieing 45,-
bOO.OOO against our 52,000,000. It
has forty separate political comtnuni
tiee, about the same number of our
states and territories. In area it is
about one - fifteenth of the United
States, and not quite equal to the stale
.of Texas alone. The higher require
ments of the Germans regarding the
acquirements of their physicians are
shown by the fact that Germany has
to attend upon the 45,000,000 inhabi
♦ tants but 17,000 physicians, or one to
each 2600 people, while this country
has 85,500, or one to every GOO. Ger
many's annual increase of population
is about 500,000, ours 1,500,000. Her
capital. Merlin, has over 1,000,000 peo
ple, though our commercial capital.
New York, exceeds In population, with
lfs environs, that of Merlin and its
surroundings. Four other cities of
k Germany have a jtopulation of over
200,000; this country has a round dozen
of thetn.
It Is a good sign when so many are
engaged In originating new varieties
of fruits. While some may do this
wholly for the money they expect to
e make therefrom (and there is money
in new fruit if It has meritorious qual
ties), there are still others who strive
to improve small fruits for the pleas-
ure tneir work gives them and for this
benefit of generations to come. It
was for this latter reason that tho
venerable horticulturist, Marshall I*.
Wilder, was led to say, "I would rath
er bo the man who shall originate a
luscious fruit, suited to cultivation
throughout our land, and of which
successive generations shall piytake
long after I am consigned to the bosom
of mother earth, than to wear the
crown of tho proudest conqueror who
has triumphed over his fellow-men."
We are not all ready to say this yet,
but some are upproaching it. it takes
trouble, time, patience and care to suc
ceed in producing a variety worthy to
be cultivated; but, when done, w hat a
rich legacy to future generations.
An Interesting fact about Russia is
that in many of its coldest provinces
fruit-growing is an important branch
of industry. In the province of Kazan,
which is 350 miles further north than
Winnepeg, and where the mercury in
winter sometimes falls as low as sixty
degrees below zero, apples are grown
at a profit. In the province of Val
dimir, which is almost as cold its Ka
zan, cherries of excellent quality are
raised in great abundance. Moth apples
and cherries arc shipped from these
provinces in large quantities. In these i
high latitudes, fruit trees are usually
small, being not over eight feet In
hight, and are planted in clumps like
stalks of corn. Their low branching
limbs arc usually loaded with the ncs l
luscious fruit.
A gn at trade in dried or jerked )>ecf
is being carried on in South America.
Thousands of tons are exported yearly
from Montevideo, Rosario, and other
parts of Uruguay and the Argentine
Republic. In certain of the saladeros
or factories upward of 100" • cattle are !
killisl daily in the season, one man be
ing usually the executioner of the
whole, and despatching them by puno- f
taring the spinal cord at the 1 .• k of
head. The animals are cut up and the i
tle--.li pih-d in great heaps, with layers
of salt, by semi-naked savages, half
Masque, half Indian, who have a pecu
liar knack of causing the flesh to d<~
taeh itsrlf in (lakes from the bone by
giving it a stroke with Uuir broad. '
cutlass-like kni\es. Wonderful quick
ness and dexterity are exhibited in
every department of the process, but
the whole is said to form one of the
most disgusting spectacles imaginable.
Mixed with black beans and farina, or
cassava meal it becomes the staple food
of the lower orders throughout the
coasts of South and Central America
Here is material for a dime novel of
three volumes. The story is from a
F.ureka.i Nev.) paper: "For some years
there lias been an Indian called Tybo
Frank ranging aleiut this section of
the country. He was l<H>ked upon as
a terror among In- j - pie and three
years ago killisl one of his tribe. He
also hail a longing (or the horses of
white men. The Indians being greatly
annoyed by Frank determined to get
rid of him, and three weeks ago held
a council on Muby Hill to Revise means
for that end. Four braves were af*
pointed executioners. They invited
Frank to go on a hunt with them
fourteen miles from Eureka While
sitting around a camp fire one of the
braves caught Frank bv the hair and
pulled him to the ground, while anoth
er bravo with a large knife jumped
ii|w>n the victim and cut his head off.
The body and head were thrown on
the fire anil burned. Tho braves then
made their way to Joe Allison's ranch,
where they went through- the process
of washing the blood from their hands.
The father and squaw of Frank were
(net at the ranch, but they were un
moved by the particulars of the trage
dy."
The Znlas'.
With regard to the Zulu's fighting
power, says an English officer, there
can lie but one opinion. I've seen two
hundred Zulus rush upon a Gatling
gun, and they actually got within fif
teen yards of it, with the shot mowing
them down by dozens all the time. I
don't think you'd got many Etiro|ean
troops to do the like. The bluest
blooded Spanish hidalgo of Philip II
had not a stronger pride of race or a
haughtier contempt for danger and
death than the bare limticd savage of
southeastern Africa. The very name
of Zulu is a vaunt in itself, meaning
literally, "the heavens," and metaphori -
cally suggesting the hight and extent
of the nation's power. All their w a
songs teem with tioasting allusions to
the inferiority of the surrounding races
and the ease with whirh the latter
have been overthrown by the Zulu
spear. One of their favorite choruses
runs thus:
"W* op th* A manwßxt
foray*U.i* Amnpondi.
Wbmfwr w* •'••n# in atftlit arary oat 100
to tWK
♦ 'Pot flown yoor tbial !•/ "
Electric Wire Trunmuj.
"Telpherage" Is the name given by
Fleeming Jenkin, the well-known
electriciun and professor of civil engi
neering in the University of Edin
burgh, to a system which he hasdevised
for transporting vehicles, containing
goods ami passengers, to a distance by
the electric current, independently of
any control exercised from tho vehicles
themselves. Prof. Jenkin's idea is to
employ strained metal cables, which
will servo both to sustain the load and
convey the electric current The
frames or trucks supporting the load
run along the cable on wheels, and the
cars or loads are suspended below
tin-in from the axles of the wheels. In
the simplest arrangement of tho line
there is a break of continuity at each
post supporting it; and the sections of
cable are themselves insulated from
each other ami tho earth. They
however, capable of being connected
bv movable coupling-pieces, actuated
by the train, so that all the sections re
ceive the exciting current and form
part of the general circuit. The cur
rent is supplied to the line by a station
ary dynamo-electric machine driven by
a steam engine or other motor; and
since the line is elevated from the
ground on insulating standards, tht
same dynamo will supply a considera
ble length of line, as the leakage need
not be excessive if proper precautions
are taken. With ground lines of elec
tric railroad, like that of He-mens or
| Edison, the leakage is very marked,
i and Mr. Edison ,ias adopted the plan
I of dividing the whole line into short
secti'itis of a few miles, with stations
and feeding dynamos at each. Dr. Wer
ner Memens favors the use of an insu
lated conductor supported beside tht
line, and giving current to the motoi
on the train by means of a running
connection pulled by the train. I'rofs.
Ayrton ami Perry ha\A as is well
known, sought to overcome the leak
' age difficulty by making tho line in
short sections, each of which is put in
circuit with the dynamo in turn as the
train.progresses, by an automatic ac
tion of the train itself. In this way,
there is only on<- section electrified at a
time, namely, that over which tho
, train is running and the leakage on
' the whole line is consequently very
small
The loads or cars on the telpherage
line are connected together in trains,
and the length of a train is nearly the
length of a section of the cable a con
ductor. On passing either of the mov
able coupling pieces between two sec
tions. tht- train throws it out of action,
disconne* ting the two sections at that
jH.int; but.the circuit between these
ststions is maintained through the
wheeLs of the train itself ami a con
ductor on the train. In circuit with
this conductor is a dynamo-electric
motor, which is actuated by the cur
rent, and.propels the train by driving
the wheels. The power provided is
more than sufficient to keep up a max
imum speed, and the train is provided
with a governor which, when the speed
it sufficient, closes a shunt and allows
the current to pass without traversing
the coil* of the electro-motor. The
governor acts directly to check the
i train if the Sjassl la-comcs excessive,
I by short-circuiting tho electro-motor,
or otherwise bringing electric brakes
into operation. To further Insure that
one train shall not overtake another-
Prof. Jenkin provides an automatic
telegraphic communication along tin
line, and the trains in passing chew
and open the telegraphic circuits. This
automatic telegraph ia tuates circuit
ed osert between the different sections
of the main cable or conductor so as to
maintain connection l>etween the sec
tions for a certain distance behind tho
train quite* independently, it may IK-,
of the movable coupling pieces. It is
obvious that a follow ing train entering
' u|H>n a part of the line in which the
sections are thus connected will have
its speed checked, as the application of
the power upon the train depends upon
there being a break in the electrical
coupling bet ween the two sections <>n
which the train is for the moment
supported.
A new life-boat, built wholly of cork
and cane, was trb-d for the first time
at Liverpool, recently, and was found
to 1m- in many respects an improve
ment on the lioats generally in use.
It weighs only one-third as much s a
the boats constructed out of ordinary
materials Its strength and elasticity are
such that it cannot be broken by rough
usage. It is self-emptying, and can-
I not 1-e capsized jn any sea. It can be
launched without the aid of davit*
ami tackle, and it is less costly than
any other so-called life boat,
Since this century started in, Eng
land has. according to John liright'a
figures, s|K-nt $22,000,000,000 for vvat
1 and only ♦4,000.|>00.000 for clvll.gov
eminent and Improvement*.
LADIES' DEPARTMENT.
George If expected his daughters to
be satisfied with two dozen cambric
handkerchiefs every other year. A
modern novelist gives one of his
heroine 12 dozen as a part of her wed
ding outfit. A few years ago a plain
handkerchief for morning and • the
lace one for evening were all the
variety required, but a French author
ity now says there should be handker
chiefs for morning toilets, for walking,
for church going, for theater, for
opera, for court, for visits of charity,
and for boudoir use, to say nothing of
the handkerchiefs to be lost, the one
to be given away and the handker
chief to be stolen.
A ami ltiiiil fteaut)'.
Mrs. lb-11, the wife of the telephone
Inventor, is deaf and dumb. That is
why her husband is so fond of her-
For in contriving an audiphone for
her infirmity he hit upon the idea of
the telephone. She is a very beautiful
woman, and her face has proven a
small fortune to a Cincinnati artist
who earne to Washington and lived in
obscurity until she gave hirn a sitting,
w hen he had the good lu- k to make a
beautiful picture, which at trivets
irowds to the t'orcoran gallery and
patronage to the painter. Woinen can
learn from this how inueh good they
can do by being deaf and dumb.
Troy TOnu.
An Artlat'a Vlrllrntt Hint.
Mr. ID-aley of New York, had some
time since as a subject for a portrait a
young lady who came to his studio so
dedizzen.sl with paint an-1 powder that
every characteristic line was obliter
ated. Mr. Henley was, of course in a
dilemma. He could not order the girl
to go and wash her face. He would
lose his .commission, and he is too
polite a gentleman. He could not lay
the same paint on canvas that there
was on her face; it would not he satis
factory to the family. When tie
sketch was lined in he rose from his
seat, sat down beside his subject, and
kindly asked her if she was feeling as
well as uanal. Surprised of course.slie
replied that she was. "Rut, Miss
Jones, you walked from your hotel, did
you not?"' "Y<-s." "And you came
hurriedly up stairs without stopping
to rest ?" "Why yes, of course."
"Ah. yes. Miss Jones, but you see,
though you may not be feverish, you
have exertsl yourself so severely that
there is so much <■..].-r in your face
that I fear it would mislead me. Now
tomorrow, if you will IK- SO good,
plea.se bathe your cheeks in cool water
the last thing, come in a close carriage,
ami stop and rest yourself upon the
sofa you w-ill find on every landing.
In that way I am sure we shall have
no more trouble." His speech had the
desired effect. The faint flash on her
face when she < aim- the next day, was
perfectly natural and did not at all
retard the picture.— Waihington Capi
tal.
> athlon
Dig buckles are all the rage.
Leather fans are in high favor.
Mourning fans are edged with
crape.
Even mantles are male of plaid
stuffs.
Gay colors in costumes are worn
only in the house.
French dresses are again made with
the high puffed sleeve.
Strawberry velvet trims white cos
tumes of cashmere and vigogne and
nuns' veiling.
Dale mauve and pale yellow embroid
ery on white kid appears as a trimming
for evening toilets.
lied in moderate quantities gives a
fine daah of bright color to black,
gray, pale blue, and ecru dresses.
Ihuk brown, green, black or blue
velvet is the most elegant trimming
for light-colored cashmere dresses. •
Gigot sleeves and epaulettes of
ribbon or niching are considered cor
rect and good form for indoor dresses.
Bridal toilets of "Puritanic plain
ness" are worn at weddings in fashion
able New York society.
A novelty for country hats is the use
of brown and ecru canvas ribbons,
edged with gilt cord for bows aud
strings.
Lawn-tennis stripes display the new
colon of French terra-cotta, sorreb
green, onnge, strawberry, tomato-red,
primroaa, and bronze d'or.
Simple dresses of dark green Surah
have deep pleating on the skirt edged
with ecru lace. The fitted in
Jersey style and the ecru lace forms a
yoke-sha|>el collar. The small bonnet
Is of green straw trunml with Mat
thai Neil rosebuds.
It Is the fashion of the season to use
figured goods for the lower, skirt and
plain goods for the waist and over-
j skirt. The exception that proves this
rule is when W attend over dresses are
made of guy figured sateens with plain
skirt* flounced with lace.
Black satin and silk suits for sum
| mer wear are made nji in the simplest
j style-v imitating the woolen costuirms
1 made by the tailors. The Wack
draperies fall in wing-like points on
very light pleatings or even on skirts
that are quite plain in the back
breadths and the aprons are un
trimmed.
The trimmings for dress skirts ure
not elaborate, yet are very effective.
To finish the foot of Ottoman silk or
Hieilienne skirts are four bias gathered
frills, made quite scant, an eighth of
a yard wide tVhen finished, and sewed
j on to lap half their depth to give a
| bunchy appearance; these have a self
binding or milliner's fold on the lower
edge.
Thread lace flounces, or imitation of
thread lace, and the old-fashioned
llama laces nearly cover skirts of
cofijred satin Surah—red, green or
yellow—to be worn with black grena
dine polonaises, trimmed with colored
Surah.
The new coaching bats for this year
include the Sir Peter Lely, Sir Joshua
Reynolds and other larg<- picturesque
shapes, copied from Flemish, Spanish,
and French pictures. Some of the
hrims are immensely wide, and have
for trimming a wreath of strawberries
and green leaves set into a bed of dark
wood moss.
t ISIT TO A HAREM.
aim til' Wlf* <>r -*r link *llnlatr
taw In On*.
The ladies of the literary Ms letv of
the Madison Avenue < .iiigreg;itionai
church, New York, listened in 'he
churcli lecture r<*>nt to a description
by Mrs. John P. Newman, the wife of
the clergyman, of her M*lt to (lie
harem of the pasha of Ilillah, IJahy
lon. Mrs. Newman's visit was made
ten years ago, when she was traveling
with her husband, who was not per
mitted to accompany her into the in
terior of the harem.
"The gates of the 'Ab -d-- of Bliss," "
said Mrs. Newman, "closed instantly
after I entered the building. A 1<• rg
corridor opened into the main apart
' inent of the harem. It was furni-les
with gorgeous tapestry hangings, and
sumptuous --atin furniture of curious
design, ni" curtained windows 1-•< -k-,l
out upon blooming gardens. Range 1
. alrout the chamber in various attitude*
were a score of women, t"-o.ne w-r
watl on divans and some were kneel
ing. Thirteen <>f them were the
wives of the pasha. A cloud of
negro servants attended to their wants
I could sjK-ak but a few words of
Arabic, but we were at home on the
subject of drirss. which has a universal
language of its own atnong women.
All the women had large, long-lashed
and lustrous eyes, and dark, finely
chiseled features. Their costumes
were magnificent and strangely fash
ioned of rich satins and loaded with
, ornaments of gold and jewels and gar
lands of |>carLs. Their head-dresses
w ere of silxen gauze, held by bands of
gold, and surmounted by graceful
ostrich feathers. They wore silk
trousers and silver slippers, and their
finger nails were ting<*l with yellow.
To an elderly lady, very queenly in her
movements, implicit obedience was
yielded by the others. The air of the
apartment was heavy with the per
fume of sandal wood. A crowd of
colored servants brought in cigarettes
ami sweetmeats and coffee, and of
these delicacies 1 was pressed to par-
I take.
"The eating of these dainties and
I gossiping with each other the whole
j day long Is the sole occupation of these
women of the harem. They live in
luxurious bondage, in blissful igno
rance of the outside world. I longed
to reveal its beauties and possibilities
to them, but could converse only by
gestures, lb-fore 1 left a baby pasha
was shown to rue. Its mother looked
like n veritable "Sleeping lleauty.' The
j babe was wrapped in folds of line
linen, and its wardrobe consisted of
, over fifty different articles of apparel.
The interest shown in the baby
| the mother by the other women of the
harem was to me a beautiful evidence
|of the universal sisterhood of
i women."
Vine culture ceases at various points
of altitude in various countries. In
Wurtemberg at 10t>0 to 1500 feet; in
Switzerland and Tyrol it reachcs 1700.
owing to the heat-attracting, narrow
valleys; on the southern slope of the
Alps 2000 feet, in Sicily .1000 feet, in
Tcneriffe .1000 feet, on the Himalayas
10,000 feet. ______
In Great Britain the large sum of ♦lO,-
000,000,000 is invested in railways.
Some of the engines weigh 45 tons and
take a load of 'JO tone at a speed of from
70 to 50 miles an hour.
Tantalooni.
■•ran you remember tnn styles of
|.ant iloo tut that have prevailed In this
country?" *
••L< t mi* see," said the tailor ; **yi.
liny are all before m in my mind's
~yi.. There win* tin- breeches of the
period immediately succeeding the Rev
olution. They were abort, reaching
only to the knees, mostly made of
cloth, buttoning at the sides. The
wealthy wore them of velvet, or cord
|iroy, as the fancy seized them, or of
floe cloth. The first long pantaloons,'
M-s I have told you were merely com
fortable bags, and this was principally
; flue to the fact that they were homo
rj.nn—male by willing, but unskillful,
hands. The first improvement was
wit en they were so altered in construe*
; tion as to button elsewhere than at the
ride. Suspenders were not used until
I comparatively recent times, somewhere
' about 18-10, I believe. 4
" distinctive styles in breeches daU
from the cpsie of the war. Then there
'•ante the garments tight at the waist
and to the knees, where they bagged
enormously, giving the appearance of
Swilled joints. The junkets were called
• t >ji jns ketK.'and could 1m; reached only
by [lulling the vest up to the chin.
Later they were cut high in the waist
atul medium in the legs. This was a
return to iirst principles. The next
i • achieve popularity were those miser
able 'tights.' They fitted the nether
extremities like eelskins, and suddenly
swelled to awful proportions at the
I itt'.m. They w ere the invention of a
r c.vdy. and it was a shame decent peo
]>l- IM r wore them. I'm glad they're
! gone. The hiji pockets caine ipto
fashion a! mg x. ith the 'tights.' Young
U . *1- f.tin would carry jiistds, and, it
lieingfound cumin rs imetoivld another
j. n ket t! the coat, the inoffensivW
hrei-chi - were suhjei't to the gross ira
p .-iti-.n. At first the buttons of these
garments were made of bone, then of
rubber, later of metal, and now of
metal in the shape of rivets, that decay
only when the breeches themselves he
me deceased. The present styles are
elegant, and a di*idod advance on any
that have jirecMcd. The trousers of
t—<lay i> as comjilete an institution as
an be wisheil for. There are well!
; cuntriveil recesses for the watch, the
pistol, the whisky flask, keys, knife*
• mh, handkerchief, po< ket-bo-jk ; in
di'irt, i .erUbing that the most fastid
ious man could desire u> have about
him. The only thing left for man to
do i- to learn how to wear breeches.
Tall, slim men, with spider legs, should
wear < lose, hut not tight-fitting, gar
ments ; fat men look l>est in tight
pantaloons ; swells wear stripes ; gamb
lers. plaids; Quakers, quiet colors;
ministers, plain black cloth. Reporters
glory in broadcloth, much to the disgust
of the tailors."— Philadelphia Pre*s.
The Poise of Animals.
In horses the pulse at rest l>eats
forty times, in an ox from fifty to
fifty-five, and in sheep and pigs alout
seventy to eighty l>eats per minute.
It may l>e felt wherever a large artery
J cranes a bone, for instance. It is
in the horse on the cord which crosses
nvi r the Ixme of the lower jaw in front
of its curved position, or in the bony
ridge alove the eye; and in cattls
over the middle of the first rib, and In
sheep hv placing the hand on the left
side, where the Isating of the heart
may be felt. Any material variation
) of the pulse from the figures given
a!>ve may he considered a Sign of dis
ease. If rapid, hard, and full, it is an In
dication of high fever or inflammation;
if raj'id, small, and weak, low fever,'
loss of blood, or weakness. If alow,
the prollabilities point to brain dls
j ease, and if irregular, to heart troubles.
This is one of the principal and sur
tests of the health of an animal
I ons Finger Halls.
According to the writer of an article
on "Extraordinary Finger Nails" in the
World of Wonders, it is the custom of
| the Chinese, Siamese, and Annaincsete
allow the nails on ail their finger*, ex
cept the fore finger, to grow to a great
length, and among the former they
sometimes attain the incredible length
of from 16 to IS Inches. Among the
! Siamese so distinctive a mark of nobil
ity are long nails esteemed that tha
belles and beaux wear silver cases;
either to protect their nails or else to
make people tollers they are there,
whereas in reality they are not. As
regards the little finger, the writer tells
us that "Ambassadors and visitors of
distinction from Asiatic states to Eu*
roje are often observed to j>ermlt the
excessive growth of the nail of the lit
tie finger, and this is also a common
occurrence with many of the people of
India and other parts of Asia"
The aggregate value of the property
of colored people throughout Tenn
essee Is set down at #6.478,951. being
an increase of #Gsl,l~9 over the prn>
feeding year.