RRA The population of the almshouses fof the United States is estimated at 74,000. The Germans published 23,000 books last year--as many as England, the United States, France and Italy combined. The Railway Age says that though | times are hard, thero will be more than 22,000 miles of railroad built in this country during 1894. The Hessian fly is gradually extend. ing its ravages in Earope, as, in the | summer of 1893, it was recorded, ac- | cording to Nature, as ocourring in Norway, snd injuring barley. Russia has few stranded actors. When a manager takes a troupe on the road he must make a deposit with | the Government to pay the way home for the members in case they become stranded. The New York Sun contends that all | papers printed and intended for circu- lation in this country should be in the English language. Itsays that foreign- ers in the United States are seriously hampered every way by their ignor- ance of the vernacular of the country, and that they should set themselves at once to the task of mastering it. Since the lull in the silver mining business has emphasized hard times in Colorado the New York Recorder avers that the good people of Morrison, in that State, have found their principal industry in the catching or killing of coyotes, which are unusually common The distraction, Ise. is He around there, coyote good enough as a isn't good for anything e The in ite efforts to suppress the Polish national Russian Government, spirit, recently ordered the police of Warsaw to visit all the stores and studios and destroy all the busts of the Polish Kosciuszko Powniatowski, which they could find. heroes, and All sculptors in the city were obliged to send a written communication to the city officials, promising not to make busts or statues of the two men in the future, The railways that hava been estab- lished in Australian colonies, and in- deed, in practically all new countries, have not, in the estimation of the Rail- way Review, yielded resnits as a rule | that were sufficiently satisfactory to encourage capital, considered merely Take Australia as In Victoria the Gov- at an investment. fa case in point. ernment railways only return the form the invested capital; in Queensland 2.64 per cent, in of net revenue on the return is 2.65 per cent; in New South Wales 3.67 per cent; while in South 4.85 per cent. Australia the amount rises to The export of cottonseed oil to the Netherlands for adulteration of butter has rapidly incressed. In 1880 we furnished the Dutch butter-makers with 1,739,341 gallons. In 1803 it was 8,736,155 gallons, and during the first eight months of the present fiscal year it was 2,227,631 gallons, of olive oil from Spain have decreased Our imports very rapidly owing to the increased use of cottonseed oil on the tables of the United States—in 1800, 80,202 gallons; in 1891, 11,252 ,252 gallons, and in 1898, only 320 gallons. A similar decrease is shown in our imports from Italy. to Italy last year were much smaller than usual, for in 1890 we sent 2,197, 811 gallons and took only 448,064 gallons of olive oil. In 1891 we sent 1,150,168 gallons of cottonseed oil and took 826,748 gallons of olive oil. In 1892 we sent 1,004,200 gallons of cottonseed oil and took 431,822 gal- lons of olive oil. Our exports of cottonseed oil A 8t. Louis drummer says that the typewriter has cost him a good many customers in the backwoods districts of Arkansas and the Indian Territory. Ho tells of a visit that he made in the country some thirty miles from Now- | port, Ark., toa customer, who had always received him gladly, and enter- tained kim loyally. This time, relates the Atlanta Constitution, the merchant would hardly speak to him, aud his wife and daughters turned their backs and walked out of the store when he entered. The situation was soon ex- plained. Said the merchant, tossing a type-written letter toward him: “Yon think up thar in St. Louis thet me an’ my darters can’t read ‘ritin,’ do you? an’ so you've gone to havin’ my letters printed!” In wain the drummer explained the machine on which the work was done and the uni- versality of its use by business houses, the man would not believe that there was any such machine, and persisted in considering the letter as a printed circular and a personal affront, The aggregate capital stock of United States railways is $4,808,119, - 073, with bonded indebtedness amounting to $1,000,000,000 more. Says the New York Independent: “Reports from the South show Bouth- | ern advancement such as at Atlanta, a city not only attractive in appearance, | but whose trade is growing and has every appearance of solidity.” The wheat crop of 1803 in the | United States amonnted to 896,131, 725 grown 354,020,418 acres of land. It yielded about eleven | bushels per acre, and was worth at the bushels, on farm fifty-four cents per bushel, mak- | ing a gross return of $6.16 per acre. | Total value, 8213,171,381, i § Philadelphia has the name of being well behaved | and quiet, notes the New York Mail and Express, but some statistics re- | cently published in regard to the pop- ular demand for books at | almost supernaturally one of her big public libraries show that the pro- | portion of novels called for is 107 | times greater than that for “‘spiritual i and religions works.” A society which the New York Trl. bune believes would have a wide field | of usefulness in this country would be | one of similar to the Shipwrecked Mar- | iners' Bociety, of England, which has headquarters in London and agencies scattered all over the United Kingdom. { By the payment of seventy-five cents a year a British seaman ean enroll him- self as 8 member, securing many ad- vantages for himself and his family in health and material assistance in case ol shipwreck or sickness, of is reported by the Mercantile Library in A remarkable loss patronage is one of Philadelphia, which one the ted It is a pay library, and in 1871 it had 11,786 circulated largest and best in the Uni States. members and subscribers and 268,277 books. Since that year which saw its ‘‘high water mark,” | its business has gradually ebbed away to a membership (including subserib- ers) of 3115, and 86,563, those 1893, affairs is hard to explain, admits the New York Mail and Express, as no great free library has been started in circulation o the n being figures for This astonishing condition of Philadelphia to warrant the decrease in the Mereantile's business, he insect known the San Jose scale, whick for a log time was the pest of the fruit-growers of the Pacific threatens to become Const, equally destructive in the East. It appeared in Virginia last year, being found on peach trees, and a short time ago was discovered in Charles County, Mary. land, and at De Funiak Springs, Fla The supposition is that the scale was sent Fast The is probably introduced in young trees by the California nurseries Black Tartarian cherry the only deciduous tree that CRCApes L. O. How of the De partment of Agriculture, gives the the ravages of this sect, ard, scling entomologist Baltimore Sun the following account “The small, flat, round scale, a little lighter of the scale: insect itself isa in color than the bark of the tree, and will be found most abundantly upon the younger limbs and twigs, It is at this season of the year one-eighth of an inch or less in diameter, and there is in the middle of each scale a small, elevated, blackish, point. Sometimes the centre of the shiny, rounded scale appears yellowish. The wood | underneath the soale is apt to be dis colored and somewhat purplish. When the insect completely hidden by a close layer of these scales, which are then hardly is abundant, the bark is | give the appewrance of a slight die | coloration or a slight roughening of | | the bark. No other scale upon apple, | pear, peach, cherry or plum trees | possess these characteristios, and the | | insect ought, therefore, to be readily | distinguished. The full-grown insect is motionless. The young animals are | active crawlers, but even the young | would not erawl more than 100 feet in | their lifetime, They are, however, | earried from orchard to orchard by insects upon which they have crawled, snd by birds which fly from tree to tree.” The Department has prepared several washes to be used at various stages of the blight caused by the seale. If a tree has become thor- | oughly inerusted it is recommended { that the tree be cut down and burned. Mr. Howard says that if this enemy is not energetically treated at the start it threatens to oripple the entire fruit. growing interests of the United States, The Eastarn States have no laws rogulet- ing the trafile in diseased nursery stock, and niles laws are speedily enacted to protect fruit-growers, serious con- sequences may be developed. | distinguishable to the naked eye and | THE RAIN ON THE ROOF, Under the eaves #s the haunt I love! With the outer world a myth, With the cloud-gea drowning the stars above, And the day work over with ; To lean me back with my thoughts in tune, To feel from my cares aloof, To hear o'erhead in a soothing rune The rain on the roof, "Tis a magio realm, whero I am king 3 I can lve a whole life through In a transient hour, and my dreamings bring Delight that is ever new ; And the erles without of the weather wild Beom all for my sole behoof; | And it makes my heat the heart of The rain on the roof, a child, My wonder-book it is nigh at hand, The drip-drip lulls me to rest ; "Tis a music soft and a spirit bland, And a comrade whose way is best, | Bo I see but the fair, smooth face of | Forgetting its cloven hoof, As lio and list to the wind's wild strife, The rain on the roof, Ife, For old-time volges and boyhood calls, Laughter silver and tears, i All float in as the evening falls And summons the vanished years. Tho the warp besomber that binds me round, Yot a sweet and shining woot Is woven in with that winsome sound, The rain on the roof, ««Richard Burton, in the Independent, JUST IN TIME. ELL, mother,” said Mr. Barton, as he walked excitedly into the pleasant sitting room where his wife sat placid- ly knitting, ‘I've got a chance to sell the place for cash, at pre tty fair figures, too, it seems to me.” “Oh, father! but you wi do it?” she said quickly. “The home wh wi and [3 1 + ni havo lived sine Cariton fruit nts our ler outs He n, and we are to 1 in the middle of April. on what, wife chance JEL “ ofle re big farm. give I'l Ty : A y BEA 1 casi doesn't oo along every out some lan | IG De pretty the associations of a lifetime we were young and able to endure the new country, I wouldn't 4) © i har Iships of 1 | say a word, but" | “Look here, mother, listen to reason, | for only a little land had been pre. | ’ ' think she be! can't you? We are going ont there to get rid of hardships, not to endure more. Here are, living on this stone patch, barely making a living; taking the doctor's bill, what is due on Frank's monument, and the rest o the debts together, we owe over $200 How can we | Now, are plenty of we ay it here? in Dakota there to be r the . why shouldn’ out farms it, and benefit Al on had f: asking, almo the ft we have other there's Lizzie,” hastily, seeing that his to wpe ak. “What a splendid there'd be for her to teach I've heard say that teachers are scarce and wages high. And she's so pretty, and ‘cute and smart, 1 shouldn't won der if she'd have a charce to do well in other ways—marry a rich man as like as not.” “John Barton,” said his wife, indig- nantly, ‘“I believe this foolish notion bas turned your head completely. You know well enough that Lizzie is promised to Will Chester, and it would just break her heart if anything should come between them.” “Well,” grumbled Mr. Barton, “I believe they do try to make out that there's some such nonsense going on, but I never took much stock in it. | haven't anything in particular against | Will, but he ain't worth any property, | and I don't beheve he ever will be As to its breaking Lizzie's heart to give him ap, that's nothing but non. sense,” ‘““Now, father,” spoke Mrs. Barton with some spirit, ‘it isn't right for | | you to talk that way, Will isa a good young man, and be loves Lizzie better | than his own life. You know that; joa haven't forgotten how he saved er life when the town hall burned | | down, He will always be kind and that's more than money, according to | my way of thinking. He's smart and | | strong, and not afraid of work. I'd} ! rather trust my girl with him than | with-~why, here she comes now! And | it's almost supper time, 1 declare!” i The good dame bustied away to the kitchen, hoping that when her hus- | band had slept over the matter he | would be of a different way of think- | ing, and give up a project the mere thought of which gave her so much pain, Her hope was in vain. The Western fever had taken a firm hold of Mr, Barton, and matters were pushed with his usual energy. Aoquaintances in Dakota helped him to obtain a tract of Government land, and the next spring found the family established in a rudeshanty on the boundless prairie, Mrs. Barton was a wise woman, who always made the best of everything; and though it was with a sinking heart that she at first saw their new home, she was outwardly cheerful, and ut tered not a word of complaint. Pretty Lizzio had not felt so unhap- 24 about their removal as her mother, or her lover had promised to soon of one aa well vd then, As pe ple? he wife was about wen chance school | follow her, and they parted with many vows of constancy and promises of frequent letters, Mr. Barton was pleased with the farm and promised his wife that she should have a fine new house in a year or 80. He went energetically to work, preparing a portion of the land for the precious grain; and aside from the discomforts which could not be helped, all went well with him; for he had sufficient money to buy the necessary machinery, a day. her mother had, with womanly in- genuity, given a pleasant and home- like appearance to the interior of the rude eabin, she had written a long letter to Will, and intrasting it to her father's care, watched him drive off nearest postoflice. letter in return, but was disappointed. “1 shall be sare to receive one next week,” she thought, and sang about her work, as she helped her mother inside the house, or planted the flower | seeds and roots brought from the old | home, which, later, made beautiful | the outside of the homely cabin, | Another disappointment | her, but she thought, ‘‘Perhaps my letter did not reach Will. He may not have our correct address; I will write again.” The next time awaited i her father went to Melton she walked to meet him on his | return ; her heart bounded with joy as he handed her a thick white envelope, but sank like lead when she looked at { the superscription It was from =a | girl friend, a very dear one, but Lizzi felt no desire to read it then “Oh, father! Is that must surely have another one!” papers, puss,” His voice was a little husky, did not look at her, “How fo herself, 1 all? You “Only some and lial As when [ alnimens said, Bure oS antrum? an COousIt Summer and satumn passed. The harvest was gathered, necessarily small, pared. “It would be very different next summer,” said Mr. Barton. Then came the Dakota winter, Oh, that terrible first winter to Barton ily ! Xot 3 ] would re snitable ally be, the preparation padut r hardships Winter came, at zzi a teacher i her father again installed as small the her at night One cold afternoon in January he yt there as usual when the school was dismissed, and Lizzie, wondering what bad happened to detain hurried her little flock home, beginning to storm She waited for half an hour, hoping her father would come, for she had felt ill all day, and was soarcely able to walk » long mile in the face of the storm Mr. Barton was in the grip of his old enemy, inflammatory rheumatism, and was almost unable to move. Mrs Barton was not alarmed on her daugh- ter's socount, thinking she could easily walk home when tired of waiting “I must go,” thought Lizzie “Father would be here by this time if something had not happened to detain him." She left the schoolhouse and began the long walk. Presently her steps slackened ; a faint feeling stole over her; she strove against it, struggled on a few steps, then sank down in the fast drifting snow, » » » school-h her there in morning Was I him, as 1 was That day, when the Eastern train steamed into the little town of Mel ton, it left one passenger on the plat form of the small depot, a good-look- ing, broad-shounldered young fellow, whose name was William Chester, had been amazed at not hearing from Lizzie at first, and had written again and again, thinking there must be some mistake, Finally he heard a ramor of her intended marriage. had been deeply hurt, but resolveu that no one should know it. Yet he conld not tear her image from his heart, When he started on his present trip he said sternly to himself that he should make no effort to see her. Yet he watched for Melton, and when the town was reached, could not resist the impulse to leave the train, “I may as well find out the truth now I am here,” he said; ‘“‘and, after all, it is only neighborly to look them up, even if Lizzie is married.” He went over to the large store which contained the postoflice, hop- ing to find some means of conveyance to Mr. Burton's farm, A man wear- ing a shaggy far overcoat, overheard his request, and immediately said: “Barton, did you say? Why, I'm his neighbor, and am going home right away, My name is Lincoln, 1 oan set you down within a mile of his place, if you ean walk thet far.” Young Chester thanked the friendly sway behind two powerful horses. Mr. Lincoln was talkative, and Will Burton still, “A smart girl,” said Lincoln ; “‘she’s got grit, I tell you. Bhe's our school- ma'am, and my two youngsters think the world of her.” the schoolhouse. serviceable | pair of horses and a few cows, besides | laying aside a small sum for a rainy | But all was not well with Lizzie. As | goon as they were settled and she and | to the little town of Melton, a dozen | miles distant, where was located the | She hoped for al neighbor heartily, and they were soon “I'll have to let you ont here,” said Lincoln, ‘I'm sorry, for it's storm- ing pretty bad, but yon see there's nobody and” Will interrupted him by declaring that he thought nothing of the walk, and was very grateful for the favor re- ceived, ““Phar's their light straight ahead, stranger, and if you keep your eye on | that vou can't miss it.” With an interchange of “‘good nights,” the two men went their sep- arate ways, Will plodded on through the deepening snow for perhaps half the distance, when he stumbled against something nearly buried ina drift. He stopped to see what it was. A woman-—and perhaps frozen to death! A sndden fear chilled his heart. He felt for his matches and lit one. He caught only a glimpwe of the white face before the gone, but that was enough. “Oh, God,” he cried, “help me, and grant that she is not dead!” He raised the senseless girl in his strong arms, his valise lying unheeded where it fell, and Press d on. Could that light in time? Every thought was a prayer for help in this his time of great need. He struggled sgain stumbling to for Lizzie was ight on his arms “Had it been a he said ““I think my strength must he reach on, now and his knees, a dead wie 1 " 180, y mind any | RIWAYS hats ight I was i . father! | ld you?” “Hush, Lizzie!" said all right now 1 Ww al MRL Al hard feelings. W me now, sir?” “Well,” broke in Mrs. Barton, =4 to you if she does to anybody, for you have saved her life twice, first from fire and now from freezing." Mr. Barton could not speak. He held out his hand, which Will grasped le Lizzie threw her arms New York Journal cen — Deep Sea Fish, An extraordinary danger to which inted wt in a very vivid manner, sccording to Knowledge, in a new book by Dr. Hickson. At the great depths at which these animals live the pressure is éenor- mous--about two and half tons on the square inch at a depth of 2500 fathor It sometimes happens that ill you give heartily, whi around his nec Perils of the deep sea fish are liable 1s ns, soon found thet Lizzie wos Lizzio | a acd wrupped in buffalo robes, speeding | THE WOMAN ACROSS THE WAY, My windows open to southward, And the sun shines in all the day ; Her windows all look northward, My neighbor's ncross the way, My windows are draped with curtaing Of lane, like a filmy spray ; ] | Bhe has only shades of linen It was quite dark when they reached | “inf The lady across the way. | There are diamond rings on my fingers at home to do the chores, | blaze was ee | do you mean?” That over the casement stray ; I have never noticed any On my neighbor's across the way, But what cares she for sunlight, This lady over the way, When a baby face {llumines the place Like the light of a summer's day. What need has she for curtains Of rare and costly lace When the light mesh shines through a golden Of earls round a baby's face, Jewels aro plenty for money, But cold to the light that lies Reflecting the image of souls that meet In the heaven of baby's eyes, And 1 sit alone in the darkness When night comes down, and pray That God will keep For the woman across the way. her treasure safe Frances BR. Haswin, in Boston Transcript. . ce — - HUMOR OF THE DAY. Girls may be a little slower sbont talking, while infants, than boys, but they make up for it when they ounce get started. — Hartford Journal Tom-—*‘Are you sure yon will never forget that it was I who gave you that locket?’ Miss Bangles—*‘Bure! I'm going to note it de ¥ memors andum book. "—Chicago Record Mrs. Earle—*‘Your n studying painting, has & Wn in my daughter has } not Pr ME LUN uld seo IT'here New Lamoyn—*‘Yes ; you sh me of the sunsets she paints like them. ever was anything k Observer. ool —* "That trick Van wrote part,” i the rival Harlem was Dawson, f 4) LE fr Bussiar i, — Bafa urier. depend the marked the man who notorious. *“What “No matter how naughty yon may be, they will never “You can always re was unpleasantly newspapers,” | turn your picture to the wall.” —Washs in the excitement of chasing a pros- | pective meal the unwary fish rises too high above his usual sphere of life, when the gases in the swimming bladder expand, and he is driven by his increasing buoyancy rapidly to the surface. If he has not gone too far when consciousness of his danger grows greater than his eagerness for prey, the muscles of the body may be able to counteract this, but above this limit he will continue to float up- wards, the swimming bladder getting more and more inflated as the un- fortunate creature rises. Death by internal rupture results during thie upward fall, and thos it happens that deep sea fish are at times found dead and floating on the ocean surface, hav | ing tumbled up from the abyss, i —— How Marbles Are Made, Most of the stone marbles used by boys are made in Germany. The re- | fuse only of the marble and agate | quarries He | is employed and this is treated in such a way practically no waste. Men and boys are employed to break the refuse | | stone into small cubes, and with their | | hammers they noquire a marvelous | He | dexterity. The little cubes are then thrown into a mill consisting of » | | grooved bed-stone and a revolvi ranner. Water is fed to the mill an the ranner is rapidly revolved, while the friction does the rest. In half an hour the mill is stopped and a bushel or so of perfectly rounded marbles taken out. The whole process costs the merest trifle. — Philadelphia Record. i —— Why Manilla Paper Is Tough, The tough paper which comes from China and Japan is made from manilla fiber. The new and fresh fiber is not used, it being too expensive, but after ft has served ita purpose as rope or cordage and has become old it is care. fully picked to pieces into a stringy ulp and mannfectored into paper. paper is singularly strong; when rolled up into a string or cord it is » very good substitute for cotton or flax twine. Its strength is solely to that of the manilla, which is one of the strongest fibers known to the mans ufacturer. — Chicago Herald, that there is | ington Star. Pegg — “Sometimes the absolute faith my boy has in my wisdom makes ‘ ’ Potts will me almost ashamed of myself.” — “You need not worry. It erage up all right e twenty he will think you know nothing at all.” —Tid-Bite A stranger old resident h AV~ asked an w malarial fever could be distinguished from yellow fever. “Ag a general thing,” was the reply, “vou can't tell until you have it. If vou ain't alive, then it is most likely yellow fever Texas Siftings. A Woman's Wait: “Wait just halfa minute,” said the lady to the elevator man, “and I'll ride down in your car.” “All right, ma'am,” said o Saas cious elevator man, as he ffi his lever over and began to = below. “The elevator will runing three hours longer." Chicago Record. Galvest in be “Remember, witness,” sharply exe claimed the attorney for the defense, “‘you are on oath!” “There ain't no danger of my furgettin’ it,” replied the witness, sullenly. “I'm tellin’ the truth far nuthin’, when I could have made $4 by lyin’ fur your side of the ease, an’ you know it." Chicago Tri bune. “Ah,” remarked the man who wasn't minding his own business to the man digging a trench in the street, “my friend, you surely earn your living by the sweat of your brow.” “I don’t know about that,” replied the man, as he never stopped his digging, “I git the same pay whether I sweat or not.” Detroit Free Press. Little Boy-~*‘I stayed in the parlor all last evening when Mr. Squeezem was callin’ on sister, just as you told me.” Mother— “That's a good boy; and here is the candy I promised you, Did yon get tired? Little Boy ‘Oh, no. We played blind man’s buff, and it would have been lots of fan, ouly I was ‘it’ nearly all the time.” Good News, The young clergyman had consented at the ast moment to act as substitute for the venerable man who was scons tomed to go to the Bridewell Sunday morning and preach to the prisoners. “My friends,” said the embarrassed young man, as he rose up and faced the assembled toughs and wagrants, “it rejoices my heart to seo so many of you here this morning." Chicago Tribune. At an evening pay Dumley was introduced to a young Indy, and after a remark about the weather he said gallictly: “And have I really the pleasant of meeting the beautiful Mise lossom, whose praises are being rounded by everybody?” “Oh, no, Mr. Duss the lady replied, “the beautiful Blossm to whom yon refer is a cousin of mine." “Oh, that's it? Well, I thought there must be a mistake somewhere,” said the gallant Dumley, —Tit-Bita, — EJ ad By the time Ye 18 w -
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers