ain-- nce nen, d to ‘und sal- vely s of inst but the s in the: was was yone- 1fter amed that nged. arbor al of e un- were omas tree irned lous” ated unty, band y kid- (0.) x the efore chool din was 0 for chool wi. , sold r 310 mile idera- . sur- y de- ne of xions. s and . $30,: an oil farm aged truck /ilson Cock- aling, nt in rview York J.P. of the a, di- n and n en- rectly ion at * next same which es, of 2 sea- 3 2, of nbers. d and were 1 ear ed off 1t* any com- psville two- North- s held i } | ny RT rn si on TTT TLS re - A Reminder of the Sixties. The bobbing brims of children’s hats weighted down with a bunch of flowers in front reminds an elderly woman of the days of the 60's, when to the front of similar wide-brimmed hats was attached a “puller,” or nar- row ribbon, which was used to pull «down the brim to secure the effect now obtained by the weight of flowers. The Wedding Gown Box. The wedding gown box is one of the {atest fads to be adopted by the bride- to-be. That every bride possessed of any sentiment wishes to keep her wed- ding gown in a state of preservation is a foregone conclusion, and this re- ceptacle is admirably suited for the purpose for which it was designed. It 1s made of light wood, enameled white, and has the bride’s initials in silver letters on the top. It is lined with tufted white satin, and the lock is of silver. Cabochons For Fall Trimming. The new cabochens are of very large size. They are flatter than they have been, and are often in arabesqued open work set with cut jet or steel, or in chaste oxidized silver or dull gilt. Some of the gilt eabochons are sold in pairs, the two joined by a dou- ble festoon of gilt beads. These are used to trim the under side of hats. When a feather is placed on or under the edge of the brim, it will often be fastened by a large cabochon, says the Millinery Trade Review. ment is provided to serve this purpose. It is a chaste metal spap that clasps over the edge of the brim, securing the feather to it. Shoals of osprey or aigrette are sometimes fastened in this way by their middle, to the edge of a plateau. Milliners are also using small gilt or steel bultons to fasten down straps of ribbon. Ostrich Plumes and Feathers. By what has gone before, the im- portant place which ostrich feathers occupy at the present ‘writing will be realized. It is understood that the trade is prepared to satisfy a very large demand for amazons and also for feathers of medium length and tips. High class milliners will do a great deal in shaded and variegated feath- ers. The arrangement referred to above, namely the twisting around of ithe tip of the feather into a pouf, gives fo massive and rich effect to an ama- zon, but only the very largest can be so treated. Plumes of cock’s feathers in natural colors, as well as dyed in different bright tints, are likely to be very much favored, possibly, however, white more than any, says the Millin- ery Trade Review. Wings continue in much request, particularly large, stump shaped wings and quite small ones, such as those of blackbirds and para- keets, and there is a renewed demand for couteaux, which are mostly asked for in pairs. They are not very long. but wide and often dyed in variegated tints, including checks and plaids. Some are colored to imitate leaves and broad grasses. In fashionable shops {requent mention has been made of fruits. These will divide favor with seasonable flowers for the autumn anonths. It is understood that black flowers, mounted with green leaves, will be worn, they already having been- shown on some hats. New Methods of Making Bows. Special interest must be attached to the different new methods of mak- ing up bows, rosettes and other ar- rangements of ribbon or piece mate- rials, as applicable to early winter ‘hats. of quilled ribbon wired in the ordinary way. A piece of the quilled ribbon may be sewn in a circle round the centre of the plateau, and the rest of the ribbon be arranged in a very large wired bow resting on the back of the hat, which shelves down in the neck. The under sides of some hats are trimmed with narrow Pompadour rib- bons laid on flat in the form of Louis XV. bows. Bows made of No. 12 rib- bon velvet are often placed under the brim, loops and ends hanging down Dehind the ear. Fan shaped bows, with a great many loops, for the backs of hats, are sometimes made of this ribbon, sometimes of piece velvet. * Large bows of four or more large loops, fastened in the centre by a buckle, are laid flat on plateau hats, says the Millinery Trade Review. An- other arrangement consists of a wide piece of accordion pleated satin, form- ing a big flat rosette, the pleats being smoothed out on either side. Ball ro- settes about the size of a big orange are very fashionable. These may be made of loops of rather wide ribbon or of a fold of material closely gath- ered. Wide Pompadour and plaid rib- bons may be used for the. purpose. Large flat rosettes or equally favored, particularly made in two shades of bright green or golden velvet, or of chine flowered ribbon bordered with black ‘satin. The Women’s Hotels. The following data are collected in the interest of the movement in cities for housing and feeding women work- ers en masse, It is “girls, girls, girls,” that appear chiefly as beneficiaries of the movement, but any self-support- ing woman should be entitled by right and not by grace to the advantages of the collective home or hotel. Re- ports from ninety of these homes in forty-six cities are given very fully in Bulletin 15, 1898, United States Labor Department. The first started in New York City in 1856. Almost none has become en- A new orna- Louis XV. bows are now made cockades are, tirely self-supperting in the half-cen- tury of development. This fact will show in history the small share of the go nmonweaith allowed the work- ing "women of the country at this period. The wages of our working women in Boston are a little below those of New York and Chicago, while the cost of subsistence is much higher, | Taking data from one of our more recently established homes, the board- ing house under Unitarian auspices, formerly on Berkeley street, we learn that in its first seven years in a hired building, with about forty boarders and few transients, the average cost per capita for board, laundry and other incidentals, was $3.30 per week. (Price of board and lodging $4.) The cost of raw material of food averaged $2.15 per week. There was a surplus of $600 or $700 per annum to go toward the salary of superintendent and rent. In Chicago, a woman’s club, grown to 100, self-managed, for some years cov- ered all costs of their home at $3 per week per member. There are thousands of working girls and women in Boston who cannot pay even the lowest rate charged by the present homes in Boston, including the latest, the Franklin Square House, $3.50 per week, and must still live in garrets, or worn-out lodging houses with “relief” in plain sight. One Im- portant fact, not strictly apropos to increase of wages, is from the Maria Louisa Home for temporary guests, New York City. In 1896, 561,000 pieces were laundered at a cost of seven- eighths of one cent per piece. This item, if none other, decides for such a home against the average private house, with its picayune methods, where the difficulty of washing a hand- kerchief makes the thought of clean- liness a perpetual nightmare.—Boston Evening Transcript. Mrs. John W. Mackay was declared in London to be the richest widow in the world. A bronze medallion of Susan B. An- thony will be presented to Rochester University this fall. It was Miss An- thony’s efforts which made co-educa- tion possible at Rochester, N. Y. An international exhibition of wom- | { en’s arts and crafts will open in Paris i soon in the great glass building on the | banks of the Seine, in which were held the horticultural shows during the World's Fair of 1900. The woman who lives in the suburbs might pot a lot of ferns from the woods, and when they are.thriving in the fall get orders for them. Being so popular they ought surely to be in de- mand, and if not, there would be no loss incurred. Representative George H. Fall, who introduced and championed the bill which recently passed the Massachu- setts Legislature making mothers equal guardians of children with fath- ers, states that two-thirds of the credit for its passage is due to Mrs. Fall. He is a lawyer, and after her marriage Mrs. Fall studied law also. Mrs. Clara L. Kellogg has raised modern embroidery to an art. She fur nishes entire homes in embroidered textiles, producing harmonious effects throughout. She travels abroad every year, studying embroidery and design. All her designs are original and are founded upon suggestions received from old paintings, mosaics, furniture, anything, in fact. Chantilly is a revived classic. Persian effects are still favored. Embroidered linen discs are smart. Jeweled velvet bands are very good. Crystal and jet figure with spangles. Pongee blossoms here, Some passementeries boast five ma- terials. in applique are Lace appliques adorn many parasols effectively. Posies of taffeta often adorn Chan- tilly applique. Linen applique is used upon dresses of hop-sacking. Bulgarian embroidery is the rage on etamine as well as linen. Chenille in a color touches point de Venise most attractively. Orchid patterns in delicate shades of chiffon are ideal on silk gauze. Striped veiling makes very pretty gowns and requires but little trimming. Soft shaded Roman stripes are ap- pearing in some of the wider white ribbons. Many ney designs are being pro- duced in fobs, which have become a pet feminine fad. Silk mull waists are very much tucked this season, the tucks being of the wide variety Pongee suits in the natural color are trimmed with bands of black taffeta, stitched with white. Linen gowns in the pretty new shades of green, blue, pink and gray are made with Gibson waists stitched with white. A yellow pongee gown with yellow and white embroidery, and a tucked white silk vest and front of skirt, is artistic in the extreme. Silks in black and white and blue and white checked effects are expected te be very fashionable in the fall for gowns and separate waists. A SERMON FOR SUNDAY AN INSTRUCTIVE AND ELOQUENT DIS- COURSE ENTITLED “NOW PETER.” ° The Rev. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman's An- alysis of a Child-Hearted, Wayward, Generous, Biblical Character — The Three Denials. NEw York City.—The following reada- ble and helpful sermon is by the Rev. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, the best known evan- gelist in the country and one of the most popular pulpit orators of New York. It 1s entitled “Now, Peter,” "and was preached from the text: “Now Peter sat without in the palace.” Matt xxvi: 69. This is the master stroke of the great artist in painting the picture of this child- hearted, wayward, generous, loving man whom we know as Peter. It is one of the shadows in the picture, but the shadows help us to appreciate the more the light. It 1s a single sentence, and yet in it we find the secret of a soul’s downfall, the cause of the heartache of the Son of God, and a note of warning for God’s people everywhere. Peter was in a dangerous position. First of all, because he sat in the presence of the enemy. In the first Psalm the warning is given that we should not “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful,” and this last is the most hurtful position of all. . Poor Peter was sitting down. He also is to be pitied because he sat “without.” There is a- circle within which every child of God must keep if he would have both peace and power. If in imagination we take a compass in our hand and set one point at the place where we would have the centre and with the other point describe the circle, we have the picture of the Christian life. The centre of the circle is Christ, and the circle itself is described by prayer and Bible study and fellowship Tk the saints. To keep within this circle is to keep in touch with Christ. To sit without is to be in danger, and poor Peter had stepped outside. ‘With all my heart I love to study Peter. The sermon which has been greatly blessed to the people throughout the country is the one which bears the title, “And Peter.” This one is sent forth that it may be a companion of it, and carry the name of “Now Peter.” The first service that I can find that Peter ever rendered unto Christ is record- ed in Luke, fifth chapter, and the third verse: “And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people out of the ship.” I like him for his service. I have an idea that just the way he pushed the boat out as the Master was standing in it made Jesus understand that there was something in him that would yet go far toward moving the world. Is it not true that much of the great work that we find about us to-day begins in just so hum- ble a fashion as did the work of Peter? I like to study him in his writings. Some parts of the Bible ought always to be read in the sunlight. The beautiful story of Ruth, and the letter to the Philippians are examples of this. Others are for the dark- ness. Peter’s epistles would thus head the list. Tt is when we stand on the seashore at night that we see the phosphorescence of the waves. It is when we stand in the darkness and read Peter’s precious words, that we catch the best vision of the light which comes down from heaven and rests upon men. I like to study him in his preaching, for it is just the kind that everybody ought to be able to do. ou may say that it was simply a suing of texts, that mighty ser- mon of his at Pentecost, but if you should say this was all that he said we could re- ply, as we have said in another place, it is all that Peter said that the Holy Spirit thought worth recording. like him for his sincerity. You can read him at_a glance. He could not be a hypocrite. When once he tried no one would believe him; he generally thought aloud. hile men = sometimes admired him, frequently laughed at him, generally censured him, they always loved him. I like h'm for his promptness. He was the first to enter the tomb that he might see where the Lord lay. liked him for his courage. He was not afraid to stand in the very midst of the enemies of Christ. I like him for his intensity. It is true he made mistakes, but the pendulum swun as far toward uprightness as it did ang failure. T My text is to be read in connection with his denial, and thus we begin the more to appreciate the story. Christ had given him warning when He said, “Simon, Satan hath desired thee that he may sift thee as wheat,” and again when He said, “This night you shall be ashamed of Me,” and “befor= the cock crow thou shalt deny Me thrice.” He warns us, too. The oak that goes down in the midst of the storm does so because through the long years its heart has been eaten away, by the worm. The soul of the child of God is never overthrown suddenly, and if it goes down it is because it has steadily lost ground in matters that were too trifling to cause alarm. If you should fail to-mor- row you will doubtless find the cause if you look back on the history of to-day. The neglected Bible of to-day, the neglect- ed prayer of to-day, the neglected fellow- ship of to-day, means the denial of to-mor- row, It is not to be forgotten that there were three denials. When Jesus was taken into the presence of those who were to con- demn Him Peter followed and wanted to go in, too. It is said in John’s Gospel that another Fiseiple, who was known unto the high priest, had gone in with Jesus, and this, of course, must have been John; they doubtless knew him at the door and he passed through without question. When he saw that Peter was not in he went to the door and secured his admission. I can just imagine how Peter must have walked up and down the court, now sitting, now standing, now trembling for his safe- ty, for in those days as to-day, “conscience makes cowards of us all.” The first denial was at the wicket gate. To the little girl that admitted him to the court he said: “I know Him not.” He might have taken warning and gone back if he had but remembered the words of Christ, for he was just at the edge of the circle; one side meant peace and the other side despair. I doubt not that some one who reads these words has just passed through the wicket gate, turning away from a life of blessedness, and possibly has denied his Master for the first time. Irom the heart of the infinite Christ a cry goes out to such an one: “Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?” The second denial was at the fire, when he sat with his enemies, and when he said with an oath: “I tell you, I know Him not.” Alas! many of us have gone through the wicket of denial, and dare to-day sitting with His enemies. hardly knowing how we reached the position. To all such the cry of God comes: “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” The world has always been the enemy of the Son of God. and he who allows himself to be in touch with it in the least will deny his Master before he is aware of it. The third denial was to the relative of Malchus, whose ear he had cut off in his supposed defense of his Master. For this attack upon his fellow man he was doubt- less amenable to the law, and possibly might have been tried and condemned if Jesus had not replaced the ear. The mem- ory of Malchus aroused all the terror im- aginable in him, and before he knew it the third denial was upon him, and with re- peated oaths and cursings he said: “T tell you that I know Him not.” This is the denial that comes because of some unconfessed sin. Alas for the man who allows any sin to go without imme- diate confession. It will spring upon him some day like a tiger from the jungle, and will overthrow him before he can have time to call for help. Sin is always down grade in its tendencies, and he who denies Christ at the wicket gate will ere long deny Him face to face. il. This text is also to be used in connection with the sufferings of Jesus. It may not be amiss to give a brief account of His trial. First of all, He appeared before Annas, the high priest, an account of which we read in John xviii: 19 to 22—“The high priest then asked Jesus of His disciples, and of His doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whith- er the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou Me? Ask them which heard Me what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. And when He had thus spoken one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, An- swerest Thou the high priest so?” : It was an awful thing for this man with open hand to strike Him in the face.. To strike Him, before Whom the angels veiled their faces; to strike Him before Whom the archangel sang: ‘“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!” But do you notice that when they struck - Him He never shuddered? They could not hurt Him with any such blows as this, but when we read, “Now Simon Peter stood without and warmed himself,” this is a blow which makes the Son of God shudder and His heart grow sick. The second part of the trial was His ap- pearance before Caiaphas. Here, although false witnesses appeared against Him He was perfectly silent. “But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, I adjure Thee by the living God that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of hea- ven. “And they did spit in His face,” but He never saw them. His eyes were blinded to His insults, but Peter in the presence of His enemies was a blow at His very heart. They smote Him until, if He had been only man He would have staggered in His weak- ness, but they might as well have struck a rock like Gibraltar and expected it to fall as to move Him with their blows, but when Peter stood in the presence of those who were against Him, like one of them himself, it was a terrific blow at the Son of God. The third part of the trial was before the Sanhedrim. He is led out from the court where He has seen both Annas and Caiaphas, and passes through an outer court to another room where the Sanhe- drim is to meet. As He passes, possibly near enough to reach out His hand and touch His disciple, suddenly He hears Peter say: “I tell you I know Him not.” He could forget the spitting of His ene- mies, the blows of those who hated Him, and the rods that had fallen upon Him in the hands of the angry multitude, but He could not forget Peter. That which hurts Him the most in these days is not the sin of the unregenerate— this He must expect, but the sins of His own people for whom He suffered and died, and rose again. There is an infinite amount of pathos in the words, “He turned and looked at Pe- ter.” No word of reproach fell from His lips, but simply an expression of sorrow was there to be seen. Does He not look upon you to-day, and does He not arouse memories in your life—vows that you have broken—pledges that you have never kept? “Jesus, let Thy pitying eye call back the wandering sheep. False to Thee like Peter, I would fain like Peter weep.” 111. But do not be discouraged. Man's use-, fulness not infrequently springs from his’ recovery from some sin. Out of Peter's fall came his first epistle. The best glimpse that I have of the Saviour’s heart is that which comes when I think of His personal dealings with individuals. When I think of the God of Abraham I think of one who strengthens His child under trial. The God of Jacob is my encouragement to be- lieve that my old nature may be con- quered, and my name changed from Jacob to Israel, the prince of God. The God of Elijah teaches me that prayer must be an- swered. The Saviour of Thomas encour- ages me while in doubt; the Saviour of Paul sustains me in my suffering, but the Saviour of Peter is the restorer of the pen- itent. Peter and Jesus met after the Resurrec- tion on the shore of the lake. It is most significant that when he denied Christ it was in the presence of the fire of ceals in the court of the enemy. When the Son of God met him on the shore of this lake there was a fire of coals Durning there. I doubt not but that all the story of his de- nial came rushing upon him. What was said at that interview we shall not know until we hear it from Peter’s own lips, but it is safe to say that all his sins were for- given, and even the marks of his denial were taken away. If you have denied this same Lord in vour business, in your home, or in society, He waits to forgive and to forget, and He “is the same yesterday, to-day and for- ever.” Better Than Smashing. An estimable young married lady of a Kansas village waited until the small hours for her husband, and he came not. She could 10t stand it longer, and, rising, she dressed herself, armed herself with a re- volver, and proceeded to a saloon in the village, where her suspicions that her hus- band was there were found to be well founded. The wayward husband had spent the evening and night until 3 a. m. with four or five companions in convivial pleas- ures in the saloon, and when the indignant wife marched into the place behind a gleaming revolver barrel there was a star- tled party of tipplers indeed.. Straight- way she commanded her husband to leave the saloon and go home. Then she turned to a man in the party who had demurred to leaving the place: “You have a good wife at home, too,” she remarked quietly but firmly. “Y had better go home, and go right now.” He went. “Now,” said she, turning to the proprie- tor, “you blow out your lights and. lock up this place. Eleven o'clock is late enough. and if the village authorities can- not enforce the law, I will,” she said, as the whole party left the place. The sa- lconkeeper closed his door, and they walked away in the night, the woman with her hand still firmly grasping the handle of the revolver She had closed a joint withont smashing it, and the best senti- ment in her own town applauds her act.— Journal Press. Kindness. Did it ever occur to you that “kindness” was one of the elements of humility? In- deed, it is only the humble person that is in a condition to show kindness to others, for the opposite of kindness is unkindness, and there can be no humility where there is unkindness. - The unkind person is the one who is always demanding that others serve him and bend to his wishes, and this is an accentuated form of arrogance, or “self-assertion.”” Kindness of heart and pride of manner never go together.—Pres- byterian Journal. Wireless telegraphy is to be used on Ital ian trains as a means of preventing rail way accidents. | 'One-Sided Education. By Dr. George G. Groff, . FEW weeks ago, in a Pennsylvania college, the professor of botany requested each student to bring into his class om the morrow a complete dandelion plant—root, stem, leaves and flowers. In this class was a young man, a sophomore, considered above the average as a student in languages and , mathematical studies, who lives in one of the Atlantic sea- board cities, who did not know what plant was meant by dandelion. This may be an extreme illustration of how many children are trained and how little they know of natural objects, but many others of a similar character could be cited. Few college students from the cities know our common trees by sight. Comparatively few country boys know the names of any grasses except timothy and orchard grass. The common mammals they may know by name, but few know the names of the birds about them. Under the elective system now in vogue in our colleges a man may graduate from almost any institution, never having studied for an hour chemistry, botany, geology, zoology, or any other science which treats of nature. It is scarcely too much to say that such graduates are not fitted for: any position as leaders in modern life. gin Porto Rico a year ago a clergyman who had made a tour of the island was asked if he had seen the coffee plants. He replied that he had, and that they were annuals, about the size of tomato plants! And yet this man went to the island that he might be informed about it and its people. Hig early education had been defective and he could not observe. Without some knewledge of chemistry it is impossible for one to read any good modern book, journal or paper. Our eivilization is built on chemical knowledge. So, also, because our age is so material, one needs some knowledge of plants, miherals, rocks and animals. If these subjects should be pursued by youth in general, how much more important are they for boys and girls in the country! A present difficulty is that few teachers, comparatively speaking, know enough of botany, geology or zoology td give any intelligent instruction in the branches. They have been trained in language and mathematics, but science has been slighted. If they attempt any instruction at all, it is from a textbook, and science is not to be learned from books. Think of reading of a dandelion in a textbook and not know- ing it by sight. The Place of the Horse. By William F. McSparran. HE good horse will never lose his place in his service to B mankind. His usefulness as an indispensable agent for purposes of labor and locomotion will no doubt be still further modified, and much that the horse is doing to-day in time to come will be performed more cheaply with some other power; but as the changes grow toward that end the horse will more and more move into his impregnable position as the steadfast and intelligent friend and com- panion of man. The cable car, the electric ear, the bicycle, each in its turn, it was pre- dicted by the enthusiasts, would drive the horse into disuse, and finally practical extinction, but the horse is still here, better than ever, and those who love horses show no evidence of that love growing cold. New, it is asserted that the automobiles, the electric motors and future developments of these mew methods of migration will surely supplant the horse. These are mew. The horse is old, and the human heart is not easily weaned permanently away from its traditions, and the horse will no more be supplanted by the new rivals than he has been by the earlier ones, Man’s love for a horse is not transferrable. The man may love any number of other .things, animate and inanimate, but they will not in any measure usurp the love he has for a good horse. We may, and do, enjoy the race between the expensively constructed and skillfully handled auto- mobiles; we cheer the winner and rejoice that the brain of man has con- ceived and the craft of his hand constructed such a beautiful machine, but we miss the supreme thrill of sympathetic enthusiasm that goes out to the superb performance of the beautiful horses coming down to the judges’ stand. . The (nachine is a triumph of art and skill and applied mechanics; the horse is as much or more a triumph of the art and skill and patience and life labor of the men who stand behind his pedigree, while his performance on the track and on the road is the intense expression of his individual life and the aspiration of his intelligence; and the heart and life of man goes out to him in the great struggle with a sense of brotherhood. A thousand mechanical motors can be built to do what the best one has done, hut ten thousand horses may have to be bred and trained and tried before one can equal the record of the winner; and while the breeding and all is ‘being done for the horse, the lives of men are being contributed to the doing, and men’s love for the horse is growing, and no machine will ever take its place. STS SSA SSA Osier Culture on Wast.e Lands By Grey E. Mitchell. 5 N many farms where there is some water front, land other- wise waste can be profitably used for osier culture. While willows will grow almost anywhere, they should be planted for greatest profit in a deep, sandy loam, well drained and thoroughly prepared. The ground should be level and moist, but there should be drainage. However, willows § will grow in a comparatively dry soil, but the whips will Fions ; be smaller, though tougher and more durable than when grown in a rich, moist soil. The growth under moist conditions is naturally more vigorous. and much more rapid. According to Dr. B. E. Fermow, Pro- fessor of Forestry at Cornell, the best situation for free and rapid growth is along the banks of rivers and brooks which pass through a level country and on the small islands which frequently occur in the midst of streams. Hollows or swales, the soil of which is composed of rich, soft, earthy par. ticles, and which can be laid dry, furnish eligible situations for conversion into osieries; if water can occasionally be diverted onto such lands during the dry summer months, the situation may be considered as perfect. There are at present thousands of acres of marshy lands in the country, Mr. Fermow states, not paying two per cent. per annum, which, if drained at a small outlay and planted with willows, would yield an immense return, paying as high as twenty or thirty per cent. prcfit. The willow reaches its greatest production in the third year, and with proper care and good culti- vation, it will continue to yield good results for a long run of years. Willow baskets, hampers, chairs, etec., are a class of articles for which there is to-day an enormous demand. The manufacture in this country is increasing rapidly, but not sufficiently to meet this demand. Five cents a pound for dry willows is the price generally paid. At even a much less price there is a large profit in growing willows and an occupation is fur nished for the winter months. SAS SSASA Demand For One Cent Letter Postage By Hon. Geo. W. Smith, Representative From Illinois T is but a question of time when letter postage will be re- duced to one cent per ounce, and the reduction will be made witheut creating any great deficiency in postal revenues. Since I introduced the bill last December providing for penny postage I have presented to the House petitions signed by at least a million business men from every State and section of the country, all urging its passage. Owing to the pressure of other measures, involving questions of party policy, no opportunity was presented for the consid- eration of the Penny Postage bill. But this much has been accomplished: The introduction of the measure has directed public attention to the subject, and has called forth statistics to show that, while a deficiency in the postal revenues will at first follow the reduction of letter postage, yet within a year or two the increase in receipts will be more than sufficient to make up for the loss caused by the inauguration of the cheaper rate. The United States Government is the mightiest and best Government in the world, and it can well afford to give its citizens the cheapest postage in the world. As we are expanding, let us expand the business of the Post- office Department. One-cent postage would mean an enormous increase in the number of letters mailed. It would be a boon mot only to the private citizen, but to the business interests of the country, and especially the big advertising houses which, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. One-cent letter postage would distribute its benefits all aro £ i a very little while would more than pay for itself. atovad, 20d i SHR i RA ER RA SRI