It ts reckoned thnt there Are now
aevenly-two different races of men in
habiting the enrtli.
A Yale profossor Is quoted m being
of opinion that . football makes the
students sluggish in their studies. The
London Lancet records 10! cases in
which participants in football games
played in 18!2 in Great Britiau re
ceived injuries so serious as to require
hospital treatment.
An Oklahoma merchant carelessly
allowed a few cantor beans to get
mixed with Lis oats. He probably
thought nothing of it at the time, and
sold the oats to a stable keeper.
(Several of the horses to which the
grain was fed sickened and died.
Veterinary surgeons said it was the re
sult of eating the carder benns. The
stable keeper sued for damages ami
the careless grain dealers were com
pelled, by order of the court, to pay
550.
According to the Chicago Herald,
after a long struggle the company or
ganized to catch porpoises for their
skins has gone into the hands of a re
ceiver. There has never been a time
when the company could supply the
demand for porpoise leather to be
turned into shoo laces, but in spite of
the excellence of the leather for shoe
uppers, its price has always preveuted
its getting a hold upon tho market.
The oil of the porpoise, of great value
for several purposes, is only slowly
becoiniug known to the public.
That floating wrecks constitute a
serious danger to shipping cannot be
disputed. The danger is so obvious,
indeed, declares the New York Times,
that it is natural that it should have
engaged the attention of the British
House of Commons, since, as the first
of maritime Nations, Great Britain has
the greatest stake in safety at sea. The
Secretary of the Admiralty's explana
tion that no war ships would be sent
out to destroy derelicts, since there
was no record of a ship striking dere
lict, was effectually disposed of by the
suggestion that that may have been
because nobody was left to tell the
talo. There seems to be no reason
why every derelict sighted should not
be destroyed. It is worth the while
of any commercial Nation to reimburse
its merchantmen for the trilling ex
pense and detontion they iucur by
stopping to destroy derelicts. If thiH
were done whenever satisfactory evi
dence of the destruction of a derelict
was furnished, tho highways of the
ocean would soon be cleared.
In an article on "Kate of Natural
Increase in the United Htates," by
Herman Hollerith, published in the
Journal of the American statistical
Association for March, 1891, page 177,
it was stated that when the age tables
for the census of 1890 were compiled
it would be found that the ratio of
children under ten years of age at the
census of 1890 to each 100 of the total
population at the census of 1880 would
not be much, if any, over thirty ; and
gain on page 178 this is more ex
actly estimated at 80.2. The Census
Office, says the New York Recorder,
has just furnished the figure for the
total population nnder ten years of
age at the recent census, and gives
this number aa 15,209,000, which
when compared with the total popula
tion of 1880 gives ns a ratio of 80.32,
instead of 30.2, as estimated. In other
words, the falling off in our rate of
Increase as estimated has been snb
atantiated by the returns of the recent
enumeration. This ratio of popula
tion under ten years of age to the
total popnlation at the previous cen
sua, indicating as it does the ratio of
the survivors of those born during the
previous ten years, to the population
baa been gradually falling from 83.5
for the decade 1810 to 1850 to an av
erage of 83.7 for the two decades
from 1860 to 1880, and now, as we see,
has actually fallen to 80.3 The sig
niflcanoe of this is apparent when we
consider that it the same ratio of ad'
dition to our population due to births
had been maintained from 1880 to
1890 m from 1800 to 1880, we should
have had at the census of 1890, 837
children nnder ten years of age for
each 1000 of population at the census
of 1880, or 16,903,000, instead of
which we find only 15,209,000, or
1,700,000 less. In other words, had
our rate of inorease due to births been
maintained during the last ten years
we would have had nearly two millions
more children nnder ten years of age,
and our aggregate population would
have amounted to 64,800,000. This
would have beeu equal to the most
liberal estimates of onr population,
and the fact that the actual ennmer
a ted population did not equal the e
timates can be explained entirely by
the falling off ia the birth rate during
the previous tea years.
FOR FARM ASP UARDEX
Brums in cream.
Rpecked butter is a source of annoy
ance to many butter makers, who
attribute: the trouble to many causes,
but seem ignorant of a remedy. Tho
explanation is simple. The specks
are the result of the surface of tho
milk cooling more rapidly than the
underneath. Aeration is tho remedy
for it, by reducing the temperature of
the milk to that of thu ntmosphere.
The further cooling of the milk being
uniform, no specks are produced.
New York World.
COM) FRAME.
Every progressive farmer hns his
cohl frames, for he realizes the advan
tages to be gained in the way of big
money for vegetables out of season.
Spinach and lettuce, bring high prices
in mid-winter, ns do miiny other vege
table.
Tim management of cold frames is
so Himplo that it it surprising that
more farmers do not use them. Tho
only difference between a hotbed and
a cold frame in tho absence of bottom
heat in the hitter, which ha not, like
tho hotbed, fermenting studio miiuiiro
beneath the needs.
Tho usual method of making cold
frames is to take a buck piece of
twelve-inch plank and a front of six
inch. Tho side pieces are sawed out
to correspond with theso two widths.
Tile soil being well prepared, the
Ir line is then Het on it, enough earth
being bniiked up around the outside
to keep away tho water of cold rains.
A glass sash should be fitted closely.so
as to exclude nil nir and prevent the
heatiu'iMinmliitcd during thu day being
lost at night.
CEMENT FLOOR1.
Cement floors can often bo madn
much cheaper than wooden floors. A
cement floor well mmlo will bo as
solid in rock and will last as long ns
needed. They never rot or break
through, do not leak and cannot bo
rooted up by hogs. Tho floor can bo
laid level or in any shape desired. Re
in. vo tho loose soil from tho surfuca
down to solid ground or hard-pau, and
fill up with sandstone a foot or more
in depth. Level tho top by breaking
tho stone quite tine with a heavy
hammer. Make tho first coat of ce
ment thin eiiomgh so it will pour
down into tho stones, thus cementing
them firmly together. Tho finishing
cont should bo mado just thick enough
to level nicely. Make tho cement
about an inch deep above thu stones,
then if it is properly laid there w ill bo
about six inches deep of solid cement
on tho surface. Tho deeper the looso
stoiio foundation is under this tho bet
ter. Use tho best cement and sharp
Hand for this work. It should bo
mixed thoroughly, about two parts
sand to ouo of cement.
Although any farmer can, with a
little practice, make a good cement
floor, it might be better to hire somo
one who has had experience in laying
such floors, as much depends upon
having tho cemeat and sand properly
mixed. The floor must be allowed to
dry thoroughly before using or be
fore freezing weather. For box-stalls
or stable floors cement has no equal.
It will make a water tight floor for tho
silo. A cement floor should always bo
well covered with straw better for
the floor and tho stock. This kiud of
floor can be laid in horse-stalls, but if
the horses are to be sharp-shod or
stand on tho floor much of the time,
it would bo best to cover tho cement
with plank. National Stockman and
Farmer.
THRIFTY SHEEP FOR GOOD WOOti.
The best sheep is the one that pro
duces the best fleece of wool and the
best carcase of mutton. To do this
they must be kept in good, thrifty
condition. Food is noeded to main
tain animal life ami heat to muko
growth of bone, muscle and wool
The nutriment neoessary to maintain
life and heat is taken from the food
first, and if there "is any surplus it is
used for growth. The growth of flesh
may be stunted and no after treatment
of the animal will entirely overcome
the effoot. If the growth of the wool
is stunted the effect will show both in
the quality and quantity. Stinting
the feed, so as to cause an unthrifty
oondition of the, fleece weakens tho
fiber and often induces what is callod
cottod fleece. Exposure to storms,
especially to cold rains, will often pro
duoe the same effect. To grow the
best fleece of wool that the animal is cap
able of it is neoessary that the sheep
be kept in a good, thrifty condition,
The growth of wool must be steady
from the time one fleece is taken off
nntil another is ready for the shears,
the same as tho growth of flesh must
be daily gaiu from birth to maturity,
if the best carcass u obtaiuod. Slieop
do not need pampering i on the oMier
hand, they should not bo stinted.
The feed and care must be sufficient to
keep the' animal In thrifty condition,
and the more fully this is done tha
better will bo the results. Tho cost
must, of course, be considered, but
under no circumstances is it a good
economy to stint the feed or the caro
at the expense cither of the flesh or
wool. Because sheep, if given the op
portunity, will shift for themselves,
they are often neglected and, there
fore, do not pay as they should.
In many cases n small improvement
in tho quantity or quality of the fleeco
w ill mnko th:- diflVreiieo between profit
iiml loss in t'.ie keeping of sheep. Un
less wo except hogs, there is no kind
of stock on the farm given average
treatment that is paying a large profit.
In fact, in many cases it requires good
iiisnngeiiintit to realize a profit at nil,
and in many cases with sheep, if tho
value of the feed is taken into con
sideration, there will be positive loss.
This loss is largely due to want of
care during the winter. Ho long as
there is plenty of pastnrage the sheep
do well enough, but ns soon ns they
uust depend upon tho feed that is giv
en them they begin to run down and
the growth of wool Is nflVeted. The
kind and quantity of the r.ition must
vary with different conditions. If the
shelter is poor more corn is needed
than when the quartern are comfort
able. With ilrv, warm quarters and
plenty of good water iiud good liny,
very little grain will bo needed.
If the sheep are kept thrifty tho
growth of wool and the increase will
be sufficient to keep the sheep profit
able. Good feed and good shelter
will not only make n heavier fleece,
but one of a better quality, ensuring a
better price and an increased income.
St. Louis Republic.
HINTS ON rol'hTRV.
Oats are excellent for laying hens.
Hteamed rico is good for young
chicks.
Geese should never be picked iu
cold weather.
A good hen should lay at least 140
eggs during the year.
Goslings grow- more rapidly than
any other kind of bird.
It is necessary to feed lueut in somo
form during tho winter.
Kgg eating is apt to be developed
by too close coiifluomeut.
Tho Black Minorca lays tho largest
egg among Spanish fowls.
Buddies are not tho proper sources
of water supply for chickens.
Sugar bei'ts, carrots anil turnips are
good w inter food for poultry.
If turkeys aro e.irefully m in'igitd
they are profitable on any farm.
Cochins mated with gamu or brown
Leghorn cocks make good crosses.
Tho white flesh of tho Liingshiius
makes them a desirable table fowl.
Tho water given poultry during tho
winter should havo tho chill taken off.
Bright combs are a suro indication
of good health and freedom from dis
ease.
Tamo chickens will lay more eggs
and take on flesh faster than half wild
oues.
Chickens cannot be crowded to
getber in largo numbers wit li nit
breeding disease.
Dorkings are valuable for crossing
on other breeds where compactness of
form is desired.
Your chicks are growing rapidly
now and should not bo crowded iu
their night quarters.
When hens are moulting the nccu
mulutiou of feathers should bo cleared
out at least olico a week.
F.gg foods aro thoso which contain
limo for thu shell, albumen for the
white and carl ion for tho yolk.
Geese feather more rapidly whero
they have au abundauoe of fresh
water and run on a green pasture.
FARM AND OAROEN NOT EM.
Wheat is a good crop to get a seed
ing with.
Honey which is properly kopt will.
like wiuo, improve with ago.
Tho groat point in successful apioul
ture is wintering bees safely.
Gluooso in moderation does not pro
vent the candying of honey.
Both comb and extract houov should
be kept iu a warm, dry pluoe.
The mortality among young turkeys
is chiefly due to dampness and lico.
Bees require wurm weather Jo prop
erly ripen and seal their stores, if fed,
A colouy ih'iuld never go into win-
tors quarters with loss tliuu 35 or 10
pounds of honey.
By buruiug a little sulphur iu the
room where ootub-houey is stored, the
moth worm can be kept out.
The ueotur iu flowers does not !e
come honey until after tho watery part
has evaporated in thu ceil whero tho
boo lion dopositod it.
A FOOT IN THE AIR.
riiAN OK A (1 Kit MAN CAPTAIN
VOll UKVOMTIONIZINU WAtt.
Many Ascents by llalloons. The
Science of AerniiMiillcs Part of
Bl Hilary hriuratloii In I he
Kralm of Die liiiiser.
"I A RON MAXIMILIAN WOLF
I Von Stolberg Schroeder is nil
J at a Kearney street hotel.'
For theconvenienceof friends
the gentleman is content to bo ad
dressed ns Captain Wolf. Ho is a re
tired officer of tho German nrniv, n
typical sou of tho Faderland. The
t'ttptain does uot speak English fluently
but employs gestures with the free
dom of a Frenchman, and a very
similar nir. He is solid, black-bearded,
spectacled, a student by the very look
of liltii. the only picture he had was
taken somo four years ago, and since
that time he has visibly matured.
The German navy," savs the Cap
tain, "has about 400 balloons desigued
for carrying and dropping bombs.
Ihn bomb is released automatically
by clock work. It is easy to drop
bombs into a city by studying cur
rents, but to hit a ship would bo ex
tremely difficult. A land force attack
ing a naval force thus would bo at
I'RorriNo noMBs
great disadvantage, and probably lose
its ammunition. Before sending up a
bomb balloon it is necessary to send
up somo dummies so ns to determine
the currents. It is impossible to do
this with such certainty that a ship
could bo selected as u target. An en
tire fleet, closely grouped, would make
a fine target though.
The Captain has paid particular at
tention to aeronautics ns a branch of
military science. It is partly for tho
purpose of spreading knowledge that
carelul experiments in this direction
havo given him that ho now visits this
country. Ho would like to form n sort
of school of soldier balloouists a
reserve.
"You Imf with Mexico a war. Go np
in balloons. No ship can come near
and be not seen, nor torpedo boats.
There ia no studio iu this country fur
such."
"Havo you made many ascensions
yourself, Captain V" he was asked.
"Oh, 547 trips now. Never very
long ones. Once I was upstairs twelve
hours and floated from Berlin to
Danzie. "
Captain Wolf has, like other
aeronante, invented a flying machine.
Ho does uot, liko other aeronauts,
place unbounded faith in it. Ho
thinks it will be a success. Ho is sure
that tho principle is correct end that
tho mechanism is superior to any
other ever devised for tho purpose,
But it will take much mouey to find
out. Tho Government ought, it seems
to him, to take an iuterest in so im
portant a matter.
There is a Dontscher Balloon Sport
Club thnt has among its members tho
finest army engineers, tho best chera
8ENDINO VP A
ists, mathematicians reckoned among
the scholars of Germany. Of this
organization Captain Wolf is a mem
ber. While, aa the name implies, the
object is partly recreation, there ia a
deeper and more serious side to the
gatherings. The design is to keep
abreast of aeronautics, and, in case of
war, to be ready to offer a balloon
corps, ready equipped, to the service
of the country. Moat of the clnb
meinlers are ex-army officers, who
have never become wholly reconciled
to life of peace.
"Really, uot such great advance
baa beeu made," continued the Cap
tain, in a vernacular quaintly beyond
representation, in type, "siuoe bal-
loons sailed out of Paris during the
siege and reached the banks of the
Rhine. The airships so-called have
been failures. None of them have
been any belter than the old-fashioned
silk bag, whippet! hither and
about at the mercy of the wind, and
soiro have been much worse.
"There are so many things to be
considered, power, lightness, strength,
susceptibility to control. Now, my
airship must havo an engine. It can
not be heavy, or it defoats its own
purpose. All the material of tho ship
must be durable and yet it cannot have
great weight. I think an engine of a
single horse-power will bo sufficient,
and yet " Here the Captain shrugged
his shoulders.
"The principle of this airship," he
continual, "is possibly better shown
by tho pictures than by anything lean
say. ilic engine occupies tno centre.
The air paddles are worked by an end
less chain and will revolve with great
speed. Tho well body will be tilled
by tho employment of ammonia.
Equilibrium is secured by the wind
tike fans.
"Since a boy of seventeen I have
studied the balloon, " went on the Cap
tain, getting guttural in a fervor un
observed before, "1 studied him in
school, I studied him in the army, and
ever since. I did it for love of the
Faderland first. Then I did it because
the subject became an engrossing one.
on an enemy.
"Think what a magnificent thing to
have a fleet of nir-ships I How the
present methods of army and navy
would bo revolutionized! Where
wonld the modern cruiser find to bide?
What tho good of a march across the
Alps? I tell you tho air-ship must
come. It may not be my ship, but
the future will seo it. Wise men have
said it, and not dreamers ; men who
do tho thinking of tho times. Maybe
my ship will never be made. I have
only models. To build it full size
would cost thousands of dollars, and
." Once moro tho German Cap
tain gave a 1 rencb shrug.
BARON VON STOLPERO NCHROEPER.
But for all Captain Wolf was so as.
snred that the picture of his air ship
would be self-explanatory, it wonld
not thus strike tho average beholder
ignorant of tho mysteries of eky-sail-iug.
A side view shows nn elongated
body, stoutly bnt lightly ribbed, set
upon a plane, being upheld by four
slender legs. Beneath it are pipes in
some secret manner responsible for
maintenance of buoyancy, and the air
paddles not unlike the screws of a
small boat. It must be confessed
that the air ship in its present stage
does not suggest n spin through the
clouds, but Captain Wolf doubtless
knows more about this than the peo
ple to w hom he displays his plans and
his hopes.
"I have never been any place else,"
SCOUTINO FARTT.
said the aerouaut, "where the con
ditions for ballooning were so favor
able as here. I think there is no other
city where there conld be found a
panorama of nature so magnifloent ;
the ocean, the Golden Gate, the bay,
the mountains beyond, and then San
Franoisoo scattered over her hills.
Wonderful 1 I would like to remain
here and teach tho young men your
private military the balloon arm of
the service. Germany prize it
highly."
Captain Wolf ia so different from the
usual aeronaut who ventures to the
Ooaat that it ia difficult to realize that
he ia one of the craft The ordinary
balloonist is a foolhardy fellow who
-
r55 IP
makes reckless1 risks of his neck and
limbs, but with no idea of any
scientific value being connected with
his calling. He usually dubs himself
"professor," a case of pretense that
good look at him exposes. Captain
Wolf, on tho oontrary, is a student
and scholar, and wonld be accepted as
such on his appearance alone.
While the realm of cloud and sky
has engaged most of the attention of
Captain Wolf he has not neglected
other lines. Among his inventions is
bomb, that sinks when hot, rises '
when cool, and rising blows any pass
ing enemy from the water, or, as tue
Captain yesterday expressed, "Poof I
Ihere you are.
In his collection of pictures are sev
eral showiug experiments by the Ger
man Balloon Club, the different shaped
balloons, the methods of securing
them iu storms, He has drawn up a
plan for a balloon shelter, in which tho
extended bag may be housed. It is
flanked by music stands and refresh
ment booths. Altogether the Captain
is a most enthusiastic aeronaut, so
tnnch so, indeed, that tho bomb that
blows hot and blows cold is likely to
suffer frotu neglect.
"They had a great fair in Chicago,
CaptBin?"
"Yes," responded he, with n shade
of doubt, "a great far, but not half
the chance for ballooning thnt there is
hero." San Francisco Examiner.
Hen Against Hawk.
There was an interesting ornitholog
ical exhibition iu the dooryard of
George Benpfield, near Raymondville,1
a few days ago. An old hen and her
brood, parties of the first part, were
wandering about the yard in search of
grasshoppers, when a big speckled
hawk, party of the second part, sailed
down from a neighboring oak and
pounced upon a chicken. The old hen
flew to the rescue, and a terrific bat
tle ensued. The hawk appeared to be
in a paroxysm of rage and heeded not
the approach of the party of tho third
part in the person of Miss Eflie Cow
den, who was standing bnt a few steps
away when "tho war began." Shn
seized the hawk by its wings and
thought to wring its neck, bnt it
wasn't that kind of a hawk. It turned
upon and made desperate efforts to
strike her in the face with its beak.
There is no telling how long the com
bat wonld have continued or how it
A TERRIFIC: BATTLE ENHCEP.
wonld have terminated if Mrs. Bene
flelil had not come to tho rescue. She
broke the hawk's neck with a hoe.
Tho bird measured something over
four foet from tip to tip of its wings.
A Deer Anion? the Cattle.
While a big herd of cattle, being
driven from tho ranch to market, was
passing through tho Snohomish
Valley, Wash., an immense deer, the
largest ever seen in thoso parts,
bounded out of the woods and joined
the drove. Partly becauso of the
difficulty of cutting out the animal
from the middle of the herd, where it
quickly worked its way, and partly
through curiosity as to what it would
do, the cowboys did not molest it.
The deer remained quietly walking
with the herd for eight hours, and
finally entered into a coral with the
cattle at Snohomish, wtere it was cap
tured. The Fashlonabb Pelisse.
This model for winter wear
shows one of the uewest forms of
traveling wrap. It is a revival of tho
old-time pelisse, and 'when made of
broadcloth and trimmed with bear it
ia particularly effective. Chicago
Record.