AN ARSHNIC MINI;. Method of Obtaining the Deadly Drug. Its Production Is Not Unhealthy to the Miners. Many points of interest aro brought out in a description in a technical journal nf the way in which arsenic is olttii noil from one of the most fiiiiionH mines in England, the Devon Great Consuls. Tlio mine was originally worked for copper alone, and would have been abandoned but for the dis covery that the wnsto thrown out as Worthless wheu copper writs sought proved rleh in arsenic Although cop per in Btill raised, it is in small quanti ties, nnd the miue has been resolved Into nn arsenio works. The arsenical pyrites consist of 25 to 30 per cent, iron, 12 to 14 per cent, of arsenic, and the rest of earthy matter. After Wing crushed this is sorted by girls of from 13 to 10 years of ge. It is then washed and "jigged", or sifted, and pius 'd on to the first calciner, where it is burned with low class coal, and produces "arsenic soot" so mixed with smoke soot from the coal as to lie gray color. The arsenic and soot, deposited in comliin ition in the chimney or con denser, are scraped out and taken to the second calciner for purification. The cabin rs consist of revolving iron drums, through which afire of anthra cite coitl is curried on rotating Iron furnaces kept red hot. As the arsenio soot is subjected to the influence of this heat the arsenic in sublimed and condensed. This operation has to bo carefully watched, and if the workmen burn the arsenic badly they have to pay for it. Three men in four weeks will make 100 tons of arsenic. Tho chimney in which tho arsenic is con densed is a mile long. It is carried to an incline tip a hill, with iron doors in the side. , As tho hot blast passes up wards it deposits a crust of arsenic crystals on the briek work all around to a depth of from two to three inches, and minute dust of crystals fall to the floor. The smoke has then to pass in to an upright chimney 125 foot high, lint just before doing so it lms to traverse a shower of water, which catches what remains of the arsenic, nothing but sulphurous acid being nl twed to escape. Tho arsenio is linblo to produce sores if permitted to lodge in wrin kles and folds of tho flush, or about the mouth and nostrils. As a rule, however, this only happens where there is carelessness as to personnl cleanliness, and the nrsenio workers Bimply have to wash themselves thor oughly every day on returning from work. Otherwise tho work is consid ered healthy. It prevents all eczuma, and the fumes of sulphnrio acid, as well as tho arsenical dust, are fatal to germs of disease. Most workmen re main st the works for a number of years without sutVering, but occasion ally tho symptoms of arsenical poison ing, L.ss of appetite, nausea, frontal headache and anaemia declare them selves. When this takes place tho work hns to be given up entirely. Tho greatest danger to which tho workmen are exposed is met when it is neces sary for any purpose to entor the up right Bhaft. Tho effoot on tho eyes is most painful, and a further onrious evidence of the virulence of the per vading atmosphere becomes nianifes. The men wear linen garments, lined with flannel, and the sulphnrio acid fumes completely destroy tho linen in few moments, leaving the flannel in tact, so that the men go into the shaft in linen and come out clad in wool. Fortunately it is seldom necessary to enter the shaft, or great loss of sight would ensue. Montreal Star.' Fighting Power or the Chine. The fighting power of Chinese mili tia, when armed with modern weapons, is evidenced by the frequent repulses nd defeats which the French Buffered during the campaign in Tonqnin, the last being that of General Negrien near Lang-Son, nine days before the Franco-Chinese treaty of peace was igned, and when the French army of occupation in Tonqnin had been raised to 40,000 men. The Chinese troops were merely levies from Yunnan, Ku-"ang-tang and Kuang-si, and not part of the 150,000 who had been trained by European officers in China. The total army of China at that time, including 600,000 militia known as the Green Flag Army, scattered through the various provinces, was aid to be about 1,000,000 men. In time of necessity this foroe oould be largely increased. The following quo tation from an author who bad exper ience with General Gordon's "Ever victorious Army" shows that China Qien are admirably suited for soldiers: "Tho old notion Is prelty well got rid of that they are at all a coWardly peo ple, when properly paid Hint clllcieiitly led ; while the regularity and order of their habits, which dispose tlieiit to peaco in ordinary times, give place to a during bordering upon recklessness in time of war. Their intelligence and capacity for reineinbi ring facts make thent well lilted for use in mod ern warfare, as does also the coolness and calmness of their disposition. "Physically, they are, on the aver iii,'p, not so strong as Europeans, but considerably more so than most of t he other races of the East, and on a cheap diet of rice, vegetables, salt llsh and pork they can go through a vast amount of fatigue, whether in a tem perate climate or a tropical one. where Europeans are ill-fltted for ex ertion. Their wants are tew J they have no caste prejudices, and hardly any appetite for intoxicating liquors." Nineteenth Centnrv. The t are of a St. Bernard. A St. Bernard puppy should uevcr be taken away from his mother until he is six weeks old, and only then if healthy. A few days before the puppy is taken from his mother he should bo given daily a little hominy made thin, or some of the patent pepsiuated uppy food, given according to the directions which accompany tho biscuit. This food prepares the puppy's delicate di gestive organs for the most Irving ordeal of his life, the severance from natural to artificial diet. A puppy should lap the hominy or puppy food, whichever is selected, of his own free will and never bo fed with a spoon. When the puppy can feed himself he should have placed before him a bowl of milk, which should be boiled and allowed to cool to the temperature of blood, (treat and sudden changes should be avoided. Milk is the most food for newly weaned puppies that can be given, and as it is advisihle to give them, if possible, the same cow's milk, which is not obtainable atwuvs, I have found that condensed milk, keeping to the smie brand, is the most desirable. As puppies grow older scalded bread, thoroughly boiled oat meal and puppy dog cukes, niado to a pulp, two of tho necessiry six meals a day that they crave. From six to twelve weeks their other meals miy consist of the sum ) solid mafcrials, substituting bread In the place of milk. Tlio more variety a pup can have thj better. Ladies Homo Journal. A Study of lleail-i. In San Francisco calipers an 1 tape lines play an important part in the curriculum of the public schools. One of the principals has evolved a system of moHsitremcuts, w hieh he considers important in determining thu physi cal status of thu child for tho purpose of developing what is ilillleieiit. Uo makes a good deal of head measure ments, which he bases on tho accepted theory the intellectual powers reside in tho front half, tho vital and emo tional in tho rear ; that a high head between the ears indicates autivity.and width betweou the ears end comba tiveness. When a child stands up to havo his brain measured a tape lino goes firs, around his head. Twenty-four chil dren of 10 years of age have heads ranging in circumference from 10 to 21) inches; the straight distance be tween foreheads and occipital bones range betwoeu 12 and 14 inches, and tho distances over from ear to ear be tween 12 and 13). Krd Tune Wax. Tho different important British Stato documents are scaled w ith dif ferent varieties of wax, according to the otllce from whicji they emanute. For instance, tho wax used for tho Great Seal of England is whitish in color, and is compounded of oils and balsams, from a recipe kept iu the Lord Chancellor's ofllee. . The wax of the Great Seal and Privy Soul of Scot laud, manufactured by an Edinburgh firm, is a compound of resin and bees wax, colored with vermiliou, which is a bright red sulphide of mercury. The Excbequor Seal is made of green wax, and is considerably softer than ordinary sealing-wax. New , York Dispatch. Telling Trees by Electricity. A novel departure in electrical sci ence is reported by the scientiflo Jour nals. Trees are now to be ' felled by elootricity. The modus operandi is as follows : A platinum wire, having been stretched out between two poles, is heated nntil it becomes incandescent. It is then drawn tight against the tree, through which it immediately pro ceeds to burn its way. It is said thati a tree can by this process be felled in) about one eighth of the time it would, tako to saw it down. The new method should also be considerably safer for the operators, Chicago Herald SHOES ()1? WOOD. A Unique Cobbler in New York's French Quarter. How lie Makes Sabota For His Countrymen. In tho heart of tho French quarter, where South Fifth nveuilo loses the provincial tone given to it by Washing ton Square and becomes moro like a Paris slum, dwells a shoemaker who has not his like in New York city and possibly in the United States. His is the only branch of tho trade which has not succumbed to tho inachiiie-mada process, and, as he is the only one of his kind, he enjoys a monopoly. The sign which proclaims his calling is nailed under his workshop window, nml is unique in its way. It looks something like a flattened-out brogan, and on it is painted the legend, "Fa briquo de Sabots." On the window silt, above the sign, are displayed his wares; heavy-looking, clog-shapen ar rangements which remind one of the coverings on the feet of the figures in Millet's "Angelns." Insido the shop the proprietor, Julius Ilourtoiil, successor to Peter his father, can be seen working away with the strangest shoemaking tools ever used in New York. He is a young nan, and talks volubly in French of his art And high art it is, sculptur ing moulds for tho feet out of solid blocks of marble. Sabot and sabot-maklng are largo necessities in rural France, but hero in New York they seem odd and get more amusing when seen and told about. Sabots nro used very often on the stage, and it is from this source that Hoiirtoiil derives his largest rev enue. Yet sabots are used also to some extent among French laborers in the city, and at times the clap clap of their heavy bodies can bo heard even in South Fifth aveuuo and Bleceker street. Thu saliot proper is made of wood, carved from tho solid block, but so expert are the makers that to the foot they are as soft as a patent-leather pump. Ilourtoiil at work uses some thing like an immense spoke shave, ljosely secured at otio end to give L'verago. This is for the outside. For tho inside he usos what looks like an immeiiso cheese snoop. He will take the measure of tho daintiest foot and with his primitive tools carve out a covering which is guarrantoed to raise no corns ami to thoroughly re turd the growth of bunions. Ilourtoiil, in a broken patois, will tell you that times are dull in the shoo trade. Ho was born in France. Ho says ho is the only one in tho United States who' mokes sabots. His prt vato customers aro, of course, taken mostly from the French residents here, but he gets a fair sprinkling from among the Italians. Ilourtoiil manufactures leather sa bots with wooden soles, but, oddly enough, theso are not considered high toned by tho sabot wearers. The all wood a Hairs are considered , tho pro per thing, aud evon those have their grades of excellence Those who want to have respectable foot cover ings h vu mnplewood put into thoir sabots, but the real swell affairs are made of walnut. Italian laborors use tho loathor va riety which are really brogans with wooden solos. They oost $1.50. Tho all-wood stylus are worth 82. A good pair will last all of six months and sometimes longer. Outside, tho roar of the elovatod trains disturbs tho poacofutnoss of the little Freuoh shoo-shop whore tho sabots are mado, but not more, per haps, than did these same sabots years ago in France, in revolutionary times, when their oeasoless tread, so wonder fully described by Dickons, disturbed the peace of the old mansion in "A Tale of Two Cities." New York World. The Brat linn Surucucu, The Brazilian Suruouon is a reptile that reaches a length, it is said, of twelve feet,and that for beauty, agility, tuvageness, and venom is excelled by none in Brazil. The old Dutch set tlers gave it the name of the "Bush master," a title it well deserves. The beautiful glints of light on this rep tile's scales excel those on a humming bird's breast. It is of a reddish-brown color, with varied markings. It fort unately is chiefly nocturnal, and only irequenis aense woous, as a rule not coining near houses. The finest speoiiuon I ever saw was about eight feet long, and' had six fully-developed fangk three on each side as well as eighteen in various stages of growth nine on each aide. It was a pleasure to dissect this fine suske. The front fang was one inch aud three-quarters long, exclusive' of the bony base. The effect of a lunge from such a serpent can well hi Imagined. This is called "Snruencu," as it is said to make a hooting noise at night; and "de 'Fogo" as it is said to approach n light at night and try to get as close as it pan. I has a curved eluwoii its tail, whiclr' the natives say it Uses to dig into tho ground ns a fulcrum for its leap on its victim. This requires corroboration. The natives have a great dread of it, as well they may, it being the most deadly-looking reptile here, the size of the poison such being so great, as well as its ow n size, agility, and proved savsgeiiess. It seems to feed on wild pigs, "jiaca" a large rodent liko a guinea pigdeer, and other animals, Chamber's Journal. Medicinal Value of Apples. "The medicinal value of apples is not half appreciated," said Dr. J. L. Selkirk. "To men of sedentary hab its whose livers are sluggish, the acids of the apple serve to eliminate from the body noxious matters, which, if retained, would make the brain heavy nnd dull, or bring about jaundice, skin eruptions and kindred evils. Tho malic acid of ripe apples, raw or cooked, will neutralize any excess of chalky matter engendered by eating too much meat. It is also true that such ripe food as the apple, pear and plum, taken without sugsr, diminish acidity of the stomach rather than pro voke it, as is erroneously supposed. Their juices are converted into alka line carbonate, which tend to counter act aciditr. (Hobo-Democrat. Cusp of Suspended Animation. "I saw a very interesting case of suspended animation the other day," said au Allegheny man to an east end physician. The hitter was deeply Interested at once. "Ah!" ho replied. "Go on." "A couple of boys on our street had captured two cats. They tied them on cither end of n short rope, and threw the rope over a clothesline. I tell you the suspension was animated for a few minutes, until I managed to cut the rope." At this point tho doctor said he had a patient to visit. Pittsburg Chroni cle Telegraph. New Fibre for Textile. Very handsome fabrics are now be ing madu from a fibre, that is pre ared from the bark of the mulberry-tree. An Australian factory has been run ning on this material for the past five years, and so satisfactory are tho pro ducts that an extensive plant is .pro jected. It is claimed for this material that it has almost ten times tho strength of ordinary cotton and that tho dyes are much more permanent than in tho majority of such goods. It is used for decorative purposes, draperies and upholsteries, and some surpassingly handsome damasks have been niudo. from it. New York Lod ger. Wheat Sot Easily Frostbitten. Growitig wheat is a vegetnblo that is not readily affectud by a nipping frost. In fact, it is a hardy plant, and thrives when the temperature is several degrees below tho freezing point. When only three or four in ches high a snow and the mercury fif teen degrees or thereabouts above zero for a day or two does not kill it. When tho stem has reached six or more inches and becomes jointed it is more susceptible to tho cold, and a blizzard is likely to work'damago.liut even then only iu patches. Chicago Herald. Where the D.iiitror Lay. Mrs. Leo Hunter (with a little pre liminary shiver) Oh, I am sure, I can't soe how you can be bo composed after all you havo been through I It mnst have been dreadfully dangerous down there at that horrid Rio Janeiro during that awful revolution) dipt. Muiubraoo.U. 8. N. I should say it was dangerous! yellow fever liable to break out any tiro j I Puok. Hungry For Information. The City Girl (summering in the country) Oh, dear; what a cunning little animal I The Farmer Yessum, It's a year ling. The City Girl (with interest) In deed? And er how old is it? Chi cago Record. The Detuning of Knowledge, Calloe Women have mighty queer ways, don't you think, Uncle Si? Uncle Si I kain't say that I know much about women. I only been mar ried four times. Indianapolis Jour nal., j The "Irish potato" grows wild , in the mountains of Chile and Pern, where it is undoubtedly iudieeuoua. (J I' A I VI' AM CtltlOt'S. Bclgimi workmen train ro isters to crow against each other. Evidences of sun worship are found in the mythology of every laud. In Damascus, drunken men nre called victims of "tho English dis ease. " Tho first paper ever made In tho world was made by wasps. They used it for building nests. Hwonls equally as fine as the famous blades of Damascus are manufactured iu Bhutan, a State iu the Himalayas. Jonathan Hulls in 17:1(1 made a small steamboat. It failed to work, but had all the germs of Fulton's later invention. At an auction salo in Chicago a few days ago an inlaid ivory table, w hich cost 1,000 iu China fifteen years ago, sold for 17. Cymbals are believed to be among (lie earliest musical inventions. They were used in Egypt at least 4,000 years before Christ. James Watt was an inventor from the moment ho was intrusted with the repair of a piece of costly aud intri cate machinery. A flag carried in the war of 1812 is a relio prized by Mrs. E. C. Blount of Waynesboro, Ga. The flag bears only fifteen stars. The germ of the guitar is found in the warrior's bow, the Btring of which gave a sonorous twang as the arrow sped to the mark. Cooonnuts and the nuts of the ma hogany trees are often east ashore on the coast of England, unimpaired by their long journey. The hand-spinning, with spindle and whorl, is the suite the world over and identical with that shown in Egyp tian paintings 11,500 years old. A British clergyman's wife has per formed the philological feat of com piling a grammar and a dictionary of the Congo dialect of African speech. When the masons were laying tho wall for J. Harris' house at Byron, N. Y., they found a petrified mud tur tle. The head was broken ofl. The find weighed twelve pounds. A boar weighing 800 pounds was captured near Mount Pleasant, Mich. It had a trap woighiug twenty-five pounds nltnchod to one foot. Tho trap was voiy old and vory rusty, Tho largest oil painting in the world is one by Tintoretto, entitled "Para dise." It is thirty-three and a liaif foet in height and eighty-four feet iu width, and may now be seen in tho Doge's Palace, Venice, Bid Nut Wish to hn F.iupi ror. The Rev. Dr. Bernard Rogge preached tho sermon in tho Versailles palace, January 1H, 1871, when the German empire was proclaimed, and ever sinoe he has been known through, out central Europe as tho consecrator of Germany. Iu a lecture given by him in Vienna early iu this mouth ho told of a remarkable intervb w which ho had with tho king of Prussia three days before tho great ceremony, King William requested him to mnko tho sermon short aud exclude from it as far as possible all references to tho house of Hoheuzollern and its head. "For I havo not done it," said old William, "(iod in his providence ac complished it. I shall find it difficult to accustom myself to my new title of emperor. My own wish was that at my advancod ago I might avoid tho honor, although my son might be oalled to accept it ; but matters have turned out in such a way that I can no longer do anything but take it," When received on the same day by the crown prince, later Emperor Frederick, Rogge got a few more in structions as to the nature of his ser mon. The crown prince pointed to the great hall where the ceremony was to bo hold and romarked : "Whon I first saw the palaos on the 19th of last September I said to my self ; 'There is the pi aco where the founding of the German empire will be proclaimed. ' " Chicago Times. Borrowed a House. A unique case of borrowing is re ported from Sherman Mills. A man whoBO house was destroyed by fire last winter, has borrowed a house from one of his friends, which he will have hauled to his lot and will occupy as a dwelling this summer, returning it in the fall. Kennebec (Me.) Jour nal, A Strong Symptom. "I'm glad Tompkini has struck a streak of luck at last " Smith So am I. What is it? "I don't know just what. I only know that he talked to me for twenty minutes without askiug to borrow i Chicago Inter-Ooean, SCI LM I'll If SCI AIM. Every mule elephant Is liable to In sanity some time or other. In Finland and East Turkestan thunder storms nre wholly unknown. Brick-dust mortar is said by author ities to bo an excellent substitute for. hydraulic cement. Neither chemists nor naturalists have yet been able to solve the question why a lobster turns red when boiled. Man is composed, according to the scientists, of five biicketfuls of water and forty-five pounds of carbon and nitrogen. The body of a lizard pxndes an acrid fluid that serves as a protection to the animal. A dog will not hold a lizard in his mouth more than an in stant and can rarely be induced to re peat the experiment. Bv exposing the chrysalis Vanessa atalanta to a low temperature, it showed great Increase in the area of the scarlet bauds on the wings, aud a great increase in the area of white and bluish markings. Among the fellow b isrdors of ants and white ant nests in Australia have been found a fly, au undetermined small moth, both from Sydney, and of beetles, two species of Paelaphidm, a family often occurring iu ant nests, an Anthrehiis, aud another undetermined beetle. A German electrical paper men tions a patent for sn apparatus resem bling the Hell radiophone, in which intermittent beam of light focussed on n glass vessel containing lampblack produces audible notes. Mercadier has attempted to ttso this apparatus for a miiltiplctelcgraph system. There are 4'1 electric railroads in Europe, employing 538 motor cars and locomotives, and 151 trailers. The systems are divided as follows: Trol ley, 31 ; central rail, 8 ; under ground conductor, 2; storage battery, 2. There nre 21 lines now building, all of which will probably be running be for tho year is out. A largo number of the systems used are American. Belli Wept. When Lawrence Barrett's daughter was married Stuart Robson sent a check for S.'.OOO to the bridegroom. Miss Felicia Robson, who attended the wed ding, conveyed tho gift. "Felicia," said her father, upon her return, "did yon givo him the tho check?" "Yes, father," answered the dutiful daughter. "What did he say?" asked Robson. "He didn't say anything," replied Miss Felicia, "but he shed tears." "How long did he cry?" "Why father, I didn't time him; 1 should ssy, however, that ho wept fully a minute." . "Fully a minute?" roared Robson, "why, I cried an hour after I'd signed it!" Chicago Rocord. Reiiini'kalile Leap of a Horse, One of the most remarkable leapt ever recorded as having been made by a horse, was that by Chandler, an English steeplechaser, while running iu tho Leamington Cup at Warwick, in 1847. Boll's life of. March 28, 1847, records it, as follows: "Chandler was following, there being two other horses and riders leading. At the brook Chandler's rider expected that trouble would come to the leaders. Sure enough, they all piled up together, and with one monstrous leap he cleared the brook and the flounder. After careful measurement it was put on record as being a leap of exactly thirty-nine feet." St. Louis Republic A Revised Version. It happened in Sunday-school. The subject under discussion was Solomon and his wisdom. A little girl was ask ed to tell the story of Solomon and women who disputed possession of a child. She timidly arose up and an swered : "Solomon was a very wise man. One day two women went to him quarrelling about a baby. One woman said : 'This is my child,' and the other woman said, 'No, this is my child.' But Solomon spoke up and said: 'No.no, ladies, do not quarrel. Give me my sword and I will make twins of him, so each of you can have one I'." Harper's Magazine. The World Encircled. ''Have you ever been around the world?" "No but my arm has." "What do yon mean?" "Well, you are all the world to me. Philadelphia Life. The Salvation 'Army in the north west is negotiating1 fof the purchase bf a fast steam launch' for the purpose, in the lauguage otHe'.Vrmjr, of bombard leg all the Canadiau Faeiflo towns, '
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers