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, '