Only ten per rent, of the sugar we consume is grown in this country* This is nil estimate in the Atlnntn Constitution : The wealth of the South in 1860 was $1,000,000,000* and in 1890 about the same. The war cost the South about $2,000,000,000. She , bus just about recuperated. f Tests of modern rifles are being made by using human corpses for tar gets. "Thissounds brutal," musestho Snn Francisco Examiner, "but it really is less brutal than making tlie tests on bodies that are not corpses in the be ginning." [/ M. Gault states that the Rus sians, since their occupation of the district embraced by the valleys of the Syr Daria and the Zarafshan, have given a very great development to the cultivation of cotton, and have intro duced several American varieties of the plant, notably the upland. At first the natives were so prejudiced against the new plants that the experiments failed, but the Russians persevered, and, whereas nine years ago Turke stan produced only 3300 poods of cotton worth sll33,the quantity ex ported in 1890 was about 2,000,000 poods, of an estimated value of $7,000,000. Word has been sent to the courts of | Europe that the Shah of Pd?sia intends j to visit Berlin, St. Petersburg, Berlin j and Vienna next spring. He will start on his journey in May or June, and will remain in Europe several months. The rulers whom he is to honor are in an unhappy state of mind already on account of the proposed visit, alleges the New York Tribune. No living eovei-eign, in all probability, is a more unwelcome guest than the Shah, but his cousins in Europe are obliged to receive him with all the honors due to his rank. Entertaining him is mote expensive than entertaining any other monarch. His retinue iB almost a legion. f Gne of the latest and most popular developments of New York society is tho lady lecturer, who talks to an audience exclusively feminine upon the topics of the day. These "talks," as they are called, are held only in private drawing-rooms, and are listened to with the most intelligent interest by a score or more of women who have j clubbed together to engage some well- ' informed woman to post them, viva ! voce, upon all subjects with which they rhould be conversant. This isa charm ing way to acquire knowledge, and one which will undoubtedly grow more and more popular among those who either have not the time or the inclina tion to study for themselves. That typical Arizona town, Yuma, will probably soon be lifted from Ari zona into California, where, it is claimed, it has always rightly belonged. Up to about fifteen years ago the point was often contended between the local authorities both sides the disputed line, but since the arrest, in 1877, by the Arizona authorities of a San Di ego (Cal.) tax collector who tried to collect taxes in Yuma, the question has been dropped. The land office authorities have always evaded the question. Recently William Hycks was indicted by the Federal grand jury for selling liquor to Indians in Yuma. He denies the jurisdiction of i the court to try his case, citing the authority of the treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo and the recent reports of the international boundary commission to fehow that Yuma is in California. It is , thought out there that Hycks may win his case and that the town will soon ho Yuma, California, instead of Yuma, Arizona. r, he dismantlement of World's Fair i Structures has in one respect proved a ; godsend to the poor of Chicago. In ' Jackson Park there were recently 2000 ' vagoii loads of excellent firewood j which the officials were glad to get rid of. The Chicago Relief and Aid So ciety obtained permission to cart tin wood away, and put up the following sign on the park fence near the Sixty second street gate: "Free Wood for the Poor." Any person with n horse and wagon is now admitted to the park and allowed to take away nil the wood his wagon will hold, the only condi tion being that he shall present a per mit from the society. The pile of debris through which the wood is scat tered has a length of 300 yards, a width of 100 yards and a height of twelve feet. It consists of baskets, boxes and barrels. The man in need of fuel has only tu delve in this pile to . t viceable kindling wood as could be- i found anywhere. The applicants arc foreigners for the most part, and judg ing from their ragged coats and pinched faces, the}' could get the means warmth for thvif families uowhei WISHES. i asked a little child one day. A child intent on joyous play. 'My little one, pray toll to me Four dearest wish • What may it be?*' The little one thought for a while, Then answerod withn wistful smile; "Jlie thing that I wish most of all Is to bo big, like you, and tall." I asked a maiden sweet and fair, 1 Of dreamy eyes and wavy hair \ ' 'What would you wish, pray tell me trtle. 1 '1 hat kindly fate should bring te you?" With timid mien and downcast eyes And blushes deep and gentle sighs. Her unswer came : "All else above, 8 I'd wish some faithful heart to love." ® I nsked a mother, tried and blest, y. With babe asleep upon her breast: K "O, mother fond, so proud and fair, What is thy inmost secret prayer?" t She raised her calm and peaceful eyes, p Madonnn-likc, up to the skies . ) 'My nearest wish is this," said sbs, ''That God may spare my child to me." I Again. 1 asked a woman old, i o whom the world seemed hard and cold : * •Pray tell me, O thou blest in years, 1 What aro thy hopes, what are thy fears?" With folded hands and head bent low Bhe answer ma le, in accents slow : "For me remains but one request: U is that God may give me rest." —Emile Pickhnrdt, iu Boston G'obc. THE SURPRISE PARTY. BY HELEN FORREST CRAVES. jnartfc HE 11',3 gwiue to be : f — ft R ow, l hard frost | t^ rt - -ft to-night," said Den- I con Cummings, as he pulled the rag buffalo robe j over his knees, set- | r tied the tub of lard I * , iu front of him, and tL ■fl'l!/ I \ij 'iKj, touched upOld Dick I" mm \ wit \ 'h • ex, T™° \ /jjwsr tlieeßsta burn- F 1 """* b'lnw,.,] " like a point of ar gent fire; all along the western sky (be evergreens tossed to and fro against an orange background, and I the air was full of the faint, sweet perfume of dead leaves. And Clara, I nestling close to her father's side, rc ! tuembcred the days of her childhood when she went nutting on Barrack 1 Mountain amid just such sweet scents ! as this. "It is cold," Assented Clara, her blue eyes intently fixed on the evening star. J The deacon was grim and hard j featured, with a nose that reminded j one of Capo Cod on the map, and a comp'exiou like a badly-tanned piece of leather. Clara was plump and pretty, with skin like a rose-leaf, long-lashed eyes, and a dimple which no one had ever j been able exactly to locate. Clara might grow old one of these days, but she never wonl<t grow into the pattern of the deacon's old age. "Hey!" said the deacon. ''What's that air ia your lap, Clara? A band j box? 1 didn't buy nothin' that would likely be packed in a bandbox." "No, 1 know you didn't," said Clara, a blue gleam of mischief coming into | her even. "It's a bonnet for mother. I There's the surprise party, you know, ! at the parsonage to-night, and I'm going to trim up something decent | for her to wear." "A—bonnet!" The deacon jerked the reins :n away that had nearly | collided Old Dick with the churchyard | wall. "Ain't your mother got a loa net? It does seem, Clara, as if money burned a hole in you young folkses pocket." The soft pink on Clara's cheek had changed into deep rose by this time, j "Got a bonnet? Of course she's got a bonnet!" retorted she. "The I same she's had for five 3'ears, until I'm sick of the brown satin bows and the black poppies on it. Mother's a real pretty old lady, father, or she would he, if you'd give her a chance." j "And who's to pay for all this J finery?" demanded the deacon, after an ominous silence. "It isn t finery, lather, its only bare decency. And I'm going to pay for j it," said Clara. "Humph?" grunted the deacon. ' "i in glad you feel so rich. I don't, j Get up, Dick, or I'll let y- u know I'm J ye lazy, idle creetur'." "The bonnet was only fifty cents— n real good straw," pleaded Clara, t "And tho ribbon was a quarter, and' I'm going to trim it myself with some purple asters off my last spring's hat. I couldn't let mother go to the sur prise party with that horrid old brown thing!" "Humph !" again uttered the deacon, who had by this time urged Dick into a spasmodic canter. "I don't myself see no occasion for goin' gallivantin j %r*mnd to surprise parties—the hull kit an' boodle of us, I mean ! Of ( course folks expect to see me there, beiu's I'm a deacon." "And everything else will be there," | quickly retorted Clara, "and I don't mean mother shall stay at home. She j gets so few chances to see anything or | anybody! There! you tipped over the vinegar jug, lather, with Dick can tering in that absurd fashion. I knew something would happen!" "Whoa, Diok—whoa!" bawled the: old man. "Ther' ain't nothin* broke, j luckily. I didn't realize we was goin' I so fast, an' the roads is froze pretty -till'. You see, I'd calkilated to carry i nieo bag o' dried apples for my she re, an' if your mother goes—" Clara shrugged her shoulders. "J dare say we can find something or mother to carry," said she, "even if it's no more than one of her deli- | ( ions pumpkin pics or a loaf of gin -11 bread. I shall take a ten-dollar j old piece. My salary was paid last | <' 1, and 1 shall never forget bow! good Parson Potter used to be when I was a child!" Ten dollars!" echoed the deacon. "In money!" Be my ears a-deceivin' of me?" "Yes, ten dollars —and in money. It's my own, isn't it, to spend or keep, as T please?" "It's a downright flingiu' away of money I" gasped the deacon* "Ten dollars! Is the gal crazy! Why, 1 declare to goodness, it's enough to make a man's hair stand bn end !" I ''Here we are!" cried Clara, joy ously springing over the wheel. "And the firelight shining out into the road, as if the old back-log had never left off erackliug since I was lie re last, anil Prince barking, and the big red lily in bloom on the window-sill 1 Ob, it does seem so nice to be at. home again 1" Mrs. Cummings hurried, smiling, to the door\ but the deacon looked sour enough as he drove around to the barn. "I hadn't thought o' going I' fal | tefed Mrs. Cummings. "But you must go, mother!" said Clara, with the bow of ribbon twisted around her finger. "I hain't notbin' to take." "There's that loaf of plumcake that you baked for Sunday's tea. Nothing in the world could be nicer." "I've got a piece o' blue gingham— three yards— that I hain't made Up .'lito npron* yet. Would that do?" wistfully questioned the poor woman. "it would be just lovely!" pro* tested fMara. And theushe confided to her mother the secret of the ten-dollar gold piece. ! "You see," said she, "I feel some how as if I were paying a debt to these dear old people, who have worked so hard all these years fcr so , pitiful a salary. And I've put the money in the little, fiat sliopping-hag I —just like the one I gave you, dear— [ and I shall slip it iuto Mrs. Potter's & hand. Won't she be surprised when e • she comes to open it?" . 1 Clara Cummings, however, had an i auditor to their sweet filial confidences . of whom she little knew. I j The deacon, hanging nj> his old ' harness, hack of the kitchen door, had I "It's sinful," said the deacon t*> himself—"absolutely h toxptin* o' Providence ! Ten-dollar gold pieces 1 ' Ginghams I Loaves o' cake, not to say 1 notion' of the dried apples I was cal culatin' to fetch I I—don't—see—" I Suddenly the deacon's dull eyes brightened. He came to a dead stand still on tho stairs. The deacon had an idea. "The very thing!" he muttered to himself. Going softly to hfs wife's bureau, he abstracted the little leather reticule which Clara had given tier on her fifty second birthday, a brief while ago, and quietly substituted it for Clara's, lying lon the pillow of her bed, first, how ever, placing in its outside pocket a squarely-folded one-dollar bill. ; "That'll be a deal more suitable," thought he. "The bags is just alike! and Clara won't know the difference. And I'll keep this 'ere gold-pice, to wards, the shinglin' of the barn ruff. Goodness knows, I need money a great deal more than Parson Potter does, and Clara 'aiu't no business to be so , wasteful and extravagant." And he went down stairs, chuckling softly to himself. ! "Ain't supper ready?" said he. "What! cold corned beef and parsnips? And biscuit! There wan't no need of anything but bread and cheese, seein' we're goin' to liev a slap-up supper to the parsonage. But women hain't no judgment. Here, Clara, put this meat on the shelf for breakfast to-morrow i morn in'. An'set them preserves back in the closet. Humph ! we'd all fetch vp in the poorhouse if we went ahead I this fashion." | Mrs. Cnmmings would have enjoyed her evening at the parsonage, if her husband had not glared so severely at I her new bonnet. I "Glove*, eh?" said he, as she climbed out of the wagon. "Squire Silleck's j wife don't wear no gloves. I'll go bail I them cost fifty cents! Humph!" "But they're mended, father—and I've hud 'em a year!" "Humph!" was all the reply he vouchsafed. The parson, a withered little man in a threadbare black suit, received his guests in a truly Christian spirit of resignation. "1 hope there'll be enough for them to eat," whispered he to his better half, a tall, pale woman. "I guess likely there will," she re sponded. "Most of 'em has brought victuals —and very little else. I do wonder how they knew it was our wed ding anniversary! 1 tried all I could do to keep it secret." Kverythiug was there. Plates and dishes, which matched nothing ; brass warding pans, of no use except for senseless decorations; tissue paper i flowers, an.l gruesome worsted work ; painted banners, and embroidered "splashers;" crochet lace, and dam aged tidies; an lus they kept arriv ing, Mrs. Potter's heart sank corre spondingly. Presently, however, she came to Clara with tears in her faded eyes. "Oh, Clara!" she faltered, "how cau I thank you enough for your kind ness—you noble geherositv ? Mr. Pot ter is as grateful as I am, but his voice issimply gone. He can't sp.ak.' The deacon hugged himself. "I knowed that dollar bill would be n plenty," said he. "Bless me ! there's that young Lawyer Harrison, the par son's nephew, goiu' oft' to the study with Clara. He once hail quite a no tion to the gal. Wonder if they're goin' to company keepin' again? Kind o' singular he should lie here to-night. Folks says it was him who brought the handsome black walnut desk in par son's study. Strange how extravagant folks will In-! Specially young folks. F,U! what's that they're savin?' A tire—Rud in our direction! Jfow. I wonder if Clara didn't leave the taller candle burnin' in her room, an' the cat knocked it over? And there was that hundred dollars. Doctor Petti bone paid me for hay, in the house. I swan to gracious I'll put it in the bank afcre I'm a day older. I dunno how I come to be so careless. Polly, look here, to his wife) "do you see that blaze? My eyes ain't as good as they was. Is it Anywheres out our way?'' '"La, no, deacon!'' said his wife. ''lt's only little Peter Pettibone's bon ; fire. The doctor said he could hev one to-night of those dead trees an' brush on Catamount Pond. Our house is clear west o' that." * "I'm glad on't," said the deacon. "Polly, what did you do with that hundred dollars I give you to keep for me till I got a chance to bank it?" Mrs. Cummings looked puzzled. "I put it iu my little reticule—the otic Clara gave me," said she—"in the bureau drawer. It's safe locked up. I looked artei* it the last thing before 1 left the house. Where you goin', deacon?" The deacon turned as many colors as a dying dolphin. "I jest remembered that 1 didn't fodder the cows afore I started," said h. "I guossl'd bettor jest step home an' look nrter 'em. Gimme the key ol the bureau drawer, Polly." On the outer doorstep he paused, however. There was a little buzz and hum of gossip in the air. ''Mrs, Potter lias been cryin' evef since," said the Widow Purkiss. "Tearso' real, ginooine joy, youknow, I She somehow cau't get over it. A hundred dollars! I don't s'pose she's seen so much money all together at one time since she was married. And from little Clara Cummings that teaches school over to Green's Mills. Folded away in u leather bag with steel trimmins'." i For a second or so the deacon stood motionless as the Sphinx. Then he | turned and went back into tile house. ! "I guess," muttered he, "ther' ain't i no use in my goin' home to git them cattle foddered. I may as well stay an* eat my supper. It's like to cost mc enough." Clara's face was radiant when sha come to break fust the next morning, and yet it was a little overclouded like the suu behind a golden Novem ber mist. "Father,.' said she, "two such strange things have happened I Aleck Harrisou has asked me to be his wife." Mrs. Cummings leaned over and kissed her daughter. "And," added Clara, "our two leather reticules Homehow got mixed up last niglit, an I instead of the ten dollar gold piece I had intended, I gave Mrs. Potter mother's bag with a hundred dollars in bills in it. Of course you intended it for a surprise, for the gold piece was gone out of the other bag. Father, dear, it was a noble Act, aud I shall explain it all to Mrs. Potter." "No, don't do that!" precipitately uttered the deacon. "Jest let things be as they are. I—l'd ruther not hev no more said about it!" And he could not repress a sepul chral groan. 44 1 always knew father had a gener ous heart," said Mrs. Cummings. "And the Potters deservo it, if any body does. And now, Clara dear, wo 1 must talk over your wedding things." From that day on, the deacon kept his own counsel, but he always had a lurking suspicion Hint Clara had , fathomed his policy. "The least said, the soonest mended," said Deacon Cu turnings. "One thing's plum' sartin,' though. You won't never catch me at no more surprise parties I"—Saturday Xight. An Islarvl That tirows, In the Missouri River, near Leaven worth, thero is an island which has furnished the land law officers of the Government a novel problem. This island was on the Missouri side when it was surveyed in 18-38. -Now it is a I legal part of Kansas. But that is not the queer thing about it. Islands in the Missouri frequently shift their al legiance. The trouble with this isl and is that it has been growing. When j the Government officers surveyed it they found 500 acres, and that was the amount entered in the records. When two Leavenworth men, Skillings and Diffoudorf, took out patents for the whole island the amount of land putin the patents wis 5)0 acres. But the island has been growing through all of these years in away Missouri River islands have a fashion of doing. There are now 1400 acres in the island. A coal-bed, it has been discovered, runs under the islaud, and that tends to make the land more valuable. Re cently squatters have tried to take possession of the surplus over and above the 509 acres claimed by the patentees. The latter set up a claim to the growth. The laud lawyers of the Government, after taking plenty of time to think about the case, have decided that Skillings and Diffendorf are entitled to the whole island under their original patents.—St. Louis Globe-Democrat. A Cure tor Warts. It is said to be fairly established that the common wart, which is so un sightly and anuoving on the hands and face, can be easily removed by small doses of sulphate of magnesia taken internally. M. Colrot, of Lyons, has , drawn attention to this extraordinary I fact. Several children treated with j three-grain doses of Epsom salts, i morning and evening, were promptly | cured. M. Aubert cites the case of a woman whose face was disfigured by j these excrescences, ami who was cured j in a month by a dram and a half of magnesia taken daily. Another medi- | cal man reports a case of very large warts which disappeared in a fortnight from the daily administration of ten CVftilib of the suits. WINTER WORK IN A CIRCUS. PREPARING A BIG SHOW FOR THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN. Costiimerg Are Busy All Winter—bay ing out the Route—Vast Labor In volved in Reorganization. JUST around the block from the New York Herald office is a building occupied by the pro prietors of a big circus. They are busily engaged in preparing for the summer campaign, and a Herald reporter, who has been through the building, gives this account of the work on hand : I am led up stairs and find on the next floor a corps of women busy on new uniforms and trappings for man, woman and beast. Ilich plush and gold bullion galore are scattered about on the tables. The pretty spangles that will glitter in the ring next summer are being sewed in place, the elephants are getting new jackets of royal pur ple and gold, the camels must be fitted out afresh for the street parade, the gay trappings of horse and rider must be renewed. For a season of out of door mishaps leaves most of these so much waste. An entirely new outfit j must be calculated upon every year. Home of these trappings are very ex pensive. The gorgeous elephant and camel coverings cost from 8500 to S6OO, and as high as 81000 has been paid for a single elephant outfit. The | brilliant uniforms used in the ring and I on parade must also be renewed. That | work is going on up here. Mrs. White, | the circus wardrobe woman, has charge lof it. Under her experienced eye, | from twenty to thirty seamstresses are i employed all winter. Several of these women go with the show all summer as repairers aud wardrobe assistants. I On great shelves and tables, for the ; whole length of this building are piled j the new trappings. On the floor above I is the name outlay of gorgeous uni forms, blankets, hats, boots, and I everything necessary for the male and ' female appearance next season. For the costumes of the spectacular pro i duction, such as was given last sum l mer, are varied and great in quantity, a ballet of two or three hundred women I being not the least. All of these cos tunics are made here iu the winter under the direction of Mrs. White. ! The hardest and moat important work of the show business is now in progress. The animals and their train ers and keepers are housed at Bridge port, but the real work of the season is in full blast in this old building in the heart of New York, unseen and un known, so far as the rest of the world isconcerned. Upon the thoroughness, skill and intelligence with which this work is performed depends the success of next season on the road. As the clothing manufacturer trusts to his ex perience and judgment in making win ter wraps and clothes of all kinds for winter wear in summer and things for summer wear during the winter, so the circus man must rely upon his kuowl- J edge of people and localities and do his real summer work in winter. That work really begins before the summer seasor has closed. The foreign agents are sent abroad as early as August with general instruc tions as to the attractions for the com ing year. Mr. Gaylord and Mr. Starr, foreign ageuts for Bailey, are widely know in this country, as well as abroad. The former is now in India, and the latter doing the European capitals on the lookout for attractions. Both are old showmen and have made thiH mat ter a study. When they hear of any remarkable curiosity or learn of a par ticularly celebrated performer they in vestigate, and if they think the attrac tion desirable Mr. Bailey is cabled or written. He either accepts or rejects at once and by cable. The agents have their lines out among all United States consular agents and are known by for eign theatrical speculators generally. Thus they practically cover the world. As soon as the attraction and price are agreed upon the contract is signed by the foreign agent for Mr. Bailey, and the money and expenses are cabled and that ends that. Before any work of this kind can go very far, however, it is necessary for Mr. Bailey to settle upon the charac ter of his next year's show. This he does in his own mind aud what that is not one of his people knows, and not even Mrs. Bailey. That is one of the secrets of the trade. Not a single one of the trusted and competent depart mental heads at work here to-day knows what the special features of next year's show will be. They will get on to that by degrees. As the new canvas is ordered and the proofs of the print ing come in they will sec this develop. The former will show just how many rings and the dimensions of the canvas that is to be used, for a new canvas must be made every winter. The spec ifications for this canvas and its ac companying poles and ropes and stakes read like detailed specifications of the Navy Department lor the constructions of a new ship. A Cincinnati firm makes this canvas. As soon as the character of the next year's show has been decided the work of preparing the route, of engaging performers and arranging for tents and printing may be said to go on simultaneously. The route work is the most important feature of the business. Mr. Bailey attends to this personally, and to it brings the acute judgment which comes of long experi ence and a knowledge of the country and its inhabitants almost marvelous. This route is made without reference to any other show, and mainly in avoidance of the spot played last sea son. The larger towns are usually struck on Mondays. This gives more time to prepare and an extra day to get into new territory. There are so many tilings to be taken into consideration when a par ticular place is contemplated that the subject is apt to bewilder the layman, A complete knowledge of transporta tion facilities is necessary to begin on. The capacity of the toad4 the tunnels and bridges that might interfere with the high loaded circus cars, the facili ties for getting away after the show to the next place, the character of the country whether manufacturing 01 agricultural—if the former, then the condition of trade and the pay day of the workmen; if the latter, then the condition of the crops—the probable condition of the weather. Unlike the conditions under which the ordinary dramatic company is formed, the circus company, for the most part, has never been seen by ths man who pays its members and in whose service they are until he sees them at the initial performance in the ring. They are brought from all parts of the world; many of them speak only a foreign tongue, and most of them never saw or heard of each other before. They may be known by repu tation to Mr. Bailey or through his foreign agents, but his first sight of them must necessarily be in the ring. If they fall below his standard or have not proved to be as represented, they are shipped back to their horneß by the next steamer at his expense. SELECT TIFTINUsT Quinces came from Corinth. The cantelope is a native of America. Melons were found originally in Asia. Europeans every year eat 6,470,000 tons of beef, mutton and pork. The estimated yield of pecans in this country is 8,000,000 bushels. France and Italy raised 33,000,000 bushels of chestnuts for home use and export. The American people in 1892 drank the decoction from 640,000,000 pounds of coffee. Russia raises 1260 pounds of grain and fifty-one pounds of meat to each inhabitant. The tomato is a native of South America and takes its name from a Portuguese word. The United States are said to have 140,000,000 geese of the kind which are used for food. In France sixty-seven per cent, oi the people live on rye bread, only thirty-three per cent, on wheat bread. In many parts of India oxen still serve as carriers of merchandise, and buffaloes arc kept for milk and plough ing. The first tunnel for commercial pur poses was executed by M. Riguet, in the reign of Louis XIV., at Bezieres, France. The onion was almost an object oi worship with the Egyptians 2000 years before the Christian era. It first came from India. Why birds don't fall off the roost is because they can't. When they Bit down the muscles of the lower leg must contract. Many of the caves discovered in j New Mexico and Arizona contain hu ' man bones and other evidences of oc cupancy years ago. The Emperor of China pays his | soldiers at the munificent rate of $1 a '< month, out of which they are required j to purchase their food. The value of land in Great Britain rose enormously during tho Canadiau and American wars of the last century, and increased still further during the French wars owing to the demand for grain au 1 its advanced price. Only on two occasions has England gone to war to aid a weaker Nation. The first was when Elizabeth sent an expedition to the relief of the Dutch and Flemings to help them against the encroachments of Philip 11. of Spain. The second was the war of Greek inde pendence in 1827. The following is a characteristic ex tract from the manuscript diary ol King James 11., which is preserved in the Imperial Library at Paris: "I did not retire from the battle on the Boyue from a sense of fear, but that I mighi preserve to the world a life that I felt was destined to future greatness." The diary, filled for the most part with very frank reflections as to what course he should pursue to retain the English throne, is one of the most singular in existence. Drilling With Steel Shot.' I The shot process of drilling recently introduced is the application of a very scientific and mechanical principle In this method of drilling through rock, steel shot are poured inside of the drill pipe, into a ring or channel made in the rock by a few revolutions of the pipe, the latter beaning on this ring of shot, and, when the pipe is re volved, itcausestheshotto revolve also and cut the channel in the rock deeper. From the results thus far obtained, it is expected that, as the boring of large holes through hard rock by means of diamonds—the cost of which, as is ) well known, continues to be very I great—is very expensive work, the new process of drilliug by means of steel shot will be used in many cases !as a substitute for that of the diamond drill. Branding Criminals in China. Finding that long terms of impris onrnent and flogging do not check rob" bcrv and piracy and systematic prnc tice of imposition on strangers in the nature of thievery in the Soochow dis trict, the authorities have resolved to try brauding. For the first offence the thief is to be branded on the rigid cheek, and for the second on the left cheek. The brand is to be theChineso sign for the word thief. As the Chinese have a superstitious horror of all facial disfigurement, the belief is entertained that the new pnnisliuient will cheek the criminal clement.—Sacfnmento Recoi'd-Uuiou, SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL. The average man uses twenty-nine pounds of sugar per annum. A scheme has lately been devised to use electricity as a fertilizer of the soil. The largest meteoric stone was found in Greenland and weighs 50,000 pounds. The purer the water the more active it is in corroding and pitting iron or steel plates. The water that trickles into the Comstock mine, Nevada, near the bot tom of the shaft is heated nearly to the boiling point. One of the African Steamship Com pany's vessels recently steamed for sixty miles near Senegal through lo custs that thickly covered the surface of the water. A substance that is expected to excel ivory—in point of cheapness only, of course—is being made out of milk, coagulated, mixed and submitted to tremendous pressure that renders it absolutely solid and durable. The average quantity of salt in the open water is about 3} per cent. It has been estimated that the total amount in all the ocean area is equal to $4,419,360 cubic miles, or fourteen and one-half times the entire mass of the continent of Europe above high water mark, mountains and all. A sort of antidecay apparatus has been invented for preserving pictures. It is a glass tray with solid back, and the picture is put inside and hermeti cally sealed. The air is then ex hausted with an air pump, with tho result that in this vacuum tho paint will preserve its * pristine freshness pretty well forever, unless tho thing leaks. By exposing hen's eggs to the vapors of alcohol for periods ranging from twenty-six to forty-eight hours, M. Ch. Fere has ascertained that their development is much retarded and often results in the production of monstrosities. In some instances al coholized eggs of nearly a hundred hours were harclly as far developed us normal eggs of twenty hours. A curious method of resuscitation in vogue among the miners of Scotland in the case of insensibility from ex posure to chokc-damp, and which is said to be very efficacious, is as follows: The half-suffocated man is placed face downward over a hole freshly dug in the earth and allowed to lie until he showed signs of consciousness. The idea involved in this proceeding is that the fresh earth draws the foul gus out of tho lungs. , Trees are felled by electricity in the great forests of Galicia. For cutting comparatively soft wood the tool is in the form of an auger, which is mounted on a carriage and is moved to and fro and revolved at the same time by a small electric motor. As tho cut deepens wedges are inserted to pre vent the rift from closing, and when the tree is nearly cut through an ax or hand saw is used to finish the work. In this way trees are felled very rapidly and with very little labor. The Steamship of the Future. Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, the late Chief Constructor of the British Navy, has given the weight of his high rep utation to the possibility of construct ing a ship for Atlantic navigation which will be 1000 feet long aud 300 feet broad, with engines of 60,000 horse power and an ocean speed of fifteen knots. This ship ho described as a "steel island," which will be in capable of entering any dock, at auy rate as at present constructed, having several engines working side by side. He thicks that a draught of twenty six feet of water need never be ex ceeded. "I do firmly believe," said Sir Nathaniel, "that we shall get the mastery over the seas, and that we shall live more happily in a marine residence, capable of steaming fifteen knots an hour, than we can ever live in a seaside town." This project is not, however, intended to shorten the dur ation of a translantic voyage, but to make it more tolerable while it lasts. Most of the efforts hitherto made to deal with the problem of Atlantic navi gation have aimed at speed as the first essential, and have left out of account the possibility of making such me chanical provisions against mal de mer as would enable the most squeamish of passengers to contemplate an Atlantic voyage with perfect equanimity. In this direction the achievements of the last half century have been truly mar velous. —Manufacturers' Gazette. Hygienic Value of Perfumes. Dr. Anders, of Philadelphia, a few years ago made the interesting dis covery that the ozone in the atmo sphere, the element which is the great purifier, was mainly supplied from blooming flowers—and for this reason blooming plants were healthful in dwellings as well as attractive. Some interesting experiments with the odors of flowers have been made in the old world, and it is found that many species of microbes are easily de stroyed by various odors. The odor of cloves has been known to destroy these minute creatures in twenty-five minutes; cinnamon will kill some species in twelve minutes; thyme, in thirty-five. In forty-five minutes the common wild verbena is found effec tive, while the odor of some geranium flowers has destroyed various forms of microbes in fifty minutes. The essence of cinnamon is said to destroy the typhoid fever microbes in twelve min utes, and is regarded as tho most ef fective of all odors a * an antiseptic. It is now believed that flowers which are found in Egyptian mummies were placed there more for their antiseptic properties than as mere ornaments or elements in sentimental work. Mee- Ibiu'a M-JUthly,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers