Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, February 12, 1894, Image 2

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    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,