The frog industry is growing. A I statistician enumerates "fifty-seven ! frog farms now iu successful opera tion" in various sections of the conn- ! try. The Queen's Jubilee produced at least one good poem, observes Har per's Weekly. Rttdyard Kipling's "Re cessional" is edifying both to the tar and to the spirit. A correspondent of the Hartford Times says that a lather of tar soap applied to the face and hands, and then gently rubbed off, is a sure pro- ' tection against mosquitoes. One hundred Paris detectives went on strike recently; they objected to one of the inspectors, and to being obliged to keep the run of travelers when they leave hotels and boarding houses, as they had all they could do to watch I them when they arrive. Large farms, unless all their acres are made available in some way, aro burdens iustead of blessings. The assessor takes in all the acres, and the taxgatherer is quite as exacting. Hence, to make all the acres pay their way, with something over for the far mer's purse, is to be in the middle of the roa.l that leads to goal of success. Mainz has decided to celebrate the birth of Guttenberg on Midsummer ' Day, 1900, in order not to interfere with Leipzig's celebration of the same event in 1899. As the exact year of the inventor of printing's birth is not known, the difference of a year or two in the observation of the 500 th anni versary will not shock historical ac curacy. The co-operative movement has reached such proportions in Scotland that Dundee butchers have pledged "ourselves to support only those live- | stock salesmen, dead-meat salesmen, } auctioneers, dealers and others who refuse to have any dealings, directly or indirectly, with eo-operative soci- 1 eties, and not support auy person who deals with such society in any way, or who deals with any retail butcher who I declines to sign and support this reso lution." The attention of Parliament has been called to the boycott. The librarian of the public library at Kaus.-ts City, Mo., savs that for a year there has been a greater call for works on Alaska than for books on any other country or section of the globe. She 1 has supplied the library, sbe says,with everything trustworthy she could pro cure on the country during this time, wondering all the while what had aroused so much interest in that conn- : try in Kansas City. Readers, she j says, have studied writings on the habits of the people in Alaska,read the j Government reports on the Territory, j and given especial attention to routes j to the Yukon country. Says the New Orleans Times-Demo crat: One of the lacks of the age is i pleasant fiction. Vapid fiction we have in large quantities, hut there are few novels which are at the same time > pictures of life aud pleasant ones. A I book to-day is seldom called "strong" or "important'' unless its tone is j gloomy, even despairing. Hopeless ness, in most of these cases, does not I seem to arise from experience or con vietiou, but gives the impression of being only a popular literary pose. The idea is abroad that a work of fic tion ought to be a bitter and painful dose, and that it would not be fulfill ing its purpose if it proved "an ano dyne" to anyone who wished to forget his suffering. The Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph is authority for the statement that comparatively few people have any idea of the importance of the bitumin ous coal industry in the United States. Says this newspaper informant: "Since 1893 it lias led in point of mar ket value the mineral products of the country, the value of the output for the calendar year 1896, according to the report of the geological survey, being nearly $115,000,000. For sev eral years prior to 1893 pig iron was the most valuable mineral product, the total for 1592 being $131,000,000, while the value of bituminous coal for the same year was $125,000,000. Since 1887 there has been a steady decline iu the price of coal, while the output lias steadily increased. The 137.640,- 000 short tons produced in 1896 sold for less money than the 118,000,000 tons produced in 1891. Pennsylvania leads all the States in the Union in the production, its output for last year having been 49,100,000 tons, valued at $35,000,000; but tbis was a million tons less than for the preceding year. West Virginia apparently supplanting the product of this State, the produc tion of our neighbor increasing 1,500,- 000 tons, and aggregating nearly 13,- 000.000 tons, valued at $8,336,000." MOWING. Into the. fields both voting and old With gav hearts went: The pleasant fields, nil green and gold, All flowers and scent. And first among them old mnn Mack. With his two grandsons, Harry anil Jack- Two eager boys whose feet kept time In restless fashion to this rhyme; Sharpen the scythe and bend the back, Swing the arm for an even track; Through daisy bloom and nodding grass Straight and clean must the? mower pass There are tasks that boys must learn, not found In any book- Tasks on the harvest and haying ground, By wood nnd brook. When I was young but few could bring Into the field a cleaner swing; | NOT TO BE DONE. I HE "pain- Jjlfc mine, John gap tie t e o t i ve, Scotland %\> "OLS , YARD ' TT N D C/O •jLfflf' now it came i--"® about was just tbis way: For a long time I bad been on the track of a gang of coiuers which in my professional pride I had vowed to capture. More than once I hail pounced down upon them in their haunts, and all vanished like magic and I being unable to produce proofs, the chief whom I desired most to con vict fairly laughed at me and my efforts. This naturally gave me considerable annoyauce, and with some heat I ejac ulated: "You've escaped me this time, Jim Bradley, but I'm not John Spind ler if you do the next!" "When you catch me, hold me!" he grinned. "How dare you malign an innocent man?" "Innocent! then the evil one is not so black as he is painted," I retorted. Well, it was nearly nine months before I again ran down Jim and his gang; then I detected them in a low, wretched street near the city road. The house they used was kept by an old Irshwoman. Having watched the house till I was sure of my game. I weut to Scot laud Yard, saw the chief, reported my news, got some men, and on one dark, gusty winter's night made a swoop upon them. Leaving the police I had brought at a little distance, I knocked at the iloor. Getting 110 answer, 1 stepped hack and looked up at the house. It was dark as pitch, save a faint glimmer iu the first-floor window. As I returned I felt certain I saw the bliud of the lower room move. Trust ing, if I was being inspected, that the darkness had concealed my identity, I repeated my summons, when, after a long delay, the door was opened hv the old landlady, bearing a flaming tallow candle. "Did you knock afore?" she said, peering feebly at me. "Sure, I'm just as deaf as a post, yer honor, nnd don't hear a bit. Who do you want?" "One of your respectable lodgers, Mrs. O'Brien,' I answered, entering the passage and 'putting my foot so as to prevent the door closing. "Thanks, old lady, I won't trouble you fur ther." Giving a preconcerted whistle, my men came rapidly forward. "Oh, the perleese! oh, holy St. Patrick! have mercy upon a lone widder woman! Oh, good jintlemen, what's the matter, sure?" shrieked the hag. Paying no heed to these ejaculations, I placed one policeman ob guard, anil with the others sprang up-stuirs. Beaching the landing I found all dark, save a faint glimmer which is sued from under the door in front of us. I tried the handle. It was locked. "We have canght him this time!" I whispered exultingly, for I had caught the sound of Jim Bradley's voice. "I have examined the house well, and there is 110 means of egress either by the roofs or the windows. They are trapped. Open, in the Queen's name!" I exclaimed aloud. "Hullo, is that you. my dear Spind ler?" cried .Tim from within. "Happy to see you. I'm sure! Remember what I said: 'Hold mewhen yon catch me,' old boy! The thing is to trap your bird!" J "1 will take care of that, Mr. .Tim." I rejoined. "Open, or we shall breuk in the door!" "Oh, plaze, jintlemen—dear, good jintlemen, for the love of the saints, don't make a noise. There's a poor sowl jist partin' this life up-stairs, au' his dear young [widdv's a'most dis tracted. Sorru a one of ye jintlemen hev any pity. Don't terrify the col leen nor the partin' sowl who, sure, ' has trouble enough." "Silence, you old crone!" I ex claimed, "and fetch a light, or I'll have you arrested as au accomplice." With a regular howl of disappoint ment she hobbled away, declaring she'd do anything for us, imploring pity for a poor, lone woman and eom , passion for the partin' sowl up-stairs. We didn't wait for her return. Aware 110 one could pass us on the stairs, and believing Jim might be trying to de stroy the moulds, we put our shoul ders against the door and drove the look from the box. I had prepared for the light to he extinguished and a rush made. I was disappointed. Jin sat com posedly at the table with another man, playing cards. "Hullo! you don't stand 011 cere mony, John, my friend, he remarked, laughing. "I thought every rnnu's house was his castle." "So it is, Jim, until he makes it a shield for law-breaking," I answered. But you mirst take my place to-day. Cut the grass, and scatter fho hay. So sharpen t ha soy the and bent) the back, Swing the arm for as even track; Through daitjy blooms and nodding grass Straight and ciouu must the mower paso. Straight and clean is the only way— You'll find that out— In other things than cutting hnv, I make no doubt. So h sure through the nodding grass Straight and clean with your ecythe to pass; It> is far better than any play To mow the grass and "to toss the hay. 80 sharpen t in- scythe and bend the back. Swing the arm for an oven track; Through daisy blooms and nodding grass Straight and clean must the mowr pass. —Detroit Free Press. "Prove your words, my man." "I intend to, I hope; so you will just consider yourself my prisoner while I search." "Plense yourself, and take the con sequences," he replied, and carelessly went 011 with his game. Putting my men 011 guard, I began to examine the apartments. I sounded the walls, groped up the chimneys, tried the flooring. No, not a sign; while Jim Bradley's utter indifference, I own, perplexed me. "Done again!" I muttered, when I heard a heavy step in the room above. "Who's that upstairs?" I asked. "You should know yourself by this time, answered Jim. "lean oniy say that confounded Irish bag is always screechin' as a chap's a-dyiug, which ain t much concern of mine, as long as be keep bisself to hisself, and don't gronn too loud, Igb, low. game,with out even the Jack, Phil," he nilileil, to his companion, putting down his cards. The sick man's a ruse, perhaps, thought I. "Come, lads," I said aloud, "we'll go up!" Regardless of the old woman's en treaties not. to disturb the poor "dyiu' sowl," we mounted. The back attic was as bare as bare could be. When I was about to cuter the other, the door opened, nnd a grave-looking,respeetablly dressed man crossed the threshold. "Hush," he said, iu a low tone. "May I asked the meaning of this dis turbance? It is most unseemly and out of place! The poor fellow in here has but a few moments to live. His uufortnuate young wife is distracted." I looked keenly at him. "If it isu t an impertinent question, sir," I asked, "pray who may you be?" ' 'Who am I?" he smiled. "I am Doctor Alexander, of ,Tude street, close by. Now, iu my turn, who are you?" I instantly acquainted him with my business. He looked serious and in terested. "Humph!" he said, drawing me a little nsiile; "I have only visited this place once or twice, but I own I have had my doubts of its respectability. We medical men see strange scenes. Still I don't fancy the poor w oman and her husband have bad any connivance with the people below, lie is a brick layer. Though, of course, in such matters, you are the best judge. Such persons are capable of all manner of tricks. Tt is, of course, your duty to make certain. Only, in case you are wrong, be gentle with the wretched wife and mother. Come in." We entered. The room was almost devoid of furniture, and barely sup plied with the commonest necessaries of existence. At one side was a'miserable mattress laid on the floor, and stretched on it was the dying man. Kneeling by him, her bead bowed down to bis, her black hair streaming over the tattered patchwork covering, was the young wife weeping bitterly, as she pressed her baby to her bosom. I'm not hard-hearted,and the sight took me back, especially the counte nance of the husband, upon which the hue of death had already settled. I was -following the doctor, when, abruptly, he leaned forward, then, drawing back, placed his hand on mv arm. "I thought as much," he whispered; "all is over!" The words were searcely audible, yet they reached the wife's ears. I shall never forget the scream she gave. Starting up on her knees, she gazed wildly in the face of the dead, then shrieked, turning appealingly to the doctor. "Oh, 110 no; not (lead! Don't tell me that! Not dead! Oh, Tom. Tom —dear Tom; speak to me—-speak to Lizzie!" Then casting herself on the body, she went off into violent hysterics. "Poor thing," said tlie doctor, raising her. "Pray, my good fellow, take her to a chair while I close the poor man's eyes." That done, he rejoined me. "Vuu want to search the room," he : said. "It's a pity that this should have happened at such a time, but duty is duty. Pray do yours quietly before this poor woman recovers. ! Her trouble is enough without any I addition." Duty was duty, yet I felt like a ■ hard-hearted, mean-spirited cur as I i performed mine, and professed to have lacked my usual acuteness, for more than once the disciple of Galen aided me in my suggestions. Nothing, however, came of it. I could not find a trace. "Yet, ' I saiil, "I'd take my oath the dies are in this house, and it's one hundred pounds iu my pocket if I s find them." "Then I most decidedly should try," a said the doctor. "That sum is not to . be got every day." "No, and I'll keep a ■watch in this house till I've found them." "In this room?" he asked. "No. I ain't quite made of stone," I rejoined, a bit hurt. "But I shall inspect all who go out or come in." "Quite right, and I wish you suc cess, for there's no telling the suffer ings these coiners occasion." We then descended and the doctor left, after telling the old Irishwoman he would call as he want home on the parish undertaker and give the neces sary orders for the luneral. Well, I needn't lengthen out my story. I rented the parlor (by compulsion) of the landlady and established a watch night and day upon who and what went out and entered the house. Jim Bradley came and went, ol course, unmolested, and chaffed me considerably when we met, while with out the slightest demur he let me visit his room whenever I pleased. What did it mean? I also made a call now and then on the widow. Poor thing, she was always crying and so meek and full of grief as she moved about the room where her cof fined husband was, for she wouldn't leave it, that the sight was pitiable. The medical attendant dropped in once to inquire how I got on, and shook his head on hearing of my want of success. "I fear if the dies are really here," he said, "the fellow you call Bradley is too deep for you." "Not if I kuow it," I said. "I have applied at headquarters for permission to make a better search, and I'll take up the flooring." "I fancy that's the most likely place. What is that?" he asked. "Only the undertaker's men." I said, putting the door open. "It's the poor fellow's funeral to-day." "Indeed! Ah, they hasten these matters with the poor." Just at the moment the wretched coffin and its bearers passed along the passage, followed by the weeping widow leaning on the old Irishwoman. They were the sole mourners. The doctor respectfully removed his hat, and we looked in silence until it had gone by. "Poor—poor thing!" my companion remarked, with a sigh; then, giving me his card, and asking me to call if I proved successful, he went away. Well, the hours crept by, aud tlio silence of the house began to surprise me. Bradley had gone out early, and hadn't been home since. My assistaut came in about eight, but neither the widow nor the landlady returned. I waited aud waited. Eleven o'clock struck. I began to get suspicious. Had I been done? I turned hot aud cold; then seizing the candle, darted upstairs. Bradley's room was as usual; but the attic—the sight of it made me feel ready to drop. "Done—cleverly done!" I cried, waving my caudle around. Yes; bitter the humiliation—l had been duped! 1 had beeu the victim of sensibility and a clever trick! There was the mattress, ripped up; aud there, where the coffiu had stood, was a hole iu the floor, where the plank had been removed. That had beeu the place of concealment, But where were the dies? Where— why in the coffin, of which, no doubt, the dead man had been cue of the bearers. "Nonsense!" I ejaculated. "The man must have been dead! It isn't likely he could deceive (the doctor—a kind-hearted fellow, but a keen one; I'll go to him!" Leaving my assistant in charge, I hastened to Jude street, with his card in my hand. The red "danger signal" indicated the house, and, knocking, I asked to see the doctor. The servant, showing me into the surgery, went in to summon him. In a few moments he appeared—that ! is, a gentleman appeared; a gentleman of about sixty, with silver gray hair. "I beg your pardon," I said; "it is Doctor Alexander I wish to see!" "Alexander! My name, sir, is Lind say, and I am the only professional man in this house—uay, in the street. There must be a mistake." "Impossible!" I cried. "See, sir, here is his card." "Humph!" I have never heard the name in the neighborhood," he re marked, perusing it. "Wait a mo ment—if you will allow me I will see." Taking down oue or two thick vol umes from the bookshelves, he ran over the lists under the initial A. "No," he said. "As I thought—his name is not here. I fear the title of 'doctor' must be assumed, and he is not a certified medical man." I then told my story. "Sir," remarked Dr. Lindsay, un able to suppress a smile, "I fancy you have not only been duped by a dying man, but also by his medical attendant." And so it proved. The whole had been a clever trick— from the widow to the doctor and "parish" funeral. Nevertheless, I might have remained in doubt to the last, had not my "pride of place" been so wounded that I did not rest until I had tracked Jim Brad ley again, and this time succeeded in capturing him and his gang, and among which I not only discovered the young, disconsolate widow of her dead husband, but the doctor, the greatest rogue of the lot, as it was he who, under his gentlemanly appear ance, circulated the spurious coin. To my satisfaction, I saw them all sent oft' for a considerable term in Portland, with small chance of a ticket-of-leave. I was not, after all, to be done. A note of the Bank of England, twisted into a kind of rope, can sus pend as much as 329 pounds upon one end and not be iniured. Care of the I>airy Calf. Select the most promising heifer calves for raising at any time of year. It will require a little better man agement for the best success in cold weather than in warm, but the conditions in either case should be made as favorable as possible. The calves should be kept dry, warm and comfortable at all seasons of the year. This is very important where the best results are expected. As usually, after a few days or weeks old, skimmed milk is made use of, it will be found profitable to feed this until several months old—six or more. It should be fed at the temperature it comes from the cow and not in too large quantities at first. A little gruel made from wheat middlings or oil meal ad-; ded to the milk will help make up for the fat removed. After the calf gets old enough to eat ground oats, or oats and brnn, the gruel can be omitted, as tbey should do equally well on the other; and it will require less labor. After the first few weeks they will eat a little hay, and care should he taken to have a supply of fine early cut for the purpose.—E. R. Towle, iu Massa chusetts Ploughman. Care or Poultry. At this season of the year the best method for caring for poultry is to give them the greatest liberty aud encour age them to make the best use of it by giving them but little grain food of any kind, and especially by not feeding them corn at all. Treated in this way they will spend the livelong day hunt ing for insects nnd seeds of all kinds, and will thus keep healthy, active, and in the case of laying hens, producers of eggs. Throw open the henhouses aud give plenty of ventilation, and thus encourage the fowls to continue to roost in them and not in the trees, from which they will only have to be broken later. Young chickens will grow faster treated in this way than qooped up in small yards, though they should always have sufficient grain given them to ensure their going to roost with full crops. This, also, is |he time of year when the flocks should be culled over and the old hens and jroosters be sent to market before they commence to moult. Select from the earliest hatched chickens the best pul lets nnd roosters and mark them, so that they may be safe from being mar keted or killed until it is seen how they feather out and grow. These are to be the foundation for next year's flock, and should receive extra cave, so as to ensure the pullets being early layers in'the fall and winter months. The chickens not desirable to Keep should be pushed on and marketed as soon as possible. They will sell for as much as later, aud will cost much less to keep. By constant care and close attention to cleaning out the hen houses, the lice may be kept down. Use kerosene freely in nnd about the nests and roosts and on the chicken coops aud spread air-slacked lime iu the houses and yards. Kaitpberries. A deep loam or sandy soil should be selected. The Cutlibert, where hardy enough, is acknowledged by all to stand at the head of the list for me dium to late, where the Cutlibert win ter kills, the Brandywine and Turner should be substituted. For early the Hansell is promising. Instead of planting in the common hedge row system, would recommend setting in hills three by four feet, ground previ ously marked that distance, as for corn planting; during cultivation work both ways for the first two seasons, using a cultivator with knife to cut oil' all suckers, which is absolutely neces sary to secure a good crop of fruit. The second season after planting, about one-third of a - crop may be ex pected. The third year, after the ground is thoroughly cultivated both ways, the plants will" be large enough, so that the tops of each hill should he divided. Half the canes should be bent over in the row, overlapping those of half the next, which should be bent to meet; the tops are then tied in the centre. The hills should be tied in the direction of the wide rows, thus leaving nearly four feet clear for culti vation during the season. The advan tages of this mode are: The plants are kept from being broken down by wind storms, the fruit is kept up from the soil and more convenient for picking, also leaving the centre of the hill open, so that the new growth will not be shaded, thus securing a more stocky and better growth for bearing the following season, reducing the ex pense of cultivation, as hardly any hoeing will be required. The old bearing canes should be cut short soon after bearing, which will allow the ground being cultivated both ways again.—Atlanta Journal. The Bartlett Pear. The slightly musky taste peculiar i to the Bartlett pear is objected to by delicate connoisseurs, whose taste has been cultivated by acquaintance with varieties that possess less decided character. Yet to the great majority of tastes the Bartlett is agreeable, and there are many acquainted with all j varieties who pronounce it equal to the best. It is the largest early pear, and though it has not the delicate, ! spicy flavor of the Rostiezer pear, i which ripens in August, it is in its ! way quite as good. Probably there is j no fruit that, put into the hands of the very young, will be so universally liked as this. It is good for them also. Many youg children are every year sacrificed, through fear that fruits will develop bowel complaints. | People know that fruits ore generally laxative. But they are not unnatur- . ally so. It is far better to use fruits treely. and thus keep the bowels laxa tive, than to refrain from fruits until constipation begins, and then use cathartic pills as a remedy. These have their, place, but it is not nearly 1 so large or important a place as if fruits were used more freely by every body, and the laxative condition of the bowels were thus always main tained. Naturally the Bartlett pear has a short season. But its popularity as a fruit leads to its extension at both ends. It is one of tile many kinds of pears that overbear, but, unlike most , others, the immature fruit, if picked , and kept in a dark place, between flannels, will ripen up and have the distinctive Bartlett flavor. It will also ripen while the fruit on the tree i* growing. Owing to the habit of the Bartlett of overbearing, most of the , fruit is not so large as it should be. | By beginning early and thinning out I the fruit when not grown more than half its natural size, the latest ripen- i ing Bartletts will he nearly or quite as large as a man's fist. These large , pears, grown by thinning until very few are left on the tree, will sell at fancy prices. They are superior in quality to the extra large California j pears which only look like Bartletts, but are comparatively dry and not i nearly so good as Bartletts -grown in the Eastern States. The pears grown in New England, and especially in the region around Boston, have long had the reputation of being richer and more juicy thau the same varieties are farther West. We believe this reputation is deserved, ! and that it is due to the moist breezes that blow from the Atlantic. A good many of these pears are kept in cold storage until the holidays, when they, especially the Bartletts, bring very high prices. Because this variety is uni- : versally known and liked there is a bet ter market for it than -any other, aifil there is no evidence that its popular ity is likely to decline.—American Cultivator. The Cause* of Corns and Bunions. The feet are surely pliant members when they can endure the variformed shoes that from time to time compel them into new habits with each new pair put on; yet they rarely rebel or give trouble unless barbarously ue- ; glected. Corns and bunions are more often the result of wearing old shoes j than in a wrong selection of new ones. ; A constant change of footgear inures the foot to variety, and even those who confine themselves wholly to the ready made article need suffer no ill effects if they will keep their shoe supply as carefully replenished as is the rest of the wardrobe. It is one of the most fallacious of prac- j tices to attempt to economize by wearing old shoes about the house, unless they possess all their buttons, have straight heelß and soles, and are daily brushed and aired, as are their newer fellows. Only in this way may the ankles be continually braced into straightness and the toes allowed to move gently in an almost straight direction. When the foot is thrown out of balance by worn-down heels, the toes, attempting to retail] a level position, perform pre hensile feats which resemble the ac tion of the forebears some scientists have ascribed to us. Moreover, the combined heat and moisturo of the normal foot hardens the leather of the continuously worn shoe into perma nent creases, which in turn render the foot extremely sensitive, and a strug gling against its hard environment en larges the joints-and causes local dis tress.—Harper's Bazar. Simplicity Brini;* I.ife's Best measure*. "For poor ami rich alike the highest pleasure ami utility in life will come from simplifying it," writes "DrocU" of "Vacation Meamlerings" in the Lailies' Home Journal. "Thecontent ment that can only be had from nerves that are not overstrained is to be found by reducing your daily life to the simplest terms. This applies with equal force to the hard-working man or woman with small income, or to the rich who are- oumbered with many cares. Poverty has been made just as complex as riches by the many things that ill-advised teachers have taught poverty to expect that it ought to accomplish. What both must learn, for the best results in their own lives, is not how little can be had for a great deal of money, but how much of real and permanent value can be secured for a little money. That is the high est economy and it cannot be taught— it must be learned by experience, and you cannot begin it at n. better time than when seeking a vacation." Prince Charlie'. Wiilklnc Slick. Queen Victoria has paid SBOO for the walking stick Prince Charlie forgot by his bedside at Culloden Castle when he went out to fight the battle. It has a handle with two heads carved on it representing Folly and Wisdom. The bed on which the last of the Stuarts slept for three nights brought $3750, and a lieutenant's commission for a Macintosh, signed and sealed by the Prince, s47s.— New YorkfJjiju HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS. Mrs. Borer's Tomato Ketchup. Mrs. S. T. Borer, the famous cook ing expert, gives this, her favorite, re ceipt for making tomato ketchup in the Ladies' Home Journal: "Use half a bushel of sound tomatoes. Wash and cut them into pieces. Cook gently for half an hour, then press through a sieve. Cook again for one hour; then add one ounce of ground ginger, one ounce of mustard, one gill of salt, half a pound of sugar, and one quart of vinegar. Cook to the proper consis tency; add five drops of oil of nutmeg, and the same of celery, or a table spoonful of celery seed. Bottle, cork and seal." Canning Blackberries ami Raspberries. Select firm raspberries, and put them into a colander, which sink gradu ally into a pan of cold water. Left and drain. Arrange neatly in the cold jars, then fill with cold water, adjust the rubbers and place the lids carelessly on top. Do not fasten them. Place a little hay, straw or excelsior in the bottom of an ordinary wash-boiler, on which stand the jars. Pour into the boiler sufficient, cold water to come nearly to the neck of the jars, cover the boiler and bring slowly to boiling point. As soon as the water reaches boiling point lift eacli jar carefully and screw on the top. Stand out of the draught to slowly cool. Strawberries and blackberries may he eanned after this rule.—Mrs. S. T. Borer, in Ladies* Home Journal. Excellent Cucumber Fickle. Make a ten-gallon keg of strong brine on which an egg will float. Put the cucumbers in a bag made of a yard of sleezy white cotton, tie up its mouth with a string and place a clean stone on it to keep it in place under the brine, and every cucumber is safe and sound until you wish to pickle them. When that time comes, which should not be for six weeks, soak them in fresh water for twenty-four hours. Then put them in a preserv ing kettle with enough vinegar to cover them. Set them on the stove and boil gently until a straw can easily pierce them. Have ready a jar that will hold them. Remove from the kettle and throw the vinegar away. Put into the kettle nearly twice as much vinegar as they were boiled in and set on the stove to boil. Now weigh the cucumbers, and allow a quarter of a pound of sugar to every pound of cucumbers. In every ten pounds of pickle allow three onions and half an ounce of mace, cloves, alspice, ginger and two three-inch sticks of cinnamon, a quarter of an ounce each of tumeric, black pepper and mixed mustard, one ounce of white mustard seed and one ounce of scraped horse radish. Slice the onions, crack the spices, mix the mustard arid tumeric together into a smooth paste. Put all of the sugar and half of the spices into the vinegar that is in the kettle; sprinkle the rest of the spice with the other ingredients iu alternate layers between the cu cumbers as you put them in the jar. When the vinegar has been boiling just ten minutes stir into it the mixed mustard and tumeric and remove it instantly from the tire and pour over the puckles. Cover it up closely and set it away. In a few days it will be ready for use. The traveler was not far wrong Avhen he pronouueed it "glorious pickle."—Chicago Record. Household Hint*. Vegetables growing above the ground should be cooked in salted water, those below, in fresh water. Colors which have been changed by the application of acids may be re stored by the application of chloro form. When cooking onions, set a tin cup of vinegar on the stove and let boil, and no disagreeable odor will be in the room. Fruit stains, when fresh, may be removed by pouring water through the stained portion until the spot dis appears. Ink that is freely spilt upon a carpet should be covered with common or coarse salt or Indian meal. % If all the stain is not absorbed rub with lemon juice. Grass stains should be rubbed with molasses thoroughly and then washed out as usual. Another treatment is to rub with alcohol and then wash in water. Our fruit stains may be removed wita oxalic acid; wash the stained por tion iu the acid till clear; rinße at once in rain water] as the acid will at tack the fabric if left upon it. Now wet the spot in ammonia and give a final rinsing. When potatoes are thoroughly baked, burst the skin, and you will have de licious, mealy potatoes that will be eatable for an hour or more if kept in a warm place. If you are not in the habit of doing this, you do not know what an excellent thing a baked pota to really is. Rust and ink stains should be rubbed with juice of lemon and the spot then covered with salt and the cloth placed in the sun. If this treat ment does not serve to remove the stain, or if the fabric is colored and so cannot be treated with lemon juice, oxalic acid may be used as for old fruit stains. Tea, coffee and undoubtedly cocoa stains, even those which had been pre viously washed, may be rubbed in javelle water, if the fabric stained be white, otherwise the color will be bleached. Take a half-pint of the ja velle water to a quart of clear water and let the stained portion of the cloth soak in it for several hours, then rinse thoroughly in three waters. Chicago's rich people returned to the assessors of last year S2OOO worth of diamonds and $74 worth of silver . tablework- - -