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- - -