Another "new vocation" for women
has been started by a New York
widow, who proposes to make a busi
ness of furnishing bachelor apart
ments. But is any business to be en
couraged which will make things
easier for bachelors? asks the Louis
ville Courier-Journal. Is not the
only furniture with which a widow
ihould furnish bachelor's apartments a
widow?
No matter what other countries may
think of women as sea captains, Eng
land does not favor them, officially at
least. Recently Lady Ernestine
Brudenell-Bruce made an application
to the Board of Trade for a certificate
giving her the privilege to sail her
own yacht as master, hut the Board
refused it on the ground that "no
application for such a certificate had
ever been received from a lady."
A statement is going about that one
fn every ten of the people of Hawaii
have the leprosy. "This is an exag
geration," says the San Francisco
Chronicle. "The ratio is about one in
one hundred, and the disease is chiefly
confined to the natives, who do not
avoid the plague where such a course
would interfere with their family or
social relations. Tt is rarely that a
white man succumbs to leprosy, and
one may live in Honolulu for years
without seeing a case of it."
London has about 700 firemen,
while New York has about 1,300 in
actual service of all grades. LondoD
pays its firemen $516 a year, while
New York pays SI,OOO, $1,200 and
$l,lOO a year, according to the length
of service, while the officers receive
salaries in proportion. Tho total ex
penditure for maintenance aud outlay
of all kinds for the London fire de
partment in the year ending March
80, 1898, was $750,000. This also in
eludes what was disbursed for pensions.
The cost of maintenance of the New
York fire department for about the
same period was $2,305,015, without
the payments which were made foi
pensions.
The municipal authorities of Paris
are just now engaged in the suppres
sion of an altogether novel form of
food adulteration which is assuming
phenomenal proportions, says the New
York Tribune. Real oysters are ex
pensive in Paris, and so, with tlio ob
ject of suiting slender purses, artificial
oysters on the half shell have been in
vented, which are sold at twenty cents
a dozen, and they are so cleverly made
and look so nice and fresh that, once
lemon juice or vinegar has been added,
they cannot be distinguished from the
real article, especially when white
wine is taken in connection therewith*
The only genuine thing about these
oysters is tho shell, the manufacturers
buying second-hand shells at a small
cost, and fastening the spurious oystci
in place with a tasteless paste. The
municipal laboratory has not yet pro
claimed the ingredients of which these
bogus oysters tire composec, buff has
announced that they are of a harmful
character.
What field of research is too insig
nificant for the enterprising statisti
oian to explore? This question is
suggested to tlio Atlanta Constitution
by the almost infinite array of figures
which some clever genius in this lino
lias marshaled out, showing the uni
versal popularity of the inconspicu
ous lieu egg. As tho statistician iu
question is a German, the figures
which he cites apply to that empire
alone, but from tho light which they
throw upon tlio subject generally,
some idea may be obtained as to the
hen egg's popularity in other coun
tries. Basing his calculations upon
the showing for 1890 the statistician
figures out that 50,000,000 hens in
Germany during that year laid not
less than 3,500,000,000 eggs, but that
even this -enormous quantity was not
sufficient to supply the national de
mand. Imports for that year, in ad
dition to the home product, aggre
gated 720,000,000 eggs, purchased
from Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy
and Holland. Most countries are for
tunate enough to produce lieu eggs in
sufficient abundance to fully satisfy
their home demands, and why Ger
many has never been able to do this
is something which cannot be readily
explained. Importation is not calcu
lated to improve the character of such
products, and the fact that Germany
is obliged to import them must be ac
cepted as conclusive proof that she
lias exhausted every ellbrt to satisfy
her demand in the home market. On
the basis of what Germany consumes
annually, the statistician from whom
we quote reasons that the world's con
sumption of hen eggs must closely
approximate the prodigious aggrega
tion of GQ0,900,000,000 eggs annually!
1 NICARAGUA CANAL. |
g si
SI DESCRIPTION OF A GIGANTIC PROJECT. ?•?
The final fate of the Nicaragua
Canal project will shortly be decided,
says the New York Herald. The
United States gunboat Newport has
Bailed away with a commission of en
gineers appointed by the Government,
and their report as to the feasibility
of the watterway between the Atlantic
and Pacific will determine whether or
not the United States shall control
this great but still embryonic enter- j
prise.
Records show that it became a seri-1
MANAGUA (NICARAGUA) STREET SCENE.
ous matter iu the last century, but no
definite plan of action was ever adopted
until a few years ago, when work on
the route was actually begun.
But this canal through the isthmus
is not a thing which can be accom
plished readily, and there is some di
vergence of opinion in regard to the
best placo on the isthmus through
which to cut it. The French have
been working through the narrower
strip near Panama, but so far there is
no immediate promise of success in
the undertaking.
jfiifM^
STONE IDOL, RUINS OF QURIGUA.
The American company has chosen
the longer, though apparently less
difficult, route through the State of
Nicaragua. On this line tho natural
water courses will bo used extensively,
and it is supposed by many to be, con
sequently, a more practical undertak
ing than the one through the higher
bills near Panama.
At the eastern entrauce of the ca
nal is the settlement of Greytown.
After proper dredging and lights have
made the harbor navigable a ship ap- '
from the eastward will not j
NICARAGUA * i\\ \
v to VU r. \ z WfA /
COSTA RICA " -
KOUr® OP THE PROPO3ED CANAL.
find the navigation difficult. At the
present time, however, the shoal
water and the low country, partly
hidden in the almost continual rain,
hake the approach rather dangerous.
Dn entering the ship will proceed
)long an almost straight cut until the
Ochoa district is reached. Here an
enormous dam cross the natural bed
HEADLAND AT BRITO, PACIFIC OUTLET
TO CANAL.
of the San Juan River marks the first
point where remarkable skill in engi
neering will be displayed. The ship
will be turned into the natural bed of
this large stream, and will proceed
slowly through the jungle country
until locked up to the level of Lake
Nicaragua. This will be about 110
feet above the mean low water level
in the Caribbean Sea, and is called
mean lake level. On entering Lake
Nicaragua the channel across the
lake runs straight toward the point on
the opposite shore where the cut to
the Pacific begins. The lake is less
than fifty miles wide at its broadest
point and is deep enough at a distance
of half a mile from the shore to float
the largest ship. Here the sailor will
have a breathing spell after his cruise
overland, and after being locked down
to the quiet waters of the Pacific, the
vessel will be free to proceed to her
destination with a full realization of
how well the quiet ocean deserves its
name.
The commission appointed by the
President to go over the proposed route
during the winter of 1897-8 is to de
cide certain questions in regard to the
cost and feasibility of the project, as
suggested by the canal company. It
is composed of three of the ablest men
in the United States for deciding these
matters, and is supported by a num
ber of naval officers, civil engineers
and assistants. Two men-of-war will
aid the expedition and will assist in
the hydrographic work in the harbors
on the east and west coasts. The
shore parties will have to go over many
of the old lines, and, as the jungle has
long closod these, they will have to
cut their way through, as before, with
the machete.
The Commissioners will return to
the United States in the spring, and,
ENTRANCE TO CANATj, GREYTOWN.
as their report will probably be final
as to the interest the Government will
take in the project, the civilized world
will await them with some impatience
to know if the greatest of Republics
will decide to control the gateway to
the Pacific.
Leaves as Good as Fruit.
A French druggist, named .Tasque
min, has conceived the idea that the
flavor of fruits of shrubs and trees gen
erally is generated in the flowers of
these plants, and passes from them in
to the fruits. The fragrance which
the leaves of the blanck currant bush
give off, especially after a little rub
bing, and which is so very similar to
the to the tasto of the berry, has led
this man to adopt this opinion. He
goes further, and says that the pleas
ant taste of the apple, pear or grape is
' prepared in the leaves of the respec
j tive plants, aithoug ho admits that it
is hardly noticeable with these, and
by far not iii the same degree as with
the black currant. Jasqueinin places
apple leaves in water coutaiuing from
fifteen percent of sugar; then he adds
yeast. During the process of fermen
tation there is an odor of apples, and
when the fermentation is finished and
the yeast has settled, a straw yellow
l liquid is obtained which possesses the
l hue "bouquet" of the fruit of the re
spective trees from which the leaves
; were obtained. With vine leaves the
results are stiil more prolific. A.
! beverage tasting and smelling strongly
of wine is obtained, and finally brandy
may be distilled from it which is equal
to the best cognac.
Ingenious Street Lamp.
Street lamps can l>e mounted on a
new telescopic post to make them
easy to reach for trimming and filling,
a setscrew engaging the central shaft
to hold it in a position with pulleys
and weights set in the post to counter
balance the lamp.
(■
A PROVISION KING.
Philip I>. Armour, the Chicago Pork
l'ucker, Regan With Little Capital.
Philip D. Armour, of Chicago, says
the Times-Herahl, of that city, un
questionably deserves a niche beside
the greatest of the historic captains of
American industry. As a speculator
he has been most successful in the in
vestment of his capital in productive
concerns that have been of widespread
service to society. He has handled,
produced, stored and distributed food
stuffs to all America and all Europe,
and he has been liberally remuner
ated for his work, because lie has been
and is now a rich man.
Like many of his kind, Mr. Armour
began the struggle of life with nothing
in the way of capital. The first capi
tal he got he dug out of the ground in
the form of gold from the placers of
California. His first venture in indus
try was as a pork packer in Milwau
kee. The war wave came along and
carried him in a very short time to
the possession of great wealth. The
PHILIP D. ARMOUR.
foresight that has ever characterized
him led him to Chicago and he then
began to build up the great business
of which he is master to-day. % He has
bought aud sold various properties.
As director and owner of producing
industries he has been most; success
ful. As a mere trader—a buyer and
seller—ho has rare pluck and sagacity,
and he has added to his store very
largely by this means.
Mr. Armour makes no display of
wealth. He dresses simply, lives in
a plain house, is interested in educa
tion. and has away of wiping out the
debts of small churches of all creeds
that amazes the impecunious congre
gations thereof.
Consul Versus Captain.
While Sir Richard Burton was Con
sul on the west coast of Africa the
merchants were put to inconvenience
by the captains of the ships discharg
ing their cargoes aud steaming off
again without their correspondence.
They appealed for help to the new
Consul. Burton examined the con
tracts aud found that the "captain of
a ship must stop at a port eighteen
hours' daylight for that purpose."
When the next ship came in the cap
tain looked into the Consul's office
and said: "Hurry up with my papers,
X want to be off!"
"You cannot go, I have not finishecl
ray letters," returned Burton, and re
ferred him to the contract. The cap
tain repeated his intention of leaving
the port immediately.
"Very well,"returned Burton. "I'm
going up to the Governor's, and shall
shot two guns. If you go out one min
ute before your eighteen hours' day
light expires I shall send the first
gun right across your bows, and the
second slap into you. Good morn
ing."
The captain did not go out till half
an hour after his eighteen hours' day
light had elapsed, and as long as Bur
ton was there all the captains were
equally careful.—Weekly Telegraph.
Saving: a Sixpence.
Patrick, a thrifty tradesman in the
neighborhood of the Dublin docks,
was, as the story goes, a man who
never spent a penny more than he
needed to spend; but ho was, never
theless, as good a man at the making
of an Irish bull as any that lived
between Bantry and Ballycastle.
Having one day occasion to send a
letter to Glasnevin, Patrick called n
messenger and asked bim his in'ice for
going such a distance.
"It'll bo a shillin'," said the man.
"Twoice too much!" said Patrick.
"Let ut be sixjDence."
"Nivver," auswered the messenger.
"The way is that lonely that I'd nivver
go it under a shillin'."
"Lonely, is it?" said Patrick,
scratching his head. "Naith, an'
ye'ro roight. Now, man, I'll tell ye
what we'll do;- make it sixpence, an'
I'll go wid yo to kape ye company!"—
Youth's Companion.
A Tcu-Uile Tunnel.
A tunnel ten miles long, wliicli will
be the longest in Englanil, is to be
cut through Shap Fells by the Lon
don anil Northwestern Railroad, in
order to shorten the west coast route
to Scotland.
There lives in Devonshire, England,
n man seventy years old, whose fath
er, ninety years old/and grandfather,
oiie hundred and ten years old, are
still living.
Remarkable Feat of a Kanaka Swimmer
There is a native living in Nawili
will, district of Lihue, on the Isla nd
of Kauai, whom every one knows as
Johnny, but whose family name is
Kualakai. This latter name he li as
had tattooed on his arm, together with
the picture of a deceased sweetheart-
In appearance he is a typical native,
muscular, with the appearance of an
athlete.
Johnny is a remarkable good swim
mer, and, it is said, was at one time
very much addicted to the habit of
stealing ducks. His method was very
simple. He would hide in the bul
rushes along the eivgo of the duck
ponds and would, from time to time 4
dive out where the ducks happened to
be, snatch one or two from the sur
face, push them into a bag, swim back
again to the rushes, there to take
breath for another sally. In this way
ho succeeded in making quite a com
fortable living. However he has
given up his crooked ways, and now
resides like e peaceably inclined citi
Zen, relying on work that is given
him from time to time.
When out on a hunting or fishing
expedition there is no hotter man on
the island of Kanai than this same
Johnny. Barefooted he will climb
all over the dangerous palls that fall
away abruptly and ena thousands of
feet below in the sea. The festive
goat itself is not more active, and
when huntiiug for this kind of gome
he is as invaluable a man to chase the
animals round to a point of vantage.
As a diver there are fow natives,
even, who can beat him. In diving
after lobsters ho has the very uncom
fortable habit of swimming a great
distance into caves that havo no open
ing above the water. Beneath the
rocks of these places ho will fee!
around, never failing to come to the
top, bringing with him something to
make glad the hearts of the house
wives.—Pacific Commercial Adver
tiser.
The Throe Sinter. Who Lisped.
There.were three sisters who lisped
very badly, and their mother, who was
solicitous about finding husbands for
them, was continually admonishing
them to hold their tongues. This is
difficult for a girl that has no impedi
ment in her speech, hut it is impossi
ble for one that stammers. One even
ing the three lispers were invited to
"a quilting" ut a neighbor's.
"Now, mind, girlß," said the anx
ious mother, "somd nice young men
are going to bo there, and you must
not say u word, or they will learn that
you lisp, and won't care to make up
to you."
They promised to be silent, nnd
went to the quilting. When they
reached the house they sat down and
quilted diligently in silence, and
nothing could induce them to take
part in the conversation. At last the
eldest wanted the scissors, and tried
to make signs to her next sister to
pass them to her, but could not at
tract her attention. Losing jiatienee,
she stammered out:
"Thither, path me the thithorth."
The other replied with indignation:
"Didn't ma thay that oo thoulda't
thny anythin'?"
This was too much for the youngest,
and sho exclaimed in a self-congratu
latory tone:
"Bleth God, I uin' thaid nothin'!"
Aii Unexpected Answer.
A boy had been up for an examina
j lion in Scripture, had failed utterly,
and the relations between him and the
examiner had become Bomewhat
strained. The latter asked him if
there were any text in the whole Bible
ho could quote. He pondered, and
then repeated: " 'And Judas went out
aud hanged|himself.'"
"Ia there any verse yon know
in the Bible?" the examiner asked.
"Yes. 'Go thou and do likewise.'"
There was a solemn pause, and the
proceedings terminated.—Figaro.
Choll.v's Brilliant Art.
Cholly Spoonbrain—"l did the most
bbilliant act of my life at the Dullards
lest night."
The Old Man—"What did you do,
light the gas?"
[Cropping Orchards.
While taking a short trip through
our County a few weeks since, I no
ticed a bearing orchard planted to
corn, and I set the owner down at
onoe as a man who did not attend our
fruit institutes or horticultural meet
ings, or he would have known better
and escaped the oonsequences. I
The corn was shaded and therefore
sickly and slender looking, and as we
had been having an extended spell of
dry weather, both corn and orchard
showed the effect. We are glad that
such instances are rare, and that the
majority of the fruit-growers of Oceana
County are intelligent men, men who
are earnestly striving to learn and
adopt all the best methods for success
ful fruit culture. Yet there are thoso
who think there is no harm in crop
ping a young orchard from one to two,
three and even four years; and often
the crop has little reference to the
good of the trees.
Our most successful fruit growers
say that after two years neither crop
nor orchard will pay. The first one
or two years the tree occupies but
little space and the 'ground may be
planted, but it is advised to plant to
potatoes, melons, squashes or some
like crop that will not shade the trees.
After three or four years the roots of
the trees occupy fully twenty feet
space and no other crop should oc
cupy tho ground. One must know
something of the roots, their manner
of growth, etc., to cultivate success
fully. Yet different soils admit of
different care.
Careful study and observations are
necessary, to be successful iu the
orchard; and once in a while a good
lesson is learned from experience.
We had ouo such lesson and that one
was enough. It was iu the early days
i of fruit growing, that, being short of
j ground to crop, oats were sown iu the
j plum orchard. The trees blossomed
i full, and until midsummer hung full
I jf plums; but an extended drouth
! coming on, the plums, many of them,
1 after a little time commenced to shrivel
lp and drop off—none of them color
ing up as uaual. In fact, the crop
was almost a complete failure, while
several of the trees died outright; but
it taught us a lesson—there have been
no oats in the orohard since.
What i 3 taken from tho soil of a
hearing orchard will just as surely be
; deducted from the profits.—Jennie
M. Wilson of Michigan.
Care of 15oes in Winter.
Tf the bees are properly placed in
winter quarters, which should be done
before winter is on, there io but little
;to do during the winter. As a matter
of fact, no meddling with bees in any
! way must be dono in cold weather,
and the only timo wo can work with
them in safety is during n warm day
when they are flying. If bees get a
good fly once a mouth tlicy nre likely
to keep in good condition, but if cold
weather continues along for weeks and
months without any let-np, tho bees
are not in any way protected.
Bees wintered out in thin hives, as
a matter of necessity, must draw
heavily on their stores to keep the re
quired amount of animal heat, and
with such in every case, they must
. have frequent flights, or dysentery re
sults, and the loss of snob colonies
follows.
Those that aro well protected can
withstand much more cold and do not
become affected thus, and are in con
-1 dition to bear much longer confine
ment. It is impossible to accomplish
anything in the way of remedies when
they become thus affected, and only
warm weather so that they can fly
freely will cure it.
All stock of every kind should be
excluded from about hives in winter,
and the hives should not sit near n
1 road-way, or near a railroad. Heavy
losses of bees have been reported
where they have been kept close to a
! railroad by the frequent jarring of the
j hives, thus arousing the bees to activi
ty, which always results in their con
suming stores heavily, and this, con
nected with long confinement on ac
count of cold weather, is sure to result
in disease.
Good, healthy stores have much to do
with wintering also, as some varieties
of honey are not as good as others.
The condition of the honey in the
hive has much to do with the iiealtli
iulnesa of the bees. A large amount
of unsealed stores is very damaging in
winter. This is truo from the fact
I 1 hat the moisture that arises from the
j bees iu cold weather contaminates the
honey in the open cells, thereby
rendering it unhealthy. Hence it is of
importance that all the honey is senled
in the combs, or at least all reserve
stores. Bees need good attention in
early spring, as they are then breeding
as rapidly as they possibly can, or that
their condition will let them, and very
frequently they become short of stores,
and a little timely feeding will save
them.—A. H. Duff.
Hint, on Dairying.
There is sometimes difficulty iu get
ting the butter to float in a mass on
the top of the butter milk, so that the
latter can be readily drawn off without
carrying the butter with it. A little
brine or a handful or two of salt
stirred into the mass is said to bo ■ a
remedy. The milk may be drawn off
through a strainer, or the butter
skimmed off from the top of the butter
milk and retura9'i to the churn-
provided the milk is drawn into a
clean vessel.
Kepeat the pouring in of cold water
to an amount sufficient to float the
butter, gently agitating the mass and
drawing off the water until it runs
clear. If one or more 'of these wash
ings is in weak brine it will dissolve
the caseous matter and thus aid in
separating it from the butter. Strong
brine hardens and fixes the caseous
matter.
After washing, let the butter stand
in the churn, without gathering, until
all the water has drained out that will,
it dropping very slowly or not at all;
then sift on the salt at the rate of one
ounce to the pound more or less, as
may be demanded by the market for
which it is intended—sifting on a lit
tle at a time and stirring it in, or in-!
corporating it with the butter by
gently rocking the churn to and fro.
It is best to uso a sieve in salting
for the purpose of keeping ont dirt,
pan scales, [lumps, etc., which most
salt contains. Use none but the best
salt made for dairy purposes. Salt
should be as carefully kept as flour—
iu a drv, sweet and clean place, away
from kerosene, fish and other rank
smelling artiolcs.
By salting butter in the granular
form all working is avoided, and the
"grain" is preserved perfectly. If tho
right kind of salt is used it dissolves at
once, covering every particle with a
saturated brine. It is only necessary
to press it together in a solid mass
either before or when packing it for
market.
Boware of salt that does not dissolve
immediately. It is liable to remain
undissolved and make the butter grit
tj, unless an extra amount of water is
left in the butter, which would be a
fraud. '
Be sure to use enough salt to satur
ate the water remaining in the butter,
even if you have to work out some of
the brine. If you do not the butter
will contain only a weak brine and
will not keep well.
If just enough water and no more
is left iu the butter to dissolve tho salt,
so that no brine is worked out, the
weight of the salt is added to the
weight of the unsalted butter.
No "brine-salting"method so called,
or other method of .salting butter,
yet inado public, is equal to the
method here described, or as econ
omical. It is practical and scientific
brine-salting. Butter may be taken
ont of the churn and salted in a howl
or on a table.—Farm, Field and Fire
side.
A Sad Story.
During a Euclid paper at a recent
examination for London University, a
presiding examiner noticed that a
young man was constantly referring
to something concealed under his
blotting paper. "Cribbing" is espe
cially common iu Euclid papers, and
in consequence examiners have the
bad habit of keeping their eyes very
wide open indeed. This particular]
examiner quickly swooped down and|
insisted on seeing the inside of the!
blotter. The young man blushed and!
stammered, but all in vain. At last,
with great reluctance, he produced the*
photograph of a very beautiful young]
lady, with large, lustrous eyes.
"This," he faltered, with crimson
cheeks, "is my affianced brido. When
ever lam inclined to despair, I have
only to look at her face and I am in
stautly inspired with fresh ardor.'"
The examiner retired abashed and
touched, with moist eyes and rosy
cheeks, but the examinee heaved A
sigh of relief, >for beneath the likeness
of a well known burlesque actress
there remained concealed a very choice
collection of Euclid's most baffling,
figures.—Toronto Empire.
Whiskers For n Pillow.
That history repeats itself has jnst
received another proof. Some years
ago the men of a Bavarian regiment,
of which Prince Maximilian was chief,
in order that they might show their
devotion to him, out off their mus
taches and sent them to the princess,
who had just become a mother, that
she might uso them as a pillow.
Something very like a repetition of
this has just taken place at Bappoist
v.eller, in Alsatia. The chief of the
fire brigade was ai few days ago pre
sented with his first child, a boy.
Tho firemen thereupon called a meet
ing, at which it was decided to make
the baby boy an honorary member of
the corps, and the men subsequently
cut off their mustaches oud beards to
form a pillow for the baby's use.—
Chicago Olironiclo.
A Poser.
When the late Mr. Bradlaugh was
once engaged in a discussion with a
dissenting minister, the former in
sisted on the latter answoring a ques
tion he had asked him by a simple
"Yes" or "No," without any more
cireumlooution, asserting that every
question could be replied to in that
manner. The reverend gentleman
rose, and in a quiet manner said:
"Mr. Bradlaugh, will you allow me to
ask you a question on thoso terms?"
"Certainly," said Bradlaugh.
"Then, may I ask have you given
up beating your wife?"
This was a poser, for if answered
by "Yes" it would imply he had
previously beaten her, and if by]"No'f
that ho continued to do so.