ivu.i .a. I.i tiieat iiiitiau
have begun to ultra t attention sucli
as they Lave not received in a long
time, sny.s Harold Frederic.
Russia is raid to have crowded Eng
land out of the tlowery kingdom; but
it is hardly j ro. able. John Bull has
planted his tic: ia that China shop,
and it will re '.lire something mure
than diploma y to remove him.
The butchers and meat dealers of
Berlin complain that $7,004,000 worth
of meats were imported into Germany
in 1896, prinei] ally from the United
States and at prices with which they
are unable to compete. They there
fore petition the government to open
the frontiers to the free importation
of animals and meats from European
countries, and to restrict by all prac
ticable means the import of meats
from Ameiicn, which is steadily in
creasing from year to year. Even in
the matter of apples the Yankees have
seized the market, and last year there
were lauded a" the single port of
Hamburg before November 18, 64,-
538 barrels. In short, American com
petition is now spoken of in Europe
us the "transatlantic danger."
Tlit, latest advices from Pekin
brought new stories illustrating the
arrogance of the Europoan govern
ments in their treatment of China.
Until recently all business with for
eign nations was transacted at the
isung-liyamen, and the members of
the diplomatic corps visited that place
almost daily whenever they had busi
ness with the government. But the
German minister compelled Weng
Tnng Ho, Chung Yen Yuen and other
members of the vameu to come to his
legation for the purpose of discussing
the demands of the kaiser's govern
ment for indemn ty for the death of
the Jesuit missionaries and other
ma'ters relating to the occupation of
Kiao-Chou. This is the first time
such humilia'ien has ever been im
posed.
Two years fig ) a Kansas colony con
sisting of about a dozen persons sold
out all their property and set forth
with the proceeds to the Holy Land,
for the purpose of rebuilding Jerusa
lem iu preparation for tho second
coming of Chri i. The fund all told
consisted of about SIO,OOO, and it
must hive required faith as a grain of
mustard seed to believe that sucli a
sum would be sufficient to make the
towers cf imperial Salem again rise
crowueil uitli light and restore the
6pendors of Solomon's Temple. The
experiment La 5 *, of coarse, turned out
a failure, announces the New York
Tribune, and the colonists are to re
turn to Kansas, leaving Jerusalem to
its natural processes of growth and
decay, as. they ought to have done
from the beginning. In starting life
over again in the homes they aban
doned they are not likely to find the
experience acquired in their pious ex
ile worth anything like the money it
cost them.
fays the Chicago Drovers' Journal:
The ten leney to feed cattle and not
raise them is growing more popular
with the farmers of the middle west
every year. This is a short cut
quick returns, and save) about t" 0
years' time. Of course somebody lia3
to rai e 'he ?*??k cattle, but as this
I art of the in 1 .st.y can bo cariied on
more cheaply on the big ranches,
farmers who rai e corn prefer to let
them have a monopoly on the breed
ing and raising end of it. The num
ber of range cattle that are being fed
oi corn e.vh winter is growing
ra] idly. This fact is just r.s notice
able with sheep as with cattle, for
naturally the same conditions and Je
suits obtain.
The revised figures showing the ex
tent of the Ameri an grain crop l'Or
the past year have just been given
out by the Unite 1 States department
of agriculture. The acreage devoted
to the six pri icipal cereals, viz.: corn,
wheat, oats, iyq barley and buck
wheat, aggregated 150.431,105 acres,
while the total amount of grain pro
duced aggregated 3,040,022,822 bush
els. The value of the entire crop is
estimated at $1,121,295,762. Iq de
tail the figures showing the amount of
each cereal produced, together with
acreage aud valuation, are as follows:
Acres. Bushel Value.
Corn. 80,09,051 1.902,967,933 £ 501,072,932
Wheat, 89.463,063 C 39.141.16) 425.547.121
Oats, 25,730,375 631.767, VOJ 147,974,719
Rye. 1.703,561 27.313.331 12,239,640
Barley, 2,719.110 66.65.127 25,142.13 1
Buck wh 1717.936 14.937.451 0,319.138
Total, 1C0.431.105 3,040.922. t22 $1,121,295,762
While the figures represent but lit
tle profit to the individual farmers
B.attered over the Unite 1 States, they,
nevertheless serve to indicate the sur
passing magnitude of the country,
which is capable of producing harvests
in such abundance.
VALID UL UOUi) LOADS.
IMPORTANT FACTS FOR RURAL COM.
MUNITIES TO CONSIDER.
Conrliiftion* of I'rnfesoor Lutta of Purdue
I'niversity, I milium, us to the Monetary
Worth of Improved Highway a to Farm
ers A Most Convincing Statement.
The following paper upon "The
alue of Good Loads to Farmers" was
written by Professor Lattn of Purdue
university, Indiana: That good roads
have a money value to farmers will be
granted by all. That the money value
of improved highways is alone suffi
cient to justify the cost of their con
struction, will be confidentially
claimed or readily admitted by many
farmers, questioned by others, and
denied by not .1 few.
In view of the financial and many
other advantages of good roads, a ma
jority of the farmers of the state would,
doubtless, favor their construction as
rapidly as practicable under some ef
ficient, economical anil equitable sys
tem of highway improvement. But
there is a considerable proportion of
the farmers—doubtless one-fifth and
possibly one-fourth—who have little
knowledge or appreciation of the bene
fits of good roads and who, therefore,
object on account of the great cost of
highway improvement. The farmers
of this class know what they will have
to bear their full share of the burden
of such improvements; they discredit
(not wholly without reason) the state
ments and conclusions of many public
writers as to the losses and gains to
farmers from poor and good roads re
spectively; hence they view with ap
prehension the general agitation in
favor of improved highways. Ignor
ing or undervaluing the educational
and social advantages, as well as the
comfort aud enjoyment of good roads,
or feeling unable to pay the price of
such benefits, these formers regard
with distrust and disfavor measures
for highway improvement; and they
are likely to oppose efforts for the bet
terment of our roads unless they can
first be convince! that good roads will
prove a paying financial investment.
►Speaking, therefore, in behalf of those
who for any reason are not influenced
by the higher considerations in favor
of improved highways, I raise the
question. Will it pay the farmers in
dollars and cents to improve their
public roads?
Before attempting to answer this
question, let us consider in what ways
permanently good roads will prove
financially beneficial to farmers. All
will agree, I think that a good road
will—
1. Economize time aud force in
transportation between farm and
market.
2. Enable the farmer to take ad
vantage of market fluctuations in
buying and selling.
3. Permit transportation of farm
products aud purchasing commodities
during times of comparative leisure.
4. Reduce the wear aud tear on
horses, harness and vehicles.
5. Enhance the market value of
real estate.
But while it is easy to enumerate
the ways in which improved roads
will be financially advantageous to
farmers, it is very difficult to esti
mate, in dollars and cents,the benefits
to accrue therefrom. Distrusting my
own judgment in the premises aud
fearing, also, that my opinions would
have little weight with others, I sought
the advice of the farmers themselves.
Letters of inquiry were sent to sixty
of the most intelligent farmers in forty
counties located in the central anil
northern parts of the state. The sub
stance of these letters is given here
with:
1. About what proportion of the
public highways in your county are
now good gravel roads?
2. Please estimate the average in
crease (iu dollars and cents) in the
selling price per acre of land through
out th; ?~7Yzty, as the result of such
gravel reads.
3. If all the public roads in your
county were converted into improved
highways, how much, in your judg
ment, would it increase the average
selling price per acre of land through
out your county?
4. What would be a fair estimate
of the cost per mile of converting our
common dirt roads as they now exist
into good gravel roads, provided, of
course, the work were to bo performed
economically under some competent,
general supervision, and not ham
pered by legal restrictions?
5. Supposing that your county
were divided into 100-acre fattis and
that the average distance of eacn farm
from market were five miles, what, in
your judgment, would be the average
annual cost (in dollars and ceuts) to
each farmer of our unimproved high
ways?
111 answering the fifth question
please take into account the reduced
loads, increased time, extra wear and
tear, and loss in sales from inability
to deliver products when the market
is best.
Over forty replies to these queries
were received. As would be expected,
from the difference in soil, surface
and distance from gravel beds, there
is a wide range in the estimates of the
different correspondents. Many of
the estimates are necessarily mere
guesses, while others are based on a
thorough knowledge of the matters
under consideration.
The averages of these estimates
should give—and they probably do
give approximately—the consensus of
opinion, held by the most intelligent
farmers of the state, as to the cost and
money value of improved highways
and the loss due to poor roads.
The approximate averages for the
forty counties are as follows:
First—The average estimated in
crease in the selling price of land dtie
to existing improved highways is
(9.48 p3r acre. The estimates from
which the average is made refer it
most cases to lauds Dear tue improver
roads; but iu a few instances they ap
ply to all the lands of the couutv.
The average increase, therefore, of
$6.48 per nero is lower than was in
tended for the lands near the improved
roads.
Second —The estimated average in
crease per acre that would result from
improving all the public roads is $9.
Third—The estimated average cost
of converting the common public roads
into improved highways is $1146 pet
mile.
Fourth—The estimated average an- 1
nual loss, per lUU acres, from poor
roads is $76.28.
If these estimates are even approxi
mately correct, they furnish a key to
the satisfactory solution of the ques
tion of highway improvement from the
money standpoint. On the basis ol
the last mentioned estimate the aver
age annual loss per acre from pool
roads is over 76 cents. In live year 9
the losses would aggregate $2492 for
every section of land, and this sum
would construct two miles at a cost oi
$1226 per mile, which is $"0 per mile
above the estimated cost given by the
farmers themselves. The present road
tax which, under existing laws, is
largely thrown away, would, under a
proper system of road maintenance,
doubtless keep improved highways in
perfect repair.
If the foregoing statements are a
near approach to the truth, it follows
that the losses and expenditures which
farmers actually incur on account ol
poor roads would also secure perma
nently good roads. Can any sane mind
doubt the wisdom of exchanging the
losses, delays, accidents nud vexation
of spirt, occasioned by bad roads, for
the comfort and other advantages of
good roads when the cost is the same?
But there is another side to this
question, viz, the increased value ol
land from highway improvement. As
already stated, this increase is esti
mated by the farmers consulted nt $9
per acre. This would enhance the
value of each section of land $5760,
which iB more than double the esti
mated cost ($2292) of the two miles ol
improved highway, which constitutes
the quota for the section. Just here
the objection may be raised that the
improved roads would not increase the
productive capacity of the laud, while
the enhanced commercial value would
increase the taxes. Let us, for the
sake of argument, grant this plausible
but fallacious objection, and then litid
w hnt it amounts to. Let us suppose
the increase in appraisement for taxa
-tiou to be $4 per acre, and the tax rate
1 1-4 per cent. This would mean an
annual increase in taxes of five cents
per acre, or $5 per hundred acres.
Would not our objector, after enjoy
ing the benefits of good roads, be very
willing to give therefore the extra $5,
if necessary? Would he keep the
money and go back to the thraldom ol
mud roads? If so, he has the option
of selling his farm at an advance, ac
cording to the average estimates of
his brother farmers, that will more
than doubly reimburse him for his ex
penditure on highway improve ment;
and he can then remove to some native
wild whose quiet waters have not been
"troubled" by the spirit of progress.
I am aware that many intelligent
farmers will not accept the estimates
of their fellow farmers as to themouey
value of good roads—many who will
even deny that improved highways
have any appreciable money value. I
am glad to know, however, that many
I of these very same farmers favor good
{ roads,and wonld aid in their construc
tion for the same reason that they
I would build for themselves com
fortable and even luxurious homes.
| In view oi the very general reeog-
I nitipn among farmers of the necessity
and benefits of good roads. lam en
j couraged to believe that a very large
j proportion of the farming classes will
heartily join with the- people of the
cities and towns iu an effort to devise,
j adopt and put into execution some ef
| ficient, economical and equitable sys
tem of highway improvement.
Row to Make Animal Freaks.
In 1858 the great Camille Daresta
was named director of the Laboratory
of Teratology to the Practical School
of Higher Studies. Terutogenesis was
I now on a firm foundation; monsters
I were produced iu multitudes.
| Dareste was able to obtain over
thirty thousand specimens—wonder
ful creations too—Cyclopearis whose
single eye might have frightened the
companions of Ulysses, ancient swine
with both lower limbs united, animals
with two Heads and eight legs, twins
' with trunks united, etc.—everything
from the domain of fable to argument
his scientific conquests.
One may obtain monsters iu various
ways—by warming the egg unequally,
by varnishing or glazing certain po<-
| tions of the shell, by shaking it dur
ing the period that separates the lay
iug of the egg and putting it in to in
| cubate. Only recently Fevo made
j monsters by submitting the eggs to
the action of electric currents or in
jecting toxines under the shells. The
I most different types may be obtained
J by using various processes.
| This curious study has of late years
- been undertaken in foreign countries,
among others by Gerlach and AVrigle.
; Finally recently some Frenchmen have
| undertaken it anew.
Now, by modifying their surround
ings Dareste produced monsters. If
this is true,can we not,when we know
ail the factors of the problems, obtain
| new races?— Dr. T. C. Minor in Ciu
' aiuaati Lancet-Clinic.
llow It Happened.
I The Emperor of China—Anil all
this trouble results from the attack
I on the German missionaries?
i Li, Hung Chang—Apparently. As
soon as Kaiser Wilhelm heanl of the
attack on the missionaries he got re
j ligion.—Euck.
[OUR NA\T AND SPAIN'S.I
NAVAL STRENGTH Or THE TWO
COUNTRIES COMPARED.
XI ey Seem Evenly Mtc!ic<l on Taper,
Kut tin- United States i Much the
Stronger—ln Ships For Komburilment
and Harbor Defense We Are Ahead.
The United States and Spain are
not unevenly matched in respect of
a navy—on paper. An examination
of the details, however, says the New
York World, shows that in naval
matters as in all else Spain indulges
In dreams and delusions.
Let us discard all "projected" war
ships, all made-over iron and wood
vessels, and compare the two navies
| as they would meet each the other.
The steel vessels of modern type are
alone worth considering, because other
vessels can be easily obtained 011 short
notice, and it is therefore a matter of
minor importance which nation has
the more of them at the present mo
ment.
Of battle-ships Spain has only one.
The Pelayo, of 'J9OO tons, is an excel
lent war vessel so far as protection is
concerned, but its armament is not
especially formidable as battle-ships
go. It has two 12.5-inch guns, two
11-inch, one 6.2-inch and twelve 4.7-
lnch as a heavy battery. The lowa of
our navy has u much more effective
battery in its four 12-inch guns, eight
8-inch and six 4-mch. We have alto
gether seven battle-ships, each carry
ring tremendous batteries of the most
approved and supposedly of the most
dangerous modern types.
Spain has no sea-going coast-de
fense ships, while we have six, carry
ing thirty heavy guns and fifty-two
guns in secondary batteries. And
these ships are to all intents and pur
poses battle-sliips. Many naval ex
perts regard them as far more danger
ous than the so-called battle-ships.
In the class of non-sea-going coast
defenders Spain has two vessels only,
and they carry but nine large guns.
We have fourteen of these floating but
non-sea-going forts, and they carry
thirty large guns.
Spain has seven armored cruisers,
carrying 208 largo guns. But they
are not so new or so well equipped or
so dangerous as they seem to be when
one reads about them. We have only
two ships—New York and Brooklyn—
that fall in thi3 class, and they carry
seventy-four large guns. But not
only are these two more formidable
than any of Spain's armored cruisers;
but also some of our protected cruis
ers are more worthy of this class than
several of Spain's that are put in it.
Of protected and partially protected
cruisers—the most attractive and sen
sible kind of modern war vessels—wo
have sixteen, all made of steel, and in
good condition, all equipped with the
best possible armament and all en
titled name of ocean greyhound.
Spain has only live steel vessels of
this class and ten iron vessels.
We are therefore stronger and Spain
is weaker at the two most important
points—heavy warships for bombard
ments and harbor defense, and swift,
well-armed, easily managed cruisers.
••Miss Juliet Capulet."
The Postoffice Department desires
information of one Miss Juliet Capu
lot. Some weeks ago the letter was
addressed to the fair heroine of Mr.
Shakespeare's romance, but the car
riers hero did not kuow her address.
All of them had fair Juliets on their
routes, but none knew Miss Juliet
Capulet, the daughter of the head of
the royal house of Capulet, who domi
ciled at Verona and had a fuss with a
man named Montague. Nor were they
acquainted with auy man named
Borneo, who was enamored of Miss
Capulet, and made a botch of killing
himself on her account. So the letter
after going the rounds of the depart
ment gravitated to the dead letter of
fice, and now the department seeks by
newspaper advertising to carry out the
directions of old man Capulet to his
servant: "Go, sirrah, trudge about
through fair Verona; find those per
sons out whose names are written
there."—Washington Star.
"Pluck Me" Stores Reins Abandoned.
One gratifying feature of the indus
trial situation during the year closing
is tlio abandonment by a number of
large employers in the Pennsylvania
coal regions of ttye company stores
which bind the miners to trade their
wages away for the commodities sold
thorn and deny them the right to trade
whore they can trade most advantage
ously. The employers who maintain
these stores do so in the face of a State
law which requires them to pay their
employes semi-monthly aud in cash
and which forbids the gouge game
practiced by the company stores. Yet
tho employers have violated these laws
aud set an example of lawlessness to
their men. Every employer continu
ing this lawlessness against his work
men should have the law drawn on
him like a sharp sword. —Minneapolis
Journal.
Tho Effect of Fog.
Accidents due to the obscuration of
objects by fog are so common that
scientists are making a study of ab
sorbent power of fog as regards lights
of all kinds. It appears that London
fog absorbs 20.8 per cent, of the light
from an incandescent burner, while
the ordinary gas loses but 11.1 per
cent. Tho incandescent light contains
more blue, and this is readily ab
sorbed by the fog. Bed lights are
much more penetrating than blue, and
as the gas light contains far more red
than tho electric, it is much more val
uable as a light for use in very heavy
fogs. It is a fact familiar to every
one that when the sun shows through
mist it is of a deep red color. This is
accounted for by the faet that the blue
rays are entirely absorbed, leaving
only the red with its much more pow
erful Quality of penetration.
IS THE DAY CROWINC LONGER?
Scientific Reasons in Support of the Tho
ory That It Is.
One of the most interesting sub
jects discussed by Professor George
Darwin during his recent visit to this
country was that of the possible aud
probable increase in the length of the
day.
When once the earth is in motion
about an axis, no matter how the mo
tion came about, it would continue
forever, and at tho same rate, thus
making the day always of the same
length, unles's something is happening
or will happen to interfere with that
motion. Now, there are several
causes in operation which affect
the period of the earth's rotation,
some of which tAnd to make the pe
riod less and others to make it great
er. Fortunately the influence of each
of these causes is very small. They
are generally easy to understand, and
a simple experiment will illustrate
one of them.
Tie a stone to one end of a string,
and, holding the other in the baud,
whirl it around as near as may be in
the circumference of a circle. When
its speed is nearly uniform allow the
string to wiud up on the finger. It
will be noticed that as the string
shortens the angular velocity in
creases. In tho same way, if the mat
ter forming the • irth should in any
way be drawn nearer the axis of rota
tion, it would turn faster, and the day
would be shortened.
B- continual loss of heat a shrink
age of the earth is probably iu prog
ress, and although the process is ex
ceedingly slow, it certainly tends to
diminish the period of rotation. On
the other hand, any addition of matter
from the outside will tend to increase
that period and make the day longer.
Undoubtedly slight additions to the
mass of the earth are constantly made
by the arrest of meteoric bodies pass
ing through the atmosphere. Their
influence is opposed to and tends to
neutralize that of any earth shrinkage
that may he going on.
Tho most important interference
with the rotation of the earth that we
know of is that of the tidal wave,
which is due to the attraction of the
sun and moon, but more largely to
the latter. It is easy to see that this
is a resistance against which the earth
turns, and its effect is to increase the
length of the day.
Astronomical observations extend
ing over about 2000 years have failed
to show auy sensible change in the
day, but the influence of the tides
must become evident after the lapse
of a great many years. Professor
Darwin declares that tho day may
lengthen until it is at last fifty-five
times as long as it is at present, and
that would he also the period of tire
revolution of the moon about the
earth.
A day of 1320 hours, such hours as
we now have, would offer many inter
esting advantages, but there would be
some things about it not altogether
agreeable. -As it is not likely to come
for Home millions of years, it is not a
matter for immediate anxiety.—
Youth's Companion.
Rescued From tho Sioux.
In the Children's Home at Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, is a bright-faced
maiden who last fall was found living
among the Sioux Indians at Cherry
Creek, a tributary of tho Upper Mis
souri. She was taken from the In
dians through tho efforts of the Bev.
O. H. Sproul, of Pierre, and Senator
Kyle, and an endeavor is now being
made to find her relatives, if relatives
she has. Had her presenoe among
the Indians not been discovered when
it was she would Uy this time have
been the squaw of ouo of the braves ol
the tribe. Her Indian name is Swift
Fawn. It is supposed that her par
ents were killed by Sitting Bull, by
whom she was brought up. The only
clew to the relatives of the child is a
small linen handkerchief, marked with
the name of Bnssell, and a little silver
drinking mug, upon which is OL graved
the name Luella. She prefers to be
called Anna, and so, at the Children's
Home, is known as Anna Bussell.
She is a ward of the Government.—
Philadelphia Becord.
Cradle Run liy Mule Power.
A traveler going through a sparsely
settled section of Canada came to a
lonely cabin, and, finding the door
open, went in. Nobody was in sight,
but iu the center of tho room he saw
a craiHe with a baby lying in it fast
asleep. The cradle was rooked back
and forth with great regularity, aud he
was puzzled to know what kept it in
motion. On examination he found a
stout cord attached to a uail driven in
tho side of the cradle and passed
through au auger-hole ill the side of
the house. He took up the trail,
which led him into a ravine, where a
donkey was standing and switching
his tail. The mystery was explained.
The other end of the cord was attached
to the donkey's tail, and the constant
switching kept the cradle in motion. It
was an ingenious device on the part of
the mother to keep her baby asleep
while she went off for a time. —Ontario
Banner.
The Clever Artist.
Not infrequently the art student
falls in arrears for the rent of even his
airy perch on the "Bixieme," and
landlords have scant sympathy for
beings who can "soar to the em
pyrean," but can't pay cash. One
young man, six months in arrears,
knew that his landlord was keeping a
watchful eye on his trunk, which stood
opposite the door, feeling sure that
while it was there the owner would
not depart. Onr artist painted a por
trait of his trunk on the wall opposite
the door, and in the night took hiifi
self and Jis belongings quietly away;
nor was he missed for several days.
Good work sometimes serves very
inartistic ends.—Catholic World.
I GOOD ROADS NOTES. |
Oil on Iloarfs.
Oracle petroleum lias been used
with gooil effect to suppress dust on
railroad beds. Now it is advocated as
a good application for country roads.
It is claimed that by excluding water
it keeps tlie road good in wet and dry
weather. It will suppress dust and
render the water-cart unnecessary, aud
it prevents the formation oi mud iu
winter.
bettor n U.I (Is Fur ."Mobile*
They have taken hold iu a practical
way in Mobile. Ala., aud organized a
Good Ro.a.ls Club, with a view to hav
ing tho city streets improved. The
call for the first meeting 6tated that
Mobile "has the worst streets of any
city in this country" and that "the
few that are paved are fast becoming
unrideable " Tho newspapers are
already with them; so, with constant
agitation and persistent work, the out
look i 3 encouraging.
Goo<l Xlnarfs l'rofitab'e.
Tho Road Coiami&sioner of New
Jersey, Mr. Budu, points out that it
costs thre9 cents a bushel to haul
wheat on a level roa 1 a distance of
live miles, and at least nine cents to
haul it the same distance on a sandy
road, whioh goes to illustrate the
practical economic importance of good
roads. This is a point which deserves
the serious attention of farmers. Sandy
and rough roads are wearing out their
horses aud vehicles and increasing the
actual cost of their farm supplies aud
of the marketing of their produce.
Though little recognized, this is a fact
most patent to the careful observer,
and most pointedly aud truly expressed
in Mr. Eudd's report. When this fact
penetrates the minds of farmers more
generally, they will begin to realize
that money and labor expended on
road improvement will save money for
them in reducing the uetual cost of
hauling aud in saving vehicles and
horses.
It is high time to dispense with the
idea that good roads are luxuries,
mere fancy frills, aud to regard well
made highways as among the necessi
ties.—Easton (Penu.) Free Pres3.
A Cominvulable Policy.
In a recent letter to tho Steto High
way Commission of Connecticut Col
onel Albert A. Pope said:
"It is a commendable policy to build
in the very best manner possiblo, so
that the common ways may be of
advantage not only to us but to gen
erations yet unborn. The mistake
of the past has been that this work
was done for a day or a season, a poor
investment which resulted in the loss
of hundreds of millions of dollars.
"A few years since the price of hay
in Springfield, Illinois, was S3O a ton,
and the market was supplied by rail
road from outside the State, because,
though hay was plenty at $lO a ton,
the farms within radius of a few miles
were completely embargoed by mud;
and yet not long ago the Richardson
Bill, tho terms of which provided that
tho cities in New York would pay
three-fourths of the cost of State-road
construction, was defeated by tho
farmer element.
"If a saviug of 22$ <jc n ts per ton por
mile could be effected in hauling to
aud from tho depot the way-freight
carried annually on the New York
Central Railroad tho saving to the
community represented would be $3,-
000.0(A).
"The Connecticut Highway Com
mission is entitled to uuauimous sup
port in building only the best Macadam
and Telford roads, and I believe the
press of the State should take hold of
tbe question, and by a free discussion
of the subject convince the people that
good roads are the only ones worth
building. As a rule, those who com
plain most loudly about the first cost
of roads are the very ones who, in
the end, reap the greatest benefit
therefrom."
In the Xow York Lesililatnro.
In his message. Governor Blank, of
Neiv York, advocated highway im
provements, or, at least, dwelt on the
advantages of good roads, although te
did not offer recommendations as to
how they are to be secured. He
said:
"I call special attention to this sub
ject because tbe need of improvement
is apparent aud admitted, aud because
the benefits following it would be ex
tensive. Many sections of tho State,
unsurpassed iu beauty aud fertility,
are neglected and almost unknown,
because the condition of the highways
affording the only approach makes
thorn difficult of access. A'good road
is one of tho chief elements of the
value of a farm. If its fertility be
slight, it may still be desirable if its
location and surroundings are attrac
tive, aud tbe approaches suitable.
"In many parts of this country,
notably in New England, farm values,
which had been reduced by tbe com
petition of tbo West, have been, in
great measure, restored by the de
mand for summer homes. Every such
community finds itself benefited to tho
the extont of its power to attract in
vestments from the towns and cities.
Its markets arc enlarged, the price of
all commodities is raised,railroad facil
ities are improved, and those changes
which the expenditure of money is
likely to create are largely realized.
New York has natural advantages un
surpassed by any State. Better roads
will briug them more generally into
view."
About half a dozen bills dealing
with various phases of the subjeot arc
likely to be introduced into tbe Leg
islature. One provides for a State
bureau to gather facts and statistics,
aud act as a medium of information
and advice; levies a tax of five cents
on each 81000 of valuation, and di
vides the cost of roads, fifty per cent,
to State, thirty-five to county and flf
teen to town. its otjier provisions nra
permissive, leaving it to eaoli locality
to tako action in the matter, and mak
ing it thoroughly local option. The
roads, when completed, aro to become
oounty roads.
Another bill contemplates, as nearly
as possible, a continuous road across
the State, following the leading routes
through the various counties, and ap
propriating 53,000,000 per year, be
ginning in 1599, until the work is
done. Other hills propose to substi
tute a money tax for labor; for post
roads to be built in conjunction with
the general Government; for taxing
wheelmen to build side paths, am: for
the employment of convicts on the
highways. The advocates of good
roads will prooably make a strong
showing, and expect to bo able to
secure tbo passage of some satisfac
tory measure.
l'cbblen.
Narrow tires and heavy loads,
Boon will spoil the best of roads.
A road properly built and cared for
will shed water instead of absorbing
it.
There are three principles of road,
building: Drainage, drainage, drain
age.
Neglected and abandoned farms are
one result of tbo costly transportation
caused by bad roads.
Wagon manufacturers are turning
out farm wagons, some of tbem with
metal wheels, having tiros four inches
wide.
Brooklyn claims to have done more
during 1897 in the way of street im
provement than any city of its area in
the country.
Mayor Boynton, of Port Huron,
Mich., is actively interested in the
Good P.oads Association lately organ
ized in that town.
Over thirty thousand dollars have
been awarded this year in Berks
County, Pa., in condemnation pro
ceedings for free turnpikes.
Hard roads yield large returns wheD
intelligently constructed and suitably
cared for. It is only when badly
made aud shamefully neglected that
they prove an expensive luxury.
The Poughkeepsio Eagle suggests
that a good plan would be for each
town to improve its own roads, under
the supervision of a skilled engineer
employed by the State, and that the
State afterwards contribute a portion
of the cost.
Nothing is more ruinous to a ma
cadam road thau water. Puts hold
water, and, therefore, shofild never
be allowed to exist. To guard against
their formation and development is
one of the principal part 3 of proper
care of a roadway.
An object-lesson on the value of
good highways is being furnished by
ltobert MacKinnon, of Little Falls,
N. Y., who has been grading the road
between Little Falls and Utica, and
putting gravel on it at his own ex
pense, hoping that it will interest
others iu road improvement.
A great many of the statements
made about the cost per mile of roads
are apt to prove misleading. A fair
comparison cannot ho made without
knowing the width and depth, the
amount of grading required, methods
employed, and many other details
which seriously affect the price.
California'. Gnlil Output.
In connection with the recent ob
servance of the semi-centennial anni
versary of the discovery of gold on the
Paci3o Coast it is interesting to note
the magnitudo of California's gold
output during the past fifty years.
To begin with the amount of gold
dug from the mines during the first
year succeeding the disoovery aggre
gated only 3245,301. But with a tre
mendous bound tbe value of tbo out
put for the year following mounted up
to 510,151,360. In 1850 the output
aggregated 341,273,100; in 1851, 375,-
938,232, and in 1852, 331,294,700.
Since 1852 thero lias been a gradual
falling off in the annual output of the
yellow metal. At 1 tho present time
the amount of gold mined annually in
California ranges in value from 315,-
000,009 to 818,000,000.
Since the first discovery of gold on
the Pacific Coast iu 1848 it is esti
mated that California has produced
not less than worth of
-the yellow metal.
Iu view.of what California owes to
thß discovery of gold, the people of
that State have not been extravagant
iu holding such a brilliant festival as
the one which has recently occurred
on the Pacifio slope.—Atlanta Consti
tution.
Theories Concerning tho Voice.
One very interesting theory held by
some vocsliets is that tho natural
register of the speaking voice indicates,
the individual character of the speaker,
as do the lines on the palms of the
hand. For instance, a high soprano
voice expresses joy and merriment.
Complex natures, who carry on two
qualities of thought at once, speak in
harmonies, with several notes at a
time, and have magnetic voices. The
minor voice betrays lack of confidence,
the major voice indicates intense vi
tality, The mental attitude shows'it
self in a voice with a sliding downward
scale, ps in most teachers* voices.
Other instructors' methods go so far
as to say that all who can talk may
sing, if willing faithfully to devote
their time aud energy to tho cause.—
The Chautauquan.
Why the Wind I)a Not Smoke.
A peculiarity about blind people is
that there is seldom one of them who
smokes. Soldiers and sailors accus
tomed to smoking, and who have lost
their sight in aotiou, continue to smoke
for a abort time but jjsoon give up the
habit. They say it gives them no
pleasure when they cannot see the
smoke, and some have said that they
c-annot taste the smoke unless they
sos it.—The Ledger.