England has perpetrated a pun on
our war, and let it not be lost: "What
arc the United States' reasons for go
ing to war? Maine nnd hu-maue."
And this is paralyzing dear old Lon
don.
It is probably not generally known
that the word "dad," used by many
children in place of the word "fath
er," is the purest Welsh. The open
ing words of the Lord's Prayer in
Welsh are "Ein Dad."
The United States has begun to
teach the world a few wholesome ob
ject lessons, and the scurvy-cursed
old monarchies of Europe are slowly
waking up to the fact that we mean
business, observes the New Y'ork
Telegram. We don't want to have
any trouble with any of them, hut we
are not going to run away from it ii
it happens to come our way.
An English medical journal has
noted some enrious medical adver
tisements. The special merit of a
certain mineral spring'is that "it stirs
the dermal functions," while it is
also "an excellent reconstitutive ol
animal economy," and has moreovei
a beneficial effect on "the oculary
apparel!" The inventor of a certain
"fresh-air respirator for the use o'
indoor patients," observes didacti
cally: "Only compare the chub
cheeked country lad (living in fresh
open air, who iu spite of seauty food
is abounding in health) with the pale
cheeked child of towns, better fed,
and secured indoors against the
brazing open air, and you will imme
diately perceive the different effects
product by fresh air on both beings.'
The American Agriculturist re
marks: Positive progress has been
made in the comparatively reeeut pas!
in the reduction of interest charges.
The refunding of farm mortgages, par
ticularly in the West, where rates
have been exorbitant, goe3 speedily
on, and we confidently hope the time
will come when our agricultural classes,
with the lest security on earth, will
he able to secure money at rates rela
tively as low as their brothers in manu
facturing and industrial circles.
Banks and capitalists with money tc
loan make the point that while roa:
estate securities are unquestionably
safe, they are slow compared witL
other classes. Granting whatevei I
truth there may bo in this assertion, ■
the difference in interest rates has !
been altogether too great. With tin '
wealthy railroads refunding theis '
obligations at 3J per cent., aud with
commercial loans in the Middle and j
Eastern States made at four to sis
per ceut. there is no rhyme or reason '
in demanding ten to twelve per cent., |
or even worse, on farm property as
is done in the West. Were it possible I
to secure money on farm property a!
rates relatively as low as on other |
classes of securities, what relief it ,
Would bring to agriculture 1 How '
many thousands of acres of unprofit-
able, or perhaps idle, lands might be j
turned to account, affbrdiug remuner
ative employment to a vast army
ready and willing to put into use
hand and brain!
Pineapple growing is becoming im
portant among Florida's agricultural !
interests, according to a correspon
dent of tho Atlanta Journal. Com !
rnon varieties have been profitably j
grown for years on the lower coasl |
and keys,'and the notable feature now '
is the growing importance of the eul. 1
ture_of the fine varieties, Tho large
profit, reported to be §IOOO an aero,
as a return for intelligent management,
has created a boom akin to that in
orange-growing a few yeara ago, and
although tho propagation of pine
apple plants is rapid; the supply does
not keep pace with the demand, and
some growers find it more profitable
to sell the young plants than to await
their fruiting. It costs about §2OOC
to secure the land, prepare it, pay foi
plants, and plant an acre, but many
people with less than that amount ol
capital have gone into the business in
a smaller way. There is little likeli
hood, however, tho correspondent
writes, that the business will be over
done. Local capital is wanting, aud
not more tbau one acre in 500, possi
bly 1000, is suitable for pines. Like
the orange, the pine is occasionally
caught by a frost. As a protection
the pinery is enclosed with a tight
plank fence eight feet high. Then
nprigbt posts are set over the entire
area in rows eight by fifteen feet.
The posts are seven to seven and a
half feet abovo the ground. On these
are strong posts two by six inches,
aud across these are nailed slats one
by three, leaving three-inch spaces be
tween. This forms a half shade or
arbor, which is a material protection
against all except the severest frosts
in winter lime and the strong sunshine
of summer.
WE SHALL FORGET.
,
Sorrow aud mirth,
, We shall find peace ut last.
Old mother earth,
In thy broad bosom blest,
Peace shall be met;
There is Nirvana's rest —
Wo shall forgetl
Naught of the wasted years i
Breaks through the gloom, {
Savor of bitter tears j
Finds not the tomb.
1 Death binds about the head
Languid and wet,
Sleepy dull poppies red—
We shall forget!
With this one solace left,
Fate is disarmed,
Hate of her sting bereft
Malice is charmed.
What can it matter if
Hope's star has set?
When wo are stark and stiff,
Wo shall forget!
—J. It. Tuylor, in Commercial Appeal.
| TIIE WINDVr\VO GIFTS
Q A Wonder-Story From the Folk- &
Lore of Russia.
BY EDWARIJ COURTNEY.
IN a certain vil-
lage iu Russia,
11 y° un ß h " y
*3L. lived with his
stepmother,
who, as the old
stories go, treat
j'jW ed him with
ever anything
&'.' q. w went wrong, no
O ,y/ mutter whether
ho was to blame
or not, the old woman would boat him
with a stick till she became fatigued
with her exertions.
The two were very poor, and one
day the mother begged some wheat of
one of her neighbors, and sect tho
boy with it to the mill to have it
ground. The miller knew of their
poverty, aud he ground the wheat
without charging the boy anything,
who set out gladly for home, carry
ing the snowy pile in a pan on his
head.
But he had not gone far when, of a
sudden, up came a wind from the
south, and blew all the flour in snowy
flakes over the meadows.
The boy stood agbast, looking at it.
How the particles danced iu the
breeze, now blowing high and like a
mist obscuring tho sun, again falling
over flowers aud grasses like a delicate
hoar-frost.
The boy saw all this, but did not
admire it, for he knew the penalty he
must pay on his return. As there
was no help for it, he turned away
with a sigh, and soon reached home.
"Where i 3 the flour?" the mother
cried.
The hoy showed the empty pan, and
proceeded to tell her what had hap
pened. In a rage, tho cruel womau
picked up her stick and thrashed the
child. Then taking him to tho door
she put him out, saying:
"Go to the wind and tell him to re
turn your flour or pay you for it.
And until he does, you need not re
turn here!"
The poor child turned in terror to
the great wide world. Where should
he go? What could he do? It was
bad enough to be beateu, but even
that was better than having no home.
So ho thought as he went crying on
his way.
He wandered for a long time till ho
reached a great forest. The trees
grew so closely and so high that it
seemed always to bo twilight there.
Not a sound of singing bird or busy
insect disturbed the quiet, but over
all seemed a hush, as when tho winds
are lulled to rest before the breaking
of the tempest. The child under
stgjd these sigus, but ho said to him
self: - --- *-
"Better die hero iu the storm than
wander homeless in the world;" and
so he entered the dark avenues of
trees.
But when ho had walked half a
dozen steps he became conscious of a
presence here. Nor was he mis
taken, for it was an enchanted spot,
and soon he met a queer-looking old
woman.
"Well, my son, what do you here,
where birds sing not and where wild
animals fear to tread? Know you
not that this is my land? What will
you?"
In fear aud trembling the child told
his story,
"Ha! ha! Is it so?" cried the eld
one. "We shall see, wo shall see!
Know that I am tho mother of the
winds. Come with mo and all will bo
well."
She took the boy by the band aud
led him deeper and deeper into the
darkness; and as the growth became
denser and the darkness more palpa
ble, the quiet beenmo more intense.
"You see how still it is?" she said,
after a long silence. "That is be
cause my sous are away. There are
four of them. The North Wind, the
East Wind, the South Wind and the
West Wind; when they eome home,
ah, then the forest is not still. But
which of my sons stole your flour
away?"
"Alas, kind madam, it was the
South Wind."
"Never fear, never fear; all will be
well!"
They now reached a little hut, deep
in the heart of the wood. On enter
ing, the woman said:
"Quick, jump on the stove and
cover yourselfl"
"Why?" cried the child in terror.
"Quick, obey me!" the woman said.
"I hear my son the North Wind com
ing and he will freeze you."
So the boy obeyed her; and none
too soon, for with a terrific whistling
noise, in rushed the eldest son, and n
great cold came with him.
For n long time the boy remained
concealed and heard each of the sons
of the old woman enter. When at
last the South Wind came, the old
dame said:
"My son, look what havoo you have
worked! Do you not know that yon
should not harm the poor and needy?"
The little boy was then brought
forth, and again he told his tale.
How the North Wind laughed with
boisterous glee, for to him that was
rave sport; and the East Wind shouted
with his brother, for both of these are
cold and unfeeling. But the West
Wind murmured a rebuke to them for
their ill maimers to the guest, and the
South Wind came gently forward,
saying:
"It is too bad that I harmed you
so, and lam sorry. But here I repay
you. Take this basket, and whatso
ever you desire, it will give it to
you; either flour or bread, or money.
Ask it what you will."
With many words the poor boy
thauked the South Wind for his gift,
and rau home with it as fast as he
could go.
"Here, mother," ho cried, "see
what the wind has given for the flour
he stole."
And telling her the property of the
basket, he set it down. Immediately
she called for a dinner to bo placed
before them, and so sumptuous a re
past immediately was in the basket
that the woman embraced the boy for
joy.
So all went well for a long time.
They had whatsoever they wished for,
and the boy no longer was subject to
the violent outbreaks of temper on
the part of the stepmother.
One day, however, a duke rode by
with a largo train of followers.
"Go out and ask the duke to dine
with us, and be suro not to corno back
alone!"
The boy went to obey, and when he
delivered his message the duke
laughed. But, turning to his men, he
said:
"Go you with the lad, and I hope
yon may dine well!"
Theu with a laugh he rode on. The
men did not wish to accompany the
peasaut boy, for the hut looked so
poor that they expected a light fare.
What was their surprise, then, to
see a feqst spread fit for a king, and
so plentiful that a host might have
eaten aud still much have remained
untouched. Theu they seated them
selves with a hearty goodwill. But
they watched closely the two poor
people. Soon after they perceived
how everything was supplied from
the basket, aud the leader determined
to possess it for themselves.
He dispatched one of his followers
to prooure a lmsket like the magic
one, aud when the boy and his moth
er were away, they exchanged the
two. Soon afterwards they departed
aud told the duke their good fortune.
The woman, howover, unaware of
the trick that had been played upon
her, threw all the remainder of the
banquet away. For she thought what
was so easily obtained was not worth
caring for.
Next day, therefore, when she went
to the basket as usual, she obtained
no response to her request. Enraged
again, she turned to the boy and said:
"Go back to the wind, and tell him
I waut my flour back, or else payment
for it,"
And when the boy protested, she
took the stick and belabored him with
it. Bo he Yveut again to the home of
the winds and repeated his story.
"Fear not!" the South Wind said.
"Take this back, and when the witch
dares to strike you again say: "Five,
come out of the cask and parish
her."
So the boy returned home with the
second gift of the wind.
"Here, mother, is a cask in place
of the basket."
"What do I want with a cask?" and
in a terrible rage she came towards
tho boy with a stick in her hand.
But he darted behind the cask aud
cried.'out:
"Five come out of the cask aud pun
ish her!"
Immediately fivo great fellows
sprung forth aud gave the old witch
woman such a thrashing as she really
deserved, for she was very wicked,
Wheu the boy thought her suffi
ciently punishod ho listened to her
cries for mercy aud cried:
"Five, go back to the cask," and
immediately tho five men disappeared
into the cask.
Then, again, all went well for along
time. The temper of the witch was
much improved, indeed, so much so
that she became almost human, and
the boy led a happy life—for him.
But one day the mother said:
"Go to the duke and demand the
basket from him."
"So I will," the young peasant said,
and he departed.
When he reached the palace he said
to tho servants:
"Tell the duke to come out and
fight me, or return me my basket."
Bight merrily did the nobleman
laugh at this brave challenge; but he
sent word where he would meet the
peasaut on the morrow to fight. So
quiokly home ran the lad and on the
morrow he came with his cask to the
appointed place.
~ Soon the duke appeared with many
servants, and having commanded that
tho boy should be thrashed for his in
solence, his men stepped forward to
seize him.
But they were too late. No sooner
did the peasant sue their motive than
he jumped behind the cask and cried:
"Five to each one of them, out of
the cask!"
Oh! what a time there was theu. A
veritable army raised in an instant of
time! And bow the great fellows
whipped the duke's men and the duke
himself till they all begged and pleaded
for mercy.
"On one condition I call my men
off," the boy stoutly said;and the duke
told him to name it.
"Give me back my basket and let
j mo depart in peace."
"Call your men off, call your men
off!"
"Back into the cask every five!"
And so ended this famous fight.
The boy got his basket, and, carry
ing it and the cask, soon reached his
home. And thence forth neither he
nor the stepmother wanted for any
thing, nor did she ever lose her tem
per again, for she knew the five were
there to punish her.—St. Louis Star.
CHALK.
Where It Comes Front, How It It Pre
pared and W hat It Is Used For.
Chalk is one of the most important
crude materials brought to this coun
try for manufacturing purposes. It
outers largely into the manufacture ol
rubber, oilcloth, wall-paper and paint,
and after being refined, purified and
made into a powder of various degrees
of fineness is sold on the market for
hundreds of purposes for which no
other material would be as useful. It
is one of the few articles used in the
trades which come almost exclusively
from Europe. Somo chalk beds have
been discovered in the United States,
but the exj>ense of transporting it is
too great to make the home product a
successful competitor with the foreign
article. It is found in the bank of
the Thames Biver, at Dieppe and near
Copenhagen, and is shipped to this
country in its crude condition. There
is no duty on chalk, and it usually
comes as ballast in bulk. About 125,-
000 tons eamo to the United States
last year.
There is nothing complicated about
its preparation for the market. It is
placed in huge grinding machines
where it is ground in water and then
floated off into vats, where all foreign
substances and impurities are precipi
tated. The water is then drawn off
by a series of filtering operations and
the soft residuum is dried by steam
heat aud exposure to the air. By
ineaus of burrmills aud belting the
white substance is reduced to a
powder and packed in barrels and
shipped for use. The finest is pressed
into pieces of various shapes for the
drug trade, another grade, in crayon
form, goes to dealers in art materials,
coarser stoek is sent to manufacturers
of frames and gilded ware, thousands
of tons are used by manufacturers of
paint and putty, aud great quantities
go to the manufacturers of rubber
goods, who uso chalk in the vulcaniz
ing process.—New York Tribune.
Tlio Elephant as Ho llcnlly Is.
Few more impressive confidences
can be imparted than one in which a
Hindu describes how he knows hi 9
elephant intends to destroy him. It
is all so seemingly trivial, aud yet in
reality "of such deadly significance.
His story is so full of details that prove
the man's profound understanding ol
what he is talking about, that one re
mains equally amazed at the brute's
power to dissimulate aud its intended
victim's insight into this would-be mur
derer's character. Aud yet, from the
psychological standpoint, an elephant
never gives any other such indication
ofinental power as is exhibited in its
revenge. That patient, watchful, mn
placable hatred, often provoked simply
because a man is in attendance upon'
another animal (for it is the rule with
tuskers to detest their next neighbors)
speaks more conclusively of a high
intellectual grade than all the stories,
true or false, that have been told of
their ability. Such concentration and
fixedness of purpose, such careful, tin
relaxed vigilance, such perfect and con
sistent pretense, and, when the time
comes, such desperate, unhesitating
energy as homicidal animals exhibit
are impossible without a very consid
erable, although in this instance very
irregular, development.
No one can deny that if this creat
ure is great at all its greatness shows
itself in its crimes; these have caused i
it to bo worshiped in the East, where
men venerate nothing but merciless,
irresponsible force, and where an ex
hibition of these qualities and traits
described, fully accounts for the for
mula, "My Lord the Elephant."—
Outing.
A Hare Spectacle.
Vesuvius presented a rare sight re
cently, real llames issuing from the
summit. Part of the south wall of the
crater fell in, blocking up the vents
from which the gaso3 had escaped. A
few days later this mass having be
come red hot, a spurt ot flames 200
feet high was sent out, accompanied
by a tremendous roar. The column
of fire was yellow, with (lashes of red,
violet and intense bine. Professoi
Matteucei, who saw it, eays that it was'
the only jet of incandescent gas ever
observed on Vesuvius, the light which
people usunlly mistake for flames be
ing merely the reflection of the lavs
below on the smoke that rises from
the crater.—New York Sun.
The Soldiers' Rations.
In the Civil War the healthiest snfl
toughest soldiers were those who lived j
on army rations, while the great ma- |
jority of those who died of intestinal
diseases were livers on sutler's canned
stuff. As the army rations are well
fitted for toughening the men who
live upon them, without injury to the
digestive organs, the sooner one be
comes habituated to them the better,
—Boston Transcript.
Highlanders Seldom Home.
During the 110 years the Gordon
Highlanders have been embodied the
regiment has only been stationed
north of the Tweed for fonr years, the
last occasion being nineteen years ago,
"Women Doing Their Part.
i No more patriotic and useful work
could be undertaken than the scheme
to maintain a hospital ship for Cuban
| waters, conceived by the New York
Chapter of the Colonial Dames. The
: plau has already obtained the sanction
| of the Government and will be carried
| out on business principles. The prac
tical sense aud courage of women have
been more than once exemplified Bince
j the war begaD. —New York Herald.
A New Field of LaLor,
Mrs. Emily Lee Sherwood, a jour
nalist, of Washington, D. C., has ad
-1 ded a new field of labor to her literary
j work. She is searcher and maker of
copies of the rich and rare material
j stored in the archives of the Library
of Congress for the benefit of authors,
I compilers and encyclopaedists. His-
I torical or biographical data relating to
i family history, particularly the Rev
( olutiouary period, is especially sought
after now.
For My Lady's Desk.
! The latest addendum to my lady's
writing desk outfit, and one that ap
peals to every feminine hear!, is a
dainty little volume about the sizo of
an ordinary note pad. It is bound in
| flexible cloth covers of mottled gray,
i with gilt tracings and appropriate de
signs. The volume contaius 152
pages, each one headed by a quotation
apropos to the subject of the page.
There is a schedule blocked out for
each month, with spaces for entries.
Each mouth has also several pages
for keeping track of "letters aud
notes," written nnd received; "hooks
and reading," with their subdivisions
of history, biography, poetry, novels,
science, travels, periodicals and news
papers, and dates of beginning aud
finishing. Other pages are labelled
"social engagements," with minor
divisions, for luncheons, dinners, in
terchange of visits; "intellectual re
creations," lectures, clubs aud musi
cals, amusements, opera and theatre
and interchange of courtesies rendered
and received. With one of these de
lightful littlo reminders on the desk
at the end of the year, my lady will be
able to give an accurate aceoifnt of re
sults accomplished along social aud
literary lines.
Discomfort and Style.
Tight, tighter, tightest, grow the
sleeves this spring, aud low, lower,
lowest goes that bodice seam on the
shoulders, upon which depends so
much of the comfort and convenience
of the wearer. Never, for years, have
women's clothes been in many ways
more uncomfortable. The discomfort
shows itself chiefly as applied to lift
ing the arms. In one of the fashion
ably cut and fitted gowns it is next to
impossible to raise one's hands a foot
from the straight aud narrow way in
which Noah's Ark men and women set
us such a striking example. Butting
on the hat or rearranging the hair af
ter the corsage is fastened is an utter
impossibility.
Dressmakers as well as dress wear
ers are in despair about the thing, as,
if it is hard to elevato the arms under
such conditions, still harder it is to
elevate the standard of styles that each
modiste holds to be so inexorable and
so to be striven after. What adds to
the rancor of the situation is the free
dom of movement women have en
joyed by reason of their short shoul
der eeams and big sleeves, with ca
pacious armholes, says the Philadel
phia Times. In Paris the Gcrdian
knot of discomfort is being out by
having the sleeves fitted to the arms
with the hands clasped above the
head.—San Francisco Chronicle.
Swhi Ma blln Gowns.
Gowns this season are made with
the skirts longer than they were last,
and this rule applies evon to wash ma
terials. Of course a long skirt is more
graceful than n short one, but it will
soil very much sooner, so it is not
well to trim it around the foot with
anything that cannot be washed or
cleaned. The skirt should bo made
separate from the lining. The five
gore style is a pretty one; then the
circular pattern is also good. The
The aprou front with deep flounce is
very effective, particularly if the
flounce is covered with little narrow
ruffles of the same material, edged
either with lace or trimmed with bahy
ribbon put on full. The prettiest way
to make the waist is to have it quite
shirred on the shoulders, and
quite full. This also should
havh bands of insertion. Over the
tops of the sleeves are epaulettes edged
with lace. The sleeves themselves
aro prettiest when shirred the entire
length, and finished around the wrist
with a lace ruffle. The baek of the
waist should have only a little fulness,
ind that drawn in under the belt. It
is not worth while to put insertion
across the back, for it will add greatly
to the expense, aud besides is not al
ways becoming. As a rule, a plain
back is the best. Taffeta sashes two
fingers it width, tied with a small
bow and long ends, and a stock collar
af the same ribbon, the bow tied in
front in sailor fashion, with the edges
trimmed with lace, make a nice finish
for the wrist. This style is equally
pretty in dotted or plain Swiss or lawn.
Lace will look better than embroidery
for trimming. There is no necessity
lor buying expensive lace either; there
are a great many effective laces among
the cheap ones. But beware of any
coarse thread; that looks very badlj
always. *
Among the new fashions for this
summer are flounoed skirts with three
flounces, one overlapping the other,
! and extending from the belt to the
hem. This style is very effective, but
the skirt should then be made narrow,
and the width given by the flounces!
Not every girl can wear a flounced
skirt. It takes off so much from the
height. When it can be worn, it is
most becoming.—Harper's Bazar.
Gossip.
There are more than one hundred
and fifty women's clubs in Texas at
present.
Lady Henry Somerset has become
manager of the Duxhurst Home for
Inebriates.
News comes from Shanghai that ten
Chinese ladies of distinction gave a
dinner for fifty European ladies.
Lady Uxbridgeat her marriage re
cently received presents worth $309,-
000 from the bridegroom alone.
Countess Alice Kearney has been
reappointed President of the Gran
tham Women's Liberal Association.
Queen Elizabeth of Roumania has
been honored with the degree of doc
tor of arts by the University of Buda
pest.
Mrs. Celia Wallace, of Chicago, who
offered to adopt Evangeliua Cisneros,
has purchased the famous Upham
diamond for $21,500.
A bill to enable women to serve as
County Councilors in Scotland was
introduced iu the British Parliament
on March 9 by Munro Ferguson. I
Lady Aberdeen has been criticising
the young women at Ottawa for monop
olizing all the men at social functions, i
and not presenting them to the women
who are visiting the city.
The new laboratories connected with 1
the London School of Medicine for
Women will be opened by the Princess
of Wales, accompanied by the Prince.
The celebration will take place during
the month of July.
Miss Fay Fuller, who has just been
appointed harbor mistress of Tncoma,
is the only woman iu the world hold
ing such a plaoe. She became prom
inent in the West a number of years
ago by beiug the first woman to ascend
Mount Tacoma.
Miss Emma Teller, the daughter of
Senator Teller, who was recently mar
ried, was a member of a Wellesley
alumuro club called tlie "Saturday
Afternoon Spinsters' Club." There I
were ten members, and Miss Teller is !
the ninth to renounce single blessed
ness.
Miss Jobnson.one of the best-known
women geologists iu tbis country, will
conduct a small party through Europe
this summer. She lias crossed Russia
several times, aud was a delegate to
the seventh International Geological
Congress, held in St. Petersburg last
August. I
The Indian women who formed
thomselves into a club some little time
ago on Indian Islaud, Mo., have de
cided to establish au industrial school
there. The elub is called the Wa- !
bauaki, and the mombers will endeavor
to preserve historical facts and relies
of their tribe.
It is said that Empress Elizabeth of
Austria has collected the photographs
of all the pretty women Bhe has seen |
during the last nine years. To eaoh
picture is attached a statement of the
name, age and circumstances of the
subject, with date aud place of the
takiug of the photograph.
.lust IVliat Women Want to Know,
Women who feel themselves re
sponsible for the appearance of their I
husbands, brothers and sons may be |
grateful for the following hints us to
masculine fashions:
The three-button sack coat is tho
oorrect business suit.
Blue, brown, red and green aro j
popular colors for shirts.
Diagonal-striped ties are more worn '
than other effects this year.
The old-fashioned turned down i
Collar is once more iu vogue.
Negliges are to be mueli worn by |
tho business mau this summer.
A pretty tie is tho imperial, with j
wide stripes of blue and green.
This season's boxeoats are of ker- j
seys, coverts, friezes aud vicunas. I
Soldier aud sailor suits have been
popular for boys since the war bogau. j
Link buttons are still popular, aud I
cuffs are rounded a bit at the corners, j
A new style collar has turned down i
rounded corners. These are entirely j
new.
Tan boxeoats of covert are the ' ■
proper topcoats for boys as well as
men just now.
Stripes are also popular in sweat
ers, tho Romau stripes plnying a con
spicuous part.
Suits of large overplnids in tweed 1
and cheviots are the correct thing for
golf and eyoliug.
Plain blue serge will be used for
business suits by men whose rating is |
beyond discussion.
Cutaway coats, fancy waistcoats and
odd trousers are nobby for afternoon
or semi-dress affairs.
Wide stripes will be worn this sum- I
mer in tho stiff-bosomed shirts, and <
madras will he much used for semi
dress. I
ACRICULTURAL_TOPICS
Preventing Smut in Oats.
The 1897 experiments in preventing
smut conducted by the New York ex
periment station at Geneva, showed
! that sprinkling the seed with a one
j per cent, solution of either lysol 01
| formalin entirely prevented the smut.
When the seed was sprinkled with a
solution of potassium sulphide a very
| small percentage of smut appeared.
In some tests in soaking the see l it
was found that 3-10 of one per cent,
solution of lysol prevented smut when
f . the seed was soaked one hour, and
( 2-10 of one per cent, solution of forma
-1 , tin one hour prevented any smut.
1 j None of the treatments injured the
; i seed in the least.—American Agricul
-1 turist.
Tin Can Irrigation In Gardens.
j Owing to the scalding of the plants
I sr the baking of the ground, surface
: , application of water during the hot,
. dry season is often injurious rather
j thau beneficial. By thoroughly sat
| urating the subsoil, leaving the dry
j surface to act as a mulch, the plants i
get the full benefit of all water ap
j plied, without harm. This can be
I done by digging a miniature reservoir
s foot or so fiom the plant hill, and
: with a long, straight rod opening an
j underground passage to the roots of
the plant. A much better plan, how
ever, is to take old tiu eaus that can
jbe picked up in any quantity in all
rubbish piles or dumping grounds,
and perforating their sides near the
| bottom in a number of places, set one
' in the ground a few inches from the
( hill to be watered. Fill with water
j and the roots of the plant will do the
I rest. Often the rootlets ' enter
through the perforations nud form a,
j mat iu the bottom of the cans. This
plan is especially adapted to vines of
all kinds. —J. L. Irwin, in New Eng
land Homestead.
Permanent Paitnre Field.,
| We prefer permanent pasture fields
for various reasons. We do not pas
ture our cultivated grounds at any
time. The cattle become attached to
I these habitual pasturages and never
1 attempt to break out. These contin
ual pasture fields do not have to bo
i renewed, as their blue grass is indi
genous to the soil and renews its
I wasted rootlets spontaneously, aud
the gras3 is so nearly a perfect ration
that but little grain is necessary to
keep a herd of cows in heavy flow of ,
milk. Last spring several cows on I
such pasture made good tests, rang- 7
! ing from fourteen pounds to sixteen
pounds eight and one-half ounces of
! butter iu seven days. Much of this
output was due to the care and feed
of the winter bofore, a combination of
a careful German—clover hay, well
kept stover, and a carefully balanced
ration of grain fed regularly. Grass
Jis naturally the food of the cow, and,
of course, the nearer she can be kept
to it the year round the better she
seems to do for the feed aud care ex- ,
pended on her.—The Epitomist.
Clay Floor For Dairy Cows.
Where one uses the ordinary stan
ihiou for fastening dairy cows we
doubt whether the clay floor can be
improved upon. A trough behind the
sows is provided for the excrement.
On the hard, level clay floor that
,'caches from stanchion to gutter or
trough, a wide plank is placed par
allel to the trough, and close up to it,
to catch what mauurial matter fails to
1 reach the trough. This is done as a
protection to the clay, for the useful
ness, perfection and durability of a
slay floor depends upon its being kept
dry. In making the floor, the moist
clay should be well pounded in order
to harden and solidify it, aud the floor
Bhould bo permitted to thoroughly dry
i before it is put to use, aud kept dry.
To no class of live stock does any
kind of floor seem so acceptable
s that of earth—nature's floor;
nd if the earth is of the right kind
aud treated in the right way in making . <
the floor, it will usually prove the best
floor of any aud the least costly.
Cement nud plank floors provo objec
tionable in many respects to both
stook and stock owners.—Edwin Mont
gomery.
Potatoes on Mucky Soli.
Mucky soil, because it is usually
dark colored, is always thought to bo
rioh. This may or may not be tha
faot, aocordiug to what the vegetable
mould is that makes the muok. It is
more often due to an excess of water,
which has chilled the soil nud has
prevented the mould from decaying
still farther and becoming carbonic
acid gas nud asli. So, because the
loil is black and mucky, it is not cer
tain that it is good for potatoes. Most
inueky soils need potash to enable
them to grow the best potatoes. Veg
etable matter in tho soil may make °n
great growth of stalks and leaves, and
If the leaves bo kept uninjured, this
will make a large growth of potatoes,
aud of good quality nlso. But if some *
potash is added to this muck it will
cause it to decay quicker aud furnish
still more plant food. The potatoes
on mucky land have one advantage, in
that the soil does not dry out so
quickly as if it were sand or gravel.
And as the vines are apt to be strong
er, the attacks of the potato beetle
are less injurious. It is all impor
tant, since the potato beetle has to bo
fought, that the vines be made to
grow as fast as possible. The beetle
is wise enough to choose the poorest
and thinnest vines to lay her eggs on
while a strong, vigorous viuo beside
it may not receive any of her eggs.
In a wet time the stronger potato
vines hold the moisture longer, and
the rain drowns out aud destroys
many of the eggs.—Boston Cultivator.
Miss Margaret Long, a "daughter
of the Navy," has recently matricu
lated in the senior class of tho nmdieul
department of tho Johns Hopkins
University. She expects ultimately
to practice medicine in Boston.