Tho Premiership of Si ain has no charms for the aspiring Don just now. Comparisons between American and Spain emphasize the fact that lighting blood is better than blue bleed. Only nineteen per cent, of those who applied for service in tho regular army passed the severe physical tests applied by tho government. A prominent bacteriologist states that scarcely ono dog in 10,000 sup posed to be mad in the sense that his bite will communicate hydrophobia is real ly so. A knowledge of this fact will cause a comparative feeling of secur ity, but then a close lookout should be kept against the one dog. Near Briancon, France, is the Al pine Glacier du Casset, which is now being regularly worked as an ice quarry, tho product being shipped by rail to Faris. The ice vein is about ono hundred feet wide nnd twenty-five thick, and it is found that it can be worked at a profit, making the first commercial use of the glacier so far known. Eailroads and other highways, im proved machinery and more modern methods of doing business are among tho wants cf Cuba, and with the on ward march of civilization these will doubtless he hers in the near future, observes the Philadelphia Becord. Cuba, like other tropical or seiui tropical countries, is not given to manufacturing; her people would rather sell the products of the soil and mines and buy manufactured goods. The total losses by fire during the past twenty-three years in the United States aggregate 82,454,592,481, on which there was insurance to tho amount of 81,433,902,448. At the be ginning of the period indicated, that is in 1875, the total annual loss aver aged about sixty-five millions, Tho destruction of property by fire has therefore almost doubled since that date. It is hardly necessary to state that tho increase of property during the period, although very great, bears no proportion to the loss. - =•-- - "J; J Official tests of tho eyesight of Bal timore school children—tests ordinar ily used by oculists—to the number of 53,0(17 show some interesting and sug gestive results. More than 9000 pupils were found to have such de fects in these organs as to make school work unsafe, while fifty-three per cent, of the children were found not to bo in the enjoyment of normal vision. Curiously enough, this per centage of defective eyesight steadily decreased with tho age of the pupils. The percentage of normal vision was found to be as follows: First grade, 35; second, 41; third, 47; fourth, 49; fifth, 48; sixth, 48; seventh, 54; eighth, 56. No explanation is offered for this improvement in eyesight with age and the use of the eyes under school conditions. It was found, however, that many blackboards and maps in the schools were not placed in the proper light, and the report of the oculists recommends yearly ex aminations hereafter of tho pupils' eyesight; also the adoption of a uni form system of adjustable seats and desks adapted to the heights of tho children. As far as the imports and exports of merchandise can be compared, the total foreign commerce of the United States for last year shows a remarka ble increase. In fact, this year end ing with June, has been the banner year in American foreign trade, which represents a larger aggregate volume than in any previous similar period of our commercial history. Figures Bhow that the exports of the products and manufactures of the United States represent a total value of 81,200,000,- 000, while the imports will be but lit tle more than half that sum. This gives a trade balance of nearly 8000,. 000,000, or 100 per cent, in our favor for the year. While our imports art less in value than in any year since 1835, our exports are the largest ever recorded. While tho greatest gain in our exports lias naturally been in tho products of our farms, it is very grati fying to know that there has been no falling ofl in tho foreign demand for American manufactures, which, for the year just ended, constituted twen ty-five per cent, of our total export trade. At the same time there has been a diminution in our purchases from forty-one per cent, of all imports a year ago down to thirty-seven per cent, for the year that terminated yes terday. Onr combined import and export trade, now aggregating 81,800,- 000,000, places ns in tho second com mercial position of the world, we hav ing now passed both Germany and France, and following very close to Uio United Kingdom. THE FIGHTING YANKEE TAR. Tbe ships have nr.d the cans luivo cV.angod, hut t!o spirit has nltereil not, For t ho less3ns \r< loara Ain the days longng >\v co lue 1 with ea !h shrieking shot, And in those days, wlior* our frigates sailed, no matter how near or far, They inado a name, and * J still the same, for the lighting Yankee tar. ,Our grandslres lived and our grandsiros fought with colors nailed to the mast, And we follow tbe lend, in the days now here, thev gave i:t the living past. Lai I yard to yard, they loved t > fight whore their cam on would leave their scar, And they made the name, and it's still the same, with the fighting Yankee tar. For it's open wido the twelve-inch breech, and "load" her with hor shell, Then "prime" her when you get the word, and see you "point" her well. "Ready now!'' "All hands stand clear!" until the word of "Fire!" When the gunner jerks the lanyard taut for another funeral pyre. —Philadelphia Times. I THE WEEGK OF THE VANDALIA. 1 k % fl' BY ONE OF HER CREW. W V ' /♦\ , If >♦< ♦ '*✓ ♦ * v' \/\/ v\/'*N/ *\y *\s ♦\ *♦* , fv/*\/V\/V\/'*\/^\/*\/*\ HE morning of • — ~~ March 14, ISS9, - - ■V'T-'- ws-.-v; there were seven men-of-war and &> many small craft gij-sat anchor in the kA\ 1 Sanioaa harbor of Si y)y Apia. Of all that ,jw number, thoro 0* VI was only ono ves- IvfSi. sel afloat thirty six hours later. The day opened with a murky and threatening aspect. "Mare's-tails" floated here and there in tho leaden sky; the sea seemed disturbed and restless; the wind rose and fell. Ey eleven o'clock the clouds had gathered into denser and darker masses, and reached to the horizon; the mercury fell rapidly; tho sea became more agi tated, and the whitecaps rose higher and faster; tho wind came out fresh from the northeast. It soon began to shift against the hands of the watch, and gave warning that tho approach ing storm would be circular, like a whirlwind. Eeforo noon the signal was flying from our Hag-ship Trenton: "Send down lower yards and house topmasts." Immediately preparations were begun on the Vandalia to ride out a heavy gale. The light yards and masts were sent down; tho topmasts were housed; the lower yards were lashed across the ship's rail, and the topsail yards across the tops; tho guns were secured for sea; everything movable about the decks was lashed; the boats were rigged in; chain was veered to two anchors and steam was raised in all tho boilers. By four o'clock in the afternoon the wind had backed around through thirty-twc points of the compass, traveled to the right to east-northeast, and backed again to tho left to north northeast, from which direction it con tinued to blow even more furiously while the storm lasted. Darkness came early and settled down over a wicked sea, tho angry waves breaking into seething foam as they dashed over tho hidden reefs and rushed heavily past the laboring ships tugging at their moorings. By half past eight o'clock the wind had in creased to hurricane force, and tho Vandalia's third and last serviceable anchor was let go. The sens were running higher and higher. About ono o'clock a heavy wavo broke over the forecastle, carry ing away the catamaran which was hoisted above the rail and sweeping tho deck. The waves came heavier and faster, and the old ship, now high on the crest of some lofty billow, now pitched violently into its depths, was slowly dragging her anchors. The engines were kept going with all the power they could develop, bnt they were not a match for the roaring sea and the howling wind. Tho ship pulled and jerked at her chains, jarring and shivering as the strain came violently on them, and many weary men, tossed here nnd there in their bunks and hammocks, longed and prayed ior the day; but they were not to wait in" their wretched beds till dnylight, for about three o'clock a furious wave bloke heavily over tho ship and rushed vio lently below. Instantly tho command from the captain, "All hands on deck!" brought up every man just ns ho came from his berth, or at most wearing only a pair of trousers and a shirt, or a blouse and shoes. At last the day stole over the temp estuous scene, but it brought little comfort to the anxious watchers. Never shall I forget the awful picture of confusion and disaster that spread out before ma in the faint dawn*. To windward nothing could be seen, for iaiu, wind and spray swept over us in stingiug gusts and sheets. Over head occasional clouds scudded across tho dull, thick, leaden sky; high aloft flew the white foam as the seas dashed angrily against the ship's sides; ofl" to leeward floated dense black masses of smoke, as tho firemen in tho swel tering stokehold stirred the fires into greater activity. All around us seethed tho tumultuous seas, and not far away tho snow-white breakers Hung themselves with ominous roar ing upon the hidden coral reefs. To leeward lay t'ue other ships, ex cept t'ue Trenton and those that had already gone down, rolling, pitching, drnggiug, surging in that waste of waters, now strewn with wreckage in every diroction. A sailor, washedfrom some lost or struggling vessel, would occasionally float by, look appealingly np to us beyond bis reach, and pass out of sight forever. The weathcr-bcateu and dismantled war-ships, laboring heavily, their masts swaying sullenly back and forth, with rigging adrift and trailing, with colors whipped into shreds and tat ters, seemed each like some proud ani mal brought at last to bay, but struggling flercely for life and mas tery. One moineat a vessel would ap- pear to bo overcome in the mighty deluge; the next it rose triumphant, shaking oSf its foe; then, shivering in every timber and pouring forth huge volumes of black smoke, it would plunge blindly as if to destruction. The sailing vessels and smaller craft soon sank or drifted helplessly upon the roef3. Thus had gone down the Eber, cut in two by her German consort, the Olga. There was a re sounding crash, a splitting of frames, a heavy jar and a mighty tremble; the bow and stern separated, and all hands on board—half of the crew were engulfed. Four, by a miracle, drifted alive to the shore. The Adler, another German ship, lay on her beam-ends on the western reef, a sad illustration of the fury of the waves. Hard was the fate of her crew. Some, unable to escape, as the waters rushed back and forth from her lower hold to the reefs along her under side, died instantly. l!ows of men, more fortunate, lined her upper rail and beam, clinging to the bul warks and trailing rigging; but manv of them, unable to endure tho seas that broke over them and hammered them against tho sides, wore swept overboard, to be pounded to death upon the reefs. The American Nipsic, after a short struggle, was forced upon the sandy part of tho beach, fortunately for her crew, and all hands were transported to the shore over a life-line, except seven poor fellows, lost within an arm's reach of safety by the capsizing of a boat. Three hundred yards directly tolee : ward of the Vandalia lay the power ful and modern Hritish Calliope, mak ing a desperate struggle, under a full pressure of steam, to keep up to her anchors, but falling back inch by inch toward the western reef. Tho Olga was now hero, now there, but always to leeward, plunging madly against the seaI', 1 ', but unable to escape, and drifting slowly toward the peril ous reefs. And we, in that deadly dawn, were drifting toward our own destruction. Out of sight and to windward was the Trenton, carrying our bravo ad miral. She, too, was fighting a des perate fight, as tho water surged through the hawse-pipes and rushed below, putting out her fires. It is one thing to face death in a battle, with an enemy against whom one can exert the human powers. It is another to stand calmly and feel oneself steadily going the way of thoso ho Las already seen sink beneath the merciless waves; but bo it said to the everlasting glory of the Vandalia's crow, as tho ship drifted on to de struction, they showed no despair, but urged her to all tho power she could muster, and bent themselves at tho pumps and relieving tackles as if strong in hope. They would die striving, if die thoy must. That is the spirit of heroes. At a critical moment tho tiller ropes parted, and we lay exposed to the full force of the tremendoussoa on our broadside. To add to the confu sion, the glass and crockery had been hurled across the cabiu, and rolled back, and forth in shattered pieces, with the water covering the cabin Hoor. Here, with apparently 110 thought for such triilcs as broken glass in the hands and feet, with 110 feeling for pain, tho bravo sailors tugged at the relieving taeklc-s; but despite all efforts, tho poor old ship showed sho could never survito the fight; and other forces besides the elements were to bo reckoned with. Tho British Calliope had forged very elowly ahead, and was struggling to get to sea. Sao was now only a few yards astern of us, and sho must keop head to sea. We were slowly drifting back toward her. Oa the port hand, and only a few yards away, wallowed Iho German Olga, seemingly unmanageable. Sud denly she plunged forward, and her white bow struck tko Vandalia's side. All staudiug at our posts, wo thought, "lias the eu.l come?" She scraped along our side, carried away a boat, freed herself, and held her own, while the bruised and battered Yau dalia fell off to leeward. We had scarcely time enough to feel thaukful for this fortunate escano, when the cry of "Clear the poop deck!" rang out, startling every one within range of the voice. At the mainmast I stoppod and looked aft. I can find no words to describe the be wildering thing I saw. A large wave swept past, dropping the Yandalia's stern deep into its hol low, and raising the Calliope's bow high in mid air. The mighty mass of iron towered above our tottering craft as if to fall upen her and crush her to atoms. No mau left his post, but with set teeth aud bated breath awaited the crash. A few short seconds, and then a shout of joy went up to Heaven, while the overhanging mass, as if guided by the iuvisiotj band of divine I'rovi deuho, rolled clear; but an instant later slie came against our starboard quarter, carried away the upper rail and mizzen rigging, and crushed in the quarter-gallery; then freed herself, and steamed very slowly out of the harbor into tho open son—Yankee sailors, doomed to destruction, cheer ing her to their own immortal glory, as she fonght forth to safety which they could not share. In the meantime we were drifting nearer and nearer the reef. The ship could not possibly live much longer, nor could we help her. 31 .my men had been in the fire-room all night. Othcis had worked for hours at tho pump and tho relieving tackles. There is a limit to human endurance, al though tho limit is very high, and one by one the men were forced, by sheer physical exhaustion, to leave the sweltering stoke-hole, being relieved by volunteers from the deck. About eleven o'clock the Yandalia was not fifty feet from the reef, and absolutely at the mercy of the wavos. only one anchor still "dragged. The Others had been lost by the parting of the cables; and though every man struggled on as well as the waning strength could sustain his efforts, it was evident thnt our ship was doomed. There was yet one chauco to save the crew. The last cable was slipped, and the ship, steaming at her best speed, bended for the sandy beach near the month of the Yaisigano River. The course was almost broadside to the sea, and the old Vnndalia made more leeway than headway. Drawing too much water to clear the edge of tho reefs, wo struck two hundred yards from the beach. On this shelving reef,tho ship listed to leeward and began to settle. The seas swept over her in torrents. In twenty minutes she had filled with water. Tho waves broke many feet above lb j main deck, and two hundred and twenty men rushed for safety into the rigging. Tho old ship swayed and groaned in every timber ns tho wates rushed madly against her and rushed below. Ladders, hammocks, chests, hand spikes, spars and rigging floated off to join the general wreckage. On shore the brave natives and the officers from the Nipsic patrolled the beach in sight of their comrades cling ing to the sinking Vandalia. They tried again and again to launch a boat in tho vain hope of getting a line to the ship; but no boat could live in such a sea. As we clung to the rigging and cowered in the top,and gazed over the stormy scene, we saw nothing to en courage or cheer us. The wind showed 110 sign of abating; the sea gave no promise of mercy. There was 110 hope of succor. Still many of the officers and crew looked cheerful, but tho cheerfulness was forced and only indicated the spirit that will not cower before any fate. As the afternoon wore slowly array the loss of strength began to tell on the men in the rigging. One by one the faiat and weak began to drop off into the sen, some wrenched from tho shrouds and stays by the angry waves, some swept from the deck while at tempting to change their positions. Others, unaware of the treacherous undercurrent and overestimating their skill and strength, made efforts to swim to the Nipsic close by, or tho beach, a short distance beyond. Some of theso sank beneath our eyes. Others would battle long, only to he finally caught by the undertow and carried out to sea; but few of all reached shore. Our captain, faint from a wound on the head and uuahle to reach the rig ging, stood on tho poop-dcck clinging to the iron rail. By his side stood a marine who had not left his captain since eight o'clock in the morning. It was touching indeed to see the man's devotion as the waves broke over the two. Au officer high in rank stood on tho mizzen rigging, saw them, and realized their danger. Ho jumped to the deck and made for the captain's side. He missed his goal, was struck by a monster wave, and swept headlong down through tho cabin skylight into the surging, fonmiug pool that flooded thecabiu. Presently, as by a miracle, he roso from the watery tomb, regained tho deck and struggled to the rigging again. Then he turned and saw that the captain and his faithful marine had been swept off by tho selfsame wave which had struck him down. Now this marine was hut one of many humble men whom I saw freely venturing and frequently giving up their lives to save injured officers or weakened comrades iu that dreadful, heroic day. Helpless men floated amid the wreck age. Everyone onboard was drenched and cold. Not a bite cf food had passed our lips for twenty-four hours, and tho strongest of tho crew needed more than excitement to sustain them. Many of them wero almost naked. The situation becamo desperate as night began to settle down, and one by one we were dropping off into tho waves or being washed away, some reaching shore on a piece of wreck age, but many going out to sea with the swift and treacherous undertow. Tho Nipsic lay about fifty yards or more distant. A lino to her meant possibly safety for all of n3. A quiet ycmng seaman named Ham mar unrovo the signal halyards. In one end ho made a bowline which he placed over his body. Leaving tho other end free and oa the ship's deck he plunged into the raging sea. He was*never seen after he struck tho water. The current cang'ut him and sucked him under. No tomb or headstone marks the sailor's grave, uo epitaph tells how ho died; bnl a memory of him will always live in the hearts of th*se for whom he died. Another sailor, Johnson, cqna'.ly brave and more fortunate, made the same effort. He never reached the : Nipsic, bat miraculously reached the i shore. A third man, a brawny fireman, after studying the currents carefully, threw off the few remaining stitches of clothing which he wore, leaped boldly overboard and struck out bravely for the Nipsic. A shout went up as he reached her, and drew himself oa hoard; but he carried no rope from the Vnndalia, so his herculean efforts availed us nothing. Still we clung on, one hundred and fifty of us, faint aad weary, awaiting our end as the darkness settled around us. But God had willed that we bo spared. About half past seven in tho evening wo saw the dim flicker ol lights to windward and gradually drawing nearer. A few minutes later n dark, heavy mass brought up on our windward side with a crash. It was the Trenton! and what remained of the Vandalia's crew swung themselves quickly on board of her. Ere the last man of us had left the Vandalia's slackened rigging, tho main and mizzen masts of our once gallant ship toppled into the sea, com pleting her destruction. All that re mained of her was a sunken hulk, over which still floated the Stars and Stripes. Tho Trenton's lower decks were under water, and her stern pounded heavily upon the reefs far into the night, but the suu roso clear and beautiful over a sea of perfect calm. In its day of fury forty-three of our comrades and more than one hundred others had been destroyed, with a fleet of costly ships. Now it was Sunday; and the four hundred and fifty persons ou the Trenton—her own crew and what re mained of tho Vandalia's—wcro trans ported to tho shore, where memorial services were held for the departed souls of the brave.—Youth's Com panion. Device# For Detaching Horses. Of late quite a number of inven tions have been put out, the object of which is to detach a ruuaway horse from the vehicle. Mauy advantages aro claimed for this idea in its various forms. A careful overlooking, how ever, of the subject does not warrant very much enthusiasm as to the inven tion. In the first place, no horse ■ihould he allowed to run away. Tois assertion does not, of course, apply to sudden accidents or frights whero horses are sure to become unmanage able almost on the instant, and may overturn or plunge into any obstruc tion before tho driver hns time or op portunity to get them under control. The idea of suddenly detaching the horse at full speed is a most unprac tical one. If the vehicle were running ou a tramway where the momentum would carry it only in n straight lino this might do. It would be ou tho same principle of breaking the coup ling of a car. But on any ordinary road, however good, a wheel of tho vehicle might, whilo still going at n high rate of speed, strike a stone or any trifling obstruction and throw it out of line, precipitate it into a ditch or capsize it altogether. luexpcrioHced horsemen arc warned against any device that professes to bring safety by detaching the horse when at a high rate of speed. If one were likely to run into the ocean, down an embankment or into a rail way train, the detaching device might be of bonefit, but the chances are that it would precipitate n calamity instead of averting it.—New York Ledger. An Arclitsolnglrul Discovery in Greece. A now Pompeii was discoveredsomo time ago at Pyrene, in Greece, and the work of excavation, which was aban doned for a time 011 ncconnt of lack of funds, or some such reason, has been taken up again with renewed vigor. The whole plan of the little town, which has been preserved almost as lnnrvcl ous'y as rompeii, is being laid bare. Up to the present time 110 Greek town has been so well excavated, it is said. All tho streets are intact, with their rows of houses on each side. A Temple cf Minerva has been discovered, founded, legend says, by Alexander tho Great, and there are great hopes that soon tho theatre wilt be unearthed. In Switzerland, too, archaeologists have been at work. At Geneva workmen ougaged on repairing tho Tour d<! l'lle came across a bronze sword in excel lent preservation. From the descrip tion tho weapon seems to date from the latter part of the Bronze Period. It ha 3 now been deposited in the local r.rchicological museum. —San Fran cisco Argonaut. What Dewey'i Ancestors Did. Somebody has dug out of "Jen nings's History of Vermont" an enter taining story of Admiral George's I godly ancestor, the Rev. Jedodiah j Dewey. It seems that the Rev. Jede- I diah was holding services in honor of ! the victory at Bennington, and, as was I right and proper, was giving Provi dence all the credit for the triumph of the American nrais. Ethan Allen, who was present, chafed under this neglect of his own part in tho battle, and, rising in his pew iu the middle j of the "long prayer," as it was called, j said: "Parson Dewey, Parson Dewey, ! Parson DCWOT." The clergyman | stopped and opened his eyes. The | intrepid Allen went on: "Pieaso men j lion to tho Lord about, my being ! there." Not daunted by this out rageous interruption, the holy man j thundered: "Ait down, thou bold I blasphemer, and listen to the word of God."—Philadelphia Record. Saliaru l)?*ert. No fewer tliaa 12,000,000 acres ol ■ land have been made fruitful in the ] Sahara desert,an enterprise represent ing perhaps the most remarkable exam ple of irrigation by meaus of artesian j wells which can anywhere he found. SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL Sound is not transmitted by a vacuum, "but light is. lodine is n crude alkaline matter, produced by the combustion of sea weed. If fifteen drop 3 of bacteria were let fall in a cup of broth, they would pro dueo in twenty-four hours Si),000,01)0. An authority on microscopy states that the hair of a woman can be dis tinguished by its construction from that of a man. Electro-magnets for purposes of lifting easting aud machinery have been extensively employed in 'found ries and machine shops. If tho earth were not enveloped with atmosphere, the tomperaturo at the surface would be about 330 de grees Fahrenheit below zero. Electrical machinery operated by one man is applied to the ringing of the three great bells of the cliurch of St. George, Berlin, Germany. Tho number of vibrations which occur with the shrillest of audible sounds is 30,000 or 40,000; with tho deepest tones, only about twenty-four to thirty. The lantern fly of Surinam, South America, has two sets of eyes, so as to catch the light from all directions. Its light is like that of the ordinary firefly, but it is much more brilliant. A machine for which designs are now in hand is intended to show the effect of repeated tensile aud compres sive stresses, and will have a canacity of 100,000 pounds. The stresses are to alternate between tension and com pression at tho rate of sixty turns a minute. WISE WORDS. Look before you leap; seo before you go.—Tusser. Burdens become light when cheer fully borne.—Ovid. Children have more need of models than of critics.—Joubert. Ccnstnuey is the complement of other human virtues.—Mazzini. Censure is the lax a man pays to tho public for being eminent!— Swift, The truly generons is truly wise, nnd ho who loves not others, lives un blest.—Home. Tho more any one speaks of himselb the less ho likes to hear another talked of.—Lavater. To dispense with ceremony is the most delicate mode of conferring a compliment.—Bulwer. Prot ideuce has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life.—Voltaire. Wherever you find patience,fidelity, honor, kindness, truth, there you find respectability, however obscure and lonely men may be.—H. W. Beecher. Eye Language. No part of tho human countenance engages our attention so frequently as tho eyes. When face to face in con versation, we do not look at the lips— although, as a rule, the attention is very quickly taken by any movement —but at the eyes of the person with whom we are speaking. So much is this tho case that the habit of many deaf people of watching the mouth al ways strikes us as peculiar. Iu fact, one usually feels that there is a sense of incompleteness in the association of mind with mind by means of conversa tion if there is not a continual inter change of glances making a kind of running commentary on the words spoken. The same may be said of or dinary greetings when two people shake hands; unless there is at the same moment a meeting of friendly looks the ceremony loses much of its meaning. Now why is thero this continual meeting of eyes aecompatiyingall kinds of human intercourse? Partly, no doubt, it is attributable to certain habits of comparatively recent date. The eye, "the window of the soul," is a more truthful exponent of the in wnrd thoughts t ™.u the tongue, and seeing that speech is very frequently used not to tell tie thoughts but to conceal thorn, we 1 ok to the eye for confirmation or the reverse for what our ears are taking in.—Popular Science. The Products f the Philippines. Kice is the chief product of tho Philippine Islands, but it is not ex ported. It is the staple food of tho natives, nnd sometimes the supply is short. Both the mountain and low land rice are produced, aud more than ninety varieties are known. It is easy to cultivate Ihem, and in favorable years the yield is very generous. Maize is grown in considerable quan tities. bo are tho sweet potato, yams, ground nuts, gourds, potatoes, peas. A little wheat is raised at high eleva tions. Among the fruits are the mango, plantain, banana, mnngosteen, jack fruit, medlars, lanzon aud durian, the last especially in the Sulu Islands. The islands are generally mountain ous, and at proper elevations the fruits of southern Europe nnd of Florida flourish, as the orange, citron and sapotilla. The cotton of this archipelago is ex cellent and its production makes some progress. The cacao can he success fully grown and of good quality, but little attention is paid to it. The tea plant has been tried in botanic gar dens and is found to thrive. The islands are rich iu odorous flowers, and the manufacture of essences and perfumes is increasing. Cinnamon, the pepper tree and many other of tho valuable plants of the Malay Penin sula and the East ludies cithtr grow hero naturally or can be easily intro duced.—Scientific American. How Spinning Wan Thought Of. Arkwright accidentally derivod. tho idea of spinning by rollers from see ing a red-hot bar elongated by being! passed between two rollers. HOUSEHOLD AFFAIRS. To Prevent Itust on Stoel. Fire-irons that have to be laid by riluring the warm months should be protected from rust by being coated with a mixture of india rubber, dis solved to the consistency of cream in naphtha. This coating can easily be rubbed off the steel when needed. Novel nail Cheap Portieres. Clever women have found a novel way of-utilizing ball gowns after they are discarded for wear. It is to mate thorn into portieres. The different colors and materials are put together harmoniously iu strips about a quar ter of a yard wide, joined with some effective embroidery stitch. The stitching should be in bright colors, corresponding with the materials used. A popular pattern is the "bayadere stripe," where the strips run diagon ally. Ilints For Cleaning Gloves. Gloves cleaned with naphtha are usually wrinkled, and smell of the cleansing agent besides. A woman who has learned to do the job suc cessfully, says that, she does it by drawing the glove on tho hand, having ffrst mended it neatly in case it needs it; then with a clean sponge, kept for the purpose, and a small howl of naphtha, she goes smoothly over tho glove, rubbing 0110 way until all the spots are removed. Then with a clean towel she wipes the glove over again before taking it off and pinning it to a towel. When several are thus at tached to the towel, she puts it over a chair or in some place where the air will reach the gloves, and she does not undortake to wear them for at least a week after they have been thus cleaned. Avenues of Wastefulness. Mops and brooms not bung up. Tea and coffee pots neglected. Corks left out of vinegar and molasses jugs. Spiees exposed to the air. Preserves opened, forgotten and left to sonr. Soap left in dishpans to dissolve! and waste. Orange fpeel thrown away (save it for kindling). Bits of meat thrown away. Carpot brooms used to scrub with. Pieces of bread and cake allowed to dry and mould and then thrown away. Failing to dry a box of soap for sev eral days before using it. Dried fruits left uncovered and con sequently allowed to become wormy. Dish towels used for holders. Sheets used for ironing table. Napkins used for dish towels. Towels used for wash rags. The face of flat irons used to crack nuts on. Pictures In Modest Homes. Touching the matter of pictures in the country homes, where the resour ces of tho city print shop are not read ily available and substitutes must of ten be accepted in lieu of thing t one would like to have, somebody has very well said: Too many pictures are of ten used in a single roam. Better one good picture, properly framed, than three or four crowded together along a wall. I have counted something like twenty pictures on the walls of a singlo room in a country house, and the room was not very large either. In these days of photographic re production, copies of the ffnost pictures in the world are placed within the reach of almost every home, even those where severe economy must be prac ticed. Photographs of tho finest of ancient and modern art can now be had from fifteen cents to SI each, ac cording to the size, and if one has a little ingenuity in tho use of tools frames for these can be made at home. On the whole, no more satisfactory pictures can be obtained for a small sum than these mounted photographs of great paintings. Then, too. one can often find in various lirst-clnss periodi cals full page reproductions of some beautiful modem paintings. These, surrounded by a home-made matting aud a home-made frame, will bo in good taste, will be decorative and to the last degree inexpensive. The choice of colored pictures for framing is a matter fraught with no little risk, unless one is competent to dis tinguish between good and poor work. Tho art papers send oat monthly some very attractive reproductions in color of modern paintings and these are suitable. —Good Housekeeping. Iteclpes. Gingerbread Nuts—Bub half pound fresh bntter into one and one-half pounds sifted flour; add tablespoon ground ginger and a dust of eayenno. Warm one pound treacle, and half pound brown sugar together; then work into the flour. Koll thiu; cut into round cakes; bake on buttered pan in quick oven. Homemade Sausage—Chop two pounds of lean pork very fine, sprinkle through a teaspoouful each of powdered sage leaves, black pepper and salt. Make into cakes ami fry brown on both sides in boiling hot dripping. With cream sauce made dark by browning the butter thoy ara particularly good. Prune Whip—Twenty prunes, boil until tender, remove pits aud chop very fine, add half cup powdored sugar, whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, add half a cup more sugar, stir in the prunes, whip all lightly togethor; put iu a large dish, bake iu a moderate oven half an hoar; serve with whipped cream. Caraway Cookies—Cream together nine tablespoonfuls of sugar and foar of butter. Add four well-beaten eggs, one cup of milk, a little grated nut meg, one ounce of caraway seeds, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking pow der, a pinch of salt and enough flour' to raaka a dough that will roll out eas ily. Bake iu a moderate or en twenty minutes.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers