If there are any blowholes in Amer ican armor plate Sprain can't prove it. Of 8700 American war pensioners residing in foreign countries at tho time of the last report, ten only re sided in Spaiu. "Billingsgate," to describe bad language, is no longer a correct term, the vocabulary of Loudon's great fish market having bceu improved by tho exertions of the London City Mission. It is said that a patient in a Dela ware hospital hail thirty-one epileptic fits in two days and "apparently ex perienced no unpleasant effects from them." This seems to be a clear case of the survival of the fittest. Tho London Saturday Review says: "The b'sson of all our conflicts with America was that the American soldiers and sailors shot markedly better than our own and won astonishing victor ies. It looks r.s if the old lesson holds good to-day." No higher tribute could be paid to a warship's crew than that paid by Captain Evans to the men of the Iowa: "So long as the enemy showed his flag they fought like American sea men, but when the flag came down they were as gentle and tender as American women." In that preguunt sentenco is the whole philosophy of military heroism. The recent establishment of a whale oil manufactory on Notre Dame Bay calls attention to the fact that whaling is now a paying venture oft' the coast of Newfoundland. Recently seven whales, worth nearly SIOOO each, were captured by a company of Norwegian wbalers. A compauy has been formed to carry on the industry. This ought to make the old fishermen around Amagansett prick up their ears. To - sibly the old shipyard of Cold Spring Harbor, which fitted out the whalers of tlio last century, may resume busi ness. The Philadelphia Commercial Mu seum says that Torto Rico is well adapted by soil and climate not only for the growing of cotton, but for the manufacture of cotton fabrics as well, though for the growth of the plant it will be necessary to engage native labor or to secure help from Cuba. Of the more than cue thousand streams upon tho island sixty arc navigable, anil mauy of them could be utilized to furnish power, which is an important consideration, since all the coal used must bo brought from this country; and all the chief towns are connected by railway, though communication with the interior is only possible by ox tvwms. In speaking of the recent popular war loan the Baltimore American says: Not since the wonderful alacrity with which, in July, 1871, the French peasants and the working people of Paris went down into their stockings and subscribed iu a day $400,000,000 to meet tho first installments of the big war indemnity with which the German iuvader was bought out of France, has there beeti so impressive a demonstration of the latent resources of a great nation, or of its patriotic confidence in its Government. It will Be to European Governments as signb licant a proof of the enormous re served strength of the American peo ple as all our military and naval suc cesses put together, brilliant though they are. The wealth of a nation and its ability to raise money within its own territory on moderate terms is a main element in its fighting capacity. More and more is the machine en croaching upon tho fields where formerly the handworker held full 6way, says the Dry Goods Economist. This not entirely new observation is suggested by our latest advices from Paris as to fall and winter styles. It ' seems that trimmings of nil kinds will bo profusely used in costume aud gar ment decorations, and that this style lias been brought about large!y by the diessmakers in an endeavor to bring into popularity something that could not be produced by machines. Judg ing from present reports, however, they reckoned without their Lost; for the modern mechanical devices are capable of reproducing even the finest and most delicate designs wrought by the cunning hand of the seamstress or maker of embroidery. Of com so, there are some applications and figures that cannot be made on machines; but nevertheless such a high state of per fection lias been attained in this direc tion that there is but precious little in his iiue that tho machine cannot re produce with a fidelity to handwork that i 3 startling, and so close is the imitation in many instances that only the expert eye can detect tho differ dnco. LIGHTS OUT. Flow often In our iitflo boat On summer evenings wo would float; Careless of time, of oast and west, Ceasing from fillo talk and jest, As o'er the waters restless flow, Drifted iu cadence sweet and low, That plaintive buglo call- Lights out! flow through tho old fort It would ring, Strange echoes from the casemates bring; While we would wait, our oars at rest [Tpon the river's peaceful breast, Aud watch the yellow lamp-gleauis die At tho silvery warning sigh OI that plaintive bugle call- Lights out! From far-off camp, from land of fears, O'er wastes of distance, parting, tears, Comes the familiar sound of old, Our life in darkness to enfold. Alone, upon life's troubled sea, Tho futeful message comes to me, Of that plaintive bugio call- Lights out! -Gertrude F. Lynch, in the Chap Boo!;. THE PYGMY BANDIT. if. „ v nle growing Vsomewhat curi- X' ' $1! oils about my e— \n . stuffed oasrle?" remarked Hand : v-* |9 hurst, the detee _ pS tive, with a j§j„~r smile, as he v caught my eye J* wandering for " -S.JSA'' - the fifth time to the big bird perched, with outspread wings, on the top of his bookcase. "Have another cigar, aud I will tell you how X came by him. The tale is odd aud will interest you, I thiuk. "It happened iu 1815. The great nod populous State of Missouri was then little more than a thinly settled wilderness. Traveling was done mainly by stage and saddle. There were a few main roads, leading for long distances through woods and prairie; but for the most part the country was wild and uninhabited. "Father, at that time, lived about forty miles from the present site of St. Louis, iu a little frontier community called St. llegis. I believe the name has been chuuged since. I haven't been back thero for half a century. Father was storekeeper and postmas ter. I was his only child, and, at tho time I am telling you about, was a kid of fourteen. "One day the mail earner rode up to the store in n state of great excite ment. lie tumbled oil' his horse and came into the store, pale, aud hardly able to speak. "'What's tho matter, Corrigan?' asked my father. " 'Matter, sol'? The mischief's to pay! An imp of sathan dropped upon me out av the clear sky, sor, an' wid u pistol to caeli wan av me ears, towld me to drop tho mail bag iu the road an' ride for 1110 life, widout wauce lookin' behind.' " 'And you obeyed?' " 'Av coor.se Oi did. Whin the evil wan himself has the drop on a man loike that, do yez think it would be healthy for him to stop an' palaver? No, sor! Oi cut loose the mail-bag, and tho tiend dropped oil' mo horse's flank, an' the fates be praised! Oi'm alive to tell yez the tale.' " 'Did you not get a glimpso of the man?' " 'The man? No, sor! Oi'mtellin' yez it wasn't a man at all! It was a foul fleud or Oi'll ate me head. How could a mau light upon me horse's back from behind, widout a souud av warning?' The first t'ing Oi knew, the imp had his shootin' irons in me ears; an' whin he sphoke the sclimell av his voice was like sulphur. U-r-r-r! Worra, worra! Tim Corrigau's no coward, plaze God, whin it comes to d'ulin' wid man or baste. But the Old Scratch himseif's another thing." "The news spread like wildfire through the little community that burly Tim Corrigan had been robbed of the mail. Twelve or fifteen men aud boys soon gathered at the stove and a party was made up, headed by my father, to rido back to tho scene of the robbery and see if any trace of Tim's 'fiend' could be discovered. Tim himself, at first, refused to go. He was entirely demoralized by super stitious fear, llut upon promise of a body-guard and a safe place at the rear, lie finally consented to be one of the party. "The mail hag was found at the ex act spot indicated by Corrigan, ripped open and rilled of all its valuable cou tents, consisting of several packages of value a:.d enclosures of money. But not tho slightest trace of tho thief could be discovered. There were no prints of a horse's hoofs, save those of the animal ridden by Corrigan himself. Neither could a man's footprints he found, nor a trail in the bushes beside the read. An old Indian lighter iu the party searched long and carefVJy, but eveu his trained eye failed to dis cover a sign. The affair was a mys tery, and Tim's theory of the agency oi tho Evil Olio began, covertly, to gain Homo ground. "This mruuge highway robbery, however, was only tho first of many of a similar character which, from that time on, anunSted and terrified the pioneers throughout that section. The paymaster of a lumbering gang was mysteriously pounced upon and re lieved of 8500 in small bills. A former returning from tho gristmill lost tho little roll of money that represented nearly all his season's earnings. A surveyor separated from the rest of .lis part felt suddenly a death-like grip about his neck that tightened re lentlessly until he lost consciousness. When he recovered he found his in strument, his watch, and his little store of ca3li all gone. It was getting to be as much as a man's life was worth to venture alone into the woods. "In every ense it was noted that the mysterious assailunt attacked only solitary victims, anil that ho always pounced upon them, silently, from above and behind. It was snough to make a man's blood run cold to reflect that at any moment this mysterious creature, man, beast, or spirit, might light on his neck anil chcke, shoot, or stab the life out of him. As yet there was no record of murder against the creature, but who could tell what he might do if resisted or unduly pro voked. "After three different mail-carriers had been robbed, the postoflice officials sent a detective to St. Regis to look into the matter. This man, I remem ber, was an object of the greatest won der and admiration on the part of our entire community, none of us ever having seen a real, live detective be fore. Ho lodged with father during his stay in St. Regis, and thus I was brought into intimate association with him. The result of that intimacy, I think I may say, was what determined my choice of a profession in life. But I am digressing—or anticipating. v "The detective scoured the woods for days at a time. He lay in conceal ment at various points of the post-road between St. Regis and the station 011 the river where the mail was delivered to the carrier. He even risked ctfrry ing the mail himself a few times; but, as he told me, laughingly, the strain of that constant t\v ist of the neck was too much for him. "So long as the detective remained in tho vicinity there were no more rob beries nor assaults. The clever man discovered nothing positive, but he puzzled out a clue which he gave to father for what it was worth, when ho was obliged to leave on other business. The clue was this: "Near the spot where the surveyor had been overpowered tho detective found an eagle's feather. Most men would not have given this slight cir cumstance a second thought. But a detective is a man to whom everything possesses significance. My friend put tho feather in his pocket and pon dered over it. He reflected that the approach of the bandit was always, ap parently, through the air; that he dropped silently down upon his victim from behind and above, as a bird of prey might do. Was it not possible then—putting two and two together— that the creature, whatever it was, might be something in bird form? "I saw that my father was inclined to smile at the suggestion when it was made to him, but I treasured it in my mind, for I could not help feeling somehow that it came starfcliugly near tho truth. "No sooner was the detective gone than I fell to working out his clue. To be sure. I was only a boy, but I was active and inquisitive and very desir ous of doing something to prove my self worthy of tho detective's friend ship. Besides, the postoflice authori ties had offered a reward of three hun dred dollars that would lead to the discovery of the mysterious highway man, or live hundred dollars for his actual capture. Such an incentive as this was enough to sharpon a boy's wits us well is a man's. "The thing for me to do, I con cluded, was to keep a sharp outlook for eagles at all hours of the day. With this purpose iu mind, I spent a large share of my leisure time on top of a cliff about three miles froift St. Regis, commanding a wide view of the valley in which tho village lay. "The detective had been gone about a week when, one alter noon, as I lay upon the cliff, I saw a shadow sail over tho woods below me. Booking up from my place of concealment, I be held, almost directly over my head, the form of a great eagle outlined against tho sky. It was sailing over me at a considerable height, but I could see it plainly enough, and there was something so odd about its ap pearance that I was struck with amaze ment. On either side of its neek there i hung down what looked like a black 5 streamer. The effect was as if tho bird were wearing a muffler, tho end of which trailed below its breast. "The eagle was di if ting away from J me Over the valley, and its body for a time was between me anil anything that might be clinging to its neck. But anally it made a turn,and I could dimly see, although tho distance was now too great for accurato observa- ! fcion with tho naked eye, s sort of ex- 1 crescence on the bird's back, directly over the trailing streamers. How I longed for a good field glass or tele- j scope! I was almost wild with curi-1 ofiity, yet could do nothing but con- ' jecturo over the strange appearance of the bird. Of one thing I was almost 1 positive, however, and that was that the object which was now fading away iu the distance had been directly con nected with every one of the recent mysterious robberies. "The very next day word reached us at St. Regis of a murder aud rob bery that had taken place in the next township. A trapper, returning from the settlements with a considerable sum of money, realized from the sale of his pelts, had been attacked in tho open roadway, and having, undoubt edly, attempted to resist bis insidious assailant, had been fatally stabbed at the baso of the neek. His money was gone and his body when discovered lay in the road where it had fallen. There was no evidence of a struggle, no foot-prints other than those of the victim himself, but in the dust some body had found andpickedup another eagle's feather. I learned this fact incidentally, and it settled in my mind tho real nature of tho unknown as sailant. "From that day I never went into the woods without my rifle; for father had given me a little rifle to use in hunting squirrels and wild turkeys. My thoughts dwelt constantly upon the mysterious eagle, anil I was always on the lookout for tho great bird. "Weeks passed. Excitement was running higher than ever over the un canny bandit of the woods, for bolder and mere freuuent assaults were con ! stantly reported. Quite a number of settlers had moved away from sheer terror and apprehension. The State ! bad taken up the matter and increased [ the reward for the villain's capture by i nnother SSOO. It was just after this had been done that my odd adventure befell me. "I had been out after wild turkeys —ostensibly, at any rate—and was coming home with an old gobbler slung over my back. As I approached the road I heard the thud of a horse's hoofs, aud, as had become customary with me, hurried forward to see the rider pass, with a vague hope that the mysterious eagle might choose that very moment to swoop down upon an other victim. "A familiar proverb says 'it is the unexpected that happens.' But every rule has its exceptions and every prov erb as well. This time it was the ex pected that happened. I had a pre sentiment tint I was about to behold something wonderful and strange— and I did. Hardly had I come in sight of the horseman (and there was still a thin, concealing veil of foliage be tween me and the open road) when a great waving shadow came drifting along the highway. I glanced up and, with my heart in my mouth, saw a huge bird descending with set and motionless wings. But I saw some thing more, something that almost froze the blood in my veins. A minia ture man sat astride of the eagle's neck, his fierce little face set with vin dictive purpose. To this day I can see the baleful gleam in his small, blazing eyes. In one hand ho carried a glittering, naked knife. The other baud was extended as if to grasp in anticipation his victim's hair. "When the eagle was almost direct ly over the unsuspecting horseman, the pygmy bandit threw one leg over the bird's neck, sat sidewise and poised himself, ready to drop upon his victim's shoulders. Instinctively and with a motion as quick as thought my ritle sprang to my shoulder. Just as the dwarf let go his hold and dropped there was a ringing report, and tho eagle, pierced through the heart by my bullet, fell simultaneously with his pygmy master. Both struck the flanks of the frightened horse, and the ani mal sprang forward in a wild, snort ing gallop, so sudden and so endan gering to the rider that he did not even venture to turn his head to see what had occasioned it. In a minute more horse and rider were out of sight around a bend in the road. "The eagle rolled into the dust and after a few spasmodic flutterings lay still. The pygmy bandit, springing to his feet, glared about him for a mo ment with mingled rage and terror in his weazened and contorted face. Then, with a cry, whose utter despair and piercing anger I shall never for get, he darted into the bushes on the opposite side of the road and disap peared. "Hardly Jcnowing what I did, I bounded after his disappearing form, but the s> Creature was too quick for me. In tlit tangled uuderbush it was useless to pursue a being who could dart unobstructed along n rabbit path, aud I soon gave up the chase as vain. "Leaving my wild turkey concealed in the bushes, I carried the dead eagle to the village and told my story. At first there where none who would be lieve mo, but when I led the way to tho spot where the tragedy had oc curred, and the old Indian-fighter had examined tho small footsteps in the dust, and in the soft mud of a spring hole in tho woods, which the dwarf had crossed in his flight, doubt and cavil gave way to wonder and con gratulation, and I became at once the hero of the community. "Although I had not captured tho pygmy bandit, I had solved the mys- 1 tery that surrounded him and de stroyed tho unique means by which ' he approached and surprised his vie- ! tims. From that day the terrible i little man disappeared utterly. The last of his strange crimes had been re corded. "I received one thousand dollars for my amateur detective work. Half of it I offered to tho man who had puzzled ! out the necessary clue. But he would j not touch a cent. 'No, my boy,' he [ said, 'you deserve all you have earned and more, whether you actually cap tured tho pygmy bandit or not, for you fixed him so that ho is better than dead to the world. He has ceased from his crimes and retributive justice has been spared tho unnatural job of disposing of such a human freak. You are a born detective, lad, and my ad vice to you is to go into that profes sion for all you are worth.' Aud I have." "Good advice!" I cried, as Sand hurst ceased, "and in some respects ! tho most remarkable introduction to a profession I ever heard of!" Detroit Free Press. Degeneracy of Great Names. According to the London directory a singular degeneracy seems to bo born of great names* in A. D. 1898. Oliver Cromwell is a manufacturer of clock hands; Martin Luther sells sec ond-hand furniture; John Milton is a carpenter; William Pitt is a shoe maker; J. Fenimore Cooper is a green grocer; Henry W. Longfellow is a broker. In Paris the same degeneracy of great names is noted. Au examina tion of Bottin's directory will reveal that Itobespiovro isacheese merchant; Moliere is a tailor; Victor Hugo is a dentist; Chopin doctors sick horses; Donizetti is a glazier; one Boileau is a pork butcher, while another is c maker of leather straps. We might even find that the tamo deplorable stato of degeneracy exists in New York if wo had tho hardihood to delve in the directory of the metropolis.— New Y'ork Mail aud Express. Venice, Italy, has 140,000 inhabit ants. Of these no fewer than 40,00t are enrolled as recipients of relief— that is to Bay, nearly oue-fourth of the peculation are paupers. NOTES, I The modern Macuda:n I load. A writer in Industries and Iron re marks that Macadam at first tolerated stones large enough to pass through a ring two and a half inches in diameter, but afterward said that "any stone which exceeds nu inch in any of its dimensions is mischievous." He did not lay foundations, either, as Telford did. But the modern practice differs in this respect, as also in the use of some sort of binding mnterial to hold the stones together. Industries and Iron continues as follows: "Among the earlier modification of Macadam's system which have since been adopted with varyiug success may be mentioned that" of Thomas Hughes, who laid n foundation of gravel and lime on which he placed au ordinary macadamized road. As the substratum was less liable to work to the surface than soft soil, the road re tained its form longer and was less productive of mud. Another modifi cation was that of Mr. Baylis, who first laid a three-inch bed of two-inch cubes, which were allowed to become nearly consolidated by the traffic. Upon this he laid another three-inch bed of similar cubes, covering the whole with a thick gravel blinding. This was followed in his suburban practice. In road 3 for towns Mr. Baylis laid a six-inch bed of granite cubes at one operation, covering it afterward with a coat of clean gravel or road-metal screenings. "Another modification was that of Joseph Mitchell, of Inverness, who introduced a system of concrete mac adam. This consisted of granite cubes of the usual macadam size spread over the road to the required thickness. A strong grout of Portland cement and sharp sand was then well raked in, and the road was rolled to a uniform surfacj. Boads thus made were found to possess greater solidity, and to be less productive of dust and mud than ordinary macadam. They were conse quently more durable, but after a time the surface was found to wear irregu larly, owing principally to its rigidity and the difficulty of securing uniform ity in the admixture of the materials. "A good suggestion for the founda tion of a macadam road is a bed of slag or hard foundry refuse from six inches to oight inches thick, which does not choke, but always affords a natural drainage. We believe this foundation has been tried with a fair amount of success in some of ourirou makiug districts. In place of slag a layer of stones of the same thickness might be used, but should not be rolled, as they then bind better with the surface layer) while rolling would close up the interstices and impede the drainage. Upon the bed thus formed a coating of lj inch metaling is spread, increasing from a thickness of two inches at the curb to throe inches or four inches at the crown. The whole is then run with a hot mix ture composed of two pounds of pitch to thirty gallons of tar, and a propor tion of dry, sharp sand and fine screened gravel, which should set firm and rough on cooling." What Wiilo Tiros Will Bear. Testimony on the value of wide tires comes from all sections of tho globe. A correspondent of a paper in Sydney, Australia, describes a road in which heavily-laden wagons with nar row tires sank "half-spoke deep, and in places to their wheel hubs," and yet a load of five tons, carried on six inch tires, sank but two to four inches in the worst places. In dry weather bo says the roads are cut up by narrow tireE until the dust is a foot deep, aud then tho rain will not make the dust set hard again. A good material for roads is gravel, "but no gravel roads will carry loads of ten and twelve tons on three-inch and four-inch tires. An experienced teamster will not speak about tho ton nage his team can draw. He will say, 'I think the road will carry five tons,* or more, as the case might be. I have heard road superintendents say that enormous sums of money could be Bnved annually if broad tires were used. Tho only objection I have heard raised agaiust the wide tires is that they do not fit into the ruts cut by the narrow ones, which makes the draught heavier upon the team. That is partly truo; but the ruts would not be cut if nil the wagons had wide tires. Port able engines varyiug from six to eight horse-power, aud weighing five tons and over, are drawn by lighter teams than wagons which, with their loads, would not weigh more. This is owing to the broad tires always used on en gines. The ash pans on ongines are seldom more than about ten inches from the ground; but owing to the wide tires these engines seldom bog deep enough to allow the pans to touch the ground." Hoad Lej;!Hlntlon in Vermont. It is felt in Vermont that the good roads cause has received a set-back, but efforts are being made to revive it aud secure favorable action from the next legislature. Tho State highway commission which existed for severnl years possessed little authority, but served a good purpose as a bureau of information. lu 1894 their powers were enlarged, public meetings wero held in each county, road officials and citizens were interested in the work, improved methods of maintenance were adopted, and tho roads were kept in better condition without increase of expense. The legislature of 1896, however, abolished the commission, thus leaving the movement without a head and oausing demoralization. In the fall, a sample road under govern ment supervision is to be constructed, at Vergeunes, and it is hoped that it will be followed by revival of activity in highway improvement. Soldier. Appreciate Good Road.. The good roads movement may re ceive an impetus through the experi ence of our troops in Cuba and Porto Rico, where the highways are so wretched as to be scarcely worthy the name. General Roy Stone, the au thority on roadmaking, is at the front and has been teaching our boys prac tical work along this line. Upon their return to civil life it is fair to pre sume that the thorough appreciation of good roads will bear fruit in a de termined effort to secure such in their respective sections. Experiment With Wide Tires. It will give to bicycle liders who have scontod wider tires some satisfac tion to know that in a series of experi ments made by the Missouri Depart ment of Agriculture it was found that it required much less trouble to pull a loaded vehicle having wide tires than when narrow tires were used. This was found especially true on poor roads. While tho use of wider tires is growing among American riders it is a peculiar circumstances that in England tiros are being made narrower. Good KoiiiU in Porto Ilico. General Miles must have considered the advantage of a good road when be selected a lauding place in Porto Rico. Leading to the capital is a macadam road sixty miles in extent. Perhaps the experience of cycling has some thing to do with it, for, like Captain Sigsbee, the head of the United States Army is a devoteo of the wheel. Arc Veneration in Africa. There is no section of the globe in which veneration for age is carried to such a great extent as among the in habitants of West Africa. For the men who have been successful iu trade, in tho pursuit of war, the hunt, in the councils of slate or iu any other way have distinguished themselves above their fellows, the respect shown amounts almost to adoration, and pro portionately so when they have at tained to advanced age. The younger members of society are trained during their childhood to bestow the utmost deference on age. They must never come into the presence of aged per sons or pass by their dwellings with out taking off their hat 3 and assuming a crouching gait. When seated in their presence it must always be at a respectful distance. If they happen to approach near enough to hand au aged man a lighted pipe or a glass of water the bearer must always fall upon one knee. Aged persons must always be ad dressed as "father" or "mother." Any disrespectful language or deport ment toward such persons is looked upon as a misdemeanor of no light moment. A youthful person carefully avoids communicating any disagree able news to such persons and usually addresses them m terms of flattery aud adulation. And there is nothiug which a young person so much de precates as tho curse of an aged per son and especially that of his own father. —San Francisco Examiner. Tlio llorscs of Manila. Mr. "Wallace Cumming writes of "Life iu Manila" for the Century. Mr. Cumming Kays: Among the first things to impress a stranger are the horses. Descended from horses brought from Mexico, they have become much smaller,while they are also much more shapely. In fact, I have never seen a better-look ing breed. There is nothing of thc[ pony about their shape, though in size they range between forty-eight and fifty-two inches. At first it looked absurd to see them ridden by big men whose stirrups hung down to the horses' knees; but I soon found out that they easily carried a rider weigh ing two hundred pounds. The for eigners have a jockey club, which holds two meetings a year at the beau tiful turf track at Santa Mesa. To avoid sharp practice, members of the club only are eligible to ride. This necessitates a scale of weights start ing at one hundred and thirty-two pounds and rising to one hundred aud fifty-four pounds. It demonstrates the speed and strength of these minia tures horses that a mile has been run iu two minutes and ten seconds by a pony carrying one hundred aud fifty pounds. Only stallions are used. No body walks; everybody rides; and on any special fiesta thousands of car riages fill the streets. I doubt if there is a city in the world that can turn out half the number of private vehicles in proportion to the population. Temperature In I'orto Rico. The highest recorded temperature in Porto Bico is 117 degrees Fahren heit, but such heat is phenomenal, the mercury rarely rising above ninety-seven. This is "pretty con siderable hot," sure enough, but the prevailing northeast winds alleviate the discomfort amazingly. The rainy season is not identical with Cuba's, but begins with August and ends with December. The heaviest rainfall re corded was in 1878, when it aggregat ed eighty-one inches. The average annual precipitation is sixty-four and a half inches. The average yearly rainfall iu New York for tho past six years was a trifle more than forty-two inches.—New York Press. Geological Camps. The summer geological camp origi nated iu a Cincinnati woman's club, and has been develojied into an insti tution by the Johns Hopkins Uni versity. Experts or professors, as the ease may be, first select a proper locality. Then teuts are erected by the students, and the camp is run on the same lines as one would be iu the Adirondacks. Several of the party take turns in attending to the cook ing, while the rest dig, collect speci mens, sample rocks, etc. When it rains and the enmpers are obliged to remain under shelter, the time is de voted to cleaning and labelling the specimens, comparing notes and re uairing tools.—New York Tribune. > SJILDING UP BIG GUNS. ) , Changes in the Method of Making Can non and Armor. i E. B. Rogers, of the United States Navy, has an article in St. Nicholas : on "Big Gnns and Armor of Our Navy." Mr. Rogers says: I Not so very long ago all funs were • cast by pouring moulten iron into a • mould and then letting it cool slowly; but it was found that guns made in that way were not stroug enough to stand the tremendous strain of the ' large charges of powder required to send a shot fast enough to enable it to pierce the steel armor of n modern ship of war; so the old method of ' casting was abandoned as the armor became stronger, and now nearly all modern cannon are what is called | "built up." First a long steel tube of the finest and strongest metal is made, and around this are placed, or "shrunk on," successive cylinders or rings, one over the other, with the greatest care and nicety, first the "jacket" and then the "hoops." 80 nowadays a great gun, instead of being one piece, as it used to be, is composed of many parts. The process above described is called "assembling" a gun,and in the place of the short cast-iron cannon of former days shaped something like a big bottle we have tho long, graceful steel rifles, which look not unlike gigantic watch-keys. They vary in size from the small rapid-fire guns a few hundred pounds iu weight, to the great thirteen-inch "Peacemaker," as it was fondly called, which tips the scales at sixty tons—l2o,ooo pounds. All these modern guns are breech loaders, and after the shot and powder have been placed in the powder-cham ber, the breech is closed by a steel "breech-plug, "which is shoved into tho gun and by a short turn is screwed tight into the breech. The shot or shell has alsc under gone a change. The round cauuon ball most of us are familiar with has given way to the "projectile," which is made of steel, hardened according to the work it has to do, and iu those which are intended to pierce armored ships the metal must be so hard that the projectile can be fired through steel armor of a thickness equal to one-eighth more than its diameter, without its being broken or materially injured; for instance, an eight-inch projectile, according to this rule, must be capable of piercing a nine-inch steel plate. POPULAR SCIENCE. It has been estimated that the heat of comets is about 2000 times fiercer than red-hot iron. If the weight of tho body be divided into eleven parts, eight of these parts will bo pure wator. Air iu its pure state is composed thus: Nitrogeu, seventy-seven per cent.; oxygen, twenty-one per cent,; other compounds, two per cent. Ihe most wonderful astronomical photograph iu the world has been pre pared by Loudon, Berlin and Parisian astronomers. It shows at least GB,- • 000,000 stars. An argillaceous earth named "tfol," which contains free gelatinous silica, is largely used iu Northern Africa by the Arabs as a substitute for soap iu washing linen. Every ton of Atlantic water when evaporated yields eighty-one pounds of salt; a ton of Pacific water, seven ty-nine pounds; Arctic and Antarctic waters yield eighty-five pounds to the ton, and Dead Sea water, 187 pounds. M. A. Mouneyrat has found that a mixture of acetylene and chlorine, ex posed to diffused light, alwaysoombines to form acetylene tetrachloride with out explosion, in the absence of free oxygon or any gas that might produce oxygen. Naval Cadets. The number of naval cadets is limited according to the following rule: Each member of the House of Representatives is entitled to name oas candidate to represent his district until he graduates, resigns or is dis charged. In addition the President has tho privilege of appointing one and ten annually at large. The ex aminations for admission ore held each year, one in May and the other in September. The requirements of each candidate are: He must bo between fifteen and nineteen years of age; he must be physically sound aud able to pass a creditable examination in Eng lish grammar. United States history, geography, arithmetic and algebra, as far a3 the theory of quadratic equa tions and their practice. The pay of a naval cadet is S7OO a year, beginning with the date of admission. A Battle For a llueket. A battle iu which a bucket was the only prize was fought at Bologna in 1825. Tho people of Modena had made a raid upon that city and had carried away, as a trophy of victory] the bucket belonging to the publid well. The expedition of the Bolognese to recover this bucket forms the basis of the famous poem of Tassoui, "The Rape of the Bucket." "Their captain, who no worthier spoil could show Than this sumo bucket conquered from t !, o foe, Caused it in form of trophy to advance Before tho troops, subtiinn upon a lance." —Detroit Free Press. The Unabashed Bride. A Boston minister was once perform ing the marriage ceremony for a couple in his church. The bride groom was manifestly scared and bis responses were scarcely audible, while those of the bride, who was perfectly self-possessed, were clear and distinct. In the middle of tho ceremony the bride gavo the brulegroom a sharp nudge with her elbow and said-in a shrill whisper: "Louder, man, louder!"— Detroit Free Press.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers