If there are any blowholes in Amer ican armor plate Spain can't prove it. Of 8700 American war pensioners residiug in foreign countries at the time of the last report, teu only re sided in Spain. •'Billingsgate," to describe bad language, is no longer a correct term, the vocabulary of London's great fish market having been improved by the exertions of the London City Mission. It is said that a patient in a Dela ware hospital had thirty-one epileptic tits 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. The Loudon Saturday Review says: "The lesson 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 as 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 thej- were as gentle and tender as American women." In that pregnant sentence is the whole philosophy of military heroism. The recent establishment of a whale oil manufactory on Notre Dame Ray calls attention to the fact that whaling is now a paying venture off the coast of Newfoundland. Recently seven whales, worth nearly §IOOO each, were captured by a company of Norwegian whalers. A company has been formed to carry on the industry. This ought to make the old fishermen around Amagausett prick up their ears. Pos sibly the old shipyard of Cold Spring Harbor, which fitted out the whalers of the last century, may resume busi ness. The Philadelphia Commercial Mu seum says that Porto Rico is well adapted by soil and climate not only for tbe growing of cotton, but for the manufacture of cotton fabrics as well, though for the growth of the plant it will he necessary to engage native labor or to secure help from Cuba. Of the more than one thousand streams upon the island sixty are navigable, I and many of them could be utilized to furnish power, which is an important consideration, siuce all the coal used must be brought from this country; and all the chief towns are connected by railway, though communication with the interior is only possible by ox tJanis. In speaking of the recent popular war loan the Baltimore American says: Not siuce the wonderful alacrity with which, in July, 1871, the French peasants and the working people of Paris went down into their stockings and subscribed in a day 8*400,000,000 to meet the first installments of the big war indemnity with which the German invader was bought out of France, has there been so impressive | a demonstration of the latent resources of a great nation, or of its patriotic j confidence in its Government. It will be to European Governments as signi licaut 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 u 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 the fields where formerly the handworker held full sway, 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 be profusely used in costume and gar ment decorations, and that this style lias been brought about largely by the dressmakers in an endeavor to bring into popularity something that could nut be produced by machines. Judg ing from present reports, however, they reckoned without their host; 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 conise, there are some applications and figures that cannot be made on machines; but nevertheless such a high state of per fection has been attained in this direc tion that there is but precious little in hi 3 liue that the machine cannot re produce with a fidelity to handwork that is startling, and so close is the imitation in many instances that on'y tho export eye can detect the differ 6 nee. LIGHTS OUT. Flow orten In our little boat Ou summer evenings wo would float; Careless of time, oT east and wost, Ceasing from idle talk and jest, As o'er the waters restless flow, Drifted In cadence sweet and low, That plaintive bugle call- Lights out! flow through the old fort It would ring, Strange echoes from t-e casemates bring; While we would wait, our oars at rest Upon the river's peaceful breast, And watch the yellow lamp-gleams die At the silvery warning sigh Of 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, The fateful message comes to me. Of that plaintive bugle call— Lights out! -Gertrude F. Lynch, in the Chap Book. THE PYGMY BANDIT. *£ iv\>rN • ( _/* OHN, I see you ' ave growing | y . somewhat curi- ! Eg oils about mj 1 stuffed eagle?" 1 V ' remarked Baud- J gr.g' _ g hurst, the detec -783*117 smile, as he j caught my eye /y wandering for ' the fiftii time to 1 the big bird perched, with outspread ' wings, on tlie top of his bookcase. ) "Have another cigar, and T will tell you how I came by him. The tale is odd and will interest you, I think. "It happened in 1845. The great 1 and populous State of Missouri was then little move than a thinly settled 1 wilderness. Traveling was done mainly by stage and saddle. There were u few main roads, leading for long distances through woods and ' prairie; but for the most part the 1 country was wild and uninhabited. J "Father, at that time, lived about 1 forty miles from the present site of St. Louis, in a little frontier community called St. Regis. I believe the name has been changed since. I haven't been back there for half a century. Father was storekeeper and postmas ter. I was his only child, and, at the time I am telling you about, was a kid of fourteen. "One day the mail carrier rode up : to the store in a state of great excite ment. He tumbled oft* bis horse and came into the store, pale, aud hardly able to speak. "'What's the matter, Corrigau?' asked my father. " 'Matter, sor? The mischief's to pay! An imp of satlian dropped upou me out av the clear sky, sor, an' vvid a pistol to each wan av me ears, towld me to drop the mail bag in the road au' ride for me life, widout wance lookin' behind.' " 'And you obeyed?' " 'Av course Oi did. Whin the evil wail himself has the drop bn a man loiko that, do yez think it would be healthy for him to stop au' palaver? No, sor! Oi cut loose the mail-bag, and the lien 1 dropped off me horse's Hank, an' the fates he praised! Oi'in alive to tell yez tho tale.' "'Did you not get a glimpse of the mau?' I "'The man? No, sor! Oi'm tellin' yez it wasn't a man at all! It was a foul lieud or Oi'll ate me head. How could a man light upon me horse's back from behind, widout a sound av warniug?' The first t'iug Oi knew, the imp had his shootin' irons in me ears; an' whin he sphoke the echmell av his voice was like sulphur. U-r-r-r! Worm, worra! Tim Corrigau's no coward, plaze God, whin it comes to d'alin' wid man or baste. But tbe Old Scratch liimselt's another thing." "The news spread like wildfire through the little community that burly Tim Corrigau had been robbed of the mail. Twelve or fifteen men and boys soon gathered at the store and a party was made up, headed by my father, to ride 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. Ho was entirely demoralized by super stitious fear. Bui upon promise of a body-guard and a safe place at the | rear, he finally consented to be one of the party. "i'lie mail bag was found at tho ex act spot indicated by Corrigau, ripped open and rifled of all its valuable cou- j touts, consisting of several packages j of value and enclosures of money. But uot the lightest trace of the thief could he discovered. There were no prints of a horse's hoofs, save those of the animal ridden by Corrigau himself. Neither o >;i! 1 a man's footprints be found, nor a trail in the bushes beside the read. An old Indian fighter i:i the party searched long and carefully, but even his trained eye failed to dis cover a sign. Tho affair was a mys tery, and Tim's theory of the agency of tho Evil One began, covertly, to gain some ground. "This strange highway robbery, howevor, was only tho first of many of a similar character which, from that timo on, amazed and terrified the pioneers throughout that section. The paymaster of a lumbering gang was mysteriously pounced upon and re lic veil of §SOO in small bills. A farmer returning from the gristmill lost the 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 lie found his in strument, his watch, and his little store of cash all gone. It was getting to be as much as a man's life was worth to venture alone into the woods. "In every case it was noted that the mysterious assailant attacked only solitary victims, and that lie always pounced upon them, silently, from above and behind. It was enough 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 and 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, tbe postofiice 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 tho 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, 1 j think I may say, was what determined my choice of profession in life. But I am digressing—or anticipating. "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 on tho river where the mail was delivered to the carrier. He even risked carry ing the mail himself a few times; but, as he told me, laughingly, the strain of that constant twist of the neck was too much for him. "So long us the detective remained in the 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 he : was obliged to leave on other business. Tbe clue was this: i "Near the spot where the surveyor had been overpowered the detective found au 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 the feather in his pocket and pon dered over it. He reflected ilint the approach of the bandit was always, ap parently, through the air; that he dropped silently down upon his victim from behind aud above, as a bird of prey might do. Was it not possible then—putting two aud two together— that the creature, whatever it was, might ho 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 startliugly near the truth. "No sooner was the detective gone than I foil to working out his cine. 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 the detective's friend ship. Besides, the postofiice authori ties had offered a reward of three hun dred dollars that would lead to the discovery of the mysterious highway man, or five hundred dollars for his actual capture. Such an incentive as this was enough to sharpen a boy's wits ns well as u 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 in mind, I spent a large share of my leisure time on top of a cliff about three miles from St. Regis, commanding a wide view of the valley in which tho village lay. "llie detective had been gone about a week when, one afternoon, ns I lay upon the cliff, I saw a shadow sail over the woods below ine. Looking tip from my place of concealment, I be held, almost directly over my head, the form of a great eagle outlined against the 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 neck there hung down what looked like a black streamer. The effect was as if tho bird were wearing a muflier, tho end of which trailed below its breast. "The eaglo was di if ting away from me over the valley, and its body for a time was between me and anything that might be clinging to its neck. But finally it made a turn,and I could dimly see, although the distance was now too great for accurate observa tion with tho naked eye, s sort of ex crescence on the bird's back, directly over the trailing streamers. How I longed for a good field glass or tele scope! I was almost wild with curi osity, yet could do nothing but con jecture over the strange appearance of the bird. Of one thing I was almost positive, however, and that was that the object which was now fading away in 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 and 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, bad been attacked in the open roadway, and having, undoubt ! edly, attempted to resist his insidious | assailant, had been fatally stabbed at the base of the neck. His money was gone and his body when discovered lay in tho road where it had fallen, j There was no evidence of a struggle, no foot-prints other than those of the victim himself, but in tho dust some body had found and picked up another ; eagle's feather. I learned this fact incidentally, and it settled in my mind the real nature of tho unknown as | sailant. ; "From that day I never went into the woods without my rifle; for father had given mo a little rifle to use in hunting squirrels and wild turkeys. My thoughts dwelt constantly upon the mysterious eagle, and I was always ; on the lookout for the great bird, i "Weeks passed. Excitement wag running higher than ever over the un ! canny bandit of the woods, foF bolder ' aud mere frequent assaults were con stantly reported. Quite a number of settlers had moved away from sheer terror aud apprehension. The State had taken up the matter and increased the reward for the villain's capture by another 8300. 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 aud every prov erb as well. This time it was the ex pected that happened. I had a pre sentiment that I was about to behold something wonderful and strange— and I did. Hardly had I come insight 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 ond, with my heart iu my mouth, saw a huge bird descending with set aud 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 iu his' small, blazing eyes. Iu one hand ho carried a glittering, naked knife. The other hand was extended as if to grasp iu 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 nnd poised himself, ready to drop upon his victim's shoulders. Instinctively and with a motion as quick as thought my rifle sprang to my shoulder. .Tust as the dwarf let go his hold aud dropped thero was a ringing report, and the eagle, pierced through the heart by my bullet, fell simultaneously with his pygmy master. Both struck the Hanks of the frightened horse, and the ani mal sprang forward iu 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 bad occasioned it. Iu a minute more horse and rider were out of sight around a bend in the road. "The eagle rolled iuto the dust and after a few spasmodic flutteriugs lay still. The pygmy bandit, springing to his feet, glared about him for a mo ment with mingled rage aud terror in his weazened and contorted face. Then, with a cry, whose utter despair and piercing nuger I shall never for get, he darted into the bushes on the opposite sido of tho road nnd disap peared. "Hardly knowing what I did, I bounded after his disappearing form, but the sIV creature was too quick for me. In tli® tangled underbush it was useless to pursue a being who could dart unobstructed along a rabbit path, and 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 me, but when I led the way to the spot where the tragedy had oc curred, and the old Indian-tighter had examined the small footsteps in the dust, and iu the soft mud of a spring hole iu the woods, which the dwarf had crossed in his flight, doubt aud cavil gave way to wonder and con gratulation, and I beenme at once the hero of the community. "Although I had not captured the pygmy bandit, I had solved the mys tery that surrounded him and de stroyed the unique means by which he approached and surprised his vic tims. From that day the terrible 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 the man who had puzzled out tho necessary clue. But he would not touch a cent. 'No, my boy,' he said, 'you deserve nil you have earned and more, whether you actually cap tured the pygmy bandit or not, for you fixed him so that he is better than dead to the world. He has ceased from his crimes and retributive justice has been spared the 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.' And I have." "Good advice!" I cried, as Sand hurst censed, "and in some respects tho most remarkable introduction to a profession I ever heard of!" Detroit Free I'ress. Degeneracy of Grout Names. According to the London directory a singular degeneracy seems to be born of great names iu 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 agreeu grocer; Henry W. Longfellow is a broker. Iu Paris the same degeneracy of groat names is noted. An examina tion of Bottin's directory will reveal that Bobespierre isachcese merchant; Moliere is a tailor; Victor Hugo is a dentist; Chopin doctors sick horses Donizetti is a glazier; one Boilenu is a pork butcher, while another is 1: maker of leather straps. We might even find that the same deplorable state of degeneracy exists in New York if we had tho hardihood to delve in the directovy of the metropolis.— New York Mail and Express. Venice, Italy, has 140,000 inhabit ants. Of these no fewer than 40,00( are enrolled as recipients of relief— that is to say, nearly one-fourth of the peculation are paupers. 1 GOOD ROADS NOTES. 1 The Modern Macndatn Hoad, A writer in Industries and Iron re marks that Macadam at first tolerated stones large enough to pass through a riug two and a half inches in diameter, but afterward said that "any stone which exceeds an inob in any of its dimensions is mischievous." He did not lay foundations, either, as Telford did. But the modern practice differs iu this respect, as also in the use of some sort of binding material 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 varying success may bo mentioned that of Thomas Hughes, who laid a foundation of gravel and lime 011 which he placed an 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 v.hole with a thick gravel blinding. This was followed in his suburban practice. Iu roads 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 luverness, who introduced a system of concrete mac ndnm. 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 surface, lloads thus made were found to possess greater solidity, nnd to be less productive of dust and mud than ordinary macadam. They were conse quently more durable, but nfteratime the surface was found to wear irregn lurly, 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 fouudry refuse from six inches to oight inches thick, which docs 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 lnakiug 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 15 inch metaling is spread, increasing from a thickness of two inches at the curb to three inches or four inches at the crown. The wholo 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 fino screened gravel, which should set firm and rough on cooling." XVliat IVill 11 Tiros Will Hear. Testimony on the value of wide tires comes from all sections of the globe. A correspondent of a paper in Sydney, Australia, describes a road iu 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, enrried on six inch tires, snnk but two to four inches in the worst places. In dry weather he says the roods are cut up by narrow tires until the dust is a foot deep, and then the 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 aud four-inch tires. An experienced teamster will not speak about the 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 saved annually if broad tires were used. The only objection I have heard raised against the wide tires is that they do not fit iuto the ruts cut by the narrow ones,which makes the draught heavier upon the team. That is partly truo; but the ruts would not bo cut if all the wagons had wide tires. Port able engines varying 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." ltonil Legislation Iu Vermont. It is felt in Vermont that the good roads cause has received a set-back, but efforts nre being made to revive it and secure favorable action from the next legislature. The State highway commission which existed for several years possessed little authority, but served a good purpose as a bureau of information. Iu 1894 their powers were enlarged, public meetings were held in each county, road officials and citizens were interested in the work, improved methods of maintenance wore adopted, and the roads were kept in better condition without increase of expense. The legislature of 1890, however, abolished the commission, thus leaving the movement without a head aud causing demoralization. Iu the fall, a sample road under govern ment supervision is to be constructed, at Vcrgeuncs, nnd it is hoped that it will be followed by revival of activity in highway improvement. Solillers Appreciate Cooil llnaile. 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 roadmakiug, is at the front and has been teaching our boys prac tical work along this liue. 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 scoutod wider tires some satisfac tion to know that iu a series of experi ments made by the Missouri Depart ment of Agriculture it was fouud that it required much less trouble to pull a loaded vehicle having wide tires than when narrow tires were used. This was fouud especially true ou poor roads. While the use of wider tires is growing among American riders it is a peculiar circumstances that in England tires are being made narrower. Good Honda In Porto llico. General Miles must have considered the advantage of a good road when he selected a lauding place in Porto Rice. Leading to tho capital is a macadam road sixty miles in extent. Perhaps the experience of cycliug bas some thing to do with it, for, like Captain Sigsbee, the head of the United States Army is a devotee of the wheel. Age 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 in trade, in the pursuit of war, the hunt, in the councils of state 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 iuto tho presence of aged per sons or pass by their dwellings with out taking off their hats and assuming a crouching gait. When seated iu 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 in terms of llattery and adulation. And there is nothing which a young person so much de precates as tho curse of au aged per son and especially that of his own father. —San Francisco Examiner. The 11 or*cs of Manila. Mr. Wallace Gumming writes of "Life in Manila" for the Century. Mr. Gumming says: 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. Iu fact, I huve never seen a better-look ing breed. There is nothing of tlie| pony about their shape, though 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. Tho 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 and fifty-four pounds. It demonstrates the speed aud strength of these minia tures horses that- a mile has been run in two minutes and ten seconds by a pony carrying one hundred and fifty pounds. Only stallions arc used. No body walks; everybody rides; and on any special fiesta thousands of car riages fill tho streets. I doubt if there is a city iu the world that can turn out half tho number of private vehicles iu proportion to tho population. Temperature In Forto llico. The highest recorded temperature in Porto Rico is 117 degrees Fahren heit, but sucli heat is phenomenal, the mercury rarely rising above ninety-seven. This is "pretty con siderable hot," sure enough, but tho prevailing northeast winds alleviate the discomfort amazingly. The rainy season is not identical with Guba'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 in New York for the past six years was a trifle more than forly-two inches,—New York Press. Geological Camps. The summer geological camp origi nated in a Cincinnati womau's club, and has been developed iuto au insti tution by the Johns Hopkins Uni versity. Experts or professors, as the case may be, first select a proper locality. Then tents are erected by the students, and the camp is run ou the Bame lines as one would be in 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 campers are obliged to remain under shelter, tho time is de voted to cleaning and labelling the specimens, comparing notes and re pairing tools.—New York Tribune. •BUILDING UP BIG CUNS. Changes in tlio Method of Making Can non and Armor. E. B. Rogers, of the United States Navy, has an article in St. Nicholas on "Big Guns and Armor of Our Navy." Mr. Rogers says: Not so very long ago all fcuns were cast by pouring moulten iron into a mould and then lettfng it cool slowly; but it was found that guns made in that way were not strong enough to stand the tremendous strain of the largo charges of powder required to send a shot fast enough to enable it to pierce the steel armor of a 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 tho greatest care and nicety, first the "jacket" and then the "hoops." So nowadays a great gun, iustead 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 n big bottle we have the long, graceful steel rifles, which look not unlike gigantic watch-keys. They vary iu size from the small rapid-fire guns a few hundred pounds in weight, to the groat tliirteen-incli "Peacemaker," as it was fondly called, which tips the scales at sixty tons—l2o,ooo pounds. All these modern guns are breech loaders, ami after the shot and powder have been placed in the powder-cham ber, tho breech is closed by a steel "breecli-plug,"which is shoved into tho gun and by a short turn is screwed ti<#t into the breech. Tho shot or shell has alsc under gone a change. The round cannon 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 in those which are intended to pierco 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 lhau its diameter, without its bein 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 tho heat of comets is about 2000 times fiercer than red-hot iron. If t he weight of the body be divided into eleven parts, eight of those parts will be pure water. Air in its pure state is composed thus: Nitrogen, seventy-seven per cent.; oxygen, twenty-one per cent.; other compounds, two per cent. The most wonderful astronomical photograph in the world has been pre pared by Loudon, Berlin and Parisian astronomers. It shows at least 08,- 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 acetyleue and chlorine, ex posed to diffused light, always combines to form acetylene tetrachloride with out explosion, iu the absence of free oxygen or any gas that might produce oxygen. Naval Cadets. The number of naval cadets ia limited according to the following rule: Each member of the House of Representatives is entitled to name on 3 candidate to represent his district until he graduates, resigns or is dis charged. In addition the President has the privilege of appointing one and ten annually at large. The ex aminations lor admission ore held each year, one in May and the other in September. The requirements of each candidate are: He must be between fifteen and ninoteen years of age; he must be physically sound and able to pass a creditable examination in Eng lish grammar. United States history, geography, arithmetic and algebra, as far as the theory of quadratic equa tions and their practice. The pay of a naval cadet is SSOO a year, beginning with the date of admission. A Battle For a (tucket. A battle in which a bucket was the only prize was fought at Bologna in 1325. Tho people of Modeua had made a raid upon that city and had carried away, as a trophy of tho bucket belonging to tho publid well. The expedition of tho Bologuose to recover this bucket forms the basis of tho famous poem of Tassoni, "The Rape of the Bucket." "Their captain, who no worthier spoil could show Than this same bucket conquered from tlio foe, Caused it in form of trophy to advance Before the troops, sublime upon a lance." —Detroit Free Press. The Unabashed It ride. A Boston minister was once perform ing the marriage ceremony for a couple in his church. Tho bride groom was manifestly scared and his responses were scarcely audible, while those of tho bride, who was perfectly self-possessed, were clear and distinct. In the middle of the ceremony the bride gave the bridegroom a sharp nudge with her elbow and said in a shrill whisper: "Louder, man, louder!"— Detroit Free Press.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers