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PREDICT ERUPTIONS.
Volcanoes Have Their Spasms That
Scientists Can Foretell.
Careful study of the behavior of vol
canoes has enabled observers in recent
years to predict with some degree of
accuracy when a renewal of plutonic
activity is impending. This was. the
case last summer, when Mount Etna
for a few days attracted attention, after
seven years of almost complete qui
escence. The last eruption had oc
curred in 1892, but in the autumn of
IS9S blue flames began to emerge from
the mouth of the largest crater and a
a great deal of vapor was emitted from
the lesser orifices. It was then an
nounced that Etna seemed to be pre
paring for an effusion of lava, prob
ably on the south or southwest slopes.
The expected eruption did not begin
till the morning of July 19, 1809, when
g;\ ;;t volumes of smoke, with lava and
.sand, began to issue from the main
< rater, but after several days the ac
tivity subsided and Etna soon re
sumed its peaceful aspect. The present
generation hears littlo of Santorin,
among the Cyelades, in the Egean sea,
•but the volcano will again become a
center of interest if the recent state
ment is true that Santorin is prepar
ing for another series of the terrific
explosions and outbursts that have
always marked its active periods. Foi
thirty years Santorin lias been con
tint with the continuous mild emis
sion of go. es, but according to Compter
Rcndua of the French Academy of
Sciences the volcano now exhibits
much unrest and an active period is
predicted. It is near the crescent west
i in shore of Thera that Santorin has
reared itself and two other lava islands
above the sea. When it finally arouse.-
itself after long periods of quiescence
no valcr.no excels it in the violence of
its outbursts. The eruptions between
1866 and 1870, when, according tc
Reclus, no less than 50,000 of partial
eruptions were counted in five years,
drew spectators from all parts of the
world, including some men of science,
whose observations made a distinct
addition to our knowledge of volcanic
action. In that period the ashes were
sometimes thrown to a height of 4,000
feet and the immense outpouring of
scoriae more than doubled the size of
the island of Nea Kammeni.—Chicago
Chronicle.
CASH IN A BAG.
Peculiar Way Kuflln Have of Rnnlclnff ;
Their Money.
The natives of that part of South I
Africa which to a great extent is in- I
h "Tiled by bushnien and Hottentots |
i; ' - 1 peculiar system of banks and
• •'Uliiiig. Tin e Kaffirs among whom ;
thi. curious system of banking obtains i
live near Kaffraria, in the south of the j
Colony country. The natives come j
down south from their country to trade i
in the several villages and towns in
large numbers and then return to Kaf
fraria. From those who trade of their
own number they select one, who for ,
the occasion is to be their banker. He
is converted into a bank of deposit by
putting all the money of those whose
banker ho is into a bag, and then they
sally forth to the stores to buy what
ever they want. When an article is
purchased by any of those who are in
this banking arrangement, the price
of the article is taken by the banker
from this deposit money bag, counted
several times and then paid to the
seller of the article, after which all the
bank depositors cry out to the banker
in tho presence of the two witnesses
selected: "You owe me so much!"
Tliis is then repeated by the wit
nesses. The generai Recounting comes j
between the banker and his several de- 1
positors when all do; ired purchases !
have been made, after which all tho j
natives depart for their northern wilds, j
Ilort. Shoe, IVoljjhlaj One Ouncn.
The smallest horse probably that
was ever lltted with a set c£ shoes by
any harseshoer in California occupied
n place in the shop of Howard & Mil
lerick of Petaluma a few days age. It
was a six-months-old Shetland pony,
one of a band a I.os Angeles man was
tringlna down from Mendocino coun
ty, where they had been pastured dur
ing the summer. The rough roads had
worn its bare feet aad necessitated
shoeing. The shoes, fashioned out of
a steel bar. when fitted to the p ny's
feet were a trifle larger than a silver
dollar piece anil the full .~:et w lgliixl
Jutt four ounces, an our, n Cor ear-h
shoe.
The •trcuglh of wood increases with
its density. I
! BIG CHOPS ARE ALIEN
i NOT ONE OF OUR CREAT STAPLE
| PLANTS IS INDIGENOUS.
improvement Made in Recent Yearn In
All Direction* by Importation by tlie
Department of Agriculture—Latent. Ex
periments by Government Experts.
There is no feature of the work of
tlie Department of Agriculture in
I which the Secretary or his assistants
: take more pride than that of the in
troduction of new plants into the
United States, and the improvement
of those which are already grown in
this country, writes the Washington
correspondent of the New York Com
mercial Advertiser. It may be said
that not one of tho plants producing
the great staple crops of the United
States is indigenous to the soil. A
few varieties of grapes, plums and ber
ries are improvements upon those
which wore found growing wild by the
settlers of two centuries ago. hut none
of the grains, sugar canes, rice or any
other well-known staples were known
to Americans in the early days of
white settlement. The Indians had a
litrle corn, hut even this, it U believed,
was brought from Central America,
and the grain itself is so old tlint its or
igin has never been discovered. The
same may he said of wheat, though it
is probable that the latter originated
in the Eastern Mediterranean regions.
Since this work of the Department of
Agriculture commenced the character
of nearly all of tho grains, practically
all of the rice, much of the cotton and
many of the grasses has been entirely
changed from that produced for mar
ket twenty years ago. Hardy and
spring wheats have been brought from
Russia for use in all the Northern
States, date palms have been brought
from Algeria to grow !m Arizona. Egyp
tian cotton and Egyptian clover are
j now being planted in many of the Gulf
States, and a seedless raisin grape has
come to us from Italy. Up hi Michi
gan. along the sandy lake shores, a
German clover is being planted to hold
the sand dunes in place against the
prevailing winds. Japan has sent us
a clover which is used extensively in
the South for a winter crop, and a
score of improved vegetables have suc
ceeded those which formerly grew in
American gardens.
It was not many years ago that all
of the rice grown in the United Slates
was of the Honduran variety. This
was found to he unprofitable, and tlie
rice industry languished perceptibly.
The Department of Agriculture took
! ilie matter up and introduced the Ja
pan or Krushu rice, which has created
such a revolution in rice growing as
io eliminate all other varieties. It is
claimed that at least $20,000,000 has
been invested in rice fields in Texas
and Louisiana since the introduction
of the Japanese grain. It yields twen
ty-five per cent, more an acre and mills i
at least twenty-live per cent, more un
broken rice than did the Honduran |
variety, and lias, therefore, increased
the rice production per acre over fifty
per cent. The department has long
since given up the rice business to
legitimate business enterprise, for it
is a principle governing the introduc
tion of a new plant that as soon as a
variety is found desirable, and is rec
ognized by the seedsmen, the depart
ment withdraws from the field and
leaves to private enterprise the oppor
tunity of handling the business.
Growing just a short distance from
the agricultural building In Washing- j
ton is a thick, thorny hedge of orange |
trees. Citrus Trifoliuta they are called, j
The fruit is inedible, being small and !
bitter, but th * orange is hardy, grow- i
ing to maturity as far north as Philn- j
dclphia. The great: frost of 1898 in 1
Florida, which destroyed so many or- ,
ange groves, suggested to Secretary j
Wilson the gr at advantages which i
would follow the discovery of a hardier
variety of this fruit than is now grown i
in this country. Ii was decided to pro- j
(luce a hybrid orange, crossing the
Florida plant with a Trifoliat in the
endeavor to get a sweet orange which
should be likewise hardy. The de
partment has succeeded in getting 3000
of these hybrid plants. It is too soon
yet to say what the result will he with
the fruit. It is not. believed, however,
that a sweet orange will result, though
there is still some hope of that. It is
though, however, that by again cross
ing this hybrid with the sweet orange
that iu time a marketable fruit may be
produced from a tree which will grow
very much further north than the one
now known to the orange groves of the
country.
In the meantime, however, this hy
brid orange is a new and remarkably
valuable hedge plaut, with an ever
green foliage and long thorns, making
it an impenetrable thicket. This iu it
self, in the opinion of Secretary Wil
son, is a sufficiently valuable discovery
to justify the work already done, but
the experiment will lie pushed to a
conclusion in the endeavor to secure a
hardy sweet orange. As the Secretary
says, "One of the marvels of the new
century may be an orange tree bear
ing marketable fruit which will thrive
iu the temperate zone."
The importation of Egyptian cotton
has been watched with a great deal of
Interest by the Secretary, owing to its
adaptability to the arid belt of the
United States. In Egypt this cotton is
irrigated, and the purpose of its impor
tation into the United States is to find
a profitable crop for Arizona, New
Mexico and Texas we... of the San
Antonio River. Winter muskmelons
are another curiosity which promise
to become commercially valuable when ;
grown in larger quantities. These
muskmelons are grown and harvested |
in the summer, stored in cellars, and
ripen sufficiently to be eatcu about
Christmas time. Some of these me!
ous have already been grown in Colo-
rndo, and give considerable sansrao
tion. They do not look much like t?is
muskmclon now known to the market
gardener, but they are said to be not
only a novel but a very uesirable addi
tion to the winter bill of fare. Tliey
are dark in color and elongated in
shape, weighing on an average from
twelve to fourteen pounds.
The department is now endeavoring
to introduce into Oregon and Wash
ington the Bavarian and Bohemian
brewing hops. Those sell for # twice as
much as do the American varieties and
produce certain qualities of beer now
only secured in this coifntry by impor
tation. Experiments are now being
made on a field scale with the Swedish
brewing barley, which took the grand
prize at the Paris Exposition. Ameri
j ' an barleys are inferior in their brew
i ing qualities to many others, but Sec
j rotary Wilson believes great results
; will obtain from the experiments now
| being conducted. In New England the
| farmers have been supplied with sev
. oral new kinds of vegetables which
, have added to the profits of market
I growing and to the value of the garden
| as a source of supply for the home
table.
A work which is now being taken
up by the .Secretary on a considerable
scale and systematic manner Is that
of the improvement of country roads.
This lie looks upon as the principal
work in hand for the coming year.
The United States has been divided
into six districts. Into each one of
i hose districts an expert has been sent
o study the nuestioii of botto" roads.
| The geological characieristics of llie
j country will be noted, the value of all
j available rock and road-making mate-
I rial determined, and the best kind of a
j road for each district will be selected,
I taking such matters as cost, available
j material and traffic into consideration,
i This work will be done in such away
j as to be made useful to every resident
j of these districts desiring information
j or instruction in the matter ot' road
| making, and Secretary Wilson expects
I splendid results from this better-road
! educational work.
These .arc. in brief, a very few of the
I things upon which the Department of
| Agriculture, with its staff of trained
investigators, is now working.
Srrrt Hllrrors as Detective*.
I Tlie part secret mirrors play in the
conduct of jewelers' and other stores
' displaying small wares is treated at
i some length in the Jewvler and Metal
i Worker. These small mirrors are
| skilfully and unobtrusively disposed
I here and there about the store to on
able the proprietor to see what is going
jon without himself being observed.
Another modern ruse employed by up
to-date jewelers is the use of ring cases
from which it is impossible to remove
a ring except while the attendant de
pressed a spring concealed in the
frame. This he usually manages to do
so cleverly while maintaining a hold
on the tray with one hand that the j
intending purchaser imagines there is i
nothing to prevent him from freely I
removing the rings from their cases In
the tray. Let him try to remove a ring
while the attendant's back is turned,
and he realizes the true state of af
fair®. Of course, such trays arc only
used for valuable gem-set rings.
A Too For a Finger.
Nicoladoni lias recently published a
case in which a toe was surgically
substituted for a lost finger. Four
months before operation, the patient
lost his right forefinger by accident.
The second toe was so divided that
a detachment still remained to his
foot by means of the soft parts, and
the toe was applied in place of tlie
absent finger, the parts being kept in
position by u plaster cast. For twelve
days a gradual severance of the con- ;
licet ing bridge of tissue was carried !
out, until a complete separation was
effected. The whole toe retained its \
vitality, and it is further reported that I
it has developed sensibility, although
the power of movement has not yet j
been established. Nicoladoni hopes j
that this will occur. This is his i
second case of the kind.—Medical
Times and Hospital Gazette.
li a Gloving Picture.
One of the happiest uses served by
that wonderful and many named in
vention, the moving picture machine,
appears in a story told in "The Loudon
Music Hall."
A party of gentlemen were watching |
the piet' as, when in one of the South :
/ frican scenes tliey recognized an of
flcor friend. The wife of the officer, on
being told of this, wrote to the manag
er and asked that this picture might
bo put on on a certain evening, when i
she would purposely journey from I
Glasgow.
She had not seen her husband for |
over a year, hut at last observed him
in n group—on iho screen of a cine
matograph!— Youth's Companion.
Close Sliavci's Beware.
In sliaviug, says tlie Loudon Family |
Doctor, to make tlie skin perfectly {
smooth requires not only the removal 1
of the liair, but also a portion of the
cuticle, and a close shave means the
removal of a layer of skin all around.
The blood vessels thus exposed are not
visible to the eye, but under a micro
scope each little quivering mouth
holding a minute blood drop, protests
against such treatment. The nerve
tips are also uncovered and the pores
are left unprotected, which makes the
skin tender and unhealthy. This sud- |
den exposure of the inner layer of the j
skin renders a person liable to have ;
colds, hoarseness and sore throat.
Fellno Depravity.
"This." remarked the eat. as sonic- !
thin ; was said In her presence concern- i
ing her nine lives, "always gives nic I
that die hard l'eeling."— Chicago Tri* J
Wane.
I A Contented " """"such IS RUSSEII E. I
Louis. I |
•"~""ife33Hl23?33EHßfl6ECsli23aiU!ll£llJ2i!!H33JE7£l£3s3r , 3iEiij|
A remarkable man has been found
in the Mississippi valley. His home
is in St. I>ouis and his name is Rus
sell E. Gardner. Perhaps there is not
another man in the world like him.
He is contented, absolutely satisfied
with what he possesses. He is only
35 years old, yet he has retired from
business with a quarter million dol
lars which he has made during the
past ten years. He says that making
money is as easy as rolling off a log
and believes thai any man should se
cure enough wealth by the time he is
35 years old to live in comfort the
remainder of his life. In the year 1900
be made too much money and a few
days ago distributed SIO,OOO of his
year s earnings among his employes.
His Rapid His p.
Ten years ago he was working at
bis trade of carriage making. He
made up his mind that people wanted
a cheaper, well-made, piano-box bug
by. He reasoned that if he could make
enough of these buggies to sell them
at a close margin he could get rich.
With this idea he started in. Last
year his shops turned out and sold
22,000 of these vehicles and on each
one he only made $2.50, but the total
net profit exceeded $50,000. His shops
and offices are fitted up in the most
comfortable style. In them he has In-
RUSSELL E. GARDNER.
To Stirrmleae Faithful
The Presbyterian church has under
taken to raise* funds on an increased
scale for the beginning of the new
century, and in other ways seeks to
stimulate the growth and effectiveness
of the church. Rev. Dr. Charles A.
Dickey of Philadelphia, the moderator
of the general assembly of that denom
ination, is devoting his time to the
work, and at present is speaking In
the west. He will visit all parts of
the Union. The Presbyterians have
not fixed upon a definite sum as their
goal, but their aims run up into the
millions. Dr. Dickey's purpose is to
stimulate the faithful to more liberal
REV. DR. CHARLES A. DICKEY,
giving for all the agencies of the
church, for the payment of debts, for
the support of colleges and missions,
and for the aid of various philanthro
pies. The church already has a move
ment under way to add 500,000 chil
dren to the 1,000,000 already attending
its Sunday schools.
POWER FROM SUNBEAMS.
An Ai>pariltM DevltteJ That Produces
10,000 Degree* of Heat.
Many a person every day sees the
most powerful engine ever made,
without knowing it. Not a wheel goes
round anywhere in the world that is
not driven, indirectly, by the sun. It
furnished the coal used in the steam
engine and provides the stream that
drive the water wheel. Without it
there would be no plants, and there
fore no horses, no oxen, no living crea
ture of any kind.
Great inventors have tried to find a
way to use the sun's energy directly.
Everybody has heard how Archimedes
set fire tc an enemy's fieet by focusing
troduced many novel features among
which is a barber shop. Here his em
ployes are tonsorially treated and ir
a man calls on business or to have a
chat, he is asked to have a shave or a
shampoo if his appearance indicates
that lie needs either. Mr. Gardner
considers this hospitality as more prac
tical than a treat to a cigar or drink.
1 hen he finds a great deal of fun in
it. He says that the idea tickles every
one and people talk about it afterward,
thus making it a good advertisement.
Employes (let a Chance.
Mr. Gardner has turned his business
over to his employes, but is still the
owner of it. He says that should he
get tired of boating, fishing and gun
ning he will return again to the shops,
take off his coat and go to work. He
has no desire to travel in foreign coun
tries, but will spend his time in the
Mississippi valley, which he considers
the most beautiful and interesting sec
tion of the world. He has a yacht on
the river and intends to see every bit
of the noble section from St. Paul to
the gulf, to look up all its tributaries,
pry into its bays and bayous and see
its every island and natural beauty,
re is a jolly young man, free of care,
full of happiness and with his wife
will enjoy life according to his own
fancy.
sun-rays on the wooden hulls by
means of a piece of glass. Ericsson,
the man who invented the Monitor,
made a small engine that was set in
motion by sunbeams. William Calver
of Washington has just invented an
apparatus that is said to produce 10,-
000 degrees of heat by means of focused
sunshine. The greatest heat ever pro
duced heretofore was (5,000 degrees,
which was obtained with an electric
arc. A number of mirrors are ar
ranged in the new machine so that
the rays falling on each one are all
focused at a single point. Thick glass
and tough Russian iron are said to
melt like wax under the focused rays.
The apparatus will, it is said, bore a
dozen holes in a soaking wet plank
in as many seconds. It might, per
haps, be used to advantage in smelt
ing ores. Its use in connection with
the steam engine would be in produc
ing steam without the u9e of coal.
Princess Imprisoned Detween WulU.
Elevators are by no means the re
cent invention generally supposed. An
amusing account of what was probably
the first attempt at an elevator Is told
by St. Simon and according to him it
was from a M. Villayer that the idea
of a "flying chair" first emanated. This
ingenious person set up a passable pro
totype of the modern elevator in his
house in Paris, working it up and
down between the walls. The daugh
ter of Louis XIV was so delighted
with the novelty tfiat she had one put
up in her own apartments at Versail
les. This honor was, however, the un
doing of poor M. Villayer's machine.
The chair suddenly stopped moving
while the princess was between two
landings and she had to remain block
ed up for three hours until the work
men broke a hole through the thick
wall. The king was so annoyed at this
that he forbade any further experi
ments in the same line.
yew Vegetable Wanted.
Our present garden vegetables are
cultivated varieties of wild species
Why do not our horticulturists seek
for other wild plants that could bo in
troduced with profit to our tables? A
fortune awaits him who does this suc
cessfully, says Lo Science Francalse
We may be shy. at first, of a dish ot
iris, or a saxifrage salad, but the
papers will relate how Bernhardt and
Coquelin ate and liked them, and then
the ii is and the saxifrage will ieconu j
popular, like the potato.
CREAT ELECTRIC PLANTS.
Wliero the Motive Agency I Ftirnlelied
Entirely by Itloiive I'otvef.
The continent of North America is
blessed with the largest system of
fresh-water lakes anil rivers in the
world. From the earliest settlement
of the country to the present day the
value of the magnificent waterway
from the sea to the middle of the con
tinent presented by the St. Lawrence
river and the great chain of inland
seas that are its feeders has been
fully appreciated. It is only recently,
however, that another feature of
these waterways has become impor
tant and indeed even today there is
too little understanding of the great
part in the commerce and industry ot
the United States that is to be played
by the magnificent water powers
which are scattered throughout the
thousand-mile length of this river and
lake system from Montreal to Su
perior.
Already at four points great plants
for the utilization of the vast energy
of the mighty stream of water flow
ing from the Grand Lakes to the sea
have brer, erected, end of these three
aie in United States territory. With
in a few weeks we have described
Ihe fine plant at the Lacliine Rapids,
near Montreal, which utilizes a small
portion of the flow of the St. Lawrence
at that point. The Niagara plants are
too well known to heed further com
ment. The plant at Sault Ste. Marie
has had much mention, and last
week we described the largest of all
the developments—that at Massena,
N. Y.
The great total of power developed
under development in these plants
reaches the enormous total of 400,000
horse-power. Ever since the Lauren
tian system of lakes and jivers was
formed by the activity of cosmic
forces in lens past eras of the world's
history, these vast powers—and they
represent only a very small percent
age of the total development that
may be made—have been going to
waste, and only within the last few
years have they been seized upon and
utilized. Four hundred thousand
horse-power at the average value of
power represents $3,000,000 a year in
come derived from hitherto useless
sources. This sum is interest at a rea
sonable percent on $2,000,000,000,000,
and the value to the United States
and Canada of these great power de
velopmcnts may bo justly measured
by the latter figure; yet the harness
ing of the energy of ths magnificent
system of lakes and rivers has only
begun. It has been caluculatcd that
Niagara Falls alone as a power pro
ducing agency in worth somewhere
about $-1,000,000,000 if all its energy
could be made available as mechanical
or electrical power.
The colossal development of wealth
and values has been entirely due to
electrical engineering Without the
ability to distribute and transmit the
power of the various rapids and cata
racts by means of electricity they
would be still practically useless, be
cause the power developed could not
easily be utilized. This one contri
bution alone to the resources of our
country is sufficient to put electrical
engineering and electrical applica
tion in the highest rank of industries.
The case of the St. Lawrence system,
however, is only illustrative.. All
along both the seaboards of the United
States are other systems which, soon
er or later, will be utilized in the
same way and whose power will bo
put to v/ork in the active service of
man. The British Isle 3at present are
fearful of a failure of their coal sup
ply, but here we can face even a pos
sible disappearance of our coal, secure
in the knowledge that in our lakes
and rivers, so long as the rains contin
ue to fail and the snows to melt, we
have an abundant and hitherto unused
source of power wheh modern prog
ress has enabled us to put to all of the
manifold uses in which this agency
enters in latter day ajts and civiliza
tion.—Electrical Review.
Ho Wont lllatl.
"Beautiful scenery here, is it not?"
asked the young man of a solitary
traveler whom he found pacing along
the seashore.
"Well, no," replied the stranger. "I
can't agree with you. I think the
ocean is too small. It i 3 no such
ocean as my mother used to have."
"Your mother's ocean was superior,
then?"
"Oh, yes, vastly superior. What
tumbling breakers! What a magnifl
cent sweep of view! What amplitude
of distance! What fishing there was
in my mother's ocean!"
"But the sky is magnificent hero, is
it not. sir?"
"Too low and too narrow across the
top,' replied the stranger.
"I haven't noticed it," said the
young man.
"Yes," said the stranger; "it is too
low, and there isn't air enough in it,
either. Besides, it doesn't sit plumb
over the earth: it is wider from north
to south than it is from west to oast.
I call it a pretty poor sky. It is no
such sky as my mother used to have."
"Pardon me, but did your mother
have a special sky and ocean of her
own?"
But here an old resident came up
and drew the young man aside.
"Don't talk to him," said the old
resident. "He is a hopeless luuatic.
Ho is a man who always used to tell
his wife about 'the biscuits my mother
used to make,' 'my mother's pies,' 'my
mother's puddings,' and 'my mother's
coffee.' The habit grew on him sn
much that he became a confirmed
lunatic."—Tit-Bits.
Lots of fellows start out to jutr
sue a certain calling and never catch
up with it.