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Shifts of Arctic Seals.
Lake Baikal is a remarkable body of
water lying in a longitudinal trough
on the edge of the central Asiatic pla
teau, whose surface is 1,600 feet above
the sea with which it is connected by
the Yenisei river after flowing across
the northern plains of Siberia for a
distance of 2,000 miles. A most curi
ous fact, long known to scientific men,
is that this lake is occupied by a spe
cies of seal almost Identical with those
found in the Arctic ocean. The same
species, with slight variations are also
found in the Caspian sea, but not any
where else along the 3,000 or 4,000
miles which separate these bodies of
water. The most probable explanation
of this fact, and the one usually ac
cepted by scientific men is that these
species of seal were thus widely dis
tributed during a continental subsi
dence In which the waters of the Arc
tic ocean covered all of northwestern
Siberia and extended up to the base
of the great Asiatic plateau which we
followed for such a long distance on
elevated shore lines of Turkestan, says
McClure's Magazine. When this de
pressed area emerged from the sea, it
left the seal isolated in the two great
bodies of water which still remain on
its former margin. So lately has this
taken place, that there has not been
time for any great change to be effect
ed in the specific characteristics of
these animals.
BREACH OF THE CONTRACT,
flow a Man Got the Doit of a Subscrip
tion ltook Scheme,
A citizen of Buffalo has Just won
his case from a subscription hook con
cern. He subscribed for a set of Bal
zac's works with the understanding
that the edition was to be limited to
1,000 sets. He thought he was to ba
just one of a thousand out of seventy
odd millions in the United States to
be envied the possession of the Balzac
sets. He learned afterward that there
were two other "limited editions" of
the same work, that all three editions
were printed from the same plates
on the same quality of pa
per and differed only in the
Illustrations and the color of
the binding. The Buffalo purchaser
contended that the publishers had vio
lated their contract with him and re
fused to complete his payments for the
set. Whereupon the publishers brought
suit to recover. The case has just
been tried in the municipal court in
Buffalo and has been won by the de
fendant, the court holding that a mere
color of the binding did not constitute
a new edition, and that the defendant
was the victim of a breach of contract.
This was good law and a correct re
sult. The tricks of the subscription
book publishers and their agents are
many. When a man finds he has been
cheated he should resist. The courts
will protect him. —Utlca Observer.
The Manufacture of Writing rem.
"The manufacture of pens in the
United States is confined to only four
companies, although one might sup
pose there were many more," said a
Connecticut man who is engaged in
that line of work, the other day. "That
does not include the making of gold
pens, which is a separate industry,
but pens of steel, brass and German
silver. The steel for these pens is
brought chiefly from Sheffield, Eng.,
as is the best blade steel. Many ex
periments have been made with steel
manufactured over here, but it never
has sufficiently stood the test. The im
ported product comes in sheets abouc
three or four inches wide and from
sixteen to twenty feet long The im
pression would bo that such little ar
ticles so universally used as pens
would be entirely machine made. Not
so. From the moment the sheet steel
Is started on its way into pens till
the fluished goods are boxed and label
ed it is handled by employes seventeen
different times. The points, even,
have to be ground twice—ground and
cross-ground, as we style it In the
factories."
A Neceary Precaution
A couple of fishermen went out from
El Dorado, Kan. They had a Jug of
pretty good whisky and a six-shooter,
with which they intended to shoot at
& mark In case the fish might not bite.
They left their equipment on the bank
of the creek while they went away to
hunt a boat. When they returned
they found this note pinned to the grub'
basket: "Dear Gents —We have taken
your Jug and pistol. We didn't want
the pistol, but thought you might bo
thirsty enough to follow us up and
■hoot for the drinks,"
IN ANY GARB.
In olden times when a girl gTew up,
They tied her with ropes of gems.
They shackled her ankles and wrists with
ore,
And they crowned her with diHcras.
They soaked her tresses in perfumed oil,
They rubbed her with paste and things,
Then brought her forth, as a queen, befit
To rivet the gaze of kings.
But now—a dip in the tumbling waves,
With a rest on the sands between,
A linen skirt, and a sailor hat —
And —she's just as much of a queen!
—Madeline Bridges, in Life.
smmsMmmsf
J FAST FRIENDS. I
By Alvan F. Sanborn.
iiismranri
ONE of the largest and best
appointed cages of the men
agerie of the Paris Jardin
des Plantes is shared by a
beautiful, full-grown Abyssinian lion
ess named Imperatriee and a small
shepherd dog named Coco. The Inti
macy between Coeo and Imperatriee
began far back, when the one was a
roly-poly puppy and a other a tumb
ling whelp on the after-deck of a Nile
River steamer. They have never,
from that time to this, been separated,
except as Coeo has been sent out for
an occasional promenade beyond the
cage's limits, and their friendship has
never for an instant faltered.
Every day, and several times a day,
they give a voluntary performance
which compares favorably with the
performances given by regularly or
ganized troupes of trained animals,
and which invariably draws to the
oage a number of eager, tiptoeing
spectators.
The dog begins by circling with pro
voking barks about the lioness, exact
ly as he or any other dog might circle
about a cow in a pasture. The lion
ess receives the affront cow-fashion,
with lowered head, creeps toward her
challenger stealthily, cat-fashion, halts
and crouches as if to spring—hut does
not. Then the two beasts, eye to eye,
zigzag comically around each other
like a pair of pugilists watching and
working for an opening; the lioness
self-poised aud supple, but ungainly
from lack of space; the dog nervous,
nimhlo and alert.
This capering is kept up for several
minutes, at the end of which the dog,
tired of futile manoeuvring, attains
the lioness with a single flying leap—
the program at this point never varies
—and grips her by the skin of the
hack, side or chest, or by the ear - —
wherever, in fact, his teeth happen to
close and tries with all his little
might to throw her. The lioness, with
the adorable restraint and infinite gen
tleness of a considerate father making
a show of wrestling with his small
hoy, or of a great, loving St. Bernard
dog playing with a baby or a puppy,
allows herself to be toppled over ou
her back.
As she lies thus, prostrate, in feigned
defeat and helplessness, the victor
plants his forefeet solidly on her silk
en white stomach, uml with nose well
In air, proudly awaits the applause
that Is sure to be accorded by the peo
ple beyond the bars; after which—is
it that, fof the moment, he believes
the monster is really slain?—he seizes
the lioness's tnll in his teeth and tugs
lustily thereat, just for all the world
as if h<J were dragging a carcass off
the field.
This slinm fight is now nud again
supplemented by a sort of hide-the
thlmble game in which a hunk of the
lioness's dinner meat serves for the
thimble, nud such holes as muzzles
can poke in the straw with which the
cage floor is strewn serve for the hid
ing places.
When they are not engaged in either
of these ways, the pair may be seen
softlj- fooling and toying, licking each
other's coats and faces, or sleeping
cuddled together with their fore paws
around each other's necks—veritable
models of gentleness, self-forgetful
ness and good-fellowship, and above
all, past masters in the difficult art of
taking a joke.
Imperatriee is always docile and
contained, except when some one of
the crowd of gazers does something
to annoy her little comrade. Under
the slightest injury or insult to Coco
she become another creature; growls
ominously, switches her Hunks with
her tail, aud assaults the cage bars ill
away to make one tremble for their
firmness, while her chops drip foam
and her soft, velvet eyes Hash flame.
She loves Michel, her keeper, who is
kind to her, although firm and master
ful, and would defend him doughtily,
in nil likelihood, if she beheld him ii
distress, but she loves Coeo more. Of
this, her preference for the dog over
the man, she gave a striking, almost
tragic, proof a year or so ago when an
occasion arose which forced her—at
least to her limited animal intelli
gence it seemed to force her—to choose
between them.
The three, Michel, Coco and Impera
trlee, were in the cage together. C'oco,
iu n sudden fit of perversity, did a
thing he knew very well he should not
do. Michel, with never a thought of
the possible effect upon Imperatrice,
gave liini a richly deserved whip-cut
which sent him into a corner yelping
and ashamed. Thereupon, with a
spring there would have been no such
thing as eluding, even If it had been
foreseen, Imperatrice set her teeth in
Michel's right shoulder and bore him
to the floor.
Had he grappled, unarmed as he
was, with the infuriated beast, tried
to appease her with soft words, or
swooned from fright, Michel might
never have left the cage alive. An or
dinary man would have done one or
the other of these things aid per
ished. But Michel was not on ordi
nary man. Sure and swift as was the
spring of the lioness, his thought wa
scarcely less swift and sure. It was
as if the cause for the creature's rage
was llashed through his brain by light
ning. He understood instinctively, as
well as he could have understood by
reasoning for hours about It, that Im
peratrice was rebelling for Coco's
sake, not for her own, and that the
sole way to save himself, If way In
deed there were, was to display In
stantly and unmistakably his affec
tion for Coco. And so he forced him
self by an incredible, almost superhu
man, effort to ignore the raging lion
ess and to flatter the dog.
Although the* lioness's jaws were
fairly crunching his shoulder bones
and her paws lacerating and oppress
ing his chest, the resolute fellow
called out, In a perfectly natural voice,
quite us if nothing at all unusunl were
occurring: "Coco! Coco! Viens, mon
Coco! Viens done mon cherl! La
bonne bete! La bonne bete! Le beau
gareon! Qu'il est beau, qu'il est gentil
ce Coco-la! Oh le bon chien qu'il
est!" And then, as the dog, his mood
transformed from shame to joy by the
caressing tones of his master's voice,
approached, Michel stretched forth the
hand which the lioness's fierce em
brace left free and patted him kindly
on the head.
The effect on Imperntrice was in
stantaneous. Her eyes grew gentle,
her teeth and her claws relaxed, re
luctantly, It is true—for the savor of
the warm human blood was probably
sweeter than anything she had hith
erto known outside her dreams—but
surely, and sliding to the floor, she
licked affectionately the face of the
dog and the hand of the master by
turns.
Because It was plain as daylight
that the lioness had offended not from
savagery, but from excess of love, she
was not punished for her outbreak.
Nor did Michel, after his return from
the hospital, where his ugly wounds
sent him, attempt to read her any les
son. Rather he read himself one, and
it will be many a long day, you may
be sure, before he disciplines Coco
again in the presence of Imperatrice.
Coco, the rascal, thoroughly appre
ciates the situation, and conducts, or
misconducts himself accordingly.
There are two very different Cocos
since Imperatrice's memorable de
fence of liim; a Coco in the cage and a
Coco out of It.—Youth's Companion.
FOREST FIRES.
The Indian. Managed the Matter Better
Than We Wo To-Way.
A correspondent of the Bedford In
quirer, "an old mountaineer," makes
the following novel propositions for
the prevention of destructive forest
fires: First compel all owners of wood
laud under heavy penalty to clear
their woods of all leaves and small
underbrush by burning the same or
otherwise removing at such times as
the owners may select during the
months of November, December and
January, holding them responsible for
any damage done to the property of
others, so that proper care and judg
ment may be used. Of course the first
clearing of mountain and other tim
ber land on which there may be an
accumulation of leaves nnd brush (the
product of many years) will be at
tended with some expense and great
care, but when once cleaned nearly all
care, expense and trouble will end in
case all owners of woodland each and
every year be compelled under heavy
penalty during the aforesaid months
to burn all the leaves which may have
fallen from the season's growth. If
this be done there can be no forest
fires during the nine succeeding
months; there will be nothing to burn.
After the forests and groves are:
once cleared of all leaves and small
underbrush, the cost of each year of
burning the leaves of one season's
growth will hardly exceed the cost cf
a box of matches. Furthermore, if
done properly, there can be no harm
to any young growth, as farmers know
from experience that burning stubble
off a field will not kill the roots of
grass. The ashes of the leaves, being
left on the ground, will prove a good
fertilizer, nnd more than enough unin
jured acorns and nuts will be left to
take root, where It is impossible if
there be a heavy carpet of leaves.
Fall fires, simply from the flash of a
conting of one season's leaves, will bo
so light that birds and game of all
kinds will scarcely be frightened, and
in the months named there are no
young birds and nests and no helpless
animals. Nuts, too, of all kinds could
easily be seen and gathered when
wanted.
Let us learn wisdom from the In
dians and the hunters of 100 years
ago. When the leaves were burned
each fall in West Virginia and Mary
land the ridges were covered with a
dense growth of blucgrass, affording
pasture for deer and cattle. This an
nual fall burning had much to do in
producing the smoky atmosphere
which was called "Indian summer."
Bradford (renn.) Era.
Keward of Vice.
We read in the daily papers that a
Frenchman left 10,000,000 francs to
the city of Rouen for the purpose of
giving a prize annually us a marriage
gift to two giants, the design being to
Improve the physical stature of the
race. This seems the silliest of all
"rewards of vice,"which much mod
reu philanthropy is. Giants are usual
ly diseased, the most certainly so the
larger they are, and they are of less
service to the world than people of or
dinary size. Indeed, giantism is It
self a disease. Then, too, the law of
Inheritance doesn't always work as
planned by the foolish count. His
marriage prize would very likely have
the very opposite result from what he
wished. —American Medicine.
The peace strength of the Russian
nrtny is 806,000, the war strength
3,000,000.
THE LAW of libel.
Points With Whloh Publishers of News
papers Should Be Familiar.
Every man lias a right to whatever
character belongs to him in his per
son. He has the same right to what
ever business standing he may have
justly acquired. This is a property
right, and includes tlie fruits of his in
dustry or professional or trade char
ade* as well as the right to a good
title to real or personal property. The
same principle of law will apply to
libels as to the person. The following
will serve to Illustrate what language
Is actionable as to the business:
It was held to bo libelous to state
of an attorney that he had abandoned
his client's cause In the midst of liti
gation by a failure to prosecute the
case.
A publication charging a brewer
with filthy and disgusting practices
In preparing his beverages was de
clared to be libelous.
Representing the Lieutenant-Gover
nor of the State as being In a beastly
state of intoxication while in the dis
charge of his duties in the Senate was
declared to be libelous both as to the
person and to bis occupation. The
law recognizes ofiiceholding as a le
gitimate calling.
To state that Squire A. after the
manner of dispensing justice converts
the cause into assault and battery and
discharges the offender * * * and to
add, "We presume that A. had an eye
to the costs and rendered his decision
to suit himself," was declared to be
libelous.
A publication which charges a welgh
master with tampering with or doc
toring such weights nnd measures for
the purpose of increasing his fees was
held to be libelous as to the business
of the weighmaster.
publication purporting to give in
formation as to the credit of a mer
cantile firm, charging one member
thereof with dishonesty, was held to
be libelous as to the firm in its busi
ness. It was also libelous as to the
person of the member of the firm thu ;
accused of dishonesty.
It was held to be libelous as to the
employment of a elerk to publish of
him, "I ain sure you will not be per
suaded from doing justice by any little
act of your clerk, whose consummate
malice and wickedness toward me
and my family will make him do any
thing, be it ever so vile."
It was held to be libelous to state
of a physician of a hospital that he
had been thrice suspended from prac
tice for extortion.
To state of a newspaper man that
In advocating a certain cause he was
an impostor, anxious to put money In
his pocket by extending the circulation
of his paper, that he had published
a fictitious subscription list for the
purpose of Inducing others to con
tribute to the cause, was declared to
be libelous.
It was held to be libelous to state
that a newspaper had n separate page
devoted to usurers and quack doctors
and that the editor offered cheaper
rates If the advertiser would consent
for his advertising to appear on that
page.
To publish of a bookseller that he
publishes immoral or absurd poems
was declared to be libelous.
It was held to be libelous to publish
of professional vocalists that they
had advertised themselves to sing at
certain music halls songs which they
had no right to sing.
To publish a statement that a hotel
is unsafe on its foundation or that
horses or vehicles that are kept for
hire are unsafe would be libelous as
to the business of the person operating
such hotel or keeping such vehicles or
horses for nire.
It has been repeatedly held libelous
to state of a person or firm engaged
In business that such individual or
corporation is a bankrupt or insolvent
or tottering or about to pass out of
business.
To state that a merchant was in the
hands of a sheriff was held to be ac
tionable.
To make a false statement concern
ing a person engaged in business
which falls short of charging total in
solvency or bankruptcy would not or
dinarily be libelous per se, but libel
ous only on proof of -pecial damages.
A newspaper by mistake published
as a heading connected wliu the name
of a firm, "First Meeting Under the
Bankruptcy Act." This was declared
libelous. The heading should have
been, "Dissolution of Partnership."
It was held to be actionable to state
of a newspaper that It Is "the lowest
In circulation, and we submit the same
to the consideration of advertisers."
It can readily be seen that such n
statement would affect the sale of the
paper and the profit to be made by
advertising.
Ordinarily comments on facts ad
mitted or which can be proved are
•priviliged as a fair comment on mat
ters of public interest. The various
defences to a libel suit can, however,
be considered at a future time. —D.
M. Butler, in the Western Editor.
Our Love For Sweets.
Americans are a sugar loving people,
and our taste for sweets is increasing.
We not only increase our consumption
with the increase of population, but
individually we consume more each
Scar.
Last year we consumed 2,219,847
tons of sugar, which was 141,779 tons
more than we ate the year before. This
does not mean that our sugar devour
ing population had increased, but It
means that while each man, woman
and child—if he got his or her propor
tion—consumed sixty-one pounds of
sugar in 1899, he or she consumed a
little more than sixty-six and a half
pounds in 1900.—New York Herald.
The Reflection of a Bachelor.
Any man can get the best of a wom
an if he only knows how to make her
too mad ta cry.—New York Press.
LOST MISSOURI ISLAND.
"lie de Vache"—How It Got Its N a mo
lts Disappearance.
One of the most noted localities on
the Missouri River in the palmy days
of steamboating on that stream was
CJow Island, an Island located in the
river about seven miles above Weston
and opposite the old town of latan.
It then contained about 1000 acresi
and was densely covered with a pri
meval forest of Cottonwood. It ac
quired its peculiar name from the fact
that at an early day—some time In the
last century—a French trader, In as
cending the river, found here a soli
tary cow, the first ever seen so high
up nnd the only one then within hun
dreds of miles. She had been stolen,
doubtless, by the Indians from the
white settlement on the Mississippi
near St. Charles, driven up the river
nnd placed on the island to prevent
her escape. The French gave to the
island the name "lie de Vaehe," the
English meaning of which was "Cow
Island."
The island was in former days a
place of historic interest, and was a
noted landmark, not only among the
early voyagers nnd steamboatmen, but
tthe early explorers as well. Lewis nnd
Clark landed here and replenished
their larder with several deer on July
3, 1804. They found at the head of
tlie island a large lake, now called
Bean Lake, containing beaver and
many water fowl. It was the first
beaver they had seen. Captain Mar
tin. another explorer, wintered here
with a detachment of troops in 1818-
19. And here Major Long, on his fa
mous expedition to the Yellowstone,
held a council with the Kansas In
dians on August 24, 1810. In fact, the
principal village of that tribe was lo
cated on the Island, and they had been
seated there from time immemorial.
They had their councils there with the
Pawnees, I owns, Sacs nnd Foxes and
other tribes from the north side of
the river.
The island was first owned by Major
John Dougherty, of Liberty. Mo., the
father of the present Congressman
from that district, who in his day was
a famous trapper and a member of
the American Fur Company, nnd spent
many years among the Indians. Tho
fur company had a number of trading
posts on the upper Missouri, where
they kept merchandise which they ex
changed with the Indians for furs.
Major Dougherty laid off the town of
latan, named for an Indian chief. It
then had bright prospects, and was lo
cated on the hanks of the river, but is
not as large now as It was forty years
ago. It died with the navigation of
the Missouri. Cow Island, too, is gone.
Like many smaller islands in the river,
It has been swept away by the rapa
cious current of that stream, until now
not an acre is left, and the fact that
such an Island ever existed is un
known to the present generation. The
old Missouri has cut some high ca
pers within the last half century, and
the channel is not where it once was.
At the foot of the bluff at Weston,
where stood Warner's warehouse,
from which the bales of hemp were
rolled directly on to the bows of the
boats, is now an immense willow sand
bar, nnd the river J* a half mile away.
latan, the once promising city, is now
an Inland village two nilles from the
river bank. Such have been the
changes in this part of the river in the
last fifty years that should one of the
old river pilots return to-day he would
not recognize a single landmark.—Kan
sas City Journal.
Folly of Century Huns.
It Is hard to see how even the great
est advocate of the bicycle can find
anything to commend in the practice
of holding century runs on every con
venient holiday. The ability to ride a
bicycle rapidly for a short distance
may often be extremely valuable, nnd
nothing can be more delightful than
an easy spin along the pleasant coun
try roads. But when a lot of men
out at 5 o'clock in the morning
and race like mad fifty miles in the
morning and back again the sport of
bicycle riding degenerates to the same
plane with the snake nnd torture
dances of the Moqui Indians and other
similar tests of endurance.
Bicycle riding, and even bicycle rac
ing, under proper conditions, is to be
approved, but these free-for-all cen
tury runs should be stopped. They
furnish amusement to nu extremely
small number of people, and they
serve no good purpose of any kind.—
Chicago Tribune.
Primitive Trephining,
The natives of New Britain, accord
ing to Professor Victor Ilorsley, are
well acquainted with the surgicnl
operation of opening the skull, known
as trephining. The surgeon Is the med
icine man of the tribe. His only in
strument is a flake of obsidian or a
piece of shell. With this the bone is
exposed and a hole the size of a fifty
cent piece made. As a rule the opera
tion is resorted to in cases of fracture
aud about eighty per cent, of the pa
tients die. In New Zealand some
form of insanity and even headache
are treated Iu the same way, and there
are cases in which the same individ
ual lias undergone the operation five
times.
Interesting Facts About Presidents*
Nine Presidents of the United Statea
have been elected for second terms.
Not one of them has ever had a third
term, or even a nomination for such a
term. Only one ever tried to get such
a u.-nlnation and'he failed. Now that
Mr. McKinley, with his great popular
ity nnd the absence of effective oppo
sition, has added bis example to that
of Washington, Jefferson, Monroe,
Jackson and Cleveland, and to the
warning of Grant, future Presidents
will be less inclined than ever to chal
lenge the tradition,—New York Jour
nal,
RURAL HYCIENE.
Hie Possible Influence of the Country
Doctor on Public Health.
Prevention rather than cure Is the
great object of medical science to-day,
and while the city has Its peculiar
perils, so has the country. In a recent
essay In the New York Medical Rec
ord, Dr. George M. Kober, of Washing
ton, D. C„ said:
When we consider the foot that over
seventy per cent, of our population re
side In rural districts, that the "bone
and sinew" of these are engaged In
agricultural pursuits, and that they do
not enjoy the benefits of enforced sani
tation by local health boards, we see
at once the desirability of the family
physician extending useful suggestions
on healthful building sites and homes,
disposal of house wastes, the Import
ance of a pure water supply and
wholesome and properly eookgd food.
A8 It Is now, the diet is fnulty, especi
ally the hot biscuit and grensy fried
dishes, while wells and privies are
often dangerous neighbors. The undue
prevalence of typhoid fever In rural
districts could be materially checked
by disinfecting excretes with three
times the volume of boiling water and
the adoption of the earth closet sys-w
tern. This is all the more Important
since Infection is often spread through
the milk supply, and many of our ur
ban population contract disease In the
country during the summer months.
While prompt disinfection of the ex
creta Is the only rational method, we
should also make an effort to get rid
of the flies by prompt disposal of the i
horse manure in which they breed,
the abandonment of open privies and
surface pollution, removal of garbage
and other fly breeding matter.
A Korean Prison.
In an entertaining article on Korea.—
#he country which Russia covets and
(vhtch .Japan must have—the Rev. Rob
ert E. Speer has this to say upon the kg
orisons of that half-barbarous laud:
f "The gate was wide open and the
Courtyard was full of prisoners, and
the surrounding buildings were old
and tottering. I asked the chief,
whom one of the two or three listless
attendants called for us, why the pris
oners did not run awny. 'Oh,' he re
plied, 'they would lie caught and beat
en again and kept longer. Now they
will get out soon.' But as I looked at
them I saw that they did not run away
because they could not. The life was
beaten out of them. The keepers
brought the heavy red cord with a
brass hook at the end nnd trussed up a'
man with it to show how the beating
was done, and then brought us the
stiff rods with which victims were
pounded over the shins and thighs un
til the beaten spots were simply masses
of festering rottenness. There was a
room, blaek, foul, leprous, in which the
men were fastened in the stocks. The
Black Ilole of Calcutta was scarcely
less merciful than this." —Leslie's
Monthly. '
J f
The Coming Engineer.
The engineer of the twentieth cen
tury will have need of all the knowl
edge education can bring. The nine
teenth century skimmed the erenm of
invention; what was on the surface
has been appropriated. James Watt
made It Impossible any one else should
have quite so brilliant a record n
himself, and yet his master-stroke of
invention, the separate condenser, did
not need abstruse scientific attain
ments, although Watt was essentially
scientific in his methods. So each suc
cessful worker in the field of Inven
tion docs something to exhaust the
soil, and render needful higher fertili
zation for further productiveness. New
vistas, however, are constantly being
opened out, nnd, to continue our anal
ogy, we have something like the rota
tion of crops iu the changing instru
ments by which the engineer attains
his ends. It is becoming more and
more evident that the day of the un
educated engineer, the man who by "I
mere force of genius accomplished re
sults which have changed the face of
nature, is beiug replaced by the epoch
of tile skilled master of methods lu ap- j
plied science.—The Engineer.
The Scheme That Failed.
"I say, Gaddesby," said Mr. Smith,
as he entered a Peebles fishmonger's
with a lot of tackle In his hand. "I
want you to give me some lish to take
home with me. Put them up to look
as If they've been caught to-day, will
you?"
"Cortnlnly, sir. How many?"
"Oh! you'd better give me three or
four—barbel! Make it look decent in
quantity without appearing to exag
gerate, you know."
"Yes, sir. You'd better take salmon,
cli?"
"Why? What makes you think so?"
"Oh! nothing, except that your wife L
was down early this morning, and
said if you dropped in with your fish- j
ing tackle aud a generally woebegone
look, I was to persuade you to take
salmon if possible, as she liked that
kind better than any other."
Mr. Smith took trout—London An
swers.
Hats For Horses.
The Humane Society of Washing
ton has been agitating the question
of hats for horses, aud its efforts are
bearing some fruit. The society is in
tending to have made several dozen
straw hats of the kind used for horses
in the West Indies and in Europe, and
will distribute them to the hackdriv
era in order to place them where they
they will do most good. The hats are
provided with holes in the top through
which the ears of the horse protrude.
The bonnet is tied neatly under the
horse's chin, and as it Is two feet and
over In breadth, casts a shade that is
ample to prbteet the whole head and ) ~
face. A place in the top of the hat
above the horse's crown is made in
order to keep his topknot moist—
.Washington Times.