THE NATIONAL CAME. Tlie California League has adopted the American League rules. New York Is trying to land Pitcher Arthur Clarksou, of Harvard. Tom Clarke, Little Itoek's right field er, Is a full-blooded Indian of the Wy andotte tribe. Donovan and Smoot are the only left-handed batsmen on the St. Louis League team. Bridgeport lias secured Outfielder Ladd, from Hartford, to whom the player was recently awarded. The new Toronto pitchers are all big men, giants in stature, llic smallest beiug just under the six-foot notch. Drill, catcher for Georgetown Univer sity, lias been signed to play with the Kansas City team of the American League. Wrigley will play third for Worcester 1 this seasou, and Joe Deiahanty will cover the middlo bag. Madison is slated for short. The Clncinnatis shape up fairly strong iu their present company with Hoy, Dobbs, Beckley, Crawford, Beck, Corcoran, Stcinfeldt, Peltz and Ber gen. Dan Broutbers will not play with ' New London after all. He repudiated the agreement made by his agent that he must hut over .300 to receive any salary. W. W. Marsh, son of the Rev. M. M. Marsh, while practising on the ball grounds at Lynchburg, Vu., iu run ning to catch a high fly, fell over a fifteen-foot embankment and received injuries from which lie died. He bad just signed with the Wilinlugtou, N. C., team. The Supreme Court, Philadelphia, re versed the decision of the Court of Common Pleas, No. 0, iu the case of the Philadelphia National Baseball Club vs. Napoleon Lajoie. This de cision upholds the validity of the re serve clause in the National League contracts. Mrs. Oliver Amos supports, at her own expense, a full brass band at the Oliver Ames High School of North Easton, Mass., an Institution of her own planning and provision. We must conform to a cortain ex tent to the conventionalities of so ciety, for they are the ripened results of a varied and long experience.—A. A. Hodge. SURGICAL OPERATIONS How Mrs. Brnoo, a Noted Opera Singer, Escaped an Operation. Proof That Many Operations for Ovarian Troublos are Un necessary. •• Dear Mrs. Pinkham : —Travelling for years on the road, with irregular xncals and sleep and damp bods, broko down my health so completely two years ago that the physician advised a complete rest, and when 1 had gained MRS G.'MIL*GEL sufficient vitality, an operation for ovarian troublos. Not a very cheerful prospect, to be sure. I, however, was advised to try Lydia E. Pinkliam's Vegetable Compound and San ative Wash; I did so, fortunately for me. Beforo a month had passed I felt that my general health had im proved ; in three months more I was / cured, and I have been In perfect health since. I did not lose an engage ment or miss a meal. 44 Your Vegctablo Compound is cer tainly wonderful, and woll worthy the praise your admiring friends who have been cured arc ready to give you. I always speak highly of it, aud you will admit I have good reason to do so." — Mrs. O. Bruce, Lansing, Mich. SSOOO forfeit If above testimonial la not genuine. The fullest counsel on this subject can bo secured without cost by writing to Mrs Pinkham, Lynn, Mass. Your letter will be entirely eonfMo^.iial. al^^NE The Only Durable Well Coating pare, prm*n>nt and artUtlo wall floating, ready for tno bruah by mixing In cold water. For niua bv paint dealer* orerywneiw. BUY IN WCIISIi OlDßßtt ARB ON WOBTHLBM IHITATIOM&. ALABASTINE CO., Brand Rapid®. Mich. Genuine stamped CC C. Never sold In bulk. Beware of the dealer who tries to sell •'something jnst as good." CORD 4o Per Share. jConßlantly driving; tunnol. Will cut tn®ny mines. Also 6 patented producers at Idsho Spring. Msy y •UTysa.SicT.itb floor, gainer Bid*.,Denver,CoL [ FARM AND GARDEN. Objection to Potted Plants. Thtt principal objection to potted plants Is the higher price of the j)lonts and the additional charge for express nge. but there Is a larger loss from layer plants, which balances the dif ference In cost. Moss in Lawns. Moss In lawns Is a nuisgnce. One of the methods of eradicating It Is to scratch the surface of the ground with a sharp steel-tooth rake and loosen the soil. Sow lawn grass seed and cover it to the depth of one-fourth of an inch with dirt, using a small quantity of mixed fertilizer on the dirt. Moss is more thrifty in shad, lawns than where the ground is bare of trees and shrubbery. Quantity of Seed to an Acre. Wheat, IV4 to 2 bushels; rye, 114 to 2 bushels; oats, 3 bushels; barley, 2 bushels; buckwheat. % bushel; corn, broadcast, 4 bushels; corn, in drills, 2 to 3 bushels; corn in hills, 4 to 8 quarts; broomeorn, % bushel; potatoes, 10 to 15 bushels; rutabagas, % pounds; millet, Yi bushel; clover, white, 4 quarts; clover, red, 8 quarts; timothy, 3 quarts; orchard grass, 2 quarts; red top, 1 to 2 pecks; blue grass, 2 bushels; mixed lawn grass, % bushel; tobacco, 2 ounces. This Is a very useful table for farmers to maintain for future ref erence, and should be pasted In a scrap-book or other handy place.—The Epitomlst. Feedliiff the Soil. A soil can be termed fertile only when it contains all the materials re quisite for the nutrition of plants In the required quantity and In the proper form. With every crop a part of these ingredients Is removed, and tt remains for nature and man to make good this loss. Practical experience has proved that nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are the substances most needed to be applied to soils to make or keep them fertile. No crop can be grown on any one of these elements if the other two are lacking. Crops differ as to their individual needs, but all are absolutely necessary for full development. GrHftlnc Seedling Cherries. I have had considerable experience grafting and budding seedling cherries with various varieties. Grafts placed on seedling heart cherries make a per fect union and a beautiful tree. About the time the buds begin to swell Is the most favorable time to do the graft ing. The grafts should be cut the same day and put in without delay. I have secured the best results where I have used stock from one to two Inches in diameter. I propagate mostly by bud ding. I select seedilngs from one to two inches In diameter, and cut them bnek in the spring about six feet from tile ground. The young shoots grow out quickly, and in these 1 place two or three buds about the first week in July. If these do not take I bud again the same season. If the seedling is not in a desirable location, it should be removed and planted In the fall or ear ly spring to the place where it is wanted, budding or grafting it later.— Fred Miller, iu New England Home stead. Laying a Foundation. To build foundation walls, dig a trench to the frost line. Fill witli loose stones. Now set up a plank on each side and hold them In place by stakes as shown In the cut. Fill In now to the top of the planks with SOLID FOUNDATION WALL, loose stones aud soft mortar—soft enough to fill all the spaces between the stones. Allow the planks to re main until the mortar has set, then move along and build on another sec tion. When the wall is hard lay a little soft mortar along the top and Imbed the sill In It. The wall will then be air-tight.—Farm Journal. Train the Colt by Love. The first and most Important lesson for a colt to learn is that there Is no cause to fear Its master. The pro cess of breaking should be simply a teaching of the colt to do things that it has not done before. How readily a given colt will learn these lessons will depend very largely upon how thoroughly that first lesson has been impressed upon it. Complete confi dence in the friendship and protection of the master not only takes away the terrors of the new things and the new experiences during the process of education, but It will continue to he shown iu the willingness and effi ciency of service. This is especially true in times of any happenings that tend to frighten the horse. It is not uncommon for people to be killed by nceldents due solely to the fact that the horse lacked confidence in the friendship of his master. During this process of education there should be no haste. The in struction should he given by a man who possesses a sufficient degree of patience to allow the colt ample time to understand what is wanted of him, Instead of trying to force him along through each new performance—a man who will not expect the colt to know as much as an old horse or to have more sense than himself.—J. 3 Edgerton, In Twentieth Century Farmer. ■ Gate That Cannot Sag* A subscriber sends to the New York Tribune Farmer a description of a gat which he constructed several years ago on a farm where he then lived Its great merit Is that it never saga if] I' THIS OATH CANNOT SAO. For gate-posts he used Bxß timber, set fully twelve feet apart. With the idea of letting a load of hay through the cap piece ought to be fully twelve feet above the ground, and may bt advantageously cut out by oxß stuff. The posts should be set In stone or cement, so as to be proof against the action of the frost A sill or threshold Is also provided. This should measure oxß or Bxß, and consist of oak or chestnut. The better the timber for the rest of this frame the longer It will last. The full length upright of each gate Is made from 4x4 hardwood scantling. The upper ends are rounded, and in serted in holes bored in the lower side of (but not entirely through) the cap piece. The pins of the lower ends should be of metal. Pieces of saw mill plate, in which holes have been punched, should be fastened to the sill for these pins to play in. Thtis the pins will be kept from wenrlng the wood. A similar plate should be placed where the gates meet, to ac commodate the vertical bolt on one of them. The other gate should have a latch. The slates and braces may be made from stuff one and one-fourth Inches thick and four inches wide. They are attached to each other and to the up rights with bolts. The short braces are on the opposite side of the slats from the long ones, so that the same bolt may go through both where they overlap. When finished, the frame and gates should be well painted. It will be seen that these gates can be used singly or together, and that they swing in either direction. It is always a convenience to have a gate swing away from you, no matter from which side you approach. Potato Culture. Anything under three hundred bush els of potatoes to an acre should be an unsatisfactory crop where good, in tensive cultural methods are practiced, and this may be surpassed by fifty to seventy-five bushels in good seasons. To accomplish this it is necessary that constant care and watchfulness should bo given, and it may readily be supposed that anything short of the best of everything will fail to make it. To make a full crop of po tatoes there must be preparation nnd rotation of crops, in order to counter act the effects of the rot, scab and striped beetles. There is no better way to get rid of these diseases thaii to turn the land over to grass and corn after the second year. A good crop of clover after the po tatoes will fertilize the land and make it ready for a crop of corn or wheat, which will come in to keep up the av erage profit of the land. The mechani cal conditions of the soil obtained by this rotation helps greatly towards making the potato crop a large one. With rich soil obtained in this way, and by good manuring and fine seed, the beginning is favorable enough to warrant great expectations; but this may be partly counteracted by bad seasons. That is something that we cannot help, but we can get the crop in such condition that the Injury will be somewhat limited. I have raised three hundred bushels of potatoes to an acre when others have found their crop cut down to two hundred and less by the weather and diseases. The whole difference has been in the start and the conditions of the soil and the seed. I am willing to pay $5 a pound for early seed that I know will guar antee nn improvement over old sorts, but price Is not always nn accurate measure of worth. One must be pret ty sure tliut he is getting what he is bargaining for before paying that oi any other price. When the clover is turned under with the plow the roots of the clover will be equivalent to a good dressing with rich manure. The wheat which may follow will leave plenty of ferti lizer in the soil for the crop of pota toes, and the early crop will hardly require any further fertilizing. The pulverization of the soil must be made thorough, for we cannot get the land into any too good condilion for the po tatoes. Very often the lack of this prevents the potatoes from taking up from the soil the rich food they are entitled to. The perfect cultivation of the soil early In the season enables the land to warm up so thnt the seed can be put lu early, and early planting is always desirable. The potato will grow in a comparatively cold soil, and a low temperature will not kill It so quickly as some imagine. It is cer tainly worth Ihe effort to get an early crop of potatoes, for the profits are almost sure to be larger than for the Inter crop. We cannot add very much to the general knowledge of potato culture, but a little experience each year may help. C. L. Keating, In American Cultivator. SOLID PETROLEUM. & Queer Mine That Was Worked With Profit For Several Years. The Cairo field in West Virginia con tains a relle of the earliest production of Illuminating and lubricating oil— a wonderful deposit of solidified pe troleum—bitumen, some call It, whether rightly so will not be known until the result of certain tests now being made by Eastern chemists 1s announced. Oil companies from this and other cities are operating around Cairo, Ritchie County, with success. The Huid Is about the same quality found here, but some difficulty with water Is experienced. The oil and water seem to mix, contrary to all theory, and in summer the raw products of the wells must be steamed before the water will settle. In winter the s'uH is aw ful to handle. Oil is to be found at a depth of about IGOO feet. Six miles from Devil's Hole, at Mc Farland's schoolhouse, where once was a prosperous settlement, now quite de serted, Is the old Ritchie coal mine or bitumen deposit Early In 1850 It became known that there was a strange outcropping of what was termed coal. Instead of lying flat underground, as most coal mines do, here was one, the wondering prospectors found, that stood on edge. A silver of it burned like a torch and left no ash. A shovel ful of It would blaze like grease and no kindling was needed. S. H. Wilson, now a resident of Parkersburg, was among those who in vestigated the peculiar vein, and he organized a company l'or development, lie is still one of the owners and his son, Edward Wilson, Is associated with him In lumber and coal Interests. Af ter some experimenting It was found that the new raw product was unfit for fueL By melting or distilling it was seen tliut oil could be produced, and that there was less than ten per cent, waste. A company was formed and a narrow gauge railway thirteen miles long was built, connecting with the Baltimore and Ohio at Cairo. Expensive machin ery was placed in position, and opera tion was begun, going on for eighteen years uninterrupted by the Civil War save for a short time. Great caldrons and retorts with engines and boilers were unloaded from the new trains, and n thrifty town sprang up. It was probably the first boom town in oildom, for Plthole was Just then beginning. It paid to distil the stuff, for oil wus selling as lluimeut by the pint for what a barrel costs now. Some extended explorations proved that tho queer vein was about three quarters of a mile loug, and three to six feet wide. Down each side were perpendicular walls of sandstone, how far down no one knows. Active work ing penetrated 305 feet, and then it vrxs abandoned owing to crude methods of mining employed, and tho cheapness of oil elsewhere. The costly vats are rusting into scrap; cobwebs cover the office windows, and copperheads crawl about the vitals of the furnaces and engines.—Pittsburg Gazette. llnseball. The origin of baseball—"our nation al game"—is not detiuitely known, but the first club organized to play it was in New York in 1845. Singularly enough, this club, like the one first or ganized to promote rowing, was called "The Knickerbocker Club." After 1851 pther amateur baseball clubs began to organize, including the Atlantic, Mu tual, Uuion, etc. In 1557 a convention of delegates from sixteen clubs in and around New York and Brooklyn "was held. About ten years later, at the an nual couventiou of the National Asso ciation in 1800, 202 clubs from seven teen States and the District of Colum bia were represented. The college of baseball associations were started about 18G2 or 1803. Amateur baseball throughout the Unlou was at its height in the years ISOS, 1800 aud 1807. Pro fessional baseball was recognized in ISOS, and the first games were layed in 18G0. THE SUBSTITUTE, He was long, and lean, aud gawky, He was bandy-legged quite, And was gaited like a cart horse, With bone spavins left and right; It was sure defeat to take him. But the hour had come to play, And the Cornville lacked Tom Tinker, Injured earlier in the day. Sure defeat, but fun in plenty, Was the reckoning that they made, But he heeded not their banter, And his part in quiet played. Till they reached the closing inning, And he took the batter's place, With the score just three against them, And a Cornville on each base. How Lhey sighed for stalwart Tinker! How the rooters filled the air: "Go it, Hayseed!" "Slam it, Bandy!" Was the stranger's withering share; But he grasped the willow calmly, Though his manner lacked pretense— Two strikes—three—no, crack! he's found if For a homer o'er the fence! And the moment's hush of wonder Broke in one tremendous din, As three Cornvilles crossed the platter. And the stranger followed in; lie was long, and lean, and gawky, He was bandy-legged quite, But he'd saved the day for Cornville, And the town i\us his that night. —Boston Globe. Virginia Constitution Oaks. At the suggestion of Congressman Harry Lee Maynard the Agricultural Department at Washington will sup ply each member of the Virginia Con stitutional Convention with a young oak tree for them to set out in com memoration of the convention. It is s happy thought, and we hope the trees will all grow and be reverently^pointed to in future years. We believe in everything that will bring to mind the planting of trees, which the people oi this country will, before many years, have to look after systematically ot suffer serious deprivation.—Staunton iVa.) Xews. It seems to be abont settled that the two largest Islands in the world are both In the Arctic ocean. Green land is unquestionably the largest— If Australia is counted as a continent —and recent explorations of Baffin I .and show that it is second only to Greenland in extent. Dyeing is as simple ns washing when yon nso PUTNAM FADELESS DTEB. Bold by all druggists. Owing to bad weather it Ss believed that there will be a great shortage in the world's Bupply of tea this year. Ask Your Dealer For Allen's Foot-Kaee, A powder. It rests the feet. Cares Corns, Bunions, Swollen, Sore, Hot, Callous, Aching, pweatlng Feet and Ingrowing Nails. Allen s Foot-Ease makes new or tight shoes easy. At all Druggists and Shoe stores, 26 eente. Ac cept no substitute. Sample mailed FEES. Address Allen 8. Olmsted, Leßoy, N. F. Th domestic fowl is not mentioned In the Old Testament. Mrs.Wlnslow's Soothing Syrup for children toothing, soften the gums, reduces inflamma tlon,allays pain,cures wind colic. 250. a bottle Japan bas acquired the American din ing car system. FITS permanently ourod. No fits or nervous ness auer first day's use of Dr. Kline's Great NerveKestorr.s2trial bottle and treatlsetree Dr. It. H. KLINE. Ltd., 831 Arob St., Phfia.. Pa. In New York City alone there are about 400,000 Germane. Piso's Cure tor Consumption is an infallible medicine for coughs and colds.—N. W. SAMUEL, Oeean Grove, N. J., Feb. 17, 1900. Chinatown, Ban Francisco, has four dailies printed in its wn language. ■MB——■—— —in 11 'i - I Health 3 " For 25 years I have never n missed taking Ayer's Sarsaparilla H every spring. It cleanses my 1 blood, makes me feel strong, ana A does me good in every way." ■ John P. Hodnette, Brooklyn, N.Y. j | Pure and rich blood | H carries new life to every 1 I part of the body. You | I are invigorated, refreshed. 8 | You feel anxious to be | I active. You become strong, | ■ steady,courageous. That's | I what Ayer's Sarsaparilla I 8 will do for you. fl ft SI.OO a bottli. All drafgiata. $ E Aikyoor doctor what he thlnki of Ayer's l] Q Baraaparllla. He knows nil about this grand B fl old family medLMno. Follow bis advice and Q ■ we will be satisfied. C £1 J. C. AVBB Co., Lowell, MAM. FJ E— a* insolvent CUTICURA RESOLV ENT PILLS (Chocolate Coated, 60 doses, 25c.), are a new, tasteless, odourless, economical substitute for the celebrated liquid CUTI CURA RESOLVENT, as well as for all other blood purifiers and humour cures. Each pill is equivalent to one teaspoonful of liquid RE SOLVENT. Put up in screw-cap pocket vials, con taining 60 doses, price, 25c. CUTICURA RESOLV ENT PILLS are alterative, antiseptic, tonic, and digest ive, and beyond question the purest, sweetest, most suc cessful and economical blood and skin purifiers, humour cures, and tonic-digestives yet compounded. Complete ireoinaect $1 Comploto extornal and Internal treatm-an* for every humour, consisting of CUTICURA SOAP, 25C., to cloanso the skin of crusts and scales, and soften the thichoned cut iclo; CuTicmtA OIXTUBVT, 50C., to in stantly allay itching, inflammation, and irritation, and soothe and heal; and CUTI CURA RBSOLVHNT PILLS, 25C., to cool and cleanse the blood. A GINOLP. SET is often sufficient to cure tho moB year, ihe best posted sugar men of the world are buying Immense acreiufe for sugar beets. Colorado took first prizes at Chicago exhibit hist month lor highest tonnuge per acre, and highest i erceutugeof sugar, being over twtco as much as souie States. We are oiforinir a few shares of stock for solo in Th * Colorado Suanr Mir. Co. The first and only sngnz stock offered to tlie public. The company owns on • of the most modern and complete refining plants in the world, situated In a district where the highest price is paid for sugar in the Country. Local capital ists have subscribed Five Hundred atul Filty Tbou saud Dollars In cash. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Factory is built and paid for. For full particulars write to WHI. UKLBKIt Ac C 0., 29 Broadway, Now York, or Exchange Hullillng, Denver, Colo. I had a general ran-down feeling, lacked ambition, and had no appetite whatever, with a very languid feeling at all times. On going to snpper one even ng my board ing mistress recommended my taking lli pans Tabules. She told mo her experience with them, as well as that of others to whom she had spoken about the Tabules. I decldod to make a trial, and since I have been taking thorn I feel like a now-made man, and have nono of my former com plaints, taking a mora dee idol intorest in my work and in life in general. At druggists. The Five-Cent packet is enough for an ordinary occasion. The family bottle, 6G cents, contains a supply for a year. F7 BS£ Z * BM BH : ZSBBS I Goad enough ~ I ll E 1^ I "FLORODORXBANDS are 8 of same value as tags from B STANDARD NAVY"JOLLY TAR'. 11/ T: 'SPEARHEAD: V/NCO' and "STAR" Tobacco. P. N. U. 13, 'O3. fit fit All LLS E iloet Coujrli Syrup. Taster Good. Use P3 lntimo. Sold by druggists. fr*