November, 1878. THE WEST SHORE. 85 THE FRENCH AND OUR ISTHMUS CANAL. The last moating of tho International Con great of Commercial Geography waa recently held at the Trooadero, in Paris, when ipeechei were made by moat of the foreign delegates. The moat important subjeot diaouaaed, and the one wiiicu cuumea tne principal attention of all, waa the ahip canal aoroaa the American Isth mus. The people of the United States will be glad to learn of the progress that haa been made towards the accomplishment of this) work. At the opening meeting, Mr. Ferdinand de Leaaepe declared himself entirely in favor of it, and said that one reason for nit opinion was that he was entirely opposed to monopolies. He liked to see competition and many routes of commu nication opened. He waa of the opinion that a canal without locks waa absolutely needed for ship navigation, but he did not believe that a tunnel would be objeotionable. The two routes surveyed by Lieut. Wyse. and both pro nounced as feasible, need tunnels of only U and 7 kilometers respectively, while the entire length of the canal will be only from 80 to 70 kilo meters. The Suez canal, he said, was 165 kilo meters Ions, and had cost 405,000,000 of franca. Statistics shows that at the present time it is paying handsome dividends, and its stock is far above par. He estimated the expense of tho American canal at something like 300,000,000 of francs, and thought that a capital of 500,000,000 would amply cover all expenses. He also said that Mr. Levallerv. who had been in charge of the work of the Suez canal, had told him that it would be easier to make a canal such as this than one for railroad purposes, on account of the greater room for working. Mr. Nathan Appleton spoke most strongly in favor of the canal, in behalf of the United States. He was convinced that when Mr. de Lesseps rang the bell, and gave the word to aay that the explorations had been sufficiently made, and that they were ready to decide upon the route, delegates from all nations would come to the summons, and that when the line was de cided upon, and Mr. de lessens would start tho work of execution, and form the company, the capital of 100,000,000, or even twice this sum, would be easily secured. He hoped the com pany would be organized in France, with its office alongside of those of the Suez canal, with Mr. de Lesseps aa President, and that there would be a branch offloe in New York. He felt a juat pride in what France and the United States had thus far done towards it, and trusted they would continue to work together in the future.. A SCENE IN BRAZIL Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, a country whose liberal and high-minded Emperor visited us a few years ago, is deservedly called the fin est and moat important city of South America. It is situated upon a high strip of land and at its feet lies the bay, the entrance to which is guarded by torts. The harbor, which is very large and deep, is defended by a castle. The city is built upon one side of the bay and ia entirely denrived of the inland breezes by the mountains. The heat therefore is tremendous daring the forenoon, bat in the middle of the day the breeze brings fresh air and comfort How Galveston IliWi The people of Galveston have proved that the way to keep vellow fever out of a place is to keen It el. and drained. Although that city waa formerly subject to a severe visitation of the plagns once in three or four vears. it has had none for 1 1 years past, owing to the means taken after the great epidemio of 1807 to pat the town in good sanitary condition. This experience is of value POULTRY NOTES. IXttlNK THI count. It is the easiest thing in the world, when you know how 'tis done, to tell when your fowls are in ill health, even in the incipient stages of any diseaae or ailment, if you but examine your Hock carefully. The onmb of eaoh fowl ,-.... ;.,...- ingof its system. If they be in ill health, the comb will loae color and become far less firm in texture; as the malady increases, the color de creases, till a very sick bird will show a comb almost devoid of scarlet, lieing of a livid dull crimson, or else pale or ashy iu appearance. If the cholera, or any other disease, should coma into the flock, osrefully examine the combs of each bird, morning and night, and all those hioh are wanting in that bright, rich color which denotes perfect health, remove at ones from the Hook to a place remote, where they should at onoe be put under medical treatment. I he omul) at a owl is an honest index of the true inwardness, aud should be daily consulted by the fanoier who values tho health and well being of his flock. look at the comb of depends upon the way it is fattened, aud on what it is fed, too, in a great measure. To make a bird tender and juicy, it must be fat tailed quickly. The food which gives it the best flavor is undoubtedly a grain Food partak ing largely of corn in soma of Its different forms, the amount and manner of feeding depending upon circumstances. - A ntrririin I'oultry .our A Bam, SAre-rr-VAi.va.--A recent Knglish invention has for its object the adaptation and applioation to steam -boilers of an entire hall, for the purpose of a safety-valve for the capo of steam as required, mob valve lieing capable of being moved repeatedly, so as to present a fresh face to the seating, and thereby econo mize the use of the valve. And his invention consists in the use of a ball made of brass, or othor suitable material, resting on a seating of steel or other suitable metal or substance harder than that of the ball, and pressed down aa re i pi i red on to the seating by moans of a weighted frame capable of swinging freely on the ball. This ball is sufficiently large in diameter to a. I inlt of its being moved a numlier of times on its &llj JTftf sr MaJBlV tlE flWenp"' wmm m fHBHfyft' !ill V pVr - flfl WV fa IIOUI.KVAIU) I.A (ILOIUA ItIO JANKIHO. light n ufailiiii with regard to other dii than the yellow fever, and should be duly beaded throughout the country both in cities, villages and country a laying hen or pullet ! She is in th health ami strength, and carries her unlading sign of In all Milium on her head, in the shspe of a blood red, bright, and full uomb. A vigor ous co. k or cockerel will carry the same sign, though not, arhsps, in so eminent a degree as his harem. I'uuUry Yard. TAHI.I row i There ia considerable difference in the merits of the different breeds of fowls for the table, although taste has much to do in determining which are the best; and, while lin ed haa some thing to do with it, the age haa a great claim, for some are better at certain ages than at others. The young immature and slow growing Brahma, for instance, is not desirable until it has nearly gained its growth, and even than it is far better when a year old, whan fatteuad up quickly. And, in fact, a year old bar 1 of any breed we prefer to ohlcken, no matter how it ia .okrd, though many have a weakneaa fur broilers in the sbaiw of young chicks. Young Ughorns, which feather up more quickly than , I .1 A ......41.. . L - do ine Asiatics, ana muwrw no,- ,. ..... the I eat broilers, ami many a nice one have wa peopled, and aa d hel-d toiliaeectafUrit baa oome from the hands of a akillful cook. Although but few persona seem to know it, much of the table menu of fowl or chick seating, so aa Ui present each time it ia moved a fraah face to the seating, no una fees niff m t iug another, The hall may also be moved at couveiileiit intervals before being worn on any one face. The valve or ball is weighted with onllrary doad weights, but the frame by which the wrighla are suspended, instead of being fast to Die valve, aa usual, ia made to awing freely on the 111 at the top by insane of a center piece of suitable concave form, lined with soft metal or other suitable material, to prevent in jury to the ball. I'maitm i. ItMi'i.r or a Aecri Ksi miha-mo-. Wheal from a new eourae made its ap Rwrauce in K.uroiie this year, the Ifaniah vessel t having brought a oarsm from th. llbi river in Siberia, to Hamburg. The voyage from llaiiimarfest, m Norway, through the Arelin aea to the mouth of the Obi ami return waa made in five weeks, and without any serious difficulty. Siberia Is a great country in astenl and there are said to l almost limitless puae. hilitiee In the way of wheat raising on its vast stepe, hut as long as the country la a thinly fsMM of acceaa as at nresent. our Waatern wheal growera will have little to fear from lie competition The voyage of the AVatea waa suggested by reseat explorations made in the Arete sea.