rminmi rvrat rr.irA-r bt
COLL. VA3ST CLHIA'E.
ALBANY,
OREGON.
THE LEISURE OF BOYS.
We would suggest to many parents
who are perplexed with the difficulty of
finding the wherewithal to amuse and in
terest their boys, to give their lads every
opportunity of acquiring a mechanical
trade. The industry and ingenuity of
a boj of average ability, says the
Scientific American, may be easily
made to furnish him with a never fail
ing source of amusement of the best
order. The boy who can produce or
make something already begins to feel
that he is somebody in the world, that
achievement of a result is not a reward
reserved for grown people only. And
the education of mind, ear, and hand,
which this use of tools and mechanical
appliances furnishes, is of a great and
real value, beyond the time. Having
nothing to do, is a great snare to the
young, as it is to the full grown ; and
no greater benefit can be conferred on
youth than to convert time now wasted,
and often worse than wasted; into
means of pleasant recreations and men
tal improvement. The boy whose time
and mind are now occupied with mar
bles and kites may be a Watts, a
Morse or a Bessemer, in embryo ; and it
is certainly an easy matter to turn his
thoughts and musings into a channel
which shall give full scope to their fac
ulties. To most boys the use of me
chanical tools is the most fascinating of
all occupations. As logic and mathe
matics have a value beyond accuracy in
argument and correct solution of prob
lems, in that they teach men the habit of
using their i effecting powers system
atically, so carpentry, turning, and
other arts, are of high importance.
These occupations teach boys to think,
to proceed. from initial causes to results,
and not only to understand the nature
and duty of the mechanical powers, but
to observe their efforts, and to acquire
knowledge by actual experiment, which
is the best way of learning anything.
All the theories culled out of books
leave an impress on the mnd and mem
ory which is slight compared to that of
the practical experience of the true me
chanic. Our advice is, to all who have
the great responsibility of the charge of
boys : Give them a lathe, or a set of
carpenter's, or even blacksmith's, tool's ;
give their mind a turn toward the solid
and useful side of life. You will soon
see the result in increased activity of
their thinking capabilities, and the
direction of their ideas toward practical
results ; and still more obviously, in
the avoidance of idle mischief and non
sense (to omit all reference to absolute
wickedness and moral degradation),
which are, to too great an extent, the
pastime of the generation which is to
1 succeed us.
THE HEAD OF A WHALE.
The head is one-third the entire
length of a sperm-whale, and in obtain
ing the valuable spermaceti which it
contains, the whalemen divide it into
three parts the "case," the "junk,"
and the bone. The " junk " is first
hauled on board and stowed away, and
then the "case" is bailed. The
" case " is a massive part of the head,
cellular in the interior, the walls of the
cells running vertically and transverse
ly. It is filled with oily substance of a
faint yellow tint, translucent when
warm. The oil-bearing flesh forms
about one-third of the mass, and in a
large whale it has yielded three and a
half tons. The case also contains the
respiratory canal, and a cavity of ex
traordinary depth filled with oil. An
opening is made at one end for the pur
poses of bailing, and it is next hauled
to a vertical position beyond the reach
of the water. A deep and narrow bucket
attached to a line and pulley is then
lowered, and brought up full of trans
parent spermaceti mixed with silky in
teguments, having the odor of freshly
drawn milk. The sore hands of the
crew bathed in this rich substance are
relieved and healed, and the greenhorns
dabble in it with the ineffable satisfac
tion displayed by the city youngsters in
a mud puddle.
THE HVSH OF NIGHT AND HOME.
It is night now, and here is home.
Gathered under the quiet roof, elders
and children lie alike at rest. In the
midst of a great calm the stars look out
from the heavens. The silence is peo
pled with the past sorrowful remorse
for sins and shortcomings, memories of
passionate joys and griefs rise out of
their graves, both now alike calm and
aad. Eyes, as I shut mine, look at me,
that have long since ceased to shine.
The town and the fair landscape sleep
under the starlight, wreathed under the
autumn mists. Twinkling among the
houses, a light keeps watch, here and
there, in what may be a sick chamber
or two. The clock tolls sweetly in the
silent air. Here is night and rest. An
awful sense of thanks makes the heart
swell and the head bow as I pass to my
room through the sleeping house, and
feel as though a hushed blessing were
upon it. Thackeray,
A HOVEL NOTEBOOK.
A bashful journalistic reporter on
the staff of a well-known Parisian jour
nal is famed for his dislike of the tra
ditional notebook of his race, and has
hit upon a method of taking his pro
fessional notes unobserved by those
surrounding him. He wears long white
linen cuffs to his shirt, and nonchalantly
jots his impressions on these with the
most microscopic of pencils. At first
hi laundress was greatly puzzled with
the hieroglyphically inscribed manch
ettes of her client, but, after a while,
learned the meaning of the signs, and
thus gathered the news of the week
while pursuing her avocation. One
day she astonished M. X. by remark
ing : " Your last washing was very in
teresting, only you don't give us enough
political news."
HOME AND HAPPINESS.
There can be no doubt that the tru
est happiness is ever to be found at
home. No man without a home can be
long and truly happy. But the domes
tic group can be productive of happi
ness only when it is assimilated by af
fection, and kept in union by discreet
friendship. Then it tends to produce
as much happiness as this world is
capable of ; and its sweet repose is
sought for by all sensible men, as ever
by the wisest and the greatest. "What
can be compared to our intercourse of
life with the attentions on our family,
with their exhilarating smiles and tin
dissembled love ? All this raises the
gentlest and most pleasing emotions,
and calls forth all the sentiments of un
controlled nature. What are the rap
tures of ambition, the pleasures of
fame, the delights of honor, in com
parison with this ? Utterly worthless
and insipid. Hence it is that we see
senators and heroes shutting out the
acclamations of an applauding world to
partake the endearments of family con
versation, and to enjoy the prattling of
their little children in their harmless
pleasures. This is one of the purest
sources of mirth. It has influence, too,
in amending the heart : for innocence is
communicated by coming in contact
with it ; and the sweet simplicity of
children tends to purify the heart from
the pollution that it has acquired from
moving in the world and mixing
with men. Into what an abyss of
moral degradation should we not be
sunken were it not for women and chil
dren. Well might the Great Author of
evangelical philosophy have been de
lighted with the presence of children
and found in them what he in vain
sought among those who judged
themselves their superiors goodness
orwl rlrflto f"iffro TritTl nil VlisllbpT-i
ality of mind, felt the tenderness of
home attachment. At one time he ac
knowledged that he received no satis
faction in any company but in that of
his wife, his little daughter, and to use
his own language " his honied young
Cicero." Sir Thomas More, with his
great powers of mind, devoted a great
share of his time because he knew it
to be his duty and felt it to be his de
light to the amusement of his chil
dren. Homer, in his Iliad, in the part
ing interview between Hector and An
dromache, has interested the heart of
the reader in his terrible hero by show
ing the amiability of his Trojan chief,
by depicting him, while standing com
pletely armed for the battle field, tak
ing off his helmet that he might not
frighten his little boy with its nodding
plumes. How refreshed are we by this
scene of domestic love ! And how
pleased to see the arm which is shortly
to deal death and destruction among a
host of foes employed in caressing an
infant son with the embraces of pater
nal love. Pen and Plow.
A REMUNERATIVE PASSAGE.
The Hartford Courant says : " It is
not often that the records of our pro
bate courts contain so much of ro
mance and of historical interest as was
found in the court at Dedham, Mass., a
few days since in the settlement of the
estate of Robert Roberts, of Medfield.
The father of the deceased was captain
of an American trading vessel, which,
during the French revolution of 1797
the bloody days of Robespierre stop
ped at a French port. While there a
ncn rencuman, desirous of escaping
threatening danger, engaged passage
with Captain Roberts for America, and
placed tne sum 01 SglUU.UUO in gold in
the cabin. Before the day of departure,
however, the unfortunate man was cut
off as to his head by the guillotine.
The vessel left without the intended
refugee, but with his money, and on
reaching Boston,. Captain Roberts took
the liberty of investing the sum in the
Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance
Company, using the income as his own,
and leaving it to his son. Upon the
death of the latter a number of claim
ants appeared, but the court has de
cided that Mr. Roberts' heirs are the
rightful owners."
The New York Daily Bulletin esti
mates that the hazards of fire are nearly
eight cimes greater in the United States
than they are on the continent of En
rope. In .Prussia, in lotz, the average
rate of nre risK taken was .aU4t per
cent., while in the State of New York
the average was , $140. The losses of
the former did not average more than
.1211 ; of the latter the average was
.8311. In other words, while the loss
of the stock fire companies in Prussia
averaged 12 cents per $100, those in
the United States averaged 83 i cents.
If the yearly loss by fire in the States is
as calculated, $75,000,000, then if as
much security could be attained as
there is in Prussia, we would effect an
annual saving of $60,000,000.
Bbttish War-Ships. Some unpleas
ant discoveries have been made with
regard to certain recently-built ships of
the British navy. They were so intol
erably offensive that it was impossible
to live in them, and they had to be re
called from foreign stations in rder to
be repaired. It was found that English
elm had been used for the , bottom
planking instead of teak, and the first,
being porous wood, had taken water
like a sponge. Nevertheless,, this wood,
has not been removed. The Lords of
the Admiralty have, however, sent for
some bottles of bilge water from one Of
the ships in question, the Albatross,
and it is hoped that the first sniff will
induce them to order the only effective
cure.
A floral swell The dande-lion.
THE BLACK DEATH.
For sever: ! centuries after that be
nighted period in the world's history
denominated the Dark Ages had begun
slowly to n t-Je in the distance, tbe
physical habi;s of men throughout ail
Christendom remained shockingly dirty
and slovenly, and pestilence, feeding on
the loathsome filth and corruption reek
ing in all inhabitated places, stalked to
and fro over the earth, counting its
slain, in every populous district, by the
thousand. Early in the fourteenth cen
tury, the Black Death issued from its
cradle in the far East, sweptover China,
and after transforming that country
into one great charnel-house, swooped
down upon Europe, and there repeated
its awful work of devastation. In Chi
na its victims were estimated at 13,000,
000, and, in the rest of the East at 24,
000,000. In Europe, where their num
bers could be reckoned with considera
ble exactness, hey were set down at
25,000,000. In London alone the deaths
amounted 100,000. Germany lost 1,
244,434 souls, and Italy one-half of its
population. Africa was not exempt
from the cruel spoliation, nor any other
spot of land or sea which held the
treasure of human life. Ships were
robbed of their crews, and drifted
helplessly from shore to shore, carry
ing contagion wherever they touched.
No place was so remote or so hidden
but, where men had taken refuge
there, the scourge found them out and
hurried them to a terrible death. In
Norway, during the four awful years
between 1347 and 1351, the population
was reduced from 2,000,000 to 300,000.
Even Iceland, Greenland and the new-ly-disccvered
point In America, called
Vinland, was visited by the curse,
which finally cut them off from commu
nicationwith other portions of the globe.
No wonder men's hearts were frozen
with fear, and they fled from each other
in horror when the plague-spot was
seen to redden on their faces, feus
bands deserted their wives ; mothers
forsook their babes ; every tie of hu
manity was broken and disregardec.
The tainted, sickening, and dymg
wretch, who, in health, could boast of
wealth, and friends, and all the joys
that both can fetch, was left to gasp his
agonized breath in utter solitude and
neglect. Worse than the mark of Cain
was on the brow of the plague-stricken.
As soon as the touch of the Black Death
had left its imprint on his flesh, he was
a thing accursed and shunned with un
reasoning terror. In the tram of the
plague, before and after, came storms,
and floods, and earthquakes, and erup
tions of volcanoes, and mephitic airs
" like a dense and awful fog " rising up
to the heavens, unlil it seemed that the
destroying angel, with one foot on the
land and one on the sea, was pouring
out the vials of his wrath upon the
doomed and shuddering planet.
In the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seven
teenth centuries, the Black Death
again raged through Europe, but with
less fury than during the first terrible
invasion. Mitigated as its virulence
was, however, the tales which are told
of its malignity, on these latter occa
sions, can scarcely be comprehended.
In the latter part of the sixteenth
century, the plague broke out in Bor
deaux, then the residence of Montaigne,
and spread thence over the whole of
Guienne and Pengosa, destroying en
tire villages, and leaving in the
region, according to Montaigne, not
one in a hundred of the popu
lation. " The crrapes remained
ungathered, the corn unreaped, and
the people sat still waiting for death,
none caring for anything but to get sep
ulture ; men, while still in health, dug
their own Braves. even got into them
living, to escape the wild beasts. Mon
taigne himself saw one of his own work
men,' with the last movements left to
him of hands and feet, dragging the
earth over himself." The population
of Bordeaux was reduced, during this
awful season, from 40,000 to 18,000
Montaigne himself left his chateau, with
his family, and traveled from place to
place to keep ont of the way of the dire
destroyer.
The last visit of the plague to En
gland was in 1663-'65, when it ravaged
the entire isla nd. In 1665, there were
590 deaths in London in the month of
June, 4,129 in July, 20,046 in Augu3t,
26,230 in September, 14,373 in October,
3,449 in November, and less than 1,000
in December. In all, the deaths were
nearly 70,000 during this single summer
and fall. In 1720 the disease appeared
for the last time in France, and destroy
ed nearly one-half the population of
Marseilles. Seventy years later it pre
vailed in Russia and Poland ; but, since
that period, the scenes of its havoc have
been .confined to Egypt, Syria, Ana
tolia, Greece and Turkey, the borders
of Russia, and the Island of Malta. It
is undoubtedly owing to their improved
habits of living that enlightened nations
have succeeded in banishing the plague
from their dominions. Free ablution ,
cleanliness of person and abode, and r.n
increasing conformance to the laws of
sanity, are rendering the cities of Eu
rope and America, in the nineteenth
century, more and more secure from the
destructive presence of contagious and
malignant diseases.
There are parts of Egypt in which
rain never falls, other places where it
falls lightly about once in four years ;
and there are two great rainless dis
tricts of two or three millions of square
miles, the one including the north of
Africa, and the other Mongolia and its
neighborhood.
A farmer in Oregon has had a field
of sixty acres of grain eaten by rabbits,
and all of his other fields have suffered,
although to a less extent, from their
depredations. Hundreds are shot very
day, but hundreds more come out from
the sage brush and take their places.
THE BUILDERS' TREE OF MAD AG AS
CAR.
There grows on the island of Mada
gascar, says the Manufactuj-er andi
Builder, a remarkable tree, called by
botanists Urania peciosa. From a
solid trunk, varying 'in height from ten
feet upward, and in similar appearance,
though not in nature i to that of the
Southern palmetto, springs up a bunch
of stems, each about six o eight feet
long, and some ten or twenty inches
wide. The leaves, when dried, form the
thatch of all the houses on the eastern
side of the island, making a perfectly
water-proof covering, while the stems
are used for partitions and sides, lhe
bark of the tree is very hard, and, un
like that of the palmetto, is easily
stripped off from the interior soft parts.
For large houses, this bark is cut in
pieces of twenty or thirty feet long and
twelve to eighteen inches wide, and the
entire floor covered with the same, as,
well joined as Ordinary timber. The
benefits derived from this tree are not
limited to builders only. The green
leaves are used by traders in place of
water-proof wrapping-paper for pack
ages ; by the women, for tablecloths,
and the heavy pieces cut out of them
for plates at meals, while certain por
tions are even formed into drinking-
vessels and spoons. But the chief pe
culiarity of this remarkable tree is that,
while standing in the forest, the stems
always contain a large quantity of pure
fresh water, of which travelers and na
tives make use in the arid Seasons, wken
the wells and' streams are dry. To ob
tain it, a spear is driven a few inches
deep in the thick end of the stalk, at
its junction with the trunk, and then
withdrawn, when the water flows out
abundantly. As every one of the twen
ty, thirty, forty or more stalks can give
from a pint to a quart of water, a large
amount is contained in each tree. For
this reason it is called by some the
"travelers' tree."
These details have been verified by
the Rev. W. Ellis, who has recently
published an account of his travels in
Madagascar in 1857.
HOW STATUES ARE MADE.
The bronze statuary just now so
popular is manufactured by a simple
enough process. Over the clay model
is poured a coating of plaster of Paris,
which, having been allowed to set, is
taken off in sections, thus affording a
hollow mold of the figure. From such
a mold is produced a stuoeo duplicate,
either of the entire statue or of such a
portion thereof as is intended to be cast
at a time, and on this again is formed a
second mold of greater thickness and
sobdity for the reception of molten
metal. The material used for the final
mold is a composition of Stucco and
brick dust. This is applied in a plastic
state to the stucco model, from which
its inner surface takes the form of the
figure. Were statues cast solid, it
would now only be necessary to separate
mold from model, and run metal into
the former till its interior was filled.
This, however, would involve absurd
waste, and in order to economize ma
terial a solid core is placed inside the
mold, leaving only such space all around
as will receive the thickness of metal
deemed necessary for the work in hand.
The mold with its core having been thus
completed and firmly hooped round
with bands of iron, is placed in a kiln
to bake to perfect dryness. This pre
caution is necessary from the circum
stance that even a trace of . moisture
might on the application of molten
metal occasion a dangerous explosion.
In the case of the casting now in ques
tion the drying of the mold occupies
some weeks. On the removal from the
kiln the mold is buried in dry earth
below the floor of the foundry, only the
aperture for receiving the j metal and
the vent-hole for the escape of air re
maining visible. .
SPLITTING WO OH BY LIGHTNING.
The theory that the splitting of the
trunks of trees by lightning is the re
sult of the sudden evaporation of the
liquids contained in them, has received
support from a series of , experiments
conducted by Osborn Reynolds. By
passing the electric spark through
them, he succeeded in splitting small
sticks of wood after they had been im
pregnated with water. He also burst
small glass tubes which were filled with
water. When the tubes were empty,
the electric spark passed through them
without injuring them. His most
striking experiment was upon a tube
three-eighths of an inch exterior and
one- eighth interior diameter. The tube
was fourteen inches in length, and was
bent at a right angle. It could resist a
pressure of at least 200 atmospheres to
the square inch. A large electric flash
being sent through it, it was split by
the first discharge, and the pieces
thrown several feet, completely pulver
ized, as though it had been struck by a
hammer. Mr. Reynolds estimates that
the pressure must have been more than
1,000 atmospheres.
We are saved by variety. Horace
Mann said " if a man drink beer he will
think beer ; " and by the same token it
is now admitted that to live a rioh and
varied hie, a man must eat rich and
varied food. Rev. E. E. Hale tells us
that when a bachelor his boarcling
house table furnished nice food, but it
was the same from December to March,
and he lost appetite and found dyspep
sia ; then, obeying a hint from a physi
cian, he began to breakfast around mis
cellaneously among the hotels and res
taurants, and for now these twenty -five
years has bid defiance to dyspepsia aad
all its terrors. ;
, at
The eleven ectogenariahs in the
British House of Lords in 1834' were
Lords Wodehouse, Lynedoch, Stowell,
Edon, Scarsdale, Carington, St. Helens,
Middleton, and the Earls Fortesque,
Ranturley, and Powis.
SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT BEES.
To cure bee stings, hundreds of rem
edies have been offered, some of them
very old. Pliny says rue will cure
stings of bees,- hornets and wasps. He
also deslares that a tea made out of
bfctes themselves will cure the sting
when drank. Pauline and saurell, both
leaf, bark and berry, he says, will cure
it. These may be good, but old Pliny
goes still further. " For the sting of
bees," he says, " the owlet is counted a
sovereign thing, by a certain antipathy
in nature. Moreover, as many as have
about the bill of a woodpecker when
they take honey out of the hive, shall
not be stung."
An almost universal superstition is
that bees must not be sold. This
superstition takes various forms in dif
ferent localities. In Ireland an old say
ing reverses the rule : " Bees must not
be given away, but sold ; otherwise, the
gtyer nor taker will have no luck." In
Devonshire, England, when bees are
sold, payment is never made in money,
but in corn, etc., and the bees are al
ways moved on Good Friday. In por
tions of Pennsylvania it vis believed that
the seller must not be ! at home when
the bees are taken away ; if he is, the
bees will not thrive.
A common ' superstition in England,
Franco and Germany is, that, if the
master of the hcuseT'dies, the bees must
be immediately informed of it. In
North Germany they say to the bees,
"The .master ie- dead, the master is
dead." They believe the bees will die,
fly away, or do no good, unleas so in
formed ; and in portions of England,
the hives are dressed in mourning for
the same reason. In Lithuania, the
bees are informed of death in the fami
ly by rattling the keys at the entrance.
In Bradfield, England, bees are always
invited to the funeral. A worse super
stition still, is, that all the hives must
be immediately removed to another
stand on the death of a member of the
family ; and another, that at the mo
ment the corpse is taken out of the
house, the hive must be turned over.
They don't have movable frames, or
they could not do it. Correspondent
Bee Journal.
VALUE OF MONEY.
On the whole, it would not be wise to
substitute cheaper materials as a sub
stitute for gold and silver money, evea
though the cost and trouble of supply
ing coin to a community might be less.
Take iron for example and compare it
with gold. These two metals, by rea
son of their difference of natural quan
tity in the bowels of the earth and in
the facility of getting them, are very un
equal in the cost of procuring them.
The supply of the one is unlimited
and that of the other is comparatively
limited. Hence, a pound of iron does
not represent anything like the labor
cost that is represented by a pound of
gold. If the two metals were equal in
all other respects, this difference would
make them very unequal for monetary
use. Even gold would have no ex
changeable value if it cost nothing,
since no man would give anything that
costs labor for what can be had without
labor. If we could gather gold in the
streets by the cart-load, its quantity and
cheapness would utterly spoil it for
monetary use. It is a fundamental
principle that money must be something
which has in it the element of cost ; and
hence, all other things being equal, that
is the best kind of money which in pro
portion to quantity contains this ele
ment in the largest degree. Hence the
superiority of gold over all metals for
this particular use.
HEATH OF A VENERABLE TYPO.
John P. McArdle, the oldest practica
printer in the country, died recently at
Republic, Seneca county, O. He was
born in Ireland, March, 1785, and was
consequenlly in his 90 th year when he
died. ( He came to this ceuntry in 1801,
when he became an apprentice, and, up
to within a few months, has continued
the business. How many typographi
cal errors he had perpetrated in seventy
years, how many thousand ems he had
set up in that time, how many scintil
lations of genius and fancy he had im
mortalized in type, how many unkind
speeches he had placed before the world,
and how many editorial blunders had
been unjustly thrown upon " our stupid
printer," it would be interesting to
know. In seventy years they must have
been numerous. He started no less
than three newspapers, the last, the
Nor walk Beporter, being the first news
paper published in Huron county, Ohio.
Mr. McArdle was as familiar with the
book-binding business as with type-setting,
and was in many ways a distin
guished character.
ARTIFICIAL FUEL.
A Belgian workingman has recently
invented a cheap fuel, which is com
posed as follows : Two and a fourth
pounds of coal-dust, six and a half
pounds of vegetable-earth, and five and
a half ounces of salts of soda, the
whole well mixed with one pound of
water. A shovelful of this composition
thrown upon an ardent fire, causes it to
burn with great brilliancy and emit a
strong degree of heat. The fire thus
fed has the advantage of burning slow
ly as well as brilliantly. It appears
that a similar mixture has been used
by the Chinese from time immemorial.
The Rev. S. J. Edel, in a late commu
nication to the French Academy of
Sciences, says of this Chinese com
pound : " Our cooks, every Saturday,
make a mixture of small; broken coal
and vegetable-earth, containing proper
proportions of salts of soda and water.
This mixture, when dried, is cut in. the
form of bricks, which burn slowly,
e mi ting a strong degree of heat."
About one-half of the French wines
sold in this country are made, bottle
and boxed in New York.
TRANSFUSION OF BLOOD.
During the past few months there
have been eight experiments made, in
and about Chicago; in the transfusion
of blood from the lamb into the veins
of the human subj eet. These have been
instituted mainly in cases of consump
tion, but one or two where there had
been serious loss of blood by hemor
rhage. The operations have been per
formed by Drs. Prcegler, F. C. Hotz
and T. Wilde, all German physicians,
and are the first made in this country,
though the remedy is not new. It has
been resorted to at various neriods in !
Europe during a century or two. The i
process is described as follows by a i
writer "in the Inter-Occan. who was i
present at one of the operations : "A
ham-shaped board is obtained, the sur
face of which is so constructed as to re
ceive, plate-like, tne limbs and body of 1
the lamb. To prevent motion, and thus :
interfere with the quiet and successful
outflow of blood, as well as to make the
animal's position easy and the pulse
natural, the lamb is bound to the wood
en charger with a broad strap tnat
circles it about at the feet, the hips, the
shoulder and above the shoulder. The
shaggy wool around the neck is sheared
and the way cleared to the main artery,
which is bared to the surgeon's lance.
The lamb is selected for several reasons,
chiefly among which are that the tem
perature of its blood is generally very
nearly that of a man's, the blood itself
is also similar in its globules, and the
animal is timid and inoffensive. The
doctor's knife seeks and finds the blood
canal in the lamb's neck, and with nicety
of touch the minutest perforation is
made, in which is inserted immediately
a canule or tube. The opening is fast
ened by means of silk thread to prevent
the flow of blood, and then preparations
to make ready the patient are com
menced. The lower right arm is punc
tured, and a silver or glass canule is
entered. The patient is laid on his
back and the lamb carried to his side,
to be as near the right arm as possible.
The silver canule in the patient s arm
is connected with the canule in the
lamb's neck by a gutta percha tube or
hose. It is, however, first saturated
with dissoluted soda, to prevent coagu
lation of the blood. At the same mo
ment, the silk threads that bind vein
and artery are loosened, and direct
transfusion is a fact. The patients,
after the operati-a, are curiously affect
ed. Dr. Hasse, of Germany, has re
corded these symptoms very clearly, and
his experience is the standard. The
arm into which the vital fluid is injected
warms perceptibly at the start. This
increase in temperature is supplemented
by a slight difficulty in breathing. The
invalid has further sensations peculiar
to the process. He sees everything spin
around him, and his eyes seem as if
there were snow-flakes falling before
them. At the conclusion of the opera
tion, the pulse falls, and sometimes
breathing appears to cease. An hour
or so later, however, the heart beats
normally, as though nothing unusual
had transpired. In a week or two a
scaly eruption covers the entire cuticle
of the body, which, the physicians say,
is an evidence that the strange blood
has permeated to every portion of the
system. It is always anticipated. The
toning of the patient commences from
the moment of the absorption of the
lamb's blood." The consumptive pa
tients in this city who have received the
treatment are all alive and much im
proved in strength, the condition of the
lungs remaining about the same, as
though the disease was arrested, yet
not cured. Only one patient of the
eight has failed to receive benefit, and
that one was suffering from scarcity of
blood and kidney disease. Though the
operation is a delicate one, so far all
those that have been undertaken here
have been conducted without accident.
The physicians do not claim that in ad
vanced stages of consumption the trans
fusion process can avail anything.
WONDERS OF THE THAMES.
Eleven bridges cross the famous River
Thames, and over them go more people
in a year than across any bridges in the
world. They are fine specimens of
architecture, made either of stone or
iron, and some of them cost huge sums
of money. Beneath all these bridges is
a constant stream of boats plying upon
the water. They go and come, up and
down stream, and across in every direc
tion, and in such numbers and confusion
that Idle stranger cannot see how they
escape running into and over one an
other. And .such a noise as the steam
whistles and the oarsmen and those
connected with the boats keep up. It
is positively deafening. In addition to
all?tliese bridges and boats, there is an
other mode of crossing the Thames. It
is the tunnel, two miles below London
bridge. This stupendous work extends
beneath the bed of the river, and con
nects Wapping on the left bank with
Redriff on the right. It consists of two
arched passages, one thousand two hun
dred feet long, fourteen feet wide, and
sixteen feet high, all below the bed of
the river. Whoever walks or rides
through the tunnel goes under the River
Thames, with ships and fishes swimming
over his head.
PLANTS.
It is well known that plants sleep at
night ; but their hours of sleeping are a
matter of habit, and may be disturbed
artificially, just as a cock may be woke
up and crow at untimely hours by the
light of a lantern. De Candolle sub
jected a sensitive plant to an exceed
ingly trying course of discipline, by
completely changing its hours ; expos
ing it to a bright light all night, so as
to prevent sleep, and putting it in a
dark room during the day. The plant
appeared to be much puzzled and dis
turbed at first ; it opened and closed its
leaves irregularly, sometimes nodding
in spite of the artificial sun that shed
its beams at midnight, and sometimes
waking up from the force of habit, tc
find the chamber dark in spite of the
time of day. Such are the trammels of
use and wont ! But after an obvious
struggle the plant submitted to the
change, and turned day into night
without any apparent ill effects.
WOMAN'S RIGHTS
It wduWieeifi TcTbe' obTions that the
man who secures and ee'cuieS a seat in
a railroad car is entitled to its peacea
ble possession until he reaches the end
of hls journey. Not so ; it is only by
constant watchfulness that he manage?,
to 8ecure himself against the demands
the ever coming woman Let him
! leave his quarters but fur a moment at
a way station, and she is in it in spite
of his protesting coat and valise. Woe
oetiue
agaiu !
him if he insists on his own
An illustration of this occurred
but recently. A gentleman was occu
pying a seat in a train" on a principal
line of travel to a certain city. Quit
ting the car for a moment at a station,
he laid on the seat some' manuscript pa
pers, and on these he rested nis traveling-bag.
Returning in five minutes, he
found a respectable appearing woman
and a child in his seat. His papers had
been rudely brushed oh the floor and
were trodden under foot ; his bag was
near them. On being told by him po
litely that this was his seat, the woman
declined to give him the place. The con
ductor, being appealed to said that the
gentleman was entitled to, his seat if he
claimed it. The usurper, aided by a
female friend1, said that "no gentleman
: would incommode a lady." The gentle
i man's position was a trying one. - His
! sex was against him, as he sought to re
: cover his own from feminine clutches,
j The temptation was to gather up his
i papers and bag and seek a seat else
j where, under the blackmail pressure of
: outraged womanhood. But a principle
; was at stake. Had he not a duty to re
I claim that seat which was wrongly tak-
en from him? He evidently thought so
i and insisted on hisrightst The woman
easily found ac other seat elsewhere,
and for three mortal hours thatcar was
regaled with the outspoken sneers and
flings from that woman and her fiends
at the bold, bad man who had daed to
insist on having the seat he had paid
for when it- was wanted by a woman.
Now who was in the right ? Let the
ladies decide this question.
GEN. JA CKSON S COURTSHIP.
It was a law of Tennessee, in early
days, that a man could bedlvorced from
his wife only by two successive nets of
Legislature, and it took two sessions of
the body to accomplish the feat. Ap
plication for divorce was made person
ally before the Legislature, and fc was
decided by a vote whether the cause
should be heard or not at the next ses
sion. If the decision was lavoraoie, tne
case was investigated by g committee,
who reported at the next seAsion
favorably or otherwise, -aceoruiug to
the evidence, and the cfecree oi di
vorce wa3 granted or refused as the-ease
might be. 'i
Mrs. Jackson's first husband was a
miserable scamp named Roberts. She
left him and induced him to ajspiy to
the Legislature for a divorce. H$did
so, and she, supposing -he decree
granted, after a year or more, married
Andrew Jackson. After a time it was
discovered that Roberts had not taken
the case to the Legislature for its sec
ond hearing, and a decree had not been
granted, although Jackson' had been
living with Mrs. Roberts for vro years
as his wife. But a divorce was finally
obtained, and Mr. and Mrs. Jackson re
married according to the law. This in
nocent transgression of the laws of so
ciety and the State - was the skeleton in
the closet at the Hermitage. This led
to the death of Dickinsonand wasjhe
cause of nearly all the seventeen duels
in which Jackson was engaged. Ite
would allow no man to reproachlis
wife for unchastity ; and she, it eems,
was quite as sensitive. In his cam
paign for the Presidency this scandal
was revived, and there is no doubt it
shortened her life. The aspersions
upon her character crushed her ; that
she, who had been a chaste, faithful
wife for thirty-sever years ; ..the gu(Je,
the leader, and the ornament of a re
ligious circle, should be dragged into
the public prints and held up to the
contempt of a nation as an adulteress
was more than she could endure. She
died of heart disease. Said'pne of her
friends : 1
"Her heart was. broken; it war a
clear case of broken heart."
- i .
CURIOUS POSTAL Rtn.F.S. !
Among the rulings of the Postofhce
Department are some that read queerly
enough. " The Postal law "does not
exempt postmasters from working on
the public roads.J1 " Ladies' garters,
in packages not exceeding twelve
ounces, are subject to a postage of two
cents for each two ounces." " Pack
ages of human hair not exceeding
twelve ounces in weight may be sent by
mail at the rate of two cents for each
two ounces." " A husband has no right
under the Postal law to Control his
wife's correspondence." "The initials
or name of the sender on the wrapper
of a newspaper or other printed matter,
in addition to the address, subjects the
package to letter postage." " Honey
bees are not considered proper matter
for transportation by mail.'' " "Printed
matter,' written upon the wrapper of a
package of printed matter subjects the
entire package to letter postage."
" When a lady, holding the position of
Postmaster, marries and changes her
name, a vacancy is created. "JJ"
Auoxa the graduates of the Normal
School at Salem, Mass., this year, was
one young lady, graduating at the head
of the class, who has run a sewing ma
chine and earned money to pay her ex
penses during the two years.