F .4
1
PUBUSHKn EVERT FRIDAY BY
C O L I . -Y sr CLEVK-
AJLBANY,
OREGON.
THE TOUXG FOLKS.
1 toe Fat Brigade.
A. rst-a-tut-tal, and a rat-a-tat-tat !
Did ju ever hear music so stirring as that?
The chubby old fellows are all on parade ;
for thle 16 the march of the Fat Brigade
With a rat-i-tat-tat.
And a rat-4-ta.-tat,
And a ni;-a-:i-tat tattoo i
John is the general, and rides at the head :
JSister has lent him a ribbon of red ;
He ties it around for a beautiful sash ;
He ride on a broomstick, and cuts a bin dash
With a rat-a-tat -tat, '
And a rat-a-tat-tat,
Ami a rat-a-tat-tat tattoo !
Take is the colonel, and that's very plain.
And he ranters along on his papa's new cane
And his say rpauleu are pink motto papers, '
That wave in the wind as he princes and capeis
W:tli a ral-a-tat-tat.
And aVat-n-tat-tat,
And a rat-a-tat-tat tattoo.
Tim is the captain, and he gallops next ;
Bat his horse is so prankish, that Jin.my is vexed ;
Jr'or be rides an nrubre la that will not stay shut,
Though he lashf its ribs with a Slash aud'a cut
With a rat-a-rat-tat.
Ami a rat-a-tat-tat.
And a rat-a-tat-tat tattoo !
Tom is lieutenant but where is his horse ?
Alas ! it was ki'ltdin the skirmish, of course!
so. as he can't rido. he walks to the battle.
And cheers on the men with a royal big rattle,
With a rat-a-tat-tat,
j Aj!i a rat-a-tat-tat.
And a rat-a-tat-tat tattoo !
-toe is the drummer, and gayly he comes.
With the qolckeat or sticks on the tightest of drums ;
He's prince of the parchment ; he's king of the taps ;
And the hv.rses and men keep time to his raps,
v, ith a rat-a-tat-tat,
And a rat-a-tat -tat.
And a rat-a-tat-tat tattoo !
These are the beys who are never afraid.
On a biscuit foray, or a gingerbread raid :
They clear the shelves clean where'er they invade,
Ho beware of the charge of the Fat Brigade !
With a r&t-a-tat-tat.
And a rat-a-tat-tat.
And a rat-a-tat-tat tattoo !
OftPSV A . tt'adaicurth in The A'wrsrry.
The Faithful Boy.
Oerhardt was a German shepheard boy;
-and a noble fellow he was, too, although
he was very, very poor. One day as he
was watching his flock, which was feed
ing in the valley on the borders of a for
est, a hunter came out of the wood, and
asked :
" How far is it to the nearest vil
lage V"
" Six miles, sir," replied the boy,
" but the road is only a sheep-track,
and very easily missed."
I The hunter glanced at the crooked
track. ani then said :
"My lad, I am hungry, tired and
thirsty. I have lost my companions
and misst. I iy way. Leave your sheep,
and show me the road. I will pay tou
well"
"I cannot leave my sheep, sir," re
plied the boy. " They would stray into
the forest, and be eaten by the wolves,
or stolen bv the robbers."
"Well, what of that?" replied the
hunter. "They are not your sheep.
The loss of ou' or niore wouldn't be
much to yoiir master, and I'll give you
more money thun you ever earned in a
whole year.
"I cannot go, sir," rejoined Ger
hardt, very nxniiy : " my master pays
me for my time, and ho trusts me with
his sheep. If I were to sell my time,
which does not belong to me, and the
sheep should get lost, it would be just
the same as if I stole them. "
"Well," said the hunter, "will you
trust your sheep with me while you go
to the village and get me some food and
drink and a guide ? I will take good
eare of them for you. "
The boy shook his head. " The
sheep do not know your voice, and "
here Gerhardt stopped speaking.
"Sir," said the boy, slowly, "you
tried to make me false to my trust, and
wanted mc to break my duty to my
master. How do I know you would
keep your word with me ? "
The hunter latighed ; but he felt that
the boy had silenced him. He said :
" I see, my lad. that you are a good,
faithful boy. I will not forget yon.
Show me the road, and I will try to fol- !
low it myself."
Gerhardt now offered the humble I
contents of his wallet to the hungry j
man, who, coarse as they were, ate j
them gladly. Presently his attendants
came up, and then Gerhardt, to his j
surprise, found that the hunter was the
Grand IJuke, who owned all the coun- j
try round. The Duke was so pleased j
-with the boy's honesty, that he sent for j
him shortly after, and had him edu-
cated. In after years Gerhardt became j
a very rich and powerful man, and he j
remained honest and true to his dying
day. Se lectcd.
i Bonnet-Pieces.
The other day, little Wallie Graham i
(a great favorite of mine) came skipping
along among the trees, half -singing, j
half-saving :
My puree with bonnet-pieces store ;
T. . ,.-,11 Gvim a bfiw-Hhot o'er.
And lo-.se a shallop from the shore.
I wondered what Wallie could mean,
but soon found out. It seems that he
was reading the " Lady of the Lake."
" It's just the nicest story-poem you
ever saw V he said to ft boy who was
with him. " I wish I was a Highland
chief and had a big brave clan like Clan
Alpine ! Wouldn't I fight King J ames,
though Y ,
Of course I don t even know what
Wallie was talking of, but after he had
told his friend a good deal about it I
became almost as much interested as
himself in the story-poem, which he
said was written by the great Sir Walter
Scott.
' But," said Wallie, " there are ever
so many things in the poem that I don't
understand. Now, for instance, what
are ' bonnet-pieces ?' I know I wouldn't
care to swim the length of a bow-shot
in the face of enemies, and loose a shal
lop (that's a sort of boat) for the sake of
a purse full of pieces of old bonnets.
Would you, now ?"
The other little chap told him that he
didn't think he would, but that he
didn't believe real pieces of bonnets
were what Earl Somebody meant when
he offered as a reward a purse full of
bonnet-pieces."
The little fellows puzzled a good deal
over this as they trudged along ; but
I've since found out that a bonnet
piece was a valuable coin, stamped on
one side with a portrait of James V. of
Scotland wearing a " bonnet-piece
not a lady's bonnet, but a nearly flat
Scotch cap of cloth. These were called
bonnets, and were worn a century ago
by everv Scotchman, and are still worn
by some of them. The cap which was
pictured on the bonnet-piece being a
royal cap, had a jeweled circle around
the head. The coins were large and of
very pure gold, so that a purse full of
them was a large reward. From,
"Jack-in-the -Fulpit," St, Nicholas for
December.
A Cradle Scene.
Three angels were watching a babe in
a cradle. One held a dial to mark the
hour of its birth, and said : " Will this
new life lead to good or evil ?
In an adjoining room three little
brothers were chattering like magpies,
when the grandmother enter.-id, saving:
' ' Sh ! a little sister arrived in the night. "
The little children rose and silently
kneeled over the cradle.
" Now babe," murmured the angel,
" your womanly mission begins. Be a
peacemaker to these combatants over a
toy or a marble."
" How little she is !" said the eldest
boy. "But she will socn ferow, and I
will teach her to walk ; and when I am
a big man I will bring her birds from
foreign lands, pretty shells and pearls,
and how she will be astonished when I
relate my ad ventures."
'"I will share everything with her,"
said the second, "aud she will teach
me to do right, and intercede for me
when I am punished. Grow up quick,
little sister !"
"Anc I," said the third, "will take
her on my lap and tell her all the stories
I know, and she will clap her hands and
cry encore .' And if I become a good
man she will say proudly when any one
speaks of me: 'He is my brother.'"
" Child," said the angel " reflect on
thy mission. Become such that thy
esteem will be worth obtaining, and
light those you love to the path of
duty." Edith D. Somner, in Hearth
and Home.
A Clean Apron.
A lady wanted a trusty little maid to
come and help her to take charge of a
baby. Nobody could recommend one,
and she hardly knew where to look for
the right kind of a girl. One day she
was passing through a by-lane and saw
a little girl with a clean apron holding
a baby in the doorway of a small house.
" That is the maid for me," said the
lady. She stopped and asked for her
mother. " Mother has gone out to
work," answered the girl. "Father is
dead, and now mother has to do every
thing." " Should you not like to come
and live with me ?" asked the lady.
" I should like to help mother some
how," said the little maid. The lady,
more pleased than ever with the tidy
looks of the little girl, went to see her
mother after she came home, and the
end of it was that the la-iy took the
maid to live with her, and she found
what, indeed, she expected to find
that the neat appearance of her person
showed the neat and orderly bent of her
mind. She had no careless habits ;
she was no friend to dirt ; but every
thing she had to do with was folded up
and put away, and kept carefully. The
lady finds great comfort in her, and
helps her mother, whose lot is not now
so bad as it was. She smiles when she
says, " Sally's recommendation washer
clean apron ;" and who will say that it
was not a good one ?
Playing Dead.
During a noontime play-spell at on9
of our schools, a short time since, some
little girls conceived the idea of ploying
dead. One of them assumed the role
of corpse, and suffered herself to be
" laid out" on one of the benches, to be
viewed and remaiked upoD, according
to the manner of their elders. Their
teacher had laid himself out on one of
the benches in the school-room, pre
tending to be asleep, but was really en
joying the frolics of the children, when
one lisping 5-year-old discovered him,
and straightway exclaimed to her
mates, " O teaenerths dead ! "
They were all immediately interested,
and began their remarks, which made
him also feel anxious to hear the
opinions of his several pupils. They
passed around him laying their little
hands upon his forehead, shaking their
pretty heads in all solemnity, each
one making her own little remark, such
as "He makes a pretty corpse ;"
" How his mother must feel ; " " It's
a pity he died so young;'' " He looks
natural ;" etc. Then came little five-year-old,
who, with earnest countenance
and subdued voice, said : " Yeth, he
lookth natural, but he smsllth bathe
The fun had reached its climax ; the
teacher rolled off the bench in, 'a fit of
laughter, and the children ran away.
A Criminal's Romantic Career.
A telegram from Quebec, received a
few nights ago, mentioned the arrest
aboard the Prussian of a defaulter from
France. The antecedents of the pris
oner are thus recounted by the Paris
correspondent of the London Tele
graph, under date of Nov. 2 : "We
have just received word of one of those
romantic robberies that turn up from
time to time in every country. A cer
tain Teschemacher, German bv birth,
has long enjoyed the entire confidence
of a great Anglo-French firm, Messrs
Poisset, of Bradford and Paris. Though
but 28 years old and boyish appearance
Teschemacher occupied the position of
chief cashier, and was even trusted
with authority to sign for the firm.
Just before the war, in a public place,
he made the acquaintance of Mar
guerite Chauvin, a person of some at
tractions, and a superior education.
Led for her sake into large expenses, he
began to gamble on the turf, with such
luck as to win nearly 4,000 in a very
short time. Thereupon he bought two
ponies, a basket carriage and other
knicknacks of the sort, and hired a
charming little house in the Avenue
Bourdon a neighborhood very retired.
There he -set up a staff of servants,
passing under the name of Baron Al
phonse. Speaking English excellently,
he was supposed in the Avenue Bourdon
to be a wealthy and eccentric milord,
whose ruinous expenses were a subject of
gossip. Going out early in clothes of the
latest fashion, he passed the day in a
coat almost too ancient for respectabil
ity, dined for a franc and a half, and
returned home late, fashionably clad as
he had set out. His bachelor chamber,
modest beyond what his position auth
orized, was known to all in the office
at 81 Boulevard Magenta. But fortune
changed. Cards and horses turned
against the cashier. He began to falsify
his books. But for three years the
double life was led without discovery,
though the servants of Baron Alphonse
are wonderfully suspicious after the
fact. A fortnight since came the warn
ing of a catastrophe inevitable, though
so long deferred. M. Poisset arrived
from Bradford, and proposed to go over
the books. Teschemacher saw his game
was up, opened the safe, took out 12,
000 in notes, and caught the night mail
to London. Having taken care to bal
ance the books, he still left no suspi
cion behind, until his non-appearance
caused, alarm. Before the telegraph
had overtook him, he had taken ship
for Quebec on board the Prussian. His
companion even was too late to catch
him, having delayed too long oyer her
trunks. She came back to Paris, and
was arrested with 22,000 francs upon her.
There are pohcemen looking after
Teschemacher at Quebec, but one cannot
easily think that a criminal so bold and
so experienced has overlooked the uses
of the Atlantic telegraph.
These are in the United States to-day
750.000 adult white men who can neither
read nor write, while of adult white wom
en in the same illiterate condition the
number amounts to 1,150,000.
Give Your Children Trades.
From the Lansing State Republican.
Since the method of apprenticing
children and binding them by " in
dentures " to the service of masters for
a given length of time has ceased to be
the custom, we seldom hear of servi
tude without compensation. The idea
of becoming an apprentice has lost the
terrors, to the boy, that it formerly
possessed. It is well it is so ; for in
many cases, under the former regime,
the privileges of the master and mis
tress gave rise to serious abuses. It
was generally stipulated that the boy
should receive a certain amount of
schooling, and at 21 years of age two
suits of clothes, and sometimes a small
fum of money was added. This was in
most cases the sole compensation for
the unremitting toil of eight or ten
years, with only meager food and scant
clothing during the time ; and, unless
the master taught the boy a specific
trade by which he could make his work
an immediate source of income, he was
set adrift at that age with his hands
only, with which to carve his fortune.
No "education that could help him ; no
knowledge of the world outside of the
neighborhood in which he had lived ;
no home training, except the stern
discipline of his master's family, in
which he was too often a servant in
stead of a companion of the children ;
yet we could name many of our most
respected and successful men that were
subjected to just such training, showing
that the right kind of material will
eventually come to the surface and make
itself felt.
This course of treatment was much
the same with girls oftener with ex
ceptions than in the case of boys.
Within the recollection of the writer, to
" bind out" a girl was to take her out
of the pale of respectability at once ;
and unless she " fell into good hands"
and became an adopted child, her life
was one but little removed from slavery.
Happily, the progress of events has
developed ways and means whereby a
man who wishes to have his children
taught any of the industrial arts can
place them in situations where they will
not be subjected to abject servitude.
We would urge all parents to bring
up their children in such a way that
they can maintain themselves by re
munerative labor. The time has ar
rived when it is just as necessary for
girls to learn some regular employment
as it is for boys. Marriage has ceased
to be the " chief end and aim" in the
minds of sensible girls. Matrimony is
not a haven where rest from labor is
found, but a condition where every
faculty of mind and energy of character
are necessary to build up a happy and
successful household.
To many "to be supported," as the
phrase goes, is a very unworthy motive.
Every woman should learn some busi
ness by which she can earn a support
independent of her husband, should cir
cumstances require it. The avenues to
remunerative work for women are con
stantly widening, and the approach to
the same wages for the same services
rendered by men is slow but sure, and
blamable are those parents who do not
give their girls the means of controlling
in a measure their circumstances by a
well-defined occupation. We have at
this moment, in our mind's eye, a young
woman, a graduate of a popular semi
nary, who was left a few years ago, by
the death of her husband, with a fine
farm, with but little money, a few miles
from a large city. With occasional ad
vice from her father, she has carried on
her farming operations successfully,
laying up a small surplus every year,
hiring a foreman, to whom she gives
good wages and a share of the respon
sibility. During this time she has pur
sued her musical studies, that were laid
aside at her marriage, and is educating
her three children till they are old
enough to go away from heme. An
other striking example of the superior
ity of intelligent power over the merely
physical.
Where a number of boys cluster
around the farmer's fireside, it becomes
a question of some import, What calling
is best for them to pursue ? It is sel
dom that more than one out of three
boys are content to stay on the farm.
It should first be ascertained what each
one is apparently best fitted for. A
child that early develops a tact of
handling and taste for using tools
should be taught some trade. The me
chanic arts are never crowded. And if
a boy decide to be a farmer, the value
of a year's time spent in learning to use
various tools will come come back to
him with profit. It is better for chil
dren to have money expended on pre
paring them to earn their own living,
than to keep them hampered and igno
rant in youth, that you may lay up
money to leave them at your death.
One hundred dollars judiciously ex
pended for a boy at 10 will do him more
good than 500 left him at 21.
In Germany, according to the report
of the Commissioner of Education, in
1870 -there were 144 local societies
which maintained 144 industrial schools
and 13 infant schools. In these indus
trial schools 5,766 children were taught.
There are two winter industrial schools
in which 72 boys and 218 girls are in
structed in various employments.
In 1872 there was appropriated to
these industrial schools in Saxony
22,000 thalers. They have schools
where the manufacture of toys is
taught, weaving schools, schools of
embroidering, straw-platting, spinning,
navigation, drawing, etc.
In Berlin a school has been started
for the instruction of girls for chil
dren's nurses. If such instruction
could be given in some of our own in
stitutions, it would be a step towards
supplying one of the imperative needs
of the times.
In Germany, we are told that, when
a young man wants to marry, he must
show to the proper authorities that he
has been educated to a certain point,
and must produce a certificate that he
has some trade or calling whereby he
can support a family. Could we bor
row a hint and make a somewhat sim
ilar provision, the numbers of our mis
erably poor might be materially les
sened. We hope yet to see industrial schools
established in this country on some
plan that will enable people of moder
ate means to give their children trades
that will be a resource in time of need.
Formerly sewing was taught in the com
mon schools ot JNew England, and we
are tree to conxess there were more
really good seamstresses than at the
present day ; but as the demand for
more studies came in, the sewing wa
voted out.
Boston has $8,450,000 of church
property, and gave in 1878 for religious
purposes, not including strictly benevo
lent institutions, over $4,000,000. In
all, Boston gives away more than her
taxation. v
An Indianapolis night-policeman has
been presented with a neat little jewel
ed alarm-clock, to wear in his coat
pocket and wake up by when the hour
for going off duty arrives.
How to Avoid Taking Cold.
A cold is simply a developer of a dis
eased condition, which mav have been
latent or requiring only some favorincr !
conaition to oarsi out into the name of
disease. That this is usually the cor
rect view of cold as a disease-producing
agent, under all ordinary circumstances,
may be made plain by reflection upon
personal experience, even to the most
ordinary understanding. When the hu
man body is at its prime with youth,
vigor, purity ana a good constitution on
its side no degree of ordinary exposure
to cold gives rise to any unpleasant ef
fects. All the ordinary precautions
against colds, coughs and rheumatic
pains may De disregarded, and no ill
effects ensue. But let the blood be
come impure, let the body become de
ranged from any acquired disorder, or
let the vigor begin to wane, and the in
firmities of age be felt by occasional
derangements in some vital part, either
from inherited or acquired abuses, and
the action of cold will excite more or
less disorder of some kind, and the form
of this disorder, or the disease which
will ensue, will be determined by the
kind of pre-existing blood impurity, or
the pre-existing fault of the organic
processes. It follows, from these facts
and considerations, that the secret of
avoiding the unpleasant consequences
thought to spring wholly from the
action of cold upon the body has
very little dependence upon exposure,
but a great deal upon an impure
and weak condition of all the vital
processes. In other words, with an
average of superior constitution, and
an intelligent observance of all the laws
of health, men and women could not
take cold if they wanted to ; they might
be exposed to the action of cold to a de
gree equal to the beast of the field, and
with like impunity. But in the case of
persons with feeble constitutions, and
who disregard, knowingly or otherwise,
and most frequently otherwise, the con
ditions of healthy existence, no degree
of care will prevent the taking of cold,
as it is termed. They may live in
houses regulated with all the precision
of a hot-house, they may cover them
selves with the most highly-protective
clothing the market provides, and yet
they will take cold. I do not think the
consumptive person lives, or ever will
live, even if kept in a temperature ab
solutely uniform, and clothed in a
wholly faultless manner, in whom the
well-known signs of one cold after an
other will not be apparent. But, on
the other hand, there are those who,
like the late Sir Henry Holland, of
good constitutions and living in accord
ance with the laws of health, may travel
as he did from the tropics to the arc
tics again and again, clad only in an or
dinary dress coat, and yet scarcely know
what it is to have a cold or a sickness of
any kind. The truth, is, that to avoid
taking cold from ordinary or even ex
traordinary exposure, the vital pro
cesses must be made strong enough to
rise above the untoward influence of
external conditions. The Sanitarian.
Our Direct Trade.
It is a fact worthy of note that while
the direct trade between Chicago and
Europe is constantly on the increase,
that between here and New York is
rapidly decreasing. A few years since
all the provisions and breadstuffs ex
ported from the United States to Eu
rope were purchased through IS ew York
firms, many of whom were represented
by agents in this city. At present the
shipments are either made direct to
Europe by Chicago firms or foreign
houses who either have branches here
or send their orders to Chicago nouses
to buy. Jsot one pound in ten of the
provisions shipped from the West, and
especially that sent from Chicago to Eu
rope, is rehandled in New York. A
very large percentage goes by the way
of Portland or Boston. Philadelphia
is also diverting a portion of this export
trade, and in a few weeks the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad will have its line com
pleted to this city, and being by far the
shortest and most direct line to the sea
board will be able to carry freight at
such a rate as will enablo Baltimore to
outbid Gotham for the export trade of
the West. To such an extent has the
trade between New York and the West
fallen off during the past two years,
that Chicago firms, who a few years
since established branches in 'New
York, find it unprofitable to continue
them, and are preparing to concentrate
their capital here with a view to in
creasing their direct trade with Europe.
unr uirect import trade is also rapidly
growing, and our leading jobbers are
now importing nearlv all the foreien
goods sold in this market. The rapidi
ty with which capital is concentrating
in the w est, and the improved means
of shipping Western product to the
markets of the old world and receivine
their merchandise its return without
paying tribute to the seaboard cities,
will soon enable the West to dispense
with the services of Eastern merchants
in order to sell or to buv from the mer
chants of Europe and other foreiam
countries. Chicago Courier.
Lean or Fat, According to Circum
stances.
A Paris letter has this story of an ac
tor who was too thin : "A well-known
physician advised him to go to one of
the bathing places m the Pyrenees.
Parlet accordingly asked for leave of
absence from his theater, and went to
the prescribed locality, where he drank
and bathed with the utmost zeal and
perseverance. But neither drinking
nor bathing seemed to have any enect
on him, and he lemained just as much
of a skeleton as before. ' Patience,'
urged the local doctor, in reply to his
expressions of disappointment ; ' there
is nothing like the water of our springs
for making people tat I One day,
when Parlet was perfectly soaking him
self in a bath, in the hope of an in
crease in weight which seemed in no
haste to declare itself, he heard a collo
quy in the bathing cabinet next bis
own, between the local hisculapius and
a lady of enormous obesity. 1 Doctor,
remarked the lady, ' I am really losing
heart and patience. ' Why so ? in
quired the doctor. ' Because, though
1 have been taking these waters regu
larly lor two months, J. am not one
ounce lighter V ' .Patience, madame I
said the doctor in his most persuasive
tones, ' there is nothing like the water
of our springs for making people
thin!"
A female writer, speaking of affinities,
observes that a woman now and then
meets a man to whom she can truthfully
say : " Un the barren shores of time.
O, my soul's kinsman ! I have found
in thee my ' pearl of great price,' and
there is nothing more precious out of
heaven." I have no doubt that this is
the case, and while I would not rudely
mar the sweet poetic beauty of the pic
ture thus summed up, my experience
teaches me that the women who begin
by talking in this sugary manner are
usually prone to throw skillets and flat
irons at "their soul's kinsman" after
marriage, and to rowl at the " pearl
of great price" because he comes to bed
with his feet cold. Max Adeler.
FARM AND GARDEN.
SOIL FOB FRUIT.
The Gardeners' Monthly gives briefly
the following rules for selecting the
best soils for the different fruits : A
light, dryish soil for the peach, a strong
loamy soil for the pear, nearly the same
for the plum, a heavy loam for the ap
ple if on limestone.all the better and
for the cherry a soil similar to that of
the peach.
TO REDUCE BONES.
Mix them in a large kettle with wood
ashes, and to make the ashes ciustic
add about a peck of fresh lime to each
barrel of bones. Saturate and cover
the ashes well with water, and then ap
ply heat, say for twenty-four hours, or
during the day for two consecutive days.
All the bones by this time, except the
very hardest parts, will be so reduced
as to be easily pulverized, being in a
pasty condition, suitable for placing in
layers in making the compost heap.
Another day's boiling will reduce the re
mainder of the hard bones.
TO RENDER A CESSPOOL INODOROUS,
The contents of a cesspool may be
rendered comparatively inodorous by
frequent additions of plaster, or ground,
unburned gypsum, or diluted oil of vit
riol, or solution of copperas. Probably
the easiest way of using the contents
for manure is to throw fine earth into
the vault until a semi-liquid mass is
formed, and to scoop this out and cover
it with a quantity of dry soil gathered
in readiness for it. The earth absorbs
all the liquid and all the gaseous mat
ter, and if kept covered from rain for a
few days, it will be in excellent condi
tion to spread over meadows or fallows
to prepare for fall crops.
CARE OF SHEEP.
' ' Flock Master, " of Lancaster county,
Penn., writes the Germ an town Tele
graph as follows : "I send you the fol
lowing seasonable hints in regard to the
care of sheep : During the winter and
early spring sheep are often affec ted
with colds ; these, if neglected, fre
quently become so deeply seated as to
be incurable, and end in phthisic or
consumption. The best remedy for a
cold is, first, place your sheep in a well
ventilated, dry stable, comfortably lit
tered, and, second, give it any slightly
purging medicine, with a moderate al
lowance of hay, and a bran mash, one
fifth of which should be oil-meal. Colds
and catarrh are net only epidemic, but
endemic : be careful, therefore where
you winter your sheep, that there be no
predisposing cause in their locality ;
and when they are attacked, remove
them instantly from the flock. By fol
lowing these precautions, and keeping
them well fed, sheltered, aired, watered,
and salted, one may bid defiance to dis
ease among his flock."
STEEL PLOWS BEST.
A. B. Allen, of New York, says : " I
would sooner pay double the price for
steel plows than accept as a gift the
best set of cast-iron plows to be found
in the United States. Though ever so
hard chilled or smoothly polished, cast
iron will foul, more or less, on the
mold-board, in every kind of soil from
a sandy or gravelly up to a heavy clay
loam. The dirt thus gathered on the
mold-board adds greatly to its draft and
prevents good work.
Another objection to cast-iron is in
order to get equal strength the weight
must be considerably greater than with
steel, and this is a hard drag all day,
and requires a much stronger team. Of
this any one may quickly convince him
self without resort to dynamometers or
any other means of testing the drafts.
He has only to hitch a light team to a
steel plow, and a stronger one to the
cast iron, and work them side by side.
In this way I have found that a pair of
fourteen-hand ponies would do about
the same work, and with as much ease
to themselves as a pair of six teen-hand
horses. The same observations about
material will also apply to cultivators.
In thus candidly advising my brother
farmers in regard to the superior merit
of steel plowB, I am speaking directly
against my own individual interest, for
I have been a manufacturer and dealer
in cast-iron plows for upward of thirty
years past."
FEEDING HOKSES.
Mr. Cairnes, a popular English vet
erinary surgeon, in a paper read recent
ly, says that "too much grain indis
poses horses for eating other provender,
and occasionally subjects them to seri
ous disease. Five bushels of good
sound oats weekly, along with a few
good Swedish turnips or other roots,
and plenty of hay or good straw, will
keep a pair of healthy farm horses in
good order through the winter, even
though they be pretty hard wrought.
If, then, such an allowance be sufficient,
it is folly and waste to give them more.
Something must be wrong if with this
allowance, of food, they fall off in con
dition. Horses that are greedy eaters,
or that swallow their grain whole,
should have it bruised or ground. A
little chaff (chopped hay) mixed with it
helps to make horses chew it, and well
chewed food is of far more importance
than many people think. Unless it be
well ground and mixed with saliva in
their mouths, it is but imperfectly di
gested in their stomachs, and without
perfect digestion there, its full benefit
is not obtained. A full drink of water
immediately after being fed should
never be allowed to horses. When the
water is drunk by them, the bulk of it
goes directly to their large intestines,
and but little of it is retained in the'ir
stomachs. In passing through them,
however, the water carries a consider
able quantity of their contents to where
it lodges in the intestines. If, then,
the contents of horses' stomachs are
washed out of them before they
are digested, they are in a
manner lost, no nourishment being de
rived from them. Colics in horses fre
quently arise from this cause, and to it
the appearance of corn entire among
their dung is often due. Damp straw
or musty hay should never be given as
food for horses. The former is apt to
scour them, and the latter frequently
affects their wind. It is affirmed by
some that if their hay or straw be out,
and their grain bruised, horses can be
kept at one-fourth less cost than when
they are given them whole. Every one
knows the value of grass as an article
of food for horses. A month of it in
the early part of the season, when it is
young and lender, is worth two when it
gets old and tough. Great care must
be taken of horses when first put on
grass indeed, changes of food of any
kind must to them be introduced with
caution, as many have had to pay dear
ly for neglect of this. Even a change
of water has at times been known to
affect some horses, so sensitive does
their alimentary canal seem to be."
Household Hints.
To Blanch Babbit. Set it on the fire
in a small quantity of cold water, and
let it boil ; as soon as it boils it is to be
taken out, and put in cold water tor a
few minutes.
The odor of a phial that has contained
medicine may be removed by filling it
with cold water and letting it stand in
an airy place uncorked for three days,
changing the water every day.
Baked Eggs. Beat up six eggs, one
tablespoonful of flour, six of sweet
milk ; melt youi butter in the frying
pan ; when hot, turn the whole in, well
beaten, and bake in a hot oven.
To take grease spots out of carpets,
mix a little soap in a gallon of warm
soft water, then add half -an-ounce of
borax ; wash the part well with a clean
cloth, and the grease or dirty spot will
soen disappear.
Britannia ware, says one who has
tried it, should first be washed with a
woolen cloth and sweet oil, then washed
in water and suds, and rubbed with soft
leather and whiting. Thus treated it
will retain its beauty to the last.
Sauce fob Ducks. Serve a rich
gravy in the dish, cut the breast into
shoes, but don't take them off ; cut a
lemon and put pepper and salt on it ;
then squeeze it on the breast, and pour
a spoonful of gravy over before you
serve it out.
To prevent baldness, says a corre
spondent, throw away all oils and po
mades, and wash the parting of the hair
with cold water, night and morning, dry
thoroughly, and then use a good stiff
brush and keep brushing until redness
or warm glow is produced.
The yellow spots produced by nitric
acid may be removed from brown or
black woolen goods, while fresh, by re
peatedly dipping them into a concen
trated solution of permangaie of potassa
and then washing them with water.
The yellow spots on the hands may be
removed in the same way, the brown
stain produced by the permanganate
being removed by an aqueous solution
of sulphurous acid.
Newspaper Postage.
The following in relation to newspaper
postage is of general interest. At the
last session of Congress, the subject of
postage on newspapers and periodicals
was taken into consideration by that
body, resulting in the passage of a bill
compelling advance payment of postage,
and fixing the rate at two cents per
pound on all of that class of matter
published once a week or more fre
quently, and transmitted to regular
subscribers through the mails, and
three cents per pound on such matter
issued less frequently than once a week.
The provisions of this law are to go into
effect Jan. 1, 1875. The Postmaster
General being by the law confined to a
choice of one of three modes of collect
ing the postage by means of stamps,
considerable attention has been given
to uic matter oy tnis omce ; and alter a
careful review of the plans proposed, it
was deemed best to recommend the
adoption of the system pf prepayment
by postage stamps affixed to a mem
orandum of mailing, or, in other words,
to a stub in a book retained bv the
postmaster at the mailing office, a re- 1
ceipt, showing the weight of matter and
the amount paid, being given by the
postmaster to the person mailing the
same, the stamps affixed to the stub to
be canceled by a cutting punch, thus
preventing tneir re-use. This plan, it
is beUeved, is more practicable and less
expensive in its operations than either
of the others, while at the same time it
will be quite as effectual in collectine
,the postage. A series of stamps have
been devised of 24 denominations, by
means of which any sum which is a
multiple of either the two or three cent
rate, from two cents to 872, can be made
by the use of not more than five stamps.
It is expected that, notwithstanding the
reduction of rates by the law, the sys
tem of compulsory prepayment of
newspaper postage will yield a larger
revenue to the department than has ever
been collected. In the .city of New
York alone, a comprehensive inquiry
seems to warrant the belief that not less
than $600,000 per annum will be paid
a sum which is little less than one-half
of the entire revenue from newspaper
postage throughout the United States
during the fiscal year just closed. It
is, however, impossible to estimate the
actual increase for the whole country,
owing to that provision of the law which
allows the free mail circulation of news
papers in the counties in which they are
printed.
Fortunes in Small Way .
The New York correspondent of the
Boston Journal writes : " One can
count on his ten fingers the heavy mer
chants that have stood unmoved during
a quarter of a century. The heaviest
houses topple down and the richest
men pass out of sight. But there is a
class of men who maintain uninterrupt
ed prosperity. These are men who be
gan small, had a specialty, always sold
the exact article they professed, kept
grubbing on from year to year, and
waited for fortune till she chose to ap
pear. One of the heaviest paper
houses in New York was begun by a
man who was a rag-picker. He began
in the smallest possible way. When he
had only a small basket full he assort
ed them fairly and honestly. He soon
got the confidence of the trade. His
rags were always the quality represent
ed ; and he walked over the course, al
ways making progress, always making
money, in his immense warehouse to
day buyers are sure to find when they
get home the exact article that they pur
chased. Some years ago a man set up
a little cicar-store. His specialty was
that he would not keep a domestic cigar
on his shelves. The article that he
sold was invariably good, and he made
a fortune. There are half a dozen old
caterers in New York. They are fifty
and sixty years old. Two or three of
them are in cellars or in small rooms.
The floor is Banded ; the seats are
without backs ; the tables are without
cloths ; the head of the house waits on
his customers ; coat off, white apron
around his waist, Ihe perspiration on
his forehead ; he broils and stews and
fries for his customers. Everything
about the room is as it was thirty-five
years ago. In these little dens from
twelve to two one cannot sit or stand for
the crowd. The first merchants in New
York fill the place. Chops, beefsteaks,
hams, English mutton, are specialties.
The man who waits on these clerks and
merchants could buy a house on Fifth
avenue and live in it if he wanted to."
Pity the poor Celestials. They are to
learn French after Ollendorf 's system ;
and so now, no doubt, the young Mon
golians are studying in their Ollendorfs
such passages as this : " Have you the
old horse of your dead grandmother?"
" No, I have not the old horse of my
dead grandmother, but I have the small
squirrel of my old step-father."
A carpenter named Hilton died in
Pawtucketville, Mass., from the effects
of the bite of a pig received about, a
week previously. When the animal bit
him, he paid no attention to the wound
further than to tie a rag about it Some
days afterward the wound swelled an 1
mortified, and the services of a physiciau
were obtained, but in vain.
The fourth of a man A quarter-master.
THE OLD HOJUIC.
BY WILL WALLACE HARNEY.
An out-door quiet held the earth
Beneath the winter moon.
The cricket chirped in cozy mirth.
And the kettle crooned, upon the hearth,
A sweet, old-faahioned tone.
The old clock ticked, a drowsy race,
With the clicking of the cricket.
And red coals in the chimney-place
Peeped out with many a rosy face.
Like berries in a thicket.
The crane's arm empty, stuck out stiff,
And tinware on the shelves
Twinkled and winked at every gUff,
In the flickering fire-light, as If
They whispered to themselves.
The good dame, in her ruffled cap.
Counted her stitches slowly,
And the old man, with full many a gap.
Bead from the Big Book on hie lap,
The good words, wise and holy.
The old clock clicked, the old man read
His deep voice pausing, lowering;
The good wife nodded, dropped her head
The lids of both were heavy as lead
They were sound asleep and snoring.
Oh, hale old couple ! sweet each drean;
While all the milk-pans tilting
Puss paints her whiskers in the crean.,
Till John and the belated team
Bring Maggie from the quilting .
May Time, I pray, when failing years
Make thin my voice and thrapple.
Find my last days of life like theirs,
As sweet with children's love and pray era,
And like a winter-apple.
Scribner'Hor December.
Pith ard Point.
An affair of the heart The circula
lio of the blood.
Why is a mouse like a load of hay ?
Because the cat'll eat it.
Nothino comes home so much to a
man as an unsettled bill.
"Thieving in the outskirts" is the
latest for " picking ladies' pockets."
When we see a young man who spends
all he earns, we are inclined to suspect
that he does not always earn all ha
spends.
In the case of a Kansas man being
struck by lightning, the Coroner's jnry
rendered a verdict : "He was killed by
the Lord, but the Lord is all right."
Mrs. Partington writes to say that
she can't make out why all the "help'
she gets are so stupid, when she is al
ways particular to obtain them from an
intelligence office.
" Why is advertising like the religion
of a camp-meeting ?" asks the Paper
Trade Journal. "Because it is good
to all intents ; and purposes to make
you known to all men."
A lodging house fiend tells the story
that, in a recent storm, the warring
elements were so awe-inspiring that the
hair in a dish of butter in the pantry,
turned completely white during the
night.
The typographical fiend has at last
come to grief. A printer in the Lynch
burg Republican office had his hand
disabled the other day by the bite of a
coon. He had spelled the animal's
name with a k. And now he bitterly re
pents it.
A literary man was asked in a letter,
the other day, for some materials for his
biography. The writer was very polite
and considerate. He said: "Heaven
forbid that I should desire your death,
but such things will occasionally occur,
and it is best to be prepared for the
worst."
Two clergymen were busy discussing
a knotty problem in theology. " I be
lieve," said one, " in the doctrine of"
up went his feet, and, as he bored a
hole in the ice, he finished the sentence
" damnation !" It did not sound
pretty, but then he didn't intend to say
it in that way.
First passenger (with filthy clay pipe)
"I'm afraid you don't like the smell
of 'bacy, sir ?" Second passenger (with
regalia)" Haw not other people's
haw." First passenger " All right, sir
Anything to oblige a gen'elman. Just
'and us over one of your weeds, and I'll
put out my pipe?" Funch.
Postal Statistics.
The growth of our postal system is
simply an index to the growth of other
interests.
In 1790 the number of postofficas in
the United States was 75, the length of
post roads in miles was 1,875 miles, the
postal revenues amounted to $37,935
and the expenditures to $32,140. That
was the day of small things in our post
al system.
In 1800 the postoffices had risen to
903 in number and the length of post
roads to 20,817 miles. The revenues
were $280,804 and the expenditures
$231,934. This shows a remarkable in
crease in ten years.
In 1810 the number of postoffices
was 2,300, the length of post roads was
was 36,070 miles, the postal revenues
were $551,684 and the expenditures
were $495,969.
In 1820 the number of postoffices was
4,500, the length of post roads was
72,492 miles, the postal revenues were
$1,111,927, and the expenditures were
$1,160,926.
In 1830 the number of postoffices was
8,450, the length of post roads was 115,
176 miles, the postal revenues $1,919,
300, and the expenditures, were $1,959,-
109.
In 1840 the number of postoffices was
13,486, the length of post roads was
155,739 miles, the postal revenues were
$4,543,521.92, and the expenditures
were $4,718,325.64.
In 1850 the number of postoffices was
18,417. the length of post roads was
178,672 miles, the postal revenues were
$5,499,986.86, and the expenditures
were $5,212,953.43.
In 1860 the number of postoffices was
28,498, the length of post roads was
240. 594 miles, the postal revenues were
$9,218,067.40 and the expenditures
were $14,874,772.89.
In 1870 the number of postoffices was
28,492, the length of post roads was
231,232 miles, the postal revennes were
$19,772,220.65, and the expenditures
were $23,998,837.63.
In 1873 the number of postofficas was
33,244, the length of poet roads waa
256,210 miles, the postal revenues were
$22,996,741.57, and the expenditures
were $29,084,945.67.
These figures give the progress by de
cades of the postal system of the United
States since 1790, covering a period of
eighty-three years. As it has bees in
the past, so it will be in the future ;
when.we include all of Mexico, and the
N. A. British Provinces, we shall have
attained our majority. We are not yet
twenty-one.
The Six Follies of Science. The
six follies of science are said to be the
following : The quadrature of the cir
cle ; the establishment of perpetual mo
tion ; the philosopher's stone ; the
transmutation of metals ; divination, or
tbe discovery of secrets by magic ; and
lastly, judicial astrology. It is un wise
to say that anything is impossible, until
the impossibility is demonstrated. It
is not at all improbable that the present
century may see that one of these so
called follies is a retility. Journal ot
Applied Sciences.