- - I t
DKCOKATION-DAY.
Tbc war-cry thro' the land is stilled,
The cannon's sullen lips are dumb;
To-day throughout our laud we hear
The solemn beat of jnuffled drum.
The flags hang drooping from the staff
llie streets are filled with grave-eyed men:
Long dormant memories spring to life
We live tlje dead past o'er again.
' W sec thro' mists of falling tears
The wild, fierce strife of armed bands;
We liear the clash of hostile steel.
We feel the touch of vanished hands.
We part, as in the days of yore,
From loved ones long since in the grave;
We bear ti:at mournful sound Hgaio,
The clanking fetters of the slave.
Wc see the lines of Blue and Gray
Ma.-sed for the fight, as in the past;
We lienr the neigh ng of the steeds
And waken to ourselves at last.
. Jrjfttetttl of r trite, the lute of peace
Breathes softly o'er a grateful land;
J Instead of arms the dainty flowers,
Are 6trewn about on every hand.
The Gray now mingles with the Blue
In that eternal sleep called death,
Tbeir strife is o'er and in the end
We mourn them all with equal breath
1 From far-off lauds we come to place
Sweet blossoms on the honored tombs
And wonder vaguely will they see
Oar offerings from their narrow roomsl
The eoiptv sleeve a Northman bears
Is matched by one from Southern lands ;
The fair May-blossoms they would strew
Find other eager, willing hands.
And as the one-time warriors stand
With tear-dimmed eyes, to lend their aid
Their very actions seem to say
"This brotherhood hath all repaid."
' Their str fe is o'er, their work cr mplete,
And that for which they strove is done:
We who remain can but applaud
A noble battle grandly won.
They builded better than they knew"
A goodly structure our fair land;
"Wo mourn the dead but gladlv see
The Blue and Gray stand hand in hand.
Edwin 0. Wheeler, in The Current.
SPOOPENDYKE'S PIE.
Be Shows Mrs. S. flow His Mother
Used to Make 'Em.
fy dear." said Mr. Spoopendyke,
folding his napkin and pushing his
chair back from the table, "my dea-r,
you are a pretty good housekeeper,
and once in a while you contrive to
cook up a fair meal, but you have no
business fooling around a mince pie.
There never was but one woman who
eould make a mince pie, and that was
my mother. "
"I thought this was nice," returned
Mrs. Spoopendye, with just a little
quiver resting on her lip. "I got it
-out of the cook book "
"And you'd better put it right back
in the hook as a warning to other am-
-tteurs," continued Mr. Spoopendyke.
"I don't say that this is especially bad,
only it doesn't meet with all the re-
-quirements of pie as they were in-
stiiiea inro my young mind. You
might work it on foundling hospitals
that neyei had any mother, but it
ifcawTt, the soul 1 used to get out of pie
when I lived at home."
"How did your mother make the
mince pie, dear?:' asked Mrs. Spooo-
. andyke. "If I knew what she used,
perhaps I could get up one of which
rcni would eat six slices instead of
foor." And with this purely feminine
aig, mrs. spoopendyke looked mod
estly downward and began folding
. knife pleatings in the table cloth.
"Come!" exclaimed Mr. Spoopen-
Ske, jumping impetuously from his
(Mt "If you've got the ingredi-
ata, Til show you how to make a pie
i that will draw how Is of envy from the
t neighbors," and Mr. Spoopkendyke
led the way to the kitchen. "Where's
jour chopping tray and the apples?
Fetch me the hand guillotine and the
beef! Look alive now, my dear, and
we'll startle the world with some rev
elations on the abstruse subject of
. mince pie!"
"Let me put this big towel around
ywmr neck, so you won't grease your
dragging out a huge crash towel.
"What's that for?" demanded her
feusband, contemplating it with no
mount of favor. "Which end of the
; -pie is that thing supposed to have in
fluence with? If I make up my mind
when I get through that this pie wants
to be shaved, I'D put on this skirt, but
my limbs. Now," he continued, as he
" "-. auu itupibS IN Lw LDe
.1 . . 1 1 ...
txu ncui .it mem vigorously W1LU
V ihechoj)ping knife; t'now you watch
vine proceedings and note how this pie
begging to assume proportions."
''Didn't your mother peel the apples
'before she chopped iheni?" asked Mrs.
Spoopendyke, quietly.
"Eh!" ejaculated Mr. Spoopendyke,
Mowing up a little and looking: into
one tray uisLrusiiuiiy. "UI course
nut," and he resumed'his labors with
more energy. "If you did, there's
-where you made your mistake. I sup
I pose you peeled the beef, too, didn't
ye? "Though I don't know," and he
stopped short and regarded his work
attentively. "It strikes me this meat
would' chop finer if some one had drop
ped a, pile driver on it once or twice.
Anyway, you don't want your meat
too fine, and I guess this wiildo," and
Mr. Spoopendyke set the tray full of
lamps on the table and rolled up his
sleeves.
-"What will you have now, dear?"
inquired his wife, tenderly.
"Some flour and water," replied
Mr. Spoopendyke, cheerily. "It's the
crust of a pie that is its genius,
and I'm going to turn out a slab
at pastry that will be a monu
ment to the artist who is weav
ing this job. Gimme the flour and
water, while I feel as one upon
-whom the spirit of a successful pie
vests visibly!"
Mrs. Spoopendyke brought out the
material and once more resum
ed the relation as a pupil to the ex-
"Anything else, dear? " she ask
ed, as Mr. Spoopendyke wet down
his flour and jammed his fists in the
P8 .
"jnotumg out proiouna silence, re
started her husband. "The chief trou
ble with the crust to your pie is that
you allow your attention to be dis-
tracted from it at the critical moment.
'I. on the contrary, will stop boxing
this overcoat for that mince meat just
. at the second it reaches flakiness, " and
i fce siatumeu in more nour ana piungea
. gain into his ambitious effort in the
way of crust. "There!" said he when
I he bad fought it to the consistency of
sand and mncilage and rolled it out
to two thick chunks. "There is the
triumph of pie over puttering! Lead
out the pan whom, the gods would
honor, and let's see how this combina
tion of hereditary intelligence and ac
quired brains will go when it's
cooked!"
Mrs. Spoopendyke handed him a pie
pan into which he dropped his bottom
crust, and then poured in the mince
meat.
"Got to lift your teeth pretty hisrh
to get around some of the meat," he
observed, as he tried to poke the
lumps into position with a stick.
"I'm not sure whether mother used to
grate the meat or crack it with a ham
mer, but it don't make so much dif
ference. It's the crust that talks,
when you come to conversation on pie.
Now, you do this," and he marked
out a sprig on the top crust with his
thumb; "and when you get it on, thus,
you pinch it around the edges, so.
See? My mother used to have an old
wheel out of a wooden clock, and she
printed landscapes in holes all over
the pie. But that isn't necessary. It
adds luster, but no dignity, to the per
formance. Now, we put it in the
oven, this wise, and in a short time we
will have accomplished results in the
immediate line of pie."
"It is really wonderful how well you
remember how your mother made
them," smiled Mrs. Spoopendyke.
"You won't feel badly because it
beats yours?" said Mr. Spoopendyke,
kindly. "You won't cry?" and he
chucked her under the chin, and
opened the stove door cautiously to see
how affairs were progressing.
"I'll try not to," replied Mrs.
SpDopendyke, casting her eyes down,
and suppressing something that sound
ed like a sob.
".Let's see. You stick in a broom
splint, don't you, when you want to
know if the pie is done? Where's
your broom? Show me the happy
broom that is to be immortalized by
testing this grand apotheosis of pie!"
Mrs. Spoopendyke produced the
broom, and the husband, carefully se
lecting one of the splints, jabbed away
at the upper crust.
"It won't go in," he remarked, rath
er dolefully, selecting another with
similar results. "The trouble is with
the broom. Haven't you got a broom
that knows something about its busi
ness, or is this one of those pious
brooms that won't work on Sundays?"
and he broke up several more splints
in a vain endeavor to penetrate the
pie.
"Hadn't you better try the handle,
dear?" suggested Mrs. Spoopendyke.
"No, 1 hadn't better try the handle,
dear!" mimicked Mr. Spoopendyke.
"Come out here, and let's see what's
the occasion of this uncalled for resist
ance!" and Mr. Spoopendyke hauled
his pio out of the oven and fired it
down on the table. "Got an idea that
you're going to be assassinated with a
broom splint, haven't ye? Think
you're a sort of a bulwark of Ameri
can liberties and bound to resent "for
eign intervention, don't yei Well,
you ain't; you're only a measly pie,
and you're going to have something
stuck in ye, if it takes a cold chisel
and a cannon!" and Mr. Spoodendyke
stabbed at it with a fork, and then
with a chopping-knife, without pro
ducing the faintest impression.
"You're up in pie, what d'ye suppose
is the matter with the thing?" he
asked, turning on his wife.
'It I'd been your mother, I should
have put some lard in the crust," re
turned Mrs. Spoopendyke, compla
cently. "I don't know how you're going to
get lard in a crust that you can't pene
with a beyonet!" retorted Mr. Spoo
pendyke, upon whom it began to dawn
that "there was a hiteh somewhere.
"I've almost forgotten how . mother
did try pies to see if they were done."
"Did she ever try a club?" inquired
Mrs. Spoopendyke, timidly.
"No, she didn't try a club!" roared
Mr. Spoopendyke. Come thither, my
gentle pie!" he howled, planting his
list in the middle of the apparatus.
"Listen to the voice of the siren in
quiringly within! and he dropped it on
the floor, and planted his heel upon it.
"Front door closed for repairs; en
trance at the back!" and he kicked the
whole business to the ceiling.
"Your mother must have been very
vigorous for her age, " observed Mrs.
Spoopendyke, calmly.
"I'ts those gasted lumps of meat,"
snarled Mr. Spoopendyke, picking up
his pie, and examining its knobs and
bumps attentively. "I thought they'd
melt when subjected to intense heat.
Anyway, the inside of that pie is all
right, if l could only get the lid off.
Got anything I can get under the
edse and lift the roof oft' this business?
Gimme that can opener! Give way,
now! Whoop! Once more! Ki yah! All
together, how! Whe-e-e! There she
comes!" And the crush gave way re
vealjg chunks of beef and apple par
ings, half -cooked, and still steaming.
"I suppose your mother put in the
spice3 and cirter after the hired man
had wrenched the pie open," remarked
Mrs. Spoopendyke, solemnly.
"You do, do ye?" squealed Mr.
Spoopendyke, sqatting down and
resting his hands on his knees, while
he grinned in his wife's face. "That
lump of quicksilver you call your
mind, has got around to where it
transacts the supposing business, has
it? P'raps you don't like the pie"! I
s'pose you've got some fashionable no
tion that you don't care to associate
with this pie! Well, you needn't. I
dou't force unpleasant acquaintances
on my wife. I believe in making home
a paradise, I do! Go forth, pier' and
he shied it through the window, glass,
sash, and all. "That suit you?" he
yelled. "Does your moral nature feel
relieved by the. absence of the pie you
have been instrumental in casting,
upon the chilled charities of an un
sympathetic world?"
"1 guess that pie can, take care of
itself," suggested Mrs. Spoopendyke,
soothingly. "The next time I make
one, I'll try and have it just as your
mother used to."
"You'll fetch it!" roared Mr.
Spoopendyke, stamping up and down
the kitchen and slapping the flour off
his coat, "i ou never had any trouble
with things, after I had shown you
how! Some day I'll pour lard in your
ear. and spice in your eye, and leave
vou in the oven to reflect cn how you'd
like to be cut off from intellectual so
cial intercourse, just because you ain'' '
half baked!" and Mr. Spjopendyk(
slammed the door after him, and
mounted the staircase with heavj
tread.
I don't care," murmured Mrs. ;
Spoopendyke, as she swept up the; "e-'-.
bris, "I don't care. -If thfit is , th
way his mother made pie, I don't !
wonder it left a strong impression on
his mind."
And with this charitable view ol
the situation, Mrs. Spoopendyke sat
down to the consideration of whethei
she'd better make a false train foi ;
her new black silk. Drake's Traveler j
Magazine.
Narcotic Plants.
In VicVs Floral Magazine we read
of a flower which creates laughter. It
grows in Arabia; the flowers are of a
bright yellow and the seed resembles
small black beans. These are dried
by the natives and pulverized, and it
is said that small doses make a person
behave like a circus clown or a mad
man, for he will dance; sing and laugh
most boisterously, and carry on in a
ridiculous way for about an hour. The
stage of excitement is followed by ex
haustion and sleep.
This reninds us of an exoeriment
we made many years ago. 'We had
seen Prof. James R. Buchanan ex
perimenting with pulverized herbs by
placing them in the palms of the
hands of a class of medical students.
While they sat in a sort of expectant
mood, waiting for something to turn
up and holding various powdered
herbs in closed lists, every now and
then some one of them would tell of
the symptoms which were being pro
duced upon him. It was to us then a
new and surprising revelation that
medicine could thus act without being
taken into the stomach, and we are
not yet fully satisfied as to the way
they do act under such circumstances.
But having seen Prof. Buchanan's ex
experiments we were led to try it our
selves on a couple of boys about sev
enteen years of age. Powdered Can
nabis lndica from the same plant
which gives hasheesh, a narcotic used
by the natives of India, was placed in
one hand of each of the boys, while
they sat quietly waiting to see what
would turn up. One of them soon com
menced to titter and theu to laugh
boisterously, and soon he became'so
hilarious with excitement that we
thought best to take the drug away
from him. He soon sobered down.
During the period of excitement we
tried to get him to say why he was
carrying on in such a way, but he was
utterly unable to give any explanation
for it other than he felt that way.
The other boy quietly nodded off to
sleep in his chair.
This experiment illustrates two im
portant things; first, that medicine
can exert an action in this curious
manner, and second, that a medicine
will act differently on different per
sons, according to temperament or
indiosyncracy, or susceptibility, what
ever you choose to call it. Further
more, it may be remarked that both
the exhileratmg and the stupif ymg re
sults observed in these cases are
known to be the effects of bashees
upon the human system- when taken
internally.
The description of the "laughing
plant" given by Vick does not corre
spond with the botanical description
of the Cannabis lndica plant, though
there are some similarities, but in ef
fects they are evidently quite alike.
Fish aud Fishermen.
Trout are eaught in the Truckee
River, Nev., so easily that any one
with a bit of crooked wire tied to a
stick ean get a basketful.
Winter fishing in Lake Manitoba
has become quite an industry, several
hundred persons being engaged in it.
The fish is sold on the ice at a cent
and a quarter a pound, or three cents
delivered at the railway.
In Lord Mansfield's tishing grounds,,
near Scone Palace on the Tay, a sal
mon weighing eighty pounds was re
cently taken. It was returned to its
element. The heaviest Tay fish on
record weighed seventy pounds.
In 1872 1,000 marked salmon were
turned into the Weser, but not until
recently was the first capture reported.
The lish was taken near the place
where it was put into the water. It
weighed thirty pounds, and its marks
showed that it was thirteen years old
in 1872.
A race between a trout and a water
snake was recently witnessed near
Oswego, N. Y. The lish was on its
spawning ground, and kept swimming
about in a circle, a little in advance
of its pursuer. The snake filially
eaught the fish by the tail, but the
trout had the use of its fins, and kept
its body well ahead of the snake The
snake then backed up toward shore,
and with one final effort drew the fish
out of the water and swallowed it.
VVASHINUTOAI'S TREES.
Wilkin's Star Proverbs.
Give the devil his du-de.
Many a many is a fool for revenue
only.
Sunbeams support the floor of
heaven.
The waste basket is mightier than
the pen.
Silence is the gold plating for a
fool's tongue.
The drunkard's thread of life is
wound on reel.
When hope dies the devil adds an
other scalp to his belt.
Splitting heirs is nothing new.
Solomon attempted it.
And he said: "Let there be elite,"
and the "first family" bounded into
the world.
Hope builds a nest in a man's heart
where disappointment hatches its
brood.
A little learning in a fool, like
scanty powder in a large gun, will
sometimes make considerable noise.
Whitehall Times.
Not So Sensible.
"Father," exclaimed voung Jenkins,
entering the old gentleman's office,
"I have sold my printing offije "
"Sit down, Tom. I am glad to see
that you are so sensible."
"Yes, father. 1 have sold my office,
but I have bought another one."
"Get up! You have lost what little
sense you ever did have." Arkansaw
Traveler.
Our Nation's Capital Leads the World in
Shady Sidewalks Their Effect on
Health. ;
The air of Washington is full, at this
season of year, of a white, downy sub
stance. If you open j-our mouth 1$
talk about officeTvrites a correspon
dent of Tlie Cincinnati Times-Star? it
flies into it; if you wink at a pretty
girl on the avenue you get it in your
eyes. It flies into the white house on
the wings of the wind, and rolls up in
fluffy white balls in the corners of the
great vestibule through which the dis
appointed oflioe-seekers go out from
their calls on the president. It does
not stop there. It penetrates to the
rooms of the private secretaries,
and the cabinet-room, and even
the office of the president himself.
It attends the cabinet meetings, flies
in the faces of the stately heads
of the departments, and tickles the
nose of the president. It looks like
down, and to the stranger who is not
accustomed to the ways of Washington
it appears to be down, perhaps com
ing from the "downy beds of ease" in
which all statesmen and government
employes are supposed to spend most
of their time. But it is not. It is a
fine cottony substance coming from
poplar trees with which many of the
older streets of the city are lined.
"Cottonwood poplar" is the popular
name of this somewhat unpopular
tree.
"The poplars ought not to be an un
popular tree in Washington," said one
of the park commissioners, talking of
them to your correspondent. "They
have a good deal to do with making
the city of Washington one of the
healthiest in the country, as it is."
"How so?"
"Because they prevent malaria.
They are a great absorbant, both as to
root and leaves, and are one of the
best preventives of malaria that is to
bo had."
"How do they compare with the eu
calyptus, that have been so extensive
ly used for this purpose in Italy in the
last few years?
"They compare very favorably here,
for the eucalyptus will not thrive here
or in any part of the country, except
probably southern California. We
have tried them and have become sat
isfied that they will not do for our
purpose. Our climate and soil do not
suit them."
"Are there many poplar trees in the
city then?"
"Yes, something in the neighbor
hood of a thousand of them."
"And what proportion is this of the
total?"
"Oh, less than 10 percent. You see
we have more than a hundred thou
sand trees in the city of Washington."
"More than a hundred thousand?"
"Yes, considerably more; probably
the total now reaches about 125,000 in
streets and parks."
''How are they divided between
streets and parks?"
"About equally. There are over
65,000 on the streets alone, and nearly
or quite as many in the parks. There
are no streets of any consequence
without trees, and on many of the
wider ones there are four rows of
them, a row on each side of the side
walk." "How many'miles-, then, of trees are
thereon the sidewalks, about?"
"Pretty nearly 150 miles of them."
"And how does that compare with
other cities of this country?"
"It surpasses that of any other city
of this country, or of the world."
"Of the world?"
"Yes. There is- not a eity in the
world that has as many trees in pro
portion to- its population as Washing
ton has. -1 have made, this a study
for many years, pretty nearly all my
life indeed; but especially in the last
fifteen years in which I have been a
park commissioner, and have visited
and obtained statistics from all the
great cities, and 1 am sure that Wash
ington is far ahead of any of them."
"How long has this-accumulation of
health and beauty been going onp"
"Well there has- been, more or less
tree planting here ever since Wash
ington was a city, of course. But the
systematic work was begun under
"Boss" Shepherd in 1871. There was
some opposition to it at first, of course,
but everybody sees- the value of it
now."
"And the work is still going for'
ward?"
"Yes. We set out six or eight
thousand trees a year, and are able to
furnish many more. We have a hun
dred thousand young trees which wo
expect to furnish for the 'flats.' as- they
are needed. We set out several thous
and of them last season."
"What is tho cost of the care of
these trees and the yearly adding to
them?"
"About $18,000 a year only. We
have studied it carefully, raise our
own trees from seeds or clippings, and
reduce the cost to a minimum."
"What do you find the greatest part
of the work of caring for the trees ?
"The pruning. This is as serious a
task to us as the pruning of the ser
vice is to tho new administration. In
deed, no subject connected with their
operations . has given the park com
missioners so much coat-em as the
matter of pruning trees. Tree prun
ing is at all times an operation which
demands skill in the operator, and
can only be safely trusted to experts,
a class of laborers whose services can
not be secured except at wage rates
which the present appropriations are
unable to meet.- The necessity Of
pruning may be referred to three sa
lient reasons. First, that of the re
moval of branches and twigs which
interfere with travel on the sidewalks
and on the streets; second, the thin
ning out of the heads of luxuriant
trees to prevent their prostration by
heavy gales, a fatality to which street
trees" are more liable than those plant
ed in parks; and, third, the heading in
or cutting back the entire system of
branches on diseased trees, and this is
also a necessity whioh seldom occurs
with trees in open parks and in open
spaces. In the aggregate the pruning
is the heaviest item of expenditure in.
the. ordinary care of the trees.
"And. as to the kind of trees that
you use, are they mostly natives of
this country?"
"Yes, the most of them. On this
subject we have a good many inquir
ies from various cities, and have pre
pared a list of those used by us. The
maples, poplars, box-elders, and lin
dens are the most used hut they do
not complete the entire list by any
means. There are some thirty-live
kinds used on the streets alone, 'to say
nothing of the large numbers , in the
parks."
Cruelty to Sullivan.
The sympathies of tender-hearted
people will go out towards John L.
Sullivan, the pugilist. His wife has
commenced proceedings against him
for a divorce, and in his answer Sulli
van charges his wife with cruel treat
ment and drunkeness. This is indeed
hard. The poor man can have no
peace. His business is lighting, when
away from, and it certainly is discour
aging, after going about knockirig out
people, and coming home for a little
quiet rest, to be knocked out by a
wife who ought to love and protect
him. Mr. Sullivan could get all the
fighting he wanted away from home.
He could whip the biggest man and
the smallest waiter girl, could take
possession ot a saloon and throw
everybody out of doors, could unmer
cifully beat his horses on the streets,
and any one could see that what he
needed when he got home was rest,
but he was met by a cruel woman who
would whip him. O, cruel Woman,
how could you hurt the man who
came home to be loved, and to sober
up? Those who have seen the great
Boston pugilist in the ring, or on the
rostrum, admired by thousands, and
seen strong men try to in jure him, and
seen him knock them- silly, little
thought that when be got home his
wife would cruelly maul him, knock
him down and sin on him. Had the
condition of things been known his
enemies would have matched against
Sullivan an "unknown," and placed
his wife in front of him- when the hour
came for battle, and frightened him
under the ropes and into the woods.
Picture to yourself, gentle reader, that
strong man coming back from New
Orleans, a victor over Paddy Ryan's
truss, with the laurel wreath on his
brow, and a keg of beer in his stom
ach, wavering as he approached his
own door, trembling at the knees as
he entered his house,, pale and weak as
he meets his "cruel" little wife, crawl
ing under the bed in abject fear as she
lands him one in the ear. She snatches
the laurel wreath from his brow
and in its place-puts-a wash bowl, and
he begs to be allowed to come out
from tinder the bed.. Of what use is it
for him to win reputation as a hard
hitter, and have his- cruel wife make
him toe the mark, at home? Away
from home be was a terror, and no
one could stand: up-before him. After
a victory he would, fill up with cham
pagne to prepare himself for the in
evitable lickingwhichhe must receive
when he got home.. Poor Sullivan!.
What a fall it must be for the "brave"
brute- to go into oourt and charge
his little "wife with "cruelty." He
ought to-be made-the- laughing stock,
of the whole country, guyed by alL
the people;, the object of the contempt'
of all mankind; and the waiter girl
whom he struck down should empty
slops on. him out of a second story,
window, until he- should call the
police to-protect him from "cruelty."
Peek's Sun.
Amenities or War.
Crop Prospects.
The growing wheat crop having
reached a critical stage and winter
wheat having approached-a condition
sufficiently near maturity to approxi
mate the acreage and probable yield,
the Farmers'1 Ueview has followered up
its usual Weekly summary by a com
plete survey of all the Western ana
Southern wheat growing states-, re
ports having been received from over
3,000 correspondents, covering every
wheat producing county in Ohio, Michi
gan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ten
nessee, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska,
Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Da
kota, together with a very accurate
and recent summary from the Pacific
coast region made by th associated
press, it is believed, "makes -the most
complete report ever issueiL The re
view has been carefully prepared, and
the information is believed to-be most
exhaustive and the latest that has yet
been obtained and foreshadows the
state and government reports. In
summing up its detailed reports, the
Review says:
The gloomiest views which hae
been advanced concerning the winter
wheat outlook for 1885 must now be
accepted as- the most accurate. The
promising conditions of 1881 have-this-season
been completely reversed. Tho
absolute uniformity of the returns in
dicate that the winter-sown wheat this
year is the worst in ten years,, and it
may be-now set down as positive that
under the- most favorable conditions
the total winter and spring wheat
yield is to-fall considerably under the
short crop of 1881, when the total pro
duct was "380,000,000 Diishels.
With the exception of Michigan-and
Oregon and Washington territory on
the Western slope, the causes leading
to a decreased output of winter wheat
are almost identical. In Ohio. luaiana,
Illinois, Kansas and Missouri the
ground was bare of snow during the
severely cold weather at. the close of
the- winter, which was followed by.
cold,, dry winds later on. Thtxe was
also a decreased acreage owing to the
low prices which prevailed for the crop
of 1884 In California the -decreased
acreage was accompanied by a severe
drouth,, which has tended to almost
ruin the growing crop. Oregon and
Washington territory were saved by
bountiful showers which came in time
to-save the grain. When the states
are considered in detail the -situation
can be better appreciated.
Turning to the spring wheat belt the
outlook is altogether more promising.
Full returns from Nebraska show a
slightly enlarged acreage as compared
to last year, while in Iowa, .Wisconsin
and Minnesota the decrease in acreage
will be about 10 per cent, while con
dition, is about 95 per cent. The
acreage of Dakota is about 8 per cent
less than last year and the conditions
fully equal, though the saasou is from
tenfto twelve days later. The prob
able spring wheat yield based upon
continuing favorable weather will be
130,000,000 bushels. The total wheat
crop of the country, . therefore, from
the present outlook, will be from 320,
000.000 to 330,000,000 bushels, against
and: an average yield, for the last
five years of 464,000,000 bushels.
While-we- were in front of Chatta
nooga it became fashionable along the
picket line to exchange papers. The
plan wae-for a-Goniederate who want
ed a paper to come to the front, shake
a Southern- paper as a flag of trnce,.
and in this- way invito exchanges. The
pickets on, either s'de in that imme
diate vicinity would cease firing, the
Union soldier would start from his
line and the Confederate from his line),
and they would: meet naif way, shake
hands, exchange- papers, and if 'there
were no oflicers-in sight, sit down, and:
have a chat. This had been kept upi
for several days, when there came-an
order from headauarters that no more-
papers should be exchanged. But the. !
boys,, choosing their time lor exchange-,,
continued the practice against orders.
There came a week, however, in. which
no rebel responded to waving, op-shak
ing, or niuttennzs ot paper or- haaxl- l
kerchief, and we knew then that orders i
against exchange had been issued on
that side as weil as ours.
But oe morning quite sarly my
partner discovered a man ort the rebel
line frantically waving a large paper.
He suggested that we slip aiway from
the reserve and go out and see what
the man wanted. He took a paper
waved it, and we started, toward the
rebel in front. When we- had pro
ceeded about half way to. the point of
meeting the fellow ceased; to wave his
paper. We were puzzled,1 at this, but
finally concluded thai he- was down in
a hollow, and we wouldi see him when
he came up on high ground. So we
walked on and walked without warn
ing into a group of soldiers at the
rebel picket post. The aen were jusSi
ready to take breakfast, and after the
first flurry they joked is a good deai:
about our extraordinary willingness,
to get into their clutches at breakfast
time. When we spoke of the exchange
of papers the officer- in charge informr
ed us that orders were positive against
exchange, and that all his men under
stood it. As this was the case, ha
took the position that we hadi come
williiialy into their lines, and that he
could not allow us to return.. I saw
at once that his men disagreed with
him, but the question was how we
were to get away.
My partner, who had ben a soldier
in Germany, joined in the jokes at our
expense, and proposed that he make
the boys some coffee that was coffee.
The confederates had a very poor ex
cuse foi that article, and without more
ado he proceeded to make a kettle of
coffee, the aroma of which seemed to
fascinate the coffee hungry sharpshoot
ers. When he had poured the coffee
into the cups and had expatiated on
the good it would do the men, he took
up his rifle and said to me: "Now let
us start for our own line." I followed
him, and not araoidier on that picket
fost. lowered tho oup of coffee from
is lipa or looked our way. Chicago
Inter Ocean,
In the Days of Stage Coaches.
A book recently published in Eng
land, called the "Royal Mail," tells,
this story of the old. coaching days:
"Speed was of the first considera
tion, and the stoppages at the way
side stages were oi very limited du
ration. At an inn.lhe fravelers would
hardly have made- a fair start in ap
peasing their hungeii-when the guard
wauld be heard ualling upon them to
take their seats,, which, with mouths
full, and still hungry, they would be
forced to do, though with a bad grace
and a howl the acknowledged privi-leo-e
of Englishmen, A story is-totd
ofone passenger,, however, who was
equal to the occasion. Leisurely sip
ping his tea and: eating his toast, this
traveler was found, by the landlord in
the breakfastri-oom" when tha other
passengers were-seated and the coach,
was ou the point of starting. Boni
face appealed, to.hiiu to take his place,
or he would: bo left behinrk But,''
replied the traweter, that I will not do
till I have a.spooa to sup my egg.' A
glance apprised the landlord, that not.
a spoon adorned the table, and, rush
ins out, he-detained the ccach while
all the passengers were searched for
the missing articles. Thei. out came
the satisfied traveler, who also sub
mitted to the search and afterwards
mounted the eoach; and as the mail,
drove-off he called to the-landlord to
look inside-She teapot, where the art
ful traveler had placed the dozen
spoons,, with the doable object of
cooling the- tea for his second cup, and
detaining tho coach tillihe drank. LU'
The Inventiouif paper,
HpwNwhen, or by whom paper waa
Sttst invented will aever be known.
According to Hallaw. documents on
paper are found as.e-arly as the tenth
centuary, and it cam into g&aeral use
not hang after this,aira, and completely
supplanted all oSber materials- which
woae formerly employed foe the pur
poses for whichi it is now used It
will be observed that tho invention of
some kind was. an absolute necessity
before there could be printing, as
parchment wras, far too expensive to
use for the purpose, even Were it other
wise perfectly adapted to this use.
The use of paper in western Europe
dates from tho time mentioned, but it.,
was known to the Chiaese long before
the Christian era, and it is believed
that they used the bark of various
trees, the soft parts of the bamboo
stems, cotton and several other kinds
of vegetable fibers. From the Chinese,
it is supposed to have spread to India,
thence to Arabia, and the manufacture
was introduced into Europe by the
Moors of Spain, but about this there
is no certainty. The rice paper of
the Chinese is made in the same gene
ral way as the papyrus of the ancient
Egyptians, by placing in proper order
lavers of fibers and cementing them
with sizing or glue. The first patent
for paper making was taken out in
England in 1665, but it was "for mak
ing plew paper, sneh as is used by bak
ers. The next, for making writing
papers, was in 1675, and cowred
writing and printing papers. S,
Qlobe-lte??