IT"
h
.i!
Q
arm.
SPUING WORKjWf THE FARM.
In nwoll regulated factory, tho
manager cnn often tell what the mon
will bo doing cnch day, for a week
or a month nhead. Hut it is not so
on n farm. Wo know what work
tlicro is to bo dono, hut nro never
certain as to tho particular timo when
wo can do it. And tho success of a far
mer depends a great deal on having
everything In its place, in working
order, and ready for uso at any mo
ment. It is at all times, but particu
larly so at this season, a good plan to
write down everything that you pro-
poso to do, and what to do it with,
and how, going as much into dotnll
as possible. Auk a farmer what work
he has to do this spring, and he will
reply: "I have got to plow twenty
acres of corn stubblo for oats, uud
break up twenty acres for corn." And
n person that know nothing about
farming might suppose, from Ills re
ply, that this was all lie had to do.
It is evident that tho farmer regards
this as his principal and most Impor
tant spring work. In ono sense of
courso this is true. Hut in point of
fact tho plowing of this forty acres of
land Is tho very last thing that re
quires his consideration. It is the
littlo foxes thatspoll tho grapes. The
farmers of tho United Stales sustain
moro damage, every year, from a lit
tle stagnant water beneath the sur
face of their fields than from tho
great floods on our mighty rivers.
There is hero and (hero a farmer
who spends so much time In getting
ready, that hu has no time loft to do
tho work. A farmer should train
himself to think and lay plans in ad
vance, and get everything ho Is like
ly to need ready for immediate iitc,
but when tho timo comes for tho
performance of tho work ho must
throw oil' his cent and labor with his
might, llo must pay great attention
to such Important little things as he
Is Inclined to overlook and neglect,
and ho must study hli operations un
til ho finds out what are tho points
of greatest lmor(nucc. An experi
enced threshor pays moro attention
to some of tho little pinions that re
volve rapidly than to tho main driv
ing wheel, llo looks at every part
of his machine, hut more frequently
at those which nro most likely to gel
out of order. Anil so it is In farm
ing. Tho steady, big Jobs, will al
most take caro of themselves. It Is
tho little details that are apt to lie
neglected, and yet upon them main
ly depends the prnllt or lows of the
whole year's operations. Look well
to the iHMiuics, the pounds will take
caro of themselves. American Ayr!
ctdturM. DRAINAGE IN ENGLAND.
Drainage is of Mich vast import
that no farmer can work to advan
tage unless this operation is fully and
well done, it requires the most care
ful supervision and attention in all
its deUills; fur Minuld drainage ho
imperfectly done, 'tis woio for the
laud than If It had not been drained
for Imperfect work destroys tho
natural leakage that has been going
on for generations. W'nen 'tis neees
wiry to operate, the first considera
tion should Ik (lie nature of the suh
soil, and whether Intended for per
manent pasture or arable. If for the
latter, and the subsoil should be of a
strong clay tendency, tho depth
should not bo less than four feet, and
not more than twenty-nuo feet apart
from drain to dndu ; on moro porous
soils, both the depth and width
should bo Increased and in some In
stances a single drain will suthYlciit
ly dry a wholo field. This Is tho caso
whore u single spring exists and the
reslduo of tho land or n dry nature;
but my experience Is that drainage
does grout good in our most uppu
rout dry suksoils, ovon should nomi
tor over lodge on such land. I have
known sandy land lu KngUuid always
iuui uu rougn wiui coucn grass
wnicn is mo nrouio farmer's greatest
enemy till ono or two very deep
draius have been inserted, ami
where even at the depth of ten feot
mi 3
no water was visible, still tho subsoil
if held in tho hand a short timo
would lcavo moisture upon it. Af
ter drainage tho couch grass would
entirely disappear in two years. The
noxt Important thing is tho sizo of
tho drain tile. The pipo should al
ways hoof such dimensions that nov
er moro than half should fill with
water and tho other half remain for
tho dimensions of air, for should tho
drain-pipe, become quite filled with
water, and no air admitted, it can
novor operate, but will lccomo stag'
mint In tho soil. Tho drains, when
freshly cut and tho pipo properly
placed, should remain open for n
week or two, so as to enable tho sub
soil to becomo thoroughly pulver
ized, and should always be replaced
In the drain In a dry state. Tho
drainage will at once act upon tho
land. Whorcas,lfthosub-.soll should
bo replaced In the drain in a raw or
fresh stato, It will take two years be
fore action takes place. I have
drained somo thousands of acres in
England soils of nil descriptions
and I found by experience that it was
imiMisslhlo to drain too deep. Tho
average prlco per acre on ono largo
estate was from 5 to S, completed.
The work was generally executed by
piece or task-work, tho men earning
good wages ; and as the winter sea
son Is tho best timo to opera to, gen
tlemen rcqulriugdralulng to bo dono
coniint better employ their capital
than giving such kind of work to the
laborer during Inclement weather
when littlo else can be done.
LONDON DETECTIVE POLICE.
Ncnrly every ono has heard of tho
Loudon detectives. They form n class
distinct from tho regular polico force.
In addition to tho arrangement of
beats and fixed points, each division
sends forth a certain nuinlterof plain
clothes men, whoto duty it Is to sup
plement as detectives the efforts of
the constables in uniform. They go
out dressed up as sailors or laborers,
or other, and were it not for tho
cleanliness of their faces and tho se
vere cut of their hair, to say nothing
of their methodical tread, they would
pass very well. As It Is any thlof
worth Ills salt is able to distinguish
ono of them at a glance ; but at a lit
tlo distance oven thieves' sharpness
might be deceived. To be a detect
ive Is, in tho eyo of tho ordinary po
liceman, not only to bo clashed as a
sharp and responsible man, but to be
a lucky and money-making man.
They are divided into two branches
thedlvlsloual detectives, and those
of Scotland Yard. Tho lattor are, In
a measure, tho staff of tho force, aud
form in some sort a connecting link
lielwoeii headquarters and the vari
ous divisions.
If u murder Ihj committed, tho in
spector of tho locality details u coup
le of his plain-clothes men to make
Inquiries. Tho men chosen have
generally t-onio knowledge of tho
place and the people about, and they
learn what they can relative to tho
matter. A report Is sent up to Scot
land Yard, and if the caso Ihi Impor
tant It Is put Into the hands of one of
tho crack detectives there. Ho goes
down to tho locality, aud puts him
self Into communication with thedl
vlsloual detectives, who have been
talking to apple-momeu, cxaming
pot-wye, and sounding cabmen with
eomiuemiaiiio ministry, iie re
quires them to yield up all their
knowledge, hilariously acquired, and
they do so, with the best grace they
can, Inwardly cursing him anil the
commissioner who sent him. For al
though they have tho pains of mak
ing all tho inquiries, and have stood
tho excuse attending the getting of
a clue which may intimately lead to
the desired capture, they will now
havo uono of the glory of success, and
only u small portion of any reward
which nmy bo ottered. Sometimes
tho divisional detectives, who do the
work, get only 10 out of a reward of
200, which Is generally offered on
tho occasion of n great crime, A
swell detective, If ho gets his nnmo
Into tho papers, and ho goncnilly
does, will got tho lion's shuru, not on
ly of public applause, but of any sub
stantial reward tho case may bring.
WILLAMETTE FARMEE.
muntific.
IHK BITK OF TKOT.
Tho latest effort to determine the
exact spot where once stood tho great
city of Troy tho Illon of Homer's
Iliad is being made by Dr. Helnrlch
Schlicmann, n German savant, whoso
namo is familiar for his scientific
travels, in Nicaragua. Tho Doctor
commenced ills investigations of tho
basin of tho Scamander river in 1871,
and selected tho site of Now Illon, a
city built in the sixth or sev
enth century, B. C, on tho supposed
location of Troy, but which now no
longer exists. Tho great disadvan
tage connected with this most inter
esting research Is, that nothing abso
lutely certain survives to indicate, to
begin with, that Troy, oven in tho
days of Troy, was anything moro
than a fable and u tradition. Dr.
Schlicmann, however, steadfastly
upholds the opinion that a city called
Troy onco existed, but Its remains
havo not yet been discovered. If
theso ruins can bo discovered, lie
says, they can be found only on the
spot where New Illon stood. Ho has
pursued his investigations on Mount
Hisarlak, a lofty hill bordering on
tho alluvial plain of Scamander. Ho
has dug to n depth of thlrty-thrco
feet below tho surface of tho hill, and
has discovered many interesting re
mains of human handiwork lu tho
shapo of stone implements of rough
manufacture ; bronze and copper ar
ticles; wldo earthen burial vases;
urns, tripods, drinking vases, hand
mills of stone, and houso walls, con
sisting of largo stones, cemented by
mud ; idols of a priap-llke exterior,
and also rough drawings of owl heads.
In the layers nearer tho .surface,. ho
found a great number of articles
mado of tcrrn-eotta and resembling
boys' tops, ono of theso contained a
nicely engraved Inscription in I'hrc
niclau characters, consisting of six
letters. Dr. Schllomann does not,
however, connect theso discoveries
with Troy, bul, on the contrary, is of
tho opinion that these mounds are
much older than the Trojan war
probably by a thousand years or
more. An Interesting archeological
fact in theso discoveries Is, that Im
plements of tho stono period are
found in layers above that of tho
bronze or copper period. Washtny
ton Jtitrlot.
AX APOCRYPHAL COMIX
A report has obtained circulation,
probably without foundation, says an
exchange, that a Cluuevn Professor has
discovered an Immense comet, which
from its direction must collldo with
the earth on the 12th of August next.
It Is nlno stated that many weak
minded people, both In this country
and Europe, are very much alarmed
at the announcement. Ho far from
such an event being unwelcome to
K'lcutlllo men, nothing could bo more
ncceptublo to them to have a large
comet approach near enough to tho'
earth and switch its tall lu the faco of
mankind, for no such body (save
Euek's, a very small aud distant ono)
has made its appearance In tho heav
ens since tho great value of tho spec
troscope in tho determination of the
constitution of such wandering bodies,
were nmy understood.
rm... a -
carin win no closely scanned, and will I
i-uuuiu ni-ii-ui'u iu ucicrnuuc. Willi ,
fehS?ri:ftW,n, ' U 1,1,ys-
kill characteristic.
ft,.V .'. y .""" Mus., flWvhJ
ironi any sueh source, there Is littlo
need lor Tear. It has been quite fully
determined that the most of them at
least are comparatively harmless lwd
len nothing lu fact hut huge "gas
bags ' scarcely more tangible than the
streak of llKht sent out Into space by
a lantern on n dark, tonev ovi.i.i..,
There Is but little doubt but that tho
earth has paused through the tatts of
at least two comets within the last
forty years, without knowing it at the
time the phenomena attending the
passage having, in both cases, been at
tributed, at tho time of tho passage to
some iwcullaratiuosphorle phenomena.
The llntt one, about 1837, is well re
membered by the writer. The atmos
phere over nearly, or all this continent
et which 'CSh verV n;arXfiWC--(';'"--
was aglow with a red lurid light,
which caused alarms of flro In various
parts of tho country the atmosphere
having tho appcaranco given by tho
reflection of a flro at great distance
on a slightly foggy night. Tho con
tinuance of tho phenomena was ob
served for several hours.
Intention or Suspension Bridges by the
Chinese 1,900 Years Ago.
Tho most remarkablo evidenco of
tho mechanical science and skill of
tho Chinese nt this early period, is to
bo found in their suspended bridges,
tho invention of which is assigned
to tho Hnn dynasty. According to
tho concurrent testimony of all their
historical and geographical writors,
HaiiLdeanir. tho commandor of tho
army under Kaou-tsoo, tho first of
tho Hans, undertook and completed
tho formation of roads through tho
mouiitaucous provlnco of Shcnsc, to
tho west of tho capltol. Hitherto its
lofty hills and deep valleys had ren
dered n communication difllcult and
circuitous. Willi a body of 100,000
laborers ho cut passages over tho
mountains, throwing tho removal
soil into valloys, niul whero this was
not sufllclcnt to ralso tho road to tho
required height, ho constructed
bridges, which rested on pillars or
abutments. In another plnco ho con
ceived and accomplished tho daring
project of suspending a bridgo from
ono mountain to another across a
deep chasm. Theso bridges, which
are called by tho Chlnoso writors,
very appropriately, flying bridges,
and represented to bo numerous at
tho present day, are sometimes so
high that they cannot bo traversed
without alarm. Ono still existing In
Shonso, strotcheslOO feet from moun
tain to mountain, over a chasm COO
feet. Most of theso flying bridges
are so wldo that four horsemen can
ridoon them abreast, and balustrades
aro placed on each sldo to protect
travelers. It is by no means improb
ablo (as M. Pauthlor suggests) that,
as tho missionaries to China mado
known tho fact moro than a century
aud a half ago, that tho Chlnoso had
suspended bridges, and that many of
them wcro mado of iron, tho hint
may- havo been taken from thonco
for similar constructions by Europe
an ouglucors.
CimiosiTU:s on Motion. Is any
chaugo operated on a man by n change
lu tho velocity of his motion round
tho axis of the earth ? Suppose, for In
stance, a dweller In latitude GO were to
suddenly change his residence, to the
Equator, ho would double his velocity.
For while at latitude. CO, ho travels
with the earth at tho rato of 600 miles
an hour, at the Equator ho docs 1,000
miles an hour. Again, at latitude 72
tho Grcenlanderis lazily carried round
a paltry 130 miles an hour while the
North Tolo calmly revolves about
once In 31 hours. Of courso tho mo
tion Is unfolt, because all things movo
together ; but the change, from the
tropical to an artlo climate Is so great
that It may possibly produce physical
or mental effects of which wo aro as
yet unconscious. Of courso the steer
ing of a ship from north to south
must bo sensibly effected by tho con
stant acceleration from west to cast.
On tho long railways of Russia, too,
I believe It is found that tho mils are
uniformly more worn on ono side than
on the other, in consonueneo of Hilu
Gun Corro.w-Gun
cotton
is now
iiinntirnntiinwi i
England
t exceeding 100 tons per annum,
The cotton fibre is reduced to a pulp,
sl Paper making, in which condl'
to an
uon uio excess of acids Is readily re
moved. Tho pulp is compressed into
discs, under a pressure of eighteen
tons to tho Inch, and then dried.
Tho discs are I Inch to 7 Inches in dl.
meter, and J inch to 2 Inches thick.
I ..i me uin-u uir ims compressed cotton
uurns uiieiisciy,uut without explosion,
but when properly exploded under
close confinement, its strength Is from
two to five times that of the same
weight lu gunpowder. If aecldeutly
wetted, this form of gun cotton can bo
redded by exposure to tho sun, or
even by gentle heat, without risk of
explosion or deterioration.
, ,"IJf ESE STiioxoMY.-rrof. Jna
illlnms, of tho Royal Astronomical
Society of England, has lately pub.
lhhed a Iwok of Observations on
Comets, in which ho makes a brief
allusion to tho progress In this branch
of sclouco which has boon mado by
tho Ch incsc. Ho soems to rccognlzo
us authentic, observations recorded
2,300 years beforo tho Christian crn
DICKENS AND HIS WIFE.
Gall Hamilton, in tho Independent
thus discourses about ono of the
world's latest and dearest idols :
I havo no tenderness for Mr. Dick
ens. I do not beliovo in his deep
soul of truth and goodness, or in his
noblo and pure sympathy with what
is highest and best. "I desire, In
tho most public and universal man
ner," to declare thnt n regiment of
littlo Nolls and Tiny Tims cannot re
deem tho man who publicly dishon
ors tho mother of his many children.
Mr. Dickens, holding tho pen of a
ready writer, told his story glibly to
tho world. Mrs. Dickons, suffering
tho deepest wound n woman can
know, has remained steadfastly si
lent. Tho wlfo's silonco is full of
dignity ; tho husband's speech bris
tles with disgrace. Ho feels no
shame in saying that ho lived with
a woman as his wife, exacting from
her all tho duties and enforcing all
tho suffering of a wife, until ho had
consumed nil tho vigor of her youth;
and that ho has then turned her
away, and announces to tho world
that sho was unfit for him ! Ho feds
no shamo lu saying, virtually, that
while this woman was living in his
houso as his wlfo, another woman
was also In his house, holding In re
gard to both himself and his children
a position which belonged to tho le
gal wlfo and mother. England is
beating her obstinate head against '
marriago with n deceased wife's sis
ter; but hero it is n wife's sister su
perceding tho living wife. It was
Mr. Dickens who mado this public
proporty. y his last will and testa
ment ho oven stretched his dead
hand out of tho grave to In) nro his
discarded wifo ; aud neither in this
world, nor tho next, nor tho world
after tho next, shall a man oscnpo tho
cordial hatred of nt least ono heart
for such coarse and shameless selfish
ness.
A WOMAN OF GOOD TASTE.
You seo this lady turning a cold
oyo to tho assurances of shopmen and
tho recommendation of milliners.
Sho cares not how original an nrtlclo
may bo, if it bo ugly, or how recent
a shape, If it bo awkward. Whntov
er laws fashion dictates, sho follows
a law of her own, and Is novor be
hind it. Sho wears very beautiful
things which peoplo generally sup
pose to bo fetched from Tnris, or, at
least, mado by n French milliner,
but which as often nro bought at tho
nenrest town and mndo un by her
own maid. Not that her costume is
olthor rich or now : on tho contrary,
sho wears many n cheap dress, but it
Is always pretty, and many an old
one, but it Is always good. Sho deals
In no gaudy confusion of colors, nor
uoes sho nirect a studied sobriety ;
but sho either refreshes you with n
spirited contrast, or composes you
with a Judicious harmony. Not a
scrap of tinsel or trumpery nppears
upon her.
Sho puts no faith in velvet bands,
or gilt buttons, or twisted cording.
Sho Is quite nwarc, howovor, that
tho garnish is as Important as tho
dress; all her Inner borders and
headings nro delicate and fresh ; and
should' nnythlng poop out which Is
not intended to bo seen, it is quito as
fit ns that which Is. After nil, thero
is no great art either in her fashions
or her materials. Tho secret slmr.lv
consists in her attention to her sta
tion, her ago, and her figure. And
no woman cnn dress well who does
not attend to theso points. After
this, we need not say that whoever
is attracted by tho costume will not
be disappointed in tho wearer. She
may not bo handsome nor accom
plished, but wo will answer for her
being oven-tempered, well-informed,
thoroughly sensible, and a complete
lady.
M
.!