THE OREGON SC0U1
JONES & CHANCEY,
Publisher
UNION, OREGON.
DINNER ETIQUETTE.
A rirtiiro eif Iloimckerplnc In tlio lMy at
Ororgo till! Thlril.
A writer litis collected some facts
about yo olden tlmo housekeeping, who
nsks: How does tho housekeeping nt
tills hour of writing compuro with that
of ono hundred years ngoP Mrs. Papon
dlek, in her "Journal of Court Life in
the Time of Georgo III. and Queen
Charlotte," which I havo boforo mo,
mentions many curious facts us to do
mestic economy of 1788. Tho dinner
hour was two p. m., or for company at
thrco p. m. Tho dishes and cooking
were very much tho same as thoso in
middle class housos now. Malt liquor,
cider and sherry woro tho ordinary
drinks at dinner, port and Madeira be
ing' put on tho tablo along with tho
Blight dessert. "If tho gentlemen
wished to mako a drinking bout, which
was often tho case, it began after sup
per." Few families had moro than
two femalo servants. Rooms wero very
plainly furnished, and ornaments wero
kept in closets or chests, to bo brought
out only on stato occasion?. Littlo
Bllvor was in dally use. Silver forks
wero only scon in tho houses of nobles
and foreign embassadors. Forks had
threo prongs. Knives had broad ends
for eating peas or catching up gravy,
as dessert spoons wero unknown. Yet
there was as much refinement in feel
ing us now, modern fashion in comfort
and luxury having gradually changed.
Tho prlco of mutton or boof In 1788
was ton cents a pound; broad eight
con to or ton cents a quarter loaf; eggs
in spring, six cents a dozen; fowls,
thirty cents a pair; loaf sugar, fourteon
cents a pound. Wages of house-maids
woro thlrty-llvo dollars to forty dollars,
or eight guineas, with live dollars for
ton or bcor. Washing was always dono
at home. St. Louis Sayings.
Tho Elm-Tree Beetle. '
TIiIb post of tho olm is tho European
loaf-beotlo Galorucu xantlioiuolaeua.
It is becoming a serious onoiny. It
prefers tho European olms, but very
likely will attack tho American when
tho European 1b destroyed. TIiIb bootlo
Is n, near relative to tho Colorado
potato beotlo, which It much resemblos
in Its natural history. Tho best remedy
Is to spray with London purple. Wo
find by numerous experiments that
ono pound of this poison to two hun
dred gallons of water is olTectivo, and
loss injurious to foliago. Hy uso of
our poworful force-pumps this can bo
thrown ovon to tho top of quite largo
trees. It is important that all affected
trees bo treated, and so in cities it
would bo wise for the authorities to
take tho matter in hand. Tho spray
ing should begin as soon ns tho leaves
wro attacked. Prof. A. J. Cook.
Virtue of Joli'k Tour.
"Job's Tears for Sale," is tho legend
displayed in tho window of nn up town
drug store
"What aro Job's Tears, and what aro
they used for?" inquired a curious re
porter, whoso eyes foil upon tho inscrip
tion, Tho druggist In reply exhibited a small
pasteboard box. Tho box looked liko
other boxes, Btiggestivoof pills and other
unoomfortublo things, but when tho top
woh removed a number of small, bead
liko seeds wero exposed. They wero
about tho sizo of pea beans and shaped
liko Prlnco Rupert's drops.
"Theso aro Job's Tears," said tho pill
compounder. "You boo thoy aro shaped
us a tear is supposed to lo. Thoy aro
tho seeds of a small, grass-like plant
that is a natlvo of India but grows now
largely in Now England. It is a com
mon plant, but somehow, year by year,
tho seeds boom to bo growing scarcer;
that is, thoy are liardor to obtain in tho
market. Ami year by year tho demand
for them has increased among a certain
class of pooplo. I In vo thoy any uiedieln.il
properties? Well, only ho far as the
RratUlcation of a whim may bo attended
with good results.
"Sometiuio a way back in tho shadowy
post, soiiio grandnia started tho story
that theso pearly affairs, If strung like
beads mid hung about an infant's neck
during the toothing period, would mako
that operat ion a mild and pleasant pas
tlmo, in fact almost a joy forever to tho
child. I cannot say whether this is true
or not, yet 1 know that lots of young
mothers buy Job's Tears, and say that
with their assistance it is really a
pleasure for the baby to Introduce its
molars to tho world. Job sutTered
enough to bo of vicarious assistance to
tho littlo ones, to say tho least, and there
may bo something in tho whim. Balti
more News.
Nlnotoou years ago tho wife of u
prominent Kingston, N. Y man ncol
tleutly ran n noodle into her breast.
Ah it occuslonod but littlo pain and
could not bo extracted, she paid but
littlo attention to tho matter, hoping
for tho bebU Ono night recently she
was awakened out of a sound sleep by
a peculiar pricking sonsatlon lu tho
throat. Rising in bod she began to
cough. Tho pricking became moro
ovoro, but tho substance appeared to
bo rising In her throat. Thrusting her
fingers down as far us possible, sho
caught hold of nn object and drew it
nut. It was tho noodle that had boon
Journoylng about under tho surface for
nineteen yours.
It npjionrs that tho British tmny li
not only tho dourest in Europe, but tha
-worst fed, bo fur us tho runic and Ilia
nro concerned.
A curious fenturo of tho theater!
In Melbourne, remarks a newspaper
writer, Is that thoy are mostly ull
i..qulppod with billiard rooms.
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.
Aniline was discovered by Nuvor
dorben in 182G among tho products of
tho distillation of indigo.
Tho so-called antlnuo oak is ordi
nary American oak sawed in a peculiar
way and stained to look liko tho old
English oak.
A new process of hnrdening
plaster of Paris has been discovered
whereby it can bo adapted to the con
struction of lloorlng in place of wood.
Photographs of tho flight and ex
plosion of dynamite cartridges aro
among tho achievements of tho instan
taneous method of photography. How
our grandfathers would havo wondered
at such pictures!
The military engineers of Austria
arfco experimenting with aluminum
bronzo with a view to adopting it for
gun-barrels, for which it offers tho
great advantugo of not rusting when
exposed to wet.
Tho great improvements in tho
construction of apparatus, and the ap
plication of tho microscope to lithol
ogy, liavo resulted in successful at
tempts at tho reproduction of all the
modern volcanic rocks.
Southbridge, Mass., has the largest
spectacle factory in the world. Moro
than three-fourths of tho gold specta
cles and eye-glasses made in this coun
try are made in Southbridge. ono com
pany alono in that town having turnod
out 1,500.000 pairs last year.
Over a million pianos havo boon
constructed in and 200,000 imported
into tho United States since 1780. So
some careful observer Informs us. ""In
vention" tells us that tho American
pianoforte manufactories, now turn out
60,000 instruments overy year.
The Chicago Sanitary Mews says
that tho board of health of ono of tho
Eastorn States, in a late report, gives
an account of a well of water contain
ing '111.2 grains of solids per gallon,
yet tho pollution could not bo recog
nized by tho souses, and several per
sons lost thoir lives by its uso boforo
tho cause was discovered.
An interesting fact is that ono of
tho greatest probloms now perplexing
scientific mon tho production of heat
less light has been already solved by
nature. The light from a luminous
beotlo sulllciont for rending u news
paper is shown by tho spectroscope
to bo all of ono kind, and jiibt tho kind
for seeing, whilo tho thermopile finds
no ovidonco of heat. Yot In ull our
urtlflclal lights vast quantities of fuel
aro wasted for usoless iioat.
l'ho llghtnoss of snowflakes is tho
results of their surface being so great
when compared with their volume,
and is accounted for in somo degree by
tho largo quantity of air amid their
frozen particles. Snowllukos contain
about nine times us many volumes of
air, entangled, so to speak, among
their crystals as thoy contain water.
Very fine and lightly deposited snow
occupies about twenty-four times as
much spuco as water, and is from
ton to twelve times lighter than an
equal bulk of that fluid.
R. L. Weathorby, tho manager of
tho ocean cable companies' ropuiiing
service, has discovered that the cause
of tho rapid impairinont of ocean cables
is found in tho iron used to enwrap the
cores of tho cables. The action of
doop sea water on iron tends to soften
Hand destroy Its coheslveness, whorcas
hemp will remain at any depth in tho
sea for scores oi years wimoui Doing
injured. Hence, if tho cable cores
woro wound and covered exclusively
with hemp, instead of with hem)) and
iron as thoy now are, their dostrueti-
bleuess would bo very greatly lessoned.
Tho average Hfo of a cable, as at pres
ent constructed, is only twelve years.
m
SLICING TO DEATHi
Itarhurln Modioli of Torturlni; ('iiikIimiiiuhI
Alurilrrorit hi China,
At tho back of this execution ground
stood half u dozen wooden crosses. II
you will take a piece of telegraph polo
eight feet long and sot a similar pole
live feet long Into It at right angles two
feet from tho top, you will havo the
Chinese cross. It Ik upon thoso crosses
that the criminals tiro bound whon
they aro to undergo tho punishment of
Ling Chi or slicing to death, which is
tho sontonco for nil who murder a
brother, n parent, a teacher, a husband
or an uncle. Tho criminal is stripped
and his foot aro raised upon a brick or
a stone, ills euo Is tied up to the cross
and his arms aro stretched out upon
its arms. A British naval olllcer,
whom I mot at Hong Kong, described
an execution of this kind which ho wit
nessed u fow weeks ago.
"It mado mo feel very green at first,"
said lie, "but uftor It wus begun 1 could
not keep mv oyesotTlt, 1 have had the
experience over again three times in
my dreams, and 1 would not want to
see it again. I had the best guide iu
Canton, uud wo saw tho execution from
tho roof of ono of tho buildings beside
tho execution grounds. There woro
two criminals, uud it took about thirty
minutes to cut ouch of them to pieces.
The first cuts sliced off tho cheeks and
tho second tho eyebrows. After thoso
u man held a fun boforo the faces of the
prisoners, uud nil wo could see of them
was tho blood running down upon their
bodies. Tho next cut wus of tho flesh
between tho hand uud tho elbow, uud
tho arteries wero first bound above tho
places cut so that tho man would not
bleed to death boforo tho ceremony wus
completed. Then tho shoulders wero
cut off. Then tho flesh of tho thighs,
and uftor this tho calves of tho logs.
Tho bovoutcunth uud eighteenth outs
removed tho bunds, uud tho lust cut
took tho head from the body.
"In both cases tbo men did not faint
uwny. Tho pain wus too terrible. They
could not ory out, us thoy woro gagged
and their nrlthlugs wero horrible. The
lust out killed thorn." F. (5. Curpou
tor, iu Clovolund Lutidor.
ABOUT CHAPERONS.
Somrtlilni; About tha
J'ororn
Who Aro)
licit (Juntlfleil to Act nn Such.
Perhaps ono of the best chaperons,
and ono under whoso wing a girl has a
good chunco of thoroughly enjoying a
ball, is a married sister, young enough
to danco herself, to have many friends
to whom sho can Introduce her sister.
Smart and well drossed, she attracts
notice, and going out with her make
ball-going a pleasure and a success. A
mother can not alwuys keep pace with
tho times, and doei not r.lways know
tho best men, as thoy are termed. Hut
n, young married lady lias the support
of her husband, many of his friends, and
is nblo to make a strong party iu u bull
room.
It is nlmost needless to cay that nn
mint is almost asirood a chaperon ns a
mothor, and perhaps ovon moro hidul
gent ton fuvorito niece, us regards to
remaining for yet another dance, while
as to securing partners for her, sho is
in u better position for doing so than
the most anxious of mothers. When
relations arc not available for tho office
of chaperon, friends aro pressed into
tho service, and this request is mot
iu different ways by different people.
If a lady has neither a daughter
or a sister of hor own to chaj)
eron. she Is pleaded to havo the care of
a pretty, well-dressed girl, or even two
slstorsjnot only does sho wish to be good
natured, but sho knows that this ad
dition to hor party will incrcaso its im
portance, and a ludy so situated is a
general chaperon among her friends.
Evon when a lady has a daughter or
daughters of her own, she Is often
asked to tako yot another girl to some
ball to which sho is going, and a pleas
ant, amiable girl is considered nn ac
quisition to tho party, as she takes care
to Introduce young men sho may hap
pen to know to her young girl frionds.
Rut somo girls aro too selfish and in
considorato to do this, and rathor act
the part of piratosand poachers toward
thoir confiding young friends by ex
clusively endeavoring to monopolize
tho attention of tho young men of the
party. Theso ball room tactics once
Indulged in render tho fair tactician
ono to bo avoided on futuro occasions
by mothors with girls to chaporon.
Girls should tako tho opportunity ol
speaking a fow words to thoir chap
erons as often as possible, and should
sit or stand by thorn a fow mintitos from
tlmo to time during the evening. Lon
don Qucon.
EGG-SHELL WONDERS
Whcro tho Himi Cicit-i thn Carlmnato
l.limi l.'ssi'iilhil to llnr Diitlrs.
The shell proper of an egg Is made
up mostly of earthy materials. The
proportions vary according to tho food
of tho bird, but 90 to 95 percent, is car
bonato of lime. The remainder is com
posed of from 2 to 5 per cent of animal
matter and from 1 to 5 pot cent, ol
phosphato of lime and magnesia. Now,
Mr. 1. L. Stmmonds asks, where doet
tho hen procure tho carbonate of lime
with which, to form tho shell? If wt
confine fowls in a room and feed them
with any of tho coroul grains, exclud
ing all sand, dust or earthy matter,
thoy will go on for a time and lay eggs,
each ono having a perfect shell, made
up of the sumo calcareous olomonts.
Vanquollii shut up a hen for ten days
and fed her oxeluslvoly upon oats, ol
which sho consumed 7, 171 grains in
weight. During this tlmo four eggs
woro laid, tho shells of which weighed
nearly 109 grains; of this amount 27(i
grains wero carbonate of lime, 17 1-2
grains phosphate of lime, and 10 grains
gluten. Hut there is only a littlo car
bonate of lime iu oats, and whence could
this -109 grains of tho rocky materia)
havo been derived. Tho answer tt
this question opens up some of the most
curious and wondorful facts connected
with animal chemistry. Tho body of u
bird, like that of a man, is but a piece
of chemical apparatus, mado capable ol
transforming hard and fixed substance?
Into others of u very unliko nuturo. .In
oats there is contained phosphate ol
lime, with an uhumluuco of silica, and
the stomach and ir-slmilut'ng organs ol
the bird aro mado capable of decompos
ing tho lliuo salt im'.I forming with the
silica a sllicato of Lino. Tho new body
is itself nuule to undergo decomposi
tion, and tho. baso is combined witn
carbonic acid, forming carbonate r,
litno. The carboirc acid is probably
derived from tho u inosplioro, or moro
directly, perhaps, from tho blood.
These chemical changes 'among hard
inorganic bodies tiro certainly wonder
ful when wo reflect that thoy arc
brought about iu tho delicate organs of
u coiupnrntlvoly feoblo bird, under the
iulhumco of nntmul heat and vital
forces. Thoy embrace a Tories of de
composing and recomposing operations,
which it is difficult to imitate lu the
laboratory. Popular Science Monthly.
Tho Position Was Opon,
Ono cold day during tho war u fugi
tive slave was standing before n
tiro lu Washington, warming himself.
"Where did you conio from, Undo?"
usked u pro-shivery bystundor. "From
Culpoppor, sub." "Lenvo your mas
loip" "Yes, Biih." "Wus ho bud
to youP" "No, sub; very good,
kind master, Biih." "Givo you nil
you wunted to cut and wear did lie?"
"Yes, suli; novor wanted for much of
any thing, salt." "Well, don't you
think you'd bo much better off with
him as n slave than grubbing around
Washington for yourself?" "Well, sub,
do job tip dull is opon for any ono dnt
wants it," responded tho tiogro.culmly,
uud iu tho laugh that went up the ad
mirer of slavery disappeared. Chicago
Mall.
A burglar, arrested iu Boston, had
m his breast tin India ink pluture of a
gravestouo, on which wn- nmrkud "In
UiO.m.or.yjjfiuy fathom . y.."
ESSAY BY A KING.
a rrMtrlitt nf Sentlmpntlir the Klnff ol
Norway and Stvviln.
Ono nutumn morning, as the sun had
just lifted its golden orb above tho
horizon, without, however, its rays
having as yet warmed the cold nir,
behold standing by the roadside some
birch trees, already covered with yel
low leaves. Their day was drawing to
a close, thoir life of bloom, though
brief, had been a lovely ono; a life
passed in tho glorious nuturo of the
North.
Whon the rays of tho vernal sun had
i molted snow and Ice, when unchained
rivulets prattled plcasuntly.und the lark
struck its notes in tho azure sky, ten
der buds had como forth from the cold
branches and twigs, tho buds became
leaves; they throve in tho balmy spring
breeze. The young trees clad them
selves in tho green color of hope. So
long us summer, the golden-tressed
goddess, ruled in the North, thoy on
joyed their own blooming loveliness. In
innocence and simplicity thoy caressed
each other, and offered a delicious
shade to tho wanderer fatigued by
the fierce sun. Now, when tho summer
tho too brief one in tho North has
fled, behold! with what humility they
bear their fato and shed tho treasures
of their crown. In their dceader.cj, in
thoir misfortune, they stand yonder as
if noiiQ tho less admiring tho silent
morning hour. They seotn as if speak
ing to tho traveler, who hastens by to
his daily calling after h's Sunday rest.
And they awaken in him wonder, and
call forth thoughts that aro less of this
world.
Brother! Man has also his spring,
his summer and his autumn. Spring is
his youth, summer his mnnhopd and
autumn his old age. Hut in the hey
day of man's springtide there may bo
autumn; in his autumntido a gleam of
dawning spring. Sorrow may change
morn into ove, spring into autumn.
Tho tree of lifo struck by tho storm
raises itself again with difficulty, or re
quires, at all events, time to do so. It
might, indeed, be an impossibility but
for Samaritans ready to give a helping
hand. Even the solitary desert palm
may bo shaken by tho sirocco till it
falls, be it over so tall and strong.
But in tho depth of autumn there
may, God bo praised! also bo spring.
Behold tho charming birch tree in the
grove yonder! Thoy are going to rest
through tho long winter night, con
tented with thoir summer lifo, for thoy
hope that whon winter has exhausted
Us fury, a still moro balmy, and a still
moro glorious sun. and a more enchant
ing song than tho howling autumn
storms shall summon them to a new
lifo, to fresh joys! And such is thoir ex
istence, an unbroken chain of births and
deaths.
And wo? Wo, who aro often ungrate
ful whon tho world goes against us wo,
who grumblo and rebel against tho wise
dictates of Providence and in self-conceit
wish to build up n world ourselves,
which wo imagine would bo a bettor
ono what ought wo to remomber?
Is not tho promise sown in our hearts
of resurrection and spring, after the
autumn of lifo and tho grave of winter!
Is it not surer and more blessed than
that of any creature in tho realm of
nature? Havo wo not been endowed
with the gift of living iu sympathy
hero below and of walking together
along tho road of lifo in lovo and
friendship? And is not this gift a
greater treasure than all thoso which
tho man of pleasure deems priceless?
Why do we, then, despair? The spring
following upon our winter's gravo will
not depart from us, for it is otorual. Far
moro glorious is it than any earthly
spring. Tho sun is God, and we aro
angels thoroin.
Should wo boliovo that' friendship
formed horo below shall also follow us
thither?- Why should wo not boliovo
that it shall become oven stronger
than here? Ay, friendship, which lias
united mankind throughout ull ages, iu
which thoy have lived, labored and
struggled to reach the same goal, al
though by different roads that friend
ship will cortainly remain with us whon
the heaven is reached, and it shall, on
a brighter spring morn, and to a more
glorious spring chant, follow us into
tho Eternal Spring, and be the most
cherished and joyful recollectiou of our
past life on earth of a chilly autumn
tide! Oscar Fredrik, iu Nineteenth
Century.
A Cheery View of Life.
Our estimates of "good" and "bad"
nro largely influenced by our porsonal
feelings, and by the effect on our indi
vidual comfort of that on which we
puss judgment. When tho farmors are
longing for tho spring winds and rains,
to do thoir work of preparing for a
fruitful season, persons iu tho city nro
likely to speak of an uppropritito
March or April day as "very bad
weather," or as a "wretched day," in
a tone that would indlcato tho thought.
"If I hud tho weather in charge, thoro
should bo neither wind nor ruin from
year's end to year's ond." An author
is pretty sure to count prulso of his
book us "u good review," and censure
or criticism of it us "u bad review."
Tl.o man who is spokon of us "a very
disagreeable man" is ordinarily a man
who is known not to deem tho speaker
us tin ugrtvnblo man. And so ull tho
way ulong in life. It rarely occurs to
us that what wu dislike may be the
best thing in tho world for tha world.
Yet tho truth is, that there is nothing
for which wo have more reason to bo
grateful than the fact that things aro
not Just us wo would like to havo them
S. S. Times.
A handy thing to havo Is n box
containing an ussortuviot of bolts, mile,
rivets, nails and u hammer, pinchers
uud cold-chisel.
SENATOR VEST'S JOKE.
How tho Mlmourl Statmiimn Caino to
KmlRrate from Kentucky.
Whilo Polk Laffoon was waiting for
his train last evening ho entertained a
party of friends in the rotunda tit Al
cxnnder's Hotel by relating sovoral
hito of unwritten history about somo of
tbo big guns us Washington. Ono story
In particular will bo of intorcst to tho
admirers of Senator George G. Vest, of
Missouri. It Illustrates how trifling
tilings turn, nt times, tho whole course
of a man's lifo. Mr. Laffoon said tho
story was told to him by Mr. Vest him
self. "Ve3t was raised in Owonsboro,"
said Mr. Caffoon, "and when ho was a
young man ho was fur from being an
angel. In fact he was very much of a
ake, and ardently addicted to both
cards and whisky. About tho timo
Vest was indulging his tasto for tho
paste-boi rds most unrestrainedly, one
of thoso spasmodic moral waves struck
Owonsboro, and all tho gamblers and
gambling places, then enjoying a
heydey of prosperity, woro ban
ished. Tho boys wero hard up for a
pluco to satisfy thoir thirst for pokor,
and thoy looked nbout for somo pluco
to play, without running tho risk of
being seized by the dreaded hand of
tho law. An old follow, who had somo
sort of nondescript craft anchored at
tho wharf, camo to their relief, and tho
boys woro in tho habit of playing iu
tho cabin of his boat every night. As
happens everywhere where cards nro
played, thero lived in Owonsboro a
shark. He plnyod close and generally
won, lotting no chance escapo him.
Every timo ho got about $25 or $.10
winnor ho would suddonly remomber
that his wife was sick and had sent
him for medicine, or would havo somo
other excuse for quitting. Ono night
Vest and a friend, both of whom woro
broke and about half full of corn-juice,
sauntered down toward the boat whore
thoir slieoklos had disappeared into
tho old shark's pocket. Thoy saw
from tho light aboard that a game was
in progress, and thoy know tho old
shark was playing. Vest and his com
panion both 'blessed' the squeezor in
the unstinted manner their condition
would suggest, and finally Vest said:
'I'll fix him.' Taking out his knifo
he severed tho cable which hold tho
boat to tho shore. Out into tho
river tho craft drifted. When it
had gone about five miles down 'Old
Shark' made his usual excuse and rose
to go. Out of tho lighted room into
the darkness ho went. He mado a step
whcro ho thought tho gang plunk was,
but it was, of course, not in its place,
and with u yell ho went down into tho
river. Tho others heard his cry, add
by means of ropes rescued him. Tho
game had been so absorbing that no
one had noticed tho motion of tho boat
after its releaso from tho wharf. Whon
tho shark reached shore, wot and mad,
ho secured a buggy and drovo back to
Owonsboro. 'It was that follow Vest
that did this,' said ho, 'and I'm going
to kill him.' Ho secured a double-barreled
shotgun and started to look for
Vest. Tho old shark was -a dangerous
man, and Vest, being warned by his
friends, concluded he had nothing to
tie him to Owonsboro, so ho loft at
once. Ho wont to Missouri, where ho
had a cousin who was clerk of one of
the local courts. Vest went into his
office, thoro began to study law, and
Inter commenced to practice. Ho be
came a "loader in politics, was elected
to ono office after anothor, and to-day
is one of tho ablost mon ever in the
United States Somite. If ho had stayed
in Owonsboro ho would probably have
gono on iu tho old rut and never
amounted to a hill of beans. Hy tho
way, Senator Vest novor drinks now."
FACTS ABOUT SALT.
."Many Intrntliir 1'nliitt Tor SccIuts After
lii'lluhlti information.
Thoro aro many interesting facts
connected with salt which it is well
sometimes to roinonibor. To begin
with the name itself, a curious fact is
to bo noted. Salt was formerly re
garded as a compound rosulting from
the union of hydrochloric (or, us it
used to bo called, muriatic) acid and
soda, uud hence tho generic term of
halt was applied to all substances pro
duced by tho combination of a baso
with an acid. Sir Humphrey Davy,
however, showed that during thoir uc
tion on each other both the acid and tho
alkali underwent decomposition, and
that whilo water is formed by the
union of the oxygen of tho alkali and
tho hydrogen of tho acid, tho sodium
of the former combines with tho chlo
rine of tho luttor to form a chloride of
sodium, uud this term is the scientific
designation of suit, which, paradoxical
us it may seem, is not u salt. Chloride
of sodium must bo considered economic
ally under two heads, relating respect
ively to sea or bay suit, and to rock or
mineral salt. Tho ono is probably do
rived from the othor, most rock-salt
deposits boarlng ovidonco of having
been formed at remote geological pe
riods by evaporation from tho sea. At
ono time nearly the wholo of the salt
used us food and for Industrial pur
poses was obtained from tho seu, and
In many countries whoro tho cllmuto is
dry und wtirm, und which havo n con
venient seaboard, a grout quantity of
salt Is still so obtained. Iu Portugal
more than two hundred und fifty thou
sand tons tire annually produced, und
tho sumo quantity approximately is
obtained on tho Atlantic arid Mediter
ranean coasts of Franco. Spain hfts
salt works in the Balearic Islands, tho
Bay of Cadiz and elsewhere, which turn
out annually threo hundred thousand
tons, and even tho small seaboard ol
Austria produces overy year from sev
enty thousand to one hundred thousurid
ton j. Lo.ndon Standard.
ORIGIN OF ELEPHANTS.
A Rnco of Miimmnli That First Appeared
In the Mlocnnn I'erlod.
The origin of tho grout proboscidian
rnco in general, nnd of tho mammoth
and elephant group in particular, liko
tho early history of Jeamos do la
Plucho, is "wrap iu obscurity." All
wo can s-.y nbout them with any corrti
denco is that they form a comparative
ly Into order of mammals, whose
earliest recognlzablo representative in
geological timo is tho monstrous dino
thcrluni, nn aquatic animal with n long
trunk, and with two immense curved
tusks, projecting downward paradox
ically from his lower instoad of his up
per jaw. The dinothorium makes his
first nppearaneo upon this or any
other stage in tho Miocene pe
riod; but as ho conldti't, of
course, havo appeared thero
(liko Aphrodite and Topsy) without
any parents, and as ho was thou al
ready a fairly specialized and highly
developed animal, wo must take it for
granted that his earlier ancestry,
though ancient und respectable in its
own time, had long passed away, leav-V
ing not a wreck behind, so far as yot
known, in tho matter of tangiblo geo
logical vouchers. Theso unknown an
cestors, in all probability, gave birth
during thoir earlier 'and moro plastic
stage for species, liko individuals,
aro most readily molded in their green
youth to threo main family branches.
Tho senior branch produced tho di
nothorium, a vast brute, who, finding
tho world too full to hold him about
tho close of tho tertiary period, de
mised suddenly without issuo, leav
ing tho honors of tho family in sub
sequent ages to tho junior mem
bers. Tho second branch pro
ducod tho mastodons, huge creat
ures of elephantine outline and ma
jestic tread, most of them with tus ks
in tho uppor and lower jaws, though
tho undor pair wero always tho small
est. 1 ho third branch produced the
truo elephants, including both our
modern Indian and African species, as
well as tho mammoth himself, and
many othor extinct congeners. All
tho elephants proper havo but ono
solitary pair of tusks, and that pair is
quite correctly located in tho upper
jaw ins ad of tho under one. Thus is
Evolution justified of all hor children.
Tho truo elephants made their first ap
pearance, as far as known, in tho
Pliocene period that is, tho epoch
preceding tho Groat Ice Ago. They
blossomed out at once into an alarming
number of species. Cornhill Maga
zine. THE AGE OF "SPECIALISM
A Tendency Which N Itccomlllir Mor6
rroiioiiiiccil ISvery l)aj'.
Hero is an old story iu point, illus
trating conditions: A certain man, a
6ort of scientist after his fashion,
found an insect which in his crude
way ho could at onco determine to boa
beetle. But ho wished to know just
what kind of a beetle that particular
one happened to bo, or. in other words,
to find out its name. So, liko a good
and patriotic citizen, ho referred it to
a specialist just as a sensible minor
with u broken leg would call in tho
service of a surgeon. Ho went to a
friend and said:
"Hero is a beotlo. Now. you nro an
entomologist; please tell mo what that
is."
"Oh, no," said the referee. "I am
not an entomologist."
"Not an entomologist? Why, I
thought that was your lino."
"No; I only wish I woro," ho said,
sadly.
'Woll, what aro you? What do you
call a beotlo sharp a colcoptorist?"
"No," said ho, modestly, and with u
deprecatory air, "no, I'm not u
colcoptorist. If you insist upon know
ing, I might claim (now brightening
up) to be a scarabiulsl; that is, you
know, altogether dllVetont from being
a regular colcoptorist."
It is not so long ago that a single
great mind, liko that of Humboldt,
could tako in tit u single comprehensive
glance almost the sum of human knowl
edge. There can bo no Humboldt now.
Engineering and Mining Journal.
The Mail Service in 1775.
Whon Benjamin Franklin was ap
pointed Postmastor General of th' Col
onies in 1775 ho wont down to tho office
in Philadelphia, hung his coat on u
peg boliind tho only door of tho one
room which constituted tho depart
ment, and wont to work. Ho procured
a small book of fifty-three pages, in
which ho opened nn account with each
postmaster for tho forty odd post
olllces in tho thlrteon colonies, and
kept It himsolf. Unliko tho present
Postmaster-General, tho old Pennsyl
vanian was not bothered to appoint
assistants, and as for clerks, lie did not
have any. At odd times, und when he
was feeling lonesome because somo
of tho neighbors did not como in to
bore him to appoint John Smith post
master at Junipervlllo, Franklin would
go down to tho city post-otllco and as
sists to mako up tho mall, which left
by stage coach every weok. In a gluss
case iu tho Post-otllco Department the
curiosity seeker can seotho old leath
ern bound book in which Franklin kept
tho accounts of tho Government. 'JUko
transactions for thrco years from lBf
to 1778, Inclusive aro included In Its
fifty-throe puges, und tho mull truns
actions seem to havo cut but an in
significant llguro. You can ulso seo
tho record of tho uncalled for or mis
directed letters that woro returned for
tho oloven years from 1777 to 1788.
Tho book covers forty-four puges, nnd
during that timo 3C5 letters woro re
ceived. Tho number of lottors ro
turnod to tho Dead Letter Ofll9o duby
now averages 18,000. Washington