Topics of
the Times
It Is astonishing how Rockefeller be
came so rich when he knows so little.
A New York financier Is to live In a
glass house. Isn't this display of In
nocence a bit ostentatious?
If Russia hates us because American
sympathies were with the Japanese In
the late war, why should not Jupun
love us for the same reason?
A Miss Czatstanlakow and a Mr.
Frlncklnowleksy were married In Con
necticut a few days ago. Well,' that
will help to simplify matters a little.
The Washington preacher Who thinks
holl Is located In the sun may merely
have tried to go through a hot spell
without taking off his winter flannels.
Even though he has been shot at
twice, It Is not believed that the presi
dent of France will consider It neces
sary to carry a six-shooter under his
coattalls hereafter.
From the latest utterances of Jap
anese diplomats It may fairly be In
ferred that the mikado Is willing to
rub noses with Uncle Sam and be his
great and good friend.
Tramps compelled to work In the
Kansas harvest fields! It will be use
less for us to try after this to convince
some people that Inhuman cruelty Is not
practiced In some parts of our fair land.
Rural free delivery has been estab
lished on the Island of Guam. Ten
years ago there were not many people
on the Island who even took the trouble
to go to the village postofflce for their
mall.
Admiral Dewey says the country that
has the least trouble In getting Its coal
Is the one which wins In wfor. This
being the case, it may be well for us
to keen on good terms with Deacon
Baer.
The new census of Canada shows
that the great Dominion has a popula-
tlon of about equal to that of the grand
old State of Illinois. We congratulate
the people of Canada on the progress
they are making.
The New York Evening Post prints
a letter from a subscriber wno wanrs
to know the meaning of "pie-faced
. . ii t i . . .1 I
mutt." Evidently he has never attend
ed a ball game where the bleacherltes
took a dislike to the umpire.
"Never be contentious. Concern your
selves with your duties, and your rights
will take care of themselves." A bit of
parting advice from a general to the
graduates of West Point, but applicable
to all men, young or old, college gradu
ates or not.
Recently published reminiscences of
Carl Schurz put severe blame on Uen.
O. O. Howard for the Union defeat at
Olmucollorsville. General Howard
makes a gallant and clever reply. The
whole blame, ho says, for that defeat
rests umm General "Stonewall" Jack-
Bon, the Confederate commaudcr.
8lxrt skirts are likely to be the pop
ular costumo In Nordhausen, Germany.
The bon hi of health has recommended
the Imposition of a fine of thirty marks,
or Imprisonment for one week, for
wearing dresses with trains on the
street. The drugging of the bottom of
the skirt through the dust and dirt of
the street Is characterized as "a men
ace to the well-being of the commu
nity."
Some defiulte and well-organized
movement ought niaulfeaty to be made
toward the wider scattering throughout
the country of the horde of aliens that
la continually trooping Into our coun
try. It Is not good either for them
selves of for the public that they plant
themselves, as they have long been do-
lug, In great colonies In the largo cit
ies. That practice makes for continued
poverty, HI health, general conditions
that are not desirable. It would be sur
prising to know how many of those
who flock to these shores annually are
end should be tillers of the soil. There
la demand for such. They should be
Induced, If not compelled, to distribute
themselves over our large area of ag
ricultural districts.
Until within a few years the whole
at the surplus earnings of the United
States was Invested at home. There
were thousands of enterprises for the
development of agriculture, manufac
tures sua transportation that were
jiuors attractive than foreign undertak
ings. There are such opportunities
still; but the wealth of the country
has Increased so greatly that the Indus
tries are seeking foreign markets, and
capitalist are searching the world over
for the most profitable places to In-
(S)
m
vest their surplus. The other day a
company In which Americans are large
ly Interested secured a concession for
developing two and a half million acres
:of the Congo region. The company se
: cures the rights to the India-rubber
trade of the district, and mining and
'railroad rights as well. That there
are other fields the development of
which will benefit the whole country
as well as the Immediate Investors, the
Secretary of State Indicated In his re
cent address at Kansas City on South
American opportunities. The trade of
the United States with South America
Is lusignlflcaut in comparison with
South American trade with Europe.
The easiest way to get from New York
to Buenos Ayres is by way of Liver
pool, which Involves two crossings of
the ocean. Secretary Root said, what
is evident to every one, that there
ought to be more steamship lines be
tween North and South America, and
that they should be owned by citizens
of tlie United States. Some new lines
have lately been opened, or are albout
to be opened, betwen Brazil and New
York ; between Peru and Panama, with
the Intention of extending to New
York ; and between Argentina and Eu
rope. But they are enterprises of for
eign and not American capital. Let
the American flag fly at the masthead
of Fhlps carrying the products of Amer
ican farms and factories to the people
who need them, and the American sur
plus will find use at home in develop
ing Industries for a foreign market.
Thanks to a new act of the Massa
chusetts legislature, which goes Into
effect on the first of November next, an
Interesting experiment In life Insurance
Is promised to the people of the Bay
State and New England generally. The
law In question provides for the sale
of small life Insurance policies and an
nuities by the savings Institutions of
Massachusetts. The new feature Is en
tirely voluntary or optional, but when
the legislature adopted the measure In
the face of very strong opposition It
knew that a number of savings banks
were willing to go experimentally Into
the Insurance business not, Indeed,
for profit or with the notion of serious
ly competing with the Insurance com
panies, but In a benevolent and altruis
tic spirit. The law was the outgrowth
of the Insurance scandals and revela
tions. Those who framed and pushed
it believed that the savings banks of
Massachusetts, which are strictly regu
lated by statute and controlled by a
state commission, are particularly fitted
to provide the poorer elements of the
population with opportunities of getting
life Insurance at bare cost and under
conditions which guarantee honest, eon-
servative and Intelligent management.
fM a konla Jtsi tisv sivnastt onil m ia nrf-it" I
The banks do not expect, and are not
expected, to solicit Insurance, to employ
agents or even carry on active corre
spondence lit order to obtain business.
Blank forms of policies will, however,
be widely distributed and the would-be
beneficiaries of the system will have
to take the trouble of applying for and
getting the policies and of regularly
paying their premiums. Whether many
people, even In thrifty and enlightened
Massachusetts, realize the need of life
Insurance sufficiently to Incur such
trouble Is one of the many questions
upon which the experiment Is to give
ua light. The governor of Massachu
setts has Just taken the first step under
the act He has appointed seven state
trustees, whose duty It will be to select
a state Insurance actuary and a medical
director and to make all other prepara
tions for the assumption by the savings
linuks of the new function. The trus
tees servo without pay aud are connect
ed with the banks that are In sympathy
wlrti the experiment. There Is much
preliminary work to be done, Includ
ing the preparation of actuarial tables
on the basis of cost, minus, however,
all agency expenses.
Steaoaraphers' Morale.
Under this title the New York World
discusses the recent proposition of a
New York preacher for a stenograph
ers' guild which brought to the World
many letters from stenographers that
declared that the moral pitfalls In the
business were fewer than In others.
The World says:
It Is chiefly In 10-cent magnzlnes,
Tenderloin comedies and "comic sup
plements that the employer trifles with
the innocent affections of his pretty
stenographer. In actual life he wrings
his hands and wishes to heaven that
business colleges would teach girls how
to 8111. The attitude of the stenog
rapher toward her employer Is more
than likely to be of the I-feel-sorry-for
hls-noor-wlfe kind. Few men are
heroes to their typewriters. A stenog
rapher who has Just finished transcrib
ing thirty or forty letters is not In
danger of flaming Into Sapphic passion
for a man who growls because she
failed to turn his simplified grannur
into conventional EugllBh.
Edible Ensolameat.
Tlrst Actor Hello, old man t Got
an engagement?
Secoud Actor Yes, old chap.
First Actor Any salary attached?
Second Actor No ; but there's a real
pudding In the second act The Tatler.
House (or Turkeys.
In colder climates, . where shelter
must be provided, a house may be built
with the slanting roof; and an open
ventilator should be placed In front,
close to the roof, and never be closed
except In cold weather. The roost
should be placed on a level In the
front of the house, with a sliding or
rolling door In the rear. Only light
enough Is needed for the turkeys to see
the way to and from the roosts. The
door should be left open all day, that
they may come and go nt pleasure-.
Within this house they may be fed in
cold, snowy weather, writes T. F. Me-
Grew, United States Department of Ag
riculture. In the cold northern climate
of Canada one of the most successful
turkey growers has a double-lnolosed
apartment house for his breeding stock
In winter, connected with which Is an In
closed run that will protect them from
the elements, at the same time furnish
ing opportunity for open-air exercise
during the day. This kind of house Is
GOOD TURKEY HOUSE.
most useful In cold climates, but It
might be used In all localities and pre
vent midnight marauders of all kinds
from carrying away the turkeys.
Ekks Without Shells.
Russian exporters, to avoid an excess
ive freight on eggs, as well as to avoid
loss from breakage and from spoiling
by heat, ship them without the shell
1. e., broken and the contents put up In
air-tight block tin boxes, with or with
out salt, according to the taste of the
customer.
Each box contains several eggs and
Is sold by weight, the size running from
half a kilogram up to a pud (some 10
kilograms). The price of the latter Is
5 rubles. For use In cooking and for
a nmtted time these tinned or preserved
i i
eggs seem to answer very wen ; inai is,
on the continent, for England doesn't
take kindly to them. London, for In
stance, says the National Druggist,
which buys large quantities of Russian
eggs, "pays 8 rubles a pud for them
(against 5 for the preserved eggs), be
sides the weight of the shells and the
extra freight tariff on eggs.
Each block tin box of "conserved"
eggs, whether of half kilo (a kilo Is a
little more than two pounds) or 2-pud
size, must bear the date and hour of
Its closing, thus guarding against get
tine stale ere. The Amount of eggs
put up In boxes and annually exported
Is enormous and constantly growing.
Trees Grow at Nlarht.
One of the foreign agents of the Bu
reau of Forestry, now In Tasmania, re
ports as the result of a series of meas
urements of growing apple and pear
trees and rose and geraulum bushes
and other plants that 85 per cent of the
growth of trees takes place between
midnight and U o'clock In the morning.
The growth continues at a much di
minished rate until 0 o'clock. After
that It Is very slight until noon, when
the tree falls Into a condition of com
plete rest, lasting until 6 o'clock. Then
there Is a gradual renewal of the
growth, which, however, does not be
come rapid until the middle of the
night 1
A Good Spray Mixture.
Parts green does not dissolve, but Is
held In suspension In water, hence the
water must be constantly agitated to
apply It The Ohio Experiment Station
recommends a much cheaper mixture,
which is soluble In water. It Is made
by dissolving two pounds of commercial
white arsenic and four pounds of car.
bonate of (washing) soda In two gal
lons of water. Use one and one-half
pints of this mixture to each barrel
of Bordeaux mixture when spraying
for blight and scab.
How to Blaach Celery.
To blanch celery easily and rapidly,
go on your knees astride the row ; take
a plant In oner band, shake It and
squeeze it close, to get out the earth
from the center, holding it with one
hand, and with the other draw the earth
up to the plant on that side ; then take
the plaut with the other hand and draw
up the earth on the other side ; next let
go of the plant and draw earth from
both sides, pressing It against the
plant Finish with a hoe when the row
Is gone over, and give a sprinkling
long the row.
Weeds of Vain
New Zealand flax Is one of a number
of wild weeds that yield their gath
erers great wealth, says the Scientific
American. This flax, the strongest
known, grows wild In marshes. When
it Is cultivated It dwindles and Its fibers
become brittle and valueless.
Indian hemp grows wild, and out of
It hasheesh, or keef, fs made. Keef
looks like flakes of chopped straw. It
Is smoked in a pipe ; it Is eaten on
liver; It Is drunk In water. It pro
duces an Intense, a delirious happiness ;
and among Orientals It Is almost as
highly prized as beer and whisky
with us.
The best nutmegs are the wild ones.
They grow throughout the Malay archi
pelago. But the most valuable weed of all
these wild growths Is the seaweed. The
nitrate beds oi, South America, which
yield something like $05,000,000 a year,
are nothing but beds of seaweed decom
posed. Proportion oC Seiea In Swine,
The Bureau of Animal Industry of
the Department of Agriculture has re
cently Issued an Interesting bulletin on
the relative proportion of the two sexes
of pigs at birth. This is Information
not heretofore obtainable, for the rea
son that while the herd books have
given the total number of pigs far
rowed, the number of each sex was
given only for those raised. The re
port Included 1,477 litters. The number
of boar pigs was (5,0tK), the number of
cows 0,020. The average per sow was,
boars 4.51, sows 4.48. For all prac
tical purposes the sexes may be regard
ed as equal In number at birth, al
though the boars are seen to be slightly
more numerous than sows. Expressed
In the lowest terms of whole figures,
the proportion stands 201 boars to 200
sows. The results were gathered from
twenty-five States and Territories and
represented eight breeds, with several
litters of grades or mixed breeds.
The Army Worm.
He's a notable pest. (
He ruins the crops.
In 1743 he appeared by millions.
That was In struggling New Eng
land.'
Dr. Bouton, of Vermont, saw ten
bushels In a heap.
The last very serious onslaught was
made In 1800.
He feeds on the succulent stalks of
wheat, corn, oats and the like.
Fortunately . he has a host of nat
ural enemies.
Ills mamma Is a light-brown moth,
who lays her eggs In meadow grasses,
In his six weeks from egg to moth-
fly he does his great damage to the
precious crops.
He's a Juicy morsel for the meadow
lark, the bobolink, the blackbird, robin
redbreast and many others. The black
beetle also devours him wholesale.
Hay Carrier.
Make of muslin or coarse unbleached
muslin six feet wide and a handy
7
27
convenient hay cakhieb.
length tacked to a 2x2 piece on each
side, all but a middle space, which
should be left loose for hand-holds.
Straw, vines, or almost any litter which
Is liable to scatter, can be carried
readily.
Horse Facts
Have his harness fit
He'll last much longer.
Above all, don't overtax his strength,
Give him a little water very often
Don't give him a big drink directly
after a meal. s
Don't allow him to eat too fast,
Even scatter his grain on a clean floor.
Don't beat a stupid horse that only
proves the drivers stupidity..
Stay with him while he is shod
the sboer may hit him over the head,
ruining him,
A few days' rest with earth to stand
on, unshod, will do him more good
than Teterlnary treatment In many
cases.
Gooseberry Story.
Fifty years ago George W. Wetzel, of
Bardolpb, HI., had gooseberry pie for
his wedding dinner. The other day he
celebrated his golden wedding annl
versary and had another gooseberry
pie for dinner. And the gooseberries
grew on the same bush from which the
first pie was gathered. Louisiana
Press-Journal.
Trees and Grass.
Sometimes we see trees which dry up
the grass under them, while In the
same neighborhood will be trees under
i which the grass will grow better than
where it Is not thus shaded. An or-
chard that has long bsn plowed deep
has most of its feeding roots below
those of the grass. On the other hand.
under the trees where grass has long
grown the true feeding roots come
near the surface, and when a dry time
arrives the grass nnder It lacks mois
ture, and Is very soon killed out
r
For removing rust from polished
steel, an effective mixture is made by
taking 10 parts of tin putty, 8 parts of
prepared buckhorn and 250 parts spir
its of wine. These Ingredients are
mixed to a soft paste and rubbed In on
the surface until the rust disappears.
Practically all the California and
Texas fuel oils contain more or less
ater, sand, asbestos, fiber and marsh
gas, says the Paint, Oil and Drug Re
view. Some grades of oil flow freely.
while others are more viscous, even
though they have a lower specific grav
ity.
The Inferior Bohemian graphite,
which Is too Impure or compact for use
in pencils, Is ground fine and freed
from sulphides and other heavy min
erals. The refined material does not
contain more than 50 or CO per ceut
of graphite, and is used in the manu
facture of Inferior crucibles and for
stove polish.
According to the English Mechanic,
articles of brass or copper boiled in a
solution of stannnte of potassium mix
ed with turnings or scraps of tin In a
few moments become covered with a
firmly attached layer-of fine tin. A
similar effect is produced by boiling
the articles with tin turnings or scraps
and caustic alkali or cream of tartar.
The number of carriages and vehi
cles of every description crowding the
streets of Paris augments continually,
and the danger, not only to pedestri
ans, but to the carriages themselves,
has become so great that an engineer,
Monsieur Henard, proposes the estab
lishment, at the most dangerous cross
lugs, of a circular "island of refuge"
in the center, and the regulation of all
t raffle in such a manner that every ve
hicle traversing the crossing-point, no
matter what its ultimate direction may
be, shall pass round the central plateau
In the same direction. Thus the dan
ger of collision and the peril to foot-
passengers would be reduced to a mini
mum. The cut Illustrates the opera
tion of this proposed whirlpool of traf
fic '
The Interest of astronomers In the
strange red spot, about 30,000 miles In
length, which has been visible on the
surface of the planet Jupiter since
1878, is Intensified by the recent obser
vations of Mr. W. F. Denning, and
others, on a remarkable change In its '
rate of motion. In a period of about
three months last year It was dis
placed some 16 degrees of longitude
from the position calculated as the ba
sis of its former motion. . This Is the
greatest change that has ever been ob
served In Its rate of motion. On Ju
piter the visible surface of the plunet
does not revolve, like the surface of
the earth, everywhere with the same
angular velocity, but, In general, the
parts nearest the equator move with
the greatest rapidity. Thus the huge
planet resembles a rotating ball of con
stantly changing clouds, aud in the
midst of these the great red spot seems
to float
Uncle Job's Lesson.
"Yas suh," began Uncle Job, survey
ing his hearers with an expression of '
virtuous sadness, "yas, sub, I sholy gib
dat trifling Ab'abnm a lesson be neveb
fohgot!" Then, seeing an Inquiring look
In the eyes of some of his bearers, and
hearing a question from the lips of one
of them, he decided to go more Into de
tails about the nature of the lesson he'
had Imparted.
"W'at'd I do tun him? I's gwine tun
tell you-alls. Ab'raham fair drawed de
lightning on bisself w'en he bed de
'dacity tuh 'vite me tub. he house tub
eat eh tuhkey dinner.
"Tuhkey," repeated Uncle Job, after
a telling pause, "w'en dat llverashous
rascal neveh raised any tuhkey in he
life 'cept offen some w'lte man's roost
"Hit sho was er fine tuhkey, but I
showed dat Ab'aham dat stolen goods
proflteth little. Dat tuhkey was er big
gobleh, an dere was nobody but me an'
Ab'aham dere; an I seasoned dat bird
wlf admonitions tuh be good an' wahn
ings Tom de wrath to come.
"Hit sholy would, nev tasted good ef
hit hed'nt ben stole. But de sauce o'b
a deed well did an' a slnneh rebuked al
mos' made hit relish, an'," concluded
Uncle Job, with pious satisfaction,
"though hit was er hahd pull, I's bound
to say I held out to de end an' finished
dat tuhkey, Bplte ob Ab'ahams hints dat
he spected hit tuh las' him er week."
Some Long Words.
The comic papers frequently poke
fun at the long words of the German
language, yet the English language can
furnish some pretty long words, too.
Here are some of the longest English
words: Subconstltutionallst, Incompre
hensibility, bonorlflclbllltndlnlty (it
will be noticed that this word contains
seven i's), anthropophagenarlan, dis
proportionableness, veloplpedestrianistl
cal, transsubstantlatlonableness, proan
titranssubstantlatlonlstlcal. This last
word Is no doubt the longest In the En
glish language; It contains thirty-three
letters.