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2 FARM FIELD AND GARDEN WINTERING BEES IN MOIST AIR. A Practical Talk by One of Michigan’s Pro gressive Apiarists. Whether bees can be successfully win tered in a damp cellar depends largely upon the temperature of the cellar air, Which should be warmer than if dry, as water has a great capacity for specific beat. A moist air very readily absorbs heat and more quickly robs the bees of that element sq, essential to life. An other point in the wintering of bees, upon which moisture has a bearing, is its effect upon the exhalations of the bees. But little moisture is required to saturate cold air, and it will not so soon absorb the excretions of the bees. As the temperature rises the absorb ing capacity of the air increases. When air of a high temi>erature —near that of our bodies—is nearly saturated with moisture the exhalations from the lungs and skin are taken up but slowly. This explains why bright, clear days are more pleasant. If the air of a cellar is dry the temperature may be allowed to go much lower. Many reports of the successful wintering of bees give the temperature, but not the degree of saturation. To find ihe amount of moisture in the air W. Z. Hutchinson, authority for the foregoing, advises, in The American Agriculturist, the use of a wet bulb ther mometer. The instrument is simple and easily made. Attach two ordinary thermometers side by side to a piece of board. Just below them fasten a tin cup for holding water. Make a light covering of candle wicking for one of the bulbs at the bottom of the thermome ter, allowing the wicking to extend into the water in the cup. The water will ascend the wicking and keep the bulb constantly wet. There will be evapora tion from the wick surrounding the bulb. Evaporation causes a loss of heat; hence the drier the air the greater the evaporation, the greater the loss of heat and the lower will go the mercury in the wet bulb thermometer. The greater the difference in temperature, as shown between the wet and dry bulb ther mometers, the drier the air. In the open air there is sometimes a difference of 26 degs. Fahrenheit. Ventilation of cellars has been ob jected to on the ground that it brought moisture into the cellar. This may be true, but not in freezing weather. Air below freezing point has a very low point of saturation, hence will hold very little moisture, and when it is brought into the higher temperature of the cellar it becomes warmed, the capacity for absorption is greatly increased, and it is ready receive water instead of giving it out. When the outside air comes into the cellar and deposits mois ture upon the objects therein, it is evi dent that the incoming air is moisture laden and warmer than the cellar and its contents. “Mold in beehouses,” continues Mr. Hutchinson, “is usually looked upon as something undesirable, and I will ad mit that its appearance is far from pleasant. But we must not forget that, in a certain sense, it is a plant grooving , in, warmth and moisture, that the conditions necessary for its 'development may not be injurious to the bees. “A very damp cellar ought to be warm enough for the development of mold. But the cellar need not be damp. It can be made both warm and dry. These matters of temperature and moisture are under our control. Either by fires or by going deeper into the earth —preferably the latter —the proper temperature can bo attained, and by the use of lime to absorb the moisture a dry atmosphere can be secured. Certainly it is not much trouble to keep unslacked lime in the cellar. A bushel of lime absorbs twenty eight pounds of water in the process of slacking. Some beekeepers have assert ed that cellars dug in clay or hard pan are more difficult to keep dry than when dug in sand or gravelly soil. Cellars in hard pan or even in clay can be much improved by digging down two or three feet and filling in with stones at first, then with gravel and finishing up with a covering of cement.” The Newer Experiment Stations. The usefulness of agricultural experi ment stations is now well established. They disseminate a great amount of in formation on agricultural topics through the medium of printed reports and bul letins and the newspapers of the coun try, and, what is perhaps not so well known in general, the direct station cor respondence with the farmer is very large and touches on nearly every topic connected with farm theory and prac tice. The work of the stations has been encouraged not only by acts of state legislatures in their behalf, but by gifts from local communities, agricultural as sociations, etc., and the commendation of farmers. Among the more recently established stations are those of Wyoming, Wash ington, Oklahoma and Idaho. The Wy oming agricultural station was organ ized as a department of the University of Wyoming and is located at Laramie. In order to test the possibilities of agri culture in all parts of Wyoming, experi ment farms have been established in different portions of the state. The agri cultural experiment station of Oklaho ma has been established as a department of the Agricultural and Mechanical col lege of the state, and is located at Still water, Payne county. The Washington agricultural experiment station forms a department of the Agricultural College and School of Science of Washington, and is located at Pullman. During the year of 1892 a new station was estab lished in Idaho. Experiment stations are now operating in all the states and territories except Montana. BUTCHERING ON THE FARM. Cheap and Useful Conveniences —Weight of Hogs for Family Consumption. Ou many farms a few hogs are killed and dressed for family consumption each winter. Where this is an annual occur rence the necessary conveniences ought to be provided before hand, and after use stored away for the next season. Here is what appears in the agricultural department of the New York World con cerning the matter: When only a few hogs are butchered these appliances may be few and inex pensive. A tight cask, somewhat larger than a barrel, in which the hogs may be scalded as soon as killed; kettles for heating the water and a little scaffold of rough boards on which the hog may lie when drawn out of the scalding water Brft the principal UUngg. _ PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER, ATLANTA, GEORGIA. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1892. When thoroughly cleaned from the bristles and hair the carcass must be suspended in a convenient way for dis emboweling and thus finishing the entire process. The carcass should hang not only long enough for draining thoroughly, but until it is entirely cooled through, before it is taken down and cut up for curing and packing. In suitable weather this condition will be reached the next day after the slaugh tering. In very cold weather care must be taken that the carcass does not freeze on the outside before the animal heat is all expelled from within. In general it is better that the dressed hogs should not freeze at all, but be kept as cold as possible without freezing. For profit and for making meat of the most desirable quality, pigs should be brought to a marketable size and weight as early as possible. When from 200 to 250 pounds for the dressed pig is reached he will be, if properly fattened, in the best condition for family use. Corn is the usual fattening food for hogs, but it is becoming understood that a diet which will give a better distribution of fat and lean makes more desirable meat. This means that other substances besides corn should be used for the growth of the young animal. Clover during its season is excellent; pumpkins are good and cheaply raised; skimmilk is one of the best, and during the summer a va riety of foods are available for forcing the growth of pigs, leaving corn to up with at the close. Again, nogs cannot be profitably fattened in cold weather, and keeping them late in to the winter for a gain in weight is not practiced by our progressive farmers. Dressing Poultry for Market. In dressing poultry care Should be taken to meet the requirements of the special market to which the birds are consigned for sale. In some sections dry picked birds bring the best prices, while in others the preference is for scalded or steam picked. Some markets call for “drawn” birds; others require that the entrails remain intact. Here are two plans presented in The Amer ican Poultry Yard. The second plan is the one used by poulterers who bid for highest prices in the New York mar kets where the dry picked birds are pre ferred, though both kinds are accepted. For that market the fowls are not drawn, and the legs and heads are left on. Scald or steam the fowls quickly and as soon as possible after killing them. Then remove the feathers as briskly as may be, taking them off backward and downward in the same direction that the plumage grows. The carcasses should not be too severely scalded lest this render the skin tender, but a jet of steam thrown upon half a dozen at a time in a good sized tub, or the immer sion of the bodies in boiling hot water for an instant only, will answer the pur pose. This is one way. But when there is plenty of time and you are not obliged to hurry matters, if each fowl is plucked dry directly after slaughtering and while the dead body is still warm, it will be found the preferable plan. It is an im portant item'in dressing' poultry for market to see to it that the fowls to be slaughtered kA not in the midst of their natural mc«l Their bodies at such time .are 'fißred with “pin feathers” that them un 1 jife remove. always be prepared for eating or mar keting before they begin to shed their feathers annually or after the new plumage is well out. Do Pumpkins and Melons Mix? “Do squashes and pumpkins mix with watermelons?” is a question asked by S. F. White, of lowa, who says in The Farmers’ Review: “This is a question that has been a puzzle to many because we never see a pumpkin seed in a melon, nor is there any change in the melons or apparent mixture in the seed. Yet lam sure that melons grown near pumpkins will get so mixed with the pumpkins as to be unfit for use.” Now, says Profess or L. H. Pammel, this is a general be lief among the gardeners, and I there fore have thought it best to correct an error. Equally general is the belief that cucumbers spoil muskmelons. Professor Bailey has shown that it is extremely doubtful. Ninety-seven muskmelons of many varieties were pollinated with cu cumber pollen of many kinds. No fruit set. Twenty-five cucumber flowers were pollinated with muskmelon pollen; only one fruit developed. Here and There. Guard against little basins around young fruit trees that will hold water. The water may freeze and injure the trees. In Scotland some of the slaughter houses are being furnished with elec trical apparatus for stunning the cattle by electricity. A large number of immigrants are locating in western Kansas. They are buying land in large quantities and will make wheat culture a specialty. The American Bee Journal says that there are 3,000,000 persons in the United States who keep bees, and that the num ber of colonies is about 3,000,000, pro ducing nearly 75,000,000 pounds of honey annually, worth $10,000,000, and wax worth $600,000. Hines About Garnishing; Dishes. If our “good plain cooks” could only be Induced to garnish their dishes and serve them up daintily they would be far more appetizing. Th is involves little labor after all, and is within the reach of every house keeper. Parsley especially gives an edi ble look to even a dish of cold meat, and a box of it win grow easily in a sunny win low all winter and require little or no sare. A few sprigs around a dish, a little chopped up and sprinkled over fried pota toes or a beefsteak makes all the difference in the world in their appearance. Take up some nasturtium roots in the autumn, cut back the ends and the buds, and in a few weeks they will begin to bloom again, giving you the prettiest decoration possible for ycur salads. In fact you might have a regular little kitchen garden in pots and boxes with very little trouble, and it will be almost sure to interest and delight your cook. There are no end of things that make pretty gar nishes for a dish. A few fried onions help ont a beefsteak immensely; French chops look particularly nice if laid in orderly Cashion around a neat hillock of mashed potatoes; a handful of watercress greatly helps the look of a roast of beef; croquettes served in a*napkin look twice as well as if laid in a dish. A fragrant geranium leaf floating in the water of a finger bowl looks fresh and dainty.—Chicago Journal. Au official statement places the area planted to wheat iu France for the 1893 crop at 17,450,000 acres, and the crop 300,477,000 bushels. There were 3,991,- 000 acres devoted to rye, and the crop was 72,076,000 bushels. . CAPONS. Comparative Size of Capon and Cockerel of tlie Same Age. A practical poultryman sent to the editor of The Rural New Yorker a capon with a request to sample him. An extract from the letter accompany ing the gift read as follows: I caponized only my late chickens the past season (the early-birds all being sold for breeders); consequently I cannot send as large a specimen as I would Ml MWSI PLYMOUTH ROCK CAPON, like. The one I send was not hatched until June 8, and was caponized about the middle of August, since which fime he has had the same treatment, care and feed as my other cockerels. He has cost me, including labor, eighty-five cents. I sold his companions last week for twenty cents a pound alive. They brought $1.60 each, leaving me a profit of seventy-five cents apiece. My capons last winter I sold in Providence for twenty-eight cents a' round (dressed), and they paid me a profit of nearly $1.50 each, being early and well ma tured birds. The editor of The Rural New Yorker says: “We have had a careful picture of this capon made; it is shown in the il lustration. It is the first time we have ever seen a picture of a capon. The spurs are not developed, as in the case of a cockerel—they are only stubs. The comb and wattles are also undeveloped, while the plumage is very brilliant and profuse. Perhaps the most characteris tic thing about a capon is its head. It does not look like the head of a hen or of a rooster, but like that of a capon and nothing else. There is nothing fierce or energetic about it, but rather a sneaking, lifeless expression. Tho comb and wattles are ujqdeveloped, and the heag has Nothing hairv feathers (IqAt. W * • A", “To bring out the characteristic fea tures of this capon more strikingly we also show the drawing of a cockerel of about the same age which we found in the Washington market in New York. This bird is also a Plymouth Rock. It is smaller, poorer and inferior in every way to the capon. The capon was roast ed and eaten. We compared it with a Brown Patagonian roaster well fattened and in good condition. The Brown Pat- B /II few ~ ill PLYMOUTH ROCK COCKEREL, agonian is noted for its large proportion of breast meat, yet the capon exceeded it in this respect by at least 15 per cent. The amount of fat on the capon was as tonishing; we all remarked the differ ence in the two gravy* dishes. The flesh was of excellent flavor, all pronouncing it ‘the best chicken meat’ they had ever tasted.” The poultryman says of the caponizing process: “The apparatus is very simple and a ten-year-old boy can do the work. If proper tools are used there need be no loss. The birds recover quickly and are far healthier and can be easily cared for afterward. Caponizing increases the growth of all breeds of fowls in proportion to their natural size about 40 per cent. It is sure to add many dollars to the income of the poultry raiser, and so far as I know or can learn there' is not one single practical reason why' all should not perform the work and produce more big capons for market.” ( Ex-Senator Palmer, of Michigan, has sold his entire collection of both Per cheron and French coach horses to C. S. Dola, of Illinois. The Woman Who Sulks. “Anything,” said a worldly matron to a group of friends, “under-the sun but a woman who sulks. A good, honest fit of anger, with a burst of heart sunshine to clear away the storm clouds, is generally effective. A man as a rule likes the fair one all the better for outspoken sentiments that are free from taunting meanness, but what he cannot tolerate is the conscious ness that the little passage at arms is go ing to be followed by a finishing off process which ends in sulky resentment. This sort of thing is so rasping.’’—Philadelphia In quirer. * WOMAN AND HOME. ACHIEVEMENTS OF MOTHERS WHOSE SONS BECAME FAMOUS. Women in Political Work—Sweet Words in tho Home—Hints About Garnish ing Dishes —Girls and Low Cnt Gowns. Information for Housekeepers. In these remarkable days of the waning Nineteenth century, when much that is wise and much that is foolish is written and talked on “The Woman Question,” it would appear to be eminently proper to pause and reflect upon what woman has done in her sphere before there were any agitations as to her “rights.” “We are the equals of man,” says the disputatious woman. “Give us the oppor tunities and we will distance them in their own occupations.” To this the male tyrant makes rejoinder: “Very true and very pretty, but when women have children would it not be wise for them to see what they can do in the cir cumstances thus imposed upon them? And would not this be better perhaps than tc step down into the arena with the ‘brutal sex’ and do battle with them?” In the achievements of those mothers who have exercised this sweet privilege and have sent sons into the world whose deeds have made them famous is the answer to be found. When Tennyson wrote “The Princess” he exercised the privilege of every true poet and preached a sermon while he told the story. We all know the story, but the sermon is not so familiar. Why should the poet have interjected the exquisite bits such as “Home they brought her warrior dead,” “As thro’ the land,” etc., into a poem that deals appar ently with the question of the higher edu cation of women? The reason is obvious. Examine the poet’s work carefully and it will be seen that each one of the dainty lyrics that has found its place in “The Princess” deals with some phase of the love of a mother for her child. And so the meaning of the poem is, after all, “Woman is first and foremost a mother, and not all the learning of classic halls can ever divorce her from this, her natural sphere.” What a formidable array! These sons who admit that to the training and equip- received from their mothers they owe their wonderful success—Washington, Greeley, Goethe, Schiller, Carlyle, Ruskin and Emerson, John Wesley and Victor Hugo, George Herbert and Cowper, St. Augustin, Cowley and Curran and Napo leon. Each one of these great men has left in evidence the fact that the maternal influence was the strongest in the forma tion of the individual who afterward stood forth pre-emiuent among his contempora ries. No idle dreamers they—not men noted merely as well bred and polished, but names that have shaken empires, over turned religious creeds and stimulated in thought the best men of the times in which they flourished. There are cases, to be sure, in which the father assumed the role of mentor, but these great ■®ames stand out as conspicuous patterns of paternal train ing—Hannibal, who was brought to the al tar at the age of nine and made to swear the oath of lifelong hatred and who died a suicide; Horace, the poet, who wrote what we should now call society verse, .and John Stuart Mill, who found the world so hollow at the age of thirty-five, after having been under his father’s care all his life, that sap could get no relief from a settled melan choly except in music, and after awhile even this failed.—St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Women in Political Work. It is not a little remarkable that nearly every country that admits the right of a woman to succeed to the crown has had female sovereigns in the highest rank as < patriotic statesmen and skillful adminis trators. The names of Isabella of Castile and Maria Theresa will rise at once to every lip, and it is even more notable that in India, where the general position of women degraded, many native states have been governed by able and devoted female sovereigns. But the most valuable historical evi dence of the capacity of women for political affairs is to be found in the names of the English queens. Mary, the wife of Wil liam 111, is hardly to be counted, for though in name a queen regnant, her pol itical influence was hardly more than that Df a queen consort. But if we take the other four queens regnant, three of them, Elizabeth, Anne and Victoria, occupy the highest position on the rollcall of sover eigns who have been successful in building up the strength and glory of England, de veloping her power and resources at home and abroad in frugal domestic administra tion, and in subordinating private desires and inclinations to political duties. The high percentage of first classes and the small percentage of failures among women who have reigned appear to indi sate in a pretty decisive manner that wom en have at any rate no natural incapacity to grasp the import of political affairs.— Mrs. Fawcett in Forum. Men Fear the Sarcastic Girl. The sarcastic girl may possess talent far above the breezy creature who candidly admits that she would rather read one of “The Duchess’ ” novels than an essay of Emerson. She may be able to converse in seven dif ferent languages. She may be as beautiful as an houri, but men will be afraid of that sharp tongue, and the purely feminire creature, who weeps and laughs by turn with Phyllis and Molly Bawn, will win the admiration and preside over the home of the greatest catch of the season, while her more brilliant sister, with her danger ous sharpness, will be left to her sarcasms and solitudes. Sarcasm is not wit, though wit may be sarcastic. One can be bright and say all manner of things without hurting the feelings of others by keen knife edged opinions that are subtle with bitterness and teeming with gall. Sarcasm is not a quality to be cultivated. It is a rank weed that once started grows and grows, choking out the little plants of kindliness, forethought and consideration until it overruns the garden of the mind, dominating and controlling each thought with a disagreeable pungent odor that can not be eradicated.—Rehoboth Herald. Prevention of Blindness in Children. The readiest and most efficient way of meeting and overcoming blindness among infants is to put a knowledge of the dis ease in possession of the mothers and those having the care of newborn chil dren. The public at large must be made aware of the irremediable evils that are likely to follow from the neglect of what has been regarded as a simple and innocent affection. One medium through which this knowledge can be extensively dissem inated is the various charitable organiza tions, municipal and private, with which our country is so abundantly supplied. Let every society or organization which has to do especially with women have printed and widely distributed among its people cards containing something like this: “If the newborn baby’s eyes become red and begin to run matter, take it at once to a doctor. This condition is dangerous and may lead to total blindness.” By this means thousands of eyes that would have been lost will be saved. There is no need to appeal to the humanitarian sentiments of readers; a simple statement of the facts is sufficient, we are sure, to arouse their interest and enlist their co operation in such a work.-—Dr. Swan M. Burnett in Century* ' *Wg?F*'' SOME BUTTER COWS. These Cows Cannot Fling Feed Into Their Drinking Trough. The milk is set in creamers as soon as strained. After setting twelve hours we draw it. The morning and evening creams are well stirred together and set in a warm room, of a temperature of about 70 degs., to ripen. When sufficiently ripe it is churned in a swing churn, which I like best of all. When the but ter is nicely granulated I draw off the milk and rinse the butter twice in weak brine. It is then put on the worker. As a rule I use half an ounce of salt to the pound of butter, sometimes more if the customers prefer it, sometimes less. The butter is put up in prints, is all sold to private parties and at the uni form price of fifty cents per pound the year around, said Mrs. Willetts. We next went into the stables where the dairy cows were being milked. In stead of the usual drop or gutter behind the cows, there is a deep and roomy tfench, made perfectly water tight. Over this is a grating of iron, and through this the droppings go to the trench, in which absorbents of various kinds are kept for utilizing the liquids. The manger is cut low, so that the cow can lie down comfortably with her head over it. This she does, lying on the bed ding and avoiding the grate. Between each two cows is a watering device, which, with the improvement they have added, they consider an indis pensable feature of every good stable. This improvement is a board cover, with simple leather hinges. It projects over the edges of the basin, and when a cow wishes to drink she raises the lid with her nose and drinks. As scon as she re moves her nose the lid drops back over the basin —it will not remain open. The cows learn to use it in a single day. Standing in the stables one hears the clatter of the lids falling so often that we realize as never before how often cows will drink when opportunity is given them. “What is the advantage of this cover over the drinking bowl?” we queried of Mr. Doncourt. “That is really a very valuable addi tion. Without it the water becomes foul. The cattle drink and fling bran or meal from their mouths, also bits of hay and ensilage into an open bowl. This in two or three days ferments and sours, and it will get so sour sometimes that the cattle will not drink the water.” “Why not use the common metal hinges instead of leather?” “Because they get wet and rust, and when the cows crowd up the lid it ad heres and will not drop. The leather doesn’t rust.” “How long have you fed ensilage?” we queried of Mrs. Willetts. “It is now four years, and we like it very much, and the cows are of tho same opinion. It keeps them in the best of health, is much more palatable for them and it makes a better flavored butter than can be made with dry forage. Our cows do better on it than with any other food.” “How many acres of corn do you plant for ensilage?” / “About fifteen acres. Os these three are fed up while green; the remaining twelve go into the silo.” “What grain foods do you use?” “For our dairy mainly bran and oil meal. For our calves we prefer barley. In our experience it is the best of alt We grind the barley, cook it and mix it with skimmilk and a little oilmeal. The hot barley mush is put into the milk, and it warms the milk to just the desired temperature for the calves. They are very fond of it, and we seldom or never have any trouble with scours and kindred difficulties among them. • “In figuring on grain food for the dairy one needs to take into considera tion the large amount they get in their ration of ensilage. Almost every stalk of corn has on it an ear, and sometimes it has two. This is really a very impor tant factor in the grain ration, as you will see if you figure up the number of bushels of corn you have in each ton of ensilage.”—Cor. Rural New Yorker. To Pack Snow. You ask me to explain how we put the snow in the icehouse and also how it was packed. In reply will say: “We pack the snow as solid and dry as possible, put six inches of sawdust between the walls, fill the house and put one foot of sawdust on top of snow. In two weeks after it was packed the snow had settled just one-half, and did not settle any more and kept perfect to the first of September, when we used the last. I weighed a few loads of the snow when we put it in, and I estimated that we had about thirty-five tons of snow, which cost us for labor thirty-five dollars. Our icehouse will hold 110 tons of ice and about seven tons of snow. The thirty-five tons we left outside on the north end of the building we covered with rotten straw. We used that first, and it lasted us to the 28th of May. Some of it melted, but not very much. We are now building an icehouse 30 by 30, and will leave the old one which is in the creamery building for floor room. The one we are building now we will fill with ice or snow, whichever we can secure first, and if successful and get ice enough to fill it, then we will build a snow shed and use the snow in the creamery and sell what ice we will not use. The snow is twice as easy to handle as ice, as it can be cut out in blocks with a spade. I had a cream cooler fixed in shape of a beer cooler, and cold water was forced through from the pump. While the separator was run ning the water was 60 degs. F., but in hot weather we can lower the temper ature of the cream as it comes from the separator 20 degs., which was a great saving in ice, and the quality of butter was better.—J. L. Ahlers in Creamery Journal. Woman’s Inscrutable Ways. Mae—l’m so glad Clara has broken off her engagement with brother Jack. Jeannette —Why? Mae—Because now she and I will be friends again.—Chicago News-Record. His Rank at College. Patey—ln what position do you stand in your class? Filius—Left tackle. —Detroit Free Press. A Fortuitous Circumstance. A lover handsome, brave and true She says she’d like to get. How very lucky for us two .That she and I have metL , ' MASCULINE MENTION. Congressman John R. Fellows is an In* veterate whist player. President Low, of Columbia college, is an accomplished cornet player. Mr. Clarkson, of the national Republic an committee, is not a general and does not like to be called by that title. Dr. Parkhurst, of New York, has many offers to go out lecturing upon the slum life of that city, but declines them all. Dr. T. De Witt Talmage says that the only musical instrument on which he can play without being prompted is the jews harp. Dr. Henry A. Slade, the spiritualist, whose career in London and subsequent trial for fraud caused a sensation fourteen years ago, is insane. The bishop of Chichester, Dr. Durnford, has just completed his ninetieth year and is still in active service, capable of dis charging all official duties. General F. J. Lippitt. of Washington, is the only survivor of the few who, standing at the grave, witnessed the interment of Lafayette. He was then a youth residing in Paris. Editor John Brisbin Walker, of The Cosmopolitan Magazine, is out in a card denying that he had made £2,500,000 in a real estate deal. He says he has only made $1,000,000. Stanton P. Allen, the author of the new war book, “Down in Dixie,” was a private in a calvary regiment during the war, after that a newspaper man and has now entered the ministry. M. Galland, the well known French art ist, is giving the finishing touches to a fine series of panels intended for the “marble room” of Whitelaw Reid’s house on Madi son avenue, Now York. The late Duke of Marlborough was in sured for about $1,500,000, and allowing for the policies in the hands of the money lenders it is supposed that there will be a million or so reserved for the duchess. Signor Gioletti, the Italian politician, can bend a horseshoe with one hand and double up a five franc piece in his palm. Sometimes he amuses himself and aston ishes his friends by tearing up an entire pack of cards. Mr. George W. Childs has the very harp that the people of Limerick presented to Tom Moore, “the pride of all circles and the idol of his own.” Moore’s widow gave the harp to an English earl, who in turn presented it to George W. Childs. Mr. Graham, of Dingwall, Scotland, a boyish companion of Mr. Gladstone, says the latter’s mother used to intrust the future G. O. M. with the household purse when he was but a boy, and used to call him her chancellor of the exchequer. After one of the hardest “knockouts” any Wall street operator ever received James R. Keene is again the acknowledged leader of speculation in the street. For the third time in his history the Califor nian is again rated as a multimillionaire. Nathaniel S. Barry, of Bristol, N. H., is the oldest living ex-governor of a state in the United States. If he survives until Sept. 1, 1896, he will be a centenarian. He was a boy of very humble parentage, be came a tanner, as General Grant did, and in 1861 was elected governor of New Hamp shire. Canon Farrar has been quoted recently as saying that if all the books in the world were in a blaze those that he would Imsteu to snatch from the flames would be the Bible, “The Imitation of Christ,” by Thomas a Kempis; Homer, A£schylus t Thucydides, Tacitus, Virgil, Marcus Au relius, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton and Wordsworth. ELECTRIC SPARKS. A door lock so constructed that when the key is turned it switches on the the room is new. 1 Now that the inventor of the incandes cent lamp has been named by the courts, the next big lawsuit in the electrical field is announced as pertainingto the discovery of the trolley system of electric traction. The tunnel at Niagara falls is finished, and the falls ace to be harnessed by next March. Forty-five thousand horsepower of electric current will be transmitted from there to Buffalo and 30,000 to other points. Electric search lights are being adopted by customs officers in England in order to avoid the possibility of explosion while rummaging for goods on board tank and other vessels carrying petroleum or ex plosives. A Portuguese invention is an electric heat alarm, consisting of a vessel contain ing the poles of a galvanic cell out of con tact with an exciting liquid. When the heat in the room rises the liquid expands, excites the galvanic cell and causes in thia way a bell to ring. 1 SNAP SHOTS. Moonlight pictures are obtained by tak ing an exposure directly against a strong light, thus securing a reversion of the hn age, or rather the shadows. The New York Society of Amateur Pho tographers has devised an annual competi tion for members to encourage them to new work and to make essays in novel meth ods. Ruby colored lights for the examination of important cases of photographic nega tives in a dark chamber are to be supplied to obviate the risk of premature develop ment. The Due de Morny, an amateur photog rapher, has communicated to the French war office a process by which paper of any kind or thickness will receive a photo graphic print. The British Astronomical society has re ceived from the Cape of Good Hope a speci men of celestial photography in which, there can be counted by the aid of a mi croscope 50,000 stars of various magnitude. < EDUCATIONAL NOTES, j The game of chess is taught in all the Austrian public schools. Williams college has graduated between three and four thousand students. The living alumni number 1,947. There has been added to the studies in the third year class at Washington univer sity a course in thermo-dynamics. Colonel Golden, appointed member of the board of education in New York, is a for mer Pittsburger and has served on the staff of Governor Pattison. A student at Bates college is Somayon Zea Clayan, a prince of the Bassa trib® of western Africa, whose name is entered on the college books as Louis P. Clinton. The trustees of the University of Penn sylvania hospital are contemplating the erection of an extensive addition to the hospital building to cost in the neighbor hood of SIBO,OOO. An Object Lesson. Said the widow (mendacious young ATral), “I really don’t know what a krs.” Her lover, in haste. Put his arm round her waist And said gently, but firmly, “Why, thrs.* —Princeton. Tiger. Pertinent. Colonel Cutaway—So you are really th a* daughter of myoid friend Slashe? Well, 1 now, to think of that! We were old com panions, always fought side by side, and regular dogs we were! No matter what we were doing or the time of day, we were ever ready at the call to rush at once to Butler (suddenly presenting himself)—1 Dinner!—Truth.