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The Moon and the Weather.
No belief is more general than that the
moon exercises an influence over the
weather. People who declare that they
are not superstitious in the smallest de¬
gree believe that a change in the weather
is almost certain to occur with every
change in the moon. Perhaps they
inherited the belief, but if they did not
they acquired it in very- early life and
strengthened it through years of ob¬
servation. Their observations were not
■very accurate, and their methods of
recording They believed them that far the from methodical.
weather chancres sudfen
with the moon, and when a
change did occur at the appearance of a
new, quarter, half or full moon they
■remembered it and sometimes noted it
down. If the weather did not change at
about the same time the moon did they
■did not charge By their memory with the
failure. means like these they be¬
came influence more of the strongly convinced of the
moon on the weather.
•Other circumstances tended to confirm
the belief. Every almanac displays the
various phases of the moon, with the
time of the occurrence of each. These
at least suggest that the event is of very
considerable consequence, for no notice
would be taken of it if it was not of im¬
portance. Informed of Many the think, without being
fact, that the time of the
moon’s changes are accurately given, so
that people may know when there is to
: be a change in the weather. Farmers,
whose crops are largely influenced by
the weather, study the almanac very
diligently, and often with a view of fore¬
casting the weather. In fact they often
plan to commence time, a certain kind of work
at a given or to put off certain la¬
bors on account of expected changes in
the weather, which, they think, arecon
•ditioned on changes of the moon.
Scientific men in different times and
in various countries have attempted to
overturn the popular and almost uni¬
versal belief that the moon influences
the weather. They have been at the
trouble of keeping of an winds, accurate the account fall of
of the prevalence
water, the degree of temperature, of and
other phenomena, with a view show¬
ing whether changes are more likely month to
•occur at one time in the lunar
than at another. They have ail c. iue
to the conclusion that no coin ;idence
■exists between the changes of ti e moon
and those of the weather. Att|>3 meet¬
ing of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, this y.t.ir, Sir
William Thomson stated that •.-careful
observation with the baromete , ther¬
mometer, and anemometer, at tje time
of new moon, full moon, and half moon,
has failed to establish any relation
whatever between tho phases yf the
moon and the weather,” and that “if
there is any dependence of the weather
on the phases of the moon, it is only to
a degree quite imperceptible to ordinary
observation.” Still it is questionable tha least if
this announcement will in
shake the faith of farmers and sailors,
wlio, sont; more than other classes of per
are directly interested in the
weather, in their old ideas about the in
fluence of the moon upon it. They will
go through life not expecting cessation to see of a
“drought broken” or the a
'continuous rain till the moon changes,
Neither will their faith be changed in
the favorable or unfavorable influence
■of the moon on certain crops planted month, at
different times in the lunar
They will continue to plant potatoes and
other root crops “in the dark of the
moon,” and to sow small grains “in the
lio-ht of the moon.” They will slaughter
their hogs and their bullocks, if they are
intended for home consumption, when
the moon is on the increase so that “the
meat will not waste away in the layup frying- rail
pan.” They will, however,
fence while the moon is decreasing in
size, so as to prevent the rails from
warping and from rotting out before
their time.
It may be said, that no evil results
from believing in a harmless always supersti¬ the
tion. Such, however, is not
case. Dr. Draper has shown that su¬
perstitious people are very likely to be
conquered in war. They will not set
out on a march or engage in any hazard¬
ous undertaking unless all the signs and
omens are favorable. If they place any
reliance in lucky and unlucky days time than they
will accomplish less in days a'given of equal
people who they regard relv all snnernatural as aid
they value. will If their on best exertions.
not use
They will attribute victory or defeat to
■other than human and natural causes.
If such are the effects in a belief in su¬
perstitions on a people engaged in war,
similar unfavorable effects would be
observed among people that engaged of farming. in a
1 peaceful pursuit like
1 The delay of two weeks in failure. planting H a
4 crop would often result in a
is likely that the general belief in certain
agricultural superstitions has had much
to do with rendering farming unprofita- dis
ble. It is generally very difficult to
. I
cover the origin of a superstition, Super- on
account of its great antiquity. incul
slitious beliefs are the oldest we
” the Sfst that
cate. They are also among
| taught are received in the in childhood. long before They are we
I nursery before
learn to read, and many years
' jve commence to study science. Such
I beliefs are very difficult to dispose of.
| Our judgment may condemn them as
I. follies, hut they remain to influence willing our to
action*, f ew persons are
l acknowledge that they are superstitious,
although they hold to beliefs considered having ob- no
foundation on carefully themselves oth
l serrations made by or
ers. The}' hold to the doctrine that
^ithat exist between certain things
ean not be explained with ourpres
■ent knowledge of science.— Chicago
mTimes.
■ —Chicago is not the only city in which
■judges ■pressing of indignation election are justified the difficulties in ex
over
Jof lof their labors. The following are some
the Boston voters: Zanlzickiwerek
W aeler, TVolniewiezkae Tomasi, Mam
Ittingoetska I Wortgaenstegt Mennae, Zigsworcki Marcus, Johan- Youli
jaes, AVeinwawiczki
anzskiwarcka Guiseppe,
lustav, Chicago Sirzeleckibamnisicka Zinka.—
He rald.
___
A French manufacture claims the dis
ivery of making use of leaves of the
^^ucalyptus Jeaves in cigars. tree as a The substitute eucalyptus for tobacco leaves
■tait a delicious odor in burning.
• —Women who ride tricycles in Eng
^ Jpan^arejbeghimngto wear trousers.
FOREIGN GOSSIP.
—A mass by the Pope costs $200, and
sometimes more.
—England has statistics showing that
out of 139,143 of her people engaged in
literary lunatics. pursuits, only twelve became
—A young gentleman connected with
the English 1 oreign Office the other day
went the to original a telegraph office and asked to
se<‘ of a telegram which had
arrived from Egypt.
—A royal autograph album is to be
published at Berlin containing the sig¬
natures of all the Teutonic sovereigns,
princes, and their families, headed by
those of the Emperor and Empress.
—The Court of Rome has granted the
Countess of Imecourt’s request and an
nulled the marriage of her daughter
with Muslims Bey. In this case the
Cardinals allege that Mile, d’lmecourt,
when she bestowed her hand on ihe
young Turk (who is of the Greek re¬
ligion), was possessed by the evil one.
sire to Young make ladies palmistry having (telling shown fortunes a de¬
by the lines in the palm of the hand) the
next sensational folly, London Truth
calls attention to an unrepealed act of
Parliament, which imposes on all who
go about practicing the art the penalty
of being scourged, having the ears crop¬
ped and being placed in the pillory.
—Mr. Labouehere says: “It is only
by corporal punishment, liberally ad¬
ministered, that the horrible brutality
of modern roughs, both young and old,
can be cheeked. The efficacy of the
‘cat’in repressing a tendency to crime
had was proved by down the remarkable effect it
in putting garroting. thing A hom- in
ojopathic remedy kind.” is not a bad
cases of this
—The celebrated rosebush at Hildes
heim, in Hanover, believed to be 1,000
years old (tradition says it was planted
by Charlemagne), never bore so many
roses as this season. The shoots graft¬
ed on its trunk in recent years are grow¬
ing admirably. The bush stands at the
outer wall of the cathedral crypt. Its
branches extend about three feet eight
inches high, and three feet four inches
in width. It is an object of much cu¬
riosity.
—The destruction of the fortifications
of Paris will add a large habitable area
to the city. The space either reserved actually
oceuoied by the fortifications or
in connection with them comprises
3,375 acres. In addition to the direct
advantage which would be derived from
opening this domain to settlement, the
bill recently introduced in the chamber
points out that the masonry of the wall
would build thousands of houses in
which persons with small income would
find comfortable homes, with abundant
air ana light, at a low price.
Traits of the People of Newfoundland.
The people of Newfoundland may be
separated into three divisions—the well
to-do residents of St. John’s, the fishing
class and the French, who live on the
far northwest coast. Many of the peo
pie of St. John’s have wealth, accunru
lated from the seal and cod trade, They
are and cultivated people, of good almost manners,
hospitable lo a point their kindly oner
ous to the recipient of eour
tesies. Their leading social amusement
is eard-playing, in which the seductive
draw-poker takes the lead of other
games. Even the best ladies play
poker, with stakes adapted prevailing to the femi- of
nine standard. The type
nationality is English or Irish, modified
by insular surroundings. Ihrce-quar
ters, 30® at least, of the island population made of 180 of
in the whole is up
the poor fishermen. Ihey are a hardy,
rough race, familiar with every phase
of ocean life, ignorant, narrow and in¬
sular, but kindly oddities, disposed. Some of
their linguistic at the remoter
fishing stations particularly, are worth
noting. Like the Southern negro, who
so often uses "him” for “it,” so these
islanders twist the wovd “he” into ab¬
surd combinations. “AVill the trout be
cooked soon?” was asked the waiter
girl at one “May of the be coast he will inns be,” a day or
two ago. was
the reply. “The wagon has lost he’s
wheels," or “1 don’t know where the
spade he is,” illustrate further these
peculiarities. The name of ti#e island
is New-fun-land, almost universally pronounced
witli strong accent
an the final syllable. the The people ma¬
rine temperament of
crops out in the term subordinate “skipper,”
always employed by a in
addressing a superior, gentleman. or by a North¬ street
boy accosting “down” a direction, tiie
ward is here in
phrase “Down North” corresponding East”
pretty closely to the "Down of
our Middle and AA'es ern States. For
the Newfoundlander s phrase “ Up
South” we have no equivalent, End,” Boston. except¬
ing the “up to South of
There vowels is in also colloquial a strange speech. broadening Th of
s
ridge becomes in New.’oundlandese
“nidge” and lire “fur.” Many of
them would say, “The forest has been
‘furred’”—i. e., burned over. The
wives of the lower order of islanders,
who stay at home, till the soil, and do
all the manual labor of the household,
while their lords are at sea, become a
brawny set of amazons, terrible in do¬
mestic warfare, and ruling the.r con¬
sorts in imperative fashion. A party of
thirty railroad surveyors who recently
entered a little hamlet were put to flight and
bv a few of these muscular dames
forced to appeal to the police before
they could continue their work. The
lower classes, particularly the Irish,
are intensely ignorant and superstitious. smaller
Not long ago, in one of the
towns, certain shrewd spirits wanted
to change the local cemetery for a bet¬
ter burial place, the oi l one being occa- of
s’onallv overflowed by the waters
Conception Bay. They carried their
point easily by asserting that winter
nights they' had the seen ice the of ghosts the bay troop and
out to dance on
protest against their wet treatment.—
Cor. N- Y. Evenina Post.
—A. B. Howard, of Massachusetts,
says: “A friend of ours, who grows
cabbages extensively for market, has
found that saltpeter dissolved at the rate
of one and a half to two ounces to a
gallon of water, and applied banish with a
sprinkler, will completely the
European cabbage-worm. It has proved
not only a sure cure for this nuisance,
but a special fertilizer of plant. in stimulating an
increased growth
HOME AND FARM.
—To Clean Hair Brushes: Dip them
in strong soda water and rinse iu cold
water, and dry in the sun.— The Home
hoId.
—The Canadian Farmer warns bee
keepers against toads. The reptiles
station themselves near the hives and
breakfast on the bees.
-Sugar o c Snaps: ,, One cup of c bu , .. ter,
two cups of sugar, two eggs, one tea
spoonful of soda, one tablespoonful of
ginger, and flour to toll.
—To get rid of the objectionable odor
of paint in a chamber or a living-room,
slice a few onions and put them in a pail
of water in the center of the room;
close the doors, le&ve the- windows open
a little, and in a few hours the disagree
able smell will have almost gone.— Iowa
Statc Reals ter.
—A complaint conaes discolored to us and of bad the
water of a well being
tasting, and it is asked if it will injure
cream., butter and other articles sus
pended there. AYe answer no, not if in
perfectly tight vessels. But is not the
trouble caused by suspending such arti
e'ss in the water of a well originally milk
o-oodP It takes but very little or
cream to spoil the water of a well. They
should never be suspended in the water,
but over it, and only in perfectly tight
and dean vessels.— Prairie Farmer.
-Brown Bread: One coffee-cup of
boiling water turned on to one quart of
graham floor, one teaspooaful of soda,
one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoon- molasses;
ful of lard, and one-half cop of
then add one pint of light bread sponge;
wheu mixed thoroughly it should be
about as thick as for a johnnycake, stirred it
should be no thicker than ean lie
with a spoon. Put it into a two <}i.art
basin and let it rise until the basin is
abont full, and bake an hour. I have
used this recipe for six years and al
ways have good bread —The Household.
—The Farm Journal talks in this way
about the good fallen: times This upon will which be good the
farmer has a
year for farmers; that is, prices of their
products will be high. So of next wiil vear
and probably the next. Times be
good until the crash comes. The sun
shines now, farmers; make hay. Be
prudent, be economical, keep down ex
penses, buy little and sell all you can.
Make every acre do its work, and clear
<iff that mortgage. Your time has now
come; this is your inning, and if you do
not make your books balance on the
right side of the ledger by the time the
bottom again drops out it will be your
own fault, not ours.
—Kiokimr Clows • I tied the cow gooll uo
by the head club) (not legs), and proceeded procured a milk,
switch (not to
and for every kick I returned one good
E£ “““four
ststs
ESSS kick-nural N,w York*.
Keeping Winter Squashes.
Many farmers are at a loss to know
now some are successful in keeping
their squashes in good condition until
May or June, while they lose most of
theirs before the end of February; they
usually attribute their want of success
to causes beyond their would control, when that a
careful investigation the show principal
mismanagement Squashes was keep well
cause. to must,
first, be well gathered ripened; second, they
should be before heavy frosts
come; third, should be well dried;
fourth, the shell should be well glazed
over, and while it need not be thick it
should be hard; fifth, they should lie
kept whore the temperature is very even,
never very cold, or very hot; sixth, in
handling great care should be taken not
to bruise them; Many this farmers is of the leave highest their
squashes importance. until the kills the
out frost
vines, the squashes cold winds, are and thus they left ex¬
frequently posed to the left until it is cold enough are
to
freeze water, and change the color of
the tops of the squashes; this is fatal to
their good keeping. Others, when they
find that cold weather has come, hurry
them in just as night under sets in, and in their load
haste to get them though cover, they
them into tiie wagon as they were
stones; thus bruising nine out them of every
ten to a degree that causes to rot
by Thanksgiving time.
Squashes are often stored in the barn,
in one heap, until they get chilled, when
they are carried into a warm, and damp
cellar, where they soon known rot, the
owner is at a loss to the reason.
When stored in heaps, if the storehouse
oe dry, the under squashes will send out
moisture in such quantities as to keep
the whole heap surrounded well, by moisture.
Squashes, to keep should not only
be kept in a dry atmosphere with a very
3ven temperature, but they should he
spread on the floor, or on shelves, so
that the air can readily pass between
them.
All of the soft shell and unripe squash-
3s should bo disposed of harvested, as soon and as
possible after they are perfectly ripe
only the hard shell and
ones should be kept for winter; crook
neck squashes keep best, with most peo¬
ple; the reason handled probably is, they and are
ripe and are with care are
usually hung up in a dry place. The
same treatment of marrow squashes
would no doubt secure very satisfactory
results.— Ma * •mchmelts Plough man.
—The Chico (Cal.) Record says: Up
near Adin, Modoc County, the other
day, Oregon Jack, of the Big A'alley
tribe of Indians, came to an dragged untimely
end by being lassoed and to
death by Tom Benton and Little Ben,
two redskins belonging to the Fall River
tribe. It appears that Jack was a “med¬
icine man,” and his patient died, which
means death to the doctor. Forty-two
well armed Indians left for Fall River
with the intention of hanging Tom and
Ben unless they can raise and deliver
to the injured parties $200 in coin and
eight horses.
Hoxy’s Eor Auxiliary.
Mr. 1 loxv believed he had struck it at
last. He h»d> studied the thing for years
had spent ao end of money in experi
menting, and had heretofore only sue.
eroded ira turning himseif his “study” into a
junk-shup, into the outward
similitude of a remarkably seedy tramp,
and Mr-., lloxy’s amiable disposition
into a 1 t raner quite sis uncertain as, and
tar lno ,* dangerous ° than, the Vesuvian
tei .
struck ii was all past least now . that Hoxy is what had
at last, or at
he said and believed; and indeed he
seemed to have good and sufficient
grounds for the faith that was in him.
The thing that Hoxy bad “struck”
was nothing less than intended “Hoxy’s fill Kar
long-felt Auxiliary,” which was the exterior to hu- a
want and
man ear at the same time, and by means
of which the wearer should be able to
distinguish the slightest and hear whisper wit h in the
largest apartment sounds made within accurate
distinctness all a
half-mile of him, either under cover or
hi the open air.
Hoxy had worked out the problem to
his own satisfaction and had conceived
and constructed his working model. his Ail
that remained was to secure patents
count the ducats which of necessity
must flow in upon him, from the hands
an *l pockets of a» appreciative and
before’filin ghis "m application, Hoxy
thou „ ht it would as well dress to give rehear- the
Auxiliary a trial; a sort of
sa , as wer0 SO) without saying ft
worc j w ^ r8 n t Hoxy tucked the Aux
ifiary into his port ear and went down
* Aside from the fact that
to brea kfast.
^ rg pj ' s sbr jn voice was magnified
; nt0 tbe borr i b [ e potency of a steam
whistle and the of the knives
and f orka ,> a i n f u liy suggestive of a ma
(! hine shop in the midst of the busy sea
S on, nothing remarkable occurred until
MnJ H()xy step ped out into the kitchen
to whisper to the cook meerschaum to gather up while the
fragments of Hoxy’s and bury them deep
he was at breakfast
in the ash barrel.
Hoxy was sure, from what he knew
of her, that Mrs. II. uttered this pre
caution in her softest whisper ; hut,
thanks to the with Auxiliary, the force it struck of Hoxy’s
tympanum blowing He heard an engino
off steam. every
syllable, distinct and clear. Under ordi
nary circumstances Hoxy would have
been “up a tree” in a moment, but so
pleased was he at this proof of the Aux
iliary’s power that he hardly gave Indeed, his
meerschaum a second thought.
if he thought of it at all, it was but to
congratulate himself that to a man who
ha ? mad « such an astounding discovery 1 undred
as he ^ad, a meerschaum or a
meerschaums more or less were as notn
««•
Sgif SI'S etS11 ,"twenty was in
bo
rods down the street. “Another success
for the Auxiliary,” murmured Iloxy,
swallowing his vexation.
Walking down town the successes
were so frequently repeated that they
began to grow monotonous: wonder how “Hoxy’s much
failing fast.” “1
longer he’s going to wear that greasy
old coat.” “Hoxy’s still under petti¬
coat government, I suppose.” “Hasn’t
a cent to his name. Owqs everybody him.” in
town who’s fool enough to Auxiliary’s trust
These were a few of tho rev¬
elations. It is safe to say that the suc¬
cess of the thing surpassed his wildest
imaginings. Yet he did not appear to
be happy, not consummately happy. and de¬ On
the contrary, lie looked sad
jected. More than once he raised his
hand to his ear to pull out that long-felt
wapt; but he restrained himself and
walked on.
As he entered the the post-ofliee, post-office—he because al¬
ways went to
that is the thing for a business man to
do—more evidence of the beautiful per¬
fection of the Auxiliary revoaled itself.
“Hullo!” whispered one. “here’s Hoxy.
lie looks more like a balloon than ever.”
“AVonder what’s his hurry,” said an¬
other; “’fraid the ragman’ll get him, I
guess.” And a third remarked upon the
benefit that would accrue to the earth
were Hoxy out of it or under it.
Hoxy didn’t tarry ’a long .something at the in post- the
olfice. There was
air of I lie place that made him feel sick.
So lie sought the street again, But it
was no better upon the street, From
every side came fresh evidence of the
peculiar esteem in which he was held by
his friends and acquaintances. The
yountr ladies, whom lie thought eaten
up with envy of Mrs. IIoxv because of
the jewel of a husband she had secured,
now alluded to him as “that old fool
the married ladies wondered how “Mrs.
Hoxy could live witli that slovenly
thing,” and the street boys gave thrill¬
ing proof that they shared the universal
contempt in wl <cli a party by the name
of Iloxy was held in the community. miserable.
IIoxv was now decidedly
He began to doubt whether the Auxiliary
was a long-felt want, after all. lie had
about come to the conclusion that, a
man’s happiness is not necessarily in¬
creased in direct ratio to ihe acuteness
of his hearing. thoughts running
As these were
through his head there eime a fre-li ex¬
hibition of the success of his Auxiliary.
It was a female voice, nnrl 1 his was tiie
awful revelation: “lie can’t live long,
anywav, and I guess Mrs. Iloxy won't
sneu many tears, unariey snowaon,
who used to wait upon her, you know,
stands ready to take her just as soon as
Hoxy’s gone.” broke the
This was the straw that
camel’s back, tiie mast tnat sounaea
the death knell of “lloxy’s Ear Auxil¬
iary.” AVith one convulsive grasp he
tore the hated thing from his ear, threw
it to the pavement and ground it to dust
under his heel. Then bo turned about,
rushed home, doffed hi.s old clothes,
combea ana aressea nim*eu into an ap¬
pearance but firmly of announced respectability, to his and affectionate quietly
wife that be aerer foil better is his life,
ano»tnorougniy oenevetl teat ne snouia
lire to a green old age, as his father and
grandfather advices had before Hoxv had him., not annlied
At last tor ins Ear Auxiliary, but
tor a patent confidential moods he sometimes
in his
says that the happiest man on earth is
the deafest man .—Boston Tra nscript .
«« A reS o,« -
Very few consumed persons know in this how city many and
pickles arc In the commercial world the
vicinity. ••pickle” small
word means a cucum
her. They are divided into three gen
eral kinds, according to their size, and
are denomi nated small, medium and
large. They are sold bv the thousand,
and the sizes arc ranged according to
the number that can be packed in market aoar
re'. Parrels are sent to this
ho’d ng from 800 to 6,000 cucumbers,
I he size most in demand by pickle
houses at present ran "0 from 800 to
1,-100 to the barrel. Where they run
over 2,000 to the barrel, they are called
gherkins. The pickle-makers gherkins bought
too heavily of the have large quantity last year,
and lienee they a of
this size seill on hand. The medium
sized cucumber is very scarce and com
mauds a high pH harvest c of encumbers
A he largest flic Long m
this part or eountiy » upon
Island 1 he average yieldl Some » 120,000 of the
cucumbers to the acre
land under especially high 175.000 h gh cultivation cucumbers
produces the as Usually as encumbers
,to acre. are
Fold by the large commission houses Recently at
from $1 to *T 10 a thousand.
cucumbers have been so scarce that
they have been sold at #8 a thousand,
The average price Yesterday for cuoum
hors in largo lots was from $ 1.75 to
$2.25 a thousand. The dry weather
has been the main cause of the present
short ctaoumber crop. It is estimated
by experts that the crop this year will
not be over two-thirds of the usual
yield. In the and country Louis, about also, Chicago, largo
Cincinnati St.
quantities of cucumbers aro raised.
In consequence of the enormous con
sumption of cucumbers, an advanco
nearly doubling the price at which they
are sold by the comm-ssion houses,
must have a marked effect upon the en
tire market One of the largest com
mission houses in this city stated to a
Tribune reporter the other day that few
persons had any idea of the immense
interests involved in the cucumber
trade. Over 800,000,000 cucumbers
were raised by the Long Island farm
ers. These were sorted commission and shipped in
barrels, either to the houses
or under contract to the salters. Over
$ 1 , 000,000 a year is investodin tliis in
dustry. gherkins chiefly sold to the
The are
Southern market. chow-chow They also and aro cm
ployed pickle. in making The medium sizes, mus
lard rang
ing trom 800 to 1.400 to the barrel,
were most sought for and brought the
highest prices. It was estimated that
fully halt of all this enormous quantity
ot cucumbers were sold by licensed
venders, borne of the farmers soit
hmr consignments lho before sending d them
to tins market, sort) cm uiub is
sell better than the unassorted.
bo important has the cucumber trade
Iwon in that this city during the past houses few
weeks, some comm ssion
I, T m„.l„ il ibeir rtilo to t.l.gr.ph ,b.
a week instead of once, as had been
usual. 1 lie prices have been v cry 1 gh
the average having been more than
double those of last year. Nevertheless
the fluctuations have been so consider
able that there had been a good deal of
speculation, both by the salters and tho
farmers. This year enough cucumbers
to supply tlio demand cannot be ob
taineu. It was stated yesterday that
many of the large salting houses had no
cucumbers in hand, except a few gher
kins which aro not in good demand in
ibis market. They are packed down in glass into
jars and bottles and sent
Texns and Central America. This
small the variety can cucumbers. be shipped It better is
than larger ex
pected that there will bo an unusual
scarcity of cucumbers until tho advent
of the next crop. --iV. Y. Tri bune.
_
A Fruit Episode.
———
chief ,. , editor unconsciously , .
The
munclied away at his slice of watcrmel
on, thoughtfully considering meanwhile Ho
an editorial on scientific progress.
ate deliberately and daintily, and had
got lialf through the generous slice
when the idea that he was seeking
came to him. He picked up the pen
witli one hand, and witu the other ex
ecuted a slow, graceful stveop that car
ried the half-eaten slice, weighing about
two pounds, out of the open window to
the sidewalk where a hurried throng
was. He did not consider the hurry
ing throng. He was absorbed with his
idea.
Just at that mo nent there was a
sound of footsteps on the stair-case.
You would liaie thought that the in
comer possibly was three. taking Ihe two incomer steps at a opened time,
ihe outer door as if he were a gian-
powder cartridge, and the inner one
like :t cyclone. His voice was like a
hull-dog s an< his moutu had four cor
nei's as hoyo,led threateningly:
vv 11;
he eh en d tor . beamed , at him ,. mild- ...
iy through lu* glasses. lie man had
a wa ermc on air about him that was
euri'.-'H. Ihe e were little hunks of
pink sticking closer than a brother all
round ins slnrt-hosom. and there was
some in his eye-, and his ears and
ss. ASaiS ri ss
Irom his looks you would have thought
lie had swallowed a ripe watermelon
who'e, and it had exploded and burst
through him. He a speared to bo us
mad as the dicken-.
‘•You are mistaken, my friend,” said
the chief editor, with a thiuk-of-the
poorxhealhen look. “ Watermelons ar®
prohibited in this office. In the oflice
a- ovo, howev. r, they eat them eontin
ually. 1 think you will find them at it
now”
Tin- man shot up stairs and blew
himself into the room over ottr heads,
while the chief editor locked both
doors and moved a desk against the in
ricr one.
■’ll he had seen them.” he said.
pointing to some acods on the desk, “ I
•was n 4md muul"— Ban Fruneisc*
Wasn. _ —
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.
.*■ greatesT^ssure in a steam
boiler is at the bottom. The water adds
one pound inches pressure depth, for each twenty
seven
—More attention is now given to
draining swamp land in the Southern
“X outlay is compensated 2S£ SXiS; for in
but the the
large crops the produced, and fertilizers.— in the great
saving in matter of
Courier-Journal.
—The Willimantic Thread Company,
who own 26,000 acres of white birch in
Maine, are factory going that to erect will there employ a spool
finishing Hitherto the timber has some been
800 men.
sawed into blocks in Maine and trang
ported to Willimantic, Conn., for finish
ing .—Boston Transcript.
new screw adapted to be invented put in
DO sition bv driving has been
and is said to enter the wood without
tearing the grain. A cone point is used
i nst ead of the gimlet point, f and the
screw thread has such a pitch that it
drives in barb fashion, ana once in po
.sjtion is very difficult to remove.-.V. 7.
Herald.
—A quart of cream can be kept highest per
f . 'Iture for months in the I
t £; by / an ounce of oro
£ lc > de> Pr( feggor Barff proposes to
raitroa d carriage for milk by con
den8 w ^ro-glyceride, it in the country and mixing it
- th ^ witer so that it has only
with when needed.
y * q un 7
Professor „ Carl . Hirnlv, of Kiel, , has , ,
invented . a gunpowder which completely
resists the action of water. I he old
caution “keep your powder though dry the is
hereafter unnecessary,
in P ar *' °* admonition
is still handles applicable—especially the new-fangled to the stuff. maa
who •
Chicago Herald.
—About six months ago a cavalry
soldier at the Walla Walla garrison carbine. in
vented a breecb loading army
He was recently ordered to W'ashington
to submit the improved board weapon of officers to the
Secretary of War and a
appointed merits. to The consider committee the report approved upon
its
the arm, and on their report the soldier
received $60,000 out of the National
Treasury for his invention .—Chicago
Inter-Occan.
—The electric light has found a novel
employment in the hands of some in
genious Frenchmen, who have lately, been
experimenting by permission of with their It Government lure for fish,
as a
jhe lamp was oontained in an air-tight
globe, and was lowered at night into
the sea, with the result that thousands
0 f fl 8b 0 f all sizes were attracted to its
brilliant light. Boats furnished with
nc t s gradually closed in upon the fish.-— living
mass, and made a great haul of
jf, ‘_ Y. Font.
Mr . Charles T. Howard, Treasurer
0 f the Providence Telephone Company, which
has invented an instrument ap
to bo a valuable adjunct to the
t( ,w V bone< It consists switches of an and ingenious^,
com in ati 0 n arranged of the safety
catches, so on outsido of
the building b * that tho by fcl the ephono simple P n turning
f n ar a connec
" outside wire is severed,
inoIude S»“ementHgjS , lightning ar
»
kn * b when a buil(linj? is c f 08ed for
nic ht.-CMcaqo Turns.
, , —
Myopia ' Among * School Children,
* •
At the monthly meeting of the New
York County Modical Association Dr.
w. F. Mitteudorf read a paper on
“Myopia and the Nee. s~ity ol Its Cor
rection by Glasses.” Hi e said that
myopia called or shortsightedness disease civilization, had justly and
be en a of
unless prompt measures were taken to
counteract the injurious influence*
which led to tho development of the dia
ease it must more and more be regarded
a s a disease of civiliz d life. Tue dis
taso was incurable, but could be sno
cessfully arrested by the app'ication of
the proper glasses. The most danger- from
ous period of for five myopia flfte'n to set in was and
the ages to years, an
examination of the pnpds attending fol- tho
60 liools of New York h s led to the
lowing discoveries: Out of 203 scholar*
attending the Thirteenth-stree’ grammar
gchool only six were near-sighted. children At
^ ammar „ r |,„ 0 l No. 58, 608
w . re examined, of whom 8 j per cent,
were suffering from myopia. This iu
eluded 425 American children, among of
whom there were thirty-four cases
myop ; ai „ n J 273 Germans, of whom
twenty-six were suffering from myopia,
At grammar school No. 35, of 630
Americans 10 per cent, were myopic,
and G f 266 Germans 171 per cent, were
^ip-ted with the disease. At Columbia
college 201 students were examined, and
these 69, or 35 per cent., were found
to be near-sighted, the percentage being
greater in the academical department Further
thw) in the Bchool of Mines.
investigation with a view to testing the
hereditary nature of the diseass,
showed that of forty-five Jews 40 per
co „t. came from myopic families; at
e ig b ty-two German myopics 29, or
35 p,, f cent., came from myopic families,
and of ICO American children only 40,
m gl £ oeIit had m vopia in their
familie In al j cases'it was found
myopia J increased with the length of
Hcho d , ife Ttj(! ,dar prejudice of
the , r aga i nKt the use ol
^ to very mischievous results,
oft !n Ut homdess blindness .-New
»***■ indeed,
—Lilies, hyac n‘hs, bulbs—should tulips bo
*' 'be hard k nd» of
rlanted or plants replanted also do at this great seav-t deal
Herbaceous a
’ P n-ed in fall provided
means be taken to keep t.eni from be
rng dra«n ut by frost. In spite of all
cate, herba. eous plant, will sometimes
die ..ut. and :t will be a good ] preca.i
*»»» to oli ;« a f, w sewls a D .‘ 8WW s ' Hne -.
tones, of the scarcer , kinds. Rural
Murl,t -
_—
—Until , recently, Mexico has rot
raised coffee enough for the supply of
the people. Ab ml fifteen years ago
more attention began to be paid to coffee
culture, and trees to the number of a
million have been planted future every Mexi¬ year.
It is believed that in a near
co will export not only coffee, but sugar
and un. —C'h <ago 'Times