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IF WE KNOW. ‘ *
When the year has found its freedom from
the bondage of the frost,
And the memories of winter in a tide of life
are lost,
Then the heart awakes to answer Nature's
impulse and rejoice
If we'know her hidden meanings and the
music of her voice.
There are voices in the tree-tops—wo mny
hear them as wo pass—
There are whisperings of summer in the
springing of the grass;
There's a noble sweep of triumph whore the
hawk is on the wing,
And the perfume of the lilac is the spirit of
the spring.
Oh, the pulsing warmth of waking, how it
permeates the air
’Tis the anodyne ot hope that steals the bit
terness "from care.
Wemay lay aside our burdens in the glory
of our choice
If wo win the heart of Nature and will
, hearken to her voice.
- Harper’s Bazar.
A Cowboy
Virtuoso.
By O. B. DUNHAM ]
HE persistence of
Mr. Rime Jenks
V y W-o at length reoeived
-A/yi its due reward—
•JgVH he was asked to
l fiddle for a dance.
You hiay re
member that this
gentleman, who
‘t was second to
none when it came to olose quarters in
the branding-pen, or following a wild
calf through the sage-brush, had not one
ounce of mi sical capacity in the hun
dred and sixty-odd pounds of his
make-up, yet had a particular ambition
and an unflagging zeal to become a
fiddler. The object of this writing is
to show that he reoeived ample returns
upon the zeal invested, but never at
tained to the ambition,
t For so many years that the memory
of man runneth not to the contrary
he had packed a violin in his bed-roll
‘‘on the annual round-up, and at every
opportunity, when the day’s work was
"Hone, he rosined his bow. ? Through
out the winter months, when work
’’was light and evenings long, he had
practiced faithfully, if not intelligent
ly, in the bunk-house until banished
by a plebiscite to a near-by dug-out,
where he found sacks of onions and
, bins of potatoes more patient sufferers
than the general sitting-room afforded.
In some former year the outfit had
{boasted a man who could ‘ ‘play any
instrument,” and Jenks, seeing how
easy it was, decided to become equally
accomplished. The violin was not his
first choice, but his first opportunity,
and, having accepted it, his code of
ethics bound him to break the critter
or break the cinch.
t On the 29th of February there was
a leap-year dance at Richmond’s.
, This place was on a hill in the border
land between the open range and the
settlements, and however much cow
boys might despise farmers and farm
ers detest cowboys, the social amen
ities were rarely disturbed and the
country dance was a popular institu
tion. My friend Rice voiced the gen
eral sentiment thus: “I like ’em be
cause everybody is a-le’ping and
a-skipping, and if anybody falls down
he gits up again.” The plain infer-
from Mr. Rice’s statement is that
at any other than a country dance if
one falls down he stays down—which
might embarrass and endanger his bet
ters. When I called Rice’s attention
to this, he explained that he meant
"in your mind.” “It’s like getting
On to a bucking horse any morning
and being dumped,” said he. “You
don’t mind it much, but | just tighten
your cinch another hole and climb on
again. But suppose you are doing
some fancy riding or roping at the
county fair and your saddle gets
emptied, why, you feel so low down
you don’t get over it for a week. ”
i Our boys all went over to the dance
at Richmond’s, and someone evident
ly told the committee that Mr. Jenks
was a competent fiddler, for soon after
his arrival he was approached by . a
bright-eyed young woman, who asked
if he had brought his violin.
< “Xo, I did not,’’repliedthe startled
Jenks, nervously fingering a large
piece of rosin whieh he produced from
his pocket; “but if you want to use it,
I'll be very glad to go back to the
ranch and fetch it. It is only abou t
twenty miles.”
slightly showing several white teeth,
"that you carry your violin with you
wherever you go, and I’m sorry to find
that it’s not true. Our music has dis
appointed us; the house is full of peo
ple and nobody here to play for them
hut a ’cello and a moutli-organ. But
I think we can get a violin within less
than twenty miles, and”—here she
showed him the full set—"will you
kindly play for us until Mr, Smith ar
rives?”
"Miss, I should be delighted ”
said Jenks.
I “Oh, thank you, so much ” in
terposed the girl.
"If I knew how,” he continued,
"but I don’t. You see I’m only learn
ing. I can just start a few. ”
"Oh, I am sure you will do it well,”
she replied; “and I will go right out
and send for an instrument,” and ®he
hurried away.
Mr. Jenks was astonished and per
plexed. Of course he had hoped to
play in public at some time, hut this
.was so sudden. He was not in a hurry.
Some other leap-year would be soon
enough.
Should he bolt, or face his own
music? "What n very pretty girl
when she laughs,” thought he; ‘Til
stay. Wish I had practiced more.
Wonder if I’ll break up the party.”
In what seemed to him an incredi
bly short time in which to summon a
fiddle from the subjacent valley, the
girl reappeared with one in her hand,
and escorted the reluctant and protest
ing .Tenks to the head of the room, in
troducing him to the ’cello, the mouth
organ, and the floor-manager.
j“Now, boys,” said he, when the
committee had turned away, leaving
him with his fellow-musicians, who re
garded him doubtfully, “let’s have an
understanding. I ain't in this like you
for a dollar a head and free drinks,but
I’m doing it to oblige a lady. I expect
to make some pretty bad breaks, and
the first one of you that snickers will
eat his instrument right here. Are yon
ready?”
Jenks is not afraid of any individual
man, perhaps not very much afraid cf
any woman, but when he stood up on
that platform with the fiddle in his
neck and faced the crowd he was bad
ly rattled.
“Play a waltz first,” said the floor
manager, “and play slowly.” With a
sigh of relief and thought of “What’ll
I do when they demand fast music?”
Mr. Jenks began that classical strain
which fits the words “Where, oh,where
is my little dog gone,” the ’cello and
mouth-organ struck in, the girls chose
the best waltzers, the floor filled up,
feet shuffled, boards creaked, and the
hall was opened.
Accomplished speakers have recorded
the difficulty experienced in learning
to think upon their feet, but Jenks,
facing an audience for the first time
and sawing away desperately at the
first bars and repeat of a slow waltz,
had no such trouble. He told me af
terwards that his thoughts “thunk
themselves and came a-running,” and
that he was conscious of three distinct
trains of thought running on parallel
tracks. The first concerned Mr.
Smith, 'the delinquent musician; the
second subject was “what a very pretty
girl when she laughs;” and the third,
aocented to waltz-time, rap: “Oh, 1
can play them that second strain,
I know I’ll break down if I try.”
To anticipate difficulty is to insure
t. After repeating the first strain
some twenty times, Jenks made a des
perate effort to strike the second
movement, failed, and collapsed. The
’cello and mouth-organ hammered
along uncertainly for a time and
oeased. The stranded waltzers dotted
the floor like boats becalmed on a m:n
iatnre lake.
The waltzers had been so engrossed
in their own efforts, aud the rest oi
us in looking on, that the quality oi
the music had apparently received lit
tle attention. When the player broke
down, there was only a general move
ment of impatience at the interrup
tion, and I looked to seethe persistent
Jenks start up again on the same eight
measures. But he had entirely re
covered his self-possession. Laying
the fiddle aside, he advanced to meet
the girl at whose request he had made
the effort,
“Don’t yon think,” he asked, “that
I have proved that I can not play? ’
“Well it does come pretty close to a
demonstration,” she answered; “but
I thank you very much for helping us
out. Mr. Smith has come and will re
lieve you,”
So Mr. Smith took the fiddle and
Jenks took the girl’s hand for the first
dance, and perhaps for others, and
the evening was a success.
Many hours afterward, as we rode
sleepily homeward in the gray light
of morning, Jenks said to me: “What
a very pretty girl when she laughs.”
“What did she say about your play
ing,” I asked.
“Said I must play at the next leap
year dance; 1900 is not a leap year,
you know—would give me eight years
to practice.”
“Did you promise?”
“I promised not to; told her I had
something better to work for now.”
P.ime Jenks is a rather taciturn
fellow, and I am not in his confidence,
but I know that he goes pretty often
to Richmond’s Hill, and he has traded
his fiddle for a cow. I have also
noticed him studying a book entitled
“Comfortable Cottages for Six Hun
dred Dollars.” —Argonaut.
What a Model Bakery Should Be.
What should be the essential con
ditions of a model bakery? First, the
building should be above grouud, per
fectly drained and ventilated, well or
ganized, absolutely clean, and the ex
pense of labor should be of no consid
eration. The men should be systemat
ically inspected with regard to their
personal cleanliness, having, in the
first place, been selected for employ
ment on the ground of their good gen
eral health and temperance. The hours
of labor should be limited, aud conven
ience for washing purposes should be
provided. The buildings should be
dust-proof, in order to make dust con
tamination impossible; the oven should
be fired at the back of, and not in, the
bake-house itself. Water used should
be of the very best and guaranteed
quality, and, in order that only a pro
per proportion should be used for its
corresponding equivalent of flour, it
should be measured by meter. These
are roughly the essentials to a typical
bake-house.—New York Ledger.
A Kartlroatler Who Antedated Steam.
Charles Stewart died recently at
the home of his son-in-law, Mr. John
Hill, Xo. 1110 Valley street. Mr.
Stewart was ninety-three years old,
and had the distinction of driving the
first ear over the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad when that road was com
pleted to Ellieott City and before
steam power was used on the line.
Mr.. Stewart also had the honor of as
sisting in the laying of the cornerstone
of the railroad.
On the 22d of May, 1830, the road
was opened to Ellieott City, and on
that oeeasion Mr. Stewart drove the
team whieh drew the first car, a dis
tinction of whieh he was very proud.
When steam was introduced and the
railroad was pushed towards the West,
Mr. Stewart was appointed to a posi
tion at the company’s stables, where
he acted as veterinary surgeon. He
continued in this position for forty
years, when he was retired by the
company. This w*as about fifteen
years ago. —Baltimore Sun.
llow to Sleep at Will.
According to the newest theory of
sleep, that curious phenomenon results
from the brain being literally drowned
in blood. The physiologist who has
made this discovery has also found out
how you may regulate your period of
sleep to the minute, and wake as regu
larly as the punctual cock. Ail you
have to do is to raise or lower your
head by means of pillows of various
thicknesses. If you want to sleep
longer thai) yon do at present, lower
the pillow and let in more blood on the
brain; if you want to sleep less, raise
your pillow and let in less bloo’d.
Never take narcotic drugs, as they in
jure the brain, but lower the pillow
more and more till sleep comes. You
need not go to the expense of buying
an alarm clock, either, since this sim
ple plan will enable you to awake at
any hour.
Power in a Nile Cataract.
Professor Forbes calculates that the
first cataract of the Nile at high Nile
represents 500,000 horse-power, anu’
at low Nile 35,000 horsepower-
OUR BUDGET OF HUMOjR.
LAUCHTER-PROVOKING STORIES FOR
LOVERS OF FUN.
Hot StnC—The AU-Prevalllna—The Height
of Her Ambition—ltefore the Bargnin
Sale—The Main I’oint— Hie Last lie
sort- Itouml to ItlRO, Etc., Etc.
Press me closer, all my own;
Warms my heart for thee alone,
Every nerve responsive thrills,
Eaoh caress my beiDg fills.
Best and pence In vain I crave,
In ecstasy I live, thy slave.
Dower’d with hope, with promise blest,
Thou dost reign upon my breast.
Closer still, for I am thine,
Burps my heart, for thou art mine.
Thou the message, I the wire—
I the furnace, thou the fire— ■'*
I the servant, thou the master—
Boaring, red-hot mustard plaster.
—Green Bay Advocate.
The Height of Her Ambition.
Bertha—“ What is the height of
your ambition, dear?”
Marie (blushing)—“Oh, something
between five and a half and six feet. ”
—London Fun.
The Main Point.
Elooutionist (begining to recite Long
fellow’s famous poem).—“Listen, my
children, and you shall bear of the
midnight ride of Paul Revere.”
Impatient Auditor—“ What make of
wheel did he use?”—Puck.
Clear Reasoning.
He—“ How do you know your father
will give his consent?”
She—“He has often Said that you
are the last man in our set to whom he
would give me, and he has sent all the
others about their business as they
asked for me.”
Before the Bargain Sale.
New Salesman—“l understand that
no purchaser is to have more than ten
yards. But suppose a lady edmes baok
after one purchase shall I refuse to
sell her any tuore?”
Floor Walker—“lf you’re tired of
your position.”—Puck.
The All-Prevailing.
Kind-hearted Old Lady—“ When
you finally reached the barren island,
400 leagues away from the beaten
courses of ships, what was the first
thing that met your eye?”
Recently Shipwrecked Tar—“ ‘Bi
cycles Sold Here,’ mum. ’ ”
A Great Inventor.
“You wouldn’t take that man for a
great inventor, would vou?”
“No. Is he?”
“He is. He invented an excuse for
being out with the boys that satisfied
his wife, and he’s been married seven
teen years.'”—Cleveland Plain Dealer.
At the Athletic Games.
She—“ What a wonderful jumper
that man is!—but why do they keep
ringing the big gong while he is mak
ing his jumps?”
He—‘‘That’s Jerolamon—he’s from
Brooklyn, and he can’t do his best
unless he imagines he is getting oit
of the way of a titdley car.”
HIB LBt Resort.
“Hc.w did Slims happen to marry
his landlady, professor?”
“I am not conversant with all the
facts, but from what I have gathered
incidentally I am under an impression
—I might say conviction—that a board
bill had some direct bearing upon the
unexpected union.’’—Detroit Free
Press.
Its I Miration.
Hemrypeek (drearily)—“l fancy my
wife’s mother intends to make her
stay with us a Kathleen Mavourneen
visit. ”
Askins—“What do you mean by
that?”
Hennypeck—“Oh, “it may be for
years and it may be forever,” you
know.”—New York Journal.
Bound to Rise.
“My child, do you think he has the
force and perseverance to raise him
self to your level?”
“I am-sure he has, mamma. Why,
have you forgotten the time the eleva
tor was broken, how he climbed the
whole eight stories?”
Love laughs not alone at locksmiths;
especially in our throbbing civilization
there are others.—. Detroit Journal.
Explained.
“See here, young man, I’ll have to
take you in. Your lantern’s out.”
“Hold on, officer, I’ll explain. You
see I bought one of these 32-bieyele
suits this afternoon, and it burst on
me ten miles from home. Xow, I’m
trying to get back as quietly as I can
in the dark. You see the necessity of
it?”
“That’s all right—go ahead.”—
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
A Bertous Case.
Mrs. Briske—“Joknuy, did the doc
tor call while I was out?”
Little Johnny (stopping his play)—
“Yes’m. He felt my pulse an’ looked
at my tongue, and shook his head and
said it was a very serious ease, and he
left this prescription and said he’d
sail again before night.”
Mrs. Briske—“Gracious me! It
•wasn’t you I sent him to see; it was
the baby, ” —The Yellow Kid.
The Safest Ice Water.
An old physiciau considers this the
only safe ice water to be used during
the smmmer months:
“Procure some nice looking bottles
which will hold about a quart, and
fill them with water which has been
running for some time. Water which
has run through a filter attached to a
faucet is preferable. Then cork them
tightly and place them directly on the
ice for some hours before you need to
use them, turn them two or three
times, so that they will become' uni
formly colu, and you will find that you
can drink more of this wnter with less
after discomforts than you can the
water which has been cooled by being
directly iced.”—New York Herald.
The Tui’kisli Crescent.
When Philip of Macedon approached
by night with his troops to scale the
walls of Byzantium, the moon, then
new or in crescent, shown out and dis
covered his design to the besieged,
who repulsed him. The crescent was
after that adopted ns the favorite
badge of the city. When the Turks
took Byzantium they found the cres
cent iu every public plaoe, and, be
lieving it to possess some magical
power, adopted it themselves.—St.
Nicholas. .. -■
ODDEST TOWN (N THE COUNTRY.
A I)i'sert.d Village In Wisconsin Wheri
Tramps Are Having a Picnic,
Ten miles from Brule, Wis., is about
the oddest town in the country. Itjias
300 inhabitants, every one of them a
tramp. It is also something of a
Utopia. No one pays rent; no one
works; everybody loafs, all are fat,
happy, aud lazy. There may not
be $lO in the town, and there is
no reason for tho possession of
money. Tliore is nothing to buy
and nothing to sell. Vulgar commerce
never disturbs the peaoe of the com
munity. The houses are new, the
streets are broad. Near by are the
deep waters of Lake Superior, and ten
miles inland is the railroad running
between Ashland and Superior. The
railroad is handy when any member of
the community decides upon taking a
ljttle tour, and the lake is convenient
because of the fish it furnishes. Within
a radius of half a dozen miles are
enough farms to supply the vi'lage
with pilfered produce.
These farmers and the few people
who know of the existence of the place
call it Trampville. The railroad men
who have heard of it desoribe it as
Hobohurst-by-the-Lake. The resi
dents however, adhere to its official
title—Clevedon.
Baok in 1880 a syndicate of English
capitalists conceived the idea that a
town could be established at the mouth
of the Boise Brule River which in time
would compete with the city of Supe
rior and attract much of the lake
traffic. Where the Brule River flows
into Lake Superior the land was cleared
and a town site mapped out. Mechanics
and buildefs of all kinds were em
ployed with a lavish hand, and houses
and buildings grew up almost iu a night.
Such quantities of money were poured
into the scheme that Clevedon soon at
tracted attention from the outside
world, and numerous families came to
the place, bought lots and put up
homes.
In a year Clevedon had a population
of about 1100 people, and seemed
destined to become tho great town the
syndicate had planned. A big hotel
was erected, streets were laid out, and
the] well-built and brightly painted
cottages gave the place an air of bust
ling prosperty.
But the tide of lake commerce re
fused to sweep upon Clevedon. It
kept on moving toward Duluth and
Superior just ns it had before the ad
vent of the new city. Then the popu
lation began to fade away. Cottage
after cottage was deserted, and the
next calamity was the collapse of the
fund behind the syndicate. Two or
three times the syndicate secured ad
ditional backing, and made powerful
efforts to revive interest in the place,
but the energy and money were
wasted. Clevedon could not be resus
citated.
By 1890 it was as dead as any place
could be. Everyone had left. The
neat little houses were empty, the big
hotel took on a ghostly look. Grass
grew up in the well laid streets. It
was as silent as the pine forests sur
rounding it. No one ever went that
way. It is many miles off the general
line of travel, hidden in thick woods on
all sides, except where it faces the
waters of the lake.
Three years ago some Wandering
Willie discovered it. Perhaps, years
ago, he was one of those who had put
his money and faith in the prosperity
of Clevedon. At any rate, other
hobos soon after began to pay it
fleeting visits. Last fall a score met
at Clevedon. Some of them were not
natural or voluntary tramps. They
were products of the hard times.
These saw the place, sized up the
comfortable houses and the big hotel,
and determined to spend the winter
there. When others came along they
were invited to join the permanent
colony, and many did so.—Milwaukee
Sentinel.
Trains That Never Stop Running.
Anew system by which passengers
may be taken on or fjrom trains with
out the necessity of stopping has been
recently devised by an ingenious engi
neer, who proposes to exhibit bis plan
at the Paris Exhibition of 1900;
This feat is accomplished by means
of a moving station platform. The in
ventor proposes to use for the purpose
a circular disk, the outer circumference
of which is to travel at the same rate
of speed as the passing traiu. When
entering the platform from a staircase
in the centre there will be no danger,
since the speed at this point is com
paratively low, nor will it he felt much
when going toward the edge of the
turning platform, for the increase in
speed is gradual, and anticipated.
The inventor has already gone so far
as to calculate that the railway com
panies of Europe would save some
tbousauds yearly by abolishing the
notices, “Wait until the train stops.”
—Answers.
For Poor Traveler#.
Switzerland has always been fore
most in the cause of charity. Becently
a society has been formed which has
most commendable objects. The State
subsidizes and the police' authorities
assist the operations of this society,
■which has been founded for the purpose
of aiding poor travelers. In the canton
of Aargua refuges are now provided.ou
the main thoroughfares at regular in
tervals, where bonafide travelers oil
foot, who are seeking work or who are
passing through the c juntry for a legi
timate purpose, can obtain refresh
ment and a night’s lodging. The
Berne Consul says the beneficial re
sults of the scheme are likely to cause
its extension throughout Switzerland.
Food Law# in France.
France knows how to protect the
rights of her people. Anybody who
doubts the genuineness of an article
of food that he has purchased from a
Parisian tradesman may take it to the
municipal laboratory for analysis. It
will cost him nothing to have it ana
lyzed and the fact determined whether
it is unadulterated or adulterated, aud
if the latter the law deals with the of
fender without further action cm the
part of the purchaser. The shopkeeper
is liable to be heavily fined and im
prisoned, and has to display conspicu
ously in his shop window' or on his
door for a year a large placard bearing
the w'ords, ‘‘Convicted of Adultera
tion.”
Bonnet Sales In London.
It is stated in a fashionable journal
that, 1,000,000 bonnets were sold ia
London during one week recently.
THE HARVEST OF PRUNES.
AN INDUSTRY OF GREAT MAGNI
TUDE IN CALIFORNIA.
Estimated That There Are 53,000 Acres
Planted to This Fruit, Involving an
Investment of 830,000,000 Hint
Prunes Are Gathered and Dried.;
The magnitude of the prune indus
try of California is little realized by
the people in the Eastern States. In
a decade the growing of prunes has
gone forward in California by leaps
and bounds, and to-day $20,000,000 is
invested in it—that is, in lands, trees,
irrigation systems, agricultural tools
and packing houses. Notwithstanding
damaging frosts last spring through
out the lower part of the San Joaquin
Yallcy, and all over the horticultural
valleys of Pomona, San Gabriel and
Santa Anna, the total product of green
prunes now on the trees in this State,
says a Los Angeles letter to the Chi
cago Record, is estimated at 83,000
tons. Of this quantity about one-fifth
will be shipped East as green fruit for
sale at fruit stands and for canning
purposes; the remaining four-fifths
will be dried for market, making about
24,000 tons of dried prunes.
Ten years ago the total area of bear
ing prune orchards in California was
less than 7000 acres. In 1890 the to
tal area of bearing prune orchards was
13,000 acres, and there was an enor
mous planting of prune trees that year
in all the fruit growing valleys of Cali
fornia, because of the large profit in
the industry. Twelve thousand acres
of prune orchards were set out in the
winter of 1891-91, and 24,000 acres
more were planted in the next two
years. These orchards have now come
into bearing, and the State Board of
Horticulture finds that there are 53,-
000 acres of bearing prune orchards in
California to-day and about 8000
acres more to come into bearing. Con
servative estimates put the total crop
of California prunes in a favorable
year at not less than 90,000 tons.
The value of the crop has gone down
very rapidly in the last three years.
In the season of 1892 good prunes
fresh from the trees sold fors3s a ton.
In 1894 the same product brought $25
a ton. This year the very best prunes
bring $lB a ton, hut the general mar
ket price is sls a ton.
When the prune crop is harvested
iu August the scenes in the orchards
and in the drying fields are long to be
remembered. Thousands of men,
women and children throughout the
valleys of central and southern Cali
fornia are busy in the prune orchards
and at the fruit-packing houses in
these days.
A prune orchard in itself is one of
the most beautiful things in the realm
of horticulture aud when the throngs
of workers are there it is an interest
ing sight. The thousands of trees are
planted in long rows, so equidistant
one from the other and in such sym
metry that one may look in any direc
tion among them and the alignment is
perfect. The ground is soft and even,
and the years of monthly cultivation
and care have made it so smooth that
not even a pebble or a clod or a blade
of grass or the smallest weed may be
seen anywhere.
When ihe fruit grower, who has
been daily watching the process of
ripening of bis crop, finds that the
fruit is so tlforoughlp ripened as to be
soft to the touch he employs a force of
workers. Great sheets of cheap cloth
are laid on the ground beneath the
trees. Strong men shake the trees
and boys shake branches so that the
prunes may fall. The sheets are
gathered up at the ends and the fallen
fruit poiu'ed into padded boxes, so as
to avoid handling as much as possible.
Tree after tree is treated in this way,
once each day, until the crop is gath
ered. The operation is often repeated
once a day for twenty days before all
the prunes are harvested.
Meanwhile the gathered fruit has
been carried to the washing boxes aud
the dripping caldrons. The prunes
are put into great heavy wire cages
holding several hundred pounds each
and are first dipped into running
water, where the dirt and dust are
washed away. In a moment more the
cage is elevated on a crane and let
down into a caldron of hot water,
heavy with concentrated lye. The
purpose of this operation is to remove
the bloom and crack the skin that en
velops the flesh of the prune in order
that the drying process may take place
more rapidly. In its natural state the
skin is so smooth and tough that it
would take a week to dry the fruit
properly for market.
From the caldrons of hot lye
water the cages of prunes are lifted
a ;ain and onee more plunged into hot
c ean water, so that the lye may be
washed away and a gloss be given to
the fruit.
Then comes the drying process.
Girls and boys come with shallow 1
wooden trays a yard square and, as
the prunes pour down from a hopper
into which they are dumped from the
cages, deft hands spread the product
over the trays in the tw inkling of ail
eye. A little irimway carries tie
trays and fruit out into the drying
yard every minute and there on the
ground, covered for two or three
acres with some cheap fabric, the
prunes are placed for drying by the
sun. There is a strong sunshine
twenty-nine clays out of thirty in each
summer month in the valleys of cen
tral and southern California, and so it
is the rule that prunes are well dried
in two and a h.qlf or three days.
A little army of workers is always
busy in the prune season in gathering
the dried products from the trays and
carrying it in baskets to the sweat
boxes, where, after a week or ten
days, the dampness that arises from
quickly dried fruit has evaporated.
Often a prune grower on an extensive
scale may have in his bins at the close
of the harvesting of the crop 600 or
700 tons of dried prunes, while his
drying yard of several acres may be so
completely covered with trays as to
look as if smeared a purple black.
The more extensive prune growers
in California handle as many as
seventy tons of prunes in a day. It
takes from two and one-half to three I
pounds of the green fruit to make one
of the dried product.
The active work of the harvest over,
the grower looks about for buyers for
his yield. There are always scores of
purchasing agents for Eastern whole
sale fruit dealers and commission
houses throughout the horticultural
regions of California in the fruit seu
son and there are hundreds of local
fruit shippers in the State. The fruit
is sampled and tested for its sacchar
ine qualities, the firmness of the fiLsh
and the gloss of the skin. Little bags
of sample fruit are sent here aitd
there. AVhen a sale is made it is
done on the basis of the sizes of the
dried prunes. Thus there are six
sizes; 1, those ranging from forty to
fifty to the pound; 2, fifty to sixty to
the pound; 3, sixty to seventy; 4,
seventy to eighty; 5, eighty to ninety,
and 6, all below ninety. An ex
perienced prune grower and buyer
can tell at a glance what size of fruit
he is looking at aud, of course, the
larger sizes are the more marketable.
Soldiers to Guard Buffalo.
The Secretary of the Interior at
Washington has under consideration a
project which will hereafter furnish
some of the Fort Logan cavalrymen
with a novel variety of active duty in
the summer and fall seasons. It is
that, a detail of Regular Army troopers
be told off to guard the herd of buffalo
which exists in Lost Park, Colorado.
There are still about forty of these
rare beasts alive, but if some immedi-
ate precaution is not taken to protect
them against the depredations of pot
hunters they will speedily bo exterm
inated. Late last fall one buffalo was
found dying at a remote distance from
its fellow’s, having been wounded a
number of times by rifle bullets. It
was put out of pain by a deputy game
warden, and its stuffed frame is now
among the collection of rarities iu the
rooms of the State Historical Society.
This incidont led to the discovery
that several others of the herd had
been killed during the preceding sum
mer. No trace of the marauders who
did the killing could be discovered,
nor could any effective means be de
vised by the State Game Warden to
guard against them in future. A good
deal of indignation w r as aroused thereat
among sportsmen and others who are
interested in preserving Colorado’s
rapidly dwindling buffalo.. Asa re
sult the scheme to use cavalrymen w-as
concocted, and James A. Miller, clerk
of the Supreme Court, w T as delegated
to communicate w’ith Congressman
Shafroth on the subject. This action
was taken by Mr. Miller on May 5,
and yesterday he received from Con
gressman Shafroth a letter, inclosing
a statement from the United States
Adjutant-General's office to the effect
that the military buffalo warden pro
posal w r as under consideration by the
United States Department of the In
terior.—Denver Republican.
An Expensive Business.
Residents of the lower Mississippi
have for many years felt the greatest
concern on account of the washing
away of the banks and the necessity of
some means by which the currents
could be deflected and stop the con
tinual wearing away of the shores.
Some idea of the expense attending
the keeping of this great body of water
within reasonable bounds may be got
ten from tho statement of an expert
who has just finished an examination
of this erratic stream. Immense mat
tresses or mats are made of willows
and underbrush. These are woven in
with w’ires and poles of various sizes,
forming ail enormously heavy and ap
parently very strong resisting mater
ial. These mats are woven on barges
anchored out in the stream for this
purpose. Then they are slid off into
the water and weighted with stones.
Some of them are three or four hun
dred feet ‘long. Some of the largest
of them will cover eight acres. The
work can only be done during low
water, which fact greatly adds to the
cost, as there is only a short season,
and the work must be pushed to the
highest rate of speed. Sometimes,
after all of the effort, the first high
w-ater sweeps the whole structure
aw’ay, and all must be done over again.
Asbestos Rope.
Asbestos formerly in use now has a
formidable competitor in the blue as
bestos of South Africa. The latter is
less than half as heavy, and furnishes
finer and longer fibres, which have
been worked into webs but little in
ferior to those made of vegetable fiber,
are absolutely fireproof, and resist
most known chemicals, corrosive va
pors, and atmospheric influences.
A blue asbestos rope, three-fourths
of an inch in diameter, was weighted
at one end with 220 pounds, and ex
posed to a constant flame from a large
gas jet, so that a considerable portion
of its length was surrounded by fire.
It only broke after twenty-two hours.
The asbestos rope has only two-thirds
the strength of anew hemp rope, but
as they grow older the proportion
changes in favor of the former, since
it is but little affected by the atmos
phere. The blue asbestos fiber is
also worked into mattresses for hospi
tals, which are cooler in summer and
warmer in winter than those of ani
mal hair or vegetable fiber. As an
experiment firemen’s apparel is be
ing manufactured from the liber.—
Chicago Inter-Ocean.
A Pyramid of Barrels.
A pyramid, not of the kind usually
read about, but one composed of hogs
heads, barrels and casks of every kind
and description, which has been in the
process of construction for several
weeks on the top of Gallows Hill,
Salem, where nineteen persons were
executed in 1692 for alleged witchcraft,
collapsed yesterday afternoon, much
to the chagrin of many persons, who
had been anticipating a big bonfire at
midnight of July 4. The pyramid had
reached an altitude of 120 feet and was
to be still higher. It was forty-seven
feet square at the base, and coutained
more than 10,000 barrels, thousands of
tliem being crushed by the fall.
Several persons narrowly escaped
being hurt. While its destruction
has somewhat spoiled the ardor of
those building the pyramid, it is an
nounced that there will be another one
erected, but it will not be anywhere
near as high.—Boston Transcript.
Ke#triction# on Balloon Ascensions.
There has been of late such au ex
traordinary craze for balloon ascents
in Vienna, that the Municipal Council,
on account of the number of accidents,
has issued an order to the effect that
“every one who should wish to make a
balloon ascent must prove that he has
followed the course of aeronautic sci
ence. Married man desiring to take
part iu an aerial voyage cannot do so
without the consent of their wives aud
children.”
FAIR INEZ.
O, saw yo not fair Inoz?
Shogot upon a bike,
And folks that saw her start declare ,
They ne’er beheld the like;
Sho wbro a pair of bloomers,
A dickey and a vest;
Tho neighbors held the wheel for hep—
I air Inez did tho rest.
And with tho lovely Inez *
A gallant cavalier
Bode down the pike, to teaeli her
To pedal and to steer;
Ho whispered airy nothings,'
He boldly scouted fear,
Until lie struck a jagged rock
And landed on his oar!
1 saw the lovely Inez
Descend along the shore,
And there was dust all over
The bloomers that she word
Upon her face she landed,
She’s beautiful no more—
I’ll wager such a mixed-up mess
Wus never seen before.
Alas, alas for Inez I
She wont away with song;
With ribbons on her handlebar,
And shoutings of the throngl
Slio came hack all disordered,
Nor brought her wheel along
The doctor says ’twill be a month
Before she’s well and strong.
—Cleveland Leader.
PITH AND POINT.
The man who deserves the most
credit generally has to pay cash.—
Life.
She—“ Two weeks from to-day we’ll
be one.” He—“ Well, let’s be happy
while we can.”—Picayune.
“I can’t see why you object to
young Softly. I’m sure lie’s constant. ”
“Worse than that. He's perpetual.”
—Truth.
“I wonder why Dr. Reaper is ad
vising ali his patients to go to White
Beach this summer?” “He probably
intends to go there himself.”—Brook
lyn Life.
Johnny Barr —“Ha, what’s an ego
tist?” Handel Barr —“An egotist, my
son, is one who thinks all the world
but himself is riding low-grade
wheels.”—Puck.
Mrs. Youngish—“Oh, Bob, what
shall I do? Baby is crying because (
won’t let him pull all the fur off my
new _muff.” Mr. Youngish—“ Well,
that’s all right. Give him the cat!”—
Tid-Bits.
“I have proposed to seven girls this
surnmen already,” said Timmins, “and
I haven’t been able to get accepted
once. Dinged if lam not beginning
to feel like one of my poems.”—ln
dianapolis Journal.
Customer—“ls he an up-to-date par
rot?” Dealer —“Well, we’ll let bins
speak for himself. (To parrot).
“Polly, want a cracker?” The Parrot
—“Hoot, mon! I dinna’ ken! Hoo’s
a’ wi’ ye? Gang awa’ !” Customer —
“I’ll take him.” —Puck.
“Of course you’ll give me one little
kiss before I go,” he pleaded. She
looked a him intently fov a minute
and sighed. “It’s pretty high pay,”
she replied, “bat if you will go early
enough I suppose I’ll have to call it 3
bargain.” —Chicago Post,
“I wonder,” said the man of a sta
tistical turn, “I wonder how much
powder is destroyed daily in useless
salutes?” • “There must be a lot said
the frivolous girl. “But I suppose
women will go on kissing one another
just the same.”—lndianapolis Jour
nal. *
“Who is that man who writes com
munications every day and signs him
self ‘Constant Reader’ ?” said one
citizen. “I don’t know who he is,"
replied the other, “but he’s a mis
nomer. He comes a great deal nearer
being a constant writer.”—Washing
ton Star.
Kallow—“1 tell you there’s just as
good writers in the world as ever there
were.” Dillon —“How about Shake
speare?” Kallow —“A piece of luck
on his part. He happened to be born
at the right time, when there weren’t
so many writers as there are at pres
ent.” —Boston Transcript.
A Sparrow’s Gratitude to a Boy.
It is a rare occurrence for animals
in a wild state to select a man for a
companion and friend, yet well-authen
ticated instances when this has been
done are a matter for record The
following incident is vouched for by a
young woman who is a close and ac
curate observer:
“Last week my brother (a lad of
twelve) killed a snake which was just
iu the act of robbing a song sparrow’s
nest. Ever since then the male spar-
Vow has shown his gratitude to George
in a truly wonderful manner. Whoa
he goes into the garden the sparrow
Will fly to him, sometimes alighting on
his head, at other times on his shoul
der, all the while pouring out a
tumultuous song of praise and grati
tude. It will accompauy him nbout
the garden, never leaving him until
he reaches the garden gate. George, 1
as you know, is a quiet boy, who loves
animals, and this may account, in a
degree, for the sparrow’s extraordinary
actions.”—Louisville Courier-Journal.
rhiluriclphiii’s Franklin Statue.
On the spot where Eenjamin Frank
lin stood when he sent up his kite to
“wrest the lightning from the skies,”
and where he later laid the corner
stone of the old University of Pennsyl
vania, will be shortly erected a hand
some bronze statue of the philosopher,
as a gift to the city from Justus C.
Strawbridge. It will stand on the
postoffice plaza, on the spot recently
vacated by the removal of the Lion
Fighter. The statue will be iu bronze
of heroic proportions, representing
Franklin seated on a colonial chair,
attired iu the loose robe which is
given to him in one of his most fa
mous portraits. From the pedestal on
which the statue will rest the latter
will rise to a height of nine feet, and
the proportion will be about one aud
a half life size. John J. Boyle, the
sculptor, who has been commissioned,
to do the work, will have the model
completed in a short time. The cost of
the piece .will not be less than §IO,OOO.
—Philadelphia Record.
J,Wantc<l, a Cook anti a Doctor.
The Maharaja of Durbangah, a
small State in India, is advertising
two somewhat- unusual “wants.” One
is for an elephant doctor on a pay cf
sls a month with allowances. The
other is for an “experienced chef cle
cyiisine” proficient iu teaching the cu
linary art. iu all its branches. The
wages for the. Hindoo cook are not
3tated. The Maharaja being of the
highest caste usually cooks the food
for his own consumption with his own
hands.