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About Crawfordville democrat. (Crawfordville, Ga.) 1881-1893 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1882)
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 yeai’3 of ob¬ servation. Their observations were not very acourate, and their methods of recording them far from methodical. They believed that the weather changes with the moon, and when a sudden change did occur at the appearance of a new, quarter, half or full moon they remembered it and sometimes noted it •down. H the weather did not change at about the same time the moon did they did not charge their memory with the failure. By means like these they be¬ came more’ strongly convinced of the influence of the moon on the weather. Other circumstances tended to confirm the belief. Every almanac displays with the the various phases of the moon, 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. Many think, without being the informed of the fact, that the time of 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 with the almanac of fore¬ very diligently, and often a view casting the weather. In fact they often plan to commence a certain Ijind certain of work la at a given time, or to put off "bors on account of expected changes in the weather, which, they think, are con¬ ditioned on changes of the moon. Scientific men in different times and in various countries have and attempted almost to •overturn the popular uni¬ versal belief that the moon influences the weather. They have been at the trouble of keeping an accurate the account fall of of the prevalence of winds, water* the degree of tem]>erature, and other phenomena, with a view of show¬ ing whether changes are more likely month to occur at one time in the lunar than at another. They have al! to the conclusion that no coil- ;idtnce •exists between the changes of tl e niton and those of the weather. At tjie meet¬ ing of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, this y.\ir, Sir William Thomson stated that -careful observation with the baromete-, ther¬ mometer, and anemometer, at tie time of new moon, full moon, and half moon, has failed to establish'.,any relation of the whatever between the phases 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 least if this announcement will in tho shake the faith of farmers and sailors, who, more than other classes of per sonl’, are directly interested in the the in weather, in their old ideas about fluence of the moon upon it. They will go through life not expecting ** mtioh td see a “drought broken” or 0! of » •continuon" uin till fa'/-. /" '°n clj ai lges. V ‘ i- ' c ^ a 0ge{ I iu ion o or u Ctlfi i D g nee 1 Ps plante, 1 *' , o/nth. a different. irnes m die ’Til(Far They will continue to plant potatoes and other root crops “in the dark of the moon,” and to sow small grain' i the lio-ht of the moon.” They will s. /.ter their hogs and their bullocks, if ti , are intended for home consumption, len the moon is on the increase so that he meat will not waste away in the fryi rail ig pan.” They will, however, lay up in fence while the moon is decreasing rails size, so as to prevent the 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. I)r. Draper has shown that su Dentitions 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 accomplish* in lucky and unlucky days time than they will less all in days a given equal people who regard relv supernatural as of aid they value. will Tf t.hev 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 perstilions on a people engaged in war, be similar unfavorable effects would observed among like‘that people engaged farming, in a peaceful pursuit of The delay of two weeks in planting It a crop would often result in a failure. is likely that the general belief in certain agricultural superstitions has had much to do with rendering farming unprofita- dis bie. It is generally very difficult to cover the origin of a superstition, on account of its great antiquity. Super- incul fititious beliefs are the oldest we cate. They are also among the Srstthat are received in childhood. They are taught in the nursery long before we learn to read, and many years before we commence to study science. Such beliefs are very difficult to dispose of. Our judgment may condemn them as follies, but they remain to influence our actions. t ew persons are willing to acknowledge that they to* are superstitious, although they hold beliefs having no foundation on carefully themselves considered oth- ob serrations made by or ers. They hold to the doctrine that relations exist between certain things that can not be explained science.— with our Chicago pres ent knowledge of Times. —Chicago is not the only city in which judges pressing of indignation election are justified the difficulties in ex¬ over of their labors. The following are some of the Boston voters: Zanlzickiwerck SWaeler, Wolniewiezkae Tomasi, Mam ningoetska Wortgaenstegt Mennae, Zigsworcki Marcus, Johan¬ Youli nes, Guiseppe, Weinwawiczki panzsltiwarcka (Erustav, Sirzeleckibamnisieka Zinka.— /Chicago He rald. __ A French manufacture claims the dis¬ covery of making use of leaves of the eucalyptus tree as a substitute for tobacco leaves in cigars. The in eucalyptus leaves pmit a delicious odor burning. —Women who ride tricycle? in Eng ‘U.cd are beginning to ,wear,,trousers.^ ^ FOREIGN GOSSIP. —A mass by the Pope costs $200, and sometimes more. —England has her statistics people showing that in out of 139,143 of engaged literary pursuits, only twelve became lunatics. —A young gentleman connected with the English Foreign Office the other day went to a telegraph office and asked to see the original 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 this daughter the with Muslims Bey. In case Cardinals allege that Mile. d’lmecOurt, when she bestowed her hand on the young Turk (who is of the Greek re¬ ligion), was possessed by the evil one. —Young ladies having shown a de¬ sire to make palmistry (telling the hand) fortunes the bv the sensational lines in the folly, palm of London Tntth next calls attention to an unrepealed all act who of Parliament, which imposes on go about practicing the art the the penalty of being scourged, placed naving in pillory. ears crop¬ ped and being the —Mr. Labouchere says: liberally “It is only ad¬ ministered, by corporal punishment, the horrible brutality that old, of modern roughs, both young and can be checked. The efficacy of the ‘cat’in repressing a remarkable tendency to crime was proved by the effect it had in putting down garroting. A hom¬ oeopathic remedy is not a bad thing in cases of this kind.” —The celebrated rosebush at Hildes heim, in Hanover, believed to be 1,000 vears 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 citv. The fortifications space either reserved actually occupied by the with them or comprises in connection 3,375 acres. In addition to the direct advantage which would be derived from O pening this domain to settlement, the ill 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. fraits of the p eop i e 0 f 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 wealth, of the peo pie of St. John’s have cod trade. aceumu lated from the seal and They sre cultivated people, of good manners, and hospitable to a point almost oner ous to the recipient of their kindly oour tesies. Their leading social amusement ' s car< l~pl a yiug, iu which the seductive draw poker takes thif lead of other games. Even the best ladies play poker, with stakes adapted to the fenu cine standard. English The prevailing Irish, modified type of nationality is or by insular surroundings Three-quar ters, at least, of the population ot 180, 000 in the whole island is made up of the poor fishermen. They are a hardy, cough race, familiar with every phase of ocean life, ignorant, narrow and in¬ sular, but kindly disposed. Some of their linguistic oddities, at the remoter fishing stations Like particularly, Southern are worth who acting. the for negro, these so often uses -him “it so islanders surd combinations. twist the word *• \V ill *;he the trout .nto ab- be c °o ked soon?” was asaed .the waiter pi at one of the coast he will inns a day cl¬ two ago. “May-be be, was the r ®Pty- The wagon has lost lies wheels ” or “I don’t know where *he spade he is, illustrate fui the. these peculiarities. Jhe name of the .sland “ New-fun-land, almost universally w.th pronounced stion^ accent on the final syllable. of the J he people ma rne temperament “skipper,” Drops out in the term always employed by a subordinate in addressing a superior, or by a street ward boy accosting is “down” a gentleman. indirection, North- the here phrase “Down North” corresponding pretty closely to the “Down East” of our Middle and Wes ern States. lor the Newfoundlanders equivalent, phrase “Lp South” wc have no except ing the “up to South End,” of Boston, vowels There is in also colloquial a strange speech. broadening ih of s ridge “rudge. becomes and ore in Aewroiindjandese “fur. Many of ihem would say, “ lhe forest has been 4 furred i. e., burned oyer. I he wives of the lower order of islanders, who stay at home, till the soil, and do ad manual labor oi the household, while their lords are at sea become a brawny set of amazons, terrible in do warfare, and ruling their con sorts in imperative fashion. A party of thirty railroad surveyors who recently entered a little hamlet muscular were put to (light and by a few of these dames forced to appeal to the police before they could continue their work. The lower classes, particularly and superstitious, the Irish, are intensely ignorant of the smaller Not long ago, in one towns, certain shrewd spirits wanted to change the local cemetery for a bet¬ ter burial place, the old one being occa¬ sionally overflowed by lhe waters of Conception Bay. The}* carried their point easily by asserting that winter nights they had seen the ghosts troop out to dance on the ice of the bay and 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 with a sprinkler, will completely banish the European cabbage-worm. It has proved not only a sure cure for this nuisance, but a special fertilizer in stimulating an increased growth of plant. HOME AND FARM. —To Clean Hair Brushes: Dip them in strong soda water and rinse in cold water, and dry in the sun .—The House¬ hold. —Tiie Canadian Farmer warns bee¬ keepers against toads. The reptiles station themselves near the hives' and breakfast on the bees. —Sugar Snaps: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, two eggs, one tea spoonful of soda, one tablespoonful of ginger, and flou to roll. —To get rid of the objectionable odor of paint in a chamber or a living-room, slice a few onions and put them the in a pail of water in the eenter of room; close the doors, leave the windows open a little, and in a few hours the disagree¬ able smell will have almost gone .—Iowa State Register. —A complaint comes to us of the water of a well being discolored and bad tasting, and it is asked if it will injure cream, butter and other articles sus¬ pended there. We answer no, not if in perfectly tight vessels. But is not the trouble caused by suspending such arti¬ cles in,the water of a well originally milk good? It takes but very little or cream to spoil the water of a well. They should never it, and be suspended only in perfectly in the water, light bnt over and clean vessels.— Prairie Farmer. —Brown/Bread: <^e coffee -cup~*o f boiling water turned oh to one quart h. graham flour, one teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoon- molasses; ful of lard, and one-half cup of then add one pint of light bread sponge; when mixed thoroughly it should be should about as thick thicker as for a johnnycake, be stirred it be no than can with a spoon. Put it into a two quart basin and let it rise until the basin is about 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 times upon which the farmer has fallen: This will be of a good their year for farmers; that is, prices products and probably will the be high. So Times of next will year be next. good until the crash comes. The sun shines now, farmers; make hay. Be prudent, be economical, little keen down ex¬ penses, buy and sell ail you can. Make every acre do its work, and clear off that mortgage. Your time has now come; this is your inning, and if you do not make your books balance on the right side again of the drops ledger by it the will time be the bottom out your own fault, not ours. —Kicking Cows: I tied the cow up by the head (not legs), procured a milk, good switch (not club) and proceeded returned^ne to and for every kick I offend¬ good smart blow with the switch on tiie ing leg. A few kicks and blows sufficed for that time. At the next milking onl) and three or four blows were kick required, and at the third milking one one blow were sufficient, and ever after the cow was as gentle as need be. Three important points are to be observed in the above statement:—1. Uniform kind¬ ness. 2. Never strike a cow for kicking when loose in the yard, or she will learn to run from you. 3. Only one blow for each kick .—Rural New Yorker. Keeping Winter, ■•.qunsliess-y -— jp' Many farmers are successful at a loss to know now some are in keeping their squashes in good condition until May or June, white they lose most of theirs before the end of February; they usually attribute beyond their their want of when success to causes control, a careful investigation would the show principal that mismanagement Squashes was keep well cause. to must, first, be well ripened; second, heavy they should be gathered before frosts come; third, should be well dried; fourth, the shell should lie well ’glazed over, and while it need not be thick it should be hard; fifth, they should be kept where 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 is of tho leave highest importance. fanners their squashes out until the frost kills the vines, posed tiie squashes winds, are and thus they left ex¬ to the cold are frequently left until it is cold enough to freeze water, and change the color of tiie tops of the squashe j ; this is fatal to their good keeping.. Others, when they find that cold weather has come, hurry them in just as night sets in, and in their haste to get them under cover, they load them into tho wagon as though they were stones; degree thus bruising that nine out them of every ten to a causes to rot by Thanksgiving time. Squashes arc often stored in the barn, in one heap, until they get chilled, when they arc carried into a warm, damp Dellar, where they soon rot, and the owner is at a loss to known the reason. When stored in heaps, if the storehouse pe dry, the under squashes will send out moisture in such surrounded quantities by as moisture. to keep the whole heap Squashes, to keep well, should not only be kept in a dry atmosphere with should a very be 3ven temperature, but they spread on the floor, or on shelves, so that the air can readily pass betweea them. All of the soft shell and unripe squash- 33 should be disposed of as soon as possible after they are harvested, and only the hard shell and perfectly crook- ripe ones should be kept for winter; with neck squashes keep best, most peo¬ ple; the reason probably is, they are ripe and are handled with care and are usually hung up in a dry place. The same treatment of marrow squashes would no doubt secure very satisfactory results.—Massachusetts Ploughman. —The Chico (Cal.) Record says: Up near Adin, Modoc County, the other day, Oregon Jack, of the Big untimely Valley tribe of Indians, came to an end by being lassoed and dragged 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 $290 in coin and eight horses. f 1 Doxy’s Ear Auxiliary. - J> s: Hoxy believed ho had struck it at ■ . He had studied the thing for years had > K>nt no end of money in experi 11,01 • and had heretofore only sue <*code 1 in turning his “study” into a sinai |yhop, iitede of himself remarkably into the seedy outward tramp, a and Mr-. Hoxy’s amiable disposition in“ N t temper quite as uncertain as, and fa i e dangerous than, the \ osuvian cram. But that was all ,, past now. Tl Iloxy had strucl n at last, or a. least that is what he sa id and believed^ and mdeed he see nn _ <i to have good and sufficient u, ds for the faith that was in him. *SL 1 l°„ ^! u " t . hat H tha » x " y had “Hoxv’s “struck” Ear WY' 'vtueh was mtended to fill a long-1 . At want and the exterior hu ofwh man j |iratthe jch the wearer same should time, and be by able means distinf push to the slightest whisper in the *■*“ larges apartment and hear with accurate nalf-n <f He ess of . hnn, sou either P* made under coyer or a ,n 6 ir ‘ Ho* H y had worked , , out the problem to bu satisfaction and had conceived . ant. nstructed his working model. All that mained was to secure his patents anr unt the ducats which of necessity rm. i J w in upon him from the hands K pts of an appreciative and ' Vorld - gore would filing his application, Hoxy it be as well to give the vili .ry a trial; a sort of dress rehear si* as if Mrs. were. So, without saying a worii' o H., Hoxy tucked tho Aux iliary akfast. nto his port ear and went down to bre Aside from the fact that Mrs. ; tl.’s shrill voice was magnified into t he horrible potency of a steam whistli | and the clashing of the knives and fo Iks painfully suggestive of a ma chine ; hop in the midst of the busy sea Mrs. son, n< 1 thing remarkable occurred until >xy stepped out into the kitchen to whi er to tho cook to gather up the fragm' he /nits of Hoxy’s meerschaum while wa at breakfast and bury them deep in the lash barrel. Hox y was sure, from what ho knew of her, that Mrs. H. uttered this pre catfi.or i in her softest whisper; but, thank' to the Auxiliary, it struck Hoxy’s tymp lum with the force of an engine blowi A off steam. He heard every syllah ,i, distinct and clear. Under ordi been nary “ c you ip instances tree” in Hoxy would have a a moment, but so lliary’s pleasec. piower was he that at this he proof hardly of the Anx meerschaum gave his a second thought. Indeed, if he thoihght of it at all, it was but to congratulate had madias himself that to a man who such an astounding disoovery as he haD, a meerschaum or a hundred meerschaums more or less were as noth ing. He could buy a newono every day of his life and not feel it. But, Hoxy The could eat no more break fast. meerschaum episode had so wrought upon him that his appetite was forgotten, and he hurried out for further experimont. He had not lomr to wait for just Ks he emerged from his front gate these words came soundino-thronoqi the Hoxy!” Auxiliary: Hoxy “Isay, Bill, there’s old looked around quickly to see whence came this slightly disre speclful language, but nobody was in sight, rods excepting two boys sonv twenty down (no street. “Another success for the AiXdiary,” mimmured Hoxy, swallowis«^yj» Walking down ssv.xvHo'’*', towiV'u«j 1 - were so frequently repeated that “Hoxy’s they began to grow monotonous: failing fast.” “1 wonder how much longer ho’s going to wear that greasy old coat.” “Hoxy’s still under petti coat government, I suppose.” “Hasn’t a cent to his name. Owqp everybody him.” in town who’s fool enough of the to Auxiliary’s trust These were a few rev elations. It is safe to say that the sue cess of the thing surpassed his wildest imaginings. Yet he did not appear to be liappy, not consummately looked sail happy. and de- On the contrary, lie jeoted. Mere than once he raised his hand to his ear to pull out that long-felt want; but he restrained himself and walked on. • Ashe entered the post-office—he al ways went to the post-office, because that is the thing for a business man to do—more evidence of the beautiful per feetion of tho Auxiliary revealed it«elf. “Hullo!” whispered one. “here’s IIoxv. !Ie looks more like a balioon than ever.” “Wonder what’s his hurry,” said an <>‘ hor; “ ’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 long at the post office. There was a something in the air of the place that made him feel sick. So he 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 young ladies, whom he thought eaten of up with envy of husband Mrs. Hoxy had because secured, the jewel alluded of a she old fool;” now to him as “that the married ladies wondered how “Mrs. Hoxy could five with that slovenly thing,” and the street boys gave thrill¬ ing proof that they shared the universal contempt in which a party by the name of Hoxy was held in the community. Hoxv was now decidedly miserable. He began to doubt whether the Auxiliary was a long-felt want, after all. He had about come to the conclusion that a man’s happiness is not necessarily in¬ creased in direct ratio to the acuteness of his hearing. thoughts running As these were through his head (here Came a fre-li ex¬ hibition of the success of his Auxiliary. It was a female voice, and this was the awful revelation: “He can’t five long, anyway, and I guess Mrs. Hoxv won’t snea many rears. ananey snowaon, who used to wait upon her, you know, stands ready to take her just as soon as Hoxy’s gone.” the that broke the This was straw camel’s back, the mast tnat soumiea the death knell of “Hoxy’s Ear Auxil¬ iary.” With 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 he turned about, rushed home, doffed his old clothes, oombea ana are°sea nim-en into an ap¬ pearance of respectability, and quietly but firmly announced to his affectionate wife that he never toll better in Us Ufe, live ana tnorougmy old Denevea tnat ne snouia to a green age, as his father and grandfather had before him. Haw Rickies Arc Sorted and Sold. pickles Very few persons know how many are consumed in this city and vicinity. word In the commercial world tho her. They -pickle” means a small cucum are divided into three <ren eral kinds, according to their size and are denominated small medium and large. They are sold bv the thousand and the sizes are ranged according to the number that can he packed in abar rek Barrels are sent to this market hold ng from BOO to 6,000 cucumbers, The houses size at most in demand by Dickie Mt >0 the present range from 80(1 to to barrel. Where they run over 2,000 to the barrel, they are called jerkins. The pickle-miters bought and too heavily hence of the gherkins hist v.vir this size still they have hand. a large qmmtity of sized cucumber on Tho medium is very scarce ami com mauds a high pri e. The largest harvest of cucumbers in this part of the country is upon Lons' Island. The av erage yield is 120,000 cucumbers to tho acre. Some of the lll,, d under especially high cultivation produces as high as 175,000 cucumbers to the acre. Usually cucumbers are s,,!| l by tho largo commission houses at from fl to $1.10 a thousand. Recently encumbers have been so scarce that they have been sold at $8 a thousand, bors average in large price lots yesterday for cucuin was from $ 1.75 to a thousand. The dry tlie weather bus been the main cause of present short cucumber crop. It is estimated . °t two-thirds crop year b oe over of the usual vioI <l. In the country about Chicago, . Cincinnati and St. Louis, also, large quantities of cucumbers raised. ° ,n are consequence of the enormous con sumption fy of cucumbers, an advance nour °bl doubling by tho the price at which they ale 8 commission houses, 1 j u,st have a markoii effect upon tho en fb*e market. One of tile largest coiu mission houses in this city stated to a Tribune. reporter the otiier day that few persons had any idea of the immense interests involved in the cucumber trade - Over 300,000,000 cucumbers "ere raised by the Long Island farm <!lu The36 were sorted and shipped in barrels, either to the commission houses or un, *er contract to tho saltors. Over ♦•■WO.OOO a year is invested in this in- I he gherkins are chiefly sold to tho Southern , market. They also arc om P l,, y° < { in making chow-chow and mus jard P>eklc. The medium sizes, barrel, rnng ' n ” * rom to 1.400 to the mgbest ' v .' 3 '.' e n,ost prices. s °ugbt for and brought tho It was estimated that f " v 1,111 of a11 tl,is enormous quantity - of encumbers were sold by licensoil vo ndcrs. Some of the farmers sort their consignments before sending them b) tins market. Tho sorted cucumbers Be »o J better important than tho has unassorted, the cucumber bee1 trade 1 ,il this cit y during the past few ?’ eoks , 1,1 , at 80,0(3 comm'ssion houses ’ ’® ™. ade i( \ thoil f ru, ° to telegraph the their , °‘ customers. tho (market I he ovory consignments iimming to nave weei'do been so mi^ul «J?AYEjhat of once, lhoy>'*^re as 1, haa been oww usual. the flHS’prices having have boon been very high, than average moro double those of last year. Nevertheless the fluctuations liavobcensocousidor able that there had been a good deal of speculation, both by the saltors and the farmers. This year enough cucumbers to supply the demand cannot bo ob tabled. It was stated yesterday that many of the large salting houses had no cucumbers in hand, except good a demand few ghor- in kins which are not in this market. They arc packed down in glass into jars and bottles and sent Texas and Central America. This small variety can bo shipped bettor than the larger cucumbers. It is ex peeled that there Will be an unusual scarcity of cucumbers until the advent of the next crop. — jV- >. Trib une. — A Fruit Fpiaouc. The chief editor unconsciousl f munched away at his slice of watermei on, thoughtfully considering meanwhile an editorial on scientific progress. Ho ate deliberately and daintily, and had got. half through tho gunerous slice when the idea that he^Was seeking came to him. He and picked the up other the pen with one hand, with ex¬ ecuted a slow, graceful sweep that car¬ ried t he half-eaten slice, weighing about two pounds, out of the open window to the sidewalk where a hurried the throng was. He did not consider hurry¬ ing throng. He was absorbed with hta idea. Just at that moment there was a sound of footsteps on the stair-ease. You would have thought that the in¬ comer was taking two steps at a time. possibly three, The incomer opened the outer door as if lie were a gianS powder cartridge, and the inner one like a cyclone. His voice was like a bull-dog’s and his mouth had four cor¬ ners as he yelled, it?” threateningly: •* Who done The chief editor beamed at him mild¬ ly through his glasses. 1 lie man iiad a watermelon air about him tha' was curious. There were little hunks of pink sticking closer than a brother all round his shirt-bosom, and there was some in his eves, and his ears, arid everywhere. A big piece of rind pro traded above In’s second shirt stud, and Jrorn Ills looks you would have watermelon thought he had swallowed a ripe yvho : e, and it He had appeared exploded and be burst through him. to as mad as (he dickens. “You are mistaken, my friend,” raid the chief editor, with a think-of-the poor-heathen look. •• Watermelons are prohibited in this office. In tho office a ove, however, they cat them contin¬ ually. I think you will find them at it now.” The man shot up stairs and blew himself into the room over our heads, while the chief editor locked both doors aad moved a desk against the in ner one. -aid, “If he had seen them,” he pointing to aome seeds on the desk, “ I was a dsad man .”—San Francisco Warn. __ ____* SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. - —The greatest pressure in a steam i , atcs than ssjt ’ at an Y time in their history. , 1 . he is, of bnt expense course, considerable, the outlay is compensated for in the large crops produced, and in the great saving in the matter of fertilizers.— The Willimantic Thread Company, who own 26,000 acres of white birch in Maine, are going to erect there a spool- 300 hnishing factory that will employ some men. Hitherto the timber has been sawed into blocks in Maine and trans¬ ported .—Boston to Willimantic, Transcript. Conn., for finish¬ ing position —A new screw adapted *to be put in and is bv driving has been invented said to enter the wood without tearing the grain. A cone point is used ins tead of the gimlet point, and the screw thread has such a pitch that i* drives in barb fashion, and once in po¬ sition is very difficult to remove.— N. r. Herald. —A quart of cream can be kept per¬ fectly good for months in the highest glyceride. temperature Professor by an ounce of boro Barff proposes to save railroad _ carnage for milk by con¬ densing with boro-glyoeride, it in the country and mixing it mixed so that it has only to be with water when needed.— N. Y. Sun. —Professor Carl Hinilv, of Kiel, has invented a gunpowder which completely resists the action of water. The old caution “keep your powder dry" is hereafter unnecessary, though the “trust in God” part of the admonition is still applicable—especially to tho man who handles the new-fangled stuff.— Chicago Herald. —About six months ago a cavalry soldior ... at the . Walla Walla garrison in¬ vented He a recently breech-loading orderod army carbine. was to Washington to submit the improved woap on to tho appointed Secretary of War and a board of officers to consider the report upon its merits. The ootnmittee approved the arm, and on their report tho soldier received $60,000 out of the National Treasury Inter-Ocean. for his invention.— Chicago —The electric light has found a novel genious employment in the hands of some in¬ by Frenchmen, who have lately, permission of their Government been experimenting The lamp contained with it as a lure for fish. was in an air-tight globe, and was lowered at night into the sea, with the result that thousands of fish of all sizes were attracted to its brilliant light. Boats furnished with ne ts gradually and closed in upon the living mass, made a great haul of fish.— N. Y. Post. —Mr. Charles T. Howard, Treasurer of the Provldonoe Telephone Company, has invented an instrument which ap¬ pears to be a valuable adjunct to the telephone. It consists of an ingenious combination of switches and safety catches, so arranged on the outside of the building that by the simple turning a knob near the telephone all connec¬ tion with tho outside wire is sevorod. The instrument includes lightning ar¬ resters, and an arrangement against stray electric light currents. By the use* of this attachment in places of business, safety from lightning and powerful elec Myopia Among .School Children. At tho monthly meeting of the New York County Medioal Association Dr. W. F. Mittemlorf read a paper on “Myopia and the Neo, scity of Its Cor¬ that rection by Glasses.” He said myopia or shortsightedness civilization, had justly and been called a disease of unless prompt measures were taken to counteract tiie injurious influences which led to the development of the dis¬ ease it must more and more be regarded ns a disease of civiliz d life. The dis¬ ease was incurable, but could be suc¬ cessfully arrested by the aj p'ication of the proper gl.isses. The most danger¬ ous period for myopia to set iu was from the ages of fbe to flffe n years, and an examination of the pnpils led attending the the fol¬ schools of New York h»s to lowing discoveries: Out of 203 scholars attending the Thirteenth-street grammar school only six were near-sighted. At grammar school No. 58, 698 children were examined, of whom 8| per cent, were suffering from myopia. This in¬ cluded 425 American children, among whom there were thirty-four cases of myopia, and 273 Germans, of whom twenty-nix were suffering from myopia. At grammar sohool No. 35, of 630 Americans 10 per cent, were myopic, and of 2G6 Germans 17) p*r cent, were aillieted with the disease. At Columbia college 201 students were examined, and of these 69, or 35 per cent., were foimd to bo near-sighted, tiie percentage being greater in the academical department than i:i tiie School of Mines. Further investigation with a view to testing tho hereditary nature of tiie diseasa, showed that of forty-five Jews 40 per cent, came from myopic families; of eighty-two German myopics 29, or 35 tier cent., came from myopic families, ana of 160 American children only 49, or 31 per cent., had myopia iu their families. In all oases it was found myopia increased with the length of school fife. The popular prejudice of the poorer classes against the use of glasses led to very mischievous results, aryl oft -n to hopeless blindness .—-New York Assoc ated Press Dispatch. —I.iles, hyacinths, tulips indeed, all the hard, k nd« of l ulbs- should lie plan ed or replanted at this season. Herbaceous plants also do a great deal teller tran-panted in fall provided n cans be taken to keep them from Ite drawn « ut by frost. In spite of all (■!! '■«*, herbaceous plan's will sometimes ; good die out, and it will bo a precau¬ tion to »a\e a few seeds and sow somo t mi'H. of the scarcer kinds .—Rural World. ______ —Until recently, Mexico nas rot raised coffee enough for the supply of the people. About fifteen years ago more attention began to be paid number to coffee of cul'ure, and trees to the & million have been planted future every Mexi¬ year. It is believed mat in a near co will export not only coffee, but sugar and tea.— Ch op go Times
