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STUDENT DUELS A Pecular Feature of Leading German Universities. “Friendly” Contests Which Of¬ ten Result in Bloodshed. The dueb I have just witnessed, says Berlin letter to the Hartford (Conn.) (Durant, wero student affairs and char- aeterized by the features common to such scenes. I went as the guest of a German whose department at tho uni- versify was theology; this show's that fl0 thou;ht of the mensur (duel) being objectionable enters the most orthodox ind. At an early hour of the morn¬ m of the ing we went to a distant part city, to a building which stood in the rear of a yard, the frout of which was occupied by a beer saloon. The room was low-studded, dirty and bare of fur- uiture, as well as insufficiently heated bv a stove; long boxes containing the dueling outfits stood along the walls, and on the window seats -were spread the operating tools of the sur- <reons; a passage led into a back O with tables room fitted up as a drinking place, and a waiter constantly between the two in order to fill the orders for beer and cognac. The forty or fifty men present were nearly all smoking and the air was opaque and malodorus with the weed. On my ar¬ rival my German friend introduced me to the “second” of his club, who bade uie welcome, and then paid no more at¬ tention to my presence. I should men- tion that this was not a corps duel, but a 90 -called Burschenschaft contest. The corps is the swellcst club 01 association in student life, and as its members wear distinctive colors the duels between the corps are more picturesque; but in all other respects the contests of the other organizations do not differ. The sight of the blood- stained breast protectors thrown in the middle of the floor between two chalk lines and the hospilal-liko smell that pervaded the place, did not add particularly to the festivity of the hour. Soon came the arraying of the contest¬ ants, along, tedious process; after each principal had stripped bare to the waist and donned a linen dueling shirt, no end of bandages were wound about his neck and arm, the breastplate, not unlike those worn by our base ball catchers, was adjusted, iron goggles were put over the eyes, and a great box- ing-glovc on the right hand, so that it was a wonder how the sword hilt could be grasped at all. When the right arm is thus prepared it is so helpless that it has to be put in position high above the head by a man who stands beside tho duelist for that purpose, and when¬ ever “halt” is called by the seconds, the arm is caught and held by these same men, the duelist himself bc- iog as powerless as a mediaeval knight * a armor when off his horse. Tho ap- pearancc of the contestants when fully equipped is grotesque and clumsy. The seconds area prominent and picturesque feature; they stand diagonally to the du.lists, padded also about neck and k°dy, though to a less degree, wearing Ca P 3 ^ lose American jockeys and with swords wdiich they cross on high between the principals and remove when they give the order to fight, Still an- other man, the time-keeper and ref¬ eree, stands hard by with pencil, noto book and watch in readiness so that in all there is a little group of seven men in the middle of the room, the number being swelled intcr- wittingly to eight, when the duel is advanced, by the doctor who coolly ex- amines the wounds of the fighters to see that none are serious enough for a cessation of hostilities. One hundred and twenty quarter-minute rounds are bought, which gives half an hour of actual fighting, though sometimes this 33 shortened to fifteen minutes. Of the ! hree contests I witnessed, the first was n.irely bloodless, one of the schlagers (duelists) alone receiving a tiny sciatch on the cheek, which injury was received witli groans of derision or disgust from ?he onlookers; they evidently thirsted ^ ‘ S° re NVlien number one was over, - lil -' 'beological friend, apparently feeling that an apology was in order for the lack of excitement, assured me that the next would be more beautiful (schoner) and that I would “see blood. ” Thus cheered I waited expectantly. 1 he promise was fulfilled. Before number two was half fought both Principals blood were a sickening si<rht, and was pretty much all over the place. If the mother of either of these young men had been present she would have been extremely uncom¬ fortable. As each round was called they stood up doggedly and cut away with their keen rapiers long aftet one would have thought the weakness from loss of blood would have made continuation impossible. It was an exhibition of bull-dog courage that had its heroic side. Before the timo was up the surgeon put a stop to the fight, deciding that the worst punished of the two had had enough. Then en¬ sued the dressing of the wounds, one of the most interesting features of the dap. The wounded called for cigar¬ ettes or cigars, and calmly smoked while the needle and knife did their work and the scissors made bare patches in the hair of their heads. Meanwhile another couple were called auf der Mensur (to the combat, literally, to the line). This third bout was fought to the finish, but was no whit behind the other in the amount of blooi spilt and hair cut off; a leek of the latter fluttered through the air and was picked up by the doc¬ tor and put on his operating table with the remark that he would give it to the young man’s sweetheart, which, by the way, is customary. At the end of each duel, when the goggles were pulled off, the fighters shook hands and grinned at each other in the most friendly fashion; the groggy nature of the smile may be imagined, but it was pleasant to see as a sign that no bad blood remained,— and much less good blood, as well. Time to Interfere. Sain Bolus was a great, hulking six- footer. He had threatened Dick Ily- ans, who was half his size, so often that he felt the time had come to sub¬ stitute acts instead of words, Dick would persist in walking across Sam’s meadow instead of keeping to the king’s highway. One day Sam’s patience gave out, and seeing a couple of his neighbors watching him, he chased Dick down the road until he caught him. Then the trouble began. Dick was cornered and had but one thing to do, and he did that so effectually that in a twinkling ho had big Sam on his back, while he sat astride on his chest aud used nature’s weapons with might aud main. Sam wriggled and twisted, but found lie couldn’t help himslf, while tho laughter of the bystanders did not add tc his comfort by any means. Finally he roared in desperation: “Why don’t you part us? Don’t you see we’re killing each other. ?” Wonderful Hydraulic Machinery. What is thought to be one of the most interesting as well as marvellous constructions yet devised in the way of hydraulic machinery, has been for a while past in operation in the rolling mill at Wheatland, Penn. Its purpose is the rolling of pipe iron, and this it accomplishes in a manner and with a degree of success hitherto unattained. In practice, huge slabs of iron, weigh¬ ing hundreds of pounds, are pulled from the furnace, glowing at white heat, and placed on a long iron bed, which moves forw'ard, upward, down ward and sidewise, the mass being pushed through rolls, back again, and stopping only when it has become re¬ duced to the proper size in the shape of pipe iron. The whole operation re¬ quires the attention of but one or two employees, who control the machinery by a few simple levers, the saving of labor being thus very great. A Reptilian Fighter. The gigantic Ceratopsidae, whose skulls Prof. O. C. Marsh has been ex¬ amining, appear to have been not the least important of the creatures that lived in North America before tho bison. Remains of these reptiles have been found over a distance of nearly 800 miles in the upper Cretaceous de¬ posits along the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. In the best known genus of the family, the skull, exceed¬ ing in size that of every land animal hitherto known, must have reached a length of more than eight feet. It was wedge-shaped, and had a remarkable and most formidable armature, including a sharp-cutting beak in front, a strong horn on tho nose, a pair of immense pointed horns on top of the head and a row of sharp projections around the back of th e head. All were protected by a horny covering of great strength. FOB FARM AND GARDEN. i DRINK FOR FATTENING HOGS. Corn is heating food. It is too con¬ centrated for most kinds of stock, and sven for hogs it often creates a feverish state of the system that requires a good deal of water to cool down. A hog that is kept feverish from unloaded stomach will not fatten. It should have beets or mangled wurtzels; but if this is impossible mix water with the chill taken off it with a little line middlings. This will distend the stomach and pre¬ vent constipation. It will also furnish the albuminoid food necessary to make leau meat, in which corn is deficient. If fattening hogs are given drink warm, and thus mixed with wheat middlings, they will drink much more heartily than they will of cold water alone, and be less likely to get off their feed.— N. Y. Il ra Id. dried up cornstocks. The difficulties in keeping corn fod¬ der in good condition are found at both ends of tho season, though wide¬ ly different. Jn fall and early winter cornstocks are apt to bo much too moist, and unless speedily frozen dry by cold weather they will heat and mould. Later in the winter thee frozen cornstocks dry out the sap that they originally contained, and become nearly worthless, because tasteless. Every farmer knows that towards springtime cornstocks greatly depre¬ ciate in value. They must be fed early to be fed to the best advantage. A 3 for keeping dried com fodder over one year, it is seldom or never attempted. It is no good the second season, and after two or three times freezing dry, is worth little except to bum for the ashes it will make.— American Cultiva- tor. raise early berries. It is wise to set the most vigorous plants if we expect success in straw¬ berry culture. When the strawberry sends out runners they soon tako root and a succession of sets is formed. Be- tw'ccn the sets a secondary branch is apt to start which also sets. These sets produce other sets, aud all this is done at the expense of the original plant. If these later sets be used for planting new beds the fruit will always be late and small. A few hundred plants should bo set in a bed by themselves, and the elongations encouraged, while the laterals are kept nipped off. j n this way plants of the best kind will be grown. Plants set out tho same season they arc grown, or early the next spring, arc the only ones fit to use. Older plants become hard and black at the root and are difficult to make live. If care bo taken to grow young, vigorous plants, they will usu- ally do w'cll. The soil must be kept mellow so the young roots will readily p«netrate it. Otherwise they will stand above the ground, the roots will die and the plants will not flourish.— N. Y. Herald. PLOWING LAND WET. It is not only the difficulty in getting the soil in a proper tilth for planting or sowing a crop that makes it undesirable to plow the land when wet, but also the damage to laud that in a majority of cases is the result of stirring the soil when it cannot be worked into a good condition. There may be times in a wet season when it will be necessary to cultivate the soil when it is wet, in order to save the crop; but it is rarely the case that there is any saving in preparin g the soil in the spring, in plowing or stirr- ing when it is so wet that it will not work readily into a good tilth. Having the soil in a good tilth before planting the seed, is one of the essen- tials necessary to secure a good growth and yield, and a failure to secure a good tilth will affect the crop to a more or less extent. In many cases, if the soil is wet it will be a good plan to run out furrows in different parts of the fields that will afford good drainage, and in this way get rid of a good portion at least of the surplus moisture. While it is very im¬ portant to get all the crops planted reasonably early, it will be better to delay planting until the soil is dry. One of the advantages in plowing in tho fall is that the soil will dry out ear- Her and be in a condition to seed sooner than if left undisturbed until spring. If the weather continues wet after plow¬ ing so as to run the soil together, less damage will be done than if after plow¬ ing it turns off dry, as it is liable to bake, and often t .e effect can be seen all during the summer, and will affect not only the growth but the yield. It will often be difficult to work the soil to a good tilth, after it has been plowed wet, and this affects the germi¬ nation of the seed a3 well as the start to grow. It also increases the work of cultivation, and often prevents com¬ mencing the cultivation as early as it should be, and the better plan is to wait until it has dried out sufficiently so that in plow ing it will work loose' and mel¬ low .—Prairie Farmer. fiust pkincipi.es in butter making. Butter i3 finished in the dairy and not made there. The stamp of tho dairy woman puts the gold in the market form; but the work must be commenced in the field or in the feeding stables; and this leads at once to the considera¬ tion of feeding for butter. During the early, sunny summer month, when nature is profuse of favors, there is lit¬ tle to be done beyond accepting her bounty. The tender grasses are full of the needed nutriment, and they afford the constant supply of moisture without which the secretion of milk is greatly lessened. Yet this season, as well as others, a pure supply of water is absolutely necessary. It does not meet G> requirement if cattle have P wet hole full of surface drainage in the pasture, or a frog pond. While it is not probable that tho tadpoles and wrigglers sometimes found in city milk have been drunk by thirsty cows, many infusions do exist in such pools that are hardly eliminated or rendered entirely harm¬ less by the wonderful milk secretions of the animal. The cattle should drink from spring-fed boxes; and as often as these under the hot sun arc scento produce green growth or floating scum a pail of coarse salt may be put in, and the cur¬ rent checked until the fresh water growths are killed; tho salt water is then drawn off, and for a long timo the trough will remain pure and the water bright. —liar al Kansan farm and garden notes. d care lightens the horse’s load. Do not allow or force milk cows to drink ice-cold water. With easy, well-fitting harness not so many oats are required. Never drive milk cow3 or fattening stock faster than a walk. To bring up a worn-down horse, give it light work, not idleness. You have no need of a dog in bring¬ ing the cattle home from pasture. Keep stock of all kinds off the mea¬ dow' when the soil is not dry and firm. Whitewash in the cow stablo makes things look cheerful and tends to clean¬ liness. A moderate top-Jressing from the compost heap will ensure a fine stand of clover. There is no more profitable use of skim milk, than to give it to the wean¬ ing foals. Make a map of your orchard and on it name all the varieties of fruit as the trees stand. When gently used, the curry-comb and brush are just as needful for milk cow's as they are for work horses. You go through your barn-yard gate twice a day, carrying milk. What kind of fastening have you on that gate? Your cows will certainly fall off in their milk unless housed in a warm stable during inclement or very cold weather. Milk set at a temperature between fifty and sixty degrees cannot be made to part with all its cream no matter how it is set. Hens do not eat their eggs unless they learn the habit from having eggs broken in tho nest. Never use stala or broken eggs as nest-eggs. Chicks and fowls in confinement should have broken charcoal before them at all times. It is as good a con¬ dition powder as we know of. Don’t be ashamed or discouraged ber cause you fail in hatching quite as many chicks as your neighbor. Expe¬ rience will aid you, stick to it. Cultivate home markets for every¬ thing. Send nothing to the general market until you have satisfied all the demands of those living near by. Crop-bound fowls can trace their trouble to the lack of gravel or sharp, gritty grinding material, as well as to fibrous substances, such as potato and apple parings or grass bladei. NEWS AND NOTES FOR WOMEN. The woman is dressed best who im¬ presses you that she could not be dressed differently. So handsome are the new sunshades that the girl of the period will take more exercise than ever. Clara Barton, of the White Cross Society, is the only American entitled to wear the iron cross of Prussia. Six young ladies from Canada have re¬ cently departed for China, in connection with the China Inland Mission. A London genius has invented a hot- water apparatus to warm piano keys, so that daiuty fingers may not be chilled. An English lady is about to open a barber shop in London in which all the attendants are to be of the weaker sex. Charming little bonnets for young ladies are seen this season, the biggest bonnet, of course, for the biggest head. Queen Victoria has sent a silver punch bowl to the officers of tho Prussian dragoon regiment of which she is Colonel. A most striking necklace worn recently at a New York entertainment was made of pearls and four fine pigeon rubies in skeleton settings. Notwithstanding the very tiresome utilization of its name, “Eiffer Tower” colors and designs in trimming remain in fashionable favor. There is nothing exhibited in millinery just now more stylish and unobstru3ive than the medium-sized rouud hats with their sable plumes. Apricot and ashes-of-roses waists of faille or bengaline silk are worn with pretty Venetiau jackets of russet or Eiffel-red English cloth. A new freak of fashion, says one of the Paris correspondents, is a looking- glass stand for the menu, in order that ladies may see how they look at table. Margaret C. Bisland, of New Orleans, is both a writer and a musical composer. She is the mother of three sisters who achieved such a reputation in journalism. Helen Allingham, widow of William Allingham, tho poet, is the first woman to be elected a member of the English Royai Society of Painters in Water Col¬ ors. The ladies who constitute the com¬ mittee for the World’s Fair have de¬ cided upon tlieir seal emblem, The en- graving will be “Columbus sighting land.” * y Mrs. John A. Logan is doing remark¬ ably well with her new magazine. She is living at her home in Chicago, and she has her regular hours of editorial work. The first lady at the German Court is Countess Waldensee who was a Miss Lea of New York. She lives like a Queen in a palace adjoining that of Von Moltke. General Sheridan’s three little daugh¬ ters are pupils of the Convent of Visita¬ tion in Washington. The git Is are day scholars, living in retirement with their mother. The plain skirts give the g.rl of the period quite a “prim, precis?” appear¬ ance, which she does not always deserve. It is not a fashion that in likely to last a very long time. For traveling costumes or school frocks there is a very excellent fabric of linen and wool. All patterns are light grounds stripes, plaids aud checks in black, gray and pale colors. For mourning dresses this season there are new silk and wool fabrics in light qualities imitating China crapes, also a serviceable silk called Antoinette surah for light mourning. A pretty fashion prevails just now vel¬ of wearing a graceful French toque of vet—reseda green being a favorite color— the front of which is adorned with a full aigrette of fine green foliage. Lustrous mohairs are inexpensive and may be recommended for service and durability. Fabrics of this sort shed the dust, cling to the figure gracefully and are as light as cotton in weight. Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth receives an income from her books that is esti¬ mated at 610,000 a year. “Ishmael” is her favorite novel and “The Hidden Hand” her most successful volume. The proprietor of one of the uptown dry goods shops in New York has re¬ stricted his clerks to the use of the one title “Madam” in addressing women cus¬ tomers, whether young or old. It woiks well. The Ladies' Hollywood Association, ol Richmond, has petitioned the city coun¬ cil to turn over the Jefferson Davis man¬ sion as a memorial building in which in¬ teresting war relics may be collected and exhibited. While there are numerous charming finishes in hat wear there are a host ol extraordinary creations like the “Madge Wildfire” style bidding for favor, twisted and bent here and there without appar¬ ent motive. Styles in cuff-buttons change fre¬ quently. Round unes fluted with dia¬ mond centres are much worn. Tho cor¬ rect buttons for mourning wear are ova) enameled in dead black and rimmed with tiny pearls. Harris cloth, made on the islands ofl the coast of Scotland, was first intro¬ duced to Londoners from motives of be¬ nevolence by persons interested in its poverty-stricken representatives, but it u now the leading cloth of the season foi tailor made dresses.