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Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other States, are moving in the matter of improving the country roads. It is estimated that the postage stamps of half the nations of the world are. engraved and printed in Mew Yo: k. There - said to be enough reclaimed swamp land in Florida to produce half the entire Quantify of sugar consumed in this country. Ti appears that of the* immigrants coming into this country more Italians go bacK to their native land than any other nationality. v outh of the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande there arc 50,000.000 of people, who consume annuaby $47.7,0( t’j'OOO of merchandise. The m, verrput in Mexico for an amendment to the constitution which shall permit the re-election of President Diaz is gaining ground, and there is good reason for supposing that it will be carried. Bismarck savs that the Socialists should neither be threatened nor coaxed, lie believes that a g meat should be strong and energetic enough to deal with them the moment they step, over the line. Edward Atkinson, tlie Boston statis¬ tician. declares that the annual pro¬ duction of egg s in this country equals in money value the country’s animal production of iron. 'J'iie eggs are eaten n>■ last as produced, while the iron stay*- by the owners, and is sub¬ ject to taxation as it accumulates from year to year. The Chicago Herald jeers at the legal profession in this way: “Seven of the supposed-to-be-sharpest and wisest lawyers ft; die country have made wills, passed away, and the said wills have been broken all to flinter? by heirs and other lawyers. An ignorant Mis¬ souri farmer wrote his will in four lines on si s.ate, and it stood three law¬ suits and ten 1 m«u-is." It is a noteworthy fact, thinks the New York Commercial Adveitiser, that one of tlie four States recently ad¬ mitted to the Union, namely "Washing¬ ton. is second in the extent of its steamboat mail routes, being tanked by Mary and only. Mary and has l’?5( miles in such routes, and mail steamer? piv annually 400,000 miUsin it- waters, while Washington has 907. "While all Europe is talking of J’rin e Bismarck, few know liow (lie grea* Chancellor and his ancestors got their name. Bismarck is the name of one of those ancient castles a short distance from Stendal, on the road from Cologne to Berlin, in the centre of the old Marquisate of Brandenburg. 'J’iie castle had this name because it defended the “Marca,” or the line where the River Biese formed a boundary in former times, or mark of defence against intruders, lienee the name Bismarck. Irir Peter Edlin, in his charge to the grand jury at the opening of the Lon¬ don county sessions, declared that there was no diminution of crime in England, and that, on the contrary, the average of the last ten years had beet: maintained. It had been ob¬ served. in connection with this sub¬ ject. that money was always forthcom¬ ing for the defence of criminals against whom there were long records of previous convicions. Hardened c Headers were seldom left without legal assistance. It was for the court to observe that the law was not bought off. The INew York Experiment Station, upon t he question of comparative profits in present ana past farming in this Stat< . arrives at this result: Tak¬ ing five ] rincipal crops—corn, wheat, oats, potatoes and hay—aggregating in value ninety-two per cent, of all the leading crops, the average yield since tire period from 1802 to 1870 has fallen off 8.8 per cent., while the market value of these crops has fallen to about 07 1-2 per cent, of the value them Yet the labor to produce these crops costs just as much now as it did that, while selling for about two- liurdt as much. Texa- has a larger school fund than any oiher State; it amounts to $70,- 000,000, and can be increased to $100,000,000 by the time its land is all sold. It is suggested that the President he given twenty appointments to West Point each' year, and that the ap¬ pointees be sons of regular or of vol¬ unteer officers of the army. A Canton (China) paper estimates that 750,000 people die every year in China by fire and flood, bat it adds: i i The great need of China is tlie sud¬ den removal of 2,000,000 or 3,000,- 000 inhabitants to make elbow-room for those who are left.” Ice trusts seem to be the order of the day in the principal cities of the country, observes the Louisville Courier-Joarnal, and consumers are protesting vigorously against the prices which owners of tlie precious crystals propose to charge. Says the Xew York Tribune: “The statement is made that at least seventy letters a day miscarry because of the similarity in the names of Oswego and Owego. Uyr this reason each town wants the oilier town to change its name, but of course neither town will do so. Isaac 11. Vincent, Alabama’s default¬ ing state tica-urcr, has been elected treasurer by the cdmvicts at the Pratt coal mines, where lie is serving a 15- years’ sentence. The sum of $5,001) has been placed in his hands, He re- ceives a small commission for taking charge of the money. According to the Chicago Herald the Japanese do not flourish in California, being too commonly confounded with the Chinese, and most of them being young men who would not do well even in their own country, Even those who arc fairly successful lead a hard life. M. Holland, an eminent French en¬ gineer, recently read a paper before the Academy of Sciences, in which he insists on the necessity of constructing a railway across the Sahara. The siiiiicipoliii from which ho rcgHTds me project is the part which France will have to make up her mind she is going to play in the economic conquest of the interior of Africa. The sheep killed in Tennessee in one year by dogs were valued at $90,000, asserts ihe Detroit Free Press, and the work was done by about 200 dogs, who-e combined value, taking every merit into account, would not average $1 apiece. “And yet,” marvels that journal, had one of those dogs beeii killed after killing the sheep, his own¬ er would have had someone's blood.” Leprosy has of late assumed such large dimensions in the Baltic provin¬ ces, especially in the province of Est- land, that it has been found necessary to take steps toward building an asy¬ lum for those unfortunate people. The first institution of this kind will be founded at Dorpat. Subscriptions, concerts and lotteries are now being got up for tliis'objeet in different parts of Russia. A line statue was unveiled recently a’ Coloina of Marshall, the discoverer of gold in California. The San Fran¬ cisco correspondent of the Xew York Tribune describes it as representing the old pioneer in a prospector’s cos¬ tume pointing toward the spot whore he made the memorable discovery that exercised so powerful an influence on the destinies of tlie Pacific coast. The statue overlooks tlie historic mill-race where the first gold was found more than forty years ago. President Gompcrs of the Federa¬ tion of Labor, has said that it has been repeatedly demonstrated that men who work six days in the week and rest on the seventh can do more and bettor work : n the course of the year than men who are compelled to work the whole seven days. He maintains that the principle applies in practice to the hours of the day. He would divide the twenty-four hours “natur¬ ally” into three parts—eight hours for labor, eight hours for recreation and eight hours for sleep, and insists that larger results can be obtained by this division than by robbing the hours of recreation and sleep to increase those for labor. COURTS-MARTIAL. rilEY orilfUXATED IN THE DAYS Ok' CHIVALRY. -- Early English Customs—Methods of Procedure in this Country. The naval court-martial of today has its origin away back in the days of •hivalrv, although the many customs and formalities that at present obtain do not go ba k quite so far. Our methods are based largely upon those of the English Navy, and it was not until the Long Parliament in 1045 passed an ordinance in relation ro mar- tial law for the navv that written records of the proceedings were re- quired. The military punishments in the time of Charles II. were inflicted very sparingly, hut so quickly that public notice was not attracted. About this time a code of laws was framed by which crimes and offences were sped- tied, and were directed to be inquired into and punished by courts-martial held for the purpose. Provision was aho made for a judge a lvocate, who was empowered io administer oaths, examine witnesses, etc. It was only a few years later that an amendment was added to a bill assigning death or such other punishment as a court-mar¬ tial should adjudge, for desertion or mutiny, to the cftec’ that no sentence of death rhould be passed, except be¬ tween the hour-of 0 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. This, accord¬ ing to Macaulay, was because dinner was early, and hard drinking being one of the qualifications of a gentle¬ man, it was not supposed that any member of a court-martial, after din¬ ing. would be in a state in which he couhl safely be trusted with the lives of his fellow-creatures. In _ 1< ,___ <8 the first - law for . governing was passed . by . Congress, ,, and , our navy it referred to penalties for the losing of „ a man-of-war ..... through negligence or misconduct. , During ihe following vear a Board of Admiralty was estab- , hshetl, having, other , things, .. among the , of ordering courts-martial, , power and , it . was recommended , , to the execu- tive auinorities of different States to compel the attendance of witnesses before courts-martial. A Secretary of Marine was authorized a vear or so . later, . and , , he was vested with authority , to order , courts-martial . ,-ii and was or- dered to transmit to Congress the pro- cecdmgs of o any court , recommending t a capital sentence. Captains of ves- sols were authorized lo appoint courts for nil but commissioned officers, a power that they slid hold, but the proceedings of these summary courts, as liter are called, are to be approved by the senior officer present after revi- sion by the Captain, excepting in cases where men are sentenced to loss of pay, which are always submitted to the Secretarv of the Navv. ‘ * 1 he earlier law stated that general e courts were to be composed of “ot more than I<‘> members nor less than live, . and , the , Judge , , Advocate was at that time (he onlv one bound bv - oath not to disclose the vote or opinion 1 of . member , of „ the , court, unless anv ’ obliged ,• so to do , in . due , course of law; , whereas , now all „ of „ the , members , are obliged ,.. , to , add that clause , to their . . oaths, . “to well ..... and trulv trv the , case now depending.” . Bv T , *, the sami aiti- . ' cles. . courts were empowered , to im- prison in cases of contempt of court or refusal to give evidence. The conception of courts-martial as courts of honor as well as courts of justice is acknowledged by the great limitation ....... given by Ihe expression . “or such other punishment as a court-mar- tial may direct,” which is found so frequently as an alternative for penal¬ ties prescribed for certain offenses. Sentences extending to loss of life re¬ quire the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present, whereas less severe sci.tc.ieo. require only a majori- ty of the votes. Sentences of death, as well as those of dismissal of a com- missioned or warrant officer, must be approved by the President. When all of the evidence for the prosecution and the defense had been Mibiuittcil. ami .lie accused I,as made any statement he may care to make, the court is cleared for deliberation, and then the members arc ready, the voting is taken on the specification of ti e lir-t charge, each member writing ki- opinion as to whether < r not the specification is proved, proved in part or not proved. The votes are recorded by the Judge Advocate, who au¬ nounces the result, and the voting on {he charge is then proceeded with as to whether the accused is guilty, not guilty, or guilty in a le<s degree than chaiged, and so on through all the charges and specifications. Should guilt or partial guilt be proved, then each member writes down what he considers an adequate punishment, and when each one has submitted liis opinion they are all care- fully read over and the voting is taken on the mildest penalty first. The opinion of the junior is first taken, then the next in rank, and so on through the list, aiul it a majority be declared in favor of that sentence it stands as the punishment awarded; if not, the next mildest is taken up and the same proceeding gone through with until a sentence approved by the majority is agreed upon. This custom of having the junior vote before the others originated in France, and the reason for it was that (ho junior in rank was presumably the youngest member of the court, and in order that his vote should be independent and uninfluenced by the maturer opinions of his seniors he was obliged to be the first to vote.— [Xew York Times. Razor Lore. “Yes,” said a Pearl street barber as lie was shaving me the other day, “we often have amateur shavers bring us their razors to be fixed up. Almost any man with a steady hand can shave himself, but not one in fifty e.ut keep his razor in decent condition. The first reason is that amateurs wear all the temper out of their razors by ex¬ cessive strapping, and the better the steel the easier it is affected in this way. The only remedy is to let it alone. Put away the razor that scrapes and cuts the skin and give it a good rest. Then use it again, ? and in all ,, probability , , will be . good it in ,, “Some of the modern shaving ° sets have there , are days , as many razors as in . the week, , ’ and on the handle of ca r, h is . engraved the name of , a dav. If the . kept . little sharpen- rotation is up verv ' . . needed. , , T I have . known mg is men toU ... \° pot ' azors wluch , . , ,he - v have lbitl C \ CI ' 1 ,l v <v<1 so - •' oais ’ i^hey would let those lie b\ or a w ' vou ^ a ' u ' ( 01ne : • improvement. The second cause of the trouble is bearing n on the razor ' rh,ls “■‘“Honing it, You never want to attempt 11 to put on an edge ° before • shavl " s: ' " “on you are lliraugh . no ,ho Wade a fow lilucs n * ht ’y °" “ 1 » lahl lca,llcr slra P- wl ' iul * neod llot cost abovc a *l" ar,el '» “'"I ‘ben put ! TIm! oW boilh 'S “'«er err at is cx P lodcd " ow - a,ld l‘ro*n«lonals do »’ ood work " i" 1 cold " ak ' r as bob [-Ylbanj Atgus. , j Onyx ta Supplant Marble. “You can say good-by to Carrara I marble, , , „ ’ said ., one of e, the largest house decorators . . in . v Xew .. i ork , to . a repre- j of the Star of that eitv. ‘ “It i was all ,, very wed up to a lew vears I . , but , the developments . . ... ot i I since, our own j , land , and , of c Mexico . . have driven . . it to i the wall. ,, Its most , formidable , . , , , toe is the Mexican . onvx. r This, .„ . although , , , it . looks , , soft and ... hard creatin', is as as steel, . , and , when . once polished is almost indestructible. . . ^ , At . used present it is . small ,, quantities, ... and , chief!v , . , m is * known . , from its white .. and , yellow , * varieties. ... T It . obtains . . in twenty other styles, which are equally beautiful. More remarkable than the onyx is the petrified wood of Arizona and New Mexico. It comes in all colors and is superior in beauty and elegance to ,„ ost Ul0 „, 059 lm , wood agates used in jewelry. It takes a magnificent polish and is not so costly but that it can be used for mantel¬ pieces, bar fronts, wash stands ash re¬ ceivers, table tops and bureau slabs. The supply is inexhaustible, aiul when the railroads of the Southwest are ex- , wi|1 s „ flice f#r cven , ib|a demand.” The Zebra Becoming Extinct. There seems to be good reason for 1 fearing that the zebra is rapidly be¬ coming extinct. Sportsmen and trav- c,lcrii concl "' 1,1 r 'l wr,i “* " iat "■» ! zebra of South Africa is now more and j more difficult to find, and is like the aboriginal races of primitive lands, ; disappearing before the march of civilization. And, unlike “the noble savage.” the agile zjbra has ever re- solufily refused to he tamed. SCIENTIFIC SCUM'S, The stomach contains 5-,0f>(> on* glands by which the gastric juico i$ secreted. French army and navy Surgeon* have been forbidden to practice hypua, tism on their patients. Leprosy is really increasing hi part* of India, in South Africa, and in some of the "West Indian colonic*. A Berlin photographer not only se . cures exposures but rapidly prim* positives by the magnesium flash light. The most common form of ruin, gauge consists of a copper funnel, the area of the mouth of which is aecu- lately known. The experiment of treating typhoid fever by prolonged in mersion of the patient in water has been tried with gratifying success. Codfish folloxv the ice of an iceberg down until they reach the water under it, which place affords them an excel- len feeding ground. The kangaroo has at last been accli¬ matized in England, by simply turning loose in the woods, and twenty-eight or thirty native specimens of several species are now to be seen in Tring Park. An addition of two per cent of cocaine to the ordinary cocoa butter pencils converts the latter into a cos¬ metic remedy, which gives almost in¬ stant relief when rubbed over the irri¬ tated spot. A new German water-pipe is made of glass covered with a coating of asphalt and fine gravel. The advan¬ tages claimed are resistance to ground moisture and acids and alkalies, ami impermeability to gases. The frequency of the pulse in the new-born is 150; in infants of one year, 110; at two years, 95; at seven to foe rteen years, 85 ; in the adult man, 72; women, 80. The respirations are one-fourth as rapid as the pulse. That peculiar echinoid, the sea-ur¬ chin, has five teeth in five jaws, one in each jaw. all the five immediately surrounding the stomach. The jaws have a peculiar centralized motion, all turning inward arid downward, so that they also act as feeders. An Englishman who insulated his bedstead by placing underneath each post a broken oft’ bottle says he had not been free from rheumatism or gout for fifteen years, and that Ire be¬ gan to improve immediately after the application of the insulators. Some beautiful specimens of artific¬ ial malachite, well adapted for orna¬ mental work, have been produced by Professor de Scliulten, of the Univer¬ sity of Helsingfors. The process is said to consist in evaporating a eola¬ tion of carbonate of copper in carbon¬ ate of ammonia. A sculptor in Paris named Fred¬ erick Beer has discovered a process for making marble fluid and moulding' it as metal is moulded. The new product, called beryt, costs but little more than plaster, and is especially well adapted to the ornamentation of houses and the construction of floors- baths, etc. A Curious Ocean Race. One of the most curious ocean races ever known recently came to an end at Suez. Leaving Melbourne three hours after the English steamer Oriza¬ ba. the French Messagiires steamer Salazie arrived at the same time as her competitor at Albany. Up to that point their route had been the same, but as from there to Egypt their itin- erary was not the same, heavy bets were laid in Australia for the arrival of the Orizaba at Suez 12 hours ahead of the French steamship. Conse¬ quently people at Suez, were on the lookout, and on the day when both ships were due they saw the French steamer ahead and the Englishman making desperate efforts to gain on her, but in vain. "When the goal was reached the Frenchman was one hun¬ dred amd sixty or seventy yards ahead of one of the swiftest merchant steamers in the English service.— [Chi- cago Herald. He Didn’t Know. Xewwed—How long does a man have to be married before his wife agrees with him in everything? Oklwed (mournfully)—You’ll have to ask somebody else, my boy; T v « only been married forty years.-" [Epoch.