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The New Orleans Picayune estimates
that the thirteen monitors belonging to
this country cost over $7,000,000.
“They are now useless and falling into
ruin,” it adds.
The average age of a bride hi the
United Kingdom is 24.7 years, having
been increased by six months since
187!’, and in the “professional end in¬
dependent cla-scs” it reaches the age
of 2(i 1-2 rears.
The German movement in the direc¬
tion of equatorial Africa is far more
unwelcome to the British than French
activity in the western part of the con¬
tinent, for it is actually like poaching
on an English domain.
The Duke of Bedford has expended
$20,000 to popularize cremation, but
we notice a suspicious circumstance
about it, observes the New York Com-
ruercial Adrea.iser. The Duke has
never tried it himself.
The United States is the principal
customer of Canada for mine pro¬
ducts, the value of Ottawa’s exports
to this country for seven fiscal years
to 1887 being $18,500,000, while the
rest of the world it was less than
$5,000,000. The value of mineral ex¬
ports of Ontario alone to the United
.Slates for twenty years—1809 to 1888
—was $14,000,000, and to tlie rest of
the world $3,000,000.
San Francisco possesses in Miss
Bessie Bole, a young woman
who, the Troy Telegram thinks,
has more sense than her par.
ents. She learned horse-shoeing in an
industrial school and now she is
anxious to open a blacksmith shop.
Her parents prefer that she should
“play the lady.” Bessie is pretty and
industrious and she says that she
would rather shoe a horse any day
than play a nocturne on a piano.
The New York Commercial Adver¬
tiser says: In an investigation of tlie
lives of seventy-four centenarians, it
has been stated that most of these were
above average height. None had a bad
digestion. Out of fifty returns where
fatness or leanness were mentioned,
only nine individuals were fat. Out
of forty-six returns, fifteen took no
alcohol at all, and only one is de¬
scribed a- taking “a great deal of beer.”
Seven out of forty-five smoked a great
deal.
The quarterly report of the New
York Board of Wealth showed, the
New York News has found, seventy-
one cases of suicide in the first quarter
of the year, or at. the rate of 284 per
annum. The rate kept up through
March and April. In normal years
suicide reaches its maximum in the
month of June. The minimum month
is, or should be, January. About the
highest rate ever attained in Paris was
150 per 1,000,000 inhabitants. The
New York rate for the first quarter of
1885 was thirty-eight, or lately over
half that for the current year.
When France established the Four-
teenlh of July as a national holiday,
citizens were encouraged to make a
display of the nation's flag. They set
out to do so. They prepared a mini-
ber of those flags copiously decorated.
Trousers “in tiu> style 20f.,” “Try
our cheese,” and other tasteful ad-
diiion? displayed the thrift aud patriot-
ism of the peddler in pleasing com-
lunation. This peculiar use of tlie
national emblem was instantly forbid-
den. Tlie nimble commercial instinct
\vas headed off, nor lias any French-
man ever beheld the emblem of France
ennobled in advertising soap.
Gratifying progress is being made
in the direction of reducing the num-
ber of desertions from the army, m-
nounces the New York Tribune. Ill?
returns for six months past show
that this evil is rapidly decreasing,
those for April being the most striking
of all. The number of desertions re¬
ported for that month was 19G—wbout
100 less than for the corresponding
month of 1889, in spite of the fact
that April is usually a time when many
men yield to the temptation to leave
the army. Even without the adcrL
ticnal legislation on the subject, which
is considered desirable by those who
have the best interests of the army at
heart, it is evident that a noteworthy
advance has been made in the curtail-
meat of this demoralizing practice.
It is alleged that the falsification of
English coins by clipping and counter¬
feiting has gone to a greater extent
during the last few years than for a
long time before, and that things have
got to such a pas* ihat it is hardly safe
t o accept coins at all.
The Japanese ladies are in a worry.
Some years ago European dress began
to come into vogue in Japan, but a re¬
action has set in. The J. pan «e women
are not satisfied with ho ordinary
dress styles of civilization, out they are
unwilling to return to their old dress,
and hence they are now considering
“rational dress” advocated by the va¬
rious feminine dress reformers.
If the sea is making inroads on the
British Empire, at some parts, it is
giving up land in others, for in one
of the rooms in Dungencss lighthouse
there is an inscription setting forth
that it was erected in the year 1792,
on a spot distant 100 yards from the
sea, in substitution for an older light¬
house which stood 540 yards further
inland. When this older lighthouse
was built it was on the marge of the
sea. The existing structure wa«, as
the inscription sets forth, built luO
yards from the water’s edge, It is
now fully 500 yards distant, and the
sea is receding.
It is very much to be wished, asserts
the New York Observer, that some¬
thing might be done to stop the influx
of immigrants for the Mormon com¬
munities. Every year witnesses the
arrival of the so-called Mormon con¬
verts from Europe. Could this supply
of new blood be stopped, Mormonism
would be iu a fairer way of dying out.
It is now hoped that it can be proved
that these emigrants come here under
contract. If so, a way of preventing
their influx may be found by the use
of the anti-contract labor law. The
Mormons are shrewd, however, and
even in spite of such a finding, may'
discover some way of defeating tho
law.
* A correspondent writing from
Huron, South Dakota, alluding to the
wonderful artesian wells in that state,
says: “A wealthy Milwaukee gentle¬
man who 1ms loaned large sums of
money in this 6tate, and of course
been compelled to take more or less
lands on bis hands, has given it (ir-
ligation) much thought. East fall he
instructed his agent in this city to dig
one of these gushers on his farm
close to town and experiment with
tlie same in irrigating the land which
he has here. A high knoll in the
middle of the farm was select¬
ed and a well sunk. Today water was
struck in sufficient quantities to cover
the section. Seventy-five acres of
spring wheat had been thoroughly
planted to operate upon and now a
largo amount of land is being broken
upon which to sow flax. The question
of irrigation with artesian wells will
now he sufficiently tested to show to
the world whether or not it is practi¬
cal. If it is, the drouth problem in
this section of country is forever
solved; and as a matter of fact drouth
would be preferable to rain.”
The Springfield (Mass.) Union says:
Profit-sharing as a solution of the
labor problem is not making the pro-
tliat its advocates hoped for a
few years ago, yet in some industries
where it has been judiciously applied
aiui adhered to persistently it has
proved a decided success. A large
manufacturing concern near Cincin-
which employs many operatives
a,i d I ,as a[1 industrial village of its
own, adopted profit-sharing some time
siuee and has just declared a semi-annu-
al dividend amounting to fifteen ai.d a
half per cent, on the wages of the op-
eratives, or thirty per cent, per annum,
That makes a very handsome addition
to a workman's income,
For instance, if he earns $700 pet
year his dividend amounts to $210,
which ho can very readily lay aside
for a rainy day. It is needless to say
that there arc no labor troubles in that
concern. The men have no disposi¬
tion to strike, and the interests of the
concern are thei’s to an unusual de¬
gree. They know that vigilance and
industry will repay them in proportion
as it benefits the concern, and the em-
plovers find that the increased activity
aiid industry of the men fully corn-
pensates them for the large dividend cf
the profits paid to them.
A MOTHER’S ORDEAL
SHE FINDS IIEK twins PLAYING
WITH A RATTLESNAKE.
After Killing It She Finds Another
Snake in Baby’s Cradle.
Mrs. Cyrus Jones of Leidv, Penn.,
has three children—twins, aged 4 years
and a baby 3 months old. Cue day
recently Mrs. Jones was working in
her garden. She left her baby asleep
in its cradle in the kitchen The twins
were playing in the front yard. Hav¬
ing been at work for some time in the
garden, Mrs. Jones walked around the
house to go in and see if her baby was
all right.
As she came around one corner of
the house she stopped to watch the
other two children a moment, attracted
by peculiar movements of theirs,which
seemed to cive them great amusement.
They were sitting on a grass plat, one
ot them having in her hand a short
stick with which she was giving occa¬
sional blows on the ground. After
each stroke the children would laugh
heartily. Now a:.d then one of them
would bend forward until her face was
near the ground, while she stroked
something with her hand. Then the
stick would be brought Into use i.ga'n,
and the mirth of the little ones be re¬
newed.
After watching and enjoying their
play for some time Mrs. Jones walked
out to where the children were sitting.
She was horrified to discover that the
object of their sport was a large rattle¬
snake. The reptile lay at full length,
apparently not displeased with being
made a plaything of. It is a well-
known belief among backwoods peo¬
ple that rattlesnakes will not bite
children, and many instances are cited
where these deadly reptiles have shown
actual fondness for them. Rut the
presence of a grown person will throw
the snake into a rage.
Mrs. Jones’s account of her experi*
ence on this occasion and one that im¬
mediately followed it certainly seems
to give foundation for the truth of the
possession by ihe rattlesnake of that
curious trait. Not knowing exactly
what to do after her startling dis¬
covery, she cautiously approached,
with a vague idea of snatching her
children away fiom their deadly play¬
thing. Ti e snake saw her, and in¬
stantly its attitude changed. With
the quickness of lightning it threw it¬
self into the coil the rattlesnake always
assumes preparatory to striking, and
set its radios going.
Mrs. Jones stopped and screamed to
her children to come to her. The
sudden change in the manner rf the
snake had frightened Ihe children, al¬
though the; reptile showed no inclina¬
tion to molest them, and they instinc¬
tively tumbled out of its way and
ran to their mother. Mrs. Jones led
them to a distance aud ran for her
garden hoe. She returned and killed
the snake.
After despatching the snake. Airs.
Jones and the children entered the
house, where the mot he? sank half
unconscious to the Hoar, ska was so
overcome by tlie trying experience she
had passed through. She had hardly
recovered from the cllects of the shock
when a scream from one of her chil¬
dren alarmed hei. Site staggered to
her feet, and saw the child standing
near the cradle. To her renewed hor¬
ror, Mrs. Jones saw another rattle¬
snake lying contentedly in the cradle,
not six inches from the sleeping baby's
face.
Mrs. Jones savs she will never know
how she managed to dispose of that
snake, for she had no recollection of
anytn ng after discovering it. She
found herself lying on tlie floor by the
side of the cradie, all -three of her
child on crying bitterly near her, the
baby being in her arms, and tlie snake
dead at tho door. Her husband came
from his work soon afterward, and
was himself so affected on hearing his
wife’s story and finding the dead
6nakes that he was unable to go to
work again that day. The snakes were
evidently mates. They were above
the average size, and had nine rattles
each.
A Walking Dictionary.
Norman—Budge,what is an obstacle?
Budge—Oh, that's an easy word.
An obstacle is a—well, it's something
or other you run against in the dark
and skin your nose.—[Y'oung People.
Feet Then and Now.
A noticeable thing about the statues
found in our museums of art, supposed
to represent the perfect figures of an-
cient men and women, is the apparent¬
ly disproportionate size of their feet.
Wq modern people are apt to pronounco
them too large, particularly those of
women. It will be found, however,
that for symmetrical perfection these
feet* could not be better. A Greek
sculptor would not think of such a
thing as putting a nine-inch foot on a
five-arid-one-half foot woman. Their
types for these classical marble figures
were taken from the most perfect forms
of living persons. Unquestionably,
the human foot as represented by these
old sculptors was larger than the mod¬
ern one; and, in fact, the primitive
foot of all people of whom we have
any record, either in painting or statu¬
ary, was larger than the restricted foot
of modern times.
The masculine foot, forming an ap¬
proximate average of four different
countries, was about 12 inches long.
This would require at least a number
12 or 12 1-2 shoe to cover it comforta¬
bly. The average masculine foot to¬
day is easily fitted with a number 8 1-2
shoe, and is therefore not above 10 7-1G
of an inch. Now by the old sculptu¬
ral rule of proportion a wan 5 feet 9
inches in height should have a foot
11 1-2 inches long, or one-sixth his
height. It was of no great conse¬
quence what size sandal he wore, but
ho would have requit ed a modern shoe
of at least a number 10 1-2 for a mini¬
mum fil, or a number 11 for a real
comfort.
For women, allowing for the differ¬
ence in the relative size of the two
sexes, which was about the same then
as now, a woman 5 feet 3 inches in
height would have had a foot 10 inches
long, requiring a modern shoe—it
ought to be spoken in a whisper—No.
6 as the most comfortable for that
foot, or a No. 5 1-2 as a limit of tor¬
ture. The reason for tlie difference
between the old classical foot and the
modern one is obvious. Restriction i9
what has done it.
Public Advice.
The other day when a horse draw¬
ing a cart full of coal got stalled on
West street, the public wa3 promptly
on hand with advice.
“Put on the whip!” shouted the
driver of an express wagon.
“Take him by the head!” added a
truckman.
“Light a bonfire under him!” called
a man from the sidewalk.
“Can’t you see he is stuck on the
centre?” queried a man who was prob¬
ably an engineer.
“If that was my hoes,” said a man
with a bundle of clothes under his arm,
“I’d tie a cloth over ins eyes, Eve
seen it tried a hundred times aud it
makes ’em pull their best.”
“Don’t believe it,” said a man with
a cane. “I've owned horses all my
life, and I’ve had some bad ones
am ng 'em. The only thing to do is
to blow into his right ear.”
“Y'ou mean the left,” said a small
man with a very thin voice.
“Xo, I don't. I mean the right ear.
I've tried it often enough, I guess.”
A crowd of fifty' people had gath-
oral, and now the driver got down
and looked the ground over, One
wheel was down in a rut. He stood
looking at it, his hand on the horse's
hip, and everybody around him tend-
dering advice, when a couple, of sailors
came along, and one of them called
out:
“Aye! mate, bat here's a craft on a
reef.”
% . Over with her, then.”
Both seized the wheel for a lift, the
driver clucked for the horse to go
ahead, and away went the load as easy
as j on please. They were the only
two out of the whole crowd who had
not advised die driver how to do it.—
[New Y’ork Sun.
- - — --
Transmitting News by Sunlight Flashes.
An official dispatch received at the
signal office the other day from Gen¬
eral Greely at Fort Bayard, New Mex¬
ico, was transmitted to Prescott, Ari¬
zona, a distance of COO niilc9, by the
heliograph system of flashes of sun¬
light. This system was used success¬
fully by General Miles in the Apache
campaign, and is now in operation
over a line of a thousand miles in Ari¬
zona and New Mexico. It will prob¬
ably be adopted for transmitting elec¬
tion returns from back comities.—
[Chicago Herald.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
Medical men are insisting on the n <\.
cessity of better ventilation
churches.
Man is the only animal that
teeth—mchors, canines and molars
of an equal height.
The power of our planet to supp or[
vegetable and animal life is gradually
becoming exhausted.
About 2000 species of insects, on an
average, have been discovered year!;
during the last century.
A method for soldering tin cans by
electricity has recently been devisel]
and it bids fair to be quite generally
used.
The caterpillar feeds with two saw-
edged jaws, working transversely, aill j
uses them to such good advantage thm
he eats three or four times his 0!V8
weight every day.
Inexhaustible quantities of red and J
yellow ochre have been laid bare by *
lardslide live miles south of Drair
Oregon. It looks like rock, but <1L|
solves readily in water and gives j|
tine color on wood.
A new disinfectant has made its ap-g
pearance. It is a combination of cam. I
phor with sulphurous acid, contain-1
ing over sixty times its volume of su|. I
phurous acid gas, which, upon itsej. I
posure in a warm room m gradually 1
evolved.
Epidemics, such as influenza, arel
said to arise when the supply of ozoueB
to the air is insufficient. To con uteri
act this Dr. Forster, of Berlin,
eeutly advocated the artificial supply
of ozone to the air of towns and thick¬
ly populated districts.
.
A small instrument has been de¬
vised for use in mines to indicate the
presence of lire damp or in gas maim
to indicate tho escape of gas. The in-1
vention is based upon the propertyl ■
certain metals have of evolving
the presence of hydrogen gas. |
Contending that the era of
civilization belonged mainly to
bronze age, M. Montelius states
bronze was piobably fabricated in tliel
valley of the Nile as early as O,OQ0l
years B. C., and that iron was noil
sufficiently common to justify us
speaking of an iron age in Egypt be-1
fore 2,000 B. C. j
The electric microscope promises to
make some wonderful revelations In
the world of science. At a recent
medical congress in Europe, micro¬
scopical preparations under a magni¬
fying power of 11,000 linear were
made visible to an assemblage of 300
persons. The pulsating heart of s
dog and the heart beats produced by!
suffocation were successfully demon¬
strated.
The amount of heat given by the
moonlight has again been investigated,
this time with a thermopile of almost
incredible delicacy. The results show
that the warmth received from the re¬
flected light of the moon is equal to
that given o-ut by a cand.e at twenty-
one feet distance. Observations seem
to show that, although the moon’s face
is under the- blaze of an uncloudedsu»
for fourteen day*, it remains compara¬
tively cool and that whatever heating
it does receive Is rapidly gain d and -
as rapidly lost.
The Kinfograph.
The kintograph is a most astonish¬
ing affair, which, while extremely I
simple, may possibly become a won'
derail adjunct to the phonograph* |
"When it is completed, and Emson is
perfectly convinced that it is no*
merely n question of detail and exper
iment, it will be possible not only to
hear tlie voice of a person coining
from the telephone, but to see the p er '
son's face just us it was at the time
the words were spoken, with every
change of expression, the movement
of the lips, etc. If it is a reproduc¬
tion of a scene upon the stage, the
picture will be seen, the actors mov¬
ing about and making the proper
tures as they speak. It will be *
small picture, but it will be perfectly heal
distinct, and in the case of the
of a i erson talking to you through *
telephone, it will be life size if uec^
sarv. The mechanism by which
is accomplished is extremely simp' e,
and the thing has been made
by the discovery of the
process of photography, by which * n
mals in motion or a cannon ball
through the air have been p» otJ
graphed.— [Philadelphia rress.