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reJ ]'H ate rocks.
vJ s
About an Important Agri-
cultural Product.
Coral Insects Aid in the
Hrm a ^ on of phosphates.
s
T tv. Moore, a recognized au-
' the formation of minerals,
^ : on the Fernandina
gas follows for
r ( i Mirror:
years I have not been sat-
• many books
theories do not account for all
L and especially for the facts
l tity and masses. I will not
L D in . the books,
(ate t be theories given
the three causes of phosphate
[ion in Florida. distinct formations
ere are three
Lsphate r deposit is iu the the State. deposit The of
sh3 n mention
L es nr the deposit from animals
live on flesh. These are richest
■osphorus. The second formation
|e Iption reached phosphoric is occasioned acid by from the
of
ing °this animals and vegetable lias been matter. found
|e [rata formation
are thin. Both this and the
fr class are limited. Accepted
L ilies account for both of these,
[third [aland formation is much quantity more in
in immense
Lite. It is of this I would write
pally. ie bedrock which rests the pe-
on
of Florida has, since what is
-n by geologists as the Vicks-
m upheaval, been slowly rising
the bed of the ocean. As this
ftek came to within 300 feet of
of the water the coral in-
began to build. Through their
a -cries of coral reefs have been
■meted extending from south
to the most southern key off
Sand and drift fillet^ up
intervals between these keys. By
means a dam has been thrown
•s what was once the channel of
fulf stream. The coral rocks arc
ms and hence allowed the water
l the gulf of Mexico in seeking
lutlet eastward to filter through.
lime gave up its carbon in com-
Ition with oxygen it took up the
phorus, with which the water of
pIf |u:d is so heavily charged, and so
phosphate of lime, or what is
ivn commonly as tho white phos-
|nee things have to be taken into
account: 1. The coral and shell
to have time to decompose, or
up the carbon, before they could
on the phosphorous; hence but
■ phosphorous is likely to be found
te younger reefs. 2. The pres-
against the side of the peninsula
t be immense, as the gulf stream
8 at ’he rate of from four to six
more phosphorous than
water I have ever sailed over.
,n aiter night I have sat on decks
,eame! 's to note the tracks of light
10 hy their passage through the
r.
he coral reef is a most beneficent
m of fllt °i’3 which purify the
ers and collect for man’s use
a
kabIe by the fish. A most re¬
fact about these minute in-
s is 'hev build only in swiftly
uaters, and so render their
tu,c when abandoned by them
more effective as a filterer.
u f phosphates found
wida w.l] modify the price of
1 through out Ike world, reduce
_
t,1Ve em Pl°yment to thousands.
<V . SOke8 ^ htt '’ “Netsukes” Are.
rv a, e curious little bits of
an w ^ich are strung
on
° Vari0U8 other for
! ornaments ways, per-
differe or for bric-a-brac.
ni Japanese gods, the dog
i° ther 8acred animals are
entedn, these bits of carving,
sold in Japanese stores at
00 each.
,Q nted are • ome !i me *
k * 8C< ^ uer bol “—CN«>t
lr rribun
e _
Light-Giving Insects.
The seat of light in the glowworm
is in the tail, and proceeds from three
luminous sacs in the last segment ol
the abuomen. The male has only two
of these, and the light from them is
comparatively small. During favor¬
able weather the light glows steadily,
but at all other times is not constant.
The fireflies of the tropics—those com-
I osing the genus Lampyris—vary to
the extent that while certain species
control their light, others are without
this power.
The larva of the glowworm is capa¬
ble of emitting light, but not to be
compared to that of tho developed in¬
sect. Both in its mature and imma¬
ture forms Lampyris noctiluca plays a
useful part in the economy of nature.
To the agriculturist and fruit grower
it is a special friend. Its diet consists
almost wholly of small shelled snails,
and it comes upon the scene just when
these farm and garden pests are most
troublesome. British fireflies proba¬
bly never yet figured as personal orna¬
ments to female beauty. This is, and
has alwas been, one of their uses to
the dusky daughters of the tropics.
They are often studded in tho coiled
and braided hair, and perform some¬
what the same office as the diamond
for more civilized belles. Spanish la¬
dies and those of the West Indies in¬
close fireflies in bags of lace or gauze,
and wear them amid their hair or dis¬
posed about tneir person.
In the Spanish settlements, fireflies
are frequently used in a curious way
when traveling at night. The natives
tie an insect to each great toe, and in
fishing and hunting expeditions make
torches of them by fastening several
together. The same people have a
summer festival at which the gar¬
ments of the young people are covered
with fireflies, and, being mounted on
fine horses similarly ornamented, the
latter gallop through the dusk, the
wi:ole producing the effect of a large
moving light.—[Chicago Herald.
A City of Tenants.
Ours is a city of tenants. Not one
house in five is owned by its occupant.
That suits the character of the city
very well. A Government clerk sends
his family up to his home in the States
every summer, and can economize by
giving up his house for the summer,
storing his furniture and boarding
down town. Some of the big ware¬
houses makes a mint of money in stor¬
ing furniture. Once in a while one of
them gets iij a box. There is a smash-
up or a wrong delivery, which com-
plicates matters and then that par¬
ticular lot of furniture takes on un-
dreamed of values, An ash bedstead
becomes carved oak, a painted wash-
stand has a marble top, cotton be¬
comes linen, and a $5-a-pair portiere
turns to a Gobelin tapestry, while six
buck towels and two crash rollers arc
transmogrified into six dozen of the
finest damask.
An unusual complication occurred
recently in one of the warehouses
which repeated the incident of Fat’s
tea-kettle. He knew where it was. It
was in the bottom of the sea. A load
of furniture came in last fall and was
put away in some remote corner. By
some oversight the passage leading to
it, and then the whole warehouse were
tilled with miscellaneous articles.
When the owner called a few weeks
ago for her property she was told that
it would be delivered right away. It
didn't come. In two days she went
again and was put ofi' with some ex¬
cuse. Again she went and the secret
was out. The furniture was behind
500 loads of furniture and other thiugs.
It would cost $500 at least to get at it,
and the firm offered the lady $300, a
liberal price for the furniture, if she
wculd let it remain for another six
months. She accepted.—[Washington
Post.
Meaning of a Queer Title.
There are three grades of pashas,
distingivshed by the number of horse
tails on their standard. “In war the
horse tail standard is carried before
the pasha and planted in front of his
tent. The highest rank of pashas are
those of three tails; the grand vizier
is always ex-officio such a pasha. Pa¬
shas of two tails are governors of pro¬
vinces ; it is one of these officers that
we mean when we speak of a pasha in
a general way. A pasha of one tail is
a sanjak or lowest of provincial gov-
ernors. (The word pasha is the Per¬
sian pa, support of Shah, the ruler.)’’
FOR FARM AND DARDEN.
HOW TO TREAT A COLT.
When you have taught a colt to
let you mount and lead him, take
him out into the yard and let him
stand still or walk, as he pleases. In
starting him don’t send him off with
a rush, but pull him gently to one
side with a horizontal rein. If he
does not guide, you have mounted
h«n too soon. If he walks quietly,
get off his back and lead him a mile
away from home, and then remount
him and ride him home at a walking
pace. Do not at first attempt to ride
him away from his home, as it will
inevitably lead to a fight.—[Commer¬
cial Advertiser.
IMPORTANT POINTS IN EGG PRODUCTION.
With careful management there is
none of our small industries that is
more profitable than raising eggs for
our city markets. When eggs alone
are desired the fowls selected should
be Leghorns, white-faced black Span¬
ish, Minorcas or other laying breeds.
Avoid the common mistake of giving
too much stimulating food. Bear in
mind the elements that enter into the
composition of au egg and feed ac¬
cordingly. Oats, wheat and barley
are all good for eggs, with just enough
corn to supply a proper degree of
heat. A sudden change from one
kind of grain to another will often
stop hens from laying for a short time,
as will sudden change of any feed.
Whole corn, being hard to digest,
should be given very sparingly to lay¬
ing pullets. Supplement the food of
laying hens with an occasional relish
of ground bone, chopped meat and
charcoal.—[New York World.
REPAIRING ROADS ON HILLY LAND.
Roads may be repaired at any time,
except when they are saturated with
water. Drains, either on the surface
or under it, are a most effective means
of repair. In hilly localities broken
stone is most useful for making re¬
pairs, Waterbars made of broken
stone will be permanent, as they will
iu»t be cut through and channels thus
made to wash out and damage the
work. Culverts paved with broken
stone are not washed out, and stay
where they are put. The most effec¬
tive way to use the stone is to lay
large pieces where they arc to stay and
break them there with an eight-pound
stcftl hammer. This pounds the rock
together and makes it very solid and
firm. A mud-sill of a large saw-mill,
s$t on a foundation of rock thus
broken, on very soft ground, has not
moved or sunk perceptibly to a level
during two years; and for founda¬
tions of this kind there is no better
material than this.—[American Agri¬
culturist.
SHIPPING EGGS.
This season has been a very busy
one in the egg business, farmers and
breeders shipping eggs in large num¬
bers to customers for hatching.
The packing of eggs has consider¬
able to do with the hatching on ar¬
rival at destination. Of course fresh¬
ness is also very important, and a
good, close sitter as well. Baskets
square or round made of either chip
or willow are considered the best; the
former are much tho cheaper and con¬
sequently more largely used. They
are of different sizes to hold froih one
to six dozen ; more than this number
are usually sent in an egg crate.
The filling of the basket should be
soft material; bran or fine chaff are
both good and largely used. The
eggs are wrapped in tissue paper and
placed in rows with a space between
each egg, and this space filled with the
chaff or bran and packed tightly. A
lave/of bran is covered over the first
layer of eggs, and another lot of eggs
put in as the first was. Care should
be taken to securely pack each egg so
that none are broken in transit. Eggs
will carry any distance if packed in
this way.—[Farm, Field and Stock-
jnan.
MAXIMS FOR MILKERS.
After you have brushed the udder
Mean milk the cow as fast as you can
and milk her clean to the last drop.
If more than one milker is employed
do not converse. You or he will have
to stop and ask, “What do you say?’’
If you are musically inclined you
may hum in a iow tone. The cow will
like it and commence ruminating.
Never drive milk cows or fattening
atock faster than a walk.
You have no need of a dog In
bringing the cattle home from pasture.
Do not allow or force inilk cows tc
drink ice-cold water.
Your cows will certainly fall off in
their milk unless housed in a warm
stable during inclement or very cold
weather.
If you desire your cows to do their
best at the pail, give them a change of
food as often as possible.
To sell milk pays better than to make
it into butter and cheese and sell it as
solids.
If your cow is in heat and has been
served keep her confined away from
the herd.
If you sell milk breed into it Avr-
shires or Holsteins. If you make
butter for sale breed into the Channel
island caGle. Never sell a heifer calf
to the butcher if it is possible for you
to raise it.
When gently used, the curry-comb
and brush are just as needful for milk
cows as they are for work horses.
Sixty cents will buy a pair of rub¬
ber shoes. Buy a pair and wear them
while you are at your stable cleaning.
Before you enter your dwelling or
milk-room leave the rubbers in an
outhouse. Then the madam will not
need to hold her nose to avoid taking
in the odors of the barnyard—Chica¬
go Times.
don’t ride a good horse to death.
A willing horse should never be
overworked. This good old adage
applies to many things besides horses.
The free-growing vegetable plants of
the garden, which once well set last a
lifetime, as rhubarb and asparagus,
are especially subject to this reason¬
able and safe management. Both of
these plants are now the mainstay of
the housewife eager to set before her
hungry household such healthful and
agreeable food as the early season af¬
fords, and consequently she cuts these
vegetables as close as she can. But
plants can be overworked as much as
animals can.
The roots are actively at work gath¬
ering food and distributing it to every
stem and leaf. But plants must
breathe a9 well as feed. The food is
prepared for assimilation and growth
of tissue in a plant by means of air
taken in by the leaves, quite as much
as in an animal. Flants are smothered
and suffocated for want of air, by
overcrowding by other plants which
obstruct the air currents, and by the
removal of the breathing organs, the
leaves, just as much as animals are
when they are crowded too closely or
their nostrils aie closed.
So that if asparagus or rhubarb is
cut too closely, the whole plant is
weakened and its growth is arrested.
Consequently in cutting these plants
care is to be taken to leave enough
stalks to support the plant and permit
the necessary root growth for future
bearing. If the plantation is not
large enough more plants should be
procured. The free growth, however,
permits frequent cutting if two or
three stalks are left.—[New Y r ork
Times.
FARM AND GARDEN NOTES.
Give the calves some shade.
Keep the soil as fine as possible.
Thorough tillage tells in a dry time.
If you are through planting, go tc
harrowing at once.
A fast walker on the farm is more
profitable than a trotter.
Mulching with straw is a good plan
in growing late potatoes.
If a dry spell comes on, keep tho
cultivator g Jug alt the more.
Did you ever know of any one who
cultivated any crop too much?
Make the yield as good as possible,
this reduces the cost of production.
There is no better fertilizer on th6
farm than sheep and plenty of clover.
For about six weeks in the Fall
pumpkins make as cheap milk as any
teed used.
Are you feeding grain to your cows,
or are they living on what slough
grass they can pick?
The growing calves will enjoy a
drink of water these hot days, though
they do have milk night and morning.
Caught.
“Gentlemen,” cried the Prohibi¬
tionist from the stump. “Gentlemen,
I repeat
“Then yoH ought to be indicted.
Repeating is criminal.”
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
No worm or insect is ever found
upon the eucalyptus tree, or in the
earth where the roots penetrate.
Experiments recorded by the modi,
cal press indicate that most microbes
succumb soou after their victims have
died.
The butterfly pumps nectar into it¬
self through a tube, and bees and flies
suck up their food with their long
tongue or proboscis.
Photography is to be taught in most
of the best schools in Japan, notably
in the archaeological, the forestry and
the military institutes.
An Australian musician has invent¬
ed a trombone that is played by steam.
Its ,{ God Save the Queen” can be heard
a distance of four miles.
When mines are lighted by incan¬
descent light it is claimed that dan¬
gers from lire damp and explosive
gases will be minimized.
The agricultural college professors
have figured it out that two little spar¬
rows in ten years will produce an an¬
cestry of 275,716,983,698 birds.
Broken glass may become as useful
as it is bothersome. The British Ware¬
houseman announces that a process is
now known which will work glass into
cloth, of any color or thickness, and
incombustible.
At a recent test of search lights for
the purpose of discovering an ap¬
proaching enemy dressed in uniforms
of various colors, it was found that the
red uniforms were very distiuct, the
blue being the least conspicuous.
There is talk in France of utilizing
water courses as a railway motive
power. It is proposed that the track
shall be laid on an embankment in tho
middle of the current, and that tho
locomotives shall have two paddle-
wheels dipping into the water and re¬
volved by it.
About a fifth of the globe’s land
surface, according to Professor
Loomis, has an annual rainfall of lew
than ten inches, and considerably
larger part has too little water for ag¬
ricultural purposes, except iu the lim¬
ited districts where irrigation is prac¬
ticable. In North America an almost
rainless region exists in southern Cali-
fornia and Arizona, and a large area
about Salve Lake has only ten inches
of rain yearly.
The Electrical Review observes: “A
medical journal has concluded that
electrical currents produce three kinds
of severe accidents — instantaneous
death, or severe burns, or traumatic
neurosis caused by the mental and
physical shock. Usually, if the per¬
son receiving the shock is burned, ha
(a not killed. Practically, if contact
with wires does not kill, a burn or a
harmless shock is the only result.
Paralysis of the nerve3 or nerve cen¬
ters is very rare. During the last ten
years there have been only about one
hundred deaths in the whole world
caused by artificial electi’ical currents.
Taking as a basis of comparison the
capital invested, the number of serious
injuries met with in the electrical field
is not as large as that in other great in¬
dustries.”
Pure Diamonds Are Rare.
About nine-tenths of the diamonds
offered for sale are off color; that is,
they have color in them. Ten percent,
only are absolutely white. The differ¬
ence in the color makes the difference
in the price of the stones. For instance,
a canary-colored diamond is more val¬
uable than the white stones. Diamonds
of this kind are called fancy stones.
When set together they make a beauti¬
ful contrast. There is no spei#il
fashion in diamonds. Much depends
on individual taste. Necklaces are
now worn a good deal and a good
many pieces are made up with smalt
diamonds combined with colored
stones. Sapphires, opals, rubies and
emeralds find a ready and an extensive
market. A fine ruby, weighing from
tt^o to three carats, is worth more than
a diamond. Fine emeralds are always
as high-priced as the diamond.—[Chi¬
cago Post.
One Thing She Wouldn’t Take.
“She has very taking ways.”
“She has that. SLe*takes nine-tenths
of my salary for bon-bons and favors
every week. In fact, there is only one
thing she won’t take.”
“"What’s that?”
“Me.”— tChatter.