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■ THE CHIEF CURSE Of CHINA '' Natives Publicly Enjoying an Opium Smoke in Shanghai, Where Lately Strenuous Efforts Were Made to Abolish the Practice. —Dennis- ton & Sullivan, in Leslie’s Weekly. Unique Soap Holder. A peculiar contrivance, termed a soap holding device, is a recent in vention of a Chicago man. Its ex tremely simple construction is shown in the accompanying illustration. It •comprises a supporting arm, to which is suspended a chain and clamp, car i,“" s "i| 1 aping a cake of soap. Obviously the supporting arm is attached to the so that the suspended cake 'of soap w r ill be directly over the water. arm is not is pivoted, in order T 4.nat the soap can be dipped down to the water when necessary. The sanitary advantages of this soap holder will be apparent at once. It does away with the ordinary slimy receptacle employed for holding the soap. The soap hangs in a position of best advantage to the user. Soap of any description can be used, as the supporting pin can easily be pushed into position.—Washington Star. Adventurous Life In India. Tram traveling in Calcutta evi dently calls for special training of the nervous system. A correspondent gives details of three mishaps which he observed during the space of a few hours. He saw one car with no apparent excuse crash into another standing at a junction. In the next case he saw a car, upon which the driver was engaged in drinking a “lota” of water, charge a number of bullock carts, and his final experience was of a cyclist “contemplating the ruins of his bicycle and addressing measured and adjective language to an official at the steering wheel.”— .From the Advocate of India. Practical Sympathy. A gentleman was one day relating to a Quaker a tale of deep distress and concluded by saying: “if could not but feel for him.” '“Verify, friend,” replied the vQaaker, “thou didst right in that thews, didst feel for thy neighbor, but didst thou feel in the right place? Didst thou feel in thy pocket?”— Democratic Telegram. WAS TOMMY LOGICAL OK SARCASTIC? "“Only fools are certain, Tommy; wise men hesitate.” “Are you sure, uncle?” Yes, my boy; certain of it.”—The Tatler. Too Obvious, It was the first vaudeville perfor mance the old colored lady had ever seen, and she was particularly eicit ed over the marvelous feats of the magician. But when he covered a newspaper with a heavy flannel cloth and read the print through it, she grew a little nervous. N He then doubled the cloth and again read the letters accurately. This was more than she could stand, and rising in her seat, she said: ‘‘l’m goin’ home. This ain't no place for a lady in a thin calico dress! ” —Everybody’s. Largest Rock-Crusher. The largest rock-crusher in tho world wms recently thrown into oper ation in a cement mill at South Pittsburg, Tenn., and it crushes all the rock used by a 4000-barrel plant. The machine has an hourly capacity of 800 tons and sixty per cent, of the product is in pieces four inches or less and thirty per cent, in pieces two inches or less. The crusher is nineteen feet in height and weighs 42 5,000 pounds. The operation of this machine alone requires twenty nine horse power. Unique Garment Hanger. A garment hanger for men’s ap parel somewhat different from any heretofore patented has been de signed by a Connecticut man. In the majority of such devices now on the market little or no provision is made for supporting the trousers properly, the main ide„ being to take care only of the coat. In the garment hanger shown in the accompanying illustra tion an extra attachment is added to support the trousers. The latter are attached to the trousers in an exceedingly unique manner. Curved inwardly from the ends of the hanger are small loops, which are designed to clamp on the suspender buttons on the trousers. The latter are in this -way held in an extended position, eliminating the possibility of becom ing creased or soiled when hung in the crowded closet or wardrobe. — Washington Star. Electricity as a motive power has been in use for twenty-five years. Italy’s general scheme of land and sea fortifications will require an out lay of $35,000,000. Portugal’s budget for 19 08-0 9 gives $50,000,000 revenue and ssl,- 500,000 expenditure, a deficit of sl,- 500,000, or $200,000 less than in 1907-08. Edward D. Pitt, a brother of Rev. Henry Pitt, a London vicar and mem ber of the great Pitt family, so illus trious in English history, has lived in Pittsburg, Pa., since 1870. It requires 15,2 00 stenographers to do the office business of New York City. Lord Wolseley, who has passed his seventy-fifth birthday, has probably had more narrow escapes from death than any other living British officer. In his younger days his lordship was so daring that he earned from the Ashantis the title of “The General Who Never Stops.” Canada received 4 0,000 emigrants from the United States during seven months, 5000 of them being farmers. Charles Field, who is believed to be the oldest judge in the United States now presiding, has just celebrated his ninety-third birthday by holding a session of the district court at his home in Athol, Mass. Manhattan is the most densely pop ulated island in the world. It- has a population of 99,150 persons to the square mile. For the first half of the year the total production of iron in Germany was 6.049,700 tons, against 6,355,- 900 tons last year. The reduction was less than five per cent. Although the mulberry tree is raised in Mysore, the most of the silk produced in India is made from the wild silk worms and from raw' silk imported from China and Siam. During the summer season the Bor ough of Richmond doubles its popu lation on every pleasant Sunday, but only for that one day. OASES OF CHILEAN DESERT. Part They Play in Development of the Great Nitrate Beds. Northern Chile, which is so largely mountain or desert, is generally re garded as a forbidding wilderness, but in spite of its natural desolation the landscape presents a scene of great beauty under the softened hues of sunset, and here and there in the waste of sand and salt may be found by looking for them a number of oases, the most conspicuous of which are Pica and Matilla. These oases are supplied with wat er from the high Andes, but the par ticular streams that support their life are not certainly known. It has been found that in various parts of the great Atacama desert the earth underneath the surface layer of sand or salt is sufficiently moist to grow crops, capillary attraction spreading the water through the soil. The rainless Atacama desert is the scene of the greatest industry of its kind in the world, yielding enormous quantities of nitrates used to enrich the fields of Europe and the United States. The oases play a very important economic role in the industries of the region, supplying vegetables and foodstuffs for the support of the workmen, alfalfa for the cattle and various fruits, and also serving as timber producers for the nitrate works, which require much fuel. There is no part of the world where agriculture is more intensively car ried on than m these green spots in the Atacama desert. —Zion’s Herald. Color. Of the light-rays that fall upon an object some are taken up by the ob ject and others are reflected. It is to the reflected rays that we are to turn for the explanation of color. For in stance, a sheet of white paper is “white” because ail the seven kinds of light are reflected from its surface, while the sunflower is “yellow” be cause when light falls on it the violet, indigo, blue and green rays are se lected for absorption, and yellow prin cipally is reflected. The reflective rays, received by the eye, produce the sensation of color. This is the ex planation of nearly all the colors that exist. A False Impression. Patience —“I’ve certainly made an impression on that man over there; he hasn’t taken his eyes off me since I got here.” Patrice —“ Which man ? ” “That one with the black mus tache. ” -Oh, he’s the hired detective!” — Yonkers Statesman. Comptroller Wilson, of Chicago, has ruled that no telephone, traction, electyic light or other public utility corporation can make contribution? to hospitals or other charities. Drainage of Soils. Drainage permits of earlier crops ind a larger proportion of air, warmth and moisture in the soil. Drainage benefits the land also by ,af lording a ready outlet for ail excess of water, thereby preventing stagna tion and removing a source of evil, The bad effects produced by an ex cess of water —all of which are, of course, removed by drainage—may be enumerated at length. One evil pro duced is the consequent diminution iu the quantity of air within it, which air is of the greatest consequence, not only in promoting the chemical changes requisite for the preparation of the food for plants, but likewise to the roots themselves. Excess of water injures the soil by diminishing its temperature in summer and in creasing it in winter —a transposition of nature most hurtful to perennials, because the vigor of a plant in spring depends greatly upon the lowness of temperature to which it has been sub jected during winter (within certain limits), as the difference of tempera ture between winter and spring i3 the exciting cause of the ascent of the sap. The presence of a large quantity of water in the soil also alters the re sult of putrefaction, by which some substances are formed which are use less to plants. An increase in the proportion of moisture in soils has a powerful effect upon its saline con stituents, by which many changes are produced diametrically opposite to those that take place in soil where the water is much less in quantity; and in this way the good effects of many val uable constituents are greatly dimin ished, as for instance, the action of carbonic acid upon lime and green materials, and gypsum upon car- .bonate of ammonia. The proportion of plant foods avail able in the soil for the use of crops is largely influenced by drainage and the amount of surplus water in the soil. The directions of the currents which occur in wet soils are entirely altered by drainage; in undrained soil are altogether from below upward —being produced by the force of evaporation at the surface—conse quently the spongioles of the plants are supplied with undesirable subsoil water; but when the land is drained the currents are from thd surface to the drains, and the roots are, conse quently, supplied with fresh aerated water. Drainage increases the ab sorption of carbonic acid, also the at mospheric supply of food, and cre ates a tendency in the plant to pro duce leaves possessing a different structure from those which the same plant produces in dry situations. An other important point is that on land that has been drained the system of subsoiling can be adopted with ten fold advantage, which is an object of the highest importance, for there is no doubt that the use of the subsoil plow been satisfactory on almost all soils, having been found as valua ble on light lands with rententive bottoms as upon those of a more com pact and stiffer surface, rendering soils drier in wet weather and more moist during a season That a tenacious and imnervTt soil must be relieved from the collected and retained on its before the earth can be fitted for the growth of vegetable matter lias been most clearly and satisfactorily ascer tained. The best mode of effecting this object may be a question, but it is probable that under-draining with tiles will be found the most econom ical method. A cold soil is never capable of pro ducing profitable crops. An excess of water in the soil, in addition to its injury to the soil, also produces a constant dampness of the atmosphere, which has been shown to be injurious to plants, especially by diminishing evaporation, thus rendering the process of assimilation slower, and in some sections and on certain farms malaria results; in fact, there is every reason to believe that surface water, which is for the most part stagnant, is by far the most injurious, because in this manner the currents produced during the heat of summer—namely, the period at which vegetation should be most active—will of necessity be entirely from below upwards, being produced by the evaporation of the water upon the surface of the soil, the consequence being tnat the roots of the plants, instead'of being supplied with water charged with the valuable plants foods, will be supplied with water which has existed so long in the soil that it will have lost these vegeta ble ingredients, and will, moreover, be charged with excrementiticus mat ters. No system of drainage can di minish the quantity of water which a soil receives; it can only affect the quantity which it retains and prevent stagnation by allowing it to escape freely that continual currents are pro duced so long as any excess of water remains. Drainage will not fail to pay a percentage upon the cost far greater than many other investments, as that land which uas been reclaimed by drainage will oftentimes require no manuring for years, the herbage, too, being of a peculiarly different species from that hitherto produced, as well as being far more nutritious. —Phila- delphia Record. Good Horse Flesh. The chest in all breeds of horses should be wide, deep an:l round, and ribs well inclined to the rear. These conditions are. necessary to ensure ef ficient breathing capacity and staying power. The lower line of the chest towards the abdomen should be nearly liori sontal to the grcnn. ? . Avy undue in- clination upwards of this line is an In dication of want of power of en durance. The abdomen in race horses should be round, and not too full. Too large an abdomen seriously interferes with speed, by exciting an undue pressure on the lungs, add thereby affecting the breathing capacity. Where speed is not required, this A ,art of the body may be more fully developed. The back and loins of all horses should be short. On first thought, a long back gives us the impression that such a condition is conducive to speed; but on reflection it is found that such is not the case. Undue lengths of back and loins are gener ally associated with soft, “herring gutted” animals, and necessitates the expenditure of much more muscular energy in raising the forequarters than when the distance from the with ers to the croup is short. The top line should incline shortly towards the croup, and, passing over this part, should continue in a gentle down ward sweep to the tail. Short back and loins are also necessary where weight-carrying power is required. The loins should be short, fiat and broad. A slight convexity might be admitted, but a tendency to roach and hollow backs should be carefully guarded against. Breadth of loins is a very important point in all classes of horses, for it is over this region that the strongest and most powerful muscle in the body is situated —the long, broad muscle which extends from the pelvic bones to the last three or four bones of the neck, and the action of which is re sponsible for the rising of the fore part in galloping, jumping and rear ing, and for lifting the hind quarters during the action of kicking. We have already noticed the bones and tendons of the leg from the knee and hock down to the ground. Suf fice it to say that, in proportion to the kind of work the horse has to per form, so should the size and shape of thes'e appendages be regulated.—W. T. C., in the American Cultivator. Bowel Diseases of Poultry. Sometimes it happens that diarrhae occurs in flecks where the manage ment has been good, and at once the difficulty is diagnosed by the farmer, or poultryman as cholera, or some other contagious disease that may be unknown. The cause is usually the free use of very watery green food. When rye, grass, tender weeds and other bulky foods are largely con sumed by the fowls the result may be a laxative effect, but this occurs most ly when the green food is very young, at which stage of growth it contains a large proportion of water and very little solid matter. The effect is more readily noticeable when the birds have had but little green food, being kept during the winter and spring on a grain diet. The remedy for the dif ficulty mentioned is to confine the birds in their yards for a few days, feeding them twice a day on a ration of ten parts cornmeal, two parts sifted ground oats and one part fine bran, adding a gill of linseed meal and a teaspoonful of salt to every quart, cooking the whole as bread. —Weekly •MUtness. i..i ft 2, , ——— V Bug Nuis*cp. of the Massachu setts AgftWfWal Experiment Col lege, says of all the living creatures globe are in sects, and that nor ore than one out of ten is friendly t&~han. He es timates that $2,000,000 or $3,000,000 worth of damage is anually wrought by insects, and that known means of protection, properly used, could pre vent about two-thirds of this loss. He is, therefore, impressing the necessity of a close study by all classes of peo ple of this question, with the hope of saving forests, shade trees and crops. Not to 15c Continued. According to J. E. Wing, unless one is certain that his lambs wilf go early to market, say an age of not exceed ing three months, he had better dock them. Tails are unneccessary ap pendages to a modern sheep and are apt to get fouled. A docked lamb has a square look and seems fatter than one with a tail. What blood goes to nourish a useless tail would add to the growth of the body, no doubt.— Weekly Witness. To Get Rid of the Groundhog. There is practically but one cure. Bisulphile of carbon will smother the peSts in their dens. Saturate a rag with two tablespoonfuls of the stuff, and push it down the hole as far as you can, then stop the hole up with sod or earth, and go away sorrow fully, for you have committed mur der. Bisulphide of carbon is very ex plosive; have no matches or fire around.—D* W. Brown, in the In diana Farmer. Value of Quail. It is said that the quail has been known to destroy sixty different kinds of weed seeds, and it is a fact that about five per cent, of his food is made up of seeds that are harmful to the farmer. He also destroys an nually large numbers of injurious bugs.—American Cultivator. The Rash Plumber. To save foolish workmen from in curring unnecessary risks, says the Builders’ Journal, is well nigh impos sible. Almost every year some rash, thoughtless young plumber rushes out and does a job of work. —Louden Globe. MY OWNFAMILYW pe-ru.na us B }* < >'■'/ ■ -'V;; • • . t _. HON. CEORGE^W Hon. George W. Honey, National r lain U. V. U., ex-Chaplain Fn.nh VV^ sm Cavalry, ex-Treasurer Stale of \\C° n ‘ sin, and ex-Quartermaster G -iw, " Tex?.s G. A. It., writes from uiO First V N. E., Washington, D. C., ~ dW “I cannot too highly recommend ’ vom , preparation for the relief of catarrhal troubles in their various Some members of my own family have is*i it with most gratifying results. \\7j other remedies failed, Peruna'proved most efficacious and 1 cheerfully certify to its curative excellence.” Mr. Fred L. Ilehard, for nine years a leading photographer of Kansas City Mo., located at the northeast corner of 12th and Grand Aves., cheerfully K j ve the following testimony: “It is a proven fact that Peruna will cure catarrh and la grippe, and as a tonic it lias m canal. Druggists have tried to make me take something else ‘just as good,’ but Peruna is good enough for me.” Pe-ru-na in Tablet Form. For two years Dr. Hartman and his as sistants have incessantly labored to create Peruna in tablet form, and their strenuous efforts have just been cro.vned with suc cess. People who object to liquid medi cines can now secure Peruna tablets, which represent the solid medicinal ingredient! of Peruna. AT THE WEDDING. “Who’s going to give the bride away?" ‘'The newspapers.”—Life. TESTING PAINT. Property owners should know how to prove the purity and quality of white lead, the most important paint ingredient, before paying for it. To all who write, National Lead Cos., the largest manufacturers of pure white lead, send a free outfit with which to make a gimple and sure test of white lead, and also a free book about paint. Their address is Wood bridge Ridg.. Now Vo-i- rnty GET US HOPE SO. Knicker —Taft has a sense of hu mor. Bocker —Perhaps that might keep him from makifig the Syiph bis yacht.—Judge _ How’s This? We offer One Hundred Dollars Reward for any case of Catarrh that cannot b cured by Hall’s Catarrh Cure. F. J. Cheney & Cos.. Toledo, 0. We, the undersigned, have known F. J. Cheney for the last 15 years, and believe him perfectly honorable in all business transactions and financially able to carry out any obligations made by his firm. Walking, Kinnan & Makvis, Whole sale Druggists, Toledo?"!). Hall’s Catarrh Cure is taken internally, act ing directly upon the blood and inucuous sur faces of the system. ; Testimonials sent free. Price, 75c. per bottle. Sold by all Druggists. Take Hall’s Family Pills for constipation. PERFECTLY IMPARTIAL. “T want a kiss, darling.” he mur mured. . “What cheek!” she declared. “Either will do,” he answered Baltimore American. CUKES ALL ITCHING ERUPTIONS* Glencoe, bid., Nov. 21st, 1907: “i ha> A ha eczema on my hands for 12 years, am-, tried everything. I have been using Signed, Mrs. M. Harvey. Tetteiune is the surest, safest, speediest cure for eczema and all other skin diseases, bold by drug gists or sent by mail for 50c. by J. 1. bB tains, Dept. A, Savannah,J3a. The average missionary conribu tion for each pupil in the schools is higher in the Eplscopa < nomination than any ether. Hicks’ Cnpudine Cures Nervousness, Whether tired out, worried, overworked, or what not. It refreshes the brum ai, nerves. It’s Liquid and pleasant to tax • 10c., 2£c., and 50c., at drug stores. In addition to the canned ‘speeches remarks the Indianapolis News, there are the indiscreet ones which are jarred. AWFUL GRAVEL ATTACKS Cured by Doan’s Kidney Phis After Years of Suffering. F. A. Rippy, Depot Ave., Gallatin. Tenn,. sayc: ‘VFifteen yea;s ago ney disease attacked i me. The pain in ¥ back was so agoniz* A/Su . ing 1 finally has. give up work. The TlgfeAaF came terrible a of gravel with pain and some as large as^J bean. Nine years of this ran 0 and to a state of continual weakne-- I thought I never would be beua ; g til I began using Doan’s Kidn The improvement was ra; • * since using four boxes I am cu. have never had any return trouble." __ , !OX . Sold by all dealers. 50 cents -• Foster-Milburn Cos.. . DANGERS OF HUNTING ? Cholly—Did you shoot the Algy—Yes so awkward; 5' 0U put on speed and get a-NU- York Sun.