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A REPTILE HOUSE. The Cosy Horae of Philadelphia’s Serpent Pets. A Family of Venomous Snakes in a Plato-Glass Palace. The new reptile house in the Phila delphia Zoo was opened recently, and hundreds of visitors admired the beauty of the new homo of the serpents. It i 3 far prettier, says the Philadelphia Times, than tho sorpent house in the London zoo, though costing much less money. The building is built of brick and glass. There is a main building 36 feet square, and on tho east and west sides aro two now \rtngs of oval shape and 28 feet long and 32 feet wide, making tho building 92 feet long. The glass roof of tho wings bulge out from the main building with symmetrical beauty, making the house like a grand conservatory. The main building, which was originally the aviary, is tiled with buff tinted tiles with terracotta edging. The walls of the new wings are lined with enamelled bricks, and a wainscoting of enamelled bricks runs around the walls of the main building, while above it tho walls are plastered and tinted a delicate cream white. Stained glass fills the double door and windows on the south front of the main building, and with the creeping vines thatshado the front make a pic turesque effect. A fountain shoots up its silvery spray above the neat tank of the crocodiles in the centre of tho main building, and between hanging plants and baskot3 of flowers sweet-voiced birds mingle their melody from glitter ing cages. The two back corners of the main building are banked up with choice plants, and there will be flowers bloom ing in tho serpent’s home all winter. Tho east wing is lined with cherry wood framed and plate-glass cases seven feet high and nine feet wide, which are the homes of the tree-climbin" O snakes. These snakes live on natural ground and real trees and plants grow in the big cases. Every case is reached by the sun. The heating pipes are so arranged that in blizzird weather the snakes can lie right over tho pipes, but no matter how high tho temperature of the cages tho temperature of the build ing will never be disagreeable to visi tors. The west wing has a curving row of plate-glass cases for the snakes that don’t climb. They are the homes of the venomous and ground snakes. All their surroundings are natural, and snakes can be seen in the new reptile-house as ono sees them in nature. The cases in the west wing are not as largo as in the east wing, but around the walh of the main building aro large casos for sala manders, hell-benders, and other water reptiles of their class, and gigantic man eating crocodiles and tiny turtles sleep together in the waters of the big tank in the contro of tho building. The collection of reptiles in the Zoo is tho best in this country, and Superintendent Brown hopes to make it the best in the world. The east wing is filled with a typioal collection of boa constrictors. Tho great Indian python lives next door to tho royal python from Wait Africa, while tho South American constrictor hisses through the plate glass at the beautiful anaconda from Brazil and tho Cuban tree boa, and the Australian boa, or carpet snake, curl themselves in adjoining cases. Tho collection of lizards and com mon snakes is a great one, and the now west wing has many attractions to draw tho visitors. The gigantic salamanders from Japan were watched by the crowds yesterday, while everybody stopped to look at the “Gila monster.” He wa3 formerly an Arizona terror and i 3 the only veno mous lizard known. It is tho same “Gila monster” who killed a mar in Tombstone six weeks ago. Ho is slow and sluggish in his movement, but is a terror when aroused. Near him is the beautiful starred tortoise from Mada gascar. Ho is biack, with yellow marks that radiate like a star. This is tho first attempt to keep snakes with all tho surroundings of na ture, and Superintendent Brown is de termined to make it a striking feature of the Zoo. The work on tho building was begun last June, and was only com pleted on Saturday. The artistic home of the reptiles was dosigned by Super intendent Brown, who gave two years’ study to the subject in order to make it tho finest reptile house in the world. An Emperor’s Gorgeous Pullman Car. The London Times is authority for the statement that Emperor William of Germany is having himself a special Pullman car, consisting of bedroom, dressing room, dining room and study, built for his future journeys. The cost ■will be $35,000, and his majesty will be ▼ery much at home in it. Now he trav els at his own expense upon all lines save that of Frankfort-Cassel, and upon the others is charged at tho rate of 18 pence per mile for the engine and five pence for each pair o* wheels that comb after it. Took Advantage of Leap Tear. An Ansonia lawyer was sitting on tha steps of the Central house in Newton, Wednesday, says the Ansonia (Conn.) Sentinel, when a pretty young lady passed out of the hotel and up tha street. “There goes a remarkably pretty girl,” exclaimed a gontleman conversing with him, and there’s quite a little romance connected with her, too.” The legal gentleman was all at tention at once as his friend continued: “Sho belongs down in Baltimore and her father is a wealthy liquor distiller of that city. She’s got a cool $200,000 in her own right, and a decisiveness about her that means business. ' Sho located at the George hotel, Black Rick, this summer, coming there all alone. A youag man sitting at her tablo at tracted her attention. Sho spoke to him one evening after he had met her about three times, and she broke him all up by asking him if ho was married. Ho replied that ho was too poorly situ ated for marriage just then; ho hadn’t much money and had to support his father. 'Well, I’ve plenty of money,’ she said; ‘why don’t you marry me?’ “She returned to her homo in Balti more, told her father about the circum stance, got his consent, and returned to Black Rock with her father, was mar ried in Bridgeport, and sho and her husband are passing tho remainder of the summer in Newport, as happy as turtle doves.” The lawyer Ins been thinking ever since what chances thcro are for young men in this country. Substitutes lor the Mackerel. The dearth of American and Canadian salt fish in the markets of this country, owing to short catch, has been produc tive of a novel feature. It is the substi tution of other fish, such as Black sea or Russian salt mackerel, Scotch bloaters, ' f w small salt shrimps from Belgium, do mestic sardines and in fact fish put up in many peculiar ways such as were scarcely heard of in this trade. Do mestic sardines have been advanced in price owing to this increased demand. Our big salt fish jobbers, such as Messrs. Shriver, Blackburn and Head ley, assured tho News representative that tho demand for fine mackerel, and particularly for “spring chicken” fuh, i 3 increasing, and deservedly so. The samples of Irish mackerel merit description. Instead of being split on the back, they are so served on the belly and are scaly, angular and full 6f tough bones. They seem very strong, and aro generally rejected by the trade, in spite of tho shortness of domestic fish. As to tho B ack sea mackerel, they seem to bo a cross between a Dela ware catfish and a miniature shark. They aro black, full of oil, and are not, strictly speaking, rogular mackerel. They also are rejected. The experi ment of importing mackerel will ftrdly be repeatod again. Sirdine®, etc., as substitutes are all well enough, but tha genuine, domestic, inshore mackerel will always roost high. [Philadelphia News. “Old Hatch” as an Art Critic. Hutchinson,the famous Chicago spec ulator, familiarly known as ‘ Old Hutch, ’» doesn’t like his son’s taste in art. The old gentleman has his iicas on this sub ject as he has on every other one, but they don’t agree with Charlie’s. The old —itleman prefers a good chromo or engr-ving to a painting ary day in tho week. Ho never swerves from his com mercial idea of values, no matter what the matter under discussion may be. He can not seo why a little square of canvass costing a dollar, with another dollar’s worth of paint on it, should sell at $2500. He saw one in the exposition one year with that price marked on it. It represented a seme on Massachusetts Bay, with some fishing hutsm tho back ground. Charlie wa3 oa tho art com mittee, and the old man tackled him bright and early. ‘‘What’s that fellow want $2500 for that picture for??* “Because it’s worth it” “Nonsense. Didn’t cost him $3 to make it Why, tho ground ain't worth that I know the place welt It’s down on the bay. Blongs to Eph Slalder. I can buy the whole place for SISOO. TVonn-Proof Cotton. Mrs. Rowley, of F.ore,ville, Texas, has growing upon her farm a variety of cotton that she thinks is worm-proof, as while rows almost touching it are stripped of foliage not an insect ever crawls upon this particu’ar speeie<. The leaves are almost the color of London purple, and the staple long and fine with a slight tend me; to woolliness of curl, and tho lady who has now been experimenting with it for six years thinks she will be justified in planting it for her whole cron. The Oldest Ex-Congressman. Mr. John F, Col.in, of Hinsdale, N. Y., is probiuly tho oldest ex-member of C ngress now living. Ho was born in Hillsdalo in 1802, and is now 86 years of a;e. Ho was a member of tho twenty-ninth congress (1815-4 G), elect’d from the then eleventh dis trict. Hs is still ir. the fu l possession of his faculties, with c ear intellect, ac tive mind, and generally good health. THE CAT’S-EYE. Ceylon the True Home of This Superb Gem. Moonstones, Crocidolites and Other Precious Stones. The Duke of Connaught gave his bride a cat’s-eye ring a 3 an engagement token, and this was enough to make the stone fashionable and to increase its value greatly. The domand soon ex tended to Ceylon, where the true chrys oberyl cat’s-cye is found, and stimu lated the search for it thcro. In tho chrysoberyl cat’s-eye the effect is tho result of tho twinning of the crystal, or of a deposit between its crystalline lay ers of other minerals, in microscopic in clusions. If the stono is cut across those layers, “en cabachon” or carbuncle cut, as it is called, a bright line of light will be condensed on the domelike top of the stone. In the search for theso chryso beryl cat’s-ayes there havo been found an endless series of chrysobcryls of deep golden, light yellow, yeliow green, sage green, dark green, yellowish brown and other tints. They aro superb gems, weighing from 1 to 100 carats each, ranking next to the sapphire in hard ness. They gave a great surprise to tho gem doalers, for it was found that thn darker leaf green or olive green stones possessed tho wonderful dichro itic property of changing to columbine red by artificial light, the green being entirely subdued and tho red predominating. They wore, in fact, alexandrites, a gem .which had formerly been found only in Si beria, and even there of poor quality. Though found in large crystals, a per fect gem of even one carat was a great rarity. Here, however, fine gem*, rare ly under four carats, were found and an exceptional one weighing sixty-seven carats. They can be numbered among tho most rcmarkablo gems known. Strange to say, among this alexandrite variety a few have been found which cpmbine tho characteristics of the cat’s cyo and tho alexandrite, and, wore, in fact, the alexandrite cat’s-eye. Moonstones, also from the same prov ince of Candy, Ceylon, were brought to light by this search for cat’s-eycs. It would not be an ovor-estimato to say that 100,000 of theso stones havo been mounted here in tho last four years. They vary iu size from one-eighth of an inch to nearly two inches long and one inch thick, and many of thorn surpass anything hitherto known of their kind in boauty and size. Those that display the chatayant white and tho hazy blue color aro especially beautiful. Tho demand for tho cat’s-eye also brought into notice tha then rare mineral from Asbestos Mountain, forty miles north of Yaal River, South Africa, known 03 crocidolite, more especially that variety that has been altered to a quartz cat’a-eyej£ In this stone an in filtration of siliceous material coated each fibre with quarks or chalcedony, giving it the hardness of seven. This pleasing stone sold readily for $6 a carat, and at the outset cvcu moro; but owing to tho excessive competition of two rival dealers, who sent wholo car goes of it to tho London market, the price fell to sl, or even to twenty-five cent®, per pound, by the quanty. Even table tops have been made of this mate rial by veneering. Vases, cane head®, paper weight®, seals, charms, &c., were made of it, and sold in largo quantities. Burning it produced a bronze-like and by dissolving out tho brown oxide-of-inn coloring an almost white substance was obtained, which was dyed by allowing it to absorb red, green and brown-colored solutions. These, owing to the delicacy of the fibres, were evenly absorbed. Ten years ago this mat rial was prac tically unknown; lut so extensively has it been sold that today it is to be found on every tourist’s stand, whether on tho Rigi, Pike’s Peak, in Florida, at Los Anreles, or at Nijnl N >vgorod, show ing how thoroughly organized is the system of distribution in the gem mar ket. Missionaries have never spread a religion half so rapidly as traders have disseminated the cat’s-eyc.—[Graphic. Alligator Oil. Near Citra, Fla., in Orange Lake, 840 alligator, were killed by hunters in one week recently for their hides and teeth. Dr. Ellis of Citra belicvc-s ho has found an excellent substitute for whale oil soap by distilling the remains of the slaughtered alligators and apply ing them in liqui 1 form as a wash to the infected trees. Another idea ha 3 entered tho head of the doctor, and that is the ir.anu ncture of insect soap from the fat substance of the ’gator, which will servo to drive away mosqui toes, gnats, fli ,s an I fl > is. Interesting to Scientists. Mbs Bu .ker H.d- D >you have much Indim Summer in Colorado? M jor We'oster— Yes, wo hi.ve a great deal more I idiaa Su.naur than you do hero in th E i<t. “I wonder why that is sr?’’ “Because wo have got I reckon.”—[Texas Si.tin o s. QUAINT AND CURIOUS. Henry VIII. died of carbuncles, fat and fury. “Erin go bragh” means Ireland for ever. , For the first six months, of 1883 the English railways killed 165 people and injured 957. Henry 111. is said to have granted a license to dig coals near Newcastle upon-Tyne in 1234. A professor at Columbia College, New York, has set himself to work and has now mastered 12 languages. Hair powder came into use in Eng land in 1590, and in 1795 a tax of a guinea was laid upon persons using it. Venice was first governed by a doge, Anafesta Paululio, A. D. 697; Gonoa choso its first doge, Simone Boccanogra, in 1839. After a hurricane last month reef 50 feet long, 30 feet wide and 5 feet high was upheaved in the harbor of Vera Cruz, Mexico. The Pcrsees, ancient fire-worshippers expelled from Persia, are tho factors, capitalists, and leading merchants of Bombay, where there arc 9000. An msthetic-loolang blue lobster, with a delicately tinted pink tail, was cap tured at Portland, Me., recently, and is now swimming in close quarters as a curiosity. The impertinences of business have reached a climax in the sending of cards and circulars of undertakers and tomb stone manufacturers to the homes just visited by death. A farmer named Bordereau, living near Angers, France, put a loaded bomb-shell in his bed, attached a lighted fuse to it and in a few moments was completely blown to pieces. Charles Joseph, a French carpenter, 29 years of age, took an enormous nail, held it with his left hand over the right temple, and with a heavy hammer drove the nail right into his brain. There aro thirty-five cities in tho world having more than one-half million inhabitants. Of these New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago and Sf. Louis are in the Unit id States. High up in the topmost branches of a large tree that was felled near Winches ter, Ohio, recently, a petrified fish wa3 found. It i 3 supposed to have been dropped by an eagle or some bird of prey. A street “fiddler” in Omaha was given a $5 gold piece in mistake for a nickel by an absent-mindod person who was listening to his music. Tha giver did uot discover his error, but tho player did, and honestly returned the money. The oldest incorporated business con cern in the world is the Hudson Bay company which has had an existence of 225 years. Tho headquarters of tho jompany are at Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the bulk of the stock is held iu England. A resident of Sioux City, lowa, who for 30 years or moro ha 3 grudgingly paid taxes on 20 very poor Jersey acres, has just sold them for above $37,000, in consequence of tho discovery thereon of a bod of fino clay for tile, brick and pottery making. Nearly everybody in England writes with a quill. You find them put for public uso in courts, in banks, in tele graph oflicos, and postoffices—in fact, everywhere where people must write. If a man prefers to use a pen or a pencil he must carry it with him. There is an old porpoise that has been in the harbor of St. Augustine, Fla., years and years. The porpoise is particularly tame and frolicsome. Ho is called “Old Ghoul,” and is known by having ono fin gone. Ho often plays around the fishermen’s boats, and his presence always augurs a good catch. *Au Amphibious People. The Sulu people are almost amphibi ous They are also capital boatmen, and they use two kinds of boats. The dapang is a dugout ca*oe, with a free board heightened by plank 3, but differ ing from tho usual Malay model in hav ing both bow and stern cigar shaped, the tops of the ends being beflt up ward. Theso dapangs have largo bam boo outriggers on both siles and can stand heavy weather. The praus, or larger vessels, aro strongly built; not very neatly perhaps, but with a good deal of ornamental carving on the sterns. They range from ten to twenty tons burden, and aro used for voyages to B >rneo and the more distant islands. Mention having been made of carving, it may be added that the Su us are very clever and tatsoful at this sort of work, which is to be found about their houses and tombstones ns well a 3 on their boats. Pearl-fishing is followed here, as elsewhere in the M slay archipelago, and the Sulus aro said to be tho best divers in the world. They think noth ing of a depth of seventeen or eighteen fathoms and will swim straight down to the bottom without any weights to help them. O,e celebrated pearl diver is said to have gone down in this way to h depth of no less than twenty seven fathoms. FOR THE HOUSEWIFE. Washing Win<low3. Soap-suds should not bo used on tha windows either. It is almost impos sible to make tho glass look clear when they are. First brush all tho dust off, removing all that adheres in the cor ners with a bit of cloth, wrapped around a sparp-pointed stick; then take some weak tea, boiling hot, and add to it a tablospoonful of alcohol and a few drops of ammonia. Dip a piece of sponge or old flannel in it and rub the glass until it looks clear. Then take another cloth and rub until well-pol ished.— [Prairie Farmer. Moth-Infested Carpets. If carpets are badly infested, say 3 a Scotch contemporary, they should be taken up and beaten and swept thor oughly. Before relaying, scrub the floor with hot water, getting plenty of it in the seams and crevices. Give the floor time to dry, and then, with a feather or small brush, smear kerosene under the baseboards and in the cracks. Place all around the edges a strip of tarred paper, or heavy paper soaked in melted tallow, either of which will prevent the insects from getting underneath tho edges, where the destruction generally begins. If their ravages are just beginning, and tho carpet does not need taking up, put a wet cloth over the spots infested, and press heavily with a very hot iron. The steam thus driven through the carpet will destroy all eggs and larvse. To Wash Laces. An exchange gives the following way as a good method for washing laces: “Fold the lace two or three times, and tack it to a pieco of clean white flannel. Wash in warm water, with soap, not rubbing, but dipping it up and down in the water, and patting it between your * hands; change the water once. Then dip it into very hot water, roll it up with tho flannel outside, and squeeze it as dry as possible. Then remove the tacking thread, and dip the lace into cold water, into which a little pearl starch Jhas been dissolved. “Take it out, and roll it out in a large cambric handkerchief, squeeze it dry, and again fold it up in a dry handker chief. Let it remain for an hour, then fold a linen sheet four times, spread upon it a fine piece of linen or an old cambric handkerchief. Lay your lace upon it, carefully smooth out with your • hand all folds or creases, and gently pull each ' pattern into proper shape; then spread over it another fine hand kerchief, folded double, and iron with a hot iron. Remove the upper cloth from the lace, but do not touch the lace until it is perfect y dry. It dries in its impression on tho cambric, and per fectly retains tho beauty of its pattern. When quite dry, fold it in tissue paper, and it will look like new lace.” Potatoes for the Table. Baked Potatoes. —Take them as hear of a size as possible. Wash very clean and cut a slice off both ends; bake in a hot oven. Fried Potatoes. —Peel and slice into a pan of cold water; drain and season with salt, and pepper, add ono table spoon of flour and mix well; fry in hot lard or beef drippings twonty min utes. Saratoga Cmps.—Thinly peel and slice, let stand in salted water twonty minutes; take out, drain and dry on a napkin: separato tho slices and drop a handful at a time in boiling lard; stir with a fork, until a light brown or crisp, as desired: skim out, drain well and serve. Baked Potatoes. —Cut cold potatoes until you have a pint into small disks. Put them in a pudding dish in layers. Sprinkle each layer with pepper and salt and a little parsley. On tho top layer put lumps of butter the sizo of a pea. Pour over this one cup of cream or milk and lastly ono boaten egg. Put in the oven and brown. Baked Sweet Potatoes. —Slice cold sweet potatoes. Put themnn layers in a dish with sugar and butter sprinkled plentifully between, also a very little flower. When the dhh is full pour over the top tho juice of half a lemon and a half a cup of cold water. Bake in the oven until brown. This is the Southern way of preparing potatoes. Potato Balls. —One pint of hot mashed potatoes highly seasoned with salt, pepper, celery salt, chopped pars ley, and butter; moisten, if needed, with a little hot milk or cream. Beat one egg light, and add part of it to the potatoes. Shape into smooth, round bails. Brush over with the remainder of the egg, and bake on a buttered tin until brown. Potatoes in thb Half-Shell.— Wash and uako three smooth potatoes. Cut in halves lengthwise, and without breaking tho skin scoop out the potato into a hot bowl. Mash, and add one even tablespoonful of buttor, one of hot milk, and salt and pepper to taste. B at the white of two eggs stiff, and mix it with tho potato. Fill the skins with the potato mixture, heapiog it lightly on the top. Brown slightly. THE PEOPLE’S PARTY, PROTECTIVE, PROGRESSIVE, PROSPEROUS. 861 PLATFORM: We Pledge Ourselves in Favor of PROTECTION OF OUR CUSTOMERS From Overcharge and Misrepresentations. FREETRADE FOR EVERY ONE, With the Merchant who does most for his Customers. PROHIBITION Of Monopolistic Rings, Inflated values and op pressive high prices. Buy as you vote,intelligently. As candi dates for your patronage, we invite an examination of our business record in support of our claim for fair dealing. We promise for the future The Best in Quality, The Most in Quantity, And the Lowest Prices TO ALL CUSTOMERS, without dis tinction of age or class, and behind our promise stands our enor mous stock of BARGAINS, which are being crowded upon us by our NEW YORK BUYER. Never have we been in condition to offer our patrons such advantages as at thi§ time. Our MILLINERY DEPARTMENT • has no equal. Our Stock the Largest, Assortment the Best, and Prices the Lowest. Our stock of DRESS GOODS Below the Lowest. Our Fancy Goods Department will save you a handsome profit. STAPLE GOODS DEPARTMENT stands at the head for a money saver to our customers. OUR SEWING MACHINE DEPARTMENT includes all the LEADING ffiACHINES IN THE COUNTRY, Starting in price at $5 and up. In this department wo Buy,Sell, Exchangeand Repair ANY AND ALL KINDS. Remember that FOUR DAYS in each week we give away different articles to our cus'oiners. Some days we give to every lOtli purchaser and some days to every sth, and some days to all. Our patrons are well aware that we give BETTER VALUE FOR THE MONEY, Than any other house in CHATTANOOGA! Come along, and we will PROVE TO YOU That you can Save money by making your Purchases of us. H. H. SOUDER-