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HAPPY SAVAGES. HABITS AND HOMES OF THE NATIVE PATAGONIANS. Inner Furnishings ot 1'heir Houses— Hard Working: Women—Expert Workers In Silver — Both Menand Women Paint. , HE Indians, writes Fannie B. Ward in . an article on the native Patagonians, bad selected a level spot a few yards in land, where shrubs and boulders formed a partial wind break, near the mouth ot a narrow canon, where their horses found plenty of grass and water, and while the men and boys rested from the fatigues of their journey, stretched at ease on the ground, the women hustled about like so many big brown ants setting up the toldos, bringing water from the distant spring and skinning game for the cooking spit. The Patogouian toldo, or kau—wigwam, tent, tepee or whatever you choose to call it—differs somewhat from the homes of any other Indians and therefore merits description. A row of the tallest forked posts that can be obtained in this com paratively treeless country—say eight or nine feet long—are driven into the ground and a inlge pole is laid across them. About six feet back of these another row of forked poles is set, each a foot or two shorter than those of the first row. and across these another ridge pole is laid. The same distance back of these a third row is driven of poles not more thau three feet long, topped by a third ridge pole. This completes the frame work, and an excellent one it is, and over it is spread a lot of skins, of the guanaco, deer, horse or puma, sewn together In squares of varying sizes and all daubed inside with a mixture of tallow and red ochre, which can be smelled a mile away. More skins are tied with thongs around the sides of the toldo, and in cold or rainy weather horse hides nre fastened up in front, like curtains, and are sometimes hung intide to partition oil separate apartments, the number, quality and size of the skins that arc used denoting the wealth and social standing of the in mates. Think of it, a fur house—and such fur, too—the tawny, mottled puma and the beautiful and almost priceless pale yellow streaked with white of young puanacos. One family—that is, one Indian with Ins i -special wives and children—seldom monopolize a whole toldo, but as civilized people do in sum mer camping frolics, relatives and inti mate friends pool their issues, as it were, under the same ridge poles. Of course, the highest side of the fur house is ita front, and it is invariably set facing tl.e cast—whither fiom superstition, habit or because the pievailing winds blow from the west I am unable t o tell you. Later in the day a closer inspection re vealed to us the inner furnishings. Just inside the e.urance to each tent several small brushwood tires were kept burning, evidently as much for warmth and to dry oil the wet ground as for cooking purposes, lbmu hides, spread on the half-frozen >od. served for beds and seats, and I noticed with astonishment that ench bed, besides its pile of furs ami blankets, had one or more bolsters— regular civilized bolsters, at least in shape—made of half-worn blanket-*,sewn together with sinews and stuffed with wool. The blankets of these people, which they call lcchus, arc almost like the ponchos of Bolivia and Chile, and I am told that they are hand-woven by the Araucanian women. The extra furs, saddles, blankets and all bclong'ngs not in immediate use were piled around the outer edges as a barricade against the fitful gusts of wind that persisted in skurr}ing in beneath the flapping walls. Cupboatds, of course, there were none, the dishcj being piled on the ground in promiscuous heaps, washed clean by prowling dogs—lean, uncanny creatures that outnumbered their masters several to one. There were huge treuchcrs hollowed out of blocks of •wood, bark platteisand excellent spoons made by sticking a clara shell on a con veniently shaped branch, and armadillo shell bowls By way of a soup dish one might go a goo I deal farther and fare worse than to use toe round, deep shell of the Pata_;on.an armadillo or aut cater. Then there were bucket-shaped baskets made of the coarse pauipa grass, so tightly braided that w»t<>r can be earned in them wit'iout leaking a drop; nsadors or spits of bone and wood, and eveu two or three ;re-i kettle. Squatted upon a horschidc in one of these queer homes, surrounded by an ail miring throng of grinning women and children— v.' hose good graces had pre viously been won by gifts of beads and red calico—we partook of hospitality in the shape of a custard a la Patago- Dicnue, the receipt for which please ac cept as a pieseut Break a small hole in the point of i n ostrich egg, and after re moving part of the indigestible white fit bio manner without touching a dog> lickid utensil belonging to the toldo. However charming the life of a \noble savage\ may be. its delights do not ap pear t o be shared to any great extent by the weaker sex, even in Patagonia. J never saw women work harder than these—even society leaders in the centra of the \swim\—and I am told that their untiring industry is tho sanio year In and out. Notwithstanding tho clumsiness of their tools they sew neatly and with re markable rapidity—their only thread be ing sinews from tho backs of old guan- aeos and their needle a sliver of bone, sharpened at one end and a hole punched in the other. Tho labor on a single fur capa or mantle, which both men and women wear, is immense, and, besides those required for their own use, they aro constantly making others for sale. The skins are taken from guanacos less than a month old, because after that ago the fur begins t o grow coarse and wooly. Then there arc no end ot fillets to bo woven, for the men's heads and their own, from the unraveled threads of cloth obtained at the settlements or from tho Araucanians. In the same way they weave belts or gartc-s—the latter to hold up the horse-hide boots of their lords and masters. They must aho sew skins together for beds, the coverings of tho toldos and for sale, scrape and dress horse hides for scats, saddles and parti tion walls, atd do a thousand other things which keep them constantly em ployed, while their lazy \men-folk\ smoke, gamble, race horses, play ball and hunt only when tho exigencies of the larder require Some of the men are surprisingly ex pert workers in silver, considering their rude implements. They take the silver dollars obtained in barter and temper them until they become malleable enough to be beaten into shapes for buckles, garters, plates, beads or studs for emboss ing armor. Armor, did you say? Yes, the gentle Patagonians actually don coats of mail on occasions—made of horse hide, in shape like an exaggerated night shirt, and if the owner is rich enough it may be thickly studied with silver piates. Before going into battle the warriors pad themselves like cricketers or like school boys expecting a thrashing, using old ponchos or saddle cloths, the thick folds of which will turn a lance thrust or even the cut of a sword The silver \studs\ are hollowed out on a stone, then pierced at the edges with a sharp nail and then sewn on with siuews. The Patagonians arc also handy artificers in iron and will fashion a knife or an adze out of any old piece of metal picked up from wrecks on the coast or procured in the colonies. A tile they call \khikerikikh and the words in their mouths sounds precisely like the rasping ol a file over some dull instrument. A CANDIDATE FOR MATRIMONY. is the fashion here to suck i t out), beat the yolk thoroughly with a stick, a lir.ir pin, or whatever comes handy, adding a little sugar if you have it, or plain salt and pepper as we did. Then set tho egg on end in the hot ashes, just far enough from the blaze not to crack the shell, beating tho batter now and then and turning it around so that tho mixturo will not adhere t o the sides. If a novice you will probably burn your fingers pretty badly and may b e upset tho wholo thing in the fire; but even in tho latter case yon may be consoled with tho thought that you haven't lost much, and that tho duty of friendly politeness, as demanded by local etiquette, has been religiously fulfilled i n tliC/Clcaaeat possi- A PATAOOKIAN ON ItOItSEBACK. Chief among their weapons is tho yachilo or bolas, with three balls, for guanaco bunting, the churae or bolas, with two balls, for capturing ostriches, and the bola pcrdita or singlo ball, so named from the Spanish verb pcrdir, \to lose,\ because when once thrown it is not picked up again. Before the introduction of firearms the bola perdita was the most deadly missilo in the hands of the Tehuclchc3 It is made by covering a sharp-pointed stone with hide, all but the point, which pro trudes, and attaching a thong about a yard long, with a knot tie 1 iu the end to prevent it slipping through the hand, David's historic hling was harmless bo- sides this weapon when whirled rouud and rouud to give it force before shying it at an enemy's head. Some of them also carry long, heavy lances tipped with flint and adorned with tufts of feathers— very different from the light lance; used by the Araueaniaus. Nowadays guns, revolvers, swords and daggers are alto gether too common amoug them, bought lrom traders Both the men and tho women daub their faces and sometimes their bodies with paint made by mixing guanaco and ostrich fat with red ochre or black earth. (Instate occasions— as for a danco or a funeral— the men further add to their beauty by rubbing white paint on their hands and then making live white finger marks on their chests, arms and legs. If in mourning they put on black paint, and when going forth to tight dab a littlo white paint under each eye to impait a ferocious expression. Not a small part of the manifold duties of the women is to attend to the toilets of the men in tho way of paint and hair diessiug, and,not being blessed w ith mirrors, they must also perform those delicate services for one another. The men are very partic ular about their hair, and so tho wives, sweethearts, mothers aud sisters have to brush their bushy locks at least twice every day and tic thein back neatly wit!( the tillct. The greatest care is taken to burn any stray hairs that may brush out, for it is believed that witches work evil spells with such things. The women aro also the tatooers, both sexes ornament ing their Hnus with triangles, crosses nnd parallel lines by tho simple process of puncturing tho flesh with bono needles and rubbing in blue earth. Those who have lived much among tho Patagoninns declaro that they do not de serve the character that has been given them of ferocious savages nnd brigands of the deserts; that they arc kindly,good- tempercd, impulsive children of nature, easily induced t o becomo firm frionds or equally confirmed enemies, and-that tbey are not naturally treacherous, but always keep faith with those who keep faith with them. It i s said that Tsuda Sanzo, the Jap anese who was sentenced to lifo impris. onmcnt for attempting to kill tho Czarowitz of Russia, has died of pneu monia. Nearly a quarter of all cases of insan ity aro hereditarj. 0VE1UCE AND SNOW. SKATKS AND SNOWSHOES ARE WINTER'S ADJUNUXS. Skates Arc Old and Were Formerly 01 ado ol tho Shin-bones of Aulmals—Various Kinds of Snowshoes. HERE is no mens graceful and health ful excrciso than skating. A skilful skater almost makes one look for tho wing3 that the ancients fixed to the ankles of Mercury, Perseus and =y ^ Minerva. In one thing can tho birds bo ri- '-—=: vailed by humans— As they sweep, On sounding skates a thousand different •wnyp, In circling poses, swift as tho wind along. Bings Thompson. Tho boy who has never learned to skate has lost a pleasure that is dear to boy's heart, but there are few who havo not tried skating, however limited the stream, pond or icy place for practice may have been. rect, but the snow collects on thesf primitivo shoes and retards his walking, The result of all tho trials is the graceful, tapering Canadian snowshoe, with bev eled frame of light wood and netting of rawhide, leaving no place for snow to stick. Tho mishaps of tho learner on snow- shoes aro very ludicrous, especially when he '-scuffs\ and takes a header into the drift with snowshoes uppermost. Tho National Museum has many different forms of snowshoes, from the oval, very wide shoes of Labrador to the tapering shoes of tho Indians and Esquimaux. The rude3t snowshoes, perhaps, in the world are used b y tho California Indians. They aro mere hoops of wood with coarse netting. The air shoe comes in a close second i n point of rudeness. Just how tho Labrador people walk with a shoe just twenty-fivo inches wido on each foot is a query. The effort to bring ono foot around past the other must re sult in a peculiar amble. Tho Japanese havo a sort of snowshoo with spurs, that admits of walking up tho mountains in hard snow Tho skees of Norway aro long and narrow liko sledge runners, and on them travelers glide downhill with great speed. Tho contrary of skates and snowshoes are tho ice creepers. No one likes to sknte or glide when unprepared for, con tract with mother earth is peculiarly violent when ice induces the descent.— St. Louis Republic. Skate3 aro very old; hundreds, nay, perhaps, thousands of years beforo this crisp winter, skating was a merry sport. Perhaps too many in this age of invention think that more ideas are new than really arc so. If we remember that everything we sco around us grew up, then wc can begin to inquire about skates that came beforo the keen-edged \club with all the ardor of historians. It is certain that skates would be of no use in the tropics; wo must look for their home in tho land of long winters, of snow and slow, ice bound rivers. Wo would not envy the boy of long ago, as he bound the shin-bones of some animal to his feet and went through a kind of sprawling gymuastics that was skating of the period. In Iceland skntcs are called isleggir, \ice bones,\ the Bhin -bones of a theep. If sheep shin -bouc3 were the first skates, then tho boy who lived bofore iron or bronze were known, back in the stone and bone age, could enjoy himself with this cheery sport. The boys of London in the Twelfth Century, Fitz Stephen tells us, \in winter bind under their feet a pair of shin-bones, tako in their hands poles shod with iron, which at t'mes they strike against the ice, and are thus carried along with tho rapidity of a bird on tho wing or a bolt dis charged from a crossbow.\ Tho gener ous Hollaud boy, Hans Brinkcr, was forced to go back to the primitivo way, when he had given his skates to a poor friend and had foregone his chances in the raco for the \silver skates.\ It is thought that skates came into use in Northern Europe, perhaps in Hol land, where it is cold and there is plenty of smooth water, because, where the rivers are swift there i3 no skating. The wooden skates with iron ruuner3 curling up into a wonderful spiral terminated with a brass acorn at the point, were in troduced into England from the low countries. Gossipy Pepys, iu his diary of December 1, 16(51, records- \To my Lord Sandwich's, to Mr. Moore, and then over to the P >rke, where I first in my life, it being a great frost, did see people sliding with their skutes, which is a very pretty art.\ A Long Trip in a Bow Boat. C. G. Uddgren, a newspaper man of Sweden, has just accomplished tho feat of traveling a thousand miles in a row- boat. He started in July last from Gothenburg for London and recently reached the British metropolis after an adventurous journey, including the rough experienco of a trip across the channel from Calais, in a boat seventeen feet long and three broad. Speaking of his remarkablo feat, Mr. Uddgren said: \When I arrived at Calais an old lady, who had heard of my performance, ex claimed, \How tired he must be!' The old lady seemed to think that I had made the whole trip in one spell. When I got tho idea of making this voyago I must confess I felt somewhat dubious. But taking it i n piecemeal, the first day from A to B, tho next from B to C, aud so on, I could imagiue that it might be possible. A man may not bo capable of drinking a cask of wine at a sitting, but he may empty it gradually from day to day. But still, if you are drinking the samo stuff every day, knowing that you must do it and cannot get anything else, you will soon acquire a distaste for it No ono loves tho sea more than I do, rowing has always been my pleasure, but in spite of this, to keep on rowing for days and months becomes at last painful, even for the most ardent sea- lover. Every morning when I arose I felt tho pains of Tantalus on thinking of the long, long day of hard, continuous work at the oars. But when I once bad put my hands to tho plow I could not look back. My boat, that instrument of torture, became to me as a beloved brother. While alone out in the dan gerous sea, when my life depended on my own endurance and the strength of my small craft, I spoke to her as to my sweetheart; I thanked her every time wo had passed some danger greater thau usual. I and the waves are old friends —or rather enemies. Many hundred times I fought them, and by this inti macy I have learned the rules that govern them, ana I have grown to work in har mony with these rules. Therefore I could enjoy the grand feeliugs of being AGrKICTIlIOEAL TOPICS OF INTEKfcST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. alone out in tho rolling sea. To all who have asked me if I did not feel lonely there I have answered. 'No, not at all! I feel more lonely here in this immense desert of millions of people which is called London thau out ou the familiar sea.' \—Chicago Post. E SKI i\10 VAntODS KINDS OF SNOWSTIOES. The Scotch have the reputation of be- | ing good skaters both in the \fen\ or i straigat, swift skating, and the \fancy\ skating. Our country has the champion, I think, at present. The snowshoe may be called the over land skate. While the snow lay i n great drifts, defying progress, keeping the civilized New Englander in tho house and setting Whitticr to writing the beauties of \Snow-Bound tbo Indian, fixing a framework covered with netting to his feet, could sally forth to kill the floundering moose or deer. Snowshoes must have originated, like skates, from sheer necessity. The savage cannot lay up a supply of food for a long time; ho must be able t o hunt all seasons. The same principb that men are trying to apply now in tho invention of the flying machine, namely, to get a wide surfaco for the support of tho air, has been successfully applied to the snow- shoe. Whoever this forgotten wiso in ventor was, ho must havo noticed that sometimes the snow would almost bear him up on tho area ol his shoo soles, and ho reflected that if he had larger foot it would be a positive advantage. » Ho plaits up some twigs into a circular shape and finds that the surmise is cor- For Brtelit Eyes. Next to fair skin and good health bright eyes are desired by woniec, but after all it is not the bright eyes so much as tho expressive eyes which charm all beholders. Belladonna may give a star tling appearance t o the eyes, but it will not make them attractive. It rather re pels ono instead of attracting. So with all the nostrums placed on the market for improving the oflcct of tho eye3. Tho simplest method is to pencil the eyebrow, which is harmless and not to bo depreciated. This will give more attraction to tho eyos that any of She drugs used for the purpose. The true way t o have cxpresssive eyes is to think and reflect, to improve the mind and to entertain ideal images in the thoughts. The eyes are but an expression of the. mind, and a gentle, cultui cd intellect will surely havo an effect upon the internal organs. A proper use of the muscles and movements of the eyes to give anima tion and expression should be studied as one would study the art and graceful body motion, but beware of affectation. That is worse thau all expressions.— Yankee Blade. \A Strussliug Young Author \ 10 TREAT A cniEDrNR nonsE. A. cribbing horse should bo kept in a stable i n which there is no manger or anything upon which ho can fasten his teeth. Without this he cannot crib. The feed box should be on the floor and tho hay given should be cut. Tho sidc3 of the stall should bo smoothly boarded up and no projection of any kind left. Tho horse will not be able to crib unless there is something he can lay hold of with his teeth a foot or eighteen inches above tho floor.— Neio York Times. SMALL VERSOS LARGE PLATS . Very much of tho field experimenting to determine comparative yields of va rieties is dono in plats, and the size of these plats has much to do with tho re sults. It would be batter to have acre fields, but this is usually out of the ques tion, as it is very difficult to got a uni- for/.i soil as to exposure, dryness and chemical composition, tho most uniform conditions are furnished by long drills. Small square plats havo the additional disadvantage of waste land iu paths which necessarily give additional feed ing ground for the plants, and tho plats are really larger than set down in the note book.— American Agriculturist. TLOt TREES IN IIENYA11DS. The combination of poultry with snail mtit culture is generally unsatisfactory unless the fowls are too closely confined for their own good. All the light weight breeds aro active and requiro a largo range. But there is one kind of fruit th.it can bo better grown in tho poultry yard than anywhere else. Wo refer to tho plum. Plant plum trees fifteen feet apart und fill tho entire enclosure with them, surmounting the fence with a wire to keep hens from flying over. The land shoud not be cropped, but plowed in spring and cultivated twice a month through the growing season, sowing in summer oats at each cultivation and tho last time i n fall sowing rye. Tho fowls thus will get exerciso with their feed. Their droppings, together with the green herbage plowed under, will keep the land rich, and either the cultivation or tho hens will destroy or frighten away tho curculio, securing good crops of fruit after the trees come to bearing age.— Bjiton Cultivator. SPONGES IN THE DAIRY. Are vi e to believe that story about a large milk company iu Denmark running the milk through sponges to purify it and that out of nine million pounds of milk rive tons of lilth wero taken? This looks like a pretty big pile of filth, but it is also an ocean of milk, making ono pound of filth to 112J eight gallon cans of milk, according to tho figuring of the Farmers' Review, which is not nearly tho per cent, of dirt that any of the separa tors taKe out of milk. The whole story looks absurd, not only the small amount of dirt found, but the impracticability of usingsponges forsucha purpose. There are a few dairies wherj sponges arc used to take the water off the butter when it is being worked, but it is so hard to keep the sponge sweet and clean that it is a questionable practice. How they could keep the multitude of sponges clean that would be necessary for so large a quantity of milk we do not sec. Besides, sponge3 are not of much account for arresting dirt. They simply take up and give out again, the water docs not pass through tho sponge as though i t was a strainer. We will have to hear more of that story before we believe it.— American, Dairy- man. TDE OLD TEAM'S REWARD. An acquaintance, a successful well-to- do farmer, says tho Rural iV.su> Yorker, has just sold his oldest and most faithful team of horses because they have reached an age when they can no longer perform the amount of labor of which a younger team is capable. For years, since they wero first broken to harness, they have labored faithfully and uncoraplniniugly through summer's heat and winter's cold; have plowed and harrowed the fields and gathered in the harvests, have gone to market, many tiinC3 through heavy roads well-nigh irapasmble; have cheerfully taken their master hither and thither on busipess or pleasure. Now, when years of toil havo made them less profitable to their owner they are heart lessly sacrificed and arc not permitted to share during their old ago the enjoyment of that competence to which they have so largely contributed. Isn't i t ungrate ful, to say the least? We can conceive of a coudition of hopeless debt aud pov erty that might force ono t o such an act, but for a farmer with a competence, to sacrifice old and faithful servants to the abuse usually bestowed by the class of peoplo who deal iu old horse;, is simply inexcusable. Better knock them iu the head. DEAD ANIMALS ON THE FARN. Obviously tho proper thing to be done with dead animals on a farm is t o bury them at once in such a manner that they shall not be a cause oi disease. Unfor- I tunately, it too often happens that they | are disposed of in the easiest manner I possible, with little or no thought as to the consequences. On this subject a recent bulletin of the Iowa Experiment Station gives an inter esting account of an outbreak of malig nant diseases among live stock, occur ring i n one of the counties of tho State. Upon investigation this outbreak wo3 found to have been caused by farmers, who, living near a stream in part supplied from strings, threw tho carcasses of auimals down tho steep bluff into the bed of the stream. Inquiry elicited the fact that on no less than four farms, situated on the banks of this stream, ani mals drinking from it had died, showing symptoms that made out a strong caso against tho impurity of the water from the cause referred to. Another instanco is mentioned whero a dead animal thrown into a basin on the open prairie was the cause of tho death of many animals that afterward drank from the rain water that filled tho pond. —New York World. -Puck. LICHEN LIFE. A walk about the farm in winter is not devoid of interest, even in reference to plant life, writes Belle P. Dinny. Every old lichen-covered foncerail.stump or rock serves as a study to an observant eye. The commonest form of lichen,that which / looks . liko a grayish-green crumpled leaf, is abundant, seeming to thrive as well i n wintor as In summer. Whero does the curious leaf without root or stem get its daily bread? Not from ait or moisture, botanists havo docidad, but from small green cells imprisoned within its own substance. These tiny protophyta arc supposed t o fall on tho lichen from tho air and to bo overgrown by the plant, a single cell giving rise to othera by division, and living as well inside the crumpled gray leaf as out, as tho in ternal structure of tho lichen is looso and thread-like. This looseness of cell- structuro in tho lichon enables it to use its tiny filaments as feeders in sucking up the green contents of tho protophyta cells. Thus i t is seen that tho lichen is a curious parasite. But how does tho little green plant it imprisons and feeds upon get its living? Doubtlo3s from air and water, a thing the lichen is not able to do. Tho lichen is a widely dispersed plant, growing i n all climates, but flour ishing best wherever the air is purest. No city plants aro they, as they disliko soot, dust and othor atmospheric im purities. Perhaps no other writer has done such poetic justice to tho lichen as Ruskin, who loves even the lowest form3 in nature,and looks with roverenco upon \tho slow-fingered, constant-hearted lichens, weaving their eternal tapestries over all the hills, and reflecting the sun set of a thousand years.— New York Tri bune. and the sexes thoy will net meal for fifty FARM AND GARDEN NOTES. A warm breakfast will help to mako eggs. Do not allow poultry to freeze beforo packing. Pullets and two-year-old hens are tho most profitable. When bens aro kept only for eggs no rooster is needed. For a cold climate a breed with a small comb will bo found best. In marketing, eggs should bo clean and fowls well fattoncd and dressed. Tho worst difficulty in raising chickens in brooders is i n keeping them warm al night. In a majority of cases in selecting a breed for the farm, it is best to cot good foragers. Whenever the nens begin to lay thln- shelUd eggs, i t is an indication that thoy need lime. Feeding on barley meal ten days beforo killing will give a-dclicacv to the Ue3h of poultry. Swelled heads and eyos in chlcken3 and turkeys arc often caused by exposure to draughts. One of tho worst objections to close crowding is that the majority of poultry houses aro ill-ventilated. It is rarely necessary on tho farm to buy poultry foods of any kind. The farm will supply enough. On very cold nights a feed of corn that has been warmed in the oven will be beneficial t o tho fowls. Feeding ducks on chopped vegetables or coarse, bulky materials will often in duce them t o begin laying earlier. A cross of a Wyandotto or Plymouth Ro ek male with Brahma or Cochin hens makes the best chicks for broilers. White fowls aro oasior to dress than those of any other color. In breeding the male nearly always imparts tho color. The man who wilfully deprives his family of tho privileges of a good vege table garden fails in ono of his foremost duties. Too much cornmcal is injurious to young chickens, especially when they aro raised in a brooder. Use bran, mil let seed or oatmeal. Any number of pigeons can be kepi together in ono building, providod thoy are not crowded too closo arc kept equal, so that quarrel. A Cr3t class morning fowls is very quickly aad easily provided by pouring two gallons of boiling water over one gallon of corn meal, put msomo salt and stir well. If cutting tools aro kept in good order less power is required to operate tbem. The difference between a sharp plow and a dull ono may not appear very im portant, but i t may mako tho difference in labor of threo horsc3 compared with two. The effect of examplo is one of tho most terrible things in life. No one can tell how far i t extends. Ono man's life or ono man's thought—influencing in turn multitudes of othor3 —may go down through ages gathering its tremendous harvest of good or evil. In almost all orchards, especially if old, thero will be found some trees past service and only cumberor3 of tho ground. Tho sooner they arc dug out tho better. Wo say dug out, for if this is dono while tho trco is standing, it is comparatively littlo trouble Nearly or quite all kinds of small fruits, as well as young tree3 will bo tho better if they are properly mulched dur ing tho winter. Mulching is to keep tho soil at as even a tcmporaturc as possible, and prevent tho injury often caused by alternate thawing and freezing. Among tho essentials to tho proper construction of a wooden silo aro these which afloct its durability Only sound and well-seasoned lumber should bo used, sapwood, too, is much subject to rot, becauso i t contains much more food upon which the fungi subsist, henco tho sappy ends of studding should be turned up and tho sappy edges outward; tho soundest boards should be reserved for tho lining and tho very best placed at tho bottom. In order to derive tho full boneSt of fall plowing it is necessary to seo that good dtaroago i s provided. Ono item in plowing land intended for crops in tho spring is that i t sages time and affords a better opportunity^ of getting crops planted in good sfeSon, .but tho land must be woll drairSa&n \ordor to have i t dry out and bo re§|y/to work early, and if tho land intcndccT'for spring crops is well plowed and , provision mado for good drainage, i t will dry out and warm up and bo ready to plant much_carlior than if left unplowcd. In every ono of four eeparato trrals made in England to ascertain if thero was any advantage in using tho largo grains of wheat for seed, tho largo seed sprouted quickest, mado the best growth early in the season, grew better, and av eraged ten bushels to tho aero more than was obtained from tho small seed. Sparo hours during tho coming winter might profitably be devoted to selecting' the largo kernels for tho seed of the spring wheat crop, using a siovo for tho purposo. \Weed scfcjsjjould bo go£rid of at the same time The Oldest Postmaster. Below is presented the portrait of a man who has tho honor of being tho oldest postmaster in tho United States, nnd probably in tho world—Roswoll Beardsley, of North Lansing, Tompkins Co., N. Y. Appointed iu 1828, during tho administration of John Quincy Adams, and when this republic was yet in its infancy, and tho recent discoveries in modern science unthought of, he as sumed at the age of a littlo less than nineteen years the duties of a responsible position that he has continued to hold Ihrough all tho vast changes, party an imosities and political convulsions of sixty-three years. In his beautiful home, with its lux uriant furnishings and pleasant surround ings, he passes much of his time, where his friends, whose name is legion, are thrice welcomed and hospitably received. \So Arm ho strode across tho room, So stately was his air, Tou scarce had guessed th».t oightv years Had whitenod through hi 1 hair.\ A perfect gentleman of tuoold school; a millionaire and splendid financier, a lover of books, a frieud to science aud education and a believer in tho broad principles of humanity—schools,colleges, universities, churches and benevolent societies alike receive liberal benefits from his bountiful hand. The cut i3 re produced from a recent photograph, presented by Mr. Beardsloy with his autograph, as a souvenir to the writer ot this sketch during his recent visit to New York State.—Detroit Free Press. Tiiey Met by Chance. The Trlplo Alliance. The defensive alliance between Au9tria and Germany was negotiated at Gastcin and Vienna by Bismarck, in consequence of the unfrieudly attitude of Russia. Italy subsequently joined the league, and after its renewal i n February, 1887, tho terms of the original Austrd-German treaty of alliance were for tho first timo published to the world. The new treaty, except in minor particulars i n respect to the military forces t o he maintained and tho conditions of mobilization, is official ly declared to bo identical with tho other. Tho agreement is generally understood to be that if either Austria or Germany, without boing tho aggressor, is attacked by Russia, the combined military forces of tho two empires will move against that power; if Franco Ehould atack either Germany or Italy, sho would be opposed by both those powers acting in common; and if France and Russia should combine to assail ono or more of tho allied powers, the entire military and naval strength of tho league would be called into immediate action.—Detroit Free Press. \Down in tho Mouth. : Ono on Bismarck. Here is an old chestnut revamped,nnd told on Bismarck. He was commissioned to decorate a hero with tho Iron Cross. \I am authorized,\ said Bismarck t« him, with that liking for playing jokci- which nas been so strong throughout his career, \I am authorized to offer you 100 thalers instead of tho Cross.\ t \How much is tho Cross worth,\ asked tho soldier. \Three thalers.\ • \Very well, then, highness, I'll take tho Cross and ninety-seven thalers.\ Bismarck was so surprised and pleased by tho ready shrewdness of the answer that h e gave tho man both the Cross and tho money. An All-Aroiind Fighlor. The Monitor Miantonomah, now ready for sea, can knock off a chip at the rato of thirteen mile an hour, and can do tho toughest kind of fighting at seven miles. When small boats attack her sho will fight them with light guns, but when a fellow of her size looms up every man will bo sent below, sho will tako in water until her deck is below the surface, and she will let tho eaglo scream with four ton-inch, breach-loading rifles.— Detroit Free Press.
