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*. PRINCESS FIRE. TJve gray fog folds the houses round, The rain falls from the sky; And in the house, all snug and warm, Are Princess Fire and I; She wears a gown of changing red. And while she sings to me She dances gaily to and fro With laughing witchery. O weary, weary, weary wheels, Slow turning in the street, O lamps that burn so bravely there Through all the mist and sleet; O great bleak wind from northern lands That beats against the pane? To your cold realms I banish you, ^ a n r?/l tkfl T*0 I r? JL\J uaiaucco auu nit laxu. Upon tbe hearthstone here within The ruddy comfort gleams; And Princess Fire her province rules The while her subject dreams; And here is warmth and cheer and light. And here no need to siob; A lover and his lady bri^at-? Good Princess Fire and I. ?M. S. Clark, in Youth's Companion. < The Harp That Grew. It was a great day throughout the country when Jack the Q'iant Killer took possession of the castle. The Giant had been the terror of the ? neighborhood for so long that the poor people could scarcely call their lives their own. It seemed strange to have that gloomy stronghold opened wide to the air and sunshine, and stranger still to see Jack restored to nis own. ine casue naa ueiuugeu to his father, a valiant knight, who was slain in his sleep by the Giant. Jack and his mother took possession of the castle as soon as all traces of the Giant and his evil deeds had disappeared. Here they lived for many years in great content. The Beanstalk withered away after it was cut down, and the steep hill which had stretched between Jack's old home and the castle gradually dwindled. It became once more the gen_ ^ tie slope it had been before the Giant's heavy tread had made such deep furrows along its sides. Now Jack, you remember, had run away with three precious things from the Giant's castle?the Men that laid the golden eggs, the Money Bags full of precious gold coin and the Magic Harp of gold that played and sang at the Giant's bidding. All these treasures the Giant had stolen from Jack's father, and Jack was only claiming his own when he took them away. The Harp was so small that Jack had no difficulty in tucking it under his arm as he ran with the Giant at his heels. After the Giant was slain the Harp was silent for many years. From the first it resisted all of Jack's efforts to make it sing, so he saw it carefully stored in a large disused chamber, and there were so many other pleasures in his life that he soon forgot all about it. He grew up a very noble, handsome youth, the pride of the cpuntrv side and the joy of his mother. He was fond of the hunt, and one evening, returning from the chase, he Ifc^chanced to pass the chamber where had hidden the Harp. To his sura9p*prise he heard a voice chanting in low, tender melody: "Our Jack hath now a man become, Tis time to bring his true love Lf | ! home." Jack pulled a key from the pocket of his doublet. In a moment the door Ksr flew open and he was peering about Hr In the dim light for the Magic Harp. There it stood against the wall, as he v had placed it, a beautiful little toy. He carefully brushed away the dust, showing beneath the bright untary nished gold. f This Harp was curious in shape. The figure of a woman he e the top of the instrument on her head and the hands were touching the strings, f as though in the act of playing. "Did you speak to mer" asked Jack, but the Harp made no answer. Suddenly he remembered vhat the Oiant had done. "Play!" he commanded, and, obediently, the Harpist began to sweep the strings with her golden fingers, singing: "Take me with you when you wc.o, I can choose the maid for you." Jack had never thought much about his future wife, but e.s the Harp sang he became anxious to find a beautiful maiden to make him hap* py. So the next day he set out upon his travels with the Harp under his ii arm. 3 He went from castle to castle and li found many maidens as handsome as Kb ^ they were good, but the Harp was siP lent, and so Jack passed them by. I. One day they came to a stream, on W the bank of which a girl was kneel ing, her long, bright hair touching f + the water. As she raised her fair face to look at the approaching youth tut; nai p suuucui) uiuac xuiu suun a rhapsody that the air resounded with it. The birds caught up the lingering notes, and even the girl herself joined her voice in following where the golden fingers led upon the Harp. Jack did not doubt that this was the maiden of his choice, and as she \ seemed alone in the world, he took her home aud placed her in his _ mother's arms. The wedding was a grand affair, and when all was over Jack and his wife sat alone in their happiness. He brought forth the Harp which had guided his choice and placed it on the floor. "Play!" he commanded and, passing an arm about his wife, they both leaned forward to listen. Then a strange thing happened; with every chord the Harp grew larger and the face of the woman became t a living, breathing face. Her figure Wi grew taller and the golden gown flut L tered in the sunlight. "A kiss, my daughter, come and give MH * fjB A kiss from your sweet lips awl 1 Map am free." fK The girl wife stooped and laid her lips upon the glittering strings. As " she did so the top of the Harp lifted, releasing the head of the woman imprisoned beneath it. She stepped tforth, a stately, beautiful creature, ,-wbo clasped Jack's wife in her arms end held her close. "My child," she said, "I have > 9 -waited all these years for you to release me, for you are my very own. & My husband was a great prince and || loved me more than his life, but 1 loved my golden Harp only, and even when my child came I swept the cj+tm n fro all Hiv onrl novor rmtippri her. But once the baby strayed so far from me that she was lost. The prince, my husband, died of grief, and I was doomed to shrink into the smallest space, and became a part of my Harp, until released by the child so long lost to me. Now I am free to rejoice in your new-found happiness." Again she embraced her daughter and there was joy in the castle. Then Jack had a golden pedestal fashioned, on which he strung the harp strings and the princess made rare music upon it for the rest of her life.?Belle Moses, in the Washing, ton Star. A PROBLEM FOR THE INVENTOR. Something Must Be Found and Found j at Once as a Paper Substitute. > One of those things for whose pres ' ent riss in price there is a real reason is the wood pulp paper from ' which newspapers are made, declares the New Haven Register. The pro' ducers of this sort of paper tell a discouraging tale and spread out an alarming prospect. As most persons know, practically all newspapers today use this pulp paper, made entirely frofm the spruce of our Northern forests. For every week day of the year 1,765,000 feet of timber is used in paper, and as all the newspapers which pr,int Sunday editions use more paper than on other days, the aggregate amount used on Sunday alone consumes all the' timber that can be cut from thousands of acres. Under the conditions, it is no wonder that the price of news paper is steadily rising. Where a year ago it coaid be contracted for at two cents h pound, the mills are now loath to set any contract price for as loLg a time as a year. While in jvory lavge quantities it may now be jojtaiaed at slightly over that price, its lowest quotation is two and oneialf cents, and the price ranges up to three cents a pound, with talk of f-.ur or even six cents as a not disidnt price. In such a case it is easy to see what is soon to become of the one ccnt newspaper. There are scores of newspapers in the country which, e rr n at the former prices of paper, have daily put out editions whose paper alone cost them considerably more than they received out of the one cent charged. ' With paper increased even fifty per cent, in price, this will simply be impossible. Eut this is ont the worst. Unless the situation is exaggerated?and the ordinary observer knows that there is too much truth in the growing dearth of timber?there is prospect in the not distant future of wood pulp becoming so scarce as to prohibit its use for news paper. Something must be found to take its place, and found at once. The problem for the inventor is ah imperative and immediate one.?New Haven Register. Bleaching Flour. Although the uses of butter color are well known, the public is not generally aware of the existence of flour bleaches. Certain high-gradd flours are decidedly yellow wherf first milled, and the yellow tint is discernible after months of exposure to sunlight. Therefore, the millers resort to electrical and chemical methods of bleaching, for (which the manufacturers of the processes claim virtues of increasing the keeping quality and the nutritive and breadmnkine nrnnprtiAS of thp flnnr 'Rut. some of the processes, such as bleaching by nitric acid, have been condemned as injurious to health. Mr. F. J. Aiwa.-, of the Nebraska Experiment Station, has tested 100 samples of variously bleached flour, and found, quite naturally, that it gave the whiter loaf, but no difference was discbvered in texture, odor or taste from the unbleached specimens. The color of low grades, however, was more unattractive than before, while the baking test showed that the use of more than a certaia proportion of nitrogen peroxide was objectionable. But as excessive amounts of the bleaching agent injured the color, thus lowering the market value of the flour, Mr. Alway concludes that there is little danger to the public in overtreating flour by this method.?New York Times. Dnnfnl in IU/m.1/1 ili^ucni licnitti au vuc huiiui What is considered by experts one of the choicest bits of space in the world for business purposes has been leased for a long term of years at the highest per foot rental on the globe. It is underground, is twentyone by nine feet and is in the exact centre of the S5.000 square-foot concourse of the new Hudson Terminal buildings, extending from Cortlandt street under Dey street to Fulton, tc be opened next year. It is to be oc cupicd by a cigar stand. The annual rental is about $7560. The tenant will be A. Schultze, who has a store at the entrance to the Pulitzer building. Assuming that two-for-a-quartei cigars will be the chief sellers there and that the profit is thirty-three per cent., 188,000 cigars, or 3760 boxes of fifty each, will have to be sold before the year's rent is offset. Taking intn acrnnnt other expenses. it if likely that profit would not begin until more than a quarter of a million of "two for twenty-five's" have been disposed of.?New York World Stung. A little girl was being put to be<i one summer night, and after she had said her prayers her mother klsseo her good-night, and said: "Now, go to sleep, dear. Don't be afraid, for God's angels are watching over you." In a short time, while the mothei and father were at tea, a small voice from upstairs was heard. "Mamma!" "Yes. little one; what is it?" ilrinr\o' aneek nrf? bnzzine arminri and one's bitten me."?Harper's Weekly. Beira, a little town in Africa, is built almost entirely of galvanized sheet metal. I A HOME-MADE AIRSHIP. I a 'I IP Inspired by the aeronautic exhibi- B ' tion at the St. Louis Exposition, w i Cromwell Dixon, a fifteen-year-old w lad of Columbus, Ohio, resolved to M i make some experiments along this h : line himself. With his mother's aid w alone, he designed and built two airi ships, the last a slight improvement w over the first. The boy's mother be- gi lieved him too young to attempt to b< fly with a powerful motor, and he m began on the idea of a foot-power ma- it ' ? :**; USUI THE "SKY CYCLE" BUILT AND YEAR-OLD chine. He secured a silk gas bag hav- "] ing much the form of a huge lemon, ai thirty-two teet long and fifteen- feet p< through. For this he designed and tl personally made a four-inch mesh zc net. The bag he fills with hydrogen is gas produced with home-made gen- qi erators. Taking an ordinary bicycle, m he removed the wheels and the forks, ai leaving only a triangular frame sup- m porting the seat, the handle-bars, b: and the pedals and sprocket wheel, te The latter he geared to rotate a two- M bladed silk propeller. Behind the as framework he placed a silk rudder er with a bamboo frame, manipulated by tr means of cords running forward to it the handle-bars. The main frame ei of the airship is built of slender T! spruce rods. On this frame the fli mechanism is supported, and to it the as gas bag is attached by means of the st net. Young Dixon has succeeded in it, maiung , succes>siui asuyms wun jus ; "sky cycle."?H. G. Moore, in Scien- si tiflc American. | el Orville Wright, of Dayton, Ohio, Ex- G< perimenting With His Famous "Gliding" Air-Ship. ?? ? - ? - ? a 2 a i >ni rne uivuung J*oa Jtxpiaineu. j. i During the past twenty years I ^ have met the assertions of practical W1 men and all newspaper claims as 00 regards the efficacy of the divining wi rod as a means of discovering water, ^ with a skeptical smile. I have always e'{ believed that those who used it either 80 deliberately utilized their expert ob- T* servations of local conditions, which ^ made the securing of water probable, ^ to fool people by giving credit to the va little forked willow stick, or else un- el( consciously allowed this expert va knowledge to act on their nerves and ^ thus equally unconsciously allowed their muscles to act on the stick and thus make it bend toward the earth aa soon as they had made up their minds that the lay of the land favored the existence of water at the spot thus indicated. Nor am I now convinced that this may not be the case; but I confess to some doubt j TohafVioi- T mov Tirvf ho miRtfllTPTl ! aroused by reading an article on the question in a Danish paper the other i day, of which I make the following cl< abstract: th It seems that a Mr. Franzius, of I ca Kiel, Germany, who did not believe ci; in this peculiar power of the willow bj twig, wrote to a certain Mr. Bulow, "e who has quite a reputation as a well seeker by its aid, and invited him to th show his power (or that of the twig) be In a locality which he (Franzius) had h> previously surveyed and by frequent tu borings located all the subterranean fo water courses. lo When Mr. Bulow arrived he used, 1 D? however, a fork made of wire (kind of metal not mentioned) instead of the willow, and succeeded in astound- j ing the skeptic by the eractness with J yo which he located the water courses ; ep and their directions in perfect agree-; H< Toilet Device. le1 An exceedingly neat device which of shoilld appeal to members of the fair br sex is the holder for tooth powder and brush shown here. It is so con- 'n structed that by simply operating a ar . to Powder Drops on Brush , ha i lent with the map previously preared. In the only place where Mr. ulow and his wire fork disagreed i ith the map. it turned out that he \ as right! This made a convert of [r. Franzius. who found that even e could locate water, although not ; 1th the exactness of Mr. Bulow. The tosts are described and the ire fcra: illustrated. The operator raspB .-he wire fork (Fig. A) with Dth ha ::.de nnd bends the fork in the arner shown in Fig. B and carries in such a manner that the free f - A..4-? . , r.:?. NAVIGATED BY A FIFTEENBOY. handle" points straight forward In \ nearly a horizontal position aa Dssible. The "handle" indicates le water by diverging from the hori>ntal position. When the wire fork held in the above position it reuires but a slight movement of the uscles to make the 'handle" move, id the question then arises how this ovement of the muscles is caused 7 the operator passing over the subrranean water. The experiment of r. Franzius showed this plainly, > the fork ''acts" whenever the op ator crosses the rails of an electric ain or telegraph line in action, and does not "act" at all when the op ator carries rubbers on his feet! his indicates that the action or inaence is an electric one, especially i it also "acts" if a weak electric lock is given the one who carries But how it is possible that the ibterranean water should have this ectrical effect through the soil? srmany's Aerial War-Ship Maneuvring, Under Perfect Control, Over the City of Berlin. 7 le explanation has been given that e water has a "radio-activity," the ' iter giving off various currents and me of these pass through the soil ith undiminished force and cause e air above to become "negatively sctrlcal" and act on the operator . that the handle of the fork bends, lis explanation, says the author of e article, Is probably correct, as ere is a great difference between .rious persons' susceptibility. The ectrical resistance of the skin may ry from 1200 to 36,000 ohm, and e forco repaired to produce a mus! ? A u , Fig.B. Fig. A? . .^i; may vary from oneird to fifty-five volts. This indites that certain persons arc ospeilly adapted as seekers of water ' this device, provided that this ilectrical" explanation is correct. The question should be given a oroughly scientific investigation, icause a confirmation of the above 1 pothesis would enable us to substite a scientific electrical "indicator" r the crude divining rod, be it wil- i T LI r\r\ A rvf 1 W W UUU 1 11 C. U. Ll. 1TIUUI uu, V/A jnmark, in the Country Gentleman. i Frequently I)o. Don't find too much pleasure in < ur charities; they may become the 1 ltome of your selfishness.?John A. jwland. 1 per it will deliver a certain amount the tooth Rowder onto the tooth ] ush. The tooth powder is placed the receptacle through an opening the top. Within the receptacle e rolls of paper, which agitate the oth powder and carry it to an open- ^ g in the bottom of the receptacle, lis opening is the same size as the ^ istles of the brush, the latter being 1 Id in place by a clamp. After plac- ^ % the brush in position a small lever operated to move the paper roll to ing the exact amount of powder . sired onto the brush. The powder ' deposited on the bristles of the t usn, me ron serving aiso io ciose e opening against further disarge. The brush is readily reived and the powder applied to the Jth. Rev. Dr. Curtis Lee Laws, of Baltisre, has completed a tour of the llted States, covering about 11,000 lies. Japan has 2237 banks, with $29?,- , A OO A nnnltnl Flf/. n.o. 1,00* I'iTC VIC YY UCUin.0 I J ,ve opened since February. ' <C. C ~ " ? " The Peruvian Government is distributing free cotton seeds to planters, and in other ways is encouraging the cotton industry. It is generally agreed that ambergris is secreted by the sperm whale as the result of a disease. It is chiefly bought by scent-makers, but is also valuable as a constituent of certain medicines. The second of its kind in the country is the picturesque temple of worship which 7000 Greeks at Lowell, Mass., have built, it being a $100,000 structure, with a brilliant golden dome and two golden turrets. It is reported that a gold coinage law 1b being drafted for Siam, and that the measure may become a law within the yeah It is under this law that it is proposed to reintroduce the stang?a copper coin this time, not nickel, as before. Some farmers make a nice thing by constantly looking about for some new crop, of which the supply is snort. a Missouri iarmer nan in twenty acres of popcord this season, and it has turned him in about $1500. Alfalfa is a wonderful plant for producing wealth. It not onljr yields several cuttings of most nutritious hay during a season, but actually enriches the ground on which it grows by taking nitrogen from the air. The total crop of alfalfa hay in 1907 is estimated to be worth $100,000,000. Cocoanut pearls are rarely seen in this country. They are found only in the cocoanut trees grown in the Philippines, and, like the oyster pearls, are the result of the trees being out of health. They are never larger ' than a pea, but a cocoanut pearl of that size is worth from $200 to $400. ( A French detective has hit upon a novel idea for the capture of pickpockets. He attaches to his purse a length of thin cord, and when the thief has taken the purse he hauls him in hand over hand and arrests him. Sometimes the thief cuts the cord or drops the purse, and then he gets away. But one can't think of everything.?London Globe. The game birds of the United States are constantly decreasing in number, and the practice of introducing foreign birds as substitutes is growing. , During the year more than' 1000 European partridges, about 2000 English pheasants and a number of capercailzie and black game of Europe were imported for liberation, while 5900 eggs were imported for propagation. SEA WORDS. The Origin of Such Words as "Admiral." There is hardly a language which has not been called upon to provide at least one of the curious sea terms which are- in constant use and whose origin is so obscure. * or instance, the word admiral is not of English origin, but is from the Arabic "Emil el Bagh," or Lord of the Sea. Captain comes from the Latin caput, but mate is from the Icelandic, and means a companion or equal. Coxswain is a word whose derivation would never be guessed. The coxswain was originally the man who pulled the after oar in the captain's boat, which was known as the cockboat. This, in turn, is a corruption of the word "coracle," a small round boat used on the Wye and Usk rivers. So coxswain comes to as from the Welsh. Commodore is not so difficult to trace to its beginning. It is simply the Italian comandatore, meaning commander. No ouch person as Davy Jones ever existed, though we often hear of him and his locker. One should speak of "Duffy Jonah's locker," for that was the original owner of the famous sea kit. They used to talk of "larboard" and "starboard." Starboard has nothing in common with stars, but is really the Anglo-Saxon "steor board" for "steer side," because in all galleys which were steered by an oar the oar was fixed somewhat to the right hand side of the stern, and the helmsman held the inboard portion in his right hand. "Larboard" was probably a corruption of lower board, the larboard side being inferior to the other. The "jury mast" has nothing in common with a jury except its derivation from the same word, "jour," the French word meaning day. The jury mast is one which is put up temporarily?for a day?just as a jury in its legal term. meant a tribunal summoned for a short period only.?TitBits. Possessing Reneficence. An old Lowlander had been persistently asked by his son, who was ioing very well in London, to pay :iim a visit. Having at length decided to comply, he spent a fortnight in :he metropolis and duly returned north to tell the tale. A pompous person invited him to his house soon ifter the old man's return, with a new to having some amusement at he latter's expense. ' And what was it that most impressed you in the great city?" asked :he pompous gentleman. "Weel, sir," quoth the old fellow, 'the thing abune a' that impressed ne maist was my ain insigneeficance. Deed, sir, I wad strongly advise ye ;o gang?it wad dae ye a vast deal )' guid, sir!"?Tit-Bits. The herring catch off the shores of 2ns;land represents $15,000,000 an Professional Fools. By IDA A. TAYLOR. According to Garzoni, the lord was never without the fool, the fool never without a lord; while he adds that so necessary was the one to the other that if the master were compelled to forego temporarily his toy he straightway fell ill from melancholy. ThA Htat.pmpnt ia rorrnhnrat'pri hv the evidence supplied by history of the extraordinary affection borne by kings to their Jesters?an affection perhaps the result in part of a licensed familiarity permitted to the fool alone. Traces of it are everywhere apparent. Here and there a magnificent tomb, such as that erected in the Church of St. Maurice de Senlis to the memory of Thevenin da Saint Ligier, "fool of the King our Lord," testifies to the gratitude of the master toward the man who tad made him laugh. Or again the'proof of it is to be found in gifts such as the rich chapelle of ermine covered with a rose bush, with stem of gold of cypress and leaves of wrought gold presented by John the Good, the prisoner of Poictiers, to his fool, Jehan Arcemalle. So dear was Caillette, his official jester, to Francis I. that when death had removed him from his post the King paid to his TY"? n tv? AfV <4 Vi n 11 n* a1 A t tvi r\ />Amrt1(rvtrtn4 iucmui j IUO uunuv/cmc tumyiiuicui of insisting that his son, made afte. quite another pattern and regarding the calling with abhorrence, should carry on the family tradition by assuming the cap and bells. Of Charles V. of France it is recorded that be maintained at his court a number of the craft, with whom, his morning devotions concluded, he* was accustomed to exchange "paroles joyeuses et honnestes" before proceeding to the more serious occupations of the day. Poor mad , Charles VI. surrounded himself with jesters, hoping thus to find a means oL distraction from his melancholy; and, to come to a prince of the Church, so close and intimate was the tie uniting Pope Leo X. and his favorite buffoon that the latter assisted at his deathbed, and has been asserted?one would hope erroneously?to have been the sole watcher there. Abyssinian Ministry. The decree of the Emperor Menelik ammouncing the construction ol ' a Cabinet on European lines is as follows: "The lion of Judah has prevailed. "Salutation be to you. "It is some time since we thoughl of introducing a European system to our country. You have always Indicated (this)., and said it would be good if we too adopt some of the European systems. "I have now taken steps to appoint a Ministry, and if it is the will oi God I will complete it. I Inform you that I have appointed the following persons: Affa Negus Nasibu, Fitaurari Habta G-iorgis, Privy Seal Gabra Selassi, Bejirond Mulugata, Likamaquas Katama, Nagadras Haila Giorgis, Kantiba Walda Sadilc."? London Standard. \ Shipboard Plowing. A common everyday farm plow ' was used in unloading the cargo oi I the Ammon, at San Francisco. The : entire hold was filled with fifteen ! hundred tons of nitre which, had ! frozen into one solid mass and very hard. Explosives could not be used, and picks and shovels were too slow. As a joke a bystander suggested they had better U3e a plow.- The captain decided to try the plan, and bought a good-sized plow, and by means of block and tackle and steam winch, pulled it back and forth the length of the hold. The plow loosened the nitre as fast as a big gang could shovel it into steel buckets. This is probably the only instance on record where a ship's cargo was discharged in this way.? Popular Mechanics. Sellin' a Sheep. T'ttt#-* TJirrVilonH fa rm ora maf nn II V A?l?)UiUUU <.H1 Uivyl U U1 v V VU their way to church. "Man," said Donald, "I was wonderin' what you will be askin' for yon bit sheep over at your steadin'?" "Man," replied Dougal, "I wass thinkin* I wad be wantin* fifty shullin's for that sheep." "I will tak' it at that," said Donald; "but, och, man, Dougal, I am awful surprised at you doin* business on the Sawbath." \ "Business!" exclaimed Dougal. "Man, sellin' a sheep :ike that for fifty shullin's is not business at all; it's just charity!"?Scottish American. Dno and Legal Form. "Since it is all over between us, Miss Berkenhead," said the young I man, pale but calm, "I am compelled I to ask for the return of the numerous and costly presents I have given you | from time to time during the last six j months, under the mistaken idea that I was your accepted lover and you. were my affianced wife." "No, Henry," she answered, "you can't claim them now. All you can do is to give me the necessary sixty days' notice. By that time?er? perhaps confidence will be restored." ?Chicago Tribune. Catching Him. During the recent stay in camp of the National Guard of the District of Columbia, one of the captains called a sergeant one day, saying: "Sergeant, note down Private I I Mooney?one day on bread and water I for slovenly turnout on parade." " Beg pardon, captain," responded the sergeant, "but that won't make | any difference to Mooney?lie's a vegetarian." "Then," said the captain, "give him one day on meat and soup."? Harper's Weekly. The Cattle of the King. There is much English history iu | the fact that the chief exhibitor at the Norwich cattle show was the King, to whom, even more if possibles than to English kings of the fourteenth century, English stock owes its reputation.?London Outlook. A Big Advantage. The man who is always on timer has a big advantage in the struggle I for success.?Chicago Record-Heraldj A I , Highway Building. In the great Mississippi Vallef there is practically no good rOadraakiag material at hand, and whatever is used-, must be transported great distance^ at considerable expense. tft Illinois, .Alabama, Kansas, Iowa and other Central Middle States the road problem is acute to-day. Occasionally gravel, be^s are found which yield fair road-making material, and in the hands of the engineer good stretchcs of highways have been made at no great Cost; The drainage on these rich farming? > > . sections, is almost as bad as it could be, and this Increases the cost and trouble of the work. Traveling) through these States in an automor bile maizes one conscious of the greafcj road problems facing our richest agricultural regions. In vain have local and national engineers sought to de^ ^ rise some means of making roads in i these States' without importing t. stones, gravel and other building material. Bpt apparently the roads must be built at great expense through the employment of materials, transported from more favored sections. Transportation thus becomes the most vital factor in road making jf the Mississippi Valley and tff many of the Southern States. If good roads are to be had there, the materials . must be brought by the railroads* ,and co-operation between the steam lines and local, highway commissions must be secured. . . . v : vl No hard and fast rules of highway building could be laid down for this 3.at central region, although the ./ nest granite or gravel would pay the \ ' best in the end, for it costs no more to transport it than the cheaper shales and softer limestones. The Question of durability and cost of maintenance would have to be seriously considered. In the experiments made by the Government and local. commissions, good roftds of broken . atriroc aiirh aa (rranltn flint and alii. cates, prove more economical than 'cheaper materials, and many of the Middle Western towns and cities have . ^ miles of excellent highways built at. only thirty to forty'per cent, more:" thah the cost of similar roads in the EaBt, which, with proper care, Will last for many decades. i Good roads in the Mississippi Val ley pay better than almost anywhere else in the country, owing to the vivid contrast between them and the natural poor roads. The Increase in i ' valuation of property along the line pf macadam roads in this section has been all the way from fifty to sixty jper cent., and many new, thriving towns are to-day making strenuoua efforts to attract settlers and investors through improving roads. It has ' * proved an economical success to increase road taxation in order to secure higher real estate values. Road construction across the middle of our continent at the present rate of development should within another decade completely revolutionize conditions; and a trip across from ocean to ocean by automobile should prove a popular pleasure instead of a tiresome struggle with muddy, dusty and heavy Btretches of roads.?Scientific / American. Good Roads and Citizenship. A. L. Cushman, Director of the Office of Public Roads, Department of Agriculture, recently declared that poor roads and a poor class of citizenship usually go together. He said the rubber tired wheels of aitfomobiles not alone raise clouds of dirt granules but soon destroy the best macadam highways by scattering the dust binder. With iron tired wheels^ contractors had been able to rely upon the friction to grind up the surface stones, keeping the road smooth and well bound by the small particles. Of its 2,000,000 miles of 'public roads, the United States has improved only seven per cent.. Continuing, ho said: "Even in road making it is necessary to touch the pocketbooks of the people before any reform can be accomplished. California became the pioneer of oiled roads merely on account of the detrimental efTect of dust upon her orange crop. It is not until a community ia stirred to the real menace of dusty /in/) KAn.ln + V> *S f #VAA/1 VlOO AfTA* oirecc auu ivauo iuai u&o ctu been accomplished. The American people are not an unintelligent rac?, hut they need a vast amount of education to remove them from a sceptical attitude toward true reforms in tany direction. Travel through the country and you will find that the character of a road is the best criterion of the character of the community. You see no ill kept houses, no unwashed, unkempt children along a good road, while such is the rule along a poof highway. A community ! that is negligent of its public roads | cannot cxpect to raise up good citizens. The moral effect of surroundI Ings is against it."?The Motor Car. Legal Tender. The Willamette Heights ciiizen Imndefl tbe conductor of the car a $5 clearing house certificate. "Wnat's tnat r" asnea tuc man uehind the bell cord. "That's a clearing house certificate, the new kind of Portland monfy," said the W. Ii. citizen. "Is it good?" ascked the lord of t"*.? punch. "Sure it's good. Paper money goes these days." "All right, old mail," and the conductor immediately handed the passenger $4.95 worth of transfers.?* Portland Oregonian. A Common-Sense Musician. Moscheles, the most distinguished teacher of fae pianoforto of hie time, was particularly .proud of his staccato playing. One day, when the hand of an American pupil had been unusually heavy, the musician turned upon him. "If the keys of the piano were jred-hot pokers," lie laid, "you would never think of allowing your lingers to rest on them!" "I guess," the American replied, dryly, "if they were rea-Rot powers 1 shouldn't touch them at all."? ? fouth's Companion.