p .
THE COUNTY RECORD
~~ KLNGSTREE, SrcT
LOUIS J. BRISTOW, Kd & Prop'r,
.-> j
Iron made in Alabama is steadily |
poshing its way into the markets of
Ihe Old World.
Of the eighty-one millions of dollars
appropriated by the Chilian badget,
no less than $39,000,000 are for
army and navy, expenditures.
=====
In the seventeenth centnry the
average dnration of life was only thirteen
jeers; in the eighteenth,twenty;
il this century it is thirty-six. Look
out for the twentieth.
Hurrah for the Iowa cow! exclaims
the Dubuque Herald. She is one of
the greatest sources of wealth the
state affords, and is doing her work
qoietly, faithfully and well. During
the past year she produced wealth to
the value of $42,000,000, which is
more than all the silver mines in the
oountry did.
The Florida deer is but litle more
than half the size of the deer of Northeastern
United States, and for this
reason beside certain cranial charac|
teristics and the larger molar and premolar
teeth Mr. Bangs describes it as
V e distinct species, though probably
others would be content with calling
I it a climatic variety.
; , - The Canadian department of agri5?
culture estimates the population of the
Dominion to be 5,125,438, again of
zather less than 300,000 since the
census of 1891. Iu 1890 there were
two states of the Union that exceeded
Canada in population?New York,
with 5,997,853 inhabitants, and Pennsylvania,
with 5,25S, 014.
f A number of northern Indiana
counties hate perfected organizations
whereby it is agreed not to purchase
la.minn imnlamantll this vp?r. A
k system of exchange has been agreed
upon. The leaders in the movement
disclaim the establishment of a boy
. cotton manufacturers or dealers, and
atate that the organizations are the
pr OBtgrovth of basin ess and financial !
depression.
4 . The English ahow their aeuteknowlsjfe..
edge of the savage character by send*
Be ; lag, oa a mission to Abyssinia, men
R, who are over six feet in height.
Judged by the native standard they
will be persons of far more consequence
than even the royal prince and
hissta* w* ? are in the country representing
Franoe. If England scores
some important advantage from this
shrewd device it will not be the first
grV: time in the history of her African
$&, ventures.
? The New York Independent says:
k* "We would give a cordial welcome to
r . th? United Htaies of Australia, for
I that i* eirtnaily what the Federal
" Convention at Adelaide has proposed.
The executive department is to oonsist
?f a governor-general and council, the
legislative is modeled upon oar Congreat
and the judicial is similar to
our federal supreme court The
governor-general, unlike our presi*
dent is to be appointed from?London.
This will be a chief tie connect
ing the new government with the
crown."
A Missouri woman who is so very
pious, that she will do no work oa the
flebhath day was eery much annoyed
by the fact that her hens wonld not as
Conscientiously refrain from all labor
OB Sunday, but persisted in laying
eggs in disregard of the biblical injunction
to rest on the Sabbath day.
!She was undecided whether she ought
to dispose of such impious and heathenish
fowls or not, when the brilliant
idea struck her of giving all the eggs
laid on Sunday to the chureh of which
she was a member. She has acted on
this idea, and now a regular source of
income of the church is the proceeds
of these eggs.
In order to understand the extraordinary
attitude of the European pow
Mis in connection with the conflict
v' between Greece and Tnrkev, it must
be remembered that whereas most of
' ? the enormous national debt of the
Ottoman Empire is in the hands of
French, English, nnd Austrian bondholders,
well-nigh the entire state j
liabilities of Greece are held by German
investors Inasmuch as a war
between Turkey and Greece would
tend still further to embarrass the
finanoes of these two heavily indebted
oountries, and thus compromise the
interests of their foreign bondholders,
the great powers have decided that
tinder no circumstances would they
permit aay conflict to take place. .
L^ j.
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mm.
'
IA Column of Palmetto Doings Arranged
for the Fireside.
MURDERED AND THEN BURNED.
The Deadlock Broken--Andcrson's
New Court House--Railroads Assessed--Election
of Officers.
A special to the State from Beaufort
of the 12th saj*s: On Weduesda}- mornj
ing last at Levy's Cross Roads, in this
j county, the lifeless remains of an old
man named Wm. M. Murray were
found in his store, which the murderers,
after finishing their horrible crime
burned up. The mutilated remains of
the poor old man were found behind
the counter with his throat cut. The
demons had knocked out his eye with
an iron bar, dragged him into the yard
and split his head open and then drag
ged it back into the shop, and after cutting
the throat left.the body and retreated.
One negro was arrested and
he told of the others who were implicated
or accessories. Thev were arrested
in Savannah later and will be brought
here. Robbery, no doubt, was the motive
for the crime, which is one of the
most horrible and brutal that has ever
occurred in this county.
Speaking of the big annual encampment
of Afliancemen in York county,
the Rock Hill Herald says: "ine
committee of arrangements for the
annual Alliance encampment of York
county met at Tirzah on the 8th. Hon.
W. N. Elder was elected temporary
chairman and W. E. Gertys temporary
secretary. The chairman exclaimed
that the objeot of the meeting was to
fx the time and place' for holding the
next encampment. It was unanimously
decided that Tirzah should be the
place and the date Thursday and Friday,
the 6th and 6th of August, this
year. All eub-oommittees were continued
as before. J. Frank Ashe was
chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of James C. Ashe of the committee
of finance." Mr. Sibley has accepted
the invitation to attend the encampment;*
so has Senator Tillman.
The committee is endeavoring, through
Senator Tillman, to secure the attendance
of Mr. Wm. J. Bryan.
The railroads of the State have had
their property assessed for the year
1897, though the figures are subject to
change. The annual meeting of the
State board of equalization of railroad
property was held in Columbia last week
in the office of the comptroller general,
all the members being present, and the
assessment for taxation per mile was
r?n all rnilrnnrl nrnrx?rtv in the
State. The valuations were left identically
the same as last year with but
three exceptions. In the case of the
Green Pond, Wateree and Branchville
road the assessment was raid from $1, 000
per mile to 84,250; the Port Koyal \
and Western Carolina line was increased
from $6,500 per mile to $7, .W0, and
the Spartanburg, Union and Columbia
went up from $7,000 per mile to ?8,000.
Last year the total assessment of rail-1
road track for taxation in this State was
$22,935,262, the mileage being 2,573. j
The total valuation of all railroad prop- |
erty in the State, including track, was
$23,940,162. J
There is no longer a deadlock in the
State phosphate commission in the matter
of granting the request of the citizens
of Beaufort in behalf of the further
reduction of the phosphate royalty
in order to keep the Coo saw company
from ceasing operations yet awhile.
Governor Ellerbe last week cast his
ballot in the vote on Mr. Taylor's prop
n A- ii >)( I
osiuon m regaru 10 mo reuucuvu vi ^
cents per ton to apply to all rocks already
on hand, and tnereby the matter
is left exactly where the commission
left it npon the occasion of its recent
meeting in Beaufort The Coosaw
company, which seems to be the only
oompany raising any protest of consequence
about the action of the board,
will probably carry out its threat to go
out of business.
The Graud Lodge of the Indipendent
Order of Odd Fellows met in AbbeI
ville last week and elected the following
officers, and selected Charleston as
the next place of meeting: Grand
master, O. G. Falls, Clifton; deputy
grand master, W. E. Avery, Columbia;
grand warden, Edward Bacon, Lockart;
grand chaplain, E. W. Lee,
Whitney; grand secretary, W. S.
Brown, Columbia; grand treasurer, H.
Endel, Greenville; grand marshall, B.
F. Hanis, Abbeville: grand conductior,
H. W. Deters, Charleston; grand
guardian, J. L. Gray, Columbia, grand
erald, G. W. Buyers, Piedmont; representative
to Lovering Lodge. Past
Grand Master D. K. H. Keeps, Langley'
? ?
The building committee on the new
court house at Anderson have accepted
the plans of Mr. Frank H. Milburn, of
Charlotte, N. C. The court house is to
be 70x90 feet, three stories high, heated
with hot air, and to cost 827,000.
The jail will cost $88,000, and the committee
aceepted Mr. Milburn's plans for
that also.
Governor Ellerbe last week issued a
requisition on the Governor of Florida
for a negro wanted in Sumter county
by the name of Commodore Council,
who murdered Emanuel Singleton in
1896 in Rafting Creek township, and
made his escape and was living in Palatka.
Carrie Brown, a student of Allen
University, Columbia, attempted to
commit suicide by taking "rough on
rats," because she failed in her final
examinations, saying she could see no
object in life.
Darlington is to have another tobaoco
warehouse. The company has been
organized, and is known as the Carolina
Tobacco Warehouse. Capital stock,
82,500.
Laurens is to have a new Methodist
church. _ ;
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FACTij aXD FIGURES.
AGlunce at Carolina's Insurance Business
Work; Done Last Year.
In the absence of any office of insurance
commissioner in this State the
iluties of that office are devolved upon
the comptroller general. There are sev eral
acts relating to the licensing and
control of insurance companies in force
in this State, and the business causes
the comptroller's office much trouble.
He has just succeeded in getting the reports
of the several companies doiDg
business in South Carolina on file and
has made up a general statement which
will be issued in a few days showins
the business done in South Carolina.
There are fifty-one fire insurance
companies operating in South Carolina.
The insurance written by these companies
during the j*ear 189G amounted to
844,039,947. The premiums received
amounted to $046,472; while the losses
incurred, amounted only to 8232,377.
This means that about $363,815 paid by
x1 ' ? '- * uiaiawamt tha
iLit) people ux me oi?ic ntui
Stale during the year.
The Liverpool, London and Globe
did the largest business, the insurance
written amounting to 84,401,009 the
premiums collected being $74,2?. The
following were the other companies doing
the largest business.
Writ- Preten.
miums.
Hartford Fire $2,848,086 $31,859
X. Y. Home Ins. Co.. 2,482,910 33,872
Ins. Co. of Xorth
America 2,296,810 24,815
X. Y. Centennial Ins.
Co 2,101,025 30,815
American Fire (PhiL) 1,599,800 24,384
Royal Ins. Co 1,688,066 29,230
Xorth British and
Mercantile 1,558,919 10,069
The Boston Fire and Marine did the
smallest business, writing only 14,500,
the premiums being 8216. The Xiagara
Fire of Xew York had the smallest losses?$91.
The Liverpool, London and
Globe sustained the greatest loss?$42,316,
the Royal of Liverix>ol coming second
with $30,667.
As to the life insurance companies 30
are operating in South Carolina. The
Life Insurance Company of Virginia
t<aaOa (ha lint wit hi 41 21rt_901 written in
189(5, the premiums being 69,085. The
company really standing at the head of
the list so far as the premiums are concerned
is the Mutual Life of New York,
with $1,111,105 written and $230,841
premiums collected. It also sustained
the heaviest losses?$129,514. From
the standpoint of premiums the New
York Life comes second with $181,359
in premiums on $895,057 written. The
losses were $88,212. Then comes the
Equitable with $169,919 in premiums
on $567,449 written, the losses being
$117,688. The Mutual Benefit of Newark
wrote $408,186, receiving $79,181
in premiums; the losses were $8-5,024.
The premiums of the Mutual Reserve
fund were $44,839 while the losses were
$55,000. The Penn Mutual of Philadelphia
collected $30,744 in premiums and
had losses amounting to $53,550. The
smallest business written was $1,620,
the losses being $2,000, by the Banker's
Guar. Fund Life Association. The
New England Mutual had the smallest
losses?$962.
The total life insurance business
written amounted to -$17,125,843; the
premiums were $593,149, while the
losses were $580,873.?The State.
AT A GREAT EXPENSE.
?w??- _ *-11 a Daaa.^ac pAtn
I Qc tunncsvuii n<t?M i?voci wiu.
plain of their Treatment.
As has been stated before, the navydepartment
has decided to have the
naval reserves of South Carolina, Georgia
and North Carolina hold a joint encampment
at Port Royal daring the
month of June or July. The department
has communicated with the military
authorites of each of the States and
secured their approval of the plan and
it is more than probable that the encampment
will be held. Lieutenant
Gibbons, of the navy will be in charge
of the encampment.
It is by no means certain that the
Charleston companies will attend the
encampment Commander Pinckney
says that he has opened correspondence
with the navy department and unless
certain of his demands were aocoeded
to, he would not take his men to Port
Royal. He said that the local companies
of the naval reserve have been
treated rather shabbily by the State as
well as the navy department Their
wants had not been supplied and the
companies had been left to take care of
themselves. Commander Pinkney says
that the companies were at a great expense
to maintain their armories, etc.,
and were financially unable toporchase
uniforms appropriate for their service.
He says that the government has been
requested to supply uniforms, and unless
they were given the Charleston
naval reserves would certainly not go
to Port Royal. Commander Pinkney
states also that the State or navy department
would have to pay for the
sustenance of his men during their encampment.
Commander Pinkney says
that the men sacrificed enough when
they forfeited ten or fourteen days'
salary to attend and they should not be
compelled to pay also for their rations.
Not only the rations but the culinary
articles'would also have to be furnished
his men or the encampment would take
place without the Charleston con[
tingent.
LEE COUNTY.
The Old Salem Scheme Under a New
Name.
Mr. G. F. Parrott was in Columbia
last week and made application for the
Ivyvl.lmy* S\t AM AlAA^IAn T -AA AAI1 H fv *
I UUIUIU^ Ui ail CICtUVU 1V1 AJVV WUUVJ .
' This is the old Salem county idea under I
a new name. It is proposed to take
seventy square miles more from Sumter
than under the old arrangement; thirtyfive
less from Darlington and fifty less
from Kershaw. The county if voted
will contain 412 square miles, eightythree
being in Darlington, seventyfive
in Kershaw and 254 in Sumter.
All the papers in the case have been
submitted to the Attorney General and
if they are found correct the Governor
will '-rder the election at once. The
people in the proposed section are
stated to be in favor of the scheme by a
large majority and the promoters seem
to have no doubt about the result As
Salem county it was defeated bjonly a
narrow margin. ?Register.
- - i *. : hit
f
sir of i ni.
1
His Name is John Starnes and He
Lives In a Crib.
A HERO OF TWO WARS.
Generally He Does Not Like to Accept
Money or Oi:her Heiip?He Does
Xot Like Company, Either.
"F. C. W."in a communication to
" en-J..
IQ6 ^Oiumum ouiio uiscusfcs iud ?HC UI
a hermit, John Stnrnes, near Blacksburg,
as follows:
"When Cherokee count}* took from
York the township containing Blacksburg,
her people were probably not
aware that they were depriving York
of what not many counties in this
civilized land can boast of?a hermit
"About four and a half miles from
Blacksburg and two miles from the
North Carolina line, lives, or rather
subsists John Starnes. He is now an
old man, not man}* mile posts from his
three score years and ten. If the
reader were a traveler along the road
that leads by this old man's abiding
place he would probably jtoss on without
once thinking that a human being
is living in such a "crib," as I heard it
called. But a being of the genus homo
does eke out rn eiistence there that
seems to satisfy bis wants. If, how
ever, the occupant of this shanty were
to be in sight as you passed, you would
surely gaze in surprise and want to
stop. You would see a decrepit old
man, with his rugs that he calls
clothes hanging from his body as if they
might fali off at any minute. Yet despite
his miserable appearance, if his
pictures are a true likeness, he bears a
striking resemblan ye to a distinguished
living Carolinan, who is well known as ;
a hero of two wars. |
"But this John Siarnes is anything
but a war hero, if reports do not do
him an injustice. It is not known how
long he has been living as a hermit, but
for many years past he has lived a
secluded l&e in York county. In the
dark days of the war for southern inde]>endence,
when so many of his countrymen
had given their life blood for
their States and so many others were
still battling against an overpowering
enemy, the conscription officer is saia
to have gotten on the track of John
Starnes, then in his vigorous youth, but
his vigorous youth did not want to
battle for his country, and still supposing
rumor does not slander him, deter-1
mined to outwit aud escape that consorintion
officer. Luckilv for him such
a thing as a dry goods box was then in
his neighborhood, and under the box
John went. Who would have suspected
that there wa:; a man under that
box? Not the c. ascription officer at
any rate, and Joh i Starnes escaped the
duty of bearing i rms against the invaders
of his coui.try. He, of course,
was then compelled to keep himself in
hiding and it is supposed that he took
to the woods then and has livod his
lonely life ever since that time.
"He owns about two acres of land
where he lives, but does very little Inwards
cultivating it It is not known
how he lives, though occassionally he
does go to a neighbor to borrow coffiee
or something else when he is without
such articles.
"His hut is a miserable affair, with
an entrance so low that he has to crawl
in. He is said to sleep in a box.- Perhaps
he has a fondness for boxes, as
one possibly saved him from a Yankee's
bullet.
"The hermit does not like company,
and is quite quarrelsome when inquiries
are made about himself. He will talk,
however, if questions are asked about
general subjects as if information were
really sought of him.
"The neighbors (all him "Wild John
Ctomoo " Hnf Via un ha ia rmf an damn
wild as you might suppose." Some
years ago a neighbor bought his land in
order to get him to move away. But
after the purchase money had been paid
be gave it back and refused to move.
He has been at his present home(?)
(what is home without a woman?) for
at least 10 years, and in the woods
probably ever since the war.
"Of recent years photographs have
been taken of nim, but much against
his wish. A photographer, of Blacksburg,
has several different pictures of
him and has sold many of them in distant
cities and to passengers at the station
here on through trains.
"Generally he does not like to accept
money or other help. He possesses
a very old musket, probably one
that was used in the war. He has no
fireplace or stove in his hut, but in very
cold weather he builds a fire outside.
"He has relatives who have offered
him a home, but he always refuses.
Very occasionally he hires himself out I
for a day's work, but as a rule he lives
in a mysterious way."
SIMOV COOPKR*S S1XS.
Ells Crimes Still Bearing Deplorable I
seed--Two More victims.
A special to the State from Sumter
says: As a sequel to the hellish deeds
of the human tiger. Simon Cooper,
whose name will go down in history as
the most brutal and cruel murderer that
this oountry erer produced, two more
victims hare been added to his list, and
while they were not murdered they have
been doomed to a living death.
It will be remembered that Mr. Jesse
Baker lived almost in front of the Wilson
house and, with his wife and son,
witnessed the fiendish acts of Cooper,
who, after completing his bloody work,
came out of the house and deliberately
raised his Winchester and fired at the
Bakers while they were standing on
their piazza
Since the commission of the appalling
crime the nervous strain has been too
great on both Mr. and Mrs. Baker.
They are constantly in dread of being
murdered and Mrs. Baker has been declared
insane and will be taken to the
asylum. Mr. Baker is 6aid to be in a
worse condition than his wife, as he has
tried ou more than one occasion to take
his own life.
It is thought by the friends of the
unfortunate couple that if they were
separated for a while it might be the
means bf restoring them to mental
health.
i
y* *
i
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THE STATE LOSES.
The Agricultural Hall Case Decided
By the Supreme Court.
The State has lost the Agricultural
Hall case and the State Dispensary will
hare to move out sooner or later and
seek other quarters. The following
dispatch explains itself:
Washington, May 11.?The United
States Supreme Court has affirmed the
decision of the Circuit Court for the
Circuit of South Carolina in the "Agricultural
Hall" case, involving the
title to the agricultural Hall in Columbia,
S. C. tdward B. Wesley, of New
York, bought the property of the Commissioners
of the State Sinking Fund,
but there were alleged irregularities in
the nurchase and he brought suit
against J. E. Tindal, the Secretary of
the State and J. R. Boyles, who had
been employed by the Secrretary of the
State to gnard the property to secure
possession. Tindal and Boyles, in the
lower courts, contended that they were
mere custodians of the property and
that the State could not be sued, but
the possession of the property was
given to Wesley. The judgment was
affirmed by the Supreme Court in an
i opinion by Justice Harlan, who held
that the State was not necessarily a
partv to the suit.
The Columbia State says: The deI
cision complicates matters very much
{ and has the authorities worried a little.
If the dispensary has to seek other
quarters it will he at no small cost to
the State. In the meantime the Vanderoock
case is pendiag; if the decision
in that case is against the State
it cm not be denied that the dispensary
business will be practically destroyed".
4 ** XKo# Via /I i a non carir fli'g.
IIIUO IV iscaiu uiav iuo u?oj'vuuu*j
tern may be changed from a source of
profit to a great expense.
Behind it all is the great danger to
the State of having the Blue .Ridge
scrip declared valid. Mr. Wesley has
othor payments to make on the property
when they fall due and he will
doubtless tender this scrip, being now
in lossession of the premises.
II the disi>ensary has to vacate, the
authoities have two places in view. One
is the old Congaree cotton mill, near
the union depot and the other is the
Standard warehouse, owned by Mr.
Caldwell Bobertson, on Gervais street
This latter place will be most likely
selected. It is a very long one-story
brick building, used during the war
for printing Confederate money. It
will take a considerable amount of
money to establish the dispensary
therein.
BACHELORS OF DIVINITY.
The Annual Commencement of the
Presbyterian Theological Semi-'
nary.
The commencement of the Presbyterian
Theological Seminarv occurred
in Columbia last week, and the proceedings
were of Ihe greatest interest to the
friends of the graduates as well as of
tne institution.
Dr. Stacy presented the diplomas in a
very in teresting talk, and as each graduate
got his diploma it carried along
with it the right to write Bachelor of
Divinity after his name. This was an
innovation in the history of the institution
and its customs. Heretofore graduates
simply received their diplomas
which carried with them no honorary
degree. The graduates welcomed the
change and think the board of trustees
is right, and that it was something that
should have been done before,
following is a list of the graduates:
W. R. Hafner, York, W. R. Minter,
Laurens; H. R. Murchison, Abbeville;
F. K/- Sims, Chester; R. L. Rogers.
The following received certificates,
having taken special courses:
J. A. Dorrittee, of Maryland; C. A.
McPh jeters, of Missouri: C. B. Ratchford,
oi York county, W. W. Saddler,
of Anderson, aod b. C. Vass of Savannah.
Rev. Dr. Hovt, of Elberton, Ga.,
made the parting remarks to the students
and graduates.
The Seminary has had a very successful
year and it is gratifying to know
that the nrcsoects for next year are
most encouraging.
The board of trustee re-elected Dr. J.
D. Tadlook for the present, but appointed
a committee to get some suitable
men to fill the chairs of "Church Government
and History" and "Natural
Scienoes in Connection with Revelation.
" These positions will he filled at
the next meeting.
The following trustees were elected:
Synod of South Carolina?Rev. J. G.
Richards, Blenheim; Rev. C. W. Humphreys,
D. D., Lancaster; Rev. W. W.
Mills, Camden; Mr. W. A. Clark, Columbia.;
Rev. W. M. McPheeters, D.
D.,Columbia; Rev. A. A. James, Pacolet.
Synod of Georgia?Rev. H. F. Hoyt,
D. D., Elberton; Mr. W. C. Sibley,
Augusta; Col. M. A. Candler, Atlanta;
Rev. James Stacy, D. D., Newman.
Synod of Alabama?Rev. R. Cecil, D.
D., Seima; Rev. J. L. Brownlee, Union
Springs; John H. Miller. Birmingham.
Synod of Florida?Rev. W. E. Mcllwaine,
Pensacola; Rev. W. W. Elwang,
Orlando.
???
CHURCH PROTESTS
Against the Awful Crime of Killing
People.
At Anderson last week the following
* .1 w..
resolutions were pjtooen u\ ?uc
pal Diocesan convention:
Whereas, the growing disregard of
human life has caused the crime of
homicide to become more and more prevalent
and flagrant in our land until the
blood guiltiness of our people has become
an offense and crying shnine to
the sensibilities of the church and rotate
and believing that public opinion
should be greatly influenced and i an be
most snfely formed upon the pr.nciple
of Cliristiin morality.
Resolved, That this council do express
their solemn condemnation of
this terrible evil, and in order to arouse
a wholesome public sentiment upon
this most serious subject.
ResolTed, furthei, that the bishop be
1 requested to issue an address, praying
in the name of this council, the cooperation
of the clergy of all churches
and religious denominations in this
effort a ad requesting them to join the
clergy of the church upon one day to
be ap pointed in preaching upon one
snbicct and appealing to the people
of tho State to pnt away the corse of
blooc'i-guiltiness which cries out, alas,
from the land against us.
\
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POPULAR SCIKSCE,
Spain has more snn9hine than anj
other conntrj in Enrope. The
yearly average in Spain is 3000 honrs;
that of Italy, 2300; Germany, 1700;
England, 1400.
Sediments, or stratified rocks, are
invariably those which have been laid
down nnder water. Thoy are always
recognizable as such, because divided
into these layers, which the action of
the water always produces.
One of the small varieties of hackle- ..,*1
berry is fertilized by a bee, which, J:
coming nnderneath the llower and fill
ing his proboscis np in order to get
the honey, the flower throws a shower
of pollen in his face, to be carried to
the next host.
The long undulating folds in which
the Appalachians were produced when
first thrown up are characteristic of
mountain ranges the world over. The ,?g
Alps, the Pyrenees, the Caucasus,
Himalayas, Andes and Rockies are
built in just that way. They are enormously
thick beds or masses, and they }
oil ri? m f a ZAIIIJ
wc aii itu^wu u[/ iuvv vuogu ?r-.
Professor Nobbe, the well-known
plant physiologist of Saxony, says that - fl
he has prod need, "on a commercial
scale, pare cultures of the different J
bacteria, which are efficient in affixing
the nitrogen of the air in a form available
for plant food, and he has them
for sale in small glass bottles." It is
said that soil can be inoculated with
these organisms for the modest snm of
81.25 an acre.
The flowers of all the pnmpkins are .
monoecious?having the stamens and
pistils in distinct flowers, but both
growing upon the same individual
plant; they also bear perfect flowers
containing both organs. Nevertheless,
the pistils and stamens not developing
at the same time, it is impossible for
the flowers to fertilize themselves.
This same necessity, for insect aid in
the fertilization of flowers is well
known in Australia, with both the red
clover and the apple.
The bats pass the winter in caves,
the attics of hoases and barns, or in ~
hollow trees, hanenns downward by
their hind claw?, eating nothing and
moving not All the carnivoria, or
flesh eaters, as the mink, skunk,
opossum, fox and wolf, are in winter
active and voracious, needing much
food to supply the necessary animal s
heat of the body. Hence they are ]
much more bold than in summer, and
the benyard or sheep pen of the farmer
is too frequently called upon to
supply this extra demand.
Temporary Telephones.
In many towns quite a feature of
the telephohe service is the number of
instruments put in temporarily by the
advice of the doctor, for service doring
the time when it is specially imperative
that the patient should be ?,
free from exoitement. This gives the
friends of the family the ohance of
making inquiries without putting
either party to the trouble of a formal ?,<
call, and is usually very much to the
advantage of the patient But the
latest idea in teiepnoue appucawuus
comes from Mobile, where the local
telephone company is said to hare
arranged with patrons who axe ordered
to take medicine at frequent intervals
daring the night, to call them up on
the telephone when it is time to take
the dose. The receiver is carried to ;?
the bed and placed close to the ear of ^
the eleeper, with a call bell of low
tones. Another carious point has jasi
been brought out. So many burglar- I
ies have been frustrated by the police
appearing on the scene at a most inconvenient
time for the burglars?in 1
response to a telephone call from the
inmates of the house?that the first
thing a cracksman now does on getting
into a house is to out the telephone
wires. This was done in a recent
oase of housebreaking, but the jfl
lady of the house quiokly evened up
matters by pressing a button at the $9
head of the stairs and instantly
lighting every electric lamp in the
house. The disgusting publicity
whioh this involved was too much for
the feelings of the thieves, who forthwith
decamped.
Making Birch Oil. |
Connecticut farmers have found a
comfortable side profit in gathering
the twigs, branches and saplings of
black birch for the birch-oil distilleries.
By protecting the young
growth, crops are quiokly raised. The jS|
birch brush has brought from 31.50 to
$3 a ton. The birch oil has sold at 35
to $8 a pound, but is now lees. One _
ton of birch yields four pounds of oiL
Farmers can make the oil themselves.
The distillery may beany rough building,
and the machinery is inexpensive.
The birch twigs, not over two inches
in diameter, are cut in lengths of five
inches, and thrown into water-tight
tanks with copper bottoms, in whioh
are coils of steam pipes. Three feet
of water is poured in, the tanks hermetically
sealed, and steam is turned
into the pipes. The water is kept
boiling six hours, and the steam rising
passes into a pipe which runs in the
form of a worm into a barrel of cold
water constantly renewed. The steam
is condensed in the worm and the oil
drips from the end of the pipe into a
pail. It was formerly clarified from a
dull brown to a light green after this
process. Now this is done by spreading
a heavy woolen blanket over the
birchwood inside the tank, and the
oil drips out pure and ready for market.?Chicago
Journal. 3
A Modem Exodus.
A great emigration movement of
Hussian Hebrews from the Vistula
provinces to Africa is ta).;ng place at
the present moment Tfs movement
has reached each propori ons in several
districts of these provinces that
the Hebrew male popnlation is greatly
diminished, and business in the shops
is principally carried on by women. ,