Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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AGRICULTURAL TOPICS OP INTEREST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. Krnhhv Piirs. Pigs are much given to skin disases because of the prevalent custom o? keeping them in filth and of overfeeding them with sour or putrid food. If a pig is kept in a clean meadow or pen and is provided with clean litter, or even clean dry boards, and sound food, it will not suffer from any skin diseases, unless these are inherited. To cure scab on the bfcin the skin should be well washed with water and carbolic soap?the scabs being broken up with a corn cob and the soap being well rubbed in the diseased parts. After wiping the animal dry the diseased parts may be dressed with a mixture of eight parts of lard, two parts of sulphur, and one part of calomel, well rubbed to^ gether. A dose of one tablespoouful of a mixture of four ounces ot powdered charcoal and one ounce each of sulphur and cream of tartar should be given daily. No sour or fermented foo l should be given.?Neua York Times. Composition of Soils* A writer in the Country Gentleman gives the following timely statement on this subject: "Every farmer knows that the fundamental character of good soil is aand, clay and decayed vegetable matter, or humus. These important constituents vary greatly in their proportions. A strong clay soil has five to fifteen per . cent, of ailicious sand. Clay loam has fifteen to thirty per cent, of fine sand. A loamy soil has thirty to sixty per cent, of sand; a sandy loim. sixty to ninety per cent., and a sandy soil has no more than ten per cent, of clay, and often less, as it becomes more barren. A strong clay aoil, by constant cropping, is robbed of its accumulations of vegetable matter, ? * i ana soon Decomes iuu i;uilijjui;l iur mi; roots of plants to penetrate freely. Its improvement is much quicker and more certain that the other extremes of sand, but the same process must be employed. The roots of clover, in pem-tra'ing, open and loosen the stiff clay, diffusing themselves everywhere. They gradually raise by increasing the bulk of the surface soil This upper soil is thus converted into a mixture of clay and decayed roots, and is necessarily more loose and | friable than before. This admixture of: roots affects the chemical composition as ! well as the physical condition of the soil, j The roots and stems of plant* and grasses | contain much inorganic?earthy and ! saline?matter, which is gathered from ; below, wherever the roots penetrate, and i is by them sent upward to the surface, j A ton of clover hay contains about 150 j ' pounds of this inorganic matter. Sup- j ? *1 ?/?? j t j/uac ilie juuid tu luuuuu us iiiulu ^uuu ; they doubtless contain more); if the pro- j duct of both top and root equals four j tons to the acre, we have 000 pounds of j inorganic matter added yearly to the soil, i' which, if purchased in the open market, | would amount to $10 per acre; Much of i this is doubtless washed back again into j the earth, or eaten and carried away by stock,but the possibilities are v.ry prom- ; irflncr tn thnso whn aro pnHftavnrincr t.n 1 improve heavy clay." Stripping Po lder from Corn. The practice prevails in nnuy sections '1 Of pulling fodder from corn before com- ;' plete maturity of the ear. The economy < of this practice is considered doubtful by | progressive farmers. To test the ad- J vantage of pulling fodder and of allow- 1 ing the blades to remain on the stock un- I til the crop is made, experiments in this ' line were made at the Georgia Experi- j ment Station under the direction of Com-j j missioncr J. T. Henderson.' Two plots ! j of land?upland?one-half acre eich, j ] Contiguous and similar in position and ; 1 previous trc atment, were similarly pre- ; 1 pared, planted and cultivated. In a I word the treatment of the two plat ^ were ! i identical. : j From one of th? pi its fodler was i pulled in the usual muiner on Augu-t '24, 1 and when pronounced cured was ac- i curately weighed. From the other plat , j the -fodder was not pulled at all. Corn i was gathered from both plats on Octobv ' ( 14, and wa? shuck'd and weighed on1) October 21. The following results were ' i Obtained: j < Plat 1. Fodder pulled one-half acre: ] Pouvd\ j Fodder 15^.15 Shucks 100,00 j Corn (ear) 915.40 t Which, on selling, gave shelled corn.. 504.23 ' Cob 111.17 Plat 2. Fodder not palled, one-half acre: j , ghuck 125.10 1 , Ear corn . 901. "0 ' Which shelled gave shelled corn.... 729.20 I i w Cob 170.10 j , in summing up conclusions on uus test, CommissionerIIcnrlerson says: <-Thc < plat from which fodder was not pulled j i * yielded 215.90 pounds ear corn more j than v,-aa yielded by the plat from which fodder was pulled. The loss, 118.15'I pounds of fodder, was attended by a gain of 285. !)0 pounds of ear corn, or j j 224.97 pounds of shelled corn. Com- j ; pared financially, assuming (which is ap- i < proximately true in th s locality) fodder ; and corn to sell for the same price per | < pound ($1 per 100), there was lost by ! i fulling fodder, $2.50 per acre, in addi- ] tion t j the cost of gathering the fodder, j 1 Incidentally, I may mention that certain j i cars from plat 2, wh:c!i appe red to the ' eye to le among the largest, were hastily selected and exhib'ted.at the Northeast j Georgia fair in November. Fifty-nine ears were found to weigh seventy pounds, ; and received the first premium over six j competitors.?Neu> York World. Farm and Garden Notes. Waldo F. Brown says the best Lima bean-poles are cut of the osage orange. Other advantages b?s'des keeping ; down the weeds follow faithful hoeing, j The soil of a rich, well-tilled farm is 1 always "pay-dirt," to usj a miner's phrase. Clover growth is helped by lime and i plaster. Clover absorbs nitrogen more than most plants do. Mulch the soil lightly with straw, between pea rows, and retard attacks of mildew, alvises Dr. Sturtevant. A few sods and a little cow manure made into a heap now where you can throw kitchen slops will make an excellent compost for your flower pots next winter. T* na fli/i, TV ttlUU JUUU^ IKClUll l^iauvo c*o bliWj make their appearance, and if insects trouble them, dust th m freely with ashes, soot or tobacco dust when wet with dew. The Crange Covnty (N. Y.) Farmer thinks farmers do too much guessing in their business, trust too much to chance, luck, and the moon, and do too little oiose figuring. Crops are generally reported fair throughout this country. In France and in England a shortage is held to be imminent. Both these countries will need to buy wheat largely. Jt is known that if growing timber or lerbrush is cut during the latter part of August or early in September there will be less liability of sproutiug from the roots than if cut at any other time of year. If corn is cultivated once a week from the time the blades first appear until the tassel shows the chances for a full crop will be much grea'erthan when cultivation waifs for a convenient season, allowing weids to gain a supremacy. The importance of lima as a plant food, to be supplied by its use as a fertilizer, may be perceived by the following figures: In twenty-five bushels of oats there arc nine pounds of lime; in thirtyeight bu-hels of barely, nine pounds: in two tons of clover hay, thirty-five pounds; in twenty-five tons of turnips, 140 pounds; in 250 bushels of potatoes, 270 p->unds. Charcoal i3 appreciated by fowls of all kinds. Tho very best is found in charred grain. Corn roasted like coffee and fed once a day. would no doubt pay for the tro ib'e in the increased product of eggs. vines bjgin to tall down, tne cultivator cannot be got through them without covering many leaves, which late in the season seriously injures the crop. Old beekeepers learn to handle bee* without fear, and more especially at swarming time, when the b.-es are engorged with honey, and not likely t.i feting unless attacked. Th s avoidance of fear is the best means of avoiding danger. A. timid, ner.ous person soon enrages the bees by parrying fanciel assaults, while one who keeps cool soon learns that the thousands ot bees buzzing iiro .-.nd him an not on hostile bent intent. If a new, or at least clean, hive is offored the bees, and the swarm shaken down in front of the entrance, few swarms will refuse their new home. A pig will learn to drink milk as early is will a calf, if from any cause it cannot jet a sufficient supplp from its dam. Many sows have "more pigs than they l.ve teats, hence feeding one or more D?come3 a nicessity. It will be best to it'.d several times a day, and only a "little it a time at first, n ine sow is connnea in the pen she should be liberally fed *nd with a large proportion of skim milk. When the pigs are two weeks old they nay be fed a little milk in a yard adjoining the pen, where they can eat by themselves. Throw a few handfuls of jats for the sow. The pigs will soon learn from her t? pick up the grains, which will be excellent for making strong, healthy growth, and the oats are probably the best grain feed to make the sow give an abundance of milk. Marine Monsters Fighting. The crew of the British ship Humboldt, from liio de Janeiro for New Orleans, were witnesses of a remarkable combat Juring their last voyage. The vessel was plowing ahead off San Salvador, Brazil, when the attention of officers and :rew was attracted by a furious commotion of the waters a short distance lhead. As they neared the spit they -"--- nnmhof u'?a rrrtincr on turn. a ic.u.w vvu.?u. 6 between monsters of the deep. The sea was lashed iuto a seething foam. It fairly boiled within a circumference of HO yards, and myriads of mad white:aps floated away beyond this circle. Moving closely up and slowly down they stopped to watch the battle. It was one to the death. A swordfish and a thrasher had attacked a tremendous sperm-whale. The strength, si/.e and force were with the broad-backod sperm, which, wheeling round and round a> if worki"g on a swivel, swung its huge tail with mighty I owcr. It would raise itsjlf aloft, c!ear out of the water, blow spray through its nostrils and make frantic efforts to ann hi late its foes; Lut science, skill and man.x'uvring were on the side of its enem'e<. The thrasher is supplied with a "sucker" tn it enables it to stick to whatever it attacks. The tactics adopted by the pair were successful. The thrasher, - il. i i- 4.1.^ springing upon ma uacts. ui me ?uaic, clung there, at the s me time lashing the unfortunate creature with its tail, actually whipping it tto death. The great sea animal, with its mo it gigantic efforts, was not able to cast it off. There it held and lashed, while the swordfish drove his sword time after time into the side of their big antagonist. The waters were dyed with the blood of the leviathan, on 1 in the course of a short time he had su cumbed to the effects of the brating and the stabbing, and floated on the se? a lifeless mas*. Worcestershire Sanee. ' Do you know," siid a boa vivant a9 he poured a liberal supply of Worccstci sauce upon h's chop at the club this morning, 4'that this relish was first intrrvlnrp'-l as a medicine?" The club man I didn't know it. "It was though. It contains at least one of the most neauseating drugs known, nssafcetida, and the original formula was evolved by a noted physician for a noble patient, whose high living had impaired his digestion. An effort was made to disguise the drugs, and it is generally conceded that the attempt was successful, but they are there all the same." And the stream of information was interrupted while the drugdrenched chops were put where they would do the most good, no diminution of appetite following the revelation. In fatteniug the process is much hastened by its use, and we think the meat much more palatable. There are many epic ires who would will n^ly pay a larger pricc fi.r poultry fattened by the use of charred corn. Rank-flavored foods make rank-flavored meat. "VVhatcwr you give your hogs?and they are expected to devour all kinds of refuse?be sure it is clean and not putrid. The finishing off when ! fattening, should bo with the sweetest and nicest feed that is ever given to liDgs. Corn meal and thi refuse of the dairy are good. Good, sweet, wholesome pork is the product of cleanliness and sound, clean feed. The tomato is almost the only garden vegetable that succceds better without the richness of soil of the garden. Too large growth of vine makes the fruit later and more liable to rot. In field culture the fertility sufficient to grow a rood crop of corn or potatoes is ample for this crop. The yield is generally mora than that of potatoes on similar soil, and the price averages higher, makincr if a nmfitnble eroD to crow. " ? I * o Market gardeners and others who manure heavily fiud it pays to seed clover frequently. ?ome of the excess of manure r.ece3sarily used is leiched into the sub-soil, and the clovcr roots better than any other reach this, and not only save it fro:n loss, but brin<j it in reach of other crops that feed near the surface. Potash and phosphate naturally sink in the soil, and when it is cropped with only surface feeding plauts, these valuable fertilizers arc wasted. The almost universal practice is to makP some sort of a hill about potato plants. It at least saves the tubers from booming sunburnt, which makes them worthless for cojking. The hilling should be done before the tubers have set, as breaking the roots after this may cause a second crop to form, and neither crop wi 1 be of marketable size. Early hilling also saves labor. After potato TEMPERANCE DEPARTMENT, What the Little Brook is Saying. What is the little brook saying, As it ripples on its way, Pofla 'finiY a fU/vuro.. ,1 1 w uuuuaauu ou ui cailia In its merry, silvery play/ What is the little brook saying To the bluebird hovering near In the emerald willow bending Just o'er its waters clear? What is the little brook saying? Ah! 'tis sinking a temperance song. Little bird, always drink cold water If you would be well and strong. Ella M. Truesdell, in Temperance Banner Inemperance in Relation to the Labor Question. George Frederic Parsons sny9 in thi Atlantic Monthly: The organization o labor has hitherto been in the hands o! unfit men, with too few exceptions. Th< leaders have been selfish, narrow-minded) or ignor.int. The true way to utilize tht strength of united labor is to develop the individual power of the members. Bj no otner means nave great nations evei been formed. An association, the effective strength of which depends upon the surrender of the rights and liberties ol its members, may be a dangerous instrument for the use of adventurers and demagogues, but it cannot advance the interests of the men themselves. The most urgent waut of labor to-day is selfcontrol. In this free country no man endowed with average abilities need remain all his life poor. If ho has thrift, self-restraint, perseverance, he will pass from the ranks of labor to the ranks of capital. It is the saving man who becomes the capitalist?the man who has force to deny himself indulgences. What a lesson lies in the drink-bill of the American workingmen, for instance! At a moderate estimate, it amounts to between four and five hundred million dollars a year. While labor is throwing away that eno mous sum annually, with what stow of consistency can it 1 mcnt its conditon? One year's remission of that destructive self indulgeance would solve every labor problem extant; would provide a fund for the establishment of cooperative works, for the sustenance of the sick and ag;d, for the maintenance and education of orphans, for libraries and scientific schools, for all manner of helps. At present the workingman can hardly make both ends meet. It is not because he insists on creating capitalists out of the saloon-keepers, and, not content with that, on submitting all his rights of citizenship to the same object of worship ? The saloon in politics is the most hideous abuse of the day, but where would it be if tin; workinsrmcn withdrew - - ? - - - - o their support from it ? It keeps them poor. It keeps our politics corrupt. It supplies a constant stream of base adventurers, who disgrace (he American name at home and abroad. It makes the terms "public office" and "public plunder"' synonymous. It stifles progress, fosters pauperism, brutalizes husbands and fathers, breaks women's hearts, puts rags * on ?the workingman'a back, disease in his body, and shame and despair in his heart. Yet when labor Is most distuibed, when the demand for advanced wages is loudest, when strikes arc most frequent, -when hunger and misery are most rife in the homes of the poor, the saloon flouri his still. There may be no bread at home, but there is always beer and whisky at the bar, and the men who consider them, selves the victims of circumstances or the'-thralls''of capital sjuander their earnings, spend their savings, in these dens. Can there be a serious labor question while this state of things continues? Can workingmcn talk gravely of their wrongs while it is plain to all the world that if they only sav.-d the capital they earn they would be comfortable? This aspect of the case has not been sufficiently examined, and for reasons which will probably occur readily to the reader. But it is really the key to the situation. When we see on the one side a yearly waste of between four and five hundred millions of dollars, and on the oilier siae a D.ciy 01 men, me squanuerer3 of this vast fund, complaining that they have not sufficient opportunities, we cannot long be at a loss to comprehend the true nature of the existing dissatisfaction. It is clear that labor has been incited to seek from without the relief which ought to be sought from within. The socialist theory of a paterDai state system which provides every" body with work a :d wages is a mischievous fallacy. It simply encourages indolence- and dependence. The first duty of labor is tu demonstrate its capacity for self government. At this moment its drink-bill is an impeachment of th:it capacity. No man who spends half his earnings at a saloon can get on in the world, or has the least right to expect to get on. Nor can any body of men follow the same course with better results. Prosperity is the reward of persevering, temperate, ungrudging work. In these days there is, however, a great wind of new doctrine. We are asked to believe that it is possible to succeed in very different ways; that the less a man works, for example, the more he ought to receive: that national prosperity cau be advanced by ! diminishing production; and many other I cq unity hard sayings. But it may be confidently affirmed that thc;c new theories are destined to be short-lived, and that the world will have to be managed eventually upou pretty much the I oici Hues.?suiajiuc. Philadelphia has 648 churches, or ona for every 270 voters; 245 public schools, or one for ever 714; 1,095 bakeries, or one for every ICO; 3,454 retail groceries, or one for every fifty-one; and 5,959 liquor saloons, or one for every twenty. uine voters. Mr. Arthur, Secretary of the Brotherhood of Locomotivc Engineers, saj-s: 4'If I could, I would inaugurate a strike uhicli would drive the liquor traffic from the face of the earth." RELIGIOUS READING. ! For Thee. Dear Savior, I have often asked Thee, "Tell co what to do to-day, Show me how 1 best can serve Thee, Show me some great work, I pray." So each day I've waited, dreaming Of somo work to do for Thee: Waiting fitill, but never seeking Thinking it would come to mo. So I failei to see the chances That each day contained for me, Where a kindly word or action "Would be work if done for Thee. But, dear Josus, Thou hast shown me, How ti e love of each You test; That they who watch for little chance3, Are the ones who serve You best. 3 ?The Sheltering Arms. Gather them In, ^ In every Sunday-school there arc 3 3 number of young people whom th< , teacher would recognize as properly dis? posed toward religious influences. Thej ( arc attentive, thoughtful. Tiiey secic not to be offended, but to take pleasure, f when general instructions are given bear-. * ing on Christian life. They are faithful . to their religious duties. They are rcgvi, lar attendants at church and Sundaj'. school. They are evidently trying, in a considerable measure, to do what is right. " They never fail of their form of pnycj 1 on retiring to sleep. They say, oi . would say, they want to be Christian;:. , Of many such the pastor or superintendent would say that he hopes they were a lready Christians. Now, it is a wicked shame * " ' -i U -II L ' to the enurcn mac u snouiu anuw suuu . souls to drift along yetir after year, waking for a revival, without gathering them ! into its communion. Gather them in. They are waiting to be; gathe red into the church. They are in danger while left outside; in danger of relapsing, through i your neglect, into heedlessness and sin.? Independsnt. The Still Hour. The Religious Herald remarks that it is to bo feared that a great many Christian people now-a-days are forgetting the ' importance and value of secret meditation and prayer. Very much is made of what is called work. Our most popular songs are work-songs. "Why stand ye here all the day idle?" is a favorite text for sermons. Men are continually exhorted to go into the harvest-field aad gather sheaves for the Master. To secure a proper measure of external activity amongst the people is the aim of most pastors. Now, this is all right if care be taken that behind the external expression there is spiritual power and life. "We by no means wish to depreciate the use of any external agency by which men may be reached and won to Christ. In this starring age a church whose members do not work: for the Master is, to say the least, an anachronism. Anybody who has come into real fellowship with the Lord Jesus will want to bring others into the fame blessed experience, and will, or fhould ever be ready to lay himself, his time, energies and money on the altar of Christian service. What we need everywhere is more workers?more men who. will dt vote themselves as energetically and continuously to spiritual affaire as they are accustomed to do to the acquisition of pleasure or honor or wealth. It deserves also to be said that work is itself a means of grace. There a.re many professing Christians .living joyless and upsatisfactory lives who would be made vastly more happy if they would strive to do something for others. The unused heart no less than the idle mind is the devil's workshop. Work for Christ often scatters doubt and fills the life with brightness. There is a gospel of work which needs continually to ?- - * 3 DC preacxieu. But, while wo are perfectly willing to admit all this, and even disposed to insist upon it, it is nevertheless true that in order to secure a truly Christ-like life and character, and make work what it may and should be, there is a profound necessity for personal devotion?such devotion as can only be gained and cultivated in still hours spent alone with God. * "What Abont Tour Sin* Passing down a street in the north of London, a friend with whom I was walking, pointed to a house opposite, in which a young woman was very ill, and ash ed me to call and see her, adding, "She is passing into eternity, I fear, without Christ." During the afternoon I called. A vary kindly welcome was given by both the i invalid and her mother. The pcor sufferer was just twenty-one; had been mariied about a year; but was now evidently in the last stage of consumption. apparently witb. only a few days to live. I took n. seat by her bedside, and alter waiting a little while, asked: "Are you happy?" "I am waiting for the angels to tiko me to heaven," she replied. "What about your sins ?'' Looking at me surprised, and evidently alarmed, she said, "I never thought | of them !w ' Heaven is a holy place," I added, "and God is a holy God, and you can never go to heaven unless your sins are washed away. No angel can take you there; there is but one way. The blx>d of Jesus Christ, God's Son, clean;eth trom all sin." Gazing at me with the earnestness of a soul on the confines of eternity, enly just I awakened to the fact that she was a sin ner, she fiskcd, "Is that true ?" I replied, "It is the Word of God, and I wiil read it to you of His own Book." Turning to I. John i., 7, I read, "The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleansieth us from all sin." She said, "Will you read it again, and read it slowly?" I read it again and slowly. "Blessed Jesus I precious blood!" she exclaimed. The Holy Spirit, when "her sins" were mentioned, had shown her guilt, and reached her conscience, and without hesitation she owned her lost state. Then the "Blood" and the One wl?o shed it, relieved her conscience of its load of guilt, and instead of trusting to an angel to carry her to Heaven, from that afternoon until she departed to be with Christ, four words constantly fell from her lips?"Blessed Jesus." "Precious Blood." A prudent man advised his drunken servant to put by his money for u jainy day. The man earned good wages, but the most of it went down his th oat. In a few weeks his master inquired how much money he had saved. "Faith, none at a'1," said he. "It rained yesterday, ai.d it all went." "The Star of Eethlehcm of temperance reform stands over the school house," remarks Mrs. H. Hunt iuthe Educational Courant. ' ' - i&L. 1 mum 8ERI0N. | THE GARDEN OF THE CHURCH, j Text: "I nra come into my garden."?Solomon's Song, v., 1. The Bible is a great poem; we have in it ; faultless rhythm, and bold imagery, and startling antithesis, and rapturous lyric, and sweet pastoral, antl instructive narrative,and ; UtJVUUUUUi unuilll, LllimgUUS 0\|;U3 5UU 1U style more solemn than that of Montgomery: 1 more bold than that of Miltcn; more terrible i than that of Dante; more natural than that I of Wordsworth; more impas ioned than that i of Pollok; more tender than that of Cowper; [ more weird than that of Spenser. This great j poem brings all the gems of the earth into j its coronet, aDd it weaves the flames of judg- | ment into its garlands, and pours eternal i harmonies into its rhythm. Everything this j book touches it makes beautiful, from the plain stones of the summer threshing floor to i the daugh'ers of Nahor tilling the trough for > the camels, and the fish-pools of Heshbon up i to the Pi-a'mist praising God with diapason of I storm and whirlwind, and Job leading forth i Orion, Arcturus and the Ple.'ades. My text leads us into a scene of summer reaoience. ine worm nas nau a grt*ai> man/ beautiful gardens. Charlemagne added to the glory of his reign by decreeing that they be established all through the realm?deciding even the names of the flowers to be planted there. Henry IV., at Montpelier, established gardens of bewitching beauty and luxuriance, gathering into them Alpine, Pyrenean and French plants. One of the sweetest spots on earth was the garden of SI anstone, the poet. His writings have made but little impression on tLe world, but his garden. The Seasons, will be immortal. To the natural advantage of that place was brought the perfection of art. Arbor and terrace an 1 slope and rustic temple and reservoir au.l urn and fountain here had their crowning. Oak and yew and hazel put forth their ricne.t foliage. There was no life more diligent, no soul more ingenious than a# 6Uati(4i\nA an/1 oil fUaf rl ilirrnnon anrl iuoi ui uuouobvuv) uuu an vunv uuigvuvo) uuu genius he brought to the adornment of that one treasured spot He gave ?300 for it; he sold it for ?17,000. And yet I am to tell you to-day of a richer garden than any I have mentioned. Jt is the garden 3poken of in my text, the garden of the church which belongs to Christ, for my text says so. He-bought it, He planted it, He own* it, and He shall have it Walter Scott, in his outlay at Abbotsford, ruined his fortune, and now, in the crimson flowers of those gardens, you can almost think or imagine that you see the blood of that old man's broken heart. The payment of the last ?100,000 pounds sacrificed him. But I have left t) tell you that Christ's life and Christ's death were the outlay of this beautiful garden of the church of "which my text speaks. Oh, how many sighs, and tears, and pangs, ' and agonies! Tell me, ye women who saw Him hang. Tell me, ye executioners who lifted Him and let him down. Tell me, thou sun that didst hide, ye rocks that fell. "Christ loved th3 Church'aud gave himself for it." Jf the garden of the church be!ong3 to Christ, certaiuly He has a risjht to walk in it Come then, Ob blessed Jesus, to-day, walk up aud down these aisles, and pluck what Thou wilt of sweetness for Thyselr. The church, in my text, is appropriately compared to a garden, because it is a pla .e of choice flowers, of select fruits and of cuurougn irripaiiuii. iuuuvvuuiu uu a mi'uju^u garden in which thero were no flowers. If nowhere else, they would be along the borders or at the gateway. The homeliest taste will dictate something, if it be the old-fashioned hollyhock, or dahlia, or daffodil, or coreopsis; but if there be larger means, then you will find the Mexican cactus, and dark veined arbutelion, and blazing a alea, and clustering oleander. Well, now, Christ comes to his garden and he plants there some of the brightest spirits that ever flowered upon the world. Some of them are violets, unconspicuous, but sweet as heaven. You have to search and find them. You do not sea them very often, perhaps, but you find where thoy have been by the brightened face of the invalid, and the sprig of geranium on the stand, and the new window curtains keeping out the glare of the sunlight. They are, perhaps, more like the ranunculus, creeping sweetly along amid the thornS and briars of life, giving kiss for sting, and many a man who has had in his way some great black rock of trouble, have found that they have covered itall over with flowery jessamine running in and out amid the crevices. The-e Christians in Christ's garden are not like the suDtiower, gaudy in the light, but whenev er darkness novers over a soui mat neeasio oe comion.sa there they stand?night-blooming cere uses. But .in Christ's garden there are plants that may bs better compared to the Mexican cactus?thorn D without; loveliness within?men with sharp points of character. They wound almost every one tbatr touches them." They are hard to handle. Men pronounce them nothing but thprns, but Christ loves them, notwithstanding all their sharpnesses. Many a man has had a very hard ground to cultivate, and it has only been through severe trial he has raised even the smallest crop of grace. A very harsh minister wa? talking to a very placid elder, and the placid elder said to the harsh minister: "Doctor, I do wish you would control your temper." "Ah," said the min ster to the elder. "I control more temper in five minutes than you do in five years." It is harder for some men to do right than for other men to do right The grace that would elevata you to the seventh heaven might not keep your brother from knocking a man down. I had a friend who came to me and j said: "1 dare not join the church." I said: ; " VVhyr' "UIk" no sua, "i nave sucn a violent temper. Yesterday morning I was crossing very early at the Jersey City ferry and saw a milkman pour a large amount of water into the milk can cni I said to him, I think that will do/ and he insulted me and I knocked him down. Do you think I ought to join the church;" Nevertheless, that very same man who was so harsh in his behavior loved Christ, and could not speak of sacred things without tears of emotion and affection. Thorns without but sweetness within ?the best specimen of Mexican cactus I ever saw. 'mere are otners pianwram ^urut a who aro always radiant, always impressive? more like the roses of deep Hue that we occasionally find, called "giants of battle"? the Martin Luthers, St. Pauls, Crysostoms, Wickliffes, Latituers and Samuel Rutherfords. What in other men is a spark, in them is conflagration. When t'ley sweat, they sweat great drops of blood. When they pray, their prayer takes fire. When they preach it is a Pentecost. When they fight it is a Thermopylae. When they die it is a martyrdom. 'You find a great many rosjs in the gardens, but only a few "giants of battle." Men say: "Why don't you liave more of them in the church!" I say, '*Why don't you have in the world more Humboldts an 1 Wellingtons?" God gives to some ten talents; to othars, one. In this garden of the churc h which Christ has planted I al-o find the snowdrops beautiful but cold-looking, seemingly another phase of winter. I meau those Christians who are precise in their tast03, unimpascinna/l nnro as onnwrfmrW aild aS COl l. ThSV never shed any tears, they never get excite i, they never say anything rashly, they never do anything pre.ipitately. Their pulses never flutter, their nerres never twitch, their indignation never boils over.* They live longer than most people; but their life is a minor key. They novor run up to C above the staff. In their music of life they have no staccato past ages. Christ plauted them in the churcn and they must be of some service or th3y would not be there; snowdrops, always snowdrops. But I have not told you of the most beautiful flower in all this garden spoken of in the text. If you see a "century" plant your emotions are started. You say: "Why, this flower has been a hundred years gathering up for one bloom, and it will be a hundred years now before other petals will come out." But I have to tell you of a plaut thit was gatherin? up from all eternity, and that 11)00 years i non nut forth its hloom never to wither. It | is tho passion-plant of theirjss! Prophets fo.etolu it. 13otlilohom shepherds looked ujK)n it in the bud: tho rocks shook at its bursting, aud tho dead got up in all their winding sheets to see its full bloom. It is a crimson flower?hlood at the roots, blood on the branches, blood ou all the leave;. Its perfume is to fill all the nation >. Its breath js heaven. Come, oh winds from the north, aud winds from the south, aud winds from the east, nud winds from the west, aud bear to all the earth the sweet-smelling savor of Chri: t, my Lord? His worth if all the nat'ons knew. Sure the whole earth would love Him too. Again, the church may be appropriately compared to a garden, because it is a place of select fruit3. That would be a strange garden which had in it n) barrio, no jtlums or peaches or apricots. Tha coarser fruits ar<j planted in orchard, or ?l'9 3ot out Qtt the sunny hillside; btft the choicest fruits are kept in the garden. So in the world outside the church Christ hod planted a great many beautiful things?patience, charity, generosity, integrity, but he intends the choicest fruits to be in the garden, and if they are not there, then shame on th9 church. Religion is not a mere flowering sentimentality. It is a practical, life-giving, healthful fruit, not posie3, but apoles. " Oh," says somebody, " I don't see what your garden of tho church has yielded." Where did your asylums come from? >nd your hospitals? and your institutions of mercy? Christ planted every one of them: He planted them in Ilis garden. When Christ gave sight to Bartimeus He laid the corner-stone of every blind asylum that has ever been built. When Christ soothed the demoniac of Ga'ilee He laid the corner-stone of every lunatic asylumthat has ever been established. Whan Christ said to the sick man: "Take up thy bed and walk," He laid the corner-stone of every hospital the world has ever seen. When Christ said: "I was in prison and ye visited me," He laid the corner-stone of every prison" reform association that has ever been formed. The church of Christ is a glorious garden and it is full of fruit. I know there is some poor fruit in it. I know there are some weeds that ought to be thrown over the fence. I know there are some crabapple trees that ought to be cut down. I know there are some wild grapes that ought to be uprooted; but are you going to destroy the whole garden because of a little gnarled fruit? You will find worm-eaten leaves in Fontainobleau and insects that sting in the fairy groves of the Champi Ely sees. You do not tear down and destroy the whole garden because there are a few specimens of gnarled fruit. I admit then a "o men and women in the church who ought not to be there; but let us be just as frank aud admit the fact that there are hundreds aud thousands and tens of thousands of glorious Christian men and women?holy,blessed, useful, consecrated and triumphant There i; no grander collection in all the earth than the collection of Christians. There are Christian men in this house whose religion is not a matter of psalm-singing and churchgoing. To-morrow morning that reli gion will keep them just as consistent and consecratea in their worldly occupation as it ever kept them at the communion table. There are women here to-day of a higher type of (haracter than Mary of Bethany. They not only sit at the feet of Christ, bnt they go out into the kitchen to help Martha in her work that she may sit there too. There is a woman who has a drunken husband who Avkik.'+A/J mnro fa if V? on/1 nof'anoa finH UOO UAUAUtVUU UiVI V JkUlVU MUU ^>mw.vmw courage than Ridley in the fire. He was consumed in twenty minutes. Her's has been a twenty years' martyrdom. Yonder is a man who has been fifteen years on his back, unable even to feed himself, yet calm and peaceful as though he lay on one of the green banks of heaven, watching the oarsmen dip their paddles in the crystal river. Why, it seems to me this moment as if St. Paul threw to us a pomologist's catalogue of the fruits growing in this great garden of Christ?love, joy, peace, patience, charity, brotherly kindness, gentleness, mercy?glorious fruit, enough to till all th) baskets of earth and heaven. I have not told you of the better tree in this garden and of the better fruit. It was planted iust outside Jerusalem, a good while ago. When that tree was planted it was so split and bruised and barked men said nothing would ever grow upon it; but no sooner una i/Liut tree ureii piuuitju tuuu iu uuuucu and blos:omed and fruited, and the soldiers' spears were only the clubs that struck down that fruit and it fell into the lap of the nations, and men began to pick it up and eat it, and they found in it an antidote to all thirst, to all poison, to all sin, to all death?the smallest cluster larger than the famous one of Eshcpl, which two men carried cn a staff between them. If the apple in Eden killed the race, this one cluster of mercy shall restore it ' Again, the church in my text is appropriately called a garden bocause it is thoroughly irrigated. No garden could prosper long without plenty of water. I have seen a garden in the midst of a desert, yet blooming and luxuriant All around was dearth and barrenness; but there were pipes and aqueducts reaching from this garden up to the mountains, and through those aqueaucts the water came streaming down ana tossing up into beautiful fountains until every root and leaf and flower wt re saturated. That is like the church. The church is a garden in the midst of a great desert of sin and suffering; but it is well irrigated, for "our eyes are unto the hills from whence cometh our help." From the mountains of God's strength there flow down rivers of gladness. There is a river tha stream .whereof shall make glad the city of our God. Preaching the gospel is one of these aqueducts. The Bible is another. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are aqueducts. Water to slake the thirst, water to restore the faint water to wash th? unclean, water tossed high ud in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, showing the rainbow around the throne. Oh, was there ever a garden so thoroughly irrigated? xouKnow mat ine ceauty ot Versailles and Chatsworth depends very much upon the great supply of water. I came to the latter place, Chatsworth, one day when strangers are not to be admitted; but by an inducement which always seemed as applicable to an Englishman as an American, I got in, and then the gardener went far ap above the stairs of stone and turned on the water. I saw it gleaming on the dry pavement, coming down from step to step until it came so near I could h?ar the musical rush, and all over the high, broad stairs it came foaming, flashing, roaring down until sunlight aod wave in gleesome wrestle tumbled at my feet. So it is with the church of God. Everything comes from above, joy from above, adoption from above, satisfaction from above. Oh, that now God would turn on the waters of salvation, that they might flow down through this heritage, and that to-day we might find this place to be "Elim, with twelve wells of water and three score and ten palm trees." Hark! I bear the latch of the garden gate, ' ? * T 1 and I looK to see wno is coming. x uw?i mo voice of Christ: "I am come into my garden " I say:- "Come in, 0 Jesus, we have been waiting for Thee; walk all through the paths. Look at the flowers, look at the fruit: pluck that which Thou wilt for Thysalf." Jesus comes into the garden and up to that old man and touches him and says: "Almost home, father, not many more aches for thee: I will never leave thee: I will never forsake thee; take courage a little longer and I will steady thy tottering steps and I will soothe thy troubles and give thee rest; courage, old man." Thea Christ goes up another garden Eath and He comes to a soul in trouble and e says; "Peace! all is well. I havessen thy tears; I have heard thy prayer. The sun shall n )t smite thee by day nor the moon by night The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He will preserve thy soul. Courage, 0 troubled spirit!" Then I see Jesus going up another garden path and I see great excitement among the leaves, and I hasten up that garden path to see what Jesus is doing there, and lo! He is breaking' off flowers sbarp and clcan from tbe stem, ana x say: otup, Jesus, don't kill those beautiful flowers." He turns to me and says: "I have come into my garden to gather lilies, and I mean to tak? these up to a higher terra ?e and for the gardon around my palace, and there I will plant them, and in better soil and better air they shall put forth brighter leaves and sweeter redolence, and no frost shall touch them forever." And I looked up into His face and said: "Well, it is His garden, and He has right to do what Ho will with it. Thy wi' be dote!"?the hardest prayer a man evai made. It has seemed as if Jesus Christ took the test ; from many of your households the best cno is goi)9. You knew that she was toe good for this world: she was the gentlest in her ways, the deepest in her affections; and when at last the sickness came you had n faith in medicines. You knew that Jesu was coming over the doorsill. You knew the hour of parting had come, and when through the rich grace of the Lord Jesus Christ you surrendered that treasure you said: "Lord Jesus, take it?it is the best we have?take it. Thou art worthy." The others in the household may have been of grosser mould. She was of the finest. One day a man was taking me from thedepottoavillage. He was very rough and coarse, and very Llasphomous; but after awhile ho mellowed down as he began to talk of his little son whom be had lost. "Oh! sir," he said, "that boy was different from the rest of us. He never used any bad language; no sir, I never heard hini use a Lad word in my life. He used to say his prayers and we laughfd at him, but ho would ko3p on saying his prayers. I often thought, '1 can't keep lh.it child,' and I said to my wife: 'Mother, wo < an't keep that child.' But, sir, the day he was drowueu, and they brought him in and laid him 011 the carpet, so white and so beautiful, my heart broke, sir; I knew we couldn't keep him." The heaven of your little ones will not be fairly begun until you get there. All the kindnesses shown them by immortals will not * " make them torget you. mere radiant throngs that went out from your homes. I throw a kiss to tha sweet darliuc*They are ?U well now in the palace, Tim t crippled child has a sound foot now. A littl? lamo child says: "Ma, will I be lame in heaven*" "No, my darling, you won't be lame in heaven." A little sick child says: "Ma, *ill I be sick in heaven f "No, my dear, you won't be sick in heaven." A little blind child says: "Ma, will I be blind in heaven?" "No, my dear, you won't be blind in heaven. They are all well there." I notice that the flno gardens sometimes have high fences around them and I cannot get in. It is so with a King's garden. The only glimpse you ever get of such a garden is when the King rides out in his splendid carriage. It is not so with this garden, this King's garden. I throw wide open the gafcj and tell you all to come in. No monopoly in religion. Whosoever will may choose now between a desert and a garden. Manv of vou have tried the garden of this world's delight. You have found it has been a chagrin. So it was. with Theodore Hook. He makes m laugh now when we read his poems; but be could not mak$ his own heart laugh. While in the midst of his festivities he confronted a looking-glass and he saw himself and said: "There, that is true. I look just as I am, done up in body, mind and purse." So it was of Shenstone, of whose garden I told you at the beginning of my sermon. He sat down amid those bowers and said; "I have lost my road to happiness.. I am angry and envious and frantic, and despise everything around me just as it becomes a madman to - ? do." Oh ye weary souls, come into Christ's garden to-day and pluck a little hearteea e. Christ is the onlv rest and the only pardon for a perturbed spirit. Do you ot think your cliance has almost come I You men and women who have been waiting year after year for some good oportunity in which to accept Christ, but have poafconed it five, ten, twenty, thirty year*, do you not feel as if now your hour of deliverance and pardon and salvation had come 7 Oh man, what grudge hast thou against thy Eoor soul that thou wilt not let it De saved ? feel as if salvation must come to-day in some of your hearts. Some years ago a vessel struck on the rocks. (They had only one lifeboat In that lifeboat tha passengers and crew wore getting ashore. The vessel had foundered and was sinking deeper and that one boat could not take the passengers very swiftly. A little . girl stood on the deck waiting for her turn to get into the boat The boat came and went, came and went, but her turn Aid not seem to come. After awhile she could wait no longer and she leaped on the taffrail and then sprang into the sea, crying to the boat* men: ''Save me next! Save me nertf Oh, how many have gone ashore into Ood's mercy and yet you are clinging to the wreck of sin. . Others have accepted the pardon of Christ* Vvnf TTA11 oro in ruarnl Whv not*. f.llia mnmant ---J ? , - , make a rush for your immortal rescue, crying until Jesus snail hear you and heaven and earth ring with the cry: "Save me nextt Save me next!" Now is the day of salvation! Now! Now! This Sabbath is the last for some of you. <* It is about to sail away forever. Her bell ." tolls. The planks thunder back in the gangway. She shoves off, she floats toward the great ocean of eternity. Wave farewell to your last chance for heaven. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings and ye would not. Behold your house is left unto you desolate. Invited to revel in a garden, you die in a desert * . May God Almighty, before it Is too late, break that infatuation. There Lave been introduced in Con* gress this session aboat 12,UUU bius, over 9,000 of them in the House, writes a Washington correspondent. Of these less than 4,000 have been or will be passed by the end of the session; so that the secoDd session of the Forty-ninth Congress will convene with twice as much business before it as it has been able to transact in this long session. The list v ' of bills introduced in the Senate shows fewer small jobs and unimportant meas- . M ures, and embraces fully as many measures of publio importance as the' }.. list of House bills. The Senators who {F. ? seem to do the most business are those wno are on tne tension uommittee, us, for instance, Blair of New Hampshire has introduced 447 bills, resolution^ and reports, and Sawyer of Wisconsin 418. Jones of Florida, -who has not # . J been present daring the session, takes the cake at the smallest end of the list, as he has introduced no bills at all. Next to him comes Kenna of. West Virginia, who has introduced two bills onlvdurincr the session, one of them for a light-liouse in his district. Saulsbury of Delaware comes next with three, Bansom of North Carolina follows with fire, and Eustis of Louisiana .. comes next with eight. Up to date the u different Senators are credited each with the following number of bills and resolutions: Aldrich 84; Jones (Ark.) 66 Allison 28'Keniia a Beck 61Logan 89 Berry- 18 McMillan 35 Blackburn. 30 McPherson 27 Blair 477iMahone 9S - # vXi " * Alt UOWtJli. ui w Brown 25 Maxley. *... 42 Butler 26 Miller (CaL) S y Call 126 MiUer (N. Y.) 09 Camdon. 20 Mitchell (Pa.) 19 Cameron 86 Mitchell (Oregon).... 64 Choce 15'Morgon 48 Cockrell 132 Morrill 29 Coke 22 Palmer 95 Colquitt 151 Payne 83 Conger 47 Pike 70 ~ Cull, m 75,Piatt 44 Dawes 7a Plumb 150 Dolph 130|PuRh..; *. 10 v-- > Edmunds 24|Banaotn 5 Euatis 8 Riddleberger 24 Evarts 39' Sab in 12 Fair 16|Saul8bury 3 Frye 60, Sawyer. 448 George. 45Sewell 205 Gibson 35| Sherman 70 Gorman 43 Spooner 34 Gray ISStanford 29 Hale 35j Teller 53 Hampton 39| Vance 19 Harris 6S,VanWyck 201 Harrison 86'Vest. 36 Hawley 21 Voorhees 56 Hoar ICO Walthall 22 Ingalls 151| Wilson (Md.) 10 Jackson 59'Wilson (Iowa) 71 Blair, of New Hampshire, introduce! such bills as female suffrage, prohibition for the District of Columbia, national savings banks, and others. Edmunds runs postal-telegraph schemes, Mormon bills, and the like. Wade Hampton distinguishes himself by introducing bills making it a penal offense for Congressmen to solicit appointments under the administration. Stanford is famous for introducing <w?rf.-1and and Indian bills: Harris* measures to exempt peach brandy from taxation, ^hile Frye attends to th? 6shery bills. Spooner, of Wisconsin, alternates with bills in the interest of farmers with others in the interest of railroads. Evarts has offered nothing more important than bills for the sale of the New York Produce Exchange, and to erect a publio building in Newburgh and a revolutionary monument ?t Stony Point. SHORT-SIGHTED. ' f - nf a will II t* IUIVC lUt _ To guide us through life's unknown seas And wonder when our sails o'erfill With stormy passions' fitful 1..? z<. Or. on the pinion of a thought, From eaith to heavenly spaces bound, To nail our garments, fancy-wrought, Were never meant for holy ground. I .Short-sighted! reaching for the gems I Our enrth-stained souls so highly prize, The blaze of heaven's own diadems Unseen before our tilinded eyes. ! --Boston Jonnuil.