TALKING IN THEIR SLEEP, Sr; "You think I am dead," The apple-tree said, "Because I have never a leaf to showBe: ause I stoop, And my branches droop, And the dull gray mosses over me grow! But I'm all alive in trunk and shoot; The bads of next May I fold away? But I pity the withered grass at my root." "You think I am dead," The quick grass said, "Because I Lave Darted with stem and blade! But under the ground I am safe and souud ITith the snow's thick blanket over me laid. I'm all alive, and ready to shoot. Should tho Spriug of the year Come dancing hero ? But I pity the flower without branch or root." "You think I am dead," A ?oft voue ;aid, Because not a branch or root I ownl I never liavo died But close I hide In a plumy seed that the wind has sown. Patient I wait through the long winter hours: You wiil see me again? I shall laugh at you, then, Oat of tho eyes of a hundred flowers!" ?Edith M. Thomas, in St. Nicholas. TIE BINSTEAD FARM. "We all knew when sister Clarissa loaned the thousand dollars which was the a "cumulation of her six years of teaching, to i*am Binstead, that it was as good as sunk in the sea. And we told her so, but it was of no use, for you *ee. Clissv is one of those visionary people, who sec the "angel in the human neart" most clearly when it isn't there; and Sam, cousin by a good many removes, had borrowed out every other relative before he thought of us. Al bacVt a dollar to spare. She wouldn't have if Judge Hilton ha 1 divided his legacy with li< r, jind I wouldn't have |jiven h'm a nickel of mv three hund ed u. ae nau gone on ms Knees lor it; nut I?but C'lissy? think of it, will you, ictually and positively handed over her thousand dollars as if she'd been a princess, and said: "I'm very glad to accommodate you, 6am. You needn't mind a mortgage, jour DOteis quite su.'Kcient. I know that you will pay it all 1 ack.:' Did he? Well, I think not. You sever knew him or you wouldn't ask. To be sure he died; but he wouldn't have paid it if he had lived, for he was one of those easy-going men who wear sack-coats with tlie pockets sagging H, down, i-nd who always complain of their bad luck, aud nevir pay Iheir debts. That was the way that (.'lis happened to go West ile did give her a mortgage on a farm out in Missouri, and when he diet! it fell to her. I don't suppose that he d have t ;ken it if thcre'd been anyVdy to giv e it to; but there wasn't and to stranger would have accepted it for s present, so she had to keep it. She couldn't sell it, and she couldn't rint it for enough to pay the taxes, and her j tenants burnt the fences because they were too lazy to cut wood, let the barn tumble down and the house go to ruin, until one evening Clissy looked up and said: "I'm going out to my fatm."' Al almost screamed with surprise and I was speechless. It was no use to say anything. for Clisgy is very dcc'ded. So, the day that her school closed, she went down to the depot and bought a ticket to St. Louis, and took the evening train out as coolly as if she expected to return next day. Al and I weet home and had a good try, and decided that we should start as soon as our schools closed, and spend the summer with her. We taught in town, and had a ten-months year while C'lissy was out in the ea>tend, where the schools close the last of May. No length of years will ever make me forget the night that we rcached Sparta ?that is her town?and saw dear old Clissy on the rickety platform, whip in haud, waiting for us- Bless her heart, how she h :gged us, althaogh she hadn't been away five weeks! Then she took us wound, behind the station, to her red, pring wagon, hitched to the nio*t kilting little gray mule you ever saw,and we clambered in. She was mortally afraid of the little beast,and he knew it. You'd have died to see her untie him from the poit. standing at arm's length from him. it was two miles to the farm, and we all talked as hard as we could, and yet we hadn't begun to tell all our news when we reached that forlorn, unpainted old wooden house, with the chicken coop right in front. We were starving after three days' rde, and Clissy had a good upper, and then our life in the West began. It wou'd take a book to tell about the events of that summer,so I must just pick out two or three things that led directly to the grand finale: She* had thiugs started pretty well when we came. It was to be a stockfarm, and she had bought sheep and calves, and a cow. and chic kens, and a / ferocious old mother pig with a lot of dottie dumpliDg little p:ggies: but the eld cannibal ate up foi r of them?how I Lated her ;or it?and a hoe, and a big hovel, and lots of other things. The first morning A1 and I thought we'd take a ramble and see how we liked it. But she want d to go down to the tream and I wanted to go up to the "knob," as Clissy called it, and see the landscape. I hadn't got there when a cow looked menac'ngly at me, and I ran as I never dreamed I could run. Tiie man was milking in the barnyard, and he looked up with a grunt when I came "We had to call him Cornr.d bec&uae he wouldn't answer to Conrad. A1 didn't appear to breakfa t; but she is sue t an irresponsible creature anyhow, that we sup; osed she was sketching ? . some stump, to we kep' her chops warm, and washed the dishes so a3 to clvirn before it became too hot. About ten o'clock I went out to hunt eggs, a:.d was sure that I heard my ame, in accents wild. I called 4iClissy!" and "C'ornrod!" and we followed the sound until we could see the poor girl perched in a little, shaking thorn true, about fou feet from the ground, while a murderous old ram stood guard below. She had been there three blessed hours. Conrad threw a piece of earth at him, and he walked away, and the poor < hild limped home with us. Her hands were all blistered with clinging t? th? tree, and she had screamed for us till her th roat was sore. j. nave h nne dock oi sncep mere," remarked the proud owner,as we climbed awkwardly over the bars. "They are more profitable than cattle, because they increase so rapidly and mature so quickly. The increase is quite wonderful. The geotlemun of whom I bought these says " "Yaw, yaw?he say von lie," interrupted the stolid Conrad. "He ?ell you forty ram, he keep de ewe. Increase! Ifein!'' (lissy was silent for two minutes. Then she said: "A beautiful, sensitive plant grows ? wild here; it is a briar; perhaps we can find one here." 'I should be delighted," I replied, faintly. "When wc reached the yardfence, A1 cried in ."mazement: "Where's the barn?" And sure as I am telling it, that vicious little mule had kicked it down. It was what they call a "Kansas barn," made of poles, with a straw roof, tied down to keep it from blowing off, and the beast was eating the roof. When Conrad went up to see about it, lie was sent flying heels over head, and I laughed; he never forgave me. either. It rained0 that afternoon, and we helped Clissy cut carpet-rags for a kitchen carpet. We were afraid to go down cellar on account of the enormous rats, so we stood in the stairway and passej} milk and meat to and from the invincible Conrad. He set three gaping steel traps, and we retired the second night in the blissful fancy that tlie rats would soon be vanquished. Toward morning we were awakened by an odor that would have made those stenches of the plague-stricken Egyptians seem as perfume by contrast. Poor Clissy sat up and gasped. A1 began to cry, as usual, and I wished that I were a man long enough to swear. it would be two hours before Conrad came to investigate, and we should all die in that time I knew. What could it be? Several things were suggested, but the solution was not satisfactory until A1 sprang up from her cot (we oaly had one bed) and screamed: "Oh, I know; it's naturel ! gas. Your bored will has struck it. AVe ; shall light the town and make our fortunes Hurrah for old Clissy! Now you ' must do the handsome by us. I will j take a diamond necklace for my wedj ding present, and you can build a house in town and we'll live with you." I Ti j 1 .1.1. ii?* It sccmea su jiruuituic wai uvcu vnn^ forgot her usual caution and planned a nubstantial baru on the possibility. We were sure that wo beard a rat dragging the trap down cellar, and we ventured to I the head of the stairs in the gray dawn and peeped down. '1 he natural ga<3, the supply of which was apparently unlimited, s.'cmed to emanate from the cellar, and was so stifling that we could not investigate long at a time. "Jirl said Al, "it's not a rat, but the dearest black and white creature that you ever saw. It's caught by the foot. Where's your book of natural history. May be I can tell what it is." "I take him in von bagund gill him," said the manly tones of Conrad, coming up just then. I schmell him half-mile avay. Mein Gott, how ever I dakes him out von dot?'' "Girls," said Clissy, from the other end of the pouch, "it is the most beautiful sunrise I ever saw. Only sec that crimson!" Perhaf?s you won't believe me, but we didn't get that odor out of the house for three months, or out of our clothes either, although we almost bought out the cologne fiom the Spnrta drugstore. Thed;i.v that followed was the most heart rending of all. We couldn't eat, and were so faint that we could scarcely ? ? I- fViof a nKonno wicifnp should be admitted to the house upon pain of deaihto the offender. I was learning to in ike shortcake when a sere un from Al made me look up. ''Somebody is coming. What shall we do? Go and meet him, Clis, and kejp him from the house.'' ' lie's only a tramp, and I think he is drunk, too. I'd better call Conrad, I'm afraid cf a drunken man." She walked timidly to the end of the porch and met , the intruder. "I beg your pardon, but as I was crossing yonr field in my walk, one of your rams assaulted me, and made mc so unpresentable, that I must ask for some soap and water, and a needle and thread. I am a elergyman from the village, madame." ertanlv," said Ciissy, "I am very sorry that anything so serious should have happened to you upon my place," and she showed him into the sitting room and gave him the necessary articles. He staggered as he walked, and I saw that the blood was dripping from his hair. He was hurt more seriously than he would confess. When he had been there an hour we thought we had better peek, aud we did. He had got to the lounge and fallen up:>n it. The blood from his head \va9 dropping upon the floor, and his facj was as pale as death. We forgot all about our mortification at o;rr plight, and flew about in great distress. Clissy is so motherly and knows so much about everything that she soon brought him a-ound; bandaged his cut and rubbed arnica upon his bruises. He was so modest and pleasaut, and so patient? I knuw he was suffering dreadfully?that we couldn't help admiring him; and it ; was such a surprise to him to find three ladies in that desolate little house, and it was such a surprise to us to find a gentleman in one who looked so like a tramp. And Clissy cleaned his coat? it h id absorbed a great deal of sticky mud from the rain of the day before? and took him home in the evening in the horrid spring-wagon, drawn by the mule. Well, nothing would do, when he called the next week, but that we should eomo to ch :rch and take classes in the Sunday-school and attend the socials. And we found that the people were pleasant and the country beautiful, and Mr. Haven?oh, well, I 9hall not say one m >re word about him?or you will guess ?but then, who cares if you do?"? Lizzie Hycr Ncj}\ in Current. An Odil Judge of Good Cattle. One of the very be it judges of hogi and cattle ou the hoof?he has no superior in the whole country?is Thomas Cole, of Kansas City, Missouri, who has grown rich in the business. He bought for Plankinton. in Milwaukee, thirty odd years ago, and afterward for Armoui when he opened a packing house in Chicago. I\ow he buys for Armour's house ia Kansas City, and invariably shows great sagacity. In the old days, when cattlc were driven east on the roads leading to Chicago, the herders would send word forward to Plankinton | and Armour that their drivers would be i at Mad son, Jefferson, or some other I nii.iiAn nfr a ntvan /lofn TKJa wnii 1 el OMIliUU Ub a uuiw. jl iiiu *T vittM give drivers the benefit of two markets; if they could not m ike a favorable sale at .Milwaukee, they would push on to Chicago Thomas C ole would cram his pockets full of bank notes, as much ns $100,0 >0 sometimes, aud, with a number of assistants, would intercept the drovers at some given point. He never kept any accounts, except in h's head, and could not be persuaded to do so. He worfld return with a lot of cattle to his employer, with the words: ' Here's your cattle, and here's what's left of your money." Then he would examine all his pockets and hand over every dollar he could find. Sometimes he would di cover, days afterward, bills that had been tucked carefully away, and promptly deliver tl em. Nobody ever doubted his (honesty, which was of the strictest so:t. Cole has done a greal dtal toward swelling the fortune; of his employers, and is to day as capable and as much of a character aa ever. ? Commercial Advertiser. COLONEL BOWIE. SLAVE TRADER, DUELIST AND TEXAN REVOLUTIONIST. Eventful Career of the Man Who Invented the Celebrated Hunting Knife Named After Him ?A Life ?f Danger. James Bowie was born in Logan County, Kentucky, in the year 1T80. J lis parents were natives 01 ceorgia, ms father being a woodsman and hunter, in which craft James was brought up. The family wandered from place to place, usually seeking the remotest frontier, and finally settled on the borders of L:uisianaand Texas. Here, in 1814, James Bowie made a clearing for himself, built a log cabin, and lived principally by fishing and hunting. Many were his deeds of daring and recklessness in his forest adventures, and many stories have been preserved of his wild exploits. He would catch and ride not only wild horses, but wdd deer, and on one occasion he caught, roped, and rode &n alligator. Ho grew to be a large and powerful man, six feet in height and extremely muscular. His temper is sa:d to have been good, but he was easily aroused to anger, which was terrible and unappeasable, and leJ him into many a tragical encounter. He never fought a regular duel, out was engag>d in many fights, most of which had a bloody termination. He was said to have been a general favorite among his friends and neighbors, which goes to disprove that he was not of a cruel or bloodthirsty disposition. Texas, at that time belonging to Mexico, was a sort of promised land to the adventurer* of the Southwest. One of the first expeditions into that country was under General James Long, of Tennessee, and Bowie accompanied it. This was in 1819. The expedition resulted disastrously, Long being captured and Killed Dy tne .Mexicans, out jjuwiu ioturued safely to his home. He now sold his land, and in company with his brothers engaged in slave trading with Lafitte, the notorious piiale of the Gulf. Under the laws of the United States at that time tla.-es were not allowed to be imported into the country, but the brothers Howie easily evaded difficulty. Their plan of operations was to go to Galveston an.l purchase from Lafitte a number of negroes, for which they paid at the rate of $1 a pouud, or about $140 for each negro. These they would bring into the limits of the United States, and then go to custom house officers and become informers against themselves. The law gave the informer half the va'ue of the negroes, which were put up and sold by the United States-Marshal. At the Marshal's sale lhey would themselves become the purchasers, would receive half the purchase money back and & certificate of sale, which entitled them to dispose of thu negroes in the United States. Bowie followed this business until he made some $(>(>,000, most of which he soon spent in riotous living in Kew Orleans. Tt won rlnrinrr thpsf* PvnfiditionS to AW " *"0 *"" I ' Galveston that his genius evolved the hunting kuife, with which his name will always be associated. It was made for him by a blacksmith after a design of his own. It was made with a heavy back, so that it could be used in chopping as well as thrusting, thus fulfilling the purpose of a hatchet, for which he used it in his woodsman life. In the exciting political contests that grew out of Jackson's advent as a candidate Howie took an active pait. In 182(5 he was residing at Ale andria, on Rel River, and during a political campaign he got into an altercation with Morris Wright, Sheriff of Rapides Parish. Bowie was unarmed, and Wright drew a pistol and shot him through the b dv, but even then, if Wright had not been rescued by his friends Bowie would have killed him with his fists. This attack so enraged him that he determined thereafter never to go without his knife, and he had a scabbard made for it, and i 6aid he would wear it as long as he livid. | A year later this feud with f-heritfj VVrjgiit culnnnatcu la a tcrrioie encounicr i at Natchez. In September, 1827, two j very respectable citizens of Louisianna, I Dr. Maddox and Samuel Well*, having I a difference to settle, agreed to meet on j a saud bar in the Mississippi liiver op- j Natchez, with a few friends. They m t, I exchanged shots, and became reconciled, j When retiring from the ground Wells | invited Maddox and his second, Colonel ! Crane, to the woods adjoining, where i some others of his friends, excluded I from the field, were, to take refresh-! meuts. Crane objected, on the ground I that there were certain men there he j could not meet. Wells then assented to j go where Mnddox's friends, who had also been excluded from the field, were. When on the way the party were met by V.n f?inrxla ?->f "VVmIIo who wnrft .Ifinins i Bowie, General Curry and another person. Crane and General Curry were mortal enemies, and immediately drew their pisto'.s. Crane h:id a pist >\ in each hand, and shot Bowie first and then Curry, the latter being instantly killed. At this the friends of Maddox hurried to the scene, and among them was the Sheriff Wright who had the encounter with Howie a year before. "Wright also fired at Bowie, and he fell. A general firing ensued and several others were killed. Wright seeing Bowie lying apparently dead, approached and bent over him, when Bowie suddenly drew his knife and stubbed Wright to the heart, lie th'.-n arose, though severely wounded, and stabbed another of the party with his knife, and the battle then termi- I nated. When Bowie recovered from his | wounds he determined to leave the j United States and take up his residence i in Texas. There he went in the year I 1800 and engaged actively on the side of j the revolutionists, his valor soon gaining him a distinguished name in that country. lie married a daughter of one o." the j e.i-governors of the province and was ap-1 pointed Colonel of one of tiie Texas regiments. During the next few years he wan cng'ged in many fights with the Indians and with the Mexicans, in one of which he and nine or ton men succeeded in defending themselves against loO Indians, with a loss of only one killed and two wounded. His career was finally ended at the j bloody battle of Alamo. He had been j ordered to that place to take cunmand, but a few days after lie readied there he was taken down with pneumonia, and during the siege was confined to his bed. As is well known Santa Anna, commanding 3.600 Mexicans, besieged the fort in March, 18!W. It had only ab^ut 150 defenders. After some days of attack the place was stormed and every Texan put to the sword. No one escaped. Bowie, sic k in bed, is said to have shot down with pistols and killed with his knife a number of his assilants before he yielded up his life. Whether this is true" or not ia K-ifft to assume that if he had Btrength and consciousness enough to do it it was done. The celebrated Colonel David Crockett was also a victim of this massacre.? Chicago Herald. When the judge is merciful the law i3 disregarded. It is hard to refuse when a superior asks a favor. Never trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you. It is a happy thing for us that this is really nil we have to concern ourselves about?what to do next. Go not for every grief to the physician, for every quarrel to the lawyer, nor for every thir. t to the pot. Give what you have. Tc> "omo on<: it may be better than you d;ire to think. The best characters have a mixture of infirmities, and the worst have some redeeming virtues. Stonewall Jackson in Battle. In an c.rticlc on Stonewall Jackson in the Southern Bicouac Thomas M. B(.yd tells of his appearance on the field of battle: I never was close to him on the field of battle but once: that was on the hill :iot far from the llenry House, at the f rst battle of Manassas. He was extremely pale, but his eyes glared with unnati ral brilliancy. It was on that occasion t lat Colonel Jiaylor, of Augusta County, rode hurriedly up to him and said: '-Gene-al, my men urc armed with-the old flint-lock musket, and not half of them wi 1 file." He replied: "If you will exp.mine it, 70U will find that old musket has the best bayonet in the world. I'se the bayonet, Cnlnnftl." In a short while the Fcdi ral troops began to give way, and it is possible that this circumstance turned the tide of battle. I have seen the statement somewhere, that General Bee said to him: "General, they are beatiug- ua back," and Jackson's reply was: "We will give them the biyonet, sir." This may be (rue. but it is probable that the remark made to Colonel Baylor was afterward claimed to have been made to General Bee. I will never forget the terrific fighting that evening abort 3 o'clock?the roar of the artillery, the screaming, bursting shells, the rattle of small arms. The smoke blinded mn of spring. C&erishing sentiments of venen.tion, 1 look up and swoop your tomb. Prostata 1 pr ly that you will comj aud be present, and thi* you will grant to your posterity that tiu/ may be prosjwrous and Illustrious At taii season of general showers and gentle uree. es I desire to recompense the root of my existence, and exert myself sincerely. Always grant your sat'o protection. Most reverently I present tho live-fold sacrifice of a pig, a fowl, a duck, a goose, and a fish; also an oll'ering of five plates of fruit, with libatious of spirituous liquors, earnestly entreating that you will come aud view t;hem. nffanfiva rnonnof fhio ATI. nouncement is presented on high. The religion of the Chinaman ar.d of Chinatown is hounded by no narrow limits. It is boundless?fitted for all stations, and is a jumble of tradition, superstition aud ignorance, iucompre hensible to nine-tenths of its so called adhereats.?San Francisco Cull. Life indeed is short, but by ills :it becomes too long. WORDS OF WISDOM. A good cause fears no judge. Ask thy purse what thou ahouldst buy. !NTo man is good unless he is good unto all. It is difficult to combine patience with grief. Creditors have better memories than debtois. A ?-?J A..A? in rl/>ofV? mHVPQ nA /V. ^UUU liiau uvgu ILL UVUkU ? w mistake. Real merit of any kind cannot long be concealed. When your superior entreats you you partly rule. In this worid a man must be either anvil or hammer. AGRICULTURAL. TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. Grow From the Best Seed. The kind of tubers to use for seed potatoes is discusscd by a correspondent of the New York Tribune, who says that possibly a large crop of fine-sized potatoes may be grown from small tubers in rich, mellow soil, but the principle is all wrong. The potato is a subterraneous branch, with bud* analagous to those above ground, and on this account somp writers argue that the matter of size is unimportant. Every right-minded nurseryman knows how necessary it is to increase his stock of plants from sound, healthy specimens only, and the most vigorous, well-ripened shoots are invariably selected. The forthcoming generation depends in great desree upon this act, as is frequently demonstrated by the transmission of diseases which ordinarily are not handed down through the means of seeds. The potato cutting, as it were, even if taken from a poor little tub:-r, will by liberal use of manure nnd thorough culture produce some largo specimens; but will the crop be so uniformly large as if large tubers were used? Reason says no. The large tuber.i will give a very much better average in the long run.?American liural Home. Ensilage Made from Apple Pomace. An interesting experiment conducted at the Massachusetts station and reported on by Professor Goessmann, was of ensilage mnde from apple pomace. The pomace which served for the preparation of the apple ensilage was taken from a cider mill ne ir Amherst the latter part of October, and confuted of the clear press refuse of a mixturo of differ ent kinds or apples. Two casks of a capacity of from fifty to sixty gallons each were used for the experiment. These were painted inside with a black tar varnish to render them air and water tight. The pomace was stamped down solid, and subsequently covered with tar paper, which was held down by a layer of sand several inches in thickness, and some large stones. The ca^ks, thus filled, were kept in a corner on the bam floor until the following May, when they were opened to examine their contents. The material wai found throughout apparently as fresh as when : pit up; neither mouldy nor rotten, nor j even discolored on its surface. It had a pleasant, fruit-like acid odor and taste, md contain.-d but traces of ammonia compounds. One hundred parts of the fresh apple ensilage required 0.744 paits I Df sodium hydroxide for the naturalization of its free organic acids, which prove thu3 to bo less than in either kind of corn ensilage. The ensilage of apple j pomace is highly relished by cows and swine, and is, if not superior, at least j e |ual, pound for pound, 'n feeding value j to the apple pomace, which served for j its production. The nitrogenous coni 9tituents had increased at the expanse of the saccharine constituents; the latter had been destroyed at a higher rate by fermentation than the former.?New York World. Bashes and Weeds on the Farm. It seems a very strange thing, says a correspondent of the Country Gentleman, that our farmers should allow so many bushes, shrubs aud weeds growing along the public highways and in other conspicuous places on their farms. What a bad effect it has on the appearance of a man's farm! So small an expense would be required in removing them all. Can it be that some farmers want their farms to revert to wilds \ They all the time receive no pro :t from them, but they have to pay taxes on them. I cannot see why it is that farmers sometimes increase the acreage of their 1 nd. They do aot see the extent of land which might, with large profits, be brought under control, and produce more on a small qrea with less labor, and without extia taxes and cost. Farmers are cnreless, and try to do a great deal without doing it well. If they had only considered it in time they would have b.'en the first to exclaim against the folly of refraining from doing a thing which could be done so easily, and which was of so much importance. All will agree with me when I say that if the highway is simply mowed every year clear up to the fcnce, no weeds will grow up there as a general thing, but grass, on the other hand, will take their place, and cau-se as beneficial a supply as any part of the farm. Everyone knows too well for me to express it, that weeds and bushes cannot live where they are regularly mowed every year. Every one who has any sense of propriety will be struck with the fcflly of so mowing a field that when the central part is cut for harvest, a streak will be left along the fence whi h is not . mowed. Let^mc say to every farmer who I has not mown up to his fenccs fully this ! year, or who has' bushes and coarse j weed-i growingalong them, which are in consequence 01 mat space nut waving been mown in years back, to do so this year: mow every one of those weeds and bushes, and do not fail to do this every year, and in a few years he will have no bushes along his fence, and every inch of hi3 farm will pay and look better. Farm and Garden Notes. A New York State ow-feeder says that wheat-bran and middlings have given him the best results. Rye, if sown now, will grow, and as it is hardy, will furnish early green food before the grass makes its appearance in the spring. One of the best supplementary feeds with corn-fodder is wheat-bran. It is even better in the winter as a supplementary food for cows. If every farmer who cuts down a tree | wiil plant a young one in its place the result will be a constant supply of timber and fuel as well as a proEt. Sell all young cattle that you do not intend to keep over winter that are in good condition. They will soon cost too mu'jli to keep if yo? have not a proper place and proper feed for them. The natural life of sheep is shorter than that of any other domestic animal. Hve or six years is the limit of practical usefulness, though valuable breeding ewes may be kept one or two years longer by careful treatment. It is cheaper to clean out the poultryhouse every day than to allow the droppings to accumulate, for the reason that it requires but a snort time ior inc volatile elements of the manure to escape. What is saved by not frequently cleaning the house, as labor, is lost in the depreciation of the droppings. It is a singular fact that gypsum or plaster of paris is so little used. The cheapest of all mineral fertilizers, and the one be it adapted to clover, its use rarely extends far beyond the locality where it is dug and ground. There its cheapness insures a lar?e use by neighboring farmnrs, who find it very profitable. A late cultivation of strawberries,with the application of a bag of superphosphate per acre, scattered in the rows near the roots of the plants, will give good results next spring. All the runners between the rows should be removed, the grass hoed aw ay between the plants, and the ground made as clean as possible. It is asserted that "a mixture of lime in clay soil has the effect of making them porous and friable; hence, by such treatment they are made more workable and are better fitted for nourishing the life of plants. Clays that harden into solid lumps after a shower of rain are little better than reeks, in so far as the food of plants is concerned." Professor Arnold, who has been inspecting the English modes of agriculture, states that the English dairymen are far in advance of the American. They use greater skill in feeding and husband the manure better, as well as using economy in every departmeut. He states that if our dairymen would economize as well they would make their farms fertile and becoms wealthier. A swine-broeder says that in weaning pigs there is somethiug more to be considered than simply taking them away from their mother. They should be weaned gradually, so as not to receive any stunt orset-back. To take pigs away before they have been taught to eat gives them check for at leist two weeks. Feediug them in a separate place to which they have access will accustom them to eating. An experienced farmer warns others against giving cotton seed meal to breeding cows or to young sto?k of any kind. It is very difficult to digest, and when fed to cows often causes abortion. Great care must be used in getting anin als accustomed to this food, wh'ch cannot be fed in large quantities even to stock accustomed to it. Young calves fed even a little have been killed by it. Linseedoil meal^is now cheap enough, and with Northern farmers will continue to have the preference. Most cellars in early winter will b' decidedly benefited by thorough ventilation. The air is usually too warm at this seas n, and ventilating on cold days to lower the temperature will not only remove the foul air. but will also to sonic extent preveut the decay of vegetables which cause? it. With a thermometer in the cellar it is easy to decide when the air approaches a freezing point, and after this the ventilation may be restricted to warm davs in winter when no danger of fr03t need be apprehended. It is not wise to put leaves for protection thickly over plants. They hold moisture, and rot insteal of protect, and often breed mildew, which is as bad as cold. It is bright light, together with frost, that injures plant9, and enough leaves to shade is all that is required. This is why evergreens?such as rhododendrons and kalmias?suffer so much in winter. Something to keep off the sun is as beneficial as something to keep off the frost. For this reason the ground is itself a good protector. Many tender fruits can be taken care of by bending the branches and covering with cartn. Roots want air as well as water, and the soil should be sjmewhat open in order to permit air to circulate through it. When the earth does not dry up rapidly something is wrong. It is no uncommon sight to see benches of roses, carnations and other things completely sodden, and the plants then die from ? / ?/% fnnmia When fnnorus does aunear. sulphur exposed ti the hot sun's rays, is among the best remedies. The above remarks have in view mainly the culture of flowers in benches, as practiced in florists' greenhouses. But similar instructions are needed for the smaller grower. Professor Shelton has found that in feeding cooked corn and raw corn to pigs the advantage was decidedly with the latter. In an experiment which he made the corn was cooked by steam in aWrel, to which a pipe was run from the boiler. It was so thoroughly acted upon by the heat that each grain could be easily crushed between the thumb and fingers. During the cold est -weather the cooked corn froze in the troughs, often before the pigs could eat. Every detail of the experiment goei to confirm the opinion that nothing is gained by cooking the food; that the trouble and expense are given for nothing. Bird Stories. l.amon Vejar of Pomona, Cal., killed a four-legged quail. Sailors caught a seagull in the English channel while it was floating asleep on the water. a lnr-im onrrlp flnw down in a street in A*. IXIqV New Haven, Conn., and got into a fight with a dog. It was captured by a policeman. Wine-growers of Sonoma County, California, placed poisoned wheat in their vineyards and thus killed vast numbers of quail. D. H. Cwing1, living near Sturgeon, Mo., caught twenty-three owis and hawks in a steol-trap on a tree near his hen-house in six months. Millions of gulls are found about the mouth of the St. Croix River, and furnish profitable sport for Indians, who sell their plumage for millinery and decorative purposes. A turkey cock in Americus, Ga., left his mates and lived with a flock of guinea hens. His devotion carried him so far that he hatched out a nest of guinea eggs and provided for the little chicks. One of the results of the reckless killing of herons, storks, egrets, and other birds of South Florida is an increase in the number ot snakes about the lakes and ponds. The great blue heron is a famous snake-catcher. The Japanese tumbler i3 a singular bird, which has a habit of jumping from its perch, turning a somersault in the air, and then coming down right side up on its perch again. It performs this trick dozens of times in succession. The bird is somewhat larger than a canary. Aheai of the Egyptians. "Talk about Egyptian embalming," said a Chicago undertaker. "Why, it don't compare with what we do nowadays. Those old Egvptions didn't know whut art w vj | to tropical existence, nnd battling with ! the prickly cictuses and the thorny acacias, to the manner born, for its fair ahare'of the dry and arid uplands. Even nettles are nowhere in competition with it; in spite of its valuable and irritating sting, the nettle has not the plasticity and adaptibility of constitution that mark.the stout and sturdy thistle tribe. Garnered and harvested yearly with the farmer's corn, its seeds have been gratuitously distribute.! by its enemy, man, in all climates; and. when once it gains the slightest footnold, its winged down enables it to diffuse itself ad infinitum through the virgin soil of ^ " yet unconquered and unthistly A finM nf fhicfloi in Fncr t'UUIlUClllO. A UVIVI W4 viaawv.w ?M land itself is a beautiful sight for the enthusiastic botanist (who has usually a low opinion of the agr'cultural interest); but in the fresh and fallow earth of New Zealand they attain a yet more prodigious and portentous sta'ure, that might well strike awe und dsmay into the stout heart of a Terksh're farmer. The fact is, th? thistle is one of those bellicose plants which specially lay themselves out, in the st' ug^le for existence, for the ocrupation of soils where they are compelled to defend their leaves and stems from the con t int attacks of the larger herbivores.