Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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AN APPALLING DISASTER, The Vermont Railroad HorrorMany Persons Killed. The place known as Woodstock Bridge, i where the Vermont Central Railroad crosses i the White Eiver in Vermont, was the scene fcr'aturday morning of a disaster in which i about thirty-five persons lost their lives and j fully thirty other persons were injured j more or less severely. A rail, broken, it is i thought, by the intense cold, caused two passenger coaches and two sleeping cars | of the Montreal express train to leave j the rails at the approach to the bridge. ! The coupling with the farward part of the j train broke. The last.four cars fell upon the j ice which covered the river at the bottom of j a rocky gorge sixty feet in depth. The bridge, which was of wood, gave way and I its timbers were burned by the i flames which destroyed the cars. Both j the passenger coaches were crowded I and there were twenty-two persons j in one of the sleeping cars and nine in the j other. It is estimated that the number of j lives endangered in the accident was at least j eighty. Of these not more than ten escaped i unhurt Many of the passengers were on the way to Montreal to enjoy the carnival. | Nearly all those who lost tbeir lives were : burned to death. By Saturday night thirty-five bodies in all had been taken | out of the wreck. Only eight of this num- j ber were in any manner recognizable. De- : tails of the calamity are as foilows: The ill-fated train consisted of two sections. one from Boston comprising the Pull- ' man sleeper Puritan, an ordinary passenger j coach, a mai' and a baggage car, and the | other section from Springfield, Mass., j including the Pullman sleeper St 1 AiDaus ana s common pusseugm va;. Both parts were united at White River aud started for Montreal via the Central Ver- ! mont or Grand Trunk line. The train was nearly an hour late. West Hartford, the scene of the awful I calamity. i3 a small hamlet on the White j River. The population consists of farmers, whose homes are quite widely scattered. At j this point the Central Vermont Railroad crosses the river obliquely. The bridge, a wooden one, 650 feet in length, is the longest of its character in the country. It spans the river at the height of sixty feet The river was frozen solidly, ice to the thickness of several inches having formed on it. The cold was intense, the thermometer registering about twelve degrees below zero. At the time the accident happened, the train was running about forty miles an hour. | The locomotive had nearly passed the bridge when the attention of the engineer was suddenly attracted by something unusual, and in looking back, the night being a fine moonlight one,he saw the last four cars go over the end of the bridge and land on the frozen river in the gorge below. The baggage and mail cars crossed the bridge in safety. As soon as possible the train was stopped, and | IQB ruiruou euipiuyeo uuu a m ? [?? sengers in the smoking compartment of the mail car went to the relief of those in the wreck. The descent of the steep embankment was speedily made, and when they arrived where they expected to find the detached portion of the train they discovered the four cars bottom up on the ice. Flames immediately burst forth. The shrieks of the wounded and dying were agonizing in the extreme and intermingled with their cries of pain were the calls for assistance of those who were alive, but unable to extri ate themselves. Then came the fire to add to the horrors of the situation. Many were probably killed by the terrible fall, but a large number who were only slightly injured were so confined in the wreck that they could not be rescued and were burned a'live. As the flames spread the confusion increased and the shrieks of the victims who saw torturing death by fire approaching were as agonizing as any that ever fell upon human ear. Thj rescuing party had nothing but their hands to work with, and although they worked with almost superhuman efforts, and rescued many, the number that perished in the flames was very large. Nothing could be done to stay the flames. Help had been sent for to White River Junction and to West Hartford, about five miles distent. Seren physicians soon arrived, and cared for the injured people in the vicinity, lending all aid possible. Telegrams were also sent to St. Albans, Burlington and Rutland for assistance. A wrecking party was sent from St Albans, and relief parties, with a large number of physicians, were sent from other points. On their arrival the work of dressing the wounds of the injured was hastened as rapidly as possible. SECRETARY M ANNING, m? ivcsi^iiai iiiii aim irrusurcr Jordan's in the President's Hands. A Washington dispatch states that Treasurer Jordan has admitted that Secretary Manning is t? be the President and that he (Jordan) is to be the Vice - President of tbe new Western National Bank of the city of New York. The resigna" tion of both officials are in the hands of tbe President, and will be accepted in due time. It is expected that Mr. Manning will be relieved soon after the adjourn* ment of Congress. It is even said by some that his successor will be nominated before tbe adjournment Department officials say that everything now points to the promotion of Assistant Secretary Fairchild to the head of tbe department Treasurer Jordan will not h ave the department before April 1, as there are certain matter* he desires to dispose of during tbe intervening time.anditwill be necessary for him to initiate bis successor into the duties of the office. Mr. Jordan says tbat applications have already been made for over $4,000,000 of stock in the new bank, and that many people will have to be disappointed, as the capital is limited to $3,000,009. The new bank will begin business abcut May 1st. PROMINENT PEOPLE, Colonel John S. Mosby has been in Boston bringing out his book of reminiscences of the war. Mrs. Hettt Greene, of New York, who can put up t .->,000,000 in cash at any time, pay sonly }5 a week for her board. Charles Francis Adams left an estate valued at$l,02t>,000, besides making generous provision for each of his children while he aved. General F. E. Spinner, ex-United States Treasurer, who now lives altogether at Jacksonville, Fla., has just celebrated his eightyfifth birthday. People who have visited Pasteur in Paris say that he treats from six to ten Americans every day. aud that maay of these have been bitten by their pet dogs. Senator James T. Fair, of Nevada, is a tall, thickset man with ruddy faca and irongray hair and beard. He has a passion for walking in crowded thoroughfares and gaz- j ing into shop windows. 8enator Jonas, of Nevada, is a stout man with a long pray chin whisker, which ho constantly combs with his lingers. He always wears the conventional broad-brimmed Western sombrero, well slouched. The wife of Senator-elect Davia, of Minnesota, is described as a brilliant conversationalist and not less brilliant musician; a dashing equestrienne and fearless driver; tall, graceful, and exquisitely beautiful. Baron de Joest, of Paris, noted all his life for his cruel treatment of all men and animals he came in contact with, has left his whole estate, of $500,<KK) to the Society for the Prevention of Cruely to Animals. Major Bentee.v, who belonged to Reno's command at the time of the Custer massacre, ana wno Das a uriuiani id;oiu as a uariug cavalry officer, is to bo investigated for drunkenness whileon duty at Fort Duchesne, ' Utah. Thk Philadelphia News has been having a ' competition in anagrams upon the natne> of j Grover Cle velau I and James Gillespie Blaine. ! Those to which the prj'e is awarded are ''Govern, clever, lad," and "Jim's pen, I i allege, is able." Thk daughter of General Logan married a i Mr, Tucker, while the daughter of Representative Randolph Tucker married a Mr. Logan. Each couple have a son. The name of one is Tucker Logan and the other is , Logan Tucker. Hv Stoto ftppflcinna Yfln TTnrni t.Via Chinese Minister at Washington, wears a robe of light bluo damask silk over a petticoat of white brocade and a black cap surmounted by a purple button with a big diamond in it and a peacock's feather, The Emperor of China is the shortest monarch in the world, being only five feet tall; the Emperor William of Germany is the tallest, beiug just six feet; Prince Albert of Germany, nephew of the Emperor, is six ! feet six inches tall; the Emperor of Russia is ! nearly six feet A FATAL FEUD. Terrible Result of a Law Salt in Texas, Four Men Killed and a Boy Badly Wounded. Four male member of a family named White, living four miles north of De Kalb, Texas, had a deadly battle the other day with Colonel John E. Rosser, his son Willie, aged fifteen years, and a hired man named Mullens. The affray resulted in the killing of three of the Whites and Colonel Rosser and the wounding of the boy. The news was brought to De Kalb by a man on horseback, and a coroner's jury at once went to the scone in company w.th the officers and Justice Proctor. A ride of an hour over a rough road brought the party to the battle ground. The home of the White family, a log house, consists of one room about twenty feet square, and is situated in the center of about fifteen acres of cleared land. On the ground in front of the house was found the body of J. C. W hite, with a bullet hole through his breast and one through his side. In the center of the room, in a great pool of blood, Jay Walter White, dead, and shot twice through the neck and breast. Upon a bed, in a half-sitting posture, was Lawson White, dead, with a gun cocked and clutched in his hand. A bullet through his head told how he met his death. In one corner of the room was found Hosier's son. shot through the side, with a Winchester beside him. Blood was everywhere and over everything. The weapons that had wrought so mucn destruction were scattered promiscuously about But the scene of death did not end here. A mile further on and the home of Rosser was reached. In the center of a room was the H?a l bodv of Rosser, surrounded by his weep ing wife and children. He had received a death wound through the neck at the hands of old man White, but being a man of great vitality, after having, as he supposed, killed all the Whites, he mouuted his horse and rode home, dying as ha entered his own door. A year ago the Whites bought a piece of land of the Kossers, and as they failed to pay for it, Rosser brought suit to recover possession. A writ of dispossession had been issued last week against White, but had not been served. This angered Rosser, and in company with his son and his hired man, all armed, he went to the Whites' house to eject the family. The Rosser party made known the object of their visit. A few words we-e passed and the firing tegan. Old mau White staggered from the house and fell dead in the yard, the elder Rosser emptying his revolver at him. The boy was inside. He says the elder White shot him and his father, and he shot old man White once and then turned the Winchester on the White boys to keep them from shooting his father. About fifteen shots were fired. The hired man Mullens has not been found and it was not known what part he took in the tragedy. A DAEING_RESCUE. Two Defectives Shot In a Train? Their Prisoner Taken Away. A most daring and successful attempt to rescue a prisoner occurred the other morning on tho Pittsburg (Penn.) express, which left at 11:25 o'clock p. m. for Cleveland Captain Hoehn and Detective Hulligan. of Cleveland, having received a requisition, de termined to return with their prisoner, Harry McMunn, who was accused of having been concerned in a recent extensive fur robbery in that city. Securely handcuffed,the prisoner was placed on board the train at the outer depot in Allegheny. He took his arrest very coolly and seemed anxious to cause the detectives as little trouble as possible. The express sped on. and at 2 o'clock a. m. Alliance, Ohio, was reached. At that point five nien boarded the train and passed through several of the cars. Finally they saw the officers and their prisoner sitting in the smoking car. No sign of recognition passed between McMunn and the men, and they sat down a few seats from the prisoner, and in a few minutes the express continued on its way. When Ravenna was reached the five men arose suddenly from their seats, and without warning drew their revolvers on the officers. There were but two other passengers *?? ?nH t.h? rnnfpd?ratas of McMunn Ill tUO utl, VUV ? were complete masters of the situation. Their quick action gave them the drop on the officers. One of the men demanded their prisoner, but instead of complying with their request the officers jumped to their feet and tried to draw their revolvers. They were too late. The five meu opened fire on them. Captain Hcehn reeled ana tottered over into the aisle with bullets in his shoulder and thigh. As he fell one of the Eang jumped on him and kicked him until he lay still a; death. When the firing first commenced Detective Hulligan received several bullets in his body. He still attempted to defend himself and another volley was fired at him, untilseven bullets had pierced his body. He tottered and fell insensible in his seat He was then kicked until his head was split open. The few passengers that were in the smoking car became terrorized and hid under the seats. The alarm spread to the other cars, and tho trainmen and other passengers hurried forward. A frightful scene m?t their gaze, btretched . out but a few feet apart were the bodies of Detective Hulligan and Captain Hoehn. The floor was covered with blood, and the seats in the car near where the shooting had occurred were pierced and shattered by the bullets that had sped from five revolvers. Tha prisoner and his rescuers had disappeared in the excitement, they having All f.rflPA ftf thflm J UliipCU UVLU VUO WM4M. v.wvw ??was lost in thedarknes3. Large rewards for their capture were offered. The wounded detectives were taken to Cleveland, where Hulligan died of his injuries. THE ANIMAL WORLD. A coal-black deer ha3 been seen near Chico, Cal. A wild hog caught near Yaquina, Oregon, has tusks nine inches long. Seve.vty-five wildcats have been killed this winter in Sonoma County, Cal. One Australian farmer has shot, trapped, and poisoned IS,000 rabbits in the last year. a Louisiana panther trotted aLng beside two little children who got lost in the woods for a cousiderable time, purring like a cat, and never offering to harm them. A large mountain sheep was recently killed in the Bear Paw mountains of Mon4 ..<> ,nklAU oivf/x .n uauo, luo uui us ui nuivu xucooui cu oiaioui and one-eighth inches at the base, and in length were thirty-five inches from base to tip. Rats in the tenement of Frank Derby in Waltham, lifted a sjuash from tne top of a keg of butter, and, by the efforts of four of them, carried it to a corner. They then returned. removed the cover from the keg, and feasted on the butter. A flock of blackbird*, said to have b?e? three miles in length and nearly a huurired yar?ls wide, lately passed over Edentou Bay, North Caroliua. They obscured the heavens like a dark c loud and the noise of their flight was like the rush of a mighty wind. Twelve-yeah-old James Masley, of North Hastings, Canada, while out in the woods with an ax and dog, came upon a big buck. The do^ started in pursuit, the deer slipped ou the ice, his antlers became entangled in some brush, and Jimmy, rushing up, killed the deer with oue blow of the ax. He is the proudest boy in Canada. Some time auo 100 farmers of Knox county. Ohio, began a big rat hunt. They divided into two bands of fifty each, with Captains, agreeing that the side producing the most rat-tails at the end of six weeks should tat a good dinner at the expense of the other side. The result was that Captain Leroy Blue's t arty produced 5,557 rattails and 1,707 mice, and Captain William Gordon's followers came in with 2,SS?> rattails and 7S2 mice, making a grand total of 3,743 rats and 2,4S;I mice slaughtore 1. A farmer within a few miles of Hartford has been feeding a bevy of fifteen quail all winter. They are all evidently of ono brood, have become somewhat tame, aud come within a rod or so of the house to get their breakfast. They show a preference for buckwheat over other grain. It is known to be very warming food, but if too abundantly fed is likely to be fatal. A resident of West Hartford who found a bevy of nearly starved quuil in his yard during a time of hard frozen < rust on the snow in March, gave the birds too much buckwheat; the grain swelled up in their crops and killed them all. THE HOME DOCTOR. Biliousness. Biliousness is is a condition of the system in which there is too little bile pro duced, instead of too much. The waste elements, which ought to be removed from the blood by the liver in the form of bile, are left in the body, and accumulate in the tissues. It is this that gives the dingy color to the white of the eye, the dirty hue to the skin, and the coppery tuste to the mouth, and which produces the giddiness, the floating specks before the eves, and the general feeding of languor and discomfort which | characterizes the condition commonly 1 known as biliousness. This dingy hut ! of the skin is actually due to the accu mulation of waste matter, or organic dirt. The skin is dirty, perhaps not upon the surface, but all through its structure. Not only the skiu, but the muscles are dirty. The bram and nerves are dirty. The whole body is clogged with dead and poisonous particles which ought to have been promptly carried out of it, but have been retained on account of tho insufficient action of the liver. The causes of billiousnesj are various. One of the most frequent is overeating. If you press your fingers close up under the ribs on the right side of the body you can feel the lower border of the liver about an inch above the lower edge of the last rib. If you do the same after eating a hearty meal, you will lind the lower border of thev liver half an incn lower down. This is due to the fact that the liver becomes enlarged through the absorption of digested food after a meal has been taken. If you eat a very large meal, say twice as much as you usually eat, and then feel for the lower border, you will find it reaching down to a level with the lowest rib, showing that the liver is very greatly enlarged, much more than it should be. If you go on eating too much in this way, day after day and week after week, after a while tho vessels of the liver will be so relaxed by frequent distensions that the organ will grow permanently enlarged and congested. "When in this condition the liver cannot make the bile readily, and so does not do the proper amount of work, ? ' _t_ ! -1- 1JL Li ana ine waste elements woicu it uugui to remove from the body are left to accumulate in the tissues, and all the symptoms of biliousness follow. Biliousness Is sometimes the result of enting too freely of fats. Animal fata being particularly difficult to digest, and likely to be taken in too large quantities in the shape of butter, lard, suet, and fat meats, are apt to produce this condi* tion. Some years ago a French physiologist fed two various animals liberal supplies of fat, and then observed the quantity of bile produced. He found that the amount of bile was lessened ! just in proportion to the amount of fat; added to the food. In order to ascertain . tne reason iortms result, ne Kiuea some animals, after having fed them freely with fat, and examined their livers with a microscope. By this means ho discovered that the little cells which chiefly compose the liver, and which form the bile, were crowded with drops of fat, and were thus so burdened and hampered in their work that they were obl <jed to work very slowly, and hence produced only a small quantity of bile. Similar experiments show that the excessive use of flesh food also renders the liver torpid, and produces billiousness. Flesh food genernlly consists of albumen, a nitrogenous substance, which can b? j used in the body only in a very limited j amount. The average penon can use only three ounces of this kind of material each twenty-four hours. But if a person eats several times this amount in the form of beefsteak, mutton chops, or any other flesh food, the superfluous amount must all be removed in the form of waste matter. That is, il the person eats meat sutlicient to supplj ' four ounces of nitrogenous matter, the , extra ounce must be carried oil by the kidneys in the form of urea, or uric acid, and this must be acted upon by the livet to prepare it for removal by the kidneys. If the liver has more of this work to do than it should have,the work will be imperfectly done, and much waste matter which ought to be removed will be left in the system, producing biliousness, I rheumatism, muscular pains, sick head* . aches, and many other uncomfortable symptoms.?Good lletlth. A Youthful Gambler. Two years ago a bright-faced lad ol thirteen was hired by a stock broker, I ... .t- t i. <nn fj,->? I Wltll omces aotjufc IVUjamsninu Hio U4changi?, to chalk on the blackboard now used in many offices the price of stocks as they appeared on the tape. The lad then wore ill-fitting clothes, but his ingenious ways attracted the atteution ol 1 the broker's customers and he soon became a favorite. Yesterday the lad, now fifteen, wearing an expensive suit and neat but costly jewelry, told how he had lost $250 at poker a few nights ago, and won that amount and more at the nexl sitting. He incidentally remarked that the stock market was against him $1,500, but that he was $2,100 ahead on cotton. He stiil chalks the ticker prices on the blackboard, and in all probability some future Hun reporter will speak of his success in Wall street as a broker or record his utter destruction, for the lad is ol ; the sort to come out a Dig winner or gci battered to flinders.?Neu> York Sun. The Sunday Fisherman. This man above, on fishing bent, One Sabbath morning left hU teat. The Tent, ^ He took his can. and very quick lie ilue his fish worms with a pick. The Pick, H- The Worms, Cfl ?o In cane some fish of size he'd get, lie took along his landing net. The Landing Net, '-O As fishermen get hungry, too. Of pretzels he procured a few. The Pretzels, qp g> Some lines he took along on spools To leach them to the finny schools. The Spools, H H W Ho had some entertaining books Of highly-tempered Limerick hooks. The Hook,, J J J And thus prepared, he got his boat, And out upou the stream did float. The Lout, C3 Some bites lie straisht begin to got, It was the gullinippers bit. The Gullinippcrs, One of his lines spun off the reel. lie lauded in tlie boat an ceL The Eel, CO Then quickly it began to rain, But his umbrella was in vain. The Umbrella, "J" Above his head the thunder crashed, And all around the lightning flashed. The Lightning, ^ The storm blew, and the boat npset, That man went down into the wet. The Upturned Boat, ca And as he sank the bubbles rose, Smaller and smaller toward the close. ! The Bubbles, Oot0' | -Tid BiU. I AGRICULTURAL. TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. Sugar For Animals. It seems there is much more nutriment in sugar than has generally been suspected. Iiccent experiments with animals have shown that sugar can be converted into beef and fat. Sugar was eo cheap in Europe that it has been fed out to cattle quite freely. In one series of experiments it was proved that fifty kilos of sugar increased a single animal s weight nearly sixteen kilos more than if the animal had no sugar. This gives a very handsome profit, and the meat from these animals was fcund to be of a very superior quality. Five or six pounds of sugar a day was all that an ox wouid take with zest. Unlike children, thj young cattle had but little desire for sweets. Heretofore it has been supposed that sugar was meruly heat-producinj;;, but it seems, under the subtle chemistry of nature, to be convertible into good flesh and blood. It in, however, no more wonderful than that the honey which ti e bees extract from flowers can be converted into wax.?2f.no York World. uses oi jriaster. There seems to be m opinion prevalent with many that as plaster or sulphate >5f lime does not enter largely into the composition of plants it can be of but little use as a fertilizer. They do not considsr that there are substances which, while they do not contribute directly to the growth of plants, have chemical or mechanical pioperties that play a very important part in vegetation. Plaster has both of these properties. As a d si.iifectant or deodorize:: it is one of the befit, as well aa cheapest, substances ai; our command. Any onu who has kept atock of any kind stabled during the warm summer months knows what a hard task it is to keep their f.partments clean and odorless. .Now, if ;hey will keep a, barrel of fresh-grounc. plaster in a convenient corner, and every day, on sweeping the floor clean,sprinkle it freely with the plaster, it will absorb all disagreeable, noxious odor3, rendering the air sweet and pure, while the value of the manure will be greatly enhanced by the retention of the :unmonia. Poultryhouses should also be swept clean at least twice a week in summer and once a week in winter, and the Jloors sprinkled with plaster; it will add greatly to the value of manure, and the fiatisfaction of having clean, sweet, odorleua coops and healthy flocks will abundantly pay expenses. Try it and be convinced.?American Agriculturist. Light and Heavy Hay. In the various rules for estimation the amount of hay in bulk, says the Cultivator, not enough difference is allowed for the variation iu weight depending on the condition when cured, the exposure to rain and other caises. The same sorts will have much lcsi weight in proportion to bulk after being dried out by a cold winter. Hay that has been bleached by long exposure to rains will always be light in weight, anc. be proportionately less valuable than even its weight would indicate. The soluble juices which give hay its greatest valie have been washed out by rains, leaving an undue proportion of woody fiber. There is, besideu, a considerable variation in the original constituents of gras s and hay, depending on the character of the soil on whit h it is grown. Farraers on wet, mucky and overflowing l?nd complain that their large crops of hay do not pan out well when brough; to the weighing scales. Timothy grown on such soil has course, hollow stem3, with smaller proportion of leaves. Such soils are often deficient in mineral fertilizers, and a dressing of phosphate when the liind is seeded makes the crop better and the hay richer and heav ier. Still this coarse hay is salable and does not exhaust_the soil as does hay grown on upland. This may be one reason why the bulk of hay Bold is grown on lew, mucky and overflowed lands. Unnatural Cravings. Professor Arnold says in the New York Tribune : The habit of gnawing old bones, bits of wood, and various other non-eatable things, is of frequent occurrence in herds of cattle, but much oftcner in milch cows, and oftener in old dairy districts than elsewhere. Also, hogs and and horses sometimes delight in eating dirt, and children exhibit a craving for chalk or charcoal, which, it is supposed, they cannot digest. The cause oi' such unnatural hankerings is doubtless a disturbed condition of health, but just what specific thing occasions the disturbance is not, so far as I am aware, positively known. The fact that it is most common with milch cows in old dairy districts gives rise to a suspicion that ex iiaustion irom me son, ana consequently to some extent from the food, of certain mineral matters whi.h enter into the composition of milk, notably phosphates and pot ash, may be the principal cause. With this view some dairymen are in the habit of feeding their cows at short, intervals with bone meal and wood ashes as a remedy when they show a tendency to unnatural ciavings, and, it is claimed, with good effect; but my cows would never partake of such diet. If there be any truth in this idea it would be better to supply the soil with the efficient elements,since it would improve the growth of crops, while it would cure the disease by removing the cause. Bone meal And potash have a very happy effect in sweetening forage crops as well as increasing their growth, and it has often been noticed that where land is rich and forage crops luxuriant the bone-chewing habit seldom prevails. Of all the cows I have bad under my care cases of unnatural craving have been infrequent, and the few that occurred were best relieved by a liberal use of wheat bran. Farm ana liaruen iNoten. Irregular feeding milch cows is sheer loss of time and material.* Good, sweet wheat is the best grain for chickens, aud fis cheap as aDy. Horses stray the way the wind blows, but sheep travel in a contrary direction. Forking over the manure heap to make the materials fine and rot them well is recommended. Cut hay and strr.w together, add bran and shorts, and moisten with a little salt water to eke out yaur hay. Soaking the bottom rail anJ post bottoms in crude petiolcuin will greatly increase their lasting qualities. Some one says that hens will find any amount of hay seed and dust bv scratching over the bottoms of mows. The old notion that feeding a :f?jw chopped apples to cows will scotch the flow of milk is an erroneous one. Breeding stock need muscle rather than fat, as the lt.tter means a loss of energy, if not health and vigor. Every animal craves salt, and must have a certain amount introduced into its system to enable it to thrive. The National Stockman says ensilage is better than the same stalk dried, just as a ripe juicy apple is better than a dried one. Butter, says Professor Arnold, takes nothing from the soil which affects fertilization in the way that wheat and other crops do. In Saxony, ponds slud the fields in every direction, and teem with carp, tench and other lish which thrive in sluggish waters. Fowls allowed to run about are the scavengers of the farm, making use of many thingt which would else go to waste or be of no account. A foocnnnrifnl nf ontvifa r\f fnrnonfinA in a pint and a half of cornmeal is considered one of the best remedies for gapes when fed to young chicks. According to experiments made at the Pennsylvania State College, soiling rye yields twenty tons per acre of green crop, and pasture grass seven and a half tons. The best soils for wool are also the best for mutton, and it is necessary that the land be dry, for damp soils are fruitful causes of such diseases as liver rot, fluke and foot rot. The asparagus bed must be attended to early. Fork in a plentiful supply of fine, well-rotted manure, so as to allow the rains to carry down the soluble portions to the roots of the plants. A correspondent of the English Farmers' Gazette asserts that five pounds of common white beans ground fine and fed in half pound doses of bran twice daily will cure the worst case of bloody milk. It is recommended that to prevent cows or steers from jumping over fences a horseshoe be nailed to one of the forefeet, which prevents the hoof from spreading, and consequenty renders the animal unable to spring. Darwin, by experiment, proved that bees and other insects were useful in carrying pollen from plant to plant, and thus fertilizing flowers. One hundred heads of red clover, from which insects wero excluded, ripened seedless. All fowls that feather slowly are usually hardy. For instance, the Brahmas. It is owing to the fact that the drain on the system occasioned by quick feathering does not weaken them. Slow feathering while growing is indicative oi hardiness. To train a flock of sheep take a lamb to the house and teach it to come at the call of a certain sound, and then put it with the flock. As sheep follow the leader, the whole flock may be called by the obedience shown on the part of the petted sheep. An excellent mixture of hay for all classes of stock is one-third clover hay with timothy and red-top, which is much better than either one alone, as the mixture is more complete in food elements. It should be fed with an allowance of ground grain also. The Montreal Vitncss says: "The average yield of butter in fair to good dairies, of fifty cows or over, is l.o to 200 pounds a cow; in very good dairies, 250; and a dairy which yields three hundred pounds a year per cow is rare in our best butter sections. The use of chloride of potassium is recommended in Germany as a means of increasing the growth of wool on sheep, as German chemists have found it beneficial for that purpose. It is administered in the proportion of one part chlo ride to one part salt. Save all the wood ashes carefully, and, after the orchards are plowed, scatter the a-hes over the plowed ground liberally, and harrow the ground well. This incorporates the ashes with the soil, and assists in inducing chemical changes and the formation of plant food. There is a large portion of lime in wood ashes as well as potash. A "Western farmer advises stringing seed corn by tying the ears together with husks in some p ace where the grain can be saturated with coal smoke. The odor, he says, repels squirrels and worms fjom eating the seed. The seed comes up quicker, the plants prow more vigorously, and ripen several days earlier than from seed not so treated. Too long feeding is a common mistake in fattening fowls for market. It takes oil the profits when a shorter time will answer. If kept in a dark place and stuffed with all they can eat they will fatt n in twelve days.or two weeks, and if this be continued much longer they will begin to get poor again. Those to be hept over should not be subjected to this fattening, or rather stuffing, process. Somebody is credited with making a good suggestion auout scalding hogs butchering day on the farm. He pro poses the use of a hogshead set upright in place of a barrel leaned over, and a lover like a well-sweep to use for dropping the hogs into the water and raising them out. This would be much easier and faster than the old way of sliding the hogs into a barrel and rolling them about. It is better, too, because there is a much larger quantity of water, and it will not cool as fast as the smaller quantity in a barrel. It has been ascertained that to keep a sheep in good thriving condition, fifteen pounds of perfectly dry feed (of average good quality) is required per week for each one hundred pounds of live weight. But since hay and grain, in their ordinary condition, contain about fourteen per cent, of water, from eighteen to twenty pounds per week will be necessary, or about three pounds per day. To facihate digestion and prevent constipation, it would be well if an equivalent of this amount of nutriment could be expanded in bulk, so as to weigh seven or eight pounds. Firo Signs. Several superstitions of the fire stove are recorded in an excellent work on I "Popular Antiquities" by Mr. John Brand, published a few years ago. Among many curious traditions appears this passage: "In his memoirs of Duncan Campt>el, Defoe refers to the fire as affording a kind of divination to the omen mongers, who see "swords, guns, castles, churches, prisons, coffins, wedding rings, bags of money, men and women, or coalswhatever they wish or fear plainly deciphered in the glowing and among Nature's secrets. 'W'ilisford discloses the following: "When our common fires burn with a pale fiame they presage ioui wcainer; u tne lire i makes ft buzzing noise it is a sign of tempe-t ncir at hand; when the fire sparkles very much it is a sign of rain; when pots are newly taken olF the lire, if they sparkle (the soot upon them being aflame) it presages rain; when the tire scorches and burns more vehemently than usual, it is a sign of frosty weather, but if the live coals shine brighter than ordinary at other times, rain may be looked for: if wood or any other fuel crackle3 and emits wind more than ordinary, it is an evident sign of tempestuous weather near at hand, and the sudden and plentiful falling of soot heralds rain." " Mollinaus," says Mr. Brand, ''interprets the sudden eruption of dame from a dead tire iex cineribus) as betokening joy."?London Society. Marble statues in Germany are covered with cloth wrappers in the winter. i : , ... _ ? Mi v r TEMPERANCE. [ Goneh'j Monument. John B. Gough requested that on his monument the following sentiment should be cut, as part of the inscription: "I can desire nothing better for the great coustry than that a barrier high as Heaven should bo raised between the unpolluted lips of the children and Jhe intoxicating cup; that everywhere men and women should raise strong aud determined hands against whatever will defile the body, pollute the mind or harden the heart against God and his truth." This sentence has been duly added to the stone. i liarly English Temperance Laws. The most stringent laws we have had passed were those of James I., which may almost be called the first piece of temperance legislation, for, though the act of Edward IV. gaye power to the justices to suppress unnecessary tippling houses it was chiefly directed against using unlawful games and bound the licensed victuallers to keep good order in their houses. The act in the first year of James was in onHorl *a reefmin +tiA innrHiriAtA hrtiirf ing and tippling in inns and ale houses. It declares the " true use of ale houses * to be for the relief of wayfarers and not for the 4 'entertainment of lewd and idle people. There was t O a penalty of tef shillings for psrmitti'ig "unlawful drinking," and all drinking was unlawful except by bona fide travelers, by the guests of travelers and by artisans and laborers during their dinner hour. The public house was only to be open to residents in the locality for one hour in the day for the consumption of liquor on the premises. This act was made perpetual, with some modifications intended to render conviction more easy, in the last parliament of Jamej. In the first of Charles the penalties were somewhat relaxed, but the law could not be enforced, and, under these stringent laws, drunkenness increased apace. It had reached an extraordinary pitch in 1659, when a French Protestant wrote from London: "There is within this city and in all the towns of England T Vvoira naaao/1 flirntloll an nrniliffi. l"*??" 0- ? ; ?O" ous a number of houses where they sell a certain drink called ale that I think a good half of the inhabitants may be denominated also house keepers. * * * But, what is most deplorable, where gentlemen sit and spend much of their time drinking a muddy kind of beverage, and tobacco, which has universally besotted the nation, and at which I hear they have consumed many noble estates. * * * And that nothing may be wanting to the height of luxury and impiety of this abomination, they have translated the organs out of the churches to set them up in taverns, chanting their dithyrambics and bestial bacchanalias to the tune of those instruments which were wont to assist them in the celebration of God's praises, and regulate the voices of the worst singers in the world, which are the English in their churches at Dresent.?The Contemporary Review. Strong Drink and Labor Problem. 41- 1 1UC BCYUULU auuuai icpyit Ul luo X1CTT Jersey Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries has a chapter concerning the condition of wage-earners, and how it can be improved, from which the New York Independent has collected the following suggestive sentences from letters of individual workmen and others: "Whisky and beer are the great obstacle here. "Intemperance is the cause of very much wretchedness in our families. "The greatest evil is strong drink. "Our morals here are low on account of rum. ' 1 'The liquor traffic has a bad effect on our trade. "Strong drink injuries a great many of us. "Morality would be good except for drunkenness. "Too large a portion of our wages go to the sellers of rum and beer. "Drunkenness is the banc of the working classes. "Many of our men love beer more than they do their families. "Drink, is the workingraan's curse. "Tobacco and liquor are a great injury. "Except for beer aud whisky we are very moral. "Rum does much to lower us. "Workingmen drink too much for their own good. "Rum and beer are our great enemies. "Our condition is much lower than it should be. Thi3 results principally from the use of liquor and from ignorance. "Much immorality?whisky is at the bottom. "Itrnorance and intemperance are the , chief causes which prevent us from improving. "Intemperance is the great vice of the , painters. Dead in Earnest About It. Mr. J. K. Barney tells of a gentleman < In Rhode Island, who some years ago I Uas asked to give his signature to a pe- ] tition for the prohibition of the sale o^ ] strong drink. i ' No," was the decisive answer, "I am t not ready for that; I have not made up 1 my mind as to the advisability of it." > That night his only son was locked up in the police court for being "indecently intoxicated." i A few hours later the father crossed t the street to speak to a friend, accosting him thus: i ' Look here, have you that petition i with you to-day- I'm ready to sign it, 1 for I do not want it so easy for my son 8 to get drunk." j Upon being told that the petition had been left at home, something more than a miic away, he replied: J "I will walk up there with you, for I 1 am dead in earnest about this business." < ????i?mm RELIGIOUS READING. "They are a* the Angel*.'' I have se^n a vision of angels, As I walked this earth of ours, They had neither crowns, nor snowy wingeNot so much as a wreath of flowers. There is nothing about them glorious That the common eye might see, Bat faith's keen eye can look on high, * And discern what they shall be. > The grub has nothing of beauty. But we know that enfolded there Is the butterfly bright, that on wings of light Will float on the summer air. One is a poor blind woman, Her life is a long, dark night, But God gives her grace, with a smile oo bar face, To sing, "The Lord is my Light I" And one is a wife and mother, Toiling without a break; But her cross and cares she cheerfully bear* All for the dear Lord's sake * Her cross is a drunken husband, < Her cares are her children small, Too busy too weep, or scarcely to sleep, She works and she prays for alL And one Is a youthful sufferer In the hospital's quiet ward, He would fain share the strife and the battle of life, But a wise and loring Lord Has chosen it thus?so he lies content To suffer and not to do; But he little conceives of the golden sheaves^ He shall reap when he winneth through. All?all?the blind and the tolling, The suffering, fevered brow, Shall one day shine with a glory divine, They have some of that beauty now. The beauty of trustful patience, Of self-forgetting love,? His beauty divine in Whom they shall shine, With undimmed glory abovet Thirteen Way* of B*ins Happy. Happy is the man whom God corrected, for Ho maketh sore and bindeth up. Happy is that people whose God is the Lord. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. Happy is the man thatfiadeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. ' $8 Happy is the man that feareth alway. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. He that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. He that keepeth the law, happy is he. If ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye. v'fd If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. Behold we count them happy which endure. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. ' vyjj KtmrktM* Prayers. A nim.faa nf a oonfiirv hiu nassed since A l|Uai V* t? VVU?M> J mmwrnm _ the winter when the Academy of Music in this city was occupied on Sunday evening by the principal ministers of the evangelical churches of New York and others who were invited from abroad. A series of sermons was preached during the' season which will ever be memorable in the history of pulpit eloquence and influence in New York. These meetings were originated aud managed by the Rev. Drs. S. Irenaeus and E, D. G. Prime, who had the ad vice and assistance of other Christian ministers and laymen. The labor of arranging lor the services was great, but it was conscientiously and gladly performed by those who inaugurated the meetings. Not the least difficult part of the duty was to secure the proper persons to conduct the introductory services. But the same care and forethought was exercised in this matter as in the choice of a preacher, and hence the services were unique and harmonious. The Rev. Thomas H. Skinner, D. D., at that time professor of pastoral theology in Union Theological Seminary, was invited to conduct one of these meetings, and the prayer which he made upon that occasion was, with a single exception, the most wonderful prayer that I ever heard. The exception was a prayer offered by ths Rev. Mr. Spurgeon at an evening service in London when his vast tabernacle had been given up to strangers by the courtesy of the regular congregation. I then felt the power oi prayer as never betore, and saw its immediate effect upon the listeners. Rough men who were utterly ignorant of religion were overcome with emotion, and the wny was opened for a gospel sermon wnicu orougm nunareas to the inquiry meeting that very night. Dr. Skinner's prayer at the Academy of Music was such an intimate and spiritual communion ns Moses mi^ht have had with Jehovah upon the sacred mountain, He seemed to be in the very presence chamber of the Most High and to Bpeak face to face with God. The great building was as still as death while this Dne voiee.in language evidently inspired bv the Holv Ghost, bore tho adoration and petition of multitudes of souls tc the mercy seat. Such prayer could only come lroin a holy soul, out l learned fterwards, when Dr. Skinner lectured upon pastoral theology, and came in due course to the subject of public prayer, that besides his spiritual-mindedness Dr. Skinner had studied the nature oi prayer, the prayers of the Bible and the whole subject with such thoroughness ind care that his own services could not fail to be elevating and inspiring to all vho united with him in public worship. The Emir of Nupe, Africa, has apjealcd to tlic Queen of England through :hfi NVorrn 7?i?ymr? rrnnrtlmi. .rlrln _ .V-A. ? w?vuvuvi, uoixm^ mat <he bringing of rum into his dominion nay be prevented. This Mohammedan ulcr states that the importation of liquor las greatly injured his country, and detroyed all that was good in his subecta. . Steps are being taken toward the organization of a Prohibition party in Engand. Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M. P., is. >ne of tho leaders in the movement.