Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

BANG AWAY. Firtt, be suw you're in the right, In Wh&tefer you wish to do, Even though you have to fight All the world to push it through; TVi?n hnnc awav Let no feeling of dismay Overpower your single aim, Lest the world may truly say To success you have no claim; So bang away. pate disdains a coward heart, So do you, I dare to say; Let that never be your part; "Whether work or whether play; Bang away. ?John D. Henistreet, in Chicago Herald. THE MERMAN. Last summer I passed some weeks in Maiangen, Norway, laid up with a sprained ankle. One evening my farmer host, Bernt OJaffseu, told me the following story. I believed it; so would you if you had heard him tell it. 1 was left an orphan when about eight years old, aud weut to live with my cousin Karen, who had been a servant in the family of the minister at Alstadt, but who then lived at Krai holm, in "Welgeland, having some months before married Elius, a fisherman of that place. Kralholin, for some reason, has ever been the haunt of ghosts, mermen and all wicked spirits of the sea. It took Karen and me a long to become accustomed to the strange sights and sounds of the lonely beach where her cottage stood. Her husband, a cheery, hearty man, taught d at our lears, assuring us that the . sea spirits had no power over those who led godly lives and who avoided all dealings with them; so when six years had passed away, bringing with them children aud all other blessings, Karen's fears had long since been forgotten. Then suddenly Elius seemed to chauge. tie became gloomy and silent. He was, as ! ever, kind and good, but his jokes and laughter were no longer heard. This was vcry strange, and, stranger still, he suddenly stopped all talk about the new | ten-oaiea ooat ne nau meant to duv, to i take the place of of the old "six-oar," almost worn out with long service. That new 'ten-oar" had been the theme of many a fireside talk, for it was to be the finest on Kralholm beach, but now for two years we heard nothing about it. Karen was, of course, very anxious, and at last I, having grown to be a stout lad of sixteen ventured to question him Elainlv, Karen joined me, and at last e spoke out. One day, two years before, he was walking on an unfrequented part of the beach, armed with his fish spear, and came suddenly upon a huge seal, lying asleep upon a rock. It was the largest j he had ever seen, but, strange to say, he felt afraid of it, and wished to run away. { I say strange, "for no one ever fears a | seal, and the larger it is the better the : prize. Elias mustered up his courage, crept I close to the sleeping monster, and drove the spear deep into its back. With a frightful yell of rage and pain, such as no trUe seal ever uttered, the brute raised Jtsi-lf, wrenching the staff out of the fisherman's hands. It stood erect, seeming to grow as tall as a boat's mast. Screaming: and gnashing its teeth, it glared at Elias with fierce, bloodshot j -eyes, while he, half-dead with fear, could J not murmur a prayer. With one final j bellow it plunged into the sea, carrying with it the harpoon, and discoloring the j water with blood. Elias did not speak i of this incident to any one. He was, in truth, ashamed. He had been frightened by a seal; had missed his blow, and lost lot only his prize, but his harpoon as well, lie would be laughed at. Afterward he found floating the staff of his spear, the iron having been broken off. - One night, shortly after this, he heard * grfftt noise in the boat house. He immediately rose and went to see if any mischief were on foot. It was midnight, j tormy and very dark. Entering the boat house he heard no sound, and at first could see nothing. Suddeuly the light of his lantern fell upon a huge black mass, from which rose grinning and snarling the fierce head of a monster seal. He remembered it well, and while he stood, terror-stricken, the head grew human, the seal disappeared, and in its place was a large man, entirely naked, who rushed ftasr tuas, sensing tue lantern irom ms land, but not so quickly tliat the poor fellow could not see sticking fast between his shoulders the spear of his lost harpoon. He realized then what he had done, what vengeance he had provoked, with whom he had dealt and had still to deal. Karen found him lying in a swoon, the broken iantcrn by his side. lie told her nothing, and from that day was silent and gloomy, for he knew that he had incurred the deadly haieof a merman, thun which no greater evil can befall a seafaring man. But he kept on with his fishing, and one dark morning, as he was sailing out, he heard a deep voice that seemed to call from the sea itself: Your boat sails well, for the wind is free; Want till you've sailed a race with me! When the sky is bla k and the dead afloat, I'll show you the match of your ten-oared boat. His men thought it was some neighbor wishing to play them a track. Elias knew what it was. From thaft day he lived in terror. He gave up all idea of buying a ten-oared boat, partly because he did not think it worth while for the short time hp lieved he had to live, partly because the merman's words seemed to warn him against sailing in such a craft. We said all we could,to cheer him, at first with little effect; but as months and eaiODS passed and nothing evil happened his gloom wore away, he became his old self, and again all hi3 talk was of a new ten-oared boat. Spring came and a day wis fixed when we were to sail around to Ranen, sell the old boat for what it would fetch and buy the new one. Great were the preparations, for we intended to make a pleas-1 ure party of it, and take Karen aud all | the children. My wife insisted that she ?hould stay at home so that the industrious house mother should have at least one 4ay's diversion?that is, she was not my wife then; she was an orphan, like me, who had been adopted by the kind fisherman. Oh, if Elsa had only gone with us we would have come bac k safe and happy, for Elsa is a Finn, and the Finns iknow all sea matric aud <an l?rin?r t<? 1 nought all the cnchantnicuts ol" the mer- i men. But it was fated. The day fixed for our trip was perfect. ! "The sky was bright and clear; a light! breeze, fair for Kanen, just ruflled the | *ea. We were a merry party; we sailed *way laughing and singing, while Elsa waved us goou luck from the shore. We soon reached Ranen, and while Karen and the children went to the house Of a friend, Elias and I sought the boatbuilder. Wo managed to sell our o'd boat, though we got but litt'e for it. Then Vegan along and careful examination of ten-oared boats. We were hard to phase, I . . .1 . < t ^ A. J a - L - I Out at lotit iouaa one uutt aeemeu to De just what we wanted. Her model below the water-line was so perfect, so superior to any that we had ever seen, that we determined to buy her,although she seemed overmasted and rather clumsily rigged. The boatbuilder acknowledged this himself, saying that he had finished her hurriedly, being overrun with work. "But," said he, "you will find that there is no boat in these waters that can sail with her. She is a perfect model. Look at her lines. The faults you mention are, after all, but trifles. You can alter her rigging to suit yourselves when you get her to Kralholm; besides, I am a just man, and will allow you something off the price, so that you will really have a bargain." So, after some haggling, a price was agreed upon, which Efiaspaid down,and the boat was his. The boatbuilder,however, made us promise faithfully not to alter her iu the least particular, not even to touch her with a tar brush, until we were at Kralholm. "For," said he, "I have boasted greatly of this boat, and I do not wish to be shamed before the whole town by having you begin to alter her rig the moment you own her." We srave the promise readilv, and the builder talked so much while she was being launched that neither of us noticed that no cross was tarred on her stern. My wife will have it that the boatbuilder was in league with the merman, who had doubtless taught him how to build so well below the water line that he might lure us into sailing thus unprotected by the holy sign, which all fiends fear, and which would have saved us from his vengeance. She may be right; such things have been, and that man I have heard ended miserably. Early in tin- afternoon we all sailed for home. We had about eight miles to go, and soou found that the. sea-going qualities of our new purchase were likely to be thoroughly tested. It blew very hard aud the waves ran high. She behaved splendidly, skimming over the billows like a water-fowl, shipping scarcely a spray. We were delighted with her. Suddenly Karen gave a cry of alarm, aud pointed over the stern. Wc looked and saw a great black cloud, which seemed to cover the whole horizon, roll mg down upon us witu a streak oi boiling white foam before it. I sprang to reef the sail, and in an instant the squall was upon us. At once all was dark as night. We could not seo each others' faccs. The wind howled, and as the boat bent to it, rushing on her course, it seemed that she must capsize. The children screamed with fright. Then at a short distance to windward the blackness opened, as if a curtain had been drawn up, and in a broad space of living greenish light we saw another ten-oared boat. She stood out black , and distinct against the half-circle of light which seemed to travel with her. She was an exact copy of our own boat; she was sailing the same course, but, while we heeled terribly to the wind and plunged madly to the raging sea, she with full sail set, glided along on an even keel, as steady as though the sea were a mill-pond. The wind and sea seemed to have no effect on her. I could but see one aboard her, a dark figure at the helm. She frightened me. But I could not think of her long, for the wind was now a hurricane, and every wave dashed over her bows, half filling the boat with water. I heard Elias shout: "Lookout! Hold fast, all of you!" and saw an enormous wave, as high as our mast it seemed, toppling over us. Tons of water dashed down upon U3, and I thought we were sinking; but our boat quickly righted and seemed i-n cVinlfA wnf?r from lipr T lnnlr<>H first for Elias. I could just make out his figure at the helm. Then I heard a halfstifled shriek. " 0, Elias, husband! Martha and Nils! Save them!" It was Karen's voice. The two little ones were ?one. I heard Elias groan. We could do nothing. Then I looked for the other boat. The greenish light was brighter, the strange craft more distinct. Two had been added to her crew. They stood motionless bj her mast; their faces were the faces of the dead, the faces j of the drowned children. It wju a; fearful sight, but before we could speak j a word another mountain of water was | hurled upon us, and when it had passed I Karen was gone, and Anton's life line dangled loose and empty. I could hear Elias praying, while the four older boys 2' ng half drowned to the mast and neither ved nor spoke. "We heard a loud laugh, and a deep voice called: "Ha! ha! Elias, I will have a full crew soon." There was the strange boat scarce fifty feet from us. In her were Karen and Anjon, Nils and Martha, dead and white, and there, huge, naked and terrible, stood the steersman, with \ sea-green hair and beard blowing wildly about his frightful head. \xrui, TT iiLi a uicuatiiiij jjwiuic ui; ^uiuuu tv : the spike of a fish spear sticking between his shoulders, I nearly fainted. Elian j ceased praying. By the ghastly light now so near us I could see his face. It! was that of a svild beast at bay, despairing but ferocious. Drawing his long knife, he muttered: "I know you, I know you! If a spear I can pierce your back, this may reach ! your heart." 'Elias!" I shrieked, "that was on land. What would you do?" "Eud this, one way or other," he shouted. "To the sheet, fool!" and he j put up the helm. I trimmed the sail j close, as by instinct, and we flew to run ! down our pursuer. I was now desperate, ! too, and grasping the boathook, stood \ ready to strike. Just as we seemed aboard of the mer- j man another wave swept over us; I felt j our boat sink from under me. Even ; through the rush of the water I heard I wild shrieks and shouts of fiendish laughter, and knew no more until I i found myself clinging with a death grip | to the uusubmerged rail of our wrecked j boat, whose heavy mast and spread sail | alone prevented her from capsizing com- i pletelv. The black cloud was gone, the merman was gone, the four boys were gone, but I saw Elias caught between the boom and the toppenlift. It was snowing; the wiud and the sea were as fierce as ever, but it was no longer so dark. I managed to reach Elias and drag him up ! beside me, holding him with one arm, | while with the other I clung to the rail, ] resting my feet on the combing of the I hatch. 1 thouirlit him dead- l?nt snnn hp ! moved iind sighed. ' Courage," I said; "the merman is! "ono. You will live." 0 '-No, Bernt," he answered, weakly. "God is too good to let the fiend carry his revenge so far as that: lam dying; you will be saved. You are not of my blood. I shall soon be with Karen and the children." He was silent for awhile. Then he whispered, brokenly: "Bernt, remember?all four you and Elsa?all." I held him as strongly as I could. Suddenly a look of joy lit up his white face. Stretching out his arms, he cried: "Yes, Karen, I am coming." He wrenched himself free from my weakened hold, and fell backward into the sea. I suppose I fainted then, for when I was again conscious, two days after, I j was in my bed at Kralholm, with Elsa I bending over me. She had found me on that fatal evening, lying drowned, as sh< i then thought, on the beach, whither she had gone to meet us all. As thewcathei had been perfect all day, #very one sup posed that Elias and his family had foi some reason remained over at Ranen, and i that I, returning alone in some smal' j boat in order to be with El.sa?for out courtship was secret?had through som* accident, fallen overboard. , When I told the dreadful truth thej did not believe me. When on inqniry they learned that we had sailed from Ranen, as I had said, when nothing more was heard of Elias, when the wreck ol the new ten oared boast was cast ashon on the rocks of Landspoint Island and all could see that she had no cross tarred upon her stern, they were convinced and nroDCr funeral services were held for the drowned. Elsa and I were married. Elias's savings made 113 rich. We bought this farm, and neither of us has ever been ii a boat since, nor ever will be.? Fi-oh 11 Mrs. Hephaestus." A Hideous Beast. It is a melancholy fact, but none th< less true, that the walrus is one of tht most disgusting-looking objects knowi to man. It has a raw, naked hide, with out haii- or fur, covercd with a multitude of pustular-looking warts, boils, and pimples, the skin wrinkled in deep, flabby folds, aud marked by dark venous lines, which show clearly through the yellowish brown cuticle which scoms tc be peeling off with leprosy, altogether 3 most unwholesome-looking brute, unpleasantly suggesting the appearances wt know as "bloated." They are of tremendous size, teu feel aud a half to twelve feet long, and weighing lifteen or sixteen hundred pounds. In water jtheir motions are not nearly sc quiet or graceful as those of the seal and sea I1011, ana on lana tncy are aimosi helpless, for which reason they rarely come outside the surf-wash. They gc about in large herds, which now and then emerge to sleep. First one lands and lays itself out, and then a second cornea and gives its predecessor a shove, whereupon he moves a little further up; then comes number three, who pokes up num ber two, who prods number one, and so on till the whole herd has got to land, cach brute pillowed on the body of of the one above him, all without quarreling, but every movement displaying apathy and phlegm. Its most extraordinary feature is its hide, which over the shoulders and down the throat and chest h three inches thick, and is nowhere les? than half an inch. It feeds exclusively on shell fish and the bulbous roots and tender stalks of certain marine plants, which grow abundantly at the bottom of the bays and lagoons of the Alaska coast; and it is evidently for digging up these that it uses , its tusks and not, as is reported, for the purpose of hauling itself upon ice or rock. Another blow to received opinion is given bv Mr. Elliot's testimony as to the cow ardice of the brutes. They will snort 01 blow to any extent in the water, but as to attacking a boat, that is the very last thing that would enter into their heads. It is unfortunate that no females were to be found about the islands. The natives say that the creature is monogamous; i that the female brings forth a single calf in June, usually on the ice floes north ol Behring's Straits: that it resembles its parents in general character when six weeks old, but that its tusks do not appear till the second year; and that the mother is strongly attached to it and nurses it in the sea.?All the Tear Round. Visit to a Caban Sujar Plantation. After a few moments' converse, by the invitation of Senor Roderiquez, we arose and followed him over the plantation. That season's crop had all been harvested and sent away, and the huge crusher, mammoth tanks and the powerful engine were lying idle, but outside of the buildings in which the machinery was placed, the work of planting was going on quite briskly. A string of miniature carts, each drawn by a single bullock which was driven by a negro, backed up in turn to a large pile of matasse (which is the re fuse of the cane after it has passed through the crusher) and after loading about as much as a good strong white man could carry on the tines of a pithfork, dragged it lazily off to where other negroes were scraping out long drills in the rich, mellow soil. In these trenches the drivers of the carts sprinkled their load and returned for more. This inatasse forms excellent manure, and is very strengthening to the land. In one corner of the field, and under the shade of a guava tree, were seated several old men and young boys with a large pile of cane stalks beside them, which they were busily engaged in stripping off their leaves and cutting in halves the lower part of the stalks to be crushed and the jui06 made into sugar for home consumption, while the top with its tender shoots sprouting out at each joint or about six inches apart, was for seed. Sugar cane grows from its sprouts or stalks and not from a kernel of grain as does our corn, which it slightly resembles when springing up from the ground. As we passed about among the workmen, several of them on seeing the proprietor and knowing him to be the man of money, could not resist the temptations of stoppiug their work and asking for their wages. Dropping their hoes or halting their bullocks, they ran to the overseer for an order, and back to the planter, who was obliged to pause and settle. Some of them, however, on getting their money instantly returned to the overseer and reported themselves for duty. They seemed to be anxious to get the money into their possession, appearing to think that the master might make a trip away from home and they be obliged to wait till morning for their pay; at any rate they felt safer to have it in their own pockets. It was a great bother, but the planter was helpless and was obliged to make the best of it.? Boston Courier. Seals That Have Nightmare. The sleep of the fur-seal seen on land is always accompanied by an involuntary, nervous, muscular twitching and slight shifting of the flippers, all of which may uc sijjus, ;is it were, ui men uui ing nightmare, or of sporting, in.a visionary way, in sourc far-off dreamland sea. 1 have studied hundreds of such somnolent examples. Stealing softly up so close that I could lay my hand upon them from the point where I was sitting and watching the sleeping seals, I have always found their sleep to be of this nervous description. The respiration is short and rapid, but with no sound of breathing, unless the car is brought very close.?Our Arctic Province. A new instrument has been invented for the blind. It is a printing press which will enable the blind to print the raised letters now universally used by them j agricultural" TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. auuuujr ruiaiues. No farmer likes to plant scabby potatoes, because of the danger that the funj gus will-reproduce itself in a new crop, but some who have tried it report crops of bright, clean potatoes from scabby 1 ?eed. This has satisfied them that worms, ! insects or some other cause than fungus I produces the scabby appearance. But if I potatoes are properly kept during the ! winter the fungus growth may die out and become incapable of propagation. | The success with shabby potato seed may ' be due to the fact thai: the scab entirely ! destroys some eyes, leaving those which remain to use the entire substance of the potato. This suggests that it is undoubtedly a good plan to dig out all but two or three vigorous eyes "before planting the seed. It requires more potatoes to plant an acre by this method, but the increased crop more than warrants the extra expense.?Cultivation, Permanent Seeding for Pasture. Considerable attention is now given to the permanent seeding of meadows and pastures. These are indispensable to a complete system of agriculture, aud while heretofore American farmers have got nl An irAntr fKn el* uiun^ v Ci J ??tu >mu uic ouuii-antu timothy and clover, the time has come when a more economical method is desirable, if not necessary. There will always be a necessity for temporary "grass" for hay, and the common mixture of timothy and clover, and clover alone, will always find a place in our farm practice. But for permanent pastures we | need to study the various grasses and their ' adaptation for our climate and soil. As a rule, the deepor fibrous-rooted and stoloniferous varieties are the best for permanent seeding, but there arc some kinds which are especially adapted for this purpose. Orchard grass is an excellent variety, and meadow fescue is perhaps still better. Both continue in the soil for many years and make the best of hay.?Neva York Times. Harvesting' Castor Beans. The beans are produced in small prickly pods or capsules, which are borne in pyramidal spikes or clusters. Ripening is indicated by the turning brown of the pods, which soon buret open and scatter the seeds. As soon as tire pods at the Koao r\f u r?lncfor K/irvin fr\ turn lirn?*n tVio | I^UOV/ VI U IV iuiu Wi W M U| l/UV cluster must tic harvested. The stem of the spike or cluster is cut with a sharp knife, and the cluster thrown into a cart on which a barn sheet or other cloth is spread to save the beans that shell out. Many growers prefer to use a sled in harvesting; a sled is made with plank runners, Targe enough to hold two large drygoods boxes. A single horse draws this along the lanes, and the clusters are thrown into the boxes. When the boxe3 are filled they are taken to the "popping yard." A piece of hard ground, say a hundred feet square, is burned over, swept and rolled to get a hard surface, and surrounded by a board fence. The clusters are placed in the center of this. After two days the spikes must be turned, using rakes for the purpose. At the end of four or five days the beans will have popped out, when the refuse is removed. The l^eans are swept up, to be cleaned by a fanning mill, and another lot of clusters brought in.?American Agriculturist. Duck Raising. It is an open question whether it will pay to raise ducks on most farms or not; the careful housewife, whose pin money is derived from this and similar sources, say? yes, while the husband or manager of the farm, in nine cases out of ten, says no, and we are inclined to think lie is ! correct?but on the other hand there are ' many cases where they may be raised with profit, and a reasonably large profit. If the farm is located near a large city, ana regular trips are maue 10 me nparket, it will pay to raise them until nine or ten weeks old, ana put them on the market at that age, but under ordinary circumstanccs they must be sold at that age, as they are so rapacious . feeders that they will eat their heads off, so to speak, if fed on meal and grain un| til Christmas; but on the other hand, if the farm has a piece of waste ground in j the form of a marsh or miry place, where they can forage for themselves ! after that age, and not be a | source of de?truction to growing i crops, they may be kept until autumn witn reasonable profit. While ducks are foud of water, fdr the water itself is not a positive necessity to their well being, j the chief reason why thev like water is the vwt amount of animal food they get J {rom tLat squ^k- this is why they prefer a ajrty foua or. marshy plate to & clean ' spring creefy It affords greater quantiij ties of Sfeails, slugs and worms. But t:> , raise dupfes oq meal arid grain until auj lumfaj they will bg a bill of expense ir ( stead pf a sourcfe of profit, and where they I ^re allowed get into the growingcrops I or garden, they will in a short time d<sI um/vma ? r> ill At* AMA *?? Alif n CI A' W DliUV LLIUIC lUUii L.UCJ aiU WUlkll, ao mt.i feet seem peculiarly formed for that purpose, while their bills are equally well formed for devouring any grain and succulent leaf that may be within their reach. The Pekin is probably the best for all ! purposes, being quite hardy and prolific, yielding a goodly quantity of feathers, and when killed are of fine flavor and good size. There are several varieties of smaller ducks, but these are in most casts more ornamental than profitable, some of them being of gorgeous hues.?Farmers' Advocate. Fertility of Soil. Writing on this subject to the Massachusetts Ploughvian, a correspondent says: "It is to be remembered that soil is made of dissolved rock. And this rock is found to contain all the mineral elements required by vegetation, the difference in the natural fertility of soils being the difference of the rock of which the soil is formed. This being so, it is evident that the earth will continue to furnish the mineral constituents of vege- j tation while soil or rock remains. ''The other ingredients of vegetation, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, are furnished, the two first from air and water, the other, nitrogen, in a way that seems ! at present to be not fully understood. It is generally agreed that plants do not receit'i; their nitrogen directly from the air. therefore indirectly from air as a primary source, in what way we may not fully understand. "Air is composed of oxygen and nitrogen, the nitrogen in greatest proportion. It is known that oxygen is i readily communicated loothersubstances, and is largely drawn upon in combustion. As the composition of the air is never known to vary, and as large quantities of nitrogen are continually being discharged into the air, it is evident I that nitrogen must also be communicated, the surplus quantities being ' constantly thrown oil to unite with other i substances. With what substances nitro1 gen is thus combined may bo inferred I fwim rtKnprrofiftn THa fnmifttlnn r\f ni. | trate of potash and nitrate of soda are familiar examples. It is also known thai saltpetre is formed artificially by mixing ingredients to attract the nitrogen from the atmosphere. These facts go to show that the supply of nitrogen required bj cultivation is assured, requiring only the hand of man to supply the deficiency that the growing of crops has created. And though a deficiency of nearly all the elements o'f nutrition will be occuring, it is encouraging to know that by intelligence and industry it may always be supplied, and the earth rendered perennial in the production of food for man." The provisions of nature in every direction are evidently such, that with reasonable care and seasonable labor, mankind can enjoy her fruits to the full. Money in Breeding Good Horses. The best horses in the world for light service are bred in the United States; indeed, it may be said that this country yields a better class of horses for all work than does any other on the globe; but, beyond all question, our road horses are signally superior to those of any other land. There is money, good, substantial irk inuuejr, nui iuat iu oumu an breeding horses well, with a fixed end in view. Every farmer has, or may have, a good mare; it may not be one of great intrinsic value, but a mare of good points, well-spirited, good on the road, well-modeled as a dam, with room to carry and ability to nourish her foal. This mare is capable of doing good service in breeding, equally with that she renders in other labors for her owner. The farmer's aim should be the production of the best foal possible, because it costs no more to raise a good than a poor colt, and there is no economy in using a cheap or convenient stallion, when a first-class one, of fit blood-lines and high quality, can be had for a little extra trouble and a little more money. Let our readers estimate the value of care in breeding by considering the prices which good stock brings, even when young, and the condition of the markets in cities and large towns, where good, well-looking horses, having good action, style ana substance, always are in demand, and they will conclude that it pays to breed well. There is no use in trying to breed valuable stock, if the sire i3 selected at hap-hazard; breeding is a science, and there can be no sure outcome from either its study or application, unless the progenitor of the stock shall have been thoroughly bred. It is well to uso a wellbred mare, whenever this is possible; but a strongly-bred sire will unfailingly improve upon the most ordinarily bred dam, will more than make good her deficiencies and compensate for the investment.? American Agriculturist. Pif* Points. The Indiana State Board of Agriculture lias been asked by the State SwineBreeders' Association that boars shall have their tusks removed before being allowed on the State Fair Grounds in the future. Some one claims to have lately discovered that buckwheat is excellent for young and growing hogs, and by an exchange it is recommended for stunted pigs, starting them quicker than any other grain. To prepare for feeding, mix with cooked potatoes while they are hot. The question is raised: Is the stunted pig worth this care? We hardly think the runt's demand will cause a corner on buckwheat. A feeder of many years' experience claims that to feed hogs 35-cent corn in the winter season, to bring a profit, the hogs should sell for $3.80 per hundred pounds. If they do not bring this, it is no better than hauling the corn to market, leaving out the value of the mauure, providing in this estimate there are no losses. In times gone by, there was very little thought of the losses that might occur, but now it is the great factor to be considered, compelling careful feeding, arid a constant vigilance by means of preventives to guard against loss. A breeder for feeding purposes claims that he grows healthy hogs by a close line of inbreeding, being careful to select j the strongest and best animals, free from I disease. We believe this a dangerous theory to advance, for a man is seldom i found that can follow it safely. This I is undoubtedly the ban that spreads its deadly pall over many farms, bringing such fatal results. With the breeding out of vitality comes in disease. With weaker respiratory organs, which generally suffer first, the flood-gates are thrown open for all diseases common to swine. On* nf fhr> tvnrsfc troubles, or rather symptoms of something wrong, among hogs is constipation. In this matter prevention is much more desirable than any attempt at cure. It will help them to have tie run of a grass lot where the aftermath has a go&d growth. If you have not the grass lot, l?t them have corn fodder blades to eat, a?4 they Will ?njoy them. Rather than fall to meet their demands have resort to the slop pail, although not so convenient sometimes when you would like to roast your shins before a booming fire. Fire up the systems of your pokers, and then sit down to the shin-roasting process. ~ Many upon whom it devolves to butcher hogs have difficulty in getting the knack of just how to s'ick right to bleed thoroughly, and not cut into the shoulder or windpipe. The plan described as best is to have the hog hoisted up by the hind feet, as ordinary butchering is done by very primitive methods. The next best thing to do is to throw the hog, and roll it over fair and square on its bacjc; feel for the end of the brisket; plunge the knife down straight, and in, toward the heart, and the deed is done. The object in placing the hog ou its back is that one can .^ee to hold the knife perpendicularly. If the hog is on its side the tendency is increased to make shoulder-stuck hogs, as with the kicking and squealing, the knife is often thrust while held at an angle. This is the easiest method, though a little hard to explain with a pen, but nearer a pig pen would be quite practical and easily learned. ? Our Country Home. A Neapolitan Bill of Fare. Lee Merriweather, telling of his Euro pean trip, says: My daily expenditures for food in Naples averaged about 17 cents, divided thus: Bread, one pound 3 cents .Macaroni 3 cents Half pound of figs 2 ccnts Kinoccliin, a kind of coarse celery, wholesome and good 2 cents Wine i? cents Milk 4 cents Total cost of food per day 17 cents Lodging 4 cents Total cost of daily living in Naples..21 cents This diet was varied occasionally by an egg omelette cooked with oil (this in place of macaroni), or by artichokes, pomcgrantes, chestnuts, etc. The total cost, however, remained the same.?Outing. Only six persons died out of 6,524 recently innoculated by Dr. Vulpian at Rio Janeiro against yellow fever. } A COSTLY HOBBY. VAST SUMS EXPENDED IN BUY* ING ART TREASURES. Prices Paid by Rich New Yorkers for Articles That Have No Practical Use ? A Slipper Collector. It would surprise the practical man, who esteems a $300 set of china dishes for his table an extravagant luxury, if he knew the immense sums that certain New Yorkers spend every year in fine pottery, porcelains and stoneware which have no practical utility. A gentleman who is far from being a millionaire, writes Amos J. Cummings in a New York letter, called last week at one of the stores in the vicinity of Union Square, where choice poicelains, pottery, etc., are sold, and saw a pair of placques decorated with lillies. He asked the fjrice, and when told that the pair could >e purchased for $3,000, he wrote out hi3 check with feverish haste, as if he feared a rival would get the treasures. A practical man, not enjoying the taste of a Collector, would have deemed $10 a high price for them. Previous to the Centennial there were practically no collectors in this country. Now New York has scores of them, fifteen of whom are of wide reputation, and half a dozen dealers do a ariving business in catering to them. Collectors of pottery, porcelains, bronzes, ivories and cut glass are yearly becoming more numerous in New York, and many very intelligent collectors in the large Western cities are springing into prominence. In the cultivation of this hobby America bids fair to surpass the rest of the world. The taste once formed, the devotee to old ware has a degree of enthusiasm known in no other line of luxury. Nor is the enjoyment of the "ceramic craze," as the novice calls it, a wasteful luxury.An intelligent collector who meets with a reverse of fortune can sell his treasures for more than they, cost him. Many pieces of Chinese and Japanese ware which cost $100each"have been sold for $5,000 or more. "When the feudal system was abolished in Japan in 1871 tne aristocracy wnc forced to part with their art treasures, the sale of which saved many of them from absolute want. Diplomats and American residents in China and Japan are very apt to become collectors, and the purchases they have made and thrown upon the American market from necessity or as a speculation have helped start the ceramic craze here. The Chinese, like the Japanese ceramic art, is in its decadence, and the former have produced nothing highly valued by collectors since 1800. In the Ming dynasty, when the Chinese Emperor kept his potters, with whom time and money were no object, they produced ware which many a collector would now give his fortune to possess. It was during this dynasty that the famous peach-blow vase was made. Occasionally a distinguished Chinaman or Japanese brings over a choice specimen, but most of the rare objects are sent over by importers. A few wealthy New Yorkers make a specialty of bronzes. France furnishes some splendid examples of modern subjects, and the Russians are noted for their bronze animal pieces, that are marvelous as to details. An importer showed the writer a Russian bronze representing a herd of Russian horses, and valued at $10,000. To the novice who could more readily appreciate the object than a big green vase perfectly plain and valued at $5,000, the bronzes seemed the more valuable object. They are now making some fine bronzes in New York, one of which is the statue of Garfield, to be erected in Washington. America is turning out some fine potteries and porcelains, too; and one Sixth avenue dry goods merchant makes a specialty of collecting American specimens. The choicest examples, however, come from abroad. In certain lines of cut glass American makers are beginning to cater to collectors, although they have not as yet mastered the art of turning out the best "stem goods," such as goblets and champagne glasses. A New York cut glass collector has just paid $2,000 for a set of champagne glasses cut in the new spiral style, showing finely carved flowers twining about the glass like vines about a tree. The dealers in choice china and glass are very particular to employ clerks with steady nerves, but once in a while an accident will occur. Last week a clerk in one of these stores let fall a vase which looked like a very ordinary affair, but it was valued at $3,000 and the accident cost the firm an amouut equal to the clerk's salary for two years. Chicago ha3 more collectors than any Western city, ani Baltimore and Boston raqk next to York, giqken^ 0DC9 wrote a very interesting puff for one of the English manufacturers* of pottery. It helped to make the fortune of the firm, whose branch house in New York has republished it for distribution among their customers. In the line of collectors of C-urione treasures none was more peculiar than a rich old bachelor of Norwalk, Ohio, who used to send to New York and buy shoes and slippers of rare and costly pattern. He was said, at the time of his death, not long ago, to have the rarest collection of foet-wear in America. Domestication of the Elk. T" ? tViA Npw-Ynrk Herald ad vocating the domesticatioa of the fastdisappearing elk, T. D. Kellogg says: Male elks have been domesticated and | employed for light team service. They j have the credit of having been used with i success in this capacity. As to their j availability for the purpose I am uot fully j a judge. They certainly do not lack in docility; the cost of keeping such a team ! must be almost nothing, and for run- j ning around with a light conveyance on short journeys I feel confident that if the animal is domesticated it will, on account of the exceedingly small expense involved in keeping such a team, come into very general use for the purpose. However this may be, we have not to ; go outside the food question to deter-1 mine the fact that the elk, in domestica-1 tion, will be not only one of the most I useful, but probably the most useful of: all our meat-producing animals. Beef: cannot excel it in nutrition; it is not uni-! formly so tender and juicy and so suita- j ble an article of diet as this; it is not so j digestible nor well fitted for constant use. * r?i? <nr niey 11 ere r,A.|?ciisnv. Miss C'ockett?"Yellow roses are sup-1 ( posed to indicate flirtatiousness, and j moss roses mean love, do they not, Mr. ] Neversmile?" ! Mr. Neversmile?"So I'm told; and ! i white roses mean silence." j i Miss Cockett?"Well, what do these large cabbage-roses and Jacks mean?" ! Mr. Neversmile?"Bankruptcy, Miss < Cockett, bankruptcy every time.**? i I Harper''i Bazar. i . -- - .< 4 5WS " <5: .. . -v'srv; ' It ' . j . ' ^ - HOUSEHOLD MATTERS. __ Cleaning. Carpets. Carpet cleaning, as ordinarily performed, is literally carpet-beating and does much toward destroying the carpet The proper way, if one is in the country*, is to get a branch of a tree or a young sapling as thick as the butt of an axe handle, and which terminates in a good number of light, whip-like shoots. A beech branchWill sometimes be found, which will answer the purposo. It mugf be trimmed up, and every twig, knot or roughness be removed which could catch, in the threads and tear the carpet. *Of course, the flatter the upper part is. the better, as more of the whips will strike at the same time. To clean the carpet, hang it over a line placed so high that the lower edge will clear the ground. Ttfke the big whip in both hands and strike a strong, quick blow. A cloud of dust will fly from the whole space struck, yet the blow will not appear to make very much impression on the carpet itself. The.?nda of the branch have divided the force of the blow among themselves and eacn one has made a sharp, quick stroke like that of a riding whip.?American AqriadturuL Famous Recipe for Caring Ham*. The following is the famous recipe used by Mrs. Henry Clay for curing hams, several hogsheads of which were annually sent to Boston, where, under the nameo^ "Ashland hams," they commanded the highest of prices, especially among the wealthy whigs of that city: For every ten hams of moderate size, she took three and one-half pounds of fine salt, one pound of saltpetre and two pounds of brown sugar, and after mixing these thoroughly together, rubbed the hams therewith on either side. They were then packed in a tight box and , placed in a cool outhouse for about three weeks, when the hams were taken out and put in a pickling tub or hogshead and covered with brine strong enough to swim an egg. After remaining in the pickle for about three weeks they were. *? '"? tKnrniifrlilu Mihl'pd with frfflll tilHUU V/ 141) lltlVi WIQUIT .. _ ? ? salt and hung up in a well ventilated house for a fow davs^to dry. Next they ' were transferred to the smoke house. ; where they were hung up and smokea with green hickory or walnut wood until they acquired the color of bright mahogany. This accomplished, each ham was sewed up in canvas, the coverings whitewashed and hung up to dry, after which they were whitewashed again and packed away in hogsheads with hickory ashes, until wanted either for home um s or sending to Boston. { ^ Hints and Suggestions. If salt is sprinkled around the edges of a carpet, when on the floor, it will keep away moths. - ' White paint that lias become discolored may be nicely cleaned by using a littlo whiting in the water while washing. Flannels should be washed in hot soapsuds and rinsed in hot water containing soap enough to soften it a little. Starched shirts will iron easier if you let them dry after starching, so you will ? have to sprinkle them before ironing. ? Never wet the hair if you liaye any tendency to deafness; wear an oil-silk V onn whori bathinc. and refrain from diving. A picce of pointed whalebone or pine wood is nice to clean out corners. Wash your windows with sponge and polish with tissue paper. Clean lamp chimneys by holding them over the spout of a teakettle full of boiling water, then wipe with a clean cloth. . It will make them beautifully clear. It is said if feather beds and pillow* be left out in a, drenching rain every | spring, and afterward exposed to thl sun and air on every side until dry, they will be much freshened and lightened. Keep cut flowers fresh for several days " by filling a vase with clean sand,to which is added a liberal supply of powdered charcoal. Embed the stems of the bouquet iu this, and water occasionally Never put .milk, fat or any oily substance into the ear for the relief of painr for they soon becomc rancid and tend to incite inflammation. Simple warm water will answer the purpose better than anything else. Silver becoming black may be avoided by keeping that which is not often used in cantou flannel bags, with small bags about the size of a thimble filled with bito of gum-camphor packed in and around the articles. ' " For mildew, pour a quart of boilinf water on an ounce of chloride of lime. When it is dissolved add three quarts of cold water. In this put the garment, an<| let it soak for twelve hours. If not very bad the spots will.come out in less fime. Pieces of toilet soap that have become too small for convenient handling may be utilized bj making a smajl flaqpgl b?.?j leaving tne" top Open, and into this patting the pieces of soap as they acciP mulate. When it is full sew over'the top and you have a nice accessory for your bath-tub. Rubber rings such as are used on fruit cans often become hard and brittle. They can be restored by letting them lie in water in which you have put a little ammonia. Mix j" this proportion: One part ammonia and two pai't? water. Sometime^ they do not need to lie in thfa ffior? than five minutes, but frequently a half-hour is needed to restore their elasticity. Queer Tilings in Persia. A Mr. Neesan lectured in New York not long ago on Persian life. The young 1 _ ft.i^innro l?in rrhpfl whftn Mr. 1UU1C& <J1 Hie at'UU.UI.V i.ug^v. Neesan told how the Persian youth was allowed to take one kiss from his future wife on the eve before their marriage, provided he could find her in a dark . room full of other ladies. They were silent and sympathetic when he told how, although he was engaged for three years, he never got one kiss in all that time. Mr. Neesan was forced to confess that the Persian newspapers aie rather slow. They are divided into two classes ?those published every week and those published every seventh day?and all Persia has just one of each class. Some time after Cleveland was elected Mr. Neesan received a copy of some of these papers. He looked anxiously to see if the election returns had reached the enterprising editor, but the only mention he found of America was its discovery by one Christopher Columbus. He doesn't expect to live long enough for the editor to go through the subsequent history of America and give ins readers some comparatively recent news concerning the United States. A Variety of Pronunciations. Ilerr Schmitz, who migrated to Portugal a few years ago, complains bitterlj of the libety taken with the spelling and pronunciation of his name in the lahd of his adoption. He has collected a few specimens, from which we select the following: Semite, Schumist, Semittes*. C'hemite, Shmith. Chemitse, Schumitz -- DLUCLUC3, kJLULU!W?j uucuiivv, k'uuwvwj Sumitico, Ximiz, Chemise, Xhemitea jtc. The entire collection exhibits 150 rarieties, "with power to add to thei^ anmber." _