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} I ? REV. DR. TALMAGE. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY SERMON Subject: "Sprig of Heart's-Ease.' Text: "And His Disciples went and told Jesus."?Matthew xiv., 12 An outrageous assassination had just taken glace. To appease a revengeful woman, King Herod ordered the death of that noble, self-sacrificing Christian, John the Baptist. The group of the disciples were thrown into m-iefJand dismav. Thev felt themselves ut terly defenseless*. Th?re was no authority to which thdy could appeal, and yet grief must always find expression. If there be no human ear to hear it, then the agonized soul will cry it aloud to the winds and the woods and the waters. But there was an ear that was j willing to listen. There is a tender pa- I thos, and at the soma time a most admirable picture, in the words of ray text: "They went and told Jesus." He could understand all tbeir grief, and He immediately soothed it Our burdens are not more than half so h?avy to carry if another shoulder is thrust under the other end of them. Here we find Christ, His brow shadowed with grief, standing amid the group of disciples, who, with tears, and violent gesticulations, and wring mg 01 Hands, aaa outcry vi oereateiucui, aie express Lag their woe. Raphael, with his skillful brush patting upon the wall of a palace some scene of sacred story, gave not so skillful a stroke as when the plain hand of the evangelist writes: "They went and told Jesus." The old Goths and Vandals once came down upon Italy from the north of Europe, and they upset the gardens, and they broke down the altars, and swept away everything that was good and beautiful. So there is ever and anon in the history of all the sons and daughters of our race an incursion of rough-handed troubles that coma to plunder ana ransack and put to the torch all that men highly prize. There is no cave so deeply cleft into the mountains as to allow us shelter, and the foot of fleetest courser cannot bear us beyond the quick pursuit. The arrows they put to the strings flv with unerring dart, until we fail pierced and stunnei. I feel that I bring to you a most appropriate message. I mean "to bind up all your griefs into a bundle, and set them on Are with a spark from God's altar. The same J ..rti.. ,i;o_ prescription mat cuiuu mo wnun vi >uu ciples will cure all your heartaches. I have read that when Godfrey and his army marched out to capture Jerusalem, as they came over the hills, at the first flash of the pinnacles of that beautiful city, the army that had marched in silence lifted a shout that made the earth tremble. Oh, you soldiers of Jesus Christ, marching on toward heaven, I would that to-day, by some gleam from the palace of God's mercy and God s strength, you might be lifted into great rejoicing, and that before this service is ended you might raise one glad hosanna to the Lord! In the first place, I commend the behavior f these disciples to all those in this audience *ho are sinful and unpardoned. There comes ' a time in almost every man's history when he feels from some source that he has an erring nature. The thought may not have such heft as to fell him. It may be' only like the flash in an evening cloud just after a very hot summer day. One man to get rid of that impression will go to prayer; another will stimulate himself by ardent spirits, and another man will dive deeper in secularities. But sometimes a man cannot get rid of these impressions. The fact is, when a man finds out that his eternity is poised upon a perfect uncertainty, and that the next moment his foot mayslip, he must do something violent to make himself forget whre he stands, or also fly for refuge. "If there are any here who have resolved that they would rather die of this awful cancer of sin than to have the heavenly surgeon cut it out, letTOe say, - my dear brother, you mingle for yourself a bitter cup. You fly in 4UO ittWJ VI JVUl QT^lUHVlUg VW^, -?? crouch under a yoke and you bite the dust, when, this moment, you might rise up a crowned conquerer. Driven and perplexed and harassed as you have been by sin, go and tell Jesus. To relax the grip of death from your soul, and plant your unshackled feet upon the golden throne, Christ let the tortures of the bloody mount transfix Him. With the beam of His own cross He will break down the door of your dungeon From the thorns of His own crown He will pick enough gems to make your brow blaze with eternal victory. In every tear on His wet cheek; in every gash of His side; in every long, blackening mark of laceration from shoulder to shoulder; in the graveshattering, heaven storming death groan, I hear Him say: u Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out." "Oh," but you say, "instead of curing my wound you want to make another wound, namely: That of conviction!" Have you never known a surgeon to come and find a chronic disease, and then with sharp caustic burn it all out) So the grace of God comes to the old sore of sin. It has long been rankling there, but by divine grace it is burned i out through theie fires of conviction; "the flesh coming again as the flesh of a little I child;" "where sin abounded grace much j more aboundeth." With the ten thousand j unpardoned sins of your life, go and tell Je6us. .You will never get rid of your sins in J any other way: and remember that the broad j invitation which I extend to you will not always be extended. King Alfred, before modern time-pieces were invented, used to divide the day into ' three part-, eight hours each, and then had three wax candles. By the time the first candle had burnei to the socket, eight hours had gone, and when the second candle had burned to the socket, another eight hours had gone, and when all the three candles were gone out, then the dav had passed. Oh, that i *ome of us instead of calculating our days, I and' nights, and years by any earthly time- i piece, might calculate them by the numbers i of ooDortunities and mercies which are bum- | ing down and burning out, never to be relighted, lest at last we be amid the foo'.ish virgins who cried: ''Our lamps have gone out I" Again: I commend the behavior of the disciples to all who are tempted. I have heard men in mid-life say they had never b(>en led into temptation. If you have not felt temptattoii it is becau?? you have not tried to do right. A man hoppled and handcuffed, as long as he lies quietly, does not test the power of the chain; but when he rises up, and with the determination resolves to snap the hand<*uff or break the hopple, then he finds the power of the iron. And there aro men who nave been for ten, and twenty, and thirty Vears bound hand and foot by evil habits who have never felt the power of the chain, because they bave never tri<"l to break it. It is very easy to go on down wi i the stream and with the wind, lj'ing on your oars; but just tarn round, and try to go against the wind and the tide, and you will find it is a different matter. As long as we go down the current of our evil habit we seem to g<3t along quite smoothly; but if after a while we turn around and head the other way, toward Christ, and pardon, and heaven, oh, then,how we have to lay to the oars. You all have your temptation. You have one kind, you another, you another, not one person escaping. It is all folly for you to say to some one: *'I could not be tempted as you are." The lion thinks that it is so strange that the fish should be caught with a hook. Tha fish thinks it is so strange that the lion should be causht witn a trap. You see some man with a cold, phlegmatic temperament, and you say: l'I suppose that man has not any temptation." Yes, as much as you have. In his phlegmatic nature he has a temptation to indolence and censoriousness and over-eating and drinking; a temptation to ignore the great work- of life; a temptation to lay down an obstacle in the way of all good enterprises. The temperment decides the styles of temptation; Dut ljTm*\Kofin VAI1 will hflVA tomntA XW^UUIO VI A J lu^uavtv,, J vu ?*it UM. V ?v ? c tion. Satan has a grappling-hook just fitted for your soul. A man never lives beyond the reach of temptation. You say when a man gets to be seventy or eighty years of age he is safe from all Satanic assault. You are very much mistaken. A man at eighty-five years of age has as many temptations as a man at twenty-five. They are only different styles of temptation. Aqk the aged Christian whether he is never assaulted of the powers of darkness. If you think you have conquered th * power of temptation, you aro very much mistaken. A an who wanted a throne pretendod he was very weak and sickly, and if he was elevated he would soon be gone. He crawled upon his crutches to the throne, and having attained it he was strong again. He said: "It was well for me while I v> as looking for the keys of authority that. I should stoop, but qow toat 1 have found them, why should I ytoop any longer!" and he threw away his crutches anu Wis well again. How illustrative the power of temptation! Yon think it is a weak and crippled infiuenctii but give it a chance, and it wiil be a tyrant t- in your soul, it will grind you to atoms. No j; man has finally and for ever overcome temptation until he has left the world. But what are you to do with these temptations? Tell everybody about them? Ah, what a silly man you would be! As well might a commander in a fort send word to the enemy which gate of the castle is least barred, as for you to go and tell what all your frailties are, and what your temptations are. The world will only scoff at you. What then must a man dof When the waves strike him with terrific dash shall he have nothing to hold on to? In this contest with "the world, the flesh, and the devil," shall a man have no help, no counsel? Our text intimates something different. In those eyes that wept with the Bethany sisters I sea shining hope. In that voice which spake until.the grave broke and the widow of Isain had back her lost son, and the sea slept, and sorrow stupendous woke up in the arms of rapture?in that voice I hear the command and the promise: "Cast thy burden on th? Lord, and He will sustain thee." Why should you carry your burdens any longer? Oh, you weary soul, Christ been in this conflict. He says: "My grace shall be sufficient for you. You shall not be tempted above that you are are able to bear." Therefore, with all your temptations, go, as these disciples did, and tell Jesus. Again: I commend the behavior of the disciples to all those who are abused and slandered and persecuted. When Herod put John to death, the disciples knew that their own heads were not safe. And do you know that every John has a Herod? There are persons in life who do nob wish you very well. Your misfortunes are honeycombs to them. Through their teeth they hiss at you, misinterpret your motives, and would be glad to see you upset. No man gets through fife without having a pummelling. Some slander comes alter you, horned and tusked and hoofed, to gore and trample you; and what are you to do? I tell you plainly that all who serve Christ must suffer persecution. It is the worst sign in the world for you to be able to say: "I haven't an enemv in the world." a. wye is prwnuunceu m me r>iuie against me ona of whom everybody speaks well If you a-e at peace with all the world, and every bxly hires you and approves your work, it is because you are an idler in the Lord's vineyard, and are not doing your duty. All those who have served Christ, however eminent, have been maltreated at some stage of their experience. You know it was so m the time of George Whitefield, when he stood and invited men into the kingdom of God. What did the learned Dr. Johnson say of him? Hepronounced hi ma miserable mountebank. How was it when Robert Hall stood and spoke as scarcely any uninspired man ever aid speak of the glories of Heaven? and as he stood Sabbath after Sabbath preaching: on these themes his face kindled with the glory. John Foster, a Christian man, said of this man: "Robert Hall is only acting, and the smile on his face is a reflection of his own vanity." John Wesley turned all England upside down with Christian reform, and yet the punsters were after him, and the meanest jokes in England were perpetrated about John Wesley. What is true of the pulpit is true of the pew; it is true of the street, it is true of the shop, and the store. All who will live godly, in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution. And I set it down as the very worst sign in all your Christian experience if you are, any of you, at peace with all the world. The religion of Christ is war. It is a challenge to "the world, the flesh and the devil;" and if you will buckle on the whole armor of God, you will find a great host disputing your path between this and heaven. Jout wnat are you to do when you are assaulted and slandered and abused, as 1 suppose nearly all of you have been in your life ? Go out and hunt up the slanderer? Oh, no, silly man! While you are explaining away a falsehood in one place, fifty people will just have heard of it in other places. I counsel you to another course. . While you are not to omit any opportunity of setting yourselves rigkt, I want to tell you this morning of one who had the hardest things said about Him, whose sobriety was disputed, whose mission was scouted, whos3 companionship was denounced, who was pursued as a babe and upon as a man, who was howled at after He was dead. I will have you go unto Him with your bruised soul, in some humble, child-prayer, saying: "I see Thy wounds?wounds of head, wounds of feet, wounds of heart. Now, look at my wounds, and see what I have suffered, and through what battles I am going; and I entreat l'hee, by those wounds of Thine, sympathize with "me. And he will sympathize, and He will help. Go and tell Jesus! Again: I commend the behavior of the disciples to all who may have been bereaved. How many in garb of mourning! If you could stand at this point where I am standing and look off upon this audience, how many signals of sorrow you would behold. God has His own way of taking apart a family. We must f et out of the way for coming generations. Ve must.get off .the stage that others may come on, and for this reason there is a long proccession reaching down all the time into the valley of shadows. This emigration from time into eternity is so vast an enterprise, that we cannot understand it. Every hour we hear the clang of the sepulchral gate. The sod must be broken. The ground must be ploughed for resurrection liarvest. Eternity must be peopled. The dust must press our eyelids. "It is ap'pointed unto all men once to die." This emigration from time into eternity keeps threefourths of the families of the earth in desolation. The air is rent with farewells, and the black-tassalled vehicles of death . rumble through every street. The body of the child that was folded so closely to the mother's heart is put away in the cold and the darkness. The laughter freezes to the girl's lip, and the rose scatters. The boy in the harvest field of Shunam says: "My head ! my head !" and they carry him home to die on the lap of his mother. Widowhood stands with tragedies of woe struck into the pallor of the cheek. Orphanage cries in vain for father antl mother. Oh, the grave is cruel! With teeth of stone, it clutches for its Drev. Between the olosinar ear.es of tha sepulchre, our hearts are mangled and crushed. Is there any earthly solace ? None. We come to the obsequies, we sit with the grief-stricken, we talk pathetically to their soul; but soon the obsequies have passed, the carriage have left us at the door, the fria>>^? wno stayed for a few days are gone, and the heart sits in desolation, listening for tha little feet that will never again patter through the hall, or looking for the entrance of those who will never come again?sighing into the darkness -ever and anon coming across some book or garment, or little shoe or picture, that arouses former association, almost killing the heart. Long days and nights of suffering that wear out the spirit, and expunge the bright line3 of life, and give hag^ardness to the face, and draw the flesh tight down over the cheek-bonfe, and draw dark lines under the sunken eye, and the hand is tremulous, and the voice is husky and uncertain, and the grief is wearing, grinding, accumulating, exhausting. Now, what are such to do? Are they merely to look up into a brazen and unpitying heaven? Are they to walk a blasted heath unfed of 3tream, unsheltered by overarching tree? Has God turned us out on the barren common to aief un, no: no: no: fie nas not. ne comes with sympathy and kindness and love. He understands all our grief. He sees the height, and the depth, and the length, and the breadth of it. He is the only one that can fully sympathize. Go and tell Jesus. Sometimes when we have troublo we go to our friends and we explain it, and they try to sympathize; but they do not understand it. They cannot understand it. But Christ sees all over it, and all through it. He not only counts the tears and records the groans, but before the tears started, before the groans began, Christ saw the inmost hiding-place of your sorrow; and He takes it, and He weighs it, and He measures it, and He pities it with an all-absorbing pity. Bone of our bone. Flesh of our flesh. Heart of our heart. Sorrow of our sorrow. As long as He remembers Lazarus's grave He will stand by you in the cemetery. As long as Ho remembers His own heart-break, He will stand by you in the laceration of your affections. When He forgets the foot-soro way, the sleepless nights, the weary body, the exhausted mind, the awful cross, the solemn grave, then He will forget you, but not until then. Often when we were in trouble we sent for our friends; but they were far away, they could not get to us. We wrote to them "Come right awav^' or telegraphed: ''Take the next train." They came at last, yet were a great while in coming, or perhaps were too late. But Christ is always near?before you, behind you.within you. No mother e7er threw her arms around her child with such warmth and ecstasy of affection as Christ has shown towards you. Close at hand?nearer than the staff upon which you lean, nearer than the cud you put to your lip, nearer than the handkerchief with which you wipe away your tears?I preaoh him an ever-present, all sympathizing, compassionate "Jesus. How can you stay away one moment from Him with your griefs? Go now. Go and tell Jesus. It is often that our friends have no power to relieve us. They would very much like to do it; but they cannot disentangle our finances; they cannot cure our sickness and raise our dead; but glory be to God that He to whom the disciples went has all power in heavaa and on earth, and at our call He will balk our ca laraities, and, at just the right time, in th< presence of an applauding earth and a re sounding heaven, will raise our dead He will do it. He is mightier than Herod He is swifter than the storm. He is granda ttian the sea. He is vaster than eternity And every sword of God's omnipotence wil leap from its scabbard, and all the resource of infinity be exhausted, rather than tha God's chUd shall not be delivered when hi cries to him for rescue. Suppose your child was in trouble; hov much would you endure to get him out? Yoi would go through any hardship. You woulc say: "I don't care what it will cost. I rausi get him out of that trouble." Do you think God is not so good a father a you? Seeing you are in trouble, and havinj all power, will He not stretch out His arn ana deliver you? He will. He is mighty t< save. He can level the mountain and divide the sea, and can extinguish the fire and sav< the soul. Not dim of eye, not weak of arm,noi feeble of resources, but with all eternity anc the universe at His feet. Go and tell Jesus. Wil you? Ye whose cheeks are wet with the night dew of the grave; ye who cannot look up; y< whose hearts are dried wi th the breath of t sirocco; in the name of the religion of Jesui Christ, which lifts every burden, and wipe: away every tear, and delivers every captive, and ligtens every darkness, I emplort, yoi now, go and tell Jesus. A little child went with her father, a sea Captain, to sea, and when the first storm came the little child was very much fright ) 1 1 1 A>ii ~r eueu, ttuu in tuu uiguu ru^ueu uut ui mi cabin and said: "Where is father? where is father?" Then they told her: "Father is on deck guiding the vessel and watching the storm." Tne little child immediately returned to her berth and said: "It's all right, for father's on deck." Oh, ye who are tossed and driven in this world, up by the mountains aud down by the valleys, and at your wit's end, I want you to know the Lord God is guiding the ship. Your Father is on deck. He will bring you through the darkness into the harbor. Trust in tne Lord. Go and tell Jesus. Let me say that if you do not, you will have no comfort here, and you will forever be an outcast and a wanderer. Your death will be a sorrow. Your eternity will be a disaster. But if you go to Him for pardon and sympathy, all is well. Everything will brighten up, and joy will come to the heart and sorrow will depart; your sin; will be forgiven and your foot will touch the upward path; and the shining messengers that report above what is done here will tell it until the great arches of God resound with the glad tidings, if now, with contrition and full trustfulness of soul, you will only go and tell Jesus. But I am oppressed, when I look over this audience, at tne prospect that some may not take this counsel, and go away unblessed. I cannot help asking: What will be the destiny of these people? So I never care whether it come into the text or not, I never leave my place on this platform without telling them that now is the accepted time, and to some, norhnrw t.ha lact. t.imft Xerxes looked off on his army. There were two million men?perhaps the finest army ever marshaled. Xerxes rode along the lines, reviewed them, came back, stood on some high point, looked off upon the two million men, and burst into tears. At that moment, when everybody supposed he would be in the greatest exultation, ne broke down in grief. They asked him whv he wept. " Ah," he said, " I weep at the thought that so soon all this host will be dead." So I stand looking off upon this host of immortal men and women, and realize the fact, as perhaps no man can, unless he has been in similar position, that soon the places which know you now will know you no more, and you will be gone? whither? whither? There is a stirring idea which the poet put in very peculiar verse when he said: " 'Tis not for man to trifle: life is brief, And sin is here; Our age is but a falling leaf? A dropping tear. Not many lives, but only one have we? One, only one; How sacred should that one life ever be? That narrow span." THE HOME"DOCTOR. Tannin for Ingrowing Toe-Nail. A concentrated solution (an ounce of perfectly fresh tannic acid dissolved in six drachms of pure water, with a gentle heat) must be painted on the soft parts twice a day. Two cases recently had no pain nor lameness after the first application, and went about their work immediately, which they could not do before. After about three weeks of this treatment. the nail had grown to its proper length and breadth, and the euro was complete. No other treatment of any other kind was used, though formerly I introduced lint under the ingrowing edge in such cases.?British Medical Journal. Tea Leaves for Burns. A subscriber says: "I would like all rpndr>r<! nf thfi TTmmphnlA to nrove the use fulness of tea lives applied to burns, not only on account of their soothing properties, but on account of their being so readily obtained." She states that it has been tried repeatedly in her family, and most successfully. A poultice is made of tea leaves by softening them with warm water and applying while yet warm upon cotton wool over the entire burned surface. The suffering of the patient is relieved almost like magic, and he falls into a quiet sleep. The application is made again in the course of a few hours if necessary. The leaves discolor the skin somewhat, but relieve the acute sensitiveness.? Detroit Tribune. TreatmentFor Dandruff. A correspondent inquires about the treatment for dandruff. There are two principal forms of the affection, and they require quite different treatment. From the description given we should judge the disease to be what the doctors call pityriasis, as the face is also dry and scaly. The treatment in this case is to wash the head well two or three times a week with a solution of borax and ammonia water in water. When the skin seems dry, tense and glistening, it is best to discontinue the wash. Then an ointment consisting of equal parts of zinc ointment may be applied, a very little at a time, once a day, to the scalp and skin. This will usually effect a cure, though it may be necessary to continue the use of some simple lubricant for a time after the disease has ceased?mutton tallow is better for this purpose than the vaseline. Three drops ot Fowler's solution after each meal, in a little water, will hasten the result, but care must be taken in using this drug, as it is a poison containing arsenic, and we hesitate to recommend its use for this reason. .With the other form of dandruff a different course must be pursued.?Albany Press. A Cure for Colic. A doctor says in the Albany Press: II isn't every household which holds a babj that knows how to treat it when it has flm Don't rpsnrt tn an oniate. T)ar I""' vv'"" ~ - J--egoric, soothing syrup, or anything containing opium, which, though temporarily relieving the pain, binds the bowels. Make the feet warm by hot cloths, bj bags or bottles of hot water, or holding them near the tire. Apply warmth to the abdomen by gentle rubbing with the essence (i. e. the tincture) of ginger, bj hot spice-bags, by a small, light plate 01 tin heated in the oven and wrapped in j flannel. Sometimes a sitz-bath in watei j as hot as can be borne is of value. Internally may be given every fifteen 01 ! thirtv minutes, if necessary Call medicines are to be discontinued in every ailmenl as soon as can be), 1-4 to 1-2 teaspoonful of one of the following mixtures, in as hot water as can be borne: No. 1.?Strong catnip tea, 2 tablespoonfuls; Tincture of asafcetida, 10 drops; Sugar-syrup, 2 tablespoonfuls; Tincture of ginger, 10 drops. No. 2.?Aromatic spirits of ammonia, li drops; Essence of peppermint, 10 drops; Glycerine, 1 aesSrtspoonful; Aniseed-water, 2 tablespoonfuls. ;| AGRICULTURAL. h * TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE r TO FARM AND GARDEN. i 8 Preparing Trees for Planting. * Professor Mnynard advises that trees be prepared for planting by cutting the r top back in proportion to the amount of u injury done to the roots, which is genJ erally from one-half to two-thirds of the entire crop. On this pruning all snoots , should be entirely cut away that are not 5 needed for the formation of a perfect i head; and the others cut back one-half 5 to two-thirds of their length. 3 If the head is not formed high enough t upon the trunk it may often be carried 1 higher by cutting off all lateral shoots, 1 leaving the most central one for a leader upon which will be formed the new head several inches higher than the first. All injured roots should have the ends cut smooth with a sharp knife, and with small fruits, like the grape, currant and strawberry, it is often desirable to cut back some of the larger ones. Sowing Heavy Seed. For all kinds of grain the heaviest seed that can be obtained will produce the best results. In fact, with spring grain, oats or barley, sowing plump, large seed is a necessity, to prevent it from running out in our hot, dry climate. In manv localities seed o;its have to be | renewed every few years by importations from Europe, our native kinds deteriorating so rapidly. This depreciation of quality and yield may be prevented by thorough grading of seed, rejecting all except the largest and heaviest. Not so much of this graded grain will be required to seed an acre, for the reason tnat every kernel will produce a strong plant, while with ungraded seed much will not grow, or if it dees, will only be in the way of that which should make the crop. If in any event Ave set our produce from one-half, and often from less, of the seed sown, what object can there be in literally throwing away the remainder? The light grain thrown out in grading seed is worth more as feed than for anything else.?Cultivator. Be Liberal With the Poultry. A moderate-sized flock of chickens on any farm pays a great per cent, of profit, finrl CFiv.oa vprv ninr?lr rpfnrnQ mpn who have hindered instead of encouraged this business should pursue a different course. They need not take an interest in the more fancy breeds, but all encouragement should be given to raising the business-purpose fowl. Good fowls, consistent quarters and care are just as important,in their way, as is any part of the farm business. Coops for youn^ broods should be provided in spring, just as surely as ahould the corn be planted, or the pasture fence repaired. New blood should be infused every year or two by buying settings of eggs or cocks just as certainly ns new seed potatoes or new seed corn should be introduced occasionally. The women and children usually make the poultry profitable, if encouraged instead of hindered. On too many farms the poultry business is in the old way,because the man of the house will not favor any outlay for papers or books on poultryraising, or money with which to purchase lumber for new poultry buildings and coops. This stinginess and lack of apEreciation of a business the wife should ave opportunity to develop, keeps the enterprise cramped. Growing Roots for Stock Feeding. Why farmers do not grow roots more extensively for stock feeding is a mysterious question, which can only be partially solved on the general theory that most of the brotherhood discourage innovations on former practices. In Great Britain and in other parts of Europe, turnips are abundantly cultivated, and proven to be most profitable for winter use. Beets, rutabagas, and other roots, are extensively cultivated, and that with as much system and regularity as Indian corn is in this country. And yet it is admitted universally that the lack of green food in winter is costing farmers an enormous aggregate of money. Most kinds of stock are here obliged to cat too much dry food, and sickness is caused thereby. All know that feeding green food in winter to dairy cows is highly, desirable. Ensilage may be a good substitute for roots, but comoarativelv few are realizing that fact. Pumpkins cut finely with a spade, and sprinkled with corn or Indian meal, used to be more resorted to than at present. Cows are generally expected to fill the pail more liberally than they do, but they are not fed accordingly. This is the time of year for farmers to be thinking of and plauting root crops?Cincinnati Commercial. Relation of the Soil to Water. Soils often retain for a long time more water than is good for crops, and when this dries away they will be found to be in many cases the driest of all soils, except, perhaps, blowing sands, which can hardly be called soils. Other soils are perpetually water-soaked, while others are wet in the spring and in wet seasons, but though cold and late, are nevertheless tillable in favorable years. All such soils need to have the water artificially removed. The water may come solely from 2lic rains ; it may come from rain and T?ater flowing from higher ' ground, or i.t may come up in springs , from beneath the land itself. If it comes from other ground, the source should be cut off by ditches and the water con , ducted away. 11 it comes irom springs, they should be found and the water from them conducted away, either in open | ditches or :in deep-laid covered ones, which arc better, because the surface of , the field may then be left smooth. Such J land will usually be found to be soft upon the top, covered with a growth of sedge and other coarse plants, and lacking a good outlet for the water. Besides, just below the surface there is often found a ' stratum of sand and clay almost impervious to water, whic h compels all the water 1 to flow off over the surface, or remain ' where it is. To reclaim such land, the ' first thing is to find a favorable outflow for the water. This should not be less than four or five feet below the general surface of the field, but we often have > to accept such an outlet as we can get.? ' American Agriculturist. Farm and Garden Notes. TWrvmon s?v Rnmp. milk will sour taint I J ?J . cream, and that will make inferior butter. Nice, clean poultry, properly fattened, always sell readily and at a good profit, i Newly-set fruit trees should have the > ground about them kept clean and mel1 low. 1 Of the 1,000 grains of an egg, 107 are of shell, 604 of- the white and 280 of the yolk. An exchange says every yoang animal will be the better for a little linseed, and . the old once also. A colt once stunted never gets over the effects. In fact the remark applies as well to aD animals. Id mo9t cases where the best of food is abundant, the sale of the poorest cow will increase rather than diminish the profits. The most successful shepherd of the future will have his mutton on the market as regularly and in as good condition as the wool. . An Eastern farmer says he does not know of anything finer than a good ox team, and that wherever you sec one you see good crops. No stock respond better to good care and feeding than sheep; and when well fed and cared for, no stock is gentler and pleasanter to handle. Attend to the whitewashing of your fences, trees, outhouses, barns, stables, &c. Nothing renders a home more attractive than a liberal use of whitewash about the premises. The feeding of sour slop or fermented grains may causc disease* Yet such food is fed regularly, though there is always a risk in feeding any kind of food that is not sound or in the best condition. The Rural New TorJcer says: We have grown many varieties of the cow pea at the Rural Farm and several of them not only make a stupendous growth of vine, but fruit early and in great abundance. A healthy Buff Cochin chicken will eat seventeen ounces 296 grains of food per day. A Brown Leghorn, four ounces, 398 grains. Of nine different breeds the -Hamburgs give the largest number of eggs. Whenever it is noticed that the hogs eat gravel, it is a sign tnat sometmng they need is lacking. A few pieces of coal, or charcoal, will probably be a cure while the food at the same time should be varied. Some swine fanciers claim that the Suffolk has all the qualities that constitute a perfect animal for producing the most pork of the best quality at the least cost, they say this breed stands unrivaled by any in the United States. It has been demonstrated that calves pay better when kept until ten or twelve weeks old than when sold as soon as born. They will give a return for all the milk they consume, as well as lessen the supply of milk marketed. Divide your rhubarb plants at the roots and make a new location for them. This should be done very early in the spring j or in the fall. Put them on very rich ground, with the buds about one or two inches below the surface. The milk from sick or deseased cows should always be thrown away. Noth log spreads contagion sooner than impure or filthy milk; yet, as a rule, all the milk is poured into cans together without regard to the condition of the cow. The best turkeys-forbreeding purposes ' are those two years old. If yearling stock be used the earliest hatched males nnd females should ba" selected. It will be of no advantage to have them begin to hatch until the weather shall become warmer. Charred wood from the stove, or charcoal in any shape, is excellent for hogs. It is best to keep charcoal in the pens where the hogs can already have free access to it. Rotten wood is also relished by hogs, and they are very fond of burnt bread or other charred substances. In using seed potatoes select such as are fresh and plump. The supposition that it is best to use sprouted potatoes is an error, as the sprouting of the seed potato before it is planted causes a lack of nutrition to the plants after the seed is planted. Every sprout draws nourishment from the seed. Potatoes respond to a^ention everywhere. They must, however, be well fertilized to brim? a erood croD. Old sta ble manure can be piowed in. Some of the best crops are raised with commercial fertilizers. As fertilizers the average soapsuds from the laundry are worth more than the soap from which they are produced. A Virginian who has had some difficulty in keeping cabbages over winter says that by the following method of packing he has been successful. We take the heads only, and placing barrels in the corner of an unused stable, put in a good quantity of dry leayes, then bury a head and stuff leaves around it; another head or two, if small, more leaves and son on. Three barrels hold all we need. We pile and pack thoroughly in and around these barrels all the leaves we have patience to carry, and lay boards over them. Major Alvord thinks that each man should breed his own cows. Half is in the blood of the decent, and half in care and feed. We can not mix the blood and and get a satisfactory result. The general purpose cow is a myth. Milk is used for s?le as food, for cheese and for butler It is in the total solids in milk - * . mi that its food value consist?, i ne quaiu/ . of the cheese varies in different breeds. ' Generally milk that is good for butter is good for cheese. For butter it is the best enconomy to get the largest amount from the least amount of milk. A pound from seven or eight quarts is better than from a eleven to thirteen quarts. The Drought of 1813. From the unpublished letters of Jefferson, appearing in the Southern Bivouac, the following description of the drought of 1813 is taken: "From the fork of James River and the falls of other rivers upward and westwardly, we have had tne most calamitous year ever seen since 1755. It began with the blockade, so that the fine crops of the last year made in these upper parts, which could not be at market till after Christmas, were shut up by that and lost their sale. After keeping my flour till the approach of the new harvest, I was obligea to sell it, lest it it would spoil on my hands, at a price which netted me only forty-seven cents a bushel for my wheat, of course a total sacrifice. In the year 1755 it never rained from April to November. There was not bread enough to eat, and many died of famine. This year in these upper regions we have had not a single rain from April 14th to Septembsr 2uth, five months, exccpt a slight shower in May. The wheat was killed by the drought as dead as the leaves of the trees now arc. The stems fell before the scythe without being cut, and the little grain in the head shattered on the ground. From 500 acres sowed here I have not got in 1,500 bushels, not three times the seed. |Our corn has suffered equally. From 270 acres planted, and which in common years would have yielded from 800 to 1,000 barrels, I shall I not get a uarrci au out, ouu a gum, j;ui i I tion of that will be what are called nubins, being half-formed ears with little grain on them. Corn consequently starts with us at three and a third dollars, and being the principal food of our laborers, its purchase will be a heavy tax. I am told the drought has been equally fatal as far as Kentucky. There have been a few local exceptions here from small bits of clouds accidentally passing over some farm. Should the little wheat wo have made be shut up by a continuance of tho blockade through the winter, we shall be absolutely brankrupt by the loss of two_ successive crops. RELIGIOUS READINGS. That Garden Long Ago. I remember, I remember A gardeD, long ago; 'Tis not laid out in modern style, la curious bed and row, And only sweet, old?fashionod flowers Grow freely, gaily there, And make a mass of glorious bloom And perfume all the air. Along the narrow gravel path The violet Iris grows, And on each side a Snowball bush And royal Damask Rose; While Hollyhocks and Four O'Clocks And Pinks and Poppies glow In every nook and corner Of that garden long ago. I romember, I remember The branching Lilac tree, Its fragrant purple blcssoms So oft in dreams I see! Onco more I stand in wonder To see the Primroso blow. Ah, these are only mem'ries Of that garden long ago. ?[Vick's Magazino. Mr. Becoher'a Lait Sermon. The last sermon which Mr, Beecher preached in Plymouth church was delivered on Sunday evening, February 27, and the text was "I am resolved what to do," Luke 16:4, the subject being the power of men to form resolut'ons. The closing paragraphs of that it., u.i ut:. ..li burrnou?me mat puunu unciauueo ui the famou9 preacher, were as follows: In the West whoa the times are hard they give a note payable within four months. They pay ono note by giving another. And there are multitudes of people that form a resolution iu that way after the second note is due. They may say: "Well, I have made up ray mind and I am going to bo a Christian as soon as I can get ready. When are you going to get ready? It's quieting your conscience and your reason now by promising yourself that by and by you will take that step; it is a resolution that merely means a non-fulfilment of duty. Thoy will get ready to serve when they are worn out, wasted in the service of selfishnesa and in old age and upon their deathbed. I should think myself very mean, if in the summer I should shell out the peas and send the pods to my brother, that is what men mean to do' with"' God.'- They mean to live in youth after their ambition; in old age they hope to switch on the right side and get. into heaven. When you come to examine such conduct there is not a savage that would not say it was infamous to thus repay protection and the ministrations of God through all the channels of nature, and the kindness of. God through Jesus Christ. And the man deliberately says we will live all i ? J 1 I tne rest mac tncre is id lire, ana waea we are no longer any use to ourselves, and when we are going out, we will live so as to get into heaven. Two deacons of a church had beon warm friends, and yet one day they got into a dispute until they came positively to hate each other. And one Sunday morning, the dominie, going by one of the elders, heard him muttering to himself: "He will go to hell." The old dominie steps up to him, and said: "My dear brother, he won't go to hell." "Yes. he will ao to hell." "Well mv dear fellow, lie may repent, you know." "Well, he's just mean enough to do it." Oh, that's you! That is exactly the condition in which some of you are. You mean to wait to get into heaven. You are just mean enough to do it. If you have made up your mind honestly that you nre endeavoring to do it, he will help you from day to day, and from month to month, and from year to year, growing brighter aid brighter. Is there any man here that can say in regard to the past that he will resolve that everything he has done has been a detriment to him? Resolve what to do, by miking a re? * A i 1 fn a ? AK1UI? irlno 1 SOIVe to IIYC U Ul^UUl lLk\Jy a UVI/lVl iUVUli "I am determined by the help of God that I will live in such a way that I shall live in heaven." And if there 13 any man, don't wait until to-morrow morning. Register your vow to-night. Go home and tell God of it. Go home and tell your wife of it. That i9 the very thins you don't dare to do. Because, when a mm once commits himself he feds ashamed to go back, and if you do, it's because you have not made j up your mind. When a man is deter mined that he will live a Christian life, ho will be willing to say to all those that are around about him, "I am going to try and have made up my mind to try." And if you have desire, you will enter upon your journey, and say, "The time hii3 passed in which I have served the w 11 of the flesh, and now, to-night, I have determined that I will begin, un"fh fhA hflln nf God to live a Chris tian Hfe." Arc there any of you that are willing to make that resolve? God help you. For a while it will be a troublesome endeavor, for a little while, and then easier and eas'er and bringing encouragement and jovfulnoss. By everything that is permanent in the universe, and by everything that is permanent in the Godhead, we are made to know that the covenant of grace is a fixed and settled thing, and abides today as it ever has done; for there is no variableness nor turning with Him from whom every good gift comes dowo ?[Spurgeon "Nearly All The Time." - c\f A I The other evening tuo iiiuu u?uSu?? ? Congressman was paying a visit at a neighbor's, and the respective mother^ were talking of physical ailments and their remedies. After a while the little girl saw an apportunity to make a remark. , . , "My papa," she said, "always drinks whisky when he is sick." Then she stopped for a minute, her eyes softened and saddened and she continues* slowly: "And poor papa is sick nearly all the time ?WasJungton Critic. Hannah "Whifcall Smith, of Phlladelpnia, Secretary of the world's W. C. T. U., sailed for England recently. She will remain abroad until the autumnal meeting of the American Union, devoting herself to the advancement otjKso cause. * TEMPERANCE. The Bell Is Ringing. With lungs of fire and ribe of steeL Low-whimpering valve and humming whfld^ The iron hone the train is bringing. Hear the load scream and thunder stroke, See showers of flame and clouds of smoke;. Look out, the warning bell is ringing. Ye idle, gazing throngs, stand back, Tharo'a HanffAr An fKn amnlrintf And where the busy switch is swinging, "Now all aboard," now off again; No drones can reach the moving train. Look out, the danger bell is ringing. Take heed, the engine of reform Halts not in sunshine nor in storm, 'Tis freedom's song the mass are singing. Behind behold the tottering thrones And a dazed multitude of drones; The bell of progress now is ringing. The slave has doffed his yoke and chain, The drinker will not drink again, Glad news the harnessed lightning's bring* in?! Oppression casta its scourge away, We see the dawn of a bright day, The golden bells of heaven are ringing. ?Oeo. W. Bungay in Temperance Advocate. The Pope on Total Abstinence. The following is a translation of the impor- * tant Papal bnef in favor of the total abstinence movement addressed to the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ireland, Bishop of St. Paul, Minn.: Tti mlt w.n*rnhl*. hrnihnr .Tnhn. Tvslnnrl Bishop of St. Paul, Minn., Leo XIII, Pope. . ? Venerable Brother?Health and apostolic benediction. The admirable works of piety and charity by which our faithful children in the United States labor to prony>to not only their own temporal and eternal welfare but also that of their fellow citizens, and which you have recently related to us, give to us exceeding great consolation. And above all we have rejoiced to learn with what energy and zeal, by means of various excellent associations, and especially through the Catholic Total Abstinence Union, you combat the destructive vice of intemperance. For it is well known to us how ruinous, how deplorable is the injury both to faith and to morals that is to be feared from intemperance in drink. Nor can we sufficiently praise the prelates of the United States who recently in the Plenary Council of Baltimore with weightiest words condemned this abuse, declaring it to be a perpetual incentive to sin and a fruitful root to all evils, plunging the? families of the intemperate into the direst ruin, and drawing numberless souls down to everlasting perdition; declaring moreover. that the faithful who yielded to this vice of intemperance became thereby a scandal to non-Catholics, and a great hindrance to the propagation of the true religion. Hence we esteem worthy of all commendation the noble resolve of your pious associtions, by which they pledge themselves to abstain totally from every kind of intoxicating drink. Nor can it at all be doubted that this determination is the proper and the truly efficacious remedy for this very great evil: and that so much the more strongly will all be induced to put this bridle upon appetite by how much the greater are the dignity and influence of those who give the example. But greatest of all in this matter should be the zeal of priests, who, as they "are called to instruct the people in the work of life, and to mold them to Christian morality, should also, and above all, walk before them in the praotice of virtue. L?t pastors, therefore, do their beet to drive the plague of intemperance from the fold of Christ by assiduous preaching and exhortation, ana to shine before all as models of abstinence, that so the many calamities with which this vice threatens both church and State may by their strenuous endeavors be averted. And we most earnestly beseech Almighty God that, in this important matter, He may graciously favor your desires, direct your counsels, and assist your endeavors; and as a pledge of the divine protection, and as s , testimony of our paternal affection, we most lovingly bestow upon you, venerable brother, * and upon all your associates in this holy league, the apostolic benediction. Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, this 27th day of March, in the year 1887, in the tenth year of our Pontificate. Leo XHI.. Pone. Temperance Men ana Afisawing. There is this to be said, almost always and everywhere, in favor of the friends of temperance, whether they be conservative or radical?they observe the laws and they condemn assassination. Occasionally some hot* head has tried to blow up a saloon, yet it may justly be affirmed that no man ever lost his life at their hands because he disagreed with them. All the violence and all the murder done in these cases have been done by the advocates of the alcoholic beverage, and the drink has nerved them to such brutal cowardice as perhaps no man in his sober senses was ever guilty of. The law of alcohol is bad within as well as without the courts. The murder of Dr. Haddock at Sioux City, la., would ha7e put to the blush a professional assassin. It was cowardly to the last degree, the Doctor being shot in the back of his head by a man in ambush. There was no doubt a3 to the guilty man; yet the whisky party of Sioux City were wholly in sympathy with him and packed the jury box to suit themselves. Tne jury were permittee: to miugic mm tuo ?>uuuv. during the progress of the trial, were made drunk by the friends of the accused, and gave out their verdict unofficially before they | began their deliberations. One man, politely mentioned by the triends of the assassin as ~ "rn old crank," refused to acquiesde in their judgment and the jury disagreed and were discharged; and probably that is the last legal action that will be taken in the case. j The latest assassination of a Prohibitionist occurred at Haverhill, Ohio, and is as good an argument for prohibition as might be presented. Dr. W. T. Northup had incurred the enmity of Thomas McCoy, a saloon keeper. McCov headed him off and McCoy's two sons opened fire upon Northup with shotguns."* Tlie doctor defended himself with his pocketknife and injured the old man so that ne may die. Young Pierson McCoy, fearing that his victim would escape, although he had beea fired at eight times, three loads having taken effect, says an account, "ran up to the doctor and placing; the gun almost against his breast fired both barrel*, the load3 passing entirely through the doctor's body ana tearing out the' , heart. One would think there could be but one sentiment regarding such cowardly assassination as that; yet?can it be believed f ?the account says public opinion is divided, and again, "the liquor element in the town is in sympathy with McCoy, who they think has been persecuted.r The persecution consisted in arrest of McCoy on the doctor's complaint for violation of the local temperance law. He was a believer in law and sobriety ana ne tried to bare them observed, and for that he was shot down with less pity than would have been shown a dog. There have been a good many such cases. They have become toe numerous. Their effect will be to create a feeling in behalf of temperance as a means to good living and individual safety that may eventually sweep everything before it. The temperance people preach and practice nothing wrong. They mijst be protected. These assassinations must cease or there will be such a storm about the ears of those who are in sympathy with them that they will wish they had never b>en born.? New York Graphic. " Are Alcoholic Drinks Nourishing? "Prof." Kapff, the President of the "National Society," informs Governor Hill that? "Malt beverage and wine constitute the greatest and most approved nourishers and harbingers of increased health, strength, and vitality." The addition of a clause to this statement would improve it. Malt beverages and wine constitute the most approved nourishers, etc. ?if you let them strictly alone. To be sure, this would be much like the little boy's defini- ' tion of salt as something that makes potatoes taste bad if you don't put any on; but it would be nearer the truth than the Professor's statement. Dr. N. S. Davis, ex-President of the Medical Association of the United States, I say* alcoholic drinks are "injurious to all the functions of body and mind." Dr. Willard T>ot.L*at. Pmfaccnr r\f cim<rrtrv in thA New York College of Physicians an3 Surgeons, says: "Alcohol has no place in the healthy system, but is an irritant poison." Dr. B. w. Richardson, M. A., M. D., F. It. S.,says; "Alcohol is neither a food nor a drink suitable for his [inan'sl natural demands." And Dr. Carl Earnest Bach, of Leipsic, Professor of pathological anatomy, says: "Beer is brutalizing" TVhat the "National Society" is, we know not, and who Professor Kapff is, we know not; but we know who these other men are.?The Voice. R. TV. G. C. Templar J. B. Finch, appointed the first week in May as a saason of special prayer that the convention of the 2. 0. G. T. to be held in Saratoga, may be guided to right decisions. This is thought*? be the first time this organization designated a special time to invoke divine counsol in their conventions.