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REV. DR. TALMAGE. I 1 THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN- | ^ DAY SERMON. | " ?r>_ in ?? Di.rl.on (I OUUJCUi; " 0|i, i\tu|^ U4 uwjumm, ^ Text: "Only Og, king of Bashan, re* mained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in \Rabbathofthe children of Ammon? Nine cubits was the length thereof and four cubits the breadth of it."?Deuteronomy iii., 11. The story of giants is mixed with myth. .William the Conqueror was said to have been of overtowering altitude, but when in oftertime his tomb was opened his bones indicated that ho had been physically of only RsOonri fhft Hflrn was said to Vi uiuai J oiiic* v ? have been of astounding stature, but when bis sepulchre was examined his armor was .found only large enough to fit an ordinary man. Alexander the Qreat had helmets and shields of enormons size made and left among the people whom he bad conquered, so as to give the impression that he was a giant, although he was rather under than over th6 usual height of a man. But that in other days ana lands there were real S'ants is authentic. One of the guards of e Duke of Brunswick was eight and a half feet high. In a museum in London is the skeleton of Charles Birne, eight feet four inches in stature. The Emperor Maximinwas over eight feet. Pliny tells of a giant nine feet high and two other giants nine and a half feet. So I am not incredulous when I come to my text and find King Og a giant, and the size of bis bedstead, turning the cubits of the text into feet the bedstead of Og, the king, must have been about thirteen and a half feet long. Judging from that the giant who occupied it was probably about eleven feet in stature, or nearly twioe the average human size. There was no need of Rabbinical writers trying to account for the presence of this giant. King Og, as they did, by saying that he came down from the other side of the flood, being tall enough to wAde the waters beside Noah's ark, or that he rode on the top of the ark, the passengers inside the ark daily providing him with too 1. There was nothing supernatural about him. He was simply a monster in siz9. Cyrus and Solomon slept oa beds of gold, and Sardanapalus had 150 bedsteads of gold .burned up with him, but this bedstead of my text was of iron?everything sacrificed tor strength to hold this excessive avoirdupois, this Alp of bone and flesh. No wonder this couch was kept as a curiosity at Rab bath,and the people went from far and near to see it, just as now people go to museums to behold the armor of the ancients. You say what a fighter this giant, King Og, must have been. No doubt of it. I suppose the size of his sword and Dreastpiare corresponded to the size of his beadstead, and his stride across the battlefield and the full stroke of his arm most have been appalling. ,"With an armed host he comes down to drivs back the Israelites, who are marching on from Egypt to Canaan. We have no particulars of the battle, but 1 think the Israelites trembled when they saw this monster of a man moving down to crush them. Alas for the Israelites! Will [their troubles never cease? What can men ifive and a half feet high do against this warIrlor of eleven feet, and what can short swords do against a sword whose gleam 'must have been like a flash of lightning? The battle of Edrei opened. Moses and his armv met the giant and his army. The Lord of Hosts descended into the fight, and the .gigantic strides that Og had made when advancing into the battle were more than equaled by the gigantic strides with which [he retreated. Huzza for triumphant Israel! Sixty fortified cities surrendered to them. jA land of indescribable opulence comes into 'their possession, and all that is left of the giant King is the iron bedstead. "Nine cubits '?ros th? thereof and four cubits the breadth of It." Why did not the Bible give as the .size of the giant instead of the size of the 'bedstead? Why did it not indicate that the jgiant was eleven feet high instead of telling jus that his couch was thirteen and a half ifeet long? No doubt among other things it rwas to teach us that you can judge of a man by his surroundings. Show me a man's associates, show me a man's books, show me ? man's home, and I will tell you what he is .without your telling me one word about {him. You cannot only tell a man according to the old adage. "By the company he keeps," but by the books he reads, by the /pictures he admires, by the church he attends. by the places he visits. Moral giants and moral pygmies, Intellectual giants and intellectual pygmies, like physical igiants or physical pygmies may be judged xiy their surroundings. i When a man departs this life you can tell what has been his influence in a community for good by those who mourn for him and iby bow sincere and lone: continued are the .regrets of bis taking off. There may be no pomp or obsequies and no pretense at epitapheology, but you can tell how high he .was in consecration, and how high in usefulness by how long is his shadow when he comes to lie down. What is true of' individuals is true of cities and nations. Show me the free libraries and schools of a city, and I will tell you the intelligence of its people. Show me its gallary of painting and sculpture, and I will tell you the artistic advancement of its citizens. Show me its churches, and I will tell you the moral and religious status of the place. , From the fact that Og*s bedstead was thirteen and a half feet long, 1 conclude the riant himself was about eleven feet high. Sut let no one by this thought be induced to surrender to unfavorable environments. A man can make his own bedstead. Chan trey and Hugh Miller were born stonemasons, but the one became an Immortal sculptor and the other a Christian scientist whose name will never die. Turner, the painter, In whose praise John Ruskin expended the greatest genius of his life. w*s the son of a barber who advertised "a penny suave." Dr. Prideaux, one of the greatest scholars of all time, earned his way through college by scouring pots and pans. The late Judge Bradley worked his own way up from a charcoal burner to the bench of the supreme % court of the United States. Yes, a man can \ decide the size of his own bedstead. \ Notice furthermore that even giants must \ rest. Such enormous physical endowment \ on the part of King Og might suggest the \ capacity to stride across all fatigue and Spmit slumber. No. He required an iron bedstead. Giants must rest. Not appreciating that fact bow many of the giants yearly break down. Giants in business, giants in art, giants in eloquence, giant3 in usefulness. They live not out more than half their days. They try to escape the consequence of overwork by a voyage across the sea or a sail in a summer yacht, or call on physicians for relief from msom , U-itfr 'Ji rcavui auua vi uuauuuK uo> ?w v* vu? arrest of apoplexies, when all they need is what this giant of my text resorted to?an iron bedstead. Let no one thick because he has great strength of body or mind that he can afford to trine with his unusual gifts. The commercial world, the literary world, the artistic world, the political world, the religious world, are all the time aquake with the crash of falling giants. King Og no doubt had a throne, but the Bible never mentions his throne. King Og no doubt had crown, but the Bible never mentions his crown. King Og no doubt had a scepter, but the Bible does not mention his scepter. Yet one of the largest verses of the Bible is taken up in describing his bedstead. So God all up and down the Bible honors sleep. Adam, with his head on a pillow of Edenic roses, has his slumber blest by a divine gift of beautiful companionship. Jacob, with his head on a pillow of rock, has his sleep glorified with a ladder filled with descending ? jj 1_ ana ascending augeia. vmwi, nmua^uiyn made out of the folded up coat of atishermtn honors slumber in the back part of the itorin tossed boat. In Bible times, when people arose at the voice of the bird, they retired at the time the bird puts bis head under his wing. One of our national sins is robbery of sleep. Walter Scott waa so urgent about this duty of slumber that, when arriving at a hotel where there was no room to sleep in except that in which there was a corpse,"inquired if the deceased had died of a contagious disease, and, when assured he had not, took the other bed in the room and fell into profoundest slthnber. Those of small endurance must certainly require rest if even the giant needs an iron bedstead. nonce, furthermore, that God's people on the way to Canaan need not be surprised if they confront some sort of a giant. Had not the Iaraelltish host had trouble enough already? No I Red sea not enough. Water famine not enough. Long marches not enough. Opposition by ?osmiea of ordinary stature not enough. Thar mast utd n? the giant of the iron bedstead. "Nine cubits was the length thereof and four cubits the breadth ofit." Why not lot these Israelites go smoothly into Canaan without this gigantic opposition? Oh, they needed to have their courage and faith further tested and developed 1 And blessed the man who, in our time, in his march toward the Promised Land, does not meet more than one giant. Do not conclude that you are not on tbe way to Canaan because of this obstacle. As well might the Israelites conclude they were not on tbe way to the Promised Land because they met Og, the giant. Standing in your way is some evil propensity, some | social persecution,some business misfortune, | some physical distress. Not one of you but meets a giant who would like to hew you in twain. Higher than eleven feet this Og darkens the sky and the rattle of his buckler stuns the ear. But you are going to get the victory, as did the Israelites. In the name of the God of Moses and David and Joshua and Paul, charge on him, and you will I leave hia carcass in the wilderness. You want a battle shout! Take that with which David^ the fivefooter, assailed Goliath, the nine-footer; when that giant cried, with stinging contempt both in manner and intonation, "Come to me and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field," and David looked up at the monster of braggadocio and defiantly replied: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear,, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the l*od or the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied. This day will the Lord deliver thea onto mine hand, and I will smite thee and take thine bead from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day onto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts, of the earth, that all the narth may know that there is a god in Israel." Then David, with probably three swirls of the sling about his head, got it into sufficient momentum and let fly till the cranium of the giant broke in and he fell and David leaped on his carcasss, one foot on his chest and the other on his head, and that was the last of the Philistine. But be sure you get the right battle shout and that you utter it with tne right spirit, or Og will roll over you as easily as at night ne rolled into his iron bedstead. Brethren, I have made up my mind that we will have to fight all the way up to the Promised Land. I used to think that after awhile i would gee into a time wnere it would be smooth and easy, but tbe time does not come and It will never come in this world. By the time King Og is used up so that he cannot get into his iron bedstead, some other giant of opposition looms up to dispute our ways. Let us stop looking for an easy time and make it a thirty years' war, or a sixty years' war, or a hundred years' war, if we live so long. Mast I be carried to the sides On flowery beds of ewe, While others fought to win the prln And sailed throaga bloody seas? Do you know the name of the biggest giant that you can possibly meet?and you will meet him? He is not eleven feet high, but one hundred feet higb. His bedstead is as long_ as the continent. His name is UouDC. His common 100a is uxaaei uoois and skeptical lectures and ministers who do not know whether the Bible is inspired at all or inspired in spots, and Christians who are more infidel than Christian. You will never reach the Promised Land unless you slay that giant. Kill Doubt or Doubt will kill you. How to overcome this giant? Pray for faith, go with people who have faith, read everything that encourages faith, avoid as you would ship fever ana smallpox the people who lack faith. I In this battle against King Og use not for weapons the crutch of a limping Christian or the sharp pen of a controversialist, but the sword of truth, which is the word of God. The word "if is made up of the same number of letters as the word "Og," and it la I just as big e giant. If the Bible be true. If the soul oe immortal. If Christ be God. I If our belief and behavior here decide our I future destiny. If. If. If. I hate that word "If." Noah Webster says it is a conjunction; I say it is an armed giant. Satan breathed upon it a curse when he said to Cnrist, "If Thou be the Son of God." What a dastardly and infamous "If." - " - ? ? . ?.L1. ..T I Against mat zianc "ii" nuri ooo a -j. know" and Paul's "X know." "I know that my Redeemer liveth." "I know in whom I have believed." Down with the "If" and up with "I know." Oh, that giant Doubt is such a cruel giant! It attacks many in the last hour. It would not let my mother alone even in her dying moments. After a life of holiness and consecration such as I never heard of in any one else, she said to my father. 'Father, what if after all our prayers and struggles should go for nothing. Why could she not, after all the trials and sicknesses and bereavements of long life and the infirmities of oil age, be allowed to go without such a cruel stroke from Doubt, the giant? Do you wonder I have a grudge against the old monster? If I could I would give him a bigger bounce than Satan got when, hurled out of heaven, the first thing he struck was the bottom of perdition. With Og*s downfall all tbe sixty cities surrendered. Nothing was left of the giant except his iron bedstead, which was kept in a museum at Rabbath to show how tall and stout he once was. So shall the last giant A?t?\AsiH/\n in fka /iKniuik'a nrtn?<IA. V/i V^pValMUU AAA wun VUU1UU a UUUWU OUV-" cumb. Not sixty cities captured, bat all the cities. Not oaly oa one side of Jordan, but on both sides of all the rivers. The day Is coming. Hear it, all ye who are doing something for the conquest of the world for Uod and the truth, the time will come when, as there was nothing left of 0g, the giant, but the iron bedstead kept at Rabbath as a curiosity, there will be nothing left of the giants of iniquity except something for the relic hunters to examine. Which of the giants will ba the last slain I know Dot, but there will be a museum somewhere to hold the relics of what they once were. A rusted sword will be hung up^?tha only relic of the giant of War. A demijohn ?the only relic of the giant of Inebriation. A roulette ball?the only relic of the giant of Hazard. A pictured certificate of watered stocks?the only relic of the giant of Stock Gambling. A broken knife?the only relic of the giant of Assassination. A yellow copy of Tom Paine?the only relic of the giant of Unbelief. And that inussum will ao for the later aze3 of the world what the iron bedstead at Kabbath did for the earlier ages, jjo you not see it mates ail me amerence in the world whether we are fighting on toward a miserable defeat or toward a final victory? All the Bible promises prophesy the latter, and so I cheer you who are the troops of God, and though many things are dark now, like Alexander I review the army by torchlight, and I give you the watchword which Martin Luther proclaimed, "The Lord of HostsP "The Lord of Hosts I" and I cry out exultingly with Oliver Cromwell at the battle of Dunbar, "Let God arise: let His enemies be scattered." Make all the preparations for the world's evangelization. Have the faith of Robert and Mary Moffatt, the missioners, who after preaching in Bechuanaland for ten years without one convert when asked what they would like to have sent them by the way of gift from England, said, "Senda communion service, for it will be surely needed;" and sure snough the expected ingathering of many fouls was realized and the communion service arrived in time to celebrate it. Appropriately did that missionary write in an album when his autograph was requested: My album la the lavage breast. Where darkness reign* and tempests wrest, VVlthoat one ray of light. To write the name of Jean* there And point to worlds both bright and fair, And see the savage bowed in prayer, Is my supreme delight. Whatever your work and wherever you work for God?forward! You in your way and I in my way. With holy pluc* fizhton with something of the strength of Tnomas Troubridge, who at Inker maun had one l9g shot off and the foot of the other leg, anl when they proposed to carry him off the field, replied: "5fo. I do not move until the battle is won. W natever oe tna rockin? or the church or state, have the calmness of the aged woman in an earthquake that frightened everybody else, and who, when asked if she was not afraid, said, No; I am glad that I hare a God who can shake the world." Whether your work be to teach a Sabbath class, or nurse an invalid, or reform a wanderer, or print a tract, or train a household, or bear the querulousness of senility, or cheer the disheartened, or lead t. soul to Christ, know that by fidelity you may help hasten the time when the world shall be mowed under with white lily and incarnadined with red rose. And now I bargain with you that we will come back some day from our superateller abode to see how the world looks when it shall be fully emparadised?its last tearwept, its last wound healed, its last shackle broken. Its last desert gardenized, its last ! I giant of Iniquity decapitated* And when we land, may it be somewhere near the spot of earth where we have together toiled and struggled for the kingdom of God, and may it be about this hour in the high noon of some glorious Sabbath, looking into the upturned faces of some great audience radiant with holiness and triumph. RELIGIOUS READING. WE COME TO THKE. We come to Thee, sweet Saviour I Just because we need Thee so; None need Thee more than we do None are half so vile or low. AVecome to Thee, sweet Saviour! None will have us, Lord, but Thee; And we want none but Jesus, And His grace that makes us free. We come to Thee, sweet Saviour! With our broken faith again: We know Thou wilt forsrive us, Nor upbraid us, nor complain. We come to Thee, sweet Saviour! It is love that makes us come; We are certain of our welcome, Of our Father's welcome home. We come to Thee, sweet Saviour! For to whom. Lord, can we go? The words of life eternal From Thy lips forever flow. We come to Thee, sweet Saviour! We have tried, Thee oft before; But now we come more wholly. With the heart to love Thee more. We come to Thee, sweet Saviour! And Thou wilt not ask us why; We cannot live without Thee, And still less without Thee die. ?[Faber. GO AND DO IT. Go and do it now, this moment, instantly. Go, run. ,;To do what?'' say you" the commandments of God, all, everything in the Book, tbe great Book, the Book of Books. Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Diffuse life, light and glory; scatter widely the seeds of benevolence. "Wash you, make you clean, cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow;" in n word, follow the golden rule, keep thyself unspotted. An* thing more, any thing less? Go and do it I AM THE WAY. Who? Jesus Christ. Whence? From sin, woe, hell. Whither? To holiness, joy, heaven. How? By his perfect obedience, atoning blood, and new creating Spirit. Is there any other way? Not one. Said Peter, by the Holy Ghost, "neither is there salvation in any "other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby wc must be saved."' Cannot then morality save us? Nor Alms? Nor penance? Nor masses? Nor priestly dispensations? Nor the merits of saints? Most certainly not. Are not the words of God just cited, plain? Are they not explicit? Need any man misunderstand them? "Will any man peril his soul, by perverting or neglecting them? "Woat more thanmadness! To every heir of guilt and immorality, Jesus Christ says, pointing from hell to heaven?I am the way '.? [Presbyterian of the "West. PltAYKR. "He will not hear those who have not a steadfast belief in His promises." He doserves our confidence, and He requires it. * ".Nor will he hear those who come unto His presence full of worldly feelings." We must love God supremely, and allow neither our houses, our stores, our ships, our stocky our money, our goods, to occupy the thoughts that should be given to Him. "He will not hearken to those who ask the things they do not sincerely desire." Some ?;o through a round of petitions without eeling a need of the things they ask, or without any strong desire to obtain them. "He will not listen to those who ask with perfect selfishness, and without anv regard to His glory." Our prayers must be disinterested. "We must not implore for thiugs to pamper appetites, promote our own ease and indulgence, or the worldly prosperity of our families. We must not petition for objects that will not increase our spirituality, Christinn activity and carefulness. We must have a supreme regard for the glory of God in all we ask of Him. "He canuot consistently hear us when we cry to Him for tilings lie has revealed he cannot consistently witb bis glorv grant." It is an insult to God to ask him for what he has told us he cannot and ought not to give. Such prayers are an abomination in the sight of a benevolent God. "He will not regard the prayers of those who supplicate for things without using the means necessary for their attainment." God helps those who help themselves. He confers blessings through human instrumentality. We must do our part, or God will withhold his aid. "It is inconsistent for God to hear the prayers of those who pray without relying on the blood and righteousness of Christ." promise can be accounted for by ?ur own failure in one or more of these: (1) "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do." Really, not verbally only, in the name of Jesus; asking not In miKiwr namp at all: siirnin.^ our Ueti tion, as it were.with his name only, coming to the Father by our Advocate, our Representative. L'o we always ask this? (2) "Believing that ve shall receive." The faith-heroes of old '-th rough faith * obtained promises," and there is no new way of obtaining them. Is it any wonder that, when we f.tasrger ac any promise of God through unbelief, we do not receive it? All the blessings conferred on us are the purchase of the atoning Saviour. We must plead his righteousness"and the great atonement He has made. "Behold. O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine annointed." THE CONDITIONS OF EFFECTUAL PRAYER. "And all things, whatsoever vc believe," ctc. Have we not sometimes been tempted to think that here, at least, is a case in which our Lord has not literally and always kept his word? in which we "do not get quite so much as the plain English of the promise might lead us to cxpect? If so, well may lie Bay to us, "Do ye riot therefore err, because ye know not "the Scriptures, neither the power of God?" This marvelous "Whatsoever" depends upon live great conditions, and if we honestly lexaminc we shall find that every case of seeming failure in the (3) "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye sliali ask what ye will, and It shall be tlone unto you." Ah, here is a Hoonor nsbimr !ini! lint liavine bf> cause we ask amiss. And this leads us to see the root of our failure in another condition. (4) " Whatsoever we ask. we receiva of him. because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight '" Only as we are abidinz in nim can we brine forth the fruit of obedience. (5) '-If we ask anvtuin? according to His will. He heareth us.". When what we ask is founded on a promise or any written evidence of what the will of the"Lord is, this ia comfortingly clear. But what about petitions which may or may not be according to His will? Surely, then, the condition can only be fulfilled by a complete blending of our own will with His. Two comforting tbougths ari>c: First, the very consciousness of our failure in these conditions shows us the wonderful kindness and "mercy of our King, who has answered so many a prayer in spite it of according to His own heart, und not according to our fulfillment, giving us of His royal bounty that to which we had forfeited all shadow of claim; secondly, that he who knoweth our frame knows a'so the possibilities of His grace, and would never tantalize us by offering niagnilicient. gifts on impossible conditions. Will he give him a stone? Would an earthly parent? Would you? Therefore the verv annexing of these intrinsically most bies-ed conditions implies that His grace is sufficient for their fulfillment, and should lure us on to a blessed life of faith, abiding in Jesus, walking in oDedience unto all pleasing, und a will possessed of his own divine will. ? [Frances Ridley Havcrgal. Dr. Kwgley ha9 9aid that he holds the formula of his cure for inebriety "in trust tor the wives and mothers of the world." Has it occurred to the good doctor that the law declares that the income of a trust does not belong to the trustee? MINERS VS. FELONS. THE TROUBLE IN THE TENNESSEE COAL MINES. ? Origin of the Pierce Strife in the Mountains at Briceville?The District and Its People Portrayed. | VHV HE trouble be/ J I | tween the TennesI ooa minofc nnfl tKp Sfljfjj I convict laborers >&!($ C\ iQ the mines of t^ie Tennessee & Coal Company xS&? an(*1Q '^6 KnoxXI vllle Iron Companv's mine at WClH^i Briceville is not an j I ]|l|^||p^ Jet ended, and (J j A hotilities, remarks V.l"A \mgm Chicago Heraid,may break out afresh any day. The history of the dispute is well understood at the seat of disaffection, but the public at large has but a slight conception of the questions at issue. One night last July a party of three hundred miners went to the Tennessee Coal Company's mine, where the work i? ?? J 1 Uto ond /la. was oeing uuuc uy uunu^a, raanded that the latter be taken away. The guards, being few in number and unable to offer resistance, removed the convicts from Briceville to Coal Creek, and the officers of the company called upon the State for aid, which wa3 granted. A few days later an armed and organized body of miners, hc least a BRIC thousand strong, assembled at Coal Crwk and marched in a column to Briceville, five miles distant. The militia was surrounded, and a committee deI manded their surrender. As resistance was out of the question. Colonel Sevier, in command of the militia, agreed to withdraw and take the convicts to Enoz> ville. After convicts and militia had started on the train, the miners proceeded to the mines of the Knoxville 1 Iron Company, in which convicts had been employed for fourteen years. The guards there marched out with 125 convicts, who in turn were sent to Enoz| . L A GROUP OF FBEE MINERS. ville. Governor Buchanan, being in formed of the situation, sent tea companies, some of them artillery armed with Gatling guns, to the scene of disturbance. A committee of miners visited the Governor, but could get no satisfaction from him. There was great excitement among the miners and violence was threatened. A meeting was held, at which the committee appointed to wait upon the Governor made a report. It was a turbulent gathering. The only concession that the committee had been able to obtain was a compromise that the Governor would call an extra session of the Legislature and submit to that body a proposition lor tne repeal 01 the convict labor law. A few counseled forbearance until this should be brought about, but the majority insisted that convict labor in the mines should cease at once. Finally, however, it was agreed to allow the Governor to act as he had proposed, on condition that the militia be ordered home; that aa armistice be maintained for sixty days and that the convict lease system be abolished. The committee was instructed to inform the Governor that if these conditions were not complied with there would be war, and that any force sent into the mountains to coerce them would be exterminated from the face of the earth. Governor Buchanan called the Legislature in extra session as agreed, but that body refused to repeal the convict labor law. Troops were again sent to the district to protect the convicts, and, although there have since been no popular disturbances, an armed neutrality exists which may at aDy time be overthrown and result in a reign of carnage. The district in which these troubles have arisen ia one of the wildest in Tennessee, and the people are by no means peaceably inclined when they consider that their rights have been infringed. The miners are for the most part a sober, industrious and law-abiding set of men. Work in the mines is the only means of subsistence for entire communities. The labor of the convicts ha* had an exceedingly hurtful effect upon them. It has lenaea 10 lessen wages, to impau mc morals of the community and to destroy that emulation or esprit du corps that is so essential to general prosperity. Free labor has been unablfi to compete with convict labor, and as a result the people have been growing poorer year by year. There are many personal and family feuda in the section that have several times resulted in bloodshed. The SuttonBarnard feud several years ago attracted widespread attention. Originating in a trivial difference of opinion, it grew to great proportions, and resulted in the 1 violent death of five persons and the permanent maiming of several others. A writer in the Illustrated American says of them: SOME OF THE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN GUABDS There are no beautiful women with wide eyes and minds full of idealizings. There are no men of especial comeliness Love is passion pure and simple. Hatred is neither stagy nor poetic, but hard, fierce and sordid. The family relations are commonplace where they are not brutal. lu fact, there are no materials for Sunday-school romances. Hands *? ?~ Ofl TTupoa urc uaiu uauuuacu auu u?vikioui a uvwu are dull, obstinate and generally marked by dissipation and toil. Feet, both male and female, are of generous proportions. "The mountaineers are hospitable or else they turn away the traveler with Ihe point of the gun. They grasp the hand SEVILLE. or else they meet the outslreched hard with the knife-blade. They have clear and strong ideas of right and wrong as the free, untrampled mountains reveal them. They detest the machinery of the law and permit each maa to be the arbiter and avenger of bis own wrongs. Both men and woman are rough, uncouch, brave, freedom-loving, haters of innovation, of government, of good clothing, and of the life of cities." Wild Bice. Wild rice is a native of our Northern and Western States, valuable as a forage plant for swamps and inundated lands. Stock of all descriptions are fond of it when green and also when used for fodder. It is also an attractive bait for wild fowl. It grows very rapiuiy m from one to five feet of water, ripens late ia August or early in September. It is sometimes sown in fishponds. Form* erly the Indians of the lake region of the Northwest made great use of it as an i article of food by gathering it in their ' canoes and curing it for winter food. Some of the leading seedsmen quote ic in their catalogues. Thorburn gives the following directions for sowing it: Put the rice in coarse cotton bags and sink them in water for twenty-four hours. Sow in water which is from six inches to five feet deep, in soft mud bottom, and in places where there are but few weeds. It is useless in sowing this seed except on a mud bottom, or on low marshy places which are covered with water the year round.?New York World. Applying the Death Penalty In Spain. Speaking of a recent execution by the garrote in Spain, the San Francisco Examiner describes the method of capital punishment in that country as follows: The platform upon which the garrote was erected was surrounded by a.rough " ?L:A _ wooden railmg, inside oi wmca was a strong detachment of police and troops, who bad no trouble in keeping the people back. Upon the scaffold there were four wooden partitions, in each of which was a stake. Attached to each stake there wa&a metallic collar which is put around the criminars neck. Behind the collar is a screw which is turned until its point crushes into the spinal column, causing almo3t instant death. A SPANISH EXECUTION. The old way of executing criminals in Spain was to tie a cord about their necks and then twist it with a stout picce of stick until the victim was strangled to death. The present system is considered to be a great improvement on the old plan. Kerry Cattle. Kerry cows have not been kept in this country to any extent, probably on ac. - r .1. 11 Tl,^? COUnt; OI LUUir siuuii xuuoc mat have been imported have disappeared from sight or have been kept by a few persons who have made no effort to spread any knowledge of them. They may be procured through E. Goodwin Preece, live stock agent, Shrewsbury, England. Good specimens of the breed will cost about $ J 50 per head landed on this 8>ic of the water. This breed of cow9 is said to be the most productive of all for *he food consumed.?New York Times. . 6. i : SORGHUMS FOR DRY SEASONS. It has been found that some of the non-saccharine sorghums are among the best of drought-resisting grasses. These sorghums will compare favorably with corn in the amount and quality of the seed they will produce. German millet gives a good yield of hay in Kansas, where it has been tested, and following it closely are the Hungarian, broom corn and Wonder millet.?New York World. ENSILAGE IN STACK8. The Scotch or English practice of stacking hay and then subjecting it to pressure by weights or by windlasses, drawing together chains or ropes attached to cross-timbers under an? over plank floorings, seems to be successful there, but it is not adapted to this country with its variable climate and extremes of tflmnerftt.nrfl. "Ernfirimentfl madfl in thifl State and Massachusetts showed much loss in spoiled ensilage?in one case nearly two-thirds of the stack; and this wastage, even if much le*s, will doubtless offset the cost of a good silo.?Country Gentleman. TJLIKDEB3. Few persons think of the suffering caused to horses from the use of blinders. The horse's eyes are placed on the side of the head, but the blinders, shutting off the side view, compel him to look ahead, hence they must cause a constant strain and besides they act as reflectors, and reflect the sun's glare into the animal's sensitive eyes. Most" people know the painful effect on the eye of a ray of sunlight from a mirror. When close to the head, blinders cause an unnatural heat which is injurious. The horse is not so likely to be fright ened if he can see what is betana mm. In Russia, -where blinders are never used, a shying horse is almost unknown. Care, of course, should be used in taking them j off horses accustomed to them.?New Orleans Picayune. TO PREVENT SMUT HT OATS. Steeping seed oats in' hot water is a method by which the greater portion of the loss from smut may be prevented and is the result of last year's investigation at the Ohio Experiment Station. Briefly, the method is as follows: Have two vessels, in one of which the water is warmed to about 120 degrees and in the other kept as near 135 degrees as possible. Have a basket of wire netting or loose splints covered with cloth, of the * ' ' 1 -f- U i ngnt size, to De put in iae cum water bath and in this immerse the seed io the cooler bath, keeping it there aod stirring around until all the grains are warm, then lift out and plunge io hot bath, where it should remain from eight to ten minutes, being stirred all the time. Then remove it nod dip into cold water or upreau tuc yiaiu uut ouu tuiun Wiu -water over it, letting it dr7 sufficiently for sowing. The effectiveness of this method depends on having the water hot enough to destroy the smut germs which adhere to the outside of the oats, but not so hot as to destroy the oat germs. Two vessels are used because the water in the warmer one would be cooled too much if the grain were placed in it immediately, or it would have to be heated so warm a3 to destroy the vitality of the seed.?New York Observer. DOES CHTJBNING IKJCEB THE BOTTEB? There is too much nonsense written by ignorant persons about the character of milk and cream and the effect of churning. and manv persons are led astray OI ? thereby. The butter globule is too small for any mechanical injury to happeu to it. The average size of these globules is one two-thousandth part of an inch in diameter, and, consequently, taking four per cent, as the average proportion of butter in the milk, there will be not less than 100,000,000,000 of these globules in the cream of one quart of milk of average quality. The smallness of these particles is such that they cannot be broken up or changed in any way by the mechanical effect of the churning or any other process through which the cream is put. The only ill result on thp butter is by improper working, and this does not in any way change the form or character of the fat globules, bat it may press them together more closely, ju9t as clay is made sticky and adherent by working it when it is wet. And when the butter is plastered by drawing the laael over it, instead of simply pressing this on it the effect is not to break these globules but to draw them together and squeeze out the moisture, and so make the butter salry and sticky, instead of preserving the grain of it.?New York Times. TESTING on ASS AXD CLOVER SEED. It is well to test grass and clover seed, not only to determine if the vitality of the seed is impaired, but also to asccrif ia oHnlt-ppfttftd with seeds of i WtU 11 AW M _ _ weeds or noxious grasses. Testing should | never be neglected, for it is the seed . not suspected that does the harm. Select a number of seeds large enough to make I the test a test?at least one hundred, j Count carefully. Place the seeds between I woolen cloths moistened with tepid water. The cloths should be boiled before they arc used, and the plate or pan in which they are laid should be scalded to avoid the growth of fungi or mould. ) For the same reason,only recently boiled j water should be used for moistening the cloths. At least two cloths should be j laid upon the plate. Then the seed is i distributed over them, and covered with i another cloth. If the reader can cover { the plate with glass he should do so, as i this will retard evaporation and protect j the cloths from floating germs. Under ; these conditions and a temperature of seventy to eighty degrees Fahrenheit, I good seed, will germinate within ten I i days. Seeds uf little vitality may germ- > | inate after ten days,but they should not j be counted iu the test, a3 they woukl j probably fail to germinate under field ; conditions. Seed should not be used when more than ten per cent, fails to j germinate,if better seed can be procured j in time for testing and sovrlag.?Amer- , icaa Agriculturist. E USING PEKIN DOCKB. -1r|l The Pekia duck is comparatively a new Jftk variety in this country, as the first speed- > ? mens were landed in New York in 1873^ after a vovan? of 124 davs from Shanghai. . ' / China. They are, however, as hardy and J.4|| prolific as any of the domesticated ducks* and their bodies are so large and heavy ,'?3 and wings so short that they ara readily '? kept 11 yards or other encluaures. This ? variety of the duck can be raised where ever other fowls succeed and with the same care, except that they need more 'rffi water for drink than hens. Ajb soon MM fl the ducklings are out of the shell re- g move them, with the mother, to a coop set on fresh grass, and keep them con.* ' lined in a small pen, say ten feet square* until they are two or three years old. Keep a shallow pan of water constantly in the pen, in which the ducklings may1 wade at pleasure. The water should bo changed frequently in order that It 'v-|g may be kept pure. For the firet jpzfr food give the yolks of hard-boiled $9 eggs, and if these cannot be had then ' give boiled liver chopped up fine. Thia Si food will answer for the first week, then, gradually change to scalded Indian -jM meal,, wheaten grits, or rice. Bread .',-3 crumbs and sour milk may also be given. As the ducklings get older give there vjJ3 more liberty, when they wUI get a ,*|g greater variety of food, such as insects and angle worms; also vegetables, or at least Sue grass and clover. If you do ! ^ not have a pond filled with weeds, or good high land pasture, give chopecL' onions, cabbages, lettuce, and other green and succulent vegetables. Alway? , ^ have your duck# kept in a yard at nighty and let this be their home, for when! {% they get enough to lay you will want to gather their eggs, and as the; are usu- 'f; ally dropped early in the morning, and : "|p almost anywhere on the ground, you . have onlr to look about the yard to find! : them. If the ducks are allowed to roam- , at will they usually seek some secure. spot for hiding their nests and eggs, andl . this is why they should be placed in a yard at night, and not let out until about -j$ | the middle of the forenoon each during the laying season. In feeding the old duck* it is a good plan to scatter the corn, oats; wheat, ana other grain. Vkm given them in shallow water, and left ' . them pick it out as it becomes soft.?' ,:J New York Sua. i FARM AND GARDEN NOTES. Have at least one low wagon on the Frosted food soon loses its nutritive 1 qualities. Land too steep for cultivation may be '.-x made good pasture. There is not enough attention paid to the selection of seed. A cow was not made to trot. The cow gait is a walking one. Calves should have a yard where thej can exercise themselves every day. The manure of a well-kept animal goee C j| far toward paying for winter keep. After calves learn to be held it doer ;;.y( nnt tx'<p loner to teach them to lebd. Have everything ready for work at soon as the frost is out of the ground. Under all conditions young animate 'yi make the gain in proportion to th* food vJ eaten. Study your farm. No one else ought $1 to know its needs and capacity as wdK as you. Calves reared on skim-milk can readily be made to make a very satisfactory ' v.'; ; growth. It is better to give a scrub thorough- m bred care than a thorough-bred animal jag scrub care. When calves are overfed it upsets their digestive organs and loads up the system > with injurious matter. t ' 'tS Much should be applied wherever needed, and also give extra covering to fruit and vegetable pits. Increase in weight with cattle is most ' cheaply secured with good pasturage during the growing season. For scurvy or itch in calves, mix tur i!-- linflflort Ail an^ an. penune, auipuui auu mugou vu < * ? ?j. ply twice a week until cured. No heifer given scrub care until she *j becomes <t mother will make the cow she would, had better treatment been ' A given. With rotation comes a knowledge of how to produce other crops, and hence mixed farming Li practiced by the best farmers. A small, thrifty tree, with good root? when set out, will be a good bearing tree sooner than a large one with mutilated roots. It is rarely profitable to feed grain to yearling steers on a good pasture when they are not to be marketed until another season. Winter prices for the products of the dairy and pDultrj-yard have been such as to encourage everybody who can do so to increase the supply. After a calf raised by feeding is a month old it will commence eating Hnvpr hav. and can always be fed hay and bran to an advantage. If good care has been taken in breed-' mg and feeding, from twenty-four to thirty months is the most profitable age at which cattle should be marketed. Skim-milk is capital to feed the calfa, colts and pigs?a great aid to digestion. With an abuundance of grain it promotes rapid growth and development. One advantage in feeding a calf i# that it becomes so accustomed to handling that when the first calf comes she ia usually much less trouble to learn to milk. Calves raised on skim-milk with some bran, meal and hay, after they are large enough to eat it, make a very satisfactory growth and prove good beef animals. When calves are fed liberally when young, tbey will make large, thrifty cattle with plenty of room in their stomachs for food and healthy organs of, digestion. . - . ,e. , . '