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" ,*: : *" . '' A $50.0(XTLUMP. FIVE POUNDS OF BLUE CLAY ALL STUDDED WITH DIAMONDS. It Was Smuggled Out of the Kiinfoerley Diamond Mines by a Kaffir, and Brought to This Country.^ TAKE a good-sized lump'of bluish putty, knead it into a rough truncated pyramid, stick 6mall bits of white and yellow and pale blue glass into the surface at random and leave the putty to harden, and when it is hardened the result will be a very fair imitation Of the most extraordinary specimen of diamondiferous earth ever brought to this country. This specimen is now in the possession of Benjamin W. Levy, a diamond dealer of this city, who bought it in and brought it from ACTUAL SIZE OF THE i South Africa. The illustration shows the exact size of the lump of earth. On the surface of this lump of earth, which is called blue mass, are fortyfive diamonds of good size, while many other smaller oDes can be seen glinting through a thin encrustation. Bine mass is the regular diamond matrix, the earth of all the Kimbarley minps nf South Africa. It dissolves like lime under 240 pounds pressure in water. On an average this earth yields about $12 worth of diamonds to the ton. If it were all as rich in diamonds as this lump supposably is, reckoning; from what appears on the surface of it, the yield would be somethink like six million dollars a ton. Mr. Levy says that until he finds an /* X ray that will show up the interior of the specimen he can't tell tbe commercial value of his prize. As a curiosity he considers it worth about $50,000. Of the diamonds on the surface of nf aa.rt.Vi ffiA larnr^at ia rPrtV VUV ?'*V,VV W* V ?V ? - oned to weigh about sixteen or seventeen carats. This one is nearly round, and almost completely encrusted with the blue mass. It is not of very good quality. The best of the stones appears to be of about four carats freight. Several of the diamonds are almost perfect octahedrons, while othars show almost equal geometrical regularity, but less complexity. The owner thinks that the surface value is About $1200. Undoubtedly thero are other diamonds inside the mass, and what the entire value of the diamond field would be can only be guessed at. Mr. Levy refuses to say what he paid for the specimen, but he states that, in addition to the money, it cost him x great deal of worry and anxiety to get it out of Africa, as only gems brought through the regular channels THE PARTY THAT GOT THE DIA] can be taken out through Capetown, the customs officials seizing all oth* ! era. This little bunch of gems was not bronght through the regular channels. It was bought from a Kaffir who was murdered shortly after the sale, presumably because the murderers expected to find the proceeds of the sale upon him, in which they were probably disappointed. Kaffirs do - - a 1 .1 U L IQOt curry iargt> auuis ui guiu auuub with them. Here is the story of the blue mass so far as Mr. Levy chooses to tell it: "It was found," said Mr. Levy to a Bus reporter to whom he was showing the specimen, "in 1891, in one of the Kimberley mines, 1800 feet below the earth'B surfaoe. A Kaffir picked it up just as it is there. How he managed to get it to the surface of the tarth is beyond my power to tell; almost beyond it to imagiue. Only one who knows of the rigorous watch kept [>y the overseers upon the. Kaffirs who pork the mmee can comprehend the Inormous difficulties of getting out Inch a lump of earth as that. Why, Lbout the only way they can get singie [tones is by swallowing them. i"Let me digress a moment tc ten on something about the mine work. 11 the diggers are natives, mostly iaffirf. They come from their own ind four days on foot to work in the tines, and get enough money to go ome and buy a wife from their King. 11 the women are owned by the King, ho sells them to the men. That's the av the royal exchequer is kept up. wife represents a long term labor in the mines, so the Kaffir is not , above decreasing his period of service by secreting a few diamonds abont him if he can. To keep the men from getting away with all the diamonds, the company has an overseer for every six or eight workers. As the Kaffirs work with no clothing other than an extremely small breech clout, opportunities lor external concealment are very small. Every one of them is carefully searohed every day before he leaves the mine. There are three punishments for Kaffirs oaught stealing ! diamonds. One is whipping; and it is no joke the way it is done there. 1 The second is imprisonment, whioh is likely to include whipping, and the third is being commitea to me Dre&ts.water to break stones. In spite of all these precautions there are many j diamonds stolen yearly. "Well, to come back to the subject, it is almost inexplicable how a five pound lump of diamond earth could be brought oat without discovery. W/r i - ^ Am Pylft 0 >50,000 LUMP OF CLAY. Possibly the finder of it may have kept it concealed for months in the mine before he could get it up; and undoubtedly there was concerted action on the part of several men. They " 1- A 1.1 A?? generauf wors logemer. a.uy ???, brought out it was, and by this fellow. " Mr. Levy put his finger on the figure in the photograph, on the far left, then he changed it to the figure in the background on the left. "And that chap was my scout," said he. "I had employed him before when I was in South Africa, and he told me of this wonderful lump of earth which a fellow tribesman of his had huried. It was in Christiania, up north of Kimberley. I had gone there by ox wagon with my brother and three other white men. We had about thirty boys?Kaffirs and Zulus, that is, they're always called boys?with the party. The Kaffir who had the diamonds was to meet my scont and 1-i- i.i? J?i it.. i. complete me ueai, vuc already been set and accepted. .None of as whites figured in the transaction as principals. My scout took out the money and brought back the chunk of blue mass, and that is all there was to it. The other Kaffir?it's inconvenient not to have any name to call him by, but the only name any of them have is just 'boy,' so far as their employers are concerned?the other Kaffir joined our party for a time. He told me that he Lad been whipped for some act of his in the mines, and he felt very revengeful over it. The picture in which you see him was taken outside of Christiana jnst before that 'boy' left us. On his way back to the mines he was murdered, but it isn't likely that the murderers got any money, for those fellows bury their stuff. They work in combinations, ten or a dozen MOND CLAY FROM THE KAFFIR. to a combination, and pool their interests. All that they get is buried in some secret spot, and they take tarns in guarding it. I have never heard of one of them playing the others false, although they are trioky enough in their dealings with the whites. Of course, the fact that death in some terrible form would be the punishment of any breach of faith acts as a deterrent. "Having got our diamonds, the next thing to do was to get them out of the country. If you go out by the southern coast you have to show a bill of sale for every gem in your possession, and you are searched pretty carefully, too. That is the sort of protection the company gets from the Government. Of course I couldn't show any bill of sale for my purchase. The ; thing to do was to get out of the counI try some other way. We struck across I country with our ox wagons until we came to the river, and then traveled by water to the coast. On the way we had some great hunting. The animals you see in the picture arc wild beasts shot near Christiania. "If I were a writer," concluded Mr. ; Levy, "I could write a book worth reading about tho diamond trade of the Kaffirs down there; but the most interesting chapter I'd have to leave oat because I won't ever know the truth of it; how that boy got the live pound lump of dirt and diamonds, from the shelf, 1800 feet down, up to iv it-> f o. 4.1._ itilt) B Buriftuc iu nuo inuo \jl vug most perfect inspection syefeem in the I world."?Now STork Sun. WOMEN IN HIttH HATS. In Baden Hats Are Always High and the Fashion Never Changes. It is commonly believed that the high hat is a very modern thing. Id faot, the centenary is said to be due FA9HI0NABLE LADIES OP BADEN. in 1897. Bat there is a country in fiermftnv wh?ri? it has bean worn far ? ??- _ ? ? ? hundreds of years, and, curiously enough, the wearers are of the female sex. The women of Elzthal, Schonach and other neighboring valleys in the Grand Duchy of Baden wear high hats as part of their best clothes. An Elzthaelerin in her holiday or Sunday clothes is one of the most picturesque sights that the entire picturesqne feminine sex can offer. She I is, in a majority of cases, a buxom, pleasing person, and her strange headgear adds to the commanding character of her aspect. The hat is slightly higher thctn the kind usually worn by men of this and other highly civilized parts of the J An n*?A aaH rr wunu. 1UO DiUUO OLO ^C&lCWViJ straight, a fashion which has prevailed among American and English (men, but has not been seen for several years. It is, in fact, of the variety which has been called the "stovepipe." In the happy and antiquated community of Elzthal the fa3hions do not change perceptibly in the courso ?f a hundred years. A girl is happy in the possession of one, or at most two high hats, and her father or husband should be happy in '.the knowledge that she does not want more. When it comes to the brim there is some difference between the Elzthal woman's hat and that of conventional man. The brim turns down slightly at the sides, and two ribbons are attftfhfirl hftrft. which Dassnnder the chin and hold the hat on the head. Even in primitive Elzthal woman does not go the length of wearing a hat large enongh to fit her. It most perch lightly on top of her hair, and be secured by something more than its own weight. These high hats are often handed down from mother and daughter, and are a source of much pride. Although they are in many cases very old, they are kept in excellent condition, and show less damage than a threemonths-old spring hat as worn by an American woman. They are made of felt just stiff enongh to hold its shape. The hats are reputed by ancient tradition to be very healthy to wear, because they interpose an air chamber between the heat or the cold and the top of the head. The women of Elzthal and Schonach do not suffer from baldness, a misfortune which is supposed to be produced among men by the use of the high hat. Dip a Razor in Boiling Water. nld.fftnhinnpd harhpr imagined that the cutting qualities of a razor were benefited by dipping it in very hot or boiling water," explained a takative knight of the razor. "He thought the razor was improved because the hot water removed a resinous substance which collected on it. The razor was improved, but not for the reason given. It has been found out that a razor or other fine steel cutting tool is best tempered at a heat of 212 degrees. That is the exact point of heat where the best edge oan be put on a razor. Two hundred and twelve degrees of heat is also boiling point of water, and consequently when a razor is dipped in boiling water it gives it a new edge again. The old-fashioned barber was right, therefore, though ha did not know why he was right." Kites That Carry Men. Five huge kites were used at Christohurch Park, Ipswich, by Lieutenant Powell a. short time ago to demonstrate the possibility of raising a man from the ground for reconnoitering purposes in time of war. A. wioker oar was attached to the kites and held the aeronauts. Dnrinc the trial it was prevented from taking too high a flight by an anchorage rope held from below and paid out from a windlass. An ascent of abont fifty feet was successfully made by three persons separately, it only requiring the letting out of more rope to have extended this distance.?Cleveland PlainDealer. American Snake With Three Heads. Dr. Shaffer, a noted Iowa naturalist, recently added to his collection of serpents a . remarkable three-headed snake. The reptile, the first of its kind ever discovered, is perfectly formed. Its three heads are of exactly the same size and shape. Its various necks are joined at the same place to its body. This remarkable reptile was discovered by William Price, a farmer, about three miles from Elizabeth, P?nn Whilo Pri/?o to a a r?r>ftirin?v A fence he found a snake's nest, filled with eggs. Ho broke the eggs. To his amazement, a snake with three distinct heade crawled from one of the shells. Price killed the snako and THE SNAKE WITH THREE HEADS. oarried it home. It was afterwards AvUtKifa/? Tr**? c/3xro**n.l rlava in ShflTflr'fl drug store at Elizabeth before being ' sent to Shaffer's brother, the Iowa 1 naturalist. DRESS DE8IGNS. J NEW AND DAINTY DEVICES IN FEMININE FASHIONS. A Stylish Jacket With DoubleBreasted Vest, and Hat to Match?Smart Frock for a Young Girl. T A WM.finT ADrn I / AA Tl M-WliV/XliJl/ UIUBUOlUllUj 1=/ embelished with nut-brown J velvet, is represented in one CT of the most popular of the season's novelties, as shown in the first large pioture. The stylish top garment is lined throughout with twotoned silk, showing Nile green and scarlet tints. The stylish hat is tastefully trimmed with shaded ribbon, handsome ostrich tips and paradise aigrette. The coat, of fashionable length, is provided with a doablebreasted vest shaped with single darts LADIES' JACKET WITH DC md 3eam in the centre front, the clos- c ng being effeoted on the left side with 1 mttons and bntton holes. Contrast- j ng material is applied to the reversed t portion of the fronts, which roll backward to form the deep graduated ! 'avers. The shapely back has the nsnal , jentre, side-back and under-arm Beams I iprung below the waist line and laid in )ox plaits at the lower edge. Medium rizea pearl buttons are used as decoraion. A distinctive feature is the fanliful and protective collar that flares tylishly at the top, its lower edge beng joined to a deep standing band hat fits the neck closely. Pocket aps cover the openings to inserted sockets and deep bell-shaped cuffs inish the stylish gigct sleeves. Bough and smooth faccd coatings ire equally adapted for this style, bat imooth faced cloths in rich shades of jreen, blue, dahlia, tan and dove for iressy occasions, contrasting pretiily with velvet or heavy corded silk. A jailor finish should be employed when the jaoket is made all of one material. A YOUNG GIRL'S FBOCK. Two of the newest colors are exquisitely blended in the smart little ? {rock depicted in the second big en- 1 graving. This frock shows a handsome < I plaid in cinnamon-brown, cross- J GIRLS' PL A borrecl with yellow and deep violet, brown velvet being used for the 6leevcs and yoke, with ribbon velvet trimmings to match. The jaunty little hat of cinnamon-brown felt, with bands of violet taffeta and o large bow of ribbon in changeable taffeta and ostrich tips forming a charming addition. The waist is arranged over a fitted lining, which closes in the centre-back with small buttons and buttonholes. The front has a narrow pointed yoke ! of velvet, to the lower edge of which the ftill portion is joined, lorming a broad double box plait, which droops perceptibly at the waist line, with blouse effect over the narrow belt of velvet. Graduated revers that form pointed epaulettes over the fall short puffs of the stylish sleeves are decorated -with buttons. The neck is completed by a standing band of velvet, with tiny points of the contrasting material above. The full straight skirt is gathered at the top and sewed to the lower edge of the .waist. The mode is appropriate for growing girls, and may be developed in a combination of silk and wool, or velvet and woolen goods, with decoration of braid, gimp or ribbon velvet. child's empire jacket. Ladies' oloth in light tan color was chosen for ?hin otvlinh lift,Id ton car ment so admirably adapted for autumn wear. The upper part of the jacket ia a deep, square joke fitted by shoulder Beams. The back is laid in a wide box-plait on either side of the centre. The loose fronts are laid in similar plaits at eaoh side, and close in ?UiJLE-BREASTED VEST Jouble-breasted fashion) the right ront overlapping the left, and finish* ng with four large ornamental batons. A stylish acoessory is the deep CHILD'S JACKET FOR COOL W?ATH?B. sailor collar forming three points both back and front outlined on its free idges with deep eoru laoe. A pretty rolling collar with flaring ends oom-' ID I I pletes the neck. The bishop sleeves, ! fashionably full, are gathered at the 1 top and tiniahed at the wrists with deep miffs. The model will deveiop serviceably in all seasonable coatings J for dressy occasions or general wear, 1 care being taken, however, to select 1 the delicate colors so becoming to | children, such ae dove color or the ; richer shades of olive, heliotrope, j dahlia or foliage greeD. Tomakothi? 1 jacket for a child four yearn of a<je, nnft And nnfi-nnarter vards of materia) 1 forty-four inches wide is required. It is rather suggestive that baby 1 girls should talk sooner than boys. gyjiMAIri.TiI 1 M ! nil PEACHES ON PLXJM STOCK. D Wherever it is desired to grow * peaches on heavy soils it is a good e uian to bnd the peaoh on the plum. ^ They are nearly enough related to * v? it.:. TTTi.ii_ 11. a ULia&e viiio uuiuu a ouuueiH. Willie iud ? pear toots will not suffer in olay as i' tfhose of the peaoh would do, thej' will 8 Supply more and better mineral plant h food for the peach apper growth than the latter would get on its own roots. P But on heavy soil either for plums or t peaches there should be thorough uuderdraining to seoure the best results. F ?Boston Cultivator. * F BWOLIiBN CHEESE. 1 Huffy cheese, as it is termed, when ' cheese swells up and craoks and exudes 6| a bad-odored fluid, is caused by im- I purity in the milk, derived either from i the water, which is apt to be bad just at this time, or to some other cause which produces a putrid decomposition of the cheese, with production of gas, by which the oheese is burst. When h cheese is in this condition it is too late 1 for core. Bnt the method of prevan- ? tion is to striotly avoid anything in the milk that is of impure origin, as, t for instanoe, impnre water from stag- a cant places or moldy or rank, coarse 11 feed from swampy ground. At the e late summer time this is to be oare- <3 fully guarded against. The way to 8 cure it in the curd when freBh made and seen to be filled with gas, whiqh causes it to float on the whey, is to scald the whey and thoroughly cook the curd in it, by which the germs are destroyed. ?American Farmer. SIMPLE FRAMING OP BUILDINGS. There has been a wonderful change ~ in recent years in the manner of framing buildings, reducing the size of timharn tihai! and rininor mnnh lanannf.. ting of mortifies and tenone. .Bat . there are still other changes in the direction of simplicity that are not commonly known. One of these is ? shown in the accompanying sketch, !' which very nearly explains itself. In- v T S 3 AN INEXPENSIVE HODSB FRAME. t stead of a heavy sill, a two-inch plank [ is laid npon the stone foundation, 0 bedded into the cement. Upon this $ are laid the planks that are to support c the door boards. These are spiked to f the uprights, which are themselves ^ spiked to the sill plank. The same jplan of spiking the frames can be oar- ~ ried out in the upper portion of the j: building. In this way all the frame is i make of plank, and no mortising or tenoning is required. Thia plan is highly useful for. small buildings, while thfere are plans to use a some- , what similar construction in the fram- 5 ing of barns.?AmericanAgrioulturist. & ' N DEMAND FOB GOOD DRAFT HORSES. a There is always domand for good ji draft horses, and farmers who have the v oonraffe and enercv to raise them cat . the profit. Scotch farmers have not B been discouraged by the ship loads of a oheap American horses, but have Be- a cured the very best sires to breed the T best heavy draft geldings that sell a high and are above all foreign compe- $ tition, and they are on the lookout for j, good horses to mature at a good profit. 0 It does no good to sit down and oom- n plain. Thoy meet the competitor and n low prices with a better class of horses, j The Scottish Farmer says: "Farming a affords to the open-minded man nu- n merons openings for ezeroising his tal- ? ents and abilities. To the man who is ^ determined to be oiroumsoribed in Uis ^ ideas and aims, agriculture may be a ^ close corporation. .Such a man can D shut himself up and eee nothing be- e yond; but, to the man who looks out, c there is in agriculture plenty of outlook. These thoughts are suggested ], by the really first olass exhibition of *] draft stallions seen at a parish show ^ near Glasgow within the past ten days. ^ Many of the farmers in that locality a have found it profitable to purchase n good, growing young horses, to keep Q them always improving, and finally to sell for city work. To farmers pos- ? sessed of the requisite skill, with hold- ^ ings from 150 to 250 acre?, the profit 8 thus derived is an important addition to revenue, and such have felt somewhat keenly the effect of the diminished profits following on the excesEive importation of cheap horses from abroad. Thie is likely to be a tem- P porary check, and the gelding trade is ^ still a paying venture."?Farm, Field ^ and Fireside. ?' THINK THIS OVKIt " We want to see more beauty and ^ greater abundance in fruits about the 1 farmhouse. We want to see more con- ,, tentment and pleasure there. We , urge the cultivation of floweis for the ~ pleusnre it affords, and the raising of ? more fruit3 and betcer gardens for the 11 increased vigor and health such things w impart. We have a vineyard that begins to ^ ripen its fruit about the 1st of August, when there is a certaiu amount of IanLjuor and listlessuess in the atmos- , phcrc, a time when fevers are apt to j ^ Lake root in the system, and when | everyone feels more or less run down. But 3ince our vineyard has been bearing, and we can go to it of an early uiorn, before breakfnst, and eat the fresh, sweet, ripe grapes, there comes hi a revived feeling, breakfast tastes bet- fo tinrl the sv^tom is toned up for i tc tLe day. It is one of tho wise provis- co ion of nature to ripen grapes just at J' the time of the year when they are it best suited to the health and appetite, le We urge the planting of vineyards ai and other small fruits. fruit garden o] is of greater necessity, in so far as the b! health and happiness of the family are w concerned, than the cornfield. The tc peasants of Spain, it is said, eat fruit ai more tliaa flD.Ttliics else, yet the* are r< -irLrii . ' - * v t ift&a&gagqge ir : ?; oted for their strength and rigor. "rench fruit is filled with the very i aaence of the life-giving principle, t is nature's storehouse of the moist teautif aland pheasant elements of the oil and the air, such as are bound to mpart renewed strength to the connmer. It is beanty and vitality comined and condensed How muoh more of happiness and ileasure there is sure to be in the home hat is surrounded by beautiful flow* irs and fresh, sweet fruits 1 How su lerior in every respeot is such a home a which to raise our ohildren, oomiared to the barren home of thd honghtlesa and shiftless, that give no ieed to the better and more elevated ysfcem of living that oomes of culti?, ating nature in her highest branches! .'hink this matter over.?Coleman'* iural World.- ' A FARM TOOL SHED. No more convenient building can e erected upon a farm than a good, oomy tool shed, where all farm ma* hines and small tools oan be honsed < rom the weather, while the owner has hfi ansnrance that he can nnt his hand t a moment's notice npon any imple lent that may be needed without the lecessitj of hunting through half A lozen buildings to lind the tool deired. On the average farm the tools SHED FOR TOOLS. re either left out of doors for laok of place to put them, or are orowded way into any nook or oorner that can ie found, often to be in the way for he next six months. " The accompanying illastration hows a cheaply built tool house that 9 fitted to hold all the farm tools and mplements, providing also in one end! repair or carpenter's shop. Three ets of double doors are provided, 10 th in front and opposite these on the >ack side, so that a machine can be [i [riven in at one side, the horses un[itched and driven out the other ride^ eaving the machine ready to ba i litched onto the next day, and drawn t mt the front doors without turning it bout. There is no chamber in the milding, but there is ample storage oom above the cross ties to pile awaj amber, or the hundred and one >ther things that need to be kept from he weather. A part of the space ould be floored over at one end to irovide a place for sleighs and nleds luring the summer months, a hook leing placed conveniently in the ridge* iole for a pully blook to use in hoistas: them into plaoe. ?New York Tri ?une. I DIGGING AND STORING POTATOES, .-J ' The digging and storing of potatoes 17 the average farmer, says the ndiana Farmer, is generally done in very oarelesa manner. The essential ioint la to retain the flavor until used, nd to do this they should never be aft exposed to the sun or air. Early arieties should be dug as soon as tops re dead, or when the skin ceases to lip from the potato. If early varieties re left in the ground they will sprout, nd thus destroy the flavor. Late arieties may be left in the ground ntil danger of freezing. As soon as ng they should be immediately stored 11 a dark, cool, and somewhat moist. eliar. And right here is where some lay differ with me, as some reoomiend a dry place in which to store.' f stored in a dry place they will wilt nd become strong. I have notioed! otatoes that remained in the ground, ver winter, that did not freeze, that rere as fresh and well flavored as' 'hen first matured. If stored in a ry cellar they should be oovered with; loist sawdust, to keep them fresh and xclnde the air. Pitting is a most ex- , ellent way; simply piling them on' rell drained ground and putting on lyer of straw and enough dirt to keep hem from freezing. Care should be iken to uncover as Eoon 'as danger com freezing is past ;a the spring, nd keep sprouts removed. As to ?? ?*>?*" Airrcrino if fivA ftQrfea Of lauuc* v? ^no?-ol - - lore are to be dag it would probably ay to use a potato digger, but if less ban that amount, the work oau be lone with a four-tined fork garden pade, or plowed with common break* ag plow. Jnst Wlial-'s in a Dream. A young lady of Philadelphia, after artaking heartily of "sorapple," reired and dreamed that she had lost er watch, a valued present from her ifcher. When she awoke in the mornag she recalled her vivid dream, and, coking at the place where she could ave eworn that she had placed it, lo, ; was gone. She told her father and brother and ley, making no donbt that it had eea stolen,reported the matter to the olice and the pawnshops were haunted i vain. On the next night the jonng oman dreamed again. This time she dreamed that before 'tiring that she bad hidden the watch i an old shoe on the bottom of a oloset. pon arising next morning she recalled ie dream, and oat of curiosity exlored the old shoe in the closet, and >uad the watch.?New York Jouril. _____ The Great Secret. Boerhaave, the greatest doctor of is time, was anxious that it should go >rth that even the most eminent docir is somewhat of a "humbug." He irefully handed tho key of a small iary to his executor, bade him open immediately after his decease, and t the contents go forth to the world ; larare. When the notebook waa pened, all its pages but the last were lank, aod on that finai one there was ritten in lar^e letters: "Directions > patients: Keep your feet warm ad your head cool, and trust for the ;st to Providence."?The Arjroaauir