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A BOER GIRL IN THE *fp ''I"!] If When young, Boer girls are bandsc eyes are blue, tbeir bair ligbt, tbeir fee take 9s in men's shoes. They attire th' gay with ribbon and brass jewelry. OOOOOOOOOOGGQOCOOOOOCOGQOQ ? THE PEARL-BUTTON INDUSTRY 0F? | THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 8 oocoooooooooooooooooooooeo \ V| KARL buttons are part, from^ireshwater m n %?<e 1 shells. In less than three years' p ^..--^'1 clam digging 'for J this purpose in the ^the Mississippi River has developed from an occasional pursuit into a science* The bivalves taken up resemble the salt water article as mucn as a rninoceros resembles an elephant. Theyare^not fit to eat, they look raw, even ,wKen some adventurous tenderfoot boils them, and they have a taste weirdly- \ compounded of catfish and musk. They are in reality mussels, and are wanted not for their meat bnijtor;'* the beautiful mother-of-pearl linl)$jgiK t of the shells, from which buttons And L hundred of fancy articles are macUCf A, ? thousand men are engaged in this \ industry, most of them working^??? ^ their own hook, and they make from $40 to $125 a month, according to their ' facilities and application. The shells when dried are sold the ton to the locA&Dabeerns that are 1' known as button ^i^torjes,though , they do- not often mike buttons. They ( ate in reality polishing, shops and are. I fitted up with a vast lumber of ste*mj! driven wheels and ^brushes, emery^g 1 ' : ~ | MUSSEL FISHING THROUGH T ' teriors of the shells and grinding off the rough outer covering. This material is shipped East to factories^ where buttons are made, as well as hundreds of other useful and, in manjr cases, beautiful articles. Clam sheila ' from the upper reaches of the Mississippi River are turned into shirt buttons, the big buttons, sometimes as big as & silver dollar, that are used on women's cloake,* cuff buttons, mother-of-pearl arabesques with which ^ brushes and eombs are to be inlaid, backs of pocket-knives, shirt studs, cheap scarf pins, buckles, ear rings, bracelets and even finger rings. It requires close examination by an expert to tell this mother-of-pearl from the genuine South Sea article, and k there is practically no difference in & structure or appearauce. ft Tiie most picturesque feature of the B iuuustiy is the constant looking for pearls. Thousands upon thousands ol dams are optaeu aiiu eahiuiiicu carefully for every fair pearl that is HB discovered, yet a find of almost any f rEERKon:;" :?ir*snL with blanks cut out. * i sort is apt to pay tiie searcner lor ms trouble. The pearls are common enough, but generally they are not larger than a mustard seed, and are ! valueless. Not infrequently, one is found that will fetch in its raw state fr.om to S10, and instances are many cf even greater treasure troves. Mussels are obtained with various kinds of apparatus. Those which have been or are now in use are the hand rake, the tongs, the rake hauleu by means of a windlass, the dredge operated by steam, and the bar with books. The last named, a very ingenious contrivance, came into use in I . < . "national costume. cn \ V \ c\ )me, tall and of good figure. Their t and bands large. Many Beer belles einselves as a inle in white muslin, 1897 and has largely superseded other appliances. It consists of a circular iron bar, sis to eight feet long, with from thirty to fifty-four pronged wire hooks attached at regular intervals in strings of two or three hooks. This apparatus, which is used from a small boat and is hauled over the bottom by means of a rope, depends for it3 ac|Q|~| ^ e-sse J the us^ yi: i of this apparatus can scarcely realize how remarkably effective it is. Often when the mussels are abundant, almost every prong will have a mussel on it, and two or three lire sometimes caught on one prong. When the beds 'O&m'QsaelB are compact, one man can tajgp 800 to 1000 pounds in a day, and ifc^j4se is reported where 2200 pounds ?re obtained by one man in ten urs. The average daily catch at present, however, is probablv not over 500 pounds. After sufficient ice forms on the river, there is considerable mussel fishing through the ice with "shoulder rakes" and "scissor rakes." For the use of these appliances, under such circumstances, a hole two to six feet square is cut through the ice. Preparatory to being used, the mussel Hhells, as purchased from the fishermen, are sorted into sizes. A.n other preliminary step is the soaking of the sorted snells in barrels of fresh water for three *? s*x days to render them less brittle. Even when ojily a few hours out of the river the tfflells become dry and brittle, and crumble or spiit under the saw. The nest step is the cutting or sawing of the rough blanks. The saws are of flat steel strips about two inches wide, and of varioiiSjj lengths corresponding to the gizes JH the buttons. These stripy/aftttcdgH ing provided with fine teeth aIqBff?P of the sides, are accurately befit - iiita a . cylindrical form and fitted -iitto heavy iron holders; the latter are^adjusted to a lathe in which they reyolVa on a horizontal axis. As the blanks-' are cut tbey pass back into the saw and holder and drop into a box be* #1 ? i. 1 * J neatti the saw. Alter oeing ponaneu, washed and dried, th?5 buttons go to rooms where they are sorted into sizes and grades of quality, and then sewed on cards and packed in pastebeard boxes. Windmills, though only now becoming popular for pumping water, were known in Europe so far back ?.s 1105. Vi iv 1 " * 'JatSr. . ...r Remedy For (lie Locust rincuc. The plan consists in catching and smearing a few of the locusts with "locust fungus," a preparation which is cultivated in the Bacteriological Institute at Grahamstown, Cape Colony. Tb?s insects are then allowed to return to the swarm, which they infect with what is presumably a fatal disease. The same preparation applied on damp soil in places where it is known locusts will swarm leads to their complete destruction. Twenty swarms are said to have been destroyed in this manner. Although this statement is open to doubt, it may be remembered that a celebrated bacteriologist once proposed to deal with the rabbit pest, in Australia in much the same way. It is quite possible that a similar remady might be found for the malarial mosquito, for it is only by such means that its extirpation could be brought. ?Chambers's Journal. What a T-lttln Girl Thought. ' rA party of friends of the late VicePresident Hobart were visiting Washington, and of course spent an hour in the Senate chamber. Among them was a little girl of ten who paid close attention to the proceedings. Two days afterward he met the child, who presently asked: "Do you sit there every day listening to those old men talk?" "Yes, dear." "Do yon have to?" "Yes." "I'm real sorry. It's an awful thing to be Vice-President, isn't it?"?Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post.; ^ How the Boers Hobble Horiea* This is the way Oom Paul's men hobble their horses to prevent them running away at night. Erery one of the Boer soldiers now fighting the British in South Africa is mounted, and a camp scene showing the ponies grazing while tethered in this way is quite picturesque. The custom is said to be a cruel one, and 'no doubt the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will start a crusadeagainst it in due time. Swapping: lieasta In a Zoo. ( Horse "swapping" is a dull and Uneventful branch of industry compared; with the gorgeous po.seibilitidiuhat are within reach of the animarflMjiJjjK Central Park in New York City.^j^t'6 would be content with; trading a ined horse for a blind mare,AriHm he hears of the trading that the nfl| in the employ of the. dity did dnringf the ! last three 'Mnronths? They "swapped'* a bn'ck*nylghau for two cassowaries, two zebus for five bald eagles, one buck nylghau for two llamas, and, final and crowning deed of all,they exchanged a hippopotamus for a select and valuable bunch of assorted beaBts, consisting or one lioness, one tiger, two leopards, two pumas and two antelopes. Apparatus For Opening: Difficult Doors. In a new invention a single cell is made to open the most difficult of doors, even at a distance of fiftjyards. The apparatus can be fixed .either inside or outside the door. It will also lift or snoot strong bolts. It works with a single-pressure of a knob. It is especially adapted for asylums or jails, where emergencies requiring just such an appliancelftRB likely to arise. Benefits of New Foods. ' The introduction of new foods is an excellent plan for both the health' a*d commercial prosperity 01 a uuuuu. Nearly all of what are regarded airindigenous fruits and vegetables have been imported to us from other lands. Of the food plants now in use only pumpkins and a few grapes, plums and berries were originally found on the soil. An Appalling Pun! 'j"I see it stated," remarked the >Horse Editor, "that the monarch cf J^byssinia may mako trouble for England inSouth Africa." ~ .t^t^on't think," added the Snake "that the Abyssinian Monarch Mftrielikefl for the Boers."? Pfl$?t>urg Chronicle-Telegraph. I f V * J ' 'I ?W' ^ V&? i<V.;?' k a J 0i *^4 ^ gfc *V A SEEMINGLY IMPREGNABLE PO It is against such impregnable po go. In the light around Colenso a he I almost unscalable hill, and in tli3 face n berf, behind which the Boer market ; drag the gun tip theToclty slope. A HISTORIC FORTRESS. Imposing Kain* That tlie Italian Rot. eminent Will KeRtore and Preserve. The imposing ruins of the famous Castello Carpinets near Reggio d'Emilia, the Canossa of once on a time, perched on precipitous rocks, were to CANOSSA CASTLE. have been sold by auction recently, but the Italian Government stepped in and informed the heirs of the late Count Valdrizhi, the present owners of the castello, of the intention of the State to purchase tha property. It was within the now dilapidated walls of the castle that Emp^rgr Henry IV. humbled himself before Pope Gregory VII. in 1077, by waiting three days, barefooted and in sack cloth, for the papal paraoD. jtteierring to iuis remarkable incident, Bismarck gave utterance to the now proverbial words, in bis struggle against tbe supremacy of the ultramontanes in 1872. "To Oanossa we shall not go." The castle was partially destroyed.by'the revolutionary burghers of Beggio in 1255, and during the> centuries which have Bince elapsed the touch of time has gnawed mercilessly at the once almost invincible stronghold. Several of the halls and chambers of the castle are etill intact, and both the Italian and foreign archaeological associations which were prepared to bid for the historical ruins at the proposed auction aranow most anxious that the Italian Government preserve the castle from furtherjttjig$'in default of restoring it/to i$(t $ristine condition. FoTjret,tie Pudding Bat:. .. ; <Th^?tdiy>Of the green servant girl who boiled a watermelon is more than the story of the experienced gpyjfrho boiled the plum pudding. jKtTwas the sort of ycung.person -who flbre than anticipated arfy directions Kith the assurance of her knowledge on the subject, so that the woman of the household gave her but one important hint about the Christmas pudding. "Be careful not to let it boil down," she said; "put plenty of water in the kettle, and keep putting more in us it boils out." "Yes'm," was the response. There was no doubt but that she obeyed that injunction to the very letter. She had put in plenty of water and she had added more from time to time. But another little item she had neglected ?she had not put the pudding into a bag. Faraday's Sympathy For Newaboji. A writer in the Century tells thie new anecdote of Faraday: l'he great physicist and his friend Hoffmann were walking one day together through the streets of London, where both were then professors, when Faraday stopped a newsboy and i boiiclit a DaDer. Hoffmann asked C ? X ""I Jiim why, with his hous.e supplied regularly with all the papers he need.jed, he stopped to buy a paper from a Soy in the street. Faraday replied: "I was once a newsboy myself and sold papers on the street." Our Soldiers Eat Cusli-Custi. Some of our soldiers in the Philippines haie learned to eat cnsh-cush. Brave fellows! It is one of my old friends?a tuberous vegetable of the middle tropics, second cousin to the potato. Its flesh, when boiled, is gelatinous. You slice it up and eat it with butter, pepper and salt. It takes a stranger several months tc acquire a taste for it. The first few meals produce a dangerous cholera morbus. ?Victor Smith, in the New York Press. m wf>. 'SITION THE*" sitions ns ibis tifat the British have to &vy naval guu had to betaken, up thia i of a murderous ere from tbe peako of ]p.j. It took twenly-si* oseu to # t Clerical Sarcasm. A clergyman on a recent Sunday ?ave out the following notice, says the Christian Endeavor World: "The regular meeting of the Donkey Parade will bo held, as usual, at l.he close of this service. Members will line up just outside the church door, make remarks, aad stare at the women who pass, as is their custom. "Any member known to escort a young woman to church like a man, and sit with her like a gentleman, will be promptly expelled from membership." Bayonet Scares the Boers. The scenes at home when the private letters and fatal official telegrams are received are such as should not be dwelt upon, but from these letters we get the real news from behind the Boanna Hi a -ran* T llOVA Cftthered ! as many as possible of these letters, and a careful comparison of them brings to light a fact of which the full significance has not even begun to be realized?a fact that may have a great deal of weight in preparations for future wars. It is that the bayonet, and not the bullet or the shell, will whip the Boers in the Transvaal. Of course many of the letters coming in from the participants in the struggle are colored by prejudice or enthusiasm. v ^fter going through a great mass of them it can be affirmed poBi: tively^that in the matter of facing Bhot and shell the Boers have been just as courageous and dogged as their opponents. But when it came to bayonet and lance they clearly were overmatched and often frightened. A Boer soldier writing home after the ' charge of Elandslaagte, says: "Men on horses carrying sticks with spikes on top came galloping at us. They picked us up on the spikes like bundles of hay."?London Correspondence in New York Press. Bronco and Locomotive in Collialon. A balky bronco tried to dispute the right of way on the Santa Fe tracks ! with a locomotive, or ratner witn two locomotives, for there were two of them coming into town together from Palmer Lake. The bronco had crossed the track, but considering the railroad more to his liking returned to the track and took up a position between the rails. This position was assaulted by the two locomotives, but the bronco bravely stuck to his post until it was too late to retreat. He was knocked out of this world in about half a jiffy. ?Colorado Springs Gazette. Our Queereit Crop. In Jacksonville, Fla., has just been established the only ostrich farm in the United States, which is the won der of all the country about. The ancestors of these ostriches were brought in a sailing ship from South Africa, their home, to Cali fornia. Of the fifty-two emigrant? two died on the way. The other? suffered a rapid decline in the Cali fornia climate. The few who lived were taken to Florida, wh6re a pro cess of rapid breeding was carried on, and the present flourishing colony is the result.?New York World. A Cumnlatlre Title. The man who had recently sprung into notoriety was wriked up in the middle of the night by a reporter, who Brnnta/i Viovc a talk with him. When TT t?Ul?U fW UMTW M ?- ? *? - - the reporter was through with him he returned to his room. "Who was it?" inquired his wife. "Oh," he replied, with an air oi boredness, "it was only one of them newspaper journalists wanting to in- ! terview me."?Detroit Free Press. OPENING OF FLORIDA SEASON. Inauguration of tbe Tlagnificentl) Appointed New York and Florida Limited Service. "The New York and Florida Limited" ol tbe Southern Ra lway, the handsomest train in the world, leaves New York on its initial trip of 3000, January Iflth, 12.40 p. M., and will ran daily, except Sunday, throughout the season, re tfchine >t. Augustine at 3.35 the ne>*. afternoon. The train is composed exclusively or compartment cars, finished in royal elegance ; Pullman drawing room sleeping cars, construct* d especialjy for this train, a sumptuous dinini; car and library and observation cars. It runs through solid to St. Augustine except one drawing room sleeping car, wt.icb is detached at Colombia, 8. C.. and runs through to Aiken and Augusta for the convenience of travelers to these popular resorts One car is also detached at Jacksonville, and runs through to Tampa and Port Tampa, on the west coast. The Southern Railway alf.c operates two other daily trains to Florida. One of these, the "U. S. Fast Mail," leaves New York at 12.10 a. m. daily, carries Pullman drawing room sleeping cars through to Jack, sonville. St. Aueustine and Miami. Meals are served in dining car. The other.tbe "New York and Florida Express," leaves New York at3 2"> p. m. daily, and carries Pullman drawing room eleepinc cars to Jacksonville and Port Tampa. Like the other trains, ithas a dining cat service. Pall information. Southern Rail way. 271 Broadway, New York. A. S. Thweatt, Eastern Pass. Agi The English hare always been essentially meat-eaters. sWe have not been without Piso's Cure foi Consumption for 20 years.?Lizzie Fekkeu Camp St., Harrisburg, Pa., May 4, 1894. The German Empire had In 1898 31,639 postofflces. To Car* Constipation Forever. Take Cascarets Candy Cathartic. 10c or 25e. 2ICC.C. fail to cure, druggists refund money. The nominal price of wild land in Cape Colony is twenty-five cents per acre. Cures a Cough or Cold at once, I-'I Conquers Croup without fall. 101 M Is the best for Bronchitis, Gripoe, fS M Hoarseness, Whooping-Cough. ana |H fcj for the cure of Consumption. E?J FtJj Motherspraiseit. Doctors prescribe it |l ni Small doses; quick, sure results. MM stffifejitv for ladies, muhe i boys r?"jrls. $13 to S25 a Wools. Easily marie by selling to-your friends our Fa* uioiin I.iuuiioiik Private Kstnte Jnvn mid Mocha, the finest COKFKE t ho world produces WritH us for particulars. The Java Cofl'ec Imp. Co., 136 Water .S.Tei-t, Now York City. PTLES "I raffkred tlic tortures of the damned rlth protruding piles brought on by constipation with which I was afflicted for twenty years. Iran across your CASG'ARKTS in the town of Nawell, la., and never found anything to equal them. To-day I am entirely free from piles and feel like a new man." C B. Keitz, 1411 Jones St., Sioux City, la. M C^Jr CATHARTIC ^ TRADE MARK RMISTERIC) Pleaaant. Palatable. Potent. Taste Good. Do Good, Nerer Sicken. Weaken, or Gripe. 10c, 25c. 50c. CURE CONSTIPATION. ... UHlaf Rcaed; Ccipur, Cblnfo, lonlml, New York. Sit IIA Til B1P Sold and guaranteed by alldrugR""IUa0Av gists to CTRE Tobacco Habit. s J <i4 *%3' Soldiers by experience taught Learn the art of packing, Luxuries receive no thought; n '*> But, whate'er is lacking, "? ?. Soap is there. The veteran shows r; *7' Care in its selection. ' , Ivory Soap is best for clothes; For the bath ? perfection. r '.Sjai Then ? it floats; and so he chooses jc&Sr Ivory, as the soap he uses. COPYRIGHT ISM BY THE PROCTER 4 GAMBLE CO. CINCINNATI /. , im.i ECZEMA Hands and Limbs Covered with Blisters and Great Red Blotches. Scratched Until Almost Wild. Burned Like Fire. Sleep Impossible. CUTICURA^Remedies Bring Speedy Relief k * ^ -i. - /-?_ n-i.. m ana a permanent Loire at a i>usi ui vmy I was a sufferer for eight years from that most distressing of fill diseases, Eczema. I tried some of the best physicians in the ? country, but they did me little were covered and would become inflamed; little white blisters at v first would appear, then they smooth surface which would burn like fire and itch; well, there is no name for it. On the inside of the upper part of both my limbs great red blotches, not unlike hives, would appear, and as soon as I became warm the burning and itching would begin. Night after night I would lie awake all night and scratch and almost go wild. I heard of CUTIcura Remedies, got them and gave them a thorough trial, and after a few applications I noticed - - - ? u-r?~ T f' the redness and inflammation aisappear. JDCIUI C J. liau uocu M,( one box there was not a sign of Eczema left. I can truthfully assert that $2.00 worth of Cuticura Remedies cured me. There has been no sign of its return anywhere upon my body since I wrote you I was cured, nearly four years ago. Hardly a month passes but what I receive a letter or some one calls and wishes to know how I got cured, if I had Eczema bad, and if the cure has been permanent, etc., etc. I always take pleasure ia enlightening them the best I can. JOHN D. PORTE, Pittsburg, March 1, 1899 Of john D. Porte & co., Real Estate and Insurance, 428 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburg, Fa. > The agonizing itching and burning of the skin, as in eczema, the frightful scaling, ts in psoriasis; the loss of hair and crusting of the scalp, as in scalled heao;the facial disfigurement, as in pimples and ringworm, the awful suffering cf infants and the anxiety of worn-out parents, as in milk crust, tetter, and salt rheum?all demand a remedy, of almost superhuman virtues to successfully cop: with them. That /ittfonra ^yiivua u Remedies are roch stands proven beyond all doubt. No statement Is made regarding them that is not justified by the strongest evidence. The purity and sweetness, the power to afford immediate relief, the certainty of speedy and permanent cure, the absolute safety and great economy, have mr.de them the standard skin cures and humor remedies of the civilized world. The treatment is simp1"^ direct, agreeable, and economical, and is adapted to the youngest infant as well as adults of every a$e. Bathe the affected parts with hot water and Ccticura Soap to cleanse the surfaco of crusts and scales, and soften the thickened cuticle. Dry, without hard rubbing, and apply Cuticura Ointment freely, to allay itching, irritation, and irjlammatioji, and soothe and heal, and lastly tak^ Cuticura Resolvent to cool and oleansb th? blood. This sweet and wholesome treatment affords instant relief, permits rest and sleep in the severest forms of eczema and other itching, burning, and scaly humors of the skin, scalp, and blood, and points to a speedy, permanent, and economical cure when all other remedies and even the best physicians fail. Cuticura Th? Set, price $1.25; or, Cuticura Soap, 25c., Cuticura Ointment, 50c., Cuticura Resolvent, 50c., sold throughout the world. " How to Cure Eczema," /tee of the Sole Props., Potter Drug and Chem. CoRr., Eoston, Mass, MILLIONS OF MOTHERS Dee Ccticora Soap exclusively for baby's skin, scalp, and hair. It is not only the purest* eweete6t, and most refreshing of nurserv soaps, but it contains delicate emollient properties, obtained from Cuticuha, the great skin cure, which preserve, purify, and beautify the skin, scalp, and hair, and prevent simple skin blemishes from becoming serious. For distressing heat rashes, dialings, Inflammations, and eruptions, for crusted; itching irritations of the scalp, with dry, thin, and falling hair, for red, rough hands, and shapeless nails, and simple Infantile Humors, it 16 absolutely Indispensable. DR. ARNOLD'S COUGH _ _ . _ ,, _ __ ivl in time. Sold by druggists. efl Dures Coughs and Colds. I/BB I PI) rcfgUgyjmv i.| ug' V/r Prevents Consumption. KIS | P> U FOflMifl-A All Druggists. 553c. * Mill J5 ' a JUST THE BOOK YOU WANTs CONDENSED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDCE, u II treats upon about every subject under the sun. It contains 520 pages, profusely illustrated, and will be sent, postpaid, for EOc. in stamps, poetal note or silver. When reading you doubt* less run across ref- m m atMini mi n erences to matters and things A gU g. SU f* V P 8 fl E ?j f|| #i which you do nol understand and Mil E ll U I ULU T Ea U E H which this book*' will clear up for you. Ithasacom* plete index, so that it may be ^ _ referred to easily. This book is a rich mine of valuable H? II tfa Tj B B information, luesented In a? interesting manner, and is ? ^ well wo.th to any one many times the small sum of FIFTY CENTS which we ask for it. A study of this book will prove of incalculable beneilt to those whosq education has been neglected, while the volant* ivill alBo be found of great value to those wto cannot readily command tlie? knowledge . bave acquired. BOOK PUBLISHING HOUSE. 134 Leonard St). N,Y, CitY?