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THE NATIONAL BANK OF AUGUSTS L. C. HAYNE, Pree't F. Q.FORD, Cashier. ^Capital, ?2o<0spOO< Undivided I'roGis Facilities of oar m agni fl co nt New V&alt Bontaining 410 >,ifety-Lock Boxes. Diff?r ent Sizes are offered to oar patrons and the public at $3.00 to 310.00 per unmi^, SSL PLANTERS LOAN AND SAVINGS BANK. AUGUSTA, GA. Paja Interest on Deposits Ac-counts Solicited. L. G. HAYHTI, President. W. O. WAUDLAW, Cashier. THOS. J ADAMS PROPRIETOR. EDGEFIELD, S. G. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 6. 1901. VOL. LXVI. NO. 6. ?ki Diamon Watche Jewelry Our fall stock ls noir read; Diamonds, Fin?--'Jewelry, ?fgk Silver Ware, Plated Ware, jii - *?? & O irr ' 'r ? 0B\ "Give us a call when in 'the city. I |? SCHWEI?ER Two i ?^ Jackson Street, Near ; : .>? Fine ? LA?ES, ET1BROIDERIES, HOSIE AGENCY FOR JOUVIN'S ( CORSETS AND BUD MAIL ORDER THE HUES OF THE BIRDS. A Scientific Explanation of Ute Color of the Feathered Songster*. Does light have an influence in changing the color of those parts of animals that are exposed to it gener ation after r, generation? . Evidence showing that it does has been adduced, says the London Optician. The question is wide-r?aching, be cause, if it ls to be answered in the affirmative,'acquired.qualities must be inheritable, and the great point about which biologists have wrangled for years is settled. The action of light on colors.in general is-vvell known. It is observed In many: cases, with birds; at le'ast so Messrs. Meyer and Wig glesworth concluded from their study of the birds of Celebes. They have observed, several facts that sunoort their ? .... . ?i -? case body j -.almos* of the wing QjLthi of th? ?? ? " " feront The pA . action . --? ?mee iii sonic birds,, while exposed parts a?e black. With one species of paroquet the wing feathers are blue-green on the side that touches the body and black on the other side; and it is the same with others. Another class of in stances is observed when the tail feathers are partly covered by the feathers that protect them; the former are paler at their bases, and tend toward white. This is seen very clearly with several birds that have the exposed part black. The base of all feathers, where they are protected, is palor and less brilliant in tint. Light has an evident influence on the pigmentation of the plumage. The first birds mentioned are quite black when seen from above, while from be low they appear white. Wherever their feathers are exposed to the sun they are black; where protected they are white. With cage birds the oppo site is often seen; the plumage be comes dark when they are kept in the shade and is more brightly colored when they arc exposed to light. Joke of a Merry Englishman. No Englishman, of the present time ls graver in his appearance and de meanor than Sir Henry Howorth, and ?o'one looking at him would suspect him of being capable of a joke. Yet he is one of the merriest men in all England. It is related that when the Archaeo logical Institute paid its recent visits to Dorsetshire, the members g?th?red in the old disused Saxon church, at Wareham. After much learned talk, the vicar described how, during re cent excavations for underpinning the chancel arch, a stone coffin had been found at a considerable depth, adding, that it must have been pre viously disturbed, because of the" multiplicity of bonos it contained, the head cavity being occupied by three jaw bones. Sir Henry, on hearing this, leaned forward and asked the clergyman, with much earnestness, if there was any inscription on the coffin. The reply was in the negative, the vicar adding that he believed an inscribed stone coffin would be most unusual. "Ah," said Sir Henry,."you disap point me. I was in the hopes that you might have found the name of Howjorth, for an,, ancestor with three jaws would be some: excuse, .for my intolerable loquacity."-London Times. They Did Not Mate. Everybody in his corner of the auc tion room crowded around him. He had "just bought from the unclaimed expi-lss package? offered for'sale a big, shaky parcel of uncertain shape. He had paid 70 cents for it, which is rather a large rum to risk on a blind purchase, especially since nearly all the packages sold that morning turned out to be. iron castings for rare and unknown machines. "But," said he, with a sly twinkle in his eye, "I seen iii through a hole; they's shoes.an' new 'uns, slr." He tore open the parcel and held up a big hob-nailed leather boot^ He put his. hand down into the parcel again and fished up a man's low shoe, then a lady's slipper then a baby's little shoe. He kept pulling out shoes until his arms were full then he looked up despairingly. "They're all right," said he. "Yes but you're left," called some one*frooi the back of the .crowd1.-Boston Transcript ds % $ ? f for inspection. Watches, J?k Xot ?lass, Clocks, Sterling W Fancy Goods, Etc. Write for our new Catalogue T & CO., Jewelers. $ Stores, Broadway, Augusta, fia. Stock of RY, WHITE GOODS, LINENS, ETC. 5LOVES, AMERICAN LADY TERICK'S PATTERNS. !S SOLICITED. FLCRDA'S BLUSHING TREE. Tile Secret of II? Foliado Chancing Color When It'itu l'ail*. "Among the many wonders of those strange swamps there is nothing more surprising than the blushing tree," -said Albert F..Dewey of . Punta Gorda, Fla., who has recently passed a month in the Everglades of Florida. "The blushing tree," continued Mr. Dewey, "is by no means common. It is found only id tho dense thickets of those interminable marshes, whose luxuriant vegetation is a revelation to explorers. It is called the blush in? tree by those who know it because, It actually blushes when the rain falls upon it. This phenomenon is appar ently'incomprehensible. It never fails to astound those who see it for the first HTT?" **""- - - - -ofoHaiiR and beautiful marvellous bit of vegetable life. I could scarcely believe the story he told'me, yet curiosity at length over came incredulity, and we set forth one morning in a small canoe. We spent nearly three days paddling and poling our way over the winding waters. In the afternoon of the third day I be gan to wonder if he had only been deceiving me for the sake of the boat hire and his pay as guide, when he gave a grunt of satisfaction and point ?d to the right. "Distrustfully I followed him ashore and through the underbrush. Beneath great cypress trees, hoary with the gray hanging moss, and past immense bay trees we wended our way inland. Eagerly he led the way until reach ing the edge of a little open space he stopped and with silent pride point ed toward the centre. Gracefully a tree, with broad, banana-like leaves, reared itself aloft. Wide spreading branches hung down, slightly waving in the warm breeze. Its emerald hued foliage was the most beautiful I had ever beheld. It roso to a height of L'O feet and its thick, substantial trunk indicated many 'years of existence. Tb is, the old Seminole informed me, was 'thc blushing tree.' "I told him to prepare to camp here until it rained, regardless of time. We unrolled our blankets, stretched out mosquito bars, without which one cannot sleep in the glades, cooked supper and roiled up in our blankets for the night. That night, the day following and the next night .passed without rajn. "I began to think ft would never rain, when about noon a cloud dark ened the sky overhead. I put a rub ber poncho over my shoulders and fixed my eyes on the green and pretty tree a dozen yards away. It was covered with a greenish insect, the size of a large wood tick, which in tensified its color. The rain began to fall in torrents, after its custom in that region. Beside me,, grinning con* fidently with a pipe in his mouth, stood the Seminole. "As tho cold water drenched the tree, I was amazed to noto a changing of color. Gradually, yet unmistakably the green hue was giving way to pink. The Indian had told the truth. The tree was blushing r the rain. "In a few minutes the green had faded from sight. Only in a few, hali hidden spots beneath broad branches and on its trunk was there a tinge of green to be seen. The tree was as pink as the cheek of a healthy girl. "After an hour or more the. shower passed over and I watched with no less interest the wonderful tree as sume its familiar green once more. As it was changing back to emerald I suddenly realized the secret of the phenomenon. The tiny insects and not the tree itself changed color. These' peculiar parasites are pos sessed of the power of chameleons. In the bright warm sunshine they are greener than the tree on which they live, but when the chilly rain falls upon them they contract their little backs and become a pretty pink in color. Millions of them thus change the tint of the tree. They are found only upon one species of trees which grow in certain parts of the Ever glades."-Denver Evening Post. A Square Menl. A singe swallow will devour C000 , flies in a day. A HAP How happy is he born and taught, That serveth not another's will; Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill! Whose passions not his masters are, Whose soul ls still prepared for death, Not tied into the world with care Or public fame, or private breath; , Who env.es none that chance doth raise, Or vice; who never understood How deepest wounds are given by praise; Nor rules of state, but rules of good; Jake Murph "T s LACK Jake Murphy was the I-<^ bigger, but it did not take _j longer than five minutes to Q determine who was the bet ter man. Even Mike Hudok, the big Polander, saw lt. He was viewing the fray from an upturned beer keg In front of Yankee Pete's saloon. "Jim lick 'um, heap quick," he ejac ulated, and his words were prophetic. In less than ten minutes Black Jake was thoroughly and scientifically "licked," and he knew it. Ile would have fallen on his face again as he staggered up after the last knock down blow, if some one had not given him an arm to lean on. Through the blood that blinded him he saw the crowd in a red haze. But his reeling sight looked for but one object, and his whole brain and soul were filled with a fierce and devllsh hatred for the man who stood near with bruised face and bared arms-his conqueror. Slocum's Patch had no sympathy for Black Jake Murphy. As a rule, the Patch displayed no excessive fas tidiousness ns to the component parts of its select society. It had even got beyond objecting to the Polander and Hungarian. But with Jake Murphy and his father it refused to associate on any terms more friendly than those Involved in imbibing Yankee Pete's whisky at their expense. It could not be asserted that either father or sou were at all discomposed by this par tial ostracism. It rather seemed to suit their sullen and mororo disposi tions. They did not seek the allure ments of Slocum Patch society, ex cept on the rather rare occasions when together they sat down for a drinking bout at Yankee Pete's. Then all who chose could drink at their expense, and. then for the few' hours their -nmnpv i??of,wi ~~~~ --. Patch. They lived there aiuuc, - from one year's end to another no one else crossed its threshold. Around It, in summer, the soft breeze murmured among the scraggy hemlocks and oaks. The wild violet and honeysuckle gave out their fragrance. From Its door the great Wyoming Valley stretched away as In a panorama. Pltvllle's many spires rose not four miles away, and cn a still Sunday morning the distant chime of its bells was borne to the ear. Half a mlle distant rose the mas s've timbers that marked the opening of the new Woodford shaft, the big gest and deepest In all that region; where 1200 feet below the sinkers had Just struck the red ash vein and were finishing their contract. The old man smoking his pipe ton his doorstep made no comment as his son washed the blood from his face at the little spring near the door. At last he said: "Who've yer been llckin' now?" "No one," growled his sen; "curse him, he licked me." The old man gave a grunt. "Who was lt?" he asked. "Jim Carroll." "Sarve yer right. I told yer to quit foolln' round his gal. Easy nuff ter see she thought more o' his little finger than o'yer whole carcass." "God strike me dead if I don't have his life." It was a bitter threat that Black Jake made, and the deadly bate that filled his heart made it no idle one. . ' * * * ? * e It was midnight, but down in the shaft midnight and midday were the same. Looking" up, a faint speck of white could be seen In the day time, but no trace of light penetrated that awful depth. Three men stood there, waiting for their turn to go up. The smoky lamps stuck in their oilskin caps threw a dull and flickering light over their faces and figures, wrapped to the chin In waterproofs. They stood In water almost to the knee, and the ceaseless splash and patter of the fall ing drops told where lt came from. Thirty feet above them, on a plat form protected by heavy timbers, .i powerful pump made the confined air throb with the heavy plunk plunk ot Its stroke. The pump runner sat there motionless, smoking. It was old Mur phy, Black Jake's father. Jake him self stood below, and one of the two with him was Jim Carroll. There was a fierce and evil look Ju Black Jake's eyes as they stood silent ly walting for the bucket to descend. That look had never left him since tte day Jim Carroll had "licked" him for being too attentive to his sweetheart Black Jake was not the mau to for give or forget, and the bitterness of defeat was made still more bitter by disappointed love. He was a rough and sullen mau, but years ago he h:id set his heart upon that girl, before Jim Carroll ever knew her. But shu was young and he not over-coniident. He had waited too long, for .Tim Car roll stepped In, and now they were married. Black Jake set his teeth and breathed hard when he heard it. Ile said nothing, but his old father watch ing him knew that Carroll's life was In danger. Considered from ah ab stract point of view, tho old man had no particular objection to his son put ting Carroll out of the way, but some Btrange and deep-hidden boud held these two men together. Had such a PY UFE. * Who hath his life from rumora freed, . Whose conscience is his strong retreat; Whose stat? can neither flatterers ked, Nor ruin make oppressors great; Who God doth late and early, pray, More of His grace than gifts to lend; . And entertains the harmless day : With a well-chosen bool? or friend ? This man is freed-from servile hands; Of hope to rise, or fear to fall:' ? & Lord of himself, though not of lanais; . And having nothing, yet hath all. j -Sir Henry Wotton. y's Revenge possibility ever arisen, old :Murpby would readily have laid down hlsipwn life to save that of his ison. He watched him then lest he should do that which might necessitate de parture from this world at the bauds of the sheriff. His watching brought him great uneasiness. Black .take had changed. He did not seek an oppor tunity to revenge his defeat in open fight. Rather he avoided Carroll,vfmd when they were together, aotl^ work ing in the same shaft they could'jiot keep apart, he was quiet, and fair spokon. This was not Black Jake's nature and the old man feared for what was to come. Sitting at his post, looking dowji nt the three men below him. old 3Iurphy, In the nickering light of the' mhsers' lamps, caught a glimpse of his Son's face and a terror fell on bim. Some thing told him in those set and" sullen features and eyes that seemed to parn with inward fire that ibo Hine liad come. . With a rattle and rush the;rfflB|y iron bucket plunged down through .the darkness and touched the water ere it stopped, slowly tura'ng with^he twist of the rope that, like a *h in line of black, disappeared iu the blackness above. Jake Murphy gripped It and sprang inside. Only two men could go upMn lt at once. "Come Jim," he cried, "gt-t hi," and looked at Carroll. Old Murphy's tongue was loosened. "Hold oa, Jim," he called out". ."I want yer to holp me fix this valve afore yer go up." Jim turned Irresolute. In that mo ment the other man jumped in the bucket. "All righi!" he cried, "Let her go.!? Carroll saw that the bucket was curling from the exhaust pipes. As they left the bucket Black Jake bid his companion a surly "good night*' and started off as though for home. But once out of sight he turned and swiftly and silently crept back. He passed the mouth of the shaft, and disap peared in the shadow of the eugine house. Within the engine house Tom Allis, the engineer, stood at his post Be fore him was the huge conical drum sixteen feet In diameter, round which the snake-like cable was coiled in grooves. On ecch side of him "were those mighty engines whose gigantic power could, when the time came, snatch the carriage and loaded car up those twelve hurdred feet of depth in fifty seconds. Vlth one haul on the throttle he walled for the signal to lower, lt cane. The bell clanked, the throttle shot open, the steam rushed Into the geat cylinders, and down dropped th bucket like a stone dropped dwn a well. With steady eye Allis rarked the cable as it reeled swiftly 0/ the drum. He never nor ticed the slowly-revolving dial that told of te bucket's descent. Fori his practicee'eye a bar of white paint daubed >n the cable was a better guide, n another instant that white mark tis off the drum, when the throttlewas closed, the reversing bar shot b;k with a crash, again the steam jshed into the cylinders, and the enine, with a few short pants, stoppet The bucket swung at the same tpth within half an Inch that it hadvhen Jack Blake climbed on the boid. It was Tom Allls's boast that if e knew a man's exact beigh: he couldrop that bucket on hie head wlthoudoiug more than smooth out his hal He knv there was one more man to come u The pump, runner's shift would t expire for four hours yet, and allhc sinkers hut one were up. With h hand on the throttle lerer he waited or the signal to holst. A minuteassed and two, but he stood like a aven etatue. Clantelank! clank! The bell struck three nes. It was the signal to hoist di care, as human weight tilled the beet. Slowly he drew the throt tle o|. and the gigantic engines, wakirfrom their brlif rest, once more ?it the drum flying round. Coll after 1 of writhing cable was wound about. One hand on the throttle and other on the reversing lever, ToniUs watched the spinning druin and s white marks on lt that told him len to stop. As he stood there he ? the reversing lever shake and' tren?, as If some one had touched it ' bad no time to think of this, for iu Jther second thc bucket was wit one hundred feet of the surface. Ho>SGd the throttle and pushed the. reving lever. /lld cry burst from his lips. Aa h?shed it, the bar shot back with a ling crash, but the reversing gear nf moved. The engines would not r(se. In that awful moment his pnce of mind never left him. He sd the brake bar and threw all his ?dit upon lt The band of steel that ced the drum gripped tight But <t could that do to stop the mas I engines running at high speed? jammed lt back and rushed from engine house. s he did so, the bucket shot up lin the shaft Two mea were in it A cry burst from them as the bucket . .without pause or stop, leaped up amid the heavy timbers and sped swiftly on toward the great sheave wheels. Another wild cry, and then an awful crash as the bucket dashed against the . wheels. A human form whirled tn the air, Btruck against the timbers, and plunged out of sight down the yawning blackness of the shaft. An other form was clinging to the timbers ?j far aloft "Who Is that?" called tile engineer, "jim Carroll," answered the man . dinging to thc timbers. ?. -"Who .was it that fell down the j shaft?" "Old Murphy." An?ther awful cry broke the stillness of the night Down from the shadow of the engine house Black Jake Mur phy came running. ? "Who?" be cried,-and no words can tell the fearful agony In his voice, "Who went down the shaft?" "?Your father, Jake," said the en gineer. With one bound Jake was at the shaft's mouth. "Father," he cried, "father!" Euc the black pit gave no answer to his frantic call. With a wild cry ho turned. Throwing his hands aloft he shook his clinched fist at Carroll, still clinging to the timbers, end with a fearful imprecation on his lips feU backward into the awful depth. * . * ? % % . The Investigation that followed showed that a connecting pin In the reversing gear had fallen out or been removed. It was beneath the floor on which the engineer stood, and any one could reach lt unseen. It was also shown by Jim Carroll's testimony that old Murphy, the pump runner, who should not have left his post un til relieved, had Insisted on coming np to the surfaee with bim.-Waverley Magazine. if FED THE MINK. Fish In tho Low Streams Furnished Food For Fur-Bearing Animals. .. 1 "It ls truly an ill wind that blows good to no one," remarked a skin buy er for one of the big fur houses of the city, according to the New York Times. "Take last summer's drought as an in stance. It resulted badly in the crops of farmers UP In New England, where I have been scouring the country for a couple of weeks past. Men who have I a liking for fly fishing bewailed tho. lack of rain, for the streams ran dry and trout perished by hundreds In .some of the mountain streams. On the other hand, the drought was a good thing for the hunters and trappers that T u-*?- '*-1--Tha?? h ii ve.found fact that the animals have had better feeding than they have had for years past. They are great fish eaters. With the trout streams reduced to mere ribbons of water, the big trout all went to the deep pools and became prisoners there. With plenty of water to move about in a trout ls abundantly able to take care of Itself as against the mink. But, Imprisoned In the pools, the mink had the trout at his mercy, and the mink that has not had all the trout he wanted this summer has been a lazy beast. They have been able to simply gorge themselves, and that ls why the mink are so fat and sleek this fall. I think the catch of mink skins this winter, when the sea son ls really on, will be the finest we have had In a long time. So, you see, the drought worked well for my busi ness, even though it was a little hard on the farmer and fisherman." In the Matter of Eggs. May I, as a whilom keeper of hens, and, so to speak, an eggs-pert, attempt tb answer "F. K. M.," who wants to know what is the difference between "a new-laid egg" and a "fresh" egg? I cannot speak of the trade difference, but the real difference Is that a new laid egg ls, when bolled, milky or creamy as to what ls called the white, tvhlle a merely fresh egg has the white, >r albumen, transparent or colorless, rhe egg after being laid retains this :e8t of newness for some three or four inys, according to the season. After :hat lt can only be called fresh. The freshness may last for several weeks, >r even months, If the egg ls properly :ared for. The only proper way ls to ieep lt-on one end or the other-taking ?are to turn lt at least once a day. [?his can be managed by having a thin ioard, perforated with holes in which he eggs may rest, on a shelf exposed o the air. Thc egg remains fresh and ;ood so long as the yelk is evenly con alned In the middle. The moment the elk, which Is of specific gravity great r than the white, touches the shell, vhlch ls porous, lt ls exposed to the lr, and ceases to live, entering upon orruptibn. By the help of lime, oil, utter nnd various other devices, the ?fe of an egg may be prolonged for rade purposes, but no egg can be con ldered fresh which, if placed under a en, would not hatch, and most, If not ll, of the shop eggs are dead, If not nwholesome.-Letter in London Times. Bears In a Mix-Up. Two of the monster bears at the Zoo ogaged in a fierce fight for scalps a JW days ago. The animal attendants 'ere compelled to use hot hons to sep rate them. The bears fell out over a irkey that was left over from Thanks Iving. Their keeper divided the tur ey "half and half." as he thought j ne of the bears got lt into his head lat the other bear had a little the 3St of It, and hostilities began. The lonsters fairly shook the building and awed and gnashed their teeth for illy ten minutes. Bear skin was lng around the den promiscuously, he bear that was defeated was taken > the Zoo hospital on a stretcher, bad damaged. The hospital ls a very in- - resting part of the establishment, t id ls provided with all the necessary | i ljuncts for the proper surgical treat? G ent of Injured animals.-Baltimore ? ews. - ii I Pina (fa Uf?rld's [ Bears and Wolv< Many Varieties of /""V HINA is' the last great game ( f preserve in the world. Many will be surprised to learn that, notwithstanding the dense population of China and the centuries since the country has become thickly populated, it is still the best stocked with game of any country hu the world. Even In the regions about Pekin, now occupied by the allied troops, where villages . dot the plains every mile or two and the population exceeds 2000 to thc sqnare mile, wolves, foxes, raccoons, weasels and rabbits are so thick as to he pests, while such game as pigeons, quail, grouse and rice birds are found in Immense flocks. The wolves of China are particularly nu merous and fearless, and many lives are lost every winter from their depre dations. The Chinese farmers do not live on the land that they cultivate, but gath er themselves in small villages every mlle or two. For protection from- tho wolves which infest that'country the 3c unlaces are usually surrounded by gather for great wolf drives aim ?mi their swords and pikes beat out the fields and kill large numbers of the animals. One reason why game is so thick lo China is the absence of any finished weapon to hunt with. Although the WOLF BINGS ON THE VILLAGE WALL. Chinese were the first inventors of gunpowder and firearms, still their shotguns have never been sufficiently improved to be of much service In hunting. lu the first place the Chinese have never invented or used the per cussion oap. Their gun barrels are roughly cast and many of the cheaper ones look as IC made out of pot metal. The lower end of the barrel has a small vent on the side with a flash pan attached. Over the stock of the gun is a holder shaped like a half bent fin ger, made of soft steel, and split so as to hold a piece of lighted punk or in cense. To fire his gun the Chinaman fills the flash pan and then, with his thumb, pushes the holder forward till the lighted punk touches the powder in the flash pan. By this time any creature with an atom of intelligence ls a mlle away more or less, and un less something else happens along op portunely to receive the charge, thc shot is wasted. The reason for the number of foxes co m Pl fo th ni: rh el: gr ta dr to fa of lb to fu Pi; go mi DM sp all sti an th? ke CHINESE FAL! o be found in China lies in the Ci? iese belief in the transmigration of ouls. The Chiue.se think that depart id spirits prefer foxes to any other lulciuis as post-mortem habitations. one tal. tho sal? see i ?as? ?ame Preserve. ?s Still Abound. Deer and Birds. The taking of game by tbe Cbinese is chiefly by means of nets, runnin; nooses and dead-falls. Quail and rab bits are taken almost solely by mean jf nets, which the Chinese set in standing grain, and into which they [hen carefully drive the game. Fo larger game they use pits with trip 'alls and nooses with weights, ar ranged to catch the animal around the leek and hang it. Tho abundance of game in China is 30t peculiar to any part of the em jire. In the mountains, both north and iouth, are found great numbers cf >ears, both black and brown, and itrange as it may seem, they are most mmerous in the province of Shun ing, which is one of the most thick y populated and the oldest province >f the Chinese empire. Tigers and leopards are also found a all the mountainous parts of China, he royal tiger of India Is found In he range of mountains which parallel he coast from Canton north to the 1 ang-tse, while In the mountains of ie north Is found the great Siberian r Mfino^" - -uirH i- +w --- 31UC > .que hunting lodges. The deer in lis north park are fine, large animals, C a dun color, with magnificent ant rs, somewhat resembling our Ameri in wapiti, but peculiar in having hat the Chinese call a mule tail. Probably the commonest game bird ! China is the pheasaut. Szechuan the home of a peculiar animal that light be called a "missing link." It a species of ape, growing quite rge, adults reaching four feet in light. It lives in the mountains and protected from the cold by heavy ir and mane. It is peculiar for the LCt that lt "hibernates like a bear, and ie Chinese, recognizing this peculiar! ., call it thc run-hiung, or the mau ?ar. It is much sought for Its flesh, id its paws are prized as great dell tcies. There is so much swamp and lake untry In China that it ls very nat tily a great country for snipe and over, while the rich feeding to be und in its great rice fields makes it e home of greater flocks of swans id geese and wild ducks of all Va ;t'es than can be found anywhere se in the world. The Chinese are eat pigeon fanciers, and take advan ge of the pigeon habit of flying Ju oves to steal from each "other and take wild pigeons. They do this by stening wooden whistles on the tails the leaders of their own flock, for e purpose of attracting o*.her pigeons them. The air of Chirese cities Is ll of soft aeolian noces of these ?eon whistles. There is another method of taking me practiced by the Chinese which ist not be omitted, and this by ?ans of trained falcons. The great ort of falconry, once so popular in the courts of the world, survives ongiy In China. Here hav/Hs, eagles d falcons are still taught to pursue ? quarry, and the great falcon mar t In tlie southern part of Pekin, 's DONRY. i of the sights of the Chinese cap? Here on Immense racks are usands of hooded birds, exposed for ?, and the Chinese sport ls often u along the street or highway with fo to lei be rm w: th co th pr pr co re Wi til! m< thi eil wi hil en mi mi cie I toi his his favorite bird mounted on his leattw er-bound wist - In Mongolia- the gold' en eagle itself ls still trained and much' used in hunting deer. With the quieting of the present dis turbance and the creation of a better, understanding between the Chinese and the outside world there, will doubt-, less be a great influx of -outside sports-; men into that country. Those who have roamed over the world seeking the dangers and pleasures of takim; large game will here seek their last opportunities and find richer rewards for their skill and endurance than they have found anywhere .else In tho world.-Washington Star. A Fropoaul on an Egg. The Bristol Mercury says that at a well-known grocer's in Stoke's Croft a few days ago, one of the assistant? was opening a box of 300 eggs from Canada, when he came upon one good sized hen's egg, on which he found written in the neat handwriting o? evidently a young lady the following: "Miss E. Wing, West Port, Ontario," and beneath the address the gentle postscript-always the,best part of a lady's letter, "with a view to matri mony." . The proprietor, on arriving at the establishment, and hearing of the singular incident asked the assistant, a young bachelor, what he had don? In the matter. "Oh," promptly replied the young man, "I responded at once, ind the letter is already posted to West Port, Ontario, acknowledging . rhe receipt of the interesting offer and asking for further particulars by next mail." An Antiseptic Broom. The most up-to-date broom, and that . tvblch sweeps the cleanest, has a mi crobe destroyer attached, as shown In :he accompanying illustration. The aew broom was designed by a South erner. It consists of a bag to be ,at :ached to the end of the broom handle jefore the straws are wired in pl?ce, ?vlth a hole drilled In the handle to a )oint above the straws for the Inser- ? :ion of the chemicals, etc., which form . :he microbe destroyer. The antiseptic s preferably made in the form of hard* jails, which readily roll into the bag ihrough the channel, and to promote :he dissemination of the compound ihrough the straws a quantity of .vater, alcohol or other solvent may dso be introduced through the agency HE NEW MIOBOBE-DESTBOYINO BRO Ci f a can, or the balls and liquid ma; e replaced by a semifluid antlsepth rtilch will slowly filter through th abric and dampen the broom. All germs of disease, as well as dirt rill vanish before the onslaught of the ew antiseptic broom. A Curions Timepiece. A Parisian novelty is a sun-dlal ratch, with compass, as shown in our lustration. It is made of nickeled cop er, and is to be recommended to hunt rs, fishermen, cyclists-in short to all rho spend much time in the open air. a the upper part a small compass Ia xed, at the lower is marked a scale C the hours, and in the centre there i a small finger, which can be raised ad lowered at will. In order to use this novel watch it POCKET TIMEPIECE, held in the sun, flat It is turned so i to have the blue compass needle tinting between north and northwest, iien a yellow finger is raised from Its icket in the middle, and its shadow, st on the scale will show the time. Danger in Lead Pencils. Lead pencils are the latest subject r condemnation by the English doe rs, or rather the method ot usln,; ad pencils in schools. There have en outbreaks of skin and other att enta in a number of schools lately lilch have puzzled the doctors, and e school medical inspectors, after nsiderable inquiry, now assert that e school pencils are to blame. The actlce, it appears, ls that pencils are ovided for the whole school, and are llected at the end of each day, and distributed next morning. In this ly a single pencil makes a tour of e class and is sucked in turn by >st of the children. The moral of e discovery is: "One child, one pen ."-Westminster Gazette. A Choice of Terms. 'Here's another man who got away th some money that didn't belong to n," said the young woman who was iding the paper. 'How much?" inquired Miss Cay ne. 'It doesn't state." 'That's too bad! I wanted to deter ne whether he Is a plain thief, a sguided embezzler or a bold finan ir."-Washington Star. A Great Discovery. t's a funny thing that no great his ian has ever written a successful itorics? novel.-New York Press. >