Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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l ) Professor Liulouzy attrihutee the do* crease of population in France to the enormous mortality among infanta from tuberculosis. According to the teneraent*house census in New York, in the entire mass of nearly a million and a quarter of tenants, only 249 children under 14 years of age were found at work in living rooms by the sanitary police. This is one of the encouraging facts mentioned by Mr. Iliee in his article on “The Poor Children of New York,” in Scribner’s Magazine. The Shanghai (China) Debating Society have been considering why the young men of Shanghai do not marry. The impression is that the fault is in the “chit system,” the local name for the credit system, by which things are charged at high prices, in* stead of being paid for at low prices. The majority of the young men were in favor of abolishing this system, 1 ut the young women were against it and swamped the boys. The struggle for existence, statis ticians say, is no where in the world fiercer than in Germany. The al ready crowded population of that country is being yearly increased by 400,000, and that after deducting the animal death rate and the 200,000 an nual emigrants. The rate of increase i* thirteen per cent., the same as in great Britain. How these swelling myriads are to live is a problem of ever increasing gravity. Truly he is the greatest benefactor of the human race who can make two blades of glass grow where one grew before. Carroll D. Wright, United States Commissioner of Labor, says: “In agricultural employments, brick-mak ing, the manufacture of small arms, of boots, carriages, etc., the labor has been displaced temporarily by the in troduction of power machinery. It is impossible to ascertain with any math ematical exactness, for any number of industries, the displacement of labor. It can only be given for distinct in ventions. We are apt to look at the displacement as a finality, and such displacement causes great distress at times, discouragement of the work ingmen, and an unrest which is not offset by any theorizing that can be advanced as to the expansion of labor; in other words, to the man displaced by a machine no satisfactory answer can be given. But labor abstractly is greatly benefited by the introduction of power machinery and what are called labor-saving inventions. This is through the expansion of labor, as shown by the increased consumption of all raw materials and the increase of the number of persons engaged in gainful occupations, such increase be ing largely out of proportion to Ae increase of population itself, as, for instance, the increase of population between 1870 and 1880 in the United -States was thirty per cent., while the increase in the number of persons en gaged in all kinds of employment was thirty-nine per ceut. during that period. One of the features of the Indian question that cause the Administration no little trouble and porplexitj” is the care of the red men who get stranded in Washington. Delegations to wait upon the Great Father and recite their grievances are constantly arriving from the West. They are provided with enough money to reach Washing ton, and take in the sights pending a conference and a disposition of the business In hand. They stalk proud ly about with apparently no thought of the morrow. In a few days the 4hoc begins to pinch— this nowaday* may be truly said of them—and a dignified visit is made to the Indian bureau for aid. The red men are un able to pay their board, and have no money to buy a railroad licket for the reservation. The c unmissioner has no fund to draw on to meet these con stant demands, and is in despair. The last case of the kind occurred the other day. A Chippewa delegation who came on to the capitol to demand indemnit for losses sustained by tho overflow of the Government dam at Leech Lake, Minn., found themselves “strapped,” and made the usual ap plication. The Indians appealed to Secretary Noble, who, unwilling that they should eventually be sent to the poorhouse, reluctantly directed that the money be advanced them as the only way out of the predicament. Pigmy Hogs. Specimens of the smallest known species of hogs are now quartered at the London Zoological gardens. They came from the southern part of Aus tralia, and are known as “the pigmy hogs of the antipodes.” They are well formed, frisky, and about the j size of a muskrat. They are real hogs, and not to be confounded with guinea pigs, which are a species of todent. — [Chicago Times. Couldn’t Suit Both. Mrs. Spinks—Yes, 1 wish to hire a servant girl. Do you like dogs? Applicant—No, mum. Mrs. Spinks—Then you won’t do. Applicant—Please, mum; when I told Mrs. Spinks 1 hated dogs and ud like to kill them, every one, he said I’d just suit.— [New York Weekly. “Laugh a Little Bit.” Here’s a motto just your fit: “Lsuzh a little bit.” When you think you ’re trouble-hit, “Laugh a little bit.’’ Look Misfortune in the face, Brave the beldam’s rude grimace; Ten to one ’t will yield its place If you have the grit and wit Just to laugh a little bit. Keep your face with sunshine ht;— “Laugh a little bit.” Gloomy shadows off will flit If you have t e wit and grit Just to laugh a little bit. Cherish this as sacred writ:— “Laugh a littie bit.” Keep it with you, sample it;— “Laugh a little b t.” Little ills will sure betide you. Fortune may not sit beside you. Men may mock and Fame deride you. But you ’ll mind them not a whit If you laugh a little bit. — [J. Edmund V. Cook, in St. Nicholas, THE EDITOR’S WOOING. BY HELEN FORREST GRAVES. The editor had lighted his cigar just as the level light glimmering through his by no means immaculate “sanctum” windows, indicated that tho glorious orb of day, somewhat obscured in fog and metropolitan <moke,was about to disappear behind, not exactly the western hills, but what came to the same thing in a city, the western roofs and chimney tops. Karl Rubens, the editor of the weekly Shiner, was a tall,bright look ing man of thirty years, one of those individuals whose very face and feat ures indicate that they are born to conquer destiny. He had been very successful through life, but it was be cause be had demanded success with a courageous persistency that would not be denied. Brown-haired, with careless, wavy locks, drooping low upon bis forehead, and dark-brown eyes, verging upon black, he was not handsome, yet the eye rested with pleasure upon his face, and in his light edticrial coat, somewhat worn at the elbows and shiny at the seams, and the velvet cap, tasseled and braided with gold, he looked every inch the chivalrous and frank-hearted American. Or, we might phrase it “gentleman,” did wo not secretly be lieve that the former title is far the nobler and more comprehensive of the two. As we said before, Mr. Rubens was just drawing tho first inhalation of his Havana, when the door opened softly, and a beautiful young lady rustled in; a young lady whom he had met a score of times in the gas-lighted drawing-rooms of “society,” whose beauty he had worshipped afar off, and whom he had unconsciously as- associated in his mind with diamonds, pearly silks and tulle draperies, looped up with hot-house flowers. He started up, coloring, and thrust ing his weed behind a pile of “ency clopedias.” “Miss Ainslie!” “Am I Interrupting you, Mr. Ru bens?” she asked, softly. “Interrupting me? Notin the least in the world; iu f ict, I feel very much honored by — by — please take a chair.” And Karl tipped a heap of yet un scissored newspapers off the nearest chair and drew it eagerly forward. Blanche Ainslie sat down, her pale- blue silk dress subsiding round her like the billows of a sapphire sea. Blanche Ainslie was very handsome, with azure eyes, and bright, chestnut- brown hair, while her complexion, although rather pale, was clear as ivory, and her features were as deli cate as if she had been a Greek girl in the days of old Praxiteles. While Karl unconsciously noted these things in his mind he was mar veling inwardly what lucky chance had procured him this visit. Did she mean to invite him to one of the soirees of her uncle, the rich old broker, or was some surprise party on the tapis, too exclusive for the or dinary medium of cards or scented paper? For Mr. Rubens rather prided himself upon the entree he was be* ginning to gain within the enchanted portals of New York society. Almost at the same moment Blanche looked up. “You are wondering what brings me here,” she said, half-smiling. “Whatever it was, I can but thank the opportunity,” Karl answered,with prompt gallantry, although ho could feel the tell-tale blood rising to bis cheek. “And I may as well tell you the whole truth at once,” said Blanche, her voice faltering slightly, and two red spots glowing upon her temples. “My L’ncle George failed last week, and we arc going to be very poor.” “Failed!” echoed Karl. “Surely it cannot be pos-ible—at least that is I had not heard of it!” “But it is true, nevertheless,” Miss Ainslie said; “and all the world will know ot it but too soon. And Mr. Rubens,” she added in a lower and more hesitating voice, “I must do something for my own support—either teach, sew, play companion to an in valid iady, or earn my living in some way not unbefitting a gentleman’s daughter; and I have concluded to try and write for the papers.” “Indeed!” said Carl, not knowing what else to say. “Will vou erire me a chance in the i columns of the Shiner?” she asked, with a very evident effort. “I be lieve I could write as good stories as some of those that you publish and pay for.” Mr. Rubcus was sorely puzzled what to say. How could he tell this pretty creature sitting there before him, in the halo of her youth and beauty and high social position, that she could no more hope to succeed as a sketch writer than a man could expect to build a house or construct a steam engine without an hour of practice or experience ? Had she been a shabby, spectacled old lady, or a middle-aged female with cotton gloves and high cheek bones, it would have been easy enough. As it was. her blue eyes, shining wistfully into his, seemed to paralyze the very nerves of his tongue. “I have got a little story here,” went on Blanche, producing a neatly folded packet, “which I have worked very hard upon, and—if you would kindly look at it, and give me your unprejudiced opinion ” “Certainly,” said Karl, recovering his self-possession, and bowing as he took the packet. “There are some verses, too,” said Biauche, reddening, “and a little es say or two, written as spicily as pos sible. Shall I come tomorrow to get your opinion?” “By no means,” said Mr. Rubens, politely. “I will not trouble you to come down to this unfashionable lo cality. If you will allow me to call and see you ” “I shall be so much obliged!” said Miss Aimlie, eagerly, and Karl knew that she meant it. Blanche Ainslie went away, leaving an intangible little scent of attar of roses behind her—and the sun dipped down behid the chimney tops, and the sanctum became dark and gloomy all at once. “How pretty she is I” Karl Rubens thought; “but, pshaw! the idea of her writing for the papers! Poor child, how little idea she has of the life that lies before her. However, I will take the papers to Di, aud see what she says about ’em.” Miss Diana Rubens was a strong- minded young lady, of a certain age, who read Carlyle, translated Hobiew, kept house for her brother, and did nearly as much of the “heavy work” of the Weekly Shiner as did the editor himself. “Fiddlesticks!” said Miss Diana, as her brother, over his evening cup of tea, tossed tho manuscripts toward her, and related his story. “Little Blanche Ainslie could no more write for the paper than any canary bird! But every woman thinks she’s a born authoress, and nothing but personal experience will grind the idea out of them!” Then Miss Dina read the neatly written pages one by one. “Scented with rose,” said she, scornfully. “Stuff and nonsense !” “Well?” said Ktrl, at last, looking up from his own writing, as Miss Diana laid the packet down, with a loud “Hem!” which signified the completion of her task. “Fiddlesticks!” was the brief yet significant reply. Karl rubbed his nose with the end of his pen-stick, evidently a little dis appointed. “You think they won’t do?” said he. “Of course they won’t,” said Miss Di. “Dishwater and adjectives— trash and sentiment—what are the girls thinking of nowadays? If she had sent me a few good table recipes now, or a way ot cleaning marble or taking out mildew; but an impossible love story with the hero on stilts end the heroine mere milk and water. Pshaw I” “Poor child !” said Karl,compassion ately—but be never thought of nn ap peal from his sister’s decision. “And she was so sure of success!” “They always are!” said Miss Di. Karl Rubens was a little provoked at his strong-minded sister, but he re membered, as a palliating circum stance, that Miss Diana had never seen Biauche Ainslie. The editor did not sleep very soundly that night. He could not help thinking of the beautiful girl so suddenly reduced from luxury and wealth to utter poverty, and when at last he fell asleep, it was to dream of blue eyes, and chestnut hair braided with shifting lights of gold. Karl had always admired the broker's pretty niece from a respect ful distance. Now it seemed as if she were fairer and more attractive than ever. In fact our editor, although he was not fully aware of it himself, was hovering dangerously near the magic ground of love. He called at Mrs. Ainslie’s the next evening with the condemned manu scripts in his pocket, and I do believe had he not stood in righteous fear of his strong-minded sister Diana, he would have told Miss Ainslie that her productions were “accepted,” aud secretly bunted them in the sanctum fire. As it was, it was too late for any such sly system of double deal ing. Blanche was at home, sitting among the splendor that was to be hers so brief a time now, and her bright, up ward look, as he entered, went to his very heart. “I feel like Crookback Richard,” he thought, “goin; to murder the inno cent little primes in the Tower.” And when he told her, as gently as ho could, that (he stories and poetry would not pass muster, she burst iuto tears. Mr. Rubens could not endure those bright sparkling drops. “Blanche!” he faltered, “don't cry. Dear Biauche, it is not worth it!” Aud before they parted that even ing, Blanche Aiuslie had half prom ised to consider the possibility of accepting the editor’s love, since the editor could not accept her contribu tions. “The idea of supporting yourself is very ridiculous,” said Karl. “It’s a great deal better to let me support you.” And so Blanche Ainslie became an editor’s wife and the happiest of little matrons, and to this day Karl keept the little packet that was “respectfullj declined.”—[The Weekly. Africa’s Greatest Pest. All white men who visit regions it Africa infested by the tsetse fir havt ncuch to say about it. There is now evidence that the tsetse is moving gradually to more northern regions and the cause is supposed to bo thai South Africa is depleted of its largt game, much of which is moving northward to get away from hunters aud the tsetse fly goes with it The insect is only a little larget than the ordinary house fly, and it re sembles the honey-bee. Its sting i? hardly so annoying as that of a mos quito, but near the base of its pro boscis is a little bag which contains its poison It lives on the blood of ani mals, and only a few species are fa tally affected by its bite. Cattle horses and dogs, however, cannot live when bitten with the tsetse fly. Na tives who herd cattle and travellers who depend on horses or oxen must avoid the fly regions or lose their stock. For human beings its bite has no serious consequences. Mr. Swan, a missionary in Katanga, near the western head waters of the Congo, says that recently the buffaloes of South Africa, which differ from those of the Congo, have been moving northward iuto the Katanga country. It is to tho buffalo that the English missionary attributes tho prevalence of the tsetse in Katanga. When Lieut. Le Marinel went to Katanga, more than a year ago, he took a dozen head of cattle, intending to leave them at the station there and raise a large herd. The tsetse was too much for them, however, and in a short time only two oiTthe cattle remained. Sometimes the poison kills the vic tim in a week or ten days. At other times the animal lingers along for several months. The symptoms arc those of blood poisoning. White men in Africa express the opinion that with the gradual disappearance of large game the tsetse will vanish. If it does not, it will be impossible to carry on many enterprises that would certainly thrive in some regions now infested by the fly. — [New York Sun. Cause of Variegation of Leaves. The variegated color of leaves, as in some kinds of geraniums and the coleus, is believed to be due to some kind of disease nr defective growth. This variegation is called sporting, and is not propagated by seeds, but only by cuttings of the plant. Iu the case mentioned, in which a variegated geranium, cut back to the ground, throws up a number of new stems, of which some bear green leaves aud the others white ones, the sporting takes another form, and as these stems all proceed from buds in the main stem some of the buds are evidently stronger than the others, but why they should exactly alternate it is difficult even to suggest. It may be possible, however, that the plant so severely cutback has made a natural effort to survive the injury and has produced a more vig orous growth from some of the buds, and these more vigorous stems bear the green leaves. There are often cases analogous to this which go to show that plants possess the same power as animals to make an unusual effort to exist under unfavor able circumstances, and this seems to be an instance of this class. The green stems are the larger because they are the strongest and this is also the reason why they are green. A curious case allied to this occurred in tho writer’s experience lately. A potato which had a pretty purple striped blossom, but which had never been known to bear a seed ball, had a bloom cut for a bouquet and afterward was set in the ground in the garden. It took root and made a seed ball aud a small po tato at the root. Here was a case of nature’s effort to survive and perpetu ate the plant under unusually depress ing circumstances. At least w<> look at it in that war. And as the tuber was a very weas one, the small plant produced a seed ball with seed. — [New York Times. Puuishiii-nt for Slander. xn the Kingd< was formerly a tn of Poland there aw according to which any person found guilty of slander was compelled o walk cu all fours through the streets of the town where he lived, accom tauied by the beadle, as a sign that h} was unworthy of the name of man.- [The Queen. CATTLE TRAILING. An Interesting By-Gone Feature of Western Life. Driving Big Herds of Cattle Thousands of Miles. The barb-wire fences shut off the great trails (hat stretched from Cor pus Christie through the Pan Handle of Texas, and on up through New Mexico and Colorado and through the Indian Territory to Dodge City. The coming of the railroad also made this trailing of cattle to the market super- flurous, and almost destroyed one of the most remarkable features of the West. This trail was not, of course, an actual trail, and marked as such, but a general driveway forty miles wide and thousands of miles long. The herds of cattle that were driven over it numbered from 300 to 3000 head, and were moving constantly from the early spring to the late fall. No caravan route in tho far Eastern countries can equal this six months’ journey through three different States, and through all changes of weather and climate, and in the face of con stant danger and anxiety. This pro cession of thousands of cattle on their slow march to the North was one of the most interesting and distinctive features of the West. An “outfit” for this expedition would consist of as many cowboys as were needed to hold the herd together, a wagon, with the cook and the tents, and extra ponies for the riders. In the morning the camp wagon pushed on altead to a suitable resting-place for the night, and when the herd ar* rived later, moving, on an average, fifteen miles a day, and grazing as it went, the men would find the supper ready and the tents pitched. And then those who were' to watch that night would slowly circle around the great army of cattle, driving them in closer and closer together, aud singing as they rode, to put them to sleep. This seems au absurdity to the Eastern mind, but the sound of something familiar quieted and satisfied these great stupid animals that can be soothed like a child with a nursery rhyme and when frightened cannot be stopped by a river. The boys rode slowly and patiently until one and then another of the herd would stumble clumsily to the ground, and others near would follow, and at last the whole great herd would lie silent and immovable iu sleep. But tho watch fulness of the sentries could never relax. Some chance noise—the shak ing of a saddle, some cry of a wild ani mator the scent of distant water carried by a chance breeze across the prairie, or nothing but sheer blind wantonness — would start onoof the sleeping mass to his feet with a snort, and in an in stant the whole great heard would go tearing madly over the prairie, tossing their horns and bellowing, and filled with a wild unreasoning terror. And then the skill and daring of the cow boy were put to their severest test, as he saw his master’s income disappear ing towards a canon or a river, or to lose itself in the brush. And the cow boy who tried to head off and drive back this galloping army of frantic animals had to ride a race that meant his life if his horse made a misstep; aud as the horse’s feet often did slip, there would be found in the morning somewhere in the trail of the stam peding cattle a horrid mass of blood and flesh aud leather. Do you wonder, then, that after this half-year of weary, restless riding by day, and sleepless anxiety and watching under the stars by night, when the lights of Dodge City showed across the prairie, the cowboy kicked his feet out of his stirrups, drove the blood out of the pouy’s sides, and “came into town” with both guns going at once, and yelling as though the peut-up speech of the past six mouths of loneliness was striving for proper utterance?—[Harper’s Weekly. The Banana Industry. South American people do not re gard the banana as a luxury. There is a “banana patch” in every garden just as surely as you find a potato batch near every little cabin in the United States. Some kinds grow wild in the woods, but the fruit of such plants is almost always too bitter to eat. A growing banana plant looks, from a little distance, somewhat like an immense calla lily. The rows arc started from young shoots which are cut off' and set in the ground just as wo set geraniums. Soon they send up two long leaves, which aro curled so tightly together that they look just like a round stick. After a time the leaves uncurl and hang down like branches, and others, curled quite as tightly, take their places. This the plant keeps up until, with a dozen or more great leaves spread out, it begins to look quite tree like. But the trunk is not hard wood like the oak or pine: it is nothing but leaf stems, so sheathed aud folded aud hardened to gether as to sustain the great weight above. At tne end of nine months a deep purple bud appears in the centre ot the leaves. As it lengthens and droops downward it looks like a great purple heart. When this opens it shows within a number of rings of bright little buds arranged around the stem, and by and by each little bud bursts into a yellow blossom. Gradu ally the fruit develops, from the cluster of tiuy green pods to the bunch frequently weighing one hun dred pounds. After bearing fruit the old plant dies, and from the new shoots which spring up from its roots young plants are started. At Trinidad, in the West Indies, bananas are dried and shipped in large quantities. The variety which yields the best result in drying is the “Gros Michel.” There is every reason to believe that dried bananas will soon be au im portant item in the trade of the West Indies. This article can be conveyed to market from remote districts over bad roads without injury, and the risks of handling and sea voy- ges are small. The banana is one of the most pro ductive of fruits. Its yield is esti mated at forty-four times that of the potato, or one hundred aud thirty-one times that of wheat. There are almost as many kinds of bananas as there are of apples—big ones, a foot long; thick ones, almost like small muskmelons, and little “fig” bananas that are the best in quality. For cooking, bananas are taken while yet green, and may be fried, roasted, baked or broiled. If taken when fully ripe they are too soft and sweet for cooking. In whatever way they may be cooked be sure and serve them hot, for as soon as they begin to cool they become tough. A common sight along the Amazon River is the camp fire surrounded by groups of natives roasting bananas among the embers; this is really the most de lightful way to cook them.— [Ameri can Gardening. The Trembling Wolf Fish. The trembling wolf fish has entered Clay Pit Creek, an estuary of the North Shrewsbury River in New Jersey. Capt. William C. Toweu of the New Amsterdam Hotel, at Locust Point missed his Irish wolf dog Paddy a week ago and found the animal dead on the batiks of the creek, about a mile from his hostelry, which is the headquarters for all the anglers and hunters in that section. Only the hind legs of the dog were missing, having been eaten off by some animal with remarkably sharp teeth, as the edges of the bone looked as if they had been severed by a saw. Fred Vogel, a professional fisherman, lost a young calf whose hind legs were bitten oft' in the same manner. Capt. Joe Depreaux, another old settler at Locust Point, tells of a wolf fish that climbs the bank. The fish wobbled over his garden patch like an old man with the palsy. The front teeth of the fish protrude like those of a Rus sian bloodhound. Eels have disap peared from Clay Pit Creek since these monsters first showed themselves. Last week Capt. Toweu with his Remington rifle killed one that was eating the hind legs of a horse. It weighed sixty pounds, and trembled for 1 hour and 18 minutes after the bullet entered its brain. — [New York Sun. Salmon Going the Way of the Buffalo. It looks as though the salmon fish eries of the Columbia River, which have added enormously to he wealth of the Northwest, would in the course of a few years become extinct. The fate of the Columbia will probably be that of the Sacramento river, from which river the salmon have almost disappeared. Fish laws may be passed and au attempt be made to enforce them, but it is not thought that any thing can be done in this way that would suffice to save the fisheries. It seems that the salmon will not remain in rivers the waters of which are fre quency disturbed by steamboats, and that ffjw through thickly inhabited countries. The salmon fishi ng of the not very distant future will likely be almost entirely confined to British Columbia and Alaska. — [Denver (Col.) Republican. The Innkeeper and His Theory. At a political meeting' in Kansas City the other day ex-Governor Crit tenden told a story of an old tavern- keeper whose fond theory it was that every 1000 years came the exact repe tition of events that had occurred ou the same date 1000 years before. Two graceless scamps,filled with the host’s good cheer, sought to weaken his dependence on this theory by say ing that they would pay their bill on that day 1000 years. “No, youdon’t,” he said; “you’re the same fellows that were here 1000 years ago and promised the same thing.”—[Kansas City Times. A Lazy Waiter. An English fellow-traveler, with whom I was returning from Dublin to Bradford, said to me: “Really those fellows are a queer lot! In Morrison’s Hotel, where I was staying, there was a poor waiter, so ill that he could hardly crawl about, and I said of him (as he stood on the steps to see me oil') to the carman; ‘That poor follow looks shockingly ill!’ ‘Ill! Sure he’s been dead these two months, only he's too lazy to close his eyes!’” — fNew York Mercury. The Grass. The grass so little has to do— A sphere of simple green, With only butterflies to brood. And bees to entertain. And stir all day to prt ty tunes The breezes fetch along. And hold the sunshine in its lap, And bow to everything; And thread the dews all night, like pearls. And make itself so fine— A duchess were too common For such a noticing. And even when it dies, to pass In odors so divine. As lowly spices gone to sleep. Or amulets of pine. And then to dwell in sov’reign barns, And dream the days away— The grass so little has to do, I wish I were the hay! —[From Poems by Emily Dickenson. HUMOROUS. Teacher—What is quickness 9 Schol ar—Quickness is when a person drops a hot pla e. “There’s nothing like poached e gg*t” as the ma, > 9ai d when he robbed his neighbor’s hen-housc. Kind Party—What are you crying that way for, little boy? Little Boy —'Cause it’s the ouly way I know how to cry. Briggs—Tompkins is engaged to a widow, I hear. Braggs—That’s just like him. Too lazy to do any of the courting. The man who says he will welcome death as a release from a life made up of sorrow generally sends for four doctors when he has a headache. She—It is always the unmarried man who knows all about women. He—Yes, I have noticed that the man who knows all about women does not marry. I cannot sing"thc old songs I sang a while ago, For if I do the other guests Quickly get up and go. “How is your daughter doing with the piano, Silas?” “Fust-rate. She kin play with both hands now. Says she’ll be able to play with her ear in side of six months.” “Are you pretty well acquainted with your mother tongue, my boy?” asked the school teacher of the new scholar. “Yes, sir,” answered the lad, timidly, “ma jaws a good deal, sir.” Servant—This room will be rented only to an artist. Room Hunter—And why not to another man? Servant— Because artists are less troublesome — they never want their room put in order. Gentleman—But I’m afraid he wouldn’t make a good watetFdogr Man (with pup)—Why, Lor’ bless your ’art, it was only las’ week that this ’ere wery animal held a burglar down by the throat aud beat his brains out with his tail! Plants Without Hoots. On first thought one would say that it was as much of an impossibility for a plant of any kind to grow without roots as it would be for any tree, vine or plant to bear fruit without first hav ing blossoms. There are, nevertheless, several well-known exceptions to the general rule in this as well as in other matters. The largest species of root less plants are the “sea weeds” of tho Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. In plants of the sea weed kind the structure varies considerably, some being merely microscopic vesicles, while others have vines and stems as large as the average forest trees. Some writers even claim that Macri- cystis, a sea weed of the South Pacific, often grows to be 20 to 30 feet in diameter and 1500 to 2000 feet in length. In no case do any of these have roots, in the p roper sense, their nourishment being absorbed from the water by all parts alike. Other smaller but perhaps better known species of rootless plants are semna or duck meat, water house- leek, a Georgia plant resembling garden lettuce, aud the common fus- cus of tho Gulf of Mexico. The witch plant, which is tho astonishment of the native Australians as well as the foreigners, resembles our com mon plantain in the matter of leaf. Six or eight of these leaves, some times an inch and three-quarters broad and five inches long, often spring from a single “stool,” which sits ou a flat bare spot without the least sign of root! Several well at tested marvels of plant life could bo mentioned, but their addition would make this article too long for this df partment. — [St. Louis Republic. Warning to Brain Workers. A physician warns brain workers against overeating, and states that the breakdown of active brain workers is often caused by the overstuffing of their stomachs, when it is attributed to brain fatigue. He says that hard work, mental or physical, rarely ever kills. If a mild amount of physical exercise be taken, and a judicious amount of food be furnished, the functions attended to, the surface be protected by proper clothing aud a philosophical nature cultivated, an a'- most unlimited amount of work can be done for an indefinite length of time, bearing in mind always that when weariness comes rest must bo taken instead of stimulants, so that there shall be no working cn false capital. — [New York News.