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^x?umm Intelligence. Irou as au KI em cut of Civilization. Probably the- truest standard by which to measure the value of an article, is to consider the need that existed for it at the time of its discovery, the nses that can be made of it, and the position in which a given form of civiliza? tion, or any essential portion thereof, would find itself if it were to lack an element neces? sary to its progress?an element the need of which might 'be felt while the element itself could not be supplied. Necessity stimulates the spirit of discovery; and it is a part of the immutable and exact economy of nature that one of the most useful at?d profitable results of discovery is to create wants in connection with and inseparable from everything of value that has ever been developed, whether from latent fnrinciples into practical systems, or from form ess masses into articles that serve practical ends. When civilization had so far advanced that mankind required houses to live in, huts and cabins were first made to satisfy .this want; and when the artistic faculty which expresses itself' in architectural design was combined with the domestic taste and the wealth that exacted more beautiful and more commodious dwelling-places than could be wrought from earth-mounds, stone was found to be an im? provement for the purpose on any other mate? rial that had hitherto oeen known. With the increase of the population and the tendency of people to aggregate in large cities, stone was found to be too scarce and too unwieldy for the multiform needs of the people and the rapidity with which their interests demanded that it should be haudled. The necessity for a substi? tute for stone for many of the objects to which it had been applied suggested the possibility of making artificial stone, and bricks were accor? dingly invented. Then tho principle of mak? ing artificial stone was amplified and refined, and through slow degrees chinaware, porce? lain and kindred substances of utility and or? nament were produced. So of all others of the useful and beautiful inventions and discoveries by which the world has been benefitted. The want of them, though frequently undefined, was felt; and the means of supplying the want were discovered and applied. Then the supply, growing in excess of the demand, reac? ted, and, showing its adaptability to create wants by its own worthiness and to supersede inferior materials, established a sphere of its own, created and multiplied new industries, and was thus the means of promoting human welfare and of advancing civilization. There are many of the constituent forces of the great whole of inanimate nature that, when discovered and developed, have contributed to found true material civilization ; and, so vast and manifold have been the objects to which they could be applied, that not only has civili? zation been wholly unable to outgrow the need of them, but the farther it advanced the more absolutely it required them. Among these con? stituent portions of the semper utile we may name gold, silver and copper. We do not wish to slight the claims of these articles' of multi? form utility when we claim for iron an extent of utility that surpasses that of gold, silver and copper combined. So far as these three metals serve as the representatives of money they ac? complish a useful purpose; but civilization would by no means retrograde if they were withdrawn. As regards their services to the other requirements of civilization, satisfactory substitutes have been found for them in a ma i'ority of instances. But for iron the world :nows no perfect substitute. Other metals may in some instances be advantageously used in lieu of it; but for absolute material utility, in the most comprehensive sphere on the largest and most solid scale, and as applicable to the greatest number of what may be called the uses of detail, iron stands pre-eminent above any other oue of the mineral products of na? ture. The great superiority of iron over other metals in such portions of both the light and heavy work of the world as must be performed by metal consists in the fact of its combining the qualities of malleability and durability in a degree in which no other metal combines them. (In this connection we leave platina out of account, since tlve mine of it discovered in Siberia somo years since has been exhaus? ted.) Iron may be either cast or wrought, aud it is susceptible of being tempered to the lowest degree of softness in which a hard metal need bo used, and it can be tempered also to a de? gree of hardness that will bore?as in the case of the Alps tunnel?through flint. It can be cast, rolled or molded into any conceivable fc-rm, and in its product, steel can bo ground to the finest edge. Concerning the uses to which iron has been put, it would require columns simply to name them. If the circumstance could arise in which the world should be called upon to say which of the great metals it must necessarily discard, iron would doubtless be the one it would retain in preference to any other, and perhaps to all others,, since no other pos? sesses such universal applicability. None other is at once bo cheap, so plentiful, so varied in its usefulness, and so lasting. It has superseded wood as the material for building ships, whether of sail or steam. For architectural design it is ?qu?l to stone or wood, while it is known to be cheaper, and it is believed to be more durable as a building material when kept properly Eainted. There is nothing for metallic uses etweeu a needle aud steam hammer?between a locomotive and a pen-knife blade?that can not be made at less cost and of more lasting quality from iron than from any other metal. If to stamp its name upon a great age be an honor to a metal, which, of all tho metals, has a post of nonor like that of iron ? Among dif? ferent peoples, and through successive ages, when literature and the high arts flourished contemporaneously with the poverty of the masses?iu other words, when railroads and steamships were unknown?when gold was money and coins were few?each of the great epochs of nations was called their "golden age." But iron has supplanted gold in poetry as well as in-fact. In this epoch of civil and religious liberty, of general prosperity, dilTused educa cation, large wages and large fortunes, wo say that we live in the iron age.?New York Paper. ? Some people, ignorant of what good edit? ing is, imagine the getting up of selected mat? ter to be the easiest work in the world.to do, whereas it the nicest work that is done on a pa? per. If they find the editor with scissors in nand, they are sure to say, "Eh ! (hat's the way you-get up original matter, eh?" accompanying their new and witty questions with an idiotic wink or smile. The facts are that the interest, the morality, the'variety and usefulness of a jiaper depend, in no small degree, upon its se? lected matter, and few men are capable of the position who would not themselves be ablo to write many of the articles they select. A sensi? ble editor desires considerable selected matter, because he knows one mind cannot make so good a paper as five or six. ? A New York wholesale grocer, who- had become rich in his business, has lately made the following revelation: He says his rule always was when he sold a bill of goods on credit, to immediately subscribe for the local paper of his debtor. So long as his customers advertised liberally and vigorously he rested, but as soon as he began to contract his advertising space he took the fact as evidence that there was trouble ahead, and he invariably went for his debt. "For," said.he, "the man. who feels too poor to make-his business known is too poor to do business." This withdrawal of an advertise? ment is an evidence of weakness that business j men are not slow to observe. ? "You have- considerable floating popula? tion in this village,, haven't you ?" asked a stranger of one of the citizens of a village on the Mississippi.. "Well, yes, rather," was the reply; "about half the year (he water is up lo the second-story window/' Tlic Bible its own Witness. The Bible is its own witness. It in the old? est book in the world. Of nil the relics of an? tiquity that have come to us some ancient writings of the Bible arc the most ancient.? Westminster Abbey, gray with lapse of ages, where men with immortal names lie in their silent tombs, is comparatively modern. Rome is enriched with ruined buildings which stood in their pride and glory about 1,000 years be? fore the first stone of Westminster Abbey was laid; and yet they may be called moderu. Go to the bank of the Nile; there are pyramids that were standing as they now are many cen? turies before the city of Konie was built on the banks of the Tiber, and they too are modern. Go to the banks of the Euphrates; there lie, in fragments of masonry, remains of the city of Babylon?perhaps vitrified fragments of the Tower of Babel itself. These are specimens of antiquity, worn and mutilated by the lapse of time. All that was once connected with them is gone. The hands that built them, tho pride ana beauty of their city, the crowds that thronged their streets, the tombs where they lay, are all gone I But the Bible is far more ancient than those crumbling monuments.? When the pyramids were gazed upon as new buildings, Moses penned hfa Pentateuch. Da? vid wrote his Psalms probably two centuries before Homer wrote his Iliad. When Borne was but rising as a village, Isaiah was denoun? cing the corruptions of the Jewish kings and Sredacting their downfall; when Alexander the ^cat set out for Eastern conquests, the Jewish nation had existed for 1,000 years; when he entered Jerusalem, the Jews had in their sacred archives all the books of the Old Testament which we read now ; and Joscphus tells us that the High Priest even showed to Alexander Daniel's prophecy concerning himself. God made the Jewish nation his librarian; and with rigorous fidelity did they preserve every book, every psalm, every prophecy, scrupulous? ly guarding cveu the letters from corruption. Thus the Bible is its own witness; it is the oldest and most venerable monument of anti? quity; it is minutely inter-woven with the great events of the world's history ; the more it is examined, the more exactly it is found to agree with facts at the time when it professes to have been written. No book has ever endured such assaults as tho Bible. Some people write and argue as if the sceptics of our day were the first who ever questioned the authority of the Scriptures.? But the Bible lias always been the object of assault. Men withstood the works of the Lord himself, and then every where contradicted the the Apostles. The early Christians lived and suffered and held fast their faith amid fierce and incessant conflicts. When the Bible lay for ages unread by the people, infidelity was silent; but when learning revived, infidelity sprang up again. Many of the leading writers of the last century in England and France were infidels. It was the age of infidelity.? They boasted that Christian faith should be swept clean from the earth. A fiery furnace was kindled aud the Holy Bible submitted to the torture. Sceptics have ever sought to di6 Erove its facts, and ridicule its characters, [en of science alleged that its statements were contradicted by their discoveries; philosophers have found fault with its moral, and argued against all belief in its miracles, as a thing simply incredible ; kings have forbidden it to be read; popes have put it under their curse; generals nave drawn the sword against it; grave and venerable councils decreed that it is a dangerous book, not to be possessed; houses have been ransacked to destroy it; learning perverted to misinterpret it; all the charities of life sacrificed in hot zeal for its extermina? tion ; and yet in the face of tempests and uni? versal uproar,, the Bible stands? "Like the cerulean arch that spans the bVt, Majestic In its own simplicity." No fragment of any army ever survived 80 raauy battles as the Biblo; no citadel ever wit? nessed so many sieges ; no rock was ever bat? tered by so many hurricanes, and swept by storms. And yet it stands. It has seen the rise and downfall of Daniel's four empires.? Assyria bequeaths a few mutilated figures to the nitches of our national museum. Media and Persia, like Babylon, which they conquered, have been weighed in the balance and long ago found wanting. Greece faintly survives its historic fame: "'Tis living Greece no more;" and tho iron Rome of the Cftjsara is held in precarious occupation by a feeble hand. And yet the Book that foretells tins still survives. While nations, kings, philosophers, systems, institutions have died away, the Bible now en? gages men's deepest thoughts, is examined by the keenest intellects, stands revered before the highest tribunals, is more read and sifted and debated, more devoutedly loved, and more ve? hemently assailed, more defended and more de? nied, moro industriously translated and freely given to the world, more honored and more abused than any other book the world over saw : "Stranco words fulfilled, and mighty worts achieved. And truth in all tho world both hated and believed.'' It survives all changes, itself unchanged ; it moves all minds, yet is moved by none; it sees all things decay, itself incorruptible; it sees myriads of other books engulfed in the stream I of time, yet is borne triumphantly on the wave, and will be borne along, till the mystic angel shall plant his foot upon the sea, and swear by Him that liveth forever and ever, that time shall be no longer. "For all flesh is as graas, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. ;The grass withereth, and tho flower thereof falleth away; but the Word of the Lord en dureth forever."?Christian Observer. ? The New York Journal of Commerce fa? vors the recognition, by law, of suicide as a felony. It would punish the attempt, since it could not be an accomplishment of the act. That paper says: The public welfare is, in many ways, endangered by allowing people to kill themselves at pleasure?suicide often as? sumes an epidemic type, unless checked, as is well known, and hence there should be a pun? ishment inflicted upon those who attempt to commit the supremely selfish act of suicide, in contempt of all obligations to God and man." ? Mr. Charles Dyke, engineer of the first steamboat that ever turned a wheel on the Hud? son, died Sunday, July 23, at East New York, in the 85th year of his age. Mr. Dyke was as? sistant engineer on Robert Fulton's steamer, the Clermont, on her first trip to Albany.? There, elated over his success, the engineer got on a terrible spree and was discharged by Mr. Fulton, and the position given to Mr. Dyke. He also engineered the first steamboat down tho Ohio and .Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. ? A new dietary artiele has been introduced by the London bakers in the shape of quinine biscuits. They are small, extremely well made, and have a pleasant but delicately bitter flavor. Each biscuit is estimated to contain one-fourth of a grain of quinine, and, for deli? cate stomachs, or where it is desirable to dis? guise as much as possible, or to combine food with medicine in a perfectly agreeable form, theso biscuits are likely to become very popular. ? The editor of the Ehnira Advertiser has poor luck buying medicine. He says: "I went to a drug store early one morning for a dose of morphine for a si ok friend. Tho night ' clerk objected to giving it to me without a pre? scription, evidently fearing that 1 might de? stroy myself. 'Pshaw,' said 1, 'do I look like a man who would kill myself?' Gazing tit me steadily for half a moment, he replied: 'I don't know. Seems to ine, if I looked like you, I should bo greatly tempted to kill myself.' " ? According to one of the resolutions lately adopted at a woman's rights meeting, "one of the most detestable sights ever seen is a parcel of old bachelors lounging around smoking, and talking of the horrors of married life" ? There arc a great many wags at the South. This class of humorists are all honored with a handle to the professional titles down there? the people affectionately call them scalawags. ? Tue first ingredient in conversation is! truth, tho next good sense, the third good Im- ! nv">r. and the fourth wit I Operations of the Signal Service Bureau. Although the Signal Service is yet in its in? fancy, and must be patiently nursed and cher? ished by the people for some years before it can expect to do and discharge its full mission, un? der General Mycr's indefatigable care and skill? ful management it has already achieved much good, and more* than compensated the public for the expense of its establishment. Since it was instituted last summer "the chief signal ofiicer has," to qnote the words of the New York World, "thoroughly organized and equip? ped a system which now embraces in its scien? tific grasp every part of the land from Sandy Hook to the Golden Gate of California, and from Key West to the Dominion of Canada." Three limes everv day synchronous observa? tions arc taken and reports made from the sta? tion?one at 8 a. m., one at 4 p. ra., and tho third at midnight. These observations are made by instruments all of which are perfectly adjusted to a standard at Washington. They are also taken at the same moment exactly, these observations and reports being also timed by tho standard of Washington time. The reports from tho stations are transmitted in full by telegraph. By a combination of tele? graphic circuits, the reports of observations made at different points synchronously are rap? idly transmitted to the different cities at which they are to be published. They are, however, all sent of course to the central office in Wash? ington. These reports are limited to a fixed number of words, and the time of their trans? mission is also a fixed number of seconds.? These reports are not telegraphed in figures, but in words fully spelled out. There are now about forty-five stations for which provision has been made, and which are in running order. These have been chosen or located at points from which reports of observations will be most useful as indicating the general barome? tric pressure, or the approach and force of storms, and from which storm warnings, as the atmospheric indications are, may be forwarded with greatest dispatch to imperiled ports. These stations are occupied by expert ob? servers furnished with the best attainable in? struments, which are every day becoming more perfect, and to which other instruments are be? ing added. The reports of observers are as yet limited to a simple statement of the readings of their in? struments, and of any meteorological facts ex? isting at the station when their tri-daily report is telegraphed to the central ofiice in Washing? ton. Each observer at the station writes his report on manifold paper. One copy he preserves, another he gives to the telegraph operator, who telegraphs the contents to Washington. ? The preserved copy is a voucher for the report ac? tually sent by the observer; and if the operator is careless and makes a mistake, he cannot lay the blame on the observer, who has a copy of his report, which must be a facsimile of thoone he had handed to the operator. The preserved copy is afterwards forwarded by tho observer sergeant to the office in Washington, where it j is filed, and finally bound up in a volume for future reference. I When all the reports from the various sta? tions have been received, they are tabulated and I handed to the officer (Professor Abbe) whose duty it is to write out the synopsis and deduce the""probabilities," which in a few minutes are to be telegraphed to tho press all over tho coun? try. This is a work of thirty minutes. The bul? letin of "probabilities," which at present is all that is undertaken, is made out thrice daily? in the forenoon, afternoon, and after the mid? night reports havo been received, inspected, and studied out by the accomplished gentlemen and able meteorologist who is at the head of this work. The "probabilities" of the weather for the ensuing day, so soon as written out by the Pro? fessor, are immediatly telographed to all news? papers in the country which are willing to pub? lish them for the benefit of their readers. Copies of the telegrams of "probabilities" arc also instantly sent to all boards of trade, cham? bers of commerce, merchants' exchanges, socie? ties, etc., and to conspicuous places, especially sea-ports, all over the country. While the Professor is preparing his bulle? tins from the reports just furnished him by tel? egraph, the sergeants are preparing maps which shall show by arrows and numbers exactly what was the mctcorologic condition of the whole country when the last reports were sent in. These maps are printed in quantities, and all the signal stations. A dozen copies arc laid on the table with sheets of carbon paper be? tween them, and arrow stamps strike in them (by the manifold process) the direction of the wind at each station. Tho observations as to the temperature, baromctic pressure, etc., are also in the same way put on them. These maps arc displayed at various conspic? uous points in Washington?e. g., at the War Department, Capitol, Observatory, Smithsonian Institution, and office of tho chief signal officer. They serve also as perfect records of the weath? er for the day and hour indicated on them, and arc bound up in a book for future use. Even' report and paper that reaches the Sig? nal Office is carefully preserved on file, so that at tho end of each year the office possesses a complete history of "the meteorology of every day in tho year, or nearly 60,000 observations, besides the countless and continuous records from all of Its self-registering instruments. Privale and Coiifidonti&L from j06h billings, to a hair oil and veg? etable bitters man. Dear Doktob Hirsute.?I rescaved a tin cup ov yure "Hair purswader," also a bottle of vour "salvashun bitters" by express, fur which 1 express my thanks. The greenbak which ye enkloscd was the kind of purswader that we of the press fully understand. Yur hairgrcesc shall hav a reglar Jimnastic puff, list as soon as I can find a spare time. I tried a little ov it on an old counter brush in my olliss this morning, ami in l? mi nits the brusscls grew as long as a bosses talc, and i notis this afternoon the liair begins tu cum up thru, on bak of the brush, 'tis wonderful! tis almost Eureka! I rubbed a drop or two on the bed ov mi kane, which has been bald for more than 5 years, and beggar me if i don't have to shave the kane handle ever day before I can walk out with it. I have a very favorite cat, she is one of the Hambcltonian breed ov cats, and althosho is young, and haint been trained, yet, she shows great signs of speed. L thought I would j ist rub fie corck of the bottle on the lloor in the corner of the room wharc the cat generally re pozes. The consequents was, some of the pur? swader got onto the hair ov the cat's tale.? When she arose from her slumbers she caught site ov her tale, which had grown to an exalted size ; talcing one more look at her talc she star? ted, and by the good old Moses! sich running: across the yard ! over the fence! up one side of an apple tree! down the other ! out in the fields ! away, away! The last i saw of the cat she was pretty much awl tale. I wouldn't hav took 10 dollars for the cat with her old talo on her. In a few daze, i shall fine a spare time, and then i shall write up for our paper something pyroteknik, which will make the hair grow on the lied of a number 2 mackerel to read it. N. B.?Dizziness, doktor, is hizzinoss. The hi prise of material and labor, has put up pull's with us, but upon the rescipt ot f>0 dollars more, yu can rely on sumthing in our weekly, that will Bond "salvashun and purswasioti" thru the land. P. S.?Let me advise you as a friend if it is I indespensihly necessary tu cheat a little in the manufacture ov "Salvashun Bitters," let it by all means be in the rutes, don't lower the ba? sis.. Yours quietly, Josn Billings. ? "What brought von to prison, my colored 1 friend ?" "Two constables, sab." "Yes, but I ' mean had intemperance anything to do with itY" "Yes. sali dev was bofe of 'cm drunk." A Singular Speech. Colonel J. \V. Forney, in his interesting re? miniscences of the great men with whom his ollicial duties at Washington brought him in contact, brings to light a singular speech de? livered in the United States Senate by the late Senator McDougall. Tho occasion that called out this classic tribute to Bacchus, was a reso? lution introduced by Senator Wilson to prohib? it the sale of intoxicating liquors in the Capi? tol. The fact that tho polished orator died a wretched, rum-demented pauper, in one of the interior towns of New York, a year or two afterwards, is a sad commentary on his Bach analian philosophy. Here is the speech : Mr. President?It was once said thatthero arc as many minds as men, and there is no end to wrangling. I had occasion some years since to discourse with a reverend Doctor of Divini? ty from the State which has the honor to be the birth-place, I think, of the President of this body. "While I was discoursing with him, a lot of vile rapscallions invited me to join them at the bar. I declined, out of respect to the rev? erend gentleman in whose presence I then was. As soon as the occasion had passed I remarked to the reverend doctor: "Do not understand that I decline to go and join those young men at the. bar because I have any objections to that thing, for it is my habit to drink always in the front, and not behind the door." He looked at me with ? certain degree of interrogation. I then asked him, "Doctor, what was the first miracle worked by our great Master?" He hesitated, and I said to him, "Was it not at Cana, in Galilee, where he converted the water into wine at a marriage feast?" He assented. I asked him then, "After the ark had floated on the tempestuous seas for forty days and nights, and as it decended upon the dry land, what was the first thing done by Father Noah ?" He said he did not know that exactly. "Well," said I, "did he not plant a vine ?" Yes, he re? membered it then. I asked him, "Do you remember any grcafe poet that ever illustrated the higher fields of humanity that did not dignify the use of wine, from old Homer down ?" He did not. I ask? ed, "Do you know any great philosopher that did not use it for the exaltation of his intelli? gence?" "Do you think, Doctor, that a man who lived upon pork, and beef, and corn bread, could get up into the superior regions?into the ethereal ?" No, he must Take nectar on high Olympus, And mighty mead in Valhalla. I said to him again: "Doctor, you arc a scholarly man, of course?a doctor of divinity, a graduate of Yale; do you remember Plato's Symposium ?" Yes, he remembered that. I referred him to the occasion when Agatho, hav? ing won the prize of Tragedy at the Olympic games at Corinth, on coming back to Athens was feted by the nobility and aristocracy of that city, for it was a proud triumph to Athens to win tho prize of Tragedy. They got togeth? er, at the house of Phcearus, and they said, "Now we have been every night for these last six nights drunk; let us be sober to-night, and we will start a theme, which they passed around the tables as the sun goes round, or as they drank their wine, or as men tell a story. They started a theme, and the theme was love ?not love in the vulgar sense, but in its high sense?love of all that is beautiful. After they had gone through, aud after Socrates had pro? nounced his judgment about the true and beau? tiful, in came Alcibiades with a drunken body of Athenian boys, with garlands around their heads, to crown Agatho and crown old Socra? tes, and they said to those assembled: "This will not do: we have been drinking, and you have not;" and after Alcibiades made his talk in pursuance of the argument, in which he un? dertook to dignify Socrates as I remember it, they required (after the party had agreed to drink, it being quite late in the evening, and they had finished their business in the way of discussion) that Socrates should drink two measures for every other man's oue because he was better ablo to stand it. And so, one after another, they were laid down on the lounges in the Athenian style, all excep tan old physician named Aristodemus, and Plato makes him the hardest-headed fellow except Socrates. He aud Socrates stuck at it until the gray of morning, and then Socrates took his bath and went down to the groves and talked academic knowledge. After citing this incident I said to this di? vine: "Do you remember that Lord Bacon said that a man should get drunk once a month, and that Montaigne the French philosopher, endorsed the proposition ?" These exaltants that bring us up above the common measure of the brute?wine and oil elevates us, enablo us to seize great facts, inspi? rations which once possessed, are ours forever; and those who never go beyond mere beastly means of animal support never live in the high planes of life, and cannot achieve them. I believe in women, wine, whiskey and war. Vegetable Ivory. So different are the products of the animal from those of the vegetable kingdom, that even the most careless observer may bo expected at once to distinguish them. Yet multitudes aro in the daily use of ivory buttons, boxes and small ornaments, who never doubt that they are made from the tusks of the elephant, while they are really, the product of a plant. Ihe ivory plant is a native of the northern regions of South America, extending north? wards just across the Isthmus of Panama, large groves of it having been recently discovered in the province of that name. It is found in ex? tensive groves?in which it bauishes all other vegetation from the soil it has taken posses? sion of?or scattered among the large trees of the virgin forests. It has the appearance of a stemless palm, and consists of a graceful crown of leaves twen? ty feet long, of a delicate pale green color, and divided like the plume of a leather into from thirty to fifty pairs of long, narrow leaf? lets. It is not, however, really stemless, but the weight of the foliage and the fruit is too much for the comparatively slender trunk, and consequently pulls it down to the ground, where it is seen like a large exposed root, stretching for a length of nearly twenty feet in old plants. The long leaves arc employed by the ludians to cover the roofs of their cot? tages. Each ilower of the ivory plant docs not contain stamens and pistils, as in most of the British plants, but, like our willows, one tree {)roduces only staminal flowers, while another tas only pistillate ones. Such plants arc said by botanists to be ditecious. Both kinds of the plants of the vegetable ivory have the same general appearance, and differ only in the form and arrangement of the flowers. In the one kind an innumerable quantity of staminal flow? ers is borne on a cylindrical fleshy axis, four foot long, while in the other a lew pistillate flowers spring from the end of the flowerstalk. Each plant bears several heads of flowers.? Purdie, who visited the plants in their native locality in lS4t>, says: "The fragrance of the flowers is most powerful, and delicious beyond that of any other plant; aud diilit.se, that the air for many yards around was alive with my? riads of annoying insects, which first attracted my notice. I had afterwards to carry the (low? ers in my bauds for 12 miles, and though I killed a number of insects that followed moj the next day a great many still hovered about them, which had come along with us from tlir wood where the plants grew." The group of pistillate flowers produces i large roundish fruit from eight to twelve inchi in diameter, and weighing when ripe abort twenty-five pounds. It is covered by a had woody coat, everywhere embossed with cof cal angular tubercles, and is composed of fx or seven portions, each containing from siito nine seeds. These seeds, when ripe, arc pjre white, free from veins, dots or vessels of my kind, presenting a perfect uniformity offex ture surpassing the finest animal ivory; anj its substance is throughout so hard, that the sicht? est streaks from the turning lathe arc observa? ble. Indeed*, it looks much more like an ani? mal than a vegetable product; but ariose comparison will enable one to distinguish it from Mm ivory of the elephant, by its bright ness and its fatty appearance, but chiefly by its minute cellular structures. This curious hard material is the store of food laid up by the plant for the nourishment of the embryo, or young plant contained in the seed. It corresponds to the white in the egg of the hen, and has been consequently called the albumen of the seed. In its early condition this ivory exists as a clear insipid fluid, with which travelers allay their thirst; afterwards the liquor becomes sweet and milky, and in this state it is greedily devoured by bears, hogs and turkeys; it then gradually becomes hard. It is very curious tha: this hard mass again re? turns to its former soft state in the process of germination. The young plant for some time is dependent upon it for its food, and if the seed be taken out of the ground after the plant has appeared, it will be found to be filled with a substance half pulp and half milk, on which the plant lives until it is old enough to obtain its food on its own account. From the small size of the seed, the largest not being more than two inches across its great? est diameter, the vegetable ivory can be em? ployed in the manufacture of only small arti? cles, such as beads, buttons, toys, etc. What is wanting in size is, however, often made up by the skill and ingenuity of tho workman, who joins together several pieces so as to nake a long object, (especially when such articles are made by the turning-lathe,when it is easy to hide the joints from view,) or makes a 3d from one seed, and the box from another. In some years as many as 150 tons of seeds luve been imported into England, and they htve been Bold in the market at the rate of a lhousaud nuts for seven shillings and six pence. ? A great increase in the orde; of Free Masons has been shown lately in this country by the multiplication of lodges and the erec? tion of new Masonic buildings. A census of the order just taken shows that the ncrease is a real one. Over 40,000 new menbers have been initiated during the past year, the entire number now reaching nearly 500,0(0. ? In illustrating the fruits of idvcrtising, an exchange says: "A family in florida lost their little boy, and advertised for a'm in a dai? ly paper. That very afternoon in alligator crawled up out of a swamp and died on the front door-step. In his stomach vas found a handful of rea hair, some bone brttons, a pair of boot heels, a glass alley, a jair of check pants, and a paper collar. The jdvertisement did it." ? A few weeks ago a baby wa taken into a church to be baptised, and his li?le brother was present during that rite. On the following Sunday, when baby was undergoing his ablu? tions and dressing, the littlesbrother asked Mama if she intended to carry Willie to be christened? "Why, no," rcplid his mother; "don't you know, my son, that people are not baptised twice?" "What," rettrned the young reasoner, with the utmost astoiishment in his earnest face, "not if it don't tab the first time ?" DO?NTT l?VE?LOOI THIS. No Charge for Stowing Goods. THE subscriber has jot returned from New York, and is now receiving a large and well-selected stock of Gods, which h? is confi? dent can BE SOLD LOWER Than any stick of Goods EVER BROUGHT TO THIS MARKET. His stock conssts, in part, of Calicoes, Cambrics, Lawns, Percales, Muslins, Mozambique*, Japanese Cloths, Mohairs, Organdies, PeLaincs, Alpaccas, Jaconets, Swiss, Nainsook, Blea. & unblca. Shirtvg and Sheeting, Plaid & Striped Horu<puns, Bed Tickings, And, in fact, c*rything else belonging to theory Goods line. I have also an untjually large and cheap stock of Mens', Lfhes, Boys and Misses BOOTS' and SHOES. My stock?* Mens', Youths' and Boys' CLOTHNGr and CLOTHS, Embraces ctrything in that line, from Cot? ton and Jinen TWEEDS to the finest CLOWS and CASS1MERE8. My Gens' Furnishing Department Is completed everything usually kept in tl? at line Of Facy Goods and Yankee Kotions, I have an endless variety. All of thdatest styles of? Laics' and Misses Hats and Bonnets, Mns', Youths' and Boys' Hats and Caps, Bsicry, Gloves, Collars, Cravats, Jilet Soaps, libbons, Laces, Gimps, Embroideries, &c. G ROCKIES, HARDWARE, IKON', STEEL, HOLLOW-WARE, SHOVELS, FORKS, SPADES, HOES, AXESi HATCHETS, HAMMERS, &c, Sc., Sc. Bosurc and examine ray stock before purcha? sing, ?r I am confident 1 can sell you goods. A tri&lis all I ask. M. LESSER, I No. 3 Granite Row, Anderson C. II., S. C? Atril 0, 1S71 40 IARBLE WORKS. LOCATION, Iain St., near Railroad Bridge. \\-\TE WILL FURNISH MARBLE WORK AS \V LOW AS CAN BE BOUGHT ELSE? WHERE. Below is our Price List: 'Tomb Tops, of Vermont Marble, common and ordinarv, 6x3 feet...$ 35 to 40 Good Quality..".. 45 to 47 No. 1 and Statuary. 50 to 65 Italian, of same. 50 to 55 Head Stones, 4x1 ft. 6 inches. 14 to 1G Head Stones, 3x1 ft. 2 inches, aud 3x1 feet. 8 to 9 Monuments, Monumental Head? stones at same rates. Box Tombs, plain. 115 to 125 Paneled, good quality.135 to 160 No. 1 Heavy Paneled, with posts... 175 to 100 Lettcriug.3 cents a letter. At our Shop we put up those $250 Tombs at $160, and guarantee to furnish as good ma? terial and heavier paneled work for the same. Parties wishing Marble Work will find it to their interest to call on us. T. WILMAS & CO. May 55, IS7J 17 1871. SPRING TRADE. 1871, CROQUET. ? Complete sets from $3 to $20 per set, BASE BALLS. All the different kinds at reduced prices. FISHING TACKLE. Of every description. TRAVELING BAGS. For ladies and gentlemen. FOREIGN FANCY GOODS, GUNS AND PISTOLS OF ALL KINDS and PRICES* AMMUNITION, SPORTSMEN'S GOODS* Goods shipped to any part of the country per express. The same careful attention given to or? ders by mail as to personal purchases. Priccrf for our goods based on gold at par. POULTN'EY, TKDIBLE & CO., 200 >V. Baltimore Street, BALTIMORE, MD, April 6, 1871 40 ly IMPORTANT NOTICE TO CONSUMERS OF DRY GOODS, All Retail Orders amounting to $20 and Over Delivered in any Part of the Country .Free 01 Express Cliarg-es* HAMILTON EASTER & SONS, OF BALTIMORE, MD., . In order the better to meet the wants of their Retail Cus? tomers at a distance, have established a SAMPLE BUREAU, and will, upon application, promptly sn:<l ly mail full lines of Samples of th?- Newest and most Fashionable Goods, of FRENCH. ENGLISH and DOMESTIC MANUFACTURE, guaranteeing at all times to sell as lote, if not at less prices, than any house in the country. Buying our goods from the largest and most celebrated manufacturers in the different parts of Europe, and im? porting the same by Steamers direct to Baltimore, our stock is at all times promptly supplied with the novelties of the London and Paris markets. As we buy and sell onbrfor cash, and make no bad debts, we arc able and willing tP".-II ourgoods at fr09i Tex to* Fifteen Per Cent. Less Pkofit than if we gave credit. In sending for samples specify the kind of goods desired. We keep the best grades ol every class of ijoods, from the' lowest to the most costly. Orders unarcompanted by the cash icill be tent C. 0. D. PROMPT-PAYING WHOLESALE BUYERS are invi? ted to inspect the Stock in our Jobbing and Packing De? partment. Address HAMILTON EASTER k SONS, 197, 199, 201 and 203 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Md. Oct 27, 1870 18 ly WAVER LY HOUSE, Anderson, S. C. -<s? JOHN A. MATES, Proprietor, --??> THE WAVERLY HOUSE has been repaired and' fitted up, and has now a magnificent ap? peal ance. Mr. Mayes is lately of Abbeville, and is "well known as a good Hotel keeper. The House has been newly furnished, and has all the modern improvements and comforts, and will give the best the country affords in way of fare, which will be' served up in the best of style. Stop and see ns, and you will be well treated. March 23, 1871 38 H. H. SCUDDAY, M. D., Physician and Surgeon^ ANDERSON C. H., S. C, RESPECTFULLY tenders his services to the citizens of Anderson Village and vicinity. With an experience of sixteen years in all forms of disease peculiar to this climate, he hopes'to meet the expectations.of all patients committed to his care. Special attention given to Obstcrics, and dis? eases of women and children. When not professionally engaged, he can usu? ally be seen at the Drug Store of Messrs. Simp? son, Hill & Co., or at die residence formerly oc? cupied by J. B. Sloan, deceased. March 23, 1S71 38 Gm X. GOLDSMim. T. KI>' E> goldsmith & kind, FOUNDERS & MACHINISTS, (PHCEXIX IKON WORKS,) COLUMBIA., S. O., MANUFACTURERS of Steam Engines, of air sizes ; Horse Powers, Circular and Muley tinw Mills, Flour Mills, Grist and Sugar Cane Mills, Ornamental House and Store Fronts, Cast Iron Railings of every sort, including graveyards, residences, &c. Agricultural Implements, Brass and Iron Castings of all kinds made to order on short notice, and on the most reasonable terms. Also, manufacturers of Cotton Presses, &c. May 18,1871 4"6 ly ?i Wholesale Grocers, AND DEALERS IN /INES, LIQUORS, CIGARS, TOBACCO, &C, No. 197 East Bay, H. r.iscnoFF,-) Charleston, S. C. Fob 23, 1871 34 0m MACCIUEEN & RLECKE, WHOLESALE Produce & Provision Dealers,, Havo constantly on hand nnd receiving, Ba? con, Dry Salted Meats, Pork, Lard, Flour, Sugar, Molasses. &c, &c. Purchasers arc requested to examine their stock ab 21 and 23 VEND?E RANGE, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA?. Feb 23, 1871 34 Gai ^WaTER WHEEL, Mill GrarintShaftinl&F??sy? i^SEND FCRACIRCUlAR-feT Sept 15,1870 12 ly WM. HEHHY TRESCOT. W. W. Ill MTUUEYS. TRESCOT & HUMPHREYS, Attorneys at Law, WILL practice in the Courts of the Eighth Circuit, and in the United States Court Office in Broylcs' building, opposite the Houses House. Anderson C. H. Feb 9.187J -2