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• ,;' \-i •'' ^ \ & Santiago, Spain and Surrender all begin with S. So do Shatter, Schley and Sampson. Success also starts m the same way at both ends. It mast be Uncle Sam’s favorite letter. POBL aCBH n t ::FQR WOMAN'S BENEFIT.;; Savings banks and inatitntions exist in twenty-eight of onr States and are of two classes, mutual and stock. The mutual banks, which are the more prosperous, are, with the exception of eleven, namely, four in Ohio, five in Indiana and one in West Virginia and Wisconsin, located in the New Eng land and Eastern States. Mutual savings barks are conducted and their funds invested solely for the benefit of depositors, in approved real estate, bonds, mortgages and certain securi ties specified by State laws. The stock savings banks are confined to the Western and Southern States.and, in addition to being institutions con ducted for the benefit of shareholders, have, with but few exceptions, little to distinguish them from ordinary com mercial banks, possessing nearly all the powers and privileges of such in stitutions and differing only in the added privilege of accepting savings deposits, which are held distinct from commercial accounts. The increased value of the farmers’ crops in 1897 as compared with 1895 will, amount to nearly $1,000,000,000. It is further stated that $100,000,000 of farm mortgages have been paid off in the past two years, besides millions in chattel mortgages, thir being af tended with an increase in bank de posits and a fall in interest rates. The gain to the farmer of the wheat crops of 1896 and 1897 over the preceding two years is estimated at fully $400,- 000,000, and while the Returns from corn wore somewhat smaller,, the net gain for the two great oer eals is near ly $250,000,000. This country’s ex ports during the past cereal year are said to have sold for as much as the entire crops of either 1893, 1894 or 1895 were 4orth. While fancy prices are not expected the present season, there being nothiqg like the world’s great crop shortage of last year in sight, a good market of fair prices is looked for for the surplls of Ameri can farms, says Bradstreet. statement that it lives if Santiago instead of surren- o been intended as ^Tnrarrem^ er, but such it undoubtedly is. It took nearly two weeks to bring the negotiations to oj conclusion, and it would appear that General Shatter was subject to * good deal of nudg ing from Washington to make him hurry, but deliberation and firmness combined finally carried the day. Counting in what would have been the inevitable Spanish losses if San tiago had been carried by assault, here wo have a record of 10,000 lives saved as a result of calm nego tiation. Both General Shatter and General Toral acted like humane men most anxious to avert nehdless blood shed, observes the Now York Post. As soon as they were given a free hand by their respective Govern ments they arranged terms based upon the actual military situation, and hon orable to both sides. It is a credita ble ending of a highly creditable cam paign. ___________ The statistician of the Department of Agriculture has issued a detailed statement of the world’s wheat pro duction in 1897. The United States heads the list with 530,140,000 bushels, followed by France with 251,298,000, Austria-Hungary with 133,370,000, and Germany with 107,000,000 bushels. All other continental European coun tries with their enormous population to support produce 600,000,000 bush els, and the United Kingdom only 54,527,000 bushels; Argentine, which is so often quoted as being such a great wheat-producing country, could furnish only 32,000,000 bushels. The totals for the world in the last seven years are as follows: 1897 2,214,030,000 1896 2,428,000.000 1S95 2,546,000,000 1894 3,676,000,000 1893 2,563,000,000 1892 2,482,000,000 1890 ...» 2,432,000,000 From the totals it will be seen that the United States furnishes nearly one-quarter of the total wheat pro duced in the entire world, so that it is little wonder that other nations re gard with anxiety the wir or anything else which tends to prevent the expor tation of wheat and flour in oobord- ance with the ordinary laws of supply and demand, and any raising of the price of the breadstuffs of America is sure ft) be a calamity to some coon tri|s where economic laws aae quick to respond to any fluctuation in the price of this most important of com modities, The Trimmed Skirt. The trimmed skirt appears to ad vance more rapidly and more generally in favor than the draped or over skirted styles. There are more over skirt effects, simulated by various modes of adjusting frills, pipings, flounces, ruches, and other fashion able garnitures, than there are genu ine double skirts. Panels of silk or of another fabric introduced on either side of the front ofaskirtor princesse dress make a very effective and be coming trimming for short women, a far better arrangement than any frill or flounce going round and round the skirt, as the panels at each side add not a little to the appearance of height. The Cqt of Wanh I>re»»r». The durability of wash dresses of very thin goods depends greatly on the fashion of cutting. It will be ob served that very few of the organdies and other thin cotton fabrics have threads running straightway of the breadth. It is almost always the case that in the calendering the goods is drawn. The amateur or care less dressmaker cuts the ruffles and flounces straight across as the goods comes. This gives wavy lines and curves in the threads, and when the garment needs freshening up they loose their shape and symmetry at once. It is not easy to stretch an or gandie or thin cotton fabric to straight lines, but if anything further than its first woar is expected of it this is one of the necessities. Shlrt Walat* for XIlMe*. Shirt waists are now part of every little girl’s wardrobe, and certainly they look much better on children than they do on older women, who have the shirt-waist habit to an alarm ing extent. It is a mistake, says Harper's Bazar, to have too elaborate shirt waists for children. The pret tiest are really very simple and look best worn with a ribbon around the throat instead of a collar. A collar is stiff and old. The prettiest model has a little fullness on the shoulders drawn down into the belt, a yoke at the back, an,d medium-sized sleeves finished with a narrow cuff to be fastened with little pearl buttons, not studs. These shirts are worn with linen, pique or serge skirts, and the best belt to buy for a child is a ribbon of some dark color to go twice around the waist and tie in front with • bow. Qusen Victoria’s Music Lessons. Upon first attempting to learn the piano, it is said that Queen Victoria grew very tired of the doudgery of the dgily practice of scales and exercises, j f * ** * - Id one diiy pecnip, closed whil e at ter practising piano- 17 ' tat she would bang, and declared never touch it again. She was afterward, however, per suaded to resume her lessons, so that when twelve years old she was able to accompany her mother in duets. In time the Queen became familiar with the works of the masters, espe cially Mendelssohn, who paid her a visit once at Buckingham Palace. His “Hymn of Praise” was her favorite of all his works. It is only of recent years that Her Majesty has given up her music and singing. There are sixty pianos in her various palaces, the finest being a magnificent Ooorgiaua, made in Am- boyna wood and kept in the crimson drawing room at Windsor Castle. It has a wonderfully sweet tone. Taste in Selecting Colors and Materials. The woman who wears a great deal of black, no matter how handsomely or simply it may be made, is always well dressed. If she is sallow and sickly looking, with dull eyes, she must never wear nil black, but must always wear a touch of white or some becoming color up around the neck. If she is youthful, with fine skin, bright eyes and pretty coloriug, then all black is decidedly the most fitting thing she can wear, particularly if her hair be one of the blonde colors. Dark shades are always the safest things to wear by daylight, especially if one is in doubt as to the harmony between light tints and her com plexion. The well-dressed stout woman never affects rough, shaggy materials, as they only add to her size. Nor does she wear large- figured goods in her gowns or wraps. If she is short she has only a simple narrow foot-trimming lo her dress- akirte, and never affects fussy effects in any feature of her dress. The tall, alender woman can wear almost any thing she likes, so long as she studies her requirements of color and is care ful about getting into her clothes gracefully. A tailor-made gown is al ways in good taste, and black is always suitable for the business woman, shirt-waists of all kinds being indispensable at any time of the year'. —Woman’s Home Companion. liberate and slow in all the move ments, as trouble is likely to result in the way of “stitches” and strains. Let the arms hang at the sides. Now drop the head as low upon the neck an possible, as limply ah you can, without moving any part of the body below the neck. Bevolve the head slowly, keeping it drooped as low ns possible. At the first symptoms of weariness or vertigo rest until relieved, then repeat the movement, turning the head as slowly as possible. This will do more to strengthen the undeveloped muscles of the neck, re duce large, ugly cords, and give the bead a free, graceful poise than boxes of skin food, although cocoa butter slowly and patiently massaged into the flesh before and after the exercise will help it wonderfully in the good results. The back of the neck and upper part of the shoulders will become es pecially beautified, and the “saltcel lars" will rapidly disappear. —— “Anaei Barton.’’ In the Antietam campaign of Sep tember, 1862, a brigadier-general hur ried back from the front with a force to rescue a wagon train of hospi supplies. To his surprise he found the teamsters mending their harness, rearranging their broken teams and getting ready to move on. The train had been attacked, but bad not stam peded, as usual under such circum- stances. The brigadier surveyed the scene of order and discipline with amazement. He turned to the pre siding genius and asked: “How in the world did you keep these men from running away?” “They stayed because I did,” Miss Barton replied, simply. She wore boots, and her skirts were| tucked up in wet-weather fashion. She had been out in the storms an mud for ten days in the Marylan mountains. What a sight she was! Thi was the first time a nurse corps had gon into the field with a Union arm,, ready to work among the wounded a the fighting began. The idea w; Miss Barton’s. Bhe had been in t Peninsular campaign and had see the need. .When the army started to head Lee on his Maryland raid Miss B ton got a detail of wagons from sistaut Quartermaster-General Bu< ker, filled them with supplies whh she had collected, but not from t! government, and started after t! army. She traveled so vigorously a; kept so close to the fighting end the army that the prudent mule dr: ers became alarmed for their preci skins. One night they revol against petticoat generalship. Undfer the leadership of a stalwart teamster they resolved as they sat around the campfire that they would refuse to drive forward in the morning. News of Ike crisis reached Miss Bartos when the hour came EaTasgi; FARM AND GARDEN. then tw-wwvn Fall or Spring Plowing, frding to Nebraska experiments sll or summer plowing gave yields of corn than spring ig. When the plowing was |rery late in autumn there was no ciable difference. Pruning Fruit Treot. imir pruning tends to form fruit [while trimming in the spring ices wood growth. Trim each but only enough to cut out cross :hes and water sprouts. A treo [ ometimes be induced to bear y by removing half of the fruit and permitting it to bear a half ; only each season. It is, how usually more practicable to allow lire to take its course and let the bear each alternate year. Let tree assume its individnal shape do not try to have all look alike. Sawdust on ths Farm, many sections sawdust can be ased at a price that makes it able in farm operations. It should be used on light or sandy soils, on day land or on land inclined be wet it will loosen up the soil as ill as enrich it. In the stock barn, d especially with cows, sawdust is lluable for bedding, readily absorb- g the liquid manure and retaining so that the effect is plainly visible en the sawdust is applied to the >il as a fertilizer. As a summer ulch for strawberry plants sawdust equal to anything used for that urpose. It is too heavy for a winter ulch except between the rows, but t may be used in connection with ome coarser material like leaves or traw, and will be valuable. It must e remembered that the value of saw dust as a fertilizer is but nominal and its chief value, in its application to the soil, is after it has been used in the stable as an absorbent for the (liquid manures so often lost through care lessness. get nitrogen practically free, instead of buying it We want you to buy feed and get fertility for your land. Lastly, if you haven’t enough, ‘ you find by actual experiment, 1 purchase what you need. When you buy fertilizers again let it be after you have learned how to figure them. If figures on the bag 2 to 3 per cent of nitrogeq it means 2 per cent only. That is all the law requires. The “3” is put on to decieve you, so an agent can call it 2 1-2 per cent, on an average. Two per cent means, of course, two pounds in 100 or 40 in a ton. Figure this at 14 cents. Then figure the phosphoric acid that is available, soluble and reverted, at 5 1-2 cents. Next the potash at 5 cents; then add 20 per cent, for mix ing and you will have a fair idea of what the fertilizer is worth, or rather, what you should pay for it Do not let any interested party fool you into thinking that a ton of wheat straw will not be worth more to yod » the end, properly used on your farm, than $2 worth of any fertilizers you can buy. Where quick action is wanted, of course, you can get a fertilizer that will do better than the straw, but in the long run you will lose by selling straw at $2 and buying fertilizers with the money. I would not sell it at $4 a ton. SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS. called ini the hums Forty-four muscles i play in the production voice. Scientists say that the whole hums body is full of microbes, and that person is healthy so long as the m crobes are in good condition. According to Nilsson, the zoologis: the weight of the Greenland whale i 100 tons, or 224,000 pounds, or equi to that of eighty-eight elephants o 440 bears. The interior of a gold bearing roc was inspected in an Oregon town b; means of the Roentgen rays, and vein of auriferous metal were plainly visi ble as if they were on the surface. Red light is not the lowest kim visible to the eye. When a body ii heated up it emits first a “gray” glov and then a red glow. Herr Lummei finds that this gray light is perceivec by the “rod” formation and the red light by the “cone” formation in th« nervous structure of the eye. Professor A. Liversidge states that when solid carbon dioxide is examined under the microscope, it presents along its edges projecting wire-like have branching fila- crystals, which ments issuing from them, apparently , ... ..... i ^ right angles, resembling somewhat . .k® vegetable matter^that^the | the groups of minute crystals seen in straw adds to the soil is too valuable. -T. B. Terry in Practical Farmer. fiiA, around which the rimtineers clustered. She laid hen* hand on the arm of the big conspirator and askqd him if he was not going to hitch up and start forward. “I don’t know about that,” he growled, with a scowl on his face and a shake of his head. “Yes, yon do know,” she said. “You will obey, because I give the orders.” Ten minutes later every man was hitching up his mules, and in half an hour the nurse corps train was on its way to the front. Until this time the sauitary con nissiou had limited its relief work to camps and hospitals. Clara Barton at Antietam carried the work upon the battlefield. To the poor, shattered soldier on his cot she showed the tender heart of a woman. She was “Angel Barton” to him and to all the rest of the wounded men. The mutinous mule drivers who set her wishes at defiance discovered that those boots and tucked-up skirts went with a mind born to command.—St. Louis Globe Democrat. Clover and Timothy Together. This system of work fitted our cir cumstances, with clover-timothy hay and with barn room to accommodate it. We never tried to raise clover alone, and do not reciprocate the sentiment of those who belittle the ex cellent qualities of this grass. The two suit each other so well that it seems like criticising Mother Nature to divorce them. Sown together these two plants fully occupy the ground as they grow side by side, the timothy filling spots left vacant by the trifolium, or deserted by it later when its biennial mission is ended. And when it comes to harvesting the crop timothy acts as a go-between or nurse In helping to cure the clover which is "nflOTgrutriUi , ‘Eyflirt haying cannot be prosecuted under ideal conditions, so far as pre serving all the crop at that stage when the chemist informs us the green crop contains the most available nutritive qualities. While haying may usually begin when the crop is at or near its best, the later cut hay may have passed to the stage where it is less digestible, and this is one of the un avoidable losses which must be met philosophically.—Farm, Stock and Home. _ For a Perfect Neck. A perfect neck is not often seen. The shoulders may be well rounded and the skin while and fine, and yet ugly hollows and distinct thadows of collar boues completely spoil the contour. This can all be remedied, and that •asily. Let any girl who has such a neck try the effects of gymnastics fifteen minutes every night and morning for a month. The result will surprise her. Stand with the toes turned out well, hold the knees rigid and keep the shoulders still. Now, with the neck of your dress and all bands loosened, be re r p de- Fuahlon Hints. Military braid is used extensively for the trimming of cloth gowns. One hat pin has the American flag mounted under a crystal on the head. Suits made of face cloth are hold ing a prominent place in the fashion list. They are heavily braided in many cases. Simple and pretty are the blue drosses with just enough red and white in the braid to curry out the patriotic suggestion. Cravats of soft, heavy corded silk, in black, pink and blue stripes are very smart and pretty to wear with the tucked and plaited pique shirt waist. The fancy for colored underwear that has existed for some time seems to be dying out completely, aud pure white is the only strictly fashionable color now used. The taffeta shirt waists are lately made with a fichu effect. Two ac cordion-plated ruffles are on the lower edge, forming a tiny basque. The sleeves and yoke are of guipure lace, For children’s wear organdie dresses are fashionable this season, and al. dresses of sheer fabrics are extremely popular. Linen suits sell well, and there is an unabated demand for ging ham and percale. The plain white linen collar is stil fitted to many of the pretty shirt waists, although the majority of the dressy models have the neck trimmed with folds of the material and Paquin points edged with lace. One of the most durable materials for school-dresses to be worn in cold weather is mqhair, which comes in an unlimited variety of colors, and washes in soap-bark to look quite new, ironed on the wronc tide. Feeding the Dairy Cow. When properly fed a dairy cow will neither gain nor lose in live weight, and under such conditions will pro duce the maximum quantity of milk which her physical conformation per mits. and that milk will have ita max imum quality, i. e., there will be a maximum epithelial growth. The food which produces such re sults is an ideal milk ration, and the nearest approach to it which man possesses is a good pasture. The moment artificial feeding begins the conditions are altered. If an excess of nutriment is given the tendency to fatten will gradually outstrip the ten dency for milk production. If a de ficiency of nutrimout be given the body suffers first, subsequently the quality of the milk, and, lastly, the quantity. These results will be most marked when there is simul taneously an abundant supply of water. If now the food be changed there will be a corresponding change in the quantity and quality of the milk, but it will not be immediate. Experiments have been made for me under the latter conditions. The re sult was that the animals first utilized the food to replenish their emaciated bodies- The milk remained practi cally unaffected for from four to six weeks. Then the food told. This fact emphasizes one source of error in feeding experiments—they are not conducted on a sufficiently long period.—Professor F. J. Lloyd before the British Dairy Farmers’ Associa tion. Manure and Fertilizers. A ton of manure with ten pounds of nitrogen, twelve pounds of potash and six pounds of phosphoric acid in it, is worth more to yon in the end for farm crops, as a rule, although, per haps, not so immediately available, than the same number of pounds of these ingredients in any fertilizer on earth. This is because the manure furnishes vegetable matter to decay in the soil aud has a beneficial bac terial effect, neither of which you get from commercial fertilizers. Now, here is the substance of the whole matter, and every honorable agricultural paper or institute worker or fertilizer man will agree with it heartily. We want you to save all your manure, and not let part of it go to waste and then buy back the same ingredients you lost. We want you to grow clover, cow-peas, etc., and Forcing Tomatoes In Winter. Seed for the crop was sown Sep tember fifteen in 2 1-2 inch flats filled with loam and sand in proportion of four to one. [Professors Mason and Hall, Bulletin 70, Kansas experiment station. ] In three weeks plants were taken from the flats and set in 2 1-2 inch pots. These were twice repotted and finally on December 10 were set in benches. All the vines were trained on a trellis and after the branches were established pruning consisted in cutting out weak foliage and occa sionally thinning the more vigorous plants. When the plants were small the watering was done by means of a sprinkler, but after they were set in the bench the ground was watered twice a week with a heavy spray from the hose. Later the soil was soaked heavily every eighth day by flooding. After each wetting, when the soil be came dry it was cultivated lightly and leveled off Toward the end of the season no cultivation was given. ^ The vines made a vigorous growth from the time they were set in the bench and a considerable quantity of the foliage had to be removed to pre vent shutting out the light. The fruit season was ended about June 12. This need not be done, for as the tomato is a continuous bloomer, it could be kept bearing so long as the vines can be cared for and the fruit disposed of. The fruit was smaller than that grown out of doors, but still quite fair-sized, many of the tomatoes being tnree inches in diameter. They were tion. By February 24 Si vkpSJWfc but one gave from one to three ripe fruit. The yield from the rows placed nearest the glass was the least, giving 103 against 106 pounds from the front row or that further from the glass. The time from the planting of the seed until the ripening of the first fruit is 23 weeks. About half this time the plants grew in fiats and took up little room. The crop was allowed to bear 3 1-2 months. Winter toma toes were a novelty to most people, and at first they were bought slowly, but as the people became more famil iar with them they sold readily. In tests made at the Geneva (N.Y.) station in forcing tomatoes it was found that plants trained to single stems are more profitable than three- stem plants for winter tomatoes, the fruits on the single stems are heavier and greater in number, so that the total yield per square foot of bench is decidedly larger. It was also found that the amount of fruit ripening dur ing the first six weeks of frniting is much greater for the single plants. Very little difference was found in the yield of plants grown in pots from from those grown in benches in the single-stem tomatoes, but with the three-stem system using the pots seemed to be a decided advantage.— American Agriculturist. crystallized iron, gold and ammonium chloride. That the cinematograph is now a valuable aid to scientific investigations was shown in the eclipse observations last month in India, and now Profes sor Flammarion, the well-know French astronomer, has used a cinematograph to take during the night a continuous series of pictures showing sunset, the appearance of the stars, the milky way, moonrise and the moon’s motion in the sky. AMERICAN CUN PRACTICE. Fartn and Garden Note*. Underfed or overfed hens are poor layers. Do not expect eggs from over crowded flocks. It is not desirable to keep begonias entirely in the shade. They should have, if possible, the morning sun. Unless the soil about the heliotrope is kept loose, the plant will not do its best It should be showered often. To prevent worms from attacking the roots of tea roses, scatter, wood ashes over the ground at a short dis tance from the stalks. Subsoiling has the advantage of loosening the hard pan below the sur face. It may be injurious on some soils to turn the subsoil up, but it can do no harm to pulverize it. The interior walls of the silo should be as smooth as possible and then there must be no cross rods or pro- jeetions of any kind as these prevent complete packing and consequent rot ting. Gentle heat and moisture cause fresh seeds to germinate, during which process they require darkness. When sprouted introduce to the light by degrees, and keep constantly watered but not wet Oats contain more protein than corn and less starch, but oats contain fully as much oil (or fat) as corn, about 4 per cent, but the propor tion of oil is too small to render either grain unfit for horses. It is the starch in the corn that produces fat on an animal Remarkable Result* Due to Recent Change* In the System. As the remarkable gun practice of the United States sailors exhibited at Manila and Santiago aud elsewhere has attracted the attention of the whole world, with the result of calling forth much speculation as to how this high degree of proficiency has been attained, it is proper to state that this is of comparatively recent develop ment, and is ascribable entirely to the energetic efforts of navigation bureau of the navy department, seconded by the hearty co-operation of the com manding officers of our ships. About a year ago Captain Crownin- shield, chief of the navigation bureau, assisted by Ensign Ward, one of the brightest and most scientific of the younger officers of the navy, began to recast the entire system of gun prac tice as it existed in the navy. Captain Crowninshield impressed upon com manders the importance of gun prac tice at every opportunity, even where it was not possible to lay a course, in jrhichcase^barrels^or floating targets . f theshipswere'ffll^^wayT'^Soreover the number of times that target prac tice must be had was increased to seven annually. Then orders were issued calling for night practice, re- . pelling torpedo-boat attacks, etc. Following this, Captain Crownin shield turned his attention to the per sonnel of the gun corps and included the secretary of the navy to sanction the rating of gun captains, a new rat ing entirely, and one so well paid as to excite the ambition of the men. Under the old system the chief gun ners were not chosen for their profi ciency in gunnery, but received their stations because they happened to be petty officers, such as quartermasters or boatswains or the like. This system was completely reversed, and sailors were made petty officers because they were good gun captains, thus getting rid of a number of inefficient men. The next step wasjto instruct the gun ners, and they were placed aboard cer tain vessels set apart solely for that purpose. Thus a crew of these gun ners was given to the Amphitrite, and she was sent to Port Royal, S. O., for extensive drills. The purpose in select ing this place was to secure a large body of water free from the presence of merchant marine. Being away from large cities, both officers and men also were able to avoid distrac tion of attention from their work, which made remarkable progress. Thus, through careful calculation and hard work, when the war broke out, the American navy had a splendid nucleus for the magnificent corps oi seamen gunners which it developed, to the surprise of the world. Heating Capabilities of Wood. From time immemorial soft wood has been regarded as comparatively valueless for heating purposes. Hard wood has brought high prices and has been in much greater demand than soft, on account of this generally pre vailing notion. Experiments with woods of various sorts have demon strated that the linden, which is one of the softest of woods, gives the greatest amount of heat. The value of other woods in their order, as as certained, is as follows: “Fir with 0.99 heating power; next follow the elm and pine with 0.98; willow, chest nut and larch with 0.97; maple and spruce fir with 0.96; black poplar with 0.95; alder and white birch with 0.94 only; then comes the bard oak with 0.92; the locust and the white beech with 0.91, aud the red beech with 0.90. Hence hard wood heats the least.” It is one of the remark able facts of the day that so many theories that have been held for many ye ws w i fast giving way before the critical analyses of science. Two Swiss foresters killed two eagles recently. In and near their nest they found remnants of chamois, marmot, rabbit, eat, weasel, and eves a moose i