The Florence daily times. [volume] (Florence, S.C.) 1894-1925, September 17, 1898, Image 2
• ,;' \-i •'' ^
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& 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