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; & ' 4 ' ;>. S;/; - ' ^ ' " \ ') ? >>" *' _ i i - Opportunity. Ho who shuts his oyes repining, When a shadow dims the day; May not seo the sunlight shining When the clouds have passed away. Only when the clouds aro clovon, By tho tempost passing by? Is the rain with sunshine woven, Then tho rainbow s]>ans tho sky. ?Monthly Advance. NONA'S OBEDIENCE. A lovely afternoon in the spring, when the balmy air and the fresh, bright toilets of the ladies made a gala day even on Broadway. Philip Ilays stood at his office door, thoughtfully pulling on his neatly-fitting gloves. I say "thoughtfully," because that word just describes his state of mind, which was that of halting between two opinions?whether to go for his usual uptown stroll, have a comfortable dinner at the "Westminister, and a little flirtation with Jessie Mabin afterward, or to cross the river and take a train for his brother's lovely place in Jersey. He told himsolf, as he was carefully buttoning his right hand glove, that the chcrrie re ripe, and that he really needed a little fresh air and country milk. But he knew of a far better reason ? yet, if he would have acknowledged it; and what is more, other people knew it too Brother Will was wise enough to credit his ]irctty sister-in-law with Philip's remarkable access of fraternal affection, and little Nona Zabriska herself had a shrewd gucSS as to what kind of cherries Mr. Philip Hays came to the country to taste. "Well, on this particular afternoon the country proved to be liually the more powerful attraction, and in an hour and a half after the gloves had been fitted to a nicety they -were taken off again, that ,the wearer might clasp the hands of the dearest, sweetest, brightest little country maiden that any man with the right kind of heart or eyes could desire to see. What Philip said to Nona, and what Nona said to Philip, the cherry?trccs and the evening-star probably know; but it was very delightful, and so satisfying that the young people came back to the house without any cherries at all, and '* presently there was a great deal of handshaking and kissing, which ended in a bottle of champagne and mutual good wishes. Well, after this, for a couple of weeks, there was no hesitating at the office door. Philip said * 'strawberries" now when his friends rallied him about his sudden passion for the countrv. and the straw berry excuse did just as well as the cherries. But as the weather grew hotter, the subject of summer resorts becamc uppermost. , Philip's mother and sister were going to some fashionable Virginian springs, and he greatly dgsired that his little Nona should go with them. To tell the truth, he did wish she was a little more stylish, and would put up her curls, abandon aprons, and dress like Jessie Mabin did. That would perfectly satisfy him, he thought. Yes, Nona Zabriska dresssed like Jessie Mabin would leave him nothing to desire. , He went about his plans with that tact which young men who have sisters easily acquire. A little present from Tiffany's, and a modest check "just for spending-money,' made his sister Cecelia sufficiently interested in his project. "Nona is a dear little ?*irl, Cecelia," 1 he said. "All she wants is a more stately manner and stylish dress." "If that is what you desire, Philip, j why do you not marry Jessie Mabin? I thought you liked her well enough." y "Because, Cecile, I wnnt a heart inside """"^jthe dress?a pure, fresh, loving heart." '] "It seems to me?." But hcrj Cecile stopped. She was wise enough to know 1 she would be "throwing words away." The next d.fficulty was to make Nona delicately understand his wis'ies, and induce her to accept the invitation sent her by hi Ls mother and sister. lie approach- * ?d tl^e subject under the most favorable \ circumstances; the moonlight did not < betray his confusion, and his encircling arm lipid her so close to his heart that lie j had lio fear of not securing attention -j if argument or explanation became necesv. sary. \ "I im so glad, Nona, that you are ^ going Jwitli Cecile. I am sure it will do you good." And then he stopped and ( kissed her for emphasis. "I go to please you Philip. I am t quite well, thank you." t "Oh I but I don't, moon ? ????* UWUI/ JUUL J health, Nona. You little witch! who ? could have such bright eyes and red lips ( and not be quite welll I mean about dress and deportment, and those kind of g things." r There was a little ominous silence, and 1 then a low, grieved voice: "I don't t think I understand you, Philip." i V "No, dear; and upon the whole I am ] glad you have never understood so far. ^ ,You see, when we are married we shall 1 live in the city, and we must behave and j dress as city people do. Cecile will show you all about it, darling, so don't trouble your pretty little head." r "I thought you liked me just as I am, a 'Philip. What is wrong in the city that i iia proper and pretty in the country, will t ,youtellme?" t I "Certainly, Nona. Your loose flowing l ifeair and short dresses, and your frankr I : K1 ', -i k :'' ? familiar ways, all so perfectly charming just hero, would occasion remarks auc unpleasant criticisms in the city. I wani my little girl to be as fashionable and as stylish as?as?well, as Jessie Mnbiu." "Ah! sho is your ideal, is she?" Much more to the same purpose, mingled with kisses and compliments, was said, but nothing in it deceived the wounded woman's heart. For Nona, though not a fashionable woman, was n true woman, nevertheless, and understood not only what had been said, but also all that had been left to be inferred. It was not possible for him to leave hi i business entirely, but it hud been arranged that once a month lie was to pay a few day's visit to the springs, and in the intervals be refreshed and comforted I by regular and plentiful supplies of let! ters. The supply was pretty fair tlio first week, but fell off gradually afterward, until several days passed without any token of Nona's faith and memory. Still ho did not feel much troubled. He l.l V- - -> - -? muuyui, nu quite understood JNoim's reasons, and nt any rate he relied with implicit confidence on the effect which Philip Hays in his own proper person could not fail to make. This confidence did not agreo with events. lie arrived at the springs and found Nona out driving with Jack Christie?a young man whom he particularly disliked for his pretentious manners. He was on the piazza when they, returned, and he was certain Nona saw him, though she kept her eyes on Jack's facc, and pretended the greatest interest in his foolish conversation; for of two things Philip was certain?first, that her interest was pretended, and second, that Jack's conversation was foolish. Then he felt unaccountably and, as he very well knew, unreasonably chilled by the greeting of the splendidly dressed Nona, who calmly and nonchalantly extended the tips of her gloved fingers to him, drawling out the while a pretty little assurance of being '*30 glad to see Mr. Hays," with the information that "Cccilc had been expecting him since the early morning train." "Cecile!" he said, reproachfully. "And you too, Nona?" "Oh dear no, Mr. Hays. It is quite too PvlmmtNirf nvnnnf om-tl.U r\.. ~ ?VV UIIJ UUU^, VI1U at a time is quite sufficient." Philip was shocked and silenced for the time. For one distressing half-hour he tried to assume his rights as her betrothed, but she kept Jack Christie persistently between them; and so, angry and hurt, lie sought his sister Cecile. 4*000110," he said, "what a change there is in Nona! "What is the cause?" "A wonderful change I I never saw a girl improve so rapidly. I suppose you are the cause. Do you know that she is really the belled Jack Christie and Ed. Forsyth and half a dozen others are raving about her. Positively they are, Phil." "Very kind of them, but?" "Well, so it is, you know. Very first families, and all that kind of thing, you know. Upon my word, brother, I believe Nona will make a snn ??!?t inn novt ? - - ? ..WAV T* iui.v/1 . ia ijuite satisfied now." But Philip was not. No, not at all. Very far from it. That night at the hop Nona looked lovely and grand enough for a queen, her golden hair arranged in some picturesque style, which Jack Christie audably declared to be "just the thing," yards of satin and lace makiag a track of glory behind her, and ;old ar.d jewels flashing froin her bead, her throat, and her wrists. All in vain, however, Philip pleaded for a dance. Nona had been engaged tor every set since break fast, and she reminded him rather maliciously of the icccssity of conforming to the usages of society. So he had the satisfaction r?f watching the social triumph of the fu,ure Mrs. Ilavs. Three miserable days of continual lisappointment and then Philip detcrnincd to go back to New York, and see \Tona no more until she returned to her jonntry home. lie bade his mother and Cecile good >y, and gave the regulation kiss to Sona, who received it with perfect >lacidity and many kind wishes for his feasant journey; for, as he was to leave rery early in the morning, the ladies did lot expect to sec him again before his leparturc. As they passed out of the parlora Nona urned a momcnf, and a flash of the old enderness made her face beautiful, her ips parted, and she hesitated a moment is if she would speak, but finally passed >n and away. Pocr Philip I He took his cigar and .x j ? - " * ,av uown on ine dark, silent balcony, niserable enough; but in about half anlour a timid little figure stole through he deserted room, and without warnng laid her hand upon his shoulder, lo turned rapidly, all the great passion, vhich had grown to deeper intensity in lis suffering, bursting out in one ini)loring whisper of "Nona!" "Philip 1" Well, you know the end. Philip did lot like the fashionable Nona at all; his vliolc heart cried out for tho sweet, nat- < iral girl that ho had never prized enough ill he believed her gone forover. Tho angled curls, tho short dresses, even tho . ittle ruffled aprons, never more looked vomelv in his eves. I *v* /4C4Cj%>! , ' a'CIV ** '- *-VV.*' fjUr?.r- - ?' r Ever afterward he had tho most wholey l sou 10 fear of Nona turning fashionable; t and she to this day, when Philip is in i tho "opposition," reminds him of his ono experiment in managing women, and assures him that in thejlong run he would not like his own way if he got it, and so ^ i he takes hers, which, after all, I have no 5 doubt, is tho most sensible thing ho can do.?Harper''a Weekly. Crow and King Birds. Crows are loved neither by farmers nor by other birds. "All a crow is good for,'' said a Norwich (Conn.) farmer, is to hang 1 iL. r A ~ - - ? m? uy mo lecc in a cornticlcl and skeer oil other crows with." It is un unsettled question whether crows love best to suck other birds' eggs or pull up young corn. Spunky little king birds are their most dreaded foes. They are not 60 big ns a robin, but they have long sharp bills and arc full of fight. They are the natural watchmen of the fields. Even cats and dogs arc afraid of them, and the mere sight of one balancing himself on the top of a bar post or on the cone of a mullein will make a crow to quake and lloundcr away to the woods with absurd manifestation of prodigious terror. King birds had rather fight for feathered friends than for their own sake. A few days ago at East Great Plain, in this town, a couple of king birds caught a crow breaking eggs in a robin's nest in an orchard. It was half a mile to the woods, and the crow knew as soon as ho saw his enemies that he was in for the bitterest experience of his life. He ilapped heavily into the air, and hia bitter foes went at him. They slugged him in the head only, peeking at his eyes on either side, and in a few moments one of his eyes was closed or destroyed, and lift llniltlflorofl ill ? uuuuw ah tuu an ilku u steamboat without a rudder, lie had not gone more than thirty rods before he had to tumble to the ground in a meadow to gain a breating spell. On the ground his assailants could not get at his head so well, but they made the feathers lly from his back. Again lie arose, and as he winged across tho vallev, driving up and down and plunging and half turning his big body in tlie air, all the little birds in the neighborhood?robins, bluebirds, wrens, sparrows and ground birds?gathered and chaffed and niockcd him. He was forced to drop to the ground two or three times before he got away from his foes. As he passed over a dusty road at the edge of tho woods, flying not more than- thirty feet high, three big splashes of blood fell on the clear sand. Every feather had been pecked from his head, and tho expression in his swollen and bloody visage indicated repentance and a resolve never to steal eggs again. The kingbirds kept at him until he flopped through the thick branches of a spreading chestnut, and then they turned back, evidently satisfied that lie would never be much of a crow thereafter. Tliev could not not !>; ? I the foliage of the forest. They alighted on a fence rail, and as they cleaned their ] bills of blood and feathers the other lit- 1 tie birds celebrated with song the triumphant termination of the aerial mill. ?N. Y. Sun. j Tlio Fish of the Jordan. , The most characteristic fishes of the ^ Lake of Galilee belong to the family of j Cliromidae, three species of which are i ^ figured in Dr. Tristram's work. Chromis i , Tiberiadis is peculiar to the Jordan and ' its affluents alone. It is found iu the most amazing numbers from the Lake Iluleh to the head of the Dead Sea. 4<It g is by far the most abundant of all the A species in the lake.f." "I have seen them," r continues Dr. Tristram, "in shoals of j ovea an acre in extent, so closely packed ^ that it seemed impossible for them to j move, and with their dorsals fins above the water, giving at a distance the ap- 8 pearance of a tremendous shower patter- c ing ou one spot of the surface of the t glassy lake. They are taken both in <] boats and from the shore by nets run j, deftly round and enclosing what one may call a solid mass at one swoop and very ^ often the net breaks. They are also tak- t, en in large quantities by poisoned crumbs h thrown from the shore on to the surface q] of the water. By casting netj hundreds o arc often taken at once." When they l> reach the Dead Sea, which they do in fcl thousands, they do not get further than w a few yards when they become stupefied gj and turn over on ther backs, 4'while cor- c( morants and kingfishers perched on the oi snags of floating logs gorge themselves i li without effort, and often heaps of putre- id fying carcasses washed on the shore poi- bi son the ntmosphere and afford a plenteous ar feast to the ravens and vultures."?E<lin~ burg Review. vt In the Jewelry Trade; j1 Magistrate (to new policeman)?Did ^ youjaotice no suspicious characters about ^ the neighborhood? I New Policeman?Shurc, yer Honor, I ^ saw but one mon an' I asked him what ^ ho was doin' there at that timo o' night. . m Sezhe: "I havo no business here just A . - - 4t' uun, uui x expect to open a jewelry J ^ Btoro in this vicinity later on." At that i Isez: "I wish you success, sorr." ' Magistrate (disgusted)?Yes, and he did open a jewelry store in that vicinity . | and stole seventeen gold watches. New Policeman (after a pause)?Be- *n gorra, yer Honor, the mou may have ^ been a thafo, but ho was no loior. ?Ne\a j* York Herald, "the mountain lion. The Biggest and Most Powerful of Wildcats. Able to Whip Grizzlies and to Leap Tremendous Distances. j la the course of an article on the mountain, lion, o -respondent of the Sun Francisco Cad, writing from Southern California, says: The power of the puma is not exaggerated, and ninny instances are on record where grizzlies have been found dead, and torn in a way that showed that the mountain lion must have done the work. Instances of their remarkable jumping powers are very common in the East, and South, and in this country near the McCloud River, where the animals are very common, Mr. Livingston Stone followed their tracks to the foot of Mount Persephone, where they converged to the foot of a cliff twenty feet in height, showing that to reach their home the lions must have taken this leap directly up. The mountain lion is remarkable for its wide geographical range. "When I was on the Florida reef some years ago, the wreckers on the key complained that a panther, as they called it there, h:ul swum across from the main land and carried oil a pig, while another shout had its ear bitten oil. In die Adriondacks it is comparatively common, and known as the painter among the woodsmen. In fact, it ranges both continents, from the Straits of Magellan north to Canada. In South America it is known as the puma; in California the American lion or cougar, while the carcajou or quinquajou and catamount arc other titles given it in various lauds. The American lion, however, is its true title, as it is the largest cat in this country, and takes the place of the lion there. Long, slender, and graceful in its motions, lithe arid powerful, it is the type of agility and strength; and if it does not possess the courage of the African cats it has quite enough when hemmed in, \.f give the hunter a good tight. I ha... been informed that a specimen has been killed in this State six feet in length, including the tail, and this may be considered the maximum size. In such an animal the height at the shoulder would be about two feet and one or two inches. A puma ! was kept at Woodward's, m San Fran- j cisco, that was nearly as lame as an ! African lioness, measuring four feet from j the tip of the snout to the root of the tail, j In contrasting the puma with others it will be noticed that its head is smaller in proportion to the size of the body than all other cats except, perhaps, the leopard. The skull is about eight inches long and live and three-eight inches wide. The color of all the pumas that it has'becn my good fortune to see has been a uniform reddish, becoming lighter below. There are no markings except in the young, upon which there arc several rows of stripes and spots on the back and ?! J -- S1UCS. The panther has been the subjcct of many thrilling adveutures, in books, but [ have never been able to find a single in stance in the East where one of these animals voluntarily attacked a human being, though when wounded they make a savige resistance. So, too, the books con:ain accounts of the roars of the panther svhen it was wandering about the camp it night, and while I have spent consid:rable time in the most impenetrable >arts of the, Adirondacks, where these ounds are supposed to be frequent, it vas never my good fortune to hear the oar of the American lion; and, moreover, found that all old hunter* said that it vas an extremely quiet animal, following ts prey silently. In South America the natives tell many < ? -r ii lunca vi na cunning tnat are to be re- , eived with some caution. One of these . ales is that it imitates the bleating of the j leer so accurately that these animals are ured within its reach. ] The greatest pest in Southern Califor- i ia to the farmer is the wildcat. It at- ( lins quite a large size among the foot- < ills, and commits great depredations in ! liicken yards. A frjend recently caught i ne that had a record of forty chickens 1 efore it was finally trapped; and tlu-.t t le creatures are vicious and will fight s hen cornered there is little doubt. The c imc friend heard a noise in his chicken S >op one night some time ngo, and going i it, revolver in hand, saw in the dim ght a large cat. He fired twice in rap- t I succession, when the animal sprang, ii at caught the third bullet iu mid air, a id dropped dead at his feet. c The coolness of these creatures is pro(rbial. A few weeks ago I followed a ic Arroyo ?eco down the mountain on p jrsebnck with Professor Wheeler of the a diversity of California, when as we ei rned up n road lending to Orange ai enue, not a stone's throw from the ickley settled portion of Pasadena, the n: rgest wildcat I ever saw, indeed, I was ai clined to think it the spotted lynx, ft jpped out of the bushes in front of our al rscs, sat down on its haunches and di zed at us, and finally, after each party H d satisfied its scrutiny, it leaped into il( e bush and disappeared down the steep hi lea of the canon, neither of us ?l y weapon to stay it. It is, as I have p] ingested not impossible that it was the iti Dtted lynx, that ranges south as far as pi 9 City of Mexico, along the Rio a v-r .>;v. Graudo country and into Southern California. It is, however, quite rare, and I ( have never heard of a specimen having been caught here. This animal, while it seems to differ from the common lyux, is in reality only a variety, the animals varying in a remarkable way in color and the arrangements of spots. Wildcat hunting maybe included in what is called doubtful sport. Good dogs are needed to tree the animals, when they can be picked off like ripe oranges with the rifle. The difficulty in the way of good, honest sport in this country lies in the fact there arc no good hounds, and by hounds I mean foxhounds. After finding that it would cost from $30 to $40 to unug u uog irom tlic Iv.ist by express, I made an attempt to find a thoroughbred foxhound, but up to date I have failed to discover him in Southern California, though my quest developed some of the most remarkable dogs called hounds it was ever my good fortune to see. C'nlifornlu Salmon. A scientific work just published under the auspices of the United States Government, on the fisheries and fishing industries of this country, has this to say about the California salmon, a fish of whose ocean history little is known: "We know that salmon leave the mouths of the rivers at stated times and return to their rivers at other stated times, but where tliej' go, or how they fare, or what motive guides their course in their mysterious ocean sojourns, 110 one knows. They are found to have deep-sea fish in their stomachs when thev first mnVo ti4v.il ii^[;L'aiiuicu nuar enough to the mouths of rivers to be captured, which points to the deep sea as their ocean feeding-ground. They are often caught with marks of seals' and sea lions' tcctlx upon them, which show that they are preyed upon in the sea by these enemies, though, perhaps, it is only in their journey to the rivers' mouth that they have to run the gaunt' let of seals and sea-lions, for they probi ably have a capacity for standing deep' er water than their just mentioned enei mies. nut if their ocean history is litI tie known, their inland career is inter| esting enough to make up for it. From J the moment the salmon enters the river, 1 which it is sure to seek once in one or two years, its progress is one of interest. It first proceeds at its leisure to the head of tide-water. Here it stops awhile and seems to play about between fresh and salt water. "Whether it shrinks from encountering the sudden change from salt water to fresh, which is probably the cause of dallying, or for other causes, it usually spends two weeks or more hovering about the border line between sea water and river water. When it has overcome its apparent repugnance to making the change to fresh water, it makes a rapid charge up the river for the clear,gravelly streams. Now, paradoxical or unreasonable as it mav seem, it stops eating. Nothing is ever found inside of a California salmon to ' show that it has eaten a particle of food in fresh water. As a proof of this state- : ment, out of a great many thousand specimens that have been examined, no i food has been found in the stomachs of ] any." . ( America's Wealth. 1 The total wealth of our country, now the richest in the world, is reported at 1 $43, .>00,000,000, in a population of 1 50,000,000, makes a total of 17,- * 500,000 producers, says the ReV. Dr. Behrcnds. An'enormous sum in the ag- 1 gregatc, representing, however, the ac- 1 cumulations of 250 years, much of it in 8 land, buildings and machinery. c An equal division would give to each man, woman and child a capital of only ? $870, much of it relatively worthless to 0 the individual owner, or of $2,500 to ^ each producer. The latter sum repre- a jents the limit of average wealth attain- v iible. There is no more to he had.' The same results is emphasized by ana- ti lyzing the annual production. The most careful estimates place this at $10,000,- tl )00,000 annually. From this must be li Icductcd $700,000,000 paid in taxes,' $1,300.000,000 to make good the annual gi jvear and tear of the means of production, oi caving $8,000,000,000 to be divided L imong 50,000,000 consumers, without dlowing anything for interest on invest;d capital or for its increase. Allowing i per cent, for these, the net production E s reduced to $5,725,000,000. cl Throwing capital out of the account, ki here is only $160 a year for each inhab- al tant, or of $115 if capital is entitled to di dividend?an*average of from 81 to 44 tr cuts a day. fa Forty cents a day must suffice, on the cli verage, to feed, clothe and shelter the w: e il!- ? - - ? vujnu vi unsfc country, ur, dividing tbe co ctual production among the actual work- of rs, the average income will between $327 to ad $475 a year. of Three hundred and fifty dollars a year P< mst buy bread, r.>imcnt, pay house rent, mi id provide a margin for saving in every of imily of three persons; $2 a day is far tic Dove the average income that the pro-. ?e< uctive energy of the country can pay. pr< c who secures it belongs to the priv- fie1 sged classes, with many, perhaps, above ?m im, but with many more below him; Bhi tid every man belongs to the bloated wil lutocracy, against whom Socialism urges thi j crusade, who owns $2500 worth of Wii opcrty, or who receives more than $400 tcr year for his work. ' fici The Outside DopI * Sou may sing of your dog, your bottom dojj, Or of any dog that you please, [ go for tho dog, the nice old dog, That knowingly takes his ease. And wagging his tail outside tho ring, I 1 '? - hiway a ins uoiio 111 sialic, Cares not a pin in bis sound old head For either dog in tho fight. Not his is tho bono thoy are lighting for And why should my dog sail in With nothing to gain, but a certain chanco To loso his own precious skin? rhero may bo a fow, perhaps, who fail To seo it quito iu this light; But when tho fur flies I had rather b? Tho outsido dog in tho fight. t know thoro are dogs, injudicious dogs, That think it is quito the thing To take the part of one of tho dogs, And go yelping into tho ring. ' But I car? not a pin what all may <-ay In regard to tho wrong or tho right, My monoy goes as well as ray s ng, For tho dog that keeps out of the fight. ?Philadelphia Call. HUMOROUS, ITard luck. A big ice crop. The greatest satirist is the blacksmith, for he is so extremely ironical. "When you offer oats to a horse he may say neigh, but he don't mean it. Wives who are always bloving up their husbands arc domestic magazines. Our country's best resources are un Uoubtedly its women; but its resources should be husbanded. The proper course to pursue on being informed that somebody has threatened to pull your nose is to procure some tallow and grease it. A writer says that a woman is a eilent power in the land. To this a cyniclc old bachelor editor responds:?"That will be news to thousands of husbands." "Papa, if three wheels is a tricycle, and two wheels is a bicycle what is one wheel?" "One wheel, my son? Well, let me see? One wheel must be a unicycle.n "No, it ain't papa, it's a wheelbarrow l'? "Pa," inquired a little boy, "if you can say that 'people run for office,' why can't you say that people walk for office?" "Because they are in two big a hurry to walk," explained the intelligent father. At a time of great excitement in this country growing out of our nolit.ipftl relations with Franco and England, a man iu Vermont named hia ^ daughter "Embargo." It 'was suggested that the name might have beeu given ironically, for when read backward it expresses more than a mere willingness to be taken. He Foand Out. There was a group of striking painters at the corner of Michigan avenue and Griswold street, when a farmer with hie whip in hand came up and queried: "Is this a strike?" v "Yes, sir," replied one of the men. "What scerifs to be the trouble all over the country just now?" "Well, sir," replied an oldish man with many spots of paint 011 his vest, "the trouble is there are too many men in the country." "All bosh, Jim! exclaimed a young nan who was cleaning his nails with a nitty knife, "I tell you the whole thing omes about from the efforts of a few to mild up an aristocracy," "Well, you must be .green!" sneered ? hird one. 4'This crisis was precipitated lpon us as a combined effort of capitalists to drain us of our life-blood." "Life-blood be hanged!" exclaimed a ourth as he came to the front. * 'Any nan with brains knows that the trouble tarteu with Jay Gould. He wants to >wn the United States." "Did I ever see so many fools toother?" sarcastically remarked the last s f the group. "The trouble is all caused iy politicians who want to wind us round their fingers. We won't be ? round; hence this excitement." "Then that's the trouble, eh?" queried lie farmer. "Yes, sir, that's the trouble," answered le uv? together, each one speaking for is own theory. "Glad to know it. Much obleeged, T I - * ' * - - - ^ ibuicu. x wiew ir. muse oe suuttiln' * other, and I'm glad I found out."-? Detroit Free Press. Friends of tho Farmer, There are two kinds of weasels in tho astern States. The smaller kind feeda liefly on mice and insects and is not ctown to kill poultry. The larger preys so mainly on mice and rats, but in edition sometimes 1:ills rabbits and pouly. Both species are friends of tho rmer, for the occasional loss of a few lickens is a trifling consequence compared ith the good that these animals aro nstantly doing in checking the increase mice. You ask my orinion in regard v, the beneficial and injurious qualities the hawks and owls which inhabit ? jnnsylvania. Our hawks and owls ust be ranked among the best friends fftmnrtii Wi.k * .uouui. TMiu v?iy iow cxcep>ns their food cousi.'tR of mico and in*ts, meadow mico and grass'aoppera , sdpminating. The exceptions are tho f i rce goshawk ftom tco North and two ,? aller resident hawks, Cooper's and . .:4> u-p-shinned, which really destroy many % Id birds and some poultry. These ce hawks have long tails and short f' ags, which serve, among other ?harac9, to distinguish'them from the ai kind.?Forttl and Stream*