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SCIEUTIFIC A.ND INDUSTRIAL. Edison, the electrician, makes rubies that excel the genuine. The surface of a man's lungs is esti mated at 150 square feet, ten times the X surface of the external body. In Great Britain the annual sick rate for each inhabitant is ten days to the year; in the United Stateg eight days. Nests of the termite ants of South Africa are often twelve feet high and grouped together in clusters, the talest in the center. I Ants are provided with a poison bag, which discharges a fluiii having a strong sulphurous smell, sufficient to drive away most insect enemies. The smallest holes pierced by modern F( machinery are 1-1000th of an inch in diameter. They are bored through A sapphires, rubies and diamonds by a machine which makes 22,000 revolu A' tions a minute. Sir James Crichton Browne, the Eng- W lish specialist, is a believer in the theory that the coming man will be W toothless. He declares that over 10, 000,000 false teeth are annually fitted G into the mouths of Britishers. Many larvae of beetles and other in- S sects are used for food; the bee gives - honey and wax, the coccus manna and cochineal, the Spanish fly a blistering drug, the gall insects an astringent and the silk worm an article of dress. Uranus has four little moons-Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon-which funnily enough, rise in the north and set in the south. A single diminuhnvr one, belonging to Neptune, traverses the sky from southwest to southeast. Neither Mercury nor Venus has any satellites. Doctor Neisser,of the Hygienic Insti tute at Berlin, has discovered in the city a new cholera bacillus which he. calls vibrio berolensis. The inoccula tion of dogs, cats and rabbits with this bacillus has proved that the vibrie is: fully as potent as the Asiatic bacillUs. in The Berliners manifest no alarm over dc the discovery. 0 The differee between the atmos- m phere of tbn best ventilated houses ar, d cc the outer air is illustrated by the cok- bi duct of cut flowers. Blossoms that re tain their freshness but a day or two tb when atanding in water within doors tb will sometimes live twice as long when T] dropped in a shady place out of doors, ti even without the aid of other moisture qi than they obtained from.the earth and tk air. SE Experiments made by the scientists li appointed for that purpose by the a, French Government show that the re- a, sistance of the atmosphere to the motion of a high speed train often ai amounts to half the total resistance bi w!L&-h the locomotive must overcome. al Two engines, of which the resistance at was measured repeatedly and found to so be nineteen pounds per ton at thirty- o1 eeven miles per hour, were coupled 'sogether and again tried. In tho i ,jecond trial the resistance fell to four seen pounds per ton, the second engin@ ez being shielded from atmospheric re- et distance by the first. w Great attention is now being paid bye' the German military authorities to the tz question of facilitating and expediting hi intrenching methods. Arxqung other ba implements which they are- testing is f an intrenching spade, invented by M!. hi de Layeh.. Wheni in use it is fitted to 7 the' Mook so$ the rifle, but it is sug- W gested that its proposed place, when P~ no in use, on the breast of the soldier, is likely to cause , oppression and to Jpl * give little or no protection. The whole 1 l arrangement adds rather more- thaniC three pounds to his impediments.h The Burning Mountain. In Johnson County, Wyoming, there ax is what is called the Burning Moun- se tain. It is an immense coal bank, at that has been on fire ever since the ei first white man visited that country. hi There are many traditions among the iz Indians as to the origin of the fire, e2 but all point to its great antiquity, il and it is possible that this bank has il been burning for 200 or 300 years. se The country around presents a t singularly barren appearance, which m is not the least improved by the looks o: of the mountain itself. In places here at and there reefs of coal crop out, and a y high wind fans the fire to a furious I blaze. Elsewhere the fire is mainly fr underground and indicated only by the heat of the surface and the in- Ifj numerable jets of smoke and tongues of flame that appear through the cracks re in the baked earth. It is dangerous ei to go about the place, for not. only are a2 there frequent cavings of the surface, i but the gases which arise fromi the S] burning coal are extremely deleterio us. ai -New York Journal.w A Chinese Proverb's Origin-.t "'He'll steal your shoes' is an ex, r< pression which in China is used to de- V qcribe an arrarnt knave and pilferer." V .x~t ex-Consul Edward Bedloe, re- ol cently returned from Amoy. "The p~ ~ezepssion is hundreds of years old lh and is based on an adventure perpetu- f ated through the medium of decorated gI crockery ware. A wealthy Chinaman, j10 whose gorgeously embroidered shoes were the envy of the community, was, b according to the legend, despoiled of ci his pride in the following manner A PI rascal one day rushed ups gave the p) rich man a hearty blow on the back te and seizing the astonished gentleman's ip hat pitched it upon a high wall. The next moment the fellow seemed to in discover that it was not an old friend g~ he was greeting so enthusiastically and ax apologized pro fusely. "'How sliall I get my hat?" in- W quired the man with the beautiful hi shoes. "'Jump on my back and you can 9. reach it,' replied the schemer. is "The suggestion was carried out, hi but while the hatless man was reach gi ing for his head covering the rascal cc slipped off the handsome shoes and in made away, leaving the simple mindea m millionaire clutching the wall." DIdn't need Them. 3tranger-I'm the lame man you engaged yesterday to pose. Artist Heavens: where are your crutches. o0i Stranger-Oh, I left them home.- i9 Judge.G A Long Ending. NIittle Dick-Who's in the parlor? Little D~ot--Mrs. Blace. She won't~ get through her cali for an hour yet~ -"How do you know?" "I just heardj hier say: 'Well, 1 mus' be going.' :'TXS USELESS TO aRkE-t.. 've done the best we could, my dear, .here's nothing to regret; 'v6 taught the children many truths )n which our hearts were set; d if against our old-time ways 7hey foolishly protest. need never regret, my dear, hat we have done our best. ere's many a plan that's come to naught Mhere's many a light gone out ; d disappointments, griefs and cares lave hedged us round about: d many a sad mistake we've made 7hroughout our lives, and yet 've done the very best we could; Tis useless to regret. r out of evil good has come, and out of darkness light; d all wrong doing in this world ome day will be set right; d though we have not reached the height Utained by others, yet e've done the best we could, my dear; Tis useless to regret. )'ve tried to live like honest folks, ro do our duty well, inst evil things to take our stand, En goodness to excel; judge yourself not harshly, dear, for at misfortunes fret ; 've done the best we could, and Tis useless to regret. THE EDITOR'S VISIT. BY FREACIS C. WILLIAMS. - HE noon hour bad come, and tho city editor of theChron icle was very busy, making out an as signment list, when a queer old-fashion ed figure of a man came into the room A stood waiting by the side of the sk. "Well!" said the city editor, look g up sharply, after an instant, "what you want?" "I wanted to know if you could ke use of this," answered the new mer, timidly holding oat a small Lndle of manuscript. "I'm sure we can't unless it's some ing a trifle less hoary with age than at you brought here the other day." ie city editor, who was a compara rely young man, very alert, very Lick in speech, and all business, took e manuscript, unfolded it with a ap and ran his eye over the first -few is. Then he wheeled his chair ound and said, straightening up and caking testily: "Now look hereo John Harmon,once d for all, understand that it's nouse inging such stuff as that in here, d I won't be bothered with looking it ! Why, this is identically the me ancient history you tried to shove f on me the other day." "But I polished it up !" suggested e old man. "Polished up your grandfather !" :elaimed the other. "Why, you uldn't polish that matter so that it Duld be readable if you worked for er. It's hard luck; but the plain uth is there are too many young men istling for live news to allow of such ick-number.trash as that being good r anything but to stop a hole. I ven't got any more time to talk ! If i get any news, bring it in and I ll look at it ! Otherwise, stay .aay, ease ! The city editor faced his desk again, eked up his pen and fell to work, not oking at the other. The older man r an instant stood motionless, then Spicked up the manuscript, put it in s pocket and turning away walked owly out of the room without a word. The wind was biting hard outside d he drew his collar-about his ears he walked despondently down a side reet~. He had not far to go, for pres Ltly he went up the steps of a small se and opened the door. The room to which he came was bare and mis able looking, and everywhere thowed Le lack of a woman's hand to strr~ighten e few bits of furniture, which only rved by their mean repair to add to e forlorn appearance of the apart ent. The old man stood quite still;' ehead resting on the doorjamb, aring ahead of him as if he saw be >nd the' opposite wall. As he stood ere, there came a glad child's cry om the other end of the room: "Oh, Gran'pop," I glad you come ! 's awfully lonesome !" The old man's face brightened. He 'ached down and, as the little girl .me running to him, caught her up d laboringly lifted her to his breast. en he kissed her and put her down. i did not see the tears on his cheeks he talked to her of the fun they uld have that evening "after work is done." After work was done was e season when these two had grand mps together. Work, as little Polly 31 knew, meant writing, writing, iting until she would'crawl upon the a man's knee and beg him to come ay, and he would drop the pen fromi cramped fingers and let her kiss ci his eyes the mist which would sher there..when he kept his mind ng fixed on the pages before him. John Harmon was nearly eighty, "a tokendown newspaper man" he was lled, and his only inheritance from i~t days was a knowledge of news iper writing anda little granddaugh r, whose mother and father had died a fever epidemic a few years before. ihe old man threw the rejected anuscript on a chair, then set about ttng something to eat for himself the child, the little one all the a'chattering to him of what they ub do in the evening. When they 'd finished he pulled on his coat once e, kissed the child and went out ain.9 A publishing house had proml a to look over some manuscript he d lef# a week or so before. He wa ig there to get their answer. He mp~rehnded dully that this answer ight e~an something to eat, but. pre likely, keener hunger than eve'r. When the child was left to hiers.'i etdown and fell to looking over ~~lustrated papers which were her asriable source of amusemeat. By Ld by, becoming tired, she wandered er to the table. The rejected manu ipt on the chair caught her eye. an'pop's papers were forbid den arti s, to her, but when she saw tmis dage and slowly spelled out the itidng on its cover, "the Chronicle," eficame to her mind that Gran'pop e told her when he was writing thi. deess the night before and was too WsT pay with he that the manus script had to be sent in w-morrow. This was to-morrow, she reasoned, an4 hi the manuscript had not gone. Gran% pi p)op mu- have forgotten it! He would II be sorry, she knew. Presently there came to her a bright idea and she stood very still for a moment, thinking hard. Why could not she take the manuscript to the Chronicle? She knew where the office was; she had been there with Gran'pop. Tt would be such a surprise to him to ind it already gone when he came iome. She decided to do it. She ->ok the bundle from the chair and lulled on her jacket and tied her hood ast. She was used to dressing herself md soon was on the steps, the manu script clutched firmly in her hand. Then she started off for the Chronicle fi office, proud of her self-appointed c< mission. ir The elevator boy was much sur- b prised and not a little amused when a] she asked for the editor. He tried to b chaff her on the way up, but she re- ] fused to~ take any notice of his re- o: marks, if she understood them. All p her thoughts were on the top story and the editor. Despite his fun- h making the elevator boy was a trifle a] impressed, and, thinking she might be is ,one of the "old man's" relations, when ti they arrived at the upper floor he v, showed her to the door of the sanctum w and told her to knock. Then he left ft her and went back to his post. co The editor was greatly surprised - when a timid knock sounded on his 0 door, and in answer to his "come in" b he saw over his gold-bowed spectacles 0 the diminutive maiden who entered. it He looked at her hard, but she did not f( I appear discomfited. She came toward q him without hesitation and stood with o: one little hand resting on the edge of ti the desk, the other extending the ti folded manuscript. C< "Gran'pop forgot to bring it down, as so I fetched it !" she explained, her , blue eyes looking up into his puzzled v, gray ones. C: ' Now, the editor was not a man easily a] confused, but this was a novel experi- T ence even for him. In all his life he al never remembered having received it a his office so small and at the same M I time so confident a visitor as this. He al looked at hei sharply, almost sternly, h suspecting he was the victim of some joke but her gaze never flinched, and the baby dyes were not frightened. He took the manuscript from her si grasp and ope;ed it. There was no solution of the mystery to be obtained here, however. - The story was some local history of early days.) There was no name, no mark of any kind to tell who wrote it or where it came h from. Non-plussed, he turned his eyes g upon the little figure beside him.. Somehow, in spite of the old-fashio.edl and much-worn clothes, it suggestedi to him that of a little one who had once called him father, and a kindly smile lit his face. "I don't know anything about this a] paper," he said. "Who did it come from?" i '-From Gran'pop," she answered, as n if that conveyed full information. e "Yes, but who's Gran'pop ? 1 don't B remember him." "Why don't you know him? He'4 been here often, and I came with himi once or twice, that's how I knew where it was."C The editor racked his brain in vain to think who Gran'pop could be. "Well." he said at last, "you sit t down in that big chair there and I'l d look over this paper and tell you what b to say to him." Then he wheeled his chair about and began reading. h It did not take long, however, fo, a him to decide what to do. He struc, a h.and-bell on the desk and a boy came ito the room. "Send Mlr. Campbell to me !" the editor said. A moment and the city editor of thM Chronicle entered. a " Campbell," said the editor, "di ~ you know whose writing that is?" and ri he handed him the manuscript.d "Yes," answered the other "it's old John Harmon's. He brought it ig r here this morning and I told him wq a couldn't use it. It's all ancient his. C Itory." "W ell," said the editor a bit shortly, H "it's the kind of ancient history thq Chronicle wants. Can't you see tha1 that's local matter that a good many would rather read than news? Give ii a good place on the fourth page of to, e morrow's issue, and I'll try to see thai we have a column of just such 'stfq twice a week. That's all !" The city editor did not see the little, a' fgure in the big chair, and a bit dis- si concerted at being turned' down so bi rharply, he took up the manusecipt it again an~d left the room wondering as what was the matter with the "old C man," and how the historical stuff hmad come into his hands. When he had gone, the editor drew a sheet of paper toward him. Looking t the little figure in the chair, he said: "I[ will write a letter for you to take a vith~ you and give it to Gran'pop." ~ S he nodded her head wisely, and he se rapidly wrote a few lines. Then he ti folded the sheet, put it in an envelope ls and rose.A The little girl slipped out of the ti hair and came across to him. "Good s1 by !" he said, laying a hand on her P heid, "aind come and see me some P time a:gaiin !" Then he opened the it dior and watched her ring the bell 5t 'and disappear in the elev-tor. mn The elevator boy os quite deferen tial to her going down; but she paid no more attention to him than before. When she slipped out of the building he hurried up the street, the letter ini A her hand. As she turned the corner near home she saw "Gran'pop" just entering the door 'and ran hard to catch him ; but he had gone in before ' she came up, so she knocked on the door. The same instant it was pulled tIl opn hurriediy and the old man, white and trembling, stood in the frame. "Thank God!" he breathed, drawing I S her up in his arms and burying his ti face in her curls, "I thought you were C lost." "No, I only been to th' office !" ex ekimed Poly. cilginlg to his neck. "To the otlice? Where do you ht "Th' Chronicle omeie. I took th'| 1 wvritin' down tiwre you left onl th' L chair and th' editor gave me a letter for you; he wa awful nice." The old ma~n took the envelope sho hel tow.'ard him and dropped into a ch~ir. With the child drawn closetf aginst him lhe broke the paper withX .eibling fingers and read: T HE DAI.Y CanoNCI. C >hn Harmon, Esq. Dear Sir-We will use your paper on local story in to-morrow's issue. We will be eased to have you contribute a column of -e matter as often as you can give it to us. r which we will pay you at our regular ace rates. Yours truly, C. N. HAPOQOD, Managing Editor. There was a mist before the ol. an's eyes as he read the last wordi. "Was he cross, Gran'pop ?" queried olly, seeing the tears. "No, Polly," said the old man, raining her to him; "he has given lots to do, but it shall not interfere ith your playtime, little one." ate Field's Washington. Raising Foxes in Alaska. For the purpose of perpetuating the st vanishing fur supply of Alaska ,rtain enterprisinpersons have gone Lo the business of breeding blue and lack foxes on uninhabited islands .ong that coast. When the seals have -en finally exterminated the world .ay still look to that region for some l the most valuable and beautifu7 sts known. -The Smeda Propagating Company is recently stocked a number of isl ids with foxes, and the investment beginning to yield handsome re trns. The lands thus employed are LlUeless for anything else, being holly barren. The breeding of blue >xes has already been made very suc ssful on one of the Pribylof Islands -that of St. George-in Bering Sea. f their increase ten thousand have en killed and skinned for market. no advantage of this industry is that involves no expense for the care or eding of the animals. All that is re ired is to let loose a few pairs. Those them which are taken must at all mes be trapped and not shot. Thus Ley become exceedingly tame in the >urse of a few generations. In the Lme region there are red, white and cross" foxes. Skins of the last named triety, which is supposed to De a ross between the red and the black, re quoted at from $5 to $8 wholesale. he white and red pelts are worth on2y out $1 apiece, because, though they ,e very beautiful, they are much ore common and easily obtain yle. Black foxes are so rare as to be )d to procure for breeding purposes A Musical Canine Critic. A wonderful story, of a French mu. cal critic is related by persons who cofess to have been acquainted with Lm and to have seen him in attend ice on musical performances. He as a dog, and his name was Parade. rhether he had a different name at >me was never known. At the be inning of the French revolution he ent every day to the military parade front of the Tuileries palace. He arched with the musicians, halted ith them, listened knowingly to their rformances and after the parade dis >peared, to return promptly at pa 6de time next day. Gradually the musicians became at ,ched to this devoted listener. They medhim Parade, and one or another them always invited him to dinner. e accepted the invitations and was a teasant guest. It was discovered that ter dinner he always attended the teatre, where he seated himself lmly in a corner of the orchestra id listened critically to the music. If a new piece was played he noticed instantly and paid the strictest at ntion. If the piece had fine, melo tous passages he showed his joy to the sst of his doggish ability, but if the ece was ordinary and uninteresting yawned, stared about the theater id unmistakably expressed his disap oval. -Brandon Bucksaw. Salutations in Old Marblehead. The customary morning salutation all seasons in old Marblehead, Mass., "How is the fish?" In the past iny summer the answer, after a look wn the street, has generally been, Oh, her tail is going round and und." This is the town's way of eakng of the weather vane on the ongregational Church, the infallible ~acle which determines whether boats tall nut out to sea and leisurely lands en go a-riding.-Rochester Union and dvertiser. Fond o Captivity'. It would be difficult to find a more oqent tribute to the kindness be owed on the brutes kept at the dog ,un'd than that paid by a dog dis sed of a few days ago by the pound ithorities to some man on the other de of the river. The dog had not sen away from the pound more than irty-eight hours before he broke way from his new master, swam the hio and all wet turned up at the und entrance and barked for ad. ission. -Cincinnati Tnnes-Star. IYFORMATlos FROi THE sLot "A year or so ago," said a young an to a Pittsburger, "I spent a few eeks in New Orleans. One day I ,w a machine which bore the inscrip on: 'Drop a nickel in the slot and ar how to make your pants last.' s I hadn't a great deal of money I Lought an investment of five cents to Low nme how to save the purchase of a tir of trousers would be small capital it to good use, so I dropped a nickel and a card appeared. What do you Lppse it recommended as the way to ake your pants last?" "Don't wear 'm I suppose." "No." "What did it say?" "Make your coat and vest first." ttsburg Chronicle. No Life There.. Little Dot-What all this talk 2ut Mars? Does folks live there? Little Johnny--They used to live ere but they is all dead long ago. "How do you know?" "I heard papa say the names of a!2 e seas an' lakes an' islands an' ings is from the dead languages." >1 News. Lakefront-Packinhouse went tc e Pacific coast a month ago; while was gone his wife got a divorce d married again. Jackson Parke 'hat happened when he returned? akefrot-They remarried. Impossible. Buff-It costs $9 for five minutes 1 over the telephone between New ork an~l Chicago. Tuff-Bult New ork can't tell what she thinlgs of icago for no $9. See?-Detroit, GARVEY, THE SLEEPER. He Went to Bed In Mrs. Aetor's House -nd Was Charged with Burglary. John Garvey, who some time ago was arrested for the "atrocious" crime of taking a nap in the bed of Mrs. Will lam Astor's washerwoman, In New York City, was tried by a 3ury and found guilty of uulawful .ontry, al GARVEY ASLFF IN COUnT. though the prosecution had him in dicted for burglary in the second degree. For unlawful entry the extreme penal ty would be one year in prison. but it is not likely that be will get nearly so loig a time. It was evident that The prisoner was but half-witted and he seemed to have a penchant for sleep ing. The warden at the prison where Garvey was incarcerated awaiting trial testified that lie slept most of the time. Garvey went to sleep In court during the progress of the trial. After the verlict he was remanded for- sen tence. THE COST OF SPORT. Lion Hunting Is the Most Economic Form of Amusement Now Open. Surgeon Mackay, an English spoits man, has recently lost his life hunting the African lion. African big game has for many years had a -peculiar attrac tion for adventurous. sportsmen. Its pursuit was long an undertaking of serious magnitude, and shared with Polar exploration the foremost place In the line of gratuitous adventure. How far its general conditions have changed of recent years is illustrated by an English newspaper. This noble British sportsman points out to his countiymen that it costs less to go a-shooting to Mashona and Mata beleland than to hire a shooting in the Highlands of Scotland. Besides, the African shooing is a good deal better. And, besides, the ladies can go along. All you want, says Earl Grey, is a comfortable wagon, a good cook, and an efficient conductor acquainted with the language. All this is .given as a part of an account of such a trip from which he -has just returned, and on which he was accompanied by his wife and Miss Balfour. This sounds sufficiently surprising when one realizes that these hunting fields lie far inland of those where Capt. Harris and Gordon Cumming and Drummond lay in wait for the rhinoceros and gathered their trophies of the antelope tribe. The proposal to taae women along in the picnic is an addition that heightens the significance of the picture. One is reminded of our own Mark Twain's account of sumptu ously roughing it as recently practiced in the Holy land, where railway cars of American make now am'eliorate the asperities of the explorer's way.-New York Sun. Hot Tea and Coffee Bagket. One or the most popular Inventions ever produced by an English firm Is the hot chamber tea and coffee basket, the first of which was made for one of the English princesses. The bottles are of the extra thick kInd of nickel silver, and are placed in a case of non heat-conducting material. The bever HoT TEA A coFE- K1 ages are placed in the compartmlent hot,and can be left there for six hours without suffering any appreciabie chill. For the use of the general public these baskets are made large enough to hold small porcelain pots of sou:p, or stew, to serve a party of several persons. The basket is light and portable, a:ind tihe best thing yet invented in this line. Jenny Lind, th'e Swedish Nightingails The Swedish nightingale, Jenny ILind, rivaled either Mara or Catalani in the purity and fiexibility of her vocal or gans, and excelled both In the fortuna te circumstances that in her retiremr she was complimented with more :'t tention than during the height ot' her career. She was well paid, too. In a single season in this country, to whi:ch she came in 1850 with Batrnum a's her manager, she cleared over ??20.000, or $100,000, as her share of the profits. .'r the people went wild about he~r -o every public appearance. Thinking Better of It. Sanste~ (despondently)--I han cagdte engagement :-ing time' tmes now, and she doesn't Uke it. Castleton-What are you going te' de about it? Sandstone-This time I think Th5 change the girI.-New York World. He Wanted to Know. Tommy--Mamma, do you know why my toothache left rue when I got to the dentist's door this morning.? Mamma-No: why did it? Tommy -I don't know; I just asked you to ee If you know why.-Puck. Obeying the scriptures. "Do you mean to say that y-wu lore that young man, Ethely" " I do." "He is your worst enemy." "A rc we nto commandead to Inve our enemies?'' WOOD FOR KINDLINiG PURPOSES flow It Is Prepared by Steam and Machinery for Use. Pine Uindling wood comes principal ly from the forests of Virginia. The trees, says the Scientific American, are first cut down and the trunks quartered and sawed into proper lengths. The wood Is then carted to the coast, packed into sailing vessels and brought to this section, where it is bought up at the docks by the dealers and manufac tured into kindling wood, being firsl sawed into short lengths, then passed through a steam splitter which carries the pieces to an elevator, which in turn passes them along and drops them down into the delivery wagons. The pieces of timber, which are four feet six inches 1a length, are first sawed into eight and one-half inch lengths, the saws used for the purpose being thirty inches in diameter, one-eighth of an inch in thickness, having fifty inch and a quarter teeth. These saws make about 2,000 revolutions per min ute, the attendant being able to saw up about from twelve to fifteen cords per day. The pieces, as fast as they are sawed, are passed to a steam splitter. They are first placed end up on a mov able chain, which, by the aid of twc hexagon wheels and a ratchet wheel which is worked by an eccentric, causes the chain with the wood to move along under the knives, which pass down through1 the pieces of wood, splitting each of them into a dozen or morf pieces. The knives are four in number and bolted into the crosshead. They are twelve Inches In length, six inches in width and three-quarters of an inch in thickness. The knives pass up and down a perpendicular slide with a twelve-inch stroke, making about eigh ty cuts per minute.. The endless chain is twelve inches in width, and passes over a wooden bed, the-top of which is covered with an iron plate which pro tects the chain from the blows of the knives -when striking the wood. At every downward stroke of the knives a movable bearing which the knives pass through holds.the pieces of wood down firmly against the chain. With the upward stroke it releases the split wood, which is moved forward about two inches at a stroke bf the chain, which is worked by the ratchet wheel and eccentric. The pieces of wood then drop down Into an elevator at the end of the machine and are carried off to the delivery wagons by a number of buckets bolted on a twelve-inch cott6n belt. These buckets are eighteen inches apart, and ma'de of wooden,. strips three Inches in height and about one and one-half inches in thickness. They are held in plce by beng bolted to narrow Iron strips on the under side of the belt. The belt is about forty-five feet in length, and travels about 1,000 feet per minute. The splitting machine can cutabout twenty cords per day. A delivery wagon holding one cord can , be filled in about fifteen minutes. The wholesale price of Virgigia pine at the dock is from $7 to $8 per cord; the man ufactured kindling wood brings from I$11 to $13 per cord. THE LADIES ALARMED. Strange Letters Addressed in Bphalf of Col. Breciniridge. Some lunatic or practical joker has been annoying the proudest dames and dowagers of Washington, and from let ters and telegrams that have been re ceived here it would seem that he has done the same with prominent ladies in other cities, says a correspondent of the Chicago Record. He signs himself Col Starberry Fairfax, but that name does not appear in the directory, nor is it known to any of the Virginians or Kentucklans who would be likely to have an acquaintance with such a per son it he existed. His letterhead reads: "North American Lecture Bureau, Western Division," but he gives no street or town address, and if any one wanted to answer him he would not know where to direct the envelope. The letters are all uniform and read as follows: "Dear Madame: The constant expree sion of sympathy which is manifested throughout the country for that distin guished but martyred statesman of Kentucky, the H >n. W. C. P. Breckin ridge, suggests the- the people of the land should have an opportunity of hearing his eloquent defense of relig luon and morality. In response to vehe mnut calls from the women of America it has been deemed wise to place him upon the lecture platform. It is Intend ed to have him lecture in the principal cities under the auspices of a board of national patronesses, one representa tiv-e lady from each principal cIty con stituting that board. Your name has been suggested for the city of Albany, and unless we hear from you to the contrary it will be printed as a mem ber of the national board on all the pro grams and show bills throughout the country. I leave for the West on Wed nesday morning. Thanking you in ad vance for, your courtesy. I remain youi most obedient servant.'. Very naturally the ladies who have received this communication, and they are among the social leaders of Wash ington. have been thrown Into a state of panic, particularly as the writer threatens to accept silence as assent. and does not tell where a refusal will reach him. It is not believed that Co1. lieckinridge has anything to do whiL the aitair, but it is supposed to be the wrk of some wicked w~ag. Any per son knowing of the existence of Col Starberry Fairfax will do a great favo: by reporting that fact to the husbands of some of the ladies who have recoiv ed this letter and Informing them of his whergabouts. Good Rule. Pupias in the public schools of France: who' are found using tobacco aie Mi~~YSore Likely to Find It. WecCZ wit-What ridicu:ousadiCet print ed in t'oe newspapcrs! Look at his: "D~on't go into the water after a hea~rty meal." "What is there rdic-ulous about thait'." Weekwit Weil!. you may go in the water aftet a hearty meal but I go in after e aath.--Puck. A Double Meaning. lDoardecr-Cook, what makes you so AvIby.- Cooig (ambiguously)--What 1 hat, ir. _Bneton Transcrint. 'TERROR~ OF APPENDICrn& Bapposed to Be' the Cause of Abow All Cases of Peritoditis. "The pievalence, or supposed preva. lence, of appendicitis nowadays," said Dr. Edward J. Howell, of New York, "is simply due to the fact that the pro fession has discoveredthat this disease is the cause of nearly all the cases of inflammation of the bowels, or pert tonitis, as it Is called. - Practically there is no case of peritonitis, In the ma!a at least, that is not caused by inflammation of the appendir. What happens when we lave these attacks is that concretion or solid pieces of foeces gets engaged in the little body, that Is situated at the junction of the large and small bowel. This interj feres with the circulation, the littlg body swells, ulcerates, and some of the qontents of the intestinal canal get outside through the ulcerated hole. abscess commonly results. If this be comes encysted or localized the pa tient's chances of recovery are good, either by an operation or the abscess making Its way to the surface or to ward the interior of the bowel, and he gets well without any operation be, yond, perhaps, opening the abscess. 'Trequently the abscess becomes di6 fused and breaks into the peritoneal cavity, and the patient almost invaria bly dies. These latter cases can only be saved by an early operation. The point on which the public should be informed. is that the early symptoms, cramps, vomiting, rigidity of the ab domen, etc., should always be regarded seriously. Appendicitis is essentially a surgical' disease, amenable to sur gical treatment only In grave cases, The mild cases get well, anyway. Ev ery attack leaves the patient subject to another. "The most favorable statistics of the ailment are in cases where the opera tion is performed between attacks, the mortality in those cases being lesa than 2 per cent The mortality in those cases which result in general peritoni tis is as high as 75 per cent What is needed is early recognition of the trou, ble and quick operation before It pro gresses to the severe type." TIPS IN AMERICA. the Waiter Said It Was Undignined, but He Took the Quarter.,. There is a good deal of nonsense. alked about American Immunity from ipping. ' That is a subject on which ir. Robert Tuis Stevenson is .ready Io exchange a wink or two with an En glish traveler in the States. -In- JiLs lourney ''across the plains," he made it Pittsburg his first acquaintance with :he "colored gentleman" as a waiter, For instance: "Seeing he was a very honest fellow I consulted him upon 4 "oInt of etiquette; if one should. offei - 1o tip the American waiter? Certainly aot, he told me. Never. It vould no' Jo. They considered themselves ted aighly to accept They would even re- - *;ent the offef. As for him and me, we had enjoyed a very pleasan! conversa, :lon; he, in particular, had found muel~ pleasure in my society; I was a -strana, ger; this was exactly one of those rare ronjunctures. Without being very' :lear-seeing, I can still perceive the smis and noonday; and the colored gentle -nan deftly pocketed a quarter." An American, indeed, has given us a, nost gi'aphic summary of the suiffe:r .ngs of the parting guests whom the aotel1 servants came forth to speed: 'His happiness" (according to Mr. Smalley) "consists in the reflection that 'ie has made others happy; that he - reed the waiter who has brought his roffee In the morning~thechambermaid; >r perhaps two chambermaids. the por :er who brought up his trunks, and the porter who carried them down, a third vho put them on a cab, a fourth wh< looked on while It was loaded, a nifth~ who blacked his boots, the tniformed~ :oniductor of the rickety elevator, thd head waiter of the restaurant, in addi :1c0i to the . actual waiter, and. four ;n.'ll boys In silver-laced caps. Then ae gives all the money he has left to the ball porter."\ iThe picture, though absurdly overs - arawn, serves to recall the speech b. which Lord Chancellor Bethell will bq :ongest remembered. He made it, afted !eaving an English seaside hotel, to the first friend he met: "I came downi here for change and rest The waiters kept the change and the landllord had he rest."-Pall Mall Gazette. An Objectionable Expression. No spoken words more plainly betra.y a lack of breeding than the expressio4 "-lady friend" and "gentleman friend." If you want to express the facts, use separate phrases, as, 'I have a friend, a gentleman," or "a friend of mine, a lady." Unless you consider It abso Intely necessary to state that your friend is a lady or gentleman, you can use "man" or "woman." No cultured woman objects to being called a wom an nowadays, though the washerlady may. As for the men-well, they are just called men. How ridiculous It would be If they insIsted on being call. ed gentlemen whenever one spoke of them! It would be like Thackeray's valet in "P'endennis," who w., a "gen tieman's gentleman." Sacred Rock. The Indians about Wenatchee, Wash ington, have been expressing their dis. approval of what they consider a great act of sacrileg~e on the part of the Great Northern Railroad Company. The cause of complaint is that the Great Northern Railroad had occasion to blast out some large rocks which were coered with hieroglyphics. These rocks the Indians regard as sacred, the hieroglyphics being a record of the Wenatchee Indian tribe, their battles, Leaths, etc. Checkered Career. A newspaper (the Oklahoma) in Okl aoma City has changed hands twelve timies in ai-r ronths. A Dig M1itake. Chemibts Assistnt-Oh, sir, I've given 31rs. Ailment a fatal dose of poison by mistake. Chemist-Con found you, you idiot! You've killed my best customuer. -Pick Me Up. One Consolation, "All is lost but honor!" groained Wilk'es, after his failure. i!Well," re.' marked Brobson, consolingly, "you :idn't have that invested, you know. -Smith, Gray & Co 's Monthly.