Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE E )ARLINGTON HERALD. • VOL. I. DARLINGTON, S. C., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1891. NO. 48. CHURCHES. Prebbytebian Church. —Rev. J. G. Law, Pastor; PreachiDg every Sabbath at Hi a. m. and 8 p. m. Sabbath School at 10 a. m., Prayer Mteting every ■Wednesday afterno on at 5 o’clock. Methodist Chubch. - Rev. J. A. Rice, Paator; Preaching every Sunday at llj a. m. and 8 p. m., Sabbath School at 5 p. m., Prayer Meeting every Thursday at 8 p. m. Baptist Chubch.—Hev. G. B. Moore, Paster; Preaching every Sunday-at llj a. m. and 8:30 p. m., Prayer Meeting every Tuesday at 8 p. m. Episcopal Chapel.—Rev. W. A. Guerry, Rector; H. T. Thompson, Lay Reader. Preaching 3rd Sunday at 8:30 p. m., Lay Reading every Sunday morn ing at 11 o’clock, Sabbath School every Sunday afternoon at 5 o’clock. Macedonia Baptist Church.— Rev I. P. Breckington, Pastor; Preaching every Sunday at 11 a. m. and 8:30 p. w. Sabbath School at 3:30 p.m., Prayer Meeting every Tuesday evening at 8:30 o’clock. COUNTY OFFICERS. Sheriff.—W. P. Cole. Clerk of Court.—W. A. Parro.t Treasurer.—J. E. Bass. Auditor.—W. H. Lawrence. Probate Judge.—T. H. Spain. Coroner.—R. G. Parnell. School Commissioner.—W. H. Evans. County Commissionf.rs.—C. B.Kiug, W. W. McKinzie, A. A. Gandy. LIMITATIONS. “If youth could know! flow many needless fears were stilled!” We tell our hearts with trembling lips. “’Twerethen less sad that May time slips Away, and leaves dreams imfulAUed, If youth could know!” “Could age forget!” Again wo cry, with tear dimmed eyes, “Our lips would wear less sad a smile For hopes that we have held erstwhile) Garth stUl would seem like Paradise, Could age forget!” If youth oould know) Tis pitiful to grope through light! And yet—and yet it youth had known, Mayhap the heart had turned to stope. Twere hard to read life’s book aright, If youth could know. Could age forget! Tis pitiful too late to learn! And yet—and yet if age forgot. There were sweet thoughts remembered not. To hardness sympathy might turn, Could age forget. “If youth could know! “Could age forget T We cry; but would we have it so* Were fewer eyes with lashes wet? We hug our limitations yet, While crying, as life’s moments go, “Could age forget! “If youth could know!” -Charles IV. Coleman, <» Harper’s Bazar. Professional Cavils. w. F. DARGAN, ATTORNEY AT LAW, Darlington, C. H., S. C. Office over Blackwell Brothers' store. £ KEITH DARGAN, ATTORNEY AT L A W, Darlington, S. C. J^ETTLES & NETTLES, ATTORNEYS AT LA AV Darlington, C. H., S. C. AVill practice in all Stale ami Fedesal Courts. Careful attention will bj given to all business entrusted to us. jp BISHOP PARROTT, STENOGRAPHER and t v p e-writer. LEGAL AND OTHER COPYING SOLICITED. Testimony leported in short hand, and type-wntteu transcript of sime fur nished at reasonable rates. Good spelling, correct punctuation and neat work guaranteed. Office with Nettles & Nettles. 0 P DARGAN, ATTORNEY AT LAW AND TRIAL -JUSTICE, Darlington, S. C. Practices in the United States Court and in the 4th and 5th circuits. Prompt attention to all business entrusted to me. Office, Ward’s Lane, next to the Dar lington Herald office. DARLINGTON DARLINGTON DARLINGTON MARBLE MARBLE MARBLE WORKS. WORKS. AVORKS. -ALL KINDS OF- MARBLE MARBLE MONUMENTS, MONUMENTS, Tablets and Grave Stones furnished Short Notice, and as Cheap as can be Purchased Else where. Designs and Prices Furnished Application. All Work Delivered Free on Line of C. & D. R. R. DARLINGTON DARLINGTON MARBLE MARBLE DARLINGTON, S. C. FIRE! FIRE! AVORKS, AVORKS, I Represent Twelve of the most Reliable Fire Insuiance Compa nies in the World—Among them, the Liverpool and Lon don and Globe, of England, the Largest Fire Campany in the World; and the ASlna, of Hart ford, the Largest of all Ameri can Fire Companies. Prompt Attention to Business and Bitisfaction Guaranteed. F. E. NORMENT DARLINGTON, S. C. Office between Edwards, Norment & Co., ppJ Joy A Bandeis’, THE SLEEPLESS KID. BY O. H. LEWIS. “If thar is one thing,” said the old cattleman with a strain of aSection and respect in his tone, “which endears this fere Jack Booth to me, speshul, it is the ca’m uncompromisin’ way he lines up on what he deems is his dooty. “But where Jack shines exceedin' is when you opens a new game onto him. It is just beautiful, as a mere example to men, to see the confidence with which that Jack gets a stack of chips an' sets in agin it. One hot afternoon—Enright an’ Doc Peets is away about some cattle or something, but the rest of us is hold- in’ down the camp—we’re sorter bangin’ an revolvin’ 'round the postoffice, a- waitiu’ for Old Monte an’ the stage. Here she comes, final, a.rattlin’ an’ a- creakin’, that old drunkard Monte a- crackin’ of his whip, the six bosses on the canter, an’ the whole business puttin’ on more dog than a Mexican officer of revenoo. When the stage drors up, Old Monte throws off the mail bags, gets down an’ opens the door, but nobody gets out. “‘AVell, I’m a coyote!’ says Monte, a heap disgusted, ‘wharever is the female?’ “Then we all peers into the stage an’ thar’s jest a baby, with maybe a ten- months’ start down this vale of tears, inside, an’ no mother nor nothin’ along. Jack Booth, jest us I says when I begins, reacheo in an’ gets him. The baby ain’t snyin’ nuthiiT an' sorter takes it out in smilin’ on Jack. “ ‘He knows me, for a hundred dol lars,’ says Jack, mighty ecstatic. ‘I’m an Apache if he ain’t allowin’ he knows me. AVharever did you get him, Monte?’ “ ‘Give mo a drink,’ says Monte, trackin’ along into the Early Bird; ‘this ycre makes me sick.’ After he gets about four lingers of carnation under his belt he turns in an’ explains as how the mother starts along in the stage all right enuf from Tucson. The last time he sees her, he says, is at the last station back some twenty miles in the hills, at dinner, an’ be s'poses all the time she's inside along of her progeny until jest now. “ ‘I don’t reckon,’ says Old Monte, lookin’ gloomy like, ‘asbo .v that womern is aimin’ to saw Ibis yere infant onto the stage company none?’ “ ‘Don't addle your whisky frettin’ about the company,’ says Booth, a-settin’ of the kid on the bar while we all crowds in for a look at him; ‘the camp'll play this hand for the infant an' the company ain’t goin' to be in it a little bit.’ “ ‘I wish Enright and Peets was yere,’ says Cherokee Hall, ‘to be heard hereon, ’cause 1 shore deems this a grave occa sion. Ycic we finds ourselves possessed of an onexpected infant of tender years, an' the question nacheral enuf now is, whatcver'll we do with it?' “ Let’s maverick it,’ says Dan Boggs, who is a mighty good sort of a man, hut onthinkfui. “ ‘No,’ says Cherokee, ‘its mother’ll come hoppin’ along to-morry a-yellin’, - you see! This ycre is sabed all easy enuf. This old sot Mouto has jest done drove olf an' left her planted aotne'nt up the trait an' she’ll come along shore in time.’ “ ‘Meantime,’ says Booth,‘the infanta got to be took care of, to which dooty I volunteers. Thar's a tenderfoot a-sleep- in’ in the room back of the Red Light, an’ he's that ’femiuats an’ effect he'a got a sure-nuf bed an’ tome gooso-ha’r pillers; which the same I do ycreby confiscate to public use to take care of thia yearlin'. Is the sentiment pleasin’?’ “ ‘Jack’s scheme is right,’ says Boggs, ‘an’ for that matter he's allera right. Let the shorthorn go sleep under a mesquite bush; it’ll do him good a whole lot; foi sech is life in the far AVest.’ “ ‘I'm some dobersome of this play,' says Cherokee. ‘Small infants is mighty inysterous people, an' thar ain't no livin' man was ever onto their game an’ able to foresee their needs yet. Do you allow you can take care of thia young one, Jack? Be you equal lo it?’ “ ‘Take care of a small baby like this,’ says Jack, plenty scornful, ‘as ain’t weighin’ twenty pounds averdupois? AVell, it’ll be some funny now if I can’ll I could take care of him if he’s four times as big. All I asks is for you all to stand by in crisises, an’ back the play, an’ you can go make side bets well come out winners on the deal.’ “ ‘I ain’t absolute shore,’ says the postmaster, ‘bein’ some out of practice with infants myse’f, but jedgin’ by his lookin’ smooth an’ silky I offers $50 even he ain’t weaned none yet; an’ we leaves it to the mother when she comes.’ “ *1 won’t bet none on his bein’ weaned complete,’ says Booth, ‘but I’ll hang up fifty dollars even he dnnks outen a bottle as successful ns Old Monte.’ “ ‘I’ll jest go you once,’ says the post master, ‘if I lose. It’s fifty dollars even he grows contemptuous at a bottle and disdains it.’ “AVell, we all talks it over an’ decides Booth is to nurse the infant, an’ at once proceeds to make a procession for the tenderfoot’s bed, which he resigns with out a struggle. Cherokee Hall an’ Boggs then goes over to the corral an’ lays foi a goat'which was a mother, to milk it a whole let. The goat was mighty reluctant an’ refooses to enter into the spirit of the thing, bnt they makes their points right along, an’ after a frightful time, which now an’ then de mands the assistance of a large part of the camp, comes back with more’n a pint. “ ‘That’s all right,’ says Booth. ‘Now go out an’ tell the barkeep to give you a pint bottle. AVe’ll have this ycre game a winnin’ in two minutes.’ “So Booth gets his bottle an’ fills her up with goat’s milk an’ makes a stopper outen cotton cloth an’ molasses for the young one to dror it through. About this time the infant sets up a yell an’ ain’t peaceful agin until Booth gives him his six-shooter to play with. ‘“AVhich shows my confidence in him,’ says Booth. ‘There’s only a few people left I care to pass my gun to.’ “Well, Booth gets along with him first-rate, a-feediu’ of him the goat’s milk, which ho goes for with avidity, tharby nettin’ Booth $50 from the post master. He has Boggs build a fire so he can keep the milk warm, an’ is that earnest he don’t even go for no supper; jest has it brougt to him. “ ‘Somebody’ll have to ride herd on this yere foundling all night, I reckon, ’ says Boggs to Jack when he’s bringin’ him things. “ ‘I s’pose, most likely, we will have to make the play thataway,’ says Booth. “ ‘AH right,’ says Boggs. ‘You know me and Cherokee. We’re in this any time you says.’ “So a passel of us continues along with Booth and the infant until maybe it's about second drink time in the night. The infant don’t raise the war yeU once —jest takes il out in goat’s milk au’ in laughin’ an’ playin' with Booth’s gun. “ ‘Excuse me, gents,’ finally says Booth, mighty dignified, ‘b it I’ve been figgerin’ this thing an’ rather thinks it’s time to put this yere young one to sleep. So if you all will now withdraw, I’ll see how near I comes to I beddin’ of him down for the night. Stay within whoopin’ distance, though, so if he tries to stampede or takes to millin’ I can have hc’p.’ “So we all lines out an’ leaves Jack an’ the infant, an' turns in on faro an’ poker an’ similar devices which was bein’ waged in (he saloon. “Maybe it’s an hour when Jack comes in. “ ‘Boggs.’ he says, ‘jest step in an’ play my hand a minute, while I goes over an’ adjourns them frivolities in the dance hall. It looks like this yere camp speshul tumultuous to-night.’ “Boggs (iocs an’ Jack proceeds to the Bade house next door an’ states the case. “ ‘I don’t want to onsettle busines,’ he says, ‘nor disturb the currents of trade, out this yere young one I’m re sponsible for, in back of the Red Light, gets that engaged in the sounds of these yere revels, it don’t look like he’s ever goin’ to sleep none. So if you all will jest call on the last waltz an’ wind her up for to-night, it'll be regarded. The kid’s mother’ll shore be here in the mornin', which will alter the play all around, an’ matters can then go back to old lines.’ “ ‘Enuf said,' says Jim Hamilton, who runs the dance hull. ‘You cau gamble this dance house ain't layin’ down none on a plain duty, au’ to-night's shindig closes right yere. All promenade to the bar. AVc'H take a drink on the house an’ quit an’ call it a day.' “So then Jack comes back mighty grave with his cares, an’ relieves Boggs, who's on watch, straddle of a chair, a-cyein’ of the infant, who, a-setting’ up agin a goose-ha'r pillar, along of his goat's milk and Booth’s gun, is likewise a-eyein’ of Boggs. “ ‘He's a-way up good infant Jack, says Boggs, giviu’ up his seat. “ ‘ You can bet your life he's a good infant,’ says Jack, ‘but it seems mighty like he don't aim to turn in an' slumber none. Maybe goat’s milk is too invig oratin’ for him, an’ keeps him awake.” “About another hour goes on an’ out comes Jack into the saloon agin. “ ‘I don’t aim to disturb you all,’ he says, ‘but, boys, if you'll jest close the games ycre au' shot up the store I’ll take it as a personal favor. He cm hear the click of the chips, an' it's too many for him. Don’ go 'way—.jest close up an’ set ’round quiet.’ “So we does as Jack says; closes the games an’ shets up the camp, an’ then sets 'round in our chairs an’ keeps quiet, a-waitin’ for that infant to torn in. A half-hour later Jack comes out agin. “ ‘It ain’t no use, gem*,’ he says, goin' back of the bar an’ gettin’ a big drink, ‘that child is onto us an’ won't have it. You can gamble He’s fixed it up with himse'f he ain't goin’ to sleep none to-night. I allow it’s because he's among rank strangers, an’ figgera it's a good safe play -to stand watch for him- se’f.' “ ‘I wonder couldn't we sing him t4 sleep,’ says Cherokee Hall. “ ‘Nothin’ agin makin’ a try,’ says Jack, some desperate, wipin’ his lips after his drink. “ ‘S’pose we all goes an’ give him “The Dyiu’ Ranger” an’ “Sandy Land” for an hour or so, an' see,’ says Boggs. “So in we trails. Cherokee lays down on one side of the infant an’ Booth on the other, an’ the rest ot us take chairs an’ sets ’round. AVe starts in an’ sings him all we knows an’ we shorely keeps it up for hours; au' all the time that child a-settin’ an' a-starin', sleepless as owls. The last I recollects is Bogg's voice in ‘The Dyin’ Ranger.’ AVith his saddle for a pillow, An' his gun across his breast, Far away from his dear old Texas, We had him laid down to rest. “The next thing there's a whoop an' yell outside. AVe all wakes up—all cv cept the infant, who’s wide awake all along—an’ yere it is four o'clock in the mornin’ an’ the mother has come. Comes over from the last station on a speshul buckboard, where that old iiebriate Monte drove off an’ left her. AVell, son, we was willin’ an' glad to see her. An' for that matter, splittin’ even, so was the kid.”—Kansas City Star. CROP REPORTS. CURIOUS FACTS. AV important avorkof tbb AUIUCULTUKAL DEPARTMENT. The Reports Are Obtained From 10,000 Correspondents—Making Up and Distributing the Reports. Brooklyn has a copper house. Bky-bluc is the mourning color of the Armenians. Some AVashington people pay $1 a pound for butter. The first account we have of an armored ship is in 1530. Some one has calculate 1 that there are 20,649 stitches in a shirt. A Spanish duchess was seat to jail re cently for abusing a maid servant. The Columbian Exposition will have the biggest metal dome in the country. The chief causes of wrinkles are sup posed to be mental worry and excessive laughter. Only one baby in five passes his tenth birthday and one in thrac lives to be sweet sixteen. In proportion to its population, Aus tralia is the largest tea-consuming coun try, and England stands second. About 450 B. C. the Ionian i first in troduced the present system of writing from left to right; previous to the above date, from right to left prevailed. To indicate his reputation ns an expert wood carver, a colored man in Hutchin son, Kan., recently in fifteen hours carved a chain nearly six feet long out of a solid piece of wood. Nothing new under the sun. It is as serted that there was a strip of railway across the isthmus of Corinth twenty- three centuries ago. Polished granite blocks served as rails. An Alabama cat has a mania for steal ing young chickens from their natural mothers and raising them herself. She is generally successful iu making them fine bens and roosters. Apaches believe that if they kill a man in the dark their own souls will wauder in darkness forever. This curious super stition is made use of by people in the Apache County, who hide by day and travel at night. In the towns and cities of Chili all the shopping of any consequence is done in the evening. In Santiago the stores are open till midnight, and during the hot atternoons, when everybody takes a siesta, they are locked up. Professor AV. 8. AVilliston, of the Kansas State (Juiversity, has made a big find in Grove County, Kan., nothing less than the skeleton of a pterodactyl, whose skull measures three feet in length. There is no more perfect specimen in ex istence. The body of Miss Flora Hume, after being buried for tweuty-one years, was disinterred at Colchester, 111., recently and found to be in as perfect a state of preservation as when first buried. The face was not discolored and the body was full and round. Bavaria is the only German State that has a separate headsman. His name is Mattenheimer, and his methods differ but very iitilc from those of the Prussian executioner. As there is not sufficient call for his services to occupy his time, he ekes out a living as au assistant at the Munich Jail. Mrs. S. C. Cobb, of Belvidere, N. J., while opening a clam the other day, found a large and beautifully variegated pearl, the violet shade predominating. It was found to weigh one pennyweight and four grains. The jewelers there pro nounce it a beautiful aud valuable pearl and one of the largest they have ever teen. The material for the monthly crop bul letin is gathered for the Agricultural De- parmeut by an active corps of more than 10,000 unpaid ageuts. In every pro ducing county in the United States is a correspondent of the Agricultural De partment, and each of these correspond ents has three assistants. There are now about 2350 of these correspondents. They and their assistants receive no compensa tion, but they get a full supply of de partment publications and seeds, and all the stationery needed for their work is furnished to them. These agents of the department are almost exclusively farm ers. Occasionally a country physician is found on the list. His opportunities for observation are quite as good as those of the fanner. In addition to this enormous force of volunteer correspond ents the department now has in nearly all of the States salaried agents, who have organized a parallel system of re ports through correspondents in the counties, entirely independent of the county correspondents, whose reports are made directly to the department at AVashington. The Statistician sends each month to the correspondents of the department a circular containing certains questions. In February these concern only live stock. In March, the month which practically winds up the crop year’s record, the questions are about the commercial dis tribution of cereals. At the beginning of April the questions concern the con dition of the growing crops, the acraege under cultivation, etc. In October and November the department inquires about the probable yield per acre. Iu December its inquiries are for a tiual es timate of the produet of the year. Those questions require, usually, mathe matical answers. Taking a 100 per cent, as the normal condition, the correspond ents are asked to indicate the condition of the crons in their vicinity by figures based on this percentage. The actual average is not taken, because this would misleading, as soma counties produce twenty times as much as others, aud the high average of the small would raise that of the large oues. The average of each county is multiplied by the propor tion of the crop grown in that county, and thus an “extended average” is ob tained which gives approximately a cor rect idea of the product. AVith such an enormous corps of correspondents it would be impossible for any collusion to exist which would affect or control the market by the mak ing of false reports to the Statistician’s Office. Besides, the Statistician has in the reports of State agents and the re ports of agricultural boards organized under State supetvision constant checks upon the department’s correspondents. Each of the 2350 county correspond ents of the department makes up from the reports of his three assistants his re report of the condition of the crops in that county, lie docs not confine him self necessarily to the facts and figures received from his assistants. He may exercise his own judgment in modifying those figures. He is expected to watch the newspapers and gather in every other possible way all indications which may be of value, and to make up his average from all the informatioa in his possession. The correspondents on the Pacific coast are under instructions to mail their letteis to the department on or about the 25th of each mouth. East of the Rocky Mountains the instructions of the correspondent are to mail his report on the 1st of the mouth. These reports begin to come in on the 28th, and every mail is heavily laden with them for more than a week. The heaviest receipts are on the 3d, 4th and 5th of the month. As fast as they arc received these reports are assorted. On the evening of the 7th they are distributed among a dozen clerks who occupy desks in three rooms of the department annex, and these clerks figure from these county reports the State averages of the different crops. All of the tabulation is done in one room, but the work of footing up the averages is distributed through three r joins, aud so distributed that each of the clerks lias knowledge ouly of the small part of the work which he has done. Across the hall another force of clerks verifies these averages. Aa soon as this work is completed it is taken from the hands of the clerks and deliv ered into the bauds of the Statistician, where all of the cards are placed under lock and key. On the morning of the 8th the Statistician takes hold of these reports anil goes over them. The re ports of the unimportant crops are sent into another office where the average is worked out. No interests could be af fected by the publication of this infor mation, and so the same is not exercised in guarding it. The reports of the wheat, cotton, and oat crops remain in the hands of the Statistician and his as sistant, Mr. Snow. The reports of the State ageuts also are in Air. Dodge's hands for the comparison with the aver ages made up from the reports of the county airents. The accuracv of these reports is frequently attested by the ex act agreement of the figures ot the State agent with the figures made up in the department from the reports of the county correspondents. On the morning of the 10th the fioal figures are made up. The cotton re port is given out at noon on the 10th; the grain report at four o'clock in the af ternoon of that day. Usually Mr. Dodge knows the average condition of the cot ton crop more than au hour before the time when the report is written. In mak ing up the last report he was not able to fill in the final figures until most of the report had been written. There are about 300 words in the report as given out at noon. As Mr. Dodge writes it the expert calculator puts it on the cy clostyle, and within five minutes after the last word is written printed copies are being run off from this reproducing machine. These are placed in envel opes, sealed and addressed. This work is completed a few minutes before noon. Mr. Snow takes the envelopes and goes over to the office of tha Sec retary. In the adjoining room the telegraph operator is sititng at his instrument. He is in direct communi cation with the AA r ashington offices of the press associations and with the cotton and produce exchanges. A number of messengers are waiting iu the same room to take copies of the report to newspaper offices and the offices of bro kers. Aoy one can obtain a copy of the bulletin if he will make application for it and send a messenger to the deoart- ment. A copy of the icport is taken tt> the Secretary of Agriculture. He re.vls it and authorizes the statistician to isuse it. At almost exactly noon Mr. Snow steps from the Secretary’s office to the adjoining room and hands this sealed en velope containing the bulletin to the messenger in waiting. The telegraph operator receives a copy, tears it open, aud one minute after the Secretary has put his seal of approval upon the report the telegraph instrument is ticking it off in the offices of the Cotton and Produce Exchanges all over the country and it is being copied by several hundred news paper offices for use iu early editions of afternoon papers.—Neie York Sun. An Adventure With Whales. Pilot Keely, of the Sandy Hook (N. J.) pilot boat Actae No. 15, came into port with the steamer Caledonia on a re cent night, and he tells of a strange ad venture which the pilot boat had with a school of whales. The Actae was for merly a yacht belonging in Boston. She is the largest and supposed to be the fleetest boat in the pilot fleet. She is the only one with flaring bows. The Actae was about 350 miles cast of Sandy Hook, running before a northeast wind at eight knots ao hour. It was early in the morning and no one was on deck except the man at the wheel. Looking out ahead over the tumbling sea he saw in the water a commotion which was rapidly approaching the ves sel. Then he saw it was caused by three big whales making directly for the pilot boat. The whales were traveling at the rates of twenty knots an hour. The man at the wheel called to Pilot Keely, who came in time to see two of the big fish, then close to the bows, dive below the water. The third and biggest whale did not dive soon enough,.and, as he, too, went down, the sharp bows of the vessel struck him on the back, tear ing a gash two or three yards long. The shock to the vessel was so great that every one asleep on board was awakened and came tumbling on deck, thinking the pilot boat was in collision with an other vessel. But the shock was suc ceeded by a second and greater one, for as the whale went down he struck with his flukes a teirific blow on the vessel's bows. The shock of the blow broke dishes in the pautry and made cups au 1 glasses leap from their racks. A lot of blood foam was thrown as high as the bowsprit. As the vessel drove on the injured whale was seen to come up astern aud be motionless on the water, while the other two whales circled around him excitedly. Two days later the steamer Caledonia came along and saw the whale floating dead on the water with a large gash in his back. The next day th» steamer took Pilot Keely aboard and learned of the straoge accident.—Keic Orleans Times-Democrat. A Sea Monster. A queer marine monster was captured by P. Johnson, a Hope Creek gill fisher man, the other day. None of the old experienced fishermen, who have cast, their nets in all waters, from Maine to Florida, had ever seen anything like it or were able to name it. The animal was about five feet long, aud in shape somewhat resembled a toad fish. Two rows of teeth adorned its ponderous jaws, which, when fully ajar, would admit an ordinary bucket. Two dart-shaped horns were on its head. About midway be tween its head and tail were two pockets, or pouches, that could be opened or closed at will, and situated between these pouches and the monster's mouth were two arms, not unlike the forearm and hand of a man, arranged to pass the food from ths pouches to the mouth. The pockets were well stocked with “moss hunkers" and other small fish when it was captured. No one has been found who can tell to what genus this aquatic curioaitv belongs.—Philadelphia The Artichoke. The name artichoke is from an Arme nian word “ardischanki,” or earth thorn. The Jerusalem artichoke, from “gira- sole,” the Italian name for the sunflower, was introduced into Europe from Brazil- in 1620. The artichoke became a com mon article of diet in England before the potatoes could be indulged in by the masses of the people. It was boiled and baked, pickled aud made into pies. Although much inferior to the potato in flavor it was still a good substitute. Since potatoes have become So plenti ful the artichoke has falleu into disfavor, except as food for stock, though occa sionally the tubers arc still used for pickles. It is said that the French used the foliage and stem fibre for making cordage. The artichoke flourishes best in rich ground, but will grow freely in poor soil, so waste places maybe utilized by planting it. AVhen once planted it will live and multiply for years, furnish ing suitable food for hogs, which de light to root up the juicy tubers. These imitation potatoes are not at all in jured by the cold of winter, and thus furnish an early spring food as soon as the ground is thawed out sufficiently for the hogs to dig for them. TheCynara artichoke is an entirely dif ferent plant from the Jerusalem variety, a sort of thistle, aud considered a great delicacy. The “bottoms,” which is the part chiefly used, consists of the minia ture receptacle or floret disc with the lower part of the surrounding leaf scales. It corresponds to the “cheese” in holly hocks or thistles. In France this deli cacy is dried and used for soups. The lower leaves are served iu a salad. To grow the Cynara artichoke, plant in warm, stony soil in hills six feet apart and cover during winter with earth and litter. The globe Cynara is considered the best variety. The Jerusalem artichoke is best propa gated by slips or suckers in the spring, planted in rows four feet apart, the plants two feet apart in the row.—St. Louis Republic. Wigs Are Popular Again. “More wigs are worn now than at any time since I have been in the business, which is nearly a quarter of a century,” said a wig maker. “Perhaps the in crease in balduess which we hear so much of, makes men ashamed to be seen with a shiny pate now-a-days, so they cover it up with artificial hair. Very few people realize how common wigs are. AVe cau imitate a head of hair so perfectly that it is difficult to detect the artificial hair, except by the closest scrutiny. I often sell as many as ten or a dozen wigs in one day. Of course, there is a good pro fit on each one, so there is still money in the business. You must have noticed the number of ladies who wear short curly hair this spriug. AVell, much of it ii false. There was a great deal of pueumonia, typhoid fever aud other dis eases last winter that seriously injures the hair, leaving it dry and harsh, so that nothing short of shaving the head will restore it to its natural condition. From two to three mouths is required for a head of hair to grow, and during this time nothing but a wig will properly conceal the unsightly head. As short, curly hair looks more natural and is easier to keep in order than a dressed wig, most young people prefer it. Elder ly ladies use French twists and pompa dours. AVigs can be bought from -$1.50 up, but a good one costs at least $5.— _AVio York Kelts. Cvoblems for Inventors. Among the things which inventors ara hunting for now is a contrivance for ac cumulating and storing up power that goes to waste—the blowing winds, the rising tides, the sun's heat aud the change of temperature between night and day. Over every town is power daily wasted, a hundred times as much as that town could ever use. Another thing: How to get electricity from heat directly, without turning it into steam at such tremendous loss. A quarter of a pound of coal should pro duce a horse-power for an hour. The chemist will dominate coming inventions. All our fuel will presently he furnished in the form of gas. In a quarter of a century more we shall wonder why man was ever such a lool as to carry coal into the house aud bum it. Perhaps the time will come when condensed sun shine will be sold iu the market, just as canned corn is uow sold.—The Continent. Hew They Are Made to Look Plea sant. A traveling photographer in New York has a large monkey for an assist ant. In fact, the animal does most of the work. Mounted on a forked stick stuck into the ground, he inspects tho position of the person about to be pho tographed, burying his hairy head under the cloth that covers the rear part of the instrument. Then he stretches forward his long arm and removes the cap. For, perhaps, two seconds he bolds it in his hand, while ho frowningly stares at tho subject. Then he covers up the lens, and the picture is taken.—Detroit Free Press. The Production of Pollen. The immense number of pollen grains produced by a single flower apparently militates against the saying that nature allows nothing to be formed but what is needful. It seems, indeed, a vast waste jf material to have such a multitude of grains whwi so very few would answer the same purpose. Iu a single flower of the peony there are about three and a half million grains; a flower of the dan delion is estimated to produce nearly two hundred and fifty thousand; the number of ovules in a flower of the Chinese wis taria has been counted and the number of pollen grains estimated, and it is found that for each ovule there are seven thousand grains. AVhile few fall below the thousands, many rise far above the peony in point of numbers. These are the wiud-fertilized flowers, aud here nature must provide for an immense loss of material. Darwin says that “bucket fuls of pollen have been swept off the decks of vessels near the North American shore. Kernel- has seen a lake in the Tyrol so covered with pollen that the water no longer appeared blue. Mr. Blackley found numerous pollen grains, iuone instance twelve hundred, adhering to sticky slides, which were sent up to a height of from five hundred to a thousand feet by means of a kite, and then uncovered by means of a special mechanism.” The so-called shower* of mlphur which have at times visited rarious cities, notably St. Louis, are aothing but clouds of yellow pollen blown from pins oi o'.her forest trees from some distant place. Perhaps, out of millions of grains thus scattered far aud wide, only a single one may be of service.— Popular Science Monthly. —iM— Why Fruits Change Color. On October 25, last year, I told tho great family of the curious why leaves change from a dark or light emerald green to yellow, scarlet, red, brown and many intermediate tints. Below will be found the best opinions of leading scientists as to why most fruits undergo similar changes during the ripening pro cess: 1. It is known that as fruits come to maturity there is a process of absorp tion of material from the tree's sap, as well as cell-growth within the fruit it self. 2. That the absorption of oxygen and the giving off of carbonic acid gas is an action strictly analogous to the respira tion of animals. 3. That there is a transformation of vegetable fibre into sugar and water. The rapidity and per fection of this process depends principally upon the amount of sunshine to which the fruit is exposed while it is going on. The outer membranes of most all fruits assume a positive color when the ripening change is coming on, but why one plum is green and another blue, one apple red and another yellow, the most rigid re search has failed to discover; but that the primary changes in the color of each particular species of fruit is due to the reasons given above there is not one least doubt. AVhen fruit has turned all its fibre to sugar aud water the absorption of oxygen must be checked by cutting off light and air; or, if allowed to con tinue, the next chemical change involves tho decomposition of the sugar, snd the fruit becomes “rotten.” The action of frost upon fruit is to crystallize all of its contained moisture. If this can again be converted into sugar by a very gradual process the sugar of the fruit is found to be uninjured.—St. Louis Republic, At Cotta, In Saxony, persons who did not pay their taxes lust year are published in a list which hangs up in all restaurants and saloons of the city. Those that are on the list cau gel neither meat nor drink at these places under penalty of loss of license. Conditions of Vigorous Old Age. The present greater proportion than formerly existed of men who pass the ige of seventy years, reach fourscore, or ire active at ninety years, points to one of the brighter phases of our civilization. The association of this vigor with differ- snt physical types is suggestive of a cer tain generality of origin, and encourages the hope that it may be partly dependent on personal conduct. As a first condi tion toward obtaining effective longev ity, Dr. B. AV. Richardson advises pa rents to begin for their children by saving them the infliction of mental shocks and unnecessary grief, and making every thing as happy for them as they can. Tho persons themselves, when older, should avoid grief aud eschew hate, jealousy, unchastity, and intemperance, all ot which hasten tho coming of old age. When old ago has really begun, its march may be delayed by rules securing the least friction ami the least waste; subsistence on light but nutritious food, varying according to the season, and moderate in quantity; dressing warmly, but lightly, so as to enable the body to maiutain its even temperature; keeping the body iu fair exercise and the mind active aud cheerful; maintaiug an inter est in what is going on in the world,and participating in reasonable labors and pleasures; securing plenty of sleep dur- iug sleeping hours, in a room kept at a moderate temperature; aud avoiding pas sion, excitement and luxury. The weaker man may thus sometimes show himself the more tenacious of life.—Popular Sci- nice Monthly. Belgian railway officials, after threa years of investigation, reports that under ordinary circumstances the average rail way train iu passing over one mile of track weua from it two and one-fifth pounds. This natural destruction of track amounts for the whole world to about 1,330,000 pounds daily.