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Re-Organizing the Militia. The Task Which Adj. Watts Proposes to Undertake, COLUMBIA, December 30.-Special to the News aod Courier-It will not be long before the militia of the State will be re-organized if the preseDt pla?s are carried out. Uoder the provisioos of the recent Act the Adjutant General is given very much more authority than he has heretofore had, and Adjt. Watts intends to exercise that authority. To sether with the Governor and a major general the Adjutant General will un? dertake the organization of the entire militia to suit the ideas of the present officers It is more than likely that the matter will be largely left to Adjt. Watts, and as he is young, full of am? bition, and desirous of making some? thing out of the militia, be intends j to get bard at work and see what if any- i thiug can be done. There are now two hundred and seven companies in the volunteer service of the State. To use an agricultural phrase, the compa? nies will be weeded down to a stand, by reducing the number to one hundred. The new law provides that the militia j companies "shall be distributed among the several counties of the State as Dearly equal as possible." Under this provisi?n of the law it is intended to j divide the State militia, and not cou c?ntrate the companies as much as they J have been for the past few years, lt the plan as conceived is carried out it will act as a boomerang to several of the counties io which there are half a dozen cavalry companies, and where there arc as many colored military COQJT I mands. The intention is to divide the ! hundred companies as nearly among the j counties as can be done, and then if the j commands do not come np to the j scratch they will be retired and room j will be made for the companies that i may be on the outside waiting. The Legislature appropriated $10,000 to the militia this year, and under the ! provisions of the new law this money j will be distributed uoder the direction ; of the board in such a way as may be J deemed best. Under the old law it was distributed pro raia, and the company having the largest turnout received ?he largest slice of the State's appropriation. The new law is intended to change this, and the chances are that the money will be used directly by the companies but j will probably be used for the purchase of uniforms, equipment and such things. > Nothing has, however, been decided in j this direction. It is expected that the new appointments will be announced in the course of the next two weeks. At that time the brigadier general for the 4th brigade will be named. THE NAVAL RESERVE. Adjutant Watts will try to develop j the naval reserve on the coasts. He j expects to go on to Washington shortly to see what can be done there towards ; getting assistance, and if he meets j with encouragement, as he has every j reason to hope, he expects that several j new detachments of the naval reserve will be organized. FINISHING THE CONFEDERATE ROLLS- j Adjutant Watts is anxious to have j the work on the Confederate rolls com- j Dieted as soon as possible. He thinks j that most of the companies have sent j in their rolls and the others have been arranged for. It. is highly necessary that this important work should be ? finished and that the record should be i put in some permanent form. As it i's, j the only data that is to be had of the meo who fought for thetr State during i the late war is contained on sheets of paper that are filed away in a cabinet in the office of the Adjutant General. The roils have never been published, and should anything happen j to the originals now oo file they could j hardly be duplicated. It would seem I that every man who took part in the j war ought to be sufficiently interested io his command to see that the office is j provided with a roll of members, but such docs not seem to be the case, as} there are still some commands of which j there is no roll whatever. Moreover, ; it is a very difficult matter to remcm- ' ber such things after the lapse of so ! any years, and where there is an ; willingness on the part of many there is an inability to give the detailed in? formation that is sought. The extreme Southern portion of Italy was shaken by au earthquake j on December 27th. Twenty-five families at Point E*qai- : maux. Labrad >r aro starving. Three schooners carrying suppiies were - wrecked. Thc Presidents of the Colleges of ??diana have held a meeting and de? cided to prohibit intercollegiate football games. The old State Car Ital at Atlanta, Ga., was barned Dec. 27th. It was owned by Venable, Bros., and used as an office building. It was valued at $125,000. A ?300,000 fire occurred in Bu fra! o, N. 5L, thursday night. The hydrants were frozen and it was thirty minutes before the firemen could turn ou a stream of water. Gladstone's britbday was December 20th. His friends throughout the world arc assurrcd that bis health is al meit perfect. Eugene Debs and the other officers of the American Railway Union who are under sentence for contempt of court have appealed to the Labor unions for funds to carry the case to thc higher courts. They say that the case has cost ?25,000 already. The Sunflower vs. Cotton. Editor Darlington News : j As tbe South is sorely in need of a money crop to take the place ot cotton, ! which has fallen in price below the cost j of production, will you allow me, tr.rough the columns of your paper, to call the i attention of our farmers to the sun ? flower, in. which they will fiud a subject worthy of consideraron ? There can be no doubt of the fact that this plant is well suited to our soil and climate, as many of us know that its seed will remain in the grouod perfectly sound all the winter, and will spring up and flourish the next season iu spite of adverse circumstances. It is a native of j tropical America and perfectly at home j with us. A few years since it was high I ly recommended, not only as an oil and food producer, but also, as greatly con? ducive to the health of vicinities in which it was planted; but as there were ac oil mills in the country, there was no market for t' e seed, and the sunflower went down before "King Cotton," who is now grinding his subjects in the dust and trampling them under foot. Time?, however, have changed and why can Dot our farmers retrieve a part, at least, ! of their lost fortunes by cultivating the j sunflower? Oil mills are now inactive operation all over the South, and I ,: have been told by operatives that little or no change in the machinery of these oil mills will be necessary to enable them to be utilized for extracting oil from the seed of the sunflower; io fact, : that the most, expensive machiaery ne cessary for the extraction of cotton seed , oil, to wit, the linters and the sepera- ; tors, can be dispensed with. There is at least one mill manager who is wili? ng to buy sunflower seed now. These ; mills were erected by enterprising men ? for the purpose of making money, and I , feel sure that thc managers thereoi' will j be very glad fo co-operate with the ; farmers, and try to establish a market for | both the seed and oil of the sunflower. ' The seed and (.il cake can be utilized at horne as food for every variety of stock, i and possibly for maukind also, and the! leaves as forage for cattle and horses. The oil cake is said to be superior to cotton seed meal as a fertilizer, because it con? tains a larger percentage of nitrogen or ammonia. The seed has been recommended for poultry, especially and right here I would ask a question that I have often tbougnt of, namely, why cannot the Southern farmer raise spring chickens for the Northen markets ? just as well as he raises early vegetable*? A friend of mine who was with the engineering corps that surveyed the Northern ^acific Railroad route tells me that he saw thousands of acres of sun? flowers growing wild in the Yellow? stone Valley, twenty or thirty years j ago, where the band of man gave them j no assistance. If, then, tbe sunflower j persists in g: owing under adverse cir-! cumstances, as many of us know it does, j it seems to me that it should be as cheap- ; ly and easily ra'uted as hay or small ! grain of any description, and as easily gathered, for the seed beads are admira? bly formed for i-sing harvested by ma- j ohioery-machines having been long j since invented for gathering ears of com I from stalks aod the seed beads of clover. '? In connection herewith, please be kind enough to publish the following ex? tracts which will throw more iight on this important subject. Tuos. E. RICHARDSON, Sumter, S. C., Dec. 5, 1894. [Colman's Rural World.] Mr. Duncan, an extensive cotton planter io the Mississippi bottom, who ; visited Russia last year, for the purpose of gaining information in regard to the culture of the sunflower in that country, gives his observation as follows : "The ; Russians, who grow the plant, general- ! ly sow the seeds after a crop of wheat ; and rye has been harvested from the ! land. Some sow after oats and buck? wheat, but have found it less profitable to sow after the latter, as the buckwheat ! takes up such a large per cent, of potas Blum from the soil, the flower does not j pay. It thrives and heads well after ; crops of rye and clover. The land in-! tended to be planted is thoroughly plowed in the fall, and left until the ' next spring, at which time the seeds are sown, either in drills or broadcast If in rows they are planted from twelve to twenty-four inches ap-irt, depending largely on the fertility of thc sou. Ou some of the rieh, black lari']-:, they grow from four to six crops without renting the land." '"The Russians climate that the stalks and leaves of one crop, if ?eft o:> thc lund, ?. '': manure tho soil sufficient? ly, to yield six or more crops consecu- ? tively without additional fertilizing The roots of the tall stalks soon rot in the ground and leave about; one ton of manure per acre in the soil, which is very fine for the next crop The plant requires bu: iinle attention, and labor ! after planting When it is about ten or twelve inches high, the field should be throughly cleaned of grass and : weeds. That i- all that will be re? quired. Harvest time varies according to soil, climate aod exposure of the flower to the sun. Tbe usual time is fixed, from September 1 to October 1">. v\ hon the seeds aro fully r i po*, the heads of the flower aro out from the stalk, and placed io drying sheds, for the purpose of curing them, l-he same as curing leaf tobacco. When thc flow? er is fully dry, the seeds are threshed from the cups, and screened, and run through a fan mill, and aro then ready for the seed m iii." [Atlanta Constitution.] Few persons appreciate the value and j profit of this common flower. Ry many j ir ix regarded a nuisance, and yet its cultivation will pay largely more than cotton and grown at much less cost. Au acre of land planted about twenty inches apart will yield an average of eighty bushels of seed, the oil from which will produce about 150 gallons. The oil cake is a valuable food for live stock. The oil is said to be equal to olive oil, is superior to linseed oil for painting in spreading and drying qualities. The stalks, having long, strong fibers, make superior paper. The green leaves are very nutritious as stock food and the young flower cups very palatable to man. Machinery for extracting the oil is easily obtainable and inexpensive. Bees have a perfect ''bonanza" in a sunflower patch, and the seed is very valuable for poultry as an egg producer The sunflower is in? dependent of weather and persists in growing under, the most unfavorable conditions. [International Cyclopedia.] "The annual sunflower common io j our gardens is a native of tropical ! America, where it sometimes attains a ; height of 20 feet. This plant is now j cultivated in almost all parts of thc ' world, and in the south of Europe is ? sometimes a field crop, the seeds being valued as food for cattle and poultry, and on account of the oil which they yield, which is little inferior to olive j oil. An acre of good land produces about fifty bushels of seed, each bushel yielding a gallon of oil. The seeds arc also used like almonds for makins demulcent and soothing lotions, and in some parts of Europe a bouilli is made of ihem which is used as food for in? fants. The flowers abound in honey, aud are much frequented by bees. The leaves are good fodder for cattle. Tho stems are used for fuel, and yield much potash. [Encyclopedia Brit?nica. Sunflowers are supposed to destroy malarial conditions and prevent mias? matic fevers, and they are planted in many places for that purpose. * * * it is extensively ased iu Egypt, the East Indies and China, (where the plant is cultivated as a source of the dye-stuff safflower), its principal applications being for culinary pur- ! poses and burning, and also as an oint- j ment in paralytic affections and ulcers. SUNFLOWERS IN TUE SILO. [Colmans Roral World.] Some experiments have been made by one of the Canadian experiment ! stations with sunflowers mixed in the silo with corn and other fodder plants. The beads only were u?ed. The . experiment was successful and quite 1 satisfactory, showing that there is a place for this plant as a feeding crop in j our agriculture. It is a substitute for ! the oil-meals and other fatty goods, 1 having 25 per cent of an excellent oil, sweet, digestible, and devoid of any objectionable quality The product of an acre is from thirty to eighty, or even ! more, bushels of thirty-three pounds. ,' The leaves may bc gathered as those of corn are for fodder, and are acceptable ! and nutritious. M. W. Ii. THS BUNCH YAM. I procured tubers of the bunch yam j last spriug and set a good many plants on very dry, sandy land. OwiDg to the very dry summer and dry situation of the plants the crop was oct a large one, but was very good for this season. ! The tubers are nice, and I am well pleased with this yara. I think it is in j every way to bc j referred to the sweet potato if it is a heavier yielder, as it seemed to bc this season. I have both I the white and yellow varieties of the ! buuch yam, but we like the white the j best-it is sweeter than the yellow, ? and also yields better. J. E. M. Warrensburg, Mo. The Commercial Bank, of Spokane, Wash , failed on Dec. 2S. The treasury gold* reserve was re? duced to $86,849,638 Friday Ex.-Governor, L S lioss, of Texas, will make the race for United States Senate against, Mr. Chilton. Superintendent Thomas Byrnes, of the New York Police Department, bas sent in bis resignation. William F. Rossraan, bookkeeper of the Hudson, X. Y. Bank has been ar? rested for stealing ?14,000. George Palmer, of Vassar, Mich., cor his wife's throat and his own yester? day. He was crazy. A marble monument to Robert Browning is to bc erected in West minster Abbey. W. C. P. Breckinridgc delivered his lecture to an audience of forty peo? ple at Terre Haute, Ind., last Friday ri i ?ht. W. W. Coleman, a prominent mer? chant of Baldwin Fla., was shot and killed yesterday by his eighteen-year old son. Coleman was drunk aud beat? ing his wife. Tiie snow is general all over the country, and the cold is unusually severe in Florid*. The orange and carly vegetable crops arc seriously in? jured The Whittier Cotton Mills, of Lowell, Mass . is to be increased $225, UOO. and a new three story mill built in ( reorgia Hundreds ol tramps of thc worst types are nu their way South. They are hunting a warmer climate on the pretense that they are looking for em? ployment. ANOTHER COTTON "PICKER." The following from Atlanta Constitution, about a cotton picker, the work of a Pitts? burg genius, will no doubt prove interesting to our readers : (Joe of the most remarkable mechanical derices ever brought to Atlanta is to be seen nt the warehouse of the Consolidated Wagon Company, No. 35? Alabam.i Street, just across the r.treet from the headquarters of the fire department. It is a cotton picking machine, and is the work of a Pittsburg genuis. It arrived in Atianta yesterday and will be here seve days. The gentleman who is in charge of it says that it is not yet ready for pub? lic exhibition though he will take pleasure in presenting it to HS many as may en!!. He says that the owners of the machine are DOW on their way to Atlanta from Pitts? burg, and that they will reach here in a day or two; that, on their arrrival, it is their purpose to give a public exhibition to demonstrate the fact to the satisfaction of everybody who sees it that the machine will do exactly what is claimed for it-pick the cotton from the plant without injuring the piant in the slightest or without bruising or harming in any way the growing bolls or the leaf of the stalk. Yesterday f.fternoon the machine was given a preliminary trial. A long row of cotton plants Ml of open bolls, were nailed upright to a scantling fixed to the floor. Between each plant a large geramum or some other delicate hothouse plant was placed, each plant being in full bloom and prolific of leaf. The cotton picker was pull? ed over the row, and it did not leave a vestige of lint in any of the bolls, while the geranium and blooms were entirely unin? jured and apparently untouched. This trial was made in the presence of several well known Atlanta gentlemen, among the number being Ex-Governor Nor theu, Mr. George \V. Truitt, the well known cotton planter of Troup county, and other wei', known cotton men. Un irs way to Atlanta the machine was given an active test on the field in {kr? on county and of the resuit Colonel Tom Lyons Says: !fIt absolutely amazed our farmers, and demonstrates beyond the shadow of ? doubt that it will do what is claimed ter it. 1 saw it do it myself, and ? never would have believed that it could do v.liHt it does if I bad not seen Lt with ruy ow:; eyes.'r The machine ii not on the market and tbe one* now in Atlanta is from the patentee's owe hands. He has been at work on it for severa! years, and this is ' the second machine mude, it being a vast improvement orer the first. The machine will be carried hack to Pittsburg in a few days, Hnd there a third machine will be made, the suggestions which have been made from a practical test being taken | advantage of, and many more improvements thus be made. The dimensions of the machine are ap? proximately nine feet in length, five feet in width and si:: feet in height. It is mount? ed on four metal carrying wheels, and in general appearance is not unlike a road en? gine except that it is hauled by horses, \ and receives the power to propel the work? ing mechanism from the traction wheels. The rear wheels are four feet in diameter. ! The tires are eight inches wide, and cleated on the rim to provide traction ample lo operate the mechanism for picking the j cotton from lb? plants, and the stripping devices and elevators, in motion. The ob? ject of the elevators is to deposit the cot- i ton in large Sf.cks located at the top near ? the rear end of th? machine. The fror.t wheels are three feet in diameter, with three-inch tires, and are merely carrying aod steering wheels to which the tongue is J secured. Tbe total weight of the machine is about 1.600 pounds, ar d of extremely light draught, ! wnd it can be drawn aud operated by one | pair of horses. The cotton picking appara tas can be readily and aimost instantly raised or lowe-ed to suit the condition of i the cotton and the surface of tbe ground on which it is operated. The picking and : stripping mechanisms are entirely encased within light metallic cast-s. except the j elongated slots through which the picking needles protrude. The needles arr mounted ,' on suitable bearings io vertical carriers, thirty-four in number, seventeen on each ; side, being linked together, working si- ! multaneously. The gears are encased with- ! in the carriers. Each carrier in making the circu?? of its oblong course, makes nearly on.: turn on its own axis, and each needle while in the plant makes fifteen revolutions, ami five revolutions in the op- i posite direction while being stripped. The , needles are inserted longitudinally into tb: , plant to an extended position, then rotated rapidly and moved backward at a speed corresponding tc the forward rate of travel of the machine, therby avoiding any move? ment of the needles in relation to the : plant, except a rotary motion. The needles are withdrawn longitudinally from the plant and pass between yielding stationary strip? pers, whereby the cotton is deposited in the . elevators. The machine is drawn astride the cotton row and the needles are inserted simultan? eously from each side into the plant. The needles are one-eighth cf an inch in diameter, ten inches long and provided on one side with a row of fine teeth, formed integral, with the body ct the needie, the points ? f the teeth being turned down to prevect them from engaging with any foliage, im? mature boils or blooms. The teeth are shari) pointed and when ibey come in con? tact with the fleecy staple, or matured cot? ton, it is immediately engaged and spun cleanly out of the burr, "ie teeth are in? cline toward the point, or . re end of the needle, to ta ci l?ate the stripping or the cotton from them. Tbe capacity of the machine is fruin six to tight acres per dav. and from two tf) iou; bales per day, according to the yield. It tokes fifteen ordinary bands a whole day to pick one baie, averaging about KO pounds each, making a total of 1,500 pounds, or 500 pounds of lint a ter it is gi nned. From this some idea cnn be had of the immense saving (.i ?abor and enormous outlay required in the past to harvest the cotton'." Cotton pickers tire quite common inven? tions since Mr. it. T. Mason, ofSumter, S. C.. discovered the world-renowoed secret ? >r making a needle that would successfully pick cotton (rom tbe fully matured bolls and leave tbe un matu red cotton, aud ?eaves, boils, blooms and stalks uninjured. Mr. C. T. Mason, the inventor of the cele? brated Mason Cotton Harvester, after many years of hard study, work and experiments, was tbe first person to discover a plan to create a mechanical device, that would dis? criminate between a fibrous and non fibrous meter?a). Mr. Mason thought when he dis? covered this (thea considered impossible) fibrous and non fibrous discriminating feature, in the working mechanism ot the cotton pick? er, that ie- had plain sawing afterwards, bul he found oui that what had theretofore been considered the impossible, wad then the least itu portail t. and would atter ward* be the sim plest, viz: picking needles; and what be had scarcely given my consideration and was considered the easiest, turned out to b? and is up to the present the impossible, viz., the practical working mechanism of the picking needles. BY practical part lue writer rneaiiS to ?av the construction of a machine with the necessary working machiner? to operate the picker sterns. ?it the same time- riot be too heavy tu pull, nor too cumbersome to turn around at the ends ot the rows, nod or such lightweight as not to make the wheels cut down in the plowed ground, and, also lessen the popeilingand working power that must, of course, be furnished by the horses. The simplicity of the machinery and its operation are also importaut factors, all of which canoot be found in the above mention? ed Pittsburg Cotton Picker; but without which it is of no practical use. Take for instance, the dimensions of this picker, according to the Constitution: Ap? proximately 9 feet in length, and 5 feet in width and six feet in height--height of no consideration, but adds to weight of course. Say the space from the front of the cotton i picker to the breast pole in front of horses is ? 9 feet more, that with the length of the pick { er 9 feet make 18 feet, and 5 feet for turning [ around at each end of the rows. Just think j how much space will be required to turn the j horses and machine around, and as in 9 out j of every 10 caaes, there is either a fence or a ditch at the end of each row, so you can irn : magine how much cotton would have to be koocked down and made useless. At this j rate at least one third of every acre of cotton i would be sacrificed. The weighr, 1,600 pounds, would cause i the wheels even with wide tires to cut down into the soft, cultivated ground and render it impractical in point of propelling rower. Then the driving power is not the only pow? er to be considered, as the power required io turn the working mechanism that operate the picking needles (about, thirty-five in number) is considerable, owing tc the rapidity of the motion and the amount of power required in a given time. Ordinnrillv ttiis working me- j chan ism does not require much force, but j when it comes to operating a number of . needles continually within a given time, it creates additional work for raotive Dower from the horses. Now the Mason Cotton Harvester weighs onlv within a fraction of 400 nounds, has , i : on ly two wheels, is only four feet long by 3 : feet wide. Yet in the Stute of Texas the Mi son Cotton Picker successfully picked the 1 cotton, but is was not considered of practical ! use, because irs dimensions were too cumber some, its weight, 400, nearly caused the j wheels to cut and sink down into the ground. If 3 and 4 feet by 5 feet in height, and not quite 400 pounds in weight, is considered im? practical on the part of the j.'ason Picker, it looks like a poor chaace for 9 by 4, and 6 feet in height, and 1,600 pounds in weight of the Pittsburg Picker to be of prictical use. Simplicity of machinery and operation are two features that have to be perfected in the cotton picker, before it will be of practical use to a farmer. The present delicate and complicated machinery of the Mason and other cotton pickers require an experienced: machinist to operate and keep them io repair \ The Southern farmer in particular is careless : about his machinery for farm nse, while the ! Western farmer is careful and more ex? perienced, because he bas to depend more up- j on improved farm machinery, while the j Southern farmer depends more upon the ne- j gro for labor; so, as Mr. Mason says, simpli- j city, light weight, smaller dimensions, two wheels instead of four and, in fact, general | ease to operate and less cumbersome, are the ? qualities lacking io his machine and it is al fact well known that the Mason Cotton Pick- I er is nearer perfection than any other. So it is easy to see how impractical the Pittsburg Picker would be. ? Tiie picking needles c-n the machine in At- : lanta, are patterned after the original Mason ; fibrous and non fibrous discriminating need? les. So the picking apparatus of trie Pitts- j burg Cotton Picker will meet the same fate as j the Mason Cotton Harvester, unless they de- j vise a more convenient, lighter and less cum- ! bersome frame work to operate tb-: picking j needles. At present the Pittsburg Cotton i Picker is 15 years behind the Mason Harves- j Many stubborn and aggravating cases of; rheumatism that were believed to be incur- j able and accepted as life legacies, have j yielded to Chamberlain's Pain Balm, much to j the surprise and gratification of the sufferers, j One application will relieve the pain and i suffering ?nd its continued use insures an 1 effectual cure. For snle by Dr. A. J. China, i -?? - - ? - rn* - Earthquakes continue to be felt in i Itaiy and Sicily almost every day. A fire occurred in Tampa, Fla.. Sun- j day. The water pipes were frozen I and the firemen could do nothing. Loss ! 820,000. An engine exploded on thc Knox- i ville and Chattanooga ned scalded the engineer John W. Ramsey to death. The City Council of Little Rock. Atk.. wishes to force telephone, tole- : crraph and electric light companies rc put their wires under ground, and ha< adopted an ordinance taxi;;g ali poles .JO cents per annum. Col. W. V-. Wrenn has been appoint? ed passenger traille manager for the Plant system with headquarters at Savannah, Ga. The great dry goods firm of Lcchcn stern & Son, of New Y^rk, failed yes? terday. Liabilities"?400,000 ; assets nor. more than $200,000. W. ll. Lindsay, S6 years old. died at Bedford, Ya., yesterday from hydro? phobia. He was bitten by a rabid dog s x month ago, but suffered uo ill effects until a few days ago. The Citv of Charleston will have another hospital by virtue of the be? quest of Jacob VV. Franke, whose estate, valued ar ?30.000. was willed to th? city for that purpose. Young Vernier, the French mathe? matical prodigy, is a youth of Is. who has a high "[?inion of his genius, for. when complimented on Iiis wouderful proficiency, he calmly remarked thar mathematics were so badly taught in France that he had no trouble in con? vincing the real savants of the "insauity" of the prevailing method. The Modera Slave Trader. SaD Antonio, Dec. 30.-A Williams of Atlanta. Ga., better known as "Peg Williams,"' signed a contract yes? terday through W. H. Ellis, represent? ing the Tiahuivlo Plantation Company, of Mapiamia, Mexico, to furnish the campaoy 300 laborers. The negroes will be obtained from Georgia and Alabama. Williams claims he will export 100,000 negroes frc m the Southern States to Mexico ibis winter. -?? -- ?The Cotton Mo verne Qt. New Orleans, Deo 23.-Crop state? ment from September 1 to December 28, inclusive, issued by the ^ew Or? leans Cotton Exchange : Port receipts 5,053,097, against 6,083,563 last year, 3,498,825 year before last and 4,636,535 for tba same time in 1891. Overland to mills and Canada 813.594. against 559,779 538,680 and 778,395. Iuterior stocks io excess of September 1 532.7?l, against 397,469, 349,339 and 577.370. Southern mill takings 322.314, against 326,160, 310,586 and 285.344. Crop brought into sight during 119 days to date 6.722.686, against 5,366.967, 4.697,430 and 6,277 644. Crop brought into sight for the week 394, 523," against 339,512, 221,668 and 293,999. Crop brought into sight for the first 2S days of December 1,807, 21S. against 1,539,308, 1,216,426 and 1,495,412. Comparisons iu these reports are made up to Lhe corresponding date last year and year before and ia 1891, and not to the close of the corresponding week. Comparisons by weeks would take is 120 days of the season last year, 121 in the year before and 123 in 1891, against only 119 days this year. The famous trotting stallion Phallos (213f) is dead. The United States Government has instructed Mioister Denby to demand satisfaction from the Chinese Govern? ment for having violated their promise given in regard to the surrender of the Japanese spies at Shanghai. Hon. John W. Foster, who has been invited by the Chinese government to join her envoys in arranging peace with Japan, leaves Washington to-day for Tokio, Japan. He goes via Chicago and Vancouver. He will return some? time in the spring. Representative Wilson will ?0 into retirement and will spend his :ime in writing the political history of tte Con? gress during his twelve years of public life. There is a deficit of $80,000 in the Kentucky treasury, and the Legislature may be called together in extra session to devise means to raise money to pay the expenses of the government. A Carolina man has just married a New York widow worth three millions. That is a practical way in wt ich to bring Northern capital to the Soi.tb. Florida will have a unique exhibit at the exposition. It will consist of P. phosphate pyramid 100 feet square and 50 feet high. The Plant Investment Company, through its land department, will make this exhibit for the State. The exterior will be covered with peb? ble phosphate, and the interior will be highly finished in natural wood and filled with the best products of Fiorids.. The Washington Post says of Sena? tor Walsh, of Georgia, that "no one in the Senate is half so suave, so persua? sive, and so captivating." Mr. Stanton's volume-4,Song? of the Soil*'-is meeting with a phenomenal sale. Some of the horses and mules which have been brought into this city to satisfy mortgages, would not satisfy a hungry buzzard. It is evident that their own? ers planted an all-cotton crop -Au? gusta Chronicle. The Delavan Hotel ac Alab?ny X. Y., was burned Sunday night. There were oue hundred guests io the house. All escaped except two women and one man who jumped from the third story. The smallest living colt ever foaled in the United States made it appearance in Hartford City, Ind., In 1SS9. When 2 years old it measured nine incites from the ?nano to the root of the ! tail, was only tweuty-oue iticht^ high I and weighed 27.! pounds, it was of j the Shetland breed. A smart New Y >rk Afro-American, who evidently rends tho funny napers, got himself into trouble ar a church tivai a nighi or two ago by trying to work off some warmed over wi: the expense of a dusky belle's doughnuts. When ho called for a hammer wi:!: winch to crack them, the eirPs ? steadv comp'ny" went down into his boot leg for a razor, ano. made a swipe at the jugular of tho follow who "suited de gal's cookin.'" It is evideir thar northern associations elevate th.^ race iu spots only. An experiment with ball bearings was recently made in Canada. A street car, titted with bali bearings, was drawn a distance of several hundred feet by tuen pulling on three strands of ordinary sowing thread. A carriage manufacturer put another stiye of ball bearings cu the ?.s?es of a coach ordi? narily pulled by four horses. A trained dog was birched to the pole and ho drew the coach around the yard with little effort. Tho combination of pneumatic tires and bali bearings wouid evidently relieve much of the strain now put ot; horses drawing heavv vc- m hides, ami here is a tip for an enter? prising ca- riage-builder. ?