OCR Text |
Show TEE BOERS AT HOME. POLITICIANS ARE NOT TYPICAL OF THEIR COUNTRY. Real Boer Despises Towi Is Sera at Hli Best on Lonely Farms Whore Visitors Rarely Cum and Pleasarea Art raw. V You will hear divers answers as to what kind of people the Boers are. The more short-sighted and In tolerate among; travelers may say that the Boers are a dirty lot, who don't use t ible napkins, an illiterate set of brutes who never heard of Kipling, an utterly unrefined people whose knowledge of art is nil; in short, a backward, stupid, unprogressive, half-civiiized set who are too thick-headed to know they are standing in the path of that Juggernaut Jugger-naut ear, civilization, and must in the end be crushed beneath its wheels. It is a mistake to take Paul Kruger and bis surrounding politicians as types of the Boer. Also It is a mistake to take the dweller in the towns as typical. To unearth the real Boer one must seek the wide and solitary veldt, the hidden hid-den valleys, the distant hills, and there on his farm draw him out and study him. Your true Boer despises the town. He is essentially an agriculturist agricul-turist and a hunter. Up to 1892 he never saw a railroad in his country, and he was bitterly opposed to its coming. com-ing. He argues that the railroad will drive away the game, and without anything any-thing to shoot at, life will not be worth living. He is extremely conservative, and with strangers brusque and taciturn, taci-turn, but if he finds you are harmless he can be very hospitable. He does not drink deep. He is religious with a gloomy, stern religion, which makes him believe, as did the Covenanters, as much In the old testament as in the new. Like all people whose belief in the bible is of that uncompromising kind, he is more or less superstitious. He is moral. He does not believe in divorce laws. He marries early in life, and is convinced the highest blessing bless-ing is an abundance of children. He is sturdily built, as a rule, thanks to his way of life, which is the same as that of his father and his ancestors for many generations an open-air life, with lots of beef and cabbage and milk. He la a good horseman and a remarkable remark-able marksman. . He understands that the man who can shoot straight and without excitement makes, nowadays, the best soldier. He fears God and loves his country, but cannot understand under-stand the need of a tax-gatherer. He is, in fact, the backwoodsman of last century in the United States come to life again in Africa. At the first hint of gray in the eastern sky, at the first crow of the cock, the farm household is up and stirring, and breakfast, with the usual strong coffee the Boer loves, is over by the time the sun rises. The men are out and about at once, looking look-ing after just the same chores as on an American farm in the west, save those who are off to replenish the larder by shooting a springbok, a hartebeest, or some such species of daer. The women have plenty of work about the house. The genuine old Boer farm furnishes itself every necessary to its occupants. The furniture is often made by the farmer, or he has great, unwieldy, carved chests and bureaus which have come to him from his ancestors. He can make his own shoes. His women dress and weave his own sheep's wool, and make their and his clothes from it. There is almost nothing he needs to buy. He does not care a rap for neckties or collars or store cothes, and a full beard is fashionable. All he really has to buy is farm implements, and of these he prefers the primitive sort, though enterprising agents have introduced such things as mowing and other machinery. During the day he works leisurely, content to make a living liv-ing out of the ground. He ha3 been seen sitting in his wagon for hours watching an enterprising, hustling Uit-lander Uit-lander with wonder as the foreigner worked continuously with all kinds of new-fangled machines, producing far more from the earth than his wants required, because he wished to market the surplus and make money. He has been seen thus shaking his head in pity and not unmingled with contempt at such folly, for the Boer Is not a moneymaker. He does not want a bank account. So he drives his slow-moving slow-moving ox wagon away on the hot and dusty trek, meditating on the want of faith these Uitlanders have, who can not trust the future to God and be content con-tent with today. A Pumpkin as a Wedding Fee, A clergyman of Georgia was once standing in the courthouse when a Hoosier came in to see the ordinary in person to procure a marriage license. The countryman asked for a "pair of licenses." li-censes." and on making the purchase necessary, to being united in the holy bonds of matrimony inquired of the ordinary: or-dinary: "Who can I git to marry me?" The ordinary replied that he could perform per-form the ceremony, or the parson, standing near, would probably accommodate accom-modate him. The countryman turned to the parson and asked if he would marry him. The parson readily consented con-sented and asked the would-be bridegroom: bride-groom: Where's your gal?" He replied: re-plied: "Out yonder In the street" The parson said, "Fetch her In." Then she was "fotch" In and the "knot tied. The bridegroom asked the parson the amount of the indebtedness incurred, and was told that no charge was made, but that he always left the matter for the bridegroom to decide. The latter replied: "I've got no money. I've got a load of pumpkins out yonder. I'll give you a pumpkin." Homiletic Review? Re-view? Anecdote of Robert Barns. Robert Burns was once standing upon up-on the quay at Greenock when a wealthy weal-thy merchant belonging to that town had the misfortune to fall in the harbor. har-bor. A sailor plunged in. and, at the risk of his own life, rescued the merchant, mer-chant, who could not swim. When the rescued man was restored to consciousness con-sciousness it was found that the fright and the wetting were the only bad consequences con-sequences of his mishap. Calling for the sailor, his preserver, the merchant, presented him with his thanks and a shilling. The crowd loudly protested against Euch shabby conduct, tut Burns, with a scornful smile, begged them to be silent, "for, said he, "the gentleman must know best what his life is worth." Where Ignorance Is Bliss. Jack "The ingenuity of woman is beyond the comprehension of man. Tom "What's wrong now?" Jack Young Blank's fiance sent him an elaborately constructed penwiper for a birthday present and be wore it to church thinking it was a new-fangled cravat." Coming to love God la like climbing a high mountain. It takes you out of the low valley of formal life. It seta you upoa the open summit of spiritual .sympathy, close to the sun. GEMS FOR LEAN POCKET BOOK 3 Fro anise of an Abandnnee of Counterfeit Stones as Good as Any. From the New York Evening Post: Manufacturers of imitation jewelry have lately met with such great success that It is said the sale of genuine jewelry jew-elry in this city Is less than ever before, and it I3 also said on good , authority that large amcsnts of capital are soon to be invested in the manufacture of imitation jewelry. For some time past it has been possible to obtain imitation imita-tion jewelry In France and England which is difficult of detection by experts, ex-perts, but the business has never before be-fore been taken up in this country to any great extent. The principal manufacturers man-ufacturers expect to deal in jewels of their own manufacture which are said to be extraordinary fine imitations of the real stones and will have a guaranteed guar-anteed life of twenty years. The "diamonds" "dia-monds" are a composition of glass, lead and carbon, tipped with platinum, which is harder than gold. Every real stone, except a diamond. Is transparent; transpar-ent; without the tip of platinum these "diamonds" would also be transparent, but with It they are given an undetectable undetect-able resemblance to the genuine stone. These goods a-e mounted in 14-carat gold and so artistically that, when worn, the platinum tipping cannot be seen. An Infinite variety of designs, copied from the best real models, are shown, and at a price which is about 80 per cent less than the genuine. All the colored stones rubies, sapphires, emeralds and turquoises are also manufactured in a like way and are similar, with the exception of the turquoise, tur-quoise, to the doublet, except that they are much harder and are made of real stone (garnet) and crystal. They are so hard that the surface can be filed and no blemish made on the stone. As genuine pearls are the most costly of gems, so do the Imitation pearls take the lead in price. They are made of fishskln and a secret composition. The manufacture of some especially good Imitation pearls, known as "Venetian pearls," is a lost art, the process having hav-ing been invented by a poor Venetian, whose secret died with him. There are about 10,000 of them in this country, bought In Paris about-ten years ago; they are very hard, can be stepped on without sustaining the slightest injury, and will also bounce like a rubber ball The difficulty in the manufacture of pearls is in obtaining the orient, or luster, similar to the genuine gems, and It is said that very often out of 10,000 manufactured, few will be marketable, and they are almost as difficult to match for necklaces as the real. A dog collar of imitation pearls, with "diamond" "dia-mond" clasps, would cost about $250. ESCAPED FROM JAIL As Garbage and Was Nearly Two Hours In the Swill Box. Chicago Record: Leo Lubin, a 17-year-old prisoner, who has a police record as a pickpocket, made his escape es-cape from the county jail by secreting secret-ing himself in a can of garbage. During Dur-ing the morning hours for the exercise exer-cise of prisoners in the old jail he was carried out by two "trusties" aad dumped in a larger garbage box in the jail yard. He remained there two hours, half suffocated, with the cover of the box down, until the arrival of the scavenger, who left the gates open when he drove into the yard. The driver of the garbage wagon almost fainted when he lifted the cover of the box to see a boy jump out, covered with grease and garbage. He clutched clutch-ed Lubin by the suspenders, but the jailbird wriggled to release himself. He broke loose, but left his braces in the hand of his would-be captor. The fugitive ran through the open gates to the alley and disappeared in Illinois street. WHAT THE LAW DECIDES. For the death of a fireman caused by stepping on a live grounded wire in a public alley it is held In Gannon vs. LaClede Gas Light company (Mo.), 43 L. R. A. 605, that the electric company owning the wire is prima facie liable. An instrument written and signed by one person for another in his presence and by his direction, though without any written authority, is held in Morton Mor-ton vs. Murray (111.), 43 L. R. A. 529, to be sufficient to bind the party under the statute of frauds. A contemporaneous written agreement agree-ment referring to a promissory note and providing that the maker may receive re-ceive the note back on surrendering certain stock, is held in American Gas and V. M. company vs. Wood (Me.), 43 L. R. A. 149, to constitute with the note part of an entire contract the stipulations stipula-tions of which are mutual and dependent depend-ent rather than Independent and collateral. col-lateral. With this case is an extensive note on the effect of the breach of contemporaneous con-temporaneous agreements as a defense to promissory notes. The forfeiture of land under the West Virginia constitution for the failure fail-ure of the owner to enter it for taxation taxa-tion is held in State vs. Sponaugle (Wr. Va.), 43 L. R. A. 727, to be consistent with the federal constitution and not a deprivation of property without due process of law. Landseer's Karl 7 Triumphs. Sir Edward Henry Landseer, R. A., the great animal painter, who was trained by his father from about six years of age to sketch animals from life, began exhibiting at the Royal academy when he was only thirteen years old. At the academy, in 1818, when he was sixteen, he exhibited a picture entitled "Dogs Fighting," which attracted general gen-eral attention, and was purchased by Sir George Beaumont, the then acknowledged ac-knowledged head of the patrons and connoisseurs of art in England. In the following year he ehibited his "Dogs of St. Gothard," the engraving of which became very popular. Dogs and deer were his favorite and best subjects; the scene of several fine pictures was laid in the Highlands, which he first visited In 1824. In 1826 he was elected an A. R. A., in 1830 an R. A., and in !50 he was knighted. He died October 1, 1873, and was buried in St. Paul's. The bronze lions at the foot of Nelson's Nel-son's monument in Trafalgar square London, were modeled by him. The End of the Seam. The best way to fasten the thread at the end of a sewing machine seam is to turn back on the seam just sewn and stitch for half an inch or more; then you can cut the thread and not stop to tie, which takes a great deal of time and is absolutely necessary if you would not have your thread ripping out all the time. A CltT of Telephones. Stockholm easily takes first rank as the city of telephones. It has 2?,000 telephonea to less than 30,000 inhabi-ants. inhabi-ants. Paris has only 17,000 to 3,000.000 people. Stockholm and Paris are the only cities in the world that hare a complete double wire system. TAMING THE SHKEW. "I haven't the least rear." Major Delaford. "Then you're a man of unbounded courage," retorted his friend, Ul. sea Crlnklethorpe. "For may I Venture to be frank?" "Oh. certainly! By all means. "Well, then, they do say that Mrs. Flashington drove her first husband into his grave by ungovernable temper." tem-per." -I've heard that before," eald Maj. Delaford, puffing complacently away at his cigar. "But, of course," with a sarcastic laugh, "you don't believe it?" "Excuse me," said Maj. Deleford, severely, se-verely, "I do believe it. I have seen, now and then, an expression in Jus-tina's Jus-tina's eyes which fully carries out any theory of that nature." ""And yet you are going to marry her?" "And yet I am going to marry her." "Felix Delaford, are you crazy?" "Not that I am aware of." "Will you be honest with me?" "To be sure," nodded the major. "Then, why do you marry Mrs. Flashington?" "Well, from a variety of reasons. One is that I like her. She's a pretty little gypsy, with a skin like white velvet, and delicious long lashes to her eyes!" "Proceed." "A second Is mind, now, I never did pretend to be one of the disinterested lovers one reads about in dime novels that the dear, departed Flashington left her remarkably well off. And I have more merit than money." "I think you will repent it," said Mr. Crlnklethorpe, "for, by all accounts, the black-eyed divinity is neither more nor less than a virago." "There are very few actions in this world that one doesn't repent, in a greater or less degree," said Maj. Delaford, Dela-ford, sententiously, "but, averaging things, I'm willing to risk it." And Maj. Delaford was married the next week to Mrs. Flashington. It was not long, as Mr. Crinklethrope had foretold, before the claw began to CALL YOUR MASTER AT ONCE. peep from under Mrs. Flashington Delaford's velvet sheath. "Felix," said she one day, "I don't like this location." "Don't you, my dear?" said Maj. Delaford. "I've lived here two-and-thirty years and always found it very pleasant." "I don't like it," said Mrs. Delaford. "I prefer a house nearer the park." Maj. Delaford went on reading. "Felix, I say?" The bride's voice was raised a degree or so higher the dangerous sparkle had come into her eyes. "Yes, Justy." "I mean to move uptown." "Do you?" "And at once." "Very well," said the major, "then you will move alone. I shall remain where I am." "Maj. Delaford, you are a brute!" The major bowed. Justina burst into in-to tears. "Yes, a brute, and I'm sorry I ever married you!" And after that Mrs. Delaford did not speak to her husband for two days. But as the major appeared in no wise affected by this taciturnity she adopted adopt-ed another plan, and scolded steadily for three days. "Look, here, Justy, this won't do," said the major, at the week's end. "I don't fancy either a dumb woman or a fury!" "That I should live to be so spoken to," whimpered Mrs. Delaford. "So," went on the major, "I have written to my cousin, Rosamond Bly, to come and spend the summer here." "I won't have her in my house!" shrieked the bride. "But I will have her in mine," composedly com-posedly retorted the husband. "Let me see her presume to enter this house!" cried Justina. "Let me see you presume to be uncivil un-civil to her," said the major, knitting his brows in a way that Mrs. Delaford had never seen in her late husband's countenance. For. to tell the truth, the late Mr. Flashington had been hut a chicken-hearted individual at best. Mrs. Delaford flounced out of the room and banged the door viciously Toehind her. Miss Bly arrived the next day a cheery-cheeked, bright-eyed girl, with lips wreathed in smiles, and a brand-new brand-new traveling suit cut after a deal prettier pattern than the bride's own. Mr3. Delaford refused to speak to her. "Justina." said her husband, in a warning voice, "this is my cousin, Rosamond. I hope you vrill make her welcome to our home." But Mrs. Delaford only threw a slipper slip-per at her husband, burst into tears, and ran hysterically upstairs. "Oh, Felix! what's the matter?", asked Rosamond, half-frightened out of her senses. "Had I better go homer' "By no means, my dear Rosamond," said the major. "You see, I have married mar-ried a woman with a temper. But shell be all the more charming when that fault is rooted out of her character." The major went upstairs aad tried to open the door. It was locked. "Justina," he said, gently. "It la X. Let me in." 5 "I won't snapped the bride. "Will you come downstairs, then?" "I will not come out of my room until un-til that woman is out of the house!" sputtered forth Mrs. Delaford. "Very well, my dear." said tie major, and he returned to the drawing-room with unruffled philosophy. Mrs. Delaford adhered to her resolution, resolu-tion, although It was much tried by sundry peculiar sounds she heard on the outside of her door. "Maj. Delaford has carpenters at work altering the house, " thought she. "It makes but little difference to me in any case. I shan't stay here." At the end of the third day, however, how-ever, she concluded to go downstairs. But when she opened the door, lo and behold! her egress was barred by a grated iron door. "Mercy upon us!" cried Mrs. Delaford. Dela-ford. "What is this?" "Please ma'am," said the little maid, who had brought up her meals three times a day, "it's master as had it done. "What for?" cried Justina. "Please, ma'am," said Hetty, trembling trem-bling all over, "don't you know you're crazy?" "Insolent minion!" said Mrs. Delaford, Dela-ford, "call your master at once." Maj. Delaford came Immediately upstairs, up-stairs, with Rosamond Bly clinging in a frightened sort of way to his arm. "How do you feel now, my dear?" he asked, solicitously. "I'm well enough." snarled Mrs.-Delaford. Mrs.-Delaford. "Open that door quick!" "Mad! Very mad. indeed!" said Maj. Delaford, in sotto voce, turning to Rosamond. "Ruffian!" cried the bride, "how dare you speak so?" "Getting violent!" added the major, shaking his head. "Let me out, I say!" persisted Mrs. Delaford, rattling at the bars. "What does this absurd mummery mean?" "Perhaps a strait waistcoat would be advisable," said the major. "But as long as she remains tolerably man- ageable I shall not send her to an asylum." Mrs. Delaford began to cry. "Oh, Felix, how can you talk so?" sobbed she. "I am as sane as you are." "Poor thing!" murmured the major, compassionately. "The hardest part of insanity must be when one becomes partially conscious of its deadly doom." Mrs. Delaford shut the door rather vehemently and began to cry hysterically. hysteric-ally. ' "I'm not mad!" said she. "I won't be made a madwoman of!" But how to help herself that was the question. The door was barred effectually the windows opened upon the dead wall of a neighboring Institute Insti-tute of the Fine arts, and were three stories above ground. She might have shrieked herself hoarse in that direction direc-tion before any one could hear her. She sat- down to think. What should she do? What was to become of her? Did that dreadful hint of Felix concerning con-cerning an asylum mean anything? For once in her life Mrs. Flashington was actually frightened. "Has my temper really been so terrible," ter-rible," she asked herself, "that people mistake it for I can hardly breathe the word insanity?" It was a new idea; she pondered over it carefully and cried bitteTly over It When Hetty came, as usual, with the napkin-covered tray, Mrs. Delaford's Dela-ford's face was pale and tear-swollen. "Hetty," said she, "will you ask your master to step up here for a few Minutes?" Maj. Delaford obeyed the summons at once. "Well, my love," said he, "what Is It?" "Felix," said Mrs. Delaford, bursting into fresh tears, "I have acted very feolishly. I beg your pardon. And I beg Rosamond's pardon, too." Maj. Delaford opened the grated door at once Justina flew Into bis arms and then there was a reconciliation reconcilia-tion after the most approved style. Mrs. Delaford was as sweet as a June morning after that and If ever she manifested symptoms of a relapse all that Maj. Delaford found necessary was to allude, in a general way, to lunatics and asylums. And Mr. Ulysses Crlnklethorpe never could imagine by what means this modern Petruchio tamed his dark-eyed shrew. New York News. Changed Accompaniment. One can hardly be expected to have "music in his soul" when there is discord dis-cord in his stomach. Husband What was that you were playing, my dear? Wife Did you like it? "It was lovely she melody divine, the harmony exquisite!" ex-quisite!" "It is the very thing I played last evening, and you said it was horrid." "Well, the steak was burned last evening." Stray Stories. Latest Table Trim. - The latest ornamentation fer the dining-room table is a dish of jelly, la the midst of which are three or four small electric lights. The effect is pleaslag and picturesque. FARM AND GARDEN. MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRICULTURISTS. Bome Cp-to-Date Bints About Cnl-tlratlon Cnl-tlratlon of the Soil and Yields Thereof Horticulture, Viticulture and Floriculture. A Kansas Wool Grower's Method. At the twenty-eighth annual meeting meet-ing of the Kansas Board of Agriculture, Agricul-ture, Mr. J. N. Grau, of Mitchell county, coun-ty, Jnorthern), Kansas, Who is largely large-ly and profitably in the sheep business busi-ness there, read a paper prepared at the suggestion of Secretary F. D. Co-burn, Co-burn, giving his ideas of how best to manage and care for the flock, and his method of selecting animals for breeding purposes. For the last 14 years his flock ha3 numbered from 800 to 1,000, and as he has succeeded by close attention to his business, his : observations should be of no little interest in-terest and value.-He value.-He says in part: I fatten my surplus stock for market. mar-ket. In the selection of breeding ewes I never pay much attention to the fineness of fiber, but more to the constitution, good form, no wrinkles on body, good fleece, or long dense staple of wool, and good milking qualities as this can be had in sheep as well as in cows, and to produce a good lamb they must have an abund ant supply of milk. I sort out about one-third to one-half of my ewe lambs for breeders at one year old, sending the rest to market for mutton; always al-ways feeding the lambs well so as to get the size of the sheep the first year. If neglected they will grow smaller every year. By this way of selecting and feeding I have increased the average av-erage size of my flock twenty pounds. In selecting the rams, I look for a good constitution, which will repre sent a ' good feeder and always the best in the flock, of a good form for mutton; shown by well sprung ribs, breadth across the shoulders, a deep breast, with front legs well set apart; a short neck and erect carriage; short head, with broad nostrils, giving plenty of room to breathe the pure air of the range; with three to four inch staple of dense wool, with only a reasonable rea-sonable quantity of oil, and weighing from 175 to 200 pounds at maturity. I pasture in summer on prairie grass without grain, having my range divided into three separate pastures with four-barbed-wlre fence. Changing Chang-ing from one pasture to another gives the grass a better start; it will produce pro-duce more feed, and sheep will keep in better condition than when run in one continuously. I wean .my lambs in September. For the last two years I have turned them in a piece of standing sorghum, giving them also some cracked corn, which has given the best of results. As soon as the grass gets dry and poor, which is about the 1st of October, Octo-ber, I commence to feed the older sheep one bushel of corn to the 100 head per day. Sometimes I feed corn-fodder corn-fodder with corn on until I get my corn husked out; then turn them in the stalk field, and give one bushel of corn to the 100 head per day. My breeding ewes run out every day in the stalk field, from morning until night, except in severe snow storms, when I think it is not best to leave them out all day. Exercise is necessary neces-sary for good health and constitution, and for raising strong lambs. From about the first of March I feed corn-fodder corn-fodder and alfalfa hay until grass starts to grow. I have lambs drop in March and April. I pen my ewes in a shed over night, but never stay up with them; a lamb that will not get up and rustle, I don't want. In the morning turn out the ewes, always keeping separate those that have lambs, examining exam-ining all to see that the lamb has had its fill of milk; if not, I keep it separate until it has; keeping the ewes with young lambs separate from the flock for three or four days, I then turn them in to the large herd of ewes. If turned in before three days, and they get parted for twenty-four hours, the mothers will not own them. Years age I sowed rye for early spring pasture, but of late I have been raising alfalfa, for hay, which is better bet-ter than red clover. It is one of the best sheep feeds that can be grown, and which every farmer in Kansas should grow for cattle, sheep, and hogs. I shear In April, before turning out to grass. Having plenty of shed room, there is no danger of losing any. I keep plenty of Kansas fine salt where they can have free access to it at all times, and yard them every night. When accustomed to the yard they will come up at night of their own accord. The Asparagus Canning: Industry. Persons who are thinking of entering enter-ing on the cultivation of aspararr.s will find some useful information on the subject in the description of the asparagus-canning industry in central California. The coast and river islands in the central west of the state contain overflow lands which are specially adapted for asparagus culture on a large scale. The climate and the rich sedimentary soil united to produce a quality and quantity of crop unsurpassed unsur-passed in any part of the world. Soon the possibilities of the situation appealed ap-pealed to the canning industry. Asparagus As-paragus is easy to can; it handles well, not bruising or defacing easily, and it can be prepared and cooked by any one, whether skilled in cooking or not. Ten years ago it was thought the sale of 120,000 two-and-a-half-pound cans In one season was a record never to be surpassed. Last season betweea 75,000 and 90,000 cases, containing two, J dozen two-ana-a-half-pound cans each, making between 1,800,000 and 2,168,000 cans were disposed of. The industry has received such an impetus with the revival in trade that several 'new gigantic asparagus farms have been started. Damage to Street Trees. It gives a horticulturist a nightmare to see how street strees are treated sometimes, says Country Gentleman. Many of the mutilations are chargeable charge-able to the linemen of the telegraph and telephone companies, abetted, of course, by the indifference of public opinion. It is not generally supposed that there is any further damage from the electric wires after the lineman has done his worst and gone; but Dr. G. K. Stene thinks there may be. He says: "I have observed no instance where electricity has killed a tree outright, but there are many cases where the limbs have been killed by burning. This effect is not only caused by the alternating curreat of the electric lights, but by the direct current of the trolley system; the latter current being probably more injurious, provided the tame amount of amperes and voltage ts employed. The damage done bv grounded wires takes place when trees are moist, as at that time the resistance resist-ance is reduced, and the current becomes be-comes increased and has a bettef opportunity op-portunity to become dispersed. We have known of instances where the trees and the grass for some distance about them have been charged with the escaping current. The damage to the trees, however, is due to the heating heat-ing effect of electriicity." Every town, and even more every country village, needs an active committee com-mittee for the- prevention of many common sinful practices toward street trees; and perhaps such a committee will now need an expert consulting electrician. American Meats in Germany. American meats are indeed having a hard time In the German empire, due to the fact that the German farmers farm-ers and their friends throughout the country take every oportunity to prevent pre-vent the sale of such meats. It is not practicable for them to get a law of actual prohibition passed, as they are unable to prove that American meats are dangerous to the health of the people, peo-ple, but they insist on such restrictions being made that the sale of the meats takes place under great difficulties and frequently is made so expensive that the buyers refuse it for that reason alone. United States Consul Barnes of Cologne Co-logne says: "I learn that, for the last fifteen years, there were officially confirmed con-firmed in the kingdom of Prussia 3,003 cases of illness from trichinae, 207 of which resulted in death. Of these total numbers there could be traced to the eating of European meats, examined in Germany and found to be free from trichinae, 1,242 cases and 102 deaths. The remaining cases could also be traced to European meat, but meat that had not been examined. In not one of the above cases could it be proved that the disease resulted from the use of American salted, pickled or tinned meat, or of smoked sausage. This statement holds good for all Germany. Ger-many. When in 1891 the edict against sausage and pork products prod-ucts from America was canceled, no inspection of sausage or pickled pork was required until July 1, 1898. Since then both products are subject to inspection. in-spection. This will result in the absolute ab-solute exclusion of sausage and pickled pork or boneless hams from the German Ger-man market. In the case of boneless hams the cost of inspection amounts to $3.57 per 220 English pounds. Add to this the duty, which is 8.33 on 220 pounds of meat, and it is seen that the cost amounts to prohibition. As regards the inspection of American sausage, I learn that three pieces are taken for inspection purposes from every two pounds of sausage. By this means the sausage Is much injured, if not entirely ruined for selling purposes, pur-poses, inasmuch as this process not only has a tendency to cause the meat to become dry and hard, but the meat bears plain evidences of having been inspected, which is not a very flattering flatter-ing testimonial as to its value for food. On the other hand, German sausaga is subjected to no such inspection aftel it is in shape for selling, as it is inspected in-spected before it is made up into commercial com-mercial form or put on the market." Making: the Horse. Now is the time to remember that the colt of the present is to be the horse a few years hence, and the kind of a horse he is to be depends largely upon his treatment now, says Farm, Stock and Home. Good care, ample food and judicious exercise are the essentials es-sentials at this time. By ample food is not meant over-feeding. Some grain should be fed during the summer, but not so much that the little fellow will be indisposed to eat freely of grass or other bulky food, for the latter is necessary nec-essary to the proper development of his stomach and digestive organs. Two pounds of oats a day should be given to the colt after weaning, and he should be allowed to learn to eat some even before weaning. Vary the grain feed with barley or even corn; and if occasionally occa-sionally ground grain in a thick slop is given the effect will be good. But this feeding should be moderate, and not calculated to develop overmuch fat. Exercise the colt should have, but that, too, temperately. Over-exertion would be as bad for the colt as no exertion. It is well, also, to begin breaking or educating the colt at an early age. Secure Se-cure its confidence by kind treatment and gentle words, accustom it to strange sights, to sudden noises and other alarming things, enough to teach it that they are not dangerous, and so begin to develop the mind as well as the body of the horse that you want to see command a good price later on. The Neglected Hedge Fence. There is nothing more unsightly than a neglected hedge fence, says a writer in Homestead. I have seen them on both sides of the road, which Is made impassable by snow drifts in the winter time because of them, and in the summer time they make the road so exceedingly sultry and hot as to render travel very trying to man and beast. Hedge fences, like evil traits of character, naturally tend the wrong way. If I had a fence of this kind it 6hould be kept in good order if I had to hire an extra man, but to prevent the employment of the extra man I would rather have some other kind of good fence. As I pass by them this time of year, looking like an Indiana In-diana deadening, with a few oranges left on them from last year's crop, I feel sorry for the man who owns a farm with a neglected hedge fenee along the highway. I believe the best use that could be made of them would be to cut them out, make posts out of all the trunks even down to two inches in djameter, which will make good stakes, .ind then keep the growth down by some means and put up a good fence, using the posts the hedge furnished to make it. Plowing. Plowing is an important factor in saving soil moisture. Th reason why lands wash so seriously is that the plowing is too shallow and it is frequently done when the soil is in an unfit condition. The plow should be run as deep as possible, being set slightly lower each year until the ton soil is eight or ten inches deep. The best plowing is that which leaves she soil t the finest state of division. Cloddy or lumpy land cannot hold a large amount of water; therefore it Is important to plow when the land is neither too wet nor too dry. Whey for Hogs. A Canadian cheese factory which makes from 120 to 140 tens of cheese in a season utilizes all tno whey in growing and fattening hogs of which it keeis about 400 dtr-, Ing the busy season. This prTst what is one cause of trouble at some cheese factories sending home sour whey in the milk cans which taints the next day's milk; The pigery is situated sit-uated at a distance of 600 to 700 feet from .the factory and kept as clean as possible, that it maytiot give off pt-feneive pt-feneive odors to taint $i piU, CAMPEIRE SKETCHES QOOD SHORT STORIES FOR THE VETERANS. The Drum Major, Originally a Conrt Functionary In Europe, He Was Left Oat of Our Army Stories of Waterloo How a Filipino Dies. Terra-Domus. Above the deep-set valley. The mountain ranges rise. Above the clouded summits. The boundless skies. Beyond the crested surges. Broad plains of ocean are, Beyond the dim horizons. The even star. Beyond, above, the limits Of toil and pain and strife. Gleams like a fitful beacon The blessed life. Beyond Karth's quick mutations. Bright hopes and glooms of fear Ah! but high heaven affrights us Our home is here! Lewis Morris In Literature. The Drum Major. The infantry regiments of the United Unit-ed States are to have drum majors hereafter, according to the provisions of the Army bill passed at the last session ses-sion of congress. The fact that while the gorgeous giant with the big cane is an important part of the state militia dress parades, he has had no place In parades of United States infantry is not bo strange when one hears the explanation. ex-planation. "The thing is simple enough," said a military antiquarian. "You have only to remember that in the United States regular army there are no hussars and no Polish lancers. Just wait a moment and I think I can show you the connection. It is rather rath-er a paradoxical connection, but it is there, all the same. The general idea is that nothing is to be found in the United States army that was not in the British regular army in the fourteenth four-teenth year of the reign of George III. By that of course I mean nothing in the way of ranks and disciplinary arrangements. ar-rangements. One or two things may have dropped out of use the rank of cornet for example, which was formerly for-merly the lowest commissioned rank in the cavalry both in the American and in the British army. On the other hand they have several things that we have not. If you will take the trouble to look it up you will find that every one of these things has been introduced introduc-ed into the British army since our war of independence. The Polish lancer became famous under Napoleon I, and the British straightway turned half a dozen or so of their regiments of light dragoons into lancers, not only equipping equip-ping them with lances, but also giving them the Polish caps with the square, flat tops, which they still wear on full dress parade. It was about the same time that they riok up the name hussar, which is Hungarian anu comes down all the way from the days of Ma-thias Ma-thias Corvinus, the Hungarian king, whose old stirrups were sold the other day, I see, for $1,700. With the name of hussar the British army took the dress of the Hungarian cavalier the tur-covered busby, the Turkish dolman Dr flying jacket, trimmed with fur and hanging loose on the left shoulder, and so on. They have given up the flying Jacket but the rest of the uniform uni-form they still keep. It was all imitated imi-tated from the French, who had had (ussars two generations earlier. Mu-rat, Mu-rat, the spectacular marshal of the Rmpire, made it famous and popular. Ro far so good. We have most things fhat they had in 1776, not what they sok up in Napoleon's time. But one iing their standing army had which lve have not had heretofore, and that s the drum major. Naturally enough, !oo. There would be no drum majors In the continental army, because the continentals were only the old constitutional con-stitutional English militia, representing represent-ing the shire and borough levies of the middle ages, transferred to the American colonies,' while the standing army with their red coats, the royal livery were an extra constitutional body of troops that began to exist under un-der the Stuarts mere royal retainers in fact. Now the drum major was first heard of in England in the reign of Charles I. He was an officer of the royal roy-al household originally, and his title was drum major general. The Stuarts were very fond of imitating the French court, and a whole century earlier than the days of Charles I the king of France had had his drum general gen-eral and drum colonel to teach the royal drummers. It was only after Charles I had had his head cut off that Louis XIV reduced his drum generals and drum colonels to drum majors. But the drum major retained the authority au-thority to chastise his subordinates, and the big cane to do it with, which later all drum majors still wield for the edification of admiring crowds. So you see this office of drum major was a thing associated with the court and the absolute standing army. No wonder it did not find a place in the army that originated in votes of the continental congress. As to how our state militias took up drum majors, I cannot say exactly, or as to when, but it is significant tha the name national nation-al guard, or rather, national guards, was taken by the New York militia in 1824, by way of compliment to Lafayette, Lafay-ette, because he had commanded the Garde Nationale in France. All through the reveolution the consulate and first empire the drum major continued con-tinued to be a very important personage person-age in the French infantry. Perhaps our militia in their enthusiasm for Lafayette La-fayette wished to be as French as they could in everything. It is worth remarking re-marking that we have taken up drum majors just about twenty years after the British have dropped them. Since 1878 they have had sergeant drummers to discharge the more serious functions func-tions which formerly belonged to the drum major." Stories of Waterloo. Rev. Canon Staveley in a recent Issue Is-sue of the Cornhill Magazine retails several "military anecdotes" of the battle bat-tle of Waterloo. He recounts "one of the most extraordinary escapes from death" on the field of Waterloo. Lieut. Stewart Moore received a ghastly wound. "A Polish lancer drove his lance through one of his lungs. He must have been destitute of medical aid for hours, for when the surgeon came to examine his wound, it was dark, and a lantern had to be used for a proper inspection. The light was actually blown out by the air Issuing from the wound. But he recovered and lived on to old age." The canon tells also of the wife of the quartermaster, quarter-master, who had stood fire with, her husband in South America." and been severely wounded. At .Waterloo she lingered with the regiment after the firing commenced. "However, the adjutant ad-jutant told her that a battlefield was Hot the place for an officer's wife, she reluctantly -vithdrew, but only to station sta-tion herself in the belfry otr the church at Waterloo, from which she had probably a finer and more extensive exten-sive view of the battle than even Na poleon or Wellington." The ca wiads up his stories of Waterloo ts11 rilm Viw tha atatar rf A iH Yl 171l!flh ,U tJJ l I W O ed fellow of Trinity, noted as having been the first Roman Catholic to attain at-tain the honor of fellowship: "Years ago this lady paid a visit to the island of Mauritius. She was Introduced to a lady of great beauty and commanding appearance, who ordered every one about, and whose features were unmistakably unmis-takably Spanish. Who was this lady? An infant picked up on the field of Waterloo from behind a wagon after the battle. Her parents were known to God alone. She was found by an ensign, en-sign, Heiliger by name, perhaps an officer in the king's German legion. He placed her under the care of a soldier's wife, paying for her support, and as she grew up, seeing how beautiful and-talented and-talented she promised to be, had her educated and finally married her, as Dick Swivel'er did the marchioness. He held in his latter days an appo4nt-ment appo4nt-ment in the Mauritius, and here follows fol-lows the extraordinary pendant to this' romantic tale. The great granddaughter granddaugh-ter of the Waterloo "waif and stray (they mature and marry very early in those tropical climes) was the wife of Baron de Lesseps, the originator of the Suez and the unfortunate designer of the Panama canal. At the age of 17 she fell in love with the baron, then about 70, and proposed to him according accord-ing to the custom of the Mauritius, by a floral offering. The old baron was so amazed that he declared that she must intend the offering formats son, who was with him. 'Nob,., monsieur, e'est a vous.' " Brave Reuben James. The Naval history of the United States is replete with instances of individual bravery. Golden Days prints the story of one of the most remarkable of such deeds, that of Reuben James, an ordinary seaman, who saved the life of his commander, com-mander, the famous Com. Stephen Decatur, by an act of deliberate self-sacrifice. self-sacrifice. During a battle with Tripo-litan Tripo-litan war vessels in the early part of the present century, Decatur boarded one of the enemy's ships to avenge the death of his brother, who had been treacherously killed by a Tripolitan commander. The commander of the ship was singled out for attack by Decatur De-catur as soon as he got aboard, and a fierce hand to hand conflict ensued. The Tripolitan, a large, powerful man. grappled with Decatur, and both fell to the deck. Just then another officer aied a blow with his sword at Decatur's Deca-tur's defenseless head. Reuben James, American sailor, both of whose arms were temporarily disabled by wounds, saw the Impending blow, and dashing forward, he Interposed his own head to save that of his captain. Fortunately the blow was a glancing one, but it made a terrible gash in the man's skull. It was a long time before he recovered from the effects of the wound. His brave act was suitably recognized by congress, which granted him a pension, although he continued in active service. When his injuries had healed and he was again ready for duty, James was asked by Decatur what he could do for him. The sailor, who was quarter gunner on the vessel and had charge of the men's hammocks, ham-mocks, touched his hat in a customary salute, and after a moment's reflection replied: "Nothing, sir, as I knows on, 'cept you might let some'un else give out the hammocks when they're piped down." How a Filipino Dies. The general, in a white hat, was marching in advance of the firing line, when the discharge of a rifle was heard in the yard of a house next to the road, says John F. Bass in Harper's Weekly. Several soldiers rushed into the yard, but not in time to prevent two more shots, which came whizzing in the direction of the general. At this moment I came to a break in the hedge where I could see what was going on. A young Filipino was about thirty, yards off. He was turning this way and that like an animal at bay, thoroughly thor-oughly frightened. He had a rifle in his hand. It afterwards turned out that this rifle was choked. The soldiers sol-diers were breaking down the high hedge to get in. Suddenly the Filipino made a run for life. He got through the hedge some way and dashed across an open field. Three shots followed, all of which took effect. The wounded man turned, ran sideways a few paces, lay down on the ground and a second after was dead. I got a good sight of the whole incident, and so naturally did the Filipino stretch himself along the ground and rest his head upon his arm that I thought he was shamming. An examination a minute later proved that he was dead. There is a difference differ-ence between the manner in which American and Filipino soldiers die the American falls in a heap and dies hard; the Filipino stretches himself out, td when dead is always found in some easy attitude, generally with his head on his arms. They die the way a wild animal dies in just such a position posi-tion as one finds a deer or an antelope which one has shot in the woods. ine Cossack's Dead Horse. During the Turko-Russian war, in which the Roumanian army played no small part, I spent some time in Bucharest, having business with the war department there, says a writer in an exchange. One day, as I was on my way to a distant fort in the company compa-ny of some friends and officials, our sledges stopped at an inn on the road, and while we were refreshing ourselves our-selves with a hot beverage peculiar to the country we ieard cries and lamentations. lamen-tations. Going outside we saw a Russian Cossack leading a very lame horse, upon which between his sobs of grief, he bestowed every possible encouragement to urge it onward. The poor beast, however, fell nearly in front of the inn, and to all appearances appearan-ces died. At this the Cossack's grief knew no bounds; he fell upon the horse's neck and covered it with kisses and seemed quite heartbroken. The scene touched the hearts of all and we soon made a handsome collection to compensate the poor man foi his loss. He thanked us profusely and, removing remov-ing the saddle from the horse, &cung it on his back and left us. We ww watching him walking away, w&an, having reached a safe distance, he stopped and gave a peculiar shrill whistle. Then we saw galloping to his master the very dead horse which he had left for dead. It did not take the man long to swing himself on his steed and a few moments after he disappeared dis-appeared at a turning point in the road. When I returned to town I learned that the man was well known and had performed this trick on sever al occasions. v George J. Gould has been obliged t pay $8,400 customs duties on a basin. J 1 1 1 s-f J AA. 1 . ' ana ewer mat, cost mux fii.uuv.ia xjuu sitn i not, a rm wamo einfl t n an i rit U VU. k a v. s vmm s " v no . s.asiAJ.Oj and dearer ewers than yours iruly, - ( |