Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 August 1895 — Page 5

FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS.

‘SXYING GRACE.” ‘‘Gome, come, mamma, to the window!" Cried Freddie, with eager face; “Just look at my little biddies— They are drinking and saying grace” I quickly came at his bidding, And saw a pretty sight; Six downy little chickens Drinking with all their might. And as they sipped the water They craned their necks on high, As if their thanks were lifted To the beautiful blue sky. A.nd so I could not wonder, So rapt was his eager face, That to him the little chickens Were “drinking and saying grace.” STORY OF A STORK. A story of a stork is told by a German paper About the end of March, 1891, a pair of storks took up their abode on the roof of the schoolhouse in the village of Poppenhofen. One of the birds appeared to be exhausted by its long journey and the bad weather it had passed through. On the morning after its arrival the bird was found by the schoolmaster lying on the ground before the schoolhouse door. The man, who, like all Germans, considered' it a piece of good luck to have the storks next on his house, picked up the bird and took it indoors. He nursed it carefully, and when it was convalescent used every morning to carry it to the fields a short distance from the house, where its mate appeared regularly at the same hour to supply it with food. The stork is now cured; and every evening it flies from the roof and gravely walks by the side of Its friend from the sohoolhouse to the meadows, accompanied v by a wondering crowd of children.

THE RAINBOW. When the summer shower is passing away, and while the thunder is still rolling among the hills, we have often seen the rainbow. Every one admires the beautiful arch which spans the sky. It is caused by the striking of the sun’s rays upon the drops of water as they fall from the clouds. The rays are twice refracted and once reflected as they meet the transparent drops. If you look in the dictionary you will find that refracted means bent suddenly, and reflected means thrown back. The colors of the rainbow are seven in number, and appear in the following order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The tints are most vivid when the background of clouds is darkest and the drops of rain fall closest. The continual falling of the rain while the sun shines produces a new rainbow every moment; and a curious thing is that each spectator sees it from a particular point of view; strictly speaking no two persons see precisely the same rainbow. WONDERFUL LITTLE FISH. The nine and the three spined sticklebacks are, without doubt, the most wonderful fish for their size that are common to our waters. They will live well in either fresh or salt water aquaria, building nests and raising their young under all discouragements. The male builds the nest for the female to lay her eggs in. The nest is composed of plants cemented together with a glue provided by the male, who also carries sand and small stones to the nest in his mouth, with which he anchors it. During the breeding season the male assumes the most brilliant hues of blue, orange and green; previous to this season he is of a dull silvery color. When an enemy approaches the nest, be he large or small, he will attack him, inflicting wounds with his sharp spine . Nor will he allow the mother of the young s icklebacks to come near, as she is so fond of her babies that she often forgets herself and eats them up. When the young “tittlebacks,” as they are often called, swim too far from the nest, the male takes them in his mouth and brings them back, throwing them out with such force that they make many somersaults before landing. Sticklebacks are the smallest known fish when first hatched out of the: egg, being nearly invisible.

. TWO LESSONS. Harold wa'S skipping and running all around grandpa’s big field picking daisies. At least he called them daisies. These big yellow daisies with their large brown eyes. In some places the grass was so tall that auntie could see only his bright red jockey-cap bobbing and bouncing beside the waving grasses. He gathered a large bunch, then over the stone wall he jumped, ran to the piazza, and sat down on the settee hot and breathless. “Aren’t those pretty daisies, auntie?” he exclaimed, as he placed th'e bunch in her lap. Auntie looked up from her sewing. “Yes, very pretty, Harold,” she replied. “But do you know, dear, they are not daisies at all!” Harold looked surprised. “Aren't they, auntie?” he asked. “Aren’t they oxeye daisies?” “No, dear,” auntie answered. "These are the real oxeye daisies 1” and she took a beautiful white field daisy from the bouquet at her belt. “Oh!” said Harold. “Jennie told me yesterday that these were oxeye daisies, because their eyes looked like grandpa’s oxen. ‘Brown and soft!’ she said. What are these, auntie?” “These are Rudbeckia!” auntie continued. “But many people call them daisies just as Jennie did.” “That’s a very hard name!” said Harold. “Not so hard to remember after all!” laughed auntie. “Think of Becky Lane and then think that she is rude, and —” "O auntie, she is rude, very rude!” interrupted Harold, “ 'cause she pushed me right off of the gate yesterday morning! That's very 'propriate, isn’t it, auntie?” 1 . “I’m sorry to say it is,” answered auntie. “But look, what have you here?” Harold saw two blades of grass with what seemed like a drop of soapsuds between them.

“What Is it, auntie?” he asked. ‘‘lt’s a cradle. A home, for what do you think? A bit of a baby grasshopper!” “An’ they are all over the field, an' I stepped on a heap of them!” said Harold, solemnly. “May I see this baby one, auntie?” He jumped up and took the grass in his hand. “Pull the grasses apart and —” “Oh, I can see him!” shouted Harold. “He’s got the littlest specks of hoppers, hasn’t he!” and he laughed gleefully as baby grasshopper lay motionless on his green bed. “Yes,” answered auntie, laughing too, “but you mustn’t pull any more cradles to pieces for it kills the babies and then there won’t be any grasshoppers for kitty to chase.” “No; I won’t,” answered Harold, “truly and truly, auntie!” “You’ve learned two lessons this morning, dear,” said auntie, “and what do you think they are? A botany lesson and natural history lesson.” “An’ the rude Becky was a botany one, an’ the baby grasshopper was a natural history, wasn’t it?” Harold said. “I like those lessons an' we’ll have some more to-morrow, won’t we?” lfe added. “Yes, indeed!” answered auntie as she picked up her sewing again.

ANOTHER FOREIGN ALLIANCE.

The Daughter of Ex-Secretary Whitney and a Scion of the House of Paget. The elder daughter of Mr. William C. Whitney, Miss Pauline Whitney, is engaged to marry Almeric Hugh Paget, who belongs to the famous English family of Pagets, and whose home i 3 in St. Paul, Minn., where he has a great deal of money. Miss Pauline Whitney has never devoted much time to society. Her mother’s death and her own ill health have prevented. She is about 20 years old, has a fine dark face and great charm of manner, and is one oi the most attractive young women whom New York society has known. Much ancestral glory surrounds the family of Paget. The founder of the family was knighted by Henry VIII., who gave him the title of Lord Paget and the Order of the Garter for services as Secretary of State.

MISS WHITNEY.

From that time to this the name of Paget has been a great one. In the middip of the last century there was no male heir and the name might have become extinct had not an act of Parliament permitted a son of Lady Bayley, who was heiress to the estates and a Paget by birth, to assume the name and arms of his mother’s family. He was summoned to the House of Lords as the ninth Lord Paget. Those who know the Whitneys are sure that the distinction of family or the family estate, consisting of 60,000 acres, or the fine country seats of Baudesert and Plas-Newydd had but little influence with them. They think much more of the young man’s personality and achievements. In the first place he is a remarkably fine looking man. He Is tall, slender and active. He has a black mustache and the most charming manners. Men particularly admire him. When he was old enough to understand things, he came to the conclusion that the family estate was not big enough to go around so large fa family and that a younger son hadn’t much opportunity in England. Almeric Paget was only 16 when ho came to this country, He went to St. Paul and engaged in the real estate business. Now there was a time when anybody could make money in real estate In St. Paul. Blit the men who kept the money they made in the boom are so few as to be greatly distinguished. Mr. Paget was one ol the exceptions, This proves him to be a man of rare ability and judgment. He discovered that his English connections were of value. He went to London and interested rich people in the making of investments. He handled the money so well and obtained such large returns for it that he was made the representative of a large English company. He is only 30 years old, and his own efforts have made him a comfortably rich man. He is an adopted American of the very best kind and intends to continue to live in this country.

A Horse That Weeds the Garden.

Henry Moore, a planter living near Englewood, Ala., has a valuable riding horse, Kit, which he has trained to do light garden work in a unique way when not on duty under the saddle. When Kit was a young colt he had the-misfortune to sprain his knee in racing and romping about the pasture, and to give him careful attention and keep him well out of harm’s way his master put him in the garden to take things easy till his recovery. Moore’s garden, like the average i one in this section, sometimes gets overrun with cocoa grass, and having occasion to chop it out pretty frequently, he hit upon a plan by which he might be relieved of this almost endless work during Kit’s confinement. The colt had always seemed remarkably quick and intelligent, and with a very little training Moore taught him to pull grass as cleverly and neatly as it could be done by hand. In a short while Kit was engaged as regular gardener, as it were, keeping the beds as clean as the floor and piling the grass in the walks, to be removed by barrows.

WHY THEY PAINT THEIR FACES.

Apaehe Legend Which Accounts for the Red Men’s Ceremonial Custom. “ ‘Why do Indians paint their faces?’ I have asked that question of hundreds of Red Men, and have received but one answer. Of all the tribes that I have visited but one has a legend accounting for the hideous decorations that are to be seen on the faces of Indians under all ceremonial circumstances. “I was sitting at a camp fire in a village of Jacarilla Apaches one night listening to the stories and legends that were being told, when I propounded the old question again, hardly expecting even the usual expression of ignorance that ljides so many of the thoughts of the Indians. To my surprise, however, I received the answer that I least expected,” says a writer in the St. Louis GlobeDemocrat. “An old fellow who had sat all the evening listening to The stories without changing his attitude grunted and straightened up as he heard the question. Proceeding with all due solemnity, he told the following legend: “ ‘Long ago, when men were weak and animals were big and strong, a chief of the Red Men who lived in these mountains went out to get a deer, for his people were hungry. After walking all day he saw a deer and shot at it, but the arrow was turned aside and wounded a mountain lion which was also after the deer. When the lion felt the sting of the arrow he jumped up and bounded after the man, who ran for his life. He was almost exhausted, when he felt his strength give way, he fell to the ground, calling on the big bear, who, you know, is the grandfather of men, to save him. The big bear heard the call and saw that to save the man he had to act quickly, so he scratched his foot and sprinkled his blood over the man. ‘“Now, you know, no animal will eat of the bear or taste of his blood. So when the lion reached the man he smelled the blood and turned away, but as he did so his foot scraped the face of the man, leaving the marks of his claws on the bloody face. When the man found that he was uninjured he was so thankful that he left the blood to dry on his face and never washed it at all, but left it until it peeled off. Where the claws of the lion scraped it off there were marks that turned brown in the sun, and where the blood stayed on it was lighter. You know, all men paint their faces that way with blood and scrape it off in streaks when they hunt or go to war.’”

BIG COAL PILES.

They Are Worth from $36,000 to $40,000 Apiece. Thousands of tons of anthracite and bituminous coal are shipped from South Amboy, N. J., and from Perth Amboy, just opposite. The Lehigh Valley Railroad docks at Perth Amboy are among the largest of the kind in the world, while those owned and controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in this town fall little short of the capacity ol the Lehigh docks. In the shipment of coal from these ports, one of the problems which is continually puzzling the railroad companies is to keep the rollingstock constantly in motion. For a number of years the coal was allowed to stand in the cars until the vessels were ready at the docks to receive the cargo. At times there would be three or four hundred cars loaded with coal in the South Amboy yards practically tied up for two or three weeks, As It was to the interest of the company to keep the cars continually moving, it became a serious matter. The difficulty was finally solved, and now in place of the'train after train of cars in the South Amboy yards may be seen immense piles of coal, half the size of a large circus tent.

As soon as a train load reaches South Amboy the cars are unloaded and the coal placed in these piles by means of an ingenious device consisting of traveling elevator buckets held in position by large swinging derricks and operated by a small engine. The coal falls from the outlet under the cars and is carried to the top of the heap by means of the endless elevator. Here it lies until ready for loading, when it is reloaded in the cars by means of the same apparatus and transferred to the hold of the coasting steamer or “tramp” ocean steamer. As a rule, the piles usually contain about 9,000 tons each, and each is worth $86,000 to SIO,OOO, according to the market value of the coal. At times there are twelve or fourteen of these coal piles in the yards at South Amboy. Recently canvas has been used to cover each pile to prevent the coal from “rusting,” which, while not affecting its burning qualities, detracts from its market value. The canvas covers cost SI,OOO and $1,200 each, and the stock-yard looks as though Barnum’s Circus had found a permanent camping place. The immense piles of coal create no feeling of wonder to the local residents, who look upon them as a matter of course, but they are a source of great wonderment to the residents of the city, whose conception of a large amount of coal is at best yague.

NATION OF TOBACCO USERS.

Wa Consume Yearly Five Pounds to Every Man, Woman and Child. It is evident from the internal revenue receipts from the consumption of tobacco that we are a nation of chewers, smokers and snuffers. This is discouraging to thbse who rail against the vice, but then they have the satisfaction of knowing that the indulgence costs the smoking public dear. Just how expensive it is to use tobacco cannot be easily ascertained, but it may be gauged from the fact that the revenue from tobacco alone during the fiscal year 1894 was $28,617,898.62. Surely a nation that can afford to expend such an amount in taxes on tobacco —lor of course the tax comes from the consumer—to say nothing of the cost of the material, must have money to burn. That, of course, is its end—burned up, chewed up or snuffed up. And despite the magnitude of the sum the internal revenue

tax from tobacco in 1894 shows a decrease from that of 1893 of $8,271,818.12. The falling off is naturally attributed to the hard times. In one way and Another the people of the United States use a great deal of tobacco, estimated by bulk. The figures show the consumption to be about 844,(XX),000 pounds for the year 1894, or, on the basis of 60,000,000 population, nearly five pounds per annum for every man, woman and child in the country. To those who have thought that the unpleasant habit of snuffing has gone out of existence it will,be interesting to learn thjit the total domestic production of the article for the year was 11,627,092 pounds. Think of the enormous number of pinches this represents. Despite th§ falling off in the revenue, it is a curious fact that the decrease is less from snuff than from any other form of tobacco except cigarettes, which actually shows an increase. The percentages are approximately as follows: Cigars and cheroots, 68.5; chewing and smoking tobacco, 81; snuff, 55. The increase in cigarettes is about 125 per ceuc.

A LUCKY ACCIDENT.

Why a “ Jackstone ” Makar Turned His Attention to Puzzles. As an example of how a remunerative specialty in hardware forced itself on a receptive and appreciative Yankee, the following incident will be of interest: Among the manufacturers small castings are often put in revolving cylinders with pickers or stars made of cast iron, having usually six points, the extremes of which are about an inch apart. They are also familiar to toy dealers, who sell them to children as The pickers, together with small castings, are put into the tumbling barrels, so that any particles of sand adhering may be removed and a better finish given the castings. A large and well-known New Eng** land concern, which, in addition to the other lines, manufactures screw wrenches largely, formerly used a peculiarly shaped malleable iron ferrule, with irregular openings at the four sides and circular openings at the two ends, weighing about an ounce. Some of these ferrules chanced to be a part of the contents in one of the tumbling barrels. When the barrel was opened the attendant noticed, what to him seemed almost increditable, that the picker with all its prongs was inside the ferrule, the openings of which were comparatively small. The observant mechanic logically concluded that as it had got in it could be got out again. The phenomenon was brought to the attention of parties who decided to apply the idea in a puzzle, and the result has been that the original manufacturers are now making the two parts under contract, in ton lots, while the first order is said to have netted a profit to the promoters of $1,700.

Why Her Husband Never Forgot.

Two married Indies were talking about their respective and .respected lords. “Does your husband forget things?” asked one. “Never,” said the other. “Well, mine does. I think there is hardly a day when he comes home from his office that he doesn’t begin to apologize for his forgetfulness. Of course, I have to accept the apology on his promise to do better, and the next day the very same thing occurs.” “That must be extremely annoying.” “It is. Sometimes I get so vexed with him that I really have to scold him.” “And that never is pleasant.” “I should say not. I’m sure I'd rather be anything else than a scold, but some husbands actually drive theiT wives to it. I’ve been married ten years, and sometimes I almost fear if he doesn’t improve he will have my temper utterly spoiled.” “I’ve been married a dozen years and I never have any such trouble.” “Maybe your husband is an exception?” “No; he’s only average as married men go.” “Wasn’t he ever forgetful?” “He was at first, but I cured him of it.” “Gracious! I think mine is incurable.” “Oh, no. You can cure him easily if you will uso my remedy.” “I'm sure I’ll be only too glad to. What Is it?” “Never ask him to get anything for you. Get it yourself. He has enough to think about without being errand boy.”^ “Oh!” exclaimed the first woman, and remained silent for as much as two minutes.

The Best Parrot Yarn Yet.

A man whose niece had coaxed him to buy her a parrot, succeeded in getting a bird that was warranted a good talker. He brought it home, and after putting it in a cage, stood before it and said: “Say uncle, Polly!” The bird did not respond, and after repeating the sentence a dozen times or more with ho better success, the uncle put hit) hand into the cage, and grabbing the bird by the neck shook him until until his head wabbled around, all the time yelling to him: “Say undo, goll darn you; say uncle!” The bird looked limp and lifeless, and, disgusted with his purchase, the old fellow took the parrot out in*6 the yard where he had a coop of thirty chickens. Thrusting the half dead bird in with the chickenaf he exclaimed: “There, by goshl You’ll say uncle before you get out!” Next morning the uncle went out to see. how the parrot was getting on. Looking into the coop he counted twentynine dead chickens, and in the center of the coop stood the parrot on one foot, holding the thirtieth chicken by the neck and shaking it till its head wabbled, and screaming: “Say uncle, goll darn yer; say uncle!” The value of Montana, mines and all. is $18,609,802.

SHAM EARTHQUAKES.

How San Franeisoo's City Hall Was Mada to Shako. The tragic death of James Wilkinson at the Old City Hall has called np many reminiscences of the ancient rattletrap, and many tales are told of how the structure has been considered dangerous for a quarter of a century and more—ever since it was so badly shaken np by the great earthquake of 1868. John J. Cunningham yesterday told of how earthquakes became of everyday occurence there along in the '7o's and of how two court rooms were cleared by a couple of merry wags. This was his tale: “In iS76 the southeast corner of Washington and Kearny streets—the part of the building that James Wilkinson lost his life in—was occupied by the Recorder’s office. Otto H, Frank was then City and County Recorder. He was an amiable man, slightly affected with deafness and permitted his attaches to do about as they pleased. “The copying clerks engaged at twelve cents a folio had considerable superfluous time on their hands and were generally mischievous. So they took to improvising earthquakes by shaking the building and frightening the uninitiated. The custom was to detail one of the clerks to take “tab" downstairs, and make a note of thenumberof the unsophisticated present. When things wore propitious he reported up stairs, and the earthquakes were delivered to order. On the second floor there stood a number of bookstands incasing old files of the Examiner from its first publication. “Generally one of the copyists got on one side of the stands and alternated with the other in lifting and tugging. The building would begin to oscillate from nortli to south and the stampede would commence None hold the ground except case hardened clerks and timeworn searchers of records. “All habitues of the old hall remember the shattered condition of the building that poor Wilkinson was killed in, how it was almost razed to the ground in the big earthquake of *6B; the cost to the city for renovating it before it became habitable, and the great hurry of the authorities to move the Hull of Records to the beehive now occupied at the New City Hall. , “Then the Justices of the Peace and their clerks were ensconced at the old Hall of Records. Frank J. Murphy was then Justices’ Clerk. Justices James C. Pennie and Edward Gilson held court in the upper Btory, and I well remember an afternoon when both Judges wore holding court. Two of the scamps from the Recorder’s office invaded the top story of the old building and commenced a rataplan on the iron shutters over the heads of both Judges. Both courtrooms were cleared as smooth as Mother Hubbard’s cupboard in five seconds, judges, attorneys and clients all believed an earthquake was in progress and the courts were informally adjourned for the day. All of this I saw, and a part of it I was.”

No More Old Age.

A French physician makes the announcement that he has discovered the microbe of old age and gives tho results of some experiments tending to prove that his discovery is Invested with all the importance that such a revelation merits. The microbe he has discovered is not only found alone in the blood of aged people, but if it is injected into the veins of a young person it produces at once all tho physical manifestations of senility But Dr. Brisson goes a g#od ways futher and declares that the injection of a certain serum, which he has also found, destroys these microbes in the blood of an aged person, and that, barring accidents and disease, a man may live indefinitely so long as the microbes can be destroyed in the blood. It may, therefore, be possible that we are on tho borders of another Methuselan age, and it is probable that the reason for the remarkable longevity of the patriarchs in Old Tes tament times may be due to the fact that the “old age microbe" had not been developed, and so Methuselah and Noah kept living because an electric car did not run over them or the vermiform appendix did not get on the rampage and carry them off. But with the improved facilities for killing people in these days of grade crossings, trolley cars and bicycles, it is really necessary that something should be done to give a man half a chance for existence, especially with this microbe galloping up and down in his veins, puckering up his face, destroying his eyesight and eliminating his teeth, so that-in the youthful days hovering about the end of his four score years he breaks don n and dies not because of old age but because he has his blood full of microbes.

A Find in Harmony.

An immense quantity of music, some which had not been disturbed since the time of Frederick the Great, was discovered in the royal castle at Berlin about six weeks ago and has been found to comprise almost the whole of the music performed at the Prussian court from the middle to the end of the eighteenth century. The work of sorting and editing the collection has just been completed and the catalogue consists of 400 pages. It includes many forgotten operas, a quantity of ballet music, early symphonies and chamber works, folk songs and dances, and a splendid collection of military music. This music will be a picnic for any young composer of original music who wants to become suddenly famous.

The Barber’s Advioe.

Joachim, the great violinist, once entered a smart London hairdresser's to get his very plentiful locks cut. He,wears these rather long behind, and intimated as much to the barber, whereupon that astute person replied: “I would not wear it too long, sir; if you do you’ll look just like one of them Addling chaps.”

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Great Northern Steamship Company, whose vessels ply on the .Teat lakes, has announced that it will give a prize of s*2so in gold for all babies born aboard its steamers Northland and Northwest this season; SSOO for twins and SI,OOO for triplets. The only condition is that the officers of the company shall name the babies. Bullheaded courage was shown in a recent sewer gas accident, in London. A man went down into a sewer and did not come up. another man descended to look for him, and was followed, one after another, by three others. The sixth man who entered the death trap succeeded in bringing up the fifth still alive and in getting out the bodies of the first four. The census report covering statistics of churches, just printed, shows that there are 148 distinct denominations in the United States, beside independent churches and miscellaneous congregations. The total number of communicants of all denominations is 20,613,806, who belong to 165,177 organizations or congregations, having 142,521 edifices. It appears that the comparatively few losses to the Japanese troops in the Manchurian engagements in the recent war with China were not altogether due to the bad markmunship of the Chinese. As a means of protection against the cold the Japanese wore a quantity of floss silk under their outer clothing, and this acted more or less as a bullet proof shield. • The end of the world, announced by the German weather prophet, Dr. Falb, to take place in 1890, has been postponed by the doctor, owing to unexpected obstacles, until Nov. 18, 181)9, between 2 and 4 o'clock in the morning. In this announcement Falb agrees with Brother Philippe Olivarius, of the Clteux Cloister, in France . According to a manuscript written in 1544, left by the monk, the city of Paris is to be destroyed lu 1896, and the end of the world is to take place in 1899. It is claimed that E. E. Kessler, of Richmond, Ind., was the youngest private soldier in the war. Ho was born Juno 10, 1849, and onlisted in Company B, Sixty-eighth Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, at Napoleon, Ohio, In September, 1801, at the age of less than 18 years. In June, 1805, at the age of 10 years, he was mustered out, having served for three years and nine months us a private soldier. Some enlistod at an early age as drummer boys, but none, it is suid, curried a musket at an earlier age than Mr. Kessler. He declared his age 18 in order to got into the service.

International agreement has been reached on the protection of birds, the Governments represented at the recent conference in I’ariH promising to establish regulations In accordance with its proposals within three years. Game birds were not meddled with. The birds to be protected between March and September, us being useful to agriculture, are owls and all nocturnal birds of prey; birds of pussago, including martins, swallows, finches,yellow hammers, wrens, starlings, redbreasts, peowits and storks, and the climbing birds, like woodpeckers. Birds not to be protected are those that prey by day, eagles, vultures, kites, hawks, crows, magpies, jays, herons, bustards, pelicans and cormorants, though the latter list is open to objections. Gen. Lew Wallace says that the future of the bicycle depends on the woman riders. “If the use of wheels were confined to the men,” he says, “the fad might spend itself in a season. But when the women take hold of the bicycle its future is secure.” Gen. Wallace believes that bicycle racing will eventually supersede horse racing. Ladies who ride will be interested to know that Gen. Wallace is an enthusiastic advocate of the fair cycler, and that he approves of bloomers, “about which there is nothing immodest, it being merely their present oddity of appearance that now excites comment. Why, in the Tyrol the women wear skirts coming just below the knee, and no one, not oven an entire stranger, looks askance.” .Thirty-three women’s clubs of Chicago have united to support “The Model Workshop and Lodging House Association," and they seem to have struck the happiest and richest vein in the whole mine of practical charity. Dr Sarah Hackett Stevenson is the president. A poor wandering woman can secure a night's lodging, a bath, a clean bed and a nightgown to sleep in for 15 cents a night, and have a chance to work it out by being employed either within or without the institution. A sitting room and library with music and bboks are attractions, and the whole tone,of the place is that of constructiveness of self-respect. They even plan in the future to run opposition business to the sweatshops. The association hadn’t time to build, but just rented a house and movea in and settled down to work. The Japanese living on the Pacific coast are all a bubble with patriotic fervor since the events of the recent war elevated their nation to such a notable altitude, and thpy seize every opportunity for “celebrating" in a general way, and for spellbinding about patriotism, liberty, freedom, and other interesting generalities. Last Fourth the Japanese of Ban Francisco had a particularly big time. They hired a hall, hung it all over, inside and outside, with banners and bunting, and celebrated and oratpd from dawn till long after dark. Everything that smacked of “freedom" went. The Declaration of Independence was road by a Jap in English; an eloquent Jap delivered an oration, “giving the history of liberty from the days of Athens to the present time in Japan ;" then the American flag was raised, and afterward the Japanese flag was run up; there was a parade in the rain, which the Japs didn’t mind a little bit, and the day wound up with a carnival of American and Japanese sports mixed. The Congregationalists in this country number 588,589.

WHAT DO THEY DO WITH IT?

Mystery of the Constant Chlnsss Demand for GHieeng. Passing throvMjh the Wholesale district the other cfllfc reporter stopped in at one of the large ho uses to ask about prices. When ginseng was reached in the list the dealer said: “What the Chinese use ginseng for is to the masses one of the mysteries of the age, but that they gobble up every ounce of the herb that the known world supplies is nevertheless a fact Because the most thorough inquiry has failed to bring about a complete unfolding of the secret is not regarded by the average American as sufficient reason for refusing from $8 to $5 ;*er pound on the average, which the Celestial offers for the root Some of the largest firms in China make a specialty of handling the American export of ginseng and coin money at it Some of oar shrewdest traders have coaxed for the secret, and have offered money for it, but the gray matter at the other end of the Chinaman’s queue doesn’t seem to see it that way. “The American ginseng is growing scarcer yearly. The cultivated root has not the wonderful power which fixes the value of the wild article; at least it does not manifest itself to the same degree. This fact renders the cultivation of ginsong rather unprofitable. It might bo planted and allowed to grow well for years and years and then be salable at good figures, but not otherwise. The older the plant the more pronounced the wonderful properties of the root. In view of the fact that it is growing scarcer, unless the demand diminishes, the price of ginseng must go materially higher within the next few yoars. “The market here is largely speculative. The Chinese ginseng houses each year send their buyers from California to tho East to buy up the receipts of ginseng. Those buyers havo not yot put in an appearance on tho Eastern market, und consequently this yoar’s price has not been fixed. Dealers are paying $2.50 in Nashville for the reason that they believe they can Becure the usual pricos for all they take in. Some advices, However, are to the effect that the prices will bo 20 or 80 cents lowor, owing to tho fact that the demand has been cut off somewhat by the war. “Wo encounter some funny experiences in buying tho root. The diggers are often tho ponrost people, and far from enlightoned. Well, the root is hard to get, und when it is thoroughly dried the weight, shrinks like a nickel’s worth of soup after a hard day’s washing, so the digger resorts to all sorts of deceptions to fudge an ounce or two in a pound, and roap more of the precious dimes and dollars. For instance, we have frequently gotten in root which was wall dried, but suspiciously heavy. Upon Investigation we found that many of the pieces were loaded with lead, thus almost doubling the weight of the whole lot. This was done with a great deal of cunning and ingenuity. When tho root waß green It was split, and lead melted and poured or driven in in slugs. The root was then allowed to dry, and in the process tho seams entirely close up, completely hiding the lead, which, in a case like this, was almost worth its weight in gold.”

WILD ANIMAL FARM.

Breeding a Menagerie In ■ Florida Jungle. A wild animal stock farm lu semitropical Florida is the scheme that a circus firm is talking of starting. The land, ‘ a plot about six miles square, has been surveyed, it is said, and the firm proposes to go ahead next fall and turn the circus animals out to jungle instead of going into winter quarters. The circus men,, claim that not only can they in this way provide themselves with wild animals, instead of being obliged to go to Africa and India for specimens, but in addition they expect do be able to supply animals for the zoological exhibits of tho country. The firm claims to have secured an option on a tract of land in the extreme southern part of Florida, about one-half of the thickest, densest swamp jungle possible to imagine. An old traveler in India and Africa, who was sient there to look the ground over, soys that it comEares favorably with any jangle he as ever seen in the Orient. The entire section of land will be divided by solid walls of iron fencing so as to keep animals that will not affiliate separate. It is proposed to first lay a strong foundation, then build a low wall of brick some three or four feet high, and then imbed in this to a height of twelve feet more a strong iron fence. The idea is to turn the beasts loose in their respective inclosures, and let them follow their natural inclinations and habits just as they would in their native jungle. As the animals to be propagated are principally of the carnivorous family there will also be bred such smaller animals as they naturally prey upon for food. Special attention will also be given to the breeding of giraffe, camels, zebras, quaggas and other members of the herbivorous family. In order to protect their preserves a concrete walk will be laid just outside and extending around the entire wall, and watchmen on bicycles wilt make a tour as often as practicable of the entire lnclosure. Certain grasses and herbs indigenous to the countries from which the animals are to be brought will be first planted, in order to provide, as nearly as possi--ble, native foods. ,An interesting feature of this zoological jungle will be the monkey farm. In this section several acres will be devoted to orange, banana and nut trees, all of which grow naturally there. A wooden frame work, extending above the height of the trees and completely surrounding the farm will Ut built. —New York Press.

Furnishes His Own Band.

The French war office has not bee* able to furnish military bands for the regiments of the expeditionarycorps on their way to ...Madagascar, and a Colonel Gillon has undertook to deiray at his own cost the of a band for his own regiment.