Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 June 1887 — Page 3

RURAL TOPICS.

Some Practical Suggestions for Our Agricultural Readers. Information of Value to the Farmer, Stock-Breeder, Housewife, and Kitchen-Maid. Permanent Pasture*. We do not pay sufficient attention to the stocking of permanent pastures. All lands that will produce good grass, but which are too- rough or to cultivation, should be seeded down to a variety of grasses and kept as permanent pastures. Varieties npt United to one areii will retain a foothold in other spaces nqd prevent any weak spots, the whole in the end forming a dense, compact sod that will furnish early and late pasture and will not be poached by the stock grazing thereon. In the meadow it, is necessary that the grasses sown should ripen together, or nearly so. Meadow grasses are to be cut and cured into hay. In the pasture the grass should not be allowed to rise to the seed head. In fact, it should be pastured clos ■ enough to see that the herbage shall always be tender and succulent. It will be of advantage on every farm if all hilly, rocky, stumpy land be laid (Town to permanent pasture, th/latter at least until the stumjte can be easily removed. It is the best possible use to which such lands can be put, To assist in this the following list, with the quantities ot seed to be sown, will be worthy of trial. The list is tabulated both for meadow and pasture, the omissions in the meadow column being varieties not adapted to meadows. The list is for good meadow and pasture soils such as our prairie loams are composed of. The totals are pounds of seed per acre: , ■ - . . Seed, Seed pounds, pasture, Good meadow soils. for hay. pounds. Timothy. 12 8 Bed clover (biennial} ...—™.B 4 Red clover (perennial} . 0 4 Orchard grass 6 8 Meadow fescue 2 3 Meadow foxtail 0 3 Bluegrass.... 0 5 Red top 3 3 Rye grass 4 2 Fowl meadow 2 4 White c10ver..... 0 4 T0ta1,,.. ........................37 48 These quantities of seed may seem large to some. They are not so ,for pasture, and the best cultivators now sow heavily for hay. It gives a full burden of fine grass quickly, and there are no weak spots. The list, gives sdven varieties for hay and eleven for pasture. For lands subject to occasional overflow the fallowing list be tried: Seed, Seed, hay, pasture, Land svlject to overflow. pounds, pounds. Fowl meadow. 8 4 Alsiko 6 6 Tall fescue. 5 5 Rough-stalked meadow 4 4 Blue grass 0 3 Red top 4 4 Timothy. ...... 5 2 Florin ..ri......... 0 2 Meadow soft-grass 4 4 Perennial clover .. ;. 0 3 White clovor.. 0 3 Total 30 40 To start a meadow or a pasture the soil as to its upper surface must be brought into the finest possible tilth. The seed should be sown as early in the spring as the ground can be worked, and the seed simply rolled in. If the land was properly prepared last fall the seed may be sown in a light snow and left without covering. It will in this case be found advisable as soon as the soil'becomes firm to pass the roller over the whole. Even if the grass is up, if the soil be dry, no harm will be done the grass. Do not turn stock into the pasture until the grass is well up and the sward firm, and on no account pasture a meadow in the spring from which a crop is expected to be cut the succeeding summer. —Chicago Tribune. Farm A oten. If old hay be cut and moistened before being fed to horses there will be fewer animals suffering from heaves. Feeding dusty materials is usually the cause of the difficulty. If your land is well underdrained you will often be able to plow while your neighbor who may not have underdrained is waiting for his ground to dry off before A mixture of equal parts of red pepper and Scotch snuff thrown into rat-holes will cause the vermin to leave. Hats soon become suspicious of poison, and the mixture easily frightens them. All food cooked for stock is mors easily assimilated than when raw. It ie only a question of cost in cooking. Roots cooked and thickened with ground grain make an excellent mess fbr all kinds of stock. , - Manuring lanj by plowing under some kind of green crop, such as millet, buckwheat, oats, or peas, should be fl the object of every farmer. Clover is also excellent, and lime should be freely used at the same lime.

THE STOCK RANCH.

■ . Live Stork and Prosperity. .English agricultural journals, while prais-. ing the great average yields per acre of the grain crops of that country, are constantly urging the extension of live-stock breeding. The great average yields of grain in Great Britain are only possible by the liberal use not only of barnyard manure, but of commercial fertilizers in connection with the most precise cultivation. The English have also brought the breeding of animals to the highest perfection—a perfection nowhere else reached except|in the United States and Canada. . The reason why the English press so urgently advise the extension of live stock is, that in the cultivation of cereal grain, even with the obstacles throtvn about the importation of our foreign products, the profits are growing less and less year by year. In this the English landlords are in the same category aS are those of countries where the price of land is too hjgh for the cultivation of the coarser grains. The soil must be used for special crops else rents must fall. It is well known that this has been the case of late years, and during the last year concessions have been made to the extent of from 18 to 30 per cent pn rents, not only in Ireland but in England. Live stock is the basis of successful agriculture in all countries, since without manure there canbeno crops unless on virgin soil; and the higher the cultivation the better the manure pays. It would seem that England had already carried the breeding and feeding of live stock to the full capacity of the country. England buys largely also of our coarse grains and oUcake to feed to animals. If the live-stock industry is still further increased England must call upofa us still further for feeding stuff. To thia our farmers will not object, of course. If England and the Continental countries see fit to throw obstacles in the way of our sending live-stock and meats to their countries, well and good. We cannot help ourselves, except that by common consent we can refuse to buy gewgaws of them. In the mean time there can be no good reason why not only EnglandLut every other country should push its live-stock interests to the utmost. That

is what Western farmers certainly should do. It is cheaper to send the manufactured product to market than the raw material, and the manure is worth as much to western farms ns to any ether land. No farmer ever got rich raising the coarser grains for market, and only in a very limited degree can they so be used. Feed the grain on the farm and sell stock.— Chicago Tribune. Li&>* Xtofk \ntrtt and Frprrifnfr. An average egg weighs about 1,000 grains, divided ns follows; Shell 107, white 00J, and yelk 289. It is the appearance of goods that sells them. Nice, large, fat, plump, white turkeys, ducks, chicks, or geese always bring outside prices. The most successful shepherd of the future wfill have bis mutton on the market as regularly and as in good condition ns his wool. This same man will make both products ns good uh possible. If the wool of sheep becomes wet it dries very slowly and only by chilling the animal through. Shelter from rain and snow, especially the former, is therefore more important than protection from cold. If a sheep is chilled so as to give it cold or fever, the fibre of the wool is injured. The friends of Suffolk swine claim that in nil the qualities that constitute a perfect animal for producing the most pork of the best quality nt the least cost this breed stands unrivaled by any in the United States. In the west the Suffolk never had many friends among practical feeders, and still less now than ever.

FORESTRY.

I'reserve the forests. Among the most practical and most valuable features in forestry is that which bestows intelligent attention upon the preservation and economic use of the old forests now in existence. Not to disparage the efforts to plant new forests, yet those already in existence should not be ignored. It is entirelv feasible, in many localities, to select the ripe, full-grown trees tor cutting, and thus allow the smaller specimens to have the advantage of sun and air and plant food in their future growth. It is suicidal to cut down half-grown forest trees in the greed for gain. A certain percentage of the trees in an old forest may be cut every few years, without lessening, to any appreciable extent, the value of what remains. Those who are fortunate enough to own blocks of old-growth timber land in New England should not waste them in reckless cuttings. Trees for Shade and Ornament. At a recent meeting of farmers at Boston the subject of the best trees for shade and ornament was considered. Mr. O. B. Hadwen, of Worcester, opened the discussion with a paper in which he said that the judicious planting and culture of these trees is always wise, giving a result appreciated by generations to come. In planting trees by roadsides there is usually little knowledge displayed, the road seldom being properly prepared. It is important to consider the soil and exposure and select trees which will best thrive in the situation. In narrow roads they should be set a few feet in the land of abutters, escaping the often ruthless treatment of the highway surveyor, and giving room for widening when necessary. Of the trees thus used in New England the maples, sugar, Norway, red, white, and silver, are most abundant, and of these the sugar maple is the favorite with the farmer. The Norway, which may be called a recent importation, is very hardy, withstanding successfully the New England ice storms, and will grow and thrive in hard-pan, where the sugar-maple will not live. The red-maple is not a good street tree, but is very ornamental. The silver-maple is handsome and gives a good shade, but is very easily broken by ice. The elms, for some situations, are very much esteemed, particularly the American, but they need wide streets and large grounds for their development. The oak, abundant in the pasture and forest, but too rarely adorns public or private grounds. It is seldom transplanted, but well worthy of it, although this is difficult to do unless watered often; a group of them can hardly be excelled, especially in summer and autumn. In some respects the English oak is better than our own, particularly in regard to holding its color far into the winter. The ash is indigenous hereabout, but the white is most prominent. It is best seen in contrast with other trees; it needs a deep, light, even swampy soil, and must have the best treatment for a rapid growth. Of the walnuts, the hickory, black and English, and butternuts are most prominent; the black, however, seems to suffer more from the ice than any other ornamental tree. Of the birches, the English, blue, white, black, andyellow are the most noticeable; perhaps the first place should be given to the European or weeping birch, which thrives well and makes a beautiful street tree. Among the finer trees are the beeches, as their brilliancy ie unequaled by any of the family; especially the purple beech. The tulip is a great favorite on extensive grounds, and is of rapid growth, but difficult to transplant; for that purpose they should be. grown in nurseries on a plank to spread the roots.

THE POULTRY-YARD.

Hah n'i tjliirj/enn Naluralli/. Of all the work connected with poultry, writes Harry Hales in the Rural New Yorker, none is more troublesome or tedious than the looking after sitting hens and their nests while incubating. If the hens are allowed to sit in the poultry-house where they laid, and where other hens are laying, a great many vexatious annoyances occur. Two hens will sometimes tight for one nest and so break some of the eggs, or the sitting hen goes off, and on returning finds the nest occupied by an intruder This slate of affairs is fully set forth by persons who strongly recommend incubators; but as every farmer has not time to attend to an incubator, I will give a little of my own experience in raising chickens by the natural method, aided by a plan which most farmers can follow. I have a small building divided by a wire partition into two parts, with a door from one to the other, and a small yard made with wire netting, also divided. I have a slide from each compartment into each yard. The size of the house will depend on the number of chickens desired. Two rooms 4x6 feet, with yards twice that size, will be large enough for fourteen hens to sit in, and if these sit twice it will be equal to fifty-six sitting hens. In most cases the houses may be used a third time, raising several hundred chicks. When my hens get broody I set a lot together in one house, using small, shallow boxes for nests—not over eleven or twelve inches square—so that two hehs can not crowd into one nest. I set these on the floor all around the sides and a few inches apart, so that a greedy hen can not reach the eggs from the next nest, as such hens are very apt to break the tenth commandment. I leave water and food in the house, so that the hens can eat or drink at anytime when they come off the nests. There are no perches in the houses or anything they can get on above the nests. A dust box sunk level with the floor, with sand and ashes, and with a little carbolate of lime or carbolic acid sprinkled in from time to time, placed where tne sun shines on it through' the windows on clear days, will keep the hens clear of parasites. A little sod or grass in the yards is good for their health. I don’t have trouble once in fifty times in

removing a sitting hen. I let her sit a few days in the nest she has been laying in, to see that she is in earnest, then I remove her one evening to the sitting-house, place her nest on the floor (as above) and if a number of others can be removed at the same time, so much the better. Then I hang something up over the window to shade the light a little. This may remain for a few days until one learns that all means business, and as soon ns they settle down the shade should be removed, and the slides into the yards may be left open that hens may get frosh air whenever they please. " ‘ .■ 4 The advantage of this system may be easily seen by those who have had to spend a large portion on their valuable time in spring watching the sitting hens or lifting them off and driving them back to their nests every day. As many as possible should be set at or about the same time—a few days are not of much consequence—so that if the hens change nests it would be of no importance, and if there are no more nests than hens and the nests are a little way from each other, so that the hens can not quarrel, things will go on very smoothly, and much loss of time and Vexation will be avoided. The second batch of sitting hens should be set in the next compartment so that they all come ont together in the some way as the first. The house should be well ventilated every dny and never be tightly closed. As the hens hatch they should be removed with the chicks so their coops where it is intended to raise them. The outlay of money for such a building to those who raise any number of chickens is trifling compared with the outlay of time required by the old-fashioned way, and much is saved, as the hens do not break so many eggs. Of course, the nests should be looked to and kept clean, but if a little sulphur be sprinkled in them, or, what is better. some tobacco stems be used with the straw in making them up, few will be troubled with vermin. The hens should be lifted off at times if they do not get off of their own accord to see that no broken eggs foul the nests. If only a few chickens are wanted, a place 4xß feet, with a low roof and a door opening outward in each room, if divided, will answer well.

THE DAIRY.

Dairies or Creameries, Which? Mr. N. J. Shepherd, of Missouri, furnishes to the American Dairyman, under the heading of “Dairies or Creameries," as to their degree of profits, an article which will be interesting, especially in some sections where controversy is going on as to the outcome as between creameries and the production of butter on the farm. The correspondent says: Which is the most profitable for the average farmer? Can the creameries pay as much for the cream as it is worth to the farmer? At the first glance it would seem that they could not, because the creameries expect, of course, to make a reasonable profit in manufacturing and sending to market, and if the farmer kept the cream at home and manufactured it into butter himself he could secure the same profit that the creamery would. That implies, of course, that the farmer can manufacture as cheap, or rather with as small a proportionate expense, and manufacture as good an article that will sell for as much per pound. Can he do this? If he can, certainly it seems that the best interest to the fartner could be secured by dairying—making his own cream into butter and sending to market rather than selling without manufacturing. Can he take the milk, orratherthe cream, from ten, twenty, or thirty cows and manufacture into butter that will grade as well and sell for as much as a creamery that will take up the cream from three or four hundred cows? It is mainly upon this question that a decision hangs.

Taken ordinarily, in proportion to the amount of labor-saving machinery we use, we can decrease the cost. The farmer with his small herd of cows cannot afford to invest too much money in dairy machinery. The interest on the money invested is so much that the amount manufactured would not return a fair profit. He at best cannot make a large quantity of butter, and it requires the nicest care to secure the same grade each time. By having a so much larger quantity of cream to manufacture the creamery can use more machinery, and should be able to reduce the cost of manufacture to the lowest possible sum and at the same time make an article of a much more even grade, and, of course, ought to secure a better price. Not that this is true in all cases or in all sections. Circumstances in different localities will make a difference. But for the average farmer who is located convenient to a creamery, and who can at best only keep a small number of cows, in connection with the other farm work, this offers the best disposition he eon make of his milk or cream.

Some dairymen, by giving very close attention to every detail, are able to secure a better price and realize a larger proportionate profit than the creameries or farmers that sell the cream. But at the same time there are plenty of others,in many respects fully as careful, with the advantages of location, that derive as much profit from dairying as those who simply sell their cream. Fanners, of course, want to secure the largest amount of profit, and usually with the least risk. Taking all things into consideration, under average conditions, the creameries can afford to pay more for the cream than it is worth to the farmer to manufacture himself. The farmer can use as much feed raised on the farm, and can secure as much manure from the cows by either plan, so that in this respect there need be no difference of any account. With a creamery convenient that is inclined to treat its patrons fairly, in a great majority of cases selling the eream will give the most profit. But when away from a creamery, or where from any cause they are not willing to pay what .the cream is really worth to the farmer, dairying will pay the most profit.

Dairy Soles. Cbeam scalded too high is melted into oil. Oil does not come to butter in the churn. Nothing else will so help the flowing milk of the cows for winter feed as a pailful of ripe apples chopped into slices, and sprinkled with the meal. It pays as well to grow apples for the stock, if not better, as to grow roots in the field. A mess of feed given to a cow while she is being milked draws her attention and she will not hold up the milk as cows are apt to do when the calf .is taken from them. , The milking enn be done more thoroughly as well as quicker, when the cow is quietly eating. And if fed turnips or cabbage at this time the odor will not affect the milk. Mints to Housekeepers. To sWEETEN bitter yeast thrust into it a. red-hot iron. -In cooking cabbage, put a small piece of a red pepper into the pot. It will not only improve the taste of the vegetable, but prevents any harmful results in the eating thereof. A carpet can be mended by cutting a piece like the carpet a little larger than the, hole. Put paste around the edge of the patch, then slip it under the carpet and rub it well with a warm iron until day. If the figure is matched it makes a very neat job as well as a quick one.

SITUATION IN KENTUCKY.

A Ohance for Republican 7 Success in the Coming State Election. [Covington (Ky.) special.] There is actual danger that the Democratic party will lose Kentucky this year. The condition of affairs in this State warrants the conclusion that the Republicans have a fair chance of success. Never before have the Democrats been in such a demoralized condition. When the Democrats assumed control of the State twenty years ago Kentucky was free from debt, with a balance of $4,04)0,000. At the present time the surplus has not only been exhausted, but the people are facing a deficit of $1,500,000, and there is no satisfactory explanation of how the money has been expended. The policy pursued by the party in power has retarded the material progress of the State, and even the Democrats acknowledge that the Republicans have a strong argument against them in contrasting the condition of Kentucky with other States. A large element in the northeastern part of the State ie opposed to Cleveland’s administration. They are led by Congressman Taulbee, who represents one of the mountain districts. In the Democratic convention which nominated Buckner for Governor Taulbee had a large following in refusing to indorse Cleveland. The great obstacle in the way of the Bourbons is the growing strength of the Prohibition and Labor parties. It is conceded by all well-posted politicians that the temperance people will cast from 20,000 to 50,000 votes in the August election. At least 75 per cent, of this will be drawn from the Democrats, as the Prohibition element is most numerous in the rural districts, which have always given overwhelming Democratic majorities. It is becoming more and more apparent daily that it was a mistake to nominate Buckner. The Union wisg of the Democratic party in Kentucky have no use for a man whose stock in trade is his Confederate war record and the resolutions of ’9B. A leading Union Democrat from Lexington said: “We are in a bad predicament in Kentucky. The Treasury is empty, there is no effort to improve or develop the resources of the State, and we have the Prohibition and Labor vote to contend against. General Buckner can not command the full party strength by several thousand and the Republicans have, in nominating General W. O. Bradley for Governor, selected the strongest man they have. Beck and Carlisle, realizing the serious danger, are coming home to stump the State. Every Kentucky Democrat approached on the subject of the election concedes that it will be the closest fight they have ever had. Kenton and Campbel) Counties, iu which Covington and Newport are situated, and the home of Speaker Carlisle, will both be carried by the Union Labor party. The workingmen have thorough organizations in Louisville, Lexington. Somerset, and other Democratic strongholds. They will hold their State convention in a few days and nominate a full ticket, which will -in all probability be headed by George H. Thobe, who came so near defeating Speaker Carlisle. The Republicans are splendidly equipped for the contest. _ It is a significant fact that . there was a spirited contest for the nomination for every State office, and some of the most brilliant and influential men in the ”State gladly accepted places on the ticket. Gen. Bradley, who has been in the forlorn hope for years, is confident of election. The Republicans have a strong weapon in their opposition to the present iniquitous system, of contract pr.son labor, and their approval of the filair educational bill, lhey will also capture thousands ot votes in Southern Kentucky by their plank in the platform denouncing the Green River mon-, opoly and other monopolies which the Democrats foisted upon the State. The selection of Buckner will drive 10,000 votes to Bradley, nnd four-fifths of all the outside party votes will be taken from the Democrats. Senator Beck will make an active canvass for Buckner, as he wants to be returned again. The friends of Carlisle will attempt to interfere with Beck’s arrangement, while Dr. Studdiiord, a Louisville man with plenty of money, also wants the Senatorship. It is useless to disguise the fact that John G. Carlisle has many bitter enemies in his own party, particularly in his own district. The unpopularity of the Federal appointments in Covington and Newport has driven many of the best workers into open revolt against him.

Premature Cleveland Boomers, The Democratic politicians, particularly those who do not want Mr. Cleveland renominated, are indulging in a good deal of absurd gossip over_ the question whether he did or he didn’t say that Le would be a candidate for a second term. The story seems to have been started at a dinner of Western Democrats in the midst of characteristic Democratic hilarity. Then came Senator Vest and stated in an interview that he knew the President would not be a candidate from sundry remarks he had made in a conversation. Then came Senator Gorman with the statement that the President had frequently expressed himself against a second term twice as strongly as he is represented to have done by the press. Then came Mr. Dorsheimer with his story that the President wrote a letter for publication, refusing to accept a renomination, which he induced him to suppress. .Then came Smith M. Weed, who, like all the others, is of course on intimate terms with the President, and says that Mr. Cleveland told him he didn t want to run again. And so the gossip runs. Meanwhile those who don’t want him renominated fall back on his own statement in his letter of acceptance: “No means tending to the full realization of a form of government by the people would be more effective than an amendment to the Constitution disqualifying the President for re-election. We recognize in the eligibility of the President for reelection a most serious danger to th,at calm, deliberate, and intelligent political action which must characterize a government by the people.” Unquestionably the mugwumps are in the right about the matter. Whether all this Democratic gossip has any foundation or is a mere blind makes little difference. When it comes to the pinch the Democrats had rather be beaten with Cleveland than with any other candidate. He will be renominated after more or lees chatter from the malcontents, and he will gladly take the nomination. _ It will not have to be carried to him on a silver platter either. Meanwhile the most significant feature of all this party gossip is the positive refusal of the country to get excited over it. If it were intended to launch another Cleveland boom it has signally failed. The people have sized up the President and are not disposed to go into politics for some time to come. The manipulators had better house their boom. Itis premature. — Chicago Tribune.

Senator Morrill of Vermont takes a very hopeful view of the puiitical situation. He says: “I am convinced that Blaine or any other man who may be nominated by the Republican convention can be elected. The Republican party to-day is harmonious and united, and its candidate for the Presidency next year has every prospect of success, no matter who he may be.”

AMONG THE RATTLESNAKES.

Hair-Raining Stories of Adventures with Deadly Serpents. , A lady gave some reminiscences of Arkansas inthe presence of a Cincinnati JUftquirer reporter, and as there were several army people about the talk became interesting on this head. She said: . - ' “I was in the army about seventeen years, moved from post t<? pillar, and yet on the whole I look back at it with pleasure. We were children of nature, dependent on our husbands, and our husbands were brave men doing their duty. “I have stood beside my husband in new quarters, which he hod just comb to occupy for the year, and have seen him stand on the little porch and shoot five great rattlesnake at a salute.” “Oh, rattlesnaks,” said another; don’t talk about them. When I had my little baby in Texas and was not strong enough to get oiit of bed, I beard something moving around the floor of our hut, and I put my hand out and it touched a rattlesnake. He retreated under the bed, and the way that thing rattled rings in my ears yet. It was no slight, unconscious, nervous rattle, but the loud watchman’s alarm of the reptile, which showed that he was mad. There I had to lie and feel that thing under the bed. You can suppose that my hair began to stand on end. My husband came in and I told him to kill the snake. He jabbed under the bed with his sword in its scabbard and the snake ran out, and before we could get at it it had run down a hole in the hollow side of the hut. He got his saber and put it in there and cut the snake to pieces as it lay in the bottom of the hole.” j “Ah,” said an officer present, “the snakes of Texas beat any snakes in the world I suppose. You see rattlesnakes on the Eastern mountains and on the Ozarks, but the rattlesnakes of Texas are the most enormous villains one can see. The very sight of them seems to stupefy. I recollect one day when I had ridden from early dawn to sundown, and was sore in every bone, and the heat was like a furnace, I came to a place where I went into bivouac, and, taking my “saddle off from the horse, put it down on the ground and stretched myself out with njy head upon it tc sleep. Suddenly I heard a large noise, and my sergeant ran to me crying: ‘Lieutenant, get up at once, get up.' A‘s I sprang to my feet I saw a huge rattlesnake within a foot of my head coiled and ready to strike. When we killed the snake we found that I had put my saddle right over the hole which was his home, and he had crawled over to come in and go to bed for the night, and finding me there naturally looked upon me as an intruder.” “Ah,” said a lady present, “the best time to see rattlesnakes is when you sit down to dine in new quarters which have been abandoned for awhile, and Took up at the ceiling and find a couple of them, warmed by the fire which you have made, ready to descend into the middle of the table. You, of course, spring to you feet And the ladies scream, while their husbands have to improve tbeir appetites by killing the snakes as the first course for dinner.”

What Spiders Can Do.

Spiders are certainly very clever, their talent does not lie in one direction only,they are clever all around; they are rope-makers, silk manufactures, spinners, weavers, tent-makers, potters, masons, raft manufacturers, navvies—witness their tunnels—diving-bell makers; they hunt, they dive, they run along the water, they skate, and" thej are ;eronauts. Among these last are the garden spider, the labyrinthine spider, the aeronautic spider, and the gossamer spider, and this is how the teronautic exploits are achieved. When they want to cross a stream or a chasm, or to rise to some height, they first of all spin a little piece of rope and fasten it firmly to some object; they then cling to this strand with their feet, and with their heads downwards, raise the lower part of their bodies into the air, and as soon as they feel the lighest current of air they throw off from their spinnerets a yard or two of silk; this being covered with viscid globules, is sure to adhear to some other object, and as soon as the spiders feel this is the case they tighten it by gathering it up and gumming it together, and then venture across their cable bridge, spinning a second line as they go to strengthen the first. Sometimes they suspend themselves from this bridge, and descend, spinning a rope, on which to effect the downward journey as they go: at others they will throw out a quantity of gossamer, and as a current of air wrafts this upwards they mount aloft upon it. The com-mon-house spider, which always spins a horizontal web, and therefore could not trust to committing a floating thread to the wind, works on a different plan. She walks around to the opposite side from which she has fastened he web, carrying it with her, and then draws it up and tightens it, and as the strength of the web depends upon this first ’cable she, like all other spiders crosses and recrosses tliis, and tests it by swinging her whole weight on it until she is quite satisfied as to its power of indnrance. Another spider, often seen on windows on a summer's day, is the leaping spider; and if watched it will be seen to justify its name by taking short leaps, frequently alighting on a fly -or gnat; which it has previosly marked down as its prey. It will jump in any direction, because it is always suspended by one of its own silken ropes, which it spins as it leaps, and by it returns to its former plac& This spider makes a" silken nest among leaves or stones—an oval bag, open at both ends. It uses the nest as a place of retreat during the .winter or in bad weather, or when it is moulting, or tired from its hunting expeditions, for it belongs to the group of hunting spiders, and makes no net or web though occassionaly it contracts a tent. — Sunday Magarino.

He Didn’t Complain.

Jinks—Don’t you object to your wife wearing such an enormously high hat, Binks? ’ Binks—Neuhot at all I complained of it once, and she said she would take off an inch for every drink I refused. Jinks —No wonder you don’t complain any more.— l id Bits.

INDIANA STATE NEWS.

—The people of Republican Township, in the southern part of Jefferson County, are greatly excited over the prospect of finding gas and oil. Recently an explosion occurred in the bed of a small stream running through the farm of J. Henley, the report being heard for several miles, and frightened cattle until they ran about like wild. A large opening was made in the creek bottom, and the strong odor of gas permeated the air. The general supposition is that the explosion was caused by natnral gap, as shale taken from the same spot several years since was found combustible, and it is thought gas and oil can be found. —A singular incident is reported from Roann, Wabash County. A lady passenger bound for Detroit boarded a Wabash and Western passenger train, and, by mistake, went into the smoker and sat down. In a moment she jumped up exclaiming, “I am on fire,” and the flames were seen enveloping her body. Several passengers rushed to the rescue and the fire was smothered, though the fair passenger was considerably injured. Investigation showed that her celluloid bustle had ignited from a buring cigar-stump which . had been left on the seat. —The Governor is about ready to proclaim the laws passed by the last Legislature to be in force, bpt the absence of the State’s financial exhibit from the volume of laws, as published, has caused him to ask , the Attorney General if that fact rendered the publication illegal. The Attorney General advised him that such failure did not have that effect, as the constitutional provision requiring the publication of the statement was only directory. The essence of the thing to be done was the publication and circulation of the laws. —Patents have been issued to Indianinns as follows: Cline, George J., assignor of one-half to W. B. Lehman, Goshen, roadcart; Crossman, John A., and N. C. Buch, assignors to E. C. Atkins <fc Co., Indianapolis, saw-swaging machine; Hand,Townson, assignor of one-half to O. Hand, Shelbyville, washing-machine; Line, W. F-, Andrews, fumigator; McGriff, John N., Anderson, corn-planter; McKinney, Wm. H., Evansville, non-conducting jacket; Wilcox, Charles D., Indianapolis, boilereleaner. —A recent shipment of twenty tons of ore from Warrick County, sent to a Newport, Ky., smelter for test treatment, yielded $255 per ton of bullion in silver and gold. The average assays of the twenty-ton lot run 9.7 ounces in silver per ton; .3 ounces gold; 7 per cent, lead; 70 per cent, silicate; 8 per cent iron and manganese; 12 per cent, lime; value, sl2 per ton. It carries almost its own fluxing, and is a desirable smelting ore. —Near Danville, Hendricks County, the 14-year-old son of Thomas Hewlitt, while attempting to mount a mare hitched to a harrow, for the purpose of riding, fell beside the animal and got entangled in the harness. The horse became frightened and dragged the boy a distance of a hundred yards, continually kicking him until he was dead. —The State Homoepathic Society in session at Indianapolis, elected the following officers: President, Dr. T. D. Lewis, Evansville; First Vice President, Dr. J. T. Boyd, Indianapolis; Second Vice President, Dr. J. A. Thompson, New Castle; Treasurer, Db. J. S. Martin, Muncie; Secretary, Dr. William B. Clark, Indianapolis. —The Treasurer of State asked the Attorney General if a County Treasurer could levy on notes and money to satisfy a claim for delinquent taxes. The Attorney General’s opinion is that no exemption pertains to this class of personal property, and that a levy for the purpose named can be made dn them. —The body of Elias Cutler, ot Terre Haute, was found on the I. & St. L. track, badly mangled. There was a report at first that he had been murdered, but investigation indicates that he committed suicide. He was engaged as a wood-chop-per. He leaves a wife and three children. —The case of William Carroll vs. The Ohio and Mississippi Railway, for SIO,OOO damages for the killing of his brother in the Muscatatuck bridge wreck, near North Vernon, two years ago, ou trial at Versailles, has been decided in favor of the plaintiff in the sum of SI,OOO damages. —J. M. Trester, a brakeman on the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, whose home is in North Madison, was probably fatally injured at Shelbyville, while making a coupling, a brake-wheel falling on his head. He was taken to Columbus. —John S. Edwards was fatally injured in a runaway accident near Plainville. Edwards, his wife and child, started to church in a buggy, and the horse became frightened and unmanageable. Mrs. Edwards and the child were not dangerously injured. —The appraisers appointed to fix a value on the Noble County property, at Albion, from which point it is proposed to remove the county seat to Kendallville, have reported to the Governor that the building* and real estate are worth $24,600. —The large bam owned by Mrs. Mary Gunning, in Union Township, Shelby County, burned with all its contents, consisting of four horses valued at $750, two binders, one buggy, 1,000 bushels of com, —John Lockhart, a brakeman on tho Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railway, had his left foot Cut off at Monon, by getting it caught in a switch frog. Ho resides at Spencrt, and was making his second trip. ' —-At Flora, Carroll County, a ga» vompany has beep organized, and a Lima, (X. firm engaged to do the work. The derrick is now under way. —Cornelius Connor, aged 16 years,living a few miles east of Liberty, was struck by lightning and killed while standing in his father’s stable door watching an approaching storm. The building was but slightly injured. , —John Harrison, of Kokomo, who shot his young wife a few days ago, by accident, as be alleged, hearing that an antemortem statement of the wife accused him of willful murder, committed suicide; —The Indianapolis rolling-mill has iust successfully turned out tire first steel rail from ingots made in their own mill.