Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 December 1874 — Page 6

INDIANA NEWS ITEMS.

A<Umy OoMtlf. . S__ r u A carrfnjrc containing Mis* Msclcod, Ml** Rice, Mr. Lucas and Mr. Westlake, all of Stock well, was recently upset by a stump in the road near and the occupants were thrown violently to the ground. SUss Maclcod had her leg broken and Mfcs Klee her knee and ankle. The gentlemen were also seriously bruised. , - Allen County. t The tt£ of Fort Wayne for 1874 reaches very nearly the sum of #300,000. J.Tillbcrry, a canal-boat hand, was instantly killed at New Itaven a few days ago. As the boat was passing a bridge he stuck his head out and was caught between the bridge and the boat, smashing his head to a jelly. The artesian well at Fort Wayne is 2,430 feet deep. • i ■ ■ . Julias Vovlal, a farmer living near Fort Wayne, while engaged in walling a well recently, received a severe blow on the temple from a stone falling from above. He died in a few hours. Bar thole ■new County. Joseph Whittier, Recorder of the county, recently died at his home in Columbus. David Young, of Logansport, aged eleven, while testing an unused gun, the other day, to see if it were loaded, received the charge in his head, killing him Instantly. Mrs. Baker, of Logansport, attempted suicide the other evening. A Logansport grocer bought 180 pounds of woman sitting upon a load of corn the other day, and did not discover his error until the money had been paid and the wagon driven off. He consoles himself with the reflection that women at the* price of corn are cheap enough. Mr. Asbury Barnett, of Logansport, claims to have lost $12,000 in currency, the proceeds of the sale of live, stock, in a peculiar manner. He stopped at the house of William Morgan, on Taber’s Prairie, and alleges that at night he placed bis money in the straw bed-tick: Going out in the morning he discovered that he had forgotten his treasure, and immediately returned to find the bed on tire. ( lark Counly. A tumor weighing eighty-five pounds was recently removed from the wife of M. G. Andcss, of Jeffersonville, but she died two days after. day County. The Western Iron Company, at Knightsville, gjve-sdnployment to only one person at the present—the night watchman. Dearborn County. Mt Date, who murdered the Bradley family at LaWrenccburg, last summer, has been sentenced to the State Prison for life. He confessed the murder, but said he was so drunk that be could not restrain himself. Thomas Bennett, a young farmer living near Lawreneeburg, was killed the other morning by a wagon-load of wood which he teas hauling falling upon him. Delaware County. A Mrs. Coffman, residingat Muncie. recentsuicide while in a lit us temporary Insanity, 4 -—--- The dead body of Dan Lee was found near a lumber y .rd in Muncie, the other morning, under circumstances indicating that a murder had Been committed. The carriage shop of C. Goss, at Muncie, was burned a few mornings ago, and with it nearly a square of wooden buildings. Loss heavy. Ayoung lady recently committed suicide at Daleville. C ause unknown. Elkhart County. John \Y. Stutzmann, of Goshen, while at work the other day sawing wood with a horse* power. 1 d his arm badly mutilated and several lhrgas taken off. Floyd County. A very serious accident recently occurred in Mitch .IV slaughter-house. New AlbanyIt appears that Augustus Weber had gone up in the hook-room to watch the process of hogkilling and si:- at tlic north side of the qpen building •v, :;.a..ig out over the hog-chute about thirty JV. ■ below by his arms. While thus engag'd one of the employes whose duty it.is to - ; the hung hogs in place struck t\c:*er witn a hog being rolled into place aml Weber let go hia bold and fell a distance of thirty feet, striking the hog-chute. He was picked up in an Unconscious condition snlk-npon an -exttmmationAiy a Mirgeorr it was found that one leg was broken at the thigh, an arm was broker, jaw fractured, collar-bo::;* broken, in addition to numerous cuts and bruises of a very serious character. Hancock County. —a A betqngtng to Benj. Wilkinson. of€h.r;> itsrfflt, was recently burned. Loss about .#IVkX). Henry County. Benj a min Harvdy, an old pioneer in the State, died at New Castle on the 20th, at the advanced age of ninety-one. Mr. Harvey was one of the nrst white settlers in the countv, and was a highly respected and esteemed gentleman. j. Warren Hatch, one of* the oldest Mason- in the United 'States, died at Newcastle on the 2Sd, aged eighty-four years. ITe.bad'belong u to the Mas mic fraternity for sixty-three vears. Huntington County. i A lew davs since, while :t-pas-enger train on the Toll d . Wabash A Western .llkiiro.nl w'as passing Bo.li O t k. near Huntington. >; v. as fired into by some unknown miscreants, but fortunate 1 v ttie bullet missed she passengers and lodged inside the coach. Johnson County. The furniture factory of Fred. Huber A S n. of Franklin, w as burned the other mo 4 *?!:: g. Loss $12,0)0. Knox County. A receut sensible present to a newly-nu;--ried Vincennes couple was 100 bushels of «oal. A bloody tragedy recently occurred at Vi: - eennes. Two men, named Phillips ard Greene, who held a personal grudge again-t each other,met as they were -coming .into town, and began a quarrel wbich resulted a blows. Phillips commenced striking Greet ? on the bead with a pair of brass knuckle *, when the latter drew Lis knife and pursti I Phillips, striking at him and finally hitti g him in the temple, where a portion of t a blade remained, Laving penetrated the bra’ iV Phillips died the next morning. Koscinaeo County. A man named Da vis recently abscond 1 from his employer, a farmer named 4 Dewo t, living near Pierceton, and took with him $2.0 and Dewort’s coat Lake County. Edward RopcT, of Hobart, has been fined SSO and costs, amounting to #250, for entertaining that notorious gang of Chicago and Louisville cock-fighters last spring. A requisition is to be made on the Governor of lUi-‘ n oU for Jerry Munroe and others engaged in the enterprise.

taforl* County. Julius Eliel, of the firm of Ellcl A Sons, of Lsporte, was recently severely stabbed by Dr. Puffenbcrgcr, o i Walkerton. Lawrrnrr County. The postofllcc at Bedford was rectatly entered by burglar* and the iron s*fe broken open. The scamps got a water haul, a* the money bad all been deposited the night before. V Marlon County. John McCarthy, who wa- charged with burning the Memphis A Louilsville Railroad shops about a year ago. had his trial in Indianapolis the other day, when the jury failed to agree and he was sent back to jail for another trial. • At a late hour on the night of the 1!)fh I). Wagner, an engineer, living in Imliunapolisf attempted to commit suicide by taking half an ounce of arsenic with an oyster stew. * An Indianapolis jury ha* recently given Dr.*r; M. Ga*lbira vcraK'rarfS,rg)o for injuries received in stumbling over some street obstructions last April. A few days since Col. J. Walker, of Indianapolis, requested a druggist to put him up a dose of mix vomica, but by mistake the druggist sold him pure strychnine. The follow ing morning the Colonel took the dose before breakfast, and was immediately seized with convulsions. Fortunately physicians were within calling distance, w ho promptly applied remedies which saved his life. Monro# ConjutT. ■■' John R.- East, late County Clerk, declined to be a candidate for re-election at the recent election on the singular grounfi that the office was too lucrative to be held by one man for more than one term. It is worth $4,000. Morgan County. 4 Henderson, Parks A Co., of Martinsville, recently killed a hog which weighed 1,180 pounds. If there are any bigger hogs in the State these men will give a silk hat to get a sight at them. Noble County. Frank Lindsav, of Albino, was lately buried by the caving in of the gravel while he was at the bottom of a well, and died before lie could be rescued-. _g_ _1” , The shops of the Baltimore, Pittsburgh & Chicago Railroad have been located four miles north of A villa, instead of at Albion, as everybody expected. Parke Counly. A few nights ago at a school-house jicar Rockville a row occurred, sfrbwing out of the act that some one had cut up J. C. Henning’s hat. Some sharp words occurred. Finally Charles Clark cried out: “I am stabbed by Jack Heuuing.” It, appears that he had been stabbed with a knife near the pit of the stomach. Perry County. A Mr. Smith, of New York, lias lately bought the Shoemaker fruit-farm near Rome. Hunli County. Mitchell Gonard, of Rushville, died on the 22d from injuries received while coon-hunt-ing. He was holding: the dogs while bis companions were cutting the tree that fell upon him. St. Jose pi* Counly. - ; The residence of A. B. Miller, editor of the South Bend Tribune, just being completed, caught fire the other night and was damaged to the extent of SSOO. On the afternoon of the 2lst, at South Bend, while some laborers were engaged in digging a trench for the purpose of laying sewer-pipes alongside a two-story sixteeninch wall, forty-five feet long, of Studebaker Brothers’ new wagon works. It fell with a terrible crash, killing two men and seriously wounding four others, one, it is feared, fatally. The ditchers had been warned not to dig deeper than the foundation, as the building was not completed and the mortar still green. They disobeyed orders, undermined the wall, and the catastrophe followed. The two victims were Daniel Donovan and Godfrey Goerst. Less than an hour after the fall of the wall, while a crowd of laborers were engaged in clearing away the debris, a portion of the overhanging roof and flooring gave way, breaking the leg of Paul Cyzilski. Tippecanoe County. The stables of George B. Wiggins, who lives a few miles north of Chauncey, were entered the other night and robbed of a lot of harness. A neighbor of Mr. Wiggins also lost a saddle and bridle, ail'd another neighbor a wagon. The thieves had stolen a horse in mother portion of the county. The Trustees of the Wabash A Erie Canal recently brought suit against Cromie A Co., of Lafayette, to recover a large amount of money claimed as the value of thence cut on the .canal for a number of years past. It was deeidrd in Judge Vinton’s court ou the 21st in avor of the defendant. On the 2" 1, at Lafayette, a young man named Levant Corwin, a brakemau on the Louisville, New Albany A Chicago RaTroad, fell' Horn the pi itform of a caboose ear down '.between it and the passenger next behind, the latter e.tr pasting over liis body, in muling it. pis feitrful maimer aud killing him instantly. It is support d he was ('town from the train by the wand. , Bt'lilaiHier, the absconding Lafayette jewi h r who, last war. folded his tent and silently stok- away like the conventional Arab, has been heard from at Toronto, the Corn- < .•• says. Several fatal eases of some kind of horse disease have recently occurred in the vicinity of Lafayette, and the people are qiixlouVly inquiring if it be the .“ epizooty.” , D. L. Hart fell through the open hatchway . in )T"'>’diu’s •m-.rjt lit Lafayette the other- day ; and sustained fatal injuries. A wealthy citizen of Lafayette has offered i to give SIOO,OOO in aid of the construction of ; a canal turning the water- of Tippecanoe ; River into the Wabash, to flow into the latter ! stream through one of the deep ravines or i gorge- west of the city. „ Vandorburgli County. I Levi I gif hart, of Evansville, was recently - robbed of a gold watch and $l5O in a sleep- : ing-yar. , " J Capt. J. V. TUroop. of the steamer .Silver*i thom, the oldest steamboat-man who ran i from tb.e port Y>f Evansville, died she other day of neuralgia of the heart. ' i A negro eighty-three years old was recently struck over the head with a heavy cane by a lunatic named George Lee, at the county poorhouse, and died from the effects of the blow. Vigo County. A Terre Hautentot was waylaid the other night by two men and relieved of all his money and valuables —fifteen cents and a pocket-knife. -f) The clothing of Johanna Sullivan,of Terre Haute, aged seven years, caught fire from a stove the other morning. Two other small children were in the room at the time of the aecidfent, but were unable to save thu child. ’ Bhe ran down stairs with her clothes blazing and was met by Fire-Chief Mahony, who was attracted by her gwreams. He extinguished

the flames by wrapping bis coat about her. The child suffered great agony until death. Wabash Pout) . The Qdd Fellows are building a slo,ooohall at Wabash.

AN IMPORTANT DECISION.

The Itisbt of Colored Children to the Bene 111* of Public School* Denied Decision of the Supreme Court-The Question To Be Taken to the Supreme Court of the United State*. I On the 25th Judge Buskirk, of the Su- ! preiuc Court, tiled an opinion, on the | appeal of the defendants in the case of | the colored umn Carter vs. the Washington school authorities, wherein he sought , (lie aid of the courts to compel them toadmit his children and grandchildren to the bent-tits of the public schools. The decision of the lower courts was in favor of the pluintiffon the fourth reason urged i in support of his claim, viz.: That the j taw excluding colored children from the schools was unconstitutional because it violated tsec. 1, Art. 8 of that instrument. The Supreme Court, however, | now reverses the decision of the court bei low; and among other things decides j that the act of the General Assembly providing separate schools for colored children is not in conflict with the Fourteenth Amendment. After giving a succinct history of previous litigation and quoting the section of the Constitution relied on by the plaintiff—the clause decreeing the establishment of common schools, and declaring that tuition therein shall he free without charge, equally open to all—the Court said the application of the rules o construction heretofore laid down to the various provisions of the Constitution would conclusively demonstrate that the provisions of the section relied upon did not apply to the children and grandchildren of the appellee. The Court continued: Oue of the cardinal rules of construction is, that courts shall give effect to the intent of the framers of the instrument and of the people in adopting it. As it is manifest that neither the framers of the Constitution nor the people in adopting it intended that the children of the African race should participate in the advantages of a general and uniform system of common schools, we possess no power to adjudge to them what was not designed for them. Another rule of construction is, that, in placing a construction upon one’section ot 1 clause, courts are required to examine the whole.instrument and to give effect, if possible, to the whole instrument; and if different portions seem to conflict, the courts must harmonize them if possible, and lean in favor of a construction which will render every word operative rather than one which may make some idle and nugatory. There is but one construction which will preserve the unity of harmony and consistency of our State Constitution, and that is to hold ‘that it was made and adopted hv and for the exclusive use and enjoyment of the w hite race. It would he monstrous to hold that the Constitution, in adopting, and the voters of the State in ratifying it, intended that the common schools of the State should be opeu to the children of the African race, when, by the same instrument, that portion of such race as then resided in the State w ere denied all political rights, privileges and immunities, and the further emigration of that race into the State was prohibited by the thirteenth article of the Constitution, w hich received the almost unanimous approval of the voters of the State. ' Another important rule of construction is that the meaning of a Constitution is fixed when it is adopted, and it is not different at any subsequent time w hen a court has occasion to pass upon it. A Constitution is infallible, and cannot bend to COB.yentenee as modified by public Opinion. Atis therefore tin- duty of the court to declare the law as it is written, leaving to the people in their sovereign capacity to make such change as new conventions may require ~ ~ Having reached the true construction of the Constitution of this State as it came from the hands of its framers and received the sanction of her qualified voters, the next step is to find out the extent of its qualification as changed by the Constitution of the United States. Sec. 2 of Art. 4 of the Constitution of the United States declares: “That the citizens of each State sliall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of .citizensin Lha several States.” This section,at an early date, received a construction n the case of Cartield rs. Carycll which has ever since been recognized and approved.' It relates only to “ those privileges and immuflities which are fundamental.” and which all may, he comprehended tinder the following heads: Protection by the Government, with the rights to acquire aiid possess property of every kiud and to pursue and obtain happiness and safety, subject, nevertheless, to such restraints as the Government may prescribe for the general good of the whole. Unquestionably all doubts, where any existed, as to' the citizenship of colored persons, and their right to the equal protection of the laws, are settled. But neither of them were denied to them in this State before the adoption of the amendment. At all events, the statutes classifying the youth of the State for school purposes on the basis of color, and the decisions of this court in relation thereto, were not at all based upon a denial that colored persons were citizens, or that they arc entitled to the equal protection of the laws. It would seem. then, that these* provisions of the amendment to tin- Constitution contain nothing conflicting with the statute authorizing the classification in question. Any State is. forbidden- to make or. enforce- any law which-will ■ abridge —the —privileges —or I—immunities 1 —immunities ot~ citizens of the United States. This involves the inquiry as to what privileges or immunities are embraced in the inhibition of this clause. We are uot aware that this has as yet been judicially settled. The language “of the clause, how eve;-, taken in connection with «t&efc provisions of the amendment and of the CmiSTttatio'ri of which ix..forms a part., affords .strong reasons for believing that it includes such privileges or immunities as are derived from, or recognized by,-the Constitution of the United States. Ail the privileges of the school system of this State are derived solely from the Constitution and ■ laws of the State. The question under consideration is the same that has been heretofore determined in this State, that a classification of the youth of the State for school purposes upon any basis which does not .exclude either class fi'ont'equo) school advantage* is t:o infringe'incut of the equal rights of citizens secured by the Constitution of the State. The- court, therefore, reversed the judgment of the court below. The attorneys for appellee excepted to the opinion’' and judgment and—announced their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, flrst. hovyever, asking the State Co*. rt to grant a rehearing. °

The State Library.

Mrs. Sarah A. Oren, State Librarian’, on the 23d tiled with the Governor her biennial report, being the first report of the kind ever submitted. It includes a detailed statement of , expenses of the library during iter term of ■office.'and much information concerning the management and general arrangement of the library: [ Tho whole amount of bills approved for : “ the: fiscal year of'.lst:!, ooautuu: front the commencement of the Librarian's - term, April i. 187! SI.:U7 32 Whole amount'of cash and incident::'; : expense* 12 43 | Salaries of State Librarian and St:;v House attendants 2.3!»t,00 Total .. , e-i.s> . 7;> ] Total cash receipts. ii j 71 • | The expenses for the fiscal year ending Nov. 1. fS74. are. summarized as folj lows : Bills stjvproved by State Librarian,. ... 34 Ineidcntal cash expen5e^............ . 14(1 SS Salaries of State Librarian, assistant and-State. House attendants 4.t:sii 30 Total. 1 .V. $7,156 Si Ca>h receipts in same period US 45 During the eighteen months she lias been in the office she has purchased 317 volumes, secured by exchange 540 volumes, and by donations S9l volumes. Of duplicates there are in the library 2.773 volumes. The total number of volumes, not counting duplicates, is 10,041. ft will be seen from, mis statement that in the past eighteen months more than onefifth of all books in the libra^gjhare

been adued. The annual appropriation for the purchase of books and buildings is SI,OOO, ouj of which are to be taken all incidental expenses. A systematic record of newspapers received at the library and of favors extended from other state libraries and returned in exchange of State documents has been kept, and is made a part of the report, and in addition to statistics the remarks relative to the manner in which thfe library has been conducted, and the recommendation which will be submitted for legislative action, are also given.— Indianapolis telegram of the 23 d.

HAPS AND MISHAPS.

—A little Charleston (S. C.). gird, killed herself the other day by falling upon a bottle and cutting her throat. —A large number of thieves were recently publicly whipped in Newcastle, Del:, the number of lashes given being from two-to thirty. —During the temporary absence of their mother, lately, two infant children of Mr. James, of Greenpoint, L. 1., fell from a cradle into an open fire and were burned to death. —Do not stretch clothes-lines across the wood-yard. From this careless habit j Mr. Frank Weis, of Adrian, Mich., is | now* laid up with a broken head caused by liis ax catching upon the line. —George Spitzenadcn.of New Orleans, was riding on Canal street the other evening when his horse took fright and threw him and a little grandson against the bridge and thence into the canal, where both were drowned. —Henry Rosendale,of Billerica, Mass., having been detected in some boyish mischief, and his father having threatened to liorse-whip him for it, was so concerned about i,t that he hung himself on one of the apple trees near his father’s house. —As James Manning, of Columbus, Ohio, was returning from a hunting expedition the other afternoon, he was accidentally shot and instantly killed. In the act of climbing a fence he fell, and the gun was discharged, the entire load lodging in his neck. —John Long, a pioneer living near Warsaw, Ohio, was recently killed under the following circumstances: While riding in a wagon he struck his horses with the lines and fell over the dashboard. The team ran away, he caught by the whiffletrees and was dragged and terribly mangled. —At Battle Creek, Mich., two little girls, one a daughter of Dr. William ltussell, of the Health Institute, the other a chi’d of Mr. Howell E. Gardner, recently attempted to drive a horse out of the garden and in doing so approached too near, when the animal wheeled and kicked with both hind feet, striking each girl in the face and bruising them in a shocking manner. That horse was a sure ( double shot with liis heels. --Mrs. W. H. Howard, Jr., of Braintree, Mass., was lately walking in the streets of that town, accompanied by her husband, when they met an intoxicated man who was more than ordinarily de z m'onstrative. Just as the Howards came abreast of the inebriate, he gave a whoop which was so sudden in its effect upon Mrs. Howard that she dropped dead at her husband’s feet. She was a robust and healthy woman, and her death was pronounced by her physician to be the consequence of fright.

Horseback Riding.

We regard it peculiarly unfortunate that there is so little horseback riding in the Northern —especially the Northeastern—SttUes and so few good riding horses. It is unfortunate, in our judgment, for the following reasons: 1. It is a most healthful and invigorating exercise for man or woman. 2. It is a graceful accomplishment to be able to ride well. 3. It is an easier and more economical mode of movement—easier for the horse, involving less costly equipments than where a harness and carriage must be provided, less loss of time in harnessing and unharnessing and caring for both harness and carriage, and is less dangerous to the rider, when the risk of breaking harness and buggy is taken into account. 4. It is more convenient for the’ rider, because he can go with his horse where Lie cannot drive with liis carriage- He can open gates, let down bars, or scalefences and corn-fields, and thus save time and distance, which it is impossible to save with a carriage attached. Every farmer ought to have one good rifling-horse —that is. every farmer vrlio . keeps three horses or more. Even if lie keeps but two, it is more economical to keep a saddle and use it whenever it can be used as a substitute than to wear and tear a’ harness and carriage over the miserable roads which are too generally found. A good ridingdiorse can generally be purchased for the price of a good harness and carriage. The cost of keepiiig is scarcely greater if the utility and improvement in value of a well-cared-for horse is taken into account. We should like to see horseback-riding, for both men and women, become fashionable. We would rather see a young farmer well mounted on a good, strong saddlehorse than see him riding in a sulky behind liis fancy trotter, simulating the air and appearance of a jockey. There is -great opportunity for improvement of manners and general appearance’ to re- ; suit from the physical exercise horsebaekridiag will give our young men and women. It would destroy much of the •effeminacy which exists, beget a nobler .and more graceful physique and carriage and save, a vast amount of time and! money if horseback riding were more j generally substituted for carriage-riding ! among our people.— Rural Sew Yorker.

Piratical Plants.

Ix a previous article on flesh-eating plants, says the Chicago Tribune, we have stated that Mr. Darwin, the eminent English naturalist, is about to publish i the results-of an extended series of obj servations on the Dianea J/uscipula t This is the most iutcrI esting of tlie several species of the vege- ; table kingdom that are in the habit of 1 I deriving a part of their sustenance from I the juices of insects. An Important point ; in the history of this plant remained un- ; j settled at the concinstonof Mr. Darwin’s j i experiments. It was with -regard to the ; j power of a single leaf to catch and di--1 gest more than one insect. The question i has been definitely answered by Mrs. ; Mary Treat, of Vineland, N. J., a care- ■ ful ami trustworthy observer. She has communicated the history of her experiments ’to the New York Tribune, from which we condense the following: In May last Mrs. Treat received thirty j fine specimens of the Dionaa from Wil- ■ inington, N. C.—the only known locality where the plants are found. She immediately placed them in separate pots,

numbering each, and regularly thereafter devoted a large portion of each day to experiments with them. We have already described the Dioncea, but will repeat that it grows to the height of from two to six iqches, with leaves springing directly from the root. Each leaf is crowned with an appendage resembling an old-fashioned steel-trap, and with the same kind of action. At the touch of an insect on its inner surface it closes with a quick spring, and almost invariably shuts upon a victim. W'hen it opens, nothing remains of tlie prisoner but a little bundle ot dry bones. It has been killed, macerated and consumed. Mrs. Treat reports from her observations that a considerable 'number of leaves captured three flies in succession, although most of them had not strength to digest the last one. Five of them opened in an apparently healthy state after digesting the third fly, but died soon after closing upon the fourth. The plants were not restricted in their diet, but fed indiscriminately upon flies, beetles, bugs, spiders and- millepeds. Prisoners Which Mrs. Treat liberated after two or three hours’ incarceration appeared uninjured, and, after a moment of dumb surprise, fled with the utmost alacrity. Insects left in the trap twenty four hours,, although often alive at the end of that time, never recoyered. Though cleansed carefully by Mrs. Treat of the slimy liquid enveloping them, they died in every instance. When the dad-dy-long-legs dropped into the trap, their protracted limbs, which could not be entirely taken in, woflld show signs of life for twenty-four or thirty-six hours. The leaves required on the average seven days to digest soft-bodied insects, and a longer time to digest beetles and other creatures in coats of armor. May 5 two leaves closed upon horse-flies; May 12 they finished their feast and reopened their traps. May 21 a strong leaf captured a homopterous insect ( Metapo■ deuß nmalus), about the size of a squashbug; June 5 the leaf opened again, and nothing was left of the bug but its shell. It will be seen that fourteen days were occupied in disposing of this insect. The shelly covering of the beetles resists the action of the fluid which the leaves pour out in order to dissolve them. The traps pretty nearly had their match in the rose-bug (Slacrodactylus subspinous), which would sometimes force its way out between their clasping teeth or spines. Then, again, it would crouch close on the bottom of the trap, in order to hide, according to his habit, and would be imprisoned effectually. Nine of these poor beetles Mrs. Treat helped the leaves to entomb, but only a single leaf was strong enough to digest its victim; the other eight died in the effort. The strongest plant in the collection caught forty insects between May and October, and digested most of them. The same set of leaves, however, did not do all jthis work. They were constantly dying and being renewed. At one time there were thirteen strong leaves on the plants and Oct. 22, at the time of writing, there were seven, three of which were closed upon flies. None of the plants were allowed to flower, as in this effort their vigor would have diminished. Mrs. Treat sat down one day and inserted the tip of her little finger in one of the traps, meaning to hold it there for five hours at least, and record observations. In less than fifteen minutes the pressure was considerable, and for more than an hour it continued to increase. In less than two hours she was obliged to give up the experiment on account of severe pain in the arm, although her position was perfectly comfortable. On removing her linger she discovered that the slimy secretion had begun to issue from the trap. Although this fluid was found copiously enveloping an insect after two or three days’ imprisonment, when the traps opened at the close of their meal there was never any present, it having been, no doubt, absorbed into the circulation.

Tea Adulterations.

One of the usual ways’of adulterating tea is by the admixture of leaves other than those of the tea-plant. For the detection of these foreign leaves but little aid can be given by chemistry, and it is best to study their botanical and microscopical characters. Prof. Alfred H. Allen gives,, in the Chemical News, the following method for detecting adulterationsof this kind: “ Some of the sample to be examined,” says he, “is to be put in hot water, and, when the leaves have unfolded, they are spread out on a glass plate and held up to the light, when the venation, serration, etc., are readily observed The primary venation or the t.ea-leaf forms a series of well-defined hoops, which are not met with in most leaves used as adulterants. Tlie serrations are not mere sawed, teeth on the margin of the legs, but actual hooks. The serration stops short, somewhat abruptly, at some distance above tlie base. TheAs : sam tea-leaf is sometimes bi-serrate. At the apex of the tea-leaf there is a distinct notch instead of a point. If we examine the under surface with a microscope after the separation of the cuticle the peculiar and characteristic 1 space between the two cells of the stomata is readily perceived. The long, unicellular hairs of the tea-leaf are also peculiar. The employment of caustic potash is desirable in observing these characters. In the sloe-leaf the serratures are direct ineisions, numerous, often irregular, and extending,down to tlie base. There are no spines. ihe hairs are shorter and coarser than those of the tea-leaf, and are marked in a peculiar manner. The elder-leaf is more pointed than that of the tea-plant, and the lobes are unequal at the base. ihe serratures are direct incisions.' The midriff has hairs on it, and on the leaf itself there are several kinds of hairs, notably a short, spinous, striated hair, which occurs on the upper surface. The serratures of the willowleaf much resemble those of tea, but the cell-walls of both the upper and under epidermis differ from those of the tealeaf in not being sinuous, and there are long, coarse, striated hairs. When perfect,'the elongated form of the willowleaf sufficiently distinguishes it from tea, and tlie venation is also entirely difterent., “The chief foreign leaves added by the Chinese are those of Chloranthus incOnspicuus and of Camellia susanqua, the latter of which presents A close resemblance to the tea-plant.” —A high-school pupil in a cross-town car recited her geometry lesson to a fel-low-girl, recently, as follows: “If the angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal to the square ot the hypotlienuse of, a right-angle cone, then the rectangle of the diameter of-a circle is equal to the square of the —ah —to the—ah —is equal to the —ah —to the square—to the—ah—oh, bother! Gimme that book! I wish pa ’ud let me take dancing lessons instead of these horrible squares, and angles, and bypothenuses.”— Chicago Journal.

BECIPES, ETC.

—A weak*solution of tar and water is recommended for use by bald-keaded men, to bring back the capillary glory. —Breakfast Cakes.—Two eggs well beaten, two cups of milk, two cups of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar and salt. Heat a dish hot, butter it well, pour in the batter, and bake in a quick oven. —Ladies who find their efforts tn raise house plants frustrated by worms may be able to win success by boiling the earth before setting the plants. Use little water, and allow it to simmer away after a few minutes of hard boil. A dry heat is just as good. —Escalloped Oysters.—Two quarts of solid oysters, one dozen soft crackers, pounded fine, one cup of oyster juice, a piece of butter, pepper, salt and mace, in a deep dish, in which the oysters are to be served, place alternate layers of cracker crumbs and oysters, beginning with the oysters; season each layer with the mace, salt and pepper. When the dish is full put a lump of butter on the top of the cracker crumbs, and pour the oyster juice over the crumbs, and bake thirty minutes. —Tapioca Cream. —Soak three tablespoons of tapioca over night or five or six hours, in cold water enough to swell -it. Seald a quart of milk and when boiling stir in the tapioca, letting it cook three or four minutes. Add the yolks of three eggs, well beaten, a teacup of sugar, minus a few teaspoonfuis which should be reserved for frosting, and flavor to taste. Reserve a little of the milk cold to put with the eggs, and stir in very quickly just as it is set off from the fire. The whites should be beaten stiff and flavored slightly and sweetened a little, and dumped in spoonfuls on the top after it has been poured in a pudding dish. Now set in a warm oven and brown lightly on the top. —Preserved Pumpkin.—To each pound of pumpkin allow one pound of roughlypounded loaf sugar, one gill of lemon juice. Obtain a good sweet pumpkin, halve it, take out the seeds and pare off the rind; cut it into neat slices. Weigh the pumpkin, put the slices in a pan or deep dish in layers, with the sugar sprinkled between them. Pour the lemon juice over the top and let the whole remain for two or three days. Boil all together, adding one-half pint of water to every three pounds of sugar used until the pumpkin becomes tender; then, turn the whole into a pan. and let it remain for a week; then drain off the sirup, boiling it until it is quite thick; skim and pour it boiling over the pumpkin. A little bruised ginger and lemon rind, thinly pared, may be boiled in the sirup to flavor the pumpkin. From onelialf to three-quarters of an hour will boil the pumpkin tender.

Meetings of Farmers and Their Families.

The most successful of the Farmers’ Clubs and local horticultural organizations wijth which we are acquainted are those in which the social -feature -is not ignored—those where the club or society meets at the house of some one of its members and is entertained with a dinner and social reunion, as well as instructed by the discussion of some farm, orchard or garden topic. This seems the best mode devised f»r securing and perpetuating attendance and cohesion. Besides, the informality of such meetings •secures an expression of opinion and the giving of experiences from those -who might be too timid to speak formally in a public meeting. We call, attention to these facts now that the length of the evenings and the closing up of the autumn work will enable farmers and their families to meet each other in such profitable social intercourse. When Granges are organized this feature is secured to the neighborhood and such a suggestion is unnecessary ; but where there is no Grange, or where there may be objections to organizing one, a neighborhood club of the character above indicated, in which all the adult members of every family may participate, will be found to be a wholesome means of instruction and entertainment during the winter months. —Rural New Yorker. —There was a man on Main street, the other day, inquiring for Mr. Circumstances.- He wanted some changes made in a "bookcase, and he had heard that circumstances alter cases.— Norristown, Herald. —A Western man has hit upon a happy expedient for getting rid of the rheumatism. He crowded it down to his two fingers and then had them amputated. Rev. E. H. Hopkins, of Jackson Center, Shelby Co., 0., says: “My wife had the consumption for ten years, and had been confined to h<r bed for some time. I heard of Dr. L. Q. C. Wishart’s Tine '1 ree Tar Cordial, and after using four bottles she was able to do the work for her family.” There is nothing like leather Shoes with a SILVER TIP for children. Try them. They never wear through at the toes. For sale by all dealers.

Wishart’s > Pine Tree Tar Cordial! Nature’s Great Remedy FOR ALL Throat and Lung Diseases. —’ - v For Sale by All Druggists and Storekeepers