TOPICS OF THE TIMES.
A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER
ESTING ITEMS.
am Crtll-V" B una I poa ta
M ri f taw Uay-MlxaHml
Ir r'nesn't make a room any cooler
to put a trie e ar und the walla
TMk pleasing conviction still re
mains that we can beat
base ball
h'ngland at
A forel 'dv" advertise for work.
W h pe she ii4 accusioniet to the
management of 'taiesi.'eotIe:iien.''
Nodt denies the right of the
bald -headed man to strike when the
lies take bis crown for a tennis cout.
A pest of lady-bugs 1 reported at
an Eastern finale. The village be
ing a summer resort, of course it has
do gentleman buns.
A Mi"i ki paper mentions that
De Kalb County sent to the Legisla
ture two men who could neither read
nor wr te. It would have spoken
tetter for the Pe I- alb Intelligence ir
the pair bad been sent to night
school. mmmmmmmmmmm
Hkrr DowfN bullet-proof coat ban
not itood the latent test it was suh
iected to by the German military au
thorities. If the inventor is still
Ismii upon succenn, however, he should
come to Chicagoand apply for a spec!
men of a citv alderman' bullet
proof and braen cheek.
Bees are curious little an ruals.
before storing honey In a tree, for ,
instance they will clean the tree of !
ail rotten wood and refuse. When j
this ia done, they are ready for work: J
but a bee never begins business until
be is thoroughly ready to carry it on,
and tben he never does it by halves.
A New Zelasd chief has just ar
rived from his native land with a
pair of wives whom be is taking to j
Utah, believing that there he can as
sociate with both ladies on e ual
terms. The miss-ona ies have
evidently t Im flammed him. There
Is no other section of the 1 nited
States in which thf man with two
wives gue t jail with quite the
celerity that marks his career in
tub,
Til k. b hind hand farmer is at a
disadvantage in every deal cannot j
make his own terms, has no feeling j
ot ndependence, can establish no '
business methods, cannot procure j
help when needed, is bringing his '
cbl.dren up with lose principles. :
Self de ial will cure this. Count on
cash in hand, not '-money coming:"
live upon home productions unt 1 the '
point is gained. A hundred in the I
pocket is ten thousand times better j
than a hundred in debt. " j
The typewriter on the field of bat- ;
tie is a curious Bight. It has not 1
quite reached that point vet, but it
was to be seen at the recent Hritisn
military tournament io the mimic ac
tion. To.nruv Atkins, mounted on a
cycle, whi h was surmounted by a'
1 emlngton, rone into the a ens, and
typed the messages taken from the
signalers, while a trained war dog
carried the dispatches to the rear.
Whether all this would do in real
warfare leiua.os, of course, to be
The frequent reference to the j
"Midway" io the newspapers, peri- j
odlcal. and the everyday speech of j
the people proves that the unique '
thoroughfare on the Word's Fair
(rounds took a wonderful bold upon
the imagination of those who visited
that most peculiar feature of the
Far. Tho 'Mid way" has found en
trance to church exhibitions to so
elety festivals and oul lie amusements
of various kinds, and Midway"
seems to t ea word that lingers longer
v on the lips of the people than any
other term connected with the great
Columbian festival of last year.
It is not generally known that
every crowned head in Europe, except
the Sultan, is descended from two
sisters, who were born only about 150
years ago the daughters of Duke
Ludwlg liodolph o lirunswlck
WolleabutteL The elder--the Prin
cess lClizabetb, who married E top ror
Charles the Sixth of Germany, and
i Use soother of the famous Em-
Marts Theresa Is the ances-
I Of ail the Roman Catholic roval
fanlllw of Europe The younger
sister tb Princess Antoinette
-was t&S) grandmother of Frederick
Tjllltaa. the Second of Prussia, and
fives war arc prang the Protestant
sxyclfaSBlUw of En rope including
t of KSMssa aon ureeoa
Csca nswassfal test' as that which
OLtXtf ftmor for tbe soldier
tt tea undergoing at tb
-, 4 hail at at. aha aaaat
' ;;JtCwM Cays of Bsali-
JO tzmtor at
.so.nu.ti. ,
i ei'i MNikiiiK ma a i"i ui aui aim i
stovepipes. Aid v b-u one Mt of 1
dentists has ejUippcd ...an so per
fectly with protectee apparatus that
the weapocs ..f another .set cannot!
hurt them, toth sides may at? ree that !
they are wastng time aud money in
uuut;era!.ie fool.shness. aDd nation
fi av decide to reason together rather
thaD to t'y at eacn other's throats
over every trill ug di ; c Ity.
I was good news when the Coiu
iu sioner of Immigration resolved
on tiie deoortatiou of Mowbray, the
tngiish anarchist who landed io New
VorK in contravention of law, and
who insolently tiled "first papers' of
application for natural! at ion. The
fei.ow has I een convicted and im
prisoned for crime ir. England, and,
therefore, is contraband. This is no
time tor dealing tenderly with the
uiutderous scum of Kuropeao cauitais.
We have a law prohibitory o. the im
portation of such stuff, and it is a
law that stio .Id I e enforced to the
letter. Almost without exception
the men who have been active in
plott ng or prompt io executing law.
less huvcotts and violent assaults in
piopagalion of them are of foreign
birth or parentage. With one ex
ception ail of those who were hanged
ior coin licit? In tne llaymarket
massacre were foreigners. From
.ost to .Vowbray all the noisy pro
mulgators of undisguised anarchy
are foreigners. To the industrious
and virtuous immigrant this country
still offers a hearty welcome and a
pleasant home, but it has no place
fo the foreign-born pauper, the
foreign-born cri.oinal, the foreign
born lai-orer who is brought here un
der contract to wor for less than
the Americaa wae rate, or for the
foreign -born anarchist.
Maimtal jealousy, everybody ad
mits. Is an ignoble sentiment: and
ail will admit, theoretically at leat,
that a due or even an undue ad
miration for the beloved object is a
high compliment to the ob ect and
to the man w ho has chosen her above
all others. How few there are though
who have the broad-mindedness to
live up to the theory. A man in
New Jersey has that broad-mindedness.
The husband of a beautiful
and much loved wile, he went to his
daily work with the most unbounded
confidence in her. In bis absence
the tempter came, in the shape of a
young and handsome man and sought
bywile to win the affections of the
beautiful wife. He failed miserably.
The wife was as true and good as she
was beautiful. When the wooer be
came too ardent she screameJ; the
neighbors came in: and the m staken
youth was handed over to the police,
who took him to the station bouse.
Did the husband arm himself and
proceed to "gun" for the assailant of
bis home? Not a bit of it. He
simply made up a picnic basket aud
gave it to the se geant in charge
with instructions to g.ve the young
man a good meal. He regarded the
young man's infatuation as a genuine
tribute to his wife's beauty as well as
to bis own good judgment in marry
ing her. -I don't blame the young
man," he said; "be probably could
not help it." hucb exhibitions ot
charity are rare Perhaps on tbe
whole it is well that they sbou'd be
so. They are interesting, however,
for the evidence they afford that
there a e some men in the world who
can rise above prejudice and even
under ro ocation live up to tbe
theories of their calmer momenta.
Bala' lienoltactiona ofPaganlni.
In Lis gossiping recollections of
Pegent street, George Augu-tus ala
says that among the dwellers in tbat
thoroughfare was tbe world-famous
violinist, PaganinL "iiim 1 remem
ber well," ays Mr. Jaia. "not in
l.egiot street, but at Irightn a bo it
1X34, a gaunt, weird man, with long
bla k bair ar.d hoi ow cheeks and
dashing eyes. I never see Henry
Irving w th"ut recalling lagaiinl to
my mind. I can remernissr vividly
the impression created within me by
bis plav. It was that he had got in
side his violin a devil, and the im
prisoned fiend demon was now shriek
ing, now menacing, now suppli at
ing and now seeking by aressing en
dearments to obtain bis IHrtv rotn
the maklclan with the fiddlestick
who wis grasping his I end-tenanted
fiddle so firmly by the tb oat Paga
nlci played a fantasia on tbe violin
at a concert g.ven by my mother at
Brighton, at which the p ima donna
was the enchanting M rie Mallbran;
and the Illustrious violinist gave me
next day. small boy as 1 was, n a
very large Mil and a skeleton' suit,
a banknote for ilio."
( old Have Her av.
During tbe rehearsals of "Romeo
and Juliet" at too London Lyceum,
Mrs. Stirling, who is the most vener
able of actress, took oc aslon to re
mar that the nun was not neces
sarily old, that she boold be repre
ss led as middle aged, at and she
at pealed to Mr. Irving. "iy dear
Mrs. 8Urllag,"Mt4 th aiaassrar with
delicate satire, "yow My sank ibe
Ban Jsjat as youtfe.al a you aa "
Wsiat has I
loltlMeM fasn-
ancsl harel
saeiiwf
btr waw srosft wr
AGRICULTURAL NEWS
A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR
RURAL READERS. j
llrwriptiua of a r"icrjr tilled t Cm
lor Our II ad ml !'( 1hr Tlmbrrl
atrttH brrr - -C m th (oiu vrral -Crnt-ral
Agri. tliu"t Vrrt n1 otrl
I reeders of thorough' red strains
of i-wiuc not til wi-h to bae a neat
lai idiog for their tine !K k. but alo
one wh ch will .ermil the reparation
of many 'n.i viduals. The accom
panying illustrations. from the
Aineilran Agr.culturists, present in
7IU. 1. l KlmPE, TITS TTKW OF MODEL TIO
(.Kb I.
Mg. I the elevat'on. and in Fig. 2
the ground plan of such an orna
mental structure. This mo el pig
gery Is fitted with conveniences for
easily caring for one hundred to one
hundred aud twenlv-tlve pigs. Tbe
liox, a, by the window Is to re eive
the swill, and the truck, c, In the
passage was to hold tbe mixed
leed of swl.l, gra n and hot water, or
milk from Ibe set l ilers. h, and
from the truck the pigs are led as it
is drawn lrom one end or the passage
to the other. The four p, ns which
come in the center behind tbe kill
ing room, and the boiler room, d, can
Le shut olf from tbe pens on each
no. 2. uround pl a ii or piooebt.
side of tberr, and so are ma h
warmer, and can be used by the
breeders while the pigs are (julte
smalL Tbe other pens ae to accom
modate six large pigs or ten smail
ones. The upfier tory of the center
square is used for the sto age ot grain
and of straw for bedding,
I e hrp lo l
In working either farm or garden
tools, see that tbey are in perfect or
dei t;.e wheels well oiled, tbe
belts tght and the blades sharp
aud poll-.hed. It is a great n.lstake
to try to do good work with a rusty:
d ill h'e, or to use a sh vtl-uluw or
cultivator that Is i-o dull tbat it re
quires a man's strength to keep it on
tiie ground, In addit.on to which it
ove. taxes the hordes lo pull iu
It not only can not cut the weeds
ofT properly, t,ut the ground is not
thoroughly stirred. Have the blades
taken out and ground, or, if very
blunt, send them to tbe shop to be
pointed.
A hoe should l kept bright and
shaipalall times: it will then cut
up the wee s.ainl meil x the ground
w lb vc y little exertion on the p.art
ol the worker. The ed tor uses a c
file for tills sharpening, having the
men take tbe file to the
field with us. One file
will last lor several days. It re
quires but a few minutes' work lo
get the hoes sharp, and the extra
work done is wortb the wages ot an
extra gcxid man. A (iermao whom
tbe editor bad in his employ sa d the
filing of the hoes was not a good
thing, but it was not many days be
fore be came to tbe opin on tbat it
s .ved h s strength to have a sharp
boe. A sharp hoe will cut through
c. oils and among high weeds, wbeie
a dull hoe will not i,e able to p ne
irate. W hen the hoe Is wet, rub .1
;!ry, and then rub on a little coal
ol just a little will answer. Haiti
more American.
alan of Irrigation.
Prot O. II. Fullyer says lack of
water is reducing the area cu tivated
in Kansas. he uest on is not sini
p y of putting in one or a few crops
that have tbeir 1 mg and renu sr per
lodsor seed time u I lure and harvest,
but to select a var ely that will most
fully occupy both the farmer and Hie
s II. Crops in which skill in grow
ing, barves.lng and marketing count
for much are chosen. The farmers
Of that portion whe e water is within
easy reach by windmill pump-seem in
a lair way to rank the highest In In
telligent effort to make the most out
of the forces and apolian' es with
which they work. Tnls it one of the
com i ensat on of irrigation The
same amount of land may be made to
yield much gr ater return, but toao
this more thought mut be given to
the woi k 'J he people of such re
g ons be ome well to do not to say
wealth,,; they are reflned and edu
cated. Irrigated comities russaln a
greater population per square mile.
Tbe people are collected in villages
and hamlet. Th r greater variety
of produ tlons give thsm a good liv
ing and un oppnituolty to mak Ulr
sttrrouodlogs pleasant and artotia
Hcary TaloatV U Okie Dairy
0e isluBr and oeafal tarn
nr. he) oao ssaka tao u r. par
mm easier by via tar dairy lag tbaa
ktsMittlsiMiar mm by bavlag
5i sLEi. p 5
V-te i
hs iow calve in spring, as rnt,
Uiiun. iri uo. lie ia not 1 olher-d
much with cow. aiid earir-r lo milk
wiilie he isgmwiiig bisouius.-ercrr
Winterdairymgdiver-il.es farm io
austres,ud luruishes that some
thing to do in wl.tter, the of
which s tbe cb ef obstacle 1 1 pjccei-s
of Northern farmers. Hut It requires
ensilage aud warm stables lor cows
in winter to make winter Jai.r.i.g
pru..tatle. It Is harder also to xA-e
the fail-tarmwed caives paf!-1'
cau-e inl k is more expensive in win
ter and they aie apt to get less of it,
and partly because when milk it U
ant sooie! iaieo lo be given cold, and
throw the caif into an attack of
soirs With some cheaer substi
tute for milk, ant c ire not to give
the alf an? cold feed or dnnk, the
fail caif can be kept iu tlinlty con
dition. Ijrnoplnc C'hlrka,
Drooping chlcxs may lie suspected
of lousiness first of ail, as ibee para
riles are deadly to the youug, tender
things. Tney should he examined
carefully and if so infested should be
dusted witb insect powder and the
ne-t chaimed. The poultry house
should be well fumigated with burn
ing sulphur, being closed during the
o erat on. The hen should also be
powdered as tbe chicks are. Over
feeding is often the cause of tbe
drooping rum lamed of, and as soon
as a young chick Is seen to hang Its
winirs, or aopear rough and weak. It
is to be immediately looked after.
Sometimes it will be found that tbe
vent Is closed by sticrfv excrement
and this, or course, will be quickly
fatal if not attended to. Tbe open
ing should be carefully freed and
greased with a little sweet oil. Tbe
lood stiould be cracked wheat or corn
meal welted witb water. Pure water
must be supplied freely.
Corn th Com rg CrraL
Not a few t aref .1 otervers of the
signs of tbe time pre .let that lie
fore the new century dawns corn will
reach a higher price than wheat,
which can be produced tbe round
world over. Already the money
value of this distinctively American
crop is m arly double that ot the
wheat crop of the country. As a
food it is fast ga mn,' high fa or
among Ibe people of the Old World.
It is ealt. raised and does not ex
haust the soil, and has leen the sur
est and greatest sour e of wealth for
this country. The corn bell is a lim
ited one. considering our immense
area. land within its limits bis
never shown any permanent depre
ciation. Iu the course of events
farm values in this corn belt must
range higher and prove more p out
able tb.n mines aud mineral wealth.
The Ttiahrwll Sirawharry.
Hut few newly introduced fruits
hive received so favorable eucom urns
from ex e t e aud profesiional
fruit growers a have teen shower d
upon tbe Tim
bre. I strawberry,
the original
stock of which Is
owned by E. V.
ite.d, lirl Ige
port, ( bio. yvll
tho-e who have
seen it and tried
it pronounce it. a
var cty of unex
ceptional merit.
THK TIMHHKLL.
The flow rs are plst Hate; berries very
large, unifo mly con cat, of beautiful 1
crim-on c lor: II r i, and of excellent
quality; season very late. Itsfol ago
is strong and healthy, and the plants
are wonderfully produ live. ror
ijual ty, healthiness vigor, and "arge
averag ste combined, the mtio
d cer claims that there is no other
variety to e .ual Iu
Kwe -t I'malKM.
8 weet potatoes can endure quite a
period of drought, but the rows must
be kept clean, however, or weeds and
i ra' grass will put in an appearan e,
robbing the potato plants of moisture
aud rendering cultivation di.iculb
The vines may be thrown on either
side of tne row lo permit of the cul
tivator, or may l bunched around
tbe trunks on the nil s. Keep the
soil locse until tbe weeds are de
stroyed and the vines cover lb
ground completely.
farm Nnfta.
N am Mai, will thrive If overfed.
It will teem lo gate rapidly lor
awhile, but, sooner or later, the di
gest ve organs become Impaired and
disease re -u I is.
Thk .Massachusetts Experiment
Station made an experiment in feed
ing ski m milk lo calves and tigs,
The result showed that it was e uiv
alent to selling m. Ik at ode a hun
dred. Tiik voung steers are the ones that
pay Tbey should be well-bred, i-o as
to grow rapdiy. There Is no neces
sity lor keeping a steer longer than
when It is to ree vearsold. Tne great
est gain In weight is when tbey are
young
JixOK farming Is simply the follow
ing of the pub ished experience of
those who have devoted years of toil
and thought to Improved methods of
farming, and tbe most irogressiva
men are those who profit by the
teaching or others.
Wiikn the giound lecomes very
dry the roots or beets and turnips
are apt to split with the sudden start
they will make with the first good
rain. Tbe prevent ve is cultivation
to keen tbe soil crumb y and as a
mu ch. thus preventing evaporation
of tbe moisture tbat may lemain io
th so L
T 'K "Farm and Fireside" ear
tbat tagging grapes as soon a th
bloom ba fallen will prs.eat rot
Tb trait U much asor beaut. I ul
ba grow la bags Om poantf
BMallla bags ar need. Tb bag Is
op, draw eararnlly ovar tb
baaob sad piuaed aKit tM
fro vbssb tbe haw la growl
SPREAU OF ENGL'SH
Dm Larclj to fc a upllrtir V It -'-war
aa4 Inllrrtlnua
Tbe rapd pead of English i
la gciy to ie at rib .ted to tne sim
plicity f its g annua . which le le-a
rompl rated than Viat of any ol er
Weu-rn nauoii It marked jfvi-ity
of in. tct ions, a distingiiiahe I. for
example from the (ierman, a ureal
iHiint iu its la. or. and tnu it s uch
e is er for a t.ermaii t le m Log ih
Wii.iii fur an Eniihmaii it American
to learn (.cm. an. Ju tiie other hami
tbe exiraordiua v orthographic in
ronsisiency oi the language is a de
rided drawback, and there islitte
d'ubt that if Ei.giish were written
on phonetic rincii Ies, as pani-h or
(lerman, its spread would lie mueh
more rapid, to say nothing of (he
great Uwn this would te lo the
Anglo-Sa .ms themselves, who sx-nd
yearso: unneceaary toil in learuing
to read aud wtite the r own lan
guage. Il is not likely, however that any
change wit. lie made in this direction
in the near lutuie, at least in Eng
land, fo the English as a nation are
noted for their conservative habits,
aod, although they m-ovni-e t e
gieat advantages of a phouclic s s
tcru. are in no hurry to ad pt it
Any i bange io this respect must
probably be looked for to America,
where a few inuovatio. s have been
aires y Introduced Thus, the
spelling vigor," '-favor," ' honor,"
etc.. are American innovations, as
are alo '-plow," '-traveler," "cen
ter," 'theater," etc t ther more
recent forms, as "program," and
"catalog," are alrea-iy well estab
lished In Au,er.ca but have found
little favor in Kngland.
English speakers mav be divided
into four great branches, as follows:
(1) Tbe Ea opeao, ( ) tbe Ameiicau,
( it tbe .voulh African, and ) tbe
Auslrala-ian. Each of these branche-
has iu peculiarities, and the diver
gence lietween the four is becoming
moie marked every year, Of tbe
extia-Kuroiieao branches, America,
although ihe o.dest, has diverged
least from the pa ent system. It is
su prising what a number of Ameri
can words have teen Introduced lut'i
Knglan I, many of whicb are now
considen d Indigenous to the soil. A
lar'e pioportion of the slang tpoken
by the middle cla-ses in l.ngland
may also 1 said U ave an Ameri
can origin. On the other band, tbe
Americans hive retained m .ny good
old i nglish words which have long
ago drouiicd out of our home vocabu
lary. Cbamber' Journal.
CUNNING OF THE COYOIE.
Hot A t raid to II Hear a Mao Whom Ha
Knows u Ba Vaarnaad.
The barking habit of the coyote Is
very douiikc, and his o'd name of
larking wolf is very apprupr.ate.
When collecting mammals in Wyom
ing, sajsa wlter iu M Nicholas, it
way a very couimoo thing for us to
bear tbe coyotes around our camp set,
up a great barking Iu choru- at the
first sign or daybreak, ;ust when ihe
ro.steri tiegio to crow on Ihe farm.
It is a wild and unc Itivaed k nd of
bark, ending iu a falsetto howl, and
resemble the . ry of the jackal of In
dia more nearly than any other scund
1 ever bea d. Hut ."sir Coyote Is cute.
He knows e actly the distance mat
constitutes lair rifle range, and he
knows )ut as well whethtr the
si ranger Is armed as does ihe stranger
himself. bell bunting-ln the S.:o
sbone Mountains In in , 1 wanted
to kill a coyote ror a special purpose,
but never on. e succeeded in getting a
fa r shot, even at - u yards, ror ten
days we banged nwav industriously at
every one wc saw. but never touched
a bal -. r inally. at Lor be It's ran b 1
leit the expedition and started north
by stage, leaving be.h nd me ri le re
volver, knife, and even scis ors. Just
two hours after I had said good-by to
my shooting Irons and taken the
buckboard stage," we saw a coyote
ahead of us. dose to the trail. t
ing us c ;ming he selected a soft sp t,
sat down w thin thirty rods of the
trail and waited for us. We drove
up stopped as we got opposite him,
and si ill he did not run. That vil
lian sat there cool I v without moving
a muscle, i ut with a leer that plainly
said: "Now, don't you wi.-.h you had
your old gun'r" W hen wo got
thiough making faces at him and
wishing for a gun or a revolver, or
even a common sione to fire at him,
we drove on, aud then he got up and
went hunting for jack rabbit To
th s day 1 bave been puz.l Ing over
the question: ' How did that crazy
rascal tind out so i uickiy that both
the driver aod 1 were totally un
armed''' That bed d know perlectly
we. 1 I have no doubt whale. er, for
no coyote ever walled like tbat for a
man with a gun.
Had Tough (Stomach.
Not long ago ram l.amond went
shooting with a small party of city
hall friends. When the parly reached
iheir camping grounds ihey found an
empty rback that bad ev dently been
octumed b. a similar crowd uol long
before: The commissary department
or the party bad neglected lo provide
anything io the nature or sjllds, and
as scon e.ueuce the sportsmen bad
n it, when tbey rea bed tbe shack,
partaken or food forover eight hours
' lr 1 knew or a wolf that bad suf
fered such pangs of hunger that are
now goawlng my vitals, 1 would
viect a monument to his wolf-blp In
Lincoln Park," said Kavmond, as
they stacked their guos In lb corner
of th rhanty.
On of tb silent members of the
parly, who bad one been a pros
pector lo Colorado and who bad many
time refreshed hlmseir on th baoua
dls ovred in a dsserted shack, began
to os a ouod" to sc what ba
might dUeover. lag few mosaenu
be Mid:
"Well, boy, tb Lord has pro
vided." Aad b draw from a b i a
chunk of b.oi l.ghtly ibe or
sear, but .0 laoly gooi Cfl'' "'
from th ..Ufidi..t ol rr""a of
fj ui-hiiig hunter.
Tbe Ui ever, was haded witn
shout.' !. and i"- '
minutes the were lei u' ou the
baiu
'J hrf -e.-ond dav of their stay tbey
teee.ved a cad Horn tne owner of toe
stuck, who l.vcd jut tsroi h the
timiH-r
"av, lellers.' -aid the old farmer.
vou am't eat uoihiu' )u" lonod
rliuiid bete, have ye' I le t a hunk
o; ham here with ado e of rat polv.n
on IU an' it u-tcame to me when I
heard you hootin' thai yu might
tlii.ik it was all li.'lit an' tackle it"
We've eaten every bit o. it." re
' turued Kavmoutl. -and 1 never ae
anything liter in my life For one.
1 don't p oK-e to uo into paroxysms
aud die at this late hour "
i ot a man in the party was sick,
! and tbey all onsi. er themselves
j fairly touh men. Chicago Post.
Onr Farm.
One of the last of the bullefms of
the eleventh census tells how many
farms there are In the I nil-cd .stales,
and how much land, imnioved and un
improved is included In these farms.
There were In IsiiO more than four
and a half million farms In this coun
try, auainst a little more man tour
millions In 1-0. Ibe numlr of
farms increased more than ha f a mil
lion, or nearly li fur cent in those
ten years i hey Include more than
t,on,iHM,uiM) acres, considerably more
than hair of whl h Is improved.
Not only have the farms greatly In
creased in number and in lota! area
In ten years, but a large proportion
of them were improved In I8W than
in ISHO.
All this is very pleasant to see,
from the point of view of the ceneral
well being, but there Is one tendency
shown to a slight extent in the farm
staii-tlcs which is not altogether en
couraging. The average size of the American
farm in !su was 113 acre. The
average sle lo Ihviu was li i acres.
This Is a very small difference, quite
uninn o. tarit except that It shows the
tendency in the sl.e of farms to lie in
the wrong direction.
If many farms bad not lcome
much larger In the decade through
the absorption of smaller ones, or the
taking up of large domains in other
ways then by the homestead and pre
emption laws, not even the sm ill In
crease that is noted in the size of the
average farm, small as it Is, could
bave taken place.
ur National and 'tale land legis
lation should encourage neither the
formation of lare landed estates nor
the reduction of farms to a very
small sle Either of these tenden
cies would constitute a public evil,
but of the two, a tendency to large
estates Is undoubtedly the wore.
Youths' Companion.
I he Mashnr's Mlatako.
An elderly ladv, says the New
Yor Journal, who kt-eps a fashion
able up town school and who lays no
claim to good looks, tells the follow
ing as a oke on herself.
"The other nfghl I left tho home
of a lriend half a nil e lve my
hou-e. It was pou ing with lain. 1
had on a heavy mackintosh arid a
thick veil, but no umorclla. 1 started
to walk home, when a swell looking
y tin man approached, raised h s
hat with a mashing smile and aeked
me to come under his umi.rel a. I
took his arm with a smile and walked
w th b i tit to my door. He said sweet
things all the way. When 1 reached
tny door I thanked bim for his shel
tering escort. He suggested a Mile
supper. I said
' 'Voung man. who do you take
me for?' at the same time raising my
veil and looking at. him in the full
glare o: tho electric lUht He lumped
balf way acioss the street and died:
' The devil!'"
Turned to Thought of !.
In Kansas they say a young fellow
is sweet on a girl when be helps ber
to pen the pigs. If a I eolucky
ina den steals the little silk bow from
the lining of a young man's hat and
wears it io her shoe she expects him
to propose within a mouth. In
Maine the signs are favorable when
a young man asks the livery stable
keeper for a steady horse that will
,og along with the lines thrown
ab ut the whip In Texas that ab
sent m ndedness which denotes love
Is attributed to a vo ng man who
lorgets his revolver when he goe to
a dan -e. In Lower t an.ida the ar
dent habitant begs a wooden shoe
from bis sweetheart to keen bis to
bacco in. New York Recorder.
A Fores or Saturn.
The teacher had up the class io
primer of natural philosophy, mid she
had told the youug-tcru the stoiy or
tiewion and the apple.
"Now,"hh!ln,ulred, '-what makes
tbe apple fall to the ground?"
Not, a hand went up fo,- Mime mo
menu, aod then a dirty one i-eloog.
lug to a small boy slowly aro .
"1 know." he sad.
"We. 1," smiled the teacher, ao
provlnxly, 'tell the class."
''cause it's rotten."
Washington's Many Widows.
There is om; widow to every sixteen
and a halfol the population 'r Wash
Ington; the whole number of widow.,
as appears by the recent, ensus reimrt
toi5,ooti. Tbe excessive bfo,riloa
Is accounted for by the tact that em
p.oyiuent In many branches of the
l.overnment service has been lotiod
for tbe widows of soldiers
1 tb ir man's summery way of
dealing witb hi. custom- u?
makes bim rich.
A M..nK.ri.T bas 12,000 'ma u
la y. This is what tons sZTT..
Ml to kk mi
