OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS Kow Many Meals a Day ? AVE j'ou ever taken time to reckon the multi plicity of the theories nowadays with regard to he number of meals that should fill out the lay's fare and the hours at which they should , e eaten ? If you have done this the probability s that you emerged from the study in arith metic convinced that it makes precious little difference what a man is doing as long as he is possessed ef a sufficient amount of faith in the line he is following. For you can easily call to mind half a dozen of your Acquaintances who say that their health has improved one hundred per cent since they cancelled their breakfasts and took to eating a rather Hearty luncheon. And within sound of your voice are as many other persons who declare they never knew what perfect health meant till they cut out the mid-day meal altogether , allowing a satisfying break fast and a not too late dinner to cover the amount of food consumed through the day. Then come to your mind the lusty exponents of the theory that five meals a day are none too many to keep the body in fuel , and another set who 'gloat over the robust condition they have wooed and won through clinging to a regimen that allows but one square meal a da.v. And if you feel to take a firm stand for or against any one article of food or drink and are looking for examples to help you to a decision , you can get quite as much con fused in any attempt to decide who has the rights of the case with him. One will tell you he cannot drink coffee be cause it affects him in such anal such a way , while an other will tell 3'ou that he never could get through his day's work without its gently stimulating influence , and that he knows it benefits him because he always sleeps like a baby after drinking it late at night Going through the list of things that men eat and drink you will rind the came pros and cons apply , and it becomes fearfully bewil dering before you get half through the list. So , if you care to search the records of food causes that medical Journals have championed , say , for the last century , you will find that what was blest in one decade was decried In the next And then you know you aren't the only one who has been almost swamped by contradictory evidence in the case of the people vs. food. When , however , you get where you are convinced that some great occult moral principle underlies these differences which are after all only superficial , and then undertake to study this princi ple , and its ramifications , you are bound to have your first real satisfaction from the problem , though you probably will net be able to get off the fence in your cogitations on this aspect of it. Boston Transcript Better Rural Schools. HOULD not the country schools of au agricul tural community aim to give their pupils such an education as will be most useful to them in farm life ? Is there any good reason why they should as far as possible try to copy town schools ? On the contrary , should they not aim to do a different work from the school whose pupils will spend their lives in the cities in business or professional pursuits ? Thi rural school problem Is the most important which confronts educators to-day. The people of the farms are the bone and sinew of the republic , yet .thoy are not af forded educational advantages which begin to rompare with those of the town and city. While the cities have their education methods their manual up-to-date , training schools , and other things to fit the young for the various pursuits of city life , all of which have been evolved in re- ci'iit years , the rural school of to-day Is little In advance C those of a generation or two ago. Agriculture itself has advanced more In the last half century than it did before in ten centuries , and the new rural school ought to teach the new things of agriculture , as far as possible. The plan which has been evolved for the consolidation of rural schools is excellent as far as it goes , but it is only one step in the proper direction. It will afford an opportunity to disseminate to the farmers hi a practical manner some of the developments which utrrk'ultural sciences have brought out in recent ye.irs , and DO FISH LIVE IN DEAD SEA ? There Is an Apparent Disagreement A 1:1011z Those "Who Ought to Know. it has long been understood by the public generally that fish do not live in the Dead Sea , but it would seem that there is a difference of opinion among men of science as to the fact Kinilc Maisou writes in Cosmos an ar ticle on the subject which is condensed as follows : The prevalent error , according to which the water of this interior sea Is quiet and incapable of agitation , bXM'ms to have arisen from the name H has retained for oeuturies. This er ror should no longer exist , now that trustworthy travelers have told us of UK- huge waves that break on its jsl.jres during storms. The retention of the primitive name ( Dt'ad Sea ) is due to the fact which is jKTfectly certain and well known , that no living creature neither fish , crus tacean nor niollusk can live in its waters , with the exception of certain inferior organisms. This fact is at tested by the death of the fish carried in by the Jordan , whose bodies serve as food for the birds that fly over the lak-e in violation of tradition. Accordingly I was surprised the ot ci * day to read in a well-known journal of natural science the follow ing note under the heading , "The Stocking of the American Salt Lakes with Fish" : "Up to the present the Dead Sea has been regarded as wanting in fish ; the saltiness of its waters has seemed to prelude the development of animal life. But fish have now been discov ered in other salt lakes in the neigh borhood of the streams that flow into it So the United States fish commis sion has taken the necessary measures .to introduce more than a million of --lnd fry into the Great Salt Lake of IT. ah. As the aflluents reduce the den sity of the water to a great distance irnm their mouths , It is hoped that the fi h will become easily acclimated and Uit. : : they will go up the tributaries to Xow , since the fish carried down by 1j. , .Tordaif'are asphyxiated when they hi'.yo scarcely reached the Dead Sea , lio/o fan the fish of the other tributary be acclimated in this furnace ? which are now only obtainable in the agricultural colleges. The rural school teacher to-day gets the same training that is given the city school teacher , and it is all designed for the city school teacher. The average country school teacher knows nothing practical about plant life , the chem istry of soils , and other things which the farmers of the future ought to know. The country teacher should be trained to teach these things and to Instill in the hearts of the pupils a love for the things of the farm Instead of those of the city. When this is done there will be less anxiety on the part of the country boy and girl to rush oil to the town or city. It will probably take years to evolve a rural school system along these lines , but it certainly should be done , and how to do it is the chief problem before educators to day. Topeka State Journal. Danger Gives Amusement. T would seem as if no amusements wherein some element of danger does not enter are ever thoroughly enjoyed. We English folk may take our pleasures sadly in the bulk , but when they are of an out-door nature there is no doubt whatever that they cannot be too exciting or too dangerous to please us. It is just because motoring is full of the possibilities of mishaps that it has .become so enormously popular , especially with women , who are ever more ready to face death in pursuit of pleas ure , despite the fact that they are always described as bundles of nerves. Alpine guides declare that women are quite as Intrepid as men when dangerous peaks are to be climbed ; and when every one 'cycled it was invariably the girls of the party who rode the fastest , risked the worst hills , and braved the thickest traffic. While the pluck of English women is to be admired on flood and field , it is always just as well to keep before them the fact that the lives of others are sometimes placed in jeopardy by this very intrepidity. Foolhardy expeditions , reckless driving and riding , carelessness on the river and a general disre gard of danger signals and the advice of those who know , too often mean not only personal risk and accident , but danger , and maybe death , to others. London World. The Young Men of To-Day. HE young men of to-day are too finicky too much given to self-analysis , too self-pamper ing. Their shoes and neckties e&st them more each year than did the entire wardrobe of their grandfathers. They feel a sense of degra dation in small beginnings and plodding , and they wait for success ready made to come to them. There is not a young man in the country who would imitate Ben Franklin , and march through the streets munching a loaf of bread while looking for employment. He dares not , Indeed , because society has become also &n- icky , and he would be arrested as a tramp. The young man of to-day wants capital. Trusts and combines and corporations distress him. Ho cannot be president of a bank or judge of a court the first week he is from school , and he feels like the famous Eli Fussley , that he has "no chance. " Philadelphia Inquirer. Make the Indian a Citizen UMERICALLY the Indian is not decreasing , and politically he grows more and more of a burdensome question. He threatens to be a malignant growth in the economy of our in ternal development , absorbing good materials that ought to go to pur healthier advance and turning them into abnormal relations for both red and white man. If the Indian can learn the way to Iwodle he can learn the way to honest independence. He is a creature with sound brains and souud members. Let him be given the fair chance to exploit his brains for him self and be removed from the relat-iou of isolated and jjrown-up infancy to which he is now assigned. There would be no talk of scandals in our Indian department then. Minneapolis The water boils at 105 degrees C. (221 ( degrees F. ) , and the magnesium chlo ride gives it a detestable taste. Add the chloride of sodium and calcium and then bromid to taste , and perhaps we may realize that even salt water fish cannot live in such an element though It is perfectly limpid. A bath In Dead Sea water enables one to realize the difference in den sity between this water and that of seas in general or that of fresh water lakes. Eggs float in it. The human body being lighter than the water of the Dead Sea , swimming in it is diffi cult the head alone tending to sink in the water. At any rate , if the Mormons , or rath er the Americans , who have under taken to stock the Utah lake have been inspired by the example of the Dead Sea , what a strange delusion truly. Someone , doubtless standing on the banks of the Jordan , has naively thought that the fishes caught In this river , though the shad is unK : > wu there , were fishes that had ascended the stream from the Dead Sea , It was but a simple April-fool fish ( poisson d'Avril ) at which a scientist has bit ten. THE SCATFERATION 1ST , How Sims Settlement Became a Model of Decentralization. Suns settlement was beginning to feel Itself .a place of importance. The chief road had a fence on both sides of It for over a mile , and a blaze on a large tree was already ordered with the official inscription "Main street" There had been talk of the possibility of a store , and local pride broke forth In noble eruption when a meeting was called to petition for a postoflice. The wisdom , worth and wealth of the place were represented by old Sims. He was a man of advanced ideas , the natural leader of the community , and after all the questions had been duly discussed the store and postoflice resolved upon the question of who was to run them came up. There were several aspirants , but old Sims led the meeting , express ing the majority and crushing the. minority in a brl if but satisfactory speech : "Fust of all , boyg , I'm opposed to this yer centerin' of everything in one place. Now that's jest what hez been the rooin of England ; that is why Lon don ain't never amounted to uothin' everything at London. London is En gland ; England is London. If London 's took , England 's took , says I , an' that hez been her rooin. "The idee of House ' Lords an' House o' Commons in Wie same town ! It ain't fair , I tell ye ; it's a hog trick. Why didn't they give some little place a chance instead o' buildin' up a blast- in' monopoly like that ? Same thing hez rooined New York , an' I don't propose to hev our town roomed at the start. "Now , I say no man hez any right to live on the public. 'Live an' let live , ' says I ; an' if we let one man run this yer store , it's tantamount to ruak- in' the others the slaves of a monop oly. Every man hez as much right as another to sell goods , an' there Is only one fair way to do It , an' that Is give all a chance ; an' sence it falls to mete to make a suggestion , I says , let Bill Jones thar sell the tea ; let Ike Yates hev the sugar ; Smithers kin handle the salt ; Deacon Blight seems natural ly adapted for the vinegar ; an' the oth er claims kin be considered later. I'll take the postoflice myself down to my own farm. Now that's fair to all. " There was no flaw in the It'gic ; it was most convincing. Those who would fight found themselves without a weapon , and Scatteration Flat be came a model of decentralization. Work ? Oh , yes , It works. Things get badly mixed at times , and It takes a man all day to buy his week's gro ceries ; but old Sims says it works. Moral : The hen goes chlckless that scatters Its eggs. Century. The Time for Economy. "See here , Edgar , " said the groom's mother , "don't you think you two had better economize a little ? " "No , mother , " replied the groom ; "it isn't time yet" "It Isn't time yet ? " "No ; we've still got BOme of our savings. In about tkre months we'll be broke and have to economize. " Philadelphia Press. A bonnet with a Presidential bee hi It is apt to be an expensive piece of millinery. , Heroic measures are often misfits. JF In the Attic. Up in the attic where mother goes Is a trunk iii a shadowed nook \ tr-ink and its lid she will oft unclose , As if 'twere a precious book. Mie kncols at its side on the attic boards , And tenderly , soft and slow , She counts all the treasures she fondly hoards The things of the loug ago. i yellowing dress , once the sheerest white That shimmered in joyous pride She looks at it now with the girl's de light That was hers when she stood a bride. there is a ribboii of faded blue She keeps with the satin pown ; Buckles and lace and a little shoe ; Sadly she lays that down. L'p in the attic where mother goes Is a trunk in a shadowed place A trunk with the sceut of a withered rose On the satin and shoe and lace. N'one of us touches its battered lid , But safe in its niche it stays , Sacred to all that her heart has hid Gold of the other days. Woman's Life. The Chattering Habit. About nine-tenths of the fool jokes about womankind have absolutely no foundation. But there is one subject which is the target of the joke fac tories , and it is one which permits no exaggeration , because the real thing is worse than any joke that could possibly be made and that is the talkIng - Ing habit. There are different types of talkers , but 6ven the best become a bore. There is the drawly lady , who takes hours ind hours to put a story on the way. There is the giggly girl , who punc tuates her conversation essays with Snickers and titters. But by far the worst is the middle-aged dame , who thinks she is still a little , kittenish tiling , and who has the notion that shatter is wit and talk means evi dence of brains. Heaven forbid that such a fate should .ever be yours or mine. There's no telling what cruel gift old age will bring , but of all the evidences of years wrinkles , bitter ness and snowy croAvns let us pray to escape the babbling habit Usually the talky lady goes under full head of steam. Someone , some sad moment has told her that she is so vivacious that she is a joy of her friends. From that time henceforth and forever after she has but one am bition and that is to tattle. Oh. my ! Oh , my ! It is my opinion that when women become separated from the vanity bug and the talking habit they'll be vastly smarter than men. This is not saying that some men are not afflicted with both of these blemishes the mental and verbal ones combined but as a general i-ule the two are pretty well confined to the daintier sex. Mine. Qui * Vive in Chicago Record-Herald The Fns < * y Woman. The fussy woman has recently been the theme of a strong indictment by a member of her own sex , who de clares that the woman who fusses causes more domestic unhappiness than one who is wicked. Fussing is asserted to be a characteristic or habit of eight ladies out of every ten , but is a fault that seldom develops itself conspicuouslj' till middle age. The de butante is , as a rule , too light hearted , too inconsistent and happy-go-lucky to worry over trifles. It is the anxious , overburdened matron of between 40 and GO , and the disappointed , embit tered , elderly spinster whose fussy ways disturb the peace of their house hold and drive the "mere men" among the inmates to incessant bridge at their clubs and evenings at the music hall. Who does not know the fussy wo man who has the tongue of Demos thenes when the shortcomings of her domestics are in question , and who is quite certain that Jane , if for a mo ment out of her sight , must be neglect ing her work and flirting with the milkman ? The fussy woman has no belief in her fellow creatures , and is generally pessimistic to the core. She always expects the worst to occur , and enjoys playing the role of Cassandra at meal times when hunger compels her husband and children to remain within earshot The poor woman probably has no idea that she is fussy. She prides her self on her ability "to look after things , " and imagines herself a model of matronly capability. Could she but see herself as she Is seen by others , her speedy reformation must inevitably enaue. She ! s generally a kind heart ed , well meaning woman , and the rev elation of the havoc she was working could scarcely fail to have a beneficial effect London Modern Society. Pin-Money at Home. With a family of small children it was the desire of my heart to make a little spending-money , as we call it Every one said that I was a splendid hand to make doughnuts , so I thought my friends might take pleasure in buy ing them from my children. One bright Tuesday morning I start ed my little girl and boy out with new chip baskets on their arms , each car rying six dozen rich brown doughnuts , to sell at ten cents a dozen. Having instructed them where to go , they soon returned with glowing faces , and their hands full of dimes and pennies , carry ing empty baskets , and telling me that so many said , "Come again. " t In a short time my regular baking- days were Tuesdays , Thursdays and Saturdays , and my pin-money increas ed. I made room in a side room of j my home , where I kept doughnuts and cakes every day. While a little help two days in the week , my business became a pleasure to me and my dear children , and we all have our pin-money made at home , and my children are learning the value of saving , to the delight of their father. Woman's Home Companion. To Clean As white ostrich feathers are so much used on hats this winter , here is a little useful information as to the manner of cleaning them : Make a lather of pure soap with a little am monia in it , using about a quart of water or more if the feathers are very large. Move them to and fro gently In this , then lightly press them from stem to tip between the thumb and finger , and do the same in an equal amount of clear hot water. Then repeat it in one of cold water slightly tinted with blue. blue.Hang Hang them to dry where there is a draught , and shake them at intervals ; before quite dry' gently shake them before a gas stove , or they ean > bo partially dried by steam over a pan of quick boiling water , and finished as directed. Comb them carefully and curl any stray strands with a silver knife. Vogue. Individuality and Force. "There is one statement that maj safely be applied to the women who represent the best development in all the largest western cities , " says Mrs. Reginald de Koven in Everybody's , "Given the same origin , the same stock , which is for the most part very purely English , and from which the American type as it now exists has been evolved in both west and east the woman who has passed the formative years of her life in the west distinct ly profits by the experience. Particu larly is this the case when in common with her eastern sister , part of the western girl's education is obtained abroad. "The western woman possesses with out any doubt a more accented In dividuality and oftentimes a refreshing breeziness. which , however , rarely oversteps conventionality. Thus she has a force and vivacity lacking in her less original eastern sisters. This in dividuality and force she never loses , no matter where the events of her life may lead her. " Ho\v to Carry Tour Ujnbrella. The smart girl has a new little way and not an altogether commendable one , of carrying her umbrella these days. She used to hold it by the handle in an ordinary common-sense way ; now she grasps it at the middle , and swings it at an angle of about forty- five degrees , with the handle pointing downward in front of her , and the sharp ferrule-end sticking out behind , a menace to the eyes of all pedes trians unlucky enoujJ to follow her. She buys her umbrella to match in .color her rain-coat , and it generally has more handles than one. The um brella with three different handles lane no uncommon thing this year. The handles screw on , and are very easily adjusted. Woman's Home Compan ion. Married Man's Three Stazes. A married man , in his early matrimonial menial stages , has three different periods. At first he is in love and sees everything rose color ; then he gets bored and cross , that is the critical period ; finauy , he either becomes a brute or he sinks into the lethargy of utter indifference. You have reached the second act ; if you are clever you can make your husband your best friend for life ; and remember that nothing on earth can sever the bond that unites a man to a woman whose unselfish tact has steered him safely over the most difficult part of his life. Kansas City Journal. A "Woman's House. Whenever a woman's house shall be her palace , her pride , her delight she will not be the victim of ennui , or vanity , or ambition , or discontent Sickness in Babies. In throat and nasal affections , th * crying tones will be Indistinct hoarse , or nasal in character. Frequent rubbing of the nose Is not necessarily or often a "sign of worms. " More likely it is an indication of irrita tion of the stomach and bowels. Children show more plainly than people of a larger growth the features of both health and disease. Every mother should know something of the finer indications of both conditions , Incomplete closure of the eyelids , showing the whites of the eyes during sleep Is symptomatic of many a'cuto and chronic ailments , and shows al least that the balance of health Is dis turbed. Frequent fretful crying indicate ! some disturbance of the general sys tem. It may be an earache or hunger , or the pricking of a faulty or ill-ad justed safety pin , or It may be things more serious. Movements of the nostrils point t difficulty in getting the breath in great er or less degree , and are characteristic of all diseases which Involve the Dron- chial tubes and lungs , as well as ol some affection of the nasal passages. Unwillingness to cry Is noted In pneumonia and pleurisy , when th < breatning is seriously interfered with. After a child has become old enough tc shed tears , it is a bad omen If , during an illness , there are no tears secreted when the child cries. VJ * v Mrs. Disraeli once said to an aston ished circle in an English country house : "Dizzy has the most wonderful moral and political courage , but he had no physical courage. I always have to pull the string of his shower bath. " Glen MacDonough , who wrote tha libretto for the comic opera , "Babe * In Toyland , " was sitting in a New York cafe recently with Victor Her bert , the composer , when a waiter approached preached to take his order. The waitei smiled at Mr. .MacDonough , and saidt "You don't remember me , do you ? 1 used to sing in one of your compa nies. " "I remember you very well , " said Mr. MacDonough. "Are you sur prised to see me here as a waiterT asked the other. "Not a bit , " replied the librettist , cheerfully ; "you know , I have heard you sing. " One day last March , when Senatpi Nelson W. Aldrich , of Rhode Island , threatened to have a page dismissed because of carelessness in delivering cards , Senator Arthur Pue Gormaa laid his hand on the angry Rhode Isl ander's shoulder , and remarked : "Gen try , gently , Aldrich. Give the boy a show. I often made the same mistak * myself. Let it pass this time. " "You often made the same mistake ! " echoed Senator Aldrich. "Often , " Senator Gorman - man replied ; "don't you know that I first entered the Senate as a pag nearlj- fifty 3Tears ago ? I have never forgotten those days. You have no idea what a hard time a page haSi with a half-dozen Senators calling hid at the same time , and all of them in a hurry. He is bound to make mistake * If I had been dismissed for a little de lay in delivering a card , I should not probably be in the Senate to-day. " The Paris papers discuss at length the fatal ending of the duel which re ceutly took place at the lie de la Grande Gatte between M. Ebelot , q novice in the use of foils , and M. Laut tier , who had quite a reputation as 4 fencer. The duel began with the usual crossing of swords and an attempt o the part of the experienced fence * merely to keep his adversary at a dis tance. The foils crossed each othei for only about half a minute , when M. Ebelot , the inexperienced fencer , sud denly gave a lunge forward and plunged his sword into the side of liU adversary , just under the arinpit. Tha unfortunate man at once fell , with his shirt soaked in blood , and blood pour ing from his mouth and nose , and in a quarter of an hour he was dead. Th stroke which the novice used is called the "Coup de Monserrat , " and ha quite a romantic history. The hero < 4 the story was a young Parisian inual clan , engaged to be married to a young lady of Bordeaux. Quarreling with 4 v cousin of his fiancee , he got his ean boxed at the Bordeaux Club. Ignorant of fencing , he dared not resent the in sult , and renounced his engagement. But he also took fencing lessons from . vv one Monserrat , a maitre d'arines oi Toulouse. Monserrat taught him on < trick only , and he practiced it for * year. At the end of that time , he re turned to the Bordeaux Club , slapped his man's face , and , being called out instantly ran his opponent through thi body with his cunning lunge. MILLIONS FOR GOATSKINS. Farmers lUake No HlFnrt to Heap Par of Thin Harvest. A new industry is offering itself t the farmers and manufacturers of tbj United States. The fact that ยง 25,000 , 000 worth of goatskins arc- now annual ly imported into the United States , an < that our enterprising manufacturer ! are now obliged to send half-waj around the world for a large share oj them , suggests that the farmers of tlu country have a great opportunity ti put a large share of this sum inn their own pockets , and that the entiri sum may be divided between our pie ducors and manufacturers. Importa dons of goatskins into the United Stattj now amount to about $23,000jOO p.ei annum , and a large share of these art brought from India , China , Arabia an < southeastern Russia. The increasing popularity of certain classes of kl < leather for footwear , as well as glove * has greatly Increased the demand fa goatskins in the United States witldi recent years. In 1885 the value of goat skins imported was about $4OOQOQ& by 1890 it had grown to S9COQGOQ , ta 1S9S it was $15,000,000 , In 1900 It waj $22,000,000 and In 1903 , La round nusa bens , $25,000,000. The farmers of United States are apparently no effort to reap any part of this goldei harvest for themselves , he c s 6f 1900 showed the total number oats In the United States than 2,000,000 In number , and wb.eS A Is understood that the skins of prc 20,000,000 & ats were required t9 the $25,000,000 worth Imported year , it would be seen that the so from the United States could formed but a small share of the tota consumption. Yet the fact that a largt share of our supply of this importaa Import comes fr.m India , Ching France and Mexico suggests that thejj are large areas in the United State ? which produce goats successfully atf la sufficiently large numbers to snippi the entire home demand. > azar. Politeness. Little Elmer Papa , what la pollif fless ? Professor Broadhead Pollteoesa , BOO. Is the art of not letting ' people know what you really J them , Tawn Toplca.-