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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1885-9-10, Page 7•miser a a it he- is con- d about at com- .eaching ler foot ,as done 'h, he will t :tea will eve bow of tee this ap- d from burr of brevity Per the link or not us sir own troop& at, but omits of wit at wit eery of he firat lament ilea to its and HEALTH. The Inroads of Puealre. How often do we hear the remark made by one who has been confined to the house with a long illness, "1 don't see how I hap- pened to be taken sick." Without eutereng,iutoa confusing analeais of the causes of dieeaae, we may in general terms divide them into two cleanest visible and invisible. The former we can easily understand, and we need but cite a few ex- amples to illustrate, There is not usually much doubt or mystery attending the case of a man who bee been injured by an expic- sion of gunpowder, a railroad accident, a fall from a building, a runaway horse, or an overdose of poison. The query usually in auch canes is, not how did it happen, but the wonder is why the result was not more serious. But with the latter, orthe invisible, doubts', and questions will always arias, It ie true Unit there are many dine:tee which are her- editary, but scientific investigation compels'. us candidly to admit that the lint of eo-call- ed hereditary diseases is no at present eo large as it was ten or fifteen years ago,. Re- cent research some to point clearly to the fact that it is not so much the disease that is transmitted from one generation to moth- er, mit P., a low, impoverished and feeble constitution which is unable to withstand' the Week. of uth maladies aa are general- ly met with lerthe• course of an ordinary life. Ilut It ti to the manner in which these in• visible atteeksereruade upon the citadel of life, and which bring in their tram the long list of fevmta and other wasting dimes**, Viet we wish now to consider, and, if pee. Able, t4 guard against. Medical treatises teach us that there are three avenue, of appmaeh to the human ayatem : the ato naoh, luogi and the akin. Now, with the exception of a few diseases which, either in a latent or more advanced f#• form. Are present in the system at birth, the ; about aanee of any diieaae meet exist outside of of the the body, and, If auba queutly taken tato the the human ayetem, mut be conveyed to it 1 again through one of the ether* mentioned eleme. could t, noes, t none The question then to be decided he can'. f ten, these avenue" be guarded no as to keep e t ted to tae enemy. The answer mut be, no. Tits"': . near. is inevitable, for in order to sustain life these Are ae• way" el approach mutt he kept open in m t< ardor tbat the functions of the Ew body y maybe , itluoat oarrIad on. We mutt cat ;thio lungs Canes than i take In and exhale air, end the pores of tho it can. akin must be kept epee. and free frvtn any, young ,.bstruetion. !olsn't The dismfasing of this fcc.or leaves l;ut those two others to 1•e conatderel, ono, is the re thing moved of e'q urging from food, air and water,wlilcb.tubatances Aa are known to be • either poisonous or detrieueutel to health ; the other 1s to fortify the system so that .it will not submit or be impreued by these outside or external influences. nt to !>cr o� young ;Ie or never but their e and r the inter pool, rouug nter- ito to must &leas evils rate, ation the that time iecies inine will rents it is one - d be e as 6 fair the part part door who Y• was net - boy aix Her tut, ant. ton Lind b to 'ing up rho d:s• to the the the hat set Lin ,to xtla ly. a a,.''. eb- .p• To one of these longs the province of sanitary laws and tre best methods of pre. venting disease, which have already been made the subject of previous articles in this series. Today we take up the consideration of soma of the hest meats of preventing the inroads of disease by a well nourished and evenly balanced mind and body. That a weak anatampoveriehed body is pe. culiarly suspectlble'to disuse of any kind can be no longer queatloned. It is therefore be duty of every one to keep up his nor- mal standard of health. la This este best be aceompnened by regular habits as to food, sleep and exorcise. In this connection also a word should be spoken with reference to variety in labor and periods of recreation. /tin the steady and con- tinuous round of the same work, day after day, that wears out our people. The tread- mill will wear ont three horses, where the road will one. We need a change in order to equalize the forces of the physical system. To think that everything will go to ruin unless you are there to ee run it," is a mild form of insanity, and to think nothing can be done in the home, on the farm, in the store, mill or office, is one of the first inti- mations that the work can be done without you. Again, it is a mistake to force labor which must be done at the expense of the body braced up be Etimulante. Another cause of debility, and which soon produces an injurious effect upon the body, is long continued over exertion. This is specially true of domestic and out door labor on a large farm. The result of such over exertion is to enervate the system so that when in the fall, typhoid or typhus fever is prevalent. the system is not able to prevent the taking in and absorbing its poisonous germs, and thus preparing the way for along spell of sickness. Additional help is cheaper in,the end than to try anddo all the work aloe, A ramie lengt of days is largely in his own hands; certainly he may not cut short the -Scriptural limit us so many do. But in order to; do this we must be regular in, our habits, cheerful in our .disposition, willing that others should live and have an equal chance with ourselves,' and lastly, remem- ber the trite saying of one of the oelebrat ed physicians in medical history, "Keep the head cool, the bowels open, and the feet dry." 'Keeling Properties of Water. There is no remedy of such general ap- plication and none so easily attainable 'as water, and yet nine persona, in ten will pass it by in an emergency to seek for something of less efficacy. There are but few oases of illness where water should net occupy the highestplace as a remedial agent. A strip of flannel or a napkin folded lengthwise and `vrung out of hot water and applied around the neck of a child that has oronp grill usu- ally bring relief in ten minutes. A towel folded several tunes end quickly wring out of hot water and applied over the eeat of the pain is toothache or neuralgia will generally afford prompt relief. This treatment in collo wcrka like magio, We have known cases that have resisted other treatment for houre yield to this in ten minutes. There le n3 - thing that will ao promptly cut short a con- gestion of the lungs, sore throat, or rheums• Clem aa hat water when appli:d promptly and thoroughly. Pieces of cotton batting dipped in hot water, and kept app;ied to all sores and new entre bruises and sprains, is the treatmentnow generally adopted in boa - pleats. Sprained ankle has been cured in an hour by showering it with hot water, poured from the height of 10 feet. Tepid water nota promptly as an ementio, anti hot water taken freely half an hour before bed time is the best of cathartics in the case of constipation, while it has a most soothing effect an the stomach and bawele. This treatment continued for a few months, with proper attention to diet, will allevi-te any case of dyspepsia, ?fungi= .ea a Fine Art. Few facte in reference to thea ick and their welfare are more noticeable than the devel- opment of the art of nursing in recent years, Twenty yeara agonursing was e. luxury very much monopolized by hospital patlentee, and even in their can the luxury was somewhat of %coarse character. There were, of enures, good, kind, wire women in these days who bad quick aeropathies with the nick, and whoao preemies and ministrations in wards were like those of mother or a goad angel, but they were not plentiful, and >,be work done was often performed unakillully and =tenderly. It lsnot pleaaauttorecall what ntuat have been the eufi'eringe of the sink in earlier days in poorer hospitals, oapocially in poor•law hoapitais, when given over for the night to the care of Amine not consider. ed good enough far day duty, and who pre. pared berself for her nocturnal work by cor ions potations of beer. The cry far a cap of water or for a. change of posture by a thirsty ar reetlees patient wan often unhealed, or only beaded to be rebuked. When kindness wan not at fault, intelligenee was often went - keg, an'l superstition ,dad ignorance had it d1 their own way. The beat voaf that t. t.S Q t hie is net ar ! a,., ration is abs found in the prejudice which still survive' against pretessio, al nurses. There are lease numbers cf a 1 a.x,ed people who would not consent on any t rens to have a " hospital nurse,, It can seercoly be ir.aagiued that their objection is to toe treining received in' the hoseitais. It must Lo traceable to ex- perience of the older order of nursing, or to the survival of stoma of Ito bsd traditions. The older order of nursing is notquite exticct. Prectfti°nero of any standing could still give luetances of nurses whose coe•lo' ignorance aid unkindness brought dfserodit on theordor, who put the wrong end of the clinical thermometer Alto tbo mouth, who teemed to think less of the pat eat than of themselves, who conceived of nur. iob as a catling requiring a large amouutof etmtulan and who dist:tated all the other members and servants of a household by the aasnmp• tionaf airs cef yupeioritynhich neith.r their nursing powers nor theirgenwral intelligence justified. %:sereiwe and T1s =eels. Strictly apeaksng, exercise signifies the performance edits function by any part of the body ; thinking, for instance, being an exercise of the brain, digestion an exercise of the stomach and respiration an exercise of the lungs ; but then we speak of a person tilting exercise, the term is generally aocept- ed as meaning' exercise of those muscles of the body which are under the control of the will and which are called voluntary remotes SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL. A piece of solid cast iron will float on the molten metal as readily as on water. Bones, freed from fats before grindings, by treatment with benzol, are also freed from ingredients that have no agricultural value. In making cements for leather, wood or celluloid, pure solvents and pure rubber are absolutely required. No care in other re- pents will make up for their absence. Round chimneys are beat for workshops, factories, etc. They deliver the smoke more easily, and are leas exposed to the wind. They are not, however, so easy to build. Prof. Tyndall has stated that the purest water he ever obtained was from melting a block of pureice. The water of the chalk districts of Englandhe considers remarkably pure. Rings, or concentric ligneous layers, would seem to be a very uncertain indication of the age of trees. In Mexico some trees. known to be but twenty-two years old were found with 230 rings. The Wood Worker mentions a new process for toughening timber, by which white wood oan be made so rough as'te require a cold chisel to split it. This result is reach- ed by steaming the timber and submitting it to end pressure—technically, " upsetting" it—thus compressing the cells and fibere in- to one compact masa. It ie the opinion of those who have experimented with the pro- cess, that wood can be compressed seventy - Ave per cent, and that the timber which is now considered unfit for use in such work as carriage building, could be made valu- able by this means, and more especially since the rapid consumption of our best ash and hickory will sooner or later render some substitute necessary. Iron bars and steel are elongated by mag- netization, the latter not so much, but nickel bare are shortened. TH e FARM. Allot Sink : hYiili The question withmost farmers in a oivil- fllzed community is, not how muck milk can a cow be made to give, but how much will ate givean ordinary feed, This sur- prisingly few farmers know : much about. They think, perhaps, that they know, but their knowledge is based upon a slender line of facts. A cow has abig, fleahy,showy udder, and milks fairly, She is set clown SS a big milker and as a profitable cow; perhape, reckon& d as the moat profitable cow in the herd, Near her atande a little cow, with a moderately sized udder, and giving a felt mess of mak, which she keeps up in quantity all through the season, and which in quality and real value makes her yield fully equal to the larger product of the big showy cow. The farmer does not know this fact, and may never find it out, unless he takes pales to learn it by a system of weighing, and tooting the milk of different vows. We have never known a herd to be carefully tested in this way, wheli the esti- mates of the proprietor and Mamma, who do the milking and handling tithe cows, have not been proved to be incorrect—often great- ly to their surprise. The aystom to be followed in tenting is Abend as follows : The milk of each caw is drawn separately, and as noon es drawn. the milker takes hie pail (which should be of the), to a good scale, axed weighs it, put. ting down both the groas weight and the net weight, after deducting the weight of the pail, The pail should, by the way,be weigh- ed twice a week, for varietioua constantly occur. Palle are washed and frequently evoured, so after a few days a alight rodeo- tion in weight will be Almost always noticed, Aelato may be used for recording these welghiage, and it is well to haveevery cow's name written plainter, and scratched in or painted neatly on the slate, and Knee ruled far the morning and evening milking. The "late Is taken everyevening ter the office, and the net weightetranaferrod to A book, nate being exercised to sae that they are correct. If nothing mare is dons than to keep tide record for a year, the iuformati.a ohtained will be invaluable ; but Chi" le not enough -far from it. The relative richness of the milk of different cows should be known.This may a . y b ascertained iu various ways. Tna whole of one day's milk of one coot may beset, ripens«l, and chuuied whole every d.y-=taking P. di:;erentcow each day,. and belog sure to test oil cow four or die days before cr after she comes in beat. This ie perhape the beat plea, but it takes aped deal of milk an,d eoneidereble time, both of which cannot always La egpvenientiy apar. ed. Besides, a stogie teat for each cow has little valve, temperedwithacveral, for there will almsst always be found variations in the amount of butter yielded by the mine gem, even when the amount of milk to the same. A smaller quantity of milk earefuUy weighed, will give very accurate rattler. Thus: night pounds of milk weighed when fresh, put Into ., two -gallon battle and left unatoelped;unti; sour, and then churned by shaking, will give very good results. Ralf the quantity of milk in a one -gallon bottle, will do very well, but tho results are less accurate. The bast way to manage this bottle churning ir, eo fasten a strap around the bottle, by which, and a stout cord, it may be suspended at a convenient height from the ceiling. The well stoppered neck is taken in one hand, and the churn swung actively back and forth. After a minute or two, the atopper mast be carefully removed to allow liberated gases to escape, as is usual in barrel churns. rss of Sawdust. The amount of sawdust made by portables, steam sawmills that have been travelling through the timber sections of our country has encouraged farmers to utilize it for farm purposes, bat the opinions of its value are not agreed. It has been asserted by some that its absorptive powers were excel- lent and that for bedding purposes it serv- ed an excellent purpose, and it has been largely used in that manner. But by some it is claimed that ordinary damp sawdust will absorb but little. One who had tried the experiment claimed that sawdust that had not passed through any stage of decom- position, when spread upon mowing land, had killed the grass, although saturated with urine and juices of the manure. If this is so it is a matter of interest. We had always supposed that if sawdust was used as an absorbent and was well mix- ed with manure it would become charged with the chemical change of the manure in its decomposition, and so become available with the manure. It is a singular faot that sawduat is very slow of decomposition when left to itself, and this has been verified by one who placed a large quantity in his barn yard in the supposition that it would come out in a little time suitable ; for manurial purposes, but which, much to his surprise, after remaining there about one year, was found to be about as fresh as when 'first planed there, and of no possible use as a fertilizer, It would seem as though saw- dust well dried would maid ten excellent dryer in the manufacture of domestic phos- phate, and that the acidwonld tend to re- duce it to such condition as would at least prevent any injurious effects upon growing crops. It is pleasant to use for many pur- poses. Thrown under a . shed in winter where hens are kept to get at the sun, it affords a much warmer footing than the frozen earth. Attend to the. Fail Weeding When the pastures begin to fall off, some extra food should' be provided for all the Mock, but especially the cows. Horses are always well cared for, but the cows are too often negleoted, both as to food, and a sup- ply of pure water. Those farmers who. have provided some soiling crops, will find the beuefit of the freak green odder ; those who havo not, will now see the disadvantage of being abort of teed just at this season. Itbievery easy to aecure thia supply of food far the short season. Every farmer has a neglected piece of land, whioh is bringing in nothing, and whlclf eoulcl be made to pre- knee a very profitable crop of green feed. each an opportunity should not be negleoted. Where the emptily hat been provided, a lib Oral feed should be given daily, It is a rots, take to suppose that it is better to save the food for sinter, and spare it at this aeaaon. Wben any animal is kept short of food., it goes back rapidly, and more food will be re- quired to make up this lost ground, than would havo kept the animal in its normal condition, This is especially true as regards swine; if time are permitted to falloff now for lack of food, they will consume much more than the present gain, la recoveting the lose. Animals that are intended for fattening, should be kept on full feed now, and those to be wintered over, should be kept in good condition, The old, and true adage, abould not be forgotten, viz : "an animal that is well summered, is half Win - Cored." . GiRI,!$ WONDERFUL ENDURANOE. ninon Far Three Weeks Without Food. +'. remarkeble fnatanco of endnrauoe and of the poasibitity of living without fad for three weeks bas, the Melbourne (Amazons) Argus Bays, recently come to light. Oa the 12th of May a girl named Oboe Croaky, twelve years old, was lost in the bash In the Lilydale dietriat, about twenty-five miles from Melbourne. The locality in which .she dlaappe er%d was wild and mount- ainous, and after aaveral search parties had uneucoesafulIy scoured It, it was concluded that she had periebed in soma ivaceasible spot. It is probable, however, that she would have been found promptly had not erroneous information been given to the search parties that sbe bad bean seen proceeding in a certain direction. On the 2nd of June, just three weeks after she was lost, two men, who were looking far a stray ed horse la sono denim scrub In the locality, heard.. faint "Coo-ee." The men eesy shod, and soon taw the little girl tottering to- ward" them in an plater, without shoos or stockings on, and in an emulated condi. tion. She was, however, stroma to nay, e ulte'notible. When elm lost herself she WAS yroueding from ahouse where ro she had , been staling to her ntsther's, in the neigh. Ihorhoocs, and site aubeeque-qtly gave the fol. letting siocauut of her adventures : "I got out of the paddocks an to the road all right, and went on a long way; but I did not ace mother's house. I followed some sheep, and they ran away from me. /lay down and had a little steep by a path in tome lung grass, and then I went on again. Ingot to a house where there was a cart in a shell; but there was nobody at inure, I didn't atop till I got into some rnahee, which cut my legs, and came to a cflceek with a tree acroasit. I lay dawn in the rubes for the night, and in the morn- ing I crossed the creek on the log. Near the other side a branch broke, and I fell in- to the water, but managed to cling to the bank, Close by I saw a hollow tree, anu I was tired and wanted to sleep, so I tent in there. When I woke up I could not look for my way. I went down to the creek five times for water at first. I used to sleep a lot, and as soon as it was night it was day, and when it was day it was night quick again. On moonlight nights I heard people firing guns, and I heard them knocking. making a fence ; but when I coo -e -d they did not hear me. I used to sing Salvation Army hymns at first, and pray that some- one would come for me. The oows used to come and look at me, but I could not get any milk. I tried to chew a bit of bark,. but spat it out, as I thought it would pois- on me, and I got weaker everyday." Australians are familiar with the agoniz- ing experience undergone by people lost in the bush, and know that in such cases adults, as a rule, do not maintain their men- tal balance, and that the difficulties of their position are consequently greatly enhanced. Thine little girl, however—who, by the by, was not aconstomed to country life—was actually able to preserve a mental record pf the exact number of days daring which she was " out of humanity's reach." STRANGE MUT TE.IIE. M. Leplay has discovered the remarkable fact that the sugar contained in the sugar beet disappears almost entirely as the seed ripens. A record of obesrvations on sixteen trees and shrubs has shown Dr. N. L. Britton that the Spring of this year was about ten days later in the vicinity of New York than that of 1884, and nearly a month later than that of 1878. Among the "curiosities of conunerce" none perhaps, is more curious than that the major portion of the produce exported from South Africa is simply used for the adornment of women. Out of the total value exported of £7,500,000, ostrich feathers and diamonds a000unt for £5,000,000. There are no hod carriers in Germany. Bricka are passed by hand. The higher up the brick -layers are, the more men are re- quired to toss the bricks. Two men to 'a story Is about the average, with enough more to lead from the front of the building to the places where the bricks are needed., The story is circumstantially told by. the London Times that a certain baronet watch ing to catch the thief who nightly stole eggs from his pantry, saw rats removing them by an ingenious process. Ooe rat olasppdan egg with all. his legs, turned on his back, and was drawn off with his load by his compan- ions, who held his tail between their teeth as a tug rope. MAEINGIDEATH I',AIRLESS. The I'saetice et Euthanasia Discuszed by Pgay stcans,w The fact that narcotic ere freely need' throughout the illness of Gen. airact to ae- :cure aleep, ease, and freedom from pain, and were asked for by the pedant and promised t�. himol only by his physicians, in the event of f their being needed, to prepare a quiet and painless death, surto to have been etc - o pted quite as a matter of course by people in general, Orly a few years ago, however. the idea of moderating the fear or managing the paine of deaf by the use of narcotics or stimulants would have been horrifying to the great majority of C.trietiau people. This rapid and very marked change of opin., ion, whatever Raceme may be and'however moderate the degree of attention beatowtd upon It by the pubilo, has been very oloaely observedby pbyaiciana, and in the belief of ;acme of them, as stated to the reporter, will bring about an increased use of sedative drugs for distressed and, dying patients. In dlscusaing the matter physicians are ueeesaarily drawn to its logirl conaequenees and these may be esimnmesl upin the ques- tion, "Have we a right ander certain cir- cumetancea to e.'t short our lives ?' In one of the recent articles on the subject by lir. Amick au abstract he given of the question as formulated by a prominent member of the Birmingham Specalattve Club, The state- ment is interesting, front the feet that it ie accepted by many me foal men eo being a fair exposition of the argument. The term euthanasia, ar "an easy death," le described as intended to convey the following meaning: "That in fill caeca of hopeloea and painful Muesli it should be the reeegniaed duty of the medical attendant, whenever ao desired by the patient, to administer chloroform, or other an:uathetic; so sa to destroy conscious., moss at once, and put the sufferer to a quick and easy death, all needful precautions be- ing adoptedto prevent any possible abuse of anon duty, and means being taken to ea- tabliah beyond the possibility of a doubt that the remedy was applied at the express wish of the patient." In defending the act the writer says "Cesee of this elms abound on every hand, and thole who have had to witness suffering of this kind, and to stand helplealy by longing to administer to the beloved one, yet unable to bring any real roapite or relief, may well be impatient with thee easy , e a g spirit that aeea in ell this enisery'nothing but "theappoletu.d lot of man," and treat op - pees as stalest implons every attempt to ileal with it etrectuelly, Why should al this suffering be endured? The patient do sires to die ; his life eau no longer be of use to others, and has became =intolerable bur- den to himself. The medical attendant is at the bedside with all the resourxs of his knowlenge, and could bring immediate and permanent relief. Why should Ids not doing ao be recognized as a savereign duty?" To the objection that this would violate'. the aaoredness of life the writer says "Nature knows nothing of sup such sacred- ness, for there is nothing of which she is so prodigal. And man has ehowa little sense of the valve of human life when hie passions or lusts or interests have bean thw.erted by hie brother man, or seem likely to be for- warded by his destruction. A sense of the value of his own individual life man bas, in- deed, seldom been deficient in ; and, by a kind of adiex action, this sense has slowly given birth to and always underlies the sense, such as it is, of the value of other men's lives. But in Europe to -day the saoredness of man's life is thrown to the winds the mo- ment national or political plosion grows hot. Indeed, itis hard to understand the mean- ing of the ward 'sacred' when applied to life, except in so far as it may signify the duty laid on each man of using his life nobly while he has it. The man who is ever ready to face death for others' sake, to save others from grinding pain, has always been reckon- ed a hero; and what is heroic if done for another is surely permisaible if done for one's The man who could voluntarily give up his life to save another from months of slow torture would win dverybody's good word. Why should he be debarred from taking a like step when the person to be rescued is himself ? It is furthermore urged that the sacredness of life is violated by ex- isting medical practice, when in cases of ex- treme and hopeless suffering physicians ad- minister drugs which give present relief at the expense of shortening the patient's life. If it is objected that sgbmission to the will of Providence forbids the shortening of pain by taking life, by the same principle we should submit to the will of Providence, and not seek to escape any pain." Dr. Amick adds: "Some 'approach death with a calm count enance and a serene mind, others are racked with pain and suffering. For hours, and even days, they writhe and groan between life and death. It is in this class of oases in which it is proposed to give the hopeless sufferer respite from his agony, and euthan- asia is suggested. A hypodermic injeotion of, morphia in such oases would result in general and lasting sleep, and has the irri- tation that existed in the body became les- sened the mind would gradually relax its hold upon the system, and its departure would be so easy and quiet that a spectate- would scarcely recognize it was going unti it was gone. Euthanasia, is recommended. only in those caeca where thereto continued pain and agony; where there is no chance for recovery and the patient' wislies to be freed from his misery." Queen Victoria has a mania for collecting relics of engagements in war. .Among others she has, mounted in crystal and silver, the musket ball that ended the career of Nel- son. THE FiITVRE NAVY. ramie Tanitiat by theItriUxlt Fvo n. w Uanary squadron. Now that the cruise of the eyelutsoury squadron is percticelly aver, it may he well to briefly consider what ,experience of value has been gained by it. In the first place,. the utility of booms, however strongly con- structed, for defence has been proved to be j eat what moat people thought it was, They are imporvlous to the attack of boats, tor - polo or others, but offer no resistance what- ever to the rush of a ship moving at speed.. The remora= of a modern squadron of Iran - clads, moreover, would be quite inadequate their eenetructiou an the scale of those at Berehaven, unless it were acoompanied by a timber laden ship for that special purpose, Torpedo boats must be dirided, as hereto- for, into two classes, but the 1 ne of demate cation between them must be notch more strictly drawn, The two boats of the "Chit - dere" type that accompanied the squadron are probably safe in any ordinary sea, but anything mealier isnet. The eo•cailedfirst- clue boats are not only unoomfortable to a degree 'diet cad hardly be imaglued, but are votively dangerous iu very moderate wea- ther. And the fact of their being under the eeie `e•y is hard y any eeevrity to them. If one of them were to be swamped, the ship rlongaldo watch the was steaming could uoarcely render any assletenoe, but would probably belplessly see her go dawn with all her bands before her eyes. Another abuse of torpedo boast, which' should never be rellewed, le imployfug theca for towing purples, They are necessarily of frail conetructiou and propelled by dell. oats ntaobinnry, and yet It was ate everyday oecuronce in Bantry Bay to doe one of them straining her utmost to drag three or four heavy launchesor a long train of heavy spars behind her. Her engines were natura:iy strained and teamed, even if they dist not Actually break down at the time. And thie brings to to put an record how almost in- calculably valuable to a fleet are such slake as the Serhorae and Ifecla. If the Seethes** had been at Berebaven, torpedo boats would not have tad to do the duty of tugs, and if the Henle had not been there they could not have been repaired. Perears no mo -c need be acid, Tee Polybeanus has turned :ut a l• complete axed brilliant auc(ots. All daulat as to her seagoing qualities have been net et rest, and in the bands of such an officer as Captain Jeffreys, poho hens proved herself a miracle of agility, The Ajax is not nearly as bad as she has been painted, though her atooring ctpatrilitfcs stili leave mush to be distred. Tne Rupert andHemmer are two extremely metal and formidable iren'lads of tee second class. The Oregon 14 invalu• able as a notate The gunboats, whether '`river' or "l.endel," Aare utterly melon ae accessories to a leagamg equadren, and His only fair to say that their designers never intensded them for any such service. The former (lase have not a single redeem- ing quality, and the Pike or Snap, if towed at 10 khats, world infalibly go down, filI- ing themselves with water forward on ac. count 18 -ton gun in their bows, But gun.. boats of a proper class would be of the great- est nee for many different, purposes, as the Express showed. A muuber,af voasis of her size, model and armament but built of steel and two knots faster, would be most servic- able. Speed is a very important factor of efficiency, no doubt, but St 4vi11 be years be fore a British fleet will able sot in combine. tion at a match higher rate than 11 knots nor is it likuly that any foreign fleet will be better off in this reapect, regard being had to the slow ships that none can afford to throw away. Hence, gunboats of 12 knots would have a long future of usefulness be- fore that It is only fair to add that two or three gunboats of the Snap and Pike class ought to be found in all British harbors that need defending. Of small coat, occupying but little room, mere floating platforms for their one really formidable gun, they are admirably adapted for coast defenoe,in the stricteat send of the term, and might be easily manned for the most part by volun- teers, would soon come to thoroughly un- derstand the method of working them. Op- inions are still divided as to the merits of the electric light for search purposes, and it does not seem that anything new can be learned about submarine mines or torpedo nets. Perhaps the subject exciting most in- terest just now is the composition of the new channel squadron. Is it still to consist of obsolete ships like the Minotaur, or are we to have a group of real fighting xiaen•of war ? If there were nu other argument to urge in favor of the latter course, it world surely be wise to commission such ironclads as the Edinburgh, Cohens, Coliingwood and Con- queror as soon as possible, so that captains instead of rusting on half pay for four or five year after attaining that rank, might have an opportunity of learning in time of peace something about the ships they world be called onto handle in time of was. • Crocodile farming is rapidly becoming a leading industry in certain localities. The largest animals are killed and skinned, their flesh being used to feed their descendants. One dealer last year supplied a tanner with 5,000 skins. A Baltimore man called a letter 'carrier a liar and was promptly knocked down. He is now punishing the Government by going ,to the post office for his own mail. In the case of a miser it is much easier to take things as they* come than pkrt with things as they go. When a very mad woman begins practicing with a revolver the wise man always dodges is rent of her Green in various subdued shades will be a leading color in fall and early winter feahionff, If you wish to paper a whitewashed wall, brush it over with a strogg alnm"water.