HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1891-11-20, Page 71
Nov,'?0, 1R;)1
YOUNG FOLKS.
THE 1'AITHFUL BROWNIE.
Ity 1':%Y4n5,
Ona high nmllltudo ill liessenl'itm1, there
stood years ago, a stately matte, with
strong walla and lofty towers, The rays of
the setting sun fell through one of the ncr•
row windows and reeled lovingly on the
blonde hair n little girl, The child d w
as
kneeling
on large their ubofutoLowindow,
o
w
,
and ,rith
her hen omit
d leaning on n ilac plump,
nD,
dimpled arms, wept silently, but bitterly.
"0 Margaret, Margaret, why do you May
so long?' sobbed the little ono at last, as
ells glided from the chair and ran toward
the door. But the latch was beyond her
reach, and no sound pierced the thick oalcon
doors. Lrinding that her erica were vale,
oho olhnhed into the easy chair again, and
supporting her arms on the broad window
sill, watched the sun until it sank feoln
view and thought 010 little clouds floating
in the sky looked liko white swans swim-
ming in a purple sea. Then it grew darker
and darker, au :I finally the eters began to
peep out, still Margaret, the nurse, did not
conte,
"Mechtild, Mechtild," Suddenly oried a
voice, and turning uroand, the little girl saw
the fire on the hearth burning brightly, old
in its light stood alittle Brownie, not nearly
so large as Mechtild. The little fellow had
longolden eerie, laughing blue oyes, and
roe face, He wore a scarlet velvet suit and
boots studded with pearls, while in his hand
he carried his little green cap.
" Who are yon, and how did you got
hero 1" asked Mechtild, half frightened ; but
gt'satly pleased at the sight of a visitor.
"Don't you know neo?" isaghed the
Brownie, "why, I ant Puck, You certain-
ly have hoard of me. But perhaps you ex-
pected to see a different looking person, And
lain not always so handsome, 4Vhen Ian
with Dross, disagreeable people, I look wrink-
led and old, and my voice is shrill and un-
pleasant ; but with you I shall always bo no
I am to -day. I shall serve you when I can,
and play with you when Margaret leaves
you alone. How will that please you 1"
" How glad f am," maid Mechtild, "for it
has been very lonesome since dear mamma
Cad, and n :w papa has taken brother Gero
traveling or th him, and they will not be
hone for eyear. 1)o you think that Mar-
garet will 00011 !:ring me my supper? I 0,0
getting very hungry."
" Margaret is too busy chatting with the
other servants to thinlc of you," was the re-
ply, " but I shall soon bring you something
good from the pantry."
And Puck rat so close to the fire that
Mechtild cried t " 0, do bo careful, or you
will burn your pretty clothes."
'Pilo Brownie only langhod and iu n mo•
client disappeared. It was not very long,
however, until he again stood before the lit-
tle girl. ble had his hands and pockets full
of cakes, To Mechtild's astonished inquir•
les as to whore he got them Puck laughed
heartily, and said : " Whenever I place
this little green cap on my head I at once
become invisible, and eon be whore I wish.
When I left you I went directly to the
kitchen, where the servants are having a
feast. It was great fun to ee0 them gaze
in surprise when I snatched these cakes just
as they were about tp cat them. I wish I
could have brought. you some of the other
good things they had,"
But Mechtild was very well satisfied with
the cakes, and the evening passed pleasant.
ly with her new friend until the little girl
began to grow sleepy, anri then the Brownie
said ; Churl u a in that big chair, and I shall
sing you to sleep."
When, late at night, Margaretretnrnecl,
expecting to find her little charge in teats,
site found ,Mechtild sleeping sweetly, while
the moon rays falling through the window
kissed her soft hair and rosy cheeks. For
several days the nurse was very attentive
to the child ; but she grow mu•oless again,
and ran offto the kitchen, leaving i0chtilrl
alone. 13,11 Puck did not forgot his little
friend.
"Now Mechtild, we shall have some fun
tonight," said the Brownie, "I have
brought n little nap for you, and we shall
help ourselves to whatever wo want."
The little girl was iu high glen over the
thought, and putting on their caps the two
little people wished themselves in the kit.
ohen where the servants, seated around a
table, wore eating and drinking. Puck and
)Mechtild went from one plate to another,
taking a piece of meat here and some bread
there, enjoying all the time the startled
looks the thefts caused. Once, as the cook
was raining a glass of wine to her lips, Puck
took the glass from her stand, and, after
drinking the wino, put the glass on the table.
When Mechtild saw how frightened the
cook was, and what a queer face she made,
she could not help laughing aloud. At the
sound of her voice Margaret arose from the
table and said t "I think Mechtild is call-
ing me."
\\hon the nurse entered the room, she
found the little girl looking out of the win.
dow, and laughing heartily.
Puck proved a faithful friend to the lone-
ly child, During the long winter ho was
with her nearly every day, and by means of
the green oafs, the two made visits into dis-
tant Inds, where the sun shone bright and
warm and the sweet flowers bloomed. They
also went into the cold lands of the north,
where only snow and ice were o be seen.
When spring came Mechtild and her
friend wandered over the mountain on
which the aa0tle stood, and many happy
hours they spent together. 11 was not until
lute in the summer thab Gero and his father
returned home, Upon the arrival of the
travelers, the nnrso beeane so attentive to
little Mechtild that Puck ceased to visit the
castle. While Mechtild wondered thab the
Brownie did not some to her, she was not
lonely without him ; for Gero was very fond
of 1110 libtlo sister, and was her constant
companion.
Several years passed by, and Mechtild
grew to bo a tall handsome girl, and was
renowned throughout the country for her
beauty. 0110 night silo was aroused from
her slumber's by a voice, crying: " Mech.
tad, Mechtild, awake, danger is near.'
Springing up the girl called in a frighten
ed tone t " Who speaks, and what le the
matter 1"
" It is your old friend Puck who calls,"
was the reply, He has dome to warn yon
to fly for your life.
(' What clangeroan befall mein my father's
castle?" asked Mcohtild.
" A groat danger is very near you," said
the Brownic, "and unless yoe hasten you
-will be overtaken. A band of robbers,
knowing that your father and Ids men aro
absent from home, are on their way to at-
tack the 'math). They will burn the bona-
ing, mod expect to carry you off as their
prisoner. I have brought you the greet!
0005 and hating it, you can easily esenpe.'
liotlbild areao,and after hastily dressing,
put on the green cap, which the Brownie
gave her,
Now,' seta Puck, "we ellen go out to
meet the Nanny. non . Wo shoal open the (bore
t they may an d gates so tins Y enter wfbhonb
battering down the wells.
Mooinbdd was too frightened to think for
THE BRUSSELS POST. 7'
herself, and dill just tot her friend told her, 1 AG'RICULTUR sL,
hha followed him out Into the hall, and
down lhs Woad 0nL)re ay. They had jinn
1111 g '1110
robbers clone rushing in,
"It in platin to be seen thst the mlt0'or of
the home is not litre, said one, " or the
doors would not have been loft open. 1
wonkier what he will think when Le returns
aad liuds his home fu 1'uine, std his boautifu)
daaghtergone,"
( I (1 of 'e ore
a l Dloa !til to o tat where
Pack t
P
rl v
Lha ecoid ol e loll the r a (bus without tout being
YL 11
In any clanger of being tinmplerl upon, The
Could see the men enter' the 0aatle, ming out
what treasures they could 11,111. 'Then the
servants, !laving been called together by
Goro, appeared and attempted to defend the
walls. But the robbers were very powerful,
and a bloody battle followed.
"Puck, dear Puck," whispered Mcohtild,
"save my brother' from these cruel men.
Take my cap to him that he may put, it on,
and escape."
was about to tako the cap from her
head, when Puck pried : "No, no, you must
keep your cap on, or the robbers will see you,
and will certainly carry you away. I shall
go to Gero, rind save him if I can,"
Then the little Brownie went sadly away,
for he feared in saving Gero loo might lose
kis own life, lint going to the youth, Puck
took off' his alp, and placing it ou Gsro'e
head, said , Wish to be with your sister,"
The moment the little Brownie rem0l'od
bis cap he was seen by the ruffians, who,
thinking that lie belonged to some band
which by magic net would save the castle,
pierced the little follow with their swords,
and ile fell lifeless to the ground.
At the came time the owner of the castle
and his 111011 returned, and the robbers fled
in haste, 18100htikl and Goro grieved long
for their faithful friend, and they never for-
got little Puck, who (lied while serving
then.
t Ire 1 fila rrnt duo's wh+an filo favi
Russell Sage to Boys -
The boy who is wanted in the business
world of today must be educated, says Rus-
sell Sageir' an admirable article on "The
Boy That is Wanted," 10 the November
Ladies' I'Iome Journal. If his parent clari-
net afford to give hien a highschool or col.
lege education, he must learn to study with-
out the aid of a teacher, in the early !nom-
ing before business bogies, nod in the even-
ing after business (tours. It eau no longer
be truthfully said that an education is out
of any one's roach. Our splendid school
system, where one eon study by clay or in
tine evening, has put the priceless treasure
of an education within the reach of all. The
main thing, in the beginning, that I would
impress upon boys is oto of the great com-
mandments, "Honor thy father and thy
mother, that thy day0 may be long in the land
which the Lord thy Godgiveth thee," Tho
boy who respects his father and mother,
who treats his sisters and brothers with
loving kindness, has laid a good foundation
for a successful career. You will do as your
parents tell you, and that certainly will be
to study. Don't bo in 0 hurry to get away
from your school hooks. The cares and re-
sponsibilities of business life will come soon
enough. Go to school as long as you can,
and, remember, every hour spent in study
in your youth will be worth money to you
in after life. Read good books—the Bible
above all. Make yourself acquainted with
history, Study the progress of nations and
the careers of mon who have made nations
great, If you have no library of your own,
join one of the numerous associations to be
found in all cellos, where good, healthful
books may bo obtained. Study religion,
science, statecraft and history. Learn to
read intelligently, so that you may turn to
practical use in after life the readings of
your youth. Bo sere you begin right. Do
not waste time in reading trashy books.
The &finds of Men-
o'Sl,ouli it he according to thy mtndl" Job
x011'., 33.
Not tho least among the troubles that fell
to the lot of Job was tho unwise conduct of
his three sincere bub'short•sightod friends.
When first they Dame to him they bowed in
silence before him, and like true orientate
they hold their ponos for many days. That
happy time of silence was a time of oomfort
for the troubled patriarch, Their hushed
and quiet presence was balm to his weary
soul. But as soon as they began to speak
the oharm was broken and they irritated and
wearied Job with their much talking, for
like all "much talkiugs," their words were
louder than they were deep. We can
hardly blame these men after all for the
grave mistakes they made. They were very
mush like meta of modern days, too much
disposed to make everything square with
their preconceived notions, forgetful, or at
least untnindful, of the fact that, as John
Robinson said, " God has much more light
to break forth from His word" and from
His providential dealings than any of tie
dreamed. Many centuries passed away
before the world learned from a poet's lips
that •
"Goa moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform,"
Those men concluded that Job must have
been a great sinner, or he never would have
been a great sufferer. They laid clown a hard
and fast line of proportion. The sin was the
measure of suffering. They noncludod that
all sorrow was punishment, thab all suffer•
ing was penal, that trouble name to man as
s sort of an avenging answer to his wrong
doing. What could possibly have been fur-
ther from the truth 1 And yet we mast re-
member that alt these misbalcee wore made
in the morning twilight of the world's his-
tory. It took ages to learn that—
Throngl, the mist and through the murkness,
Through the darkness and the dolo,
Travois the groat human soul,
Indeed, it was not bid Jeans Ohrieb came
that the world fully realized that it was
utterly impossible to make mon great
without sorrow, that oven the Captain of
our salvation Himself was made perfect
through elffering. But there was great
wisdom in this question that rho young
Elihtt asked; "Should it bo a000rding to
thy mind?" Would ib be well that life
ehottid be as you would have it? That old
question was very wisp and is just as ap-
tro ariate to•da and if possible More forolblo
han in the day wheit was first asked.
Let any man ponder this question and
tender an answer for himself. Do we
not all find ourselves in the moral and
spiritual world just where the sainted poet
found himself when night fell upon his way
and rendered dim the distant 'chore? And
what can be wiesr that to say ns ho said t
":Lead kindly if ht, amid the encircling glooa
Load Pion 1110 0111"
No. Not according to our minds that
grasp so little, and grasp theft little so inn.
perfectly. Not according to 0110 ignorance,
but according to the divine wisdom, and
tiie divine mercy, and the divine faithful.
tees.
He Ought to Have Known.
Cochran. --el anppo0o your mane on this
umbrella fndieabes that it belongs to you ?
Gilroy. -Which, the inane or the urn.
hyena ?
Coedtran—The nano, of course.—Puok,
Foots About Fowls•
! IC unites it good deal of dilPerollee in the
quality mid flavor of the meat whether 11
lank fs fed ui any or averythb)g or given
1 u clean, wholosomo diol, Ibis Well klunvn,
that the penulsa•ly Ile 11010115 flavor of the
wild eanva' back is due to its habit of feed•
ing on wild celery, nilthe alea eltu0t t
a
Y
)e trodnee b to d mete
1 1 iY'i )' eClel' Glome 1 1 Ki
ILiwhen fattening them to kill it Ismail that
the decks thl L reedon the vast •e rater
t b atfishl
maritime of northern Alaska and fauna un
seeds, roots and gruel, arc as line llavored
Wrds as could be desired ; but after they
cone down to salt water and take to n dict
of shellfish, etc., they acquire a flail flavor 00
eU'ougthatno amount of style or cooking
can eradicate. Dinars that ars notallowed to
frequent ponds, streams 01' ditchoe, bolt are
fell in yards on well preparedrain food,
etc., aro delicate and tender in flesh.
Yens oolfined iu small yards will do im-
mense execution in destroying noxious in.
snots. In one yard whore a few peach trees
are growing, and the soil' around the trees
i0 kept loose, the grain ration is scattered
under the trees and scratched in with a rake.
The rusnit is that the hens are at work
around the trees all the time, and woe to
any insect that puts in an appearance
among them. The effect upon the 0-000 is
very marked. They aro vigorous and
healthy, aro large and Inure attractive than
those that are two or three yea'solder.
If ducks are not allowed to go to the
water, water should by ail means allowed to
than. Fresh drinking water, and plenty of
it, is essential to the health and comfort of
the birds, They will drink nnoro in a day
than many times their number of ehiokees,
and the supply s1jotnld be etnstant and lib-
eral. But it should bo fresh.
It is said that morn poultry houses have
been built on farms this year than ever be-
fore. This is n step in the tight direction,
As we have often pointed out, the stable,
barns and carriage house are not the pro -
Icer places for fowls to roost in ; yet many
tanners provide 110 other,
When the real importance of poultry on
the farm is more clearly realize(!, as we be•
licve it is coming to be every year, the
necessity for housing the birds in a well
constructed building by themselves will bo
more fully reco_uizod. Neglected poultry
amounts to little ; well «Iced for, it is it
valued) adjunct to 010 farm, Provide an
ample enppl,v of green food for the hens
during the fail, such as cabbage, clover hay,
etc. They areexceedingly fond of such food,
and it promotes health /toll stimulates laying.
A cabbage hung up whore the hens can get
at it will seen show evidences of their fond-
ness for such provender.
Don t forget before the long fall rains set
in to gather up a sufficient supply of line
road dust for the poultry house. It is needed
to spri,kleover the floor to facilitate clean-
ing up and for the hens to dust themselves
with—an important contribution to their
comfort, mid, its will be found on trial, a
manna of promoting egg production.
If there•is.any one thing that stirs 1111 and
keeps at boiling point strife between neigh-
bors it is allowing your poultry to forage on
your neighbors' preserve—especially if that
preserve happens to be a nicely planted
garden or flower border.
Tho patience of Job and the meekness of
Moses would hardly be equal to the strain
of seeing a flack of industrious chioks from
"next door"scratching away for dear life
in the neuter of your neat rows ofvegetables,
Therefore don't let your Ivens trespass on
your neighbor's lot. 1f his trespass on your
grounds—well, get rid of them its gently as
you can, but don't think it obligatory to
endure the affliction.
The 1) waf Pear.
In favor of the dwarf pear, a writer says
that itis admitted on all hands that finer
fruit can be obtained from the dwarf than
tho standard trees, and as melt from the
space occupied. The complaint, which
formerly was very general, that dwarf trees
wore short lived is not oorreab ho a general
sense. There aro dwarf trees now standing,
planted out 35 years ego, which look as
thrifty and produce as abundantly as at
any period of their growth, and will prob-
ably continue to boar for ten or fifteen
years longer if left undisturbed and pro-
perly attended to,
For Farmers' Sons.
After all that has been said—and many
tithes repeated—in regard to the general
need of industry, economy and thorough-
ness on the part of farmersyoung sons in
all they do, it is discouraging to see how far
short a majority come of accomplishing what
they might achieve. Having watched the
career of etfarmer'e eon from his infancy to
the present time, when he is twenty-eight
years old, 1 stn so implrested with his sue -
cess that I cannot refrain from telling other
fanners' sons, hoping some will be persuad-
ed to emulate filo example. At an early
ago he decided that his life business should
be teaching, and he has since bent every
energy to that point, He was n0v00 known
to spend money uselessly, nor to waste time
or anything else. His father's fa•n, was
near a railroad station, but several lnilos
Froin town, Frequently he needed articles
from the village, but could not spare a horse
to no, so he gave this boy money for his faro
and sent hint, but he walked instead and
Bayed the money, eventually to purchase
some book he 11(td in mind. Later lie work•
ed for a wealthy man and was so faithful in
all he did that he soon aogttired the esteem
of his employer, who says to -clay that lie
never knew the young man to slight a task,
to be wasteful in any respect, or to oquivoo•
ate a particle. A convenient school fitted
him for college, where his father sent him
four years, with the understanding that
when he became able he should return the
Rill expense.
The boy did nob engage in "hazing"
while at college, nor practice " athletics," as
a majority of students do. His athletic ex-
eroiss (=slated of farm work through every
vacation, to retinae his college bill. As ho
waste bowmen teacher of modern languages
his rich friend persuaded him to accept 3800
and go abroad a year among those who
speak these languages in order to get the
native pronnmoabion. Returning. he had
saved 3200 of the $800 and retornorlib. Then
for two years 'he was college inetrtlotoe at
3400 a yoar. At the sane time he earned
more than that "comohhng" students who
were behind in class work. He next accept,
ad the profeesor0hip of modern langnagos m
a western college at a salary of 53,000, whore
he is now. He has repaid his father and hi
patron, prinoipal and interest, hes a nd0e
family ohis own, a good honno and money
ahead, mid yet so ,young. He never was
oonsiderod a brilliant youth, bet leo had
what was bettor—a mind to dooido to do
something and, a "ioang•dog" persistently
in following the emirate he has marked net
for himself, Perhaps after all this 10 of itself
evidence of the possession of importer talent,
A majority of farmers' young sols can he•
come as a nessflrl in some line as tine sub -
loot of Ghia sketch is in his if they will adopt
his ruul•0), Honor nernile tilos„ who will tin
it, whttle'r 1 hl'i l 111'441•11111(11,4 lend to ttgrh'111•
lure, law, m,,,li,'iu+•, oetennu.3 ores ur 0'100.
uhnu,lisn. 1 hoar,, when 11 11 1r10 Int r, tunny
grief, that 1 luule a awl ftilorc iu thispoil,t.
Varmint; Without Fences.
It is within the Inentory of teeny farmers
when the fences cum farm were ennsidet'ed
the most important part of II,' impruve-
inellt0, It Was lie day% wilt 11 eroC
k was
al Wgnthet• kept by pasturing in summer and
mainly by feeding tray in winter. In those
t 10110 0IIO lack OP fencing that prevented
Pasturing the youlpp,,' clove' on a grain stub.
hie or the afte•nmtln of a meadow 0000 Ise
gardod as a miofortnno. Now it le generally
knows that young clover should never be
pastured, and In most cases nftorgrowth on
meadows may better bo left to lio and rot
m the ground than to build even a temper.
ary fence for the protection of adjoining)
crops when it is pastured,
Manyfarmors where fencing material le.
scarce have learned to dinpenee entirely
with inside faeces, and the tendency is
growing. 1\ hove it da denil'ablo to pasture ,
cattle of horses a few days they are tied to
stakes removed daily, so as to give change !
of feed. But most of the feed is out 1
green and taken to the stable, where the
animals remain sheltered from the burn.;
ing sun and in greater comfort than they;
could be running at largo. The greater
amount of feed that land produces
in soiling crops makes this the epor
than pasturing, It enables more stock
to bo kept, more manure to be
made, and this is naturally followed by
more thorough cultivation of the soil. We
believe this plan can be followed more gen-
orally than is often supposed. It is not
merely adapted to clear land neareities, but
is of equal advantage on cheaper land, with
this condition, that there be on the latter
the means for supplying plenty of manure
and plenty of labor. 1t is the lack of these
conditions that make it harder to bring up
poor land at a distance from cities or large
villages,
'Che way to dispense with fences is to be-
gin soiling or pars soiling on amen scale at
first. It needs rich land to grow soiling
crops profitably and the first year or two
only a small piece can be got 111 proper eon-
dition. if manure or grain for feeding stock
Dau bo bought land may be brought up to
the soiling standatel more rapidly. But in
either ems, it 10111 be idle to ex poet profitable
returns except with good stock, This will
regttife a good deal of attention anti the
needed caro will be better given to stock fed
by hand than to bloat allowed to run in in-
closed prsture,and feed itself.—Auterican
Cultivator.
- — ->
LIGHT ON PLANTS.
Exnerimeti(i in larrlrle liarllening,
A frlr months ago, 10170 1 hs New York
Tune', We doeroile,d some of the experi-
110'11 oy whil'h t''oli in France, LennaW'om
Finland and .1p •ol,nofl'in sontborn Ramie
have shod 11 how great an influence may he
exerted upon plant life by electricity, and
suggested that eventually it might be pos-
silile for market gardeners to esu theelectrlo
current Iaoh"t.
aLl
, those experiments te
electric current was applied to the scads,
the soil in which the plants 10000 growing
and the air innnedialely above the surface
of the soil, but it does not appear that the
iulhtetec of the eleetrio light upon vegeta-
' Lion was the subject of inquiry. It is now
reported that a market gardener in the town
of Arlington, :Massachusetts, named Raw-
son, has beeotne convinced that he can use
the electric light t0 advantage. -rho results
of his experiments are not wholly on accord
with those of similar experiments made at
Cornell university, but they certainly de-
serve to a noticed. In 1880 the town began'
to use electric lights in the streets, and one
of these lights was sot up near Itis house and
Ino place where its rays fell upon several
beds of flowers whose growth had never
been satisfactory to the gardener. These
plants soon legal' to thrive and to grow
rapidly and vigorously. Believing that the
electric light was the cause of this change,
the gardener sot up lights of the same kind
on his large hot houses, wherecuetnlber/I and
lettuce were produced in the cold season,
In the winter of 1880.00 he proved to his
own satisfaction, we are tolyl, that he could
raise a larger crop of lettuce in a shorter
time with the help of the electric light:
that the quality was better then before, and
that his profits wore larger by 25 per cont.
Ho found Oman lights more effective than
the incandescent burners. Last winter he
failed to obtain the necessary lights, and
for this reason could not continue his experi-
ments, but he intends to resume the investi-
gation in the coining winter months.
The experiments at Cornell university
were made in a forcing house divided by a
board partition, one half being subjected
to natural conditions of light and darkness
and the other receiving sunlight by day
and electric light (boring the whole or a
Part of the night. The results ago described
nn the Electrical Engineer. The general ef-
fect of the eleotrie light applied during the
entire night was to hasten maturity, especi-
ally in the case of lettuce, spinach lull simi-
lar plants, 10111010 even ran to seed before
edible leaves were fon med. Growth so ac-
celerated could scarcely be profitable in a
market garden. Planta within five feet of
the lamp died soon after they mine out of the
soil. Radishes within six feet were nearly
dead at the end of six weeks. Our readers
may remember that by applying the electric
current to the seeds and afterward to the
soil, Spochneff caused radishes to grow 17
inches long and 51, inches in diameter. Fn•
tire oreps in the normal half of tine Cornell
forcing house were about twice as great as
those in the half exposed to the electric
light. When the light was inclosed in a
globe of white " opal" glass, the effect of it
upon the plants was softened, but was still
injurious, except with respect to lettuce, the
condition of which was improved.
Experiments with flowers showed that
the colors of tulips were made deeper and
richer for a fear days, although afterward
this exceptional .intensity was lost. Ver-
bena flowers growing near the electric light
were uniformly injured; the leaves were
small, the flowers were small, and those on
the lower part of the clusters turned brown
and flied before those on the top opened.
The color of scarlet, dark red, blue and pink
flowers was soon turned to a grayish white,
The ligh t canoed petunia plants to grow tall
and slender, while they bloomed earlier and
more profusely. But the flowers faded
under the light and became poor in quality.
Experiments similar to those of Lem-
stron and others who have applied the
current to seeds and to the soil have been
hada at the Massachusetts Agricultural
college, and rho result wilt soon be made
known. Lomatrom measured the influence
of the current upon growing wheat as well
as upon vegetables, procuring 50 per cent.
more wheat from a small tract on which the
plants were exposed to electricity diffused
by a network of wires than was grown on
an adjoining tract of similiar soil whore 110
electricity was used. While it seems to
have been proved beyond a doubt that the
growth of many plants ,s greatly accelerated
by applying the electric current at first to
the seeds and afterward to the soil and the
air just above the surface of the ground,
and that a majority of the plants which have
been used in the experiments are not injured
by such treatment, 1t is also shown that the
rapid growth of flowering plants induced by
the electric light, as it is commonly used,
is exhaustive and unhealthy. It does not
follow, however, that under modifying con.
dibions, yet to be ascertained by careful
tests, thislight cannot housed to ecce lernte
the growth of such plants and of some vege-
tables without causing exhaustion or im-
pairing quality.
Some Useful Hints.
The dampness and unwholesomeness of an
undereink eupbnard, such as one finds in
nearly all old-style kitchens, can be reme-
died byboring numerous holes in the front and
end with an loch auger and by keeping a
can filled with uuslaked lime on a shelf in-
side. The holes can be made in a geometri.
cal design and detract in no way from its
looks.
If a sink reaches to a corner of the roost
a bracket shelf fastened at a convenient
height in the corner is handy for holding
those numeroustinte•and•strength-lav ing ma•
terinls with which the wise worker provides
herself ; namely, sapolio, pearlino, borax,
and a vegetable brush. If room is wanting,
screw hooks eau be put in the underside of
the shelf to hold the wire disiooloth, soap.
shaker, etc.
Shades and spring -rollers are too cheap
not to be found in every kitchen. And if
they emplaced foto' inches below the win.
dow•aasiug good ventilation can be secured
and the windows darkened at the same time.
Any rwOinan who eau use a hammer and
sc('ow•driver 01800 easily adjust them. It is
scarcely less difficult to put up n shelf with
the iron brackets which can be purchased
for a trifling sum at any hardware store,
and one back of the stove will save untold
steps.
If the range steeds near a corner of the
roost have two slats fastened across the
corner, three or four feet apart, for holding
dish towels in rainy weather (for they should
always be hung in the sun when it shines),
stove -cloths, and the like.
Pieces of pasteboard, with holes an inch
in diameter by which to hang then on a
convenient hook, aro excellent for placing
under hot cooking dishes. Or, lacking this,
old wrapping and newspapers answer every
purpose.
A twine bag with a pair of shears hating
conveniently near, should be found in every
kitchen. So, too, should a pincushion and
small mirror. Ono can easily find time to
give a becoming touch to their toilet before
going to the dining -table that would not be
given if compelled to go to one's chamber or
the bathroom.
A largo earthen bowl should always be
used for stirring cake in.
The Behring Sea Commissioners.
Sir George Badon-Powell, the imperial
Commissioner to Behring Sea, and Dr
George ill, Dawson, the Canadian commis-
sioner, arrived at Ottawa on Wednesday
after an absence of over throe menthe,
During that time they have made as
thorough enquiries into the subject tinder
investigation as was possible, and although
it is not expected that Dither of the gentle-
men will be able to enter into particulars of
their investigations until their reports are
presented, yet sufficient has been learned of
their doings to interest the public. After
leaving Victoria in the steamer Danube, the
commissioners visited all the known seal
rookeries, going as far north as St. Lawrence
island, east to the B. 0. coast and south to
Noah bay. The rookeries of the Pribyluff
islands and the Russian breeding grounds
were similarly visited, but the oonnussiun-
o's spealt highly of their treatment by the
Russian olinoials, Everyone in a position
to know anything about seals and seal-
ing was interviewed, some 500 persons
being seen and questioned. Information
was also written for and received from Son
5rancasoo, Japan and Russia, cul the ooln-
ntissioners made a point of witnessing the
killing of soals, and, in foot, malting them.
salves thoroughly an fait with the question,
From the time of leaving Victoria until their
return, the commissioners devoted them.
solves strictly to business,no time being left
for the study of natural history, hunting,
or for observing the peculiarities of the
tnaly strange races encountered. The
American eommisoiolle's wore mot twice
during the trip and the Russian authorities
more frequently, It was from Lilo latter
that the oommissimnors first learned of the
seizure of Capt. Mattoon and his schooner,
and it95ene1 with tltenn a foregone oetein-
aiou that a long town of imprisonment at
Vladlvostock awaited McLean, if not the
whole crow of the Lewis. Sir George and Dr,
Dawson will remain in Ottawa a few days
consulting the Government anti preparing
their report, and will thou proceed to
Washington, where they will meet do
American commissioners.
Bear hunting in the Rookies,
Boar hunting, as a general rale, I do not
think would appeal to most sporbenet. It
is rather slow work, and one Is often very
inadequately rewarded for the amount or
One and trouble spent in hunting up bruin.
There is hardly a portion of the mountains
whore there aro not evidences of bear, but I
do not believe that in any locality they are
eap:wittily abundant. They have been hunt.
ed and trapped so long that those who sur-
vive are extremely caitious. In my experi-
ence there is no animal gifted with a greater
amount of intelligence, and, in this region,
rho hunter's chief virtue, patience to wait
and obey in one spot, is sure to bo rewarded
sooner or later with a good shot.
Let me say now that the danger and fero-
city of the bear is! I think, very much over.
'stated, yet there is just enough element of
danger to mance the pursuit of this animal
Cdo n
exciting. Naturalists too apparent-
ly
o w pparent-
ly recognise more than two varieties of boar
in tem Rooky Mountains. That is, they
olass rho cinnamon, silver -tip and grizzly, as
grizzly bear. The other variety, of course,
is the black boar. I an by 110 00000110 sure
that the grizzly bear will not be further
subdivided after careful comparisons of col -
lotions of skulls.
Much has been said and written about the
size died weight of tine grizzly boar, and in
most instances this has boon more guesswork.
Lewis and Clark made frequent mention of
this animal, lend yob their estimate of the
Weight falls far below that of other writers.
Only a few instances have come to my
knowledge whore the weight has boon
ascertained absolutely. Agood-sizedgr'ivaly
killed in Yellowstone Park last'sununor by
Wilson, the Government scout, weighed six
hundred pounds, Colonel Pinkett, who has
aueighbonring ranch to mite, and who has
killed more boar than any roan I know of,
weighed his largest, which, if 1 remember
rightly, weighed eight hundred pounds.
The Lifeboat Institution ilea resoled from
death an average of five hundred people a
year since it was founded.
ALL ON A ki00K MARK.
Inclines 01,101 Ages of Notable Illon and;
Thr- other day I found a velum that;
suited me in a second-hand Look stole, and
when the clerk came to wrap it up for ma
he put in all a hook mark a clip of card board
Oil which the following fiat was printed;
At0v,,o 00 NOTED
511:8 A5P131e1l] IU)9i8ec,l
.A Ago
Alexander the Groat, B.C. 356 322 33
Autoiuette, Marla,,,.,, 17.55 1703 :ill
Bucca, air Francis 101(31 1(126 65
Blackstone, 81r William„ 1723 1780 57
Blucher, Marshal 1742 11410 77
Bonaparte, Napoleon,,,,, 17(f0 11811 52
Burns, Robert 1750 1706 37
Byron, Lord 1788 1824 36
Brutus, Manlius Junius,
11,0 80 36 44
!Bunyan, ,John 10.28 1088 60
C:n,sar, Julius, B.0 100 44 56
Carlyle, Thomas 1705 1881 8(3
C'olupabus, Christopher, „ 1436 1506 71
Dickens, Charles 1812 1870 53
David, King, 13.0 1090 1015 75
Eliot, George 1820 1880 60
Emerson, R.W 1803 1882 79
Emmet, Robert 1780 1803 25
Franklin, Benjamin lig (i 1790 84
Goethe, J,W 174:1 1832 83
Grant, 0.8
1821 1885 03
Gutenberg, John 1400 1468 68
Lincohn, Abraham 1800 1855 56
Lee, Robert 18s(3 1870 64
Longfellow, W.11 1807 1882 75
Louis XII. (France) 1754 1703 30
Luther, Martin.. .. .. 1483 1546 63
Milton, John 1608 1674 66
Mary Queen of Scots 1542 1587 45
Nelson, Lord 1758 1805 47
Scott, Sir Walter 1771 1839 61
Richard III. (hleglant). ,, 1452 1485 33
Shakespeare, William1564 11116 52
Slneridun, H. Y 1x31 1888 52
Sherman, W.T 1831) 1801 70
Solomon, the Wise, 13,C10:33 075 58
Washington, George 17:32 1700 67
Wellington, Duke of 1769 1331 83
And what a list of the world's great peo-
ple it is, to be sure, It is ozenous, among
other things, to see that malty of the great-
est things which make up iistury have been
accomplished by the young men au(i women.
'I'Inink of Emmet stirring civilization as he
did, and lock at his age at death. He was
only tweuly-three years old. Why he was
a beardless boy when they bauged him ; and
yet no king with tho blood and example of
a long liue behind him could have been
more dignified underacousabion, more heroic
in death, or more mourned by his country-
men than he. Think of the Alexander we
call the great, conquering a world, and dy-
ing at the age of thirty-three 1 Most of us
have only begun to live at that age. And
yet he was a king thirteen years before,
with a king's real grasp and a conqueror's
real ambition. By the way, that same
Alexander could have found worlds enough
to conquer if he had only turned to the
west instead of to the east. The Romana
were also looking for fighting fops about that
time, and could have kept him from griev.
ing to death at least. True, all his tradi•
tion turned him to Persia, but a richer
spoil was the Italian peninsula,
And poor Marie Antoinette going to her
death at thirty-eight, with a nation cursing
her, after a life of all the pleasure a green
of France could find. Scarcely less sad is
the thought of her king's death the same
year, when he was only a year older . than
she. Burns lived to thirty.seven, the fateful
age for men, and left behind him a legacy
that will never be exhausted. For the
legacies of poets are too nearly divine for
humane to waste them. Byron was even a.
year younger, but how deeply he had drunk
of tine good draughts of life. When the
final summing up does come it is probable
the judgment of the world will be that the
author of " Chfhfe Harold" got more out of
earth than any other man who has lived.
His thirty•six years really compress within
them a century of execution and enjoyment.
The best of Marshal Blucher's life, on the
other hand, was right at the last. Welling-
ton lived forty years after his grandest ac-
complishment, but he never outlived the
glory tlnatSilesian•Prussian debaiohebrought
him at Waterloo, It is sad to say poor.
Walter Scott had better never been born.
.And yet what was there in the man's success -
ea that can atone for the pain of a bankruptcy
he never could discharge, or for the piteous
insanity that made him believe he had paid
the last dollar that he owed, I would rather
"Ivanhoe" had never been written than
know it had cost a man what it cost him.
Brant compressed in ten years of his sixty-
three more than royal honors, but aside free
that decade he never rose above tribulation.
His early Hie was discouraging ; his lata
yeare were almost desolate.
Think of those twenty years of Napoleon,
from 1700 to 1810. How he heat and buffeted
the world about like a tennis ball ; how he
hated without loving and destroyed without
constructing ; how he smote with breathless
terror every nation of the earth, and yet
could not fasten to him with hooks enduring
a single friend who would outlive calamity.
Many things considered, Napoleon died
very young at fiftytwo.
Bacon ended a remarkable life in a re-
markable manner. At the age of sixty-five,
atter having demonstrated a learning equall-
ed nowhere in the world at the tune, after
having been the confidant of a king, and the .
self confessed acceptor of thirty-eight bribes„
after having done priceless .service for
science and literature, and after having been
condemned to imprisonment for life, lie one
day killed and dressed a fowl and stuffed it
with snow, to asoortain if the wintry agent
were an antiseptic. The chill which he paid
for the experiment caused his death 'before
he learned what the result had been.
131st the best work, the work that will
live tho longest, the deeds which left the
deepest impress on the world in which they
moved were, in noarl ever case accom-
plished w by these men mud wo nen bsforo the
ago of thirty-five. TWO years more is the
danger line for Hien. Pass that with great
possibilities in them and they may loops to
live to a happy age, tnay hope to see their
names on the lists of the world's great men.
And yet bloat seems so short a time. It is
so lately that they were boys without a sori-
ou0 thought in life or a single plan that
wont beyond today.
Such slips as the bookseller put in my vol-
ume are excellent though painful remind-
ers of how little wo are doing.
An English Distinotion,
" Is Lod Higgley a gentleman?"
"No, indeed 1 tie's o Lord,"
" Silence is Golden,"
Willy Leek° (tnystoriousfy),-•-Can yeua[:
keep a ssolret i
Nod Close.—Why? Aren't you able to!-,'.
Puck.
A Comprehousive Term,
Snell 13ny.—What is an egotist?
llig Mon,—ono who talks about himself
while yon are aching to talit about yourself
s --;,Puck,