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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe East Huron Gazette, 1892-11-03, Page 3sa-lese 10,1 erne bt:ilding :id. They nnbustible iropeller is ;signed so weight s of nd fall of f the ves• mach used metall ur- bas lately gement of a Francis - is without )mtortable built the nbers. f electric- = -n in the [m. Each the shaft needle in [pop a re- ts brought hp Ameri- at work s of this so far has localities tfixing a re, of the ters and flattering f August. les were 811, and 49,002.10 epresent- s expedi- some in - le scien- ce other not easy n haelre a certain empts to he earth acrifices 's fatal urvivors is story- oesiderr is ardor ind was ppear to ie cruel ugh, he :, enter- hehich- earlii esu ol$cial Pea y'a an from afety in t ation. del into agai:,st 1 ".polb `raus- e i le't ariVanUe- ountry. con tile: a Urea'. :ar sea. unit or Others i,er ing the its op• any ono 11-heth- fitw;d of con- ch and :remota • J tie.y rve,l }:y an i'c- Green - ii,e op. rnatter or th9, ell men ce of b boo, _i there bein;a condi CaicUiii- ✓ below piora- ere are eievat- to be of cam- curios- nd the • £o.'a is n, of tl;, already useful :!itions ch bet- energ y y ted by rst sea - 1 dairy ne but - to ths cl that e rive' e cora ore im- ason to n prod - as long of the the o-. Bat .00.0 in pected h since to $l, the loss cease* bots, utter is and for ada is special ing Meat of the ease need makers emona. e eigh- hfrm ' and iTct [i =s IH.ffb R rU-F1d. dF TAMES FLETOHEL, F.-L.pS., P. R. S G�... "aTliE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM. Cou31,1erah! e anxiety has been evinced by stock -owners in the Provinces of Ontario ono Quebec, concerning the sudden appear - a'' cc rpon their cattle of enormous numbers of a small blackish fly .which irritates the animals so much with its bite and disturbs them so constantly that they fall off rapid - ;y both in flesh and yield of milk. 'T'h',s is th; so-called "Horn -Fly" which has attracted mach attentionin the United States for the last •three years. It is a European pest which was first -brought to the no ice of the U. S. Division of Entomol- o_ y in September, where it has been known- since nownsince 1`t:10, In HSE), its complete life -history was worl:ea out by Prof. Riley and his assist- ants Messrs. L. 0. li£oward and C. L. Mar- Iatt. f 4 S was piiblished' in f `Insect=Life", vol. II., p:' 93-IO:1_and in the Annual' Re ports er the U. S.. Entomologist for 1329 anal 1' 9). '1'h: sr. investigations were so thorough that there was little left fot later observers to discover. Prof. J. 1:,. Smith, of New Jersey, also worked tip the life -history independently, at the same time, and published an account of his work in Bulletin 6? of the New Jer- sey Ag•-ieuitnral Experiment Station. The advent of this insect into Canada was first brought to my notice by Mr. Elmer tie';, of Oshawa, Ont., on July 30th last, when he stated that it had appeared in large numbers in that section of country and was causing considerable alarm. Since that elate I have received specimens and enquir- ies from localities ranging from the extreme vest of Ontario to Boucherville, P. Q-, some few miles east of Montreal. In all cases farmers seem to he thoroughly aroused and to appreciate the losses they may suffer by negfeetiiag thia•pest. Exaggerated• state- ments of losses, and injuries to the animals which are quite impossible, have received free and extensive circulation by word of mouth, and through the newspapers. Cows are ineccurately,said to have been killed by the lies, which, itis alleged, lay their eggs either on the horns into which the maggots bore and then penetrate to the brain, or "in holes which they eat through the hide, • -lay-eggs therein, which hatch out in large numbers and proceed with their boring operations until the vital portions of the cow -are touched and death ensues." . doubt that the pest has been presenton our Canadian stock farms throughout the past summer, but-ij only now iucreased in suf- ficent numbers to alarm the owners. Prof. Robertson, the Dairy Commissioner for the Dominion, tells me that he has received an unusual numberof complaints this yearofflies worrying stock, and these are in all prob- ability attribu't b e to 'this new importa- • tion; which •brought: into the United States only six years ago, has spread in all direc- tions over many States of the Union and is now infesting our herds in Canada. •The appearance of this insect in Canada, is a serious matter, for it has been found that stoek in infested regions have been so much tormented that animals falloff incon dition very much, and the yield of milk is reduced in some instances from one-third to one-half. There - are, however, several simple remedies which will,.if attended to, greatly reduce this loss, and if all farmers would combine and use them_, not only would their animals benefit iri eoinfest but the owners would reap rich returns for their outlay. REMEDIES. None of these statements are founded on fact. As stated above the complete life - history has been worked out. I had the good fortune to be in Washington, staying with Mr. Howard, in August, 1889, and was courteously permitted to join in bis . inves- - tigation of this matter. Together we visit- ed some of the infested stock-farnn in Vir- ginia and secured living flies and eggs from which, later on, the perfect insects were reared. • The life -history is briefly as follows :— The eggs are laid singly on the freshly - dropped dung of cattle, chiefly during the warmer hours of the day. They are 1-20 of an inch in length, brown in colour from the very first and from this fact are not easily seen when laid. The young maggots hatch from the eggs in less than:• twenty-four hours and at once burrow a short distance beneath the surface of the dung. Here they remain until full-grown, feeding on the liquid portions of the manure. This is their only food and all stories about their boring into the horns, brains or flesh of living - animals -are untrue. When the maggots are full-grown, which takes abouta week, they are of an inch in length, and are of a dirty white colour. They descend a short dis- tance into the ground to pupate, and the dark -brown pupa -cases are * of an inch in length. During the hot weather of sum- mer the pupal state lasts only four or tive ' days, bat the last brood passes the winter iu this condition p short distance beneath the surface of the ground, and the flies } emerge the following spring. The perfect insect is shaped much like the common cat- ) tle-fly or the house -fly ; but it is smaller, being cnly of an inch in length, that is, abont one-third the size of those insects. The colour of the Horn -fly is dark gray , with a yellowish sheen, and the body is covered with black bristles. The head con- sists almost entirely of the dark -red silvery - et ged eyes, but bears on its lower surface the black dagger -shaped tongue which is the cause of so much torture to cattle. When not•in use thisis carried projecting forward in front of the head. This pest will be at once distinguished from the ordinary cattle -fly by its smaller size, greater activity and the characteristic habit of gather ng,in clusters upon tae:hores- of cattle, particularly tipen the upper' side. When very abundant the flies form a more or less complete ring round the horn extending sometimes from two to four inches from the base towards the tip. The cluster- ing upon the horns seems to be peculiar to this species, for where the common Cattle -fly occurs with it in large numbers upon the same animals, I have never found specimens in the thick cluster upon the horns. Neither does the Horn -fly, like the Cattle -fly, bite horses and other animals ; but seems to confine its attacks to. cattle. It may not be amiss to mention here that no injury whatever results from this habit of gathering on the horns, the flies merely resorting to the horns as a resting place from which they cannot be easily dislodged -by-the- animal. They also congregate on the neck and at the base of the taiL The flies assume two characteristic- positicns, one while feeding when the wings are slight- ly elevated and- held out from thebody, the other while resting, when the wings lie nearly flat down the back,, with the tips only slightly separated, It is in this rest- ing position that they are always found on the horns. Cattle of aII-breeds aresubjec(to the at- tacks' of this pest, but there is very great difference in the susceptibility to injury of various breeds and individual animals accord- ing to their temperament 'and the,texture of their skins. While'feeding, the flies.work their way down through the hairs so as to reach th eskinof tbeirvictim, but they are ex- tremely agile and quickly take flight at the slightest disturbance. The bites seem to produce great irritation and sores are fre- quently formed on the bodies of animals by their rubbing themselves against trees and other objects or by licking bitten places where the irritation cannot be allayed by rubbing, as inside the thighs and around the udder. It is in the perfect state only that this in- sect is troublesome to stock ; but it appears early in spring and lasts the whole season, successive broods following eaeh other rap- idly throughout the summer. Mr. Howard found that from ten to seventeen days, sag two weeks, was about the time required from the laying of the egg to the appear- ance of the fly, and as there are about four active breeding months—from May I5th to September 15th—there is time for eight gen- erations or broods. This rapidity of devel- opment will account tor the flies appearing in such Large numbers ar to -have attracted general a:tenti ti simultaneously in many widely s. t4 localities. There is no • Notwithstanding the great loss which may result to stock -owners from neglecting to attend to this- new enemy, there is no reason why it should not be kept within control by simple and well tested remedies. This, of course, will be much more easily done if by some united effort steps are taken promptly at its first appearance in a new locality. From the fact that it has ap- peared comparatively late in the season, and probably will not this year give trouble much longer, as it always disappears with the first frosts of autumn, farmers will have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the habits of the pest and of learning the best remedies to be used against it, before a new season opens, and all should be pre- pared with the return of spring to wage a systematic, vigorous, and persistent war- fare, and strive to induce their neighbours to do the same, so as to prevent its increas- ing in numbers and spreading all over the Dominion. All accounts agree that the fly increases much more rapidly early in the season than later on in the ..year. - this shows the ad- vantage of being prepared - before the pest appears with the necessary materials and beginning work promptly so as to destroy as many as possible before breeding com- mences. The remedies are cheap, simple, and easi- ly applied ; but constant attention is requir- ed to make them effective. They may be trouped under two heads 1. Preventive, or such as prevent injury to the animals by keeping the insects from biting them ; 2. Active, the object of which is the destruction of the insects either in the per- fect or larval condition. - L'` Preventive. -Under this heading I cannot do better than quote from the article by Messrs. Riley and Howard in "Insect Life," Vol. II., No. 4, which reads as fol- lows :— "Almost any greasy substance will keep the flies away for several days. A number of experiments tried in the field, with the result that train -oil alone and train -oil with a little sulphur or carbolic acid added, will keep the flies away for from five to six days, while with as small proportion of carbolic acid it will have a healing effect upon sores which may have formed. Common axle - grease will answer nearly as well, and this substance has been successfully and exten- sively used by a large - stock -dealer in Vir- ginia. Tallow has also been used to good advantage. The practice of smearing the horns with pine or coal -tar simply repels them from these parts. Train -oil or fish - oil seems to be more lasting in its effects than any other of the substances used." Crude Carbolic Acid or Oil of Tar, mix sufficiently with fish oils if the two sub- stances be placed together in a bottle and well shaken. They may be mixed in the proportion of 1 oz. of either in half a gallon of oil. The Oil cf Tarhas a. stronger odour than Carbolic Acid and is cheaper. The remedy which I think in the long -run will be found to be the best is the Kerosene Emulsion, and when farmers have Iearnt how easily this very valuable remedy against the insect enemies of crops and do- mestic animals can be prepared, many of the pests which now give trouble will b brought into subjection. This emulsion consists simply of a mix- ture of soap -suds with twice the quantity of ordinary coal oil, made as follows : Keiosene (coal oil) 2 quarts, Rain water Soap Boil the soap in the water till all is dis- solved ; then while boiling hot, turn it into the kerosene;: and churn it constantly and forcibly with a syringe or force pump for five miuutes, when it will be of a smooth, creamy nature. If the emulsion be perfect it will adhere to the surface of glass without oiliness. As it cools it thi,kens into a jelly- like masa This gives the stock emulsion, which must be diluted before using witb nine times its measure, that is 27 quarts, of water. It will be found to mix much more easily if done at once, before it enols. The above proportions give three quarts of the stock emulsion which with 27 quarts of water added, make up thirty quarts of the mixture ready for use. This may be applied to the animals either by means of a sponge or what will certainly be found most convenient, where there are many animals to treat, by means of a force pump and spray nozzle. Prof. 'W. B Alwood has found that the stock emulsion diluted ten times and mixed with one part of a water extract of tobacco waste (made by steeping 1 pound of tobacco stems in 1 gallon of hot water for an hoar or more, gage almost perfect immunity for a period of three days and that two treat- ment's per week almost entirely relieved his cattle from' annoyance. He makes the ap- plication with a knapsack pump fitted with a cyclone nozzle, and the work is done just after milking time. His method is as fol- lows.—The animals are driven into an en- closure through a gate which will only ad- mit one at a time. A man with a knapsack pump on his back stands at the gate and sprays one side of each animal as it passes, they are then driven out again, and the other side is treated iii the same manner. The quantity of liquid: thus applied is very small, but has been found sufficient. Pre- viously, Prof. Alwood employed two men at milking time, and used one or two pints for each animal. The knapsack sprayer mentioned above consists of a tank of four or 5 gallons capa- city, fitted with straps for carrying it on the back, and supplied with a small force pump, a few feet of rubber hose and a spraying nozzle. These can be procured from several of the pump makers for about $12, or $14, complete. Smaller and leas expensive pumps would answer•equally well, and may be obtained at prices ranging from $2 to $5 from most of our Canadian seedsmen. IL Active.—Of applications to destroy the Sy, ,a proprietary substance consisting mainly f tobacco dust and creosote, and known as "X. 0. Dust," manufactured by a Baltimore firm, is very highly spoken of, partioniarlg by Prof. J. B. Smith, of the 1 quart, 2 oz. New Jersey ExperhrIant Station: This costs about 25 cents a pound. When placed:upon the cattle by dusting it through- the hair, the flies will not remain long enough on the animals to bite them. Its -effects last only about two days. :Kerosene, emulsion made as directed above,sprayed over the cattle, killed all the -flies reached and prevented others com- ing, as long a3 the odor lasted, which was from three to seven days. Remedies for the destruction of the per- fect insects, are mainly useful upon the first appearance of the pest in a new local- ity, or early in the season for the destruc- tion of the first brood. The best way to fight this enemy is by the treatment of the cattle droppings so as to destroy the eggs and larvae. The maggots can onle live in the dung whilst it is in . a moist condition. Any means, therefore, which will ensure its drying up before the maggots ate full grown; will destroy them. For this purpose lime, land plaster; and wood athes have been recommended, and the last-named of these will probably be found the best, not only from its strong al- kaline properties, which are destructive to insect life, but also from its great fertilizer, and from the further fact that it is easily obtainable on every farm. If farmers could be only induced to keep this valuable material for application to their own land, instead of, as is too often the case, selling it to speculators at much less than its value to themselves, the benefit derived there- from would much more than repay them for the trouble and expense even without con- sidering the use for which it is now recom- mended. Messrs. Riley and Howard state that—cs Throwing a spadeful of lime upon a cow dung will destroy the larvae that are living in it. If the evil should increase, it will well pay a stock -raiser to start a load of lime through his fields occasionally, par- ticularly in May or June, as every larvm killed then represents the death of very many flies during July and August. We feel certain that this course will be found in many cases practical and of great avail, and will often be an advantage to the pasture besides." I am of the opinion that Canadian wood ashes would be far superior to lime for the above purpose, and if, neither of these ma- terials were easily obtained, a good shovel- ful of dry earth or road -dust, would soon absorb the moisture necessary for the de- velopment of the larvae. What appears to me to be the most prac- tical recommendation, is, that of Prof. J. B. Smith. He says :—" By sending a boy over the pasture every other day with a shovel to thoroughly spread out the cow drcppings, all eggs and larvae would be de- stroyed." I believe if this were done twice a week it would be sufficient, and would be equally effective in wet weather, when the substance would be washed away, as in hot weather when it isdried up. • Legend of the Death of Solomon. There is a legend concerning the death of - Solomon, alluded to in the Koran, the Tal- mud, Baring-Gould's " Patriarchs and Prophets," and many other old and curious books, both vulgar and semi -sacred, which is as follows : Solomon employed the genii in building the temple, but, perceiving that his end was near at hand, prayed God that his death might be concealed from the work- ers until the great building was completed. * * * Therefore he made himself a staff from a tree and leaning upon his staff, with his head bowed in adoration, he died in the temple. His soul was taken so gently from him that his body remained standing for one whole year ; those who saw him thought that he was absorbed in prayer and dare not approach him. Still the genii worked night and day until the temple was completed, thinking that they were watched in every detail by the master whose eyes had many weeks before been closed in death. But, during all this time, little white ants had been gnawing at the staff, and whex the temple was at last finished, the staff crumbled under his weight and the body fell to the floor. Mahomet alludes to this curious legend in the Koran. See Sura, chapter xxxiv: " When He (God) had decreed that Solomon should die, noth- ing discovered death unto them (the genii) except the oreepings things of the earth, which gnawed the staff, and when the body tell down the genii plainly perceived that -if they had known that which is (was) secret they would not have continued in vile -pun- ishment." They Were on the Make. - One day in my rambles among the hills I came upon an old fellow hoeing corn in front of his house. and in the course of our talk he told me he had five sons. "That's a fine family," I remarked. "Mostly," he responded briefly. " Are they all at home ?" "No, none of them." "They are all grown, then ?" " Yes, and has been fer a long tine." " What ch) they do -farm?" " No ; Bill, he mates shoes ; Jim, he makes staves ; Sam. he makes tinware; and Thomas Henry, he makes pills." " Do they all make a living?" I asked, following out the " make " idea, but not noticing that he had skipped one of the five. " Yes." "Do any of thein make money ?" I con- tinued. The old fellow flushed a little I thought. "Yes—no," he hesitated, "that is ter say, Hiram, he made money, but be don't no more now sence they sent him to the peni- tentiary fer counterfeitin'," and there was such a look of pain on the old man's face -that I was ashamed of myself for having unwittingly made the father disclose the skeleton in his closet. - Bent on Repose. Pat and Mike were two brothers employ- ed as seamen on a sailing vessel, who work- ed in different watches. It was Pat's watch -on deck when the ship struck a rock, causing her to leak bad- ly. Pat was therefore . sent below to tell his brother to rise at once as the ship had sprung a leak. "I don't care," says Mike, "if she has sprung a bed of onions. I am going on with my sleep. - "But," saysPat, "You don't understand my meaning. There's a big hole in the side of the ship, and the water is coming in fast." ` "Sure, then," says Mike, "put a hole in the other side and let it out again ; I am going one ith my sleep." A Human Barometer. Bellefonte physicians are puzzled over a barometrical sort of young lady of that place, who is of the most amiable and pleas- ant disposition in clear, sunny weather, but who gets ugly and morose when the clouds gather, and so unruly before, a big storm that she has to be restrained. Another omnibus turned over lately at Hyde Park Corner,London, injuring several persons terribly. {Pk Parsnivant o dprlag, they)Etea>f n d' et De agsig Aattnmpi: -8#.11a ,.. Notthe robin's impatient yelpnor yet alt lia ed to happy song,nor the song sparrows nor the bluebird's serene meloly, her d= the coming of Spring but atte ids its van guard. These blithe musicians accompany the soft air that bares the fields, enpurple: the buds and fans the bloom of the first squirrel cups and sets he hyla's shrill chime a -ringing. - Preceding these, while the fields are yet an unbroken whiteness and the coping of the drifts maintain the fantastic grace of their storm -built shapes, before a recognized waft of Spring is felt or the voice of a freed stream is heard, coupes that sable pursuivant the crow, fighting his way against the fierce North wind, tossed alow and aloft, buffeted to this side and to that, yet staggering bravely onward and sounding his trumpet in the'face`of his raging "antagonist, and far in advance of its -banner proclaiming Spring. It is the first audible promise of the longed -for season, and it heartens us though there be weary days of waiting for its fulfill- ment, while the bold herald is beset by storm and pinched with hunger as he holds his out -post and gleans his scant rations in the Winter -desolated land. He finds some friendliness in nature even now. Though her forces assail him with relentless fury, she gives him the shelter of her evergreen tents in windless depths of woodland : bares for him there a rood of sword or stubble whereon to find some crumb of comfort ; leaves for him ungather- ed apples on the naked boughs, and on the tuipruned tangles of vines wild grapes— poor raisins of the frost—the remnants of. autumnal feasts of the robins and part- ridges. Thankful now for such meagre fare and eager for the fullness of disgusting repasts, in the bounty of other seasons he becomes an epicure whom only the choicest food will satisfy. He has the pick of the fattest grubs, he makes stealthy levies on the earliest rob- ins' nests,and from some lofty lookout or aerial scout watches the farmer plant the -corn and awaits its sprouting into the dainty tidbits, a fondness for whose s*eetness is his overmastering weakness. For this he braves the terrible scarecow and the dread mystery of the cornfield's lined boundary, for this risks life and forfeits the good name that his better deeds might give him. If he would not be tempt- ed from grubs and carrion, what a worthy bird he might be accounted. In what good if humble repute might he live, how lament- ed die. 0, appetite ! thou base belly-denned demon, for what sins of birds and men art thou accountable ! - In the Springtide days he turns aside from theft and robbery to the softer game of love, whereunto you hear the harsh voice attuned- in cluttering notes, and, having wooed his mate, the pair begin house -build- ing and keeping. - It is the rudest and clumsiest of all bird architecture that has become the centre of their cares, such a jumble of sticks and twigs as chance might pile on its f,trked founda- tions, but woe betide the hawk who ventures near, or owl who dares to sound his hollow trumpet in the secret precincts. At -the first alarm signal, as suddenly and mysteriously as Robin Hood's merry men appeared at winding of his horn, the black clansmen rally from every quarter of the greenwood to assail the intruder and force him to ignominious retreat. When at last the darlings having clad their uncouth nakedness with full sable rai- ment, are abroad in the world, they, with unwary foolhardiness and incessantquerulous cries of hunger or alarm, are still a constant sonree of anxiety to parents and kindred. But in the late Summer when the young- sters have come to months of discretion and the elders are freed from .the bondage of their care, a long holiday begins for all the tribe. The young corn has long since ceased to tempt them and the persecution of man has abated. The shorn meadows and the close - cropped pastures swarm with grass -hoppers, field and forest offer their abundant fruits. Careless and uncared for, what happy lives they lead, sauntering on sagging wing, through the sunshine from chosen field to chosen wood, and at niehtfall encamping in the fragrant tents of the pines. At last the gray banners ot Autumn sig- nal departure and the gathered clans file away in stuggling columns, flecking the blue sky with pulsating dots of blackness, the green earth with wavering shadows. Sad- ly we watoh the retreat of the sable cohorts whose desertion leaves our Northern homes to the desolation of Winter.—[Forest and Stream. A Pro digy of Memory. Professor Henkle, a few years aga, in one of his articles in the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, makes mention of a remarkable character whom he met at Salem, Mass., in 1868, Daniel McCarney by name.. McCar- ney was 51 years of age at the time, but proved to the satisfaction of Professor Henkle that he could -remember where he had been, the state of the weather, etc., for each day and hour since he was 9 years old, dates covering a period of forty-two years! These remarkable feats of memory were proven and verified by weather records and newspaper files kept in the city; and of the hundreds of tests resorted to to try his pow- ers, he never failed to prove himself a mnemonic freak of the most freakish kind. This prodigy of memory worked at the Salem Republican office and, naturally, one would think him able to furnish the brains for half a dozen papers, but he couldn't—in fact, he was of no use whatever, except to turn the big press twice a week! Why He Loved His Sunday -School Best Sunday -school Teacher (to small boy in her class) : " Well, Johnny, which do you like best, your Sunday -school or your reg- ular day -school ?" Small Boy (decidedly) : "My Sunday - school, mum." - Sunday -school Teacher (smiling approv- ingly) : " Andwhy do you love your Sun- day -school best, Johnny ? Small Boy : " Because it don t keep but one day in th' week, mum." A Chance For a Sore Tongue. Mrs. Poots—What are you looking so glum about? Poots—Ob, there's a confoundedly tender spot on my tongue from resting against a broken tooth. " Humph ! You're always grunting -about something- Funny I never have anything like that the matter with my tongue." " Nothing funny about it. Your tongue is never at rest." People who write poetry "just to kill time," will find that time will not be mur- dered by measure without retaliating. The religion of to -day is the pocketbook. The more there is in it the 'stronger the faith+ ear } t t, itrlte r *5 harper o i..;; _. aawa s ;.bee,bef©re da% rig o€'E�IIg.&it'S�i. woo' hours c, i ht: 1:tiilnmiius devote ny g early dawn planning his voyage of discov ry ; and- many of l�Tapofeon s most brillian ^ampaigns were laid out in the early hour of the morning. . John Sobieski, King of Poland, one of Oa great:i.laus st warriors of the aeventeenth cen fury,slept only four hours. Stanislaus Polad and Charles VII. were early risers Stanretired at 9 and rose : between and Iii the reign of Henry VIII. seven o'cloc1 was the fashionable breakfast hour, and ter o'clock the dinner hour. Elizabeth dined a eleven and supped at five. - Paley, Priestly, Bishops Jewel and Bur net, Jeremy Taylor, Baxter, Wesley, As bury, and Mathew Hale rose between fou' and five. Sir Isaac Newton devoted the early morning hours to study. - Peter the Great, whether at work in tie., docks of London as a ship carpenter or at the anvil as a blacksmith, or on the throne of Russia, always rose before daylight. " 1 am," said he, " for making my life as lone as possible, and therefore sleep as little as possible. Frederick II. of Russia, even in old age. never slept later than four in the morn- ing. Copernicus and his confreres were all dis- tinguished and early risers, and the Duke of Wellington said if he hadn't been an early riser Waterloo might have claimed a different congcer. Lord Brougham slept but four hours, yet few men accomplished more in the same period of time. Sir Thomas Moore rose every morning at four. Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Franklin, Webster, Clay, and Calhoun made it a rule always to rise early. George Bancroft, the historian; even when an old man could be seen any fine morning on horseback or in his rose garden. lti ill- iam Cullen Bryant arose at 'five, and never worked at night. Washington Irving, Longfellow, Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Whittier, Whitman, Dickens, and Victor Hugo have each demonstrated by their lives and works the . beneficial result of the custom. The " Grand Old Man" of England, Glad- stone, is often seen in his grounds around Hawarden castle while the dew is still sparkling on the well -kept grass. Dean Swift says he never knew a man come to greatness and eminence who lay in bed of a morning." Ft anklin says, "He who rises late may trot all day and not have overtaken his busi- ness at night. The above are only a few of the many distinguished men whose names have come down to us as adherents to the axiom, " Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." The average duration of the lives of these distinguished early risers was about 79, nine years more than the allotted time. The difference between rising at 5 and at 7 in the morning for the space of 40 years, supposing that a man goes to bed at the same time every -night, adds almost ten years to a man's life. What wonderful possibilities might be comprehended in those ten years, what strides in science and art ! Alfred Lilith, Adam's First Wife, According to the Jewish Talmud, Lilith, the fabled " mother of demons, " was taken to wife by Adam, our first parent, prior to the appearance of Eve upon the scene. Be- ing the legendary mother of all evil spirits, one would quite naturally accept the story as a fact when told that she became unman- ageable and tried to supersede Adam as lord of all creation. - Thwarted in these, her evil designs, she took to the regions of the air, where, as a spectre in the guise of a beautiful woman, she lies in wait for and pounces upon defenceless children. Some ignorant European Jews believe that the beautiful murderess still inhabits the air above our earthly abodes, waiting with the patience of a demon for a chance to mur- der their little ones. It is said that the word "lullaby" is a corruption of the words " Lillia,abi, " or " Begone, Lilthti," words used as a charm by the superstitious mothers of the Middle Ages. See article " Eve" in Baring-Gould's " Patiarchs and Prophets." Curiosities of Inseot3• - The markings of the "death -head" moth are so arranged as to form a striking pic- ture of a human skull. In Australia there are three species of beetles which have the extraordinary power of reproducing their eyes if it so- happens that those useful organs get destroyed. Earwigs are hatched from eggs in exactly the same way that a hen hatches her young. The smallest known insect (outside of the so-called microbes, bacilli, etc„) is the pter- atomus putnamii. It is a parasite of the ichneumon, and is but one -ninetieth ot an inch in length. The largest insect that has yet been cata- logued by the entomologists is the Erebus Stria, a night -flying moth of Central Amer- ica, which has from eleven to eighteen inches of wing expanse. The luna beetle of Ceylon seems to be more nearly identified with the moon than with the things of the world. It has two phosphorescent spots on each wing that wax and wane just as the moon does, and during the "dark of the moon,” they .ire wholly invisible. A hot spring near Boise, Ida., is used in heating the city. A man who is struck dumb has struck on melancholy daze. Hay fever will make even the most unas- suming man blow his own horn. %% anted—The man who can address a Sunday school without beginning hisppeech with, "when I was a little boy." Because a young man wears a tennis blazer it does not necessarily follow that he will set the world ou fire. Miss Ume Tsuda, a young Japanese girl who graduated from Bryne Mawr College last June, is endeavouring to secure funds for the establishment of a scholarship for Japanese girls at some college in America. Her brother has been educated as a civil en- gineer in this country, and returns to his own country to practice his profession. Railway bonusing is still popular in Can- ada. Recently Hamilton voted $275,000 to the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo railway. and a few days ago Vancouver, B. C., de- cided to bonus the Burrard Inlet and Fra- ser Valley railway to the extent of $300,000. Most of the municipalities in the Pacific province have placed a safeguard around the bonusing power by providing that a by-law to be adopted must receive sixty per cent. 'of the votes cast. If this rule had been ap- plied to Vancouver the bonus would have been defeated, but through the absence of .it the railway receives the gift. t#LAfiTI# AND AFRICA. Plea: Tor an Alliance Between the 1'W Nattipn$The Waited States teeth a ? aviin. and Military Power. In a few years' time the populational -the Jnited States will reach a hundred millions •f English-speaking people, nearer to us in entiment and institutions than any other ration can ever be, occupying a geo• ;raphical position of supreme advantage, haring with us a frontier. line some 4,000 uiies long and an increasing trade euor- uously greater than that interchanged by ny two other States of the world. While uro1 can countries stagger under a heavy clad of debt, the United States find their reasury balances almost an inconvenience. In manufacturing power, in all that pros'cea rational vigor, the inheritors of our old colonies already surpass any State except aur own, and their full development has set to come. The amount of British capital nvested in that development defies esti- mate, and the inwoven interests of the kindred races have already reached a com- plexity which baffles the imagination, Money seeks investment in America as , eadily as if it were a portion of the empire, end no other markets act and react upon our own in the same degree. The mere exis- tence of a state of war, apart from its actual operations, would inflict a deadly blow to the whale fabric of British commerce. The thing should be inconceivable. As Lord Overstone said of the occupation of London by a foreign army, " it must never be." The common sense of the many instinctive- ly recognises this, without, however, fully realizing the utter disaster which such a war would entail ; but the tacit recognition fails to reach the mind of the Foreign Office or to trace its impress upon the national' policy. Meanwhile, the mind of the sol- dier, dazzled by the multitudinous glitter of German, French or Russian bayonets, is incapable of seeing either the paramount value of a friendly America, or the enor- mous potentiality for inflicting injury upon this country which exists beyond the At- lantic. Three thousand miles across the ocean mobilisation in the European sense is wholly superfluous, and the United States could without difficulty create, equip and maintain armies of any required strength, while they must already be ranked among great naval powers. Moreover, a change is rapidly corning over the aspect of their foreign relations. " Why," asked Washington in his farewell address, " by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity cin the toi.i;i of European ambition, rive, interest or caprice ?" "Because' it is inevitable," is the anawer which political and commercial evolution has dictated. The expansion of Great Britain and of Russia was not more inevitable than that the United States should take a leading place among the nations. Commercial entanglement has alread y grown up, with one European power at least, and the construction of a powerful sea -going navy is but one of several signs of what must come. Could we be brought Le realise the dominant position which the United States has already attained we should be less inclined to resent occasional manifesta- tions of a sentiment which, in the case of Germany or France, we,.:,ld be P,etwai no mere arrogance. There is only one power which could seriously injure Great Britain in war, cc whose alliance would give a real guarantee of peace. There is only one power whom material presperity is intimately bound up 'nth our own, and to those external inter- ests a British alliance would mean absolute security. If Lord Rosebery is able to in- spire the Foreign office with a conception of the United States existing and to be, an important step in laying the foundation of the national policy of the future will have been taken.—[London, Eng., Speake- GAME AND FISH• Reports of the Ontario Commissioners Answers Received From Nearly Thi-ei! - Thousand Persons—An Interesting ate Instructive Volume. The report of Ontario Game and Fisk Commission has just been published, anti proves to he a most instructive and reads able volume. In addition to the tables of questions prepared by the commissioners• and relating to the different birds, fish, and` animals found in the province, the answers received thereto are also published, and e careful perusal of these will satify the read. er that the subsequent recommendations of the commissioners have been wisely made. To show how widespread was the interest taken in the enquiry of the commission, it may be stated that their questions were answered by 2,873 witnesses, whose names and addresses have all been carefully record- ed. The answers to the various sets of questions have all been set out in bulk, ex- cept in the case of the questions on birds and fish. In the former the answers are given by counties, and afford an index of the feeling of sportsmen generally in their own districts. In the case of fish, it was found by the commissioners to be impossible to classify the answers received owing to the great difference of opinion expressed by the witnesses as to the proper close and open seasons. The recommendations of the commission- ers are set forth cleat ly and distinctly, and are manifestly good. As these have been before published they need not be now re- printed. Suffice it to say, that they provide increased penalties for violations of the game laws ; shorter open seasons ;a general shoot- ing season ; an increased bounty for the de- struction of wolves ; the prohibition for three years of the sale of quail, snipe, wild turkey, woodcock, and partridge in Ontario ; the appointment of a force of salaried ward- ens to enforce the game and Fisheries Acts : and the issue of shooting licenses to foreign sportsmen at $''25 each. The Game and Fisheries Acts, together with the late amendments thereto, are pub- lished in full, and the volume also contains a full report of the international conference held last year on the subject of game- and fish protection. This portion of the report is highly interesting, and will well fepay perusal. An interesting memorandum on the protective laws of Ontario and the neighbouring States of the Union has been prepared, and the close- and open seasons which obtain in each can readily be com- pared. The work concludes with some interest- ing treatises on thegame animals, birds, and fish of the province, fn which the habitant the subjects treated are clearly set forth. The papers are illustrated, and will be found to be particularly interesting. Taken -alto- gether the report is one of the beet submit- ted to the Government for some time, -and it is to be hoped that good results will follow in its wake. Even the most silent paragrapheris liable to make a noise -ter joke now. Say what you please, but the -natural born fool gets the best of this world. Modesty is very becoming in c Vis, -t t$ makes a man appear like a fool!- -