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•She .pictfcnrg Jlamdcaler. J. VAN SLYKE, PUBLKKXR. JLEHENBY, ILLINOIS. JpCUlTUiUL AND DOMESTIC. . Ilklsss'.Eas. "AW r asset hazels on the bough in ^"""ir'fiiir ripe and brown ; ~ _ The burnish'd ohertaaU from their shucks come thiokly showering down ; The ring-dove on the beech-nast feeds: the squir- i rel gambols gay Amid tho acorn-laden oaks throughout.(be autumn *Mm ftaasei to furae the spider weave* her slender y silken thread* rain-renewed meadow turf with mnshrotitos ' wlilit? ia spread; The partridge from the stubble whin; the pheaauit- Hultan?H crow Bings shrilly as he proudly strata along the coppice row. And scarlet thq geranium beds glow <m the smooth green !»wn; The dahlias glisten with the dews of eve and early dawn; The ivy round the old gray church gives shelter to * ' a band Of gathering swallows taking flight toward a son- '., nier land, ^ The yellowing touch of autumn-tide ison each bueh and tree; Amid the last sweet summer blooms regretful hums the bee, For soon his plenteous nectar feasts shall be for this year o'er, - . And he abroad amid the flowers shaU venture forth '•.no more.' • Uffln the path the autumn leayee ars falling thick • - • and Fere; *' • ~ " Decay's bright tints on all around proclaim the waning year; Soon Winter's touch shall freeze the mere, jnake bare and black the wood: Thus pass in turn the seasons four, and each in season good. Aronnd the Farm. DISCARD the old habit of boasting of the number of acres of land planted, number of plows ran, or the number of bales of cotton made, and look well to the number of dollars of clear profit. THE great difference in the qualify of butter made by farmers' wives in the same neighborhood is often a matter of wonder. It is generally attributed to the makers alone. But there is more difference in the feed and water, and fa­ cilities in caring for the milk, than is usually considered. No good butter can be made without good, sweet feed, good,, pure water--and plenty of both. _ A FRUIT-CAR is building, in San Fran­ cisco for the transportation of fruit from that city to Chioago. It is provided with a fan-blower, driven by one of the oar axles, by means of which the air is driven through ice, which reduces it to a low temperature, and then distributes it among the fruit boxes through a large perforated pipe, laid along the bottom of the car. After the cool air has passed through the fruit it returns to the blow­ er, and the process is repeated. By this means the atmosphere of the car is kept at a uniform temperature of forty de­ grees Fahrenheit. A CORRESPONDENT of the Countrv Gen­ tleman has this to say about overfeeding for exhibition: "I think the leading breeders of short horns, as well as other breeds, begin to see the folly of hamper­ ing their breeding stock for show pur­ poses. If an animal will not on & whole summer's pasturage look well enough for the show ring, then the breed is scarcely worth owning. This is the key note to successful rearing of stock for the mass­ es, and the true reason why small breed­ ers with limited means have not dared to bring their cattle to exhibitions of any sejrt, where they would have to compete with meal fed animals." ' SAVE hog manure now, as it is es­ pecially valuable from fattening hogs. As nearly all the nitrogen of the food is oontained in the liquids voided, none of it should be allowed to waste. Litter the pens with an absorbent--dry earth, or muck or cut straw. Much of the net profits of stock comes from the manure --hogs included--and yet not one farmer in ten saves half the hog manure made. This is the kind of economy that makes bard times. It is estimated that if all the manure a pig makes was saved,prop- erly, it would add, on an average, about two cents to the value of each pound of pork.--Ohio Farmer. CHICKBN CHOLERA.--Bight or ten pounds of sulphate of iron (copperas) dissolved in five or six gallons of water, with half a pint of crude carbolic acid added to the solution, and briskly stir­ red, makes the cheapest and best disin­ fecting iluid for common use. It can be procured in every town and by any fam­ ily, and if the carbolic acid is not at hand, the solution of copperas may be used without it. Sprinkle the walls, nest-boxes and perches^ daily, with the above. Eor the disinfection of ground on which any excrements! matter of dis­ eased fowls (or of those suspected of dis­ ease) has been east, use the " dead oil" /heavy oil) of coal tar, or coal tar itself. It is a good plan to use coal tar as a paint for the inside of poultry houses, in districts invaded by the flhinkon cholera. Poultry World. About the House. CODFISH is improved by changing it, once in a while, back and forth from .garret to oellar. Some dislike to have it in the house anywhere. ^ SODA should be bought in small quali­ ties, then powdered, sifted, and kept tight corked in a large-mouth glass bot­ tle. It grows damp if exposed to the air, and then cannot be used prop­ erly. THE Scientific American says : " Tubs and pails saturated with glycer­ ine will not shrink and dry up, the hoops will not fall off, and there will be no necessity for keeping these articles -eoaked. Butter tubs keep fresh and aweet, and can be used a second time." BOILED FRUIT PUDDING.--One quart crushed wheat, one teaspoonful cinna­ mon, half teaspoonful cloves, two cups •sugar, two eggs, one-half pound suet chopped fine, one teaspoonful cream tartar, one-half teaspoonful soda, half cup of molasses, half pound raisins, •chopped fine, citron or lemon-peel if de­ wed. Boil two hoars. £eas AND MINCED VKAII.---Take some emants of roast veal, trim off fall browned parts, and mince it very finely; fry a shallot, chopped small, in plenty <* butter; when it is a light straw color, add a large pinch of flour and a little stock; then the minoed meat with chopped parsley, pepper, •alt, and nutmeg to taste mix well, add more stock if necessary, and let the Liince gradually get hot by the side of the fire ; lastly, add a few drops of lemon juice. Serve with sippets of bread fried in butter round, and poached eggs on the top. THE GALLA LIIA'. --This is becoming a very fashionable flower for pots, and la a great adornment for a window in the winter. Its large, dark green leaves and nrViito flowm make it Quite attract­ ive as a decorfttive plant. But what shall be done with them in the summer? It should be allowed to rest, which can be done by planting it out in some dry, sunny part of the garden, and let it re­ main without any artificial watering Tintil toward fall. As' soon as it gives any in­ dication of growth, it should be potted again in a compost of equal parts of well rotted manure and loam. Jttemove to the house and water freely, and it will be a free and abundant bloomer for the en­ suing winter. It is a plant which always liberally pays for fts board. How TO COOK JGKANBKKRIKS. --How to cook cranberries is an important ques­ tion, if you are to get the best of them. They are sour, acrid, unpalatable and unwholesome in a raw state, and but little better as they are usually cooked. We have often seen them hastily scalded, sweetened, and brought to the table floating in their juice, not one-half of them cooked enough to burst the skin. Bah! what food! But how different when cooked! Pat them, with only water enough to prevent burning, in a tinned saucepan, and stew until by star­ ring the whole becomes a homogeneous mass, with no semblance of whole ber­ ries, and then add clarified syrup, pre­ viously prepared, and stir a few minutes while boiling. When cold, you have delicious cranberry jelly. THE SEW SCHOLAR. The Late Virginia Earthquake. - [Richmond Cor. New York Herald.] At one o'clock a. m. I visited nearly every quarter of the city, in order to as­ certain accurately the extent and effect of the earthquake. The result was that it tamed out to be much more serious, startling, and,perhaps, dangerous than I was aware of. Everywhere the citizens were walking about the streets half dressed, or congregated on the corners discussing the events. Some of them remained in their houses with the doors open, prepared at the first symptom of another rumble to rush to the streets for safety from the impending danger of falling houses. Few were courageous enough to retire again, and those who did so kept their clothes on to be ready for flight in any emergency, and num­ bers chose the seemingly safer alterna­ tive of walking about all night. Never in the history of this city, so famous for disasters and terrible catastrophes, was there such dismay and consternation de­ picted on the countenances of the popu­ lace as they stood in their doorways' or in the streets, tremblingly looking for- 1 to si au»uiiiy more awful any­ thing they had yet axperienoed. Fiom interviews had with persons of intelli­ gence and cool judgment it is now cer­ tain that the city and vicinity were vio­ lently shaken by three distinct rum­ blings of an earthquake, accompanied by a noise resembling thunder, a rushing sound in the air, and the shooting of thousands of meteors through the heavens. \ Every body^agrees that the first of the shocks'was the most terrific and startling of them all, shaking and swaying the houses like the rocking of a cradle, rat­ tling glasses and glassware, ringing bells, and, in many instances, throwing per­ sons from their beds with force and vio­ lence to the floor. This latter incident occurred at several of the hotels and numbers of private dwellings, and the effect was at once to produce a panic and the wildest consternation that can be imagined. Men and women alike rush­ ed into passages and streets, screaming with terror, unable to realize such an awful visitation, and in the confusion and uproar which ensued escaping the effect of the second "shake," which fol­ lowed in about three minutes after the first. This latter shock was less violent, but, like the first, it came with the same rumbling, and as if suppressed, sound cf thunder, the same rushing noise, like a whirlwind, and the same shooting of meteors in the empyrean, which was filled with electricity, producing the most brilliant and at the same time the most astonialiing cSbcts. Those who were calm and collected enough to wit­ ness the lat ter display in the streets became terribly impressed with this ex­ traordinary demonstration of nature, and there was many a mental resolution, tend­ ing to a reformation in the future, made in the few minutes that it lasted. In about twenty minutes from the first' shock the third occurred, and this was still less violent than even the second, but accompanied with the same atmos­ pheric phenomena as the preceding two. A Horse with a Silver Throat* We have heard of people born with a silver spoon in their mouths and all that, but the most unique thing of the kind we ever heard of or Baw is a horse with a silver throat. He was a kindly, hard­ working beast, belonging to the Cincin­ nati Omnibus Company, but was "wind- broken, "and on that account had grown almost useless. It was a pity, and a loss as well, to turn him out to die--he wouldn't sell--so it was determined by Meyers, the veterinary surgeon, to try an experiment--in snort, a "kill-or- oure " remedy. So, two months ago, he made an incision in the animal's throat and inserted a silver tube in the wind­ pipe to facilitate breathing, leaving a sort of artificial nostril at the point of insertion. The device works like a cHarm, the terrible wheezing has ceased, tli© incision has healed up l)eautifully, and the horse is doing his full day's work and eats his full allowance. The silver throat can be removed and re­ placed at will for cleaning, but is so ar­ ranged as not to got out of place or cause any inconvenience to. the horse. This unique case of equine surgery can be seen almost any day at the omnibus of­ fice, on ltaoe street, between Fourth and Fifth streets.--Cincinnati Commercial. A ts JTOWING man " target; like that used at Creedmoor, so arranged as to remain in sight five seconds at a time, has been procured by the New Haven Rifle Asso­ ciation. Experts with the Winchester rifle can hit the figure five times during the five seconds at a distance of 100 yards. He Knew it All, bat Wouldn't Toll. He made his appearance at one of the union schools the other morning, and, arriving ahead of time, he prevented any loneliness from seizing Mm by licking three boys and riding the gate off its hinges. He went in with the crowd when the bell rang, and, finding no empty seat, he perched himself on the wood-box. When the children repeated the "Lord's Prayer" in concert, the new boy kept time with his heel, and when they came to sing he argued that variety was the spice of song, and at­ tempted to sing one of his own--one about a gentleman named Daniel Tuck­ er, who dreamed that he was dead, and so forth. The teacher warned Mm to keep still, and he replied that he wouldn't come to that school if his mu­ sical qualifications were to be over­ looked. When school finally opened the teacher secured his name and began asking him questions in order to find out how he should be graded. - " Can you spell V she asked. ."What kind of spelling?" he cau­ tiously asked. " Spel! * house.' if you please.*' " Frame or brick house ?" he asked. "Any kind of a house." " With a mortgage on it f" "Youmay spell *man/ if you will," she said, giving him a severe look. "Man?" "Yes." " I don't care much about spelling 'man' but I will this afternoon. I've spelled it with my eyes shut." " Do you know your alphabet?" she asked, changing the subject. "Never had any," was the prompt reply. "Do you know anything about read­ ing?" ' . " I read like lightning!" he answered. She handed him a, reader, and said : " Let me hear you read." " Bead right out lend?" "Yes." " I'm afraid it would disturb the chil­ dren," he whispered. " Go on, and let me hear you read." He looked carefully at the page, scowl­ ed his brow and read : "If I was a lame boy and didn't get peanuts in my stocking Christmas, dum my eyes! but I'd make things jump around that house next morning!" He handed the book baok and the teacher asked: " Richard, how many are three and three?" " Three and three what ?" he inquired. "Anything." " It's a good deal according to what it is," he replied, as he settled back. " I know that three and three cats don't make a dog}" 'Did you ever study geography, Richard? " Yes, mam." " What is geography ?" " It's 2, book." " Is this world round or flat?" "Hills and hollers!" he replied. "Richard, can you write? "Write what?" " Can you write your name ?" " I could, I suppose; but I've got my name without writing it." "Can you write a letter V" "Who to?" "To any one." " Yes, I could, if I had money to pay the postage." " Well, Richard," she said, in despair, " You'll have to go into the lower room if YOU want to OOHM to eeheoihere." " I druther stay here." "But you can't." " I'll bet this knife agin ten oeats I can." * She took him by the arm to remove him, but he laid his hand on her shoul­ der and said, in a warning voice: " Don't get me mad, now, or I'll let myself loose. " She called the principal down, and as he approached the boy ne commanded: " Boy, what are you doing here ?" " Gitting eddicashon!" replied Rich­ ard. " You go right down stairs now I" con­ tinued the principal. " Well, don't sass me, for I was never here before!" replied Richard, slowly moving his legs as if he meant to get down. The principal took him by the collar and jerked him around, got kicked on the shin, and bitten in the wrist, and finally landed the rwng student on the walk. " Now, you go home!" he shouted, as he tried to recover his breath. " Am I educated ?" inquired Ricliaxd. " You seem to be." " Gimme a dipiomy, then." "You clear out. or I'll have you arrested." " Hain't I a scholar in this school no more?" " No, sir." "Who owns this school-house?" de­ manded the boy. " No matter--you clear out." " Will you oome out into the yard here where you can't hang to anything?" asked the boy. "Begone, I say!" " Don't draw no darringer on me!" warned the boy, as he backed off; "nor don't think you can scare me with any of your bowie-knives!" The principal walked in and shut the door, and after the new boy had stood there long enough to show that he wasn't afraid, he turned and walked off, growl­ ing to himself: " I'll get the foreman of No. 6 to pound that feller afore he's a week older."--De­ troit Free Ptetts. with another whom she loved more than she could love him. It was ascertained that the lady and her affianced (now hus­ band), accompanied by friends, had taken private conveyances to North Caro­ lina on Monday night while the com­ pany at her house were enjoying them­ selves in the parlor. Fourteen couples had been engaged to wait at the mar­ riage, and a brilliant reception awaited the gentleman from Henrico on his ar­ rival home, with his bride. He is philo­ sophical enough to take the reception all to himself when he gets back." The Main Causes ot Disease in Farmers TVin 1 -«• - * « «- _ --j<, .«„»cu nautuai icjn/m Ui tur iius- sachusetts Board of Health discusses at considerable length the longevity and health of farmers. The following sug­ gestions are offered in closing : Probably the most frequent causes of sickness in families residing in the country are a lack of sufficient variety of food, and too great indulgence in such articles of diet as are rich in .carbon and starch and deficient in albumen and other muscle-producing elements. Less pork, lard, butter, potatoes, eta, and more beef, mutton, oatmeal, cracked wheat, and Graham flour would be a vast im­ provement in this respect. Damp cellars, and the decaying vege­ table matter in them, are productive of much ill-health. If cellars could be entirely dispensed with in dwelling houses, it would be an excellent change from the present system; but so radical an innovation will hardly meet with much favor, especially from those whom it would benefit most--farmers' wives. If the cellar, however, is a necessary evil, it can be rendered much less of an evil than it is at present, by careful at­ tention to its freedom from decaying substances, and by making it perfectly dry, and ventilating it thoroughly. Dryness may be secured by a thorough system of drainage, and ventilation by an opening into the chimney (which should in all cases be built from the oellar up), and by other openings into the outer air, connected with the oellar floor by pipes of sufficient capacity to keep up a thorough circulation and fre­ quent change of the atmosphere. The subjects of drains for oonvejping liquid waste from dwellings and of the proper disposition of all offensive solids, are of vast importance, and have received but little attention. The limits of this article will not admit of their proper pre­ sentation ; but it should be borne in mind that no liquid waste can safely be left in a vault or cistern where it will soak into the soil; as it will be sure to find its way to any lower well or cavity within a distance of one hundred feet; and has been known to contaminate wells of water at a distance of one hundred rods, when the intervening lan 1 was of a porous character. The terrible results of such contami­ nation are brought frequently to our notioe by the deaths from typhoid fever and diarrhen, which are so constantly j occurring. All offensive waste matter from every dwelling, whether solid or liquid, should be thoroughly mixed with dry earth, and, in that condition, will be » moat valuable fertiliser, sad a benefit, instead of a source of danger, to the agri­ culturist. The neglect of this simple and easily-performed duty may not, ap­ parently, produce any evil effects for a long time. Perhaps, for years, one may live with a fever-breeding vault close by his dwelling and still escape, through the sanitary influence of the sun and winds, Iron 4 pestilence; but the danger is • there, and Is all the greater because un­ recognised and unfeared ; and at a time when all the circumstances are favorable for its development a devastating plague will carry woeful misery, sorrow and death into what might have remained a happy and healthy home by the exercise of reasonable caution and a due regard to the necessity of a proper provision for disposing of waste matter. Lost His Bride. The way a Virginia gentleman lost his bride by a flank movement skillfully exe­ cuted by her, is told by the Petersburgli Index of Wednesday. Thus runs the story: "A gentleman who lives in Hen­ rico County was engaged to be married to a fair and accomplished lady of tne county and yesterday morning was the day teed for the happy event Accom­ panied by his brother, the gentleman came over to this city • on Monday and went down to Wakefield on the evening train. ^ Remaining over night with a friend in the neighborhood, the expect­ ant groom yesterday morning, at the ap­ pointed hour, accompanied by his at­ tendants, went to the residence of the lady's parents to claim his bride. To Ms utter amazement he discovered that she was not there. In her stead he found a letter addressed to him, stating that she had decided to share her fortunes Chairmen of the Ways and Heaps Com- T mittee. We give below a list of the Chairmen of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Repiesentatives. for the past 32 years : 1 28th and 29th Cougrooaee--John J. MoKay, of North Carolina. *" 30th Congress--Samuel F. Vinton, of Ohio. 31st Congress--Thomas H. Bayley, of Vir­ ginia. 32d and 3MCongresses- George H. Houston, of Alabama. 34th and 33th Congresses--Lewis D. Camp­ bell, of Ohio. 36th Congress--John Sherman, of Ohio. 37th and 88th Congresses--Thaddeua Stevens of Pennsylvania. 39th Congress--Justin 8. Morrill, of Maine. 40th and 41st Congresses--Bobt. C. Schenck, of Ohio. 42(1 and 43d Congresses--Henry 8. Dawes, of Massachusetts. 44th eoogeees--Willism B. Morrison, of Illi­ nois. . Happy Tramps. •*, Sdmford, Conn., has a tramp house. On Monday of last week, the opening night, fifteen stragglers presented them­ selves. They were shown into a warm room, and soon after summoned to a substantial supper. Then they went back up-stairs, and made themselves comfortable around a hot stove. In the morning they were strengthened with bread and beef^soup,and then given long- handled hammers, with which to demol* ish two loads of stone. Before 10 o'clock every stone was reduced to fragments and the tramps departed, most of them expressing themselves well satisfied. Keeping the Hands Smooth. A writer in the American Grocer says tliat'glyceriue is not used in the right way. She bays that to preserve the smoothness and softness of the hands, you should keep a small bottle of glycerine neur the place where you habitually wash them, and whenever you have finished washing them, and before wiping them, put one or two drops of the glycerine on the wet palm, and rub the bands thoroughly with it, as if it were soap, then dry lightly with a towel. Household work and bad weather will not prevent your skin from being smooth and soft, if this plan of using glycerine is followed. ILLINOIS ITEMS* _ VKBinmoN County is to have a new Court House, to cost $80,000. THE Quincy Whig publishes a trade review, showing a very considerable in­ crease in manufactures and jobbing sales over 1874. JOHN ABBOTT, a youn^r boy, whil* hunting in the vicinity of Carlinville one day last week, accidentally shot hirpsrlt through the head, causing almost insLant death. LONG JOHN WENTWORTH, of Chicago, is allowed to ride free on the street cars] as he holds himself ready to punch the Wd of any man who doesn't behave himself. DR. STEPHEN WINGATE, of Decatur, aged 89 years, one of the oldest resi­ dents of that place, died recently. He lived under the administration of every President of the United States. ON Tuesday night, of last week, Mr. Brownlee, proprietor of mills at Irving- ton, a few miles south of Centralia, met with a ssrious accident by falling into the machinery. His arm was horribly mangled. THE editor of the Mt. Carmel Demo­ crat was handed an ear of corn, last week, that weighed one pound and five ounces, and had twenty-four rows of grain up and down the cob. It was a perfect car, and hard to beat. JUDGE VAN H. Hioonts, of Chicago, has published a written opinion to the effect that the office of Mayor of that city is vacant; that the Legislature can­ not till it, and that the City Council must cal1 a special Election for that purpose. IIA MEETING of citizens was held in the Chamber of Commerce in Peoria, a few days since, to discuss the project of erecting a fine hotel in that city. Con­ siderable stock was subscribed, and five prominent citizens were appointed as. a committee to select a suitable site for such a building, and report at la future meeting. j ON Christmas Day Mrs. Abraham Lin­ coln presented to tile Hon. Jesse K. Du­ bois a gold-headed ash cane, inscribed : " Cut from the birthplace of A. Lincoln, and presented by Dr. J. H. Rodman, of La Rue County." The cane was pre­ sented to President Lincoln during his lifetime, and was given Mr. Dubois as a Christmas present. A BANQUET was given at the Grand Pacific, Chicago, lately, for the purpose of inaugurating a movement to raise a centennial endowment fund of $250,000 for the Baptist Theological Seminary at the Chicago University. Hie sum of $40,000 was raised on the spot. The prospect is fair for raising the entire amount, or at least a very large sum. "SOME Chicago saloons," says the envious Buffalo Express, " now offer a lunch, a glass of beer and a cigar for five cents. Tne cigars, however, are not im- r > j r > r , f z n i z h i r e o f fact and falsehood, says the Inter Ocean, The cigars are imported--from Joliet, by canaL They are clear seed wrapper and have any filler. j& A NUMBER of Chicago property own ers met at the Palmer House one night last week to protest against what they allege to be tne unjustly heavy tax on I ersonal property. The meeting was largely attended and enthusiastic, and after declaring that they would never consent to be robbed by the Collector a committee was appointed to devise means of redress. AFTER about nine abortive attempts, the Rockford City Council reorganized the Fire Department. In place of three en­ gine companies, the new ordinance passed Monday night provides a hose company for each of the seven wards, the Holly Water Works having done away with tho fire-engines heretofore used. These companies are to consist of twenty- five active, go-ahead, well-trained men, who will be of real service at a fire. THE total State tax of Winnebago County this year will be $-15,553.23; county tax, 028,651.19; town tax, $15,336.95; district school tax, $44,487.59; road tax, $2,623.28; dog tax, $1,476; road and bridge tax, $9,247.80; interest tax, $2,007.72--making a tax of $176,- 318.91 in all. This compares very favor­ ably with other counties of the same size as Winnebago. AT a meeting of the stockholders of the Watertown and Western Union Rail­ roads, held in Freeport a few days since, it was agreed to consolidate the former with the latter, under the old name of the Western Union Railroad. The Wa- tertown Railroad is a short time connect­ ing the coal-mines in§Roek Island Coun­ ty, 111., with the Western Union Rail­ road at Watertown. THE Livingston Block, a very large tenement house on Millaken and Fourth streets, East St. Louis, and several ad­ jacent frame buildings^ burned last Wednesday morning. Loss about $35,000. Insured 82,000 each in the Bangor, Me.; Boatmen's, St. Louis ; Clay, Ky.; Farmers', Merchants' and Mechanics', Ohio*; German and Ameri­ can, Pittsburgh; and Farmers' and Drovers', Louisville. THK Hon. S. Corning Judd, of Chi­ cago, counsel for the church, was in Springfield last week to appear in the famous Whitehouse-Cheney case, in­ volving the ownership of Christ Church, Chicago. The case was to come up at this term of the Supreme Court, but the counsel for Bishop Cheney, the appellee, could not prepare the voluminous papers in time, and the suit will probably go over to the Mt. Vernon term. THX Catholic World, New York,.de­ clares its concurrence in President Grant's opposition to the appropriation of any portion of the public-school money for sectarian schools, but takes the ground that our public schools, as now generally taught, are already " seq tarian," because Protestant, and this, it says, is what the Catholics complain of. ^me time since a large collection of rare seeds from Australia, has distributed nearly all of them. He has given fullb 1 „ *et* of about fifty varieties each to pro- $ - fessional nurserymen, as follows : Lewis1 V Ellsworth, Haperville ; F. K. Phoenix, ~ ^ Bloomington, and H. H. Babcock, Chi- ' cago Botanical Gardens ; also special se­ lection to numbers of amateurs through­ out the State. In exchange he has for­ warded io Australia forty varieties of " grain and seeds grown here. The Secre* tary has maintained correspondence and exchanges with every agricultural oollege in the Union, with tne agricultural socie­ ties of twenty-five States, lias written • i. /Ou letters, received 1,100, has classi­ fied the work of the office and the sta­ tistics therein, has removed the property to the new State House, and is now busy in fitting up the rooms and arranging collection, library, etc. THE SUPREME TKIBUNA%; ^ Interesting Chat Anent Oar Great Judicial Fountain-Head--Judicial Dignity--Court ( CJo«tnme, etc. '-±.x • The Washington correspondent of the - i Chicago Tribune gossips as follows about the United States Supreme Court a&A * the Judges composing it: ' : Those who traverse the great thorough- fare which runs north and south through 2 ' v|| the Capitol, connecting the two Houses of Congress, pass a doorway about mid- M way between the Senate-Chamber and the Rotunda. Over it is a gilded shield, ; on which are the armorial bearings of the United State®; and at its side sits an ... elderly dignified darkey, evidently im­ pressed with the importance of his occu­ pation. This door leads into the Supreme Court room, which was the Senate Chamber until the Senators moved into their present quarters, in 1860. It is a semi-circular hall, of fine proportions-- the massive mahogany " bench" occu­ pying the chord of the arc, while the 44 bar" rails off a broad strip around the exterior, for the publio. At one end of the bench, and at right angles with it, is . the desk of the Clerk ; and opposite to him sits the Marshal of the Court. Be­ fore the bench are tables and chairs for the counsel and for members of the bar. Around the walls, on brackets, are basts of the deoeased Chief-Justices, except Taney and Chase. Senator Sum ner, who could not forget the "Dred- Scott decision," prevented the purchase of a bust of Tanfty, until just prior to his death, when an appropriation was smuggled through in his absenoe ; and commissions to execute it, and also a bust of Chase, were given. The judicial dignity of the Supreme Court is ponderous and awe-inspiring to those who have their bumps of reverence largely developed. Generally speaking, J* > there are not, when the Court is opened ?; at 11 o'clock, over half a dozen lawyers within the Bar, and as many spectators within that inclosure. A side door is owned, arid in marrta Mm-siml Niooley' - " " (formerly Private Secretary to President Lincoln), followed by the Chief Justice ,. * and the Associate Justices, wearing their ^ H silk gowns, Mid following in Indian file.' >. i As the Chief Justice enters, Marshal Nioolay wheels out, like a band of music at a military review, and announces, loudly and with dignity: "The Supreme Court of the United States!" The mem­ bers of the Bar rise and "stand at ease;'5 while the Chief Justice strides onward and upward to his chair in the oentre of the Bench, and Me Associates stand be­ fore their respective chairs on either side, as if waiting for some one to say grace. When they ore all in position, | ̂ the members of the Bar look at each, | other, and then, gazing reverentially at; - the Court, they bow. Their Honors the Couxt, looking benignantly at the law­ yers, return the bow, and then take their seats. My friend, the Minister from the Grand Duchy of Pumpernickel, says that this exhibition of dignity and of deportment is not surpassed at his home Court. The ancient retainers of the Supreme Court narrate, in sad tones, the glories of past days, when their Honors used never to appear in Court unless arrayed in a full dress suit of black under their silk robes. Knee-breeches, black silk . stockings, shoes with buckles, ruffles at the wrists and on the bosom of tho shirts, and hair powdered, with queues, were regarded as obligatory. As the-^ Court dressed, so the members of the" Bar who appeared before it were expect­ ed to dress, with the exception of tho robes; and a lawyer who had the audaci­ ty to appear in colored clothing, or with ,.. a moustache, or wearing a black cravat, would have been summarily committed for contempt. Chief-Justice Taney was the first mem­ ber of the Court who appeared on the Bench in pantaloons; and since then the other antique portions of the dress have. ^ l. gradually disappeared, until the Cour%f £- now appear in plain blaok clothes, ov©#4,;"-: which they wear their robes. As for the ' lawyers, they wear whatever they please, but generally appear in solemn, under* takerlike suits. r? Tint following is the official vote cast at the special election in the Seventh Judicial District on Dec. 21, to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Bench caused bv the resignation of Judge McAllister : "Counties. Dickey. Hunt Cook. 8.6*2 3,41© DnPs» ®®5 #04s Kftuka&M 4T»; Lake. .... «M 4Vt #111. 5» ToUl .U.1W Dickey'« majority.... 8.8H A man from Tamaroa captured his runaway wife at Centralia last. Tuesday night. She had $400 of his money. She submitted to the capture quietly, merely remarking to her abductor, Joseph Car­ mine, that she would see him again. Threats of shooting passed between Car­ mine and tne woman's husband, but the " happy couple " left home on the^night train, he being*rejoiced over the recov­ ery of the $400. SBCMJTABY FISHKB, of the State Board of Agricultuie, who received "<\* " 'A * A Lover's Fetit-oa. The St. Albans Advertiser says that the following epistle, asking the hand of one of the fair inmates of the poor- house at Sheldon, Vt., was recently ra oeived by Mr. Kimpton, Overseer of the Poor, but, unfortunately, Mr. Kimpton is unable to decipher the signature, and, therefore cannot comply: decembcr the 13 1875 brom canad east Mr kimton 1 hope that you will not think it atranang of my ritiug to you I will take leaf to writ® a few lines to let you now that I hava maaid my mind to take Miww for my weeded wif Mid to take hear home to caarf* if wiii give hears leave to come to me from Mr from canad* to fe. Mr Kiiatoifag,#te' please rite to hear if you please that she ma know that yo* ' fcive-hear leave to oom. • A Slight Mistake. A TOnng man in Olathe, Kan., w!k» i% particular about his washing, the other|,T day wrote a note to his washerwoman, ^ and one to his girl, and, by a strange^.' fatality, put the wrong addw® oa each envelope and sent them off. The wisher woman was well pleased at theinvite^on to take a ride the next day, but when thev young lady read, "If you muss up my J shirt bosom, and rub the buttons off my oollar any more, as you did the last time, I will go somewhere else," she cried all the evening, and deckles that she will never speak to him again. ' FIVE brothers in York County, Pfc,»ABII the fathers of fifty-three eliildrea, M