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I l_fi_m1 I ~ I. I“ ' Sm°““‘°‘*" i-iEnierxvi?r M . hard, ' k a - h LTURALIit"“‘gfcmlfi‘ggwm‘ff‘gx‘ss'g“ The model smoking cap is black lady's 1. 5-le house. He was hit, but not by a house. I hauled 08' an' hit him on de chin wid my right, an' while he slept I took de shirt off lment in price, At this stage of ripeness . -. 5 they meet the requirements of the purchas- chm embro‘du‘d Wm) yellow Row M DéVice {01‘ RemOVing Racks and 'ers,will stand up well fordistant shipments, Wagon Beds- The accompanying illustrations represent a eonznvance by which heavy racks and wagon beds can be taken off and on with- out much difficulty. In Figl the up- rights, a a, are 4: 4x8 timbers. The crosspieces, b b, are one-inch boards. The crank, c, is from an old St. Paul self-binder. The timbers at the top are secured by a 12-inch belt, which also bears B pulley. At the bottom the up- rights are 2; feet apart. The rope may be of any con. venient size, and no. i. the hook should have an opening of 2§ 'inches. Drive an old bolt into the lower end of each upright, so that the frame will crosspieces in place. When you want to and relief is at once afl'orded to the overburdened tree. Prices are quite apt to advance as the season progresses, and 2 the temptation to allow the fruit of sorts not inclined to decay to stand over for tanother week or two is hard to resist, but ' it is often a fatal mistake. One of my neighbors,with a crop unthin~ ned and double in quantity what the trees should have carried, had this question to meet a few years since. He allowed them to stand until finally they were picked off the ground, and while he received double price it was at a fesrfnlexpense. A severe winter followed, the recuperative power had all been expended on the crop, and the treesâ€"many of them were dead the follow- ing spring, while the others have never regained their former vigor. An object lesson worth remembering. He says he will never again be so foolish. The fruit should be carefully picked in baskets selected for that purpose, carted to the packing house, and if the weather be hot, he allowed to stand until cool, so that when packed for shipment no heat can be found in it; the fruit carefully sorted, packing and marketing all that is inferior asNo. 2. The best results are often attained by growing a variety of fruits,hence we should say, if practicable, in connection with plums, grow cherries and more or less of small fruits, but in any event plant more than a single variety of whatever you may thorities to-day urge it as one of the most SMOKING CAP. floss. The lining is black silk, and the band is slightly stiffened. The full size detail of the embroidery for the crown shows all his body an’ walked away. “De third name on do list an dat of Truthfnl Johnson. I had occashun to ax him a few queshuns one mawning last Sum~ mer. \Vhen I got up a: sunrise an' went out to my henhouss, I found two chickens missin'. On a nail by de doah was a piece of ole blue shirt, an’ when I put it to my nose I thought it smslt like Brudder John- son. I took a walk ober to his cabin au’ found de heads of two chickens at do back dosh an’ feathers in de washtub. I went in an’ axed Brudder Johnson sum ledin’ qusshuns,which he ansWered wid de utmost blandness, but I diskibbered my chickens under de bed jest do same. Dar was a re- port around next day dat Brudder Johnson had been picked up by a cyclone an’ kerried into de top of a tree 200 feet high, but it «in Brudder Watkins had bin hit by .' Sneezing. Sneezing is a reflex act caused by an irritation of some portion of the large nerve supplying sensation to the face. Excessive sneezing may be the result of some irritant, usually of vegetable origin, coming in con. tact with the mucous membrane lining of the nose, or it may be associated with some general disorder. Whooping cough and asthma are often accompanied by violent fits of sneezing. Persons of a “ gouty” tendency are often afflicted with frequent sneezing, and the same is true of persons who possess a some- what hysterical or exceedingly nervous temperament. A sneeze and a cough exert much the same effect over different portions of the respiratory tract. In sneezing an effort is made to get rid of some substance irritating the mucous membrane of the nose ; in coughing the same thing is attempted for the throat. Sneezing is in some instances produced by looking at a strong light or vivid-color. Inflammation may be increased, if not actually produced, by excessive sneezing, as well as by violent coughing. In this way either of these acts may be harmful. Sneezing is often indicative of some “catarrhal” condition of the mucous mem- pharynx, and in severe paroxysms that of “mud “ww' N°w set four Wm“ flng 2): plant and so alternate varieties that you I a V , , ‘ ' brane, and if much indulged in, it tends. to 12 “lawful” ,“Ch WAan‘llatr‘P“ °f 1’0"“! may he sure of cross fertilization or perfect ’ _. » 1 , ~ make this condition worse by congestin 5. 0'1 Bach llde 5" the “P: to keel) the pollination of the bloom. Our highest anâ€" I \ ',‘ "* ‘ the mucous membrane of the nose an - ‘ K3,... \fi ,3, . unload or load the rack, drive or back in between the posts. Block the hind wheels, set the pulley frame directly behind the wagon, fasten the hook to the hind cross- piece of the rack, and with the crank hoist it high enough so that the crosspiece, d, can be put in place. Do the same with the front end,and you will havu your rack high and dry. In loading hoist only high enough to pull out the crosspiece, then let the rack down on the wagon only one end at a time. The posts must be of suflicient height to permitof the wagon with the rack on being driven underneath the crosspieces. The rack should be kept under shed or shelter, and will then be in service for several seasons’ usefulness. Any one handy with tools can easily construct such a device,the use of which will soon save enough time and bard work to pay for itself. Thinning Fruit. Mrs. S. D. Willard says that judicious pruning and thorough thinning of fruit are each important factors in fruit growing and neither can be ignored except at an incalculable loss in the future of the orchard. Beginning with the second year rom planting, the young orchard should be looked over with care annually, and the previous year’s growth cut in, removing from one-quarter to one half of such growth thus forming a strong, compact head and the development of the fruit spurs near the body of the tree, where the future crop may be carried with safety against violent storms, and lessening the liability of the limbs being broken and split to pieces. Nor can any lack of care at an early period ofgrowth touching this question be met and overcome in after years, when the saw must be substituted for the knife in an effort to make good lost opportunities. Orchards there are where this principle has been practised, with heads as symmetrical and round as the mostbeautifully formed horse chestnut you ever saw. The work should be carefully followed any time after the tree becomes dormant, in the autumn and through the Winter, when the wood is not filled with frost. A subject of no less importance, cfttimes involving the health and even vitality of the tree itself, is the proper thinning of the fruit. The average quality rarely sells at anything over average prices, while the largo, well developed specimens only bring the high prices that afford the largest pro~ fits, and such fruit is not found in trees over-loaded beyond their power to properly mature. Very much has been said and written on this subject in the past, and yet how few the number of fruit growers who have the nervn or inclination to thin their fruit. This neglect may be in a measure ex- cusable on the apple, but not so with the plum. In every department of nature the effort at production so taxes vital forces as to make it a weakening process, and in none of our fruits is this more manifest than in the plum, which is often so depleted from a single year’s merproduciion ss to never recover from the injury inflicted. It is not the production of the fruit itselt, but the draft upon the energies of the plant to per- fect the pit, that reduces the vital powers, and often leads to premature death. Hence we say, after the dropping of the fruit which usually follows the setting of a large crop, in the month of June. the wise plum- rower will find it a great advantage to ave removed a portion of 'hat remaining, and, as a result, the marketable crop in- creased, quality greatly improved and the trees, with their vigor unimpaired, fitted at. once to begin the storing up of necessary material for another crop. A lack of _a little common sense an the part of many a man has destroyed or rendered worthless more plum trees than the work of all in- important measures to be considered. Thorough and careful cultivation is asubc ject of such importance asto deserve serious consideration before closing this already too lengthy paper. Plums cannot be grown profitably in grass, nor do we believe weeds should be permitted to devour the elements of fertility that have been so wisely and liberally be- stowed upon our orchards,but please do not forget that thorough cultivation does not by‘ any means imply the deep, two-horse ploughing which at times is given the apple and pear. Unlike those fruits, our plum is asurface-rooting tree and may be serious- ly injured by deep annual ploughing. The soil, however, should be kept cultivated in as shallow a manner as possible during the process of fruit making, so as to destroy weeds and aid in rendering available every particle of plant food for the growing crop, and where the plum tree thrives we believe that an observance of the principles we advocate will best conserve the interest of the plum grower. FRANCIS JOSEPH’S FOOT-WASHING. The Curious Ceremony or 11on Week at Vienna. On Holy Thursday, at Vienna, the Emperor Francis Joseph performed the annual ceremony of washing the feet of twelve old beggars. The ceremony took place in the Hall of Ceremonies in the imperial palace. On a platform raised slightly above the floor was a long table with twelve covers, a plate, knife, wooden spoon, folded napkin for each, with apiece of bread, a pewter mug, and a little blue pitcher filled with water. At 10 o’clock twelve old men, the youngest 89 and the oldest 96, entered the hall and were sup- ported, each by two relatives, to the platform, which they mounted with diffi- culty, and were placed in their seats, their relatives, most of them women, standing behind them. Then entered twenty Knights of the Teutonic Order, headed by their master, Archduke Eugene, dressed in white with a long black cross on the breast of their doublets and another on the back of their long white cloaks. They marched around the hall, and then, form- ing a line on either side, made way for the ministers, with Count Kalnoky at the head, and the Emperor's staff. They were followed by the Primate of Austria, Card- inal Gruscha, with priests and acolytes bearing candles and burning incense. THEN CAME THE EMPEROR dressed in the white uniform of an Austrian General and wearing the order of the Gold- en Fleece. Hc advanced to the table and addressed a few words to the old men. At a signal from the master of ceremonies twelve guardsmen stepped forward, each bearing on a tray the first course of a sumptuous repast; the Emperor now took off his helmet, gave it to an officer, and, passing down the line, arranged the dishes before each guest. Twelve Archdukes ther. approached and removed the Barmecids banquet from the guests’ eyes, handing the dishes to the guards. This was repeated for three courses, and with the last the plates, knives, and other objects on the table were also taken off. They were all packed later, with the food in wooden boxes, and sent to the homes of the old men. The table was then taken away, and the ” washing of feet” began. A priest ap- prached With a towel and agolden basin full of water; their slippers were taken from the old men’s feet, and the Emperor, on his knees, beginning with the oldest, moisten- ed his feet with water and dried them with the towel. “'ithout rising still on his knees, he passed on to the next one, and so on to the end of the row. “'hen he had finished he rose and placed around each man’s neck a chain, attached to which was a small white bag containing thirty pieces of silver. That ended the ceremony : the Emperor and his suite withdrew, and the old men were taken home by their friends. OH Applied Instruction. I notice that the insurgentlemen of Cuba haveâ€" The what, Johnny? The insurgentlemeu. You mean the insurgents, don’t you? Yes; but you havo often told me not to say gents." \Ix I ' DETAIL 0F EMBROIDERY FOR SMOKING CAP. the _work done in outline, but we wouldfwas a mistake. I ject picked him up an’ adv1se solid or long and short for thelslammed him around fur awhile an’ den flowers, and outline for the vine.-â€"Toronto Ladies’ Journal. THE LIMEKILN CLUB- : have him frew a winder. I am told dat be shed tears last night when talkin' VI id sum of de members of dis club about Ananias an’ Captain Kidd. “ Do fo’th name on do list am dat of Samuel Shin. Samuel has offered to do moas’ of do hard work in reformin' his “ My frens,” said Brother Gardner as fellermen an’ has a resolushun all ready to he sounded the gravel with one hand and Interduce “‘5 d9 Proper flimeo Let/B 868- unbuttoned his coat and vest with the other, It am ’about six weeks ago, as nigh as I kin reckolect, when I got up at midnight “1 hev bin given to understand dablan’ went to de back dosh to see if de sartin members of dis club am enthusiastic moonlight was ‘00 strong fur my Cowcum' fur reform. Dey want, as I am told, reform in soshul customs, in pollyticks, in religun hers. I was just in time to find Brudder Shin totin’ a kittle of soft soap outer the woodshed. When I lit on him, he claimed and olher things. Dey want dis club, to dub he was walkin’in his sleep. Mebbe he take de reformin’ bizness in hand an’ keep ' was! but he didn't Walk d“ Way 11° "10’ pushin’ till de hull world am made better. I hev a list of de would-be reformers among our members an’ it am headed by de name of Giveadam Jones. It am said (lat Brud- der Jones am so anxious to see de world made better dat he can’t sleep nights. “ Two weeks ago to-day along in de arternoon I sot in my back dosh au’ saw a pusson keerfully surveyin’ my truck patch ober de back fence. Dat pusson was Givea- dam Jones. He looked and peeked an’ squinted till he had located do exact spot on which six big squashes war growin‘ an’ den he vanished from sight. At 9 o’clock dat eavenin’ I went out an” sot down in de middle of dem squashss. I had a club in my hand. I wasn’t waitin’ fur cats, but fur Brudder Jones. At 9.30 do ole woman hlowed out de candle and ten minits later sunthin’ drapped obei‘ "do back fence an’ cum sneakin’ up to dem squashes. I war ready. , “ Dat sunthin’ was a pusson. ’Bout dc time he laid hand on de nighest squash I riz up an’ brung (lat club down on his cokernut. He drapped to his knees, rolled ober, scrambled up agin, an’ I got in two mo’ whacks befo’ he reached (is fence. I din’t ax his name, an' he didn’t hand me no keerd. When dat club cum' down 1' knowed by do feel of things dat it had lighted on Brudder Jones. He was around . ) nex’ day wid his head tied up and claimin dat he run agin' a stone wall in de dark. “Some fo’ weeks ago my ole woman went to bed one night an' left de washin’ out on de line. When we got up in de mawnin’ my three shirts sn’ two pa’rs o’ socks had disappeared. I looked fur tracks an’ found ’em. Dem tracks led mighty close to de back dosh of Brudder Shindig W’atkins’ cabin. Brudder \Vatkins am No. 2 on de list of would-be reformers. I went home an’. didn’t say nullin’ till Sunday cum’. Den I called Brudder \Vatkins out into de alley an' looked him ober fur one o’ my shirts. He had one on to go to “1 an rs." he was wide awake sn’ tryin’ to dodge my right fut. He didn’t go to work fur de next three days, an’ I believe he claimed dat he wrenched hisself tryin‘ to lift a street kyar back on do track. “My frens, I hev but a few-words to so on dis matter of reform. Fustly, de world am good ’nufl‘ as it am. Secondly, de l pusson who gits de ideah of reform in his head nebber includes hisself. Thirdly, if reform could be accomplished, it would simply turn'de bar’l ober an’ bring another set of rascals on top. Lastly, dis Limekiln Club could not consistently demand reform. I am not entirely innercent myself. Widin ‘do last six months I hev picked up an ax in de alley without inquarin’ fur dc owner; worked offs dozen counterfeit nickels on de street kyar conductahs. put a stone in de paper ragbag to increase de weight an’ made my whitewash mighty thin on 75- cent jobs. We will let do subjick drap right yere an’, go hum.” â€"â€"°â€"â€"â€"_ FACTS IN FEW WORDS. dot night i \Vhen he walked around de cabin an’ out of de gate an’ up do street, The total amount of gold in circulation at the present time is estimated at about £1,- 070,000,000, weighing altogether 875 tons. The newest puncture proof band for use on cycles is made of strips of whalebone inserted between the air tube and the outer COVCI‘. Medical students in China study copper imodels of men which are pierced with NO ‘holcs, which show the location of an equal , number of pulses. l The weight of the French cavalry saddle will be reduced nearly three pounds by the substitution of aluminum for steel in por- tions of the tree and stirrups. The Belgian government has decided to hold an international exhibition on a large scale at Brussels in 1897, in spite of the fact that the Paris exhibition will follow only three years afterwards. Divers now communicate with persons above by means of the telephone. The mouthpiece is placed near the lips, so that a slight turning of the head brings the mouth close to it. One of the fireplaces that is to be put in l Cornelius Vanderbilt’s new house in New-l port Will be made of tens cotta taken from the ruins of an old Italian villa at Pompeii. The biggest. contract for stone work over awarded was probably that reportedto have been made for the stone for the Hudson river bridge. The sum named is above ssmmmlm. A curious numismatic relic of the epoch of Peter the Great has been presented to the I’etroviski museum at Astrachan. This is a metallic token or “receipt” granting the bearer permission to wear a moustache l and heard. Annie German, a 2-year-old Chicago tot, fell thirty feet recently and in two minutes after was as chipper and bright as before. She had a good cry. as she was badly scared, bi t the . doctors say she is absolutely uninjured. Sixty years ago Mr. Joseph Gillott was al working jeweler in Birmingham. One dayl the eyes and ears. . . The inhalation of dust or of irritating ‘ vapors tends to "step up the head” chiefly because sneezing is thereby induced. We often hear it said, when one sneezes, “You are taking cold"-â€"-an expression in which there maybe some truth; fora chilling of the body drives the blood away from the surface, and causes it to flow unduly to any part of the body already weakened by inflammation. That point in many cases is the mucous membrane of the nose. Some of the most severe cold, however, are accompanied by no sneezing. It is not to be wondered at that the practice of “taking snuff" is becoming obsolete. It is no more reasonable to employ measures to induce sneezing than it would be to inhale the fumes of sulphur, or other irritating vapors, to induce a social cough. Pressure upon the upper lip or above the bridge of the nose will usually cut short even a severe fit of sneezing. This failing, a mustard plaster applied to tlid‘beck of the neck,or the administration of an emetic will be found useful. â€"â€"._ Hints for the Stout. One of the best exercises and most effec- tive fat-reducers that can be imagined, i3 the drying oneself with acoarse towel after a cold bath or a cold sponge. If those parts of the body where adipose tissue is apt to be deposited in excess are vigorously rubbed the muscles regain their tenacity, the fat between and over them is soon absorbed and the general health is greatly improved. Rich people have this done about half as y well as they can do it themselves. The self- denial of the patient is put to the severest test in the restriction of drinking liquid. The less fat people drink the better chance they will have of diminishing their excess of bulk. Those who take two cups of tea should only take one, and so on, but on no account cut ofl‘ the supply of liquor entirely. In fact, as We have before said, very hot water (sipped) often accomplishes much in reducing adipose deposit. Do not eat the same article of food too often. The last in- junction applies to every one, whether ‘fat or lean. Variety in food is the most im- portant factor in any scheme of dietary, whether for invalids or others. Eat Slowly. Children should be trained to eat slowly, no matter how hungry or what important business is pressing. Much safer a little food well ground than a hearty meal awallowei in haste. Cold food is even more difficult to digest than hot, if taken too rapidly. As Dean Swift once wrote:â€" "Givc no more to every guest ’l‘linn ho is able to digest: . (live hiin always of the prime, And but. little lit a iiinc.’ Another wise note is thus givenzâ€"“Don' ticate,masticate,bite,champ, and swallow." A leading doctor once said he never knew a case in which any man took too little food when he had plenty before him; but he know many who owed their ill-health mainly to eating too much. If the food wasted could be saved. there would be no one without “ enough and to spare.” Too Hearty Breakfast. The man or woman who eats for break- fast broiled sfeak, with, perhaps, bacon, followed by two soft-bailed eggs and a quantity of fresh fruit, this followed up by hot bread and coffee, cannot expect to stand erect at 4.3 and uay : “I am in the prime of life.” ._.-.___._.â€".â€".â€"._ - Keep Ahead of the Weeds. There is only one econoinicalyay to light weedsâ€"that is to keep nhcad of them. When they are just breaking through the gromni they can be slaigntered wtth lea, labor than at any other time. That is the time to take them in hand. A little later and the work will be doubled. Too many overlook this fact. In many towns five per cent. oil is allowed on all taxes paid before acertain date, and men bottle to pay their tax and save that five per cent. A much larger per cent. off is secured by the man who takes the weedsin sea-hon. One can go over a garden with an iron rake when the weeds are just breaking ground, and iii an hour's time accomplish Wo‘nders. A week , M mmopr. sag...“ - nonâ€"i-“ _'~â€".__.- -......_,.._. later he will have to take his hoe and laboriously cut, cut, out. And even then doesn’t destroy half as many of the roots of weeds as he would have done a week before with the rake. Neglecting Lat: weeds is something one simply cannot afford. â€"__ church in. He ex lained to me dat it was ; he accidentally split one of his fine steel 80 closely connected with the question A Peculiarity' a shirt which blowgd oberinto his yard one? tools, and being suddenly required to sign of thinning is the time of picking that the Money talks, said the confident man. night last winter, but his knees wsrg a receipt, and not finding a pen handy, be two should bi-conaiiieredtogether. Them Yes, replied the melancholy citizen. knockin‘ togeiher as he talked. Sum’ loi'iused the split tool as a substitute. This lore, we say, at the earlzest moment prac- But when it's conversing with a pcnr yo’ may disreckolectdai astory was floaun happy meident led to the idea of making ticahle after fully grown and colored, while relation it usually talks :n a Whisper. around ’bout three weeks ago to de effeck pens of metal. sects and diseases combined.