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pe (Pt§«nrg §Iaindca!cr. J. V,V*« 8LT5T5, PTREXIRMRA. ILLINOIS. AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC. Driving Home the Cowi. Owtof the clover and blue-eyed grass He turned them into the river-lane; One after another he let the in pass, Then 1'aetened the meadow bars again. TJnder the willows, and over the Mil, He patiently followed their sober pace; •The merry whistle for once was still, .' And something shadowed the sunny face. "Only a boy! and his father had said He Jfever could let his youngest go; UPvro already were lying dead Under the feet of the trampling foe. But after the evening work was done, , And the frogs were loud in the meadow-swamp, Over his shoulder he slung his gun, -J- And stealthily followed the foot path damp. Across the clover and through the wheat, '•< With resolute heart and purpose grim, .Though cold was the dew on his hurrying feet, . And the blind bat's flitting startled him. , "thrice since then had the lanes been white, , •' And the orchards sweet with apple bloom; And now. when the cows come back at night,; The feeble father drove them home. „ Jfor news had come to the lonely farm ' ' ~ That three were lying where two had lain; •And the old man's tremulous, palsied arm . Ccnld never lean on a son's again. ; $he summer day grew cool and late; He went for the cows when the work wa I... . But down the lane, as he opened the gate, ' He saw them coming one by one-- i done Srindle, Ebony, Speckle, and Boss, Shaking their horns in the evening1 Cropping the buttercups out of the gran; But who was it following close behind? f Loosely swung in the idle air - The empty sleeve of army blue; < And worn and pale, from the crisping hair , Looked out a face that the father knew. For Southern prisons will sometimes yawn, And yield their dead unto life again; And the day that comes with a cloudy dawn In golden glory at last may wane. The great tears sprang to their meeting eyes; For the heart must speak when the lips are dumb; And under the silent evening skies Together they followed the cattle home. -Kate Putnam Osgood. enough to pay a large proportion of them. SOCIAL BIRDS.--It is wonderful how the birds love the companionship -of men. Even the Indian recognizes this liking, and puts up his gourd-shell for the purple martin ; the colored man of the South, iu like manner, sets up a cala­ bash, while in our villages are seen martin-houses, often evincing taste in their construction. But the American swallows formerly kept aloof from men, and in the far west the martin, as of old, builds in hollow trees. Some of our migratory birds are seen with us in the winter. This is explained by the agri­ cultural habits of men. Wherever agri­ culture flourishes, so will insects, and the fields of the husbandman are thus attractive to the birds, who come thither with their sweet voices and good deeds. Now, this fact does in time greatly modify the migration impulse. The blue-bird is a frequent visitor of our gardens in winter, though not in large numbers. He now finds his food in the larvse of those insects which are the pests of the farm ; and it is pleasant to watch Around the Farm. A CONSCIENTIOUS farmer in Lewiston, Me., wiped the mud from his cart-wheels before permitting his load of hay to go on the scales to be weighed. But such men are never sent to the State Legisla­ ture. v. FOB A CRIBBING Horse.--Feed with a nose-bag and give hay only from an iron rack. Coating the woodwork in a manger with crude petroleum is also reo- ommended. The bad taste will soon cure the animal of all desire to bite his crib. WATER FOB DAIRY Cows.--No animal should be required to drink water which the owner himself would refuse, and especially so if the cow from which you hope to make good butter. It is suffi­ cient Oii point io say thai pure water is an indispensable article to the suoopRK of the dairymen? for good butter or cheese cannot be made where good water cannot be obtained.--Canada Farmer. CLEAN CELLARS.--Take care that the air in your cellar be free from bad odors, lest your butter, cheese, fruit, or what­ ever else be kept there, become ill flavor­ ed, having an old, musty taste. It is important that the air of your oellaj should be changed, as that of your par- lor, sitting-room, dining-room, kitchen or sleeping-room. Pure air is one of the very best preventives of the typhus fever, diphtheria and other kindred ailments. Will farmers and housekeepers make a note of this?--Boston Cultivator. THE wood-pile is always needing some attention, and a few hours a day in chop­ ping wood will be in order now. But where wood is used, the winter ought to be improved to get up the supply for the year. It is a very shiftless plan to leave it to the spring or summer. Time is too valuable then to have to stop a day's work to run and get up wood to keep the pot boiling. It is always best to keep a stock of wood on hand for a year's supply ahead, and it is a very comfortable and independent feeling that attends a first-rate supply of fuel. Two HINTS.--When you wish to set •out your tomato and cabbage plants next spring, start them in little boxes made of tarred felt or building paper. Make the boxes about as k-rge as a tum­ bler, but without any bottom. Have one plant to a box. When ready to transplant, you can slip the box off with­ out disturbing the roots, and then the plant will grow right along. Another thing--don't bring that stake you intend to drive into the ground to a point, but taper it off like a chisel or wedge, and then it will drive straight.-- Western Rural. SWEET OIL FOB POISON.--It is now over twenty years since I heard that sweet oil would cure the bite of a rattle­ snake, not knowing that it would cure Other kinds of poison. Practice and ex­ perience have taught me that it will cure poison of any kind, both on man and beast. The patient must take a spoon­ ful of it internally, and bathe the wound for a cure. To cure a horse it takes eight times as much as for a man. One • of the most extreme cases of snake bites • occurred eleven years ago. It had been of thirty days' standing, and the patient had been given up by his physicians. I gave him a spoonful of the oil, which effected a cure. It will cure bloat in cattle caused by fresh clover. It will • cure the stings ot bees, spiders, or other insects, and persons who have been poisoned by a low running vine called ivy.--College Courant. TOOLS IN THE ROAD.--We cannot re­ form th6 world even by continued reit­ erations, butwould feel well paid if we -oould make even a few farmers, who per­ sist in leaving an array of farmers' ]tools with an intolerable amount of rubbish in the road opposite the house, secure their property in a neat, respectable manner. Passing a farm of considerable preten- • sions near Marshall the other day, we noticed five plows, three cultivators, three excuses for stone boats, and other farm implements in proportion, strung -•along the highway for twenty rods directly at the front of the house and barn. At a hasty estimate there was *#250 worth of property ornamenting the road and wasting away at the rate of one per cent, a month for want of care. We "4mst men like this one will find no-fault with the taxes, for it would be so un­ called for when he- is wasting^yearly About the Hoaae. HIOKOBY-NUT CAKE.--One pound of flour, one pound of sugar, three-quarters pound of butter, six eggs, two teaspoon- fuls cream of tartar, one of soda, half a cup of sweet milk. Beat the cake thor­ oughly, then stir in a small measure of hickory nuts, first, of course, taking them from the shell Bake in a steady but not quick oven. This is a very fine cake. . WASHING WOOLEN OR FLANNEL ARTI CLES.--Cut up some white soap, put it into soft water, boil it up and skim; when no more scum rises leave it to cooL Put a very little quantity of spirits of wine in it, and wash the things as quick­ ly as possible, rinse in luke warm clear soft water, into which a small quantity of spirits of wine has been stirred. TEA BISCUIT.--One quart of sweet milk, one small teacup of butter, the same of sugar, one gill of good yeast flour to make a sponge. Mix over night; when light stir in more flour te make the dough of proper consistency ; press the knuckles firmly into the middle of the dough, and when it rises to a uni­ form oval it is ready to be worked over into biscuit. Kneed twice, and, when light the third time, bake in a quick oven about twenty minutes. WATERPROOF DRESSING FOB LEATHER. --A dressing which makes leather wa­ terproof is made as follows : Dissolve one part of India rubber in five parts of illuminating petroleum, let stand for a day, tnen add twenty parts of paraSne to the pasty mass ; let stand again for half a day, with repeated stirring, and then mix it with five parts of oil and five of tallow, and finally add ten of petroleum, or enough to give the mass the consist­ ency of butter. A CHEAP BUT GOOD SOAP.--Take four large bars of yellow soap, two pounds of sal soda, three ounces of borax, one ounce of liquid ammonia. Shave the soap in thin slices ; put it into eight quarts of rain water. When the soap is nearly dissolved, add the borax and sal soda; stiv till all is melted. Pour it into a large tub or shallow pan ; when nearly cool add the ammonia «low- ly, mixing it well. Let it stand a day or tw5>, then cut it into bars, and dry in a warm place. The soap is excellent for all household purposes. It costs but three cents a pound, and may be made in less than an hour. WeBTH TESTING.--Save the tea leaves for a few days, then steep them in a tin pail or pan for half an hour, strain through a sieve, and use the liquid to wash all the varnished paint. It requires very little "elbow polish," as the tea acts as a strong detergent, cleansing the paint of all its impurities, and making the varnish equal to new. It cleans window-saskes and oil-cloths ; indeed, any varnished surface is improved by its application. It washes window-panes and mirrors much better than water, and is excellent for cleansing black walnut picture and looking-glass frames. It will not do to wash 'unvarnished paint "with it. THREAD CASE.--Many ladies are an­ noyed by their white spool cotton becom­ ing gray with the particles of dust that will accumulate in work baskets, but do not feel like spending money to purchase a thread case. Here are directions given in the New England Farmer for making a substitute : Take a small pasteboard box (a collar box is good), cut a piece of thin board to fit the box tightly, bore holes in this at convenient distances for the spools to stand, and into the holes fit small wooden pegs, an inch in height, and of such size that the spools placed on them will revolve easily ; then in the sides of the box, pierce Email holes for the end of the thread to pass through, and you have a spool case without cost, which, if not as ornamental as a bought one, will be equally useful. If one chooses, the box may be prettily orna mented with gilt paper, flowers cut from wall paper, or any of the various methods for decorating fancy boxes. A DETROIT HERO* Ovwr One Hundred um S*T*d by One Kan. The New York Tribune says: Among the applications made to the last Con­ gress for a medal for services in the saving of life was that of John Horn, Of Detroit, who may be justly styled a home-bred John Lambert. The charac­ ter and adventures of John Lambert of Scotland were very graphically described by Charles lieade a year ago in the Tribune, under the title of a " Hero and Martyr." Mr. Horn is a young man liv­ ing at Detroit, assisting his father there in a small tavern near the public wharves. Doubtless this proximity to the water has given him the opportunity which he has had in several years for saving what he calculates in the aggregate at about one hundred human lives from death by drowning. The Hon. Moses W. Field, of the House of Representatives, who knew Horn in Detroit, brought his claims to the attention of Congress. In collecting information in regard to Horn's singular hi^peeping Mound ^aSng^ and adventures the following ledgesandrails for his food. ™ obtained from the hero him- self. ^ it is a very modest and not de­ tailed report of what he has accomplish­ ed, told in simple and homely language, and will be read with peculiar interest: TFFLS HERO'S OWN STOBY. DETROIT, Feb. 22, 1874.-- The Hon. Moses W. Field. House of Iiej)refn>nfatives--DKAR SIR : I have never desired a public statement of the service which, under God, I havo been able to render in saving human life, but aa you have asked me to send you a list of the rneti, women and children whom I have rescued from drown­ ing. I will do BO as far as I can from memory. 1 have never kept a record of the names, and the number is BO great that you will excuse me jf T leave some nnmo12ii.on.0cl* I think I have altogether saved more than 100 human beings, but I take no credit about i this matter, and I have never regretted doing what I have done iu any ease, although I havo had at times to keep my bed for many weeks on account of the exposure in the cold water. It is well for me that I had a good mother to take care of me at such times of t-ickness. On the 21st of May, 18--, I saved Mr. Manning, of Windsor. On the 7th of July, 1865, I saved Mr. George Taylor, of New York State; he was very near dead when I got him on the wharf. Oct. 10, 1866. I saved a child of Mr. F. Gor­ man, of Adrian; she was about 5 years old, and was near drowned when I got her out. Dec. 12, 1865y I saved a son of Mr. Yates, who bent a clothing store on Jefferson avenue. The night was very cold, a high wind was blowing at the time, and he was very near dead when we reached the wharf. April 11. 1866, was the worst night I ever bad. It will be ever memorable as the night of the great conflagration at the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad Depot, when sixteen poor fellows were drowned. I rescued nine, and then became so exhausted that I could not swim, and had to abandon them to their fate. I got a very bad cold and lay in bed two weeks, but that was nothing iu comparison to the good accomplished. July 25, 1866, I saved Mr. Jo­ seph Noble, of Windsor, and I believe you were theie at the time. He was once engineer on the Great Western Railroad. You know he came near drowning me by his straggles in the water, at which time I received severe injuries. April 7, 1867, I saved the Hon of Mr. Myers, who lived in Mullet street. He * was «>. hnv khont 19 y»»r« old. Juas 14, 18<»7, I saved the daughter of Mr. Andrew Norse, of Cleveland. Slie was going on board the ferry-boat, with her mother and some otaer ladies, when she fell off the plank. When I got to the wharf she was going out of sight for the last time, and I plunged iu and brought her to the surface. Sept. 15, 1867, I saved a col­ ored man, who was a deckhand on the propeller Meteor. He kicked mo about iu the water ter­ ribly, for drowning men are always crazy. Nov. 2, 1867, I saved Mr. David Miller, the man who drove a wagon for HuT Bros., storekeepers, on Monroe avenue. May 10, 1868, I saved Mr Robert Sintou, known as "Free Tress Bob.' You know, he used to be » reporter -for the Free Press. And in his haste to get news, he fell in, and I got him out. A few nights after that, I saved Mr. Steele, who UBed to keep a store on Michigan avenue. He was on the ferryboat with his wife; he had a very spirited horse, and was holding him by the head when the boat struck the wharf. The horse jumped and threw him into the river, when the current swept him under the wharf. I jumped in and got him out all right. Oct. 4, 1868, I saved a daughter ©f Mr. McDonald, of Windsor. May 12, 1869, I saved Mr. Flatter}*, one of the Flattery Brothers, who keep a furni­ ture store on Woodward avenue. He was a heavy man; when I got hold of him he was near gone, and I came near loosing my own life in getting him out. June 21, 1870,1 saved a man called Mr. George Brodier. I was eating dinner at the time, when some person came running in after me, saying, "There is a man inthe river." I ran out and jumped into the river, arid as soon as I got near Mm, he clutched me like a vise and tcck me under the water twice. When I came to the top the last time, my father handed me a long pole, which I caught, and that saved me. He was a powerful man, and kicked and struggled so hard that he made lay legs black and blue for many months. My mother goes to the edge of the wharf nth me very often, when I jump in; but when she sees persons struggling in the Water and drowning, she never holds me back. Aug. 24, 1871, I saved the daughter of Mr. A. of MilwauSsea. March 4, 1872, I saved a colored man by the name of George Wilkes he fell oil the wharf while under the intlaeuce of liquor, but 1 tliiuk he has been a sober man ever since. July 4, 1873, I saved the daughter of Mr. F. Barlow, a butcher, who keeps a stall in the market. She was going on board the ferry-boat Detroit with her mother and some other ladies; the crowd was very great, being the 4th of July, and, although her mother held her by the hand, the crowd surged, and she was crowded off the plank and fell into the river. There were about 500 people on the wharf at the time, and they were all staring at the poor girl struggling in the water, not on* of them daring to go to her rescue. I was in the house when some one came to give the alarm, and when I got out there I could jus* see her dress as she was going out of sight four or five feet below the surface. I jumped in and caught her, and when 1 got out on the top of the wharf with her the people gave me three cheers. March 6, 1873, I saved a young lady called Miss Louise McKenzie. This tfas the closest call I ever had for my life. I was in the water about seventeen minutes, and the river being full of floating ice at the time I was nearer dead than alive wh«n I got out. Four men carried me into the Aouse, and they rubbed me with hot whisky for over four hours before circulation was restored to its normal condition. This severe exposure made me sick, and it was over thrae month:s before the right feeling was in my liauds. You will remember this incident, for you came to me when I was unwell. I regret very much at this time I lost the beautiful medal presented me by the citizens, and I think you were one of the gentlemen connected with it* presentation. I have been informed that I wpuld receive a medal from the British Parlia­ ment, but it has not come I don't ask anv. I saved "a poor unfortunate individual" last month, when I took a severe cold, and as I was lying in bed reading tAe proceedings of Con­ gress, I saw MomctiiLag aboat an appropriation for medals to persons for saving life on the sea shore and I thought then that some gen­ tleman would be very likely to remember also thf»8 who save lives on the Northern lakes *nd rivers. There are many other cases which I don't mention, as I have not got their names. \ou must know yourself of a great many; as your place of business and warehouse are near by, and I recollect seeing you several times when rescuing people from a watery grave. Wishing you aud your family good health, I remain, very truly yours, JOHN HORN, JK. WHITEWASH.--Mix some fresh slaked lime with water till of the con­ sistency of cream, dissolve a small lump of copperas in warm water ; when cold mix with the lime water. Lay it on the All the Work of an Kditor. The plan of making England the pur­ chaser of the Khedive's interest in the Suez Canal, and its practical controller, for $20,000,000, was substantially the work of Mr. Frederick Greenwood, editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, and oneof the most capable of London journalists. The memorandum drawn up by him set­ ting forth the arguments in its favor is said to have made a deep impression on Mr. Disraeli, and secured his adhesion. THE old adage, laugh and grow fat, is not of universal application. John Mor­ ris, a young man about twenty-eight years of age, living near Langley, Ga., went to a masquerade the other night. He had always been noted for laughing immoderately at any funny incident. Some ludicrous feature of the masque** ade caused him to set up in a laughing, when he suddenlr stopped and fell to the ground. H" was picked tip and a physician se^ f°r> who pro­ nounced the case hur^688! 88 Mor­ ris had ruptured.'* blood vessel. The unfortunate ma* lingered until the next morning, wb«a he died. A plaoe to get the snakes--The H'ap*e. walls with a large brush, taking care to stir up the mixture every time the brash is dipped into it. Rather Hard on the Cats. It & estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 cats perished in the flames that lately licked half our city from the side of Mount Davidson. The estimate is probably too high, as it appears to us that we miss no more than about 10,000 or 12,000--that is, in a general way. We, however, particularly miss and mourn no more than 200 or 300. # These were favorites of our neighborhood that were wont nightly to do gambols and execute difficult musical selections for our diversion. How often, when the witching hour marking the noon of night was stealing in. have we seen a giant of the feline horde--a fighter from Bitter Creek--mount the giddy height of a neighboring firewall and sound his warlike bugle. We can see him now, as with arched back reared against the sky, like some rounded chaparral hill, ana erect tail waving like a cedar tree in a storm, he stands, in his sphere and according to his knowledge, a defiant Ajax. The moon is playing lude-and- seek among a floating archipelago of clouds as he thus stands up and defines his position categorically as the boss fighter of the town. Another yell of warlike portent tells that the challenge is accepted, and another Ajax appears upon the wall, arches his back, and waves an angry tail. The pair draw their feet well under them, dig their claws into the wall and cautiously creep for­ ward. ever and anon uttering sounds that •would seem great though they came from the lungs of a pair of adult masto­ dons. The friends and allies of the champions make their appearance on the roofs of surrounding houses and sheds, utter their several war-cries, a&d deploy as skirmishers. The two champions come together like rocks rolled from the sides of opposite hills ; the skiimishers, witli green eyes flashing, engage in all directions, and the battle has become general. The air is rent with howls, shrieks, groans and gurgles--all the house-tops are covered with hair. Half a dozen soda bottles and as many old boots crash down upon those roofs and against the walls. There is a spit, a sputter, and a fizz ; then all is as silent as the tomb. Where now are those he­ roes find their heroic followers ? Alas, their calcined bones alone are left in the places where they once frisked and fought ? All are gone! The tortoise- shell of the old maid, the mighty Mal­ tese of the old bachelor, the pet cats that used to sleep on the counters and bite all who stroked them, and the wild cats that dropped down from places and stared at one in the night--all are gone I The great fire cremated them all. In vain they darted from shed to stable and from stable to sidewalk, with their tails erect and smoking or all aflame. Their time had come, and they were either cooked in holes or roasted as they ran. Let all true lovers of the cat join in and wail a willainous caterwaul!--Virginia City Enterprise. Precocious Children. Never be anxious to have your chil­ dren precocious. It is often the very smart child that makes the commonplace man5 and the dunce, who makes his parent1- ashamed of him, that at last be- jbomes distinguished. The boy likely to • Sr^BiiTtebody" in dwe time will, prob­ ably, be that torment of your life who poaches preserves, fights his brothers, and is brought in black and blue from bruises gained in a fall from some neigh­ bor's apple tree; while the excellent fellow who is at the head of his class, and never wears out the knees of his browsers, will disappoint your expecta­ tions. The very worst way to make a genius of a boy is to bring him up for one. Under such training, if he has not the real stuff in him, he will become a conceited jackanapes. If he has the real stuff in him, it will develop itself in its own fashion, and at its own time ; and nature will generally postpone that time until his legs are sturdy, his arms strong, and fun, frolic and a good appetite have done their best for him, and made his body capable of helping his mind at its work, which is something more necessary than parents who like show-children are apt to think. * The Rarages of the Sea. The destruction of ship property be­ longing to ot trading to ports in the United States during 1875, was $1,164,- 000 Lias than in 1874, the total being $7,622,000. In 1873 the loss was valued at #11,783. The most disastrous months for shipping last year were May and No­ vember, when over £2,000,000 worth went to the bottom of the sea, including six steamers, six ships, sixteen barks, five brigs and forty-four schooners, a total of seventy-seven vessels. . Last year twenty steamers were lost; in 1874 nineteen. We have no data at hand showing the value of the cargoes lost in the 373 vessels last year, but no doubt the marine insurance companies are fa­ miliar with the figures. The loss of life incident to these disasters lias been com­ paratively small, but those brave men who have been sacrificed, over whose resting place no monumental stone can ever be placed, have left behind them hearts to mourn.--Boston Globe. A Frightful Death. Coroner Deitzsch held an inquest yes­ terday afternoon on the body of James White, a man of about 50, who met his death at the Northwestern Fertilizing Works in a most horrible manner. White was employed to remove the fertilizer from the tanks, and when last seen he was inspecting them from a platform on a level with the tops. Nothing more •was seen of him until yesterday morning, when his friends, becoming alarmed at his protracted absence, made inquiries about him. A search was made, and fiually the tanks were drawn off, when a horrible sight was disclosed. The un­ fortunate man must have slipped from the platform into the tank, which was twelve feet deep and contained four feet of the boiling Liquid, Nothing was left of him but a few bones, the flesh and clothing ha ving been entirely removed by the action of the scalding fertilizer. The jury returned a verdict of "acci­ dental death."--Chicago Journal. THE ladies will find Dobbins' Electric Soap, (made by Cragin & Co., Philadel­ phia,) the best of all soaps for general washing, from blankets to laces. It is pure, uniform, saves time and clothes. Try it. . ILLINOIS ITEMS. GAIBO pays a tax amounting to $6.12 on each $100 worth of property. MR. DANIEI- BASXJSS, overseer of the Hancock County Poor-House, died re­ cently, while sitting at the supper table. FUIITON COUNTS: has the smallest pa­ per in the country. It is a monthly, and the subscription prioe is fifteen cents a year. Con. JAMES JOMJFF, who has been re­ siding in the vicinity of Centralia since 1828, died at his residence last week, in the 85th year of his age. QUINCY and two townships in Adams County have to pay in taxes $96,576 as interest on bonds for the year 1875. l-- %-- ! !" - liCUU Sjr-MVU |llUU ijjf VXAX3 uwu is small. D. S. BUBNS, of Jacksonville, has oom- menced suit for $500 damages against the Western Union Telegraph Company, for alleged non-delivery of an important dispatch sent to his wife i! New York. HON. H. P. H. BROMWELL, formerly of Charleston, in this State, and a mem­ ber of Congress from that District, is now of Denver, Colorado, and a member of the present Constitutional Conven­ tion in that State-elect. Cm MARSHAL MARTIN, of Delavan, shot and killed a man named Cunning­ ham, in that place, Wednesday, who re­ sisted arrest, and attempted to shoot the Marshal. The Coroner's jury returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. STATE SUPERINTENDENT ETTER is re­ ceiving responses from all parts of the State from the 15,000 circulars sent out by him ten days since, asking funds for the Centennial Education Committee, and reports a very favorable outlook. ARTHUR WEIR, a young Kentucjrian who has been visiting friends and rela­ tives in Jacksonville for some time past, eloped with a Miss Fanny McKnigfit, a student in the Jacksonville Female Sem­ inary. THERE were received at the Chicago House of Correction during the year 1875 1,003 prisoners--a smaller number than for any year during the incumbency of the present management, which began n 1872. LAWYER DOUGLAS, of Chicago, has been sentenced to three years in the penitentiary for conspiracy to fraudu lently obtain a divorce, and in addition has been debarred from practioe in the Superior Court, when presided over by Judge Moore. THE farmers of Carroll County are making a good deal of complaint because the hounds, which are used in hunting in the western part of the county, are killing a great many valuable sheep. Within a year, over $700 worth of sheep have been destroyed by these dogs, and a farmer living west of flarrollton, lost ten nioe Cotswold sheep within a day or two. THE people along the line of the Dan­ ville and Paxton Railroad, are again agitating the question of building that road. Some four years ago the road was begun as an extension of the Paris and Danville Railroad, and after a large amount of money had been spent in grad­ ing, etc., the scheme was abandoned, the Paris and Danville Road having beoome involved, and being unable to go on with the work. WHILE the funeral of the late Lizzie Gilmore was being held at her residence in Centralia, the other day, Mrs. Ma- haffey, her sister, gathered up a quantity of goods which she was going to take home; but two of her brothers met her at the door and interfered. Mr. Ma- hafl'eyv then came to the rescue, and a fight ensued. The City Marshal had to be called to preserve peace during the funeral, after which, by mutual oonsent, the goods were placed in the City Marshal's hands, with instructions to sell, and divide the money equally. IN the U. S. District Court at Spring­ field, the other day, a curious discovery was made. When the Grand Jury was impaneled, one member who had been summoned did not appear or did not answer, and his place was filled by a talesman. He afterward appeared, was sworn, and took his place in the jury room. This made twenty-four jurors in the panel, when there should be but twenty-three. The body continued with twenty-four members until the mistake was discovered, when the Court dis­ charged the talesman. Of course all Ilia indictments which had been voted upon had to be again considered and passed upon by the reduced panel, which cured the mistake. FROM the annual report of the Illinois Board of Railroad and Warehouse Com­ missioners (soon to be puMMied) we extract some interesting figmest which we put in comprehensive tabular form, as follows, comparison with the report of last year being added: How Indians Cure Meat and waH, ' Skins. . When her lord has killed a buffalo the • woman's work begins. She has to skin it, the meat to secure, and all to pack upon ponies or mules, and carry to camp, where the meat must be cured. This is done by cutting it into thin sheets, and hanging it over poles in the hot sun­ shine, where it is dried thoroughly; then it is packed fresh in packages of about one hundred pounds each, and inclosed in a nice folding sack of thick buffalo skin, prepared especially for the pur­ pose. This is not dressed down thin af­ ter being fleshed, but well tanned, Mid of the full thickness of the skin ; the hair side, nicely ornamented with paint, for the outside of the sack. This is cut out like a huge envelope, so thai the ends and sides will fold over whatever is put in them, and secured by strong buckskin strings. By being thick it retains its form, and is very useful for carrying • other things besides meat and tallow. After the meat is taken care of the skin must be looked after. Those taken at this season of the year are mostly dressed for lodges. They are first staked on a smooth snot of gronnd} and water put upon tliem, when they are ready for fleshing. This consists in removing the flesh with an instrument made of a straight, bar of iron, about a foot in length, flattened at one end and filed to an edge. This being grasped iu the hand, and a succession of quick blows given, the work slowly proceeds. The skin is then dried, after which the hair is removed in a dry state, and the skin reduced to a proper thickness by dress­ ing down on the hair side. This is done with an instrument made by firmly tying a flat piece of steel, filed to a beveled " edge at one end, and with the corners rounded, to a large prong of a deer's horn. This is so trimmed, in connec­ tion with the body of the horn, as to form an elbow, and is used a little as a car­ penter uses his adze. This work is usu­ ally done in the cool of the morning. The brains of the animal, haviDg been properly taken care of foi the purpose, are now soaked and squeezed by the hand until reduced to a paste, and applied to both sides of the skin, which is after­ ward worked and rubbed until flexible. The preparation of robes is from winter skins, and differs from the foregoing on­ ly in being dressed down on the flesh side, so as to leave the wool and hair upon the robe, and is more thoroughly worked, and scorned by means of a sharp-gritted stone.--Battey. Hew York State Tax Burdens. The Comptroller's report to the Leg­ islature shows that the people of the State of New York have borne a taxation for all purposes--State, county, city,, town, and school taxes--in the aggregates for ten years past, of $503,244,529.24. The total for 1875 was $56,926,370.69. The total for 1866 was $40,568,244.69. The corresponding total for the year 1860 was $18,956,024.50. In the ten years last past the State Treasury ba» received of the people's money $132,087,™ 048.43. The State's finances have in that time been so managed that a State debt of $51,532,082 in 1866 is now re­ duced to $14,747,302. But municipal finances have in the same time been so managed that local debts, which in 1866 barely exceeded $75,000,000 have now come to exceed $225,000,000. The revenues of the United Stales in the year 1875, from customs ancFintftrnal revenue, were $155,815,539.39, gold, and $114,866,798.12, currency,or; the gold. being converted into currenoy at an av­ erage of 114 for gold, an aggregate of $292,496,512.58, currency. The propor­ tion of tJiis tax ultimately borne by th» people of the State of New York, fairly estimated as one-eighth of the whole, would be $37,312,064. In the same year (1875) the State tax was $14,206,680; and the municipal and other local taxes in the State aggregated $42,716,690. The total burden of taxes--Federal, State, and local--borne by the people of the State of New York in 1875 was there­ fore not less than $94,238,434, ox mora than $20 per head of our population.-- Brooklyn Union, 7.1Q9 15,133 79,538 3,097 80 10,390 830 5,000 4,893 3,038 LENUIU or LINK. 1875--Stiles. Total length of main line and branches in Illinois. Total length main line and branches outride Illinois. Aggregate leugtli of track computed BB Mingle track. Aggregate length of sidings Number of roads Main Line--Entire length.. Double track.. Length in III.. Branches--Entire length.. Length in 111.. ACCIDENTS. 1875. Passengers killed... Paxsengera injured M Employes killed •« Employes injured 350 Other persons killed 109 Other persons injured 133 Damages paid for persons killed ana Damages paid for live stock killed. Damages paid for property burned by couiotives ....•• JSil-KNMES. Operating expenses.. ..... $85,733,906 1874--Miles, 13,853 13,463 1,805 is 7,933 594 4,814 4,919 1,944 1874. 16 37 71 310 139 137 in- ...$ 4,839.48 ... 71,545.25 lo- ... 11,213.74 $61.751,W9 5,340,459 4,455,841 Didn't Agree with Him. A Michigan farmer brought home two jugs- one labeled "boiled, oil" and the' other 4 4 turpentine." They were plaoed in the barn, and pretty soon it was no* ticed that the old man had business there at regular intervals. His oldesfe son slyly followed him and saw him tak­ ing a deep draught from one of the jugs. The old man heard a step outside, an<5' before going out he arranged the jugs according to his artistic taste. He was hardly gone when the son skipped in and took a drink from the jug out of which he supposed his father drank. The next moment he was sputtering^ ooughing, and gasping, and the old man entered and asked: " Turpentine doesn't agree with yon* does it?" "But I saw you drinking it!" ex­ claimed the injured and indignant son. " That is true," said the old man, while a beautiful smile played o^er hid face, "but it doesn't necessarily follow that the rest of the family must, relish turpentine because I do!" 64,864,978 30,570,93 Operating per mile of road. General expenses, includ­ ing lease of other roada, use of track, taxes Operating and general ex- penses... 71,072,668 Excess of receipts 34,681,397 MIRIAM Coras HARRIS, the author of " Rutledge," has a regular income of 86,000 a year from the sale of her books. When she wrote " Rutledge," she took the MS. to a number of publishers, who looked it over and declined it with thanks, as lacking the elements of popu­ larity. At last she had it published by Mr. Carleton at her own expense, and 60,000 copies were sold just as fast as the printer could turn them out. As royalties wer in those days, she only made $8,000 out of this enormous sale. " Oi'EX that safe," said a merchant io an expert who had been sent for. "Open it in twenty minutes and I will five you $20." The safe was open in five min­ utes. "All right," said the merchant, " here is $10---enough for five minutes' work." The $10 was looked at but not taken, and in the next moment the safe was closed as tight as ever. " Oh, ho^ is that?" "The how," said the man,, "is that I charge nothing for dosing the safe, but $20 more for the next opening --$40 in all, and want my pay in ad­ vance." Of course he did, and whoever has anything to say on the subject cut now speak. THE LOST STEAMER PACIFIC.---Twenty years ago this month the steamer Pacific, of the Collins line, sailed from this port for Liverpool with one humlfed and eighty-six passengers, and was never seen nor heard from, nor was a trace of her left to indicate the manner in which ^ she was lost. It is believed that ^ she ' struck an iceberg, filled and immediate­ ly went down.--New York Mail. SOME rascal in San Francisco sounded seven false fire alarms in succession title other day, and liked to have sent whole Fire Department crazy.