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THE SCORCHER'S FAREWELL. (With apologies to McGuffey's Third Reader.} JSy beautiful, my beauti$0l! thou stand- est meekly by, iWith proudly arched and glossy .frame, and sprocket geared so-high. iFret not to roam within the park with all thy winged speed; 1 may not scorch on thee again--thou rt ^ pinched, my silent steed. Fret not with thy impatient tire, sound not the warning gong; • They'll check you in a basement damp because 1 scorched along.* The bike cop hath thy handle bar--my 'tears will not avail; Fleet-wheeled and beautiful, farewell! for tliou'rt held for bail. Farewell! those fat pneumatic wheels „ full many a mile have spun, To bask beside the Cliff House bar or do a century run; Some other hand less skilled than mine must pump thee up with air; The patent lamp that won't stay lit must be another's care. „ Only in sleep shall 1 behold myself with bended back-- Only in sleep shall thee and 1 avoid the trolled track; And- when 1 churn the pedals down' id check or cheer thy speed. Then 1 must starting wake to team thou'rt pinched, my silent steed. Ah, rudely, then, unseen by me, some clumsy chump bestride iMay wabble into rough brick walls and dish a wheel beside; And compressed wind that's in thee 'scape in shrill, indignant pain Till crnel man that on thee rides will fill thee up again. "With slow, dejected foot I roam, not knowing where or when I'll meet a good Samaritan who'll kindlv ! loan me ten. And sometimes to the park I go, drawn in my hopeless quest; TWHS hero I struck a record clip--the copper did the rest. Who said that 1 had given thee up? Who said that thou wert lost.' "Tis false, 'tis false, my silent steed! 1 fling them tine and cost ! Thus--thus I leap upon thy back and hit the asphalt trail! Away! my bright and beautiful; I pawn­ ed my watch fombail. --San Francisco Examiner. A MEDICAL MYSTERY. I had reached my office one mornin Sn November, a year or two ago, when.* to mj r surprise, I found a young fellow "waiting for me outside the door. "Mr. Somcrs." he began, impetuously, "can you give me your services for the day?" \ u "Is the matter very pressing?" I re­ plied. "Tell me what it is." "My name is Kiucaid." he said quick­ ly. "You did some family business for ns a few years ago. I want you to come with me at once. We can just catch a train from Waterloo to Basing­ stoke at 9:10. jit runs dow I'll explain in the train. Ten guineas for the day. and expenses. Make your owu terms if successful. Will that do?" "Very well,"' I said; "go and get a cab --I'll join you directly." I uulocked my office, picked up a portmanteau which I keep ready pack­ ed for ̂ emergencies. scribbled a note to my clerk, and in less than ten minutes w*"8 by his side in a hansom, on the way to the station. We secured a car­ riage to ourselves,, and as soon as the train had fairly started lie unfolded his tale. "My uncle. Clavell Ivincaid, died very suddenly last night, under curious cir­ cumstances, and I expect foul play," he begun. "Tell me exactly what happened." "We had a kind of family dinner party to make a fresh arrangement about the proprety in which my uncle had left a life interest." "Nobody present but relations?" "No." "What is the property worth?" "About £10,000 or £12,000 a .year." "Go on." "As things stand now, my cousin Harry takes everything under the en­ tail. The object of the meeting was to buy out his interest, so that it could be more evenly divided among the family. Everybody directly interested was present." "You couldn't buy up., your cousin's interest without his consent," I inter­ rupted. "Certainly not," answered the young fellow. "But Harry is a black sheep. In fact he's a thoroughly bad lot. He's been knocking about South America, and I don't know where else, for some years, and his record is about as black a one as a man can have." "Very we'll," T'$aid. "Now tell me tibout your uncle's death." "We had finished dinner and sat chat­ ting and smoking. Uncle Clavell was talking to my father; suddenly be said: Dear me, I feel so sleepy, I really think I ' then he stopped suddenly. His head fell forward and somebody rush ed for brandy, thinking he was-ill. As a matter of fact he was dead. It all happened in ? minute." "And you suspect your cousin of hav­ ing killed him?" ^ , "Yes." "On what grounds?" The young fellow looked blank. "I hardly know," he stajnmered, "ex­ cept that Harry's bad enough to do any­ thing, and my uncle was in perfectly good health." "Was Clavell Ivincaid drinking any­ thing at the time?" "No, he was just smoking a cigar and chatting." "Was your cousin near him?" "No, he was talking to him several yards away." "How do you think, then, he killed your uncle?" "I--I don't know. That's why I've come fdr you." "You must excuse me. Mr. Ivincaid, but I'm afraid this is a wild goose chase. It was to your cousin's interest that your uncle should die. Your cousin is an 'outsider.' Your uncle dies,suddenly "What kind of a man was yotir uncle?" "VsVy healthy and very temperate. I have never known him to eat*too much or drink too much in my life. Never had a day's filness.' ' "Well, it's a very strange case," I said, "and a very sad one. But, frank­ ly, I believe your uncle died froiii nat­ ural causes. You are prejudiced in the matter; 1 am not." We reached Basingstoke at a few minutes past 10, and then separated. Y roung Edward Ivincaid was to go straight home and explain to his father what he had done, and get him to help. When I arrived I was received by fath­ er and son. and taken privately to. the dining-room, where the death occurred. "You must quite understand, Mr. Somers," said the old man, "that I am not prepared to indorse my son's opin­ ion that my brother was murdered. His death was shockingly sudden, and my nephew, Harry, is, I am sorry to say, a thorough rogue, but I should be sorry to think,he was guilty of this." "I can't see any reason to suspect him of it," I said, dryly. "This ia the cigar which he was smoking." said the young fellow. "I took it out of his hand, and placed it on the mantelpiece. ,Do you think," he went on quickly, "a man coiild be pois­ oned by a cigar; because, now I come to think of.it, this one came out of my Cousin's case." "I don't think a cigar cou'ld be made So as to kill a man on the spot," I re­ plied. "It might make him very sick,, or send him to sleep, but not kill him." •"Besides,"- said Edward Kineaid Sr., "several of us smoked "cigars out of Harry's case. I-think you did for one. You see," he continued, turning to me, "when we were lighting up my brother had cigars handed round, but "my nephew produced his own case and offered it to those present. My brother was a connoisseur of cigars, aud, knowing that Harry always had some­ thing especially good, anthwishing, per­ haps, to please him, he said, lroui the i.ther end of the room, "Harry, I think I'll have one of yours." "Yes, it' you remember," said the young man, "Harry walked up to him and picked a.cigar out of his case and said, 'Try this one, uncle." I felt rather perplexed, but to be on the safe side put the half-smoked cigar m my pocket for further examination. "I'm afraid this doesn't prove any­ thing." I said. "It isn't even suspicious. You see. Mr. Clavell asked for it." "Yes, but perhaps Harry calculated he would do so. because Uncle Clavell often said that his, cigars were the best part of him, and he always liked to smoke them." "Could you manage for me to see your cousin?" I asked. As luck would have it the person in question sauntered into the rooin^ He was a worn-out dandified-looking man of about live oand thirty, very sallow and bony, with a rather unpleasantly easy bearing. I was introduced as representing the -aiid-wo-bcgarn-ftr-Tirsc iiss the - death. I watched him narrowly. He thing was carefuly locked. Suddenly my"eye caught sight of his dinner jack­ et? which'was hanging up behind the door. I remembered being told that our friend from South America ouly smoked cigars after dinner In England and it struck me.lie might have left his case in his pocket. A search in the pocket proved I was right and the next moment. I had in my hand an elegant little silver case con­ taining seven cigars. I tumbled them out. on the toilet and examined them. As fax* as 1 could make out they weie exactly like the one I had taken up to town. Suddenly a hand was on the door. "Would you mind 'my coming in," said a voice. "I just want to change my jacket." He spoke with his usual drawl, but I thought there was just a shade of anxiety in his voice. "Certainly," I said, putting the cigars back.and keeping up a running tire of- talk all the time. "You are not going to dress, are you?" I said. • "Oh, no; but I hrfte these frock coats --a dinner jacket is much more comfort­ able." I w'as washing my hands, and I stood, jn front of the mirror, so that I could Watch him. I noticed that as soon as he had changed his coat lie opened his cigar case and as well as I could judge- from the expressionou his face, count­ ed them. . I began to feel profoundly interested, and. determined to watch Mr. Harry and his cigars closely. Dinner was rather a dull affair.: There were no ladies present and everybody was nat­ urally depressed by i'ao awful occur­ rence.. of the previous riight. As soon as the dessert was put on we began to smoke, and I was on the lookout for the appearance of the silver case. It was soon produced and offered to his right-hand neighbor, who. however, declined it, preferring to smoke a cigar­ ette. A little satirical smile flickered across Harry Kincaid's face. He se­ lected one for himself and lighted it. The conversation became general and a little brighter. The wine was passed around the table hospitably, and all began to look as if they were prepared to meet the troubles of the world with a cheerful resignation. Suddenly Harry Kiucaid gave a loud groan and staggered to his feet. "Good heavens! I Help! Bran­ dy!" Before anyone could move he suateli- ed his cigar case out of his pocket and hurled it across the room toward the lire. It struck a glass epergne in the center of the table and broke it. Then he fell to the ground, struggling madly, with the most horrible expression of fear and malice on his face I ever saw. In his fall lie seized the tablecloth and dragged nearly everything off the table. We all sprang to our feet and the doc­ tor ruslied to his side. But it was too late. He was dead. I cannot describe the horror of the scene. It didn't last more than a min- stared at one another same thought was in talked about it with horrible compos­ ure. and didn't pretend to be sorrow stricken. "Well. I suppose you three are talk­ ing business," he said at last, lazily, "so I'll clear out. I hate that sort of thing. I si ia 11 run up to town to-mor­ row. and call on your people," lit added, turning to me. "Good morning." "What do you propose to do, Mr. Somers?" said Edward Ivincaid. "It's in-possible to form an opinion until we have-heard a proper medical report," I replied. "When does the post­ mortem take place?" "This afternoon." "Very well. I can't do any good here until that is over. I shall go straight back to town now. and have this cigar examined by an expert, and return here to-night, when you can tell me whdit the doctor says." My visit to town was not very suc­ cessful. The cigar expert pronounced the half-smoked specimen, which I ask­ ed him to examine, to be one of a very line brand of Ilavanas, and he mention­ ed the name, but there's no need to re­ peat it now. On making a closer ex­ amination, however, he said he was mistaken. It was an imitation, and he pointed out a number of trifling differ­ ences in the dolling an(J wflfpping which nobody but an expert would ob­ serve. "You must be able to see," he said, "it's a beautiful cigar; quite as good as if it were a first-class brand. Oply it's not any brand at all. It was made privately; there's nothing exactly like it on the market." The next point was to ascertain if it l ad, been doctored in any SvSy.With that object I called on a certain cele­ brated specialist to get his opinion. On hearing an outline of the ease he be­ came most interested. "I don't believe it's possible,--be said, "for a cigar to be so manipulated that a person smoking it would drop dead. But we'll make a careful examination and see what we can find." Then we cut it open and every bit of it was put under a strong glass. But ifter parts of it had been submitted to various tests no trace of poisonous mat­ ter could be discovered, I returned to Basing&tdke," arriving half an hour before dinner. The feel­ ing i:i my mind was that, though there was some reason, perhaps, to suspect Harry Ivincaid of the crime, there was not a particle of evidence in the true sense of the word. I told Edward Ivincaid and'his father the result of my journey and then had a consultation with the doctor, who had been asked to remain for dinner. His decision was that Mr. Clavell had died from complete stoppage of the brain, but there was ̂ literally nothing to sliow what caused it and there had been nothing in Mr. Clavell's habits and mode of life at all likely to produce mental paralysis. H*? ' h\. Further conversation was prevented by the necessity of dressing for dinner. As we went through the hall we met Mr. Harry. Harry, I'm taking care of the doc TOPICS FOE FARMERS A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR OUR RURAL FRIENDS. Advantage of Wide Tires on Wagon* --Effect of Dctasscling Corn--To Ex­ terminate Vermin from Chickens-- Cheap Sheds for Emergencies. Wagon Tires. The wide tire law of fconnectlcut went into effect with the beginning of the month, and there is likely to be trouble over it, for wagon makers are going on building vehicles with as nar­ row tires as ever, and a good many people, seem not to have heard of this new law. There should, of course, be a certain degree of latitude in the matter of replacing wheels which, in the case of some of the poorer farmers, repre­ sents a considerable outlay, but it should at least be distinctly understood that anyone who buys a new wagon which does not conform to the statute does so at his own risk. It is an eminently wise and reasona­ ble law--the only wonder is that people have to be forced by legal measures In? to doing what Is obviously to their own Interest. No other,single element, ex­ cept ignorant roadmaking. adds so much to the heavy burden of support­ ing the highways as the use of narrow tires, which cut up the roads instead of ironing them smoothly down. Look at the beautiful glossy path which,the bicyclists make for themselves at the edge of the road before the puddles are fairly dried up, and then at the bottom­ less abysses plowed by the loaded wag­ ons and you have the whole tiling in a nutshell. The horses' hoofs, of course, chop up the road somewhat, but it is mere surface irritation compared with the deep and fatal wounds made by the narrow-tired wheels When once a rut is started. Build a reasonably good road and equip the vehicles with tires with some­ thing the same proportion to weight as the tires of a bicycle, with the tread of the rear wheels different from those of the front wheels, so as not to follow in the same path, and the surface will not be rutted at all. The wheels serve as rollers, and instead of cutting up the roads they make them better. Fine philosophy we have, to be sure. We tax ourselves poor to keep steam rollers at work oil our highways and then carefully select wagons which will undo the work of the roller as quickly as possible.--New England Farmer. to the conclusion he has ^but it doesn't follow by ami you Jum been muf*J§rl .any means." "Of course not, but I believe he was," •le persisted. "Has a doctor seen Mr. Ivincaid? "What does he say?" . T "Tbe doctor won't say anything def­ initely until be has m&dea proper exam­ ination. He thinks it is a total jfaraly- TTO\ and we aghast. The everyone's mind. He had died in just the same way that Mr. Clavell died the night before, only, being a younger man, the struggle had been more in­ tense. 1 at once picked up the cigar case, which was lying on the hearthrug, and in the presence of everyone turned out the contents. I noticed that one of the six cigars was about, an eighth of an inch shorter than the rest. I cut it open down the center. In the middle there was a little blue substance about the size of a pea. Then we opened the oth­ er tive. They were ordinary cigars. It was easy to see what had happened. In putting the cigars back into the case I must have rearranged them and the villain had incautiously smoked one which he had prepared for someone else. I took the lump of blue poison to the specialist whom 1 had consulted in the morning. After some weeks I had this letter from him: My Dear Mr . Somers : I l i avp ca re fu l ly examined the b lue subs tance whi i -h you submi t t ed to me some i i t r t e t ime as ;<J , and have a l so shown i t to the mos t eminen t chemis t o f my acqua in tance . We a re hound to confess we can te l l you no th i r* ; abou t i t . I t con ta ins d rugs which a re • in i to unknown to modern sc ience , and I can on ly th ink tha t Har ry Iv inca id ha . l p icked up some i i end i sh sk i l l f rom the Sou th Amer icans which i s ve ry happ i ly qu i t e u tv f iRiown in Europe . I t i s a mos t fo r tuna te th ing tha t ho fe l l i n to h i s own t rap , a s I fee l qu i t e su re tha t o the rwise i t would have been imposs ib le to b r ing h im to jus t i ce . Be l i eve me to l>e yours fa i th fu l ly , GIBBS DALTON. --Tid Bi t s . Sorry He Spoke. A tram car was proceeding down one of our busy thoroughfares the other Sunday and was already com fortably full, when it was hailed by a laboring man considerably the worst! for liquor, who presently staggered along the car, between two rows ol well-dressed people, regardless alike of polished shoes and tender feet. 'Murmurs and complaints arose on all sides, and demands were heard that tbe offender should be, summarily ejected. But amid the storm of abu<« one friendly voice was raised, as a benevolent clergyman rose from his seat, saying: "No, no; let the man sit down and be quiet." The discomfiture of the party turned to mirth when the inebriate one seized his benefactor by the hand, exclaim­ ing: Thank ye, sir, thank ye. I see you know what it is to be drunk!" Strange. * The latest story of German "thrift" is told at the expense of the proprietor ..of a circulating library, who charged for the wear; and tear suffered by his books at the hands of his patrons. One volume came back to his scrutiny. "See here," he exclaimed, "there is a hole on page nineteen of my beautiful book. And see here," he went on, turn­ ing over the leaf, "there is another on page twenty." Effect of Dctassel ing Corn. At various times it lias been thought that the removal of the tassel of the corn plant would result in a larger yield. This was based on the admitted fact that a large amount of energy is used in the development of the flower and the production of i>ollen. A num­ ber of tests were made to determine the facts in the case. Of course it was nec­ essary to allow--enough pollen to~be~ produced to fertilize the silks. In most of the tests, therefore, the tassels were removed from eveiiy alternate row- pulled out as soon as|they appeared -or three rows were detasseled and one left untouched. At the Cornell station detasseled corn produced a slightly greater yield during the first two years, but the third year there was practically no benefit. In Nebraska, detasseling resulted in de­ creased yields. Here the tassels were cut oft instead of being | i 1 led otit. as was the case in New York. In Mary­ land the yield was decreased by the practice. In Kansas the detasseled fields produced slightly the most corn. In Illinois tests were made during two years. In both cases it was evident that no greater yield was produced by rows that had been detasseled. tor. „ Would you mind Mr. Somers washing his hands in your room?" said Edward. ' "Not at all," drawled, his cousin..; "I hope you won't mind," said Ed ward to me. "Everything is, ot cpursg dn a beastly muddle, and," lie added when we were alone, "you will have a chance of looking around." I That was exactly what I wanted, sis of the brain, and he can't a^couut j went hastily around" the room, -but "tlMr It I# any way."'"' ' 4 ' and'are-looking for a man with ca'pital to put up a distiller}'. A comnipn mistake made in growing lettuce Is in having the plants too close together. To reach perfection the plants should be from teif to fifteen inches apart in the rows. • r . The "topping" of corn, that is, cut­ ting off the stalk above the ears for fodder, always decreases the crop so much that the value of the fodder se­ cured does not compensate for the loss. The Michigan experiment station has tried 400 varieties Pf potatoes and dis­ carded nearly.all of them as worthless. Among the promising sorts it names the Carmen, Colossal, Early Everett and Nott's. Victor. The annual crop of njushrooms in France Is valued at $2,000,000. The wholesale price to dealers is from $22 to $25 per 100 kilograms (220.48 pounds). In Paris alone there are sixty wholesale firms dealing exclusively id mushrooms. The transplanting of onions is strong­ ly recomended by the Tennessee ex­ periment station. It Is claimed that trasplanting results in larger onions and larger crops. The cost of growing onions in Tennessee is given as 50 cents a bushel. -- W. Flaiiek, of Jefferson, Oregon, says that to cure the gum disease In cherry trees he sprays with from four to six pounds of bluestone to fifty gal­ lons of water as soon as the-leaves fall, and again in the spring before the buds swell. Gum spots -appearing. On the cherry trees are cut out and the wound washed with the solution. Take Care of the Implemftiits, An ever-fruitful subject for discus­ sion in the agricultural press and at granges and institutes is the care of farm machinery. It is, a subject that may seem threadbare, but as long as harvesters and mowers, threshers and grain drills are allowed to. stand ex­ posed to the weather so long is discus­ sion and scolding on the subject profit­ able.! A prominent manufacturer of farm implements said not long since that the life of the average machine used on the farm could lie prolonged one-third or more by proper care. This means that of the vast amount of money spent in the United States for agricultural implements one-tliird is ab­ solutely wasted--thrown away--to say nothing of the time lost and annoyance occasioned by tinkering with machin­ ery worn out before its time. Here is one of the leaks that the wise farmer does not allow to go unchecked. The Pin's Digestion. The pig has a wonderful 'digestive capacity. Steers consume eleven and a half pounds of dry food to every 100 pounds of live weight, the sheep ten pounds, but the pig consumes twenty- seven pounds, and converts it into meat. Cattle make a gain of one pound for every eleven pounds of dry food con­ sumed, sheep a pound for every nine, and the pig a pound for every four and a half pounds. This gain is accounted for by his immense digestive capacity. Advertise Your Butter. If you believe your butter is good and should bring the highest price, print your name and address on it, and if your customers agree with you as to its quality you will soon have more orders for good butter than you can till. But if such does not happen, you may depend upon it that there is "room for improvement in the quality. Customers do not always complain, pre­ ferring to buy from other sources when disappointed. the for the the Vermin on Chickens. Warm weather is again, bringing on chicken vermin in abundance, and if you want to keep two unprofitable flocks in your coop, just do nothing to exterminate the nuisance. Buy some tefined salts, such as are used for medi­ cinal purposes, and dilute them in a large quantity of water. This freely spray about the chicken bouses and it will prove its value. The only objection to this material is its cost- a pint bot­ tle costs 75 cents, but in the end cer­ tainly is cheaper than the tOi'nieniors. Carbolic acid is also good. I remember an instance when through neglect a house became thoroughly infected with mites or lice. They remained after fumigating, to my astonishment; then kerosene emulsion, known to be good, also failed; carbolic acid was tried, and the insects departed bag arid baggage. Naturally carbolic acid is our remedy now after this test. Take a bocle of carbolic acid, a pail of water and a good spraying pump, and success is cer­ tain. A single trial will convince skep­ tical people of its effectiveness. These spraying campaigns sliou'd be practical­ ly pursued every few weeks, and if you are not rewarded, it will not be the fault of carbolic acid spraying.-Coun­ try Gentleman. One Point of Difference. Once, at Liberty Flail, (Jen. Toombs made* a statement that was here and there punctuated with mild profani­ ty. Turning to Alexander H. Stephens, he-concluded thus: "Don't you -agree with me, M.rJ Stephens?" The old com­ moner piped out shrilly: "All but the damn, General--all but the damn." /Cheap Sheds for Kmereenc'rea. There is often considerable loss on the farm from lack of suitable build­ ings for storing implements, farm prod­ ucts and for sheltering live stock. Where a deficiency exists in.the way of buildings numerous makeshifts are frequently resorted to. The roomy calf stable is filled with hay at harvest time, and the calves must take the weather until tills Is fed out in early winter. The tool room is used to store the po­ tato crop'temporarily as it comes from the field, while the implements are left out In the sun and rain for a few weeks, and then likely not housed promptly when thtf room Is vacated. The hogs which are intended Tor the "November market are fattened in an open lot. and when circumstances postpone their sale till the holiday season they are com­ pelled to lake all the storms that may come up to that date, because there is no convenient, shelter provided. To meet such emergencies as these and for other uses, a few cheap sheds and buildings should be provided. They may be of rough, cheap boards, which in many places will require no cash outlay except for sawing.--National Stockman. Name the babyHboys Mark. aud the | tbund to my disapointment that every- ^ baby girls Hannah. The VcRCtahle Garden. In Michigan the Parker Earle Is con­ sidered to be by far the most prolific strawberry. Several farmers near Ivennewlck, Yfasbinjjton, have planted peppermint, Farm Notes. Whole cloves scattered around edge of tbe carpet is excellent moths and bugs. Gather a paper of leaves from scented geranium and spread in guest chamber if a lasting sweetness is desired. There are about 5,000 bees in a pound. A gallon of honey weighs from eleven to twelve pounds, according to its density. Too much praise cannot be given chopped onions, both as medicine and a tonic for poultry. They invigorate, break up colds, aid digestion, and re­ lieve soft or swelled crop. Lemon juice and sugar will cure a cough and hoarseness. It will relieve feverishness and thirst. Lemonade as a drink in spring and summer will pre­ vent or cure "that tired feeling." IIof lemonade taken soon enough will brer^i up a cold. An authority states that a few grains of salt added to the coffee before pour­ ing on tile boiling water improves the flavor. 'Then set the pot on the back of the range and let it stand for fif­ teen minutes before serving. Boiling destroys the aroma. ! Lemons are as near being a panacea for all ills as anything can be. Chronic sick headaches and biliousness will disappear if their victim will drink aijt soon as rising, before dressing even, a glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon and no sugar. Dehorned cattle sell better than horned cattle for all purposes. They are preferred by feeders, shippers, slaughterers or exporters. They look better, feed better, sell better and kill better. The man who feeds horned cat­ tle is handicapped from 10 to 25 cents per 100 weight in most cases. Cement floors are likely to become popular for barn flooring, on account of their durability, cleanliness and the fa­ cilities they offer for saving the liquid manures. Moreover, they are to be valued for their rat-proof qualities. Any one about to build a. new barn would do well to consider this question in all Its phases. Of the root crops the carrot is pre­ ferred by all classes of stock, and it is also easily grown compared with the large yields possible. The cultivation of carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips and: potatoes serves to clear the land of weeds because close and careful work is required, the land being consequent­ ly bettor fitted for the growth of some crop difficult to keep clear of weeds the next year. In portions of Europe, it is said, gar­ deners not only take especial care of the toads of the garden, but frequent­ ly buy to keep the stock good. Under­ ground shelters are made for the toads by covering a small hole with a board or shingle. A writer believes that a garden well stocked wijli toads would be greatly protected from many of the Insects that are now so destructive to many kinds of vegetation. PRESIDENT FOR A DAY. Unique Distinction of a Man Now Alajost forgoti^, Grover Cleveland to-day is known as the twenty-third President of the Uni­ ted States. He was in his first term the twenty-first President, so it would seem that the chair of the chief execu­ tive has been occupied by only twenty- two men. This is what general history says. •» There have been twenty-three men in the office of President, and one of them wore the honor for only one day. His name Is completely forgotten now. - March 4,1849, came oil Sunday, a day that the constitution does not recognize as legal in the transaction of such offi­ cial business as administering the oath of office. On that day at noon, Presi; dent Polk's term of office ended, and President-elect Zaehary Taylor could not take Ills place, or at least did not think he could. The prospect of the country being without an official head for the twenty-four hours or there be­ ing doubt about who would be the head, created discussion in^ Congress aud in the press. ' When Gen, Taylor arrived in'1 Wash­ ington a few days before his inaugura­ tion, he was besought to take the oath of office on Sunday so as to prevent con­ fusion and what some persons believed to be danger. It was In the hot days of the "Free Soilers" and "Barn Storm- ers" and the storm of slavery was brew­ ing. During. Saturday and Saturday night there were a half dozen fights in Congress. The capitol was a camp of violence, but Gen. Taylor held out that he would not become President on Sun­ day. • r"". - ' ' David R. Atchison, of Missouri, was president pito tempore of the Senate, and it was held by Congress that the functions of President must devolve upon him from Sunday, noon till Mon­ day noon,- and for these twenty-four hours he has had the distinction of be­ ing President of the Il/aited States, hav­ ing all the functions and powers of that office. The oath of the office was not administered to him, for the same rea­ son that it was not Immediately ad­ ministered to Gen. Taylor: but lie, be­ ing virtually Vice President, it was not considered necessary. That President Atchison considered himself President there can be no doubt, for on Monday morning, when X ie Senate reassembled, he sent to the White House for the seal of the great office, and signed one or two official papers as President. These were some small acts in connection with the in­ auguration that had been neglected by President Polk. But thoro was much fun and good- natured badinage indulged in among Atchison's friends and himself during his short presidential term. He was a Democrat, while the President-elect was a Whig. A majority of the Senate was Democratic, and lite friends jok­ ingly proposed to him to usurp the office by calling the army to his back and preventing "Old Ironsides" from bc- ing sworn in.-- If -any surlr-thing--had been seriously contemplated Gen. Tay­ lor was too much the idol of the army to let it be successful. Han Gen. Taylor been an unpopular man and had Atchison had the charac­ ter and ambition of a dictator, with a friendly army, Congress and timid .Su' preme Court, President Atchison's name would probably not have been so goon forgotten and the constitutional day of inaugurating the President of the United States would have been changed so that it would never again fall on Sunday. According to an almanac maker oS the time, the next inauguration to fall on Sunday will be March 4, 1021. and just a century from the date of Presi­ dent Atchison's term of office there will be another Sunday March 4, and following this will be March 4, 1977. Grover Cleveland was last inaugurated on Saturday. The century gains a whole day from the leap year scraps left over. This day is added to the last year, 1900. IP this calculatin is correct the constitutional day of inauguration is not changed, the twentieth century may have three "one day only" Presi­ dents.--New York Press. No Ordinary Peddler. "Can I sell you a razor-strop?" in­ quired a sharp-nosed, keen-eyed man of middle age, who was making the round of one of the big office buildings the other afternoon. The youth at the desk nearest him looked up. "Warrant them to be made of leath­ er?" he inquired. "They wouldn't need to be made of leather to suit your case," retorted the peddler. "I am talking to men who can raise a beard. Does any gentleman present wish to buy a razor-strop?" ' "What do you sell 'em for?" said the young man at the desk in tbe corner. "Fifty cents." "I can get jftist as good a one for a quitter at tlie department stores," ob- '^hved the man on the three-legged stool. "It's wrtlJthv five ceh'ts to bring it to you, isn't" it?" 11 "Oh, yes; I'll give you thirty cents for one." "I wouldn't give more than twenty- nine cents," remarked the man in the arm-chair. "Will you take twenty-nine cents." "Gentlemen," said the peddler, "if it was a case of real charity, I'd give you a razor strop all round, but it ain't. You don't need 'em. What you need" is boolean good manners. I've sold more than 80,000 of these strops since I went into the business -pf making 'em, and I never sold a Slhgl^one for less than half a dollar. You couldn't buy razor-strops from me for forty-nine cents apiece by the cartload. 1 don't have to sell these things to make a living. I do it because it keeps me busy.» I'm worth more than all of you put together. I could buy and sell the whole lot of you. Good-afternoon, gentlemen." And after he was gone nobody in the office said anything for a long time.-- Chicago Tribune. At a Sale in. Frankfort four lettnrs !>y Beethoven brought $1,000" and four­ teen letters by Goethe brouglit $l,400. The last thing written byJMrs. Stowa was a grateful acknowledgment to the public of the fond remembrances sent lier on her S5th birthday. Baron Rothschild Includes ih his ' 'Personal Characteristics" the reply of the Marquis de liievre to Louis. XV: "I hear that you make jokes on every sub­ ject;, well, make one on me." "Your Majesty is not a subject." A complete list of the "fadazine" peri­ odicals of the Chap Book.order shows }ust twenty-five of them, scattered from one end of the country to the other. Chicago has only one--the best 6f the lot--while New Y'ork City suffers from seven. ' . ' The Bookseller and Newsman of New York tells a country bookseller that, "nothing can be gained in transferring a'small account from Chicago to New York; Chicago is fast becoming a lead­ ing recognized center foir book manu­ facturing." Elbert Hubbard contributes to the "Little Journeys" brochure series, an enthusiastic essay on Wait Whitman, which he concludes thus: "There are men who are to other men as the shad­ ow of a mighty rock in a weary land- such is Walt Whitman." Robert Louis Stevenson's personal es­ tate, in the United Kingdom alone, him just been taxed at a sworn valuation of about $57,000. The quite general im­ pression that lack of money forced Ste­ venson to, write at times when illness made the effort a torture was hardly waranted. One gets a glimpse of Ruskin'* thoughts on the subject of his'health when he' wrote this to an, oW friend: "No matter how foolish one may hav') been, one can't expect a moth with both wings burnt, off and dropped into, lipt talker to sing psalm^sJfitb what is left of its antennae." Rev. Mr. Kellogg, the autbor of "Spar- tacus," who is wltbq$f :ian ache or pain nt four-score, used to do such things as jump In the winter ocean on a wager. Last summer, contrary to expostula­ tion, he stood bareheaded in a pelting rainstorm while a Lewiston (Me.) Jour­ nal artist took his picture. Thomas Hugos, author of "Tom Brown at. Rugby," was once commis­ sioned to write the life of Peter Cooper. The book was written and the man­ uscript sent to Mr. Cooper's family, who, after reading it, locked it up. The manuscript was put in print, but the book was never issued to the public. Aubrey Beardsley, though his art has been much laughed at, is said to have made ah income of $20,000 a year since lie appeared on the horizon, two or three years ago. He was born at Brigh­ ton of poor parents, who intended that he should be a musician, and his first pictures were shown when he was 20 years old. It was thought last, year that book collecting had run tbe full length of madness when Poe's "Tamerlane" was sold l'or $1,045, Walton's "Angler" for $1,325, Herbert's "Temple" for $1,050, and Cromwell's "Souldier Bible" for $1,000. But these prices are said to be totally eclipsed by some of the rarities on the market this year. Readers of Crane's "Red Badge of Courage" at first thought the writer was a war veteran. Now those who have read his "Maggie'" have a strong suspicion that the young man must a Bowery rounder. But the admirers of bis "Bla«ck Riders" have proof posi­ tive that he Is acquainted with the in­ terior of a lunatic asylum. A Psalter printed on vellum in 1459, Tor the Benedictine monastery of'Sankt lakob, at Mainz, the third book from the Mainz press and the second printed book with a date, is,offered for sale in Mr. Quaritch's liturgical catalogue for i>20,250. When last sold, ih 1S84, this copy brought $24,750.' No other copy has appeared in the market for almost a hundred years. It is far rarer than the Mazarin Bible, the first- book ever printed. ,) Jnvention of Circular Saws. The circular saw has come into such general use that, it is accepted as one jf the iudispfnsable mechanical instru­ ments and few ever give any thought to the inventor. In tracing the history of saws back to the origin, C. A. Dun­ ham finds that the circular saw was invented in America about the year 1770 by a combmaker of the name of Hartshorn. . . He found the old-fashioned method of •using a common handsaw to saw out the horn between the teeth of the comb rather slow. He therefore took a cop­ per penny, known locally as a "Bung- town copper," filed it down somewhat thinner, drilled a hole through its cen­ ter, squared the hole and,on the teeth in its outer edge. He then placed it upon a mandrel and put it in his lathe. On that he sawed out his ow The new saw worked so well that he ^ut up his handsaw and converted that also into circular saws for-? mnkihg combs. tie died jft'.^lajas- fleld, Conn., "where the wooden nut­ megs come from." He was also the inventor of the screw and Ilg. auger. He never took out any patent^^laim- ing that if hp ha*\ done anythffig that was of benefit his fellow they were welcome to it.--Inventor; ""Does the bicycle hurt your busi­ ness?" "Yes. The junior partner and the confidential buyer are both in the hospital." And the man of affairs sighed heavily.--Detroit Tribune. Some people are so anxious to get to the front that they make-themselves ridiculous, and keep sliding to the rear. Every woman, when she leaves home for a few days; is afraid -that burglars wilL break in and steal her preserves. Very Consoling. The festivities at the coining of age of the present Lord Hopetouu included a service at the parish church, which was filled with members of the great Hope family and also with mem^brs of tbe Hope clan. The feelings o^fte con­ gregation thus composed can be im­ agined when the minister began his discourse with the words: "My breth­ ren, the world is full of blasted hopes;* Flower Names, : -- The spelling of the popular names of our wild flowers sometimes obscures their etymoloipy. Thus "foxglove" teally a mistake for "Folks"--the fairy "folks-glove"--and has no connection with the fox, far less with "fuchs" or "fuchias." A woman's definition ojf a good doctor ia one who has a tender voice and sym-. pathetic eyes.