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The range-rider of the Judith Gap was playing freeze-out in the stage ranch saloon. There were four play­ ers, the stakes were the drinks, and It cost $1 a round for whisky every few minutes, for "red liker" was two bits a drink in the days before the railroads In Montana. That made no difference to the range-rider, however. He might lose, his monthly stipend of $50 in one t night, but he could fun "some of a bill," for he had an all winter's job ahead of him, and the profit on the goods was so many hundred per cent, that the host could afford to take the chances. And then, you know, if he got real hard up he could get a few horses to break, and $5 was easily earned by riding, some- / thing that no one else would. It was a little risky, to be sure; but then how else could cow-punchers die if not roll- - J i/\ V»r» ortm/i ei! on or trampled to death by some ter­ rified horse. So the game went on. The wkid howled around the log building, and the fine snow sifted through some of the cracks where mud daubing had fallen out. The box stove roared and got red in the cheeks in an unsuccessful attempt to keep a pail of Water that stood in a far Corner from freezing. Notwithstanding its efforts, the crinkle of the ice was heard as the cold outside increased, and penetrating the cracks fought back the efforts of the stove. It was about 10 o'clock in the morn­ ing, but the sun was only up an hour or so, and the ice-laden storm from the north was making a very successful at­ tempt to conceal the fact. A "blue fog" was rolling through the gap, and the mercury had all dropped into the bulb, tired of trying to keep track of the ec­ centricities of a climate borrowed for the occasion from the snowy wastes of British America. The game went on at the table in a quiet kind of way. Every time the range-rider moved his foot the spur chains jingled on the floor. The stage- stock tender on the other side of the ta­ ble was playing his best, for he knew he had reached the limit of his credit at the bar, but the cards were against him. Two sheep-lierders completed the quartette, -"and. the sneaky-looking, blear-eyed stock-tender sized them up with a glance that boded ill if they per­ chance fell asleep before the till behind the bar had received their rolls, earned by standing out on the hills in the storms of the six or seven months past. Two wet colley dogs lay by the stove with smoking pelts, dreaming of the trail, Tor eVery once in a while one of them would give a curious "yip-yip" that suggested efforts to get a slow band of sheep into the corral. The bar­ tender stood with his elbow's on the counter, peering out; of the window and waiting for the inevitable moment, that occurred at more or less regular intervals, when some, one of the play­ ers would •"go9 broke," requiring a round of drinks, a dollar added to the steadily increasing store in the till, and a redivision of the chips. After doing the honors on one of these occasions, he opened the door, ad­ mitting a cold blast of air and snow that made the card players swear. And, peering out, he said: "Time fur the stage. I guess the Kid * must ha' missed the trail." "Well, what if he has?" growled the stock tender, to whom the arrival of the stage meant an hour of cold and disagreeable work. "It's no use freez­ ing us to death lookin' for him; he's no chicken.' ' Thesheep-herder&laughed, the ranger rider yawned,. when a rattling of wheels and harness and a cheerful "hullo" outside caused the game to be forgotten, and all made a rush to the door. They were greeted by two or three mail sacks thrown with consider­ able force; and as the stocktender led away the horses the driver, a great bundle of blankets, shawls and buffalo robe, rolled off his seat and followed the mail sacks, as they were dragged through Ihe saloon by the barkeeper, into the store beyond After the driver had loosened up his outer wraps and melted the frost fro.m his eyelashes, he looked' around-^and nodded to those present. When his eye; lit on the range-rider, he said: . .• •"Hullo, Bill; I saw Campbell at the river, and he sent a note to you. Here it is," and he handed a piece of paper to the rider. Bill looked at it a moment, and then whispered softly to himself, , glancing out of the window at the scurrying snow meanwhile. "He. wants you to go down the south side of the Gap and see if them Basin cattle that has drifted through are bad­ ly mixed up with the Musselshell outfit, so he told me," said the driver. "He said fur you to go down this morning, stop over night at the O. H. home ranch on Careless Creek, and send word by me when I come back to-morrow; 'and if the cattle ain't scattered yit he'll send over a wagon outfit and try and work 'em back into the Basin. "Yes," said Bill slowly, "that is what he says here; but, great God! does he : expect me to go when this fog is a-blow- ing?" "I suppose so," said the driver. "He said if you didn't go now it would be no use later, fur the cattle would be Scattered sure, and the Basin round-up would lose a heap." The cow-puncher made no reply, but stepping up to the bar he said: "Give me a drink. Jack: it'll take considerable of your stuff to keep a man from freez- in' to death to-day!" Taking a liberal dose of the liquor referred to he pulled up the belt of .his leather "chaps," ad­ justed his six-shooter, and taking a blanket-lined canvas overcoat froitfSS nail on the wall, pulled it on. He then tied a silk handkerchief over his ears and pulled his sombrero well down over ^ liis eyes. "So-long," he said as he went out the door. "I'll be back to-morrow idght and play you another stack of freeze-out," and the clank of his spur- chains was deadened in the snow as "lie Went out to the' stable.- "This is tough bw\ness, Mike," he said as he tightened up the saddle cinches on his sorrel |horse, that was standing in the barn. "Some day you an' I'll retire from cdw-punchin' an'* be honest grangers, an' then no bloody l>oss can order-us out when we don't want to go; an' Instead of some old greasy buck to cook our mealS; we'll have a nice little woman"--here the adept hiand stopped in its adjustment of the straps;: and a reverie followed that caused the. expectant horse to glance around to see, what new devil­ ment his master was up to--for had he uot often put stones under the saddle blanket and othefwflse outraged the equine feelings to make him buck when he was to be loaned to some ambitious tenderfoot? But thes ^p^ simply saw his master leaning his head on a hand that rested on the saddlehorn, and he moved impatiently "No," said the rider slowly, "that Will not be, Mike; fur theyain't fur such as we;" and giving an extra . pull oh the front cinch that caused Mike to kick and snort, the rider put the bridle on the horse and led him put of the low log stable. The storm still raged furi­ ously, and it was bitter cold. With a glance at the sky and a muttered oath he placed his hand on the horn, climbed into the saddle with an easy, practiced swing, and started toward the south, following in the snow the fast disap­ pearing trail of the stage that had pre­ ceded him but a few minutes. He rode in this direction for some time. The storm, which was at their backs, did not seem much to these two, hardened to the parching wind of sum­ mer and the freezing blast of winter in that open country. The puncher rolled by bunch of sage, to slip the long bri­ dle line over his arm and curl up on the ground Within "the friendly shelter ahd sleep. Why not now? The shelter was better for the drifted snow, and he was so sleepy. A few moments' rest and he would be able to resume hjs soli­ tary watch and hold the herd until day. He slid from his horse and followed out the suggestion. It was cozy and com­ fortable. Mike s^ung his hindquarters toward the north, clamped his tail be­ tween his legs, humped his back and philosophically nodded off to sleep. The puncher slept also. At first dreams crowded thick and fast, then they faded. The storm howl­ ed with increasing vigor. The cattle one by one drifted off into the night, unable to withstand the storm. Mike" shifted his weight from one foot to the other and slept on, shivering beneath his saddle blanket, his hindquarters white with snow and his breath cover­ ing his nostrils and breast with a •white frost. • * •; . • • • * • , The sun rose next morning on a scene of crystal splendor dazzling to the eye, and when the two men who lived at O. H. home ranch rode out that morning they were nearly blinded by the glare. ; "We'll look up the north fence'first," said the foreman to the other. "The cattle may have broken it down yester­ day in the storm." . ' As they rode along the fence, but a few rods froni the cabins and corrals they saw on the other side an animal motionless on the prairie. When they approached they saw that it wa9 a sad­ dled horse, covered with snow and Ice. Putting spurs to their mounts they rode rapidly in that direction. The shivering brute on the other side of the fence heard them coming, pricked up his ears, whinnied and pawed the ground, but did not move away; his bri­ dle rein was around an arm that could not relax its grip. For Bill Anderson, with a smile of peace upon his face, had slept through his last game of freeze-out, and the bar to which he was now called, to make final settlement, w a s t h e B a r o f J u d g m e n t . -- - - Do Men Outlive Women? "According to our experience," says an actuary connected with one of the 55 wmm ftp CULTURE OF GRASS. ORCHARD GRASS TH& BESf FOR PARKS AN 1} ORCHARDS It Requires a Deep, Finely Pulverized Soil--For a Pasture, Well Drained, .Moist Land Is Necessary--Notice­ able Art in Agriculture, tirass. For parks and orchards, and upon .dry soils, orchard grass is one of our most profitable grasses, says the Balti­ more American. The soil must be made fertile, deep and mellow. The roots run down a long distance into the ground. It therefore requires a deep, finely pulverized soil. The seed is very light, feeling like chaff, and weighing but fifteen pounds to the bushel. It usually sells for $1.75 to $1.80 per bush­ el. Two bushels of fresh seed should be sown to the acre, and one peck of clover seed. These seeds should be sown over the soiling rye ground early In March, so as to get fully rooted be­ fore hot weather. The rye .will be fit to cut by the middle of April, and by the 10th of May, being all cut off, the ground should be heavily rolled; and dressed with twenty bushels of lime to the acre. By the middle of July a half crop of excellent.grass can be cut", and by the middle of September an­ other crop. Manure the ground in the fall, and If Jit is wanted for hay, do,not pasture the ground. This grass de­ lights in a deep, rich, clay loam; Upon poor, thin, sahfly or gravelly soils, it would prove a failure. The seeding should be done early in the season, and thirty pounds, or two bushels, of seed should be sown to the acre. For a pasture grass it is very valuable, as, when once set, it will continue to spring up and grow after every graz­ ing. For pasture, sow it on deep, well- drained, moist land. The ground must be heavily dressed with rich, finely rot­ ted manure. Any one carefully follow­ ing these directions will find that it is a most valuable grass, either for feed­ ing at the barn or for pasture. On poorly prepared, thin soils, using but little seed, it will not give satisfaction. With slipshod methods the grass would prove a failure, and should not be sown. i I wsm̂ M ^41 BILL ASDEgSON SLEPT THROUGH HIS LAST GAME OF FKEEZE-OUT. He noticed the cold was sharp bh |is fingers when he un­ gloved, and was with considerable difficulty .that he, kept his eyes free from frost'; but that would make a story to tell on the hot and dusty drive next summer. He passed a few stray cattle, and with practiced eye read the brands as coming from the round-up he represented. Leaving the stage road to the right, outlined by the two high, ridges of hard packed snow crunched by the wheefe of |$e daily stages, he bore down toward the Careless Creek drainage. Tb&j^ilH looked all the same in the driving storm* but the wind was steady and gave him a clew to direc­ tion. Suddenly there loomed up in front of him what to the uninitiated eye re­ sembled ihouses, with outlines dimmed by the driving storm, but the rider knew they were cattle. He changed his coulse a,d0 rpde up closer to read the brands. "They were covered with frost, but he, was satisfied that these were the cattle he was after; and what was more, that there were several hun­ dred of them in this one bunch. The best ser$&$:ik6 could" render his em­ ployers ft as? to bunch this outfit, turn them toward the Gap, and take them back the next day .before they scat­ tered. '• The puncher's mind was strangely dimmed. His thoughts would revert to days when, on the old Missouri farm in the States, he Jay a.t noon in the shade of the haystack and ate the bountiful lunch provided by mother and sisters. He ^Qllld hear the wrater pouring Over the old mill-dam down below the orchard--and then he was in the orchard. But this would never do. He was now on th'fe Montana prairie, one of the best cow hands in the Basin, and here was a bunch of cattle to be taken care of; he and Mike were all that stood between their employers and the loss of several thousand dol­ lars. The puncher rolled the big row­ els of his spurs into Mike's sides, the large Insurance companies, "women seem to be shorter lived than men. A set of tables made up from statistics extending over a quarter of a century gives the following results: "From birth to 10 years of age the male death-rate is in excess of the fe­ male. From 10 years to forty the fe­ male death-rate is in excess of the male, while from 40 to 50 years of age the rate is about the same in both sexes. "Finally, from 50 to 60 there is a greater percentage of deaths among males than among females, while after the 70th year the reverse Is the case, though the proportion of females living •at that age is much less A few women have lived to be over a hundred years old, but where twenty women die before 50 and one woman reaches the age of 100 or more, twenty men live to be 80. "Most insurance companies, as a rule, regard men as better risks than wom­ en. Men generally insure, at an older age, but their policies run longer. The Children's Sleep. A physiciaa in an address before a woman's club on the care of children's health, recently said that it is criminal to attempt to save a little money by not giving every child In the family a bed to himself. The physician also emphasized the need of early sleep/ "It Is so easy," he said, "to let a ner^j vous child lose sleep in the early even­ ing, when he or she should he hard at it. When a physician prescribes some important remedy that must be taken and which is not pleasant, a mother feels that it is time well expended to coax and wheedle, and even bribe the little one to swallow it. Spend just as much thought and effort in getting your child to sleep every night, if lie does not fall off his chair at the evening meal from d row sin esse, as the normal .child should. Give up concerts, thea- Earn Ventilation. If the barn is not ventilated enough to give the cows a sufficiency of oxy­ gen, then all the carbon is not burned up and dead matter--soil--is left in the system, and this fits it to be a fertile place for the tuberculous germs to make a lodgment, and the cows will have tuberculosis just in the order they are predisposed to the disease from weak lungs or any other cause. I have been in quite a number of stables where the commissioners had applied the test--In one they had taken four- fifths of the cows where there was no chance for air to get in, yet the own­ ers told me that the officers never said a word to them about ventilation. The horse and ox seldom have tuberculosis, as they have a chance to get outdoors and fill their lungs with fresh air and get rid of the dead carbon which has been accumulating in tne system. I will stake my reputation that many herds tested last year will show the same, or nearly the same, ratio of sus­ pected cases this year, if again subject­ ed to the tuberculin test. Ventilation should he looked after, and when that is done we shall seldom hear much about tuberculosis. .Farmers should look well after ventilation and thus avoid disease. Open your ventilators wide, particularly warm nights. "Now is the time cattle take the disease- Agriculturist. which certain products are prepared for the open market. The improvement In the condition of certain dairy products and fruit on the market In the last few years is truly wonderful. The reason,, of coarsel is that people always buy that article which is put Up in: the most tasty and attractive style, and are will­ ing to pay a little more for it. With this change comes a more wholesome effect upon the article itself, and dis­ ease is much less disseminated through, food at the present time than formerly. Greater precautions are taken now than ever before in preventing the spread of contagious diseases in this manner, and, With the increase in the size of the cities and the greater liabil­ ity to Ill-health, these precautions can­ not be observed too carefully. Thus, the agrieulutrist, to be successful, must keep right up to date in his readings and methods.--Wisconsin Farmer. To Prevent Milk Fever, After having a twenty-cow dairy for the past twenty years, and having them come fresh at all times in the year, a writer in the Country Gentle­ man says he has never had a case of milk fever in summer, and only two in cold weather, and the reason is simply "exercise.": He is a strong advocate of exercise for a dairy cow, although he would uot give it in the same manner that he would do a trotting horse. While a cow may live and keep fat by being tied by the neck, from fall till spring, as a pig will being confined in a pen, yet this is not the proper thing to do.--Country Gentleman. Grindinsr Corn on the Cob. The cob possesses some nutrition, though when fed whole it is hard to digest. But if ground fine with the corn on It the mixture makes a feed on which cattle will thrive better than on corn meal not thus distended in bulk. It is w-ell known to s^ock feeders that the chief difficulty with them is "get­ ting off their feed" if even a slight ex­ cess of food is given. In carefully con­ ducted experiments it was found that more corn could be eaten without in­ jury when ground with the cob than if <- ratgly. So Poultry Notes. r"> Cleanliness is the best disinfectant. Exercise is good medicine and cheap. If you desire strong eggs for early incubation you should mate up yout­ hens at once. In saving the droppings, mix them with dry earth before they, have a chance to freeze. Clover, by displacing grain, supplies the hens with substances which are lacking in grain, and also bulky food for heating. & Don't forget to keep the grit-box well filled. This is especially important when the ground Is frozen hard, or cov­ ered with snow. Boiling of brine, as strong as it can be made, is an effective remedy for white mites. Apply to the roosts and dropping boards with a whitewash brush. Be always on the watch against draughts in the roosting house. A cold at this time of the year is very apt to run into roup aud ruin your flock. He who would keep poultry success­ fully in this northern country, must know that the house must be warm and free from draughts; it is the warmth which brings the eggs. - Be sure that the water fountains are not allowed to freeze up. The best thing to do is to turn out the water as soon as all the fowls have had a good drink. They should be watered at least twice a day, if you wish a full egg'basket. A $1,000 BILL MISSING. It' Was Lost for a Whole Day and the Bank Was Ransacked. There was an abundance of hand­ shaking and a superabundance/^ glad snjiles la the .Butchers and^)rovers' Ba^Hc^Tinifsday morning over the re­ covery'of a $1,000 bill which mysteri­ ously disappeared the afternoon before. When the bank officers came to strike their balancc at the closing hour they found that for some reason or " other the two sides of their accounts would not agree by just $1,000. They then polished up their spectacles carefully, arranged their ink'and pens and went over the long columns of figures for a second'time. When the operation was completed the balance was no nearer correct than it was the first time. The third journey over the figures consumed about twice as much time as had both the others, but It was n<) more successful than they had been. , When the third trip had been com­ pleted it was time for dinner, but none of the tank officers or clerks felt at all hungry, and then, besides, they all had other things to do. ' They spent the dinner hour in com­ paring notes and trying to think up all the transactions made in the course of the day's business. In spite of the fact that, on account of the cold they Were inclined to be a little shivery, they were fairly successful so far as mem­ ory transactions went. But for all their memory feats they could not determine where the missing money had gone. From the fact that just an even $1,- 000 was missing, the officers decided that some mistake had been made in the handling of a $1,000 bill. A search was made of all the books to see whether the bill might possibly have fallen between two pages. Then the floor was swept, and after this all the men shook out their coats and inspect­ ed the ceiling. John P. Dees, the receiving teller, had gone home several hours before the closing time, so he could not add his knowledge to the consultation, but was decided at last that a certain customer must have handed In a slip for $1,000 more than the cash he depos­ ited. The assistant teller said that he would go to see this customer, and all the men were getting ready to go home at 9 o'clock when the janitor, who had been poking around underneath' the desks, aiding his search with the light from a match, made a wild grab at something he saw sticking out from be­ hind a pile of books, and arose with the missing bill in his hand. V A gust of wind had evidently lifted the much hunted piece of paper from its place on one of the desks and car­ ried it to tli^place where it was found. This was the cause of the handshakes and smiles so much in evidence around the bank.--New York Evening Suu. H'KINLEY ON TARIFF. HE TERSELY TELLS THE TION'S TROUBLES. NA- Says More Revenue Is the Paramount Necessity--i*n-posts a* Seaports the Favored Way of Raisiue It--Urges Congress to Act. AMERICAN JOCKEYS. to They Forced Kncrlish Horseme Adopt Their System. When American jockeys first invaded England, both they and their methods were the laughing stock of the old world. The idea of the saddle being placed right on the horse's withers, with the stirrups so short that t1 e jockey's knees were almost up to hi chin, seemed to the Englishmen such a departure from the general conception of the way a jockey should ride that it was simply ridiculous. Another system which the majority of Englishmen have not even yet got used to is the American idea of getting away first and winning the races in the first stages, rather than to gallop for three-quarters of the dis­ tance and sprint the balance. Two hundred yea re of sticking to old methods lias not made it easy for the Englishmen to accept new ideas, but the success made by Jockey Reiff abroad on Duke & Wishard's horses lias forced even the most egotistical of the Englishmen to admit that there 's something good in the new styles and methods, despite the fact that they are radical departures from old and P» a d Li* L' r\ ^accepted ideas. This is made manifest Uemorest Publishing Oo„ i '9when such a decidedly and radically English sporting paper as the London the enclosed $2.00 please 9endZ)<gp01.^smau polishes the following: \ary (a magazine ot fun), and tunny Picfy ,<The repeated success of Mr. Wish- card's stable formed quite a feature of |the Newmarket first meeting, and NAME. those who have been most set against """Reiff's style of riding--and I freely ad- Imit to having been one of. them--were PoST-oFFicEeompelled to admit that there was fsomething in his methods. I think few of us would ever become reconciled to seeing the saddle placed on a horse's withers, and it does not seem possible --^-Unt a jockey in that position and rid­ ing so short tha t his knees are nearly in )ATE.. ters, parties, anything till you have game cow-pony sprang forward, and I secure^ ̂ or the nervous, twitching boy they .went around and around the cat­ tle until they had them bunched. It was hard work to get them strung out against the storm; they would do noth­ ing but mill, for the frosty air cut like needles in their faces when they turn­ ed in the direction the solitary puncher was trying to make them go. But he found himself strangely lacking that life and energy winch had> won him his wide reputation on the ranges. Sleep hung heavy on his eyes. He rolled in the saddle, and when Mike made one of his famous quick turns his rider clung to the horns of the saddle to keep from falling off. Suddenly it seemed to the puncher that it -was get­ ting dark; the herd was but a dim out­ line; the' wind tore at the bunches of sage and grease wood, piling up the snow oij<»ne side and cutting out caves on the d&er. The rider was warm and cold at intervals. His mind wandered to the laj&t fall drive, when, on the night herd he1 wa% wont to slip from his horse and seek the friendly cover of a buffalo wallow, or a badger hill, topped or girl the benign habit of sleep. Coax him to his room, give him a quick sponge bath, tuck him in his single bed, with a light wool blanket over him be­ sides the sheet, and in a lowered light sit by him and talk to him till he is quieted. Tell him gentle, soothing stories, nothing to excite 'his imagina­ tion, and when he is finally asieep, have the room cool, dark and quiet Don't let him try to sleep in a room which has been a sitting room all the evening, without having it thoroughly refilled with fresh outdoor air, which may be accomplished by throwing win­ dows wide open for fifteen minutes." A Mutual Friend. Bobby.--Popper, what is a mutual friend? Mr. Ferry--He Is generally one who makes it his business to see that you don't miss hearing the mean things your friends say about you.--Clneiu natl Enquirer. - , - Type are slightly less than 1 Inch In length. . . . - w c t o i n e * j petienced you can add new owes. It pays to set out shade trees around the orchard to protect the trees from storms; they also assist greatly in beautifying the premises. It is poor policy to depend on a single crop, failure is apt to come, and it is most disastrous to the man who has placed all his hopes on one crop. Don't imagine that to hare a profit­ able orchard all you have to do is to buy trees, plant them and afterwards allow them to,take their own chances. There are two dangerous extremes in the selection of varieties for the or­ chard. The one Is the liability of se­ lecting too few, and the other too many! You can strike the medium if you observe carefully the success of other people. 'Every horticulturist ought by this tlihe to know all about the copper solu­ tion for fungus diseases. The usual mixture Is six pounds of copper sul­ phate and four pounds of lime to twen­ ty-two gallons of water. Sprayers are so numerous that it is difficult to name any one that is better than another. Art in Agriculture. Art in agriculture is coming to be more and more noticeable every day. With the advent of new methods, Im­ proved Implements and a wider know! edge of the field, the agriculturist is ris­ ing higher and higher in the field of useful <jr ornamental art as the years go by. We may say that sharp compe­ tition Is no small factor in tills progres­ sive movement, says the American Stu­ dent. Take, for example, the manner i|i his mouth can have mUch control over his mount. On the other hand, tteiff very speed ily demonstrated that no one could teach him anything in the art of get ting away, and one or two of our lead ing professionals would do well to take a leaf out of his book and try to win an occasional race in the early part of it, instead of depending entirely up on that 'one *#un', at the finish, which so frequently just fails in its object and lands them In second or third place." It is well within the possibilities that next season may see some of the chief English stables departing from f d tra ditlons and embracing the advanced ideas transplanted from America.' Two Sets of Girls. There is in one of our largest cities an immense shop Owned by a man emi­ nent in good works, as well as in busi­ ness and in politics. Its employes fall naturally into little clubs or coteries, the men and women of similar tastes often going to spend their summer vo­ cations together. Last August four girls froni this store went to a sea-coast village in New En­ gland. Their pale faces and eager de­ light in the sea and fields touched the hearts of the old fishermen and their wives, who speedily made friends with them' and welcomed them to their little houses. • " The girls were uneducated, but they were simple, sincere and modest as the finest gentlewomen. They fished, rowed and walked, striving to under­ stand the new world around them When their holiday was over they went back to town, rosy and strong, their brains full of new ideas, and the richer for life by a few faithful friends. Four other girls in their turn went to the same town. They had spent their savings in plumed hats and cheap silks. A coarse perfume surrounded them; they wore gilt bangles and rhinestono necklaces. Each had her hired "bike' on which she raced incessantly up and down in front of the hotel, "scorching' and even "jockeying," as on a horse, bouncing up and down on her seat, and shouting to her companions. When the daily railroad train came in they were always at the station, bareheaded, joking with the conductors or brakemen. The villagers watched tliem askance; "but they were not crim­ inal girls. Their only ambition was to catch a beau." The idte men of the village soon gathered around them, and they went back to town more vulgar and nearer ruin than when they came to it. * This Is a literally true incident. It shows that the country will give back to you the ci'op Which yoU plant in It. The pure air and beauty of nature are as stimulating to the growth of -weeds 3S of flowers. If you choose weeds they can be gathered at any wA^Side.-- Youth's Companion. Ttoe Buffalo Nearly Exterminated. Geu. A. Yv\ Greeley, of the War De­ partment, in a paper read recently, de­ plored the wholesale slaughter of the buffaloes which has been going on for 00 years and which has well-nigh er- Here are a Ridicule Conquers Hypnotism. ^.JLeo Vint, a hypnotist, in London, re cently attempted to keep a man in mesmeric trance from Monday till the following Saturday. The subject was placed In a casket and the public in­ vited to pay to see him. A commercial traveler and a dozen companions, arm­ ed with cards and whisky, visited the trance room with the object of watch­ ing the subject during Thursday night to detect any possible fraud. The sub­ ject bq.d a fit after an hour of the watch­ ing and shortly afterward jumped out of the casket, saying he could not stand the "drummers' " jokes. He showed fight, too, and resumed his "trance" at sight of a policeman. "Prof." Vint then arrived and was arrested and later bound over to keep the peace, in a po­ lice court, on complaint of one of the watchers, Who., claimed the hypnotist had threatened him' with a pIstoL His First Message. The message sent to Congress by dent McKinley Monday was as follow^ To the Congress-of the United States; " Regretting the necessity which has re­ quired hie to call you together, I feel that your assembling in extraordinary session is indispensable because of the condition in which we find the revenues of the Government. It is conceded that its cur­ rent expenditures are greater than its receipts, and that such a condition has existed for now more than three years. With unlimited means at our command we are presenting the remarkable specta­ cle of increasing our public debt by bor­ rowing money to meet the ordinary out­ lays incident upon even an economical and prudent administration of this Gov­ ernment. An examination of the subject discloses this fact in every detail and leads inevitably to the conclusion that the con­ dition of the revenue which allows it is • unjustifiable and should be corrected. We find by the report of,the Secretary of the Treasury that the revenues for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, from all . sources were $425,868,260.22, and the ex­ penditures for all purposes were $415,- 806.56, leaving an excess of receipts over expenditures of $9,914,453.06. Dur­ ing that fiscal year $40,570,467,98 was paid t upon the public debt, which has been re-' duced since March 1, 1889, $259,076,890, and the annual interest charge decreased 511,684,576.60. The receipts of the Gov­ ernment from all sources during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1893, amounted to $461,716,561.94, and its expenditures to $459,374,887.65, showing an excess of receipts over expenditures of $2,341,- 674.29. Since that time the receipts of no fiscal year, and, with but few exceptions, of no month of any fiscal year, have exceeded the expenditures. The receipts of the Government from all sources during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894, were $372,892,498.29, and its expenditures $442,605,758.87, leaving a deficit, the first since the resumption of specie payments, of $69,803,260.58. Notwithstanding there was a decrease of $16,769,128.78 in the or­ dinary expenses of the Government as compared with the previous fiscal year, its income was still not sufficient to pro­ vide for its daily necessities, and the gold reserve in the treasury for the redemption of greenbacks was drawn upon to meet them. But -this did not suffice, and the Government then resorted to loans to re­ plenish the reserve. In February, 1894, $50,000,000 in bonds was issued, and in November following a second issue of $50,000,000 was deemed necessary. The sum of $117,171,795 was realized by the sale of these bonds, but the reserve wras steadily decreased until on Feb. 8, 1895, a third sale of $62,315,400 in bonds for $65,116,254 was announced to Congress. " * t The receipts of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1895, were $390,373,203.30, and the expenditures x $433,178,426.48, showing a deficit of $42,- 805,223.18. A further loan of $100,000,- 000 was negotiated by the Government in February, 1896, the sale netting $111,- 166,246, and swelling the aggregate of bonds^issued wjithin three years to $262,- 315,400. For the fiscal year ending June 39, 1896, the revenues of the Govern- - ment from all sources amounted to $409,- 475,408.78, while its expenditures were < $434,678,654.48, or an excess of expendi­ tures over receipts of $25,203,245.70. In other words, the total receipts for the three fiscal years ending June 30, 1896, were insufficient by $137,811,729.46 to meet the total expenditures. Nor has this condition since improved. For the first half of the present fiscal year the receipts of the Government, exclusive of postal revenues, were $157,507,603.76, and its expenditures, exclusive of postal service, $195,410,000.22, or an ex­ cess of expenditures over receipts of $37,- 902,396.46. In January of this year the receipts, exclusive of postal revenues, were $24,316,994.05, and the expendi­ tures, exclusive of postal service, $30,- 269,389.29, a deficit of $5,952,395.24 for the month. In February of this year the receipts exclusive of postal revenues were $24,400,997.38 and expenditures, exclu­ sive of postal service, $28^796,056.68, a deficit of $4,395,059.2S; or a total deficit of $186,061,580.44 for the three years and eight months ending March 1, 1897. Not only are we without a surplus in the treasury but with an increase in the public debt. There has been a corresponding increase in the annual interest charge from $22,893,883.20 in 1892, the lowest of any year since 1862, to $34,387,297.60 in.. 1896, or an increase of $11,493,414.40. It may be urged that even if the rev­ enues of the Government had been suffi­ cient to meet all its ordinary expenses dur­ ing the last three years the gold reserve would still have been insufficient to meet the demands upon it, and that bonds would necessarily have been issued for its repletion. Be this as it may, it is clear­ ly manifest, without denying or affirming the correctness of such a conclusion, that the debt would have been decreased in at least the amount of the deficiency, and business confidence immeasurably strengthened throughout the country. Congress should promptly correct the existing condition. Ample revenues must be supplied not only for the ordinary ex­ penses of the Government but for the prompt payment of liberal pensions and the liquidation of the principal and inter­ est of the public debt. ;*• ; In raising revenue duties should be so [levied upon foreign products as to pre­ serve the home market so far as possible ito our own producers, to revive and in­ crease manufactures, to relieve and en­ tourage agriculture, to increase our do- lestic and foreiyj levelop mining and commerce, to aid and "d building, and to ren- ler to lab'or in every field of useful occu- ^"'oation the liberal wages and adequate re- 2 wards to which skill and industry are justly entitled. ,, , . ... The necessity of the passage of a tariff Log Cabin Mince Meat, none «e§aw which shall provide ample revenue 2 gal. kits Honey Drips Syrup, <ieed not be further urged. The impera- 1 IK nan Rnkino- Powder. 10c. ive demand of the hour is the prompt 1 lb can IsaKing rowuei, xuc. ;nactmcnt of such a meaauret and to this g,object I earnestly recommend that Con- ' ;ress shall make every endeavor. Before 3bther business is trapsacted let us first provide sufficient revenue to faithfully - administer the government without the Paper, extracting of further debtor the contin- 13 lbs best Rolled Oats fpr 25c. 3 lb can choice Peaches 10c. 3 lb can choice Tomatoes 8c. Plenty of Spring for road mending was awarded to the lowest bid, which was signed "Mac- Pherson." When the bidder appeared to sign the contract he was yellow and had a pigtail. "But," said the official who met him, "your name cannot be MacPherson." "All lightee," answered the China­ man, "nobody catchee contlact In Ota- go unless he named Mac," and the con­ tract was signed. Have To. '"Will you mind the baby, Jack, for a little while?" asked Mrs. Elsmore. "I shall have to, I s'pose," replied" Elsmore. "The kid won't mind me."-- Buffalo Timea ued disturbance of our -finances. WILLIAM M'KINLEY. A "Wrinkle lor Writers. When a pen has been used until It appears to be spoiled, place it over a flame (a gaslight, for instance), for a quarter of a minute, then dip' it into water and it will be again fit for work. A new pen which is found too hard to write with will become softer by be­ ing thus heated. Belgium, like Italy, has adopted the twenty-four hour method of marking the time for railways, post and tele­ graph, and the old distinction of a. m. and p. m. Is to b^abollshdd. 1 i-.wv:' ;v