In the first place, a sufficient quantity of finely ground cement is mixed with water, and allowed to harden in slabs, either in the open air or in an oven. When the cement has set, these slabs are wetted and heated until they crack in all directions; it is then reduced to a fine powder, and is well mixed with an equal quantity of fresh cement. This mixture, in a dry state, is put into strong cast-iron moulds, and subjected to a pressure of from thirty to thirty-five atmospheres. A sufficient quanity of water is then introduced on one side of the mould, and is drawn through the mass of dry powder by means of a pump connected with the opposite side; this water contains a certain quantity of finely powdered cement, which is thus caused to penetrate through the mass; expelling at the same time the air and cementing it together. The artificial stone is subjected to further pressure. In this manner slabs of the required size can be formed economically. Carbonate of lime may be substituted for cement, in which case the stones are of a lighter color.

STATISTICAL.

WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY.

THE total wealth of our country, now the richest in the world, is reported at $43,500,000,000, in a population of 50,000,000, with a total of 17,500,000 producers. An enormous sum in the aggregate, representing, however, the accumulations of 250 years, much of it in land, buildings and machinery. An equal division would give to each man, woman and child a capital of only $870, much of it relatively worthless to the individual owner, or of $2,500 to each producer. The latter suin represents the limit of average wealth attainable. There is no more to be had. The same result is emphasized by annlyzing the annual production. The most careful estimates place this at $10,000,000,000 annually. From this must be deducted $700,000,000 paid in taxes, $1,300,000,000 to make good the annual wear and tear of the means of production, leaving $8,000,000,000 to be divided among 50,000,000 consumers, without allowing anything for interest on invested capital or for its increase. Allowing 5 per cent. for these, the net production is reduced to $5,725,000,000. Throwing capital out of the account there is only $160 a year for each inhabitant or of $115 if capital is entitled to a dividend—an average of from 31 to 44 cents a day. Forty cents a day must suffice, on the average, to feed, clothe and shelter the people of this country. Or, dividing the annual production among the actual workers, the average income will be between $327 and $475 a year. Three hundred and fifty dollars a year must buy bread, raiment, pay houserent and provide a margin for saving in every family of three persons. Two dollars a day is far above the average income that the productive energy of the coun try can pay. He who secures it belongs to the privileged classes, with many, perhaps, above him, but with many more below him; and every man belongs to the bloated plutocracy, against whom socialism urges its crusade, who owns $2,500 worth of property, or who receives more than $400 a year for his work.-Rev. Dr. Behrends, April 18.

INTRODUCTION OF RAILROADS.

THE following are the dates of the introduction of railways in the various countries from 1825 to 1860:

England, September 27, 1825.

Austria, September 30, 1828.
France, October 1, 1828.

United States, December 28, 1829.

Belgium, May 3, 1835.

Germany, December 7, 1835.

Island of Cuba, in the year 1837.
Russia, April 4, 1838.
Italy, September, 1839.
Switzerland, July 15, 1844.

Jamaica, November 21, 1845.

Spain, October 24, 1848.
Canada, May, 1850.
Mexico, in the year 1850.

Peru, in the year 1850.
Sweden, in the year 1851.
Chili, January, 1852.

East Indies, April 18, 1853.
Norway, July, 1853.
Portugal, in the year 1854.
Brazil, April. 30, 1854.

Victoria, September 14, 1854.
Colombia, January 28, 1855.

New South Wales, September 25, 1855.
Egypt, January, 1856.

Middle Australia, April 21, 1856.
Natal, June 26, 1860.
Turkey, October 4, 1860.

-Scientific Commercial, April 17.

COLOR-BLINDNESS.

POULTRY.

DR. WORMS, medical officer to the Chemin du Fer du Nord, has recently published a report and presented it to the Academy of Medicine. Among 1,173 railway officials whom he examined, in 224 the visual power for colors was imperfect, independent of any other lesion; 118 hesitated in distinguishing the different colors; 41 distinguished red easily, but confounded green, blue, and gray; 4 were perfectly color-blind; 63 confounded red, green, and gray. Those who presented an alteration of chromatic power sufficient to prevent clear distinction of signals were not entrusted with the care of a train. The examination of railway servants before they are employed by the company excludes men with Daltonism from being employed in running the trains. Dr. Worms states that the proportion of colorblind subjects was 5 per cent. Many others, however, did not distinguish colors clearly. These officials had been submitted to an examination previous to that made by Dr. Worms, who suggests that color exercise should be included in public instruction.-Public Opinion, London.

WHO ARE THE CAPITALISTS?

COKE.

TAX ON ALCOHOL.

THE temperance people of England ought to be pleased by the statistics in the Budget speech of Sir W. Vernon-Harcourt. Within the last fiscal year the revenue from the tax on alcohol was £971,000 less than had been expected, and £1,179,000 less than for the fiscal year of 1884-'85. Within ten years the receipts from this source have decreased $22,500,000. Evidently a good many Englishmen have reformed (or died) within a decade, or the times have been so hard that they could not afford to buy drink.-N. Y. Tribune.

IN 1840 one operative working thirteen or fourteen hours a day turned off 9,600 yards of standard sheeting a year; in 1886 an operative in the same mill turns off nearly or quite 30,000 yards per annum. In 1886 the mill's hours are ten. In 1840 wages were $175 per year; in 1886 they are $285 per year. You can buy more for each dollar of your money-wages in 1886 than you could for each dollar in 1840.-Edward Atkinson.

Or the 5,640 insane resident in institutions of all classes in the State, 4,670 are maintained at the public expense; 516 are curable; 5,124 incurable; 2,841 are single, 1,785 married. The average weekly cost of maintenance varies widely, being $11.50 in the Friends' Asylum, at Frankfort; $9.80 in the Pennsylvania Hospital; $3.82% at, Norristown, and $1.95 at Blockley.--- Philaaelphia Press.

A LONDON insurance company shows by a comparison of tables that it has caused to be made, that by adhering to the rule of insuring only regular abstainers from intoxicating lipuors, after an experience of sixteen years it has a margin in its favor of 30 per cent. in the death rate. There is but seven-tenths the probability of temperate men dying in a year as the common run of drinkers. Habitual drinking increases the probability of death by stimulating complaints that hasten death.—— Pittsburgh Times.

TO BE out of sympathy with your country and with American ideas is a grievous fault, to be shunned at all hazards. The most utter despicable of all things is the Anglomania which prevails in certain quarters.-Henry Cabot Lodge to the Harvard Students.

The

BISHOP BOWMAN's remark that he would like to see Jay Gould kicked through the streets of New York will strike a responsive chord in many a breast. Bishop might undertake the job himself. It will never be done by a better man. PRESIDENTS may lamentably fail, Congresses may prove impotent or injurious, measures that are long elaborated may result in disaster, but the Democracy can never die. New York Sun.

HONEST and regular work kills very few persons. Add worry to work, and the danger begins. Add dissipation of almost any sort, and the trouble thickens. New York World.

You might as well put a mustard plaster on a bald head for heart disease as to apply legislation for the cure of labor troubles.-Daniel, of Virginia.

How to boycott Jay Gould in a way that will make him stay boycotted is the biggest question that the Knights of Labor have yet tackled.

POWDERLY and Gould both fall back on the law. That is right. Let the cars run, and the strikers strike, and the lawyers do the fighting.

No President has ever yet attempted with success to run counter to the wishes of his party, and several have tried it.-Boston Globe.

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.

REPORTS from all sides indicate that the uncertainty attending the agitation relative to labor is having an unfavorable influence upon business. It comes about in this way: Conservative men who have capital to invest in new enterprises will hold back until there is less uncertainty in regard to wages and the hours of labor. No prudent contractor will make proposals to build a large block or a mill until it is settled whether eight or ten hours is to be a day's work, or whether the wages are to be advanced considerably. No man will build a block to rent until he can be made reasonably sure within certain limits of the cost of labor. Another unfavorable influence is that which comes from the trouble between the managers of the Gould system of roads and the Knights of Labor. There is reason to believe that traffic has been very largely resumed on the Gould roads in spite of the strike; nevertheless, the existing condition of matters lends to the future the element of uncertainty. All business is now transacted on a close basis, so great is the competition and so small the profits. Add to these conditions others over which those in business can have no control, and we have a good explanation for the slowness which characterizes the revival of business. Go where one will, he will find people discussing the situation from the lal or standpoint, and discussing it without arriving at any conclusion in regard to future movements. The raising of the tariff question, the disinclination of Congress to place some limit upon the coinage of silver, and the failure of that Lody to enact a bankruptcy law, are further causes of uncertainty and uneasiness; and yet, in spite of these embarrassments, the volume of Lusiness being transacted is very large. Our people are able to be large consumers of the products of labor and capital, and labor is very generally employed. Stocks are not accumulating; on the contrary, there is not a quarter part of the goods in the hands of the manufacturer and the selling agent that there was a year ago. A selling agent belonging to a leading house remarked a short time since: There will Le no trade sales in July or August this year." Clearing-house returns make the clearings the past week $837,521,967, which is $193,000,000 over those of the corresponding week of 1865, but nearly $76,500,000 less than those of the preceding week. This decline is largely accounted for by the reduced stock operations in New York, which were $58,000,000. The export of breadstuffs has increased somewhat of late, and present indications point to a larger expo tation prior to August 1. The price of wheat has slightly advanced. The few reports respecting the prospect of winter wheat which have been published are favorable. The number of failures continues low, Bradstreet's report for the past week putting the number at 159 in the United States against 141 the previous week and 196 in the corresponding week of 1885. Money is easy, and at present there is not a large outflow of gold; but the fact that the balance of trade is against us should prepare us for such a movement at an early day.-Boston Journal, April 19.

CROP RETURNS.

"THE chief feature of the crop returns, up to the close of the week, is contained in the uniformly gloomy tenor of the returns from Kansas. The reports from Kansas for the past six weeks have indicated only partial crops, but the latest bulletin predicts an almost total failure in a number of the counties, while at the best there is the promise of not to exceed one-third an average yield for the entire State. The reports from McPherson county are that the prospect is the poorest ever known, and that the yield will not pay for the cutting. The outlook in Neosho county is very bad, and already many fields are being plowed under. In Ottawa county fully 50 per cent. of the crop is reported to be winter killed, while in Sedgwick county the outlook does not promise to exceed 25 per cent. of a crop. In some of the southern counties the outlook is slightly more favorable, but a full yield does not seem to be promised in any part of the State. Wheat is reported to be going backwards, on account of the recent freezing weather. In some of the counties a great deal of the wheat is reported lying on top of the ground. In other States the outlook in many is flattering for winter wheat In some portions of Ohio the recent storms have left the ground full of water, which, with the accompanying cold weather, has threatened the growing plant, but as a rule the reports are very favorable. Throughout all Southern Indiana the fields are looking green and the plant healthy. The fields on some of the highlands do not appear at the best, and some look badly, bu they are the exceptions. In Missouri some of the upland wheat is looking poorly, but on the lowlands the prospects could hardly be better. some of the counties in Tennessee the plant has already attained the growth of twelve inches, and the general prospect is encouraging. In the spring wheat area Dakota appears to be in the lead, with fine weather for seeding and plenty of moisture. No seeding has been done either in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa or Nebraska, and in the two last-named States the work threatens to be delayed twenty or thirty days. In many portions of Nebraska the season is already becoming so for advanced that large tracts will be seeded to flax."-Farmers' Review (Chicago), April 20.

PROVINCIAL FISHERIES.

In

IN reference to the provincial fisheries Bradstreet says: In asserting their respective claims to commercial privileges on the British North American coast, both the Maine and Massachusetts fishermen and the Dominion Government stand on alleged rights. It is worthy of note, however, that the only rights undisputed on either hand are those granted by Great Britain to the United States in the treaty of 1818. Fishing privileges are not at issue. Apart from the matter of taking fish, the convention referred to gave American fishermen liberty to enter port for shelter, to repair damages, to buy wood and to obtain water, but for no other purpose whatever." There is no doubt about the privileges thus allowed. They are plain, indefeasible and admitted universally. But with respect to all other commercial advantages there is a question. Senator Frye and Representative Dingley ridicule the dogmatic assertion of Mr. Foster, the Dominion Minister of Marine, that American fishermen have no commercial rights in

provincial ports. Yet the Congressmen are themselves equally open to attack on account of their declaration that such rights exist. One side is no more securely entrenched than the other; and from the nature of things the controversy can be settled definitely only by force, or by the concurrent action of the Governments of Great Britain and the United States.

The American cause has one element of great strength in that the British Government has always objected to, and sometimes thwarted, action by Canada hostile to United States fishermen; and it is possible that full commercial rights may be accorded in the course of time without a new treaty. The American view of the situation, in other words, is more in accord than the Canadian with the traditional policy of the British Empire. But it is none the less true that the course of the administration in advocating the appointment of a commission to adjust the difficulty once for all was much inore patriotic than the contemptuous rejection of this plan by the Senate on Tuesday.

THE WOOL-GROWERS.

THE first national convention of wool growers, held last week at St. Louis, seems to have had for its principal object the organization of wool-growers throughout the country, so as to enable them in the future to influence national legislation with a view to protecting their industry against foreign competition. Resolutions were unanimously adopted denouncing the bill recently reported by the Ways and Means Committee of Congress, admitting foreign wool free of duty, and urging a restoration of the tariff of 1867 or its equivalent. The importance of establishing a journal of national scope, devoted to the interests of sheep husbandry in particular and agriculture in general, was recognized by the convention, and a committee was appointed to look over the ground and report upon the feasibility of establishing such a journal and the means to be employed in securing the necessary capital.-Bradstreet, April 17.

EVERY principle of equity and justice, of common decency and common right, dictate tl at the outstanding trade dollars should be made convertible into good money at once and without further loss to the holders in the way of discount.— Baltimore American, April 20.

THE export of gold is one of those sudden signs of unfavorable commercial conditions which in many directions show how serious is the effect of the shock between capital and labor.-Philadelphia Press, April 20.

66

RAILROADS.

RAILWAYS IN CHINA.

ENGINEERS and capitalists have for some time past regarded the Celestial Empire as offering one of the most promising fields for railway enterprises that still remains unoccupied. They have manifested, consequently, a very strong desire to possess it. A dense population and large natural resources give undoubted assurances of success, could the officials who guard the imperial conservatism once be propitiated. But this is an obstacle which the most importunate diplomacy has not yet succeeded in overcoming. If one glances at the later history of China, however, her unwillingness to entertain any foreign propositions, without very careful consideration indeed, can readily be understood. * * * From experience, the Chinese officials have come to have a positive dread of the promoters" of foreign enterprises. They have, unfortunately, been taken in so often by irresponsible adventurers that it is quite possible what we have flattered ourselves has been an opening wedge may be in reality another nail in closing the doors against us. It is hard to predict what their course will. We have allowed ourselves to regard them as a very slow people; but while their foreign policy has often only negative merits, it shows in many cases a justice and wisdom of which our country cannot always boast. We are even now in the midst of a dispute with China in regard to the question of indemnity for the deplorable outrages committed against the Chinese laborers in Wyoming and other parts of the West. We cannot blame China, if the settlement of this question determines the treatment of our own countrymen within the borders of her empire. To injustice, or at least retarded justice, we have now added discourtesy. The Chinese Minister and his suite on their entrance into our territory are received, not with the courtesy and"attention due to their position, and particularly ordered by the State Department, but with unequivocal marks of disrespect and with churlish demands for credemials. These things must all react upon ourselves. We cannot outrage a nation, however conservative, with impunity. China is not vindictive, but she has shown herself to have a good memory. She will hardly permit Americans to take any part in the development of her resources while such serious grievances remain unanswered.-Scientific American.

RAILROADS AS INVESTMENTS.

UNTIL the business of transportation is put into the same category with all other, business, and treated by the public in the same manner as all other business enterprises, there will be no stability in the business world. Men thus far have been looking in the wrong direction for prosperity. The fatal mistake lies in the theory that the railroads, differing from all other enterprises, are the lawful prey of all avaricious-minded men, and that whatever can be squeezed out of them is so much added to the general good. There must be a mutual reciprocity in all branches of business, and on that basis prices must rule, and to single out one branch as a victim and prey to the others is to derange the whole. "One member cannot suffer without all the members suffering with it." The dividends on the whole capital invested in railroads in the State of New York from earnings in 1885 were only about one per cent. The taxes paid into the treasury from these roads were almost $5,000,000, or nearly five-sevenths as much as the dividends. But the reply will be, "Watered stock." It is a vain cry, for

the report shows but little difference between the actual cost of the roads and the stock and bonds issued. To whom, then, is there a balance due? Is there anything due to the people in cheaper rates, or is there something due to these corporations in higher rates that shall put investors and employes on a par with other interests, and in such a manner that they will prove a prosperity to other interests? But alas! what can we expect towards this condition of health when officials of railroad corporations are engaged in cutting each other's throats? One law should be passed making it a misdemeanor for any officer or set of officers to reduce rates below a paying point without the consent of all the stockholders. It is the only safety to investors, and until this crime against labor, against producer and consumer ceases, there is no hope out of our present dilemma. Let the ax be laid at the root of the tree! -E. A. Holbrook, in Railway Age.

GERMANY SUPPLYING ITALIAN LOCOMOTIVES.

IN the decade embraced between 1886 to 1875, inclusive, 80 German locomotives were forwarded to Italy. In the same period 40 English loco motives, 267 French and Belgian locomotives, and 83 Italian locomotives were placed upon Italian railways. In the decade embraced between 1876 and 1885, inclusive, the number of German locomotives forwarded to Italy rose, however, to 322, the deliveries of English locomotives in the same period declining to 36, and those of French and Belgian to 7, while 170 locomotives were turned out in the course of ten years from Italian workshops. It follows that out of a total of 536 new locomotives placed upon Italian railways in the ten years ending with 1885, inclusive, 322, or about 60 per cent., were made in Germany, in fact, so far as the Italian markets are concerned, German locomotives appear to have pushed English locomotives almost entirely on one side.-The London Colliery Guardian.

METALLIC PERMANENT WAYS.

THE use of metallic permanent way appears to have made more progress in Germany than in any other part of Europe. M. Henri Mathien, engineer-in-chief of the Southern of France Railway, calculates that in 1884 Ger many had 5,471 miles of metallic permanent way; Austria and Hungary. 58 miles; Holland, 191 miles; Belgium, 7 miles; and Switzerland, 63 miles. The Belgian figures were helped up a little last year by an introduction of the system upon the Belgian state railways. German steel-makers are disappointed with the meagreness of the exports of steel rails from Germany in 1885, the shipments of last year not exceeding 165,000 tons. It is contended by German industrials that foreign markets must be more sedulously cultivated.-Railway World.

COMPARISON OF EARNINGS,

RAILWAY earnings are fairly well maintained on nearly all the lines that have not been affected, directly or indirectly, by the strike on the Gould system. The earnings of sixty-four reporting lines during March, 1886, were $18,371,975, against $18,095,637 in the corresponding month of last year, an increase of $276,338. The important gains were in northern and northwestern lines, but the railroads in such localities were by no means universally successful in increasing their revenues, and the most important declines were on southern railways.—Railway Age.

MEDICAL.

ON THE MOVEMENT CURE IN CHINA.

MEDICAL HEROISM IN RUSSIA.

PROTECTION AGAINST CHOLERA.

AN amusing and interesting article has been contributed by Dr. Macgowan to the Medical Reports for China for the half year ending March 31, 1885. P'An Wei, the present Governor of Hupeh, wrote, in 1858, a brochure on Important Life-Maintaining Methods, which gained him much renown, causing him to be sent for on the occasion of the fatal illness of the late Empress. The accumulation of air in the system by swallowing the breath was regarded as an important method of prolonging life by the ancient Chinese. Ch'ih Sung-tzu, a legendary personage, is said to have been the author of this method. He flourished for a period of at least twelve centuries somewhere about 2600 B. C., when the Yellow Emperor sought instruction from him in the art of prolonging life. Leihtzu, the immediate disciple of Laotzu, inquired of Ch'ih Sung-tzu, the custodian of the writings of his master, how the power of traversing the air, of living unscathed in fire, and the like, might be acquired, and was told that it was neither by wisdom nor skill, but through support by, the vital aura, by which was understood to mean breath-swallowing. A man who is permeated with the vital aura is invulnerable. Disease appears only when vitiated air can find entrance or when the circulation of the vital aura is defective. The air starts in its circulatory move. ment from the "little heart," which is situated in the pubic region. Without fire this aura is the source of animal heat; without water it lubricates the viscera. The object of postures, motions, and frictions is to promote the due circulation of the vital air. A massage bat and massage pestle were employed in equalizing the aura throughout the body. Illustrations of these tools are given in Dr. Macgowan's account.-Lancet.

EXPERIMENTAL YELLOW FEVER.

MISCELLANEOUS.

WHY MEN SMOKE.

No doubt there are men who smoke merely because they like it; but the mass of smokers regard smoking from the higher standpoint of duty. If our female relatives could understand how cruelly we feel the injustice of their innuendoes, they would cut out their tongues rather than say another thoughtless word about tobacco. It is bitter to a man, naturally of an open disposition, to have to introduce another box of Habanas to the house beneath his overcoat, flung carelessly over his arm, when he knows that it is really for his wife's sake that he really smokes at all She compares the price of these cigars, making no allowance for their flavor, with the sums expended on the children s pinafores and school books. Ah, if she only knew! With many men smoking is merely a matter of treatment. Owing to a lack of proper supervision, we acquire the habit at school; and when we reach man's estate we put ourselves in the doctor s hands. It is for him to decide whether it would be safe for us to give up smoking. If he thinks it would, there is not-I speak from hearsay-one man in twenty who would not bow to the decision. In the vast majority of cases the doctor's judgment is, that when once a habit is thoroughly acquired it is trifling with one s organic system to give it up. That some persons can fing off a bad habit without seriously damaging their health is well known; but there is always a risk. The question at once resolves itself to this: Are we prepared to take that risk? This must depend on circumstances If we are not bound by family ties, and a break-up of the system only affects ourselves, then we may make the experiment with a clear conscience. It is different, however, when we have a wife and family dependent on us. In that case we must think first of them, and what might be their late if we tampered rashly with our constitution. Just as there are men who continue to smoke because, having got into the habit in their youth, their medical adviser warns them against giving it up, so there are others who take to it with the one object of preserving their health. The non-smoker must mix with smokers. It may be objected that this is not necessary. however, conceiving the case of an unselfish man with a wife to support. By keeping out of the company of smokers he seriously interferes with the success of his business; for he loses many opportunities of pushing it, and acquires the reputation of being an unsociable fellow. So long as he is unmarried this does not much matter; but the married man is ambitious for his wife's sake, his expenses are increased, and it is his duty to let slip no honorable means of adding to his income. I anticipate the suggestion that he could mix in the comp ny of smokers without smoking himself. Many non-smokers have tried it and kept to it in the pluckiest way till their health was completely shattered. Any medical man will tell you that to inhale tobacco smoke from other people's pipes or cigars, when you are not a smoker yourself, is to commit gradual suicide. It is quite a common thing for a man to take to smoking deliberately because it adds to his working power. In way tobacco is a marvel; for, if the temperament be naturally sluggish, it warms it into activity; and if in its normal state the temperament be irritable or over-active, the one thing to soothe it is a pipe. Among men this is almost universally admitted. (Scotchmen note a somewhat similar effect in whisky.) Some men, of course, feel the beneficial effect of smoking more than others, and hence the difference in the consumption of tobacco. It is not an unusual thing for a man of an abnormally sluggish or an abnormally active temperament to smoke a pipe or even a cigar before beginning his day's work. He would prefer not to do

this

I am,

so, but he finds that it pays. A number of literary men smoke simply to make an income. They have learned that with a pipe in their mouths thoughts not only come more readily but in better order, and that, while it is often difficult to get the proper word if they are not smoking, it runs to the point of the pen the moment they "light up." Psychologically, this is most interesting; and the reason womankind cannot grasp it probably is that psychology is not, unfortunately, taught in ladies' seminaries. Smoking is a great safeguard against infectious diseases. It is only by reading up the subject scientifically in medical treatises that one thoroughly gets to understand the thousand risks of this kind that we run every day. In the coun try during the summer months, when men are on their holidays, they look forward to having a temporary respite from smoking. Then it does not so much matter how the temperament is; living so much in the open air the smoking of other persons has little effect on them, and there is less danger of infertion. It is to keep off the flies that men smoke at the seaside and on the hills. Their own weatherbeaten countenances can stand the flies; but these little démons would not only spoil the summer for our susceptible wives and sisters and children, but would disfigure them as well. That is what a man cannot endure. You may have seen picnics on the river or among the fields, with all the men smoking and the ladies Standing quite near them. With many men, smoking is merely an excuse for staying at home. A man looks foolish of an evening doing nothing. Yet he is too tired to do much. A cigar supplies the amount of labor he requires, and he does not mind the trouble of smoking it so long as it enables him to stay at home without loss of dignity and look over it admiringly, and yet undemonstra'ively, at his wife. Should a man with a small income be an epicure, or naturally of an irascible temper, it will add greatly to the happiness of his home if he compels himself to smoke. And at present, when times are so hard as to affect everyone more or less, a cigar is a cheap and excellent substitute for expensive amusements.-St. James Gazette.

FRANCE AND GERMANY.

(Specially translated for PUBLIC OPINION.)

THE telegraph has reported the publication in Paris of a military work entitled "Before the Battle," having for its object to show that France is in a condition to defend herself against the possibility of an aggression from Germany. It was fore. seen by us that this publication would constitute an event. We were not deceived. The telegrams have demonstrated how profound has been the impression produced by its appearance We find evidence of this fact in the London Times of to day, which, in analyzing the work, comments upon its salient points and appreciates fully its political significance. This instructive book well merits a perusal. All those who love their country will find in it reassuring conclusions, and we could not commend it more highly than in giving some extracts from it which will edify the reader upon the military situation in France of to-day. Adverting to the great French victories of Jena and Auerstadt, the capitulation of Erfurth, &c., it continues: "Are these achievements of France forgotten? Has a more lamentable spectacle been afforded than that of 1870? Has Prussia not recovered from her crushing defeat, and wherefore should we not succeed in doing the same thing? By what right should the power be denied us? More than sixty years of laborious and constant exertions were required to enable our hereditary foe to measure weapons with us. Only sixteen have elapsed since she fully satisfied her revenge; and we, too, are ready-ay, more than ready to repel her aggressions, if haply she should conceive the idea of renewing them. Let those who have heard the contrary expressed-who, perhaps, are prepared to believe it-take the trouble to cast an attentive coup d'œil upon the following pages, and they will there see in what a short period of time we have been enabled to shield France from aggression. They will find how many men we can put in line of battle. They will at least, I hope, imbibe from it a sentiment of immovable confidence as to the future. If, reassured as to the number, they should wish to inquire into the valor of our soldiers, let them again read over the reports published in regard to the expeditions to the south of Oran and to Tunis, in which our young troops endured hardships, privations, and epidemics; upon the operations in Tonquin, in Madagascar, between the Niger and the Upper Senegal, where they gave such indubitable proofs of bravery and heroism. In recapitulating the different elements which constitute our land forces, we reach the sum total of 4,108,655 men, placed by law at the disposal of the government for the national defense. This total of 4,108,655 men is subdivided as follows, from the point of view of military instruction: 2,025,253 men thoroughly disciplined, 697,072 men disciplined by one year's service, 686, 100 men partially disciplined, 701,230 men without any training. This colossal furce corresponds to more than one-fifth of the male population of France, and rather more than onetenth of the entire population. We can affirm authoritatively that every year 1,153,423 men under different appellations are receiving or are keeping up their military instruction. This is a magnificent result, and there is no country in Europe or of the whole world that imposes upon itself such great sacrifices to guarantee the national independence, or to maintaiu, develop, and invigorate the military spirit. Such, I think, are the peremptory arguments which every one among us can oppose to the malevolent who criticise our military organization. Unquestionably numbers are not the only factor in victory, but they are the principal. Did not Napoleon declare that the field of battle, under like conditions of armament and military discipline, remained always with the heavy battalions? This axiom has to-day its full If assured as to the quantity, we have not neglected the training which the quality demands, seeing that our soldiers remain under their colors longer than in all the other European armies."—Courier des Etas-Unis, April 19.

force so much the more.

DRUM MAKING.

Or a total of 200,000 drums made in this country last year, it is said that 178,000 were manufactured in Granville, Mass. The old-fashioned drum with wooden barrel, which was formerly the only kind in the market, is being rapidly supplanted by the neater and lighter model with a tin barrel. For the manufac ture of the latter, tin or various colors is employed, blue and red predominating, though the larger quantity of tin drums are made of a brass imitation. This tin

comes in sheets of two sizes, 14 by 20 inches and 20 by 28, the sheets being packed in cases holding 112. The process of manufacture is thus described: The sheets are first sent to a knife, which cuts them into various lengths, from which drums of sizes varying from 6%1⁄2 inches across the head to thirteen inches are made. This done, the strips are each punched with a hole, then secured and tightened together. Hoops are placed on the inside rims, and the barrel is then ready to receive the sounding skin. This is generally a sheepskin, which is stretched tightly across the head above and below, and fastened from the outside by hoops. These skins are all imported from Liverpool, and costs from $1.75 to $2.50 a dozen. Previous to using, they are stretched and dried by steam in the winter and by the sun in summer. Before being stretched over the drum barrels, they are once more moistened, generally in a solution of pure water or slightly ammoniacal. Then remains the tightening of the drum hoops. This is done either by strings or rods. The first are stretched diagonally, leather tighteners being inserted to stiffen the sound skin. The rods are hooked on one end and screwed at the other. Of this latter kind, the consumption is over six times that of the older fashioned. Wooden drums differ but slightly from the above The barrels are generally bass or white wood, occasionally oak. The stay hoops are of oak or beech. Before the strip of wood can be used, it needs to undergo many processes, among others being bending, plaining, and sweating. The first drums made used to be boiled in open tanks, and the limit that could thus be prepared daily was less than fifty. The introduction of machinery and more perfect methods has increased the daily production, so that 2,000 drum pieces is considered nothing more than one man's fair day's work. The lor, usually cut to three feet in length, is placed between the teeth of a huge machine, and the sliceing begins The knife receives it, and as the log revolves, the piece sliced is received on a wooden cylinder and then rolled up. Seventy-five thicknesses make one inch of the log. If then the log is three feet through, one revolution will yield a piece nine feet long, and the total length sliced from the log would extend over a mile. Cutting machines further reduce this huge sheet to the desired lengths. A core of six inches thickness is left, which is taken out of the jaws and split into drumsticks or tenpins. The veneers are heated, then tent, and are soon ready to be shaped as a drum. There are also planing and sandpapering machines, all run by water power. The strips are put through the bender, from three to six at a time. The sticks are smoothed by rolling in revolving barrels, the process being continued for three or four hours.—Scientific American.

MORE than one author besides Moore has testified to the sweet influences of bell music. Bowles has written:

"O! never till life and its shadows shall end
Can I forget the sweet bells of Ostend.'

In like spirit Southey says: "When I remember their tones, life seems to me like a dream; and a train of recollections arises, which, if allowed to have its course, would end in tears." No wonder that the gentle, sensitive Elia spoke of the sound of bells as "the music nearest heaven." It is told of Napoleon that one day, long after he had reached the summit of fame and ambition, he broke off the conversation to listen to a chime that recalled to him the early peaceful days at Brienne. Such is the sympathy of souls with sounds, and the feelings awakened may or may not be in accordance either with the original purpose of the bells or with the mottoes that they hear. There is no doubt that greater attention was given to bell-ringing in former times, although the practice has in our day begun to assume more of its ancient importance. The writings of Ellacombe, Hubbard and H. R. Haweis display enthusiasm as well as learning, worthy of the art, and commend the subject to the higher consideration of the clergy, while useful to campanologists and amateur ringers. There are many associations and guilds in the cities and rural districts of England who emulate the zeal and the skill of the "Ancient Society of College Youths," who first met two centuries and a half since. at St. Martin's Vintry, College Hill, to practice the "manly art of ringing." The sweet and solemn melody that fills the air, both at Christmas tide and in "ringing the Old Year out and the New Year in," proves that England still deserves the appellation given to it by Sir John Hawkins, of the "Ringing Island.”—The Christian at Work.

GEORGE ELIOT is said to have worked harder on "Romola" than on any of her other books. In her own words: "I began it a young woman-I finished it an old woman." And yet but about seventeen months were consumed in the work. Some authors have lived long. Alexander von Humboldt lived to be over eighty. Goethe was over eighty-one when he died. Kant lived his quiet life for just eighty years, the quietest and most uneventful life known to a man of genius. Titian died at the age of ninety nine. Michael Angelo lived to be more than eighty. Among the royal persons who have become known as authors are Queen Victoria, King Oscar II, of Sweden; Dom Louis, of Portugal; the Shar Nasr-ed-Deen, of Persia; Queen Elizabeth, of Roumania; Prince Nicholas, of Montenegro; Dom Pedro II, of Brazil; King Louis II, of Bavaria, and several others. The novelists are at present dominant among us, so far as popular acceptation and remuneration go. It has been lately ascertained that Mr. Tennyson makes £4,000 a year by his poetry. Walter Dessant, who was seduced from the career of a college don by the facinations of the novelist's art, earns more for any one of his romances than Carlisle earned in the first ten years of his literary career. Charles Reade averaged, we believe, £5 per page for his writings. Herbert Spencer's remuneration scarcely exceeds five shillings per page. Matthew Arnold's imaginative powers earned him an income at least four times smaller than Wilkie Collins' imagination can command. A shoemaker's son, a few years ago, wrote a short comic story which tickled the public taste; his success was so immediate that the public-represented by the publishers are paying him £1,000 a year for whatever he chooses to write.-Christian at Work.

CURIOUS EFFECT OF ARCTIC COLD.

A PERSON who has never been in the polar regions can probably have no idea of what cold really is; but by reading the terrible experiences of arctic travelers in

that icy region some notion can be formed of the extreme cold that prevails there. When we have the temperature down to zero out of doors we think it bitterly cold, and if our houses were not as warm as, at least, 60 deg. above zero, we should begin to talk of freezing to death. Think, then, of living where the thermometer goes down to 35 deg, below zero in the house in spite of the stove. Of course in such a case the fur garments are piled on until a man looks like a great bundle of skins. Dr. Moss, of the English polar expedition of 1875 and 1876, among other odd things, tells of the effect of cold on a wax candle which he burned there. The temperature was 35 deg. below zero, and the doctor must have been considerably discouraged when, upon looking at his candle, he discovered that the flame had all it could do to keep warm. It was so cold that the flame could not melt all the wax of the candle, but was forced to eat its way down the candle, leaving a sort of skeleton of the candle standing. There was heat enough, however, to melt oddly shaped holes in the thin walls of wax, and the result was a beautiful lace-like cylinder of white, with a tongue of yellow flame burning inside it, and sending out into the darkness many streaks of light. This is not only a curious effect of extreme cold, but it shows how difficult it must be to find anything like warmth in a place where even fire itself almost gets cold. The wonder is that any man can have the courage to willingly return to such a bitter region after having once got safely away from it, and yet the truth is that the spirit of adventure is so strong in some men that it is the very hardship and danger which attract them.-London Public Opinion.

THE QUEEN'S SCOTCH ESTATES.

THE Queen's palace at Balmoral is set down in the valuation roll for the county of Aberdeen at the yearly rent or value of £500. The whole estate of Balmoral is valued for assessment purposes at less than £2,000. The principal items, in addition to the palace assessment above mentioned, are Ballochbuie Forest and shootings, valued at £550; woodlands and deer-forest, Glengelder, £300; farm at Invergelder, 100. The Royal Dairy Farm is valued at £42; the new laundry at 20; fishings in the Dee, 10; East Lodge, 8; West Lodge, £10. The remaining subjects of assessment are residences of so called tenants of Her Majesty, mostly servants engaged on the estate. The valuation of the estate of Abergeldie, which Her Majesty rents from Mr. Hugh Mackay Gordon, is under £1,500. We understand that the lease of this estate has recently been renewed at £4,000 a year. The castle and domestic offices are valued at £100; the approach lo lge at £4; the garden, lawn and pleasure grounds, £20; the woodlands, grazings, &c., £400; the fishings in the Dee, £10; the fishings in tributaries of the Dee, £5; the House Abergeldie, £30; the farm, mains of Abergeldie, £110. The largest tenants are representatives of the late John Begg, whose farmhouse and distillery, Lochnager, are valued at £125, and the machinery at the distillery at £120-London Daily News.

RUSSIAN TEA.

THE Russian government has decided to attempt tea cultivation upon a large scale. Under advice it is the intention of the government to import Chinese coolies, and the position chosen for the first plantation is Soukhum Kalé. That tea can be successfully cultivated in the Caucasus has been often proved, but whether it will prove a success commercially is questionable. It is argued that there is quite an ex ensive home market, the imports amounting to about 72,000,000 pounds annually, valued at $30,000,000, the Russians drinking tea of much superior quality than is consumed in this country. It is questionable if there will be the kind of labor available to compete with the Chinese and Hindoostan laborer. At the same time it is impossible to develop the industry to any extent without the assistance of foreign capital.-Bradstreet.

PAPYRI are constantly being brought to light. Notwithstanding their perishable nature, hidden away in tombs, or buried under the monuments, in the dry air of Egypt they last through centuries, and come to the light as fresh and as perfect as when first inscribed. In this relation our scientists have just been made acquainted with the statement of the discovery near Assiout in Egypt of a manuscript which, according to the report of Dr. Jules Oppert made to the French Academy, contains reference to Jacob and Joseph. Egyptologists, Semitic scholars and Biblical students will await with interest further particulars concerning this papyrus. Recent scholarship has contributed much to the elucidation, amplification and confirmation of the Biblical story, particularly of the Exodus and of the Exile. If the new manuscript proves to be of the character that is expected, it may throw considerable light on the history of the sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt.

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THE sale of the stallion Phallas for $50,000 shows that the prices of our trotters are gradually creeping up to the top notch of equine values. That is now £17,500, or $87,500, paid for Doncaster, a Derby winner. The price for Phallas is a jump of $10,000 over the former trotting limit, the $40,000 paid for Maud S.; $20,000 over the $30,000 that was lately paid for a former conqueror of Phallas, Director, also a son of Dictator, and $21,000 more than the present limit for American thoroughbreds, the $29,000 paid for Dewdrop. It was a great price, but Phallas is a great horse, and if he doesn't die, at the end of ten years his new owner may be just as rich as he is now. It is not probable he will be any richer.-N. Y. Sun. THE whale fishery is, for the most part, carried on in this country on the co-operative plan. It is exclusively so on the Pacific coast. Capitalists furnish the ship and the outfit. One share of the profit goes to the ship and another to the men. In good seasons, or when the voyages have been "lucky," the men make much more per capita than they could from mere wages. It is noteworthy that in one of the most hazardous and uncertain of all industrious pursuits, one industry is prosecuted wholly on the co-operative plan, while in those industries where there is very little risk, co-operation, as yet, is only a special and exceptional feature of the industry of the country.- Evening Bulletin, San Francisco,

It was surprising to hear it said in the House of Commons that Canadians had exhibited so much antagonism towards American fishermen as to interfere with their enjoyment of fishing privileges secured to them by the Treaty of Washington. But as the statement was confirmed by no less than three ministers of the crown, who spoke of Canada having been made liable for damage by outrages committed on United States citizens, there was no choice but to accept it as accurate. — Oltawa Free Press.

THE Ocean appears to be a vast reservoir of treasure in solution which awaits only the operation of positive laws and influences to be organized into form and substance for the upbuilding and replenishing of new continents rich in every reA study of the subject of formation at this point in its history would doubtless give more satisfactory results than any yet obtained.-Chiago Mining Review.

source.

ABSENTEEISM in Congress and in State legislatures has become a serious evil. It retards public business and costs the people of the United States millions of dollars every year. This is one of the drawbacks on the blessings of rapid transit. But for the existence of railroads it would not be difficult to muster à quorum in the Ohio Legislature any day in the week. But as matters now stand a quorum is not present much more than one-half of the time that the houses are in session, and it is not safe to put any important bill upon its passage except on Wednesdays and Thursdays and the forenoon of Friday.-Ohio State Journal.

As long as the Democratic administration can put off the mischief threatened by the silver act, the party may conceieve that it has accomplished a most successful straddle; its House insists upon the law, and its administration renders the law harmless. But if events should make it no longer possible for the administration to protect the public credit, there would be a sudden anxiety for an adjust ment among Democratic members.--New York Tribune.

A LARGE majority. of the voters in all our cities are in favor of good government, and can have it if they will only take the trouble to use their privileges as freemen. Our form of government, the most advanced in the history of mankind, is based upon the supposition that citizens will not shirk their political responsibilities. If they voluntarily relegate them to the "riftraff," what can they expect?-N. Y. World.

WHEN ladies of good sense and correct taste are ordering their spring bonnets let them set their faces like flints against this craze of carrying dead birds on their heads with all the etceteras which that fact too generally implies. A turnip on the crown and a respectable carrot on each side of the head would be healthier, quite as tasteful, and in no degree either so cruel or so injurious.—Toronto Globe. THERE is no reason why, incidentally, churches should not in many ways be instruments of general culture. The bulk of people, if they do not hear good music in their churches, practically get no opportunity of hearing it at all. There is no

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