FLORIDA FARMER AND FRUIT GROWER. MARCH 2.1887.


 ^/rm iffirelalMn.

 FARM AREA OF THE UNITED STATES.
 ITS INCREASED VALUE.

 Convenient Plan for Hanging Meat in a
 Smoke House-A Neat and Serviceable
 Ash Sifter of Easy Construction-Mar-
 bled Beef.
 The old tinie plan of hanging meat from
 hooks on the rafters of a smoke house has
 been superseded, in some sections, by the
 more convenient revolving rack, a picture
 of which is here presented.



















 REVOLVING RACK FOB SMOKE HOUSE.
 This revolving rack is described as fol-
 lows in The American Agriculturist: The
 stout center piece may be made ot either
 round or square timber; a round piece of
 pine from the woods will serve the pur-
 pose well. It must be made round, re-
 duced at both ends and fitted into blocks
 on the floor, and one at or near the ceiling.
 The spokes on which the meats hung are
 Sof some strong wood, such as oak, hickory
 or chestnut, and sixteen to twenty inches
 long, securely driven into the revolving
 center piece. In hanging meat on these
 spokes, hang the heavy pieces nearest the
 center shaft, and the light pieces further
 out; so arrange the spokes as to give the
 greatest amount of hanging room. By
 building a chimney with two openings in
 it, as shown in the engraving, and arrang-
 ~'---- ing a cut off just above the first opening,
 'the smoke can be made to fill the smoke
 house before finally passing up the chim-
 ney, or it can be conducted directly up the
 flue. _

 A Homemade Ash Sifter.
 In many households a very considerable
 loss. occurs- annually in waste of coal
 that is quite unnecessary. A prevention
 to this uncalled tfor waste is sifting the
 ashes ad saving -the cinders, --most of
 'which can be burne s again, while the
 ashes, if kept under shelter in boxes or
 Barrels, may be untilized as an. absorbent
 to add to the compostheap, the vaults:
 and the chicken runs. Sifting ashe is,
 However, an .excedingly disagreeable job,
 unless suitable arrangements are made by
 which the work can-be done with neatness
 and dispatch.
 An exceedingly convenient ash sifter,
 such as is shown in the cut, may be eaiy
 made at home.
 ah eig-t Bore holes near
 ashsi ptnd one end of a. good,
 b esm a tight barrel, place
 two strong wires
 z across and tightly
 to add ot eom -'clinch them on
 Snd the c e rnsthe outside; these
 hwe- an igl make a strong
 Srest for -a sieve.
 ASHSrFER. Midway between
 these cross wires on one side make a slot in
 the barrel large enough for a handle, which
 is an inch through and fastened Ito the top
 edges of the sieie, notches having been
 first made in the handle to fit the sieve.
 Provide a cover, and the sifter is ready
 for use. After placing the ashes in the
 sieve put on the cover, and by means of
 the handle shake briskly back and- forth.
 There will be little or no dust in the oper-
 ation.
 Marbled Beef.
 Animals which have not been liberally
 fed while young and-growing will never
 yield the same quantity of marbled flesh,
 no matter how much -care may be taken
 to. fatten them when grown, as those
 which have been well fed from the be-
 ginning. In short, to produce the best
 quality of beet, the cellular tissues of the
 .muscle must be developed along withthe
 growth of the animal by abundant food.
 The bcha&rac(eristics of a high quality of
 beef are briefly nafollows: If lean, the
 surface of the beef is of uniform redness
 when cut across -the grain; but 'fat, de-
 posited within the muscle will- he indi-
 cated by whitish colored-points which are
 layers of tat. aond-sdi 'atd among' the
 bundles oft mus cular fibres. These indi-
 cartions are more- or less strongly marked
 according to the amount of fat deposited,
 hand when the amount is considerable the
 -lean meat looks as if overlaid with a net-
 work of fat. Meat thus streaked with
 fat is termed marbled. .h

 HoW Much Pork from a Bushel of Corn?
 The quesanron, How much pork may be
 t nade from a bushel h con? is, an import-
 anthioe, bat it has never been answered
 .beyond' all csoroversy. tIn most 'cabes
 u recorded as tests of the matter the corn
 uwas fed a. mixed state, with roots, po-
 tatoes, etc., alaoto which make it difficult
 to arrive at a definite conclusion. Thomas
 rtI. Edge, Cheshire- county, Pa., was
 credited some years ago-with having fed
 five pigs, of the same litter, five bushels
 ofs'a elred corn anilt receiving 47 3-4 pounds
 of pork, or 9 8-8 pounds from the bushel.
 An experiment at North Chatham, N. Y.,
 on record,rgave a fraction of less than 12
 pounds of pork from a bushel of corn.
 Eleveu records, kept and recorded by F.
 a D e Cobmr, of rabn corn fed in the ear,
 "*:gave an average of over 10 poundss of
 pork from one bushel of comtted in the
 ear and upon the ground.

 to Budding and Grafting. h
"-. Next 'to planting young trees in the
 apriTig, preparations ought to be sade for


grafting the natural app- -..1.. -. ..
bearers of worthless fruit to be found on
almost every farm. The following sched-
ule of the modes of propagation adapted
to different trees and fruit bearing shrubs
will be found of value by novices:
 Apple and pear, budding and grafting.
 Cherry, mostly by budding, but suc-
 ceeds well by grafting, if done very early.
 Peach and nectarine, by budding only,
 at the north; often succeeds by grafting
 at the south.
 Plum, by grafting, and also by budding,
 if the stocks are thrifty.
 Apricot, mostly by budding; sometimes
 by grafting.
 ,Almond, by budding, and sometimes by
 grafting.
 Chestnut, by early grafting.
 Walnut, by early grafting and by an-
 nual budding.
 Quince, by cutting and grafting.
 Filbert, by suckers and layers. The
 finer sorts may be grafted on the more
 common, which reduces the size of the
 bush and makes them more prolific.
 Grape, by layers and cuttings; and, in
 rare instances, grafting is advantageously
 employed for new or rare sorts on old or
 wild stocks, producing rapid growth and
 early bearing.
 Raspberry and blackberry, by suckers,
 cutting of roots and layers.
 Gooseberry and currant, by cuttings and
 sometimes by layers.
 To Insure good work one must have
 sharp tools and good wax. Ben: Perley
 Poore, in The American Cultivator, who
 approves of the above schedule, says to
 make the grafting wax by heating and
 mixing equal parts of resin, tallow and
 yellow beeswax. A coat of this wax,
 about one-twentieth of an inch thick,
 spread over muslin, calico or flexible pa-
 per, makes an excellent covering for out-
 door grafting, or, spread half as thick, is
 well adapted to root grafting.

 Farm Acreage and Farm Values.
 Statistician Dodge, in his report on ag-
 ricultural statistics, makes it appear
 that the farm area of the United States
 has nearly doubled in thirty years, in-
 creasing from 293,560,614 to 636,081,835
 acres. During the firstten years the tak-
 ing up of government lands in the west
 and south and the state lands of Texas
 was active. The most-fertile areas, little
 encroached upon in the newer settle-
 ments, were taken possession of with a
 certainty of appreciation in value that
 added intensity to theopursuit of homes
 obtainable at insignificant prices. The
 absolutely free homestead had not at that
 time been guaranteed by law. In the next
 decade the disturbing element of the civil
 war prevented aggregate increase, the
 states within the theatre of actual warfare
 declining in area, some farms being aban-
 doned and hence not counted as farms.
 At the same time many of the western
 states showed a considerable increase.
 Kansas, for instance, with 1,778,400 acres
 in 1860, had 5,656,879 in 1870.
 Between- 1870 and 1880 the new lands
 taken into the farm area exceeded 128,-
 000,000 acres. Of thisino less than 49,-
 000,000 were in
 Ssix division! be-
 /- o to tweenthe lissis-
 Ssippi and the
 I ATS Rocky'moun-
 w1-rA tains. The in-
 17A increase was' large
 S //Ar i in the south, es-
 Specially in Texas,
 where it -was
 Nearly 18,000,000.
 DIAGRAM OF FARM 'The proportion of
 PRODUCTS. unimproved land,
 notwithstanding the new land taken up,
 has been constantly decreasing. It was
 61.5 per cent. in 1850, 59.9 in 1860, 53.7
 in 1870 and 46.2 in 1880. 11
 According to the same authority the in-
 crease of twenty years in .the values of
 products of American agriculture has
 been far greater than the increase in popu-
 lation. Quantities have enormously in-
 creased and values have changed, some
 being lower and some higher than in 1860.
 The principal products are shown in the
 accompanying diagram in the order of
 their prominence. Meat, which represents
 ranch grass or pasturage, I's first, followed
 by corn, wheat, hay, dairy products, cot-
 ton, poultry products, etc. Corn stood
 first in 1860 because the grains of the
 western half of the continent were un-
 utilized, and meat production east of the
 Mississippi has assumed greatly enlarged
 proportions. A part of the corn, about
 half, and a small part of the hay, are du-
 plicated in the value of meats. The dairy
 products are principally from pasturage,
 and therefore do not duplicate extensively
 values of other items.
 The products represented in the diagram
 and the proportion of each in the two
 periods are given in millions of dollars, as
 follows: .
 1859. 1879.
 Articles. Value df Per 'Value of Per
 products, cent. products. cent
 Meats.............. 300 17.09 5i) S2 i
 Corn............. 361 21.05 6"iD 16
 Wheat...........'. 125 "'7.6 4S7 11.7
 Hay................ 153 9.1 41) l 0
 Dairy products...., 152 9.1- 853 95
 Cotton............. 212 12.6 272 7.8
 Poultry products.. 75 4.5 180 a.8
 'Other products..... 298 17.8 6579 15.6
 Total.... .... 1,676 100.0 8,728 -100.0

 Experiment with Vows. -
 On the Wisconsin Agriculrural college
farm six cows were kept, three by pastur-
ing and three by soiling. Professor Henry
reports the result: There was gained a
product, of 1,779 pounds of milk from one
acre of pasture, producing 83 pounds of
butter, while one acre in soiling crop gave
4,782 pounds of milk, which made 196
pounds of butter. The pasture was one
of the-best blu~e gas~pastures, capable of
carrying a cow per acre the season
-through, .under favorable weather :con-
dition s. *: .
 A Thoroughbred Cow.
 The presence of any thoroughbred cow
in a herd, says American Dairyman, has
a most remarkable effect upon the owner.
She is the first one he concerns .himself
-about when the herd is looked up. She
gets all the petting and the extra bits of
grass. The wife sets that cow's nilk separ-
ate to use in the family, and when the cow
has a new calf everybody goes out to look
at it. Such a cow has a refining influ-
ence in the family, and every family and
every farmer should have one in his herd


 A Cheap and Convenient Shed.
 The shed shown in the accompanying
 cut is usually made of poles at the west,
 but can be just as easily made of sawed
 timbers. It can be of any length, but
 should not be more than thirty feet,. wide
 for a double shed, or half as wide for a
 single shed. It consists of three rows of
 posts two or more feet in the ground, five
 to seven feet apart. The middle row
 should be enough higher than the others
 to give sufficient pitch. Each row should
 have a strong plate 4x4 or 4x6. No cross-
 ties are needtled, except at the ends to re-
 ceive the sidings. Rafters pass each other
 on the ridge pole and are fastened together
 by pins, as our grandfathers fastened
 theirs. They should also be spiked to












 CHEAP SHED.
 plates. The top can be sheathed and
 shingled or covered with hay or straw
 and weighted down. Framed barns are
 made in this country on the same plan.
 All cross ties and beams are done away
 with, which makes them much more con-
 venient for hay barns.
 Congress and Pleuro-Pneumonia.
 Chairman Hatch, of the house commit-
 tee on agriculture, received from Com-
 missioner Colman a reply to the resolu-
 tion offered a few days before by Mr.
 Swinburne of New York, in which the com-
 missioner sets forth comprehensively the
 difficulties met in the attempt to extirpate
 or control the pleuro-pneumonia scourge
 in the present state of the law and with
 the machinery at hand, and re-enforces his
 recommendations previously made for
 more heroic methods. The commissioner
 argues that the quarantine of infected
 cattle, even if it could be efficiently done,
 does not prevent the spread of the con-
 tagion, except in isolated cases, and that
 the losses from restrictions in trade
 are greater than those caused by the dis-
 ease itself. He has therefore recommended,
 and does now recommend, as the only
 measure which will extirpate the plague
 and prevent both the direct and indirect
 losses, that wherever an infected herd is
 discovered all exposed animals be slaugh-
 tered, the premises thoroughly disinfected,
 and the owner compensated for the loss to
 which he is subjected for the protection of
 the public. He urges upon the committee
 the necessity of legislation giving to the
 department power to carry out the
 measures required for extirpating pleuro-
 pneumonia, untrammeled by state laws or
 state authorities, if it is expected to
 promptly suppress this disease. At present
 he can only co-operate with the state
 authorities in accordance with state legis-
 lation in the matter. In some states there
 are no laws on the subject, 'and in afl tle'"
 rest they are wholly inadequate for the
 prompt extirpation of the-plague. There
 is little doubt, however, that strong con-
 stitutional objections will be raised in con-
 grass to such legislation aS the commis-
 sioner recommends.-Rural New Yorker.
 Fence Posts Upside Down.
 There are many farmers who .believe
 that fence posts set upside down will last
 longer than will those set the same way
 as the timber grows. This idea probably
 originated from the theory that. moisture
 would not have the same effect upon the
 tissue of the wood when it was inverted
 as would be the case when fixed in its
 natural position. There may or may not
 be something in this, but with ordinary
 oak fence posts it would be quite counter-
 balanced by the inconvenience of having
 the smaller and generally more sappy
 part of the post fixed in the soil. An ag-
 ricultural writer who has had large exper-
 ience with oak posts prefers having these
 sawed and fixed in the same position as
 the trees grew, especially when the logs
 from which they are cut taper consider-
 ably, which they are liable to do.'
 Facts Farmers Ought to Know.
 The Western New York Horticultural
 society will hold its thirty-second annual
 meeting at Rochester on Wednesday, Jan.
 26. Papers are promised "from John J.
 Thomas, Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, Charles
 H. Green,, Dr. J. A. Lintner and others
 prominent in horticulture.
 The December crop report, states that
the farm value of corn which last Decem-
ber was 33 cents per bushel is now 87
cents, one cent higher than the crop of
1884, and the average December price of
wheat is 69, cents, a reduction of 8 cents
from the average value of the last crop
and 4 1-2 cents above the price in 1884.
-Several gentlemen of Maine have leased
a big barn a Cape Elizabeth, where they
propose wintering several hundred quail,
to be liberated in different sections of the
state in the spring.
 The Beauty of Hebron potato is men-,
tioned as one of the leading varieties al
present for general culture in Great
Britain. .
'Cooking 'feed for. stock is .a subject
much discussed at present, and as good
authority as Professor Stewart is reported
as: advocating it for all kinds of domestic

_ Good blood in horses is every year more:
in demand, especially by city buying. The
farmer wif'find readiest sale for his best
bred animals. "
'The agricultural fairs of 18,86 showed
more and better horses than ever before.
There is no branch of our improved stock
breeding as progressive and prosperous as
the draft horse interest, nor any one that
is as profitable. '-
 If you have a few dollars to spare, buy
a small flock of sheep and make them a
pen and ayard, and procure a good thor-
oughbred ram two years old to run with
the ewes. Keep an account of the cost,
and if everything goes right the money
will be doubled within a twelvemonth.
So says The Rural New Yorker.


 amilg ~~

 A STRANGE TESTIMONY.
 (CONTINUED FROM LAST NUMBER.)
 I dressed slowly and went down stairs;
 it was nearly dinner time. Miss Carlyon
 was sitting on the veranda. She looked
 brighter and prettier than I had ever
 seen her. Her-improvement was daily
 noticeable, and to-night her cheeks
 flushed with delicate and becoming color.
 She was quite unembarrassed and glad to
 talk with me. She said she slept all the
 afternoofi and her indisposition of the
 morning was simply the result of a sleep-
 less night. She had not been present
 then, I concluded grimly, at the wife
 beating. Presently Mrs. Westhaven
 came out and joined us. She seemed
 pale and exhausted. For the first time
 I noticed a marked resemblance between
 the sisters.
 "You find the heat oppressive, do you
 not?" I asked her, and her reply be-
 trayed an agitation and an earnestness of
 which I had believed her manner In-
 capable.
 "Oh, yesl" she said, laying her hand
 on her heart as if she suffered there.
 "Yes, Indeed, it burns me-it burns me
 terribly."
 She seemed to be desperately ill.
 I saw little o? Westhaven fodr days after
 this. It is possible that my manner to
 him may not have been cordial. I could
 not help a certain restraint, and I am
 sure that for awhile he avoided me. This
 in time wore away, and we resumed our
 former pleasant relations, there being
 nothing to excite even further curiosity
 in his domestic affairs.
 Mrs. Westhaven steadily drooped, los-
 ing flesh and color, which Miss Carlyon
 as steadily gained. The winter was
 nearly over. Westhaven and I had dis-
 cussed the change in his wife, but it
 came so gradually that he seemed not to
 notice it as I did. One night he came to.
 my door.
 "Doctor," he said, "I wish you would
 come and see Mrs. Westhaven. She is
 not at all well."
 I rose hurriedly and went upstairs
 with him. He seemed greatly distressed
 and quite unnerved, scarcely answering
 the questions I put I him concerning the-
 nature of the attack.- I found Miss Car-
 lyon attending besic& the the bed upon
 which Mrs. Westhavcn lay, white, limp,
 utterly unlike herself. She smiled
 faintly when I addressed her, but I could
 not induce her to speak to me. She
 looked to me like-a person- who had re-
 ceived a sudden' and severe shock. I
 asked Miss Carlyon where Mrs. West-
 haven had passed the afternoon. She re-
 plied that her sister had gone out alone
 and returned just before dinner, appar-.
 ently very much exhausted; she had been
 'in this condition all the" evening. Miss
 Carlyon's voice was cold and strained,
 and her restless eyes traveled the room
 over as she spoks to me. -
 Westhaven watc l her every word
 anxiously. I had ni, -believed him. capa-
 ble of such deep fec.ing for his unloved
 wife.' I administered a sleeping draught
 and' left the room, followed- by"West-
 haven. I turned to speak to him. : He
 stood'before me like a desperate, hunted
 animal, and there flashed across me a
 sudden, horrible suspicion that he was.in
 some way connected with his wife's Ill-
 ness. An, instant's swift reflection con-
 vinced me of my injustice-her symptoms
 were not those of a person to whom an
 injurious drug has been given, and the
 remorse I felt colored my manner to him
 with even greater kindness.
 So I gave him an opinion which was
 the result more of weeks of observation
 than of my visit that evening to the pa-
 tient., "Frankly, I will tell you," I said,
 "that I think Mrs. Westhaven will event-
 ually succumb to the same illness which
 attacked her sister. Three months ago I
 would have refuted this theory as unten-

 able in view of her superabundant vital-
 ity, but to the eyes of a stranger it is pos-
 sibly more apparent than to her family,
 to yon, that she is very much changed in
 health and appearance." I paused.
 Westhaven drew his breath in short, dry
 gasps. His hands moved restlessly along
 the back of a chair before him.
 "Do you think my wife will die?"
 I scarcely recognized his voice. I re-
 plied gently: -.
 S"Not necessarily so.' A change of clir
 mate has effected much in the case of
 Miss Carlyon; she is certainly a different
 person from what she was when I first
 saw her. In fact," I added reflectively,
 "Miss Carlyon has gained in almost ex-
 act proportion to Mrs. Westhaven's loss."
 Westhaven Started violently. Hi's face
 grew livid. He regarlded me with
 a strange expression, one which I could
 not fathom. I continued quietly:"
 "I should give Mrs. Westhaven no
 medicine's. If she does not improve you
 must, take her back to the east. Miss
 Carlyon need not be considered; I be-
 lieve her'to be quite re-stored to health."
 I think no one ever impressed me.so
 disagreeably as Miss, Carlyon at this
 period. She had recovered her health in
 a most extraordinary way, but it seemed
,to bring her neither happiness nor good
teniper. It was impossible to converse
with her upon the most trivial topics.
Her capricious temperament was Wearl-'
some In the extreme and her indifference
to her sister' utterly repulsive. West-:
haven was oblivious to it. Whatever was
the fascination she exerted over him, he
was quite subservient to' the spell.' "She
clung persistently to his'side and monopo-"
lized the time and -attention which
should havQ been given for humanity's
sake to his wife.
 I avoided Westhaven. He was a great
 disappointment to 'me, and I had entirely
 lost respect for him, though I firmly be-
 lieved his greatest sin to be weakness in
 the' hands of an unscrupulous woman.
 One day he came to me quite beside him-
 self. Miss Carlyon was ill-in the old way
 -he had believed her entirely recovered
 -he was in despair. His wife, he said,
 was much better. I did not know what
 to advise. I was not a practicing physi-
 cian, and I had come to the firm conclu-
 sion that I had best not meddle with, a
 complicated and perplexing hereditary
 trouble which promised no successful


cure. I preferred fiot tuo auvie a, OItL,
but promised to see them in the evening.
Westhaven left me dejectedly.
 I saw nothing of him through the day
 and toward 3 o'clock in the afternoon I
 reproached myself for what might seem
 to him an unpardonable indifference on
 my part, and, on an impulse, I went di-
 rectl3 to his rooms. The day was insuffer-
 ably hot. There were few guests in the
 hotel, the season was well over and no
 one was visible in the corridors. There
 was not a sound save the splashing of a
 fountain which played in the court be-
 low, cooling the air deliciously. I walked
 lazily along the gallery, gazing upward
 at the bit of blue sky above the open
 court, intensely blue as only tropical sky
 can be.
 I suddenly paused, transfixed, incapa-
 ble of further motion. I stood before- a
 door leading into an inner sitting room
 of Westhaven's, a room which I had en-
 tered but once, which I believed he used
 for a study. The large glass .ventilator
 above the door was swung partially open,
 and tipped at such an angle that the In-
 terior of the roomi glowing i. nh- fltr.
 sunlight which pobiired into it tlirough
 the open window, was reflected with the
 fatal detailed reproduction of photog-
 raphy, upon the surface of the glass.
 Every detail of its horrible revelation
 was burned upon my brain in an instant!
 Upon a long table before the window
 through which the sun beat hotly, lay a
 long, glass case, with convex sides, and
 within this uncovered case, livid, ghastly,
 unconscious, lay Mrs. Westhaven. Her
 face was drawn by an expression of terri-
 ble agony, her limbs were rigid, her
 hands clenched convulsively, her beauti-
 ful, white breast was bare. The blazing
 rays of the sun concentrated by the strong
 lens formed by the convex side of the
 case threw the spectrum directly over her
 heart. She was absolutely motionless;
 I could not see even that she breathed.
 J ist where the actinic-rays of the spec-
 trum fell upon her soft skin, those mys-
 terious, rays, whose terrible chemical
 power has yet to be fathomed, were
 placed two fine glass tubes, connecting
 with a magneto electric battery by the
 side of the case, manipulated by West-
 haven.
 His face I could not see; it was bent
 over the body of his wife; his whole atti-
 tude -breathed a desperate and fearful
 anxiety. Through thd6se delicate tubes
 flowed a something, ultra etheric,- the
 faintest aurora, and passing into the bat-
 tery was transmitted by means of connept-
 ing wires to the hands of Miss Carlyon,
 who, seated almost directly beneath the
 ventilator, held the handles of the bat-
 tery firmly in her grasp. Her head was
 thrown back, her face was clearly re-
 flected above me, her eyes were shining,
 her breath came quickly. The silence of
 death was in the room; I felt the painful
 excitement of the scientist pending a
 dangerous experiment.
 I could have shrieked aloud in nervous
 horror, but I seemed to have lost the
 power of articulation.' I felt sure that
 this ultra etheric matter was vital fluid,
 the very essence of life. It must .be con-
 veyed by odic force engendered by the
 immeasurable power of the actinic rays.
 Then a foul murder was being committed
 in this room-bya process of Inconceivable
 torturer As -I stoo there ; powerless,
 penetrating to the depths, the secret in-
 tende I to be hid from all the wcirld, mem-
 ory pictured each scene of the trag-
 edy which had been enacted before me,
 from the one which theicurtain had long
 since rung down on tb this last one so
 nearly at a close.
 I recalled the beautiful, blooming,
 senseless woman who had come in the
 early winter to California, and the little,
 delicate, dying sister, and the disap-
 pointed, tortured,- unloving husband. I
 remembered the process of change so
 subtly, so delicately treated by which the
 condition of these two women had been
 reversed. I remembered the feverish
 anxiety with which the man had watched
 and guarded the change, his mysterious
 and baffling nature, his surprising fond-
 ness for my society and the greed with
 which he had drawn from me and de-
 voured my theories upon such very sub-
 jects. My GodI Had I, indeed, suggested
 to. him the means by which to work his
 hellish purpose? Like fire in my blood
 this thought burned me at last to action.
 I forced open the door. Miss Carlyon
 raised her, eyes, wide, staring, horrible,
 and saw me. She made no sound in her
 terror. 'Westhaven was completely en-
 grosser! in.,his g'iastly work; his head
 was turned' away. Suddenly he uttered
 an awful cry. There was a quick shud-
 ,der through' the helpless figure 'in the
 glass case; the little glass tubes over the
 heart glowed with an intensified crimson
 light which flickered ,an instant, then
 went.out. A- violent shock agitated the
 battery beneath .Westhaven's hands,
 there was a sudden shattering of glass,; a
 swift, blinding flash of brilliant, incan-
 descent light., When I unclosed my daz-
 zled eyes Miss Carlyon lay, face down-
 ward upon -the floor. I knew what had
 happened. The last vital spark had been
 exhausted and the vampire, who sucked
 this life had drawn death with it. West-.
 haven stared at me with terrible, vacant
 eyes. He seemed stunned. I unlocked
-the door, .spurning the figure of the
woman on the floor with my foot as I
passed.
 She was quite dead.
 r went down to the office.
 "Something is wrong in Mr. West-
 haven's room," I said to the hotel pro-
 prietor, as quietly as I could. "You will
 do well to go and s e about it."


 The next .time that [ met Mr. West-
 )xaven I was called as a witness for the
 state in his trial. I repeated substantially
 the testimony which I havegiven above,
 but did not state my beleif that Mr.
 Westhaven had been in love with his
 wife's sister. There were hosts of wit-
 nesses to testify to the affectionate solici-
 tude which he had ever shown for the
 health of both ladles since. their arrival
 in California. He was acquitted, the
 jury probably holding the opinion that
 Mr. Westhaven had merely gratified his
 love of scientific experiment "with the
 best Intentions, though with fatal results.
 -Philadelphia Press.


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71


 A Violin Maker's Memory of Ole Bull.
 When the name of Ole Bull was men-
 tioned, Mr. Colton's face brightened and
 it was evident that he was an ardent ad-
 mirer of the great virtuoso. He said:
 "Ole Bull was Ole Bull, and, while being
 a member of no school, he played musio
 that was melody. I ,was proud to call
 him my friend, and he has often visited
 me in this very roomin where, during the
 exchange of mutual confidences, he has
 played for me some of his favorite selec-
 tions. Ole Bull would play an old,
 homely melody, say, 'Way Down Upon
 the Suwanee River,' or 'Home, Sweet
 Home,' in such a manner that the audi-
 ence would rise upon its feet .and fairly
 howl. One' of the peculiarities of the
 great musician was his hand, which was
 enormous. It was not pudgy but broad
 and long. His fingers covered the entire
 neck of the violin, and this, I think
 greatly aided him in execution. Tp
 to the time of his death he was in fairly
 good health.
 "Ole Bull was the most notable spedi-
 men of a man I ever saw. Tall and com-
 manding he charmed his audience by his
 presence before lie had played "a fiote. _
 His arm was "as big around as-my leg,
 while he was amply propor.toned. .He
 weighed 170 pounds and stood 6 feet 1
 inch in his stockings. I think I see him
 now facing a great audience, his violin at
his shoulder, the perpetual smile on his
-face and the merry twinkle of his gray
eyes. When last he appeared, at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, fie held-his
audience spellbound, and during the time
that he was on the stage one could hear
a pin drop, so great was the interest
manifested. Ole Bull was one of the
most simple and good natured men I ever
knew. Often have I discovered hini
under the table in my dining room play-
'ing dog with the children.' He would
bark, and laugh heartily when he saw
that his actions 'pleased the little ones.
He was passionately fond of three things
-hiswife, ihis violin and little children."
-Brooklyn Eagle. -

 Japanese Art Metal Work.
 The flow of metals is illustrated- very
 curiously in one phase of Japanese art
 metal worE, of which however, it is quite -
 difficult to obtain native. examples. In
 its preparation thin layers- of copper,
 precious metals and various alloys are sol-
 dered in superposition like the leaves of
 a. book; through these layers holes are
 drilled to various depths in the thickness
 of the metal, or trenches are cut in it.
 The mass is then hammered flat until the
 holes or trenches disappear, and the re-
 sult is contorted bands of some complex-
 ity, possessing much beauty, especially
 when the color of the metal is developed
 by suitable chemical treatment and- pol-
 ishing. A similar effect may be produced
 by beating up the metal from one side
 and' filing the other flat.-London En-
 gineer. .- .
 Weakness of a Word.
 How many people ever think of the
 weakening effect of the word "very" in
 talking or writing? There are but few
 cases where it strengthens an idea. For
 instance, take this sentence: "Mrs.
 Blank is a very fine writer." How mur.n ._
 stronger- the sentence is without-the
 "very." To say that aman is verywell
 known indicates that he is less known
 than one of whom we say "He is well.
 known." Th-s weakening element is a
 characteristic of the word "very." The.
 same- might be said of all. superfluous
 words, though few, if any, are: so persist-
 ently of tlht caa.ter as the word in
 question.-Hartford Times. -
 S The New Flood Building. "".
 The new Flood building in .San Fran-
 cisco, Cal., is to be surmounted by flv ,
 -emblematic figures of heroic size, the-.
 subjects chosen being appropriate to the'
 growth and progress of the state. They
 will be made of- white metal and will be'
 the first of the kind ever cast on that
 coast. The plinth upon which they will
 rest, will be 85 feet from the'ground so
 that the figures will only appear to be of
 life size proportions.-Chicago Times.
 Accurate Map of Our Country.
 An accurate map of the 'United States
 is in preparation by Maj. Powell, and
 will be finished. in about a year. The
 coast line has long been quite perfectly
 charted, but the inaccuracy of internal
 surveys has caused the placing of;- some
 localities fully five miles out of the way
 on the best of existing ,maps.-Arkansaw
Traveler. ':

 Best Varieties of Foyls.
 "What variety shall I ..breed?" Is an
 ever recurring question that receives each
 season ever varying answers. A very
 sensible reply is that-of The Sopthern Cul-
 tivator, which is ln!ibref,-tatarno one can
 answer the question better than yourself.
 If your yards-.are siaILyQour .common'
 sense ought to te you that-large breeds,
 such as light or dark'Brahias, buff'or .
 partridge Cochins, White Cochins- or
 Langshans may suit You.' 'Either stand
 confinement well but need clds attention .
 to keep them from getting to6'fst. They
 are all good writer layers, hatchi and rear
 their young, and whef fully matured are.
 of enormous size ." -
 If, on the bother hand;, your runs are un-
 limited, the' Leghorns, Ganred; Houdans,
 Spanish and Hamburge ar 'e"all good.
 These are decidedly acti'#e,.dphetter when
 roaming at largethan whcn confined, and
 in fact are hard to keep shut up, as they
 fly over fences.ten feet high. They will
 knock a garden crazy in ten ,mluutes, stir
 up the flower bed in fine style anid assert
 rights on all occasions. 'Of the medium
 class the Wyandottes and Plymouth Rocks ."
 hold undisputed' ground; .They seem to
 do as well on small runs as large, will lay
 almost the year through with good treat-
 ment, and are large enough for all pur-  -<
 poses. To those who are breeding for "
 "fancy points" the Plymouth Rock Is
 more popular than its rival, the Wyan -
 dotte. Both"'are the product of crosses,
 but the Plymouth Rock has been bred so
 long that but little trouble is experienced
 in securing good "standard specimens,
 while in theWyandot.te not more than one
 in ten will do to breed from. But above
 all in breeding pure tock select the kind *
 that suits you best. .