. SUNDAY’'S SERMON.
ONR OF DR, T. DEWITT TALMAGEY
STERLING DISCOURSES.
¥ Subiecct: “Week Day Religlon.”
f Texr: “In all thy ways acknow Him."™
‘=Proverbs iii., 6. y ot
# There has been a tendency in all lands and
ages to set apart certain days, places and oe
casions for especial religious service, and to
think that they formedthe realm in which re
ligion was chiefly to act. Now, while holy
days and holy places have their use, they can
never be a substitute for continuous exercise
of faith and prayer.
In other words, a man cannot be so good a
Christian on Sabbath that he can afford to be
a worldling authe week. If a steamer start
for Bonthsm%ton and sail one day in that di
rection and the other six days sail in ather
\directions, how long before the steamer will
get to Southampton? Just as soon asthe
man will get to heaven who sails on the Sab
bath day towardthat which is good, and the
other six days of the week sails toward the
sworld, the flesh and the devil,k You eannot
eat so much at the Sabbath hanquet that you
can afford religious abstinence all the rest of
the week.
Genuine religion is not spasmodie, does
not go by fits and starts, is not an attack of
chills and fever—now cold until your teeth
chatter, now hot until your bones ache,
Genuine religion marches on steadlg up
steep hills and along dangerous declivities
its eye ever on the everlasting hills crowned
with the castles of the blessed.
Ipropose, so far as God may helr me, to
show you how we may bring our religion iu
to ordinary life and practice it in common
things —yesterday, to-day, to-morrow.
And, in the first place, I remark, we ought
to bring religion into our ordinary conversa
tion. A dam breaks, and two or three vil
lages are submerged, a South American
earthquake swallows a city, and people be
filn to talk about the uncertainty of human
fe, and in that conversation think they are
‘engaging in religious service when there
may be no religion at all. I have noticed
that in proportion as Christian experience is
shallow men talk about funerals and death
beds and hearses and tombstones and, epi
taphs,
* If a man have the religion of the gosgel in
its full Eower in his soul, he will talk chiefly
about this world and the eternal world and
very little comparatively about the insignfl
cant pass between this and that. Yet how
seldam it is that the religion of Christ is a
welcome theme ! If a man full of the gospel
of Christ goes into a religious ecirele and be
gins to talk about sacred things, all the con
versation is hushed, and things become ex
ceedingly awkward, As on a summer day,
the forest full of song and chirp and carol,
mighty chorus of bird harmonies, every
branch an orchestra, if a hawk appears in
the sky, all the voices are hushed, so I have
eometimes seen a soclal circle that professed
to be Christian silenced by the appearance of
the great theme of God and religion,
‘Now, my friends, if we have the religion ot
Christ in our soul, we will talk about it in
an exhilarant mood. It is more refreshing
than the waters, it is brighter than the sun
shine, it gives a man joy here and rrepums
him for everlasting happiness before the
throne of God. And yet, if the thewe of
religion be introduced into a eirele, every
thing issilenced—silenced unless perhaps an
aged Christian man in the corner o} the
room, feeling that something ought to be
said, puts one foot over the other and sighs
heavily and says, *‘Oh, yes ; that's so I
i+ My iriends, the religion of Jesus Christ is
not something to be groaned about, but
lomethlx:fig to talk about and sing about, your
face irradiated. The trouble is that men pro
fessing the faith of the gospel are often sc
inconsistent that they are afraid their con
versation will not harmonize with their life,
We cannot talk the gospel unless we live the
gospel. You will often find 4 man whose en
tire life is full of inconsisten: s fllling his
conversation with such expressions as, “We
are miserable sinners,” ““The Lord help us,”
“The Lord bless you,"” interlarding their
conversation with such phrases, which are
mere canting, and canting is the worst kind
of hypoerisy.
If a man have the grace of God in his heart
dominant, he can talk religion, and it will
geem natural, and men, instmd of being re
pulsed by it, will be attracted by it, Do you
not know that when two Christian people
_talk as they ought about the things of Christ
and heaven God gives special attention, and
He writes it all down. Malachi ili., 16,
“Then they that feared the Lord talked ons
to the other, and the Logd hearkened and
heard, and a book of remembrance was writ
ten.”
But I remark again, we ought to bring the
religion of Jesus Christ into our ordinary
employments. ‘‘Oh,” you say, ‘‘that’s a very
ggod theory for a man who manages a large
siness, who has great traflic, who holds a
great estate—it is a grand thing for bankers
and for shippers-—but in my thread and nee
dle store, in my trimming establishment, in
my insignificant work of life, you cannot
apply those grand gosple principles.” Who
told you that? Do you not know that a
taded leaf ona brook’s surface attracts God's
attention as certainly as the path of a blaz
hg gun, and that the moss that creeps upthe
pide of the rock attracts God's attention as
certainly as the waving tops ot Oregon pine
and Lebanon cedar, and that the crackling
of an alder under a cow's hoof sounds as
joudly in God’'s ear as the snap of a world’s
conflagration, and that the most insignifi
cant thing in your like is of enough impor
tance to attract the attention of the Lord
God Almighty?
My brother, yon eannot be called to doany
thing so insignificant but God will help you
in it. Ifyou are a flsherman, Christ will
stand by you as He did by Simon when he
dragged Gennesaret, Are youa drawer of
water? He will be with you as at the well
curb when talking with the Samaritan
woman. Are you a custom house officer?
Christ will call you as He did Matthew at the
receipt of custom. The man who has only a
day's wages in his pocket as certainly needs
religion as he who rattles the keys of a bank
and could abscond with a hundred thousand
hard dollars. And yet there are men who
profess the religion of Jesus Christ who do
not bring the religion of the gospel into
their ordinary occupations and employ
ments,
There are in the churches of this day men
who seem veru”out on the Sabbath who
are far from t during the week. A coun
try werchant arrives inthis city, and he goes
into th® store to buy fi(:d' of & man who
grofeuea religion, but no grace in his
eart. The country merchant Is swindled.
He is too exhausted to go home that week ;
he tarries in town. On Sabbath he goes to
some church for consolation, and what is his
agmazement to find that the man who carries
around the poor box is the ver'; one who
swindled him. Butnevermind. The deacon
has his black coat on now and looks solemn
and goes home talking about that blessed
sermon ! Christiank on Sunday. Worldings
during the week,
That man does not realize that God knows
evary dishonest dollar he has in his gockm.
that God is looking right through the iron
wall of his money safe, and that the day of
judgment is coming, and ‘that “‘as the par
tridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not,
80 he that ‘gmetk Ziches and not by right
shall leave them in the midst of his days, and
at his end shall be a fool.” Bat how many
there are who do not bring the religion of
Christ into their mry.h‘i"ocoupulon. They
think religion is for Sundays.
Suppose you were to go out to fight for
your country in some great ocontest, would
go to do the Mlm at Troy or &t
mncfle{d? No, you wo lgo thers to get
your swords and muskets, Then you would
gont in the face of the enemy and contend
your country. Now, Itake the Sabbnth
day and the church to Yo only the armory
'banwemtoga equipped for the great
battle of life, and that battiefleld is Monday
Taesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and
gaturday. ‘“‘Astioch,” and “St. Martin's’
and “014 Aundred” are not werth much if
we do not sing all the week. A sermon is of
little aceount if we cannot earry it behind
the counter and behind the plow. The Sab
tl:nh day is of no valueif it last only 24
ours,
“Oh,™ says some one, “if I had a great
sphere, I would do that, If I could have
lived in the time of Martin Luther, if I could
have been Paul's traveling companion, if I
had some great and resounding work to do,
then I should put into application all that
you say.” I must admit that the romance
and knight errantry have gone out of life,
There is but very little of it left in the world,
The temples of Rouen have been changed
into smithies. The classic mansion at Ash
land has been cut up into walking sticks.
The muses have retreated before the emi
grart’s ax and the tn;:gu'o finn. and a Ver
monter might go over the Allaghany and the
Roeky mountains and see neither an Oread
nor a Sylph.
The groves where the gods used to dwell
have been cut up for firewood, and the man
who i 3 looking for great spheres and great
scenes for action will not find them. And
et there are Alps to scale and there are
Eellu nts to swim, and they are in com
mon 13:. It is absurd for you to say that you
would serve God if {lou had a great sphere,
If you do not serve Him an asmall scale, you
would not on a large scale. If you cannot
stand the bite of a midge, how could you en
dure the breath of a basilisk?
Our national government does not think it
belittling to put a tax on pins and a tax on
buckles and a tax on shoes, The individual
taxes do not amount to much, but in the
aggregate to millions and millions of dollars.
And I would have you, oh Christian man, put
a high tariff on every annoyance and vexa
tion that comes through yoursoul. This might
not amount to much in single cases, but in
the aggregate it would be u great revenue of
spiritual strength and satisfaction.
A bee can suck honey even out of a nettle,
and if you have the grace of God in your
heart you can get sweetness out of that
which would otherwise irritate and annoy
A returned missionary told me that a com
pany of adventurers, rowing up the Ganges,
were stung to death by flies that infest that
region at certain seasons, 1 have seen the
earth strewn with the carcasses of men slain
by insect annoyances. The only way to get
prepared for the greastroubles of life is to
conquer these small troubles,
Suppose a soldiershould say, ‘“This is only
a skirmish, and there areonly a few enomies
—I won't load my gun ; wait until I get into
some great gencral engagement.” That
man is a coward and would be a coward in
any sphere, If a man does not serve his
country in a skirmish, he will not in a
Waterloo. And if you are not faithful going
out against the single-handed misfortunes of
this life you would not be faithful when
great disasters with their thundering
artillery eame rolling down over the soul,
This brings me to another point. We
ought to bring the religion of Jesus Christ
into our trials. If we have a bereavement, if
we lose our fortune, i{f some great trouble
blast like the tempest, then we go to God for
camfort, but yesterday in the little annoy
ances of your store or office, or shop or fac
tory, or banking house, dhi you go to God
for comfort? You did not,
My friends, you need to take the religion
of the Lord Jesus Christ into the most ordi
nary trials of Kour life, You have your mis
fortunes, you have your anxieties, you have
your vexations. ‘‘Oh,” you say, ‘‘they don't
shape my character. Since I lost my child,
sinee I have lost my Frnpert?', I have been a
very different man from what [ was.” My
brother, it is the little annoyances of your
life that are souring your disposition, clip
ping your moral character am{) making you
less and less of a man.
You go into an artist's studio. You see
ilm making a pilece of sculpture. You say,
*“Why don't you strike harder?” With his
mallet and his chissl he goes eclick, elick,
ellek ! and you can hardly see from stroke to
stroke that there is any impression madeupon
the stone, and yot the work 18 going on, {:ou
say, “Why don't you strike harder?” *Ohl’
he replies, ‘“‘that would shatter the statue, 1
must make it in this way, stroke by stroke.”
And he eontinues on by week and month
until after awhile every man that enters the
studio is fascinated., .-
Well, I find God dealing with some man,
He is shaping him for time and shaping him
for eternity. I “f' “0O Lord, why not with
one tremendous blow of calamity shape that
man for the next world?"” God says, “*That’s
notthe way I deal with this man ;| it is stroke
after stroke, annoyance after annoyance, ir
ritation after irritation, and after awhile he
will be done and a glad spectacle for angels
and men."”
Not by one great stroke, but by ten thou
sand little strokes of misfortune are men
fitted for heaven. You know that large for
tunes can soon be scatterod b{ being paid out
in small sums of money, and the largest estate
of Christian character i 3 sometimes entirely
lost by these small depletions.
We must bring the religion of Jesus
Christ to help us in these little annoy
ances, Do not say that anything is too
insignificant to affect your character,
Rats may sink a ship. One lucifer
match may destroy a temple. A queen
got her death by smelllng of a poisonod
rose The scratch of a sixpenny nail
may give you the lockjaw. Columbus, by
asking for a piece of bread and a drink of
water at a Franciscan convent, came to the
discovery of & new world. And there is a
great connection between trifles and im
mensities, between nothings and every
things.
Do you not supposa Ahat Godl cares for
your insignificant sorrows? Why, my friends,
there is nothing insigniflecant in your life,
How dare you take the responsibility of say
ing that there i 8? Do you not know that
the whole universe is not ashamed to take
care of one violet? Isay: *‘Whatare you
doing down there in the grass, poor little
violet? Nobodr{ knows you are hbre. Are
you not afrald nights? You will die with
thirst, Nobody ecares for you., You will
suffer ; you will perish.” “.\’o"' says o star,
“I'll watch over it to-night.” ‘‘No,” says
the cloud, “I'll give it drink.” *No," says
the sun, ““I'll warm it in my bosom.”" Anl
then the wind rises and comes bending
down the grain and sounding its
psalm through the forest, and I say,
“Whither away, O wind, on such swift
wing?” and it answers, ‘‘l am golng to cool
the cheek of that violet.,” And then [ see
pulleys at work in the sky, and the clouds
are drawing water, and I say, **“What are you
doing there, O clouds?” They say, “We are
drawing water for that violet.” And then I
look down into the grass, and I say, ‘““Can it
be that God takes care of a poor thing like
you?" and the answer comes ur, “Yos, yes,
God clothes the grass of the fleld, and He has
never forgotten me, a poor violet. Oh, my
friends, if the heavens bend down to such in
significant ministry as that, I tell you God is
willing to bend down to your care, since He
is just as careful about the comstruction of a
afldu’l eye as He is in the conformation of
ming galaxies,
Plato had a fable which I have now nearly
forfouen, bat it rau something like this : He
sald spirits of the otheg world came back to
this world to iad a body and finda sphere of
work. Onespirit came and tookthe body of
a king and did his work. Anotherspirit came
and took the bodyof a poet and did his work.
After awhile Ulysses came, and he said:
*“Why, all the fine bodles are taken, and all
the grand work istaken. There is nothing
left for me.” And some one replied, *‘Ah,
the best one has been left for you.” Ulysses
said, “What's that?” And the reply was,
“The body of A common man, doing a com
mon work and for a common reward.,” A
a)odbblo for the world and just as good
ble for the church.
But, I remark again, we ought tomth
religion of Jesus Christ into our ary
blessings. Every autumn the President of
the United States and the finmon make
prociamation, and we ars mb« in
our churches to give thanks to for His
goodness, But every day ought to bethanks
giving day. We take most of the blessings
of life as a matter of course, We have had
ten thousand blessings this morning for
which we have not thanked God. Before the
night comes we will have a thousand more
blessings you will never think ot meationing
before God.
We must see a blind man led along by his
dogbolou we learn what a grand thing it is
to have one's eyesight, We must see a man
with Bt, Vitus's dance before we learn what &
grand thing it is to have the use of our phm
cal energies. We must see some sol
erippled, limping along on his eruteh or his,
empty coatsleeve pinned up, before we learn
what a grand thing it is to have the use of
all our physical faculties, In other words,
we are so stupid that nothing but the misfore
tunes of others can wake us up to an appres
ciation of our common blessings,
We get on board a train and start for Bose
ton and come to Norwalk bridge, and the
“draw™ is off and crash' goes the traAim
Fifty lives dashed out, We escape, We
come home in great excitement and oall our
friends around us, and they congratulate us,
and we all knell down and thank God for our
escape while so many perished, But to
morrow morning you get on a train of cars
for Boston. You cross that bridge at Nor
walk ; you ergss all the other bridces: you
get to Boston in safety. Then you' return
home, Not an accident, not an alarm, No
thanks,
In other words, you seem to be more grate
ful when 50 people lose their lives and {‘ou
get off than you are grateful to God when
ivqou all get off and you have no alarm at all,
ow, you ought to be thankful when you es
cape from aceident, but more thankful when
they all escape. In the one case your grati
tude is somewhat selilsh « in the other it is
more like what it ought to be,
Oh, these common mercies, these common
blessings, how little we appreciate them and
how soon we forzet them! Like the ox
grazing, with the clover up to its eyes, like
the bird picking the worm out of the furrow
—never thinking to thank God, who makes
the grass grow and who gives life to every
living thing from the animaleulm in the sod
to the seraph on the throne, Thanksgiving
on the 27th of November, in the autumn of
the Yyear, but blessings hour by hour and day
by day and no thanks at all,
[ compared our indifferenca to the brute,
but potg:pc I wronged the brute, Ido not
know but that among its other instinets it
may have an instinet by which it recognizes
the divine hand that feeds it, Ido not know
but that God is through it holding commus
nication with what we ecall “‘irrational crea
tion." The cow that stands under the wil
low by the water course chewing its cud
looks very thankful, and who can tell how
much a bird means by its song? The aroma
of the flowers smell like incense, and the
mist arising from the river looks like the
smoke of a morning sacrifice, Obn, that we
were as responsive !
If you were thristy and asked me for
drink and I gave you this glass of water, your
common instinet would reply, “Thank you."
And yet, how many chalices of mercy we get
hour by hour from the hand of the Lord, our
Father and our King, and we do not even
think to say, “Thank you."” More just to
men than we are just to God,
Who thinks of thanking God for the water
gushing up in the well, toaming in the cas
eade, laughing over the rocks, smtt«rlnu in
the shower, clapping its hands in the sea?
Who thinks to tfimnk God for that? Who
thinks to thank God for the air, the fountain
of life, the bridge of sunbeams, the path of
sound, the great fan,gn a hot summer day?
Who thinks to thank ?iod for this wonderful
physical organism, this sweep of vision, this
chime of harmony struck into the ear,
this crimson tide rolling through arteries and
veins, this drumming of the heart on the
march of immortality?
I conviet myself and I conviet everyone
of you while I say thesoe things, that we
aroe unappreciative of the common mercies
of lifa, And yet if they were withdrawn, the
heavens would withhold their rain and the
earth would erack open under our feet, and
desolation and sickness and woe would stalk
across the earth, and the whole earth would
become a Fhu.-e of skullsee
Oh, my friends, let us wake up to an ap
preciation of the common mereies of life, Let
every day be a Sabbath, every meal a sacra
ment, every room a holy of holies, We all
have burdens to bear , let us «-hm»rfullf bear
them. We all have battles to fight; let us
courageously fight them,
If wo want to die right, we must live right,
You go home and attend to your little sphers
of dutfes, I will go home and attend to my
little sphere of duties, You cannot do my
work ; I cannot do your work. Negligence
and indolence will win the hiss of everlast
ing scorn, while faithfulness will gather its
garlands and wave its sceptre and sit upon
its throne long after the world has put on
ashes and eternal ages have begun their
march,
Mummies as Brie-a-brac.
It is estimated that the number of
bodies embalimed in Egypt from B, C.
2000, when mummification is supposed
to have been first practised, to A, D.
760, when it ceased, amounts to 420, -
000,000, Some Egyptologists, who
extend the beginning of the art to a
much earlier date, estimate the num
ber of mummies at 741,000,000, These
mummies are very productive to the
Egyptians.
The modern traveler is not content
to collect merely beads and funeral
statues and such small game. He must
bring home an ancient Egyptian. The
amount of business done of late years
in this grim kind of brie-a-brac has
been very considerable,
Mummies, however, are expensive
hobbies, only to be indulged it by the
wealthy., From $3OO to 8500 was at
one time the average price of a full
sized specimen, while from 850 to 860
was asked for a baby.—New York
World.
China’s Literary Prodigy.
The marvelous child mentioned in
the Chinese classics who, at four years
old, was able to recite the 360 verses
of the T'ang poetry as well as the
Ancient Book of Odes, has been eclipsed
by an infant prodigy of the same age,
who has presented himself at the recent
licentiate examinations in Hong Kong
as a candidate for literary honors.
The P'anyu Chehsien personally cx
amined this tiny eandidate, and found
that the child conld write a concise
essay on the subject that had been
given him, althoagh, of course in an
infantile serawl. It is observed by a
local commentator that it now remains
only for the Literary Chancellor to
“pasd™ the prodigy ere he ecan be
styled as ““having entered the portals
of the Dragon's gates” —that is, ob
tained the degree of ‘SSiu-ts'al,” or
licentiate. —London News.
Queen Vietoria leads a busy sife, de.
spite the number of ministers and ser
vants she has. During the sammer
she drives down from Windsor Castle
sbout 9 o'clock and breakfasts at Frog
more, ususlly in a tent on thelawn.
After breakfast the Queen does her
morning’s work in another tent, sll
dispatches, letters and boxes coming
down to her from the castle. Daring
the morning two mounted grooms are
kopt riding between Frogmore and
the oastle with messages and letters,
and about 1.30 the Queen drives back
in time for luncheon.
The World's Wheat Supply.
The annual report of the Hungarian
Minister of Agriculture, recently pub
lished, presents many interesting figures.
It estimates the world’s production of
wheat this yearat 2,279,000,000 bushels,
against the otficial average of 2,250,000,
000 annually for the last ten years. The
deficits to be fillad by the importing
countries will require 379,000,000 bush.
els, and the surplus available in export
ing countries ls almost sufficient to
supply this shortage— 378,664,000 bush.
els. The countries showing a deficit
are Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy,
Austria, Spain, Norway and Sweden, the
Notherhns: Switzerland, Belgium, Den
mark, Portugal and Greece,
It is a significant fact that Great
B.itain shows by far the largest deficit.
Her product is less than one-fourth of
what she needs, the deficit amounting
to no less than 184,427,000 bushels. lu
deed England has to depend on outside
sources not only for her wheat but for
all her food supplies, and in the event of
war with a strong naval power, whose
cruisers would prey on British commerce,
she would run the risk of having a
famine to deal with, The United States,
on the other hand, has not only enough
to supply its own demands but nearly
70,000,000 bushels to spare, her product
being over 397,000.0(;0 bushels, Not
only in regard to wheat but all the food
staples, the United States has more
than enough to supply its own needs.
Herein is an element of strength whose
importance cannot be over-estimated.
Of the other countries: France's pro
duction is nearly 284 millions and her
defioit nearly 47 million bushels; Ger.
manv's Vrmluot, nearly 91 millions and
deficit about 254 millions; the product
of Italy is 122 millions and deficit over
224 mfllinm; Austria, product 454 mil.
lions, deficit nearly 40 millions. Russia
exhibits the largest surplus, nearly 98
miliion bushels: her pnx?m" is 843,000,
000, which is &4 million bushels less than
that of the United States. India is third
as & wheat-producing country, her pro
duct being nearly 275 million bushels and
her surplus 424 millions. The countries
showing a surplus are Russia, the United
States, India, Hungary, Roumania,
Turkey, Bulgaria, Servia, Canada, Africa,
Australia, Argentine and Chili.—[N. Y.
Tablet,
The Tyrant Man.
“Being a keen observer,” mused Mr
Greathead, ‘I am greatly impressed
with the manifest temf‘cncy of the strong
to inflict pain upon the weak. I have
found this to be true not only from my
observations of the animal kingdom, but
also from my studies of that bundle of
inconsistencies, man. I have noticed
that an individual clothed in a little
brief authority is prone to take ad
vantage of the unfortunate persons who
may be subject to his commands,
“1 passed a large office building the
other day which was in process of erec
tion, and hearing loud and angry voices
I etopped to ascertain the cause of the
dilturLancc. The millionaire who
owned the propesty was displeased with
the manner in which the work of con
struction was being carried on and was
rebuking the head contractor most vol
ubly. Fpaused to witness the outcome
of the affair. When the owner had de
parted the head contractor abused his
superintendent roundly, and the super
intendent then in goo«fv set terms swore
at the master mason and the captain of
the hod-carriers. These in(}ivlduall
made it uncomfortable for their inferi
ors, and the masons and the hod-car
riers addressed most disrespectful and
abusive invectives to the man in charge
of the engine used to hoist their materi
als to the upper stories, complaining
that he was slow, in the performance of
his duties. Then the engineer struck
the fireman with his clinched fist, and
the fireman relieved his feelings by going
out and kicking a dog which was enjoy
ing the shade across the street. Thus
do the weak suffer and the dumb ani
mals undergo hardships on acoount of
the perversity of the tyrant, man."—
[New York Tribune,
They Were (?omrudés.
A tall, snowy bearded man, with wide
brimmed soft iat and the air of a West.
ermer, was walking along Fourteenth
street, near Union Square. He noticed
a blind beggar's appeal for aid. The a‘p
gcal was prominently diorla{led on the
exgar's breast. It stated that the ap
pellant had lost his sight through a mine
Ox“).lonion in the west many years ago,
he white bearded man stopped and ad.
dressed a remark to the blind beggar
whose face brightened at the first words,
and broke into a smile when the gentle
man shook hands with him. Dropping
a coin in the tin cup that clanked liLc "
sheep bell at the liberal donation the
venerable pedestrian pursued his path.
“T'hat's Senator Stewart, of Nevada,”
whispered one observer to another, “‘and
the blind beggar once worked in the same
mine with him. Two summers ago they
met in the same way in this neighbor
hood. The Senator gave generous alms,
and the blind beggar was cheered by
the kind words that accompanied the
gift.”—[New York Herald.
Donkey is, in Spanish, burro. In
Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and in
Arizona, where the donkey is as well
known as the horse, he is always called
by his Spanish name, on account of the
fact that this section of the United States
80 recently belfmrcd to the Mexicans,
who, as cverybody knows, talked that
language. The Spaniards and Mexicans
also apply the term “‘burro” to a stupid
orignorant person, just as English-speak.
ing races use the word ‘‘donkey.”
The donkeys found ip Kentucky and
Missouri are probably the largest of their
race, because they are carefully bred and
looked after. But the donkey of the
West—the burro—has ne *‘blood,” no
edigree. Like Topsy, he ‘‘just grewed.”
t\'iti ancestors no better off than Lim
self, he has been kicked and cuffed and
overworked all his life, and left to pick
up his living as he could. In conse
quence he is stupid and_ lazy and stub.
born and dwarfed.
And yet, for all that, he is patient and |
long-suffering, will grow fat on rations '
that would scarcely keep a nobler animal |
from starvation, and is a most valuable :
aid to the progress of industry and
civilization in the West, [St, N!cb-‘
olas.
STALL FOR CRIBRING HORSE,
A confirmed eribber is incurable
unless means are taken to prevent
practice of the nabit. This may be
done by removing from a box stall
every projecting thing that may be
laid hold of by the horse's teeth,
There should be no feed rack or
trough in the stall, the food being
given in a shallow box on the floor,
which, if taken by the teeth, will be
lifted and thus furnish no hold, In
time the habit will be forgotten. If
not, this preeaution should be per
sovered in, —New York Times.
CURING SQUIRREIL SKINS,
To cure squirrel skins, or other
small skins, with the fur on, so that
the fur will not fall out: After having
out off the useless parts, soak the skin,
remove the fatty matter, and soak in
warm water for one hour. Mix to a
thin paste a half ounce each of borax,
sitpeter and sulphate of soda. Apply
s to the skin and let the latter stand
for twenty-four hours. Wash cloan,
thew apply s mixture of one ounce sal
soda, ene-half ounce borax, twoounces
hard white soap melted together with
out being allowed to boil. Put away
again for twenty-four hours in a warm
place. After this dissolve four ounces
alum, eight gunces salt and two ounces
saleratus in suflicient hot rainwater to
saturate the vkin; then wring out and
hang it up to dry. When dry repeat
the soaking and drying two or threo
times, until the skin is sufliciently
soft, Laustly, smeooth the inside with
fine sandpaper and pumice stone, -
Farm, Field and Firoside,
SHADE POR STOCK,
Stock of all kinds are not unlike
mankind in some respects, and seck
the shade whenever possible during
the extremo heatof summer. To gratify
this desire, shade should be provided
wherever practicable, and the cheap
est manner of doing this is through
the medium of shade trees. One or
two should be set out in each pasture,
and be protected by a fence until thor
oughly established. If the field be
tilled, set the trees along the south
pide, selecting those of rapid growth
and spreading branches, If they be
fruit trees, they should be trimmed to
a height of at least seven foet, and then
allowed to branch out. While the
treos are growing, it wounld be simply
humane to provide a temporary sheltor
of some kind, such ns setting a fow
posts, and covering with poles, upon
which are thrown branches of ever
greens, or even limbs of oak or other
trees in full leaf. This will afford a
useful shelter, and if loeated upon a
knoll or other naturally poor portion
of the field, it will thoroughly enrich
the soil. By changing its position
yearly, various portions of the field
will be benefited. All this takes but a
little time, and ean be done when other
work is not pressing. By boarding up,
late in the summer, the side from
which the prevailing winds blow, a fair
protection from the chilling blasts will
be obtained, and the stock will return
you the cost. —~American Agrictulturist,
POULTRY ADVICE,
As the result of experiments at the
Oentral Experiment Farm, in Canada,
the following conclusions have been
arrived at:
Select the best layers for the winter
~ Bupply the layers with bones, oyster
shells and vegetables,
Kill the drones, for they eat the
profit made by the good layers.
Get out as many chickens as possible
in time for the early grass.
When properly managed, poultry
and small fruits are said to be a paying
combination.
Keep the layers, if possible, in atem
perature where the drinking water will
not freeze,
With proper eare the cockerclsshonld
be fit for moarket in three to four
months and the pullets becomo layers
in five to six months,
The laying stock should be supplied
in winter with all the material neces
nf{blar making the eggs.
6 best layers will generally be
found to be the most active ones.
The Black Minoreas are rapidly ¢ om
in%o the fore as winter layers,
here the water is kept from freez
ing it is of special advantage to the
hens with large combs.
In cold poultry houses the food, in
stead of going into eggs, goes to keop
up the animal heat,
Fowls divided into small colonies Iny
more eggs than when crowded to
gether.
Keep no layer over two years, for it
then moults so late that all future
profit is eaten up before it commences
%o lay.
Intelligent and systematic manage
ment is a 8 necessary in the ponltry de
rtment as it is in every other line of
E:nnm.
WEANING CALVESA,
It is a disappointing time when one
soes the ealf or colt, that has been
growing thriftily while fed by its dam,
beginning to look rough in hair and
shin in flesh a 8 it comes o the
changed eondition of fesd when onece
it has been weaned. It is right here
that so much of the trouble comes in
stéempting to raise calves and colts.
I is the sudden changed condition of
feed that disarranges the small ani
mal's digestive organs, and for a while
pears to stop its growth entirely.
Ko remedy is plainly the making of
the dam's milk to the new food as lit
tle of a change as possible at first, and
to make this change very gradually.
To do thas it is best to begin by al
lowing the ealf, for instance, to take
but half its fill of ita dam's milk, fin
ishing upon & mixture of fresh milk
and warm skim milk. Gradually the
dam's milk ean be reduced in the ra
tion, and the warm skim milk in
creased while into it is stirred a little
boiled flax-seed and boiled oat meal
and middlings, very little of these
substances being added to the milk at
first, while gradually increasing the
quantity as the ealf gets older and
more fully accustomed to this food.
The great point is to make the change
so gradually as not to disturb tho di
gestive functions, and no small part of
the care required to do this 1s hav
ing the prepared food always of the
warmth of new milk. Even after the
ealf has grown strong and Justy upon
its new diet, the milk and mush which
is given 1t should be warmed, as the
chilling of the stomach from the drink
ing of a pail of cold milk, or other
fluid, is likely to be the beginning of a
serions disturbance that may manifest
itself in scours and in s failure to prop
arly assimilato the food taken, which
menns retarded growth, A ealt attnis
time should have some grass or hay to
eat, but let it be clover, if possible,
and not too mueh of that, for weanod
ealves kept inastable, frequently overs
tax both the eapacity and the diges
tive power of their stomnchs by eating
large quantities of dry hay, becoming
thereby “‘pot-bellied” and unthrifty.
If scours oecur, even when every eare
i% takon, a drink of milk freshly drawn
from the cow will prove n corrective,
while constipation, if it oceurs, can be
remediod by taking eare not to boil
thoe milk when heating it, and b
slightly inereasing the laxative fnm{;
that are added to the milk, adding
little boiled bran, if needed, for this
purpose, I such a plan s followed,
and the small animal, or animals, are
kept warm and given a dry pen, thé
change from their dams to the pail or
eall feeder ean be made with little dif
ficulty. —~Ameriean Agriculturist,
FARM AND GARDEN NOTES,
Do not shoe young horses too
honvily,
Brood gives form, and feed gives
growth.
An enasy way to exhaust land is to
avoid rotation,
Thoroughly whitewash the inside of
your poultry house,
Use plenty of plaster to absorb the
ammonin in the stable,
The eheapest and best way is to take
good eare of everything.
The puacers are coming to the front
in the race for popularity.
Pay more attention to the walking
gnit, Good walkers are rare.
Heroie treatmoent is the only proper
method if spavin is suspected.
Sort your eggs as to color, if youn
want them to look and sell well,
Melon bugs may be destroyed with
finely powered bone meal dusted on
the plants when wet with dew,
Excellont results are obtained by
mating good mares of Morgan descent
with the best trotting stallions,
Furnish sitting hens with good,
fresh, clean nests in a darkened place,
and put them on in the evening.
Watering a horse directly after eat
ing injures the digestive fluids of the
stomnch and produces dyspepsia and
dinrrhoon.
Ducks lny at night or early in the
morning. Don’t let them out until
wfger nine or ten o'clock. They sel
dom use s nest,
A little charconl mixed with soft
food will aid digestion and prevent
disense. It is o good purifier of the
blood and system.
In nearly all cases of crossing it is
carried too far, until the offspring
bears no resomblance to anything in
the shape of breeds.
A horse’'s memory is often better
than his mastor's. When in doubt
about the way home, it is generally
sufe to give the horse the rein.
Ench bee hive should have its own
bottom bhoard, and this board should
be of the same dimensions as the bot
tom of the hive, except that it shonld
project two inches on the entrance
end.
In the heat of the day when the air
is full of them on the wing is the best
time to work with bees. They will
sting less and the work ean be done
better and with less damage to the
bees than at any other time,
All boxes containing comb honey
should be removed from the hive as
soon a 8 completed. In this way the
boxes will not be soiled and the beauti
ful whiteness of combs marred by the
frequent passing of the beesoves them.
An interesting discovery haa been
made by two young chemists of Lon
c'lon which wifi doubtless have a very
important bearing on the manufacture
of cotton. Cotton waste is trans
formed by a new process into nitrate
of cellnlose, aud cotton fabries esn be
covered witis a solution of it which will
ndd materinlly to the weight, nrong}h
and value of the materisl, Thin,
lightweight fabrics can be filled up
with this preparation, which costslittle
more than sizing and fuller's earth.
The cellulose thus prepared is also ap
plieable to many ditferent purposes.
The cost is very little more than the
rw material, being cheap .n',‘ the
process of manufacture inexpensive,