Newspapers / The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, … / Dec. 22, 1881, edition 1 / Page 1
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(haiham Record. $t dhatljam Rrcotd. AJ H. A. LONDON, Jr., 33 A. TOSS or EDITOR AM) riiontlETOK. ADVEltTISING. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: One copy, one -.:i r, One copy , six nmiithft - Ooooupy, throe mouthy - One square, ono Insertion, Ouaaquara.twolhaiTtliiiiii,. . fl.00 1.S0 OlwuMjuaro, iimi' in. mill, . . . 1.00 - VOL. IV. PITTSBORO CHATHAM CO., N. C DECEMBER 22, 1881. (3. J3. I wlargorftilVKrtl!ioineiitllliiral central will If II st I II fl II TIip Land of Content. 1 set out for the land nf content, By tho gay, crowded pleasure Linkway; With laughter iuul jesting I wtnt With the mirth-loving throng for a day j Then I knew I hud wandered antny, For I met returned piie,riiim, belated, Wlio said, ''We arc weary mid Htutcd, But we found not tin- land of content." I turned to the steep path of fame ; I eaid, "It in ovi ryon height Thin land with the Ix'aiiiiful name Amliition will lend me its light." But I paused iii my journey ere night. For the way grew ho lonely and troubled ; I eaid--my anxiety doubled-- "ThiH is not the road to content." Then I joined the grand rabble and throng That frcijiicnt the moneyed world's mart ; But the greed and ihe grasping and wrong Left me only one wish to depart ; And, sickened aud (widened at huart, I hurried away from the gatowny, For my eoiil and my spirit iM straightway, "This is not the road to content," Then, weary in body and brain, r All overgrown path I detected, And I Mid, "I will hide with my pain In this by-way, unused and neglect, d." hn ! it led to the realm tied selected, To crown with his best gifts of beauty, And through the dark pathway of duty cainii to (lie land of content. THE MORTGAGED FARM. " Six o'clock I" eaid Marion Hilyard, looking up suddenly, as the tall, old fashioned clock in tho corner rang out its shrill announcement ; "six o'clock, and oh, mother I hero is Jerry Lane, punctual to tho very moment. Now we filiull hear some goods from Jack, I hope." She ran out to I ho gate, Unshod and eager, to reccivo tho letter from the country carrier, aud, returning, seated herself on a low stool at her mother's feet, and broke the envelope. On the first glance at its contents a shado of disappointment dimmed her bright face. Instead of reading tho note aloud, she glanced hurriedly over the brief lines, and then silently, with a qaivering lip, placed it in her mother's band and turned aside to a window. This is what Mrs, Hilyard read : Df.ab Madam : I saw your son a few days ago, when, to my surprise, be ex pressed himself reluctant to apply bis money to tho redeeming of the mort gage, saying that bo required it for a speculation which promises to be moro profitable to bim than tho'holding of the farm. 1 have, therefore, been com pelled to dispose of the mortgage to a gentleman of my acquaintance, who proposes to take immediate possession, and I consider it my duty to inform you thereof, in order that you may lose no time in making arrangements for a re moval." " Very respectfully, Ansi:n Haiuiis." Mrs. Ililyard returned tho letter to its envelope with a trembling hand and a dazed, bewildered look, as though unable to realize the blow which had so suddenly fallen upon them. Her eyes met Marion's, and tho girl threw herself upon her knees, by her mother's side, and bnrst into tears. "Oh, mother, mother, what shall wo do ? What will become of us ?" Tho Lord will provide,' " eaid Mrs. Hilyard, as she raised her overflowing eyes to the motto on tho wall, embroid ered by Marion's own band. " Whero is your faith, my child, that it should fail you in this hour of need ? ' " Mother, it is not so much the loss of our home, nor the poverty and trial in ttore, which grieves me, but that Jack your own son, my own brother should have so changed. Oh, mother, I know that our Father in Heaven will not desert ns, but to whom on earth can we turn when even Jack can become wordly and heartless ?" At this moment a little blue-eyed girl burst into tho room with " Mamma Marion I here is Miss 'Melia Anderson at the gate, in her buggy. Sho says, will you step out a minute, for she wants to tell you about old Mr. Millard being snustruek, and she daren't leave her horse witkou. somebody to hold bim." Marion was in no condition to listen to MiBS 'Melia, the greatest gossip in the neighborhood, as Mrs. Hilyard, drying her eyes, was in civility compelled to see tho informal visitor. Marion, her head resting upon the window- sill behind the screen of clinging roses, could have heard every word spoken, but, absorbed in her grief, she paid no attention nntil the name of Wat Hinton struck upon her ear. "It's true, for certain, for Jane had it from his own sister, Aggie Hinton. Says Jane, in her wild way, ' If be comes bock with all that money' you know his Uncle Samuel left him most of his property lost year says Jane, 'if he comes back rich, I mean to set my cap for hiin.' On which Aggie answers, 'oh, you needn't, for he's to bo married before long, and to a real nice, pretty girl !' Of course Jane wanted to know all about it, but Aggie only laughed in ber mysterious way, until Jane says, 'I believe you are joking!' when Aggie replies, 'If Walter isn't married before winter, I'll make you a present ct my new earrings which he has sent me.' So you see, it's certain sure ; and no doubt be'll bring Lis bride to visit his family, and then, tell Marion, we may look out for a rand party. When the Hintons undertake to do things, they are- sure to do tbera handsomely." Marion stayed to hear no more. Gliding out of a side door, she crossed the garden, passing littlo Myra.who was fondling a snow-white lamb, ber great pet and treasure, and who called out-to her to "see how fast Snowball was growing." Poor little Bister 1 It would be as Lard upon her as upon her mother and herself to leave the dear old home, with ail the scenes aud objects endeared to tbera by the association of their lives For in that ample, pleasant, old- fashioned farmhouse Mrs. Hilyard had been born and married, and hero her children also hud first seen tho light. Two years ago her husband who had been too little practical to make a successful farmer had died suddeuly, leaving his affairs iu a very embarrassed state, aud the farm burdonod with a very heavy mortgage. Then Jack, good son and brother that he was, hud thought it best to go to the city, taking advantage of a situation offered him by a distant relative, until lhe mortgage should be paid. ( )nly two weeks ago ho bud written cheerfully, saying that the matter would be speedily Bottled to their satisfaction ; and now, just as they were expecting to hear that their homo was their own again, came this cruel letter. As Marion had mid to her mother, not even the loss of their homo went to her heart with so sluirp a puug as did this evidence of tho change in her only brother. That Jack should have grown so worldly and heartless as to consider his pecnuiary advantages before tho gratifi cation of his mother's comfort that ho should allow them robe actually turned out of the dear old house, aud go to resido'in a strange city, where they could never feel at Lome oh, this was the bitterest pang of all ! So Marion had thought upon first reading that letter; and it was not nntil hearing Miss M'elia's words to Lor mother that she awoke to the conscious ness that fate could have even a greater sorrow than this in store for her. Ono year ago she had parted from her accepted lover, Wat llinton, in mutual anger on both sides. Wat bad become jealous, and had spoken sharply to her, and iu a manner which sho considered herself justified in resenting. Wat was too proud to apologize, and Marion too proud as well as too delicate to niako advances to a reconciliation ; and so they bad drifted apart, both miserable, until Wat had broken the last link by going to tho West. She heard of bim from time to time through his family, but no word or message to borsolf hod ever cwo, In all this while she liad looked forward with a faint, yearning hope to the pos sibility of his some time returning, aud of all being made up between them. But now this lust hope was rudely stricken to the ground. Wat was goiug to bo marrio.l. He bad forgott?u her, and was lost to ber forever. "Oh, it is hard so hard to bear!" thought Marion, as with hands uncon sciously tightly clasped sho passed under the apple boughs of the old orchard. "Life is bitter. It has taken all from me. It can have no more to give. Only my doar, dear old mother and Myra ! For their sakes I must be strong and try to bear it all." On the verge of tho orchard, where tho high bank sloped abruptly to the meadow, she camo to a mass of tangled honeysuckle fashioned into a rustic arbor. Wat had made it for her, and here in fact it was that they had last parted. Down in the meadow ran a littlo path way loading by a short cut to Wat's homo, a couplo of miles away. How ofteu she Lad sat here of an evening and watched for him I She could scarcely look buck upon any object now bofore her eyes which was not connooted with somo associations of Wat. There was the walnut trco which he and Jack used to climb, and there the clear, laughing brook iu which be had taught her to steor the little boat which ho had made for Ler, ladon with grain, down to Jack's famous water-mill at the roots of that old willow. Further up was the roal "grist and saw mill," which Jack bad always boeu so desirous of owning, and which every body said would bo such a good invest ment for ono who could- mausgo it properly. And then Marion, veated on the bonch in tho rustic arbor, turnod and looked long and yearningly at tho old farmhouse peoping from the great beeches across the orchard. No other on earth could ever be Lome to Ler. And Ler mother? Ob, it would be harder still for ber, whose wLole life of fifty years had been spent under the roof I A sudden sound aroused Marion a sharp whistle, as of some one calling to dog, aud she saw through tear-dim med eyes the figure of a man hurrying along the littlo path in the 'meadow. Sho drew back behind the screen of the honeysuckle. The path led past the arbor, but at the foot of the steep bank she would not bo discovered in her retroat. So she thought: but a moment or two after t" was a sound of footsteps ascend ing the bauk, a rustle of the honeysuckle branches, and Marion saw standing in the entrance of the arbor the figure of a tall young man, who looked almost as much startled as herself. For an instant they gazed at each other Marion pale, and the stranger with a flush rising to his handsome face. Then be said, us Le Leld out Lis Land, "Marion, don't you know mo ?" Sho gave him her hand in silence. It wan Wat. And suddeuly, with the sight of him, camo the full bitterness of her sorrow in tho consciousness that ho was lost to her forevor. She was nothing to him now, and ho must be nothing to her. "I am glad to bavo so unexpectedly found you hero in this dear old spot," ho said. "I arrived at home only an hour ago, and I could not rest until I had seen you." She met his eyes, bent upon her with a strange earnestness, and Ler pale cheek faintly flushed, but she could not have spoken a word. " Marion," he said, suddenly, " have you no welcome for me? Is it possible that you cannot forgive me ?" " Forgive you ? " " Yes ; for oil my absurd jealousy, pride and folly. I have never had a happy moment since I parted from you, Marion, and I have come back at last to beg your forgiveness, and to beg, too, for tho love which I forfeited, but which I cannot live without." " I do not understand you, Wat. I do not know why you should speak to mo thus when when you are going to be married." " Who told you that of me, Marion ?'' " It comes from Agnes, your own sister." He smiled. Aggie knows my wishes. It was sho who encouraged me to come back. Sho thought you would forgive me. Will you, Marion, darling?" Sho had averted her face to hido her tearful eyes, but ho now took both her hands, and as he draw her toward him, a great tide of unspeakable joy rushed over her, and she could only murmur faintly, ;0"Wat!" When they were both calmer, she told hira of the heavy grief that Lad just fallen upon them. They must leave tho dear old homo, which had passed into the hands of strangers. "Of strangers, Marion ? l)j you call me a stranger ? " "You, Wat?" He looked surprised in his turn. " Did you not know that it is I who have purchased the dear old farm ? Did you not receive Jack's letter ? " "O Walter! it cannot, cannot be true." Ho took from a pockot-book a paper which ho opened and placed before her. It was the mortgage which Ler father Lad given to Mr. Abnor Harris. " And tho place is really yours now?" sho said, looking up radiantly through sudden tears. " Not mine, but ours, darling !" She was too happy to speak a word in answer. "You see, dear," Wat said, "Jack and I talked it over the other day, and we agreed, as he was so anxious to pur chase the mill and had not means suffi cient for both, that I should take the farm and leave him at liberty to invest in the mill property. It is the very best thing for Jack and for Lis mother, as I explained to her, if only she Lad received Lis letter. Jjtck is not fitted for a farmer, aud could never have made much of the farm, as Lo will certainly do with tho mill. He came up with me to attend to the matter. Forgive me that I neglected to inform you, but I left him behind in tho maplo field talk ing with Aggie." Marion started up with a glad cry. Coming down the opposite declivity of the meadow was somobody joyously waving his hand, and in two minutes sho was sobbing in her brother's arms sobbing from a fullness of joy such as sho had never in Ler life before known. They hastened to the house, all three eager to gladden the heart of the mother. Jack spraug up the steps and took her in bis arms, while Wat lifted Myra, who Lad run to meet thorn in frantic delight. As Marion crossed the threshold the old clock rang out a welcome chimo. " Seven o'clock ! " said the girl, softly. Her heart was full, and she turned away and went quietly up to ber own room. As she passed tho clock she looked up at it with an expression almost of awe. "What a lifetime of misery and hap piness in one Lour!" she murmured. When a tenant wishes to bold his dwelling Louse for another year he re-leases it. TUB HOME 1KMT0K. A Hint Fob Cold Wkatuki:. Dr. I'onte's Jlealth Monthly advises putting on an extra pair of stockings outside of the shoes when traveling in cold weather. Fon Ci ts axi Bucisks. One of the most convenient remedies, usually to be found in every kitchen, and which lias proved of great value in hundreds of cases of cuts, scratches, bruises and injuries inflicted by tearing the flesh on blunt instruments, rusted nails, and the like, is mudo by dissolving bicarbonate of soda or potash in strong cider vine gar, and applying it during the effer vescence, or 6oon after. Fautk-'JiEsin the Km:. - Old and young persons are often sorely troubled 1 y small hard particles of matter that get under the eyolids. When children suffer iu this way, their parents may not even suspect tho cause of the trouble. Tho irritatiou may go on in creasing "for years ; for the inflammation strougly resembles catarrhal conjuncti vitis, which bus quite a different cause. The conjunctiva (as the termination His iu medicine always means " inflamma tion of," conjunctivitis means inflamma tion of tlio conjunctiva) is a mucous membrane which begins near the edge of,the lids, upper aud lower, liues them, and then, turning back, covers also the eyeball. It thus forms two sacs. It is exceedingly sensitive and is very liable to inflammations of various kinds, all pain ful and some very difficult of cure. A foreign body boueath tho eyelid soon inflames it. Such a body beneath the upper lid is not as readily detected as ono beneath tho lower, and it is harder to remove it. A child that had long suffered from what was supposed to be catarrhal infiummation, and for which it had been energetically treated, only to grow worse, was brought to Dr. Broosfl, professor of ophthalmology in the New York university. On turning back the child's upper eyelid,the source of the trouble was found in a small bud of a cherry-tree. Belief and cure fol lowed its removal. In all such capes the main thing to do, is to evert the lid. Tho lower lid is easily turned over the finger. If tho pirticlois be neath the upper lid, press tnc lid against the eyebrow and have the patient look down. Then seize tho eyelashes and edgo of the lid aud turn the lid quickly over the thumb. Beniove the speck with'a handkerchief, and show it to the patient ; for Le will often feel for somo time as if tho object were still in the eye. inuli s Vompamon. Diamonds. The most valuab'e diamonds are those which are entirely colorless. Those with a blue tinge, though still more rare, are not so highly valued, as the actual beauty of the pure ones out weighs the rarity of tho blue variety. Ono of tho finest of tho blue variety is, wo believe, iu the collection of Mr. Beresford-Hopo. Diamonds of a red tinge tuko still a good place ; green diamonds aro tolerably numerous, and rank lower ; yellow ones are very com mon, and the least esteemed. The es timation of the value of a diamond is made according to a regular system of appraisement. It will surprise many of those who aro not conversant with tho subject to learn what a large proportion of a diamond is ofteu ground away to dust in cutting it so as to niako the most of its brilliancy. Tho greatest diamond in the French Treasury, the Begent, weighed, wearo told, 410 carats bofore cutting, and after cutting, which seems an immense loss in size ; but we presume it really increased the marketable value of the gem. Of course, the diamond dust taken offiu cutting is not allowed to be lost, but it is useful chiefly for practical purposes, in form ing in its tirn tho means of grinding down the faces of other diamonds ; for this superb stone will yield to no tool but one from its oivn substance. Lon 'Ion Bail ilm: Fungus ns Food. Among the various erticlos of trade exported from New Zealand perhaps the most curious is a species of fungus which grows on decaying troes iu all parts of the North Island, but most plentifully in the provincial district of Tarauaki. In shipe this fungus resembles the human oar, and it is of a brown color and semi-transparent when fresh. China is the destination c f this product. It is much prized there as an article of food, forming the chief ingredient of tho favorite soup of that country on account of its gelatinous properties and its peculiar flavor. The Europeans in tho colony, however, Lave never acquired a taste for it. To prepare this fungus for export nothing more is required than to pick it from the trunks of the trees and tlry it in the air or under sheds. When dry it is packed in bales and shipped to China by way of Sydney or San Fran cis.'O. Since the passage of the prohibitory law in Kansas there has been An epi demic of boils there. Doctors treat tbom with bottled beer and "spiritus frumenti" in heroio doseu. FOB THE FA I II MEX. Fiinhiiin Notes. Cheviots in the new heather mixtures are seen both bordered und plain. Velvet, pinsli and fur bands will all be used for trimming midwinter suits The majority of bonnets have very wide strings, but some Lave narrow ones. Iu mercantile invoices, all largo bonnets are elus-ed as pokes, small ones cottages. Moire will be much used in combina tion with cashmere and other woolen stuffs. Cashmeres and cheviots continue to be the leading fabrics for ordinary wear. Among new watch trinkets and charms, the wish-bone in gold and silver in seen. The Jersey is now used for fatigue costumos iu the country or on l.ng journeys. Bangle rings have pendants in flic form of pud locks, horseshoes, boll s and balls. UovhI ToiirlK. At the opera iu Vicuna the queen of Italy wore a sj le. b, lined velvet dress with a diamond tiara in her hair. tho neck disappearing entirely under a dozen rows of princely pcurls. The empress of Austria wore a light blue satin dress, and Princess Stephauie dark bluo velvet. The beautiful Murie Thertse, wife of the Archduke Beguier, was iu a cherry velvi t. All these ladies wore Henri (.(initio collars on their dresses. The houso was full to the roof with fair, smiling Viennese, and lark, stately Hungarian beauties. And at the banquet, queen Margaret wore a very low rose faillo bull dress. Her front hair was urrauged a la i'reon, and on her back hair was a rose of featbeis sprinkled with diamonds. On her nock she wore a superb necklace of large pearls. The queen had a very lively conversation with the emperor through out the dinner. The Empress wore her raven black hair down her back, with short locks on the forehead. Her dress was of dark brown velvet trimmed with gold. Her long white gloves reached up to fcer elbows. The Prin cess Stephanie was in white Bilk, set off by a wreath of yellow roses. The prin cess Gisella wore a pink toilet, covered with dark roses. The Fx- of (hecks. The following account, by Macaulay, of the lirst use of bank checks in England was quoted by Mr. Knox, in bis address to the American bankers' association, at its hut meeting at Niagara Falls : In the reign of William, old men were still living who could remember the days when there was not a single banking Louse in the city of London. So late as the time of the Bestoration every trader had his own strong box in his own house, and when an aceeptunee was presented lo him, told down the crowns aud Curoiuses on Lis own counter. But the increase of wealth had pro duced its natural 'effect, the subdivision of labor. Before the end of the roign of Charles the Second, a new mode of paying and receiving money hud come into fashion among the merchuuts of the capital. A clafB of agents arose whose oftico was to keep the cash of the commercial houses. This new branch of business naturally fell into the hands of the goldsmiths, who were accustomed to traffic largely in precious metals, and who had vaults in which great masses of bullion could lio secure from firo and from robbers. It was at the shops of the goldsmiths of Lombard steeet that all the payments in coin were made. Other traders gave and received nothing but paper. This great change did not tuko place without much opposition nud clamoi. Old-fashioned merchants complained bitterly that a class of men who, thirty years before, had confined themselves to their proper functions, and had made a, fair profit by embossing silver bowls and chargers, by setting jewels for fine ladies, and by selling pistoles and dollars to gentlemen setting out for the ( onttnent, bad become the treasurers, and were fast becoming tho masters of tho whole city. These usurers, it was said, played at hazard with what had been earned by tho industry and hoarded by the thrift of other men. If the dice turned up well the knave who kept tho cash became an alderman ; if they turned ap ill the dupe who furnished the cash became a bankrupt. On the other side, the convenience of tho modern practice were set forth in animated language. The new system, it was said, saved both labor and money. Two clerks seated in one counting-house, did what, under the old system, must have been done by twenty clerks in twenty different estab lishments. A goldsmith's note might be transfericd ten times in a morning, and thus a hundred guineas, locked in his safe close to the Exchange, did what would formerly have required a thousand guineas, dispersed through many tills, some on Ludgate Hill, somo in Austin Friars, qnd some in Tower street. 1 lie Japanese Hal lets; We return to our box to find the stage cleared for a species of ballet. Numer ous dunces follow one auothor some very merry, some more subdued, but none so rigidly grave as that which opened the events of the day. Panto mime enters freely into this per formance. There is a fan dance, in which the omnipresent toy is put to more coquettish uses than ever a Bosino dreamed of. There is a si.nttlccock dance, the implements of which, liko Macbeth, are but of the mind, but are capitally suggested by appropriate gesticulations. A favorite game with an elastic ball is worked into a d nice ; and it is delightful to see with what mock energy the supposed ladies com pete for the possession of the plaything which does not exist and, having obtained tho airy nothing, Low each one, in a stooping posture, chases it about, withholding it to the last possible moment from the other claimants. There are plenty of dunces by men as well, aud they amply supply all that women lack in activity. They have their own shuttlecock game, aud the violent struggles they depict, the col lisions and overthrows, the mortifica tion at missing a stroke, and the elation when especially successful, are irresistibly ludicrous, particularly as there are no shuttlecock and battle door all the while, in tho same way they go through the movements of the butterfly trick, of a certain dexterous feat with a looped handkerchief, and of vaulting exercises, the material fabrics beiug equally baseless in every case Towurd the end tf this divertisemeut, an "umbrella" dunce is introduced, full of iugeuijus developments and strange surprises. The umbrella dunces which we have seen at home are stupid bores. Here the instrument is so con trived that although, when shut, it is quite ordinary and insignificant in appearance, "with no points that any other umbrella might not have," when opened it assumes tit the will of the holder a dozen different shapes, colors and dimensions. The various combina tions are thus made to resemble a brilliant pyrotechnic display. And the variety of uses to which they are put I Half closed, they are worn as high peaked hats. With tho handles bent, they are disposed upon the stage to imitate beds of flowers, among which the dancers promenade. Boiled edge wise over the ground, they become the wheels of a harlequin coach, in which tho queen of the ballet seems to ride. We really have seen nothing like it on any of tho continents. The closing dance is uot so entirely foreign iu char acter. The women still retain their gentle statoliness, but on the part of the men it is a ragiug can-can, worthy of the habitues of the Mabile.or even their coarser caricaturists, those female Bedouins of the stage, who, unsexed froai the crown to the toe, figure in the modern English and American bur lesques. Jnitin .';'" itsI-' ll.Hfiif . Ir. Tnlinase on the four Fluids. Dr. Talmago, in bis sermon on Sunday last, took intemperance as his subject, ne describes four fiends us meeting in the lower world, and resolving that tho people on tho earth were too happy. They sent their influences among men ambitious of mischief. The produce of the vineyards, the grain fields and even the daises weie converted into agencies for tho benefit of the grog shops, which were made attractive by music to the unwary, until in their mad dance they dropped into hell. The doctor described tho gradual degradation of tho inebri ate, until they found themselves slaves of a debasiug passion, und drew a thrilling picture of a dying drunkard in the hospital suffering from delirium tre mens. At the end of each paragraph he uttered, in the hoarse whisper of an imaginary drunkard, the despairing cry, "Drink I Oh, Uoii ! Drink r At the climax he stood with his long white fingers outstretched at the end of his long, bony, uplifted arm, and with sud den vigor of voice and gesture shouted, "Help ! Oh, Ood ! Help ! ' He favored all agencies for ridding New York and Brooklyn of the evil, and declared that one or two thousand women could clean out all the grog shops they contained. In concluding, he asked : "What flower of comfort ever grew on the blasted heath of a drunkard's sepulchre ?" Fogg put his foot into it bodily when he was introduced to Mrs. Smith and her daughter. He wished to say some thing neat and gallant. Addressing the daughter, taid be : "Beully, madam, I never should have suspected that that lady was your daughter. I supposed, of course, that you were sisters ; I did, I attire yon." "Thank you, Mr. Fogg," replied Miss Smith. "Yoa were per fectly right in thinking that lady could not be my daughter. She is my mother, sir." Fogg wont off in a Lurry, calling somebody or other a confounded fool, while Miss Smith was heard to remark indignantly, "Sisteis, indeed 1" Au old Grecian philosopher advises all men to know themselves. That's advit-iug a good many to form very low and disreputable acquaintances. 1 rEMS OF I MT EH EST. Mrs. Whttlloy, widow of a Lancashire, England, farmer, died lately leaving 230 descendants. Wesley Dixon, of Yonkcrs, N. Y., proposes that epteial prayer be made in all the churches that Bobert 0. Inger soll be converted to the Christian religion. There are some duys when you can't lay up a ceut, and other duys when you can't get hold of a cent to lay up. The orange and lemon crop of Sicily has been a failure, owing to the long continued hot winds from Africa ; no rain Las fulleu since lust April. Operatives in the paper mills of Springfield, Muss., have been stricken down with smull-pox from handling pestilential rags. It is discovered that catfish iu Kan sas have legs. This curious provision of nature is intended to enable them to take to the prairies when the rivers dry up. Small-pox continues to ravage Ho boken and Jersey City, and Borne of the attendant incidents aro Bad enough. For example, one Michael McLaughlin died from the pestilence, and it was reported that his three little children were down with it also, and that tho mother hud neither fo-d nor fuel in the house, und no money to procure them. Three new cases are reported in Morgan street, Jersey City, a very dirty Eccticu of the town. What Bees Accomplish. By far the most serious difficulty iu the process of honey collecting by bees arises from the extreme minute quantities of nectar which each flower yields, and from its beiug diluted iu some cases so poor in saccharine mutter that its sweetness is not appreciable to the tongue. The strength of the sugary fluid varies in different flowers, aud even in tho same flowers at dif ferent timis. Consequently the most direct way of estimating the yield of honey is to ascertain the actual quantity of sugar in each flower. This can easily be done by chemical methods. If we take a largo number of flowers, wash out their nectar aud determine the sugar in tho solution, we can cal culate from the number of flowers used tho average amount of sugar in each flower with the greatet-t precision. Experiment!! conducted in this way showed each flower of the fuchsia to contain little more than the tenth part of a grain of sugar. Iu monkshood the amount was rather less than the tenth of a grain, while in the everlasting pea it was found to be three-twentieths of a grain for each flower. In smaller flowers the quantity is proportionately Jess. Thus each flower of the littlo naturalized American water-blink only contained six hundredths of a gruiu, and in those minute flowers which grow together iu compact masses the amount was still smaller. A raceme, consisting of twenty flowers of the vetch, only yielded live-huudredtlis of a grain, or a little over one five-hundredth for each tlowret. Ono head of common red clover gave a little over one-tenth of a grain (exactly .1221'. Now each head of clover contains about sixty distinct flower tubes, each of which must there fore have a portion of sugar not exceed ing the one live-hundredth part of a grain. Tho probocis of the bee must consequently be inserted into fi"0 hundred clover tubes beforo one grain of sugar eau be obtained. There ore 7,t M 10 grains in a pound, so that for every pound of sugar, procured in this way, :!,500,000 flower tubes must be emptied. Honey, however, only con tains three-fourths of its weight of dry sugar, so that every pound of honey is equivalent to more than 2,500,000 of clover tubes sucked by bees. This shows what an amazing amonnt of lub.'r they must perform. Their industry would appear to lie indispensa ble to their very existence. These amounts also reveal to what an extent the visita'iou of flowers must go on in the insect world, aud help us to under stand how it is that flowers are so dependent on insects for fertilization, so that we can well believe the forms of flowers to have been determined in reference to the insects frequenting them, and that tho colors of the petals may serve to attract insects by way of advertisement, as colored bills attract the eyes of busy men. This view of the use of color and odor in flowers may seem to smack too much of trade and commerce, nevertheless it is the view to which science now gives undivided support. We have been so long ac customed to look on the beauty of the floral world as if it were exclusively for man's gratification, that it is difficult for us to belie vo that the delicately perfumed and showy petals of the rose or lily should bo primarily intended for the benefit of the plant possessing them. But it must be remembered that each organism lives for itself, has its own laws, and does not poBsers any organ which is exclusively for the ad vantage of auother. fowf Word.
The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 22, 1881, edition 1
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