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An immense meeting of workmen was held in Vienna to-night to discuss the po- ‘fi‘élitioul rights of the people. All the speeches made were strongly Socialistic, and the Government officials present were often obliged to stop the speakers, causing several exciting scenes. Resolutions were passed in favor of universal suffrage, the liberty of the press, freedom of meeting and associa~ ation, and the abolition of exceptional laws against the Socialists. Russia. has declined France‘s invitation to participate in the exhibition to be held in Paris in 1889, on the ground that she canâ€" not; assist in celebrating an event she detest- ed. Russian subjects are forbidden to send exhibits Stewart Brothers, timber and slate mer- chants, shipowners, etc., have been declared bankrupt. The firm’s liabilities amount to $750,000 ; available assets, $525,000. Emperor William‘s returning strength has caused him to intimate his desire to be pres- ent at the manoeurvers of the lat army corps at Konignsberg during the coming summer. The Pope's brief to Bishop Ireland 011 the temperance question has been issued. In it the Pope praises the Catholic Total Absti- nence Union, comments on the deplorable na- ture of the evils caused by intempemnce and urges pastors to increase their efforts to extirpate the plague of drunkenness. At a conference of Scotch millers at Glas- gow recently a. resolution :was adopted de- manding that a duty be imposed upon for- eign flour. On Saturday last a. peasant named Haner, residing at Gerbersthoeen, new Augsbur murdered his wife and {our children 311% then committed suicide. The roof of a. church at Linguaglossa, Sicily, fell without warning during the sex» vices recently, burying beneath it; a. hun- dred persons, forty of whom were killed and injured. In consequence of finding a. case of un- powder, with a. cartridge and fuse'attac ed, in the doorway of his bureau, the President of the Spanish Cortes has cancelled all cards of admission to the Parliament buildings held by journalists, both foreign and native. The newspeper men are very indignant at this action. German agents are making domiciliary visits in Reichsland, with the object of re- covering any documents that would assure their possessors of connection with the French patriotic league. Orders have been iven by the German authorities to destroy rench tricolour flags preserved in the pro- vincial mairies. Nihilist arrests in Russia show that Rus- sian nihilists communicate with their foreign comrades by sea. English vessels are es- pecially suspected of carrying nihilist letters and money. The Russian Government has placed extra cruisers at the disposal of the Custom house authorities to enable them to overhaul ships, and examine them with ex- treme care. Regarding the report that the residences of American missionaries in Smyrna had been stoned by a. mob, later advices say that only one house was attacked, and it belong- ed to a Greek Protestant, a nationalized American, who had ofi'ended the papulace by preaching against the Greek Church in an English institution called “ The Sailors’ Rest.” This establishment has since been closed in order to avoid further trouble. Repeated earthquakes have occurred at Aden. Recalling an Incident of the Bombardment 01 Charleston, S. (I. On April 22, 1863, in Charleston, S. C., at the residence of Governor Pickena, says the Atlanta Constitution, a party was as- sembled to witness the marriage of Annie Pickena to Lieutenant Le Rochelle. It was a. time when terror and anguish was prevailing through the entire South, and the booming of the Union guns then roared in the harbors, but the little number who had collected together had determined to smile even though their hearts were aching and they were trembling with terror. Beneath the soft light of the chandelier the clergyman stood with the habiliments of the church enshrouding his venerable form. Before him was the noble young lieutenant in his official uniform, while beside him leant the beautiful and statelyfwoman who was to become his wife. There she stood, regal and proud, possessing everything that prestige of birth, rank and wealth could give. “ Are you ready,” asked the minister unclasping his book. “ Yes,” said Le Rochelle, taking the hand of his bride. Scarcely was the answer uttered than there was an awful crash. A shell from the enemy’s uns had penetrated the mansion, bursting into the midst of the marriage scene and scattering its deadly missles around! Men trembled and women screamed, mirrors were shivered and for a moment the walls seemed to rock to and fro. In a few moments quiet reigned, and it was ascertained that the only fatal wound received was in the left temple of the waiting bride, who lay like a beauti- ful crushed flower in the arms of her agon- ized lover. Laying her on a lounge be bent over her, and in a moan of despair, prayed that even in death she would become his wife. Her quick-drawn breath melted in a sigh as the lips smiled assent. There she lay, pure and white as the cluster of came- lias at her breast, while the crimson life-tide oozed in heavy drops from the death wound in her brow and coursed its stream over the lovel cheek, marring the snowy clouds of her ridal veil that enveloped her. The ceremony was of few words, and the “ yes ” was murmured in a dying whisper beneath the husband’s kiss. In a moment all was over, a little struggle and she was dead. Beneath the coordeep shadows of the mag- nolia. Annie Pickens Le Rochelle was laid to rest, where the sad wail of the waters sighed an eternal requiem, while the brave young soldier Went his way, in the fire and danger of battle, to serve his country and his God. He little feared the sword or the bullet of war, for ever at his heart there was a wound more cruel than death and lasting as life. Observations on the common land tortoise have recently developed the very curious fact that the color of the eyes may be con- sidered a. discriminating feature of sex. It is shown that males have bright scarlet eyes and females brown or grayish ones. Occa- sionally the scarlet is so vivid as to attract attention first of all, while in other cases the shade inclines more to a deep red. 0NE WAR TRAGEDY. FOREIGN ITEMS. To the busy brain of the tireless inventor, incessantly struggling to wrest from the grudging hand of Science her golden secrets, the world owes many of its vast strides in civilization during the past three-quarters of a centmy. The records of glorious though often painful achievements gleam here and there with episodes as romantic and wonder- ful as any that grace the annals oi chivalry, While sorrowful and sombre tales of disap- pointment, suffering, and disaster supply the tra_gic elements in the thrilling narrative._ rfhe privations of a. Palissy, the slow be- ginnings of a Stephenson, the long struggles with cruel poverty of 11 Singer, the ingmti- tude experienced by a. \Vhitney, the obstin- ate experiments of a Goodyear, the hard lvattles of an Arkwright, and the magiciam like career of an Edison, are parts of a. pic- ture sublime in its suggestions of What hu- man perseverance and patience, coupled with genius and the creative faculty, can accomplish. It would seem as though no expectations as to the products of inventive genius could be too sanguine in an age which has givenfus the telephone and the telegraph, the electric light and the typewriter, to say nothing of a. hundred minor inventions with- out which every-day life would now be thought a burden. Thus the application of lenses to the uses of the telescope was accidentally learned by a watchmaker‘s journeyman. He was trifl- ing with a pair of spectacle glasses, and holding them betwen his thumb and fore- finger, was startled at the greatly enlarged appearance of a distant church steeple. An alchemistâ€"the mediaeval name for what we should call a scientific investigatorâ€"While seeking to discover a mixture of earths that would make the hardest crucibles, one day found that he had made porcelain l The art of mezzotint owed its discovery to such a. simple event as the gnu-barrel of a sentry becoming rusted with dew, while the rhyth- mic swaying to and fro of a great central chandelier in the dusty aisles of a cathedral su%gested to Galileo the motion of the pen du um. The manner in which THE MANUFACTURE OF TINPLATE became general is worth relating. Our so- called “tin-ware” is really thin sheet~iron coated with tin. It may seem an easy and. a simple matter to cleanse the surfaces of a sheet-iron article of all impurities and then dip it in a bath of molten tin, but in practice there are several minor details that for years were kept a profound secret by the Dutch. At length an Englishman went to Holland, concealed himself in a tin-plate factory, be- came possessed of the process, and came away with it. The manufacture of Russia. leather outside of Russia became possible in a similar surreptitious manner. [the power-loom, we are told is the inven- tion of a farmer’s boy who had little ac- quaintance with machinery. He whittled out one with his jack-knife, and after it was completed and put together he showed it, with no little pride to his father. The honest man at once kicked it to pieces, saying he would not have a son around the house who would waste his time on such trifles. The boy was sent to a. blacksmith to learn a trade and his new master soon took a lively interest in him. He made another loom of What was left of the one his father had broken up, and showed it to his master. The blacksmith at once perceived he had no ordinary boy for an apprentice, and that the invention was a valuable one. He had a loom constructed under the supervision of the boy. It worked to their perfect satis- faction, and the blacksmith furnished the means to manufacture the looms, while the boyâ€"now a. young manâ€"received half the profits. One day the blacksmith wrote to the father that he should bring to visit him a wealthy gentleman who was the inventor of thefamous power-loom. Judgeofthe astonish- ment at the old homestead when the son and the father met, and the latter was informed that the loom was the same as the model that he had kicked to pieces? N61: the least interesting feature of the veritable romance of invention is the fact that some of the greatest and most moment- ous inventions have been made by the mer- est chance. One of the most practical and enduring inventions of late years, is THE \VONDERFUL “'IRE MAT. The idea of replacing the perishable old rag and cocoa-nutmattingby the everlasting steel wire structure originated in the mind of a re- flective Canadian. The metal mat is so obvi- ously superior and more economical than any of the old appliances, that the won- der is it was not thought of before. The history of this invention is one of great interest, and would of itself furnish material for a thrilling article. It has been patented in almost every country of the world and so general has its use become that stockholders in the concern are rapidly ac- quiring fortunes. THE MANUFACTURE OF CITRIC ACID. The recent improvements near Temple Bar, London, swept away an ancient chem- ist’s shop of long standing, once the scene of an incident illustrating the romance of in- vention. In times gone by, the proprietor of this Chemist’s shop enjoyed themonopol y of the manufacture of citric acid. Luckily for him, the process was exceedingly simple ; he required no assistants in the critical pro- cess, and for many years carried it on in se- crot, baffling his rivals in trade, who sought by every means to discover the mode of operating. 01] a certain oceasion the chem- ist locked himself in his laboratory as usual, and “ advanced the process through the necessary stages, came out, fastened the door behind him, and went about his vo- cation, supposing his secret safe. How ‘should it not be safe, when the door was )locked and the windows carefully blinded? Alas, there was a chimney, and of that iaperture the manufacturer took no heed. w But a pseudo chimney-sweep, one having a keeninsight into chemical matters, slipped down the chimney, saw all he desired to see, and then, returning by the way he came, departed, carrying with him the secret of making citric acid, and earning £1000 as the reward for his sooty journey. . The romance of invention, it will be seen, is a fruitful subject, and this paper might be prolonged to thrice its length, “and the half not be told." I might tell how a. hen with clayey feet walking over a pile of raw sugar supplied a hint turned to valuable account in sugar refining ; or of the fact that the beautiful art of etching upon glass was dis covered by a Nuremberg glassâ€"cutter splash- ing a few drops of aquafortis on his specta- cles, the glasses becoming clouded and cor- roded wherever the acid fell. I might re- count the toils, tribulations, and triumphs of a. Fulton, of the Stephensons, father and Romantic Inventions. son. Men have chained the lightning, har- nessed the steam-horse, and thrown a. web of wires for a. highway across many 3. seem- ingly impassable gull. They have tunnelled mountains and rivers, have made ships to sail where once the shifty sands of the desert whirled, have wellnigh conquered the prob- lem of submarine navigation, and are now talking of flooding the Sahara, and of carry- ing a. ship and her cargo bodily across a hundred and fifty miles of isthmms, and al- most: ere the waters of one ocean have dried from her keel lowering her gently to the embrace of another. In View of these achievements, who shall say that the scroll of the romance of invention is written full '3 THE REPEATER CONDEJINED. The Report of a Russian [General onlcer Against the “'enpun. LONDON, April ll.â€"-A despatch from St. Petersburg says 2â€"Generals Dragomiroff and Shebechefl', the former of whom is a well- known Russian authority on all military matters, have both published an article against the alleged advantages of the adop- tion of a magazine repeating rifle. General Dragomirofl" is certain that the present arm- ing of European armies with magazine wea- pons is due solely to the force of imitation and example set by the inordinate military rivalry which exists between France and Germany, not only in the matter of rifles, but also in melinite, robarite and everythingr else that would give the one an undue ad- vantage over the other in the coming strug- gle. After endeavouring to refute the well- known arguments in favor of the magazine rifle, General Dragomirofl' recommends the retention of the American Berdan rifle at present used in the Prussian army, only with a smaller calibre, pressed powder and steel- pointed bullets. He claims thus it would possess combined advantages in action superior to the total of those which can be adduced in favour of the magazine rifle“. ‘VAS’I‘ING AMMUNITION. [Gen Dragomirofl came before the public somewhat prominently last year, as the Chief of the Russian Military Mission, ap- pointed to attend the great French manoeu- vres which took place under the auspices of Gen. Boulanger. The Russian General’s views on the subject are similar to those of the late M. Gambetta, who knew more about military afl‘airs than any other civilian in France. In a private conversation the great French statesman expressed himself as ab- solutely opposed to the magazine rifle, on the ground that, according to the present system of military service in Europe, the armies are necessarily composed of young soldiers, who are already far too much dis- posed in the excitement of the moment to waste their ammunition in rapid firing. He asserted that the one great difficulty of the company officer is to prevent his men from losing their coolness and from firing too fast, without taking [the time to secure proper aim. Moreover, rapid firing heats the bar- rel of the rifle so as to render it useless after a certain number of shots. This was espe' cially the ease in 1870, when the French sol- diers had frequently to stop firing on account of their barrels becoming too heated. The soldier onthe march is already far too heavily weighted, and is unable to carry on his per- son any larger amount of ammunition than at present. Some new kind of conveyance will therefore have to be invented in order to enable the soldiers to have always an ad- ditional supply of cartridges close by.] An Interesting Mites-[From a French Ca- valry officer. PARIS, April ll.â€"Theodore Cahu, a form- er cavalry officer of the French army, who is now in St. Petersburg, has written an in- teresting letter on the “ Russians at Home,” in which he says : “ The people often speak of the 'measures of precaution with which the Emperor of Russia has surrounded him- self in order to protect his life. They are many, it is true ; but if the Russian police were really skilful they could be easily di- minished. This stupid police which takes from the bags of travellers the most inoffenâ€" sive books and even old newspapers wrap- ped around their shoes, and which does not permit letters addressed to strangers outside of Russia. to pass over the frontier before having been opened and read, is continually discovering mythical plots for the purpose of demonstrating their usefulness to the Em- peror. But, in spite of this vigilance, it was not forewarned against the only serious attempt directed against the life of the Em- peror since his accession to the throne. For, in spite of the numerous stories on the sub. ject since Alexander III. succeeded his father, the attempt of the 13th March last has been Ithe only one directed against his person. If it did not succeed it was not the fault of the police. For, in spite of its pow- erful organization, it did not forsee this at- tempt. The bomb was being actually thrown. A simple police constable saw the act and by throwing himself upon the would- be-assassin averted an irreparable misfor- tune. For some time past those about the Emperor have been talking of diminishing the guards about his person. The Czar him- self had agreed to this, but of course now there is no prospect of anything of this sort taking place.” Over the highway‘ weary and worn, A man trudged on in the April morn, And his soul was sick and his heart was sore, And he thought of the days now gone before ; For life was not always dull to him ; And he saw through the clouds oppressive and dim A grand old day and a sunshine sky, And hope and cheer and comfort nigh. The village street he reached at last, And looking about for things of the past‘ A sign he sawâ€"and the name writ there Came back to his heart like an echoed air Of sweet delightâ€"’twas the name he bore, And he knew that his tramp was well nigh o’er. “ Your brother ', long years I’ve been a-roam : To-day I come back to my dear old home ; I’ve starved and begged among strangers far -â€" Pray, tell me, the old toiks ‘2 aXive they are '3” And the tramp with tears in his eyes stood there Awmting the knell of his heart’s despair. “ Get out I N. G. Go wend your way From whence you cameâ€"and go to stay. My brother is dead long. long agoâ€"- And you, poor cuss I I do not know. Remember the day ; we are not tools 0f wits and cranks for such April fools.” And the next mom's light they found him dead, With a. drift of seaweed over his head ; And the salt spray froze on his eyeballs hid The team; that lay nestled ’neath the dead man’s lid. And they gave him rest, “ for we’re not tools,” Said they, “ for such cranks of April fools.” THE RUSSIAN POLICE. Avril Fools. BY 11. S. KELLER. A Physician States Alarming Facts About Baldness mud Gives a Remedy. “ Bald-head d men die soonet than those who possess a full head of hair,” said a physician to a New York 111m? and Express reporter the other day. “Then, doctor, your life is shortened,” interposed the re- porter." “ I have adopted a protector, you seeâ€" a skull-cap. If I have no hair to cover my cranium, I do the next best thing and use a. warm cap. I never go bald-headed, no mat- ter where I am, and by that means I never take cold. The majority of men who have bald heads wear nothing to protect the ex- posed surface, not even a. wig. The result is many of them take cold and go off with pneumonia, or contract some deep-seated disease like bronchitis or consumption. Yet if I told a bald-headed man to wear something warm on the exposed spot, he would, nine times out of ten, pay no attention to my warning. It is a growing cause of increased mortality and de- serves great attention, both from scientists and empirical laymen. Bald heads are the sign-posts of a high :esthetical civilization, and at the same time the epitaphs of a phys- ical degeneration. Luxury, ease, comfort, high living and hereditary characteristics have to be taken into consideration when analyzing the problem of bald heads. If the future race is to be devoid of hair, then it must necessarily be a short-lived one, be- cause more susceptible to sickness. I have noted many cases of pneumonia, and where the patient is a male over forty years old the proportion is over one-half in favor of being bald-headed. Whenever I have a bald headed patient I never rest until he consents to wear a skull-cap. If the hair was no protection to man he would have been created without any, and his skin made tough and thick to stand the weather. The wise provisions made to insure perfect physical comfort never contemplated a period in the world’s history when man should go about with his head slick as a peeled onion. The man who does it repeat- edly sooner or later pays the penalty. “Caesar was bald in his last days, and shielded his cranium by wearing a crown. In those days, when hats were not worn, few people were bald, and those who were attempted to conceal the fact. It is said that Caesar wore the crown to hide his bald head, and it may be added correctly that he did it for comfort as well. Women do not suffer from the exposure of bald heads, be- cause they wear false head-rigging which generally protects the scalp. 'Lnen females are not predisposed to baldness as males. Nature has given them an abundance of hair and those Who grow bald have some kind of skin trouble. Yet there are more bald- headed women than the world imagines. My argument against going about with the scalp exposed is merely from a hygienic point of view and not because of any false notions about how it makes a person look. Old men, middle-aged men, gilded youth and unfortunate womankind, if you are bald, don’t grieve over the inevitable, but wear something warm‘ and up(n all occa- sions. Your days will be longer in the land and your progeny will be less apt to inherit the hairless tendency.” AUBURN’S TERRIBLE PRISON' Horrible Revelations by an ExJCeeper of That Institution. NEW YORK, April 11.â€"The Telegram pub- lishes a sensational article purporting to give an expose of abuses in Auburn prison. it contains an interview with Thomas Shot, who was a keeper in Auburn prison for eleven years. He says prisoners were punish- ed in a. murderous Way for the slightest of- fence, or for none at all when they incurred the displeasure of the keepers. He says John Shea, a larceny convict who was un- able to work, was put in the gaol and kept for forty-one days on one ounce of bread and a. gill of water a day. When it was found he was dying from starvation Shot says Shea was removed to the screen cell and refused permission to see the warden. The warden finally heard of the case and sent for Shea, who was then placed in the hospital. He became crazy in two months and was remov- ed to the asylum. He finally recovered, but died two weeks after his time expired. SLOWLY STARYED TO DEATH. “ A convict called Daniel Leeon,” con- tinued Shot, “ worked in the same foundry. He was not quite nineteen years of age and was not able for the work. He was treated the same as Shea, and put intolgaol and on bread and water allowance for a. week in the fall of 1884, at the end of which time the principal keeper asked him if he could do his work. He said he would try, and was put back to it, but in a. few days found that he was physically unable for the work placed before him. They took him back to gaol, and placed him on the bread and water al- lowance for thirteen nights more. They then put him in his cell for a few days to rest himself, and put him back to his work again. He was unable for the work, and was put back in the gaol for three weeks on the bread and water diet. He was then car- ried to the hospital by two men and died in nine days. His brother came and took the body home, but did not know the cause of his death. In fact,” added Shot, “ to my certain knowledge, one principal keeper killed through severe punishment during ten years from 18 to 20 men.” In 1883 the German Parliament appoint- ed a commission representing both sides of the question to consider the arguments for and against vaccination. The report is be- fore us, from which are selected some of the more important conclusions: The length of time for which vaccination protects varies with the individual, but revaccination should take place after periods of ten years. Two well defined vesicles are necessary to insure success. There is no evidence of any increase in mortality or special diseases due to the introduction of vaccination. Animal vaccine matter is preferable, and vaccina- tion should never be performed during an epidemic or unusual prevalence of scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, typhus, or erysipelas. Unless small-pox is prevalent, children under three months should not be vaccinated. The greatest care should be taken to cleanse thoroughly all instruments used. The report thus af- firms most emphatically the general accept- ance of the principle of vaccination, and, coming from such a source, should have great weight. ABOUT BALD HEADS. About a quarter of acentury ago when bushland was much more plentiful in-the County of Bruce than at the present, the following incidents took place. Many of the participators therein are still living in this locality. At“that time many of the settlers were annoyed, or thought they were, by bears molesting their belongings. Amongst the number was a. Mr. 13â€", a resident of the northern part of the township, who some- how or other got the notion that bears were troubling his porkers. This getting noised abroad led to some of the would-be Nimrods of the neighborhood gathering at Bâ€"’s one night to watch for the bear and to put a stop to his depredations. All went; well for some time, but no bruin put in an appearance, and the bold hunters, as the night was chilly, thought it would be as well to await his lordship’s arrival around 13â€"33 kitchen stove and enjoy a social chat. While the majority of them were thus enâ€" gaged, some of the more mischievous youths thought it would be a good plan to get up a, hunt without the bear. Accordingly one of the most daring of the number was detailed to go to the pig-pen and seize one of the sucking pigs lying beside its mother. He got one of them by the hind legs and made ABear Hunt and Disappointment. tracks, as if for the bush, carrying piggy with him for some distance, followed by the old sow, grunting and snorting with all her might. Those around the stove, hearing the noise, rushed for their fire-arms and ran after the old sow as fast as they could. But bruin escaped. And many were the wonderful stories told as they reassembled at the house again~of how near some of them had been to slaying his bearshipâ€" while those in the secret laughed in their sleeves, and kept their own counsel. The story of bruin’s visit and escape circulated around the neighborhood, excited the set- tlers and increased their thirst for bear- hunting. The next evening saw a. much larger number awaiting another visit from Mr. Bear. And that they might be more convenient to the pig pen, and nearer the, seat of war, the majority of the party en- sconsed themselves in the threshing floor of an old log barn close by, awaiting his ar~ rival. Of course this made the trick of the previous night too dangerous to be repeatâ€" ed, and the time passed slowly and coldly away until after midnight when many of the Nimrods begin to wish themselves at. home in their beds. Then in the dim light some of them saw, as they thought, their- expected visitor walk calmly and slowly- ronnd the corner of the barn, and take up a position not far from the door, which, by the way, had plenty of loop-holes in the shape of cracks between the boards. Now was the time to try their courage, and that of some of them failed, one 0! them losing his self-control so far as to let his gun fall flat on the floor, where it was dis- charged, providentially without injuring any of those present. A number having got their guns pointed through the cracks, a volley was poured into the supposed bear, which fell apparently lifeless from their well-directed fire. When the hunters rushed out they found their victim to be a black muley calf of B-â€"’s, which some of the practical jokers had disturbed from his night’s rest and induced to go into the barn- yard. The bold hunters felt rather cheap, and B~â€" was furious at the loss of his calf. For many a day those engaged in the shoot- ing did not like to be asked if they had anything to do with the shooting of Bâ€"’s bear. The above is a plain and unvarnished account of what actually took place at the time and place specified. The French Spy System. BERLIN, April 3,â€"Thc Post, referring to the remarks of French papers on the alleged disclosures by the officials of the French War Office to a German official, expresses amazement that the press of a. country which has for years kept up an nnexampled organization of espionage in Germany should make an affair, devoid of signifi- cance, the occasion of all kinds of insulting accusations and unmeasured demands. The Post says :â€"“ The facts established in the evidence given at the trials for treason of Jenssen, Tarana and Prohi, broughtto light that a had been organized by the Paris Intellige nee department throughout Germany. As to the demand of Paris papers that the Ger- man military attache who received the in- formation should be recalled, such request, if made by the French Government, could only be answered by the simultaneous re- call of the German ambassador at Paris.” The Post proceeds to enumerate cases where Frenchmen, even superior officers, have been detected acting as spies in Germany and afterwards set free because the Govern- ment desired to conciliate France. In conâ€" clusion, the Post says, the spy system was carried to perfection by Frenchmen in Gerâ€" many, while similar charges against Ger- mans have their chief basis in French fancy. The town of Baku, in Russia, recently ex- perienced a visitation which threatened at one time its complete destruction. This was nothing less than an outburst of a natural fountain of naphtha, followed by a. volcanic eruption from Lok Botan, about ten miles distant. The St. Petersburg correspondent of the London Times describes the event under date of Feb. 7 as follows: ” Quite suddenly, at 11 o’clock at night, the noise of an explosion was heard, and the summit of Lok Botan shot up an enormous column of fire some 350 feet high. The whole coun- try was instantly lit up brighter than day, and the heat could be felt at nearly a. mile from the crater. There was scarcely any wind, so that the column continued to as- cend quite vertically, carrying with it, as could be seen, large dark substances, which appeared to fall again into ‘ the volcano. This lasted, with short intervals of subsi- dence, all through the night and the follow- ing twenty-four hours, but luckily the mat- ter ejected did not reach the railway sta- tion.” It is estimated that the amount of matter ejected amounts to 3,000,000 cubicr feet, as it had at that time covered a surface- of more thana square mile to a depth of. from seven to fourteen feet. In the present boom which prevails in sheep growing some may be led to engage- in the business whose location is not suit:- able for this purpose. Low, wet land should be avoided, not only because it predisposes to foot-rot, but also for the reason that its herbage is coarser and less nutritious than on the hills. Sheep are close croppers, and, although riehwoil is required to grow the best grass, they prefer to browse it; when it; is short and sweet. Sheep on Low Lands. ETWOI’LK 0F SPIISS