The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

BRIT AIN'S ARMY Alli] NAVYI 225520529: a’llfifiiEi-i‘é‘.iri'féfilf‘fififli A LARGE INCREASE. WANTED IN THE LAND FORCES. What the Maintenance of lirlmin'a *0 men and Soldiers (ml-War llepurlmcnl h Mismnnazcd â€" ‘l‘he, Armies or 0Ilu-r ('OMH'H‘s. Since Lord Salisbury took office two years ago the British public has been‘ bounced into an increase of naval ex- penditure amounting to many milâ€" lions annually, under the plea that continental nations were combining to Oppose British interests, and that the British Navy must thereto be able to whip any two or even three. navies which might possibly be arrayed. against the Union Jack, writes a Lonâ€" don correspondent. The naval panic was one of the cleverest and most sucâ€" cessful bits of domestic politics ever engineered in this country. The heavy increase in taxation which the enor- mous addition to naxal expenditure made necessary has been borne with the most marvellous patience ever manifested by a great nation in time of peace. There has been almost litâ€" orally no word of complaint from any class or any party. The national will- ingness and self-sacrifice have been a. really wonderful demonstration of pa- trio-tism of THE RAREST DESCRIPTION. Now a new campaign has been unâ€" dertaken on the same lines and its progress bids fair to prove another as- tonishing lesson in the science of doâ€" mestic politics which has for its object the easiest method of opening the pub- lic purse. This campaign was begun in midsummer, before the adjournment of Parliament. and it will reach its con- summation and probable triumph when the appropriation bills come to be final- ly passed next year. Its object is plain- ly indicated in the cry of alarm toâ€" day, louder than ever over the con- dition of the military forces of the_ empire. The British army, so Eng- land is being told in solemn warning by all the official voices. is utterly inadequate to the work that wuuldbe put upon it in case of any serious foreign complication in any quarter of the globe. An) increased expenditure of at least $7,500,000, an‘deven this addition will only partly remedy the serious shortcomings which must be dealt with IN THE NEAR FUTURE. The increase in military force which the Government will undoubtedly ask of Parliament when it meets amounts to 11,000 men. The cost of this in- crease the first year is estimated at $275 per man, or about $3,000,000. But it will be no easy matter to add 11,000 recruits t; the British army. In fact. under present conditions it would be altogether impossible. The induceâ€" ments to enlist are insufficient even to keep the present ranks full. and nothing short of conscription would bring forward 11,000 more Tommy Atkinses to serve Queen Victoria at the terms now offered. The concession whichis expected to bring in all the men that may be needed is the pay- ment of a "grocery ration} so-called. and this inducement will add $3,125,000 annually to the army bill. Increased pay for long service will add another item. . And yet, as a. matter of fact. the British Government spends annually ' upon its military forces in one form or another no less than $180,000,000, while the navy last year 0951: only $120,000,â€" 000. The-mere statement of these figâ€"' ures, coupled with the acknowledged weakness and inefficiency of the Brit< ' ish military system is prima facie proof of the gross mismanagement of the British \Var Department. which amounts to one of the greatest na- tional scandals of the age. The hideâ€"o bound comervatism intrenched behind. mountains of red tape seems tole en-l tirely beyond the reach of criticism or reform. Sir John Briggs put the situa- tion in its true light as long ago as 1872.. when he saidofthe British Army and its ,management: "We do not tell the truth to the English people. The Prime Minister himself cannot get at it." There will.be no real reform as the result of the demand for an in- creaseof the army next year. Parliaâ€" ment will probably vote the extra. money without much demur. and the English people will pay through the nose for the maintenance of the worst and most inefficient. not to use a se- verer term, bureaucracy the WORLD H‘A‘S EVER SEEN. A military writer has just summed up in- an interesting way the latest facts with regard to the chief military powers on the continent, His summary includes these important points: France. has now at a cost of just $125,000,000 a peace. strength of 28,903 officers, 602,7720 men, whereof 77,000 are cavalry, and 140,001 horses; guns, 3,048. But in war the. personnelâ€"the trained soldiers that can be put into the fieldâ€"is sextuplcd, and the whole French army reaches the astonishing total of three and a half million of men. The number of horses available is more than doubled, increasing from 140,001 to 340,00 2; the guns become half as numerous again, namely 4,400 as against 3.048. The French \Var Office is always on the alert. Just now it is much concerned about the quick-firing field gun that certainly will be introâ€" duced as soon as the best pattern has been defiantly agreed upon. In this France watches Germany. and Ger- many. France: while Russia and Aus- tria watch both. The change will be “fell pause before they embark on tlre __. rJinx". Speaking generally ofthe French artillery. the verdict of our ofâ€" ‘ ficers who haVc attended recent mau~ (euvres is altogether favourable. Some indeed. declare that the li'rench artilâ€" lery of today is as far superior to the German as was the Prussian to that .which it encountered in the Franco» German war of 1870. It has been brought to great PERFECTION IN MANOiil'VRlC. France, in point of actual numbers, has rather the advantage of Germany: the general total of men is larger in the former. The. pen e establishment of cavalry is 77.000 in France, against 07,000 in Germany. l-‘rancc, ‘too, in peace has fortyâ€"eight more. guns. but the. war total is largest in Germany, by 414. Again. France maintains more. horse in peace, but in war the Ger- man»; approximate very closely, in the. first line alone. having 328,000, against. 340,000 French, while there. are 200,000 more in the second German line The grand total of the German personnel is just 2,500,000, field and second line together and behind is the Landsturm, some 3,000,000 more of which, 500,000 have been regularly trained. Such figures are. in truth, bewildering,but. they are. no more than might beexpectâ€" ed from a whole nation in arms. The chief work carried on oflate. in the German army has been the recognizaâ€" tion of regiments. 'l‘ill April 1st this year it consisted of 539 battalions and 173 half battalions. and each of these has been given a revised strength of officers and rank and file. No definite} idecision has been arrived at as yet as 1to the rearmament OF THE FIELD ARTILLERY, although itmust undoubtedly be form- ed. Tlhe chief new services tol'e 91‘0- vided under the increased budget $13.3.000,000 for 1807-8, as against $135.- 000,000 for 1890â€"7, are field railway ma- terial said to be for fortress warfare: money to create a military telegraph: school and adopt afield telegraph Sys- tem; the establishment of travelling untried Fur/inc. GATHth UP THE MACHINERY. A tool house located in a fence our- uer with a three. possibly a four barb- ctlâ€"wire fence for two sides. a luxur- iant growth of weeds for the other side. and nicely covered by the blue dome of heaven. may be a convenient. place to store unused nia-hiuery, but we question the economy of such a. structure. If it was merely a ques- tion of the easiest way to dispose. of the tools we would all find it most. convenient to drive into a corner. unâ€" hitch the team. and leave the impleâ€" ment until again wanted. Many far- mers do it, and we must suppose they have. a reason for the practice. Yes, and we have seen some men whoconâ€" sidered themselves pretty good farmers utilizing aspare corner or two on their farms in this way. They will spend several days in looking over our dif- ferent kinds of self-binders, or plows, or other implements. and figure and bicker with the different dealers to -get a saving of $5 or some such sum. field ovens for the lakery columns. and i a seccn'l instalment. for the purchase of reserves of provisions. Large sums, are also voted for the completion (if fortresses. major and minor, and it 15 obvious that the same watchful ('31‘8 i3 givem as of old to all branches of war office administration in Germany. There has been a very marked inâ€" crease in Russian military expendi- ture. The estimates for 1896 were for $154,000,000, as against $145,000,001) for 1895, and the fox-gins supplied andpaid by this sum make up a total of 1.000,â€" 000 men and 150,000 horses on the peace establishment with 2.416 guns. On a. war footing the personnel is nearly trebled. and amounts to 2,771,070 men with 700,033) horses and 4,tfiti guns, but. both sets of figures must be takPn with caution. Considerable changes ihave been made in the organization ‘and loralion of troops. especially in r the Caucasus anal Asiatic Russiandhe cavalry is better distributed, and.un- der the new cavalry regulations it will probably be ‘better taught. A new drill book has been brought outwhioh is said to be a great advance upon the OLDâ€"li‘ASfl-IIONED INSTRUCTIONS and among the new formations stress is laid on the speedy rallying after a charge; importance is laid on the. ac- tion of the first line, and so forth. The equitation of the Russian regular cavalry is certainly capable of im- provement. The peace strength oflhe AustrooHungarian army is 355,000 men and 05,000 horses, which becomes on a war footing 1.250.000 men. with 303,000 horses. The artillery is comparatively weak. There are only 1:340 guns on the peace establishment which are in- creased to 2,021 in war .In above numâ€" They go home feeling that they have shown wonderful business ability and then let the same tool stand out in the weather and lose several times what they have saved in the buying. We must bear in mind that. the injury . to a piece of machinery thus left ex-' posed to the weather is not limited to and rusted irons. We must also conâ€" sider the extra wear and strain that loosened joints and rusted bearings throw upon the whole machinery. \Vhen exposed to the hot sun the wood becomes checked and warped. Then the rains bulge out joints and ridges here and there which throw the whole machine into disorder. The farmer in his rush leaves the harvester or mower for a day or two until he gets time to put it into the shed. The two days lengthen into months. and when 11â€" nally he finds time to store it away the sickle has become rusty and must 3 beground before using again. I’erhalls ‘ it is necessary to grind away more than Will be Worn away by the whole sea- son's use. The platform of the bar- vester becomes swollen and uneven. and next season when the farmer gets ready for harvesting the apron cat."th ' it. and the door should be on the south. the weather-worn wood, decayed joints ‘ There Should be an alley way through and stops, and he becomes iinpal.i*nt.: A hatchet is the nearest tool at hand, and with it he attacks the dif1i~uity. age. plow i H! kept without sprouting until Augâ€" We all know the result. The stands at the end of the field and 1.6- coules rusted. [five times as mw‘h work is wasted in attempting to make it run the next season as would be. 1‘6- lluired to put it away when the plow- ing was finished. And if the rust has eaten into the metal the plow will never take the former polish. And so we might continue. Tools built alv 'mOst entirely of iron are left expos- ed because they cannot be injured. 0f- ' ten we notice no effe:t for a time, but bers are included the cavalry, 52,000 men and 43,000 horses in peace, as against €3,000 men and 89,000 horses in war. At present the peace strength of the ‘ Italian army is 226,000 men and 45,000 horses. the war establishment, 2,294.â€" 000 men and 123,000 horses. An increase to the budget has been needed toccmâ€" plete the armament of the first line ;with the (so-called new rifle, which is of the 1891 pattern and of which there are now some 570,000 stand of arms with ammunition on hand. NAGGING BEEN. A few months ago Dr. Cyrus .Edson wrote in the North American Review some articles on “Nagging Women.“ .' He related his experiences as a. physiâ€" I cian, and declared that a large share of human misery was clearly the re- :sul‘t of women’s pestilent and per- !sistent “nagging” of those about 5 them. But what about "nagging" men? There are men whose nightly return to their homes always means needless misery to their households. They find fault with. their dinners. household bills, with the children and with everything else. They make sar- castic remarks that burn and scaril'y the sensitive souls of their wives, They carry home the worries of business. They "take it out" of their families for everything that has gone wrong in the day's work, and some are even cowards enough to revenge upon the innocent and helpless those wrongs and affronts which they have not had courage enough to resist and resent upon the offender. Dr. Edson declared that the disposiâ€" tionto"nag"in women is clearly disâ€" case. In men it is almost alâ€" ways the venting of a mean and cow- ardly disposition where it is safe to vent it. There are probably as many "nagâ€" ging" men as “nagging” women in the world, and there is immeasurably less excuse for them. For men have the relief of work and outâ€"ofâ€"door life. for irritable nerves, and that is deni- ed to most women. Men's lives have variety, where women know only monâ€" otony "Nagging" in men f and women alike is a. sign of weakness, both morâ€" i al and intellectual. In men it means a .wretched cowardice as well. with the ' in a few years the machine. legins to fail in. different parts and we must then begin a proress of repairs. upm- cess always expensive in both and money. If any part needs renew- mg or changing all the bolts are rust.- ed and must be cut and new ones DUI in again? \\'e have had these experi- ences and know what they mean. Why then continue such unsatisfactory practices? Machinery costs money we all know. Each year hundreds of dollars are spent by the farmer for tools, Much of this could be saved, which would' mean increased profits. “'9 sometimes think that the manufacturer and deal- er are getting the greater share of the proceeds of the farm. We would not be misunderstood in this matter. The farmer must be thoroughly pro- gressive in the use of’improverl machâ€" inery as well as in other lines of his business. He must not be slow in utilizing the better tools that the brains and push of our inventors and man ufactuerers are placing on the market for purchase. But the point is simply this: If through neglect to properly shelter a planter or harvester the farmer is compelled buy a new one three or four years before he otherwise would. is there not a direct loss which might be avoid- ed? 'l‘rue we may not be able to build expensive tool houses, but this is not necessary. A cheap shelter will ansâ€" wer as well. Set posts in the ground board up with rogh boards and roof board up with rough boards and roof with something cheap. Built itlarge and roomy; then as soon as the sea- son's use of a tool is over run it into the. shed. which tools can be pulled and left as conveniently as they can be. left standâ€" ing in the yard. Then if apiece of machinery is to stand idle but a few days it: will be under shelter. \Ve have said, “Gather up the whinery.“ Raâ€" ther let me say, “1(18 I i gathered up." The. principle upon which to act inthis work is to put a tool away as soon) as we are through with it. the work is done have it understood that the machine is to be placed at. once in proper shelter. Other work may press upon us. but if we will persist- ently adhere to this rule. we will find it the best. If we have not followed, this practice and already have not all tools under Shelter let us at once gather In any eXpflsed to the weather i and will be replaced. and standing as an advertisement of our shiftlessness. STORING POT ATOES. The. potato crop is not. large this year. a fact which makes it all the more necessary that. growers take good care. of what they have and keep them in firstwlass condition for the good strong prices that will be likely to prevail during the winter and spring. If potatoes are buried says Iowa. Home- w” time . Vile like. the idea of a shed' open on one side for adriveâ€"way into. “ hem a. good sound “second set." It should i . i i . ’bage is grown on a large scale i exâ€" . pected that the court will convene next I stead. they should be covered only moderately at. first. additional cover- 1 .3- ing leiug added as the weather comes more severe. lui‘y 11g how- tlm most lent ways of preserving and when inconven- the. potato crop. are worth anything it is also likely to be one of the most exieii~.i\'c. ever is one of potatoes Storage of potan l'ilt's' or indeed of any other vegetable, in the collar of a dwelling house in quantities beyond the needs of immeâ€" diate. consumption is always objecâ€" tional 1c because likely to breed disease. Even with the best of care there is always more or less decay. and the family that lives over this species of destructive fermentation. is pretty cerâ€" tain to suffer for it, especially dur- ing the early spring. If one has any considerable quantity of potatoes or other tubers or roots to keep through the winter, on outside rot cellar furâ€" nishes the. best means to preserve them. A side hill, giving rapid drainâ€" age makes a. good site for such cellar. and there are many kinds of soil where no walls other than what the dirt af- fords are necessary. If. however, a retaining wall of some, kind is necesâ€" sary, cheap boards and poles can be used so that no great expense need too, may be of earth thrown over [)o-les but: a roof of this kind will need some sort of thatch- Ing in order to make it shed water. It would be better to have the roof made of boards that break jo'nts. or if a more permanent structure with less regard to cost is intended. the roof may be shingled. It is impor- tant. that a dry place be chosen and that it. be sufficiently ditched around the cellar and a ventilator shaft throughlhe roof and. if the door ison a level, or nearly so, with the floor, aside hill with asouthern exposure being selected as the site there will. always be good ventilation. llins can be provided on each side of the alley way and they should be raised several inches from the ground. The sides of the bins. also, should not be in conâ€" tact with the walls, or they will atâ€" tract moisture. Spouts may be placed at intervals through the roof, near the outside of thc bins. through whi~h p0- tatr;es may be poured into the cellar. Such a structure can be cheaply built: and will readily enough curry potatoes 1 through until spring withrut sproutâ€" Ing. Some varieties of potatoes which Sprout readily need to be turned over once or perhaps twire during the win- ter. There is n": way to prevent sprouting except storing them in some such way as described and then using the Scoopâ€"shovel to turn them over. unless one can have access to cold stor- \\'ith cold storage. potatoes can ust, which is longer than is needed. \V INTERING CA BBAGE. The old plan of burying, or putting cabbages in trenches during the win- ber. or for winter use, has become ob- solete, and a more simple and easy plan has been adopted. “'here cab- for shipping purposes, the best plan is to lift the cabbage and sta~k two tiers deep and as closely as they can Le plac- ed in an orchard. or wood if conven- ient. and cover with leaves to the depth of two or three inches, the leaves to be kept in plare by a slight covering of earth. In this way the heads will keep perfectly sound all winter, and they can be easily taken up as wanted for shipping. For family use cabbage can be kept in the same way, only it will not be necessary to make the secâ€" ond layer. It is quite important to keep them a. little Lelow the freezing point. lt has been suggested to keep them in some convenient building. but this plan has always resulted in fail- ure as the dry atmosphere is fatal; cabbage must be kept moist and cool. the slightest wilting rendering it un- fit for the table. T'HE VENEZUELA TRIBUNAL. The final step in the constitution of the tribunal of arbitration which is to decide the longâ€"pending boundary question between Venezuela and Great Britain has been taken by the selection of Professor Maerteus, the distinguished Russian jurist as umpire and president of the court. Each party to the dispute submitted a list of dis- tinguished jurists who would be accepâ€" table as umpire: and Professor Maertâ€" en's name was the only one in both lists. He has a wide reputation asan authority in international law. and has several times served as arbitrator in, international differences. It is full. Justice Fuller and Brewer of; the United States Supreme Court are to be arbitrators on the part of Vene- zuela, and Justice Herschel and Col- lins on the part of Great Britain. TH E CH ILDREN’S TEETH. Mothers are beginning to realize the importance of taking care of the chil- dren's first teeth, in order to insure be remembered that when achild has twenty teethâ€"ten upper and ten lower â€"all that are added belong to the per- manent set. which should be carefully preserved. This precaution is very im- portant, as decay in the first double teeth is smut-times allowed to progress with the idea that these are transient, This is not so, and the very first indications of decay should receive immediate attention. The children should be early taught to wash . the teeth after each meal; and if thisi habit is established while they still have ‘ their first teeth, there will be very lit-, tle danger of their neglecting the. per-’ manent set. TWO SURPR ISES. lt beats all how some people spend money. Yes; and it. beats all how some 1190‘; ple get money to spend. ' ~4â€" SAVED BY GENERAL BOURBAKI. Correspondent who was Sentenced Io be Sllol as a Spy. Alvan S. Southworth, read of the death of General Bourbuki with an unâ€" usu-il thrill of interest. because it was only the Frenchman's intervention that saved him from being Shot as a. Spy during the brinco-Prussian war twcniyâ€"seven years ago. “ While I was at Lille, in the north of France, as a. newspaper correspond- ent," said Mr. Southworth, "I was seized :is a spy. tried by drum-head court martial and condemned to die. I shivered a little when Ihearrl the edict; but. 1 took courage from the fact that the sentence must recieve the approval of Bourbaki, then in com- mand of the department of the north. He was noted as a man of chivalry. Yet when I was informed that. he had already settled my fate life began to ooze out of every pore. " It so happened that one of those noble women. a sister of the Order of St. Vincent de Paul, visited the bastion where I was confined. Offer- ing fruit and religious consolation. I told her that it was all amonumental mistake. and that if I could sec him I could convince General Bourbaki that he was not. only about to cumâ€" mit an act of silly barl-arity, but also that it would be widely noted and promptly avenged. l asked her to have me brought before the General at the earliest moment, as the execution was fixed for the morning at daybreak. Could she do itf I think the Sisterâ€"- her name was Sister Augustineâ€"felt that. the charge was preposterous. and she said: ‘Immedialement! Immediate- ment. monsieur!" .She flew from the bastion. and within half an hour I was before Bourbaki. who was nerv- ously pacing up and down on the par- ade ground. “This good sister has asked that I see you," he said. in a disdainful way. "Que voulex vous dire?" “I am merely an American news- paper correspondent,’ I replie‘l, ‘and was inspecting the fortifications in pursuit of my profession; that is allâ€" .nothing antagonistic to the Frenchâ€"- no treason. .‘ify full credentials are at the Hotel de l'Europe." “The General sent an orderly for my luggage. which was light, and be- ing more than satisfied that l “a: not a dangerous enemy of Prince, [re- ceived my freelozn over cognac and ciga r3," .__9__ UNIQUE JAPANESE TIMEPIECE. ('onlnlns Trees and Streams Which Have a, Natural Appearance. Japan possesses a remarkable timoâ€" piece. It is contained in a frame three feet wide and five feet long, repre- senting a noon-day lander-ape. In the foreground plum and cherry trees and rich plants appear in bloom; in the rear is seen a hill, from which floats a cascade. almirably imitated in crys- tal. From this point, a threadlike stream meanders. encircling rocks and islands in its windings. and finally losâ€" ing intself in a stretch of woodland. In .a miniature sky, a golden sun turns on silver wire, striking the hours on silver gongs as it passes. Each hour is marked by a creeping tortoise. A bird of exquisite plumage warbles at the close of the hour, and as the song ceases a mouse sallies forth from a. neighboring grotto and stamperin over the hill. to the garden, is soon los to view. HOW LONG BEAUTIFUL? This question is discussed in an Engâ€" lish journal by a writer who maintains that “ the fulness of beauty does not reach its zenith under the age of thir- ty~five or forty.” This claim is disput- ed by another writer, who cites the opinion of women themselves as shown by the undoubted fact that ” any woâ€" man who craved admiration on the :«OOI'O of her personal appearance would be vastly more pleased were her age to be guessed as being thirty rather than forty." This is a very Wide and delicate ques« tion. Much depends upon the race _and not a little upoin the woman. In some southern lands women are either wrinkled and shrivelled or fat and shapeless grandmothers before they reach the age mentioned. In Eng- land and in this country it often hap- pens that the " fulness of beauty ” in women " does not reach its zenith nu.- desr the age of thirty-five or forty." The question of taste, too, has much to do' with a decision, and it is a. can- on of criticism that in matters of taste there can be no unvarying standard of judgment. There is a beauty of the bud and a beauty of the blossom in all its glory. 1n the eye of could fact a woman probably reaches the fulness of her beauty at her physical maturity and riieness. a varying time in differ- ent climes and with different women. Andâ€"blesed factlâ€"she remains beau~ tifuil as long as she looks so in the eyes of those who love her. The age limit is very elastic, depend- ing upon health. temperament. hereâ€" dity. conditions of 'life and a (it"IA-I) oth- er things that hellp to preserve or to impair that. l‘eauty which is its own lexcuse for beingâ€"and for being seen! IT ALL DEPNDED. Do you think you can support my daughter, Mr. Sooter‘f Yesâ€"if we are married right away, sir. answered lho young man. ? Ian'fl stahl the e\;enscs of a long in-age- ment. though sir. A SM A LL ROCK I'I’I‘. How d‘l that gold mine pan out? All a mistake. “'9 had to u pros- pecting in an a’ an lone'l gravevar l and 11:1". assamd the dust of a graduate from a goldrure institute.