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A fire in :1. four-Storey tenement house. 17l Hnrriwn avenue, Brooklyn. damaged properi y to the extent of $30,- 000 and made seventy famiHes (Primorâ€" arily‘ homeless. Several smaller tpne- mam. houses were destroyed. A num» Elli NEWS IN E NUISHEU 61d. Gen. Gascoigne, Commanderâ€"inâ€"Chief of the forces in Canada. is visiting Washington, accompanied by Mrs. Gas- enigma. The Minister of Public Works states that thy; Inability inlciurre‘d in connecâ€" tion “iath the improvement of Toronto harbor during the year ending Januâ€" ary 1,1898, was $16,936. Geodqgical Survey reports Show the u'totdvuctizqn of coal for the.» year 1897 to Save been $386,000; godd; $6,190,000; si'lv-evr. 593,322,000; nickel ,$1,400,000;19ad $396,000; Chopper, $1,501,900. Chris. Keenan and Frank Shane,night \VaU‘hIHQH, employed by merchants of Menominee, Nick, fought at due] “i111 revolvers there on Tuesday, Keenan was wounded in the wrist. Shane gave himself up {,0 the officers. Interesting Items About Our Own Country, Great Britain, the United S‘ates, and All Parts of the Globe, Condensed and Assorted for Easy Rendlng. i‘he Ciiy Council of Victoria, 12.0., is urging the Dominion Government to improve 'the harbor of that city. jacquot Lepage, of Ste. Ba‘rnavbe. Rimouski county, has just had his 23rd child baptised. The father is 84 years The Canadian Locomotive \Norks, Kingston, has closed a contract with the Minister of Railways for the con- struction of sewm‘al engines for the Intercolonial Railway. There are now only 723,068 bushels of wheat. in elevators at Port Arthur and Fort William, where there were over $000,000 bushels a year ago. Mr. Mackintth is siilJ the Lieut.â€" Governor of the Northwest Territories. He tendered his resignation, to take effect. on January 1 last, but it has not yet been ancepted. (Hum. B. ()iReiiHy has been retired firm the position of Indian: Reserve Commissioner at Vimoriai, 3.0., and the office has been united wiL‘ni that of the Indian S‘ulp'i‘nl‘inttfnd'ent. Mr. Vowel], Indian Svurprerrintendenli will hencefm‘tih hold hob!) offices without increased reâ€" m-uneration. Il'ihe commissioners appointed to inâ€" uire into the laborers’ grievances on ' a Crow's Nest Puss Railway are at \Vni'dner. B. C. Tliiey have found few causes for complaint, except. that some of the employment, agents misrepres- ented the cost of transportation. and there is- an absence of medical attend- ance. Sir Sanford Fleming has been reâ€" flected Chancellor of Queen’s Uni-ver- Bitty, Kingston. General Manager Hays of the G.T.R. heads a syndicate applying to the Govâ€" arnment at Ottawa. for the right to bridge the Detroit River between Windâ€" sor and Detroit. Mr. G. C. Jones. Superintendent, and a number of Grand Trunk despaiw’hers ~guml other offimiiiafls were transferred. from London to 'St. Thomas on amount of the \Vahals'hi securing runniing pow- er: over the Air Lime. 'l‘wmve Englishmen from London haw arrived al New York an route to the Yukon, with 50 tons of supplies, including: a large steel rilver hqu,7 \vlln'mh' can! also he used as a sledge. The remains of George \V. Ferris‘ buildpr of the Ferris wheel at the (Thi- cago \\'01‘Id’s Fair, are still Wild at the (trematory in l'iLtsburg fur the unpaid funeral cxpvnses, conlrax-ted over :1 year ago. Cyrus F. ,Iireder. [nrmur cashier of the First N:1(ion;-L! bank of Bethlehem, Pa., who pleaded uui‘ty to the emhezâ€" zlemenf of over $20,000 from the hank, has Won sunlem'ed to seven years in prison. ‘U.P.ER. land sales [or February ag- gregate 21,000 acres, for w’h'Lch $66,000 was realized, a sum three times as large as that received during the same month but year. The Klondike .rnsh ’is having a. good. effect on) the customs receipts, and colâ€" lectims at Varncouvver last mont‘hi reached $45,884, am increase at $15,380. as compared with February, 1897. The Gloucester fishing svhooner “ith her new have been given up for [0%. She Jo“, Glow-ester [nr mei‘nundland on Dere‘mhel‘ 9 and was HLSL reported on Devomher 16. Alfred Gareau, a lumberman :has disâ€" appeared from om-e ‘oi the camps on the Upper Gatiimeau. He has not been seen since the big snow storm and it is feared he has perished. He bleon'ged to the Lower Town, Ottawa“ The Chicago Press (‘Juh has adopted resolutions of sympathy for Emile Zola. and M. Perreux. The l'nited States Government reâ€" lief expedition in the Yukon has been abandoned as unmwvssary. The Marquis of Salisbury, who has been suffering from a slight attack mt influenza, is now recovering. n The original of "Reulzen Dale: one of. the principal characters in Marie Corelli’s book, "The Mighty Atom.” has just dled at Combe Martin, near Ilframmbe. Devon. He was sexton at. the parish church, his real name being James Norman. 'More t‘han 500 striking: employes of the York (,‘orporation, Biddeford, Ma, have gone 10 Cunaeda. A number of United States Senators an}! Congressmen have gone L0 (Tuba. [E VERY LATEST FROM ALL THE WORLD OVER‘ GREAT BRITAIN. (f Nll‘ED STATES CANA DA. The simplest. public railroad now opâ€" al‘aied is thought to he one between Alami and Odawara. in Japan. It is a. narrow gauge road, and is run by mam pmwr. The cars have seats for four persons each. who Sit back to back. A train consists of two or three wars, and is drawn up hill by half a doben coulies. ber of persons were slightly injured by falling walls. v The entire system of Government in- spemion of meat which hm been es- tablished in the packing house of the United States has been deciarad to he unconstflutional, ineffective and vbid is an opinion handed down in the United States District Court, Kansas City, by Judge John Rogers. RIGHT TO NAME THE STRICIC'J‘S. The German Emperm‘ as ‘King of Prussia, has the sale right to name streets, and he has just, refused his n-onsvent to vall two streets after the names of Dr. Bertram and Dr. Lang- erhans, popular members of the Muni- t-ipal' Council. His Majesty disapproves of such a course during the lifetime of the godfathers. In View of the warlike preparations being made by Clh'ili the Argentine Government has decided to purchase three warships and arms for 150,000 men. The report says: Twelve thousand six hundred and sixty-five cases Of in- juries of variuus kinds occurred durâ€" ing the year. the ratio per 1000 being 174.4. This number comprises 229 gen- eral and 12,433 lot-a] injuries, besides one wound in action. The general injuries included 13) cases of burns or scalds. 108 of heatstroke. 27\ of mulâ€" tiple injury, 1 of asphyx and 74 of submersion. Tihe loral injuries recordâ€" ed were 929 of hurns’ or srulds. and 15,506 of wounds, fractures, mntusions, 8:0. The solitary case of wound: reâ€" turned as having been reroived in art- ion occurred among the force engaged in the bombardment of the Sultan of Zanzihar’s palace. There “ere 140 in- validings for injury and 9:1 deaths, the invaliding ratio, 1.92 per 1000 and the death ratio 13 per 1000, The fatal cases of injury comprised 1 of burns‘ 2 of heatstroke 15 of multiple injury, 1 0f asiiliiyxim (35 0f sulunersiun, and 11 of wounds or [I‘Ht'illl't‘s. 'l‘hvre were 1'.‘ deaths liy suit'ide during the year, viz” 2 by shooting, 2 by drowning, 2 by hanging, 3 from rut throat, and 3 by poisoning." The Prince of “721193, while on his way to (he Rdiviera, called on Presidenh Faure at Paris, and the latter returnâ€" ed the Prince’s visit. GENERAL. The deadlock in the Newfoundland Pa‘rhament over railway legislation continues. Emperor \V‘illiam has sent, :1, message of congratulation to Prince Hohenlohe, upon hlS diplomMic success in C‘hma. Where is an appalling scarcity of food in many Provinces of Spain. The price of wheat is high, and bread riots are of daily occurrenqe iii. Salamunca. Where it is feared that material law will be proclaimed. The condition of the Crown Prinvess Stephanie, of Austria, grows worse. She is suffering from inflammation of (“he lumgs, & result of an attack of influen- za, and it. is spreading to an extent which makes her condition critical. Baron Von Gau‘tsch, the Austrian Premier and Minizter of the Interior, has reported to Emperor Francis Jos- eph- that the Sm-«iulist movement among the Hungarian peasantry has so far abated that the danger may be con- sidered past. Lowest Rule of Disease and Injury Rot-arm ed In Forty Years. .A Parliamentry paper recently isâ€" s’ued. gives a fairly good account of the health of the Royal Navy during the year 1896, says the London Stan- dard. The returns for the total forve serving afloat may, indeed, he regard- ed as the most satisfactory that have been furnished by these reports since they were first published in their presâ€" ent form, in the year 1856, the aggreâ€" gate number of cases of! disease and injury for the year showing the low- est recorded during the past forty years. \Vhen compared with the pr?- vious year it not: only shows a decrease in) the total force. but also on all staâ€" tions excepting the home. Contrasted with the average ratios for nine years, there is a reduction both in the total force and on all stationsu the home and southeast coast of America- sta- tions alone excepted. The death rate of the total force, viz.,, 5.28, is also a decrease on that of, the previous year, and is the lowest obtained since 1856. The invalidiug rate, however, shows a slight increase of per. 1000 over. that of 1895. and of .91 when compared with the average ratio for the last nine years. \Vhen contrasted with last year, a great de- crease in the ratio per 1600 of, cases occurred on the Cape of Goodl Hope and \Vest Coastof Africa. stution.'l‘his was largely due to a reduction in the num- ber of cases of malaria] fever. which, owing to a considerable amount of river work in 1894'), wasi very high in that year. The total force in the SET- vice afloat, cori‘et-ied for time, in the year 1896, was 72,620 officers and men, of whom 44,010, or 60.6 per cent, were between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five; 20,610, or 28.38 per cent, were between the ages of twentyâ€"five and thirtyâ€"five: (3940, 01‘ 9.55 per rent, were helween the ages of thirty-five and forty-five. and IUSO, on 1.45 per cent, were above firty-five years“ of age. ONEâ€"MAN B A] LROA D. HEALTH 0F NAVY. PREPARATION Ols‘ THE SOJL. ln proof of the fact that the (areâ€" ful preparation of the soil increa<es the yield, it is well known that a gar- den-plot will produce more Than a fieldq although the land of the field may be fully as rich, in plant food as the gardenâ€"plot, but the difference is thth the preparation of the soil for a garden is ufiually complete, and when There is awidespread popular prejuâ€" dice against cow beef, and we suspect that the doctors are very largely re- sponsible for it. Yet; we have so often eaten tender and sweet row beef that; our experience long ago taught us that its quality was munh more dependent on the way it had been fattened. than it was on the age of the cow. But it. is nevertheless true, says American Culâ€" tivator, that it is more diIfinult to fatten an old cow, or an old animal of any kind, than it is to fatten young animals. AS the teeth begin to fail, the food is not. so well masticated as it, used to be, and as a consequence digestion is retarded. The pl'esenue of undigested food in the stmnauh r‘reates fever, and in this diseased (-on- dition not only does the animal fatten l-ess rapidly, but what flesh it puts on is less tender and sweet; than it should he. The common practice of fattening cows with corn, and milking; them so long as they can be milked, helps to make poor Iteef. The water and fat, that go into the milk are both much more needed in the beef to make it as good as it should be. A cow pro- perly flattened should be given as much succulent food as she will eat, and at first he fed with grain'or meal rather sparingly. Jf she is very thin in flesh her heel may he made all the better, provided this (-ondition does not; show the impairment of her digestive organs. When a cow is fattened,that when you begin feeding her is little more than skin and ‘l.mnes,wit.h enough flesh to hold them togetherdt stands to reason that. most of the flesh and fat you ran put on ‘her by three or four months good feeding will be new flesh and fat, and just as good as it put, on a two-yearâ€"old heifer. The hodin system is being constantly changed by the small veins which run through the flesh, and Whlt'h are al- ways t-arrying off waste matter, and replacing it with new. The old saying used to he, that the living body is wholly renewed every seven years. But: St-i‘entists are now agreed that most parts of it are renewed mutzhl quit'ker than this, as any one may see by the rapid healing of a rut or! bruise when air and the germs it contains are excluded from it. WINTER EGGS. For egg production in winter and early sl>ri‘ng,proper food is of essential importance. Ail domestic and wild [owls have certain seasons of the year for making their nests and hatching their young. This very definite business of their life generain mtvurs but once a year, 01' if oftener, in gpnemi under the same con- (iiiions. .[n domesticated chickens, ducks and geese, the hatching season has been somewhat changed and prolonged, be- cause of the different conditions of their lives and especially of the quan- liLy and quality of their food. Chick- ens under ordinary circumstances, if left to themselves, lay but few eggs in the winter when the weather is cold and the ground covered or frozen; but W hen lhey begin to feel the warmth of the sriring and can feed upon the in- sects and worms they find in scratch- ing the open ground, they make their nests and begin to lay. The poultryman has hatched his chickens early, by stimulating the hens to early laying and then artificial hatching, if necessary, he has early chicksjn order that the pnllets may be early layers in the winter. If this is to prove a success, the pullet must as far as possible have the food and other conditions of the spring, when she is expected to lay in the winter. She must have awarm and well ventilated yard. She must have access to the bare ground to scratch, and she must have the equivalent of the insects and worms she would find in the spring in fre- Iquent supplies of fresh meat. Besides, she must have some green vegetable food as an equivalent of the early grass and tender roots which she finds in the spring. Like causes must produce like effects. If {owls are to be improved by artifi- cial care and food, the artificial Pro” 0955: must be in the line in which na- ture has indicated when the [owls were in their natural Condition. Farmers and all poultyrymen should, therefore, provide themselves not only with suitable ‘and well warmed quarâ€" ters for their pulletsmhich they expect to lay in tlhfi winter, hut also with suitable vegetable and animal food “which cannot be obtained by the hen hmwelf, during the winter season. 'I‘lllere should be special vegetables and roofs and grasses raised for the rnhickens for winter feed. Fresh meat or waste from the table must not be forgotten. Ground bones or an equivalent of slaked lime must he furni’med forshell making. The. proper conditions fur- nished and the right kind of pullets will projuve the eggs. M the males ara kept separate in the winter and fed on the same kind of food, and mated at the season for hatching tha eggs will yrove to be fer- tile, when ferti'ity is desirable. PRACTICAL FARMING. FA’I‘TENilNG OLDzéfi’SVS. The mosrt extraordinary township in England is that of Skiddaw, in Cum~ herland. It contains but one house: the occupant of which is unable to exercise the privilege of voting, because there no overseer to prepare a voter's list, and no (‘hurch or other [flame of xxorship or assembly on which w publish one. An old lady in Mexico, whose age is said to be 115 years. was recently mar- ried to a man of 98. She has been marâ€" riad several times. and each time a husband has died she has picked out as his successor the oMest man in the neighbourhood. llow lle Fooled a from old “'onuul In St. James‘ Park. The following story is told of the Prince of \Vales. His royal highness was taking a walk in St. James’ Park before breakfast when he found him- self being followed by a. wellâ€"dressed but crazyâ€"looking old woman. Resolved to take no notire of her he continued his walk until obliged to turn homeward. The old woman immediately stood be- fore him, and curtsied. The Prince raised his hat and tried to pass on. “1 have a grievance. your royal highâ€" noss,” began the stranger, as she. spoke producing from her handbag :1, roll of closely written parchment. “ Ach. ma- dam, these is not ze first time 1 but been taken vor ze Prince of \Vales,” was the reply in a gruff voice and with a. strong German accent After flash- ing a: glance of deepest sworn upon him the old lady put away her precious documents, remarking, “l have the honor to have. known all the members of the royal family, and if my eyesight were not becoming defective now»avâ€" days, 1 should not have made such an astounding error i" APPLE-TREE PRUNilNG. Winter pruning should be done careâ€" fully, removing as few of the large limbs and as little healthy wood as possible; but; do not fear to Open the tree so that no limbs moss, and so that daylight, will flow freely through in every direction. Three barrels of first- (tlass fruit can be quiékly gathered, easily marketed, and will bring more money than twice that number of in- ferior stock. Do not fear to out. Then Scrape away all dead or weak, small limbs, rough bark, and, as far as posâ€" sible, leave only healthy wood and an occasional strong “sucker” to fill the head. Crisp, bright. sound fruit will grow only on nl:so‘utely healthy wood, no matter What amount of ground culâ€" tivation, tree pruning, or Spraying you may do. the field is treated 1n the same man- ner it will not; fail to show the ef- fects of the better preparation. The foundation upon which all good crops are built is the land, and the begin- ning of the crop is when the land is ploughed Ploughing in the manure is one meth- od of working it. into the soil, but all farmers do not plough their land the same depth or turn under their manâ€" ure in the same manner. If the man- ure is too deep, some time must elapse before the roots of the young plants will get down to it. It will not be very long before the plants will find the manure and utilize it, but early in the year it is very important that such a crop as corn should get a good start, and the loss of a week at the beginning may have an effect on the crop should the season come on dry. If the manure is spread on the surface, and then worked into the top soil with the har- row, the young plants will be enabl- ed to use it. from the start, and the harrow will also render the soil line, Two objects will be accomplished by so doingvlirst, the manure itself will be made liner, and second, the fineness of the soil will result, in batten disin- tegration of the mineral elements ex» isling therein, independently of the manure, and thus provide the plants w1th available food at the beginning and also throughout the growing sea- son. Manurre that is ploughed under will be very useful at the time the plants are maturing, but the more rapid the growth of the plants when young lhe greater their root power and feeding (tapar'ity. \Vihile perhaps it ought not to he 50, yet appearance is the first considera- tion in a market fruit. That is, it must be of good size, shape and color. Consumers will buy {ruil of this kind when that of a better ’quality but not so good in appearance can he bought at a. less prim-n And as the difference in price means largely that much dif- ference in profit in selecting varieties to grow for market, this item should not be. overlooked. A good market, fruit should be 0f good appearance, this including good size and color. be of good growth, BL good reguiar bearer. good keeping and shipping quniities, and then of fairly gogd quality {or eating or cooking." Next to appearance comes produc- tivelpess. To make the most out of fruit, a good yield is essential. T0 $01119, extent a rich soil, proper prunâ€" mg and care will effect the yield‘ but it. is essential that the variety be na- turally produutive to give the best relsults. ' Quality, which in reality ought to he first, is placed last. Usually for home use, quality can he p ai-ed. first, but when growing anything, €51)0('ial' ly to sell, it is good ex'onomy to suit the taste of the consumer fully as possible. _ You‘wanf, a variety “that will Eell when fruit. is plenty. EXTRAORDIN ARY TO\VI\'SHIP THE PRINCE AS AN ACTOR. TA KES THE OL'DEST. THE MARKET FRU'IT. Eight of the most remarkable mar- riagps on record took place within a. few weeks in the parish of St. Marie, Quebec. Two neighbours named Morin and Rrheaume have each eight children, four sons and four daughters. Rhe- aume’s four sons have married M'orin’s [our daughters. and Morin's four sons have married the daughters of Rheau-me. Of course, in some years the num- ber of recruits is greater than in othersâ€"it depends almost entirely on the. state of trade and agricultureâ€"just as the number lost and sent to the re- serve also varies. But for a good many years they have all been steadâ€" ily decreasing Six years ago, far in- stance, nearly 42,000 reorujits were re- ceived, but in the yea-r under consid- eration, 1896. af1er making all allow- ances, the number fall short of 29,000. Six years ago. 1:00. the number that missed fo the reserve was almost 18.- 000; in 1896 it was only 14,000. Alta- gether the proh’lem of Tommy Atkins is not. an easy one, Probably it, will only be. solved when the authorith recognize that, a good article being wanted. it, must he paid for, and, having been obtained, must be kept by some means or other yet to be devised. First Pickpocketâ€"md Bill get that suitable, reward What was advertised fer dc return of dem diamonds he pinched? a Second Pickpocketâ€"VVell, some folks might t‘ink he got a suitable reward an’ some folks might t’ink he didn’t. De p’leece coHared Bill before he re- turned de diamonds, an‘ he got. five years. Struck off as dvserters. Left for various reasons Died. . . . . . . . .... Anyhow. far too many of those who offer themseflwes for enlistment are nets good specimens of the Britisher. The report of the Recruiting Department says that out of nearly 55,000 men ready to don the Queen‘s uniIorm no Less thram 28,000 were rejevted on no- coumt of physical unfitness. HEARTILY \VELCOMED by the officers. for they act as a lemon: of refinement. The following table shows how each thousand enlisted men is composed, anzl explains when Tom- my com-ed:â€" La‘hourers, servants. etc. . . . . .603 Manufacturing artisans, such as 1,015,910,. .. .. .. .. Shopm-em and clerks. . . . . . Profossiunal men and students Boys under seventeen years . vice, twentyâ€"one years or less 1,913 Discharged as inlvalids . . . . . .3,579 Discharged for misconiuct . . .1,‘737 Discharged as unlikely to become efficient soldiers.. .. .. .. . Discharged for false answer at enlistment . . . . . . . . . . Discharged for various other things. . . . . Set frae by indu1gence Bought themselves out. eadh . . . . . . . . . Bought themselves out The Sort of Men Who an”; “glauvlc’e, and now They teave It. The mmmmmmh’ of the War or. fiioe to imzpm've the lot of the soldier makes it an interesting matter to con- sider whence we get our fighting men and whither they go, says a, London correspondent. Great Britain has a},â€" ways been a. militant country, and one would suppose that it contained plen- ty of good army stuff still. And no doubt. it dDeE, but the average Briton of the present day seems to prefer the liberty of a civilian, though it is often accompanied by rags and hun- ger, to the discipfline and regularity of army Elite. ‘ This left only 31,000 to come in and replace the waste that is always go- ing on. thnce does the British army come? As might be expected, it de- pends for its supplies largely upon the unskilled labouring class. workers whose wages in the best of times an) very low; artisans join to a. consider- alble extent when trade is bad; shop assistants and clerks send a few of their number ; while students and fail- ures in the various professions con- tribulbe a. small percentage, and these. by the way, are Unfortunately Tommy Atkins has an extraordinary habit of meltng away. He dies, buys himself out, miscondvucts himself and is discharged. deserts and mlwer comes bark. and goes off in all mannpr of \iuys, so that the army lows nearly fifty men every day. or almost a regiment every two weeks. Figures alone can bring home to the reader what this continual " leakage " really means. The next table shows how an army 213.500 strong on Januâ€" ary hit, 1896. suffered during twelve months a sheer loss of 17,000 men, and sent only 13,900 to the reserve, and less than ' Total sheer loss. . . . . . Transferred to army reserve . Transferred to militia, yeomanry, and volunteers. . . .. Cloth workers. wvavers. etc. . . Mechanics, such as masons, carpenv 'tms, etc, . . . . . . . . . ...104 Shopm-em and clerks. . . . . . . .73 Profossiunml men and students . . 11 Boys under seventeen years . . . . 30 If, ail! that entered remained In it wouldn't Lake long to build up an atâ€" my tham \x'ould he numerically all we could wish for. veomanry, and volunteers:â€" Discharged on completion of 861‘- EXTRAORD] N ARY WEDDINGS Total . A MATTER OF OPINION 700 TO THE MILITIA, THE BRITISH ARMY. at t £10 £18 ....14.615 .17,598 .13,931 1,039 1,430 3,357 1,076 1,769 .120 59 J. 388 531 684 138