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w...- THE HARD ' WHE Professor Saunders Takes Exception to a Popular A despaltch from Ottawa says: Some interesting facts were brought out on Wednesday morn- ing at the first meeting of the House Committee on Agriculture. Dr. Saunders, of the Experimental Farm, was on the platform, but now and then his opinions clashed with the preconvinced notions of the members of the committee. Mr. Saunders, for example, takes no stock in the notion that the quality of wheat is deteriorating and that the hard wheat belt is steadily moving north. In Ontario, for example, he says that exhausâ€" tion of the soil might reduce the quantity, but it cannot affect the quality of the wheat. Mr. Sexsmith (E. Peterboro’) in- eisted that in his riding. where the .I'ed Fife wheat was first grown, Notion. the farmers used to raise 40 bushels of Spring wheat and now they only raised 15 per mm. The decrease. he said. could not be due to soil exhaustion, because the same field which now only grows 15 bushels of Spring wheat grew 40 bushels of Winter wheat to the acre. For, th'c past ten years the average yield in Ontario has been 17 bushâ€" els per acre and in the West 19. Comparing Ontario . West, Dr. Saunders stated that. Just as good wheat can be grown in Ontario, at O‘tawa for example, as :anywhere in the Dominion, and the yield per acre is littlc lcss. Last year the average yield of 'wheat per acre in Saskatchewan was 14 bushels, in Manitoba 17. in Alberta 29. In (mtario the average for Spring wheat was 15.8 and for Win-V ter wheat 23.6 bushels. â€"_â€"â€"-â€"â€"â€"-â€"â€"â€"_â€"_.â€"'= WILL EXTEND STEEL PLANT. English Capitalists to Make Con- siderable Additions. A despatch from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont... says: Manager Franz, of the Lake Superior Corporation which was recently taken over by English capitalists, on Saturday issued a. statement that the comâ€" pany would immediately commence extensive additions to the open hearth furnaces at the Algoma Steel Plant in the Canadian “Soc.” Other improvements are to follow fast, the intention being to make it the greatest steel con- cern in Canada. It is reported that the company will erect new blast furnaces and a structural steel plant. Belgian Workman Tramping Across Canada. A ‘despatch from Winnipeg says: Charles Rover, 3. Belgian work- man, has arrived here, on a desâ€" perate tramp across Canada in the heart of winter, in the forlorn hope of working his way back to Europe to see his dying wife, who is a vic- tim of consumption, and is appeal- ing to him to come home and see her before she dies. He has no money, but is determined to comply with her wish, nevertheless, or ‘ ___,x,___ TO VISIT DYING WIFE. { perish in the attempt. ___L_â€" KILLED A POLICEMAN. Nelson Dcsslcr, of Berlin, 0nt., Shot Officer at Olean, N. Y. A despatch from Rochester, N. Y., says: Police Captain Timothy Hassett of Clean was shot and in- stantly killed by Nelson Dcssler, a burglar, in that city early on Sunday morning. Before Hassett fell he sent two bullets into Dessâ€" ler’s abdomen, and on Sunday night it was believed the man would, die before morning. Dess- ler is from Berlin, Ont., and has a lengthy police record. -â€"â€"'I‘ 600 JAVANESE KILLED. Three Villages Buried Under 90 Feet of Earth. A despatch from The Hague says: Six hundred Javanese were killed in a landslide which buried the villages of Tjibocbotham, War- ensgineto and Telakbanjoe, accordâ€" ing to a message from Pendajaloe, Java. In part of the Mount Kent- jana. slid down on the villages, cov- ering them under 90 feet of cazth. _____+____. CASHIER ARRESTED. Twelve-1111ndrcd-Rollar Robbcry at St. John, N. B. A despatch from St. John, N.B., says: One of the most sensational robberies that ever had St. John for its scene, took place on Friday at the noon hour, when, according to his statement, W. Herbert Dowâ€" ney, billing clerk with the C. S. Sims Company, brush manufactur- ers, was attacked while alone in the, office, choked into insensibilâ€" ity, and left lying alone on the floor. Twelve hundred dollars in ’cash was stolen from the office, the money having been intended to pay wages. The story had an equally sensational sequel on Friday when the money was found in a box un- der Downey’s desk near where his feet would rest as he worked at the typewriter. The discovery was promptly followed by Downcy’s arâ€" rest iu his boarding house. Downcy when put under arrest made no statement. but during the afternoon and before the money had been found he told a most cir- cumstantial story of how he had been set upon from behind and choked. __._._h'l â€"_...__ DROWNED IN 01L TANK. Sarnia Man’s Fatal Slip art the Imperial Refinery. A despatch from Sarnia says: A well known and popular Sarnien, William Lowrie, met a tragic death between one and two on Friday morning by drowning in one of the great underground oil tanks at the Imperial Oil Refinery. There was a depth of 12 feet in the tank, and the young man had evidently descended to turn a Windlass, when he. slipped and fell about 10 feet before being engulfed in the oil. His absence was noticed and the body was found by workmen an hour later. Dr. Hayes tried artificial respiration without suc- cess. ' .3._.___. WAS 115 YEARS OLD. Indian Dice Near Brnntford â€" Itc- 1nincd Facultilcs to Lash. A despatch from Brantford says: The death has been reported to the Indian authorities hero of John Silversmith. a. resident of Tuscarora Township, in his 115th year. Deccasczl retained all his faculties until recently. He was a baskct-inaker. V THE WORLES with the . REPORTS FROM THE LEADING TRADE CENTRES. Prices of Cattle, Grain, Cheese and Other Dairy l’rcducc at Home and Abroad. Toronto, Feb. 23.â€"-Flourâ€"â€"On- $33.90 to $4 in buyers" sacks ()llir |s‘idc for export. Manitoba flour, ihrst patents, $5.60 on track, To- zrontoz second patents, $5, and istrong bakers', $4.90. Wheatâ€"Manitoba wheat, $1.15}; for No. 1 Northern, and 31.12%; ports. No. 2 31.17%, all rail. Ontario Wheatâ€"No. 2 Fall, $1.- 02 to $1.03 outside. Oatsâ€"Ontario No. 2 white, 47 to 47%c on track, Toronto; No. 2 horthern, lingwood, and No. 3 at 46c, Col- lingwood. Ryeâ€"No. 2 680 outside. Barley~No. 2 barley, 57 to 57):; outside; No. 3 extra, 55 to 55360; and No. 3, 5%. Buckwheatâ€"58% to 5590 outside. Peasâ€"No. 2, 88c outside. Cornâ€"No. 2 American yellow, 72%0 on track, Toronto, and No. 3 yellow, TIL/gc, Toronto. Canadian corn, 66 to 670 on track, Toronto. Branâ€"Cars, $22 to $23 in bulk outside. Shorts, $23 in bulk out- side. I COUNTRY PRODUCE. Applesâ€"They bring $4 to $4.50 for choice qualities, and $3.50 to $4 for cooking purposes. Beansâ€"Prime, $1.90 to $2. and handâ€"picked, $2.10 .to $2.15 per bushel. Honeyâ€"Combs, $2.25 to $2.75 per dozen. and strained, 11 to 11}./_.c .per pound. Hary'MNo. 1 timothy, $10.50 to $11 per ton on track here, and lower grades, :59 to $10 a ton. Strawâ€"$6.50 to $7.50 on track. Potatoesâ€"Ontarios, 653 per bag. Poultryâ€"Chickens, dressed. 12 to 13c per pound; fowl, 10 to 11c; ducks, 13 to 14c; geese, 12 to 13c; turkeys. 17 to 18c per pound. HOG PRODUCTS. Baconâ€"Long clear, 11% to 11%c per pound in case lots; mess pork, $20 'to $20.50; short cut, $23 to $24. Hamsâ€"Light to medium, 13% to 14c; do, heavy, 121/; to 13c; rolls, 101/2 to lie; shoulders, 10 to 10%c; backs, 16 to 16%c; breakfast bacon, 151/2 to 16'c. Lardâ€"Tierccs, 1234c; tubs, 12%c; pails, 13c. .â€" BUSINESS AT MONTREAL. Montreal, Feb. 23.â€"Peasâ€"No. 2, QTA to 98C. Oatsâ€"â€"Canadian West- ern No. 2, 49 to 49%c; extra No. -1 feed, 4872 to 490; No. 1 feed, 47% to 48c; Ontario No. 2, 48 to 481/20; Ontario N0. 3, 47 to 4772c; On- tario No. 4, 46 to 46%c; No. 2 bar- ley, 631., to (35c; Manitoba feed bar- ley. 55 t0 55%c; buckwheat, 55% to 56c. Flourâ€"Manitoba. Spring wheat patents, firsts, $5.60; Mani- toba Spring wheat patents, sec- onds, 85.10; Manitoba. strong bakâ€" 'ers’, $4.90; Winter wheat patents, $5.40 to $5.50; straight rollers, $5 car lots at $23 to $24; shorts are 50c higher at $24.50 to $25; Mani~ toba bran, $21 to $22; Manitoba short-s, $24, Ontario bran, $23 to '824; Ontario SllOI‘LS, $24.50 to $25; Ontario middliugs, $25 to $25.50; pure grain mouille, $28 ‘to $30; mix-ed mouillc, $25 to $27. Cheese â€"Finest western, 12% to customs, 12% to 12):}. Butterâ€" Fall orcnmery. 25c; winter cream- ' icry. '23 to 24-1: dairy, in tubs, 200; i 'rolls, 210. l‘lggsâ€"-New laid, 32 to ‘33c; sclcctcd stock, 29c; No. l Long Island Veterinary Surgeon Saw His} Own Appendix Removed. A despatch from New York shys: as tho nurse approached the pati- 3 white, stock, 27c. UNITED STATES MA RKICTS. wheat firm; Winter nominal. Corn lâ€"Strongcr; No. {1 yellow, 69c; No. 1 yellow, GSiéc: No. 3 corn, 68 to 68).;c: No. 4 corn, (17).: to Gbc; No. 70,‘-:_'c Outsâ€"Stronger; Dr_ Edward J_ Robbins, & vanqent with the ether cone he C(tllnlyiNo_ 2 white, 5714c; No_ 3 whito‘ inary surgeon of Bayshore, Long Island, refused to take ether when l . ,wlth your heart, old i waved hcr aside. :56‘/._ic: No. 4 white, 55}._;c. Barleyâ€"| "There's nothing the matter-Feed to maltiug. 67 to 72c_ man.” Dr. 1 Tario wheat 90 per cent. patents,' for No. 2 Northern. Georgian Bay' Western Canada oats, 47c, Colâ€"3 to $5.10; (10., in bags, $2.35 to» 182.45; extra, in bags, $1.95 to $2.05. Feed-On'ta'rio bran has ad- vanced $1 per ion, with sales ofi 13c;‘ “Marian LLlusunsui Have Been Wholly o .â€" r Partially Destroyed by Earthquake in Western Persia. A despatch from Teheran, Persia, says: The Governor of Burujurd, a ‘town in southwestern Persia, has lsent out agents to investigate the damage wrought by the earth- QElake of January 3. This was the disturbance that was registered by scismographs around the World, but. the exact location of which was determined only on Wednes- day. The meagre reports that have reached Tchcran indicate that the devastation was particularly severe 'in the mountainous region be- ‘zween Burujurd and Luristan pro- vince. Fifteen villages are known {to have been wholly or partially destroyed, and it is estimated that the total number will undoubtedly be more than fifty. Some villages disappeared oom- plctcly, and no trace can be found of the hamlets of Bahrain and Loâ€" bcn. It appears that not a single soul belonging to these communio tics was left alive, and only the rivers, mountains and broken val- leys remain to tell the tale of this fearful convulsion of nature. The fact that there were no for- cign Consuls anywhere in the neighborhood accounts for the de- lay of a month in the receipt of the news here. Cornâ€"May, 651/, to 6558c. Barley ~Standard, 66c; sample, 62% to 621/2 to 63c. CATTLE MARKETS . I Toronto, Feb. 23â€".There were lnot many of the choice variety of 'export cattle offering, and those were soon cleared, while the cry was board for more. The top price paid today was $5.35. Butcher cattle were in fair de- finand, but the quality offering was poor. Choice cattle were unchangâ€" ed; medium quality easier; cows, steady. Lambsâ€"Firm and slightly higher. Sheepâ€"Unchanged. Calves Steady and unchanged. Hogsâ€"Sc- lect hogs, f.o.b., $6.30 to $6.40; fed and watered. $6.55. Stockers and feeders were in fair demand. THE DAIRY MARKETS. Butter~Pound prints, 22 to 24c; tubs and large rolls, 20 to 22c; inâ€" ferior, 18 to 19¢; creamery rolls, 2.7 to 27%(3, and solids, 26c. Eggsâ€"Case lots of cold storage, '25c; selects. 27c, and new laid, 28 ltO 290 per dozen. Cheeseâ€"Large cheese, 13%c per pound, and twins. 13%c. sh 'ronosrro's NEW Eisner. Archdeacon Sweeney Has Been Elected. i A despatch from Toronto says: [Venerable Archdeacon J. Fielding iSweeney, M.A., D.D., rector of ,St. Philip’s Church, Toronto, has been elected Bishop of the Diocese of Toronto in succession to the late Archbishop Sweatinan. The election appears to give the utmost satisfaction, and when the Chanâ€" cellor cf the diocese announced the result of the ballot on Friday and added that the Venerable Archâ€" deacon was elected there was sup- pressed yct audible applause, with some gentle handclaps and stampâ€" ing of feet. At the evening session Archdeacon Sweeney announced his acceptance of the high office. _- &â€"â€"â€"â€"â€". DEMAND EIGHT-HOP}! DAY. May be Sirikc on the Government Railways. A dcspatch from Moncton, N. B., says: The Transcript says: “The {putting of employees of the Govâ€" ernment railway shops here and at other points on short time with {short pay is likely to load to un- expected results. At a meeting of the Trades and Labor Council, held here last week, it was resolved to ,dcmand a continuance of the eight- !hour day, but with ten hours’ pay, and to enforce it- if necessary by :a general strike. in which course it is understood the local council has the assurance of support from {the trades and labor organizations lthroughout the country.” {<_ CANADIAN SHIPPING. Thu-cc Hundred and Nincty-tu'o ‘y'csscls Built Last Year. A dcspatch from Ottawa. says: {The annual report of the Marine Buffalo. Feb. 23.â€"that~rSpring: Department for the last fiscal year, just presenth to Parliament. shows that the new vessels built and registered in the Dominion during the year was ‘392. measuring 35.410 tons regis- t-cr, with a total estimated value of $1,722,150. The total number of vessels on the register books of the l Minneapolis, Fob. 23,â€"«that â€"' Dominion at the beginning of last he had his appendix removed last; lloss, who is an old friend, assur-:M3y, 31.11%, to 81.11%: cash, No week. He remained quiet-througn- .C'dulllm. . ‘ . ' 1 hard, $'_14; No 1 Northern, $1,- out the operation, and Just four I. know it. but I in gmng to’13; \'o. 2 Northern. 81.11 to $1, saying?" “1 h;hdrwalel five millcsgcut tlilffiilirl' out. because I wantinl/U No. 3 Northern. $1.07 to o is omc. e o :wmg (:1y1to sec lo he was attending to his practicegltobhius. . _ 1-}‘irst clears, $4.10 to $4.25; sec- The case is believed to be wrthouti- _Iou may Ddl‘lll'”lin a little (30.10,,(1 Clears, $3.05 10 33,15; first a parallel. ' 'camc if )ou wzsn.” ipatents, to $5.65; second pat- Dr. Robbins drove over. to the: This was don-child the opcraticnlcnts. $5.40 to $5.50. Ganatorium of Dr. William H.,procecded steadily, Without intcr- Milwaukee. Feb. 23.â€"Wheat, â€"â€" Ross at Brentwood. five miles from! roptlon from the patilcnt. u'liOsc No. 1 Northern, $1.16; No. 2 .his own home. Dr. Ross and Dr.ihcad was propped up so he could Northern. $1.11.; May, $1.14% to Haven prepared to operate. and see every move of the surgeons. SLHK bid. lyeâ€"No. l, 7711c. opcration,” said Dr.l$1.00. Branâ€"323 to $23.50. Flour‘ . year was 7,523, measuring 698,653 itons. The number of steamers was $3,007, With a gross tonnage of 471,- 795 tons. In respect to total registered tonâ€" nage Canada ranks tenth among the maritime countries of the world. The report- shows 520 wireless stations now operated by the dc- partment on the Atlantic and Pam- fic coasts. They sent over 65,000 messages during the year. total number of : B. C. HAS SURPLUS. 66c; No. 3, 63}; to 64%c; No. 4, One Million and a Half Dollars to the Good. A despatch from Victoria, B. (1., says: In the budget address to the legislature on Wednesday night Finance Minister Tatlow showed a surplus of a million and a. half. The revenue for the next fiscal year would reach six millions, and the expenditure five and a half lmillions, of which nearly three mil- lions_would be for public works, the largest in the history of the province. The public debt had been reduced from $11,000,000 to $9,000,000 within a year. The min- ister proposed still a greater de- velopment, when the A. B. C. route, as the minister styled the Alberta and British Columbia grain route would in the near fu- ture be in operation, and the Paâ€" nama Canal completed. (4 DIED 0N LQND'IPN STREET. Tragic End of Capt. A. W. Porto, of 0akville. A despatch from London, Ont., says: Capt. A. W. Porte, of Oak- ville, former managing director of the Toronto Biscuit Company, dropped dead in front of the resiâ€" dence of his sister, Mrs. George Bri‘ckcnden, Queen’s Avenue, at 6 o’clock on Thursday evening. Mr. Porto was walking with a young lady and was apologizing for walkâ€" ling slowly. “My heart is bad and lip is dangerous for me to walk irapidly,” he said. With these 'words he pitched forward dead. Capt. Port-e was one of the best known citizens of London before his removal to Toronto 12 years ago. He was about 60 years of age. -n- a.,,__â€"- WA SIIWDM AN ’ S FDRTUNE. An Estate of $42,300, the Savings- of 'l‘wcnt’y Years at the Tub. A despatch from North Adams, Mass, says: What economy will do was illustrated here on Thurs day, when the inventory of the es- tate left by Mrs. Ann Collins, a washwoman, was filed in the Pro- bate Court. It is valued at $42,300. Mrs. Collins was left a widow and pennilesa, with six children, twenty years ago. She supported the fam- ily and saved her competence from. her earnings at the v'vashtub. THE ICE GAVE WAY. Rhodc Island Children: Drowned While Skating. A dcspatch from Norwood, R. 1., says: While skating hand in hand _on Sand Pond on Wednesday night. ‘four children were drowned when Four the ice gave way, another was baro- l} saved and several persons who attempted to rescue them narrowâ€" ly missed being engulfed in the icy' waters. The children drowned were: Ranghilda, Lillian and Arpfi} Hanson and Joseph Johnson. were under fifteen years of age. ‘ â€"'ozv lIIILL RAILWAYS IN MANITOBA iBill to Authorize Grcat Northern Lt’ncs Bcforc the Legislature. A dcspatch from Winnipeg says: iA bill introduced ii the Legisla- ture forcshadows the construction 10f another transcontinental rail- 1road by tho Hill interests. The- lbill is for the incorporation of the .Great Northern Railroad in Mani- étoba. and one clause asks for power to construct a line from Winnipeg west to Brandon, thence to Elk- ‘horn. and to the westerly bound- lary of the Province. Five years is. ,igiven to commence construction :and ten years for completion. It. is believed that the bill means Hill is preparing for his invasion of Canada on an extensive scale.