Evening Star Newspaper, August 15, 1891, Page 11

“ i + A ’ a Z THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON. D. C.. SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1891—SIXTEEN PAGES. TL, ee VILLAGE. THE MEXICAN PEON. A Glimpse of the Life and Character- | istics of the Peasants. RESEMBLANCE TO JAPANESE. Did the Aztecs Originate in Japan?—Works in Pottery, Straw and Lacquer—Poverty in Mexteo—Debt Slavery—Hovels of the Poor— ‘Wages and Cost of Living—Indlan Villages. Byecial Correspondence of The Evening Star. Maxico Crrv, August 11, 1891. HE BULK OF THE IN- dian population of North Ame is in Mexico. The United States num- bers only abont quarter of « million Indians. Mexico bas four million wnose blood has the binest of aboriginal tints and hermetizosor people who have come from the intermixture of the whites and the Indians are five million more. There are about eleven million people in Mexico and two ‘million of these are pure white. These and the metizos govern the country. For them the mountains vomit forth their silver and | his rich soil yields its wonderfal har- Under them governments rise and fall, ions come and go, and to them the Mexico of today practically belongs. The iem, who originally owned the land, is only the silent partner, whose e is not on the business «ign and who receives none of the proceeds. The In- diars of Mexico are unknown to the world. ‘The term Mexican, as it is generally used, de- ibes only the ruling clase, and the books that have beer written abont the country have left out the most interesting part of the popula- tion. THE MEXICAN INDIAS. The In of Mexico are not at all like our savages. It isa question wheter they come Of the same race, and they look more like the offspring of the Egyptians or the Japanese than of the Mongolians, who are in face and ‘mmach like the Indians of the United tates. Mexico fs more like the Orient than the Occident. [ts common people live in huts Like tho: yon the banks of the @ same type as thone used by their forefathers in the days of the Montezamas. Their dress ig not unlike that of the people of India and Egypt and their eustoms and habits are in many re- cts the same. They cultivate the soil in the same way. using stick wit one handle for a eir oxen with long goads le they merely scratch the ground with the k. Their en carry water from the wells in red. jars upon their heady, as they do » all the Mohammedan countries, and the draping of the rebosa around the mouth so lat you see but little else than the eyes may have come from the eastern custom of veiling {the women. I see here every day make me think of the Japanese. «i the skill shown by these Mexican fudians pottery and art work indicates that they are of mixed Japanese origin. the same forke plow and driving ¢ w PANDURO, THR SCULPTOR. Some of the pottery of Guadalajara is bean- tifully decorated and artistically shaped, and the most famous of Mexican sculptors has Japanese features. This man’s name is Pan- duro and he lives at Guadalajara, which. b the way, is a city of 100,000 people. situated in the western part of the country.and is the cen- ter of art and culture in Mexico. It is the Athens of the republic, and the finest art works Of all kinds of Mexican make are turned out there. Pandaro is a wonder. He can take a iece of black clay and in one sitting of several Eoure he will model for you s bust of yourself, which iss perfect likencse and which will not be more than three or four inches high if you so desire it I have been in his studio. It is a hut of san-burnt bricks, and he squats croslegged on the floor just like a Japanese, and Lis only tools are his 4s and a little Knife, much like a case knife ora putty knife. is has » lamp of clay on a b front of him and he works away as he tulks turning out his wonderful photographs in lay. Hemadea remarkable statuette of Emma ch, the actress, when she was here, and his | types of Mexican life fairly speak and act. He will, I am told, go to the Chicago exposition and if he does T predict for hin that bis fam will be international. I speak of bim he: however, a8 a type of a class of thé Mexican Indians.” He has the features of a Japanese.end the photograph which 1 took of him would not be out of place im any collection of pictures from Japa: MEXICAN JAPANPRE ART. The similority of the Mexican and Japanese art is found in other articles aswell. The In- dians of the semi-savage tribes of the western paris o1 the country make lacquered tables and owls which are both beautiful and artistic. ‘They paint these with roses and other flowers aud their lacquer will stand water,and, though ike the wonderful work of the Japanese. it may bave come from the sume origin. The Japanese are fond of flowers and these Indians h jiar taste for them. The Japanese k is noted and here you find the finest of baskets of all kinds made of many col- ors and most ingeniously put together. In their Jove for children the two people are alike and 1 see babies carried about bere on the backs of their mothers and & BASKET PEDDIE. Sisters, just as you will see them in Japan. I gee them alxe ied as you will sce them in Inctia. and { note that the number of toys for children are as many in Mexico as they are in Japan. These Mexican Indians do wonders in frescoing. All the houses of the better classes are frescoed instead of being papered, and a Diexican plasterer at fifteen centse day will turn out effects that would do credit to Italy. The} have all of the care and honesty in their worl panese artist and will labor for ona wax figure to produce acertain ef- fect, and they make wonderful pictures out of feathers that surprised the Spaniard. under ‘and you can buy these same pictures or | have them made toorder here in Mexico City today. ‘They work ike the Japancse, each in his own little dwelling. and when they have made enough to start out for a selling trip many of the artists take their packs on their backs and peddle ont their wares over the country. I met a basket seller out in the fields near Mexico City today. He had about fifty baskets on back, and these, the result of a month's work, was bringing into the city to sell. His leath Pantaloons were profusely patched, ‘but his White sack-like shirt was as clean as falling snow and cotton drawers that fell down around his bare brown feet were clean; and in this cleauliness I see another likeness of the Aztecs to the Japanese. ‘These people take fre~ quent baths and they are always washing their Clothes. ‘The poorest peon wears clean white cottons, and I frequently see both sexes bathing together here, as they do modestly aud with no thought of shame in Japan. So far 1 see noth- ing about these Indians to connect them with our savages of the western reservations. They are ® different people and they could never have bad the same origin. ‘THE POOR PEOPLE. Asa class these Mexican Indians are perhaps the poorest people on this continent. Three hundred years ago they wero the richest, and Montezuma gave Cortez plates of gold and sil- ver as big as wagon wiels and these people made his soldiers spurs of gold for their horses. Since then they have been the slaves of their conquerors. They have been oppressed and Deaten and worked for generations and it is only within a few years that they have had the chance to be anything else. As they are today hundreds of thousands of them are hopelessly in debt and are as much debt slaves as are the debtors of Siam. Millions of them live from hand to mouth and only the fewest have what the American negro of the south would consider a competence; Peonage or debt slavery was abolished in Me ico in 1873, but in practice it still prevails. These Indians, many of them, are hororable and all of them are great lovers of home and the locality in which they live. The hute which they oceupy on the farms of their master cred- itors have been the homes of their families for geuerations, and though they are not bound by law to work out their debts they do so and in- cur others, so that they keep themselves and their families in bondage for years to come. They have no hesitancy about going again into debt when once free, and Americans who are trying to farm here on our methods tell me it is almost impossible to keep their men without they are their debtors. ALWAYS IX DEBT. ‘They never get anything ahead, and when they want to get married they usually borrow enough to pay the priests and the fees and get the wedding outfit.and this makes them debtors for years. Their employers pay them so much in food and wages each day, reserving a small amount out of exch month's wages to go toward the debt, and as their wages range in different localities from abo day it will be seen that there is little hope for their supporting their families and their debts. In some parts of Mexico bo; 6 cents a day and in others the average farm Fages are 19 conte per diem. On the Mexican plateau the wages range from 18 to 23 cents and along the lines of rai road,where track layers and construction com- panics have paid more, they have become con- siderably bigher. On tbe farms these Mexican Indians work right along for these wager, They lay off only for Sundays and feast days, and they appear to be industrious, quiet, subservient and good laborers. Even if they are in debt they can change their masters by saying that they wish to and by getting a new master to assume their debt and take them. In such a case a new contract is entered iuto and the Indian stays with his new master till he gets dissatisfied and gets another master to pay his debts ai him in. ‘This « y existe in other branches of industry Ui 7 Wi a aztec MARKET WOMEN. and manufacturing regionsof the United States, and the peons get deeper aud deeper in debt as they live on. Tow THR Proxs Lrve. Tho Mexican, however, spends but little upon himself or his are hats or hove locality. On the Mexican plateau, where the is little wood, the Indians live in I or one-story huts of sun-dried bric cted without windows. like great mud boxes. They have fat roofs, no chimney the door of cxels hut és of roughly made Loards and so low that the men and women of the family Lave to stoop PEON HUT AND FAMILY. in entering it. Most of these huts have but one room. The family sleep on the tloor on mata, and there are no tables or chairs. The cooking is doue over a fire built out of doors or in # corner of the hut,and the cooking uten- sils are of burned ciay, and not of iron or cop- r. Itcosts but a few dollars to build such « erage Indian can build his ow: Near the towns these huts are in co ‘of doen or so, making suburbs or Villages of mud, and on the haciendas they are often inside the wall surrounding the adobe buildings where their masters live or they are Duil: close to the wall on the outsid Along the railroad you often see them made Of discarded railroad ties, the ties bemg set on end and forming the walls of the hut while a thatch of cactus or other leaves makes the roof. If you will remember the average length of the railroad tie you will know the height of the Mexican raiirosd hut. In the rainy regions of Mexico, where the water comes down in showers every afternoon for several months of the year, the huts are built with ridge roofs and in the valley of Mexicoand amid the pictar- esque mountains along the line of the Mexican National railroad you see roofs made of board ana tie. ‘The board roofs are tied on and held wn by means of stones ‘pon them and these in: wuts are withes sake thetr places. TUR CHEAPEST HUTS of all are those of the hot country or of the low- lands along the coast. These are made of cane or poles, whioh are driven into the ground and tied to cross poles with — ‘The poles are of the same longth and to their rafters are tied and on these a thatched roof is fastened in the samo way. Sometimes tho pole walls aro plastered with mud, but generally the poles stand abont an inch apart and you can see all that is going on in the but through its walls. I saw whole villages of such huts in the state of Vera Cruz and the Indians who swarmed in and out of them were often half naked. Here there alive while the food was on it by means of a fan Toade of rushes, which, the women mored vig- orously to and fro during the operation. Bor on the platean and in the hot country I saw many huts which had several rooms, and homes of the better classes of the poor had now and then a table and a chair. IN THE CITIES, I find the majority of the poor living in ten- ement houses; and here in Mexico City there are streets where the people fairly swarm and where whole families and several families are crowded at night in one damp, ill-smelling room, with nothing but this foulest of sewer- age-laden ground to sleep upof. On the out- skirts of the city you may see the homes of squatters, made of all kinds of refuse material: from tin cans to store boxes and sun-drie bricks, and some of the huts are so low that the people have to get down on all fours to get into them. Such places are occupied by the Poorest of the poor of this great city. Their inhabitants live by begging, odd jobs and often by stealing. ‘and they constitute what might be called the residences of the five Points’ element of the capital. HOW THEY DRESS AND WHAT THEY EAT. The Mexican Indians are not the blanket savages of our western territories. They do not cut the seats out of their pantaloons before they wear them, as our Indians do. They are, in fact, as cleanly and particular about their clothes as any people in similar cireumstances the world over. The poorest man has his white shirt and white wide-legged pantaloons, and'the Indian girl wears a white chemise anda skirt. She has, it is true, not the corset, the hip pads or the bustle of our advanced civilization, and the covering of her long black ‘hair is only @ shawl, as as her meager purse can” buy; she looks neat and tidy in her simple raiment, and when Foung she has a straightness and roundness of form and feature which many of our belles might envy. The feet of both sexes are bare and are half ciad in sandals made of two pieces of sole leather about the size of the bottom of your foot and one bound on the top and the other on the sole of the foot when worn. hese sandals cost about 25 cents # pair, and you could dress an Indian woman so that she Would look respectable here for $2.50. ‘MAN'S DRESS. It would cost considerably more to fit out the man, and tho clothes of the Mexican peon are one of the big items of the family. His blanket or serape, which he wraps pic- taresquely about his shoulders, and which he wears when not working both day and night, costs all the way from §2 a8 high as he can afford to go. I have seen some that were worth $50, but these were hand-made and very fine. His bat, broad brimmed and of straw or felt, may cost less than $1 or it may cost $50, and his pantaloons or coat alike amount. If, however, he is the ordinary Indian he will confine ‘himself to acheap verape and his cottons, and he will march around under bis big straw hat with all the airs of the brigand of the stage. Neither he nor his wife will wear underc] othing. and they will sleep at night in the same outtit that they wore during the day. The cost of their food will not be proportion- ately greater than the cost of their clothing. WHAT THEY LIVE OX. Three-fourths of Mexico live almost entirely on black beans and cakes mado of Indian corn, and the frijoles and the tortillas sauced with red peppers make up the diet of the Mexican Indians. ‘The tortillas form the chief occupa- tion of the Mexican housewife. Every woman is her own miller and cook. A rough flat stone a foot wide and eighteen inches long is her mill, and she soaks the grains of corn in lime water till they are soft, and then rubs them on this stone with another round stone like the whetstone you use in sharping a scythe until she gets them into paste. She pats this out like a griddle cake and cooks it betore her open fire. Itis by no means bad eating and with @ sauce of red pepper it flows d great Mexican throat by the millions per diem. As to the frijoles or black bleans. they aro sweeter and better thun the baked beans of Boston, and the better claseca of the Indians have many dishes which are both cheap and good. INDIAN VILLAGES. Many of the Indians of Mexico live in vil- lnges of their own. They hold their landa in common, cultivate them together and divide the proceeds. These villages have their own customs and while under the general govern- ment they have certain regulations which gov- ern their own people. All over Moxico the peons, Aztecs or Indians—however they may be ealled—-have traditions, queer customs and superstitions, many of which have come down from the days of the Montezumas and it isa wonder that some ethnologist does not make them a study. There are, it id atid, a hundred different dialects in "use among — them today, and though the most of them speak Spanish nearly all speak their own ianguage as well. They area people of more than ordinary culture, great lovers of music, y governed and very polite. They exhibit love toward each other and in their fami- d the question as to their future is one questions of the Mexico of today. They have produced mans President Juarez, one of the veins; the Mexican congress ina a namber of pure Indians and the great Mexico of the futare is bound to be greatly influenced by its Aztec blood. CARPENTER. Taming of a Shrew. A certain woman of fashion conspicuous in the society of a city not a thousand miles from Washington, whose infirmity of temper has given rise to very interesting gossip oceasion- figures ina quaint little story that is at present going the rounds. A skort time ago she was entertaining at sup- pera lady of her acqaintance, when it chanced that there waa placed upon the table a small pot of chocolate. ‘The hostess of the occasion wax very fond of the Leverage in question, par- taking Of it every evening of her life. Unfor- tunately the servant had neglected to make more than the usual quantity, which was just about sufficient for a single cup. Accordingly, when the guest was asked if she Would have some, she hesitated a moment and said no. Whereipon her entertainer tlushed with anger at the contretemps and, rising from her weat, deliberately poured the contents of the chocolate pot out of the window. ‘This was exsbarrassing for the lady enter- tained, to say the least of it. Of course, how- ever, she protended to take no notice, mereiy glancing slyly at her host, who made the third person at the repast, to see if he evinced any consciousness respecting the proceeding. But he only smiled slightly beneath his mustache and no reinrk. Presently he asked hor if she would have some chicken salad, of which a big dish fall made the principal feature among tho viands. “thank: you, no,” she replied, merely be- cause she had a preference for something else. Immediately, as if it were quite a matter of course, the hoxt picked up the chicken salad and threw it, dish and all, out through the window into the garden. “It's away we have here,” he remarked, calmly. Nobody said anything for quite five minutes afterward, but the extreme amiability ex- hibited by the hostess for the rest of the even- ing led the visitor to imagine that the 1 thus given after the manner of Potrachio was not without a certain domestic usefulness. SS Her Size Was Wrong. mn the New York Weekly. Employment Agent—“Those are fine recom- mendations that gurl bas, mum. Shal! I send for her to come and talk with you?” Mrs. Bronston—“‘Is she tall or short?” “Rather tall, mum, but—” “Is she fat or “Rather stout, mum; @ good, strong——" “fs she stouter than I am?" “Oh, yes, mam, a good deal.” ‘She “won't do. She'd split the seams of every dress I have.” —+e+_—__—__ ‘He Was on His Knees. Froin the Detroit Free Press. “Whoopee! Jimmy, I seed more fun'n you end get into an ocean steamer. “Wot wuz it, Tommy?” “Wy it waz thet gawk of Jobson a pro- posin’ to my sister. “Course shedid. I tell you, Jimmy, it twas a ky One minnit he wuz on bis knees’n ther next minnit she was.” <avuz what, on her’n?” ‘Naw, you gump, on his'n.” ———oo “What did your father say when you told him we were Ethel—’ See v0 know he Fi TRAPS USED IN INDIA, SIAM AND JAPAN—FOR CATCHING DUCKS—FIRE FISHING—MATE RIALS FOR FISH NETS AND LIXES—FLY FISHING TEE RIGHEST DEVELOPMENT. 6ST\HE TRAPS BY WHICH MAN CAPTURES other animals are the best possible illus- tration of his superiority to the rest of the brute creation,” saida naturalist the other day. “Not the least remarkable of his achievements in this line are to be found in the varied apa- ratus he has devised for taking fishes. “In India « huge funnel of wickerwork is Planted in a stream below waterfall, and every anny creature coming down drops into it, the water straining out and leaving tho flapping prey in the receptacle, all ready to be gathered. in. Aremarkable echeme for trapping eols is practiced in the same country. Barrels loaded with stones and bait are pierced with holes and sunk in the water. Eels, smelling the food, find an entrance through the perforations; they cannot easily get out again, and soon the in- terior isa wriggling mass of slimy victiins. ‘The fisherman is dead sure to secure a couple of bushels at every haul. IN INDIA, 814M AND JAPAN. “Another trap used in India fora lke pur- pose is @ fannel-shaped affair made of long thorn branches and set on the bottom among the weeds in which acertain sort of fish find their favorite hiding places. Tho latter go in, butare unable to get out again, because the thorns all point inward. In Siam the natives utilize a ctrious wicker contrivance for fishing in narrow streams. The device in question i in the shape of an inverted vase. flaring at th tim and without a bottom. While one man devotes his attention to driving the fish down the water way, another stands ready to clap the basket over’ their heads when they come thickest. Having thus penned in a number of them he thrusts his arm into the trap and pulle them out. The Japanose have a remarkable pound-net arrangement that scoops vast quan- hities of fish into an enormous bag of netting hanging beneath the bottom of a vessel. In this receptacte something like thirty times the cargo can be conveyed to market that could be carried by the ship in the ordinary way. Fur- thermore, the merchandise ia by this method brought into port alive. YOR CATCHING DUCKS. “In the same country an ingenious scheme is Practiced for taking ducks ona line, which is attached at one end to a flexible stick stuck up in the mud, the other extremity having a double-pointed needle of bone attached to it. latter is baited by stringing upon it some grains of corn. Presently along comes Mr. Duck, swallows the needle, and finds himself captive the minute he tries to fly away. In old times the Cape Cod fishermen depended largely for bait upon the sen fowl they took on cir voyages. To catch them they threw out fishing lines with hooks on the ends, to which were attached chunks of cod liver. The latter floated, because of the oil they con- tained, and murres, gulls and other birds swal- lowing them were’ quickly pulled in, skinned and chopped up. Nowudaya these bold toilers of the ocean do not take the trouble to procure bait in such a fashion, relying for supplios upon the capitalists who employ them. ‘These employers reckon that, incidentally to obtain- ing provisions of this kind, more time is lost in sprees on shore than is consumed in the active business of the fishe FIRE FISHING. “The use of fire in fishing is one of the curi- osities of that employment. In southern wa- ters mullet are taken in enormous quantitics by boats which go out with wire baskets at the bows filled with blazing pitch pine. For the purpove in view the craft is so loaded as to bring the gunwale on one side down nearly to a level with the water, and the fish, attracted by the light, jump aboard by hundreds, Sometimes a big dip net is used to scoop in the realy creatures which crowd in the water toward the illumination. A machine for taking fish by the wholesale is employed in North Carolina. It is called a ‘tish wheel’ and is worked like an ordinary water wheel by a narrow stream that is permitted to give | outlet to a dammed ‘stream. But it| ig, so constraeted that in revolving it | picks up all the fish that pass through and throws them into a great box. In the samo state 1s operated what is termed a ‘fish slide,’ which is simply an enormous tray mado of boarda, with a bottom of open slate, set in the flow of'a rapid. As the fish come down stream | they pass on over the tray, aud the water Zall- ing through the slats leuves them flappin, about on the planks, whence they are scoop up with dip nets, STRANGE MATECIALS FOR ¥ISH NETS AXD LINES. “Fish neta, by the way, are made from some very strange materials. The Eskimo manu- facture them from strips of scal hide and from thin slices of whalebone. By the Fiji onstructed of human hair. Savages in # parts of the world plait the inner fibers of tree burk for fishing finow, and the Indians on the Pacitie coast of North America use for | the same purpose sexweed—a sort of kelp whicl ia strong enough to hold a tinny captive of 150 pounds weight. It is very interesting to ob- serve the development of ‘the fishery from its original form to the shape it is found in today. You will tind the Eskimo using a piece of bone with a bent naii stuck through it, the lure being rendered more attractive by the addition of two or three colored beads obtained from a trader and perhaps a couple of the red biils of auks. Ho knows by expericnco that cortain sorts of figures carved in the wood out of which he makes iris b hooks will catch the great- est possible number of fish, and xo he alway uney those. It weems very remarkable to tind that the fish Looks, of thé bronze age have pro- | cisely the samo bends as the Limerick and Shaughnessy patterns of today. Originally the hook and the herman’ were sey arate. ‘hen came u moditication, such as is seen in the ‘mackerel gig,’ which combined the two in one pieco of metal. Next came the notion of making the sinker hook of « bright substance, so as to attract the Sater on the modern sportemen e) transformed the device into the likencsy of a fish of bright metal poured into a mold. Now the English have improved on this trolling con- trivance by muking winnows and frogs of rub ber and coloring them in as lifelike a manner aa possible. But no such lure is equal to the bright revolving nickel-plated spoon, with a brilliant bunch of feathers to disguise the gang of hooks. FLIES FOR FISHING. “However, artificial flies may fairly be con- sidered to illustrate the highest dovelopment of the art piscatorial. The imitations pro- duced in this shape of winged insects, grass- Boppers and the larv@ of various bugs are really wonderful. In their manufacture mate- rials are drgwn from every Furs as well as feathers are utilized in making thom. Deer, bears, monkeys, seals, rabbits, sheep, pigs, squirrels, dogs and" even rats contribute. Agents are sent out from Paris to all purts of the earth to gather for this purpose the skins of rare and gaudy-winged creatures. ‘These plumes and ture represent chiefly the waste stock of the milliners and taxidermista, nearly all of thom being brought from France. The gut snells tu which the fy hooks are attached are made from immature silk worms drawn out to the requisite lengths.” ———__ She Was Right. From the White Mountain Echo. A teacher asked a girl how many bones there wero in her body, and her answer was 208. “Wrong; there are only 207,” said the teacher. “Yes'm,” was the triumphant response, “but T swallowed a tish bone ow —_—_—_+e+ --__. A Happy Escape. From the New York Weekly. Sho—‘It is useless to urge me to marry you. When I say no, I mean no.” He—“Always?” Sho—“Invarisbly.” He—“‘And can nothing ever change your de- termination when you once make up your el we "t care like that anyhow.” led po dates ‘The Little Darlings. From the New York Weekiy. Mrs. De Mover—"Sakes alive! This is the noisiest neighborhood I ever got into. Just hear those children screech.” Maid—“'They're your ow ” Mrs. De Mover "are they? ne ae tte darlings are enjoying ives.”” Contemporary Exegists, “Ho—What was the Rev. Dr. Hastings’ text today?” Ghe—“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold to of silver.” ‘He—"What did he make of it?” She—‘‘An argument for the divine origin of part of the world. .« Bullt Mountains and Pyramids. YOU WILL TAKE A DROP OF WATER from any stagnant pool and examine it ‘ander a microscope, you will find it filled with minute forms of life called infusoria and diatoms—the former sometimes having shells of varied and curious shapes, while the limy cases in which the latter are in- closed ‘exhibit an infinite variety of most exquisite patterns. When these creatures die their soft parts quickly decompose, but the little dwellings they have occupied remain im- perishable. Iu such countless myriads do small beings of this sort throng the oceans and even the earth itself wherever it is moist, and so rapidly dé their myriad generations succeed one another that shells of their anpestors which perished agesagoare now found in a fossil state, composing entire ranges of mountains and covering the land in many parts with a layer soveral feet in thickness. So full is the crust of this planet of such remains that when CF gested of earth bas been mixed witha drop of water and. the liquid has been permitted to evaporate from a giass slide, the smallest stain left upon the surface abounds with curious structures, whose living types inhabit the waters of today. It is believed that the atmosphere abounds with their eggs, which, being inconceivably light, are carritd about by the winds in unseen clouds. Near Bilin, in Bohemia,a stratum of slate bas been discovered fourteen feet thick, saticely composed of the shells of diatoms. ‘It is use when ground as a polishing powder. under the name of “tripoli,” and a single apothecary in Berlin selis more than 2,000 pounds of it yearly for this purpose. Asingle cubic inch of this material contains no less than 40,000,000,000 distinct organic forms. In Sweden aud Lop- land a white, mealy earth exists, distributed in layers and sometimes thirty feet in thickness. It is wholly composed of tho shells of diatoms and when mixed with the pulverized bark of trees is used by the inhabitants as an article of food in times of scarcity. WHAT CRALK CONSISTS OF. Chalk consists in great measure of such fossil structures, together with the shells of almost microscopic animals called “foraminifera,” which largely compose the beds of all the seas, Flint—that substance typical of endur- ing—has been proved to be of like origin, being composed —_— of the sheils of minute creatures, mingled with the scales of fishes, &c. Some of the foraminifera, how- ever, are of comparatively large size— notably a sort about the shape and bi ness of a dollar, which from their resemblance to coins have received the name of “nummu- lites” or fossil money. It has been said that their remains “have added more to the mass of materials composing the crust of the globe than the bones of all the elephants, whales, hippo- potamiand other monsters that ever lived.” ‘This, however, is stating the case very feebly. Whole mountains are m:tde of them. ‘fhe vast limestone range at the head of the Adriatic gulf is composed almost entirely of nummulites and at Suggsville in the United States is a chain of hills 300 feet high, literally made up of asingle species of this fossil, ‘The city of Paris is built of them, and the great pyramid of Egypt is similarly constituted. It is thought that the same is true of the stupendous Andes, which are conjectured to have been originally formed of minute organized remuins. Much of the sand of the Desert of Sabra consists of the fossil shells of small animals. MICROSCOPIC SHELLS IX MOLLUSKS. The diatoms which crowd the seas are de- voured in multitudes by scallops and other mollusks. When the stomachs of sach animals are examined they are found tocontair. myriads of microscopic shells, the soft parts having been digested. These jimy and flinty cases atford a most intoresting and delightful study to the atu- dent of microscopy. under whose instrumentsare revenled an astonishing variety of elaborate and exquisite patterns. Guano has been found to contain many beautiful forms of diatoms, which have lost nono of their perfection of structure, although they must have gone through ‘the process of digestion twice and have been subjected to the action of the ele- ments of centuri coasarily, they were first swallowed by fishes, which ‘subsequently became tie prey of the Voracious sea birds that produced the guano. INVISIBLE SCAVENGERS. Of the purpose which such minute organisms those described serve in the economy of nature nothing certainly is known, although some light is thrown upon the question by the distinguished Prof. Owen, who says sider their incredible numbers, their uni distribution, their insatiable voracity, and that it is the particles of decaying vegetable and yy. are appointed to Surely “we must, indebted to these ‘avengers for the ty of the atmosphere and the purity of ‘Nor is this all; they perform a still more important office in preventing the grad- ualdiminution of the present amount of or- genized matter upon the earth. For when this animal bodies which th devour and assimilate. in some degree, be ive, invisible | matter is dissolved or suspended in water, in that state of conminution and decay which im- mediately precedes its tiual decomposition into the elementary gases, and its consequent re- tarn from the organic to the in world, these wakeful members of neture'sinvisible po are everywhere ready to arrest organized particles and turn them to the ascending stream of animal life. verted the dead and decomposing particles into their own living tissucr, they themselves become the food of larger in- woria and of 1umerous other small animals, which, in their turn, are devoured by larger animals. And thus a food fit. for the nourish- ment of the highest organized beings is brought back by a short route from the extremity of the realms of organized matter.” They do say that a somewhat unusual incident marked the conclusion of u stag party of about dozen gay and festive young Washington men at a local hostelry the other night. At dessert, when everybody was feoling pretty jolly, one of the guests offered to pay for entertainment shaving his host afteran improved tonsorial method which he said had been recently intro- duced in Paris. Uproariousument huvmg been obsained from all the others, the host submitted himself to the operation, which was performed with a batter knife, the Contents of a charlotte russe being used for lather. Finally, to con- clude the performance, fresh napkins were tucked around the victim's neck, aud he was treated to a “sen-loam shampoo" with cham- pague from a freshly opened bottle. ” A Practical Demonstration, From Munsey's Weekly. Humorous Bote, the peddler—“Ail right, there you are Is ® Time Coming When Women Will Wear ‘Trousers and Men Petticoats? 66]/T 18 CURIOUS HOW MERE ARBITRARY fashion controls ideas of propriety in dross,” said a society woman toa Stan writer. “‘A few years ago it would have been considered outrageous to wear on the street a gown open in V-shape at the neck, as one sees the style adopted now. When I was little girl it was not at all the thing for a woman to exhibit the sbape of her figure in outdoor costume, the custom being to disguise it with shawl or shapeless coat, At present the tendency seems progressively the dress nowadays outlines the form with a faithful accuracy only modified in cases by pads. Obsorve any female pedestrian whom you see on your walks abroad and you will notice that her lower limbs are so clearly de- fined beneath her tight skirt that she might almost as well appear in tights. In fact, women of fashion have pretty generally adopted ® sort of tights instead of petticoats, LEGLESS WomEN. “A generation ago women had no legs. At all events they were not supposed in polite society to them. The shape below the ‘waist was concealed by wide akirts, and many of them. hoops coming after to assist the disguise. A lady was never, under any circumstances, Obverved to cross her lower limbe—a pose which is at present quite the fashion. But you will find the change of sentiment in this regard. most strikingly expressed by the bathing suite atthe seashore. They show the legs to above the knees, and no one discovers any impro- priety in the costume. Sometimes even stock- lugs are not worn, though that i “So it would appear that dered it consistent with propriety for lovely woman to exhibit her shape to public view. It isalla matter of convention, you eee. If it were the style for people to wear nothing but aprons and breech-clouts, owing perhaps toa sudden shift of the earth's axis and a conse- juent change of this climate to a tropical on thing would quickly come to be regarded as entirely natural and as « matter of course. Now that the female of the human species ha come to be familiarly recognized as a biped, it would seem to be only a question of time when the will adopt trousers in some form. WILL MEN WEAR PrTTicoaTS? “Who knows but that the male sex wiil re- sponsively adopt petticoats? Perhaps the fact hus never occurred to you, but it is true that men, whenever they want’ to be particularly fine and impesing, wear skirts. Judges in the courts ure attired in them, deriving dignity from the costume. Clergymen, too, wear skirts | when officiatiug—that is, those who belong to churches which regard ceremonial as of im- portance, the garb lending impressivences to their aspect. “The pope of Home himself is appareied in long dresses, as well as all his cardinals. Even kings and po- tentates in general in old times appeared on ail occasions of state in flow- ing robes, ofttimes upheld in the rear by pages. You will find. if you care to look up the mat- ter, thet under primitive conditions men have first donned skirts and wowen trousers, oF garments suggertin we tY] ter on they have changed about, and-wow perhaps we are on the edge of a new exchange. If women must have dress reform, I should think that | they would do well to follow the lines ind:- cated already by the becominguess of their bathing suits, which with coguettish would be as pretty a street costume aa possib If you want a demonstration of that fact take notice of the dresses the chorus girls wear at the comic opera. I once heard « girl who lamented her plain featuros say, ‘If it was only the fashion to walk on one’s head I would be a Delle.” When a system of dressing is adopted, it inevitably will be sooner or later, that dis- playa the lower limbs in some degree the homely young woman with a pretty calf and ankle wiil stand # better show. REET ES Hostlership for Every Day Use. From the Boston Post. A civil service examination was held in New York last week to select foremen for the stables of the strect cleaning department. Some doubts having been expressed as to the feasi- bility of such an applicat the principle involved we ventured to suggest a trial list of questions. Since then we have received sev- eral urgent requests to answer these questions, which were us follows: (A) State the uses and properties of « bran mash. 2) Under what circumstances, if any, would you feed “cut feed.” if you bad the chance? told} What is the oftce of the frog in a horse's foot? (4) Give two remedics for thrush. What are the caures of thrush? (5) Discriminate the two kinds of colic and name a remedy for each. (6) Are mud fever and scratches necessary or avoidable evils? a HOw would you treat the two last named iseasen? (8) State any views tnat you may have as to the theory and practice of bedding. (9) How often and when shoul watered? (J0) Would you, under any circumstances, apply water to's horse's iegr, and if yes, under what circumstances? (11) How would you deal with a balky horse? (12) State your qualifications for handling a drunken hostler. And we answer them as follows: () A bran mash isto regulate the bowels and to purify and cool the blood. It takes the place of grass (though not #0 good) when grass ix not obtainable, and it should be given to some horses once a week, to some twice, according to their constitution und the work they per- form, and to a few horses never. (2) To old horses and, as a change of food, to “working’ horses generally. (3) Yo sustain part of the concnssion; hence the korso should be shod so thut the frog touches the ground. (4) Salt, moistened with kerosene, for mild cases, and a solution of biue vitrivl ad vinear (of @ rich bine color) for more severe cases. ‘The latter should be applied with an oil can, such as is used for axles. The cause of thrash is usually a wet and dirty stall. Sometime: however. it iw the resuit of a plethoric conai- tion and sometimes of extreme dryness and hardness of the foot. (3) Spasmodic and flatulent. In the former case the pain is intermittent and the patient more restless. ‘The latter is more severe and often follows the former. For spasmodic colic give aloes, from five to ten drachms, and an encma of hot water and @ little opium. For flatulent colic the trentment is much the sume, with hot fomentation applied to the abdomen. If the stomach is distended with gus, turpen— tine, oil and carborgite of ammonia should be given. In severe of colic call in if possible. (G) Mud fever and scratches ere in ninety- nine cases out of a hundred avoidabie. (7) Dry the legs and feet us soon as the horse comes in and apply vaseline and occasionally glycerine. Haudage the legs with woolen or flannel bandaces when the huree comes in with wot legs in coul wurther. If the horse is over- seic might be given, I ve lett under horses day ¢ will be tempted to lic down more than they would otherwixe, and the more a horse lics down the longer his feet and logs will last. A dep, soft bed is more com- fortable for the horse thane scanty one and more economical in the long run, because it can be dried to better advantage. Peat moss is whose are over- watered as often as sibl 9) apnea they are not warm. The plan is to have water always before them. A horses be eh” should never be Paes ‘into the stable. in(l2), This duestion must be answered accord. ant disaretion of the A drunken of very far from being the hom bas hie own notions and Soceaare as being not altogether —— roe HOW TO WATER PLANTS. Some Useful Hints on the Subject From sepproriz FREQUENTLY ASK, ‘HOW often should I water my planta?" ” said Chief Gardener Saunders of the Department of Agriculture to a Star reporter the other day. “To begin with, never apply water to « plant ‘Until it requires it, that is, until it is dry, and then apply a sufficient quantity to soak it. “Novices in plant culture usually make the mistake of merely sprinkling the surface of the soil, perhaps daily, without any time applying enough water to saturate the mass Plants cannot flourish under such conditions; the surface will appear wet, while the main body of the soil is hard and dry. One drawback to Properly watering plants in parlor and window gardening arises from the inconvenience at- tending the use of water in sufficient quanti- ties; another evil is the dryness of the air. Both of these obstacles to success can be i moditied by the use of a table properly fitted for the reception of the flower pots or small Yases in which the plants are kept. ‘This table may be of any required size: a surface of two b threefeet would be suitable for most windows should be made tight and neatiy fitted. A J is made by fastening a strip three inches around the edge; then fill with two inches of clean, white sand, upon which the plants are Placed. Lining the table with zine would com- pletely guardagainst drip. The table should be fitted ‘with rollers to facilitate the operation of wateringandcleaning the plants. With « table of this kind the plants can be watered freely, and occasionally sprinkled, without any injury to surrounding objects. ‘The sand should be kept constantly wet, so that moisture will be evap- orated from it, aud thus overcome in some de- Sree one of the chief obstacles to the success- ful cuiture of te in ds —— plan welling rooms—a dry 4 FEW OrNEnAt RULES. “There area few general rules with regard to watering plants which may be noted. Water- ing should be preferably applied during the Y, Cxpecially so in the winter is well eupplied with roots water than those which are newly potted or have a quantity of soil with «few roots. Plants with narrow or small foliage will not nse so much water as those with lange spreading leav Plante in the will not need as much water as will those in the sun. But in cases when water is ap- plied it should be done copiously. in the pot culture of plants, where the amount of soil is limited, the "use of liquid Manure is of vast service when judiciously ap- plied, but much harm may be occasioned by its indiscriminate use. Many persone consider it necessary to resort to the use of guandé and other solutions on sickly plants and are eir- Prised to find that the application only hastens the dissolution of the patient. “It is only healthy aud well-rooted plants that are to be benefited by manure, and such as are supplied with hungry roots but growing slowly for want of nutriment. Such plants as have been for years in the same pot orange and lemon FUN FOR NEWSPAPER MEX. “ Mo FUNNY THINGS ARE rex al a newspaper man than offer theme selves to the observation of twenty average ine dividuals in other walks of life,” said « veteran in the craft to a Stan reporter. “Presh arrivals in the journalistic field at the capital do mack tocontribute to the merriment of their olée@ fellows. A while ago came a person who may ‘as well be called Snooks, whose appointed — it was to keep o New York evening paper prised of the legislative doings of the nation. Two jokers of his own profession here. conceived: alittle off-hand jest to play upon bim, sot really imagining thathe would take it seriously. Meeting him one day—it wass month before the close of the last Congress—they said: ““Snooka, dear boy, we've got ® big piece of news. It was our intention to keep it exclusively for our own but we'll give it to yon on condition that you éo not communicate it to any one.” ed ‘ sa “Of course Snooks pricked up his ears, Cae the promise required and expressed bis ansicty for the facts. “The fact i’ eald one of his tnformente ‘that a caucus was beld last mght by both par tics in the House an 16, the result of which was an agreement by the entire national legislature that Congress should be adjourned on March 3." Snooks. jonor,’ replied the other man. ‘Bat the thing ix exclusive, and we count upon i® that you will not sell itto any paper your own. “On no account,” asserted Snook, whe preently started off for the Western telegraph office. He sent the dispatch in sober earnest; but the really funny part of at was that the news editor in the home office took te Tuatter in good faith and printed it with dis play headlines, “Nine years ago I myself was emplored om the staif of the New York Times, The newest reporter was rather dudish youth, whe wae Ea” well convinced that he Knew it all be- foreland. One night, rather late, there war ® fire ¢ non Franklin treet and the ci ‘edator sent him out to get a story about it. | shoe factory was in flames. An hour later ke returned in @ very chearful frame of mind, seemingly. Lunt was the loss?’ asked the city editor. I'm sure I don't know,’ replied the youth, ‘I couldn't find out.’ Well, did you get the amount of the insur- ‘I didn’t thivk to ask, really.” “But who were the owners!" 'T was unable to learn,” said the reporter, “They must be ali at home in bed, aud the sigue away.” wis ‘sake, young man, what did you get” howled the city editor. “<I got these,’ responded the novice com= holding up two pars of pink and ¥ thors. “They floated out upou the sidewalk with the water.” ~The city editor did not say anything fur- ther aioud. He mmply tore his bair somewhat rs, &c., will be greatly stimulated by the application of manurial liquids durin; their period of growth. For plants of all iis that have their pote filled with roots it | Will be serviceable, atid to such as fuchsine, pelargoniums, cineraries, &¢., while in flower, they will bloom longer and in greater perfec- tion. But it should be kept in mind that stim- ulante should not be applied while flower buds are forming, as it migat induce an increased woot growtc at the expense of the flowering principle.” ete eae A MONKEY'S PUP, Scene im @ Glasgow Police Court About a Neighbor's Quarrel, Yrom the Glasgow Matl. Susan Macdonald had been struck on the resight,” and out of sympathy her baby Wore a greenish bonnet. Mary Pardon was an excitable little woman and carried @ baby which would always be “down.” Mary Clark hod a pensive air, and was attired in black, While Allen, her brother, was as sparsely clad asacoolic. They were all charged with having )a lovely fight on a stair in Hawthorne strect, | Possilpark. When asked if they were guilty of | not guilty they each replied: “I lifted my han’ am self-defense. Margaret Inglis.the first witness for the pros- ecution, told a very incoherent story. Mrs.Clark had a better grasp of the situation. She couid not oniy tell what happened, but re- peated the soft words which were uttered. She suid: “I heard Mrs. Macdonald cursing and ing, and she called the wee boy a “mon- key’s pup.” (Laughter.] Sie made to strike me, and my daughter ran in between us. Mr. Purdon struck Mary Clark with au iron poker. ‘our wee boy struck my black eye? Ars. Clark—“She got it a week back from her man.” [Laughter.] Mra. Macdonald—*Another lie on the part of Mrs. Clark. [Laughter]. It was ber boy who did 3¢ with a door handte.” The constables stated that the fighting “all through” was disgracefal.. In other particulars they corroborated. That is a peculiurity with constables—they may do many different things, but they always c te. bic tae’ at Mrs. “Mac.” (Laughter.] Mrs. “Mac.” Lauuded we her wean while the ailair was pro- ceeding.” The iiscal at this stage withdrew the charge against Mrs. Purdon, and the justice of the peace said: “3irs. Macdonald, seven and six or days: Mary Clark and ‘Allan Clark, five shillings or three day THE OTHER SIDE, ASolld Business Man's Talk With « Tailor Who Demanded a Deposit. From the Kanses City Thies. He was a substantial and well-known business and when be walked into @ other day he asked ina business-like way to be shown some plain gray goods for a business suit. The second piece shown him struck his d he asked the cost, told how he wanted and bad his ure taken, Then handing the tailor his effa he said: ‘Your place was recommended to me by Mr. ——, who always deals here.” “We alway ree of $10,” sug- gota tes an net Oem “A what?” “A deposit of €10. You know, sometimes prople forget to come after elotties and we to be sent to the misfit man.” & t'# necessary in our business.” “Suppose you make a mistake in the fit?” “Oh, we always make them fit before they go “Now soe here, Mr. Tailor, ret thinge mixed aud cut out my cloth ou the pot. fern of that slab-sided, "slope ly-legged dude you just measured, do suppose altering would do them suy good? Not much. Now you have bad square whack st me; you have gone all over my anstomy with ing and trisngle. You have uunched me in the side and poked asound to ind out where the joints were, and if you haven't done it ri ag, pe ‘to pay for it. Hear? Ti you what I'll do, 4 $600 bond to be here on Tl give yous and” take the for a moment or two and then sent out euother reporter to get the facts.” ——__- THE KENTUCKY MIND READER. The Nineteen-Year-Old Boy Does More and Stranger Feats. From the Louisville CourierJournal. The wonderful feats of Flavius Taylor, the boy mind reader of Glasgow, Ky., continues to mich all those who see him. ‘Though only ninetecn years of age, he has shown hie power of mind reading in @ manner that would do credit to a Bishop or other person of like fame. The young man is very modest about his power. nd sometimes after a performance his are ina tremor the whole of the pext Recently he attended a reception near Glasgow, and a Courier-Journal reporter whe Was present had an opportunity of witnessing some of his wonderful fata. Mr. Taylor was in another room when it was decided to ask him to give an exhibition of bi power. Three coins—a dollar, a quarter and hickel—were first secreted by as many you jadies. The room was crowded, anc a f person, who was a disbeliever of mind went to the room where Mr. Taylor wae en= gaged in conversation. He consented te the test, and then, as he always does, he took hold of the intermediary's hand. ‘The mind reader Jed the way in a rapid walk and without hesite- tion weut directly to the first young Imay end asked ber to please band him the nickel under the edgoof her waist. Though the was crowded, he had not the least trouble i finding the second girl and taking the quarter trom her handkerchief, which lay under « fol of her dress. ‘The third Young woman wee eit- ting in an opposite corner engaged conversation, but he walked straight ts her and took the dollar from her havi. Perhaps the most remarkable part of this particular test then followed. When the money was hid it wus also the derire of the one the trial that young Taylor should give the dot lar to a certain person in the room, the quarter ton certain other and. the nickel toa paruicne lar third person. He did this without thie slight- est bluntier, and the young mind reeder bed one more convert. A physician who was present doubted evem in the face of this test, and for bis self-antisface tion he decided to give Taylor something that would be hard to do. Piity yards from the TRAE front gate of the house, ina thick clump of trees, were hitched more than dozen horses and ‘vehicles in which the guests had come, One belonged to the doctor, and he thought of the whip which was in bis baggy. Upon taking the physician's hand, Mr. Taylor said that be knew whut he was thinking of, but, to amore fully convince him, be ledthe man to his buggy in the darkness, though be did not know one of the vehicles from the other, and took out the whip. Smail picces of money were hidden in nooks. and corners of the house, but be walked as straight to them as if be had secreied them himself. Some one thought of a certain book in the library. Without knowing what he was to hunt for went to the room, opened the door and took out the book. He alr turned to a certain page and passage, of which a oun man was thinking. He would grasp the ha: of any one present and tell exactly what lus thoughts were. Mr. Taylor is a handsome young man, and until six months ago, when he first aware of his power, the ladies and girls wore not loth to shake hishand. He danced at all the parties, and bis band was grasped without fear or tremor. But things have changed, Mr. ‘Taylor says, and not to his advantage. For six months he has been unable to fud es who will allow him to touch her band. m steals a march on those who are unac- mainted with his power, but be fears that his Uineing days are over. In addition to his ability to possess himself of the secrets of the mind the young man i a ventriloquist. He is overflowing with wit and good bamor, and on every occasion be takes advantage of his yy 4 veutriloguis® to provoke laughter. has possessed this ‘uliar control of Lis voice for several years