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PRACTICAL. FARMING. To Avoid the Over-flowing of Clsterns Farmers often have trouble during heavy rains in keeping their cisterns from over- flowing. A dampness near the house causes 'a damp, wet cellar, which should be strenuously avoided. The accompanying illustration, presents a plan for avoiding such overflowing cisterns. A forked pipe s fastened into the rain gutter or receiver from the roof. At the junction of the two arms or switch ipes there is a shut-ofl’ which is opera by a wire rod, which as it appears in the illustration turns the ob struction plate within the pipe and stops its entrance into the cistern when the latter is considered full enough. The other pipe DEV ICE FOR PREVENTING CISTERNS FROM OVER' FLOWING. carries the water away into a drain or ditch that is properly made and covered. This keeps everything dry about the house, and the annoyance so often seen on the farm in wet weather is avoided. The cistern is located back of the kitchen, under the platform and step of the porch, being at hand when water is wanted, adding much in the convenience to the housewife and saving the labor of carrying it from a barrel or other receptacle near the house, set out to catch the water. This arrangement can be made at any tin store. It is best made of galvanized iron, which will not rust or wear out as easily as tin, and will last for yeaI'Se Packing Butter For Winter. While winter dairying is slowly increas- ing it requires so much skill and careful management, and such a great change in the common methods of the farm, that while it is the most profitable part of dairy- ing farming, it is not likely for some years yet, to be sufficiently practised to fully supply the demand for butter in the winter. Thus the summer dairyman may still find it profitable to pack the fall made butter for winter sale. And, indeed, be may do this with advantage as well as safety, for when the best quality of butter is packed in the best manner, it will improve during the keeping from the fall until winter, and be really more desirable than the orâ€" dinary winter made article. This is due to the fact that by the slow ripening in the package during storage in a cool,.clean place, and in sweet air-tightpackages,there is a slow internal change going on in the butter by which its finest flavor is develop- -ed and as with fruits, so the butter is great- improved by what may truly be called in bothâ€"a process of ripening. Two things are to be consideredin this subject, always, ~however,promising that the butter is of the best quality. as it easily may be when it is made from the sweet, fresh,fall grass. equal in every respect to the fresh,spring pasture. The first thing in the process is the pack- age ; the second, the manner of packing the butter. The best package for this purpose is a new white oak pail. made of sound timber, free of knots and blemishes, half an inch thick, well jointed, and perfectly seasoned. This pail holds fifty pounds. White spruce is the next best material, and is quite as free from any objectionable odor or taste iven to the butter. The pail is prepared gy a thorough cleaning in pure water. It should be soaked for at least twenty-four hours, then well scolded, and then filled with brine. This is done so that it may stay under the brine twenty-four hours before the butter is packed. The pail being ready, the butter is packed as soon as it has been finished at the second working, the day after it is churned. It is salted in the usual manner, one ounce to the pound of butter, of the very purest and finest ground salt. It is worked as dry as it can be. The pail being emptied of the brime, is dusted all over the inside with the salt, and the butter is put in only so much at a time as will make a layer of four inches. This is compactly pressed down by a maple presser, made like a common potato masher. so that all the moisture is pressed out and drained ofi‘. If in this moisture there is any cloud or shade of milk, the butter has not been made as well as it should be, and will not come out in perfect condition. Not a shade of milk is to be permitted in the butter for this use, but any moisture that drains from it should be as clear as the dew on the morning grass. Then the butter thus put in is lightly dusted with salt, and another layer is ut in in the same manner, until the poi is filled to a quarter of an inch of the edge of the rail. If the butter is not sufiicent for a full pail, it is packed as far as it can be and covered with salt, and the pail is put away until the next churning, being kept covered with acleau towel. Then the next churn- ing is packed in the same manner until the 'l is filled as mentioned, when the butter recovered with a piece of good, heavy shirt. in cloth, well washed in boiling water until steeped in brine, with the pail. It is out half an inch larger than the outer edge of the pail. It is pressed down on the but- ter to exclude all air. a little salt being sprinkled under it, and is then covered with dry salt to the edge of the .ll ; this salt is well pressed down an is cover. ed with a sheet of parchment paper on which is printed the name of the butter- maker and the dairy, and any handsome device that may be used as a trade-mark. Thisisin justiceto the n who will take all this trouble to ma e a fine article of butter. The cover, treated as the pail has been, is then securely fastened down and the ' is stood in a cool, clean. sweet cellar w ere the air is dry. Butter so ked will be in the finest condition until my or June of the next year, and should bring the highest market rates. Well. That Depends on Thinks lobed: an Teresec. " Which is the safest car on ahilway train 2” repeated an old railroad man, as he stroked his chin and seemed to reflect on the query. “ Well, the best answer I can make is that it is the car which doesn’t â€"_ Stumps and Brush Piles. Both stumps and piles of brush are an unsightly incumbrauce to any land, and should be removed as soon as practicable. Brush piles are soon obliterated by the use of fire ; but stumps are expensive to re. move. then once loosened and out of their former nest, stumps are easily disposed of by burning. Most hardwood stumps, as the hickory, maple, and oak, soon lose their grip on the soil by the rapid decay of their 'mall roots, hence, unless the land is at once needed, it is the cheapest plan to let them remain undisturbed for several years. In the meantime the land may be pastured with sheep, thus keeping down the bushes and sprouts that may spring up. by eating off the leaves soon as they appear. When land is encumbered with pine stumps, they send up no sprouts or suckers, and the presence of much pitch in the fibre of the wood makes them well nigh indestructible.. Such stumps can be removed only by burn- ing or pulling. The former plan is not thorough on account of the multitude of roots near the surface, and pulling is a tedious, expensive operation. Often a few stumps mar the appearance of any otherwxse presentable field, and many farmers have for years plowed, sowed, and reaped around these obstructions without any apparent thought of removing them. The time thus spent, and the grain and grass that would have grown upon the portions of the field thus occupied, would have covered the ex- pense of removing them several times. When stumps and brush heaps are removed, sow the land immediately to grass seed. When intended for pasturage, or to be mowed for hay, rake off the ashes upon the adjoining soil as soon as the fire is out. Seed thus sown and raked into the soil will grow, whereas, if the ashes were allowed to remain, the alkali from them would destroy the seed germ. â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€".â€"â€"â€"-â€"â€"e which is left on the bank when the train goes through a bridge." “ You’ve travelled thousands of miles by “ And been in half a dozen accidents 2" “ I'Ve been in exactly seventeen railroad accidents, but some of them were hardly worth mentioning. " “ And do you locate yourself in any particular part of the train 2" " No. When I first began travelling I ' wouldn’t ride in any coach but the rear one. I had about two dozen reasons why that was the safest car, and for six or eight weeks I went rolling over the country feeling as safe as if in my own brick house. One night we lost too much time at a sta- tion and a special overhauled us and smash- ed into the rear cbach. You'll think it funny, but out of the sixteen people in that car I Was the only one badly hurt. I had a leg and two ribs broken and was covered with bruises. When I was able to be out again I went dead back on the rear car.” “"And took the next one to the smoker, eh 2 “ That’s what I did. A dozen different railroad men had a dozen reasons a iece why that was the safest place, an for three or four months I rode in that car and laughed at the chaps who carried insurance policies. Then my fond dream of safety was rudely shattered. The engine, bag- gage, and smoking cars passed safely over a certain switch while running at the rate of forty miles an hour, but the forward trucks of my car caught somewhere and the car was twisted right out of the train. Yes, sir, it was torn loose at both ends and rolled down an embankment, and not an- other car left the rails. “'e had two kill- ed and a dozen hurt, but I got off the car with a bad shaking up. My confidence in the first car was gone, however, never to be restored.” ‘ rail 2” l “ Yes, tens of thousands." WHICH IS res sarssr can a I run off the rails when all others do, and 1m. who u". on Qua “mt. um city. ......- . mm- H, h «dawn-am "mm -- w‘“ 1?er srxrrons or msam'rv. Household e a An Albany Business Ian Gives up for Fear Hy hays Tenet Do not attempt to remove moles unless “at he light Inns kl. Fan!!! with the electric needle. which leaves no A deepatch from Albany, N. Y..says:â€" Believing that he wasbecoming insane, and . scar, as acids are almost certain to do. Moth patches are often entirely removed by still in his right mind, yet feeling his reason gradually leaviing him, is the strange case ‘ persevertngly using an ointment composed of, 2} ounces of woos butter, the same of James P. Irving, an Albany business amount of castor oil, 53 grains of ammoniat‘ ed mercury and 45 grains of oxide of sine. Apply freely at night. ,Warts may often be removed by applying to their excoristed surfaces common washing soda. Only the electric needle will safelde permanently eradicate superfluous hairs. For premature wrinkles bathe the face with a liquid composed of a drum of alum, an ounce of glycerine and a pint of rain water. Wrinkles may be quite successful- ly concealed by using a pomade made by mixing two drams of fresh butter with two drains of essence of turpentine and one dram of mastic. A decoctiou of sage tea and salt is a most excellent hair invigorator. A good hair tonic is composed of bay rum, equal parts of quinine, cantharides and oil of rosemary. Ammonia and soda used in the water with which the. hair is washed will bring out the light tints. Soap bark is one of the best things to use for washin the hair : use a teaspoonful to a quarto boiling water. Borax water will cleanse the scalp. After using either rinse with tepid water and dry with a soft towel. An ounce of borax, a dramof gum arabic, two tablespoonfuls of spirits of camphor to a pint of water, makesan efficient curl- ing fluid for the hair; also a weak solution of isinglass, quince seed simmered in water and strained, with a few drops of perfume added, will keep a long time in a closely corked bottle, and has the merit of being inexpensive. Hands that are abnormally red may be whitened by repeatedly rubbing them at night with a mixture of honey, lemon juice and cologne. A fine grade of pumice stone, sold by druggists, will erase slight stains and smooth rough skins. Wash hands roughed with manual labor with fine sand and soapsuds, rinse in soapsuds, dry them and rub them with corn meal; dust offend anoint thoroughly with cold cream. The formula for making cold creamis as follows; that which druggists sell is often not pure: Irving applied to the Overseer of the Poor and made declaration that he was sure that he was ~ becomingv insane, and petitioned that he be examined as to his sanity. “It is because I am afraid that I might do harm to some one that I love dearly," said Irving, "that I come to you. I feel all the symptoms of insanity coming on mo. 1 am in my right mind now, and I wanted to see you so you might understand my case. It is an awful thing, but I realize very well that 1 am losing my senses. The thoughts which I have are dreadful, and often I am tempted to murder my wife and children and to cut m own throat. It is an awful feeling and don't think I can resist it long. Strange voices I hear, and demons seem to have taken possession of my head. If I am not sent to an asylum I will surely do harm." The Overseer looked at Irving. He is a man of powerful physique, six feet high, and very respectable looking. His face bore traces of anguish, and one could read- ily see that he was speaking the truth. Drs. Morrill and Hennessy were sent for, and they examined the man and declared him insane. Judge Cluto endorsed the papers and he was taken to the State in- sane asylum at Pouphkeepsie. His farewell to his family was really touching, and caused the attaches of the office to turn their heads, and, by coughing, endeavor to suppress the lumps which had arisen in their throats. Irving’s wife and children had been sent for. They came to the Overseer of the Poor's ofiice wondering why they were wanted. Mr. Irving had not told them a word of his condition, and the surprise and grief displayed were great. It was much worse than the leave taking of a dying man, because Irving realized that in a few minutes he would be taken away from his beloved ones. To his family it was like consigning him to a living death Immediately after his family left Irving became a raving maniac, and was violent as he was taken to the asylum. It was one of the saddest cases ever recorded in the THE CZAR’S ILL-HEALTH. Suffering From a Complicatlon of Dis- eases ~lllsLlfe ls Measured by Months â€"En'ect of Ills Death In Russia. A despatch from London saysâ€"Confirms ed announcement that the Czar is suffering with a complication of diseases which must prove fatal at a day not far ofi‘, according to medical opinion, is necessarily the paramount political topic of the week. Alexander III. has not completed his fif- tieth year. He has been eleven years on the throne. His heir, Nicholas, is 26 and unmarried. ‘ He is betrothed to Princess Alix of Hesse, but the match is known to be distasteful to him, and not over agree- able to her, involving, as it does, abandon- ment of her Protestant faith for that of the Greek Church. The marriage is set for January, but it is freely asserted, especially since the Czarewitch was in London during the summer, that the wed- ding will never take place. He is declared to be opposed to matrimony, a fatalist. who believes that he will perish by violence while young, and that the dynasty will go out with this generation. His father’s condition, even if the Emperor shall sur- vive until the new year, will make mar- riage at the time appointed impossible. There is little probability that Alexander III. will live so long as that, and predic- tions are rife that his days will be number- ed by weeks only. As dynastic interests affecting directly and collaterally almost every reigning house in Europe, and in volving issues that, since the days of Peter, have absorbed European statesmansnip, are necessarily to be affected by the death of the Emperor, the topic engrosses all classes of people, and puts into insignifi- cance for the time being all other subjects, domestic and foreign. â€"â€"â€"â€"-.â€"â€"-â€"â€"_ MODERNfiANAL BUILDING. A Wide Divergence of Opinion As to the ‘ Cost or Building Canals. Some figures were adduced at the recent canal convention held in Toronto that ought to materially modify our ideas of canal building. The Minister of Railways and Canals last session made the statement that it would cost $130,000,000 to deepen the canals between Lake Erie and Mont- real. In the absence of more authentic in- formation, the country had to accept his statement as somewhere near the reality. But an eminent authority at the convention made the Minister's estimate appear like a huge exaggeration. Mr. L. E. Cooley is chief engineer of the Chicago drainage canal, upon which that city is spending $25,000,000. Mr. Cooley states that if the same economic appliances as are used on that canal were used to deepen the St. Lawrence canals to 20 feet, the work could be done for $27,000,000. Furthermore, he states that $23,000,000 will build an entire- ly new canal from Niagara River to Lake Ontario. altogether within the United States territory. This makes the total cost of a 20-foot system from Lake Erie to Montreal, according to Mr. Cooley’s esti- mate, 850,000.000, or $80,000,000 less than Hon. Air. Haggart's estimate. Not only that, the canal Mr. Cooley 5 aka of from Lake Erie to Ontario woud fave only eight or nine locks, whereas the Welland has ‘26. The time consumed in going through each lock is estimated as equal to a voyage of 10 miles in open water. There is a drop of 368 feet between the two lakes, and the modern canal builder would do. scend by no of 40 feet, whereas the descent is m e on the Welland by steps of l5 feet. In the light of these figures as to cost and efficiency of the latest systems, the question of deepening the canals is bound to become a more im rtant and practical question than it has n in the put- “And then you took the middle of the train ‘2" ' "I did, my son. Yes, I sat down and reasoned it out to my perfect satisfaction that the middle ear of the train was as safe as sitting at home. It was about a year before anything happened to undeceive me. One afternoon, when we were dusting along to make up lost time, we crossed the tracks of another road just a few seconds too soon or too late, just as you will have it. An express train on the other road came booming along and waded right through us. It struck my car, of course, and what was left of it after the grand smash couldn’t have been worked over into a wheelbarrow. Five killed was the record, and I got a broken arm, a scalp wound, and a general bad shaking up.” “And after that ‘2” "After that and up to the present date I have no choice. I dro into a seat where- ever I can find one an don’t worry about accidents. I’ve known a whole train except the last coach to go through a bridge, and I’ve known every car but the last to pass safely over. In a head-on collision the forward coach may be smashed to splinters, or it may rear up on end and escape all injury, I was on a train once where a locomotive struck the rear car, rolled it aside without serious injury to anybody, and then killedor wounded every passenger in the next coach. The man who goes hunting for the safest car on a train is throwing away his time. He may take any car and travel for ten years, and never even be delayed by a hot box : or he may settle down in the car of his choice and be killed in a ride of ten miles. I once saw twenty-two people smashed in a coach, and yet two fellows who were stealing a ride on the trucks underneath got oil soot-free. Just buy a first-class ticket, get aboard before the train goes, and leave the rest to Providence.” AN ENORMOUS VINE. Greater Than That at Hampton Court. It Bears 2.000 Bunches of Grapes. While in the public mind the great vine at Hampton Court Palace is esteemed the most remarkable, even that is excelled in dimensions by the still greater vine at Cum- berland Lodge, Windsor Park. Not only these giants, but probably all other vines in the kingdom, have to give place for ex- tent and productiveness to that most re~ markable vine which is just at the present moment carrying the enormous quantity of 852 bunches and a total weight materially exceeding half a ton. This is growing at Manresa House, Roe hampton, in a vinery 224 feet long by ll feet wide. The vine was planted by the present gardener, Mr. Davis, as a cutting, onto a wall outside, more than 30 years ago. But finding that in the natural soil such capital growth was made, the present house was specially built for its accommodation, so that now the vine and its main stems stand partly across the house, just two- thirds up its length. There are seven main rods or branches runnin horizontally each way. These are allows to carry laterals, or fruiting shoots, on the upper sides only, so that the grapes, now fast becoming black (for the variety is the black Hamburg), hang the entire length of the roof in straight, even lines, instead of up the roof, as is commonly the case. Over two thou- sand bunchcs were cut out after they had set. The value of the crop, estimated at two shillings a poundâ€"which is, as good grapes go. perhs snota high figureâ€"would be £112. robs ly no other tree of any kind in the kingdom could produce such a sum in fruit annually. “Dear little hand i" he murmured as he kissed her hand and mentally reckoned up - what the rings on it had cost him. Overseer of the Poor's ofiice. â€"â€".â€"-â€"â€"â€"_ STEAMSHIP RATES. deuce Under (falls. with that promise an order in council has been passed appointing‘Mr. W. L. Magee, chief clerk in the Marine Department, a commissioner to take evidence on this sub- ject under oath. Mr. Magee has been ‘25 years in the Government service andie re- garded as a very efficient officer. He has had considerable to do in conjunction with the officers of the Department of Justice in framing most of the shipping legislation of the past few years. In reference to the forthcoming enquiry Mr. Magee will invite the authorities of the Dominion Live Stock Association, the steamship owners and others interested in the cattletrade to agree on a certain day when they can attend at Ottawa to give evidence. In the event of the interested parties failing to agree on a ' day, Mr. Magee will himselfselcct one. The evidence taken will be submitted to Parlia- ment next session, together with a report on thezsubject. WRECKED BY A CYCLONE. The Town of Spring Valley. Ilium. a Total Wreckâ€"Many Persons Killed and In- lured. Adespatch from Spring Valley, Minn., says:â€"-Spring Valley was struck by a cyclone at 10:30 o'clock Friday night, wrecking the residential portion of the city. Killed are Nehemiah Dodge, Mrs. Nehemiah Dodge, Frank Moshek’s child, C. G. King. Mrs. Hopeful is fatally injured, and many others received serious hurts. Twenty buildings were totally destroyed and many others badly damaged. Teams were set to work to carry the dead awe and remove the injuredto - the Lewis ouse which was converted Into an hospital. Physicians were sent for from Wykcoff, Racine, Grand Meadow and Austin, who, with the hel of the resident doctors, were kept busy al night setting broken legs and arms and sewing up wounds. The cyclone was about twenty rods wide. The houses destroyed were without exception new, and many of them expensive, and situated in the fashionable part of the city. It is im- ssible to estimate the damage done. The fish of the dead and injured is blackened,“ is usual in cyclones. She Was Moved. Heâ€"“I have no more wish for life. If you will not marry me I’ll end it." Sheâ€"“Oh, you musn’t talk so.” “Yes, and you shall be my execu- tioner." “Horrors ! Never !" “You can't prevent it. I'll throw my- self under your bicycle." "Please. please don’t do that." “Ah ! you are moved." and scratch my nose.” ACommlssloner Appointed to Take Evi- During the last session of Parliament the question of the high rates charged by the Canadian steamship companies for the car- riage of cattle to the old country was dis- cussed in the House, and it was openly stated that a combination exists among the steamship lines running from the St. Law- rence to maintain these heavy rates. Mr. Mulock, it will be remembered, introduced a bill to fix a maximum rate for the carriage of cattle, but it was held to be impoliti for Parliament to interfere to this extent. Sir Charles H. Tupper promised, however, that during the recess an official enquiry should be made into the allegations made on the floor of the House,and in conformity Mix an ounce of white wax, two ounces of spermaceti and half a pint of almond oil in a earthen vessel; dissolve over a gentle heat and stir thoroughly with a silver spoon. When melted add three ounces of glycerine, ten drops of any stror perfume, and stir as it cools. Stirring an beating while cooling is the secret of mak- ing‘fine cold cream. avender water tends to render the skin firm andclear,and is made of two ounces of of oil ,of lavender gillof rose water, and a quart of rectified alcohol. Nothing but pure rain water should be used for the face bath. The lime and mag- nesia in hard water combined with soap, fill the pores of the skin, and cause them to widen and crack. Our grandmothers and great grandmoth- ers used watermelon juice to whiten the complexion,- also horse radish roots scra ed and soaked in cold buttermilk; and they softened their hands by wearing woolen mittens filled with bran pudding. Eyebrows and eyelashes may be darkened by the juice of green walnut shells, applied with a small hair pencil brush. It will keep if bottled. To increase the growth of the eyebrows and eyelashes, anoint them at night with an ointment of two drama of nitric oxide of mercury and a dram of lard well mixed ; cleanse, after removing the application, with warm milk and wa- ter. Switches which have lost their freshness can be improved by dipping them into half a pint of household ammonia. This also cleanses the hair. Aquarter of a teas ocnful of ammonia in half a tumblerfull of9 water, taken nisht and morning, prevents decay of the teeth and sweetens the breath. To neutralize the odor often resulting from excessive perspiration, use for bathing, one part of boracic acid in twenty of water. Dust boracic acid in form of powder on the feet and under the arms. For sponge baths add a little sulphuric acid to the water. Notes on Furnishing. If you wish to make the windows ofa room seem high, take a long piece, say about four and one-half yards of some pret- tily contrasting fabric to the curtains : set the pole afoot above thewindows and drape the goods over it in any graceful way that will conceal the intervening wall space ; let one and hang in jabot folds nearlyto the window-sill, and the other one be half so long. Scarfs as an accessory to house decor» tion are "out," and let us hope will stay out 3 at least until the majority of women have the artistic taste to use suitable fab- rics, and combine harmonious colors in the making, and to drape them only where ornament is proper. Chamois bureau covers are not to be despised. They paint admirably and also look well trimmed with coarse cream tinted lace. Pfetty home made covers are com- posed of alternate bands of lace insertion and ribbon, with a frill of lace as a border, but for everyday purpose they are not de- sirable as linen. The Window Garden. Such plants as the Petunia and Sweet Alyssum are sure to have young plants hidden away under the foliage of the mother plants, and these young plants are admirably adapted to the winter window garden. It is too late to take cuttings from geraniums and fuchsias if one wants them for winter blooming, but young plants that have bloomed but little will be likely to begin blooming again after they have become adapted to the change from the garden to the house The Fuchsia, how- ever, is‘ not a good winter bloomer, but the plant itselfis so beautiful that it is worth cultivating even though it does not bloom. The specious is about the only variety that “But just think ! I'd be sure to fall can be depended upon for winter blooming, and its flowers are small and inferior.