larger and finer growth was obtained than when the soil was left uncovered. The moss employed was the common Sphagnum used in packing plants, and in preparing it, ground bone-dust, in the proportion of one part, by weight, of bone-dust to thirty parts of moss, were well mixed together and packed into the pots, or spread over the soil where plants were growing in boxes or borders. The advantages of such a moss mulching were two-fold. The plants very quickly responded to the protection given to the soil, and grew rapidly, even sending roots upward into the mulch, so that plants could be maintained in the same pots for a much longer time, or, in other words, could be grown in pots two sizes smaller than when the same variety of plants was grown without the mulch. The second advantage was found in the saving of labor in watering the plants and in keeping the soil free from weeds. The moss was tried on a large scale upon plants of such diverse characters as begonias, carnations, roses, primulas, palms, and hot-house grapes, and it appeared to assist greatly the growth and flowering of all. The plan is one that will prove of advantage to persons having house plants, and is well worthy of adoption.

Novel Boat-Rig.

By a new system of arranging the masts and standing rigging of small boats, it is claimed that great steadiness is given to sharp and unstable boats, thus making it possible to use them in "flawy" winds, and in very rough water. The idea is to give the mast a free play in every direction, so that, in place of dragging the boat over in a sudden gust of wind, the mast will yield to the pressure without affecting the boat. The mast, instead of being " stepped," or fastened rigidly to the boat, is rested on a movable frame that allows it to tilt or move freely in every direction. To maintain it upright, powerful springs are attached to the frame and to the sides of the boat. By this arrangement the mast, when not under any lateral pressure, remains upright and carries the sail in the usual position. Now, if a sudden gust of wind presses on the sail and tends to pull the boat over, the springs give way slightly and allow the mast to bend, and the pressure on the sail is relieved. The excess of wind caught in the sail is, so to speak, spilled or lost over the top of the sail, and as soon as the gust has subsided the mast returns to its upright position. In driving the boat against a head sea, the effect is reversed. The boat, instead of plunging through the wave under the pressure of the wind on the sail, rises on the wave, and the mast yields and bends, allowing the sail to lose its wind for the moment. The instant the wave is passed and the resistance ceases, the mast returns to its upright position and the sail again takes the wind. To secure still further elasticity in the mast, the shrouds and standing rigging are fastened to springs that yield under the strains on the mast, and allow it to move freely in every direction. The amount of pressure required to bend the mast can be controlled, according to the wind, by regulating the springs by means of screws

and nuts on a guide rod in each spring. The plan is one that is worthy of careful experiment by boatbuilders. So far, in the few experiments made with the spring-stepped mast, it is found to work successfully. The boat is not affected by sudden increases of wind-pressure on the sail, nor by the backpressure caused by rising on a wave, as the mast moves first, and the pressure is spent without affecting the boat.

Utilizing River Currents.

IN parts of Germany it has been the custom (or was, at one time, the custom) to anchor a flat-boat in the river, and to place large paddle-wheels on each side upon a shaft extending across the boat. By anchoring such boats in the stream, the current slowly turned the paddle-wheels after the manner of an undershot water-wheel, and the power thus obtained was used to grind corn or do other useful work. Such boats were usually anchored just above or below a bridge, so that the floating mill could be easily reached. This plan, while it furnished cheap power, was inconvenient, as all the corn or other raw material had to be taken out to the boat in the river. The introduction of the dynamoelectric machine for transmitting light or power has drawn attention to these old floating mills, and it is proposed to anchor such water-mills in rapid rivers, and to use them to drive dynamo-electric machines on board the boats, and to transmit the power to the shore and to a distance, by means of cables laid under water to the bank, and thence to the place where the light or power may be needed.

New Thermometer.

A THERMOMETER designed for use where minute differences of temperature are to be observed has been announced, which, from its cheapness and simplicity of construction, may be of use in schools and laboratories. It consists essentially of a short, curved tube of glass, having a bulb at one end and open at the other end. This is suspended in a wooden or metallic frame, resting on knife edges in such a way that it will easily rock backward or forward. To compensate for the weight of the bulb, a rod is suspended from the frame, and to the end of this is fastened a counter-weight to balance the bulb. Above the frame supporting the tube is a pointer and index, to show the movements or oscillations of the tube. The curved part of the tube is partly filled with mercury, and the outside of the bulb, which contains air, is blackened. The action of the apparatus is caused by the expansion of the air in the bulb, which tends to press the mercury out of place and by its change of position to alter the balance of the tube and cause the pointer to move over the index. A lowering of the temperature causes a contraction of the inclosed air, a restoration of the balance, and a reversed movement of the pointer on the index. The thermometer is said to be sufficiently sensitive to record the change in temperature caused by the entrance of a person into the room where it is placed. Checks are provided for preventing the glass from moving too far and spilling the mercury.

Uncle Esek's Wisdom.

THE heart never loses its memory.

A man backs up his faith with his pocket-book; a woman supports hers with her soul.

Errors are like counterfeit bills. It is only when they are well executed that they are dangerous.

Exaggeration is like a rope-the further it is stretched, the weaker it becomes.

Eccentricities can add nothing to a man's reputation. If they are natural, they are blemishes, and if cultivated, they are ulcers.

The child who has learned to obey has obtained half its education.

The weakest man is he who has never been tempted nor imposed upon.

Fine clothes have a certain kind of value; but no man ever asked a real gentleman the name of his tailor.

More women's hearts are captured by surprise than by siege.

If a man has a good article of religion, there is no trouble in finding a creed to fit it.

"Come hither, now, Patrick de Wachtamrhein,"
Said the knight; "thou art bold and stanch:
No wight in the castle with thee can wrestle :
I leave thee in charge of the ranch-
Take care of my lady Blanche."

Sir Mortimer rode with his banner displayed,—
Six cod-fish saltier-wise,-

But he did not go to crusade-oh, no!
But in search of army supplies,
Expecting the market to rise.

Said he: "In the army I will not go,
And they cannot impress me-
'Twere a vain attempt, for I am exempt,
As my age is fifty-three.

A contractor I will be."

So he rode abroad, and he found, with joy, That his neighbors' sheep looked well, And their oxen stout went straying about So fat that they nearly fell;

And he drove them off to sell.

Young Patrick de Wachtamrhein heard these things,
And his eyes with tears grew dim;
"This castle should not," he observed, "God wot,
Belong to a chap like him,

For his moral sense is slim."

So he seized Sir Mortimer's wealth and wife
(Divorced by a chancery suit);

Of the house he was head in Sir Mortimer's stead,
And he sent off the latter, to boot,
To crusade as his substitute.

And, knights, a moral ye all may learn

From the tale that is here rehearsed: Before you start for a foreign part 'Tis best to provide for the worst, And mortgage your property first.

The idea of recovering for Russia the border provinces which had been seized by Sweden during the Troublous Times, and ever since retained, appears to have come into Peter's mind after his visit to Vienna, when he found that the Emperor was determined on making peace with the Turks. He saw that it would be difficult for him to make war alone against the still formidable Ottoman Empire, and now that he had used so many exertions for the purpose of creating a fleet, it was necessary for him to find a sea for it to sail upon. Although he may have felt a passing anger at his reception at Riga, it was so completely effaced by what was done for him at Brandenburg that he did not openly complain of it. In Holland the great embassy had been on the best footing with Baron Lilienroth, the Swedish embassador at the Ryswyk Congress. The Tsar had been grateful for the three hundred cannon sent by the Swedish king, and Lefort had shown, in his correspondence with the Chancellor Oxenstjerna, the desire of his master to be on the most friendly terms with Sweden. It was not until after Peter had left Vienna, and had become intimate with the King of Poland, that he suggested his adventure at Riga as a possible cause of war. Peter was young, and felt the charm of the finished man of the world. In an outburst of enthusiasm at a supper with Count Flemming, Peter had promised Augustus to aid him against his Polish subjects if they rebelled, and in return asked his assistance to avenge himself on Sweden. It was a light and trifling talk over the wine, about which neither party thought much at the time, nor, indeed, for months. For a long time after Peter's return to Russia, he apparently had not the remotest idea of anything hostile to Sweden. After the lapse of nearly a quarter of a century, Peter told of this conversation in his autograph corrections of the "Journal" of the Swedish war.

In October, 1698, there appeared at Warsaw a gentleman from Livonia, Johann Reinhold Patkul, with a plan for uniting the neighboring states in a war against Sweden. All had suffered loss to the profit of that country. Livonia, as well as Esthonia and Curland, had up to the middle of the sixteenth century belonged to the Order of the Teutonic Knights. After the severe defeats inflicted on the Order by Iván the Terrible, Esthonia placed herself under

a separate duchy, the vassal of Poland, the islands of Oesel and Dagö were taken by the Danes, and Livonia was united to the grand duchy of Lithuania, and in that way formed a component part of the kingdom of Poland. By a royal privilege of November, 1561, Sigismund II. (Augustus) granted to Livonia religious freedom and self-government, and guaranteed the nobility in the possession of all their estates. The attempts of the subsequent Polish kings to introduce the Polish language and laws and the Catholic religion caused great dissatisfaction in Livonia, which revolted and called in the Swedes. After a long and bloody war, the victories of Gustavus Adolphus confirmed the Swedish supremacy, and by the treaty of Oliva, Livonia, as well as the islands of Oesel and Dagö, became part of Sweden, on the same conditions as they had been annexed to Poland.

The

The aristocracy in Sweden, which had rapidly increased in power since the death of Gustavus Adolphus, had succeeded in making itself so hated by all the other classes of the population that the Diet restored to King Charles XI. all the preceding royal, despotic, and absolute power. One of the measures taken against the nobility was the so-called "reduction," which restored to the royal domain all the crown lands which had been at different times granted to the nobles on varying tenures, and had been wrongfully treated by them as hereditary estates, sold and alienated. measure was legally defensible, but it caused great distress, and many innocent and honest purchasers were reduced to beggary. Although, in 1678, Charles XI. had granted a charter to the Livonian nobility confirming all their rights to their estates, and expressly promising that they should not be subjected to any "reduction," yet in 1680 the "reduction" was applied in Livonia, and even to lands which had never been in the possession of the Swedish crown, but which had once belonged to the Order of the Teutonic Knights, its grand-masters, its chapters, or to the bishops and archbishops. More than five-sixths of the lands of the Livonian nobles were thus confiscated, and out of 6236 separate estates only 1021 were left in their possession, and even for those they were required to produce documentary titles dating back to 1561. Protests were made, but were disregarded by the King, who said that the "reduction" had been resolved upon as a measure necessary for