The Press., 1884-02-21
LOCAL TOPICS-PENN'D AND sCISsORED.


 CORRESPONDENTS RECEIVED TOO LATE FOR
 LAST ISSUE.
 Mrs. Solyman Taylor is visiting in Norwich
 Miss Nellie Sanger, from Springfield, | is visiting at MT. Duncan's. n
 An old fashioned spelling school eel ebrated the close of Miss Anne James term of teaching at the Hollow. Emma Hoyle, among the scholars, ssstood up'' the longest of the outsiders and all. MT. Southwick. Miss James is spoken of as a good teacher.
 "A reminiscence: Years ago, when Dr. F., not wholly veracious by reputation, used to jog over these hills astride his sad dle-bags he would pull up at every house to tell the news. One summer day he halted before an open kitchen door. and the good dame hastened forward, wiping her hands on her blue checked linen apron, as the doctor piped up, 'sThey do say that Judge R. ate dinner at Quaker Smiths the other day when he was over at 'Tol- land." ''What's that ?'' calculated the expectant housewife, 'syou are running emptyings doctor. Doyou call that aaea0s It amounts to about as much as if some one should haul up here to my door and tell me that you had gone to Holland. on business and went without your dinner be- cause you were too stingy to buy it and no one cared enough for your company to invite you, and the irate dame turned on her heel, slamming the door in the face of the tatthng pill-vender
 | A Somers little girl was talking with a young married doctor living near her home, recently, of the merits of play mates baby sister, when the casually re- marked, Girls are not worth much, only 25c., but boy babies are worth 8 dollar. The little girl was so exercised over 1t that she carried the trouble to her mother, and even her old grandfather, begging to know if she didn't cost more than that, and was greatly comforted in being assured she certainly did, great deal more Only a few days after, the doctor was disappoint- edly blessed with girl baby at his own home. The little girl on being informed that the doctor had 25-cent baby now, replied promptly, "Well, I should not want as cheap baby as that. I should be afraid it would not live. "-Sonaeq.s Co., N z. Homestead.
 The Boston Herald under the head of the Extension of iron industries of the New England states'' has the following reference to works in this vicinity :-'sIn 1794 slitting mill and other iron works had been erected in East Hartford, forge at Glastonbury, and two furnaces at Staf- ford. There were at one time, about the beginning of the present century, three blast furnaces in northern Connecticut near the Massachusetts line, on branch of the Willimantic river, mile or two apart. Three forges near them converted their pig into bar iron. Hebron furnace was south of these furnaces, and Enfield forge stood 8 few miles east of Windsor Locks. All these furnaces and forges were stopped about 1887, when Scotch pig be- gan to. come into the country Connec- ticut was among the first of the colonies to make steel. In 1728 Joseph Higby, Gan ingenious blacksmith, " of Simsbury, Hart ford county, and Joseph Dewey, were granted by the legislature the exclusive right for ten years of ''practicing the busi- ness or trade of steel making" A ''steel furnace" was owned by George Elliot of Klllingworth, Middlesex county, previous to 175O; and in 1761 Rev. Jared Elliot, his father, succeeded in producing in a common bloomary forge bar of excellent iron, and in his sons steel furnace. DOT tlon of the bar was converted into good steel, for which discovery he was awarded gold medal in 1764 by the London so- ciety of arts. 7"