Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1886-03-25

thebench.
DR.. Lansdalo, the English mis-
sionary, In single recent year dis
r tributed no less than $4,000 Bible
G among the exiles IN Siberia.
Los Angeles, CAL, rejoices i,
the possession ola black Morocco
, grapevine which has produce,
, three crops of fruit since May last
r A STRIPPING who is attendln,
, school in Cooper Township, Web
ster county, Iowa, is reported t,
be six feet six inches in his stock
ings.
! Hamilton Disston, of Philadel
,bIa, is said to be the most heavily
IN, 'ured man IN America, having
poli, 2ies aggregating $475,OO0 OIL
his life.
A PEI, 'nsylvania geologist de
clares that the oil fields of tina
state have passed their meridian
and that the supply of natural gas
is limited.
The DR.. Douglas nominated by
Gov. Hill, of New York, to sue
coed T. c. Platt as a quarantine
commissioner, was Gen. Grants
physician.
According to the report OF its
Dairy Association, Iowa has l,2OO,-
900 cows, produces $50, 100000 OF
diary products and annually ships
s24, 100000.
Efforts are still being made to
discover the golden candlestick OF
Solomon's temple which Titus car
ried to Rome in triumph, and
which Is supposed to be IN the bed
OF the Tiber.
Fragments of Aztec pottery
were recently found In Arizona
eighty feet below the surface, upon
which were figures resembling de-
signs on the pottery of the Papo-
goes and Plmas OF to-day.
Yellowstone, Montana, claims to
have the longest toboggan slide in
the world. 1t extends to Fort
Keogh, but when the coasters have
reached Miles City, five miles
from the start, most of them stop
off for supper.
Except IN extreme Western Kan
sas, live stock is reported to have
come through the winter well, al
though there were some heavy
losses in hogs from cholera. The
condition of wheat is almost uni
versally good. The corn area will
exceed any previous record.
The idea that straw is only of
value to rot down into manure has
had its day. 1t has very little
value for this purpose, and if no
better use can be had for it, there
would be good policy in selling
straw wherever there was a near
market. But bright wheat or oat
straw makes q valuable part of
the ration tor horses or stock. 1t |
needs to be ted with grain, but
with either corn or oats cut straw
makes in most places a better and
cheaper feed than hay alone.
Emperor William, who will be
so on the 22d inst, has failed rap
idly in the last few months. His
chest has fallen in, his voice is a
mere whisper and his legs are
hardly able to support his body.
Yet he still keeps up and about,
and is preparing to take an active
part in the coming cavalary re-
views, which promise to be the
greatest Europe has ever seen. The
old soldier Will not only "die
but is liable to die in the
saddle.
A goose farm is one of the curios
tiles of agriculture on the eastern
shore of Virginia. Within an ares
Of about 5000 acres live 5000 geese
Of several varieties, attended by
lerders and regularly fed with
corn, etc. The object is the collect
ng OF down for quilts and pillows,
md once in about six weeks a
,lucking takes place. Only the
,reast and the sides under the
wings are plucked, and it requires ,
he yield of nearly 100 geese to
Weigh a pound. The raw feathers
re sent to Philadelphia for clean
ng and sorting. f
The Blair education bill appro- =
rates S79,OOO,OOO, and an amend
lent offered by Mr.. Evarts pro-
ldcs that if any state declines to
ccept its share the amount allott-
d to it shall be applied to increase
he allowance of the other states.
his effectually prevents the reten-
on of any of the money in the
reasury, which is one great object
! view. What nice thing it
-ould be if the bill should become
law and all the states should de-
line except New Hampshire, or,
", Missouri.
Steamboat Frank, a Modoc In
ian who was captured at the time
the Modoc war, and who is still
prisoner of the United States, is
tending, by permit of the Gov
rnment, the Oak Grove Seminary
l Maine. He now calls himself
rank Modoc and is studying for
ne ministry. He is making good
In his studies, and is ap-
arently q devout Christian. He
proud of his descent from a
ing line of Modoc chleftains, and
onducts himself with true Indian