GROSS RECEIPTS OF POSTAL 

 DEPARTMENT. 



The 1'ost Office Department has 

 made public a statement of the gross 

 receipts for September. J899, as com- 

 pared with the receipts for September, 

 1898, at fifty of the large Post Offices. 



The receipts for September, 1899, show 

 a total of $3,702.850, a net increase of 

 $299,952. or 8.8 per cent, over 1898. 

 The greatest increase is shown at Albany, 

 39.4 per cent. Increases are shown at all 

 offices, except Washington, D. C. ; Lowell, 

 Mass.; Worcester. Mass.; Peoria, 111., and 

 St. Joseph, Mo. 



At New York the receipts for Sep- 

 tember, 1899, were $759,337; 1898, $715- 

 110 



The figures are valuable as a barometer 

 of the business and industrial condition 

 of the country. Mr. Bingham, of the 

 finance division, thinks that the total 

 receipts for the entire fiscal year ending 

 June 30, 1899. will show an increase over 

 1898 of about 7 per cent. 



The receipts for the year 1898 showed 

 such a remarkable increase over 1897 that 

 the Department feels justified in pre- 

 dicting that the increase for the past year 

 will be unprecedented. 



IRRIGATION RULES. 

 The Oceanside, (California) Weekly 

 Blade prints the following "Seven Irri- 

 gation Rules:" 



1. The more cultivation the less water 

 is required. 



2. Irrigation furrows should generally 

 not be over three inches deep. 



3. Do not let the water lie around the 

 stems of plants. 



4 Do not over- irrigate; two thorough 

 soakings a month are usually sufficient. 



5. Do not water trees or vines when in 

 blossom, nor until the fruit has properly 

 set. 



6. Irrigate preferably on cloudy days or 

 at night. 



7 Do not apply water when the soil is 

 hot. 



MACHINERY FOR HAVANA. 

 The Link Belt Manufacturing Company 

 of this city is about to make a shipment 

 of conveying machinery to Havana. 



A NEW COMPANY. 

 The Mexican Pump and Irrigation Com- 

 pany of Kansas City has been incorpo- 

 rated with a capital stock of $30,000. In- 

 corporators Frank D. Pelletier, M. J. 

 Pelletier, Charles E. Fearons and others. 



AUSTIN LOSES ELECTRIC POWER. 

 The great dam across the Colorado- 

 river here, which was constructed by the 

 city a few years ago at a cost of $1,000,000, 

 has sprang a big leak and the waters in the 

 lake formed by the dam < i : ] 



receding. This, together with'.the pro- 

 longed drought has caused the municipal 

 electric light and power plant to shut 

 down, tnd the city is without_lights and 

 electric street car servive. 



No rural section of the country are so 

 prosperous as those which possess success- 

 ful irrigation, yet there are 70,000,000 

 acres of land in the West now arid and 

 worthless, but capable, under complete irri- 

 gation, of raising certain and enormous 

 cropi. 



