GOOD TIMES. 
If ever this country enjoyed “good times” it 
is now. True, occasional failures occur in the 
business world, but they are the result of im 
proper management or the attempt to do busi¬ 
ness without capital. We shall always have 
such men in business, and failures will always 
transpire accordingly. The health of trade 
should not be gauged by them. Good times, 
however, means good crops, money in circulation 
sufficient for all demands, food of all kinds for 
man and beast abundant, labor generally em¬ 
ployed, fair prices for all staple articles, curren¬ 
cy worth one hundred cents on the dollar, and 
no inflation of values or undue excitement in 
any line of trade. Do not all these conditions 
exist now ? The firm basis on which the busi¬ 
ness of this vast country is based, is shown in 
the fact that a heavy failure in Wall street, the 
downfall of a large iron establishment, the 
breaking of a country bank, or even a succession 
of such financial reverses, only produces a ripple 
upon the sea of trade, which subsides in a brief 
time and is all placid again. Prices of produce 
are not as high as a year ago, but farmers have 
more of everything to sell, and are in better 
shape generally. The only drawback lies in the 
fact that a political campaign is upon us, to last 
for six weeks or more, and this always interferes 
with the business of the country to a greater or 
less extent. Fortunately there is no question of 
currency involved in the coming election, and 
no serious disturbance in business will occur, 
whatever may be the result.—[Ohio Farmer. • 
WHAT NOT TO KILL. 
The French Minister of Finance has done a 
good deal in causing a placard to be posted, 
which it wouid be wise for citizens of all coun¬ 
tries to have before their eyes. It tells farmers, 
sportsmen, boys, and others what creatures not 
to kill, as follows: 
The hedgehog lives mostly on mice, small 
rodents, slugs and grubs—animals hurtful to ag¬ 
riculture. Don’t kill the bedga-hog. 
The toad is a firm assistant; he destroys 
twenty lo thirty insects per hour. Don’t kill 
the :oad. 
The mole is continually destroying grubs, lar¬ 
vae, palmer-worms aud insects injurious to agri¬ 
culture. No trace of vegetation is ever found 
in its stomach. Don’t kill the mole. 
Birds.—Eich department loses several mill¬ 
ions annually through insects. Birds are the 
only enemies able to contend against them vig¬ 
orously. They are the great caterpillar killers 
and agricultural assistants. 
Lady-bird never destroy, for they are the 
best friend of farmers and horticulturists, and 
their presence upon aphis ridden plants is ben¬ 
eficial. 
-- 
FBOM THE EGG TO THE TOAD 
There are some facts connected with the nat¬ 
ural history of the toad which may not be famil¬ 
iar to some of our younger readers. The female 
toad, when the period of incubation approaches 
completion, seeks water, where she deposits her 
spawn in shallow places winding the spiral 
beads of eggs around the grass, where it is left 
to hatch. In a few days—the time depending on 
the temperature of the water—the eggs hatch, 
not a toad, but a tadpole, breathing like a fish 
through gills, aud living entirely in water as 
fish do. 
This tadpole grows very rapidly and in ten or 
twelve days the transformation to the toad com¬ 
mences by the appearance of the two hind legs; 
next comes the fore-legs and the little fellow 
presents the curious appearance of a toad with 
a tail. The horny beak with which the tadpole’s 
mouth is armed now drops off and the toad’s 
mouth takes its place. Gradually the tail is 
absorbed and a diminutive toad leaves the wa¬ 
ter, breathes like an animal through nostrils 
instead of gills, and now may be drowned in 
w«ter while the tadpole would have been drown¬ 
ed in air. The little toad now starts out to make 
his living by catching the insects which trouble 
us so much by destroying our vegetables and 
flowers. We hope the boys who read this will 
never wantonly kill toads again.—[J. S. N., in 
Southern World. 
NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
The Washington Monument.— This is now 
becoming one of the wonders of the seat of gov¬ 
ernment, though for years it was the laughing 
stock of ihe country. It is now some 350 odd 
feet high; when completed it will be 555 feet 
high, over-topping the famous cathedral at Co¬ 
logne by 43 feet. The foundations were finished 
in 1880, audit will be ready for dedication, it is 
hoped, by the next 4tb of July. It will cost 
altogether $1,100,000. At the base it is 55 feet 
on each of its four sides. Above the 500th foot 
each side of ihe coae is 35 feet. The lower part 
is of granite, with a niarple facing. The upper 
