434 
JULY 3!' 
Ufabittg fur lijf gomtg. 
HOW ELEPHANTS ARE CAUGHT IN CEY¬ 
LON. 
Nearly every one of the cousins-has undoubtedly 
visited a circus and seen “ the elephant ” at some 
time or other, but they may not all know how these 
giants are caught and tamed, and they may there¬ 
fore be Interested In reading the following account, 
which is an extract from Chamber’s Journal, and 
tells how elephants are caught In Ceylon. 
The kraal was an inclosed place some 200 yards 
each way. The fence was composed of large trunks 
of trees sunk Into the ground, and of about 16 feet 
in bight. At one end was the entrance, about 20 
yards across. At each gate post were large trunks 
of trees, supported In an upright position by strong 
ropes attached to the surrounding trees. When 
the elephants enter these ropes are cut, and down 
come the huge trees across the passage, effectually 
barring all retreat. We encamped In one of a row 
of huts hastily run up on the leeward side of the 
kraal, and at some distance from It, as the power 
of scent Is particularly keen In an elephant, and If 
once a panic Is raised they would all ni 3 h madly 
away and be never seen again In that locality, in 
the immediate vicinity of the kraal, and command¬ 
ing a good view of the whole proceedings were 
most extraordinary nests, constructed high up 
among the branches, and of sufficient dimensions 
to accommodate most of the party. They were 
thus made: A number of good stout poles were 
laid from the branches of one tree to another, 
some 60 feet from the ground, and carefully made 
fast; others were then placed across them, and 
side ratlings four feet high were added for secur¬ 
ity. These last were Interwoven with leafy 
branches, which effectually concealed the occu¬ 
pants ; a ladder of long bamboos completed the 
thing; and thus were constructed veritable crows' 
nests, admirably adapted for a good view of the 
proceedings, combined with perrect. security. The 
kraal was a government one, and about 2,000 na¬ 
tives had been employed more than a fortnight in 
driving the adjacent country; by day they had 
white wands, and at night torches. The elephant 
Is a timid animal when not provoked or wounded, 
and the above simple means were amply sufficient 
to keep the animals from ** barking back.” On 
this occasion, by good management, a large body 
of elephants had been driven slowly Into the neigh¬ 
borhood of the kraal. The excitement was getting 
intense. Every crash of a railing branch, or the 
chattering of a large monkey common to these 
woods, made one start and gaze expectantly In the 
direction of the elephants. 
At last, when our patience was well nigh ex¬ 
hausted, a flae herd was seen in the distance, 
slowly approaching, under the guidance of three 
or four decoy elephants, who were employing every 
soothing art to induce the leaders to accompany 
them to the kraal, strange to say, the elephant 
In its captive state seems to take absolute pleas¬ 
ure in decoying its wild congeners Into the kraals, 
and In subsequently aiding in making them cap¬ 
tives also. About 40 bad entered, when the rear 
guard were seized with a panic and bolted through 
the line of beaters. The entrance was thereupon 
Immediately barred, and those that were within 
made safe. Then came the fun of the thing. A 
decoy elephant cautiously approached the nearest 
wild one. Its mahout (driver) walking on the off 
side and timing his movements so as to be always 
concealed by the fore legs of the animal. With ad¬ 
mirable tact, after many attempts, the decoy per¬ 
suaded the captive to raise one of its hind legs, 
which was mainly brought about by the former 
tickling the wild elephant with its trunk, and so 
causing it to Uft Its legs. A noose was Immedi¬ 
ately slipped around it by the adroit attendant, 
and the other end was made fast to a neighboring 
tree, after which the poor animal was left to its 
fate; and Its insidious visitors proceeded to another, 
whom they served in the same manner; and so by 
degrees all the best animals were secured. The 
remainder were subsequently shot by the sports¬ 
men who were there. 
Almost the entire breaking in of the wild ele¬ 
phant Is starvation. When once his spirit Is 
broken he becomes almost as amenable to disci¬ 
pline as one tbat has been captive all his life. 
After some days of total abstinence from food and 
water they are led out to drink between two 
tame elephants, and If any sign of obstinacy la 
shown the unhappy beast is beaten most unmer¬ 
cifully by Its conductors, who use their trunks In 
a most punishing manner. In a few days they are 
set to work, harnessed along side of a steady, tame 
elephant; and In an incredibly Bhort time they fall 
Into their routine of duty, and perform their work 
as well as their docile friends. 
-» * ♦ - 
A SOUTH AMERICAN ANT-EATER 
A Philadelphia paper tells about an ant-eater 
which has recently been added to the zoological 
gardens of that city. It is one of those curious 
animals which are never to be found In these lat¬ 
itudes except in menageries. The cousins will 
learn something of Interest about It in tbe follow¬ 
ing : 
This ant-eater Is black In color, and when full- 
grown measures about eight feet from the Up of the 
nose to the end of the tall. The head is about a root 
long, the body four feet and the tall three feet 
more. The present one on exhibition is about 
half-grown, its head being about nine Inches and 
body and tall twenty Inches each In length, The 
body Is covered with bushy hair, and Its head is 
similar In many respects to the trunk of an ele¬ 
phant, only differing from It In color and shape, 
but having the bones or the nose and jaws elon¬ 
gated into a narrow tube, at the end of which is a 
little opening, given the name of mouth, but 
devoid of all teeth. The eyes are placed low down. 
All Its legs are clumsy-looklng; the fore feet are 
provided with long, sharp claws, turned In under 
T 
-Y0BKER, 
the foot, so that when the animals walk aU the 
weight Is borne on the outer edge of the feet. In 
South America the ant-eater is found east of the 
Andes and as far south as Paraguay. When It 
wants to feed it tears down the ant hills with its 
long claws, and when the occupants pour out It 
captures them with the tongue, which Is of great 
length, and is covered with a slimy spittle. Thou • 
sands of the Insects are eaten at a time in this way. 
This species or the animal is of a different order 
from the great ant-eater, one of Its habits la to 
climb trees, which the great ant-eater does not. it 
Is impossible to teed the one at the zoological gar¬ 
dens on its natural food, and as a recourse they 
give this specimen soft-boiled eggs and beef tea> 
of which it partakes with evident relish. 
FLIES. 
Many mournful pieces have been written about 
“dead leaves,” “ dead flowers" and “ years gone 
by but I have never yet read one word about 
departed files To be sure, flies are not an honored 
race; indeed, they are quite the contrary, tor they 
come in the spring-time and nearly torment the 
life out of man and beast throughout the Summer. 
It Is like a tale of war this fighting with flies; 
we barricade our doors and windows until the 
house looks like a fortress, and we prepare feasts 
of deadly poison lor the coming enemy. They 
come by hundreds and thousands, with troops of 
ugly drummera, called beetles, and millions of ac¬ 
complished swordsmen, named mosquitoes. And 
these Lilliputian swordsmen are as cruel as any 
Hessian soldier that ever fought In the British 
army. 
They are not content with rioting by sunlight; 
they must attack us by night also, and that Is the 
worst of it; for frosh reinforcements are ever 
ready at night-fall to commence their attack. 
Then stealthily moving with doleful song the 
light-footed svarrlors creep through the crevices of 
a building to wreak their vengeance on Its in¬ 
mates. 
It Is rather humbling to think that after all our 
efforts to overcome the enemy, we should be tor¬ 
mented through all the loveliest weather of the 
season, and when the cheerless days of winter 
come again one breath of our fearless ally, Jack 
Frost, should kill them all 
I think that it must have been a literary fly tbat 
visited a lady at our house one day last Summer; 
she was writing a letter, and lighting upon the 
paper it placed Its forereet on the pen and danced 
along a whole line as she wrote. There are a few 
flies around me as I write; if they are literary 
flies perhaps they know what 1 have written. 1 
hope they do. Cousin Frankie M. Brooks. 
Madison, Wls. 
NATURE'S WAYS. 
rA Cousin from Bayonne City, N. J.„ sendB the fol¬ 
lowing poem on the seasons, which Bhe says she is 
anxious to see in print. She is only thirteen years 
old, and for one so young the attempt is quite cred- 
itable.J 
When Spring puts on her mantle green, 
Old Winter creeps away: 
“ The brooks," he says, "have burst their chains, 
I can no longer stay.” 
Then laughs fair Spring a merry laugh, 
And starts her fairy work ; 
Sprouting the seeds of wild wood flow’ra 
Wherever they may lurk. 
When she is done, bright Summer comes, 
And brings her rosea red, 
And all around upon the air 
Their fragrance rare is shed. 
Then summer goes and Autumu’a here, 
Adorned with crimson leaves; 
But soon she too must die away, 
Bearing her fruits and sheaves. 
Once more gray old Winter brings 
His short and frosty days, 
And thus the earth dies—lives again, 
For such are Nature’s Ways. 
Virgie C. Mitchell. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark I sit down to write a few 
lines to you, almost discouraged because my last 
letter did not appear with the cousins’ letters; 
but I suppose It was laid aside on account of your 
removal. We have had plenty of rain so that 
plants of an kinds are doing well. My phlox, 
plDks, mignonette and portulacas are up and al¬ 
most ready to send forth their beautiful flowers. 
One melon came up and our okras are doing well. 
1 have lots of tomato plants ready to flower, I 
grow them on purpose to sell, and make lots of 
of money. I have lots of flowers, I could not 
name them all. I received some of my flower 
seeds rrom England. Does,pineapple geraniums 
ever blossom and how shall ! treat onu to make It 
blossom ? I am very thankful for the seeds you 
sent, and shall try to my best with them. Hoping 
this will not be thrown In the waste basket, I 
remain your nephew, Henry Welfare, 
Ingham Co , Mich. 
[Pineapple scented geraniums are flowering 
plants, but the flowers are not very showy. They 
ought to blossom with the care ordinarily given 
to house plants.—U. M.j 
Dear Unole m^rk : I received the seeds you sent 
me all right. The okra, melons and pinks are 
up and doing finely. 1 am watering the plants 
the way you said In the Hints for the Club. My 
okra Is about two luches high. When is the 
best time to set out strawberries ? Which is to 
be cutoff In pruning raspberries, the young shoots 
or the old ones 7 I suppose my last letter iound its 
way to the waste basket for 1 did not see it In 
print; If I see this letter lu print I may venture to 
write again. Your nephew, 
Roving Dick. 
Besemers Depot, Tompkins Co., N. Y. 
[Plant strawberries In August and September 
f you have good strong plants. They can also 
be planted In April and May. Pinch off the top 
of the young raspberry canes now. They will 
then become stocky and throw out more fruit 
branches. The old canes should be cut off in the 
fall; they are of no further use after the leaves 
have fallen.—U. M.j 
HIDDEN STORMS. 
1 . In Donegal elopements are rare. 
2 . Next August. 
3. Show erring Tom the way. 
4. I’ve torn a dolman. 
5. The stem pestered me. 
6. I saw him whirl windows out. 
7. Ashur 1 can eat. 
s. Do have mercy, Cloney. 
9. Mrs. Imoon married. 
10. So comrnou, so only thrice. 
11. Don’t pamper a tease. 
l&~ Auswer In two weeks. Little One. 
TRANSPOSITION. 
“ Wileary, raderlyl mite deepss goaln, 
Houty nad sit pahnlpses lowfn; 
I vahe drlet. ot ruffes dan ebgrants 
Tub het selano saw drah ot realn.” 
Answer In two weeks. l. o. 
A SQUARE WORD. 
A cape of New Jersey; a city of India; a vege¬ 
table. 
Answer In two weeks. l. 
-♦-»--*-— 
PUZZLER ANSWERS-June 19. 
Geographical Anaouam*,— 1, Westminster; 2, New- 
• ■nil.Uuiiil • tt 1 V.w.—l., . 4 ID.t . - 11..«(..! ... i 
Namk Puzzlis.—K nropa, Vicloris. Asunatli. Initials 
form “ Eva." 
Hidden Meats.-!, Beef; 2, Veal ; 3, Pork; 4, Lamb- 
S.%”U 1 H 0 U; 6 , Mutton; 7 , Haw; 8 , Bacon; 9, Bear meat; 
ID, Buffalo steak; II, Middling-. 
Diagonal Puzzle.— 
T 
A I 
PUG 
IDLE 
RIVER 
Primals form " Tapir;” diagonals form “ Tiger.” 
BRIEFLETS. 
The Hour has the following : The female 
suffragists were in full force at the Chicago 
Convention, endeavoring to present some ex¬ 
ceedingly ungrammatical and otherwise in¬ 
comprehensible resolutions to the attention of 
the delegates. The resolutions wound up with 
a clause to the effect that woman should be 
allowed to vote for “laws to preserve her 
daughters from those dreadful dangers to 
which they are becoming more and more ex¬ 
posed through the unbridled and insatiable 
lust of men.".The best way for these 
ladies to “preserve their daughters ” would be 
to 6tay at home and attend to the proper edu¬ 
cation of their children and to curb their own 
and their daughters’ “ unbridled and insati¬ 
able ’ ’ love of pleasq re aud fine raiment, which 
is the main-spring of the danger they are so 
anxious to legislate about.We regret to 
see that Mr. Peter Henderson is again adver¬ 
tising Pearl Millet as “The Great Fodder 
Plant.".One farmer near the Rural 
Farm cut a five-acre field of Timothy and 
clover and burnt it to destroy the Array worm. 
Auother who had been picking the worms 
off his corn tells us that he found as many 
as forty to some hills.Punch. 
who, of course, must illustrate English opin¬ 
ion, gives a very clever scrap of conver¬ 
sation in which a young gentleman of fash¬ 
ion asks au elderly lady of fashion for matri¬ 
monial advice. The question is of choice be¬ 
tween worth and rank, and the lady very ac¬ 
ceptably answers: "Beauty fades, and mere 
goodness is apt to paU, but a title lasts forever, 
aud one never tires of having a duke for a 
brother-in-law." . . ... A lady who has re¬ 
sided for years In China says that the misguid¬ 
ed girls of that country may be seen occasion¬ 
ally tightening the bandages that ciipple their 
poor, lamed feet, juBt as a silly American girl 
may occassionally draw tighter and tighter the 
laces of her corset.Mr. Pearsall, speak¬ 
ing of the importance of local fruit Bhows, 
says: “Many people can give their experience 
with an apple in hand or a plate of fruit to 
handle over, who could say nothing at all 
empty-handed. Very many ol us are like the 
boy in the spelling class who missed the word 
because the button was off his coat, that he 
usually had hold of.".La Rochfoucauld 
says: “ The greatest miracle of love is that it 
cures coquetry." ..... Again he says: “If 
one judges of love by the most of its results, it 
more resembles hate than friendship.”. 
Balzac says: “Small-pox is the Waterloo of 
women. After it they really know who loves 
.Law, as at present practiced 
among us, is an honor neither to our intelli¬ 
gence nor to our civilization. It is a licensed 
system of needlees and shameless extortion 
forced upon society and affecting it for evil in 
every relation of life.Speakiug of the 
exclusion of Jews from hotels, Mr. Iogersoll 
thinks if genuine Christians were to be gener¬ 
ally excluded, all the hotels in the country 
would still be as crowded as ever I .... 
“ Btockbridge Cow Manure"—Something new, 
Dr. Bailey?.Prof. Budd thinks that 
poles for Lima beans arc a disadvantage. He 
nips off the tips of the vines so tbat after 
a while the plants become bushy and load¬ 
ed with pods. ..... Whatever opinions 
may exist iu regard to the political course of 
President Hayes, it must be conceded that a 
more amiable and unpretending family never 
occupied the White House than that of the 
present incumbeut of the Presidential chair.— 
The Hour.. Mr. C. M. Merritnan con¬ 
siders it a mistake in orchard plauting to sot 
each kind of fruit by itself. He advocates 
planting different sorts—for instance, first a 
peach, then a pear, and so on.Mme. 
De Stael says : “ We understand death for the 
first time when he puts his baud upon one 
whom we love.Mr. Graham, of Grand 
Rapids, said he had by accident learned a fact 
concerning the cnrcalio. Having left his coat 
in the crotch of a plum tree over-night, 300 
cureulios were taken from under it in the morn¬ 
ing.Iu South Wales the rings of a 
tree known to have been 18 years old were 
30 in number—or twice as many a6 the age of 
the tree.The London Farmer repub¬ 
lishes Peter Henderson’s popular article en¬ 
titled. “The Use of the Feet iu Sowing and 
and Planting.".A cable dispatch from 
Loudon to New York in 25 seconds is rapid 
work.“ Debtors," says Spurgeon, the 
great London preacher, “can hardly help be¬ 
ing liars, for they promise to pay when they 
know they cannot, and when they have made 
up a lot of false excuses they promise again, 
and so they lie as fast as a horse can trot.” . . 
. A contemporary says that “ too little exer¬ 
cise aud too much tea ruin the nerves of many 
a woman.”.We do not think that the 
average farmer’s wife’s nerves arc ruined in 
that way.Easy housekeepers are often 
unjustly accused of laziness, when the very 
easiness so condemned springs from a kindly 
consideration for other people’s comfort. 
-- - 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Thirtt-ninth Annual Catalogue and Cir¬ 
cular of the Maplewood Institute, Pittsfield, 
Mass. 
Supplement of the American Standard of 
Excellence in Poultry. By G. E. Josselyn, 
Fredonia, N. Y. 
Transactions of the State Board of Agri¬ 
culture of Nebraska from 8ept., 1870, to Sept., 
1879. Dauiel H. Wheeler, Secretary, Platts- 
mouth, Neb. 
The Cotton Worm, by Professor C. V. 
Ri'.ey, Chief of the United States Entomologi¬ 
cal Commission. In this pamphlet is given a 
summary of its natural history, au account of 
its enemies, and the best method of controlling 
it, with numerous illustrations. Published by 
the Dep'i of Interior, Washington, D. C. 
Sheep Husbandry in Tennessee. By J. 
B. Killebrew, A. M. Ph. D., Commissioner of 
Agriculture of Tennessee. This work of 294 
pages, 8vo, although prepared avowedly for 
the larmers of Tennessee, is full of valuable 
information for sheep owners everywhere, 
containing, as it does, all the latest informa¬ 
tion on the subject of which it treats. 
Catalogue op Illinois Industrial Uni¬ 
versity for 18S0.— This iuslitutlon is situated 
at Urbana, Champaign Co., ill. Its object is, 
as is indicated by its name, to teach the indus¬ 
trial sciences. There are four colleges In the 
institution: College of Agriculture, College of 
Engineering, College of Natural Science, Col¬ 
lege of Literature and Science, besides schools 
of Art and Military Science. 
The Hessian Fly, its ravages, habits, ene¬ 
mies, and means of preventing its increase, 
by A. S. Packard, Jr., member of the United 
Slates Entomological Commission. The rav¬ 
ages of this insect are the dread of the wheat 
grower, and the iufornutiou here offered is 
well calculated to counteract its destructive¬ 
ness. Published by the Dcp't. of the Interior, 
Washiugtou, D. C. 
The Chinch-hug, Us history, character, 
and habits, and the meaus of destroying it or 
counteracting its injuries. By Professor Cyrus 
Thomas, of lira United States Entomological 
Commission. Professor ThomaB is one of our 
best entomologists, and the information he 
gives iu this pamplet of 44 pages about this 
formidable pest, will be of great value to the 
farmers in wheat-growing districts. Published 
by the Dep’t. of the Interior Washington, D. C 
