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THE MILKY WAY.

The grand and glorious nebula, or star cloud, of which our solar system forms a part, is beginning to attract the same kind of a familiar attention that the system itself did a century ago, ere astronomy took the daring and certain flights of which it now is capable. The most powerful of the telescopes at present in use seem able at length to penetrate the recesses of this wondrous agglomeration of sun and planets. The black depths of the farther heavens beyond are visible through the veil of stars. The external border of the nebula extends to a distance which at least equals that of stars of the thirteenth magnitude, which were the remotest visible through Herschel's twenty feet telescope.

Now these are 750 times farther from us than the star Alpha, in the constellation of the Centaur, i. e., the radius of the milky way is, altogether, 750 times the length of space which astronomers have been in the habit of counting 1. Alpha of the Centaur is among the stars nearest to the earth, yet it is 200,000 times farther off than the sun, or, in other words, 200,000 times 95,000,000 miles = 19,000,000,000,000 miles. Now, light has been finally ascertained to have the speed of electricity; and if one continuous uninterrupted electric telegraph wire ran directly around the globe, commencing and terminating in New York, it would take a perfect signal just one seventh of a second to make the tour. In eight minutes and thirteen seconds light passes from the sun to the earth, and in four hours it reaches Neptune, the outermost planet of our system. It would arrive at the Alpha Centaur in something more than three years, and at stars of the sixth magnitude- the remotest visible to the naked eye-in between thirty and thirty-one years; and, finally, at those on the outer edge of the milky way in 2000 years.

To traverse the entire diameter of the milky way, then, would require 4000 years, so that light can have been reflected but once from side to side of the galaxy or nebula to which we belong since the creation, according to the Mosaic record. But by calculation we discover that the nebula of Hercules is distant from us 100 times the diameter of the milky way; and hence the light from it reaches us only after a trip of 4,000,000 years, minus eight minutes and thirteen seconds.

TREATMENT OF SUNSTROKE.

In view of the great many deaths from sunstroke occurring every summer, and the risks which may be run every year, the following hints may prove useful:

In every instance where one is found fainting in the street on a hot day, the first thing is to remove the person to as cool and shady a place as can be found, and, if possible, to where a draft of air is blowing at the time. Bystanders and mere curious idlers should he kept from crowding around. The next is to send in all directions for a doctor or a skilled apothecary. But as it frequently happens that neither a doctor nor an apothecary can be had in time, those who take charge of the sufferer should know how to act, for they may save his life. For their infor mation, the following treatment is suggested: They should understand that there are two morbid conditions resulting from excessive heat. These differ somewhat in their symptoms, and require a somewhat different treatment. The first of these occurs during hot weather, after undue exertion on the part of the person thus affected. The man is faint, perhaps unable to move, though he can generally be roused; he has a feeble pulse and a cool and moist skin. Here there is simply a loss of nervous power, and relief is promptly afforded by removing him to a cool, shady place, applying cold water or ice to the head, and administering iced brandy and water, iced wine and water, or other stimulant. In the other and more fatal form of this affection a different set of symptoms show themselves. Here the patient suddenly falls to the ground, completely unconscious, his skin is pungently hot and dry, his breathing hurried, convulsions are not uncommon, and, if proper treatment be not promptly resorted to, death soon takes place. In this case, also, the patient should be promptly removed to a shady and cool spot, perfectly private, so that the crowd may be kept off without fail. His clothing should be stripped off, and his whole body should be rubbed with ice from head to foot, and pieces of ice should be kept under the armpits. This should be steadily persevered with until the patient is restored, or until a doctor arrives, or until it is plain that the case is beyond recovery. This treatment has been found to be so eminently successful by one of our best physicians, that he feels justified in saying, from his own knowledge and observation, that if applied promptly, recovery is almost certain.

CLIMATE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

The present temperature of the British Isles is mainly due to the action of the Gulf Stream. This great river of water, flowing through the sea, comes warmed by a tropical sun from the shores of Central America, and washes the land. It is found in the winter that off the Scilly Islands, the western coast of Ireland, and of Cornwall, the sea is some ten degrees warmer than the land. Hence it is that snow is rare in those parts, and that it seldom lies upon the ground many hours. The warm air coming with the Gulf Stream spreads over the United Kingdom, and mitigates that severity of winter which belongs to that latitude.

TIDE TABLE.

The Tides given in the Calendar pages are for the Port of Boston.

The following table contains the approximate difference between the time of High Water at Boston and several other places.

When the sign- -is prefixed to the hours and minutes in the table, the time must be subtracted from the Boston time; and when the sign + is prefixed, the time must be added to the Boston time.

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h.m.

657 Marblehead, -502 Nahant,

007 Nantucket,
+0 40 New Bedford,
3 45 Newburyport,
-0 17 Newport,

4 09 New Haven,
0 23 New London,
3 40 Philadelphia,
0 25 Plymouth,
007 Portland,

h.m.

-0 18 Portsmouth,
-0 20 Point Judith,
+0 34 Provincetown,
3 53 Providence,
-0 11 Rockland,

h.m.

-0 10

-4 18

-0 07

-3 35

-0 31

-406

-016

-418

+2 05 Stonington,

-2 17

010 Tarpaulin Cove, -0 16 Wellfleet,

-3 46

4 05 Sandy Hook,

-0 08 Salem,

-2 01 Savannah,

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES OF BOSTON.

-0 24

The local manufactures within the city limits are constantly increasing. They amount, probably, in their productiveness, to upwards of one hundred millions per annum in the fifteen wards. The small establishments are steadily growing. Troops of men and girls can every day be seen coming from lofts and attics where no one ever suspected that any manufacturing operations were carried on. Among the largest interests and the principal productions may be named the organ and pianoforte business; the building of steamships and sailing vessels; the construction of locomotives, machinery, and iron work of all kinds; sugars, glass ware, tin, copper, lead, leather, skins, cordage, wire, screws, hardware, tools, carpets, cotton and silk goods, paper hangings, paints, oils, and varnishes, boots and shoes, hats, straw work, firearms, clothing of all kinds, liquors, ale and beer, furniture, silver ware and jewelry, sewing machines, rubber goods, marble, freestone and granite works, brushes, books and stationery, philosophical, nautical, musical, agricultural, and surgical instruments, the gas at the works of our companies, sashes, doors, blinds, wood work, flour, chemicals, medicines, the canning of fruits, vegetables, fish and meats, &c., &c. An army of stalwart men are employed at the ship yards, founderies, and machine shops.

It will be seen from this hasty glance at the workshops of Boston that the quarter of a million people within the municipality are not all supported by commerce or buying and selling.

OCCUPATION OF THE PEOPLE.

The Cincinnati Commercial of January, 1868, makes an attempt to classify the employments of the people, with the following results:

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Our population (1860) being a little over 31,000,000, the number of persons whose occupations are reported amounts to about one in every six, or very nearly the average of heads of families or legal voters to the whole population. The remaining five sixths may be reckoned as the "domestic class," or women and persons under age. AREA OF STATES AND TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. The following table, compiled at the Land Office, shows the order of the States and Territories, from the largest to the smallest:

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THE NATIVE COW.

The milking or dairy qualities of the cow depend on a great variety of circumstances, as climate, soil, food, its abundance and quality, and the habits of life to which the animal has been subjected. It must be evident, therefore, that they are, to a great extent, artificial, the result of more or less careful development. This fact will be all the more clear when we consider that the cow, in her natural or wild condition, gives but little milk, and that only for a few weeks, sufficient to nourish her calf, when the secretion of milk ceases. It must be evident, also, that there is a constant tendency to revert to this natural or wild condition, and that the characteristics acquired, or implanted in the system, by long-continued care and attention, can be preserved only by the same care and attention, applied with the same degree of intelligence and skill.

Many peculiarities, when once established in the animal system, become hereditary or readily transmissible from the parent to the offspring, and hence the natural formation of races and breeds, or families. The term race, in domesticated and other animals, applies only to those of the same species, possessing, besides the general characteristics of that species, other characteristics which they owe to local circumstances to which they have long been subjected, and which they transmit with certainty to their progeny, and it is essential to the idea of a race that they should have possessed these characteristics from a time "whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary;" that is, beyond the limits of authenticated records.

The term breed, on the other hand, applies to a family of animals built up by a long course of careful breeding and selection till certain desired qualities become fixed, capable and sure of being transmitted. The peculiarities of races are more inherent, fixed, and strongly marked than those of families or breeds built up artificially, or, in the language of the farm, the "blood" is stronger in the one than in the other.

Tried by this standard, the "native," or common cattle of this country cannot, of course, constitute either a race or a breed, since they do not possess any characteristics peculiar to them all, which they transmit with any certainty to their offspring. They possess no uniformity, either in shape, size, color, milking or working properties. They have neither the size, the symmetry, nor the early maturity of the improved Shorthorns; they have neither the fineness of bone, the beauty of form and color, nor the activity of the Devons and the Herefords; they do not give under the same circumstances, the uniform quantity nor the high quality of milk of the Ayrshires, the Jerseys, or the Bretons; but their most serious failing is, that they do not transmit the many good qualities, which, as individuals, they often possess to an extraordinary degree, to their offspring, which is the characteristic of all wellestablished races and breeds.

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Nor would this be expected when it is considered how this stock is made up. had its origin in a great variety of sources, and it has been mixed and crossed in an infinite variety of ways, with little reference to any definite line of improvement, and with no fixed and well-considered system.

The first cattle imported into the older settled portions of the country arrived at the James River colony in Virginia about the year 1609, and they were followed in the two subsequent years by more than a hundred cows from the West Indies, where cattle had been landed at the time of the second voyage of Columbus. In 1624 Governor Winslow imported a few cattle for the Plymouth colony. In 1625 the Dutch colony at New York imported cattle from Holland, and the number was largely increased by importations as the settlement grew in prosperity. About the same year New Jersey was also settled by the Dutch, and the black and white cattle of Holland were introduced there, while the Swedes, who settled Delaware in 1627, brought their stock with them from the mother country. Extensive importations were made for "the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay," which arrived at Salem in 1630. In 1632-3 the Danes, who had settled along the Piscataqua River, upon the grant of Captain John Mason, imported numerous large yellow cattle, well adapted to the purposes for which they were intended, that of lumbering. They were rapidly diffused over the adjacent parts of New England, and extensively mixed with the earlier importations into Massachusetts, and undoubtedly did much to lay the foundation of the "native" stock of the Eastern States.

From these widely diverse sources our "native" cattle originated. There is sufficient evidence to show that the stock was interchanged between the colonies at a very early day; that some of the Virginia cattle were sent to New England, that others found their way from the North to Virginia, so that an infinite and indiscriminate mixture was inevitable. It could not be expected that these intermixtures would produce any uniformity in the progeny, either in color, form, or other characteristics. The offspring of the crosses of the Denmarks with the Spanish and Welsh would naturally be a dark brindle; with the Denmarks and the red cattle from the southern counties of England, a light or yellowish brindle perhaps; while the more recent importations have produced more or less spotted or variegated progeny.

Nor should it be forgotten that the cattle of the early colonists were subjected to extraordinary hardships. With the want of care and shelter, the want of food often, and constant exposure, it is quite remarkable that they have come down to us as good as they are. Glover, a contemporary, familiar with the mode of keeping

stock in the early Virginia colony, says, "All the inhabitants give their cattle in winter is only the husks of their Indian corn, unless it be some of them that have a little wheat-straw; neither do they give them any more of these than will serve to keep them alive; by reason whereof they venture into the marshy grounds and swamps for food, where very many are lost." And Clayton, too, writing more than a century ago, says that "they neither housed nor milked their cows in winter, having a notion that it would kill them." A Swedish traveller, who visited the colony in 1749, writes, "Their cattle are allowed to wander through the woods and uncultivated grounds, where they are half starved, having long ago extirpated almost all the animal grasses by cropping them too early in the spring, before they had time to form their flowers or to shed their seeds." The stock in other parts of the country fared no better. In severe winters the cattle, in great numbers, died of starvation and exposure, and no efforts were made at improvement till within a recent period. A half a century would cover nearly all the attempts made to improve the quality and increase the value of the cattle of the country.

GARGET, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE UDDER.

This disease is so common and so troublesome in dairy stock that the method of treatment should be well understood by every farmer.

The best and most rational treatment for garget is, undoubtedly, to apply hot water to the bag by a sponge or a large cloth. Keep dipping and applying as long as the water remains hot. Then take a soft, dry cloth and wipe the udder till it is perfectly dry. At the same time give a simple cathartic, as follows: Take 1 lbs. of sulphate of magnesia (epsom salts), add two table-spoonfuls of powdered ginger, and dissolve in water.

Pour down in a bottle. The attendant may hold the cow with one hand at the horn and the other at the muzzle; introduce the bottle at the side of the mouth, and pour in slowly.

This treatment should begin, of course, early, and before the disease gets into a chronic state.

If the bag is very heavy, suspend it by bringing a long cloth or band under it and fastening it over and in front of the hips. If it slips forward, fasten another strip on the back side of the first, between the legs, and bring it up and fasten to the bandage at the top.

This is very important in severe cases. It will readily be seen what a support it must be to a heavy and inflamed bag, its own weight causing and increasing the irritation and inflammation. If the disease is not arrested by this treatment, and suppuration takes place, or the formation of matter, it is past cure. If the inflammation is subdued, but the bag is still hard, give the cow hydriodate of potassa daily, 10 grain doses three times a day, and apply the tincture of iodine to the surface. That will bring it down.

The common practice of sticking a plug of garget root into the dewlap is too absurd. It is designed to set up a counter irritation, and no doubt has a slight effect to do it; but going so far from the seat of the disease, which is an inflammation of the bag, or the mammary glands, results in a loss of these glands before the effect can be produced by the remedy; that is, the disease progresses faster than the cure. The course suggested above is the best, and the only rational and scientific treatment we know of.

The hydriodate of potassa may be got of any apothecary. Tell him to take half an ounce of hydriodate, or iodide of potassa, and dissolve it in three gills, or about twelve ounces of water. That will give it in the proportion of 10 grains to a tablespoonful. To administer, put the table-spoonful of the solution into a half pail of water. The animal should be kept from drinking till she is really thirsty, and she will drink it readily, and may be allowed to take as much water as she likes afterwards. Give at the same rate, 10 grains, or a table-spoonful of the solution, three times a day.

After a few days, or if you choose at first, the spoonful of the solution may be mixed in the food, some grain or mash, but it is a little preferable in the water. There is nothing known, in the whole range of medicines, that will operate on inflamed or diseased glands like iodine and its compounds.

The tincture of iodine is a little more expensive, and so to apply it economically, use a small brush, or a little piece of fine sponge. Don't get your hands in it unless you want to take the skin off. Brush on only the diseased part. That will, perhaps, raise a blister. Wait till the blister heals up, and then apply again. It raises a counter irritation, and is the best thing known to draw out the hardness or lumps in the bag.

LUCKY FARMERS.

Some farmers get the reputation of being lucky because they meet with success. People little know how sharply they look ahead, how carefully they make their calculations, or how they contrive to have the very best stock in the whole neighborhood. Look round the homestead. It has an air of neatness and comfort. The finest shade and ornamental trees adorn the farm. They have the best breeds of cattle, and keep them in the best manner. They are industrious, thrifty, honest; but the world is very apt to say, "They are lucky." Lazy men are seldom lucky.

POST-OFFICE REGULATIONS.

CORRECTED SEPTEMBER, 1868.

Letters. The maximum standard weight for the single rate of letter postage is one half oz. avoirdupois. The rate of postage on all domestic letters not exceeding one half oz. shall be uniform at three cents; and for each half oz., or fraction thereof, of additional weight, an additional rate of three cents, to be in all cases prepaid by postage stamps. DROP or LOCAL LETTERS, two cents per half oz., prepaid by stamps; and no further fee can be charged for delivery, or for taking from street boxes to the mails. IRREGULAR MATTER.-Letter rates are to be charged on irregular matter, part writing and part print, except that publishers may send and receive proof-sheets, and advise patrons, by writing on papers, when their subscription is up, at printed matter rates. On unclassified matter, where no specific rate is set down, letter postage is charged. SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' LETTERS are exempt from this extra charge, and may go unpaid if franked. Returned DEAD LETTERS, free. Foreign dead letters subject to conventional stipulations with the respective governments. Letters not finding owners at the office named, must be forwarded, when the place is known, free. The Postmaster-General may pay not more than two cents for carrying letters in vessels not carrying mails, such letters to be put in post-office on arrival in port; if for local delivery, another two cents should be affixed. No fees are allowed for letters collected by a carrier on a mail route.

Newspapers, Magazines, &c. - Newspaper, or second class postage, is, for papers not over four ounces each, per quarter, once a week, 5 cts.; twice, 10 ets.; three times, 15 cts.; six times, 30 cts.; seven times, 35 cts., and so on, adding one rate for each issue more than once per week, to be prepaid for not less than three months nor more than a year, at the office of reception. Publishers of weekly news papers may send within their county free. On magazines issued less often than once a week, one cent for four ounces to regular subscribers. Special bargains may be made by the Postmaster-General for transporting packages of newspapers, &c. Publishers must be notified when papers are not taken out for one month, which notice may be sent free. BILLS AND RECEIPTS for subscriptions may be enclosed in papers and go free; any other written enclosure imposes letter postage. Publishers may exchange papers free, not exceeding sixteen ounces in weight.

Books-Not over 4 oz. in weight, 4 cts.; between 4 and 8 oz., 8 cts.; between 8 and 12 oz., 12 cts. ; &c. Miscellaneous

Including pamphlets, occasional publications, transient newspapers, handbills and posters, book manuscripts and proof-sheets, whether corrected or not, maps, prints, engravings, sheet music, blanks, flexible patterns. flexible samples and sample cards, phonographic paper, letter envelopes, postal envelopes or wrappers, cards, paper, plain or ornamental, photographs, seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots, and scions, not over 4 oz. in weight, 2 cents; over 4 oz., and not over 8 oz., 4 cts.; over 8 oz., and not over 12 oz., 6 cts.; over 12 oz., and not over OZ., 8 cts. All matter not above specified is charged at letter postage: all classes, except as above mentioned, must be prepaid.

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Money Orders - For any amount not exceeding $50 on one order, are issued in the principal offices, on payment of the following fees: Orders not exceeding $20, 10 cts.; over $20, and not exceeding $30, 15 cents; over $30 and not exceeding $40, 20 cents; over $40 and not exceeding $50, 25 cents.

Foreign Letters (except to England and Ireland) should indicate on the outside the route by which they are to be sent, as the difference by various routes is great. To Great Britain and Ireland, not over1⁄2 oz., 12 cents, prepayment optional. To France, not over 4 oz., 15 cents; not over oz., 30 cents, prepayment optional. Austria, Prussia, and German States, by North German Union direct, 10 cents; by North Germ. closed mail, via England, 15 cts., prepayment optional. Switzerland, by North German Union direct, 15 cents; by North German closed mail, via England, 20 cents; by French mail, 21 cents for oz.; 42 cts. not exceeding oz.; via closed mail, 15 cents, all prepayment optional. Italy, via North German Union direct, 14 cents; by North German closed mail, via England, 19 cents; by closed mail, 15 cents, all prepayment optional.

CANADA, including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 6 cents if prepaid, 10 cents if not prepaid. Prince Edwards Island, 10 cents, prepayment optional; Newfoundland, 10 cents, prepayment required. Cuba, Bermuda, Mexico, Panama, Aspinwall, and Sandwich Islands, 10 cents, prepayment required. Brazil, by American packet, 10 cents, prepayment required; via England, 34 cents, prepayment required; via France, 33 cents 1/4 oz., 66 cents 1⁄2 oz., prepayment optional.

EAST INDIES, by British mail via Southampton, 28 cents; British mail via Marseilles, 36 cents; via North German Union direct, 27 cents; via North German Union closed mail via England, 82 cents, all prepayment required. Australia, British mail, via Southampton, 22 cents; British mail, via Marseilles, 30 cents; British colonies, via Panama, 22 cents, all prepayment required. China, via San Francisco, 10 cts.; by French mail, 30 cts. for 4 oz., 60 cts. for 1⁄2 oz.; except Hong Kong, British mail, via Southampton, 34 cts., via Marseilles, 42 cts., via North German Union direct, 27 cts., via North Germ. Union, closed mail, via England, 32 cts., prepay't required.

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