imported was consumed; for in 1881, 1882, and 1883 the importation was still greater in quantity, though the proportion of the cheaper jute-butts was increased and there was a consequent falling off of values. Raw jute has always been subject to a considerable duty, usually about $15 a ton (under the new tariff, 20 per cent. ad valorem, which is about $18); but jute-butts were admitted free till 1876, when a duty of $6 a ton was placed on them,

KANSAS. State Government.-The following were the State officers during the year: Governor, George W. Glick, Democrat; Lieutenant-Governor, D. W. Finney; Secretary of State, James Smith; Treasurer, Samuel T. Howe; Auditor, E. P. McCabe; AttorneyGeneral, W. A. Johnston. Judiciary, Supreme Court: Chief-Justice, Albert H. Horton; Associate Justices, David J. Brewer and D. M. Valentine.

Legislative Session.-The Legislature convened on the 9th of January, and adjourned on the 8th of March. On the 23d of January, Preston B. Plumb, Republican, was re-elected United States Senator by a vote of 38 against one in the Senate, and 89 against 34 in the House. There were passed 167 bills, of which the Governor signed 162, vetoed four, and allowed one to die in his hands. One of the

vetoed bills was passed over the veto. Among the acts passed were the following:

An act to provide for the health and safety of persons employed in and about coal-mines; an act declaring drunkenness a misdemeanor and prescribing punishment; an act relating to the issue of stock by corporations; an act forming new congressional districts; an act concerning railroads and other common carriers.

The railroad law provides for three railroad commissioners, who have power to examine the books and papers of the corporation and its officers under oath. Some of the more important provisions of this act follow:

No railroad company shall charge or receive a rate in excess of three cents per mile for the transportation of any passenger who is over twelve years of age, nor in excess of half that sum per mile for the transportation of any passenger of the age of twelve years or

under.

The commissioners shall have the general supervision of all railroads in the State operated by steam, and all express companies, sleeping-car companies, and all other persons, companies, or corporations doing business as common carriers in this State, and shall inquire into any neglect or violation of the laws of this State by any person, company, or corporation engaged in the business of transportation of persons or property therein, or by the officers, agents, or employés thereof, and shall also, from time to time, carefully examine and inspect the condition of each railroad in the State, and of its equipment and the manner of its conduct and management, with reference to the public safety and convenience. Whenever in the judgment of the railroad commissioners it shall appear that any railroad corporation or other transportation company fails to comply with the terms of its charter or the

and this was reduced to $5 by the new tariff. That both jute-butts and jute can and should be produced here seems evident, in view of the facts mentioned and the rapidly-growing demand for them for so many kinds of manufactures. At this time, the bagging for the entire cotton-crop of the United States is made from jute-butts; and all the so-called "Manila" wrapping-paper is made from the same material.

laws of the State, or whenever, in their judgment, any repairs are necessary upon its road, or any addition to its rolling-stock, or any addition to or change of its stations or station-houses, or any change in its rates, or any change in the mode of operating its road and conducting its business, is reasonable and expedient, said commissioners shall inform such corporation of the improvement and changes which they adjudge to be proper.

The commissioners shall, on or before the first Monday in December in each year, make a report to the Governor of their doings for the preceding year and of the condition of every railroad in the State, as dition of track and machinery, etc. to capital stock, value of property, indebtedness, con

No railroad company shall charge, demand, or receive from any person, company, or corporation, for the transportation of any property or for any other service, a greater sum than it shall at the same time charge, demand, or receive from any other person, company, or corporation, for a like service from the same place, or upon like condition and under similar circumstances.

make any contract or enter into any stipulation with It shall be unlawful for any railroad company to any other railroad company running in the same general direction, by which either company shall directly or indirectly agree to divide, in any manner, the joint earnings upon freight transported.

Statistics.-The State had in 1872, 2,476,862 acres of land in cultivation; in 1882, 11,048,399 acres, an increase of 8,566,517 acres. The live-stock of the State in 1872 was valued at

$30,013,898; in 1882 it had increased to $83,874,539, or a permanent increase of wealth of $53,860,641. Four fifths of the area are still uncultivated.

In 1883 the product of winter wheat was 28,958,884 bushels, with an average yield of 1956; spring wheat, 1,066,052 bushels, with an average yield of 13-47; total, 30,024,936 bushels, and an average yield of 19-25 bushels per acre. This is within 5,000,000 bushels of the great crop of 1882.

bushels, and the total product 5,084,391 bushThe average yield of rye per acre was 18-79 els. The corn-crop amounted to 182,084,526 bushels, an average of 39 13 bushels an acre.

The State Board of Railroad Commissioners have obtained an official statement of the amount voted, in cash and bonds, by the several counties of the State, to aid in building railroads. The total is $9,504,385.

road Assessors shows that there are 4,315 The last report of the State Board of Railmiles of railway in Kansas.

Farmers' Convention.-The Kansas State Farm

ers' Alliance met in January, and put forth resolutions declaring that the farmers were oppressed by the railroads and other corporations; calling for the passage of a law fixing a schedule of freight and passenger rates; and denouncing the railroad-commissioner system. Temperance.—The Kansas State Temperance Union met in January, and adopted resolutions declaring that the State had no moral or legal right to license any wrong, but should enact only such laws as will promote what is right and prohibit what is wrong; that the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage is a great moral question, and is right in principle and in practice; and that there should be no attempt by the Legislature to strike prohibition from the Constitution by resubmitting an amendment for that purpose, or the repeal or emasculation of the law already enacted for the enforcement of it.

KENTUCKY. State Government.-The following were the State officers during the year: Governor, Luke P. Blackburn, succeeded by J. Proctor Knott, Democrats; LieutenantGovernor, James E. Cantrill, succeeded by J. R. Hindman; Secretary of State, James Blackburn, succeeded by James A. McKenzie; Treasurer, James W. Tate; Auditor, Fayette Hewitt; Superintendent of Public Instruction, J. D. Pickett; Attorney-General, P. W. Hardin; Register of Land-Office, Ralph Sheldon, succeeded by J. G. Cecil; Commissioner of Agriculture, Charles E. Bowman, succeeded by John Davis; Insurance Commissioner, L. C. Norman. Judiciary, Court of Appeals: Chief-Justice, T. F. Hargis; Associate Justices, Thomas H. Hines, William S. Pryor, and Joseph H. Lewis.

Party Conventions.-The Democratic State Convention met in Louisville on the 16th of May. The following ticket was nominated:

For Governor, J. Proctor Knott; for LieutenantGovernor, J. R. Hindman; for Attorney-General, P. W. Hardin; for Auditor, Fayette Hewitt; for Treasurer, James W. Tate; for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Joseph Desha Pickett; for Register of the Land-Office, J. G. Cecil.

The platform declared for revenue reform, revision of the State Constitution, and encouragement of immigration.

The Republican State Convention met in Lexington on the 23d of May, and nominated the following ticket:

For Governor, Thomas Z. Morrow, of Pulaski county; Lieutenant-Governor, Speed S. Fry, of Boyle county; Attorney-General, Lewis C. Garrigus (who served in the Confederate army), of Logan county: Auditor, Leroy R. Hawthorne, of Campbell county; Superintendent of Public Instruction, J. P. Pinkerton, of Carter county; Register of the Land-Office, the Rev. J. W. Asbury (colored), of Cynthiana county; Treasurer, Edwin Farley.

The resolutions adopted declared for free schools for all the children in the State; adjustment of the tariff; amendment of the State Constitution; encouragement of immigration; and repeal of the tobacco-tax; arraigned the

At this election, 169,173 persons were returned under the law as entitled to vote for a Constitutional Convention, but only 73,704 votes were cast in favor of calling one. The Legislature to meet in 1884 will consist of 33 Democrats and 5 Republicans in the Senate, and 89 Democrats and 11 Republicans in the House. On the 4th of September Gov. Knott took the oath of office.

General Condition.-In his message to the Legislature of 1884, Gov. Knott says:

last meeting of the General Assembly, our homes During the two years which have elapsed since the have been free from the horrors of pestilence, and our households gladdened by the blessings of plenty; our fields have been crowded with bountiful harvests, and our products have found ready and remunerative markets; capital has been profitably employed, and labor fairly rewarded; our resources have been greatly developed, and our commerce largely increased; money has been abundant, and private indebtedness among our people comparatively small; nearly 150 miles have been added to our railways, and the products of our mines increased over 250 per cent.; while our official statistics for the last fiscal year show by far the largest production of our various agricultural staples since 1877, and in some of them an increase upon the yield of even that exceptionally prolific year.

extraordinary popular prosperity, however, there has Notwithstanding these gratifying evidences of an been but little change, and certainly no improvement, in the condition of our State finances during the pe

riod to which I have referred.

Finances. At the close of the fiscal year ending Oct. 10, 1881, there was in the Treasury, to the credit of the revenue proper, and available for the ordinary expenditures of the State government, a balance of $51,118.28; but, as the loan of $300,000, which had been negotiated under the provisions of the act of 1880, in order to meet a previous deficiency, had not been paid, there was really a deficit at that time of $248,881.72.

The fiscal year having been changed by law so as to begin on the first day of July, and the increased expenses unavoidably incident to a session of the Legislature having rendered it necessary to effect an additional loan of $200,000, the condition of the fund available for general expenditures from Oct. 11, 1881, to

There has been no change in the condition of the sinking fund since the last session of the General Assembly. The bonded debt of the State, as then, consists of 174 6-per-cent. military bonds, amounting to $174,000, besides $6,394 in old railroad scrip, and bonds of 1835 and 1841, which have been so long overdue, and unheard of for so many years, that they are supposed to have been long since lost or destroyed, and will probably never be presented for redemption. The resources of the sinking fund are also substantially as at that time. Cash in the Treasury, June 30, 1883, $174,000.30; 406 shares of stock in the Bank of Louisville, quoted at the close of the fiscal year at $31,262, and stock in turnpikes estimated at $500,000, amounting in all to $705,266.30. In regard to the financial situation the Governor says:

The difficulty has been, and is still to be found, to a great extent, in our grossly defective system of assessment, rendered still more inefficient by the negligent and unsatisfactory manner in which it is administered. The mere fact that the entire valuation of all descriptions of taxable property within the Commonwealth for the last fiscal year amounted to but little over $374,500,000, is sufficient to satisfy any intelligent mind at all conversant with the subject that there must have been the grossest disparity between its market and the assessed value. Our real property alone is worth double that sum. Inequalities and undervaluation in assessment are, however, by no means the only evils in our revenue system. Much of our revenue is annually lost through exonerations, delinquent lists, and sales of land for taxes, though the latter evils have been lessening from year to year, and may possibly reach their minimum under a rigid enforcement of our present statutes. Besides this, large amounts of property have from time to time been exempted from taxation by private acts of the Legislature, which should be restored to the tax-list. There are also various lottery companies plying their business in our State, and claiming to exercise their privileges under the sanction of our laws, who yet pay not a doit into the Treasury. If they have a legal existence, they should be taxed; if they have not, they should be promptly suppressed.

The Penitentiary.—The condition of the convicts within the prison-walls has been greatly improved within the past three years. Those in the hands of contractors are not so well off. The total number is over 1,000, while there are cell accommodations for only 744. The Governor recommends the erection of a branch penitentiary in the western part of the State, with a capacity of 700 or 750 cells.

State Charities.-The State charitable institutions are the Eastern, Central, and Western Lunatic Asylums, the Institution for the Education and Training of Feeble-Minded Children, the Institution for the Education of the Blind, and the Institution for the Education of Deaf-Mutes.

The whole number of insane patients treated during the year was 2,143. The percentage of cures upon the admissions during the year was as follows: in the Eastern Asylum, 34-09; in the Central, 60-03; in the Western, 46-61.

The number of blind pupils during the year was 78. The average attendance of deaf-mute pupils was 140.

It appears that of the 1,049 idiots maintained last year by the Commonwealth, at a cost of $65,471, over 54 per cent. were in four judicial circuits. "While the cause," says the Governor, "of this singular and startling difference in the development of idiocy in different localities in the same Commonwealth may be a matter of curious speculation, it may be well for practical legislators to inquire whether it has resulted, to any extent, from the importation of such unfortunate beings with the view of having them pensioned upon the bounty of the State."

Education. The school census, white and colored, and the corresponding apportionments out of the school fund for the payment of teachers and commissioners, for the year ending June 30, 1884, were as follow:

Whole number of white-pupil children....
Whole number of colored-pupil children.

Total.....

500,824

92,470

693,294

During the session of 1881-'82 the number of matriculates in the State College was 320, and in that of 1882-'83, 316. Instruction is given under twelve professors and two assistant professors.

In March a call was issued for a conference or convention of the friends of popular educa tion in Kentucky, to be held in Frankfort on the 5th of April, "for the purpose of considering the situation and organizing a quicker movement against illiteracy. With a quarter of a million of people in the Commonwealth who can not even read, with the average pay of teachers only $22 per month, with the aver

age value of 60 per cent. of our school-houses $78, and with not less than 180,000 children who do not attend any school, it is time for us to awaken to the magnitude of the question and to make an effort for a change. Let all whose hearts are warmed with a love of the little ones come to the conference and assist in creating a public sentiment that will secure what we want."

The convention met at the appointed time and remained in session two days. It was numerously attended by representative men, irrespective of race, of party, and of vocation, from many parts of the State. Resolutions were adopted and an address to the people of the State was issued. Federal aid was approved of, and it was recommended that State taxation be supplemented by local taxation.

A twofold obstacle was recognized. "That difficulty appears first in the lack of adequate means to maintain or to employ competent

teachers, and to construct suitable houses in which to gather and teach the children; and second, though not least, the lethargy of the people, as evinced by the fact that in 1881 there were 265,891 white children of pupil age in the State whose parents and guardians would not, or did not, send them to the common schools; and, furthermore, that 34 counties of the State reported, through their commissioners, as being stubbornly opposed to local taxation for educational purposes."

A committee was appointed to report needed amendments to the common-school law to an adjourned meeting to be held in Louisville. The report was made on the 20th of September. It recommended amendments designed to reduce the school age from six to twenty years to six to sixteen years, to lengthen the school term, increase the wages of teachers, and raise the per capita by local taxation and other means from $1.40 to $3. The following figures from the United States census of 1880, widely published in the State, have been a potent element in arousing public attention to the necessity of improving the educational facilities of the Commonwealth:

from the report that the business of the various railroads in the State is increasing, and their general condition improving. Steel rails are being substituted for iron, and many facilities for travel and traffic furnished which have not existed heretofore. The Chesapeake and Ohio and Southwestern has reduced its local passenger fares to three cents a mile, making that the uniform rate with all the principal lines throughout the State. The commissioners assessed the railroad property at $35,000,000.

Geological Survey.-On this subject the Governor says:

our State government which has been more prolific of No expenditure of money has ever been made by good results than that which has been devoted to our Geological Survey. Previous to its inauguration comparatively little was known of our varied and almost of capital as well as intelligent labor, seeking new fields illimitable resources, and consequently the vast tide of employment, had drifted past us, and thousands of the most enterprising of our own people had been lured to other States supposed to have been more liberally endowed by nature with the various elements der great disadvantages, it has demonstrated that our of material prosperity. But, although prosecuted unresources of every description are enormous; that our soils are adapted to the profitable growth of the widest

range of agricultural products known to the temperate zone that one half of our primitive forests abounding in the greatest variety of valuable timbers is still untouched; that our State abounds in the richest ironores to be found in the world; and that our coal area is more extensive than that of the great State of Pennsylvania, or of Great Britain and Ireland combined, underlying nearly 13,000 square miles.

The Southern Exposition.-The Southern Exposition opened at Louisville, Aug. 1st, and continued one hundred days. The subscribers to the capital stock numbered 1,722, and the total amount of subscriptions was $258,122. A building covering thirteen acres and costing $300,000 was erected. The number of exhibits was 1,500, classified in groups and departments, arranged with reference to similarity of character. Premiums in money to the amount of $6,750 were distributed for displays of cotton. In the general awards, 109 diplomas, 221 certificates, and 478 medals were adjudged to successful exhibitors. The total number of admissions was 770,048. The best attendance was from Sept. 10th to Oct. 20th, at which time several other expositions in different parts of the country were in operation. Although the Southern Exposition was not wholly satisfactory in a financial way, the stockholders felt warranted in increasing their capital to $500,000, with the intention of holding another exhibition in 1884.

Miscellaneous.-A National Convention of Colored Men met in Louisville Sept. 24th, and discussed and acted upon civil and political rights, education, and labor.

KEROSENE, IMPROVED TEST FOR DANGEROUS. The dangerous properties of kerosene are derived from the presence in the oil of the extremely volatile constituents, benzine and naphtha. These substances are easily ignited, and alone, or mixed in small proportion with kerosene, readily emit vapors which are highly inflammable, and which form with air an explosive mixture. Kerosene is safe only when it will not yield these dangerous vapors at any temperature which it is liable to assume. This temperature depends partly upon the warmth of the place where the oil is kept or used, and partly upon the heat of the burning wick warming the oil in the reservoir of the lamp. It has been found by experiment that the maximum increase of temperature of the oil in a burning lamp is about 16° Fahr. It is possible for oil to have in summer a temperature of from 90° to 100° in the unlighted lamp, and in winter a still higher temperature, if the lamp is near

a stove or an open fire. Hence the lowest temperature at which an oil may evolve inflammable vapors and be considered safe must

be put at 116°, or, better still, at 120° Fahr. In testing oils a distinction is made between the flashing-point and the burning-point. The flashing-point is the temperature at which, when the oil is slowly heated, the vapors escaping from it will first take fire with a slight explosion when a lighted match is passed just over the surface of the liquid. It marks the temperature at which the oil becomes dangerous. The heating may be continued till a point is reached at which the oil will take fire and continue burning by itself. This is known as the burning-point. The flashing-point is easily altered by trifling variations in the conditions, as in the quantity of oil used, the rate of heating, the range of temperature through which the oil is heated, and the distance above the surface at which the match passes. The burning-point, upon which the ordinary fire-test is based, is of little value; for not only does it always lie above the flashing-point, but it bears no simple relation to the latter, and the determination of it gives really no clew to the temperature at which the oil becomes unsafe. Some twenty-five different instruments have been proposed for ascertaining the lowest flashing-point of a sample of oil, all of which are based upon the principle of slowly heating the oil till its vapor will take fire on passing a match or other igniting agent over it. Engler and Haas have laid down seven principles to which all such testing apparatus and experiments with them, to be of any value, must conform, viz.: 1. The quantity of oil must be the same in all experiments. In the Saybolt tester, which has been adopted by the New York Produce Ex

FIG. 1.-SAYBOLT TESTER.

change (Fig. 1), variations of one twenty-fifth of one inch cause differences of some degrees in the flashing-point; 2, the oil must be heated