the
country, and her name is held in high esteem. A monumental fountain is
to be erected at Annaberg, and is to be surmounted by a statue of the
country's benefactress, Barbara Uttmann. The statue, modeled by Robert
Henze, is to be cast in bronze. It represents Barbara Uttmann in the
costume worn at the time of the Reformation. She points to a piece of
lace, which she has just completed, lying on the cushion, the shuttles
being visible.

Some point, Valenciennes, and Guipure laces are made on a cushion by
hand, with bobbins on which the thread is wound, the pins for giving the
desired pattern to the lace being stuck into the cushion. A yard of hand
cushion lace has been sold in England for as much as $25,000. The
annexed cut, representing the Barbara Uttmann statue, was taken from the
_Illustrirte Zeitung_.

* * * * *

A Boston paper tells of a man who built two houses side by side, one for
himself and one to sell. In the house sold he had placed a furnace
against the party wall of the cellar, and from its hot air chamber he
had constructed flues to heat his own domicile. The owner of the other
house found it very hard to keep his own house warm, and was astounded
at the amount of coal it took to render his family comfortable, while
the "other fellow" kept himself warm at his neighbor's expense nearly a
whole winter before the trick was discovered.

* * * * *

IMPROVEMENTS IN CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Portland cement concrete if made with a non-porous aggregate is
impervious to moisture, and yet at the same time, if not hydraulically
compressed, will take up a sufficient quantity of moisture from the air
to prevent condensation upon the surface of the walls. It not only
resists the disintegrating influences of the atmosphere, but becomes
even harder with the lapse of time. It may also be made in several
different colors, and can be finished off to nearly a polished surface
or can be left quite rough. Walls built of this material may be made so
hard that a nail cannot be driven into them, or they can be made
sufficiently soft to become a fixing for joinery, and, if a non-porous
aggregate be used, no damp course is required. Further than this, if
land be bought upon which there is sufficient gravel, or even clay that
can be burnt, the greatest portion of the building material may be
obtained in excavating for the cellar; and in seaside localities,