surmounted by quadrigas, one of which is shown in the annexed cut, taken from the Illustrirte Zeitung.  This group was modeled by V. Pilz, of Vienna, and represents a winged goddess in a chariot drawn by four spirited steeds harnessed abreast.  She holds a wreath in her raised right hand, and her left hand is represented as holding the lines for guiding the horses.  The group is full of expression and life, and will add greatly to the beauty of the building to be surmounted by it.

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The strongest wood in the United States, according to Professor Sargent, is that of the nutmeg hickory of the Arkansas region, and the weakest the West Indian birch (Rur seva).  The most elastic is the tamarack, the white or shellbark hickory standing far below it.  The least elastic and the lowest in specific gravity is the wood of the Ficus aurea.  The highest specific gravity, upon which in general depends value as fuel, is attained by the bluewood of Texas (Condalia obovata).

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GLAZED WARE FINIAL.

[Illustration:  Glazed ware finial.]

This grand 16th century finial is a fine example of French ceramic ware, or glazed terracotta, and it is illustrated both by geometrical elevation and a cross sectional drawing.  This latter shows the clever building up of the structure by means of a series of five pieces, overlapping each other, and kept rigid by means of a stout wrought-iron upright in the center, bolted on to the ridge, and strapped down on the hip pieces.  Its outline is well designed for effect when seen at a distance or from below, and its glazed surface heightens the artistic colorings, giving it a brilliant character in the sunlight, as well as protecting the ware from the action of smoke and weather.—­Build.  News.

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WAGE EARNERS AND THEIR HOUSES.

Manufacturers as landlords.

Among the more prominent movements of the day for the improvement of the condition of the working men are those which are growing into fashion with large manufacturing incorporations.  Their promise lies immediately in the fact that they call for no new convictions of political economy, and hence have nothing disturbing or revolutionary about them.  Accepting the usages and economical principles of industrial life, as the progress of business has developed them, an increasing number of large manufacturers have deemed it to their interest not only to furnish shops and machinery for their operatives, but dwellings as well, and in some instances the equipments of village life, such as schools, chapels, libraries, lecture and concert halls, and a regime of morals and sanitation.  Probably the most expensive investment of this sort