ROMAN RUINS.—Coming to the last and greatest of the empires of antiquity, Rome, a word should be said about the activity that has characterized the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii, and recently in the city of Rome, which are carried on so successfully by Rudolfo Lanciani. While our knowledge of Roman history has always been much more complete than that of Greece, still many questions of detail have only recently been settled through these excavations. An insight has been afforded into the public and private life of the Romans which supplements that which was to be gained from the study of the classical writers. Europe and America have also been seized with the archæological fever. In Germany, Austria, France, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, North America, and South America, the knowledge of the past has been extended through exploration and excavation. So large is the field of archæology at present, that it is impossible for one person to make himself familiar with more than a small section; but, on the other hand, so close is the sympathy between the various branches of mankind scattered throughout the world that there is no work carried on in one division of archæology which has not its bearings upon many others. What Goethe said of human life may be said of archæology: “Wo ihr’s packt, da ist’s interessant.” PROGRESS IN DAIRY FARMING BY MAJOR HENRY E. ALVORD, C.E., LL.D., _Chief of Dairy Division, U. S. Department of Agriculture_. Nearly all industries have their branches or specialties. Farming is no exception, and one of the most interesting, highly developed, and remunerative of its branches is dairying. To be successful, dairying requires good judgment, knowledge of the relations of modern science to agricultural production, constant study, system, and close attention to details. Hence it is regarded as among the highest forms of farming. The occupation is itself so stimulating and the rewards are so substantial, when brains and brawn are applied to it in judicious combination, that dairying districts are commonly conspicuous as the most enterprising, prosperous, and contented of the rural communities of their section of country. In all lines of farming at least one “money crop” seems to be the aim, although this term may include animals and animal products. A great disadvantage in certain kinds of farming is that the returns come at long intervals, perhaps but once a year, while the expenses are continuous for twelve months. Dairying, as conducted by modern methods, distributes the farm income through the year; the cash returns are monthly, or oftener, the pernicious credit system disappears, money circulates, and at all seasons a healthy business activity prevails in the whole community.