! Epidemic Lethargic Encephalitis "Sleep" Ailment Not a Tropic Plague; Came From Europe; Isn't "Catching" or Deadly, Records Show According to the reports, writes a prominent medical authority, epi demic lethargic encephalitis, called by some the "sleep" sickness, was ; first heard of in France and England about one year ago. At first it f <lid not attract much attention. Many physicians who saw the early caies thought they were due to a form of so-called ptomaine poisoning. Many others thought it was a peculiar form of poliomyelitis, or infantile paraly sis, attacking adults rather than children. After a few months it was rather definitely established that it was ♦ neither of these but was a separate disease in which the infection was located in the brain itself toward the base. There was inflammation of ]the brain, so they called it encephalitis. The most prominent symptom was drowsiness, lethargy, sleepiness. Hence the adjective lethargic. It spread somewhat after the fashion of an epidemic. In consequence of all these qualities it was named epidemic lethargic encephalitis. The disease frequently starts with double vision, vertigo, tendency of the upper eyelids to droop, and some difficulty in swallowing. Later the individual becomes drowsy. He may fall into a deep sleep or coma, and the coma has been known to last three months. There is little or no fever and the pulse usually is not accelerated. In France early in the epidemic about one-half of the cases died. In Great Britain only about one in five of the cases terminated fatally. It is too early to say how severe it will be in this country, but there is some reason for thinking it will be milder than it was in Europe. In a slight epidemic reported from an army camp located in "V irginia only one case died, though eight had the disease. When recovery takes place there are none of the terrible after-effects such as one sees in the wasted limbs of persons who have recovered from infantile paralysis. The disease is but mildly contagious. It behaves in this particular much as does infantile paralysis and meningitis. State boards of health advise that the precautions taken be those required in cases of infantile paralysis. . This seems to be ample. That the disease is not one of which we need be much afraid is indicated hy the small number of cases reported from England and France. Though the disease has existed in these countries for about a year not more than two hundred cases are reported. The sea son of maximum prevalence is the winter and spring. i ■—* 884,476,000 Bushels of Corn on the Farms ComppreJ With 1,253,290,000 Bushels One Year Ago Farm holdings on March 1, nu nounced by the department of agricul ture, shows: Ccyrn, 884,476,000 bush els; wheat, 129,258,000; oats, 588,421,- 000; barley, 81,809,000. , Farm holdings on March 1. 1918, and 1917 were: Corn, 1,253,290,000 and 782,303,000; wheat 107,745,000 and 100,650,000; oats, 599,208,000 and 394,- 211,000; barley, 44,419,000 and 33,244,- 000. The percentage of the 1918 crops which will be shipped out of the coun ties where grown were annotviced as follows: Corn, 14.5 per cent, compared with 22.1 last year and 17.6 In 1917. Wheat, 58.7 per cent, compared wltu 51.1 last year and 56.7 In 1917. Oats, 27.2 per cent, compared with 32.3 last year and 28.4 in 1917. Barley, 39.1 per cent, compared with 39.7 last year and 43.5 In 1917. The proportion of the 1918 corn crop which is merchantable is about 2.129,764,000 bushels, compared with 1,837,728,000 of the 1917 crop and :2,154,487,000 of the 1916 crop. ______ Chinese Use Hens to Help in Hatching Fish Spawn The Chinese have a novel way of propagating fish. The spawn is care fully collected from the surface of the water, and when a sufficient quantity has been obtained they take a number of hens' eggs, the contents of which have been carefully emptied through a small aperture, and refill the shells with spawns-. The holes are sealed up and the eggs put under the broody hens. The hens are allowed to incu bate the eggs for a certain number of days, when the eggs are again broken and their contents put into water that has been previously warmed by the sun. In a very short time the spawn batches, and the young fry are then kept in pure fresh water until a suffi cient size to be put into the ponds. At one time a considerable business w T as done in this style of spawn hatching. Origin of Masquerade BaiL The masquerade ball is one of those things that has come down with the ages. All authorities don't agree, but some assert that the mask pswty was popular with the oldest inhabitants of ancient Egypt. That the Greeks used it In many of ttoeir ceremonials Is known. The mask ball was one of the crowning features of the festival which marked the celebration of the feast of Bacchus. i -j i WITH THE SCIENTISTS The British government has completed an eight-inch pipe line for fuel oil across Scotland from Glasgow to Grangemouth. A compressed air method that has been developed for cooling forglngs has been found to im prove the quality of the steel. The juice of a cactus is mixed with lime in Uruguay to make a brilliant whitewash that with stands the weather for years. t Japanese Custom Requires That Footgear Be Removed Befors Entering the House It is estimated that about 7 per cent of the population of Japan now uses modern footwear at least part of the time. The more rapid adoption of the western styles of lace and button shoes is made difficult by the native custom that requires that shoes be re moved before a person enters a home or inn. In some cases it Is even re quired that the shoes be removed, or at least covered with cloth protectors, before entering shops, theaters and similar public buildings. This cus tom has led to the quite general adop tion of the old-fashioned but conven ient "Congress" boot by those who wear occidental footwear during busi ness hours. A perfected elastic top slice with real style, or a button or lace shoe with a quickly operated fas tener, would do much to advance the sale of modern footwear in Japan. | THE NEST | When oaken woods with buds are pink, And new-come birds each morning sing, When fickle May on Summer's brink Pauses and knows not which to fling, Whether fresh bud and bloom again. Or hoar-frost silvering hill and plain, Then from honeysuckle gray The oriole with experienced quest Twitches the fibrous bark away. The cordage of his hammock-nest. Cheering his labor with a note Rich as the orange of his throat. High o'er the loud and dusty road The soft gray cup in safety swings To brim ere August with its load Of downy breasts and throbbing wings, O'er which the friendly elm tree heaves An eternal roof with sculptured eaves. Below, the noisy world drags by Tn the old way, because it must. The bride with heartbreak in her eye. The mourner following hated dust: Thy duty, winged flame of spring Is but to love, and lly, and sing. Oh. happy life, to soar and sway Above the life by mortals le<J, Singing the merry months away. Master, not slave of daily bread. And, when the autumn comes, to flee Wherever sunshine beckons thee! —Lowell. I Giant Teak Trees Attain Height of 150 to 160 Feet Teak, during the reign of the Bur -1 mese kings, was the royal wood, and | the king had a right to all teak. The 1 palace of the kings of Mandalay is al most entirely built of this wood, and one of the throne rooms is supported 'by fine pillars of teak. The bamboo forests in Burma, which sometimes grow to a height of 50 to 60 feet, and are a glory in themselves, are but an undergrowth above which tower the teak trees, giants of strength, dignity and beauty, attaining a height of from 150 to 160 feet. The teak trees grow several hundred yards apart, three ma ture trees to the acre being considered a good yield. Their wood is used ex tensively in building. Turn Clocks Ahead One Hour —The Law Was Not Repealed Since the movement for the repeal of the daylight saving law failed, clocks throughout the country again are turned forward one hour. The law, enacted last year, specifies that the change take place the last Sunday In March, which this year fell on the 30th. Clocks will be turned back again on the last Sunday la October. A Glass Horn. An innovation in phonographs Is an Instrument equipped with a horn of beveled mirror glass. The claim of the makers is that the horn of a talk ing machine best amplifies the tone when its surface is smooth and rigid, hence one of heavy glass Is preferable to one of wood or metal. Handicap Wort'n While. When a handicap becomes the ful crum over which we prv out suecesi with the long iron bar of determina tion it ought to make us shake hands with the hindrance and say, "Thank you! You have helped me oat fine!" Disapproves Old Adage. In spite of the old adage to the con trary. some things done by halves are done most satisfactorily, as for exam ple the much-used Quinsigamond bridge at Worcester. Mass. Here traf fic suffered a minimum of interruption by completing and putting into use one longitudinal half of the new struc ture before the other half was built. Mineral Lake. A lake near Biggar, Saskatchewan, has been found to be saturated with sodium sulphate, and the deposits un der the lake and alongside the edge ' to be nearly 97 per cent pure sulphate. The mineral is used extensively in the manufacture of sulphuric acid. In pho tography and other Industrial pur poses. Big Canadian Telescope. The tube of the telescope erected by the Canadian dominion at Victoria, B. C., is large enough to permit of the passage of a small automobile and the reflector Is 73 inches in diameter. The movable parts of the telescope weigh more than 40 tons, and the lens alone more than 4,000 pounds, yet one man can easily move the mass Into any de sired position. Co-operation Imperative. Why not consider the helplessness of a man who thinks he can do every thing al» ne? How much headway can one man make la cutting down a for est and building a city? There must be co-operation with other men. i Beans. The common bean is a native of South America and was Introduced into Europe during the sixteenth cen tury. Now it is represented by over 150 varieties. The big broad bean Is probably a native of southwest Asia and northeastern Europe. The broad, but not thick, lime bean, called by some j "butter bean." is a pole variety that j comes from South America. The Village Stocks. The curious old habit of punishing offenders by placing them in the pub lic stocks seems very far in the shad owy past, yet a number of these old wooden machines may still be seen in England- Usually they stand, or they stood, on the village green, near the church ; and it is not such a long while since stocks ceased to be used in the land. Fateful Days. Certain days have been marked ones 1 in some persons' lives. Nearly all the chief events of Thomas' a Beckers career, including his murder and the translation of his body—occurred on a Tuesday. Henry VIII and his three children —Edward, Mr>ry and Eliza beth —expired upon the same day of the week—Thursday. Spanish Literature. While literary Spain sank into a deep slumber after the day of Cer vantes and Lope de Vega, it awoke bril liantly in the latter half of the nine teenth century, presenting to the world Palacio Valdes. Perez Oaldos, .Tose de Pereda, Juan Valera, Echegaray and other distinguished writers. Good Rule for Life. We are ruined, not by what we really want, but by what we think we do; therefore, never go abroad In search of your wants; for if they be real wants they will come in search of you. He that buys what he does not want, will soon want what he cannot buy.—Col ton. To Kill Plant Lice- To kill Insects on a cactus plant spray it with a very weak solution of alum —1% to 2 per cent. This solution is said to be perfectly harmless to the plant but to kill the plant lice. Oxen the "Beast of Burden" in Brussels llf Germany commandeered most of the horses in Brussels, Belgium, mak ing it necessary to use oxen in the wagons. Picture shows ox in a city dust cart that was formerly drawn by a horse. » ■ m mm P m ■——^ BREEDING CHICKENS ON COMMUNITY PLAN 1 In some communities the practice is followed of choosing one breed and sticking to it. There is the advantage of shipping. A crate of uniform size and breed looks well. A community can send a carload, and by shipping a car get higher prices and lower freight rate than when the individual ships. Then there Is more Interest in the breed which your neighbor is growing. | The poultry crank enthuses his neigh bors; he will persuade them to get a good poultry judge to come and go over their flocks. The community can afford the fifty to a hundred dollars this would probably cost for a good judge, where the individual might not be able to pay the bill. Poultry clubs and breed clubs are doing on a long-distance scale what the community can do near at hand. For example, the Rhode Island Red club has created a fund to give pub licity to their breed. They have se cured a secretary to look after their in terests, and are enlisting all of their members in a publicity campaign. They tell them to "obtain and tabulate all facts favorable to Rhode Island Reds, such as high egg records, early maturity, vitality, etc., and give these facts the widest possible publicity. Check up on all egg contests and give i publicity to any facts established that are favorable to the Rhode Island | Reds. Secure in writing the opinions ! i of government experts as to the merits of the Reds," etc., etc. We all remember the boom the White Orpingtons had several years ago through the extravagant adver tising of one breeder, and the publicity he gave his customers' records as well as his own. There is profit in getting together and making yourself heard when things ; worth while are accomplished. Rubber Factories in India Resemble an Ordinary Dairy In southern India a factory at which high-grade rubber is made resembles a dairy, the milklike appearance of the latex adding to this illusion, as well as the precautions taken to insure abso lute cleanliness. One of two methods of manufacture is generally adopted. If the estate is young and only a few trees are being tapped the rubber is 1 made in the form of biscuits or sheets. The biscuits are placed on racks in a ; warm room or an artificial dryer and allowed to remain there until dry. The finished biscuits are pale amber i colored and transparent, and for this reason are popular on the market, for their purity and freedom from dirt can j be judged by holding them to the light and looking through them. "Everything Lovely and the Goose Hangs High" The most popular explanation of the ! origin of the expression "Everything is lovely and the goose hangs high," Is this: That it comes from the southern country amusement known as "goose j pulling." A goose, Its neck carefully plucked and well greased, was hung by Its feet to a branch of a tree. The men | would ride past at a gallop, trying to catch it by the neck and pull its head off. The better the goose was in dodg ing the greater the fun. When the goose hung high, so that the competi tors had to stand in their stirrups to grasp at It, the joy was greatest An other suggested origin Is that it refers to the fact that wild geese fly in clear weather; this explanation would change "hangs" to "honks." Relief. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said and done otherwise shall five him no ce. —Emerson. London Board of Education Is Experimenting With the Simplified Spelling Form The London board of education has after many refusals sanctioned experiments in simplified spelling. Speaking on the subject at University college. Prof. Walter Ripman, chief In spector of London university, said: "It was necessary to have a code of spelling which would represent not dialects, but standard speech of the whole English speaking race. It was hoped that (he United States gov ernment could b*> brought to co-operate with the British government in bring ing this about." Miss Walsh of Honeywell lload school, Battersea, where the experi ment in simplified spelling Is being made, said tha* learning to read in the simplified form was a much hap pier experience for a child than un der the old method. A number of Miss Walsh's pupils, of an average of six years of age, gave a demonstration of word building by the simplified method. All could read with facility both in the old and new form of spelling. The Origin of "Blue Blood." "Blue blood" appears to mean the blood of a fair skinned race as It strikes the eyes of a dark skinned people; In its Spanish form, sangre azul, it seems to have been first used j to describe the blue veins on the fair ; skin of the foreign northern aristo cratic classes of Spain. Mother's Cook Book Be diplomatic—a farmer out West kept himself with coal by making facen at the engineer as the train went by. A Few Choice Dishes. When meal time Is taken at noon there is no dish which touches the spot like a nice hot soup. Coconut Soup. The trouble of preparing this dell clous soup will be swallowed and for gotten with the first taste. Cook two pounds of veal bones in two quarts of water added cold. When reduced to one quart add the chopped meat of one coconut and cook one-half hour. Strain and add the milk of the nut and a pint of cream. Reheat and thicken with a tablespoonfjil of flour and but ter cooked together. Season with salt, cayenne and onion juice. When ready to serve pour over two beaten eggs. Victoria's Favorite Soup. Remove the fat from a quart of wa ter In which a chicken has been cooked. Season well with salt, pepper, onion juice aari celery salt. Mash the yolks of three hard-cooked eggs, mix with half a cupful of bread crumbs soaked in milk until soft. Chop white meat of chicken until It Is fine as meal and stir It into the egg and bread crumb paste. Add a pint of hot cream, slowly, then the chicken liquor. Boil five minutes, add more seasonings, if too thin, add more crumbs. It should be a puree. The feet of chickens, wing tips of fowls, tough ends of steaks all make fine flavored soups. Squaw Dish. As Indians are very fond of pre paring this dish It has taken the name from them. Cut bacon in thin slices and cook until crisp, pour off half the fat from a quarter of a pound of bacon and add a quart of corn, fresh from the cob Is best, but canned will do. Stir until the corn is cooked If frtoh, and thoroughly hot, If canned. Beaaon with salt and pepper and serve. Bake pears by dotting with bits of butter, add sugar, lemon juice and baste them while baking. Serve eitfcer hot or cold. "HtLLu. 7 j | | 730 Philak Street, • - Indiana, Pa. { Opposite Moore Hotel \ Ànswer With A Note! f! am paying M but smilin^ ggg^Howaboutyou?
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers