—— EE i ET EER I — is —_ a a iis 1 3 ‘and some being started now by the Russia’s Enormous Farm Acreage. ignorance of modern scientific farm- | Shoes. Shoes. ¢ | supply department of the Panama ris met ing, antiquated methods, lack of cap- | | Canal. If the 4,000 square miles next Russia’s economic resources are of ital and general inefficiency that the | ¥ STO A a richness and variety fully commen- 1 = Bellefonte, Pa., December 14, 1917. Panama Found to Need Farmer. Panama, R. P—I n of 40 miles from the axis of the wa- acres of land in full cultivation, out of a total of 2,400,000 acres, and with a population somewhat in excess of 100,000. It is doubtful if there is a city as large as Panama anywhere else contiguous to fertile soil and having abundant rainfall where the people engage in so little agricultural industry. The Panama railroad across the isthmus runs through 40 miles of un- tilled jungle, though within the last year efforts at utilizing the land for pasturing cattle have been begun. One might suppose that there must be some defect in the soil to account for this total neglect of agriculture close to such a large and steady mar- ket. But this is not at all the case. Out of the 4000 square miles in ques- tion, there are not more than 200 cov- ered by the waters of Gatun Lake and the Chagres and other rivers; nor more than 50 where the land is too low and marshy for cultivation. The topography of the country is a slope from sea level at both oceans, up to about 900 feet at the summit of the continental divide along the canal, while the mountains at the head of the Chagres River rise to 3000 feet. The average elevation of the whole region is easily more than 50 feet above sea level. The soil. is mostly a red clay sub- soil, with considerable humus in a large part of the area; with limestone in some places, and volcanic clays in others. It is probably better, on the whole, than that of North Georgia. Fifty bushels of corn have been pro- duced on an acre of new ground, with- out fertilizer and with very primitive cultivation. Yams and sweet pota- toes produce 200 to 300 bushels per acre easily. The rainfall amounts to about 100 inches per year, with four dry months. The temperature rarely rises above 95 degrees Fehrenheit, or falls below 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Part of this belt is heavily timbered with both hard and soft woods. indi- cating its original fertility. In the whole of the 4000 square miles ad- joining the canal there are no roads or means of communication except those running through its center, in- cluding the canal, the Panama Rail- way, which parallels the canal at a distance of between a mile and a few yards in places; and a road parallel- ing the Panama Railway for about 20 miles on the Pacific side, and seven on the Atlantic; with a short subur- ban road out of the Panama City some five miles, and another from Colon to one of the points on the bay, of about five miles also. That is, all the roads are practically within half a mile of the canal across the isthmus; they furnish transportation to only 100 square miles out of the 4000, allowing a distance of one mile on each side as that to be counted. The remaining territory is entirely without roads, a few rough trails of the worst possible sort affording a way for pack animals to get through the jungle in a few places. This lack of roads is one of the causes of backwardness in agricui- ture, but the real causes are deeper. Although the isthmus was discovered and settled before Virginia or New England, it would seem that for 300 years every possible influence exerted itself against the oldest Spanish set- tlement on the American hemisphere. Columbus and Balboa found the coun- try thickly settled with industrious tribes of Indians, but they were soon decimated by the oppression and exac- tions of the buccaneers and conquis- tadores. Alternate raids by Spanish and English, the destruction wrought by Drake and Morgan on the Spanish settlements in turn, after the Span- iards had destroyed the Indians, nipped each successive rising colony in the bud. Then came the tyrannous conduct of the Spanish crown against its own colonists; and even after Boliver had freed the country, the Columbian Government from Bogota began a series of petty discrimina- tions against the Province of Panama, which led to one revolution after another, with all the disturbance and loss such conditions entail. Farm houses were burned, cattle killed, crops neglected and the people had to take to the cities or the remote moun- tains. : Two main causes contributed to keep Panamanians from farming the lands near their capital in those early days. One was the fact that they could always get a certain revenue be- cause of the peculiar location of the city at the great ncck of the hemis- phere to which transcontinental travel and trade naturally gravitated; and the other was that it was easy to buy provisions with a part of these revenues from the ships coming from the fertile and better-governed West Indian Islands. For example, a ship would arrive at Porto Bello on the Atlantic with a large cargo to be packed fifty miles overland across the isthmus to Panama on the Pacific. The local forwarding agents would undertake this, and be paid for it, and in turn would buy provisions raised in Jamaica and brought over.on the same ship. They are doing the very same thing to this day. They rent houses to the laborers on the canal, and with the proceeds buy oranges from Jamaica, flour from New York, and fowls from New Orleans, al- though they could produce all of these in Panama—even wheat, on the high- . lands of the interior. When the Panama Railway was built and when later the French canal began operations, they could still make money and import food. They continued the practice, even after the Panama Canal began to be built by the United States. They rented houses, kept hotels, ran sa- loons, and in a variety of ways ex- tracted a share of the money turned loose on the isthmus, but never a plow or hoe would they handle. So it came about that a population al- most as large as that of Atlanta, Ga., does not possess vegetable gardens | to the canal were fully developed, ag- riculturally, it is estimated that they a territory : along the Panama Canal to a distance | could feed the city of Chicago.—Chris- tian Science Monitor. The Value of Play. Most people would say that play’s | first requisite was that it should con- terway, there are found to be not 500 | sist of something one doesn’t have to do. Play is in reality, however, of all sorts and descriptions. Those that produce something useful besides giv- ing rest are greatly to be preferred. ' There are many sorts equally stimu- lating to the mind and to the body and productive of valuable results. One essential to beneficial play is that it be wholesome and be perform- ed in a healthful environment, that is, where we have pure moving air of the right temperature and preferably sunlight, The body should be maintained at such position as to permit an even surate to her extent. In fact, Russia is a land of great latent opportuni- ties, for lack of capital, bad political and social conditions, and insufficient means of transportation have hitherto notably retarded her economic prog- ress. How far Russia’s actual pro- duction lags behind its potentiality is strikingly illustrated by the state of : Russia is pre-! Russian agriculture. eminently an agricultural country. Seven-eighths of the population of Eu- | ropean Russia are engaged in agri- cultural pursuits of one kind or another, 81 per cent. of the people be- ing officially listed as “peasants.” The area devoted to cereal crops and stock-raising is enormous. In 1913 the area under cultivation for these purposes alone totalled 368,000,000 acres, divided as follows: Cereal | crops, 257,000,000 acres; potatoes, 11,- circulation of the blood and normal : respiration. The object of the exer- cise would otherwise be very much | discounted. The air carries food to | the blood which it furnishes to the tis- 000,000 acres; flax and hemp, 5,500,- 000 acres; meadows, 96,000,000 acres. The output of this acreage yields im- posing totals. In 1913, reckoned in poods (1 pood 36 pounds), they were: Cereals, 5,636,000,000 poods; pota- | toes, 2,191,000,000 poods; sugar, 106,- the debri d i La $19 Shu elas Jt 10 fhe oul Americans would do well to note that side atmosphere. This will make lain t ader: i : Pp 6 any reader the necessity of ; of cotton znd. Lobaces. what has been said about the proper environment in which to exercise. Unless the blood is supplied with what nature has provided for her nor- mal function, the digestive system will fail and the body will be wanting in nourishment. When this condition takes place man becomes suscertible to the disease germs that are over present in the atmosphere. The greatest safety is to be found in lLeep- Ing up the resistence. It is much easier to battle against the germ or- ganisms before they get established in the system. Once they establish themselves in the tissues they gener- ate poisons which interfere with the normal working of the body and ena- ble them to nourish themselves and Increase, often at an alarming rate. In fact some of them reproduce themselves to the extent of thous- ands, yes, hundreds of thousands in a minute of time. Variation of types of work proper- ly adjusted will often substitute for what is generally known as play. For instance, one’s brain center may be- come weary at a momentous occupa- tion, and a decided change of occu- pation, notwithstanding it be what we usually call work, will permit the first brain center involved to rest while another works. But we come back to the fact that what most people regard as play is an occupation that they are not required to perform, and, it would seem from a psychological standpoint to give greater rest if it be an occupation that is particularly useless from the standpoint of producing economic re- sults. Therefore, there should be time to set aside in the work of the day, no matter whether it be varied or not, when the environment may be chang- ed and play should be taken up. I speak of games in a broad sense. For instance, after sitting at a task for a given number of hours, a walk in the open air, the body held erect and the limbs swinging so as to pro- duce circulation, and attention given to surroundings so that the mind may be occupied and contented, constitutes one of the best kinds of play, prefer- ably performed in company. In these times it is well to remem- ber the simple saying of the old days “that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” “Pinching Zeppelins” Odd Stunt. . The Associated Press representa- tive was invited this week to pay a visit to a place in London where a number of British officers were en- gaged in “pinching Zeppelins.” At first sight these “Zeppelins” seem to be Indian clubs. Then you see that they are of leather, and you notice a wire paper-clip at the handle end. The paper-clip holds the mouthpiece of an inflated rubber bag inside the leather Indian club. These “Zeppelins” are found in the gymnasium of a hospital workshop, where convalescent officers are trying to regain the use of their hands and fingers. The officers sit in ostensible idleness with one of the “Zeppelins” in the injured hand. They appear to hold them anyhow, some by one end, some by the other. They appear to do nothing but hold them. But in fact they are all the time “pinching” them. They are working their stiffened fin- gers continually on the inflated rub- ber clubs, first at the thin end and then as their fingers get more open and supple, moving up and up to the thick end. It is an odd sort of gymnasium. Like a camouflage factory, it is full of things that are not what they seem, and men are working hard who ap- pear to be doing nothing. All round the room are odd pieces of apparatus that look like horizontal bars for chil- dren of two to five years old, equipped with curious bars and pulleys. At these men labor who have injured wrists or forearms, winding the weights up and down. In another part of the room is a great polished plank, on two supports, screwed firmly to the floor. It moves up and down a groove of the supports and is held in by iron pegs. At first the visitor is uncertain whether it is an impossibly massive jumping appa- ratus or a gallows. It is for the train- ing of weakened shoulders, and arms, the patient sitting under it and draw- ing himself up and down. At the far end of the room is a great ship’s wheel fastened to the blank wall. A man stands in front of it swinging it over and back again, steering the unseen ship on the most erratic course that a ship ever sailed. Then he comes to the side of the wheel and hand over hand pulls it over 50 or 100 times. The observer has a vision of a frenzied ship going round and round in a continually diminish- Ing circle. But there is no ship at- tached to that wheel. The man has shoulder joints and muscles to be loos- ened; that is all. Statistics show that female wage earners lose more time on account of except a few operated by Chinamen { Sickness than do males. sues, and the blood in turn takes away 000,000 poods; hay, 3,246,000,000 poods. Besides these major crops, Russia is also a large-scale produce: In 1914 the cotton acreage in Central Asia and the Caucasus was 1,800,000 acres, yielding 1,250,000 500-pound bales, while in 1913 the tobacco acreage was 154,000, yielding 6,500,000 poods. As might be inferred from the size of the hay crop and the extensive stock | ranges in the steppelands of the Em- pire, Russia is also a great producer of live stock and dairy products. In 1914 Russia possessed 35,000,000 horses, 52,000,000 horned cattle, 72,- 000,800 sheep and goats, and 15,000,- 000 pigs. Now, at first blush these figures would seem to indicate great agricul- tural prosperity, especially when we remember that the great “black earth” belt of South-Central Russia is akin to our best prairie soil, while vast areas in Siberia are the counter- parts of the wheat lands of the Cana- dian Northwest. Certainly, even as things stand, Russia is one of the leading agricultural producers of the world. And yet, when we come to ex- amine social conditions, we find such | Russian peasant is debt-ridden and threatened with | chronic starvation. That Russia, un- | der these handicaps, can still produce so much, shows what Russian agri-! culture might accomplish under methods similar to those prevailing in America.—American Review of Re- | views. usually poor, | Where Grammar Came From. The world reached its highest known stage of intelligence before grammar was cven invented, much less studied, declares Ernest C. Moore in the Yale Review. I have had some curiosity to find out where and how so great a blight upon young life first came into being and why it ever be- came a school study, and I find that the Greek’s knew it not, that their tri- umphant literature and their match- less oratory came to flower before grammar was dreamed of. That it was not in any sense one of the great arts which they wrought out and with which they armed the human race. That after Greece had declined a barbarous Macedonian made himself | the owner of all Egypt, and in order | to surround himself with the most spectacular form of ostentation of which his vain mind could conceive, he set to collecting not only all the rare and precious objects and books and manuscripts there were in the: world, but he capped it all by making a collection of the living men of the world who had any reputation any- where for knowing and thinking; taking them from their homes where they had some relation to the daily necessities of human beings, and had really been of some use, he shuts them up for life in one of his palaces at Alexandria, which the folks there were in the habit of calling ‘the hen- coop of the muses;” and out of sheer desperation, since they could do noth- ing better to amuse themselves, they counted the words in the books which real men had written, and prepared tables of the forms and endings which the users of words employed. The lifeless dregs of books which their dis- | tilling left we now call grammar, and i study instead of books and even | speech itself. In their lowest depth i of indifference to the moving, pulsing life of man not even the Alexandrians sank so low .as that. CASTORIA. CASTORIA. Children Cry SN = 7 ZAM ¥ NN naa NNSA MARR I TR T T TT TH TH iin NANNN CASTORI for Fletcher's NAAN N\A | AARRRAEEERRRNNSS NOREEN ERERRIRRRNRRY The Kind You Have Always Bought, and which has been in use for over over 30 years, has borne the signature of and has been made under his per- LZ sonal supervision since its infancy. “REF Je * Allow no one to deceive you in this, All Counterfeits, Imitations and * Just-as-good” are but Experiments that trifle with and endanger the health of Infants and Children—Experience against Experiment. What is CASTORIA Castoria is a harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Paregoric, Drops and Soothing Syrups. It is pleasant. It contains neither Opium, Morphine nor other narcotic substance. Its age is its guarantee. For more than thirty years it has been in constant use for the relief of Constipation, Flatulency, Wind Colic and Diarrhoea ; allaying Feverishness arising therefrom, and by regulating the Stomach and Bowels, aids the assimilation of Food; giving healthy and natural sleep. The Children’s Panacea—The Mother’s Friend, GENUINE CASTORIA ALWAYS Bears the In Use For Over 30 Years Signature of & The Kind You Have Always Bought THE CENTAUR COMPANY. NEW YORK CITY, 59 20-e.0-w FINEE GROCERIES YEAGER SHOE STORE JR, 'o 7s PFT DONT FIL i i SP PF FD. See ee Se SEE TET LS BIS STTTSES 4-5-9 9 9 9 << od oo <4 Shoes Reduced ROM this date until Christmas I will make a liberal reduction on all shoes. I am doing this, to do my bit, in helping to keep down the high cost of shoes. Purchase shoes for your Christmas Gifts, in place of buying frivolous things. Extra Special Bargain. Ladies’ Genuine Russian Calf Shoes, dark color, low heel and wing tip. This shoe 1s worth $9.00 at the price to day, I will sell them at $6.00 until all are sold. cme o' oy, oy, Wy, DO OO © o Ae BP Ss Ts Ts Bs fe Ss 'e iF og YEAGER'S, The Shoe Store for the Poor Man. Bush Arcade Bldg. 58-27 BELLEFONTE, PA. : Come to the “Watc hman” office for High Class Job work. A LL GOODS in our line are Walnuts, Finest Quality Cheese. goods. just now. son. Prices are somewhat, but not strongly above the lev- el at this time last season. does seem that prices are just now “passing over the top” and may be somewhat more reasonable in the near future. We Have Received New Evaporated Apricots at 25c and 30c a lb. Fancy Peaches 20c and 22c 1b. Very Fancy Evaporated Corn at 35c a 1b. or 3 cans for $1.00. Fancy Selected Sweet Potatoes 5c a Ib.—some grades at 3c to 4c a Ib. Very Fancy Cranberries at 18c per quart or pound. Almerin White Grapes, Celery. New Paper-shell Almonds, California INCLUDE OYSTERS IN YOUR ORDERS We will deliver fresh opened, solid measure at cost with other WE MAKE OUR OWN MINCE MEAT. No item is cut our or cut short on account of cost—it is just THE BEST WE CAN MAKE and is highly recommended by all those who have tried it. If you have used it you already know—or try it thirty to sixty days late this sea- It is not safe to predict, but it SECHLER & COMPANY, Bush House Block, - 57-1 : > . Bellefonte, Pa. LYON @ COMPANY. ——EXTRAORDINARY—— Mark Down Sale! We are going to help all Christmas buy- ers by making big reductions on all Merchandise. COATS AND COAT SUITS. All Coats this season’s styles that sold from $18.00 to $65.00, Mark down price $12.50 to $40.00. All sizes in Coat Suits, all this season’s make that sold from $25 to $45, now $12.00, $15.00 and $20.00. Children’s Coats, ages 6 to 14, that sold at $12 and $15, now $8 SPECIAL PRICES ON SHIRT WAISTS. We have just opened a new line of Waists for the Holidays. These will be sold at special low prices. One lot of fine Voile Waists, new large collars, lace or embroidered trimmed, sizes up to 52, values $1.50 and $1.75, mark down price - - - 98¢ Crepe de Chine Waists, in white and flesh, special - - $2.50 SILKS. SILKS. SILKS. Our silk department was never so complete as this season. 36 in. Silk in Taffetas and Messaline, qualities $1.75, mark down price = - = - =. . ite = riaiie tas ST,38 36 inch Poplins, regular price $1.50, now - - - - - $1.00 A large assortment of stripes, plaids and silks, 36 inches, regular values $2.50, mark down Price - - - - - - $1.75 Crepe de Chines, 4o in. wide, all colors and black, $2.00 qualities, mark down price - - - - - - - - - . $1.50 PETTICOATS. One lot of Mercerized Satin Petticoats, all colors, regular value $1.50, now priced at = - - '- - . . Lo, 98c Bath Robes and Kimonas. This season we have made special preparations for these much wanted articles. Bath Bobes for men and women made of heavy blanket cloth in beautiful colorings, regular price $6.00, special. = = ee a Rl fe eee ee Crepe and Flannelette Kimonas for ladies in plain and handsomely bordered and silk trimmed, from - - $1.00 up. $4.50 A visit to Our Store Will Benefit the Economical Buyer. Lyon & Co. -.. Bellefonte.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers