Bellefonte, Pa., April 15, 1921.
TO A LITTLE BOY AND GIRL.
By James J. Montague.
And so you think the robin’s child
Has not a thing to do
But chirp and flutter, free and wild,
The happy hours through,
And bathe himself in crystal brooks
And fill the air with song,
‘While you must bend o’er lesson books
In school the whole day long!
But you are wrong, my little friends,
For where the branches sway
The school the robin’s child attends
Makes yours seem merely play.
And if he fails to learn to fly
Or firmly clutch a limb,
Old Mr. Pussy Cat comes by,
And that’s the last of him!
And he must train his beady eye
For almost half a year
With watchfulness to scan the sky
When Old Man Hawk is near.
And oh! the weary weeks of work
Before he knows the sound
That tells where worms—and dinner—Ilurk
Beneath the grassy ground.
And if one lesson’s left unlearned
Out yonder in the wood,
Well—up his little toes are turned
And school is out for good.
The school the robin’s child attends
Is hard and stern and grim,
And not for worlds, my little friends,
Would you exchange with him!
WHEN CIRCUS ELEPHANTS GO
BAD.
In the circus managerie wild ani-
mals are always held to be dangerous.
In the performing arena, this assump-
tion is the first rule of training. No
animal can be trusted. The most
tractable and obedient beast will turn
and attack at any time the mood seiz-
es it. Trainers know this well, and
the successful ones are always prepar-
ed for a sudden spring or a sweeping
stroke of unsheathed claws. But, un-
til an animal has once rebelled suc-
cessfully—broken down man’s mas-
tery temporarily—it is not “bad” in
the sense the trainers use the term.
. A bad elephant is ever bid-
ing his time to kill, or watching for a
chance to lead other elephants into a
stampede. And nothing in circus life
is so fraught with terrifying possibil-
ities as an elephant stampede.
Of all the bad elephants ever in
America, “Snyder, the tusker,” came
nearest to dying “in character,” as
theatrical slang has it. For Snyder
died with “his boots on.” It was in
Salina, Kan., Monday, September 13,
1920. Snyder had done nothing unus-
ual since the engagement of the cir-
cus at the Chicago Collosseum. How-
ever, one of his trainers had been left
ill in a hospital along the route. The
boss elephant man was the day before
called home on urgent business. This
left a trainer in charge who had not
been with the herd for three years.
This change made the herd restless,
especially Snyder. After parade that
Monday forenoon, the general man-
ager of the show ordered a rehearsal
of the middle-ring elephants, among
which was Snyder, the pre-eminent
feature. No sooner had Snyder reach-
ed the ring than he turned and raced
out, with two attendants clinging to
him with bull hooks jabbed deep into
his trunk. Out of the big top into the
menagerie loped the big tusker, the
men fighting him at every stride.
Through the wall of the menagerie
tent Snyder plunged and shook off the
attendants, striking at them with his
trunk. The tusker’s small eyes were
red with blood lust, and circus men,
forming a line of skirmishers, headed
the crowds on the lot onto the streets
outside the fences. Others, led by the
elephant men, formed a great circle
about the elephant in order that he
might be headed if he turned toward
the townspeople. For three hours the
big elephant spent his time in turning
over immensely heavy pole, seat, and
baggage wagons. Once he picked up
a cage of lions and hurled it 30 feet.
He started for a den of leopards, but
the snarling cats, rearing against the
bars with their claws extended, scared
him off. . All during the excite-
ment, the elephant heeded his name.
So, as he would start a charge, the
curcus men would divert him by call-
ing to him. Thus, the field of his ac-
tivities was restricted. Outside the
menagerie was a small tent in which
the elephant men were wont to rest
between shows. This the elephant
knocked over, stamping upon every
square foot of the flattened canvas in
the apparent hope that some one of
the men was underneath.
Once he rushed for the great six-
pole top in which 300 of the show’s
finest draft stock were stabled. As
the elephant approached, a quick whis-
tle from the boss hostler brought 60
drivers and grooms with pitchforks
into line in front of the tent. There
were men in that line who had driven
and nursed their six and eight-horse
teams for years. They were there to
die rather than see their pets harmed.
The sun glinted on the thin line of
pronged steel. Snyder, charging with
long, lumbering strides, saw and un-
derstood. He came to a full stop,
turned and went back to the menag-
erie tent, where he wrecked the candy
stands.
Meanwhile the general manager had
sent for rifles. He also had prepared
apples with cyanide of potassium.
These were thrown to the elephant.
He ate one and then tossed the others
aside. It is likely he detected the
poison. That contained in the one ap-
ple had no effect on him. The man-
ager had managed to get “Trilby,”
Snyder’s mate, chained at one side of
the show lot where people would not
obstruct the line of fire if he should
decide to shoot the mad brute. When
the poisoned apples failed to slow up
Snyder’s rushes, he gave the word. It
was then a matter of luring or driving
the elephant to a point where he could
see Trilby, for it was almost certain
that he would attempt to loosen her
when he sighted her. Such proved to be
the outcome. But, as Snyder neared
her the assistant manager, armed
with a 45-90 rifle, fired. The bullet
caught the tusker in the hollow over
the right eye, piercing the brain.
Three ex-officers of the army also
opened fire, but unnecessarily, for the
manager’s shot was fatal. Slowly,
without a sound or a struggle, the ele-
phant sank to his knees and stretched
out on his right side. So ended the
only elephant hunt ever held in the
heart of Kansas.—By Frank Braden,
in Popular Mechanics Magazine.
STORIES OF OLD HOME SONGS.
My Old Kentucky Home.
One of the best song writers Amer-
ica ever had was Stephen Collins Fos-
ter—also one of the most prolific, for
he penned between one and two hun-
dred. This famous Pennsylvanian cre-
ated “My Old Kentucky Home” while
he and his sister were visiting in the
State with Judge Rowan who lived a
short distance east of Bardstown.
Stephen and his sister went walk-
ing on a certain soul-thrilling morn-
ing. The Negroes were at work in
the cornfields of the old plantation and
the sun was shining gorgeously when
the two young people sat down upon a
bench. A mocking bird was merry-
making in a tree while a thrush sent
out wonderful notes from the bush
that served as his stage. A number
of pickaninnies were playing in and
around a near-by shanty. With this
as a setting Foster began to write the
immortal words.
His sister read the first verse and
then sang it. The mocking bird seem-
ed to be enraptured for he drew his
head to one side and descended to a
lower bough of the tree. Did he think
himself outdone ?
In the meantime Stephen had writ-
ten the chorus. When the last sweet
note of his sister’s voice had died
away, he followed with his compelling
deep bass.
The slaves put aside their tools and
listened to the sentimental ditty. The
old black women peeped around a cor-
ner of the house, and the children
stopped their playing. A dog gave
his attention. Even the leaves seemed
to cease their rustling. The wonder-
ful stillness was not broken until the
brother and sister blended their voic-
es in singing, “They hunt no more for
the possum and the coon,” and the en-
tire second and third stanza.
As the pair finished the song, the
cheeks of the black faces became wet
with tears. The children acted as if
a spell had been cast upon them. The
mocking bird and the thrush vanished
into the thicket. The old dog lay
down to bask in the sun.
Though this story of the origin of
“My Old Kentucky Home” has been
told at various times, it seems too
good to be true. At least, songs
are not written in that fashion in this
day and age of the world. A modern
poet revises and polishes his work; if
he wishes to make a song out of it and
is a musician himself, he then hums
the words over and over until he gets
a melody. Sometimes a writer-com-
poser will work the other way around,
from the music to the words; but Fos-
ter liked to do the lyric first. It is en-
tirely possible, however, that he may
have written the air of “My Old Ken-
tucky Home” before he penned the
words; he may have discussed the
whole matter with his sister, for oth-
erwise she.could scarcely break out in
full song as the words were set down.
On the day that John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson died Stephen Collins
Foster was born in Pittsburgh. This
reinarkable day was the Fourth of Ju-
ly, 1826, just half a century after the
Declaration of Independence.
The boy quickly qualified as a mu-
sician; in fact, he attained this goal
almost before he graduated from the
cradle. He required no teacher, for
at the age of seven he mastered the
flageolet himself. Soon every instru-
ment yielded its sweetness to him.
Stephen differed from his mates. Run-
ning and jumping did not appeal to
him half as much as composing songs
with the words and music complete.
With his boyhood largely spent in this
fashion, his success as a song writer
did not surprise those persons who re-
ally knew Stephen Collins Foster.
His first published song, “Open Thy
Lattice, Love,” appeared in 1842 when
he was a book-keeper for his brother
in Cincinnati. He followed this up a
few months later with “O Susanna”
which a minstrel troupe featured. As
these productions became popular al-
most over night, he quit his job and
turned his attention toward the field
of endeavor that was his true heart’s
ove.
Foster also studied French and
painting. Once he attempted to illus-
trate a pathetic song—but never
again! He handed his sketch and the
manuscript to his publisher who gave
it a glance and commented, “Oh,
another comic song, Mr. Foster!” The
sensitive would-be artist thereupon
tore up the drawing; nor could any
one ever persuade him to make anoth-
er effort.
The author of “My Old Kentucky
Home,” “Old Folks at Home,” and
“Qld Black Joe,” sailed smoothly and
serenely on his way until he entered
the sea of matrimony in 1854. Leav-
ing his wife after six years, he went
to New York city to live. There he
kept a small grocery, but he squan-
dered both his earnings and himself.
There in 1864 he died—poverty-strick-
en and a victim of his own dissolute
habits.
The man was not a great musician;
he often regretted that he had not in
his youth studied the masters. The
success of his compositions may be as-
cribed to the undeniable fact that they
appeal directly to the human heart.
“Foster,” says L. C. Elson, “was
like Robert Burns, a man who sang
the purest poetry of humble life.”
His career resembles that of the
Scotchman as both were lovers of
pleasure, too fond of drink, and unus-
ually gifted. Like Edgar Allen Poe,
his life was unfortunate; like that
American genius, his talents were not
appreciated until long after his death.
Terrible Dissipation.
A small, henpecked, worried-looking
man was about to undergo a medical
examination for life insurance.
“You don’t dissipate, do you?” ask-
ed the physician, as he made ready for
tests. “Not a fast liver, or anything
of that sort?” »
The little man hesitated a moment,
looked a bit frightened, then replied
in a small, piping voice:
“I sometimes chew a little chewing
gum!”
FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN.
DAILY THOUGHT.
One constant element of luck
Is genuine solid old Teutonic pluck.
Stick to your aims—the mongrel's hold
will slip,
But only crowbars loose the bulldogs grip.
—Holmes.
Keynotes to the Mode.—Simplicity
is the keynote of the coming mode.
Slip-on frocks, chemise frocks, and
models of straight lines, carefully ad-
justed to each individual figure, prove
that the vogue for simplicity will con-
tinue. There is greater variety in the
use of panels, and more subtle unanc-
es in the drapery. The new dresses
are practically untrimmed and have
an air of careless grace that is very
smart. The outline is generally
straight and loose, but there is a very
strong tendency towards concentrat-
ing fullness at the hips by means of
pleats or shirrings. A hint of ancient
Tanagra appears in some of the clas-
sic drapery for evening gowns, and
the Persian tunic is a suggested mode.
Crepe de Chine and crepe Marocain
are the leading fabrics of the moment.
There is a noticeable return of high-
lustre taffeta, and crepe Georgette is
also seen, as well as the Rodier wool-
lens and French serges. Handkerchief
linen in bright colors is much used,
and lace continues to be popular, par-
ticularly dyed laces and fine black lac-
es.
The majority of crepe dresses are of
black, brown, or coffee color. All
shades of grey and yellow are popu-
lar, and red is a favorite color which
will be widely used for hats and, com-
bined with white, for general summer
wear.
What the Silhouette Will Be.—
There is no longer a single silhouette;
the woman of taste now chooses the
style that is suited to her individual
type. This spring, we are offered bod-
ices that are loose and bloused or that
hang straight to the hips, and our
waist-lines may be normal or a little
lowered, and marked with a sash tied
on one or both hips. Or, if we prefer,
we may choose a rather close-fitted
bodice or a gown showing a Directoire
influence.
Skirts are longer; the prevailing
length is eight to ten inches from the
floor. They are a little fuller, also,
and hardly any sheath skirts are seen.
The uneven hem-line remains, with the
greater length usually at the sides.
There is a distinct tendency to keep
all the fulness or ornamentation of
aay kind at the hips. To some extent
the circular skirt is worn, and a cir-
cular flounce that flares below the
knees has been introduced.
Four varieties of top coats predom-
inate: Those that are long and
straight; those that are belted snug-
ly; those that are belted about the hips
and blouse above; and those that are
entirely or partially circular in cut
and full. The majority of the suit-
coats are short, full, and unbelted or
finger-tip length, belted, and straight
in cut.
Details of the Mode.—Many sleeves
remain short, especially for afternoon
wear, when the usual cap is sometimes
replaced by a tiny puff sleeve. The
newer sleeves, however, are long and
slashed, and caught in at the wrist in
a band.
The coat-dress, which resembles
both coat and dress, is very popular
with all the couturiers.
There is a persistent effort to estab-
lish the very high collar, but it has not
been generally accepted.
Hats may be either very large or
very small. The large hats generally
have brims slightly rolling or slight-
ly drooping and fairly low crowns.
The Venetian tricorne, worn with a
lace veil, will be very popular, as will
the bicorne.
Many fancy straws are being shown.
Chrysanthemum straw, fancy Batavia,
and novelty hair braids are particular-
ly smart. A straw through which is
woven a glittering thread of metal is
a novelty that has won favor. Of the
simpler straws, Milan, hemp, and li-
sere are much used, often in combina-
tion with taffeta or crepe de Chine.
Grapes are a favored trimming,
and they are often in bronze or shiny
black. Pheasant feathers are used,
and heavy fringed ribbons sometimes
hang at each side. The trimming is
often placed under the brim and dan-
gles low.
Veils are still very popular, and
they are often the only decoration on a
hat that is otherwise entirely plain.
Baked Ham.—Wash a ham. Set to
cook in cold water to cover, boil slow-
ly four hours. Remove from water.
Cut the skin in points five inches from
where it meets the shank bone, retain
the skin around the bone and remove
the rest. Mix one cupful of the liquor
in which ham is boiled with one cup-
ful of cider or one cupful of cider vin-
egar and pour over the ham set in a
baking pan. Let cook two hours in a
moderate oven, basting often with
liquor in the pan. Remove from the
oven. Insert whole cloves in the fat.
Mix one-half Supeal brown sugar, one-
half teaspoonful pepper and one-half
cupful fine bread crumbs. Sprinkle
over ham. Return to oven. Bake one
hour. Serve with pineapple rings.
Waterproof Shoes.—The United
States Bureau of Chemistry has work-
ed out a method by which anybody can
make his shoes waterproof unless they
have holes in them.
The chief reason why shoes are not
waterproof is that the seams admit
moisture. Thus the feet get damp and
the wearer is liable to catch cold.
An occasional use of castor oil on
shoe uppers will help to make them
waterproof, but too much should not
be used lest it interferes with the
“shine.” Much better, especially for
use in winter, is a mixture of twelve
ounces of tallow and four ounces of
cod oil. Melted together by moderate
heat, the stuff should be applied
and thoroughly to the edge of the sole
and the welt, where footgear is most
liable to leak.
The sole can be best waterproofed
by letting the shoe stand for fifteen
minutes in a shallow pan containing
enough of the grease to cover the sole.
Thus protected one need not wear
overshoes, which, while they keep
water out, also keep perspiration in.
Moreover, they are cold in winter and
hot in summer,
warm |
FARM NOTES.
—1It is estimated that a good crop of
sweet clover when turned under will
add as much humus as 15 tons of barn-
vard manure.
—The incubation period of turkey
eggs is 28 days. The first egg is usu-
ally pipped during the first part of
the twenty-seventh day, the first poult
hatched by the middle of that day, and
the hatch completed at the end of 28
days, although in extreme cases all the
poults are not hatched before the end
of 30 days. Turkey eggs are tested
for fertility and for dead germs, as a
rule, on the tenth and twentieth days.
—Winged white ants are often ob-
served flying about houses in early
spring, and are sometimes supposed to
have come in from the outside. The
Bureau of Entomology of the United
States Department of Agriculture ex-
plains that these winged insects real-
ly are hatched inside the buildings,
and usually are to be taken as indicat-
ing nests of wingless white ants work-
ing destruction in the timbers.
These insects, which really are not
properly ants, enter the wood wher-
ever it comes in contact with damp
earth, and often eat into the center of
an upright beam without manifesting
their presence on the outside until the
wood is entirely ruined, and possibly
a settling and cracking of the building
has resulted.
The department urges that build-
ings be constructed with such founda-
tions that no wood touches the ground,
or if it is necessary to use wood, that
it be impregnated with tar creosote.
Concrete floors should be laid on a
gravel base to prevent dampness and
cracking, and where cracks occur they
should be promptly filled.
—Intelligent culling of the poultry
flock is of the utmost importance for !
success in poultry keeping, say spe-
cialists of the Department of Agricul-
ture.
Cull These Hens.—Sick, weak, lack-
ing vigor, inactive, poor eaters, early
molters, with small, puckered, hard,
dry vents; with small, shriveled, hard,
scaly, dull-colored combs; with thick
or coarse, stiff pelvic bones, that are
close together, small spread between
pelvic bones and rear end of keel, and
hard, small abdomen. In breeds with
yellow skin and shanks, the discarded
hens should also show yellow or me-
dium yellow shanks and yellow beaks
and vents.
Save These Hens.—Healthy, strong,
vigorous, alert, and active; good eat-
ers; not molting or just beginning to
molt in September or October; with
large, moist vents; with full, red
combs; thin, pliable pelvic bones well
spread apart, wide-spread between
pelvic bones and rear end of keel, and
large, soft, pliable abdomen. In
breeds with yellow skins and shanks, |
the hens saved should also show pale |
or white shanks, and pale or white
beaks and vents. |
—Chicken hens and incubators can
be and often are used successfully for |
hatching turkey eggs, but the surest
means, United States Department of '
Agriculture poultry specialists say, is |
to use the turkey hen and give her |
poper management. Turkey hens are |
close sitters and will cover, so there |
will be no danger of chilling, from 15 7
to 18 eggs, depending on the size of
the hen.
Nests for setting turkey and chick-
en hens are best made on the ground
by hollowing out a little earth, so that
the center is deep enough to keep the
eggs from rolling out of the nest. A
thin covering of clean straw or hay
can then be used to prevent the eggs
frora being directly on the ground, and
a large, roomy coop should be placed
over the nest to keep the hen from
being disturbed. When a number of
hens are to be set, a long row of nests
can easily be made on the ground,
separating them with board partitions.
If this is done care must be taken to
see that when the hens come off the
nests each returns to the right one in-
stead of crowding into a nest with
another hen and leaving some of the
eggs to become chilled. With only a
few hens it is better to set them some
distance apart, as they will then re-
quire less attention.
—When a hen becomes broody and
shows that she is in earnest by re-
maining on her nest for two or three
nights, she may safely be trusted with
the eggs, provided she is allowed to
sit in another nest, as is usually the
case, then she should be removed to
the new mest, preferably after dark,
given a few nest eggs, and shut in to
prevent her from returning to the old
one. If she sits quietly on the nest
eggs she should be taken off in the
evening of the following day, and the
eggs tc be incubated placed in the
nest. On being freed, she probably
will return to her old nest; if so, she
should be carried back and set quietly
on the eggs. She should be handled
in this manner until on being let off
she returns to the new nest rather
than to the old one. It sometimes
takes only two or three days, and sel-
dom more than a week, to break a hen
from returning to her old nest. Tur-
key hens do not ordinarily come off
for feed and water more than once
every 2 or 3 days, but when confined
they should have a chance to come off
every day. Occasionally a turkey hen
does not come off at all, and in such
case she should be taken off once a
day, as otherwise she will die on the
nest.
On coming off the nest the first
thing a turkey hen does is to stretch
her wings, step gingerly for a few
steps, and then she often takes a run-
ning start and flies for a short dis-
tance, Exercise of this sort helps
greatly to keep a sitting hen in good
condition, and for this reason it is not
well to confine her to a small space.
A dust bath is greatly enjoyed by sit-
ting hens, and helps to keep them
free from vermin. Whole corn is a
good feed, and fresh water and grit
should always be accessible.
Lice are a great annoyance to sit-
ting hens, and are one of the worst
enemies of young poults. To prevent
their getting a start, the hea should
be dusted thoroughly with sodium
fluoride or some good lice powder be-
fore she is placed on the nest. The
nesting material should be kept clean,
and if the eggs become dirty they
should be washed with a soft cloth
dipped in lukewarm water. Just be-
fore the poults are to hatch, the old
nesting material should be replaced
with clean straw.
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you have the BEST.
We keep the BIG STOCK and can give
you shirts the proper LENGTH, so that
your coat sleeves will neither flap around
your wrists or crawl above your cuffs.
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Be on good terms with YOURSELF. [EE
Buy our high grade furnishing goods and
enjoy the satisfied feeling of knowing
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Our neckties and collars are the
proper capers, and our hosiery will make
your ankles proud.
Wear Our Good *‘Nifty’’ Clothes
A. Fauble
A Fifteen-Jeweled
Military Wrist Watch....$6.00
Less than an Ingersoll
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Fully guaranteed
F. P. Blair & Son,
Jewelers and Optometrists
Bellefonte, Pa.
Handling Your Funds.
A Business Manager who disburses
funds at your direction, a secretary
who keeps your accounts, a sleepless
sentinel guarding your funds, a car-
rier who delivers to all corners of the
country—all these and many other of-
fices are performed by the bank.
Money which you wish to send with-
in this city or to distant points is con-
veyed by your check simply, safely
and cheaply.
The checking account is only one of
the many mediums through which this
bank serves its customers. There are
many other ways in which we can be
helpful to you and it would be our
Pleasure to serve you in any or all of
them.
CENTRE COUNTY BANKING C0
60-4 BELLEFONTE, PA.
Former price, during the war, $15.00
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