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Bellefonte, Pa., February 9, 1923.
DECREASE IN TYPHOID FEVER
AND OTHER COMMUNICABLE
DISEASES SHOWN BY REPORT
FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH.
2809 cases of typhoid fever in Penn-
sylvania during 1922, and 380 deaths
from the disease, are the lowest fig-
ures on record since the organization
of the State Health Department. In
1906 24,471 cases and 3,917 deaths
from the disease were reported. In
1910 there were 13,835 cases and 1892
deaths. 1470 died of the disease in
1913 and in 1917 there were 5150 cas-
es and 986 deaths.
“As a factor in Pennsylvania's
death rate, typhoid fever can be re-
duced to the place now held by that
one time dreaded plague, yellow fever
—meaning, it can be eliminated,” said
Dr. J. Moore Campbell, chief of the
Division of Communicable Diseases,
State Department of Health.
“21,662 less cases of typhoid fever
in 1922 than in 1906—2a period of 12
years—proves that with continued ef-
fort it may eventually be counted
among the extinet plagues of man-
kind,” he continued. “Progress in
the elimination of typhoid is largely
due to an improvement in public wa-
ter supplies, sewage disposal meth-
ods, safe milk, and sanitation in gen-
eral. The earlier rapid decline in the
number of cases and deaths from the
disease may be accounted for by the
application of the above methods to
those millions of people who are
grouped in our largest communities.
Much, in the same direction, has been
done for the smaller communities, but
the eradication of typhoid fever can
only be expected when rural sanitation
has approached, or equaled that of
the cities and towns.
“At times it has been necessary to
force the individual to protect himself
and others; rigid quarantine had to be
maintained, and it took some commu-
nities a long while to recognize the
importance of a pure water supply.
The same ground is now being covered
to secure standard milk protection. No
community, no individual, is safe from
typhoid fever while there exists breed-
ing spots and carrying facilities for the
typhoid bacillus.”
The 1922 report of the State Health
Department shows a lessened inci-
dence of other contagious diseases, es-
pecially the so-called children’s dis-
Sosen 5s shown by the following ta-
e:
. 1921 1922 decrease
Chicken pox ......21850 19112 2738
Diphtheria. .....:.. 20794 106617 4177
Mumps ............ 20042 7235 13707
Nearlet fever .......24065 16397 T1168
Wiicoping cough ..15921 10757 0164
948 less cases of tuberculosis were
reported in 1922 than in 1921, the to-
tal number for 1922 being 6035.
ACCIDENT PREVENTION
BETTER LIGHTING.
Lighting engineers are said to have
reduced illumination to an exact sci-
ence, to be able to provide artificial
light suitable for all our needs when
daylight illumination is denied us.
This is a bold statement, deserving of
challenge by every possible means,
for if it is true, the layman is indeed
culpable for not taking greater ad-
vantage of the achievement of these
technical men.
Statisticians tell us that nearly a
quarter of all the accidents which oc-
cur in our natural work-a-day life are
directly or indirectly chargeable to
poor illumination.
Figures show that annually 100,000
men are incapacitated for an average
period of a year because of accidents
atributable to defective lighting, and
some seventy-five fatal accidents oc-
cur daily from the same cause.
Our production capacity in all lines
is said to be reduced by 15 to 20 per
cent, by the fact that our mill and
factory hands are forced to work an
hour or two daily under inadequate ii-
lumination and millions of dollar’s
worth of material, labor and power
are thrown away annually because
work is carried on under such unfa-
AND
vorable conditions.
Af this is all preventable, or suscep-
tible of marked improvement, the lay-
man is guilty of a neglect, more rep-
rehensible than any specific offense
against civilization the world has ever
seen, for not taking full advantage of
the means provided of avoiding such
waste.
It costs so little to find out that it
-will be a sad commentary on the pres-
ent generation if the engineers’ claim
“is permitted to go unchallenged much
longer. To challenge is to demon-
strate its fallacy or truth by actual
trial.
—— aa
METHODIST OLDER BOYS’ CON-
FERENCE. |
Bishop William F. McDowell has
called an older boys’ conference for
Methodist boys of Central Pennsylva-
nia, from 16 to 20 years of age. It
‘will be held on Morch 16-18, in Harris-
‘burg, Pa., in connection with the ses-
sions of the annual conference to be
held in Grace church, Dr. Robert Bag-
nell, pastor, with Bishop McDoweil
presiding.
The general plans for the boys’ caon-
ference are to give these young men
a vision of the whole program of the
church; show them their relation to it,
and train them to take hold of defi-
nite tasks. There are 258 charges in
the conference. Every charge may
send one boy. This boy is selected by
the fellows of his age and becomes
their delegate.
The special features of the confer-
ence will be a joint session with the
preachers, Laymen’s Associations, and
the boys; the visit to the State capi-
tol; the father and son banquet and
the Sunday service.
The conference is promoted by the
conference board of the Sunday
schools, 211 Dauphin building, Harris-
burg, Pa.
FARM NOTES.
—Corn grows best on a heavy sod, |
or on soil rich in organic matter. |
Fileds which produced a good crop last |
year, may, with proper fertilization,
be put in corn again this year. Old
sods may be plowed up and any sod
areas not needed for hay or pasture
can be used for corn. : i
Idle fields grown to weeds, but oth-
erwise fertile and tillable, as well as
land taken from tillage and lying idle
for real estate purposes, may be used.
Corn will do well on almost any soil .
that is well-drained and moderately |
fertile. It is not so well adapted to
either a light sandy soil or a heavy
sticky clay, though when plenty of or- |
ganic matter is present it can be!
grown on such soils.
The best time for planing corn var- |
ies with different localities, from the !
first to the end of May. The depth of |
planting should be from one to three !
inches, depending upen the soil type |
and condition of the seed bed. Fields |
with loam and clay loam soils, in good
tilth, and with sufficient moisture to!
start germination, need be planted but |
one to two inches. Fields with light |
sandy soils, inclined to be droughty or |
in poor tilth, should be planted two to |
three inches deep.
Corn is sown in rows or in hills.
The rows should be about three feet
apart with the kernels planted at in- |
tervals of from nine to fifteen inches.
Hills are marked about four feet apart
each way, with three to four kernels '
to the hill. The greater the fertility
the thicker the rate of planting. Three
to five timely cultivations are usually
needed to control weeds, conserve
moisture and promote nitrifaction.
In the small garden it is better to
figure on three or four short rows of
corn rather than a single long row, be-
cause in the latter plan the wind is
likely to blow the pollen from the tas-
sels away from the stalks in a single
row, in which case the ears will not
be properly fertilized and the corn will
be small and poorly filled out.
—~Cherry trees are especially suited
to backyard gardening, because they
need little pruning or spraying and
are surprisingly hardy. The sour cher-
ry, of which the Early Richmond and
Montmorency are the two best sorts, |
will flourish even on a city lot under .
the most adverse conditions. Some
desirable sweet cherries are the Lam-
bert, Napoleon and Black Tartarian. '
Birds and small boys are the worst
enemies of the cherry. |
—Planning the garden, laying it out
to scale on a sheet of pager, is a big
help, especially for small gardens,
where there is some uncertainty as to
the space available for this or that va-
riety. I
Make the plan fairly large, using a
sheet of tough wrapping paper, which
will stand much handling and outdoor
reference, and keep all your notes on
the plan. A record of planting dates,
fertilizers, crop yields and other data
will make a valuable guide for next
season’s work. }
One of the most gratifying develop-
ments in the home garden is to have
things sprout in nice straight rows.
There is no excuse for zigzag plant-
ings, and rows with unequal distances
between them. The use of a line
stretched between stakes will insure
accuracy. Without such a guide it is
virtually impossible to make straight
furrows. : |
The shape and slope of the garden
plot will influence the direction of the
rows, but whenever possible it is best
to run the rows the long way of the
garden. Cultivation is made easier,
particularly if a wheel-hoe is employ-
ed, as there are fewer turnings to be
made.
Strong, rapid germination depends
largely on the manner in which the.
seeds are embedded in the soil. They
must be thoroughly embedded—sur-
rounded and covered with soil, without
being compacted, though a slight com-
paction is better than loose sowing. |
which leaves the seeds partly exposed |
to the air by means of cracks and open
For this reason soil that is well- !
pulverized—broken up into fine parti- |
cles, free from clods and lumps—-
make the best seedbed. Furrows in
such soils are easily opened and as
easily closed with the seeds well cov-
ered.
Avoid as much as possible raising
the same vegetables in the same
places year after year. Shift them
about, if only from one side of the
garden to the other. Rotations fool
the insect pests, avoid diseases, equal-
ize the consumption of plant food, and
improve the soil generally by vary-
ing its mechanical condition.
It is sometimes argued that vege-
tables can be bought just as cheaply
as they can be raised. If a garden
has been only half productive, due to
neglect, poor soil or other causes, this
is true, of course. Remember, how-
ever, there is a certain quality about
home-grown vegetables that can nev-
er be purchased from your grocer, re-
gardless of price. He can never sup-
ply you with peas, corn, beans and
such like which have the crisp, fresh
flavor of your own vegetables, picked
a few hours before meal time.
Then again, if last year’s garden
was a first effort and proved disap-
pointing, it does not follow that anoth-
er effort will prove equally disappoint-
ing. It may have been that your soil
was not right last year, as few soils
are when planted for the first time,
and that it has been much improved
by last season’s cultivation and will
bear nicely this year.
—In addition to using manure on
the garden this spring, it would be
well to broadcast acid sulphate on the
garden after plowing or spading and
work it into the soil by harrowing or
raking. Use one pound to fifty square
feet. Also keep on hand a little ni-
trate of soda or sulphate of ammonia
to help stimulate growth during the
summer by using it as a top dressing
to the plant or row.
—The number of hogs for market
next fall depends upon the number
of pigs saved during the farrowing
season of March and April. A high
percentage may be saved if careful
feeding is practiced before and after
the sow farrows and if clean, warm,
well-ventilated quarters are provided
for the young pigs.
spaces. i
SOUND THEIR DANGER SIGNAL |
Ail
Beavers Understand Woezraing
Which Is Conveyed to Them by
Their Fellows.
Although sometimes found in pairs
beavers are essentially gregarious an
imals, and, like many inoffensive crea
qqres of that habit, they have a dan
ver signal understood by all the mem
bers of the colony and a peculiar odor
tor keeping them in touch with eaclt
other, writes R. I. Bocock, F. RR. 8S, ir
Conquest.
A suddenly startled beaver prompt
ly dives. and, as it goes under, it gives
the water a resounding slap with its
tail, which warns other beavers with
ing earshot that danger is atoot. Dowr
they all go into the depths, leaving
no sign of their presence apart from
the ripples on the surface of the lake
or stream. The odor which keeps the
community together comes from ar
oily fluid discharged from a couple oi
large glands beneath the root of the
tail. This substance, known to the
areeks as ‘“castorium,” was at one
time in demand as a perfume foi
man's delight and as a panacea for his
ailments.
for bait, knowing that a beaver
fearlessly enter any trap that smells
of it.
SIRDS FLY ACROSS ATLANTIC
Number of Recorded Instances
Feathered Folk Being Seen and
Shot in Great Britain.
of
The Londen Zoological society has 8
record of all birds observed in Great
Britain and the British ccasts that ave
not indigenous to the British isles, bul
have flown thither from the Continent
In England it is said that natural
ornithologists, lighthouse Keep
ers. masters of vessels, coast guards
men, farmers and country gentlemen
report strange birds that they observe
and always give the date and circum-
stances of their observations.
This list, it is said, reveals many
strange happenings. Birds native to
Eastern Siberia and China, North Af
rica and the Arctic regions have been
observed in Great Britain, but, of
course, this is quite rare. There are,
however, a number of recorded In
stances of American birds crossing the
Atlantic and being seen and shot ir
¥ngland.
Now and then birds that are not
strictly migratory gather in enormous
flocks and sweep over several hundred
miles of country. The cause of this
action is a mystery to the students of
bird life,
ists,
Dancing Egg of a Bug.
Shasta county, California, is the
lend of wonders, according to the Los
Angeles Times. The latest is the
dancing egg. It is laid by an as yet
undertermined insect on the leaves oi
oak trees. Masses of these eggs cling
to the under side of the leaf and as
they advance toward maturity they
drop to the ground and dance about.
By holding an oak twig containing
any number of eggs to one's ear a
cracking sound may be heard like the
splitting of electric sparks. The shell
contains a, tiny grub, working for re-
lease,
When laid on a table these eggs
beund about and spring into the air,
sometimes to a height of sixteen in-
ches. They are particularly active
in the early morning. !
This latest insect novelty takes
rank with the sulphur bug, which is
at home in the red-hot roster piles.
Early Days in the Caribbean.
Usually one thinks of the battle for
naval control of the Caribbean as an
Anglo-Spanish battle, but the French
also took a hand in it.
Francis Russell Hart, in his “Ad-
mirals of the Caribbean,” gives a
chapter to Admirals de Pointis and
Du Casse, who took a fleet to the
West Indies in 1697 and made war
upon both the Spanish and English.
They actually took and sacked Car-
tagena, displaying a creditable mod-
eration in their looting.
Mr. Hart insists that except for the
fighting done by Morgan, Vernon and
Rodney, the Potomae would now be
the northern boundary of Latin Amer:
ica instead of the Rio Grande.
Queer African Idols.
Very odd in appearance is a group
of African idols recently brought tg
the United States by a missionary
They were carved by natives of Ni.
geria. One of the group, “Ifa,” a
queer-looking image with a high.
crowned hat, was the principal deity
of Nigeria when the missionaries be
gan their work there. Besides “Ifa,”
the collection includes an odd-shaped
club, feared by the natives as the god
of thunder and lightning. Another is
a brass image, “Oshubgo,” a mystical
feminine deity who rules over a so-
ciety of fanatics. In contrast to these,
the missionary secured several cruci-
fixes carved from ivory by Christian-
ized natives.
India’s Beautiful Tower.
Among the wealth of beauty and
magnificence in and about Delhi, one
of the most wonderful sights is the
Kutub Minar, said to be the most
nearly prefect tower in the world. It
stands ten miles outside the city in
the midst of a vast pile of ruins which
tell of Delhi's greatness when it was
the largest city of India. The Minar
soars 238 feet above the plain. Its
sandstone sides are deeply fluted, and
shade from purplish reds through
pink to orange in the topmost of its
five balconied stories,
To this day hunters use it!
will |
WILL BE LARGEST TELESCOF.
Canada Soon to Have Record inctru.
ment for the Investigation of
the Heavens.
Canada is to possess the largest of
all telescopes. 1t will have a mirror
120 inches in diameter. It has alrea<ds
been cast, and is now being ground
and polished. The latter task is ex-
pected to occupy at least five or six
years,
The largest existing telescope is the
100-inch instrument at Mount Wilson.
in California. It took four years to
grind and polish the mirror, and in
doing so over a ton of glass was ve-
moved,
It is the wonderful success of the
100-inch telescope that has led Cana-
dian astronomers to make the plunge
and sink £60,000 in a 10-foot mirror.
The new telescope will be set up in en
observatory on the Pacific coast of
British Columbia.
It will make a star appear 300,000 |
times as bright as the eye sees it. The
number of stars seen throughout the
entire sphere of the heavens by the
naked eye is about 5,000. The 120-
inch instrument is expected to reveal
at least 00 miilions, oi a million more
than can be seen by any other existing
telescope.
APPEALS TO LUST FOR GOLD
Term “El Dorado” Lures Today as It
Did When Spaniards Sought
Fabulous Wealth.
The name El Dorado is Spanish for
“the gilded.” The term applied first
!
to |
to a South American king said
cover his body annually with gold |
dust and bathe in a sacred Iake, then
to uw fabled golden city, and finally
to a fabled country abounding to an
HNost inconceivable degree in guid
amd precious siones.
The legend, the
lias never been
origin of
satisfactorily ex-
plained, took many variant forms.
while the mythical king and his
equally mythical dominions were
shifted with the utmost facility from
one part of the continent to another,
The story fired the imagination of the
gold-hunting Spaniards, who expend-
ed vast sums in sending out explor-
ing parties, most of which returned
decimated by privations, fatigue and
disease, The name has since been
applied to any place abounding In
gold or in opportunities for acquiring
sudden wealth, and more to a county
in California and a elty in Colorado.
Old Women as Brides.
A private expedition recently pene-
trated into the northwestern part of
Australia and made some valuable
which |
discoveries in regard to the natives
and the natural resources of the coun- |
try between Broome and Wyndham.
The trip was made by a man and wife !
who had been warned of the risk which |
they were running in entering the |
country which was infested by un-
friendly natives. The latter were
found to be suspicious but not hostile,
and the strangers soon became on in-
timate terms with them. They found
some very strange domestic condi-
tions existing.
tribesmen monopolized all the young
women and some old warriors had sev-
eral young wives and the young men
were compelled to be contented with ||
old women for brides.
Was President for One Day.
Senator David Rice Atchison
Clay county, Missouri, claimed
of
the
unique distinction of holding the of- !|
; fice of President for one day.
Being
president pro tempore of the senate
from 1846 to 1849 and again from
1852 to 1854, Senator Atchison was for
one day legal President of the United
States, since Gen. Zachary Taylor,
suecessor to James K. Polk, was not
sworn in until Monday, March 5, 1849,
and the terms of I'resident Polk and
Vice President George M. Dallas had
terminated by limitation at midnight
Saturday. Senator Atchison was very
fond of humorously urging his claim
to having been President for one day.
He said he slept most of his term. Of
course, there iS nothing on record to
show that he drew any salary as Pres-
ident.
Price of Success.
Suecess worth naming is eternal
vigilance, and if our aim be a selfish
one it will still leave us bankrupt in
the‘end. The man whose wish to
grow rich is so strong that everything
else goes down before it, will find
himself a pauper in the things that
matter most, when he has time to look
round. The friends he ignored have
formed other ties; the love that might
have crowned him he had no use for,
and now his home is empty of all
save strangers, whe care little wheth-
er he lives or dies. There is no lone-
liness so complete, so bitter, as that
which we fashion for ourselves; grati-
fied ambition is a poor thing to keep
one warm when winter comes and old
age Is creeping on apace !—Exchange.
British Guiana.
The physical geography of the three
Guianas is much the same. Along the
coasts are flat, swampy tracts, with
fertile soil. Beyond this the land
rises to undulating savannas, behind
which are mountainous regions cov-
ered with almost impenetrable forests.
Vegetation is remarkably rich and lux-
uriant. Sugar, coffee, rice, cocoa, and
fruits are cultivated. The forests yield
fine timber of several kinds, also rub-
ber, oil, balsams, gums, tonka beans,
and nuts. The plumage of the birds
is particularly brilliant. Gold and dia-
monds are produced.
For instance, the old |
Old Silverware, Tea Sets,
Tableware, Etc.
Old Clocks and Old Jewelry
Made New Again
At Very Conservative Prices...
We will be very glad to furnish you an estimate
for the work.
F.P. Blair & Son,
Jewelers and Optometrists
Bellefonte, Pa.
64 22 tf
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17
EE
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A United States Senator, from a southern
State, recently introduced a bill appropriating
$10,000,000 to buy nitrate of soda to be sold to
farmers at cost. If the government is to buy fer-
tilizers, why not machinery, gasoline and every-
thing else that the farmer uses. Then take a step
further in socialism and take on the railroads,
mines, manufacturing plants and farms, to be
operated for public benefit.
Cs
Is there a farmer in Centre county who wants the
government to own and operate his farm, with all
the preduction to be placed in one common fund
for equal distribution to all, including the lazy
and incompetent? Does he care to pay such a
price for the privilege of buying fertilizer even
below cost? .
We think not. What the farmer needs is a for-
eign market; not idle talk and futile legislation.
The First National Bank
Bellefonte, Pa.
A
You Won't, Need be Told
Just. See Them...
167 Pairs Men's “Walkover”
Shoes and Oxfords
The year’s accumulation of odds
and ends—formerly priced from $8
to $12—assembled lot,
in one at
For One Week Only
$4.95
All “Walkovers”
A. Fauble
58-4
ued