i Bellefonte, Pa., August 13, 1926. snm——— -— Holy Fire Burns for 200 Years. Deeply impressive and often | strange are the many examples of perpetual fires and flames that are kept burning for a long period, as memorials to the great and as sym- bols of certain creeds and customs of religion and humanity. Perhaps the best-known example are those of pag- an people who keep up perpetual fires as a religious custom. The oldest known fire in the world is that in a Buddhist temple near Bangkok, Siam, which has been burn- ing without interruption for two cen- turies. A priest is always on guard to watch the sacred flame. Every four years a new flame is kindled, but this is always lighted in the great blazes from a brand of the old fire. The life of a grand vizier in Persia was once saved by a Parsee trader, who discovered and exposed a plot to kill the royal official. In spite of the fact that the Persians are Mohamme- dans and hold fire worshipers in con- tempt, a single flame has been kept burning continuously for seventy-five years at Sarhad in honor of the huni- ble trader. In inhabited lands within the arctic circle fires Lave been known to burn for years. This, however, is not so much a custom as it is simple prac- tice based on resources of convenience and necessity because of the scarcity of wood or kindling of any kind to produce ignition. Oil is the fuel of the people who live in the eternal snows of the cold north. Soon after the death of Caruso, a candle of chemically treated beeswax was constructed in New York to be used as a memorial to the famous opera singer. It ‘was designed to burn twenty-four hours on each All Soul’s day in the Church of Our,Lady of Pompeii, Italy, where Caruso last worshiped. The candle, 5 feet in cir- cumference at the base, 16 feet high and weighing one ton, will burn for eighteen centuries at the rate of one day a year, it was estimated. Made of antique Greek design with Roman rennaisance relief on the order of an orphan asylum in New York of which Caruso was a generous benefactor, the candle cost $3,700. It bears an inscription: “Offering to the Most Holy Mary of Pompeii in behalf of our benefactor Enrico Caruso.”—Ex. Camping and Problem of Food. There is no healthier sport than camping. During the warm and balmy spring and summer days, it is real recreation. To get out in the fresh air and sunshine, free from worry and care, enhances the health of anyone, be he office man, salesman or what not. But due to the entirely inadequate means of food preservation and re- frigeration found in the majority of camps, there is the ever-present dan- ger of sickness from infected foods: The utmost care must be taken in or- der that this may be avoided. Butter and eggs should be bought only as used. The milk is a problem in itself. Perhaps the solution lies in the use of a milk other than market milk, in or- der that purity and sterility may be assured. For such use, evaporated milk is ideal. Many people are wont to confuse evaporated and condensed milk but. there is no similarity be- tween the two. Condensed milk is a combination of sugar and milk and can be used only when both of these substances are desired. Evaporated milk is merely pure, fresh milk with about sixty per cent. of the water re- moved and the nutrient content left intact. It is absolutely sterile and pure, having been sterilized before leaving the factory. The water, re- moved by evaporation, may be re- placed very easily and the milk re- turned to its original volume. Evap- orated milk may be obtained in small cans, containing six ounces or in larg- er ones containing sixteen and can be taken to the camp in quantities suf- ficient for the needs of the entire per- iod, thus assuring a constant supply of pure, fresh milk without the worry or the danger attached to the use cf the market product. The Bird Population. The total bird population of con- tinental United States, as estimated by biologists of the department of agriculture, is 4,000,000,000 to 5,000,- 000,000. There are probably about 40 birds to every person, says the Bulle- tin of Mass. Audubon Society. As to the breeds, it is pleasant to note that the friendly robin is most numerous. In the northeastern and central States, the only sections thoroughly covered in the bird cen- sus, out of 1,052,000,000 in all, there were found 82,000,000 robins. Next came the English sparrow with 69,- 000,000, the song sparrow with 50,- 000,000, the catbird with 34,000,000, the meadow lark with 29,000,000, the house wren and kingbird with 23,- 000,000 each, and the bluebird with 22,000,000.—From “Our Dumb Ani- mals.” Florida Lots Sold to Pay Back Taxes. Miami, Florida—Several thousand Florida lots, located in developments around Miami, are offered at auction at the country court house of Dade County for back taxes. Many of the properties are held by Northern resi- dents who purchased during the buy- ing hysteria, which continued for sev- eral years up to last Fall. The publication of the list of prop- erties against which the country and State hold claims took twenty-four pages of a Miami newspaper. The owners of many of these properties are unknown to the tax departments of the county. Rough roads cause considerable damage to the working parts of an au- tomobile. Uneven roads are often un- noticed while driving as the body of the car does not shake with the axles “land -(on” account. of the excellence and differential. FOREIGN TRAVEL HOLDS SURPRISES Americans on First Trip Abroad Find Hotel and Train Customs Different. New York.—Americans contemplat- ing a first trip abroad are particularly interested in all the hints they can obtain on differences in mail, travel and hotel! customs abroad, said a rep- resentative of the American Express company recently, ‘when asked for some general information on baggage and other items connected with trav- el. Seasoned travelers know all these things, b¥&t each year produces a brand new crop of visitors to Eu- rope who have to get this information. Not only are customs different, but common everyday things go by dif- ferent names, he pointed out, and this applies not only to countries where foreign languages are spoken, but to England, where a street car is called a tram, “curb” is spelled “kerb,” and a “check” is “cheque,” and that the latter has to bear » revenue stamp. Division of service on trains into classes, since many years unknown in America, is universal in Europe. In most countries there are three classes and in some four. First class is everywhere used only by the very rich—and by Americans. Second class has practically disappeared in Eng- of third class), except on a few trains connecting with boats for the Conti- nent, on which services there is a de- mand for second class all the way through. The almost universal habit among well-informed Americans, he said, is to travel third class in Eng- land and second in most of Europe, going first perhaps in Spain and Por- tugal. Where fourth class is foun” the seats are seldom upholstered. In most countries circular tickets (like our prewar mileage books), good for a certain amount of travel anywhere over certain lines or within the country, may be obtained. In some, reduced rates obtain for trips of more than a. certain length; in others, tickets good for unlimited travel for a certain number of days may be obtained at a flat price. Ticket Examination. 1 i Throughout Europe: tickets are in- variably examined on entering the | train platform or boarding the train, | and must usually be retained and sur | rendered at destination. | Time tables, it was said, are not freely distributed in Europe, and it is sometimes difficult to obtain informa- | tion about connections even from the station agent..! On most of the Conti- nent the 24-hour clock is used, the hours from 1 p. m. to midnight being known as 13:to 24 o'clock. : Trains are not commonly referred to by their numbers, as in America, and the story of the American who with infinite pains had learned the number of the evening train is classic. “How is No. 15 running this evening?’ he asked the station agent. “The 7:43 is re ported on time, sir,” replied the ir flexible Britisher. The fact that European goaches are divided into compartments is known to most Americans. Originally these compartments ran all the way across the coaches from one side to the other, and access from one com- partment to the next was only by opening the door and swinging along an outside running board. Such coaches are still to be found on local runs, and are practically universal in rural districts, but on through runs on the Continent they have been su | perseded by corridor-and-vestibule cars. The compartments open at one ! side directly out of doors, but on the other into the corridor, which rung along one side of the coach. | Reserved Seats. Jn European railways there are ma most no separate coaches consisting entirely of reserved seats, like the’ pullman cars in America. A few lines in England run pullman cars, and of course all compartments in sleeping | cars are on reservation, but in general the above holds true. Instead, any seat, number of seats or compartments in an ordinary day coach may be re- served according to regulations, which vary in different countries. Usually a small fee is required for reserving a seat, and in some coun- tries, for instance in Italy, the reser- vation protects the seat only until a few minutes before the time of de- parture. After that the seat belongs to the one who gets there first. Throughout Europe it is the custom to require the marking of a seat in some manner when leaving it, for however short a time. A book, gloves or hat suffices. It is sometimes possible to obtain exclusive use of a compartment without taking quite all the seats therein. Tor sleeping, first (and usually sec +nd) class passengers on payment of an additional amount have access to sleeping cars much like the compart- ments in the newer American pull- nans, where all bedding is supplied by the company. On other runs only “couchettes” are available, and the traveler must supply his own cover: ing, if desired. This can usually be rented and turned over to a repre- sentative of the renter at the end of the run. To Americans the total absence ot Jrinking water on most trains (except, of course, in the dining cars) proves an inconvenience, but the natives pro- vide themselves with bottles of min- | many cities and some countries there i not taken Into. consideration the total i is apt to be more than expected. Burdtely plenty of servants the au- ‘and second-class coaches and smoking eral water. light wines or beer before er a —_— leaving and do not seem to suffer in the least. : Table d’Hote on Diners. Generally only table d’hote meals are served in dining cars. There are: several sittings, tickets to which are issued by attendants, a convenience appreciated by Americans. The amount of baggage carried free varies in different countries, as do the customs. In England most trains carry “luggage vans,” or baggage cars, in which trunks and other heavy baggage may be carried, but in which there are no facilities for checking. On arrival at destination each pas. senger must claim his own trunk. On most of the Continent only such baggage will be carried free as can be taken into one’s compartment, and to be allowed in the compartment at all it must not exceed certain dimen- sions, so that it can go In the rack above one’s head. All other baggage must be “registered,” which means that it is carried checked in the bag- gage car mych as in America, except that extra payment must be made. The advice often encountered to carry only hand baggage is due to the fact that many trains do not carry beggage cars, so that if heavy arti- cles are taken they must often he left behind to come by a later train. Con- trary to the custom in America, it is usually the faster trains which do not carry baggage cars and the locals which do. Americans are puzzled at the ab- sence of any service parellel to the “express” in this country, whereby articles are forwarded under receipt and attended by messengers. Articles may be sent through the malls and by freight. i Sending’ Letters. When it is défifiltély known at what hotels one will be, and on what dates, it is usually more convenient to have one’s letters sent there. Otherwise it is best to use the foreign offices of some travel agency or firm. Friends should be warned that only to British possessions will 2 cents carry a let- ter; elsewhere the minimum charge is 5 cents. The American Express com- pany, whose Paris office during the summer rush handles as many as 40,000 letters a day, finds that 80 per cent of all letters received for patrons carry insufficient postage. Another thing which causes confu- sion is that no telegrams or letters can be sent collect, so that when it Is expected that cables will arrive after one’s departure a small deposit should be left at the address In care of which they will arrive to cover the cost of telegrapbing them on. Hotel customs do not differ greatly from those in this country. The “American plan” of operation is found far more frequently than in the land which gave it birth. Many hotels now make a surcharge for service, and in are taxes on hotel bills. These items are not included in the prices quoted for accommodations, but are added to the total. of the bill, so that if this Is The hall porter, or ‘concierge,’ is an important individual and can do much to make one’s stay pleasant. | - Contrary to the usual impression, it (8s only in England that the traffic goes to the left. Elsewhere, when it / has any noticeable predilection at all, it inclines to the right. Americans who have wondered at the incessant squawking of motor horns in Paris are informed that an ordinance requires bulb horns within the city limits. | Taxis are surprisingly cheap in Paris, and nowhere are they much dearer than In this country, in spite of the considerably higher price of gasoline. 2 Compared with America, there are of course extremely few buildings which have elevators, and those which do often have queer customs. In many apartment houses the elevators will carry one up, but if one wishes to descend one must walk. In others, tenants may ride free, but visitors must pay. Servants are denied the use of the elevators in many places. In spite of cheaper labor and com- tomatic elevator is met with much more often than in this country. European Subways. Americans who use the European subways are surprised to find first cars, with different rates and different tickets for the different classes. In London the rates vary with the dis- tance traveled, and the tickets bear the names of starting point and desti- nation. On the Continent a flat fare Is more common. There is no surveil- lance to see that a traveler with a second-class ticket doesn’t get into a first-class coach, but occasionally in- spectors come through who mildly col- lect the additional sum from delin- quents. On some lines season tickets are sold, good for an unlimited number of trips during the period named. As everywhere, the tickets must be shown at the entrance, where they are punched and surrendered at the exit. In London most of the subways— “tubes,” they are called—are deep un- derground, and so elevators from the train platforms discharge the passen- gers Into shop-lined arcades through which they reach the street. Some of the Paris subways were built by Eng- lish companies, and consequently the trains run to the left. Express serv- ice is practically unknown, though the London trains maintain a semblance of one by skipping certain stops. The signs Indicating such trains read: “This train passes—,” followed by the names of the stations skipped, and many a visitor has been deluded thereby into believing the train not only passed but stopped at those points. Scientists Working Out Gi- gantic Jig-Saw Puzzle in the Southwest. Washington.—Scientists are work- ing out a gigantic jig-saw puzzle In the Southwest, first searching over hundreds of square miles of terri tory for the pieces that nature has hidden through the centuries. The story of this fascinating “game” is wrapped up in an announcement just made by the National Geographic society that its research committee has made an additional grant of funds to continue this summer the “Beam Expedition” work under the leader- ship of Dr. A. E. Douglas of Steward observatory, University of Arizona Ancient Apartment Houses. “No one knows the age of the inter- esting communal dwellings, America’s first ‘apartment houses,’ that have been unearthed in New Mexico,” says a bulletin from the Washington (D. C.) headquarters of the National Geographic society. *“The largest of these, Pueblo Bonito, in Chaco canyon, has been intensively studied by Na- tional Geographic society expeditions during the past six years. Much new information has been gathered in re- gard to these early Americans from the examples disclosed of their ma- sonry, pottery, baskets and culture, for they had no calendar. Now this ‘secret ‘seems likely to be found out from the examination of what laymen might consider prosaic old wooden beams that supported the flat roofs of the Bonitans. “Doctor Douglas found some years ago that trees in growing not only leave a ring for each year, but that often the character of the ring de- notes the particular year in which it grew. That is, in an unusually moist season an especially wide or well- marked ring will be left in all the trees of the region subjected to the unusual conditions. If a living tree four hundred years old is cut and a recent characteristic ring identified, other outstanding rings made in the tree's youth can be dated centuries ago. These characteristic marks may be found, in turn, among the most re- cent rings of an ancient log preserved in a sandbank, and so nature’s cal- endar may be followed back still farther. : Scientists Hunt Old Wood. “Since the working out of this aethod the scientists of the National Geographic society’s Beam expedition have been scouring the Southwest for specimens of ancient wood. Some have been discovered in the form of old tree stumps covered centuries ago by the sand and clay washed by some extraordinary storm. Others have been found in Indian pueblos, still in use; and still others in the ruins of ancient structures. “In every case cross-sections have seen prepared and microscopic stud- ies made. Many of the specimens, of course, have been found to cover ap- proximately the same period of time; but new and then a lucky find has pushed the earliest known date line of the United States a few decades or generations farther back. “Science has not completed this chronological puzzle, but working from both ends it has fitted piece after piece into place, steadily nar- rowing the gap of the unknown. It is hoped that before long a trustworthy estimate can be made of the ruins, so fitting America’s early civilization into its proper relation to that of the Old world.” “Nicky,” Polar Mascot, Survives Lost Master New Philadelphia, Ohio.—With a