0 IMYH1MI Superstitions of the Virginia Mountain Folks. aiRDS AND HEADACHE Interrelation of Sassafras, Kitchen fir and Cow Poverty 8hunned by Peacocks Influence of the Moon on Crops A Stern Cod of Perpetual Disaster. Washington, self admitted centre of culture and enlightenment, looks up on superstition us a form of devil worship that vanished with witch burning. Yot within two hours ride of the Capitol are commuultles that despite public bcIhkiI and church, choir factions problems and things are as deeply saturated with supersti tion as the scholarly bats that flitted through the Intellectual twilight of Qaa Middle Agos. In the upper reaches of the Vlrgnla counties that (lank the Blue Ridge on the east and climb the mountain shoulders until they look down over th-e summit Into the Shenandoah Vol toy the dally lifp of the hill dwel ler Is hedged In with countless signs and omens, all portents of evil. Tbrough them he walks gingerly, fear tbl lest In propitiating one genius of titsasted ho rffendvd agnlnst another. "'Sides, I want yer to go for ther toctor. Yer ma's rtilln' this mawnln aa er durnod whlppo' will set on ther Vrse block an' hollered las' night 'te! t clodded him off. Yer know what tbat means!" Whlppoorwills, that the Ignorant awy know as much as Hance, mean early and sudden d.jai.h. For years fchoy had made that block a rendnz tous for their nightly chorals, while ttie family remained healthy as host am. But It shook not the old man's iellef In the faHth of his fathers. The doctor was hurriedly fetched, only to tod ma recovered "as peart as a Cricket" "Don't yer put that sassafras wood tn ther kltcheu lire!" cried the old lady to her helping hand one day, a twelve year old girl, us yet unlearned IB the lore of the hills. "Every sin gle cow on ther place'll go dry ef yr do. Put It in pa's fire." A listening city man wondered at Oils flue distinction. "Law, chile," sagely explained the old lady, "it's jes' puttln' sassafras In ther kitchen lire what makes cows CO dry; it don' make no dlffunco In no other Are. Why, when I wuz er gal onrer'n Rappahannock " and wise taws and ancient instances were copi ously cited to sustain the theory of Interrelation of sassafras, kitchen 8n and cow. "Peacocks won't stay '1th us, ex plained tho old lady when the city man suggested them as an ornament to the velcety blue grass lawn. "They won't stay '1th po' folks. "We used ter have er beautiful pair ca 'em. They stayed here fer years "tel we los' that lawsuit '1th ther Cyarters an' got po.' Ther very nex' night them peacocks went down ther mount'n pas' Dorse Heflln's place an' ole man Coosor's, who's both po' folks an' dldn' stop 'tel they got plum' ter Col. Waller's, tbet owns 'bout half tt Warren county. "They're been thar ever senco, an' they'll stay thar 'tel ther Wallers gits po' an' then they'll move on. No, taln't no use ter git peacocks hyah." Cuttings aud combings from the hair must be carefully collected and horned In the kitchen Are, that altar to the god of bad luck. Otherwise & general run of ill fortune will sit by the hearth for an Indoflnito term. If the birds get tho hair the 111 luck Is more specific. The miserable man has a headache that no coal tar product can relieve until the nestings leave their hair lined home. The un fortunate woman loses her remaining locks, unhelped by hair tonics. "I've always had good crops," said a clever and comfortable farmer of the foothills, "because I always plant things that yield above ground, like corn and wheat, on the light of the moon and those that viM beneath tike potatoos, on thn dark. I've never failed. Yes," he reluctantly admit ted, "I do use lots of fertilizer. But the moon "and the city man lis tened to a monologue on 1U virtues as a crop raiser. "When yer hev er dawg thet don' know 'nuff ter bark when ho trees er varmint," confided a dweller lu the Rappahannock Vnll"y, "thar's only one way ter learn him how. Take er green gourd that's betsn raised in ther northwest corner ov er flel' yer mus' pull It on er Saddny an' ther firs' time that dawg trees an' don' glvo tongue take ther gourd an' bus' It widu .open over h'.s head. It'll learn him ter bark treed all right." When tho city man came home he found himself stopping to make a cross mark with his toe every time lie turned back and shuddering when over he heard a howling dog, the deadliest of mountain death omens. Ha lodsts that every ono Is superstitious at heart. The strangest coin is the Ideal Bjoney spoken of by Montesquieu as being found In certain parts of Africa. It is an Ideal rron ay called "maoonte," but Is purely a, sign of value without a unit. Trupts In England are dealt with severely, . , TRIALS OF ORCHID HUNTING. Attended With Great Difficulty and Risk of Life. 4-r( The prices sometimes paid for rare and new orchids seem exorbitant, but when the figures are put by the side of the hardships endured to procure the plants they are seen to be reason able enough. An official of the Botanic Gardens at Washington tells of the persever ance displayed by an agent for that Institution, This agent was sent to New Guinea some years ago to look for a dendrobl. urn, then very rare. For months he dwelt among the natives, faring as they fared, and living under the most trying conditions. But he secured about four hundred of the coveted plants and loaded them on a little schoonei. Then, thinking his mission accomplished, he hastened away with his trophies. But on puttng Into a port In Dutch New Guinea he had the misfortune to see his vessel burned to the water's edge. He was ordered to go back for more plants. Ho went. This time he found a magnificent collection of the orchids growing In a native burying ground, among exposed bones and skulls. It was no easy matter to obtain permission to remove the plants es pecially as some tho the skulls had to bo removed with them. However, at last the natives consented, sending with the consignment a little Idol to watch over the spirits of the departed. This time the orchids reached their I destination. Inferior varieties, which the agent had been permitted to gath er in addition to tho specimens de sired for the Government's gardens, were sold in the open market at prices ranging from twenty six to one hun dred and forty eight dollars each. Many such plants will grow In swamps, which the natives themselves regard with dread as the home of fev er and mosquitoes. To go In search of the orchids Is often to face death. One agent, detained at Panama, went to look for an orchid he had heard of and was carried back from the swamps to die. I The difficulties of the work are aa great as tho dangers. One collector was known to wade up to his waist In mud for a fortnight, seeking a speci men of which he had heard, and an other lived among the Indians of Brazil for nine months, peering through the tangled Jungle for a lost variety. To obtain the orchids that grow on trees, the collector must hire a cer tain area of woodland, with the right to fell the timber. As the natives can. not be trusted to climb the trees and gather the plants, the wasteful plan of cutting down the trees Is adopted, aud he gathers his specimens from the fallen trunks. The forest being often Inland, the plants, after being collected, must be carried to river or sea. In on case they were carried for six weeks on men's bucks from the mountains to a river, then six weeks In canoes, with twenty portages, and then con veyed over the ocean. Earliest Book Plates, It was within half a century from the- Invention of printing that book plates wero introduced as Identifying marks to indicate the ownership of the volume. Germany, the fatherland of print ing from movable type and of wood cutting for making impressions In Ink on paper, Is likewise the home land of the book plate. The earliest dated wood cut of ac cepted authenticity Is the well known "St. Christopher of 1423," which was discovered In the Carthusian monas tery of Buxhelm In Suabia. It was to Insure the right of own ership In a book that the owner had It marked with the coatofarrus of the family or gome other heraldic device. Libraries were kept Intact and pass ed from generation to generation, bearing tho emblem of the family. The first book plate In France dat ed 1574; in Sweden, 1575; Switzer land, 1007; and Italy, 1C23. The earli est English book plate la found In i folio volume once the property of Cardinal Wolsey and afterward be longing to his royal master. The earliest mention of the book plate in English literature Is by Pepys, July 1C, 1088. The first known book plate In America belonged to Gov. Dudley. Paul Revere, the patriot, was one of tin"! lirst American engravers of book plates and a designer of great ability. All Animals Have Cancer, It was long thought that cancer was a disease reeuliar to men; but It Is now proved that thero is scarcely a vertebrate animal without It. Savage races v.c ia long supposed to be free' from cane r. Now that trustworthy reports are being sent In to the lmper lal cancer ropearchers, however, It Is known that savage races, and Indeed all animals develop cancer quite as freely as peoplo living under civilized conditions. He was the first tramp of the sea son, and merrily we welcomed h in Here, wo said, Is a glass of water. Pure, cold, delicious water, What you refuse It, man? He shook his head and sighed. I have to sir, he said. You see, I've got an Iron constitution, and water would ruBt It. If you will show me the style of a nian's amusements and recreations, 1 wll. tell you what are his prospects for this world and the world to come. T. D. Tnlmadge, D.D. Unsung songs cheer no hearts. THE COLUMBIAN, ni ran Less Faith Put in Drugs to Cure Diseases Nowadays. DEPENDS ON THE SYSTEM The Efforts of Physicians Directed in Many Cbacs Simply to Stimulate the Body's l'owr of FlKhtlnR Gt-rms Common Mistakes About Ilouschold llcmediea. The Increase of exact knowledge regarding diseases and their causes often do more harm than good. Years ago, for Instance, all sortB of reme dies were administered to consump tives, and nine-tenths of the patients died. To-day little medicine Is pre scribed for consumptives and they recover. It is the Bame with pneumonia, ty phoid fever and a host of other mala dies. The era of sure cures Is past, snd scientific physicians l.ave learned that the best way to combat most Ills Is by the Indirect method of stimulat ing the body's natural power of fight ing and destroying germs. It Is a rule of nature that human tissues when disturbed or disordered exhibit a strong tendency to return spontaneously to a state of equili brium. You strike your thumb with a hammer and a painful bruise re cults, with effusion of blood under the skin and much Inflammation. The tissues are mangled and many of the flesh cells are Tiroken and die. But In the course of a week the wreckage Is removed and new tissue is there. Tho dark, wasted blood U absorbed and carried away. The dead cells are carted off, too. The Inflammation subsides. New tis sue takes tho place of that destroyed. The pain disappears and your bruise is cured. It Is the same with more serious maladies. As soon as a germ of tub erculosis or pneumonia enters your body the white corpuscles In your blood begin to fight It. If It Is but a single germ, making a solitary ex cursion, it Is soon killed. But If la stead of one germ, a million or a hun dred million Invade your tlBues, the battle Is more strenous and It takes longer for your white corpuscles to do their police work. Thus It Is apparent that the ser iousness of a disease may be meas ured by the effort the body must ex pend in getting rid of its germs. A pimple on the face usually cures It self within two or three days. That Is because the staphylococcus, which causes pimples, Is a germ which falls en easy prey to the anti-germ sub stances In the blood. But an attack of rheumatic fever lasts a couple of months, even when the patient Is in good condition for fighting It, and that is because the germ which causes It Is a tough oneand puts up a hard battle against the blood. Nevertheless the body always makes a hot fight and always has a chance of winning, albeit this chance Is sometimes a very small one. All that modern medicine professes to do, In most cases, Is to help the body In Its good work and to sur tound It with the most favorable con dltons. A consumptive Is ordered to sleep In the open air and Is fed on rich milk and eggs in ordor that his blood may become clear and healthy and so be able to wage a successful war e gainst the tubercle bacilli in his lungs. No effort Is ordinarily made to combat the bacilli directly. The same thing occurs In the case of pneumonia, typhoid fever, yellow fever and other diseases. The pat lent Is well nourished and well nurs ed and whenever medicine may lend a hand by reducing a fever or aid ing In the removal of waste products this aid Is given. But the main fight the actual war on the germs must be conducted by the body It self. Again, there Is a universal ten dency to exaggerate slight ailments Into very serious ones. A man who has been confined to his bed for a week by some sort of self-curing In flammation In the air passages says that he had a "touch of pnuemonla." In reality It Is Impossible to have a "touch of pneumonia. One either has the disease of hasn't It. In the same way laymen often speak of a "touch" of typhoid fever or diphthe ria or erysipelas or dyseutery or rheumatism or scarlet fever or even of such diseases as malaria or yellow fever. No human being ever bad a "touch" of malaria. When this phrase 1b used the layman usually means that he had an attack of In fluenza or an extraordinarily bad cold, with fever and chills. A'man who really has malaria cannot drag through his dally work with no other aid than an occasional quinine pill and the privilege of swearing at the office boy and of making himself generally disagreeable. ' The success of a host of homely remedies for colds, bruises, sprains, Ac, Is based upon this error. A cold Is a simple Infection of the mucous membrane, and careful observation shows that In a man otherwise heal thy It Is certain to cure Itself within a short time. But the victim of a cold almost Invariably demands that "something be done for It" and the result Is a host of teas, lemonades, broths, rubbings, liniments, pills, e. BLOOMSBURQ, MTSTEni IX TREK GROWTn. Whrnc and How It Came No Man Can Tell. One of the most wonderful among the many Incomprehensible mys teries of earth Is tree growth, says the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser. Everything connected with life and growth, animal and vegetable. Is a mystery, for that matter, for all hu man knowledge falls to penetrate the hidden operations of nature, or to tell the why and how of life. We see two plants growing side by side, fed from the same sources below and above the ground, so far as we can determine, yet one produces a beau tiful rose and the other an Ill-smelling and ugly opposite. One tree pro duces a delicious peach and another a sour crab, yet so far as we can see the same elements sustain both. We see and realize the difference, but fall to understand It. But there are some things about tree growth, aside from leaves, flow ers, or fruit, that are as deep a mys tery ns anything connected with ani mal life. An acorn, for example, Is planted In the earth, and In due time It sends down roots and sends up a tiny sprout. If not Interfered with It continues to grow, and In the course of many years becomes a tree. During this time the roots have been attracting moisture and food from the earth, and the trunk and limbs have been obtaining something from the air. Each year a new layer of wood Is added, and so It continues till a great giant of the forest Is the result. The material for all this wood has been obtained somehow and from some source but how It Is done Is the mystery. It may bo one of many great trees growing almost agnlnst each other, and each has managed to absorb many cords of wood from some hidden recess of nature which man cannot fathom. We can search the earth and the air with all our powers and with all tho Instruments and appliances at our command, but we will fall to detect the treo germs. Nor Is this all of the great mystery. Two trees grow up side by side, fed from the same source, yet the wood of one Is the soft yellow poplar and the other hard white hickory; one may be beautiful bird's eye or curled maple, and the other pitch pine or oak. There Is another mystery that man cannot penetrate. Somewhere or somehow the alchemy or chemis try or machinery of nature carries on Its tireless and ceaseless work, and the result Is before us. That Is all man knows, and probably all he will ever know, on the subject. All na ture la a mystery, and the growth of trees la not the least. Ads" In the Chair. A Southern business man has de vised a novel method of advertising. This is the chair arm of seats used by the public In stations, parks, pleasure piers, on steamboats, etc. HIb Idea is simple enough. A frame with a hinged lid Is clasped to the arm of a chair In any suitable man ner and the space within the frame Is divided up Into advertising cards, which are protected from mutilation and destruction by the elements by a glass cover. The cards can be read ily changed or transposed, and usu ally when one occupies such a chnlr it Is during a leisure moment, when one cannot resist reading and re reading even the most hackneyed and stereotyped advertisements when thus thrust before the unoccu pied eye. The Cost of Bull Fighting. Bull fighting In Spain Is not suf fering from lack of patronage, for during the last year some twelve thousand bulls were killed In fights. From three to bIx bulls are killed at a performance, and at least 2,600 fights may be reckoned. Bulls for fighting purposes are costly. They are raised on special ranches and are Intended for fight ing and no other use. One of the lar gest Is that of the Duke of Veragua, In Andalusia, and his ranch has made a tremendous fortune for hlra. The bulls are smaller and more pugnacious than the common cattle, and properly handled will put up a game fight. That they will not glvo up without a struggle Is proven by the fact that some ten thousand horses were killed by the bulls In the different fights. Unlike the bulls, the horses are of the cheapest sort, and some are so Infirm that they can bcarcoly totter about the ring until disemboweling brings them relief from their torture. No Sunday Funerals. The vicar of All Hallows, a Brit ish village, objects to Sunday fun erals on the ground that they keep people from the higher duties of wor ship, cast a shadow of Borrow on the brightest day of the week;' break the Iday of rest and lead peoplo to sock comfort In the poor consolation of s big funeral. t PA. LOTTERY OP A BIO. 8ALE. Lasted Four Days und Proceed Amounted to $10,000. Recently the Baltimore & Ohio rail road, one of the largest carriers of freight In the United States, sold the unclaimed articles In Its custody at Its most spacious warehouse, at Lo cust Point, Baltimore. Some Idea of the extent of the sale may be formed from the fact that over eight quarts of paste were used In labeling the pieces to be sold. The articles dis posed of were frolit which had been kept for six months at various points along the road and which had not been called for. After the lapse of that time they were shipped to Baltimore and sold at auction. A largo number of the. things on sale had been refused by people to whom they were con signed because they were either broken In transportation or did not Milt the buyer. In the latter cane the render Is notified, and In many In stances he refuses to take back his Roods. Someilnu's a lawsuit between the consignor and consignee follows, and In the meantime the railroad soils the nriicle, nnd It Is generally worn out before tho case is settled by t'.io courts. At tho Fale Just held 3.000 lota wero advertised. This does not mean 3,000 pieces, as one lot may contain any number. For Instance;, 100 bar rels of glucose were sold In a limp und brought $7.")0. A erato of Im ported German sausages, which looked like little loga of petrified wood, was disposed of with a box of gui:;s disks for electrical machines. The pur chaser of this lot at onco presented the sausages to a German saloon keeper, who said ho would use them on his free lunch counter. Ono man paid $1 for a large box of worm-eaten dried apples, and another bought a broken pump for $G. A barrel of what was supposed to contain ordi nary glass was knocked down for $5, nnd when opened about $200 worth of cut glass was found. The oddest thing In the sale was an Immense concrete tomb, such as is rarely used at the present time. It weighed 2,000 pounds and was valued at $50, hut It was found to be imperfect and the consignee refused to receive It. Twenty-live cents was paid for this, and the purchaser will use It as a watering trough for horses. In addition to the freight, the rail road sold 500 lots of unclaimed bag page, which Included 1,500 pieces. Here was the opportunity for sport and a gamble, as tho packages were unopened. The uncertainty of the contents lent much Interest to the bidding, which was spirited. The recond-band clothing dealers were at their best here, and one of them pur chased 40 trunks. The smaller bag gage, such as Is left on ferryboats and In the coaches, was sold in lots, and although buyers were requested not to open them In the warehouse, yet the curiosity of some led to the break ing of the rules, and several pieces were examined Immediately. One young man paid $2.25 for an old trunk, the contents of which were two pos tal cards and a filthy suit of work man's clothes. Another found noth ing but a pair of old shoes. A woman purchased a rough-looking traveling hag for 75 cents, only to find that II she would make use of the contents It would be necessary for her to bo como a horse doctor. A second-hand clothing dealer Invested 50 cents In a canvas bag and found a new calico dress, eight aprons, and a lot of tollot articles. Leslie's. Extracting from Mines. A man, a rawhidu bucket and a lad der was the ancient method by which millions were extracted from the great Tarasca mine. Diamond Mine Depths. Prof. Henry Miers, In lecturing to a London audlenco recently, said that there was no knowledge of tho depth to which the South African diamond mines could be worked. The deeper they go the richer they become. Work can be carried on now to a depth of 2,500 feet. It is thought that It might be continued to a depth of 5,000 pr even 10,000 feet. If the engineering difficulties could be overcome. The averago number of horse killed In Spanish bull fights every years exceeds 5,500, whilo from 1,000 to 2,000 bulls are sacrificed. MIL Poetry Worth Reading In Strict Confidence. If you're got a little matter that you want folks to know And you think that advertising I perhaps a little slow, Not to say that It's uncertain or con fined to some extent To the limits of a circle, which, of course. Is evident If you want It universal over nil the city spread, Never put It In the papers. I've a better scheme Instead. You can always send It broadcast with no possible delay If you whisper to a lady in a coi.ii- dentlal way. If you'll let her wring It from you by Just throwing out a hint That to any comprehension would bo just as plain as print; If you'll seem to dodge her question! wlthn knowing sort of smile, SBB8BS sbbisb . . tf ei. Making damaging admissions with an aspect free from guile, And thon trust to her discretion and let everything be known With tho proper understanding you confide In her alono That will do It. All will know It rre the closing of tho day If It's whlsperod to a lady In a con fidential way. There la nothing that can bent it. Never think I mean to rnll, I have tried It very often nnd It sim ply cunnot full. You Insist that It's a secret with ,i grave and solemn frown. And in four and twenty hours It's tho gossip of thn town. If a lndy Isn't handy I'll nugwst an other plan That perhaps Is oven better; Go nnd toll It to a man. Yes. 1 think n man is better, but bu careful what you say; And remember, too, to say It In . confidential way. Chicago News. The Brotherhood of Moil. A scalawag Chinaman had a youn son, Brown as a coffee bean, eyes full of fun HI, yl, yolllcky uiullico! And ho wus tho petted of all China town, As his father stood tossing him up and down, All swathed In Yankee calico. You should have seen that parent grin! His cheek bones high fio out and In Hlca, mica, zellapho kay! Hearing the babo's hilarious cry At the lanterned red doorway, All the lldurs gathered by; An Irishman with pipe at mouth, A burly negro from the South, An Esquimau from the Wild West show, A cowboy In a sombrero, A union plumber, and a man Who looked like an American, An organ grinder, peanut vender, The husband of tho Witch of Endor All Joined In tho rhythmic din On every face a common grin, Watching the babe go up and down. The cutest thing In Chinatown. One touch of nature, making kin The wholo wide world, was surely la The scalawag Chinaman and hi youug son Rotta metakah, gilllbo tay! Jasper Barnett Cowdln. A Winter Morning. The soft veiled sky leaned down to ward the earth, Veiled with white, fleecy clouds that moved and stirred Llko the light pinions of some sleeping bird; Poised In the ether where It had its birth, An opal radiance shimmered In the east. Mounted and widened, till, shot through Its bars, The arrows of the sun dispersed the stars, Glad from their service thus to be released. No sun which lights a perfect day la June Has ever known a fairer sky than this; It should bo welcomed by tho song birds' tune, Its rose and gold should greet the south wind's kiss; Who could believe, did he not glance below, This glory bends above a waste of snow? Ninette M. Lowater. Feminine Inconsistency. The streets are dry, the world Is clear, The sunlight la amazing; Why does ho maiden pout and sigh When outward she is gazing? Why does she frown on Jack's ad vance. No word of pleasure saylngT It Is because she got engaged In hopes of early sleighing. Tho storms clouds fly, tho world Is cold With slippery roads amazing; Why does the matrou weep and slgb Upon her prospect gaztngT Why does sho frown on Jack's ad vance Tho dreary outlook dreading? It Is because she married him In hopes of easy sledding. McLaudburgh Wilson. Dreams. My dreams are dreams of restfulness This everlasting zestfulnees Is not a dream. It'B a fact. And all along tho way I go There Is no stop nor stay. I go Until my system's rucked. I only wish for peacefulness, A little touch of ceasefulness From the eternal grind; Bat everywhere Is quietness; There's ulways such a rlotnoss It wearies flesh and mind. Why Isn't it that poverty Can hand mo breakers of her tea As good as money snem3, F.o lu a cup of restfulness I'd drown this killing tty.'lt .ilnesa And act null?, a my dreams? V.r. J. Laiutoa. .
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers