2 HELEN KELLER A^N D HER TEACHER. Photo by American Press Association. The marvelous blind deaf mute is shown on the left in conversation with Miss Macy. STARS IN THE UNIVERSE. Enough to Allow One For Every Hu man Being on Earth. For years the approximate number of stars visible to the eye. a matter of 3,000 or according to the defini tion of average vision, has been known. By most persons, however, and by many scientists, the total number of stars in the heavens has been con sidered countless, if not limitless. The universe is now declared to be finite, yet of a magnificence of dimensions and of a populousness far beyond all earlier conceptions. This assumption is a result of very recent investigations into tlie motions and distances of the st a rs. The latest studies on the subject of the number as well as the light of the stars have been made at the royal ob servatory at Greenwich, England. The late Franklin Adams succeeded in mak ing a set of 206 photographs covering the entire sky. After counts were made on these pictures, from which the brightness of the self luminous bodies between practically the twelfth and seventeenth magnitudes could be in ferred, it was concluded that they recorded about 55.000.000 stars. From this a formula was determined showing the change of number in passing from one magnitude to an other. With these figures it was rea soned that the aggregate number of stars is not less than 1.000.000.000. probably not more than 2.000.000.000. and probably approximately 1.600,000.- 000. the estimated present population of the earth. In making computations it was in ferred that there would be as inauy stars fainter than magnitude twenty three or twenty-four as there are brighter. From September Popular Mechanics Magazine. KILL LOBSTERS KINDLY. Put Them In Cold Water and Slowly Bring Them to a Boil. Boiling over a slow fire is the hap piest death a lobster can meet, so It has been determined at the Jersey ma rine biological station. The experi ments were carried out by Joseph Siuel. a well known biologist, for the Isle of Jersey Society For the Preven tion of Cruelty to Animals, whose mem bers associated the prevalent method of killing lobsters with medieval tor ture. Lobsters, says Mr. Sinel, are ex tremely difficult to kill. Piercing the brain does not seem to cause the lob ster more than temporary annoyance, since his brain is a mere nerve gan glion the size of a hemp seed. He has to be killed all over. To throw him into boiling water fails to do the work either mercifully or quickly since he struggles violently to escape for about two minutes. The pleasantest way to end a lob ster's troubles, Mr. Sinel finds, is the old fashioned way of placing him in cold water and bringing him to a boll. As the water warms he becomes lazy and rolls over as for a sleep. By the time the water reaches the compara tively mild temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit he becomes comatose.. At 80 degrees he is dead. To use a hu man illustration, the biologist says it is like a person succumbing to a heat wave, with loss of consciousness and a painless end.—Loudon Cor. New York Tost. Tips and Tips. "The Scotch caddie is the best caddie In the world." said a famous player, "only, like all his race, he's a little near, a little tight across the chest. 'Bang goes sixpence,' don't you know. "A friend of mine spent his vaca tion golfing on the famous St. An drews links in Scotland. My friend had a very fine Scotch caddie, a notori ously fiue Scotch caddie, and he said to the man the first day ou the course: " 'Dugald. my man, I expect to get some good tips from you during my stay here.' " 'And I expect.' said Dugald dryly, 'the like frae you.' "—Exchange. Velocity of Sound. The velocity of sound depends upon the medium through which the sound has to travel. The mean velocity of sound in air is 1,123 feet per second, while the velocity of sound in water is given at 4,708 feet per second, being about four times quicker than in air. Cast Iron conveys sound at the rate of 16.522 feet per second, or about six teen times more quickly than air.—New York American. - Extravagance. Extravagance in thought Is as bad as ■extravagance in living expenses.—E. *W. Howe's Monthly. J Over j "Tinker has placed an old railroad j sign. 'Stop, look and listen!' at the en irance to his driveway." "What's the idea?" "His wife is runn.ng the touring car."—Judge. Our First Sawmill. It Is said that the first sawmill in the United States was at Jamestown, from which sawed boards were ex ported in June, 1607. A water power sawmill was in use in 1625 near tlie present site of Richmond. JAPANESE RED CROSS NURSES. Photo by American Press Association. This picture was made when the oriental maidens were en route to Europe to care for the wounded. Wasted Generosity. "Oh, I'm so sorry I can't marry you. I had no idea you thought of me that way!" "Well, what do you suppose I've been letting your father beat me at golf all the time for?"— Judge. Chrysanthemums of Japan. Although the chrysanthemum has reached its highest form of develop ment in Japan, and is still reverenced as the imperial emblem, it was taken to Japan from China, where it has been brought to its highest state of cultivation. At the imperial chrysan themum party given by his majesty the emperor of Japan in November ev ery year one sees the most marvelous blossoms known to the floriculturist The number of blossoms from one root is amazing. In one case no less than 700 flowers were seen growing from one plant. The festival of the chrysan themum dates back to the Heian era, when the great ones of the empire used to call at the imperial palace and drink to the health of the imperial house from sake cups in which floated petals of the beautiful flowers. Old Time Coining. In the fifteenth century a skilled coin er, of whom there were but few. might be able to turn out by hand fifty or sixty coins a day, a result totally in adequate to cope with the vast quan tity of treasure, chiefly silver, that shortly began to arrive from America. To multiply coiners was to multiply forgers, and thus the coining machine became a necessity of state. A laminat ing mill and screw coining press was invented in Italy 1547, Spain 1548, France 1553 and England 1561, reign of Elizabeth. After several trials and abandonments the mill and press were established permanently under Charles 11., whose golden guineas, struck in 1662, were the first regular issues of machine coins made north of the chan nel.—Argonaut Why They Don't Hear. Perhaps the limit of hymnic fatuity was reached by the writer of hymn 575 in the "Ancient and Modem" col lection. Here is the fourth stanza: They do not hear when the great hell Is ringing overhead; They cannot rise and come to church With us, for they are dead. The list of things which "they" are unable to do might be indefinitely ex tended, and it seems a thing incredible that the author of the above verse should have written so beautiful and moving a hymn as "There is a greea hill far away."—London Chronicle. Canada's Size. The area of the Dominion of Canada is 3,658,946 square miles. The area of continental United States is 3,025,000 square miles. Canada is as big as the United States with a territory to spare that is as large as three German em pires and the state of New York.—New York American. He. Pdean Brother. She—Aline's twin brother annoys her dreadfully. He—How? She—You see. everybody knows they are twins, and poor Aline can't pass for only twenty four because he tells people he's thir ty!— Exchange. Russia's Fisheries. Russia ranks third among the fish and deep sea food producing countries of the world. The total yield of fish is well over $8,000,000 worth a year, but even this great supply is not equal to the needs of the population. BLIND, BUT HAPPY FOR THE TIME. Photo by American Press Association. New York city annually gives a substantial sum in cash to each blind resident This shows a blind couple,"! led by their daughter, after they had received their gratuity. The woman Is counting her money. Strenuous Love. "Do yer love me, 'Erb?" "Love yer. 'Liza! I should jest think I does. Why, if yer ever gives me up I'll murder yer! I can't say more'n that, can I?"—Loudou Punch. Very Moving. Talk about moving things with a derrick—the most powerful thing known to move man is a woman's eyes.—Florida Times-Onion. Gooo Cooks In Demand. "I've had my daughters learn to cook so that they might get better hus bands." "And did they?" "No, they feel above marrying now.** —Boston Transcrii-i. Professor Armbruster asserts that the reason very young children are rel atively immune to infectious diseases is that their hearts beat so much more rapidly than those of older persons that the blood flows swiftly through the arteries, and this swiftness of flow makes it difficult for micro-organisms to gain a foothold in the blood stream. —New York World. One Danger. "Have you fastened the windows, dear?" she asked as they were about to retire for the night "No. What's the use? I gave you the last dollar I had to buy that new hat and we needn't fear burglars." "But they might sit down on the hat, you know." —Washington Post Between Citizens. He was abusing things in general "Have you registered?" asked the other man. "N-n-no." "A citizen should always register. Your vote will do more to correct mat ters than your criticism."—Pittsburgh Post THE PATRIOT HENRY SHRAPNEL. Inventor of the Deacty War Missile and His Reward. Sbrapnel was originally the name of a British general who. about i 4 hun dred years ago. was begging the Iwiard of ordnance of his native land for some substantial reoognirit . in respect of tbe new and deadly missile lie trad placed absolutely at their service and was l>eiiig told that the institution iu question "had n funds at its disposal for the reward of merit." Henry Shrapnel's invention was probably first employed at Surinam in 1804 and was then "favorably report ed on." but eleven years later Sir George Wood, who commanded tlie ar tillery at Waterloo, declared that shrapnel bad won that famous battle. Without It. Wood asserted, no effort of tbe British could have recovered the farmhouse of La Ilaye Saiute. In 1814 the government granted Shrapnel a pension of £1.200 a year for life, but this was interpreted by his paymasters to cover all the inven tions Shrapnel had given to tbe army, including an ingenious gun mounting whereby the recoil was utilized to bring one gun into action at the same time as another was put under cover. Shrapnel was thus placed at a disad vantage. though lie had the satisfac tion of drawing his pension to a ripe old ago. He died in 1842. aged eighty one.—Argonaut. Very Temperate. "He was very temperate. He got drunk only once a week." remarked a witness to a Liverpool coroner. Laughed and Won. When the British were storming Badajoz the Duke of Wellington rode up and, observing an artilleryman par ticularly active, inquired the man's name. He was answered "Taylor." "A very good name too," said the duke. "Cheer up. my men! Our Tay lor will soon make a pair of breaches In the walls!" At this sally the men forgot their danger, a burst of laughter broke from them and the next charge carried the fortress.—London Answers. His Definition. "Pa, what is an 'interior decorator?' " "I'm not quite sure, Wilfred, but I think it's a cook." —New York Times. AT THE HISTORIC CHATEAU DE MONDEMENT. Pheto by American Press Association. This estate, near the river Aisne. was often visited by Napoleon. It was taken and retaken by French and Ger* |l|l i{t||ri] times. The cat a wall demolished by sbeD fire. place .it JCKyli jsiana on tne norma coast. In this way he was able to con verse with Dr. Bell and Mr. Watson and thus three men who have contributed much to the making of telephone history were all "present,'' although sep.-.rated by hundreds of miles, at this significant event. "Ahoy* Ahoy! Can yen hear me?" asked Dr. Bel!, and instantly there was a murmur in the receiver audible to everyone in the room. Out in San Fran cisco in the offices of the Pacific Tele phone & Telegraph Company, Thomas A. Watson had heard the voice of his old time associate signalling in the manner they had employed in their earliest ex periments. and had answered: "I can hear perfectly." The telephone used by Dr. Be II in his talk was the same crude instrument which transmitted the first mess-ge, and there was an added touch of sentiment in the fact tb-U there had been spliced to the line some of the wire which was used in the first sustained talk almost 40 years ago. The original telephone which Is t? curious-locking contraption with a thin membrane of gold-beater's skin stretched taut for a diaphragm, is still capable of transmitting the voice, but no one familiar with the telephone of to-day would have called this crude instrument by that name. It was stated that since the first tele phone of Bell there have been placed in use and discarded in the process of evo lution to the efficient instrument of to day, seventy-three styles of transmitter and fifty-three types of receiver. The new line is the culmination of a constant progression towards longer and longer distances in telephoning. J. J. Carty and the other eng'neers of the Bell System, to whom the credit for this new triumph of science is due, car. point out no single phase or invention which has made trans-continental telephoning pos sible. Constant improvements in lines, cable, switchboards, receivers and trans mitters, and a multitude of other ap paratus, have brought about the ultimate result seen to-day. One would think that merely the ex tension of the lines a few hundred miles further from the Salt Lake City point reached a short time ago, on to 'Frisco was all that was necessary. But that is not true. In almost every step that has been made in the development of long distance telephony from the first, two mile line reaching out of Boston to Cambridge on through all the advances, first to Providence; then New York in 18S8; then New York to Chicago in 1802: then Omaha: then Denver, and finally the coast—in every added span new difficul ties have had to be met—new problems have arisen to be overcome. The new ccast to coast line has only been constructed after the expense of a vast sum cf money and the taxing to the utmost of the powers of the 550 or so engineer' *' Rather Too Light. The landlady who had not a reputa tion for overfeeding her boarders asked her solitary boarder as he looked dole fully at his supper, "Shall I light the gas?" The boarder gazed at the scanty meal and replied, "Well, no, it isn't neces sary; the supper is light enough!"— London Telegraph. Two Puzzles. Mrs. Bowns—How do you expect me to buy things for you to eat if you don't give me any money? Mr. Bowns —And how do you expect me to earn money for you If I don't get anything to eat? —New York Journal. OCEAN [0 UttAN TELEPHONE SERVICE ACHIEVED Firac L'easage From New Yorb: to San Francisco Historic Event Celebrated With A. G. Bell at Atlantic End and T. A. Watson at the Pacific End of Line NEW TOt'.K, January 2J. — This after noon the voice of man was made to '.cap across the continent —New York and San Frat.ctsco were connected by tele phone. Impressively, almost solemnly,. Alexander Graham Bell, a bis white haired man whese full white beard gives him a typical, patriarchal look, spoke the tfrst words over the span of 3400 miles, l -. San Francisco there sat. listening to this first trans-continental message, the man who almost forty years ago heard I>r. Bell speak the first words that ever traveled over a wire. This man was Thomas A. Watson, Dr. Bell's assistant when he Invented the telephone In 1875. Small wonder that few of those who witnessed th's formal opening of the new continent-spanning line could restrain their emotions. Here was history in the making as well as a confirmation of that oft-spoken phrase that history repeats itself. Here were these two men who. in their youth, had conceived and created the epoch-making telephone—an achieve ment the greatness of which is reserved for the few—here were they, testing the crowning achievement of the telephone engineers who. following in the footsteps of the inventor and his assistant, took the first little telephone and created for it lines and switchboards and innumer able pieces of apparatus unl*l speech can now be speeded across the entire na tion from ocean to ocean. This indeed was a wonderful fulfillment to ba crowded into the short space of a man's life-time. Such were the thoughts of those who witnessed this impressive inaugural of the trans-continental telephone service in the office of the President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Com pany at 15 Dey Street. Among those who witnessed the formal opening by Dr. Bell, and who afterward talked to'Frisci I'.cre Aiwyor Mltchel, other city officials, members of the various civic bodies and other prominent persons to the number of about one hundred. There were be sides a number of telephone officials including J. J. Carty, Chief Engineer of the Bell System, under whose direction the new line was constructed; B. Gherardi, another prominent telephone engineer, and Thomas B. Doollttle, wha developed hard drawn copper wire. In San Francisco, beside Mr. Watson, there were the Mayor, the President of the Panama-Pacific Exposition and a small group of other much-interested persons. At the White House President Wilson spoke into the mouthpiece of his tele phone and his voice was whirled across thirteen States to the shores of the Pacific. Theodore N. Vail, the President of the American Telephone and Telegfnph Com pany, was unable to be present but spe cial arrangements were made which per mitted him to be connected with the trans-conline-c-1 line fro.ip hif stopping Bravery and Cowardice. Cowardice Is often Ignorance. Are any men brave, more ready to take tbeir lives in their hands, to reckon death as one of the daily encounters, than tile deep sea fishermen? Yet a group of these men brought to London by one of their missionaries have been seen too terrified to cross the street. The police had to stop the traffic to al low them to cross. The quick, quarrel some. fearless cockneys who laughed at them—how would they feel in a freezing storm in the North sea? A spider may terrify the most courageous of women and a veteran siirink from a cat. Every hero has his weakness, and we may believe every coward has a point where he turns and will tight the world.—London Outlook. Bullet Wounds. The entrance wound caused by the modern small arm bullet is not a grewsome spectacle. It is small, and Its appearance has been compared to that produced by the bite of a certnio parasite insect. Often there is bu* little external bleeding, but this is not to be taken as a danger signal, at might be popularly supposed.—Londoa Telegraph. Quite Enough. Penman—Did you wade through that last book of mine? Wright—Yes. I did. "Were you much stuck on it?" "Only a dollar twenty-five."—Yonker* Statesman. Sporting Note. Speaking of mollycoddle games, how would you like to play cricket on the hearth ?—Judge.