fiiRDS AS PROTECTORS
William Dutcher Tells of Their
Value to Farmers.
KILLERS OF MANY INSECTS.
Well Known Ornithologist, In Strong
Appeal to Save the Birds, Describes
Methods That Could Be Used to
Create Sentiment In Their Favor.
Now that spring is here insects of
nil kinds will soon begin their destruc
tive work on the farmers' crops. To
offset this the following appeal to save
the birds made by William Dutcher,
chairman of the protection committee
of the American Ornithologists' union,
is of timely interest:
According to the census of 1000, there
were in the United States the enor
mous number of 5,730.057 farms, with
a total acreage of 841,201,540. The val
uation of tin se farm lands Is placed at
the sum of $20,514,001,838. The labor
of the farmer and fruit grower is re
paid by products to the value of $4,730,-
118,752 per year. It is said that in
sects and rodents destroy products an
nually to the astonishing money value
of §200,000,000, even with the birds
as protectors. Try to Imagine what
the additional loss would be were all
the birds destroyed.
They are rapidly decreasing in num
bers, and unless the large and most
vitally interested class of the popula
tion, the agriculturists, awaken to the
gravity of the situation and absolutely
demand that no more beneficial birds
be killed for any purpose whatever
they will soon feel the result in an in
creasing annual loss in actual dollars
and cents. A difference of 1 per cent
in the value of the farm products in
the United States each year amounts
to the enormous sum of $17,391,187.
Birds are now killed by human agen
cies for three purposes only—for food,
wantonly by men and boys and for mil
linery ornaments. For food only a
very few are shot—that Is, tlie game
birds, and those only during restricted
portions of the yenr—so they do not
materially effect the result. That many
birds are destroyed wantonly is un
deniable. Men who claim to be sports
men, but who are not, kill thousands
each year simply for practice in wing
shooting, and boys with their arma
ment of air guns and pea shooters kill
a far greater number than is realized
by the public.
There is no excuse for shooting the
third class of birds, as their value as
millinery ornaments is far less than
their value as insect destroyers. Be
sides this, contrast the difference in
the money value of the two Interests
that are opposed to each other. By the
census of 1000 we find that the total
capital invested in the millinery and
lace trade is $37,970,050 and the value
Df the manufactured goods in 1890
was $97,959,490. Place the two inter
ests side by side, $20,000,000,000 as
against $3S,000,000; again, an annual
product of $4,739,000,000 as against
J05,000,000. I ask and wish that 1 could
shout my question in a voice so loud
and clear that every man, woman and j
child in this broad land of ours could
hear it—Have the milliners, with their
paltry interests, any right to jeopardize |
the safety of the agricultural inter- |
ssts?
A difference of only 1 per cent In the
annual product of our farms and gar
dens amounts to more than the entire j
millinery and lace interest hi the J
United States. Will the farmers and [
fruit growers remain silent much lon- j
ger and permit the birds, their best ,
friends, to be killed that a trilling in- ;
terest like the millinery trade may i
make a few more dollars at the saeri- \
fiee of so much that is beautiful as
well as of economic value?
The law should be very clear and I
explicit upon this point, that the pos- i
session of the body or plumage of any I
of our native wild birds shall be coii
ilusive proof that the same was ob- j
talned In violation of the statute. This
would stop the wanton killing and ;
traffic lu wild bird plumage at once
and would afford the survivors abso- j
lute protection. Laws to protect birds, !
however, no matter how good they j
may be, are useless unless they are >
enforced or unless there is a public
sentiment in favor of bird protection. I
This sentiment is the very goal that |
all bird lovers are striving for, and it
may be attained in many different j
ways.
For want of space I suggest ohly a '
few of the many methods that could
be used to create sentiment:
First—Let the members of the women's !
clubs, the Christian Endeavor societies,
the Epworth leagues and the Young Teo- I
pie's Christian associations have nn addi
tional aim. It is to love God's wild birds |
»s well as his human children. It all I
the members of these bodies will pledge |
themselves to refrain from killing their
little brothers of the air and absolutely •
refuse to wear the plumage of any wild ;
birds as ornaments, then a great advance
will have been made toward the better
protection of our birds.
Second.—Let the true sportsman insist
upon it that the pseudo sportsman re
spect the laws and refrain from pnttlns;
game birds or killing non-game birds as a
pastime.
Third.—Have all of the vast number of \
school children in the country taught j
ornithology m the schools, from the kin- (
dcrparten to the college, in order that !
they may know the economic value of '
birds and thus bo made their protectors, j
Fourth.—Lot the farmers' clubs and in- I
statutes take up the subject of bird pro- '
tectlon, for It Is of vital Importance to I
tlQem. There Is no other class to whom
the subject appeuls so strongly from the !
side as to the agriculturist or |
the* fruit grower. The farmers of the
present day are much more advanced in
their methods than were their ancestors,
even those of a few generations back.
Farming is now dono largely on scien
tific principles, helped by study and re
search in chemistry, etc. During the year |
1593 the farmers of the United States I
paid for labor alone the sum of *305,305,-
ia (taken from twelfth census, 1900), but
ihe most important helpers that the farm
er has, those that work without pay
and lighten his labors, or. rather, permit I
his labors to bo rewarded, are rapidly i
being destroyed simply because the farm
er has not mado himself acquainted with
the good they do him.
Tho birds protect the farmer. They
work for him more faithfully and contin
uously than any other helper he can get.
Let the farmer recognize this and in turn
let htm protect the birds. It would be a
wise Investment in actual dollars and
tents for every farmers' club and Insti
tute in this land to employ an ornitholo
gist to teach tho names of the bird*
about them and the part that each one
takes In the preservation of nature's bal
ance. I believe that when the farmers.
SCOUTS OF THE 1,
Part Airships Will Play In War
fare. Says Maxim.
TO BE NO BIG BATTLES ALOFT
Aerial Cruisers Will Be Too Light to
Carry Much Ammunitidh, Says the
Inventor—May Be Slight Clashes In
Upper Air—Airships as Peacemakers.
Hudson Maxim, the man who invent
ed smokeless powder, who discovered
the first high explosive that will shoot
through armor plate and explode be
hind it, as well as the wonderful new
system of driving torpedoes and tor
pedo boats that lias been adojited by
the United States government, does
not believe the day will ever come
when fleets of airships will battle in
I the upper air just as navies do now
upon the sea. In this he differs with
more enthusiastic inventors in the field
of aeronautics. Mr. Maxim believes
he has discovered the principle which
enables a bird to lift its own weight
with so little effort, and he will apply
| it to practical use for mankind. Hut
that is another story, and he is not
ready to tell about it jet
"The airship," said Mr. Maxim to a
reporter of the New York Evening
I World, "will certainly play an impor
tant part in warfare, ''tit not in actual
I conflict. It will l>e the vedette of the
air—the picket, tlie outpost, the scout
I for the battleships.
"In the first place, do not think that
there will ever be an aeroplane, an
! aerostat, aeror.ou, dirigible balloon, or
j whatever you i any call it, that will
| lie able to compete with a modern
j man-o'-war as a destroyer. It could
| not cany the ammunition or the men;
I it could not be so equipped with the
| necessary properties of defense to en
i able it to stand any sort of chance with
an armored cruiser.
"The chief necessity of warfare is
I the eye. It is the same as a man
| crossing I'.roadway. lie has to see
where he Is going and what he is do
j Ing. and if an airship ever got near
I enough to a battleship to drop a ton
| of dynamite upon it the distance would
j be short enough for the ship's gunners
to reach the airship, and with the much
| greater advantages of the warship the
! aerial cruiser wouldn't stand a chance.
"I believe in the modified aeroplane
I or flying machine and that its use In
J war will be as the eyes of the fleet in
| the waters nud the armies in the field
j below. It will be invaluable in the sci
| ence of tactics, for the chief element of
I tactics is to know something before
| the enemy knows it, and that the ve
! dette of the air will make easier.
| "Imagine two great armies in a
j mountainous country near to each
other, but ignorant of their positions,
| waiting and dodging for days. A gen
j oral of one sends up one of these cloud-
I land scouts. Skirting over a mountain
| range, covering vast distances in one
short trip that would take any kind of
land traveler days to make, its offi
cers learn of the whereabouts of the
| enemy and report, giving an advantage
j of inestimable value. The same would
| apply to two fleets of battleships wait
| ing togo into battle,
j "The principal thing in any class of
j conflict is to strike heavier blows than
j the enemy is capable of striking anil
I before the enemy can strike, and an
| air picket of the kind 1 have in mind
j would make the accomplishment of
this an easy matter."
Mr. Maxim believes there will be
j fights in the air, but holds that they
' will uevcr exceed the importance of
such skirmishes as are common in war
fare when two parties of scouts chance
to meet. The air craft, he says, will
not be able to carry many men or guns,
and the idea of two fleets of them
skimming around and firing broadsides
or boarding each other he regards as
ridiculous.
"We shall have oilr torpedo boats I
and torpedo boat destroyers of the !
air," lie says, "but thc-y will 1 e airy, J
fairy and frail craft compared with tlie |
prim steel monsters of the sea, and
their chief mi 'km will be to!' <• n- |
illctond in fact, to keep as mm !: •nit of
sight as is possible. They also wo'iid
be Invaluable as features of < ! do- j
fense, but I want to be put on record j
as denying the probability of i!:elr ever \
being practical as machines of oTen- ,
sive warfare."
As peacemakers Mr. Maxim think <
the vedettes of the air will be more
powerful than any of the other engines
of war Invented. Ills theory is tVit |
the more ytoi: reduce fighting t> n . .• |
tlon of machinery the more expensive
fighting becomes, because machinery is j
more expensive than men.
"A man H a pawn In the g eof I
war," he says.
"My brother was killed in lh battle j
of Spottsylvanla Court lloum rils ,
company was on a rids?" wit! ■■ * i : :• |
munition, yet they were held t! re : • j
a sort of buttress to prevent the c:.e: y |
from capturing the supp'i s of his com
mand. It is considered good tactics to j
mcrifice IO.OiiO men fo di intrench an
. li' v."
fay Trace Bullet's Flight.
l.\ 'lenments have recently been
made with an inflammable paste on i
bullets. When the bullet leaves the
muzzle the paste ignites, leaving a
stream of smoke behind It and en- |
abling the marksman to watch its |
course and if necessary correct his |
aim for the next shot
One Curious Survival.
A curious custom among the Japa
nese is to expect a defaulting financier
to commit suicide Instead of going )
abroad and enjoying himself.
Curate—l haven't seen your husband j
at church recently, Mrs. itloggs. What
is he doing? Mrs. Itloggs—'E be a do
in' six months, sir.—London Opinion.
Is in doing right from
Margaret of Navarre.
como well acquainted with me good tne
birds do in the moadows and orchards,
the gardens and forests. It will bo dan
gerous for any one to destroy one of the
feathered helpers. Hasten the day!
Finally, let all of the above forces
combine and In the states where the
bird laws are not satisfactory forcibly
flcmand that their legislators shall im
mediately enact a law to protect the
birds.
A DOLEFUL DILEMMA
The Tearful Tale of the Per
plexed Princess.
HER UNSOLVABLE PROBLEM.
A Most Puzzling and Lamentable Sit
uation That Fortunately For the
Peace of Mind of Womankind la Not
at All Liable to Recur.
Now, when It was the thousand and
'third night, suid Dunyazad to her sis
ter, Shahrazad, "Allah upon me, O tny
ulster, recite to lis some new story, de
| lightsome and delectable, wherewith to
while away the waking hours of our
latter night"
"With Joy and goodly will," answer
ed Shnhraiad, "if this pious and auspi
cious king permit."
"Tell on," quoth the king, who had
freely purtakenof the dish termed by
the Franks "the rabbit of Wales" and
was sleepless and restless. So Shahra
i zad, rejoiced with the prospect of talk
! ing, thus began on the thousand and
| third night "The Tale of the Perplexed :
j Princess:"
j Afar in the realm of Ouricund, which
• lies within the land of Hindustan, once
! reigned a mighty king who had one
daughter of such exceeding beauty
I that all who beheld her liocame poets
! and warriors, which was well for the
i national fame, but ill for the royal
i treasury.
Now, the loveliness of the princess
being such, it may seem strange that
she had attained her eighteenth year
i unmarried, yet so it befell, for in his
| hesitancy because of the great multi
| tude of eligible suitors the king, who,
though otherwise respectable, was a
vilely devout lienthen. made a vow
that he would give his daughter in
marriage only to that man who should
; receive the indorsement of his idol, an
! image of exceeding ugliness housed In i
j a gulden temple adjacent to the palace. |
i So it was that many princes from
! ninny lands enme to bow before the
i idol, offering splendid sacrifices and
j rich gifts of treasure for the desired
sign of favor, yet ever the idol re
| malned silent.
! At length there came from the is
j land of Lanka a prince of great power,
| and so deeply smitten was he with love j
j for the princess that he bowed before
| the idol, saying, "Great lord, grant
| but that the princess may become my
bride, and then shall I without delay
return to thee and cut off my own
head as a thank offering!"
And the next day when the king find
s all his court came to worship in the
j golden temple the evil spirit that was
1 within the idol caused the hand of the
| image to stretch forth and point to the
| prince and caused the stone lips to
open and say to the king, "Behold thy
| son-in-law!"
| Forthwith was the wedding of the
| prince and princess celebrated with
j great pomp in the palace, andstraigbt
j way thereafter, in fulfillment of his
| vow, the prince hastened to the tem
ple, bowed before the idol and cut off
his own head.
Then entered the priest of the tem
ple and in his grief, horror and fear
for what had chanced and for what
might well come to lilni in conse
quence likewise cut off his head.
Then entered the princess, seeking
her husband, and, seeing but the two
headless bodies, raised the prince's
sword and was about to sever her own
lovely head when the idol spoke again,
I saying: "Hold! Take the heads and
j set them upon the men's shoulders!"
: And the princess did even so. And
I the heads grew fast to the bodies, and
| the bodies rose upon their feet.
; Hut now it appeared that in her
| haste and tumult of mind the princess
| had set the priest's head upon the
J shoulders of the prince and the
prince's head upon the shoulders of
j the priest, so that in a way each was
| the other, yet neither was either, and
j each claimed her as his bride, and
j each head, being a wise head, spake
j many shrewd arguments one way and
' the other, yet could neither prevail.
And so was the princess sore perplex
ed, and, in truth, never have I learned
I how logically to conclude the tale.
"In sooth," said the king, "might she
not have obtained a divorce?"
"Nay, sire," replied Shahrazad, "for
from whom? And which must she
then have married in accordance with
th» word of the idol?"
"Then," proposed the king, "why
might they not have matched dinars to
decide which should have hef?"
"Ah, my lord," said Shahrazad. shak
ing her head, "that would have been in
accord with the easy, unscientific
method of the far west, which would
still have left the problem unsolved."
"Surely, then." urged the klug,
might have fnugjit for her."
"And would that have determined
the truth?" responded Shahrazad, "and
would not the victor have been either
or both a murderer and a suicide?
Alas, my lord, the Insoluble perplexity
of tills fair princess hath caused me
much sorrow, and glad am I only that ,
such sad dilemmas do not often occur."
New York Times.
His Crime.
A popular tctress recently visited
Chicago's Ghetto seeking a samovar.
In that strange section of cosmopolitan
ism she heard a "new one." "As I
turned a corner," said the lady, "the ,
boy's mother had him by the ear, and |
in her uplifted raised baud there was a
menacing barrel stave. "I'll learn ye to
tie the kettle to tlae cat's tail!' she yell
ed in wrath. 'lt wasn't our cat!' cried
the frightened boy. 'No, it wasn't our
cat,' alimist shrieked the enraged moth
er. 'but It was our kettle!' "
Danger to Fordwych's Ducking Stool.
The pretty Kentish village of Ford
wych, near Canterbury, in England, Is
tn danger of losing its ducking stool, |
for which a large price has been of- j
fered by a transatlantic millionaire. J
l'his is one of the very few remaining ;
axamples left tn England of the instrfl- |
Bent formerly designed for therefor- j
nation of scolding or otherwise unsat- |
Isfactory wives. This distinction, of
course, it shared with the now similarly j
rare scold's bridle. It is said, by the |
way, that the ducking stool at Ford- j
wych was even used in the punishment I
jf so called witches after the barba- 1
rous fashion of those times.
■TMM'SWILORIDE
It Was Worth Ihree Stars to the
American Flag.
SAVED US VAST TERRITORY.
The Perilous Journey of Four Thou
sand Miles From Oregon to Washing
ton Made by a Brave Man and the
Results Which Followed In Its Wake.
The ride of Marcus Whitman was
over snow capped mountains and along
dark ravines, traveled only by savage
men. It was a plunge through Icy riv
ers and across trackless prairies, a
ride of 4,000 miles across a continent
In the dead of winter to save a mighty
territory to the Union.
Compared with this what was the
feat of Paul Bevere, who rode eight
een miles on a calm night in April to
i arouse a handful of sleeping patriots
and thereby save the powder at Con
cord?
Whitman's ride saved throe stars to
the American flag. It was made in
1842.
In 1792, during the flrst administra
tion of Washington, Captain Robert
Gray, who had already carried the
American flag around the globe, dis
covered the mouth of the Columbia
river. lie sailed several miles up the
groat stream and landed and took pos
session in the name of the United
! States.
In ISOS, under Jefferson's administra
tion, this. vast territory was explored
by Captains Lewis aud Clark, whose
reports were popular reading for our
grandfathers, but the extent and value
of this distant possession were very
slightly understood, and no attempt at
colonization was made save the estab
lishment of the fur trading station of
Astoria in 1811.
Strangely enough, England, too,
claimed this same territory by virtue
! of rights ceded to it by Russia and
also by the Vancouver surveys of 1702.
The Hudson's Bay company establish
ed a number of trading posts and filled
the country with adventurous fur trad
j ers. So here was a vast territory, as
large as New England and the state of
Indiana combined, which seemed to be
without any positive ownership. But
for Marcus Whitman It would have
been lost to the Union.
It was In 1830 that Dr. Whitman and
a man of the name of Spauldlng, with
their young wives, the first white wo
men that ever crossed the Rocky
mountains, entered the valley of the
Columbia and founded a mission of
the American board. They had been
sent out to Christianize the Indians,
but Whitman was also to build a state.
He was at this time thirty-five years
old. In his journeys to and fro for
the mission he soon saw the vast pos
sibilities of the country, and he saw,
too, that the English were already ap
prised of this and were rapidly pour
ing Into the territory. Under the terms
of the treaties of ISIS and IS2B it was
the tacit belief that whichever nation
ality settled and organized the splen
did territory would hold it. If Eng
land and the English fur traders had
been successful in their plans, the
three great states of Washington, Ore
gon and Idaho would now constitute a
part of British Columbia. But it was
not destined to be.
In the fall of 1843 it looked as if
there would l>e a great Inpourlng of
English Into the territory, and Dr.
Whitman took the alarm. There was
no time to lose. The authorities at
Washington must l»e warned. Hastily
bidding his wife adieu, Dr. Whitman
started on his hazardous journey. The
perils, hardships and delays he en
countered on the way we can but
faintly conceive, ills feet were frozen,
he nearly starved, and once he came
very near to losing his life. He kept
pushing right on, and at the end of
five terrible mouths he reached Wash
ington.
He arrived there a worn, bearded,
strangely picturesque figure, clad en
tirely in buckskin and fur, a typical
man of the prairies. He asked audi
ence of President Tyler and Secretary
of State Webster, audit was accorded
him. All clad as he was, with ills
frozeu limbs, just In from his 4,000
mile ride, Whitman appeared before
the two great men to plead for Ore
gon.
Ills statement was a revelation to
the administration. Previous to Whit
man's visit it was the general idea In
congress that Oregon was a barren,
worthless country, fit only for wild
beasts and wild men. He opened the
eyes of the government to the limit
less wealth and splendid resources of
that western territory. He told them
of its great rivers and fertile valleys,
its mountains covered with forests
ii. 1 its mines filled with precious
He showed them that it
was a country worth keeping and
that it must not fall into the hands of
the English. He spoke as a man in
spired, and his words were heeded.
What followed—the organization of
companies of emigrants, the rapid set
tlement of the territory and the treaty
made with Great Britain in IS4O by
which the forty-ninth parallel was
made the boundary line west of the ,
Rocky mountains—are matters of his
tory.
The foresight aud the heroism of
one man aud his gallant ride had
saved three great states to the Un
ion.—Omaha World-llerald.
Two Ways.
Jack—ln the oriental world a girl (
never sees her inteuded husband until (
she is married. Floss—How odd! In J
this part of the world she seldom sees ■
him afterward.—New York Globe. j
Lent.
By the word Lent is understood the
fast of forty days preceding Easter,
kept (after the example of Moses, Ellas ]
and Christ himself) in order to prepare I
the faithful for the great festival of <
Easter. The Greek and Latin names I
for the fast, Tessarakoate and Quadra- i
gesiina, indicate the number of days. I
The Italian Quaresima and the French 1
Careme come from the Latin. The I
German Fastenzeit and the Dutch Vas
ten denote the fast, while our own i
word. Lent, from the Anglo-Saxon '
Lencten, means spring—l. e., spring i
fast. i
NOVEL AIDJBR CUPID
Seventeen Girls Join In Incor- j
porating the Dot Society.
A SMALL FARM PURCHASED.;
Young Women Will Raise Hens,' Flo
wers, Etc., to Earn Dowries—Vow Not
to Wed Until SSOO Is Set Aside as
Start In Married Life.
"I solemnly vow that I will not wed
until I have earned with my own hands
a dowry of $500."
The above is the pledge seventeen
fair maids of New York have taken.
As evidence of sincerity they have in
corporated under New York state laws
as the Dot society, have purchased an
acre of land at Northport, N. Y., and
have made arrangements to become
farmers.
Two years must elapse, according to
their optimistic calculations, before
they will be able to marry, and several
of them. It is admitted, are engaged
now. They have agreed that marriage
nowadays requires that the bride shall
have money besides beauty, and so
they intend to silence the wedding
lieils until the entire ssso Is amassed.
Miss Albla Newlln Brown of New
York city Is the originator and presi
dent of the Dot society. The financing
of the movement has fallen to her and
Miss Charlotte M. Kobson, who lives
In Boston at present, and Miss Eliza
beth Gardener Phillips, who Is living in
Philadelphia temporarily. Each con
tributed a third of the SSOO paid for
the laud, and they will supply the
funds with which to erect the house in
which the girl farmers will live.
The other fourteen young women will
be asked to pay a certain sum, but this
will be necessary to purchase fanning
implements aud other accessories and
to maintain the group until they are
able to put their produce on the mar
ket.
Parental objection has been strong
in the cases of all seventeen maidens,
kbut they have succeeded in having
their way.
"I suppose most folks will think we
are a lot of spinsters who have hit
upon this plan of buying husbands,"
said Miss Brown the other day to a re
porter of the New York American, "but
tliat isn't true. There isn't a girl among
us who couldn't be married tomorrow
if she were willing.
"It is a matter of principle with us.
Why should a young woman rush into
wedding with a rash young man when
neither has any money? It is ridicu
lous. A husband cannot supi>ort his |
wife oti her good looks. He requires
hard cash. In Europe they discovered
this long ago, and when a girl becomes
a wife she takes to her husband a
dowry, or, as it is commonly called, a
dot
"That is what we Intend to do. When
one of us Is married she will bo able
to furnish her home and start in with
out a mountain of debt on her shoul
ders. I suppose we shall insist that
the young men have some money. That
would not be any more than fair. But
each girl will have to settle that for
herself.
"We are all very serious about the
matter. We expect the society to live
long after the original members have
married.
"To a certain extent the colony will
be socialistic. Each girl will be re- j
quired to work eight hours a day for ;
the society. The proceeds will go into j
the general fund, from which the dots j
will be apportioned. But during the I
rest of the time the money they earn
by doing other work will goto the ac
count of each individually.
"What will we raise on our farm?
Well, chickens—that involves eggs—
and flowers and mushrooms.
"Will we run the farm entirely by
ourselves? Certainly. From the time
we take possession the sign 'No Admit
tance' will meet all men who come
along. Oh, yes, we're quite able to
protect ourselves. Our ages run from
about eighteen to twenty-three, aud
we're quite out of the childhood state.
"We can't be frightened out of this
tiling. We're bound that we're going
to have our dowries, and we're bound
also that the Dot society shall go right
on as a New York Institution. Just as
soon as one girl drops out to get mar
ried we shall admit another."
A Rat Killer Warship.
In view of the movement in Eng
land for the extermination of rats. It
is of interest to know that the Ham
burg harbor authorities have a verita
ble "battleship" engaged in the cam
paign. The specially built steamer
Disinfector is employed primarily for
the destruction of rats on ships that
have arrived from plague suspected
ports. The system used—poisonous
gases, which do not damage property
—was devised by Professor Nochf. A
mixture of 5 per cent carbonic oxide
gas, IS per cent carbonic acid and 77
per cent nitrogen is conveyed from
the Disinfector by pipes into the holds
of the ships being treated, and after
thorough fumigation currents of fresh
air are blown through. Many vessels
have been successfully cleaned and
countless thousands of rats destroyed.
As many as 000 dead rats have been
counted after one disinfection.
Society of Royal Descendants.
The National Society of Americans
of Itoyai Descent, composed of men
and women, has been organized in
Washington. The only persons to be
charter members of this society are
the presidents of the different colonial
organizations. The honorary presi
dent Is Mrs. Beverly Kennon of Tudor
place and the founder and president
Miss Laity Somervell Mackall of
Georgetown.
Microbe Proof Furniture.
"Furnish in bright, warm colors and
you will have less sickness—you will
keep the microbes out," said a physi
cian. "You know how deadly the sun
Is to microbes? Well, so in a lesser
degree all bright, warm hues are dead
ly to them—bright wall paper, bright
Kpholstery, bright rugs. Bright, cheer,
ful houses are seldom visited by me.
They are to all intents and purposes
microbe proof. It Is the gloomy house,
with its dark paper, its heavy, dark
upholstery, its somber carpets, that
my team Is continually stopping at"—
New York Press.
FORETOLD HIS FUTURE.
! The Message Carl Schurz Received
From Spirit Land.
An extraordinary experience with a
medium Is given In the Carl Schurz
memoirs in McClure's.
After receiving what purported to be
a message from Schiller, General
Schurz asked that the spirit of Lincoln
be summoned to tell why President
Johnson bad called Schurz to Wash
ington.
"The answer came, 'ne wants you
to make an important journey for him.'
I asked where that journey would take
me. Answer, 'He will tell you tomor
row.' 1 asked further whether I
should undertake that Journey. An
swer, 'Yes; do not fall.' (I may add,
by the way, that at that time I had not
the slightest anticipation as to what
President Johnson's intention with re
gard to me was.)
"Having disposed of this matter, I
asked whether the spirit of I>lneoln
had anything more to say to me. The
answer came, 'Yes; you will be a sena
tor of tlio United States.' This struck
me as so fanciful that I could hardly
suppress a laugh, but I asked further,
'From what state?' Answer, 'From
Missouri.' This was more provokingly
mysterious still, but there the conver
sation ceased
"Hardly anything could have been
more improbable at that time than that
I should be a senator of the United
States from the state of Missouri. My
domicile was in Wisconsin, and I was
then thinking of returning there. I
had never thought of removing from
Wisconsin to Missouri, and there was
not the slightest prospect of my ever
doing so.
I "But, to forestall my narrative, two
j years later I was surprised l»y an en
j tlrely unsought and unexpected busi
| ness proposition which took me to St.
| Louis, and in January, ISC9, the legis
lature of Missouri elected mo a sena
tor of the United States. I then re
membered the prophecy made to me
at the spirit seance in the house of my
friend Tiedemann in Philadelphia."
CLEVER FISHERMEN.
j Odd Methods of the Indians on the
Sault Ste. Marie.
! On the Sault Ste. Marie the Indians
have a novel method of catching white
fish. Two Indians go with a canoe into
j the rapids. One occupies the bow and
| one the stern. The latter uses a pad
! die to keep the boat's head upstream,
j The former lias a polo with which to
| steady the boat, standing upright in
, his place.
j They take with them a dipnet four
| feet In diameter attached to a pole or
j handle fifteen feet long. This is placed
j ready to the hand of the Indian In the
! bow. The fishing Is done at the foot
j of the rapids, where the water boils
1 and tumbles furiously.
I With his pole the Indian in the bow
| holds the canoe or lets it float steadily
j sidewise, now up a little perhaps and
! then down, but always under perfect
| control. The Indian gazes constantly
i into tbe water, which is often ten feet
j deep where they are fishing and the
; depths of which no white man was
ever yet able to school Ills eye to pene
j trate.
i Suddenly he seizes the net by the
handle with one hand, still manlpulat
| ing the boat with tlie other, anil plunges
I the net into the water, perhaps ten feet
j away, thrusting it to the bottom. Then
| ho gives it a peculiar twist, draws it
! up and turns out into the boat often
I as many as half a dozen whltefish
| weighing from three to five pounds.
| These Indian fishermen are unerring
in casting their nets, and it Is not an
! uncommon thing for them to capture
300 whltefish inn day. Ilow they are
able to see the fish in the bottom of
the rapids Is a mystery no one has yet
been able to fathom.—Pearson's Week
ly.
OBEYED ORDERS.
The Lady Knew Just What to Do
When a Fire Started.
Mrs. Wilcox had boundless faith in
the wisdom and general effectiveness
.if her husband's advice, and conse
quently he had primed her with in
structions for any emergency that
might arise when he was absent.
Among other things, he had repeatedly
warned her In case of fire to spread a
rug on the blaze and then telephone for
the engines.
So deeply was this advice impressed
on her subconsciousness that her ac
tions the day of the fire in her home
were purely automatic.
She had bought a new hat, and, the
room lieing rather poorly lighted, she
used the gas jet over her bureau as an
aid to studying the new millinery
achievement. Suddenly as she was lift
ing tlie lace creation off her head it
slipped and fell directly upon the blaz
ing gas jet.
The expected happened. The hat was
soon burning fiercely, still on the top of
the gas pipe.
Mrs. Wilcox, mindful of Jack's ad
vice, grabbed a valuable Persian run
oil the lloor and, spreading it carefully
over the lighted gas jet and flaming
hat, rushed out to the telephone.
At the doorway she collided with her
maid, Estelle, who, hearing the rapid
movements in the room, was coming to
learn the cause.
Running over to tlie bureau, the girl
turned out the gas and, throwing the I
rug on the floor, stamped out the
flames, which had burned a hole
through the valuable tapestry.
"Why, Mrs. Wilcox," she cried, "why j
didn't you turn out the gas?"
"Turn out the gas?" answered her 1
mistress. "Well, aren't you bright! I ;
never thought of that Jack has al- I
ways told me to put a rug on a fire."— I
Youth's Companion.
Dictionary Fun.
"Rob," said Tom by way of the busy
bee, "which is the most dangerous
word to pronounce In the English lan
guage?"
"It's stumbled," said Tom, "because
you are sure to get a tumble between
the first aud last letters."
"Good!" said Bob. "Which Is the i
longest English word?"
"Valetudinarianism," said Tom.
"No; it's smiles, because there's a
whole mile between the first and last
letters."
"Oh, that's nothing!" said Tom. "I
know a word that has over three miles j
between Its beginning and ending."
"What's that?" asked Bob faintly. I
"Beleaguered," said Tom.
POSTAGE STAMP CHEATS.
Foolish Persons Who Run the Risk of
Going to Prison.
"You would be surprised," said a
postolfice clerk, "at the efforts people
make to avoid the payment of postage.
And quite often It Is not the work of
children either. The most common
trick is to take the stamp that has been
canceled by hand and the impression
just touches the edge of the stamp.
After pricking the marked edge with a
pin or cutting it with a pair of shears
to resemble the punctured edge of the
stamp or tearing away that part the
stamp is put on an envelope for an
other voyage. All these are placed In
the hands of postal Inspectors for In
vestigation.
"Others try to give the impression
that a stamp had been put on an en
velope and become loose and lost in
transit by sticking a stamp on the en
velope and then palling it with part of
the envelope sticking to it off again.
These as well as underpaid letters, un
less they have a foreign destination,
where postage is then collected, are
marked 'Returned for postage' ana
sent back to the sender. Second class
matter, as a roll of newspapers, Is of
ten sealed against Inspection by hav
ing the stamps overlap the cover.
Whether foreign or not it is returned
for postage. When it again shows up,
j the mistake rectified, upon inspection
| it is usually found to contain written
j letters, photographs (unmounted), jew
j elry, merchandise of all kinds, making
i the package underpaid; hence It is
j again returned
"But the limit of foolishness comes
when a person tries to efface the iu
delible ink from the stamp and with
half the features of the stamp missing
or rubbed away and some of the ink
still remaining affixes it to an envelope,
with the address of the sender upon
the back to facilitate investigation.
"Tills, though. Is stretching it a lit
i tie too much: A postcard that had been
put through a canceling machine and
delivered to the addressee had the
canceling impression and the address
| scratched off with the aid of a sharp
; knife and a new address substituted
j and a written message pasted on the
! reverse side."—New York Sun.
AN OLD GORMANDIZER.
One Man Who Lived That He Might
Simply Eat and Drink.
In a little yellowed English maga
zine, dated April, ISO 4, I came across
the following amusing scrap:
If the Duke of Q. does not extend
his life to a still longer period, it will
not be for want of culinary comforts
and those other succulent arts by
which longevity is best promoted. His
grace's sustenance is thus daily admin
istered:
"At 7 In the morning he regales in a
warm milk bath perfumed with alm
ond powder, where he takes his coffee
and a buttered muffin, and afterward
retires to bed. He rises about 0 and
breakfasts on cafe au lait, with new
laid eggs just parboiled; i:t 11 he is
presented with two warm jellies and
rusques; at 1 he takes a veal cutlet a
la Main tenon; at " jellies and eggs re
peat; at 0 a cup of chocolate and
rusques; at 7:30 he takes a hearty din
ner from high seasoned dishes and
makes suitable libations of claret and
madeira; at 10 tea, coffee and muffins;
at 12 sups off a roast potilet, with a
plentiful solution of lime punch: at 1
In the morning he retires to bed in
high spirits and sleeps till 3, when his
man cook, to the moment, waits upon
him In person with a hot and savory
veal cutlet, which, with a potation of
wine and water, prepares him for fur
ther repose that continues generally
uninterrupted till the morning sum
mons to his lacteal bath.
"In this routine of living comforts
are the four and twenty hours invaria
bly divided, so that if his grace does
not know, with Sir Toby Belch, 'that
our life is composed of four elements*
he knows at least, with Sir Ague
Cheek, 'that it consists in eating and
drinking.' "—London Chronicle.
Postal Cards to Raise Church Debt.
Tostal cards have been put to vari
ous uses, but t lie very latest original
idea is being carried out hi Ffbdlay.
0., to raise funds with which to lift
the debt on the parsonage of the First
United Brethren church. Thousands of
cards have been printed upon which
is a handsome picture of the church
and the pastor. Rev. O. F. Laugh
bautn. The cards sell for 5 cents each,
and many are being disposed of. It is
expected that tlio debt will lie raised in
this way w.'tbia tie next six months
Septua3onarian'£ "Health Cereal."
Henry Clarke. seventy years old, an
employee of the water department in
Providence, U. 1., has taken a new
lease of life and cured many of his
bodily Ills by a steady diet of from
four to six ounces of sand daily. He
has taken this medicine for four
months and snys he has eaten in all
700 pounds of this latest "health ce
real."
A very simple remedy to cure a wart
is to bathe it several times every day
with a strong solution of bicarbonate
of soda.
MBflNEf!
A. R.ella bl e
TO SHOP
Tor all kind of Tin Roofing,
Spoutlne nnd Censral
Job Work.
Stoves. Heaters. Ranees,
Furnaces. «to-
PRICES THE LOWEST!
QUJLITY TDE BEST!
JOHN HIXSON
SO. 11# E. FRONT ST.