THE TINFOIL INDUSTRY.
IT IS PURELY OF AMERICAN ORICIN
AND GROWTH.
The Flrnt Tinfoil Itolllne Mill Was K
tablielietl ft New York City About Fif
ty Yours Ago— Most Fleparycl Fooils Are
Wrapped In It Millions of Founds Used
Recent ornamental novelties made
of pure tinfoil, lacquered with sold
and embossed in various forms, man
ufactured for the drug, confection
ers' and tobacconists' trades, serve to
call attention to an Invention and in
dustry that are purely of American
origin and growth. Before the inven
tor of tinfoil hit upon the idea of
rolling tin upon sheets of lead, the
two metals being previously welded
together, the only tinfoil known to
the world was that of pure tin beaten
by a process similar to that followed
by gold-laaf beaters. This beaten
tin was made in England, and only
small quantities were imported into
this country. Its use was limited be
cause of its expense and its liability
to tear.
The first tinfoil rolling mill was
established in New York City half a
century ago, and It was started on
such a modest scale that the rollers
were obtained as second-hand Iron.
The English-beaten tinfoil was found
to be so expensive in this country
that a cheaper method of making it
was tried, and proved successful. The
business of this early, but not ex
tinct, tinfoil factory was thus an
nounced: "Foil Rolling Mill and Me
tallic Cap Works; tobacconists' foil,
plain or embossed, tin sheet-foil for
-druggists and bottlers, superior to the
Imported article."
In the half century which has fol
lowed this modest beginning of an
Industry great strides have been made
In manufacturing tinfoil and in apply
ing it to manifold commercial uses.
New machines have been made to
work it up into handsome ornamen
tal forms, and considerable capital ha 3
been invested to extend its useful
ness. There Is very little export
trade in tinfoil, as the foil is also
made extensively in England, France
and Germany, but the home trade is
adequately supplied by tho four tin
foil factories in this country—two in
New York, one in Philadelphia, and
another in St. Louis. After tho ex
piration of the original patents these
four factories started almost simulta
neously, and they have controlled the
output of the material ever since.
New machinery and processes for
Improving the tinfoil are being invent
ed nearly every year, and the qual
ity of the material produced today
Is Infinitely better than that of a
dozen years ago. A good deal of the
new machinery is mado to enhance
the ornamental effects of the foil, but
not a little of It is mado to Increase
the strength and wearing quality of
the material. In the druggist and
confectonery trades the demand for
very highly ornamental tinfoil effects
is especially urgent, and artists of
considerable ability are engaged to
produce fancy patterns. The silvery
surface of the tinfoil Is made more
effective by fancy patterns of stars,
figures and fine lines, which are
stamped or embossed in the sheets
by special machinery. Recently ma
chinery was made to print the pat
terns on the sheets of foil In colors.
In order to do this the sheets of foil
are put through regular printing cy
linder presses, which not only color
the patterns but stamp in the "dead"
effects of various figures and lines.
The machinery required for this deli
cate work is quite elaborate and rep
resents part of the Invested capital
of the plant.
The tinfoil is also lacquered hand
somely with gold, which, in connec
tion with the embossing and print
ing In colors, produces remarkably
artistic effects. Many large firms em
ploy these fancy effects as trade
marks which are stamped or printed
on all the foil they use as wrapping
for their articles. Tinfoil is growing
rapidly In use for wrapping purposes
where food and other articles must
be kept from the air as much as
possible. Its first use was for to
bacco wrapping, and the demand in
this trade stands first today. Fine ci
gars. plug tobacco and cigarettes
have the fine aroma of the tobacco
and the natural moisture retained in
definitely by this process. Most pre
pared foods are wrapped in tinfoil,
and now that the manufacture of
these has grown tremendously the
demand for tinfoil has increased al
so to remarkable proportions. Cheese,
yeast cakes, and other products of
the delicatessen order require an
nually tons of pure tinfoil. Confec
fectioners also have resorted to
the use of tinfoil for wrap
ping their choice candies in prefer
ence to tissue paper. The drug trade
has found infinite uses for the foil be
cause of its air-tight qualities, which
keep the goods from direct contact
with the atmosphere.
Perishable goods shipped to warm,
tropical countries are frequently
wrapped in tinfoil to exclude the air
and to retain the natural moisture.
A combination of thin paper and tin
foil is considered better for food pro
ducts than the foil alone. It was con
sidered better not to have the foil
come In direct contact with the food,
and consequently a machine was made
by which the sheets of tinfoil and
paper were firmly adhered together.
These double sheets are used so that
the paper alone comes in contact with
the food, while tho tin serves all the
purposes of excluding the air. There
is considerable labor of folding saved
by this process, and only one instead
of two foldings is required for each
■separate article.
Bottle caps are manufactured large
ly out of tinfoil, but they are of a
different quality and manufacture
from that of the ordinary foil. The
sheets for this work are spun on a
lathe from a mixture of lead and
tin. There is more lead in this foil
than in the finer quality for general
use. The foil is thicker and coarser,
and as it never comes in contact with
the contents of the bottle the amount
of lead in it is immaterial from ths
consumer's point of view. The thick
ness of the tinfoil In common use runs
from one-halt of one-thousandth <*t
an Inch up to almost any thickness
required by special trades. The thin
ner the foil Is rolled or spun the more
expensive it is. The foil is rolled
usually in sheets 50 feet in length
and in varying widths. Some ma
chines are made to roll It 12 inches
wide, but most of them have only
half this width, as trade demands
favor he narrower widths. After the
sheets are rolled they are stamped,
printed, and vmbossod in suitable
sizes and patterns, and then cut up
In lengths desired. Millions of
pounds are required for the trade in
this country, and the market price
runs from 75 cents per pound for the
handsome embossed and lacquered
foil down to a few cents a pound for
the cheaper grades.—G. E. W., in the
Scientific American.
THE HOME OF WOODEN TOYS.
A District In the Tyrol TVhlch Is Wholly
Given Over to Wood Carving.
Two English girls have been telling
rather an interesting story of life in
the Gordner valley in the Tyrol, which
is the homo of wooden toys and is lit
erally given over to wood carving.
"Baedeker" says that St. Ulrich, the
capital of tho district, has 2300 wood
carvers and a goo.l hotel. The Eng
lish girls corroborate the statement
and add that the place is well worth
a visit, although, in order to enjoy it,
one must stay there long enough to
tramp up and down hill, and make
acquaintances in tho little chalets
where everyone, old and young, is
busy with some sort of wood carving
or toy making.
One lives in good society in St.
Ulrich. so it seems. Saints and he
rocs of assorted sizes are ranged com
fortably outside of the chalets and in
the gardens, drying their lialos and
robes. St. Peter, St. Paul, the Virgin
and Andreas Hofer, the Tyrolean hero,
hobnob on one corner; while St. An
thony of Padua, repeated five times,
dozes on a bench against the wall,
and St. Florian, eight feet high, smiles
from the steps at St. Sebastian, trun
dled by in a barrow.
Rows of fresh and shining angels
are on every hand and look with be
nign interest at whole squadrons of
splendid rocking horses that go romp
ing around the grounds, and hundreds
of staring wooden dolls sit stiffly upon
sunny shelves and envy the angels.
Crucifixes are scattered everywhere.
Noah's Ark animals stare, panic
stricken, at piles of wooden skulls.
Everywhere there is sawing, ham
mering, chipping, painting. At tho age
of six the children begin to learn tho
carving trade, and they stick at it un
til they die. The most famous wom
an carver in the district carves noth
ing but crucifixes and has done noth
ing else for 20 years. All of her work
is ordered long in advance, and as
her prices, though low, are better than
those of most of the carvers she makes
a fair living.
She use 3 no model. That is true of
almost all of the workmen who have
learned their craft through long years
of experience. When a carver has
evolved GOO St. Anthonys all of a pat
tern, from tree trunks, he learns to
know his saint and lias no need of a
model. Very often a worker sticks
to some one figure and attempts noth
ing else, a method which opens up
awful vistas of monotony.
One family turns out brindled cows
by tho gross. Another has for years
carved nothing but skulls and cross
bones. The English chronicler doesn't
tell what effect the gruesome monot
ony has had upon tho members of
the family, but the situation sounds
Maeterlinckian.
One woman makes tiny woolen
dolls and each of her children, even
the five-year-old, has some part in the
work. One shapes the legs, another
paints tho face 3, another fits the parts
together. Six hundred dozen of the
dolls were stacked up against the wall
when the English visitors called; and,
for making the lot, the workers ex
pected to receive about $3.
In another cottage three genera
tions of a family were busy painting
wooden horses, and said proudly that
they could turn out 20 dozen a day.
None of the toys is sold at retail, all
being intended for the big wholesale
depots at SL Ulrich.
On Saturday every mountain path
is crowded with men. women and
children carrying the wares to the
depots. A flood of saints, angels,
crucifixes and toys pours Into the de
pots all day long; and. in the evening,
the peasants turn homeward, ready
for another wholesale creation week.
—Now York Sun.
r>ojfH in Europe.
France is reported to hold the Eu
ropean record for dogs. It Is stated
that it contains no less than 2,864,000
dogs that are registered. Not only
are there more dogs in France than in
any other country in Europe, but there
is also a greater number per thou
sand inhabitants than in any othei
European country. France has 75
dogs to every thousand of its inhabit
ants. Then follow Ireland with 73,
England with 38, Germany with 31,
and Sweden with [l. It is very satis
factory to find that societies for the
protection of dogs are on the increase.
Such societies do a noble work, and
they are deserving of every encourage
ment. —Paris Messenger.
PEARLS OF THOUGHT.
The reward of a thing well-done is
to have done it.
Idleness is both a great sin and the
cause of many more.
Our deeds determine us, as much as
we determine our deeds.
Some men take a lifetime to prove
how much wisdom they lack.
A moral wrapped up in sugar goes
down certainly, but it may be feared
that it only goes down because of the
sugar.
It is only the critic and the philoso
pher who can penetrate into all states
of being, and realize their ltfe from
within.
There are seasons when to be still
demands immeasurably higher
strength than to act Composure is
often the highest result of power.
The art of putting men in the right
places is the highest in the science of
government, but that of finding places
for She discontented the most diffi
cult
It is the compensation of the hum
ble that the fountain of their blood is
made sweet by denial, swift by plain
fare, and strong by living close to
nature's heart
The habit of blaming others when
things go wrong is an insidious and
dangerous one. Far more is it to the
purpose to inquire within whether the
fault or much of it, may not lie at
home.
He who is everybody's friend is gen
erally nobody's. The character which
can shape itself to fit in every niche
is like an India rubber ball, too mal
leable to stay long anywhere or have
much inside except air.
BIG MAP FOR THE WHITE HOUSE.
Coast-Survoy Work, Giving Complete Ge
ographical Information.
The coast and geodetic survey has
for some timo been preparing a map
of the world for the war room at the
White House. It will cover one whole
side of the room, which means dimen
sions of perhaps 30 feet by 15. It con
tains all the geographical information
of a general nature that a president
of the United Stales and his corps of
telegraphers would seemingly need to
know. It shows the location of all the
ocean cables in the world, of all the
coaling stations, of all the docks where
ships may be repaired; and every foot
of soil, including the smallest islands,
is marked so as to indicate the sover
eignty to which It is subject. This is
done by the adoption of a color for
each of the great colonizing powers.
It is surprising to note the number
of small Islands that already belong
to the United States, through their
acquisition for one purpose or another
by American citizens. A notable fact
about the ocean cables Is their abund
ance In tho Atlantic ocean, between
North and South America and Europe,
and all the seas about the eastern
hemisphere, but their conspicuous ab
sence from tho Pacific. While cables
skirt the continents bordering on the
Pacific, they do not strike out boldly
across that ocean. The contrast, as
revealed in this way, between the
eastern and western routes to the Ori
ent is most marked. All our messages
from Manila como necessarily by the
old-world route. It is quite probable
that whatever is done in Pacific cables
by the United States, the Suez will re
main the great route of communication
because of its opportunities for local
business. This also suggests that our
own Isthmian canal, as a commercial
route, will be across the direction of
tho world's great commercial move
ments.
Olllcers of the coast survey say that
they have had a great deal of trouble
to bring this new map up to date in all
particulars. Atlases and geographical
text books are notoriously behind the
times, so rapidly have changes been
made In recent years upon the map
of the world. The survey has accord
ingly gone to first-class sources in each
instance, through consular inquiries
and otherwise, and hns made
this map, as nearly as human handi
work will do it, absolutely accurate.
How long it will remain so is, ov
course, another matter. Upon It the
Philippine Islands and the country ad
jacent appear twice, so as to show
completely the sunset and sunrise
routes.—New York Post
Murom I.lnlnff and Miulc.
It's mean to tell this joke, but It Is
too good to keep. A popular society
matron has a daughter who has a beau
tiul voice and is a very pretty girl.
She has never taken singing lessons,
and some of the singers have been
consulted by her as regards their
terms. One of these instructors has
talked a lot to the mother about giv
ing her girl lessons, and assured her
that he was the fellow to develop that
voice until it would be a "peach."
Ho argued the matter over and over
again every time he saw the lady and
finally she said: "I wish my daughter
to learn to sing, Professor High Notes,
but she is not well. She is suffering
constantly from a sort of indiges
tion, and I don't think she feels well
enough to take the lessons."
"Pooh, pooh, my dear madam," re
plied the professor. "Nonsense! With
my teaching and ten cents' worth of
cream of tartar she will be cured at
once."
And yet that obstinate mamma lias
not struck the trade. Maybe the
daughter has objected to the ten
cents' worth of cream of tartar. —
Louisville Times.
Tim Word "Onrrt'o."
It is doubtful whether the word ga
zette is from "gazza," meaning mag
pie, or from "gazetta," a small coin.
PRESENTIMENTS OF DEATH.
A Curious Mental Condition us Yet Un
explained.
"Students of the occult have as yet
been unable to explain that condition
of the human mind which produces
what are termed presentiments of
death," said a specialist to a Wash
ington Star reporter. "That certain
persons have experienced this condi
tion cannot now be denied. I know,
however, of but two authentic cases
which have come under my personal
knowledge in a practice of medicine
of over 40 years.
"While in Cumberland, Md., a num
ber of years ago, I new two men, both
employes on the railroad, one at Cum
berland and the other at Piedmont.
Both were quiet, steady-going men.
They were brothers-in-law, each hav
ing married the sister of the other.
"One day the Cumberland man, who
was my patient, came to me and stated
that he had dreamed the night before
that his brother-in-law had been killed
in a railroad accident So vivid was
the dream that he even described to
mo the wounds and their location on
the body. He said that he was on his
way to Piedmont to persuade his
brother-in-law, who was a conductor,
not to take his train out that day, and
I advised him to follow his impres
sion, for, while not a believer in pre
monitions, the man's condition was
such that I knew if he persuaded his
brother-in-law from going out it would
at least restore his normal condition.
"He proceeded to Piedmont and ac
quainted his brother-in-law with his
dream. The latter laughed at his fears
but finally consented to heed the warn
ing and my patient returned home be
lieving that liis mission had been ac
complished. It appeared that the train
dispatcher, learning of tho conductor's
intention, sent for him and stated that
unless he took his train out, the road
being short-handed, he would be dis
missed. Rather than his place,
he boarded hi 3 train, and was killed
In a collision four miles out of town.
Singular, though true it is, the dead
man's wounds were identical with
those his brother-in-law had seen on
his body in the dream.
"The second case was that of a min
er at Lonaconing, a few miles from
Cumberland. He, too, was a patient
of mine. One evening, before going on
his shift in the mine, he talked with
me for over an hour about the many
fatal and other distressing accidents
he had seen in the mines. He talked
of nothing else, though it was the first
time ho had ever broached the sub
ject to me, as he was a hardy, fearless
miner. While I did not question
I was convinced that he had had a pre
monition of death, but felt it unmanly
to speak to his physician about it,
probably believing that I would ridi
cule him. His mind was in such a
condition, however, that it forced
speech on the subject of death, and he
undoubtedly took that means of re
lieving it, hoping to quiet his appre
hensions.
"The significance of it lay in the
fact that that day was to be his last
on a contract he had in the mine, and
no doubt in his heart ho felt that ho
ought not to go down the shaft. His
manly courage prevented his giving
way to his feelings.
"He was killed. It seems that just
as he was ready to start up the shaft,
having completed his work, he had
gone into an adjoining chamber for a
shovel. As he stooped over, reaching
for the shovel, a lot of slate, wliicTi is
hard and sharp, fell from the roof,
striking him in the back and nearly
cutting him in twain. He lived long
enough to tell his comrades that but
for going back for the shovel be would
have escaped with his life.
"Speaking about accidents, reminds
me of ono of the many which I
in tho mines that illustrate how bard
it is to kill some men, as it brings
up the ease with which other men
meet their death. A man will dislo
cate his neck or break his back In a
fall of three feet from a step ladder.
Others have the nine lives of the
proverbial cat.
I knew of a miner who missed bis
footing on the narrow track inside of
a coal mine upon which the cars are
run, and six of the loaded cars passed
diagonally across his body. The cars
were comparatively small, weighing
about two tons loaded. In order to
extricate him, his fellow miners found
it necessary to run one of the cars
back over his body. Strange to say,
the man lived. He afterward went
back to work in the mines, and so far
as I know, lived for many years. He
was alive when 1 left the region. It
was one of the most remarkable in
stances that ever came under my ob
servation of the tenacity of life under
conditions which ordinarily produce
death."
Advice to Mot Item.
She—l can't make out how it is that
Mrs. Wise lias fish for nearly every
meal. It can't be for economy's sake,
for she must be fairly well off.
He—She ha 3 a large family of un
married daughters, you know.
She—Now, don't be nasty, and say
something about girls and their
brains; that's so old.
He—Oh, no, I hadn't the slightest in
tention of doing so.
She —Well, can't you tell me?
He—l don't know, I'm sure, unless
It's because fish are rich in phos
phorus.
She —I don't see what that has to do
with it.
He —Perhaps not, but still It's good
for making matches.—London King.
Tim mil au
"My dear sir, it strikes me t'mt this
is a pretty round bill."
"Yes, I have sent it aiv.und often
enough to make is appear so, and now
I hope to get it squared.'"—Baltimore
Jewish Comment.
MUchlef.
Womlor who is Mischief;
Bothers me nil day,
me in the dnrdeu
Where I go to piny.
Fought I'd pick some f'owers;
Fought I'd pick 'em nil.
"Careful, dear, there's Mischief/*
Heard my mnmmn cnll.
Peeked 'round 'mong the posies,
Touldn't see one ting,
*Cept one little birdie,
Dest u goiii' to sing.
Never tould see Mischief,
Always hides nwny,
But ray mnmmn sees him
Many times a day.
6nys he's in the pantry,
Sees him on the shelf
Where 1 climb for tookies,
Says he is an elf.
Prob'ly he's n Brownie,
Tired of being good,
Wish he'd stay in Elf-land;
I-dest-wish-he-would.
—Chicago ltecord-Herald.
Something About Iceberg*.
Navigators of the North Atlantic
have to be constantly on watch during
the summer months, for the icebergs
that come down from Greenland and
other Arctic regions. Some vessels
are fitted with apparatus that gives
immediate warning of the vicinity of
one, but where there is no such ap
paratus. the temperature of the water
is taken at intervals, for an Iceberg
will make a vast extent of sea cold.
An iceberg is nothing but part of a
glacier that has been detatched by
the action of water, washing and beat
ing against it. Some of them are of
enormous size. It is generally accept
ed by scientific men that only one
eighth of the berg appears above the
water. If, therefore, the part that is
visible rises 50 feet above the surface,
tho part under water would measure
350 feet. No wonder the sea captains
havo a holy horror of them.
Mimic Hoc Was n Sabbatarian.
A little white dog that sits on tho
music box of a blind man in Minne
apolis, and permits people to drop
pennies in a basket tied around his
neck by a ribbon, on last Fourth of
July refused to attend to business.
He snarled and showed his teeth when
any attempt was made to put on his
uniform. The little fellow frisked and
gambolled, tugged at his chain, bit
the stump tails of his stray compan
ions and generally misconducted him
self.
The blind man says that the dog
has never been asked to work on Sun
day. He thinks that Sunday ought
to bo a day of rest for blind men and
dogs as well as more fortunate be
ings, so every Sunday the dog gets
nn extra fine breakfast, consisting of
boiled liver, and full liberty to do pre
cisely as he pleases. Thus the littlo
curly dog has come to regard Sunday
as a full holiday, and he knows when
the day comes around, because on that
day his master puts on a white shirt
and his best hat. The blind man is
patriotic, and so on the Fourth he
wore his white shirt and best hat,
hence the little white dog thought
that it was Sunday, and refused to
work.—Our Dumb Animals.
A 1101 l with lie ill IJiilr.
There are dolls and dolls, but Na
omi Oles, a Pennsylvania girl, has in
her possession ono which is consid
ered as valuable as any in the coun
try. It has caused no end of comment
in the locality where she lives, bo
cause of the hair on the doll's head.
If any of our girl readers were to
malco a demand on their fahers for
several locks of hair, to give realism
to the headgear of a doll, they would
probably be denied the boon, as some
fathers have no hair to spare, while
others, haunted by signs of approach
ing baldness, are not anxious to make
a sacrifice for a member of the nur
sery.
The hair of Naomi's doll actually
came from the head of her father.
It happened In this way: Twenty-one
years ago Mr. Oles was the proud pos
sessor of silken locks with a natural
tendency to curl. As ho grew older
his mother thought it was not becom
ing that a boy of his age should wear
such pendants, and it was with much
persuasion that she finally induced
him to have his hair cut. When the
barber had shorn him of his locks
the mother secured them and placed
them away for safekeeping.
Recently she had a doll's wig made
of tho hair, and having had it placed
upon a pretty doll, the grandmother
presented it to Naomi. The little girl
Is extremely proud of her gift, and
seems to thoroughly realize the value
of this doll with natural hair so pecu
liarly secured. Naomi's present is the
envy of all the little girl friends in
tho vicinity of her homo.—Young
people's Magazine.
Tnbltllx'n <ieievolly.
There is a close bond ef sympathy
and affection between Alice Searles,
a five-year-old St. Louis girl, and her
cat, Tabitha. They were both born on
the same day. One of the first things
Alice can remember about her baby
hood Is Tabitha. Ever since the lit
tle girl could toddle around, the cat
has been her playmate, as she has no
brothers and sisters. Alice and Tab
itha have slept together, and what is
more unusual, they have eaten to
gether.
When Alice had her first high-chair
and sat at the table with grown folks.
Tabltha teased to be given a place
at the table also. Alice insisted on
Tabitha's right to a place, and so the
cat was placed in a high-chair by the
side of her mistress. A napkin was
placed under Tabitha's chin, and a
plate of ilsh was set before her. Tab
itha behaved splendidly. In a dainty
way she helped herself to the fish,
and quite won the favor of the family,
much to the delight of Alice.
From that time Tabltha was given
a seat repeatedly at the table, and
she was as prompt at her meals as
her little mistress. She learned to
know the sound of the dinner bell as
well as any one in the house. Tabitha
especially enjoyed dinner on Fridays,
for the family was accustomed to
have fish on that day, and if there
was any dish that the cat loved it was
fish.
One day this led to a remarkable
happening. The dinner bell had rung
and all the family were in their seats
except Tabltha. whoso place was va
cant. The dinner proceeded, and the
dessert had been reached, when the
cat came bouncing into the room with
two mice In her mouth. Before any
one could stop her she jumped into
her chair, and put one mouse on her
plate, depositing the other on Alice's
plate. Tabitha's generosity was not
precisely what older people call good
form, but evidently she meant it kind
ly, and the entire proceeding was so
queer that the members of the family,
including Alice, broke into full, round
laughs. Of course the mice were re
moved from the table, at which Tab
itha looked grieved. She seemed s
sorrowful about the loss of her mice
that Alice's parents decided to for
give her for her breach of etiquette
and call the score even.—Young Peo
ple's Magazine.
Dnmnn iin.l I'vMilm.
Damon and Pythias were two little
chickens who lived in a large farm
yard with a great many other chick
ens just like themselves. Their
mother, as every good mother hen
should do, taught them well how to
hunt for tiny worms and insects, to
eat, by kicking up the gravel and
knocking aside little heaps of dust
with their bills. But the time they
liked best of all was when the farmer
brought out an old milk pan full of
moist eornmeal, and then they tum
bled over one another like little fat
puffballs, always managing to fall into
the pan in their excitement, and stay
ing there till it was wholly empty.
One day in the early summer, when
the long, sunny afternoons began to
grow uncomfortably hot, Dolly came
to spend the summer at the farm.
Now, Dolly wanted to have a chicken
which was all her own, and picking
out the downiest yellow one sho
bought it for five cents and kept it
apart from the rest. Whenever it
uttered its "peep, poop," she felt sure
it was hungry, and gave It eornmeal.
That seemed very kind treatment,
surely, but when at the close of the
second day she found the poor little
thing lying stiff and cold, and another
and yet another whom she tried to
adopt came to the same sad ending,
she decided that farmers did know
more than little girls, after all, and
it was not good for chickens to be
always eating. Dolly had hardly made
up her mind to this when she discov
ered Damon and Phytliias. Damon
and Pythias were always together;
indeed, they seemed to tie such good
friends that the farmer's city cousin
had given them their queer names in
honor of two famous friends who lived
long ago and were very fond of each
ether. When Dolly first saw the two
all the other chickens were standing
about thinking of their night's rest
and feeling as sleepy as could be, but
Damon and Ph.vthias had jumped up
saucily on their mother's back and
were carefully balancing themselves
there. They were a pretty pair, for
Damon was jet black and Phythias
creamy white. Dolly pulled out her
small purse at once and paid for them
on the spot. From that time on a
new life began for Damon and
Pythias.
On rainy days they were taken in
doors. where they delighted to patter
around, and when Damon discovered
a rag carpet mat he tried to kick it
up as ho did the Eand, and looked at
it with an astonished air because the
kicks from his tiny flying claws, or
the taps from his bill, failed to root
out food. Soon they both began to
recognize their names, and would hur
ry to their mistress when she called.
When Dolly went on short walks
around the farm it came to bo under
stood that the two chickens would
fellow lier about, and they became so
affectionate that they could not bear
to have her out of their sight. When
she shook her forefinger at them and
said; "No, you can't go," they seemed
to understand her words, and gave
dismal "peeps" that lengthened into
loud squawks if they were loft alone.
Friendly as they had always been
.they grew jealous after a time, and
would stand with the tips of their
bills together, absolutely rigid for half
a minute, glaring fiercely at each
other. The quarrels never lasted long,
for soon a buzzing fly would pass
overhead, which one chicken was suro
to hop into the air and catch, while
the other would coolly walk away.
This seems to be the chicken fashion
of ending quarrels.
As the days went by Damon and
Pythias grew too plump for the box
of cotton wool in which they slept,
and a large cage, with a perch in it
for each, was prepared for them.
Regularly at 1 o'clock the chickens
walked into the house and went to
roost, each on his own perch.
When the summer was over and
Dolly returned to her city home sho
carried her strange pets with her in
their cosey cage, and they soon be
came used to their new life.--New
New Y'orlc Tribune.