THE BLACKBERRY PATCH.
The blackberry patch near the garden
fence —
What marvels it* depths may hold!
And far in its jungle what strange events
Await, to challenge the bold!
What eosv corners which none can see
Who chances to know them not!
And oft from the cares of the day I flee
To visit the friendly spot.
And lo! when I gaze at the tangled rows
Where a thousand times I've been,
A queer little boy. with freckled nose,
Appears and leads me in.
Together we crawl 011 hands and knees
Through a barbed and winding way.
And here, in the midst of the ants and bees,
To our hearts' delight we play.
lie shows me his treasures, one by one:
The nest of the old black lien,
The web by the monstrous spider spun;
The terrible bandit's den;
Tiie cunning retreat where Towser hides
When lie wants enjoy a bone;
And many a curious thing besides,
Confided to me, alone.
Have vou guessed the secret? Why, don't
you know?
That queer little boy is I!
And lie takes me into the Long Ago,
Where the realms of Childhood lie.
We play at the wonderful make-believe
We often have played before,
Till the dawn arrives, and from morn till
I am only a man once more.
—Edwin L. Sabin, in Puck.
THE CRIMINAL AN!) THE 1
PHILANTHROPIST, j
- -r OU really are that cele
• \/ brated—l should say no-
Y torious—criminal, Louis
~P~ Farrage?" asked the phil
anthropist, doubtfully.
"Certainly," said the big man In the
easy chair, lie looked good-natured
and at the same time rather tired and
contemptuous. He had been through
it all; the accepted ideas and the usual
people did not matter much; hut there
was no reason to be angry with them
or anything else.
"I was extremely glad that our mu
tual friend, Mr. Timmins, was able to
Induce you to come and pay me a visit.
I need not assure you of our good
faith. You have nothing to fear."
A smile Hashed over the criminal's
face: the philanthropist weut on rap
idly:
"AVe are not in with the police. I
won't say we oppose them —that would
be Illegal—but we are not in sympathy
with them. Now, before we begin to
talk, what may I offer you? A cup of
tea"—valiantly outing with his proof
that ho was no fanatic—"a whisky and
soila? And what about a cigarette?"
"Thanks," said the criminal; "I never
drink at three in the afternoon. For
that matter, I never drink tea or whis
key at any time; they undoubtedly
spoil I lie nerve. For the same reason
I prefer my pipe, if you don't mind?"
"By nil means. I'm afraid I smoke
four of these every day of my life,
and sometimes it runs to five or six
mere habit. Now. my views are pretty
well known, and it would interest me
extremely to have the views of a great
—I should perhaps say remarkable
criminal upon them. I hold that the
prison ruins the bod}*, lowers the in
tellect and destroys the soul." The
last phrase came pat and mechanical.
The philanthropist had used it on many
platforms.
"Undoubtedly," said the criminal.
•'But what else can you expect?"
"Surely in this twentieth century,"
the philanthropist began, and stopped
blankly.
"Briefly, there are more stupid and
ignorant people tliau clever and well
Informed people. Our method of treat
ing criminals pleases the stupid and ig
norant majority."
"You're quite right," said the phil
anthropist, eagerly. "That majority
must be educated. Already there has
been some advance. Look at tiie sen
tences that used to be carried out less
than a hundred years ago; they would
not lie tolerated now. But there is
much to he learned. Now I see the
prison of the future as a handsome,
well-lighted, airy place, with a- fine
garden attached and a swimming
bath, and—or—a gymnasium and li
brary. and—er—everything of that sort.
There would be comfortable recrea
tion-rooms, bagatelle perhaps bil
liards. Gambling and bad language!
of course, prohibited. There would be
an employment bureau, which would
look after every man when he had
finished his term. There would be a
system of rewards for good conduct,
and there would he n good deal of mu
sic—wo should believe iu a refining
process."
Tiie philanthropist was conscious
that he had put it better on platforms.
There was something in the criminal's
good-natured and contemptuous eye
that disconcerted him.
"How docs it strike you?" he asked.
When the criminal was able to speak
fot laughing, he said: "Excuse me—it's
rubbish, of course!"
"You dou't think that as a method of
reclamation —" Again the philan
thropist stopped blankly.
8 "No criminal is ever reclaimed. Peo
ple who are not criminals, hut have
made mistakes, may see the advantage
of not making any more—that happens
sometimes. But the natural criminal
remains the natural criminal, just as
the natural genius remains a genius,
atul lor just the same reasons. En
vironment and circumstance may make
the occasional criminal, but the real
thing—that is inborn, that 13 the man
himself."
"Oil. lint I can't hold with you there,"
said the philanthropist, plucking up
heart. "That is a desperate doctrine.
And the facts are ail against you. Do
you know the work that the Salvation
Army is doing?"
"Certainly. It is well meant. And
you may depend upon a religious orgy
to produce in some people a kind of
hypnotic state under which suggestion
acts very strongly on them. That is
found in all religious. The perma
nence of the conversion in the real
criminal depends on the hypnotic con
dition and the suggestion being fre
quently renewed. Take these away
and the man goes back again; he is
no more reclaimed than I am."
"That's not my version of it at all,"
sadi the philanthropist.
"No?"
"And look here. You think the pres
ent penal system all wrong. You
seem to have no faith in wide-minded
religious and philanthropic endeavors.
What is left?"
"Science. The study of the correla
tion of mental and physical abnor
malities is in its infancy: on the moral
side the map of the brain is very in
complete. There are some splendid
things in their early stages. If we get
on as fast this century as we did last
In our study of the human double
ilumpling we shall have practically
settled the criminal question by the
end of it."
"It's awful—this idea of that irre
sponsibility of the criminal."
"On the contrary, It's most hope
ful."
"And how is the brain of the criminal
to be altered?"
"How should I know? I'm not a
doctor. By altering the character of
the blood supplied to it, I suppose.
Possibly by operation—the tendency
nowadays seems to be toward more
knife and less pill-box. Of course,
where nothing else can be done the
criminal will be killed. I personally
ought to be killed, and should be if I
were in a civilized country. I am
the real thing. But we hang only
murderers, who nearly always are use
ful people, and ought not to be killed
at all. It's a funny world. But lam
afraid I shall never make you see
these things my way. In any case I
must be off. I am going to—l shall
be rather busy to-night, and I want, If
I can, to get a few hours' sleep first.
Good-by. Charmed to have met you."
He shook hands warmly with the
philanthropist and left quickly.
"Extraordinary case," the philan
thropist thought to himself. "Must
have had some smattering of educa
tion. Well dressed, too. Wonder if
there is any time to make a note of it
before I go to dress for the annual
dinner."
And then he noticed that a little bit
of ills watch chain was hnnglng loose
from his buttonhole. The rest of it
had gone. So also had the very hand
some gold watch presented to him by
the committee, with the pretty in
scription about "twenty years of de
voted and voluntary service."—Barry
Pain.
NEW IN STREET CAR TRAVEL.
Toledo merchants Provide n PaasuiiKer
Station to Help Their Trade.
One of the novelties of street railway
travel in this country is a pnssengec
station provided rent free by the mer
chants of a certain street in Toledo. It
lias a uewsstund in It and a parcel
check room adjoining.
Through this particular street five
car lines run, and they bring to the
city 011 an average 5000 passengers a
day. The merchants doing business in
the street, realizing the advantage to
themselves of having these passengers
alight there wanted the railway com
panies to establish the station.
The companies didn't see why they
should. So the merchants have done
it for themselves.
They have rented a large store for
three years and provided it witli
benches and lockers. Any citizen may
rent a locker for five cents a day and
have packages sent there, to be put in
ids box. Then when the time conies
for him to go home he can start with
his purchases without having had all
the trouble of lugging them about with
him all day.
The experiment, though a new one,
lias been so successful already that it
is likely to be imitated elsewhere.—
New York Sun.
Centenarians Without lloubt.
Talk about centenarians! A Welsh
correspondent informs us, says the
Loudon News, that the following in
scription on a tombstone in Auirotli
churchyard, near Tenby, has just been
brought to light:
"Here lieth the body of John Rees,
who departed this life
October 17, 1824,
Aged 249 years.
Reader, prepare to meet thy God."
John Rees is not "in it" when com
pared with the following Irish record
of longevity sent us by "J. B.": "In the
Daily News of the Bth inst. an inscrip
tion from Wales records the death of
one John Rees at the (over) ripe age
of 249 years. John was only a youth
in comparison to Dennis Grady, whose
gravestone in the churchyard of Bally
sallagh, near Charleville, County
Cork, reads:
IS HIS
HERE DIES THE BO
I)Y OF DENNIS GRA
DY WHO DEPARTED
THE STH OF MAY BEING
THE 480TII YEAR OF
HIS AGE. 1727."
But, of course, we know oven tile
laws of nature are Inverted in the "dis
tressful country."
Grout llecord of n Mnrryin); Preaclier.
The sixth annual reunion of the Rev
W. L. Meese Matrimonial Association
was held in Noel's Grove at Lagrange,
Intl., and a very large number was
j present. The members of this associa
tion are the hundreds of couples ninr
ried by Mr. Meese. The latter keeps
an accurate record of the couples mar
ried by him, and 110 other preacher can
show an equal number. Of all his
• marriages it is claimed that no OHO has
j ever been divorced.—Cincinnati Com
mercial Tribune.
!
Two great Minneapolis flour mills
will soon be burning Texas oil instead
of coal A street railway company
operating in that city, as well as St.
Paul, is also conducting experiments
with oil for the same purpose.
Corn oil, made from the germ, forms
the basis of a substitute for rubber
when vulcanized. This substitute com
pounded with sixty per cent, of com
mercial rubber is used in the manufac
ture of rubber boots, linoleum, wheel
tires, rubber blankets and many other
articles.
A new explosive, which is said to be
more powerful than dynamite, uiaxi
lnite or lyddite, and yet which may be
handled with absolute safety, has been
invented by Professor G. M. Hath
away. It Is named liathamite, after
Its inventor, and at a recent public
test Professor Hathaway demonstrated
its safety by pounding the explosive
upon an anvil, throwing it into a tire
and firing rifle bullets through it at a
speed of 1850 feet a second. In ordei
to lire the new explosive it is necessary
to use a strong detonating cap.
About 160 photographs of Nova Per
sei were taken during the year at the
Greenwich Observatory. The results
of determinations of Its parallax from
a study of these photographs were
negative, the parallactic shift being
apparently insensible, probably not
more than one-twentieth of a second.
This would imply a distance from the
earth of at least sixty years of light
passage, and possibly much more, so
that there is really nothing impossible
in Professor Knpteyn's hypothesis that
the apparent expansion of the nebula
was simply due to the outward pas
sage of the light from the nova, il
luminating In succession more and
more distant regions of nebulosity.
The distance required by this hypo
thesis is 290 light years, so that the
outburst we witnessed last year might
have taken place in the reign of James
1., and the star itself actually ceased
to exist many years ago.
Drs. Sante de Sanctis and H. Neyroa,
of Rome, have invented an instrument
which they call a Griessbach etliesi
ometer, and with which they have re
cently been conducting experiments
to determine how much excitation is
necessary before sleeping people begin
to move, and how much it requires to
wake them. The sleepers are prodded
with this instrument until the desired
data are obtained. "It may be used
with either a sharp or a blunt point."
The practical or scientific value of the
information to be derived from this
investigation is any tiling but obvious,
and the necessity of a special instru
ment for securing it is even less so.
There are so many factors entering into
"sleepiness" muscular, mental, fa
tigue, the condition of the stomach,
the temperature, pathological condi
tions. temperament, etc.—that the bare
determination of the stimulus neces
sary to awaken a sleeper would have
almost no psychological value.
A house of artificial stone blocks,
two-thirds of which are material aud
the rest hollow, will soon be built at
New Orleans. The mold in which the
blocks are built is a simple contriv
ance. It consists of a foundation pro
vided with three rectangular columns,
that may bo elevated, whose dimen
sions are those of the cavities in the
blocks; to the foundation of the mold
are hinged its ends and sides, which
let down. When the ends and sides
of the mould are In position, it is mere
ly a box; a plate is let down upon the
bottom of the mould; then the columns
at the bottom of the mould are ele
vated through openings in the plate.
The mould is then in readiness to re
ceive the mixture of sand and Fort
land cement, which is shovelled into
the mould, filling the entire space sur
rounding the elevated columns. It is
tamped with great force. After the
tamping process, the sides and ends of
the mould are let down, the columns
are depressed, and the plate on which
the materials were poured is lifted
out, with the manufactured block rest
ing upon it. The blocks are put out in
the air, and In the course of a week
they are ready to be used for building.
They should not be subjected to too
great heat from the suu, and it is neces
sary to moisten them each day. The
great simplicity of the process lies in
the fact that sand is absolutely incom
pressible, and tamping secures as com
plete results as are obtained from the
pressing of clay in making the finer
qualities of bricks, and with very much
smaller expenditure of labor. The
sand and cement are moistened while
being mixed.
GaII mikl Grit.
Gail, iu tlic present use of the term,
is a persistent determination to do.
It is a twin brother to Grit. It is a
busincss-brlnger that brings. It is the
bell-wether that jumps I lie fence aud
gets Tat on the clover. It Is the Gall
that wins when the other man lias
dealt his cards from the bottom of the
deck. Gall is the anti-fat of fate. It is
the safest substitute for brains—it is
many a politician's capital stock. Iu
this new century rush to win you must
he brave. Therefore lie not ashamed
of your Gall. Add io it Grit—aud
you'll win!— Richmond Missouriar
Sing to Their Oxen.
In France the oxen that work iu the
fields are regularly sung to as an en
couragement to exertion, and no peas
ant has the slightest doubt that the
animals listen to Utw with pleasure.
' FAMILIES CROWING SMALLER.
Americttn Birth Bute Has Been Declining
Since 1(100, Saj - M Dr. Kngelmnnn.
[ Dr. George J. Engelmann, of Boston,
| has been gathering statistics regarding
| the size o? American families, and has
sent tho vesult to the Journal of the
American Medical Association. His
conclusion is that the number of births
in American families has been steadily
declining ever since 1000, and is now
rapidly approaching the statistical level
of France.
Dr. Engelmann's observations are
based upon 1700 cases in private and
dispensary practice in St. Louis and
the study of 2038 cases from the genea
logical records of Massachusetts. These
ure his conclusions:
Among the laboring classes 21.2 per
cent, of American-born married women
are childless, and among the so-called
higher classes 23.(5 per cent.
While the number of childless women
is great the average number of children
born to each woman Is small, and has
been steadily growing smaller. From
IGOO to IG3O the number of children in
each family averaged 0.7; from 1804 to
1871 it had fallen to 4.27. At the pres
ent time, among the laboring classes,
cf St. Louis, at any rate, it has fallen
to slightly over 2.0, and among other
Americans it is only 1.8.
Still another investigator in Massa
chusetts has been figuring on the same
subject Taking the census of 1895 as
a basis he estimates that among Ameri
can-born married women in that State
20.2 per cent, are childless. Among the
the foreign-horn married women the
childless proportion is only 11.02 per
cent.
Diversion is Best.
That physical rest may be obtained
by bringing into play a different set
of muscles from those previously in
use is illustrated In tile old story of
the pugmlll mule that was found to
step off briskly In the afternoon if
allowed to reverse the motion of the
mill. The child who produces incipient
giddiness by twisting up a swing,
brings the unequal congestion of the
centres of equilibrium to a balance by
a rap ! d untwisting motion. Absolute
rest of mind or body scarcely exists,
relative rest or modification of the
mode of activity gives a sensation of
rest at any rate. After a long day of
close visual application, when the
hands, press the tired eyes (although
this particular mode of stimulating
visual sensation may be harmful),
how delightful to many persons are
the subjective sensations of color—the
kaleidoscopic effects that come aud go
with slight variations in pressure. The
brain finds rest In an objectless play
of color; so the tired mind seeks rest
from the stress of routine duties, not
In the unconsciousness of sleep, hut In
the frolicsome vaudeville, or the per
usal of light literature or the news
paper. Perhaps this explains to some
extent the wonderful demand for hooks
of fiction and magazines, as well as
for the plotless stage performance so
characteristic of these days of strenu
oils intellectual life.—American Medi
cine.
Tricked Out of IKer Girlhood.
Angelina had attended all the term
with exemplary regularity—therefore
It was more than annoying that she
should drop out of tile class just as the
examinations were coming in. ller
work had reflected credit upon Iter.
"If she was a stupid girl," her teacher
said, "she'd he sure to he on hand to
disgrace me. You go right up to An
gelina's house aud tell her mother
she must send Ange to school to take
her examinations." "Yes'm," said the
class Mercury, and departed. "Please
'm now Ange's mother says she ain't
got no say no more about Ange's
com in' to school an' I ast her husband
an' lie says she's got to slay home an'
cook liis macaroni." "Her husband!"
gasped the teacher. "Yes'm yestidy
was her birthday she got 13 years old
on yostidy, an' lier mother let her get
married." But the teacher wasn't lis
tening. Elie ,',' as thinking sadly of a
blaclc-eyed, bright-faced child who had
been tricked out of ber girlhood.—
New York Sun.
The Country's Paint Output.
About thirty million gallons of mixed
paint were sold in the United States
during 1901. The greater portion of
this wa.s not used in the large cities
hut in the towns and villages where
the structures are of wood. In no
country is so much paint made as In
the United States of America, and the
hulk of that paint is composed of lead,
zinc and linseed oil, and only the dark
er shades are made of oxides of iron
and other pigments.
Many manufacturers use n small
quantity of water in their mixtures,
and when the quantity of water i" not
over two per cent, it eannot be re
garded as an adulterant. The water
used is usually slightly alkaline, and
In tile case of lime water it forms a
calcium soap with linseed oil and
thickens the paint so that it never
settles hard in the tin and is easily
stirred.—Scientific American.
A Substitute For Sleep.
A London paper says that the health
of people in fashionable society is being
dangerously threatened by a new drug
which is popularly regarded as a sub
stitute for sleep. Very discreetly it
declines to name this dangerous sub
stance When tea was first introduced
into Europe it was commended for the
bsiul- virtues, and it was believed that
It would no longer he necessary to
waste seven or eight hours In sleep.
But extended experience has shown
the disastrous results of cutting short
the period of natural rest and keeping
awake by the help of tea. and there is
no reason to suppose that uheinists will
ever be able to devise any substitute
for sleep which will not in the long
run bring nervous breakdown.
An Exceptional Accomplishment.
She didn't know much Latin;
She had never studied Greek;
Yet she met with admiration
Which she didn't have to seek.
For in getting off a street car
She created no delay;
She didn't travel backward.
But stepped out the proper way.
—Washington Star.
Stationary.
"There's 110 progress about him."
"No? But he's still doing business at
the old stundstilL —Philadelphia Press.
Rather Rough on Pa.
"What is a vacumro, ma?".
"That part of your father that is di
rectly under his hair."—New York
Press.
Unoppreciatlve.
v'jfTj
' fli§|
Js%c
"Willie, if yer knew how beneficial
mud baths is youse wouldn't put up
seeh a holler!" New York Journal.
Nothing* Doing.
"What is the matter with Bills?"
"Worring over business affairs."
"I didn't know lie had any business."
"That's it. lie hasn't,"—lndianapolis
News.
Dißcountetl
First American Boy—"My papa lives
like a prince."
Second American Boy—"That's i r.t'u
lng. My papa lives like the president
of a trust."—Detroit Free Press.
Perfection.
"Do you think perfection is ever
actually attained in this life?" asked
the serious youth.
"Yes." answered Miss Cayenne;
"some people become perfect bores."
—Washington Star.
The Disappointed Hoy.
"Gracious Bobby," said the second
Mrs. Jencks, nee Ann Took, to her step
son; "what are you crying about?"
"800-hoo!" sobbed the boy, "papa
promised me a new mamma, an' you
ain't new at all."—Philadelphia Kecord.
Another Public Benefactor.
Hewitt—"That plumber claims to be
a public benefactor."
Jewitt—"How is that?"
Hewitt—"He says that it is a dis
grace to die rich, and that he has saved
a good mny men from disgrace."—New
Y'ork Sun.
The Only Way,
"Ah, Reginald, dearest," she sighed,
"but how can I be sure that you will
not grow weary of me after we have
been married a little while?"
"I don't know," he answered, "un
less we get married and see."—Chicago
Record-I-lerald.
Easy Proposal.
"If I only had an ambassador at the
court of love!" sighed the bnshful
swain.
"A minister would be good enough
for me," replied the demure maiden.
"Arabella!"
, "Herbert!
And eo they were married.—New
Orleans Times-Democrat.
Suppressed*
Father—"Another foolish question
nnd you go to bed!"
Willie—"But this ain't foolish! 1
only want to know what holds the
sky up an' why ducks don't bark, and
if !"—New York Journal.
Her Observation.
"Miss Gloriana," said the college ath
lete in the outing suit, resting on his
oars a moment, "let us co-educate a
little in rowing. Beavo the tiller, come
and sit by me and take this other
oar."
"But this is not co-education, Mr.
McCorkle," she said, noticing that they
were a long distance from all the
others. "This is segregation."
And she put the boat about.—Chicago
Tribune.
Whitewashing Tre-;.
Trees that have been whitewashed
are attractive, as they present a cot'.' JJ"
trast with the green tinge of the leaves
and grass, but the whitewash should
be applied several times during the
season, or whenever it is washed off
by rains.
Tlie Pctunin.
The petunia in its habit of blooming
partakes of the constancy of other ten
der perennial bedding plants, being
much more continuous in blooming
than most of tlie true annuals. On
this account petunias in a fair state of
cultivation will be found to bloom con
tinuously from June to fall, a great ad
vantage in home embellishments.
There is special pleasure for the
home gardener in growing tlie fres 4
flowering single strains. In adaptabil
ity petunias have an advantage over
■llmost every other seed grown flower.
Do you want a lino pot plant for the w'
window sill? The petunia will till the
bill second to no other kind.
Do you require something suitable
for continuous bloom in a large vase
or in a veranda box? The petunia
will perfectly meet your wants. Is it a
fine mass of flowers on the lawn or a
lively contribution to the mixed flower
border than is desired? Nothing will
meet the need as will the various
petunias.
Do you desire to display taste In
training flowers over trellises or to
form pillars, cones or balls? Then wo
counsel the use of single petunias.
They are perfectly adapted to such
purposes.
A trellis of light stakes and wire is
so simple that a child can make it.
One plant is set at each of the stakes,
these being about fifteen inches apart. J
The training is a delightful task. To jk
cause branches to spread, pinch
the lenders; to elongate the growth In
any given spot nip back the lateral
shoots.
Insoluble Phosphates.
The use of insoluble phosphates,
whether in the form of phosphntic
rock or of the so-called Thomas slag,
has long been a hone of contention
or debatable matter, not only among
the scientific men, but the practical
farmers. The former have questioned
whether the insoluble phosphate could
be of any value as plant food, and
some of the farmers have claimed that
their crops were very much benefited '
by it. Although we have not tested
It, our opinion leads us to believe that
the farmers arc right, and those who
rely only on scientific principles may
be wrong. We do not place
confidence in the power of the si 1 ■
and the action of frosts, rain and sum- *"
mer heat upon what are sometimes
called insoluble fertilizers. We know
little of the power that these elements
may exert, and when to the natural
elements of the soil there may be added
the effect of decomposing vegetable
matter, either as stable manure or as
green manure plowed under, we can
only say that we think they have much
effect in making soluble not only phos
phatic but other mineral elements in
tlie soil. Those who have used the
finely ground rock or Thomas slag
upon fields which had received a lib
eral dressing of stable manure, or
had been treated with a green crop
plowed under, are so unanimously in
its favor that we cannot doubt hut
that the so-called insoluble phosphates
do become soluble in the soil under
certain conditions, depending upon tlie
soil or the treatment it has received.- \ J
American Cultivator. W
Tho Seventeen-Year Cicada.
The seventeen-year- cicada, or locust,
as it is more generally but wrongly
called, is now In full possession of the
territory in which it is due. In all
probability succeeding broods will be
less destructive, as tlie areas over
which it occurs are less favorable for
egg-laying than formerly. Another
important, factor in its destruction is
the English sparrow. This is particu
larly true in public parks nnd other
places near cities and towns. The
sparrow is very fond of these insects
and devours them greedily as soon as
SEVENTEEN-YE All CICADA AND YOUNG,
they eome from the ground.
An adult cicada is shown in our
Illustration at c. The female deposits
her eggs in twigs and ends of trees
nnd shrubs. The eggs hatch and the
young fall to the ground, bury them
selves and remain below the surface
for seventeen years. They then ap
pear as shown at a. Crawling upon
some object near where they emerge, I
they transform, leaving tho skin, as A
seen at b, clinging to the object where '
it was fastened. The next appearance
of this particular brood will occur in a
less restricted area in 1919.— American
Agriculturist.
Quite Easy.
It's easy enough to laugh at troubles
unless they happen to be your own.—
New York News. '