THE BLACKBERRY PATCH, The blackberry patch near the garden fence— What marvels its depths may hold! And far in its jungle what strange events Await, to challenge the bold! What cosy corners which none can see Who chances to know them noi! Ami oft from the cares of the day I flee To visit the friendly spot. And lo! when T gaze at the tangled rows Where a thousand times I've been, A queer liitle boy, with freckled nose, Appears and leads me in. Together we crawl on hands and knees Through a barbed ami winding way, And here, in the midst of the ants and bees, To our hearts' delight we play. He 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; The cunning retreat where Towser hides When he wants enjoy a bone; And many a curious thing besides, Confided to me, alone. Have you guessed the secret? Why, don't you know? That queer little boy is I! And he 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. f — \ THE CRIMINAL AND THE PHILANTHROPIST. — - , , 7"OU really are that celc • • \ / bra ted—l should say no- I torious criminal, Louis "£*■ Barrage?" 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; tlie accepted ideas and the usual people did not matter much; but there ■was no reason to he angry with them j 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 flashed over the criminal's face: the philanthropist went 011 rap idly: "We are not in with the police. 1 won't say we oppose them—that would he 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 outiug with his proof that he was 110 fanatic —"a whisky and soda? 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 t lie nerve. For the same reason I prefer my pipe, if you don't mind?" "By all means. I'm afraid I smoke four of these every day of my life, and sometimes it runs to five or six more 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 body, lowers the in tellect and destroys the soul." The last phrase came pat and mechanical. The philanthropist had used it ou 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 than clever and well informed people. Our method of treat ing criminals pleases the stupid aud 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 the sen tences that used to be carried out less than a hundred years ago; they would not he tolerated now But there Is much to bo learned. Now I see tlio prison of the future as a handsome, well-lighted, airy place, with a fine garden attached and a swimming bath, and—er—a gymnasium and li brary. and—or—everything of that sort. There would he comfortable recrea tion-rooms, bagatelle perhaps bil liards. Gambling and had language? of course, prohibited. There would he an employment bureau, which would look after* every mau when lie had finished his term. There would be a system of rewards for good conduct, aiul there would be a good deal of mu sic—we should believe in a refining process." The philanthropist was conscious that ho had put it better 011 platforms. There was something in tlie criminal's good-nalured and contemptuous eye that disconcerted him. "How does it strike you?" lie asked. When the criminal was able to speak for laughing, lie said: "Excuse me—it's rubbish, of course!" "You don't think that as a method of reclamation " Again the philan thropist stopped blankly. > "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 j remains the natural criminal, just as the natural genius remains a genius, and for just the same reasons. En vironment and circumstance may make the occasional criminal, but the real tiling—that is inborn, that is the man himself." "Oh. but I can't hold with you there," said the philanthropist, plucking up heart. "That is a desperate doctrine. And ilie facts are all against you. Do you know the work that the Salvation Array 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 nets very strongly on them. That ia found in all religions. 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 nil wrong. You seem to have 110 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 dumpling 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 he 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 I am afraid I shall never make you see these things my way. In any ease I must be off. I am going to—l shall he rather busy to-night, and I want, if I can, to got 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 hit of his watch chain was hanging 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 a PasHoiifjer Station to Help Their Trade. One of the novelties of street railway travel in this country is a passenger station provided rent free by the mer chants of a certain street in Toledo. It lias a newsstand 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 with benches and lockers. Any citizen may rent a locker for Ave cents a day and have packages sent there, to be put in his bos. Then when the time comes for him to go home lie 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, has been so successful already that it is likely to he imitated elsewhere.— New York Sun. Cciitmmrians Without Doubt. Talk about centenarians! A Welsh correspondent informs us, says the Loudon News, that the following in scription on a tombstone in Amroth churchyard, near Tenby, has just been brought to light: "Here lieth the body of John Roes, who departed this life October IT, 1824, Aged 240 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. It.": "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 LIES THE BO DY OF DENNIS GRA DY WHO DEPARTED THE STH OF MAY BEING THE 480 TH YEAR OF IHS AGE. 1727." But, of course, wo know oven the j laws or nature are inverted in the "dis i tressful country." I fireat llecoril of a Marrying Preachor. I The sixth annual reunion of the Rev I W. L. Meese Matrimonial Association was held in Noel's Grove at Lagrange, I Ind., and a very large number was | present. The members of this nssoeia- I tion are the hundreds of couples mar ried by Mr. Meese. The latter keeps an accurate record of the couples mar ried by him, and 110 other preacher can show no equal number. Of all ids marriages it is claimed that no one has I ever been divorced.—Cincinnati Com i mercial Tribune. F^g^fTFio^j Two great Minneapolis Hour mills will soon bo 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, maxi mite or lyddite, and yet which may be handled with absolute safety, has been invented by Professor G. M. Ilatli away. It is named kathamite, after Its Inventor, and at a recent public test Frofessor Hathaway demonstrated its safety by pounding the explosive upon an anvil, throwing it into a lire and firing rifte bullets through it at a speed of 1850 feet a second, tn ordei to fire the new explosive it is necessary to use a strong detonating cap. About IGO photographs of Nova Tor sei were taken during the year at the Greenwich Observatory. The results of determinations of its parallax from a study of these photographs wore 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 Kapteyn's hypothesis that the apparent expansion of the nebula was simply duo 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 ceaserl to exist many years ago. Drs. Smite de Sanctis and i-I. Noyroz, of Home, have invented an instrument which tliey call a Griessbaeh etliesi oifietor, and witli which they have re cently been conducting experiments to determine liow 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." Tlie practical or scientific value of tbe information to lie derived from this investigation is any thing 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 tlie stomach, the temperature, pathological condi tions, temperament, etc.—that the bare determination of the stimulus neces sary to awaken a sleeper would have almost 110 psychological value. A house of artificial stone blocks, two-thirds of which are material and 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 willi three rectangular columns, that may be elevated, whose dimen sions are those of tlie cavities in tlie blocks; to tlie foundation of tbe mold are hinged its ends and sides, which let down. When tlie ends and sides of llie mould arc in position, it is mere ly a box; a plate is let down upon the bottom of the mould; then tlie columus at tlie bottom of tlie mould are ele vated through openings in the plate. Tlie mould is then in readiness to re ceive the mixture of sand and Port land cement, which is shovelled into the mould, tilling the entire space sur rounding the elevated columns. It is tamped with great force. After tlie tamping process, tlie sides and ends of the mould are let down, the columns are depressed, and tlie plate on which the materials were poured is lifted out, with the manufactured block rest ing upon it. Tlie blocks are put out in tlie air, and in the course of a week they are ready to lie used for building. Tliey should not be subjected to too groat heat from the sun, and it is neces sary to moisten tlieni each day. The groat 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. Gall and Grit. Gall, in tlie present use of tlie term, is a persistent determination to do. It is a twin brother to Grit. It is a busiuess-bringer that brings. It is tlie bell-wether that jumps tlie fence and gets fat 011 the clover. It is the Gall that wins when the other mail lias dealt his cards from tlie bottom of tlie deck. Gall is the anti-fat of fate. It is the safest substitute for brains—it is many a politician's capital stock. In this new century rush to wiu you must lie brave. Therefore lie not ashamed of your Gall. Add to it Grit—and you'll win!— Richmond Missouriar Sine to Their Oxen. In France the oxen that work in 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 Uius with pleasure. FAMILIES GROWING SMALLER. American Birtli Kate HUH LTCEN Declining Since 1600, SuyH Dr. Kngelmitnn. Dr. George J. Engolmann, of Boston, has been gathering statistics regarding the size oil American families, and has sent the vesult to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Ilis 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 are 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.G per cent. While the number of childless women is great the average number of children born to each woman is small, and lias been steadily growing smaller. From 1000 to IGSO the number of children in each family averaged G.7; from 1804 to 1871 it had fallen to 4.27. At tlie 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. Taklug 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-born married women the childless proportion i$ only 11.02 per cent. Diversion in Rest. That physical rest may he obtained by bringing into play a different set of muscles from those previously in use is illustrated in the old story of the pugmill mule that was found to step off briskly In the afternoon it 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 daj r of close visual application, wben tbe bands press tbe tired eyes (although this particular mode of stimulating visual sensation may be harmful), bow delightful to many persons are tbe subjective sensations of color—the kaleidoscopic effects that come and 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, but 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 books of fiction and magazines, as well as for the plotless stage performance so characteristic of these days of strenu ous intellectual life.—American Medi cine. TrtcUeil Out of Her Girlhood, Angelina had attended all the term witli exemplary regularity—therefore It was more thau annoyiug that she should drop out of the class just as the examinations were coming in. Her work had reflected credit upon her. "If she was a stupid girl," her teacher said, "she'd he sure to be on hand to disgrace me. You go right up to An gelina's house and tell her mother slie must send Ange to school to tako her examinations." "Yes'ni," said the class Mercury, nud departed. "Please 'm now Ango's mother says she ain't got no say no more about Ange's eomiu' to school an' I ast her husband an' he says she's got to stay home an' cook his macaroni." "Her husband!" gasped the teacher. "Yes'm yestidy was her birthday she got 111 years old on yestidy, an' her mother let her get married." But the teacher wasn't lis telling. She ."as thinking sadly of n black-eyed, bright-faced child who had been tricked out of her girlhood.— New York Sun. The Country's l'atnt Output. About thirty million gallons of mixed paint were sold in the United States during 1901. Tbe greater portion of this was not used in the large cities but in tbe towns and villages where the structures are of wood. In 110 country is so much paint made as in tbe United States of America, and tbe bulk of that paint is composed of lead, zinc and linseed oil, and only the dark er shades are made of oxides of iron und other pigments. Many manufacturers use a small quantity of water in their mixtures, and when the quantity of water is not over two per cent, it cannot be re garded as an adulterant. Tbe water used is usually slightly alkaline, and in the* case of lime water it forms a calcium soap with linseed oil and thickens the paint so that it never settles bard in tbe 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 Wben tea was first introduced into Europe it was commended for the same virtues, and it was believed that It would no longer be 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 oiiemists will ever be able to devise any substitute for sleep which will not in tbe 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. Rtatlonary. "There's no progress about him." "No? But he's still doing business at the old standstill.—Philadelphia Press. Bather Hough on Fa. "What is a vacumm, ma?" "That part of your father that is di rectly under his hair."—New Y'orlt Press. Unappreclntl ve. J$% c "Willie, if yer knew how beneficial mud baths is youse wouldn't put up secb a holler!" New York Journal. Nothing Doing. "What is the matter with Bills?" "Worrlng over business affairs." "I didn't know he had any business." "That's it. He hasn't."—ludianaxtolis News. Din counted. First American Boy—"My papa lives like a prince." Second American Boy—"That's i_r.th lng. My papa lives like tiie 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 Boy. "Gracious Bobby," said the second Mrs. Jencks, nee Ann Teek, to her step son; "what are you crying about?" "800-boo!" sobbed the boy, "papa promised me a new mamma, an' you ain't new at all."—Philadelphia Record. 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 York 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-Herald. Ensy Proposal. "If I only had an ambassador at the court of love!" sighed the bashful swain. "A minister would be good enough for me," replied the demure maiden. "Arabella!" ( "Herbert! And so they were marked.— New Orleans Times-Democrat. Suppressed, Father—"Another foolish question and you go to bed!" Willie—"But this ain't foolish! I only want to know what holds the sky up nn' why ducks don't bark, and 1 if !"—New York Journal. Her Observation. "Miss Gloriaua," said the college ath lete 111 the outing suit, resting on his oars a moment, "let us co-educate a little in rowing. Leave the tiller, come and sit by me and take this other oar." "But this is not co-edueation, Mr. McCorlcle," she said, noticing that they were a long distance from all the others. "This Is segregation." And she put the boat about—Chicago Tribune. 5/i°RTKULJURIp Whitewashing Tre-.K. Trees tliat have been whitewashed are attractive, as they present a con trast "with tlie green tinge ot the leaves and grass, but the whitewash shouti "xj"~ be applied several times during tho ' season, or whenever it is washed 'o£f by rains. The Petunia. 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 the 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 the free flowering single strains. In adaptabil ity petunias have an advantage ovtv Hi most every other seed grown flower. Do you want a fine pot plant for the window sill? The petunia will 1111 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 tine mass of flowers on the lawn or a lively contribution to the mixed flower border than is desired? Nothing will meet the need us will the various petunias, Do you desire to display taste in training flowers over trellises or to form pillars, cones or balls? Then we 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 lifteen inches apart. j The training is a delightful task. To , cause branches to spread, pinch back / the leaders; to elongate the growth in V any given spot nip back the lateral j shoots. Insoluble Phosphate*. The use of insoluble phosphates, whether in the form of phospliatie rock or of the so-called Thomas slag, has long been a bone 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 benetitcd by it. Although we have not tested It, our opinion lends us to believe that the farmers are right, and those who rely only on scientilic principles may be wrong. We do not place sufficient confidence in the power of the soil and the action of frosts, rain and sum- , mer heat upon what are sometimes W 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 the 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 lis favor that we cannot doubt but that the so-called insoluble phosphates do become soluble in the soil under certain conditions, depending upon the soil or the treatment it has received.— ' American Cultivator. Tho Seventeen-Year Cicada. C 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 bo less destructive, as the 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 and other places near cities and towns. The sparrow is very fond of these Insects and devours them greedily as soon as SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA AND YOUNO. they come from the ground. An adult cicada is shown in our illustration at c. The female deposits her eggs in twigs and ends of trees and shrubs. The eggs hateli 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, they transform, leaving the skin, as seen at h, clinging to the object where it was fastened. The next appearance of this particular brood will occur in a 1 less restricted area in 1919.—American Agriculturist.