THE
<br />HASTINUS
<br />VOL. L. ---N(1. 19.
<br />HASTINGS. MINN.. SAT
<br />GAZETT
<br />MINNESO11A
<br />f ISTOFiCA,L
<br />• OClEiY.
<br />RDAY. FEBRUARY
<br />1908.
<br />MAKING A TIME IABLE
<br />A Pep Into the Chart Room of
<br />a Great Railway.
<br />WORKING OUT A SCHEDULE.
<br />• Threads and Pins That Enable the
<br />Officials to So Place Trains as to
<br />Avoid the Danger of Collision and All
<br />Unnecessary Loss of Time.
<br />Travelers who consult the ever han-
<br />dy time tables to the arrival or de-
<br />parture of the particular train that is
<br />• to carry them probably never give a
<br />thought to the manner in which a mod
<br />ern time table is made up. To the un
<br />initiated it is a Chinese puzzle, and
<br />even those well versed in its mysteries
<br />often become confused_ How are time
<br />tables made? What is the procedure
<br />in determining the speed of a train
<br />and the exact time and place it shall
<br />meet another train? The answer to
<br />these questions is to be found in the
<br />chart room.
<br />The chart room is usually in some
<br />quiet corner of the general offices of a
<br />railway company and for weeks at a
<br />time is locked. But every now and
<br />then the word goes forth that the
<br />schedule is to be shortened or length
<br />ened, new trains to be put on or sone-
<br />change
<br />omechange made that necessitates the re
<br />vision of the time card. Then from
<br />distant points of the system the di
<br />vision superintendents gather for a
<br />conference with the heads of the pas-
<br />senger and freight departments In or-
<br />der to learn the' most desirable time
<br />for trains to arrive and depart from
<br />terminals. With this information, they
<br />retire to the chartroom, where there
<br />is a separate chart for each district.
<br />The charts are white boards about
<br />six feet wide and from two to five feet
<br />high. The names of the stations. ac-
<br />curately scaled, are printed on the
<br />boards at the side, and from the top of
<br />the board many colored strings dangle,
<br />more suggestive of a parlor game than
<br />a tool for laying out the path of traffic
<br />a
<br />and commerce.
<br />The superintendents confer regard
<br />ing the time at junction points on con
<br />netting trains and then work out th
<br />schedule on intermediate points on
<br />chart of his division.
<br />Horizontally the chart show 12
<br />midnight on the left side, an re is
<br />a line extending across the chart for
<br />each five minutes from that time until
<br />the full twenty-four hours have been
<br />shown. For convenience each third
<br />Ithe, representing n period of fifteen
<br />minutes, is in a different color. •
<br />Superintendents are supplied wtth
<br />various colored silk thread. pins and a
<br />tack hammer. Red Is used to designate
<br />a passenger train, green for a second
<br />class or freight train, and black is for a
<br />e third class or local freight train. When-
<br />ever a train is scheduled out of a ter•
<br />minal at a certain hour a pin is driven
<br />at the intersection of the station line
<br />and hour line—this lasing the beginning
<br />—and such other times at various sta-
<br />tions as may he desired are determined
<br />by drawing the thread over the board
<br />to meet the intersection of the various
<br />stations and hour lines at the proper
<br />times. Where necessary tacks are driv-
<br />en to keep the thread on the proper
<br />schedule.
<br />Westbound trains run down and di-
<br />agonally to the right. Eastbound
<br />trains start at the bottom, run upward
<br />and diagonally to the right. Wher-
<br />ever these threads cross, a meeting
<br />point is indicated, and if this crossing
<br />of the threads is between station lines
<br />it is then necessary to adjust the time
<br />on each train, so that the meeting point
<br />will be at the most convenient station.
<br />This is done by holding the lines cross-
<br />ed at station with a pin. Of course
<br />on double tree"' these meeting points
<br />are not necessary/
<br />After the chart has been strung a
<br />former issue of the time card with pen
<br />and ink is brought into use, and the
<br />superintendent begins at original ter -
<br />initial, looks at the station line, and
<br />whenever any string representing a
<br />train crosses this station line be notes
<br />the time as shown on the proof of the
<br />time card. One train at a time is read
<br />from start to finish, and after they
<br />have all been checked they are re-
<br />checked to see that all meeting points
<br />are properly made and noted on proof,
<br />after which the tlme table is ready for
<br />the printer.
<br />To make a successful time card a
<br />superintendent must be perfectly fa-
<br />miliar with the grade and track condi-
<br />tions and when stringing the thread
<br />must allow more time for unfavorable
<br />grade, railroad crossing and other un-
<br />usual stops, so that the running time
<br />of the train will be uniform. When-
<br />ever it is desirable to make a meal
<br />stop a pin is put in at the proper sta-
<br />tionand the string run horizontally to
<br />the line until the required number of
<br />minute linea have been passed, when
<br />it Is again taken 'down the board at
<br />the proper degree of speed. By mak-
<br />ing the string more vertical the speed
<br />is increased, as there are fewer mi-
<br />nute lines crossed. By swinging thread
<br />to the right the speed is decreased, and
<br />by the use of pins this can be ar-
<br />ranged between each station to suit
<br />conditions,—St Louis Globe -Democrat,
<br />Disposing of Her Rivals.
<br />"The president of our club is an ow -
<br />tally clever woman."
<br />"What did she do?"
<br />"Disposed of her rivals for office by
<br />putting them on the nominating com-
<br />mittee."—New York Press.
<br />Men tire themselves in 'the pursuit
<br />of rest—Sterne,
<br />t;:�:�y:ailce
<br />at Ii1tle cost
<br />CALUMET
<br />BAKING POWDER
<br />sI,000.00 reward is offered to
<br />anyone for any sub
<br />stance injurious to t:o- Health found
<br />in Calumet Baking Powder.
<br />Purity is a prime essential in food.
<br />Callrinet is ru:•l,e onlyof pure, wholesome
<br />ingredients cemhincd by §killed chemists,
<br />and complies with the pure food laws of
<br />all states. It is the o:,ly Ligh-grrd�
<br />Baking Pow•cer on the :narlio: sold r.t
<br />a moderate price,
<br />Calumet Baking Powder may L•.
<br />freely used with the certainty that ford
<br />made with it contains n0 he rut
<br />drngsa—It is chemically c•orreez
<br />and makes Pure, Whol: •c;:•:ire
<br />Food.
<br />•
<br />arin[tsm
<br />Condor Individuality.
<br />We had the fest chance of studying
<br />the colors of the eoutlor head. The bill
<br />was ho:u color, and the red skin of the
<br />head extended down, covering it about
<br />halfway. The legs were tau, but ou
<br />each knee was a patch of rest. On the
<br />breast of each bird the skin was blood
<br />red and could be seeu occasionally
<br />when the br:•ast feathers were spread
<br />and the birds were preening. Roth had
<br />light colored wing bars, and tbe pri-
<br />maries were well wore. The skiu ou
<br />the throat hung loose, and the lower
<br />mandible fitted close under the upper.
<br />The chin was orange red, and below
<br />this on the neck was a strip of green-
<br />ish yellow merging into the orange
<br />about the sides and back of the neck.
<br />The top and front of the head were
<br />red, but between the eyes was a small
<br />patch of black feathers, and these ex-
<br />tended down in front of the eye into
<br />the orange red of the cheek. 'i'he pupil
<br />of the eye was black, but the Iris was
<br />deep and red and conspicuous. The
<br />bald and wrinkled pate, the flabby
<br />jowls, with the cave-in expression of a
<br />toothless 01(1 woman—these helped to
<br />make up the condor individuality.—
<br />William L. Finley iu Century.
<br />It Didn't Come Natural,
<br />"1 have heard that man tell the
<br />truth once or twice," said one Wall
<br />street man talking of another. "Ile
<br />can tell the truth. i admit, but it does
<br />not come natural to him. Ile reminds
<br />me of the Russian moujik.
<br />"A Russian utoujik sat one day In
<br />the anteroom of, the military commis-
<br />sioner of his town. There was an
<br />anxious frown on his face. A friend
<br />approached and said:
<br />"'What is the matter, Piotr?'
<br />"'I ant worried,' Piotr answered,
<br />'about my son. I don't know what tr.,
<br />say when the commissioner asks me
<br />about his age. You see. If I make hint
<br />younger than he is lie will be seat
<br />back to school, and if I make hitt out
<br />older they'll stick him In the army.
<br />What the deuce am 1 to do?'
<br />"'How would it do,' said the f::e:rI
<br />thoughtfully, 'if you told the c onlais-
<br />sioner his exact age?'
<br />"Plotr slapped his leg and t i L'be'
<br />delightedly.
<br />"'The very thing!!' he cried. -I nee
<br />er thought of that!'"
<br />Pay of Arrny O!;ix,•„
<br />When a young man hero..: •
<br />at West Point. he enters eine: n i
<br />ernment allowance of s+tn:t.:,n a
<br />On graduation the Kest i' .; : ; : i.•
<br />commissioned a second
<br />receives a sahtry of $1 tuns it res
<br />ed or $1,51iO if menace ;. 1ta •c:, e:: a;
<br />each five year period I rin-; tae pay a:
<br />the end of twenty years up to ;:1 !),rt
<br />in the one case and $thin) la the
<br />other.
<br />The pay of first lieutenants Legias at
<br />$1,500 and $1.600; captains, cl.`'tI0
<br />$2,000; majors, $2.5(N): Iicn.cu:utt colo-
<br />nels, $3,000; colonels, $3,500. Each oal-
<br />cer attains a 40 per cent maximum in-
<br />crease in twenty years.
<br />On the average the salary of the
<br />army officer is higher than that of the
<br />college professor, the minister or the
<br />graded civil service employee. The of-
<br />ficer has allowances for residence and
<br />personal attendance. He may buy
<br />household supplies from a government
<br />commissary at cost.— Detroit News -
<br />Tribune.
<br />Insurance and Assurance.
<br />They were talking, the little group
<br />of agents, about the words insurance
<br />and assurance, some claiming that the
<br />first and some that the second was the
<br />better word to use.
<br />But with a scornful laugh a Boston
<br />agent in gold rimmed spectacles said:
<br />"You are all very ignorant insur-
<br />ance is no better and no worse than
<br />assurance. Each has a special signifi-
<br />cance, and each Is equally good in Its
<br />place. The place for assurance Is
<br />where precaution is taken against a
<br />certainty—against, that is, death. Life
<br />assurance, we should say 1f we spoke
<br />with perfect correctness. The place for;
<br />insurance Is where precaution Is taken,
<br />against an uncertainty, such as fire,
<br />shipwreck, burglary. Fire Insurance,
<br />marine Insurance, we should say."—
<br />Exchange.
<br />His Eminence. •
<br />A French cardinal, being small of
<br />stature and hunchbacked at that, al-
<br />ways gave the keenest repartee when
<br />addressed with "highness" and "emi-
<br />nence." "My highness is five feet two
<br />Inches, and the eminence I carry on
<br />my back."
<br />I Kipling at Work.
<br />"I have lounged In Rudyard Hip•
<br />ling's den at Brattleboro, Vt., before
<br />he deserted America for England and
<br />saw him at his work. Ile sat at his
<br />table in n revolving chair. 1 had a
<br />i book In my hand and said nothing un-
<br />less 1 was spoken to, for I was enjoy-
<br />ing a great privilege that was granted
<br />to no oue else but his wife. Ile would
<br />write for a ruotneut, perhaps for ten or
<br />fifteen minutes at a time. if he was
<br />writing verses he would hunt very
<br />softly to himself an air which proba-
<br />bly kept the rhythm In his mind.
<br />When writing prose, be was silent. but
<br />often he would lay down his pen.
<br />whirl round in his chair and chat for
<br />awhile. It might be something resat•
<br />Ing to the subject he was treatlug or
<br />bear no relation to it. Suddenly he
<br />would wheel back again. and his pen
<br />would fairly fly over the paper. He
<br />can easily concentrate his thoughts
<br />nod as easily descend from cloud land
<br />to the commonplace of the day, though
<br />in his mind and on this lips nothing is
<br />ever commonplace. Some of his poems
<br />he has written when speeding in a
<br />Pullman car at the rate of sixty miles
<br />an hour."—I'aeitie Monthly.
<br />Birds Shot With Water.
<br />Shooting a humming bird with the
<br />smallest bird shot made is out of the
<br />question, for the tiniest seeds of lead
<br />would destroy his coat. The ottly way
<br />In which the bird can be captured for
<br />commercial purposes is to shoot him
<br />with a drop of water from a blowgun
<br />or a fine jet front a small syringe.
<br />Skillfully directed, the water stuns
<br />hires. He falls Into a silken net and
<br />before he recovers consciousness
<br />is
<br />suspended over a cyanide jar. This
<br />must be done quickly, for if he comes
<br />to his senses before the cyanide whiff
<br />snuffs out his life he is sure to ruin
<br />his plumage In his struggles to escape.
<br />Humming birds vary In size from spec-
<br />imens perhaps half as large as a spar-
<br />row to those scarcely bigger than a
<br />bee. The quickest eye cannot follow
<br />them in full flight. It is only when,
<br />though still flying furiously, they are
<br />practically motionless over flowers
<br />that the test marksman can bring
<br />titrem to earth.—New York Press.
<br />The Feeding of Dogs.
<br />"No dog kept indoors and Indeed
<br />very few outside should be fed on
<br />meat nor should he be fed from the
<br />table at mealtimes, as he will soon
<br />become a nuisance, especially when
<br />there are visitors. If be 1s always fed
<br />at the conclusion of a certain meal—
<br />dinner, for instance—he will watt pa-
<br />tiently until the prescribed time. It is
<br />a good plan to feed after one's midday
<br />meal, giving plenty of green vegeta-
<br />bles, bread and potatoes, with a very
<br />few scraps of finely cut meat, the
<br />whole well mixed and some gravy
<br />poured over It. 1f two meal's are given,
<br />one should be at breakfast time and
<br />one in the evening. One should con-
<br />sist of only n little oatmeal and milk
<br />or a piece of dry dog biscuit -
<br />"At no time should the dog hare
<br />more than he will eat, and it he leaves
<br />anything on his plate except tbe pat-
<br />tern his allowance should be reduced
<br />or a meal omitted,"—Suburban Lite.
<br />The Shoulder Strap.
<br />If it were possible to compile such
<br />data it would be extremely interesting
<br />to know to what extent women have
<br />influenced the uniforms and equip-
<br />ment of their fighting states. A little
<br />instance in point is the steel curb
<br />shoulder strap of the British cavalry.
<br />When Sir George Luck was setting
<br />out for Kandahar during the Afghan
<br />operations Lady Luck, knowing prob-
<br />ably something of the fighting methods
<br />of the tribesmen, whose four foot knife
<br />can cut clean from shoulder to belt,
<br />sewed a couple of steel curb chains
<br />under each of the shoulder straps on
<br />her husband's tunic. As a protection
<br />from sword cuts these proved so ef-
<br />fective that at the end of the campaign
<br />Sir George made a report in relation
<br />thereto, with the result that they were
<br />adopted as a permanent feature of the
<br />cavalry uniform,—Harper's Weekly.
<br />The Bonds.
<br />9 want to get rid of some bonds."
<br />"Out of my line," replied the lawyer.
<br />"But these are matrimonial bonds,"
<br />rejoined the caller, putting a different
<br />face on the ;natter. — Philadelphia
<br />Ledger.
<br />When we are happy we seek those
<br />we love. In sorrow we turn to those Nothing is impossible to the man
<br />who love us.—Cecil Raleigh, • who can and wall.—Mirabsau,
<br />AN AI,LIG
<br />The Muscles of
<br />Aro Like 8
<br />In whales the to
<br />instead of tertica
<br />this Is conee,:le.l 1
<br />tion. Fishes have
<br />are now, aquatic,
<br />whales and dolphl
<br />where they erne!
<br />OR'S TAIL.
<br />Wonderful Organ
<br />ngs of Steel.
<br />Is set transversely
<br />The reasou for
<br />long .e.tes of evola-
<br />hs aya been as they
<br />l the ancestors of
<br />lived on dry hrd,
<br />about on four good
<br />feet. When for some reasaru these crea-
<br />tures of old took to the water they
<br />probably did not plunge at once Into
<br />the open ocean. Where their descend-
<br />ants now II ve. but, waded and paddled
<br />aloug les the shallows and marshes of
<br />the shore. Isere d vertical tall would
<br />certaluly he In the way. while a hori-
<br />zontal one might be used advautn-
<br />geously. We must not forget also that
<br />whales breathe air as we do and that
<br />It 1d wore necessary:for, them 10 shoot
<br />quickly up from the dark oeeau depths
<br />to the surface than to turn, fishlike,
<br />from side to side.
<br />The sting ray and eortalu other fish-
<br />es have a sharp. poisonous spine in the
<br />tail with which they can Inflict a se•
<br />vere wound, but in the case of the al-
<br />llgator it Is by sheer brute force that
<br />the tall Is usefulj; for defense. The
<br />muscles of this or
<br />of steel. The grea
<br />in the sun, seems
<br />alive. but 1t n hal
<br />seize Its hail with
<br />an are like sprlugs
<br />saurian Iles asleep
<br />wore dead than
<br />,,,dozen men should
<br />all their strength.
<br />with one terrible ,Mick the alligator
<br />could scatter the breaking legs rind
<br />arms as If they w straws ami hurl-
<br />Ing the tneu far to telt side.
<br />in Mexico 1 o grasped a three
<br />foot Iguana by th tail, and 1 had my
<br />strength tested to he utrnost to hold
<br />on for a single infante. Thea, without
<br />warning, the greet lizard went one
<br />way and 1 the otJser. ills tall had
<br />parted company 14 the middle. end 1
<br />had nine inches edit left In my hand.
<br />Instead of Itetng fatal to these Ignatius.
<br />such an occ'urreuct Is not Infrequent
<br />and Is of the utmost valve TO tlteru in
<br />saving their Iltes.
<br />When alarmed I eir first act Is to
<br />dive for their holes; bet when an eagle
<br />is makiktg the attnek the swiftness of
<br />its flight sometllne$ intercepts the Ilz
<br />ard, and the bird .of prey seizes
<br />long tall which Is the lust m I• -;..!e i,art
<br />of the iguana. After n brief struggle
<br />the eagle files away w -I a ai: rale.
<br />bony tall tip. w'hieh lout a ' i.d bit'
<br />slight gustatory sattlefactlon, v. !mile the
<br />iguana seeks the deepest part of its
<br />burrow. The short" usclex stem close
<br />the...wound. and In Ourprillitgly short
<br />time a -new tali abnefif forth 3li iI`'brOy'It
<br />to a goodly length, ready If need be
<br />to be sacrificed in turn. Soutetlmes
<br />two tails grow out• front the old tall
<br />stump—surely a supertlulty of blew.
<br />lags. A weak spot in each tail bone is
<br />the cause or the breaking. Thus we
<br />see that the tae of the iguana is in-
<br />deed n >
<br />n Interesting one.—C. William
<br />Beebe in Outing Magazine,
<br />This Time the Lawyer Scored.
<br />A lawyer appeared before one of the
<br />New York city boards asklug that
<br />damages be awarded to certain clients
<br />because of a change of grade In their
<br />street When he had completed his ar-
<br />gument the president said: "Mr. Blank,
<br />you ought to know better than to take
<br />up the time of this board In this man-
<br />ner. You are too good a lawyer not to
<br />allow that on your own presentation
<br />of ?acts these people have not the
<br />shadow of n legal claim against the
<br />city." "Your remarks are fully justi-
<br />fied, Mr. President," said Mr. ,Blank.
<br />"I not only expected them, bnou
<br />have done me a favor by making th'bm.
<br />There are times when a lawyer is so
<br />pushed by his clients who seem to
<br />know more about the law than be
<br />does that the only thing be can do is
<br />to let them come up against it them-
<br />selves. They probably know as much
<br />about It now as i did before. I thank
<br />you for your attention:' With that be
<br />took, up his books and left the room,
<br />followed by n half dozen crestfallen
<br />clients.
<br />The Honest Chinaman.
<br />You soon learn In China that you
<br />can trust a Chinaman to carry through
<br />anything he agrees to do for you.
<br />When I reached T'al Yuantu I .handed
<br />my interpreter a Chinese draft for 2200
<br />(Mexican), payable to bearer. and told
<br />him to go to the bank and bring back
<br />the money. I had known John a little.
<br />over a week, yet any one who knows
<br />China will understand that 1 was run -
<br />fling no appreciable rink. The individ-
<br />ual Chinaman is simply a part of a
<br />family, the family is part of a neigh-
<br />borhood, the neighborhood is part of a
<br />village or district, and so on. If John
<br />had disappeared with my money after
<br />cashing the draft and bad afterward
<br />been cagght, punishment would have
<br />been swift and severe. Very likely he
<br />Would have lost his head. 1f the an-
<br />Moritles bad been unable to find John.
<br />they would have punished his family.
<br />Punishment would surely have fallen
<br />on somebody.—Samuel Merwin in Suc-
<br />cess Magazine.
<br />The Poet's Son.
<br />"Why, Freddy, how dirty you are,
<br />and only yesterday you wrote a verse
<br />ter papa's birthday, promising always
<br />Ip wash your hands clean."
<br />'Well, mamma, that was only a
<br />poetic Ilceuae."—Fltegende Blotter.
<br />Asserting Himself.
<br />He—Will you be my wife? She—The
<br />idea! Don't be ridiculous. He—Yes, 1
<br />know It sounds ridiculous; but, then,
<br />I'm not so particular as some men are.
<br />—Borten Transcript. -
<br />1
<br />SI per Tear la Advaaee,
<br />SI per Tear It met 1■ Adresse*.
<br />v
<br />�o
<br />Economizes the use of flour, but-
<br />ter and eggs; makes the biscuit,
<br />cake and pastry more appetiz-
<br />ing, nutritious and wholesome.
<br />1
<br />i
<br />ABSOLUTELY PURE
<br />This is the only baking
<br />powder made from Royal
<br />Grape Cream of Tartar.
<br />It Has No Substitute
<br />Then are Meal sad Phosphate ef Lime altatsrw sea se
<br />s lower price, but eo housekeeper reveller the health
<br />et her family can &fiord to tufa them,
<br />`✓
<br />Writers' Cramp.
<br />Writers' cramp is a serious matter
<br />to people whose work requires that
<br />they use a pets very touch, while for
<br />the unaccustomed writer who takes an
<br />afternoon off now and then to catch up
<br />with her correspondence It is. to say
<br />the least, very discouraging. The trou-
<br />ble is more than muscular in this kind
<br />of cramp. Very often a low, nervous
<br />co.tditlon will cause it. Then one
<br />should take it as a warning that the
<br />system Is run down and needs general
<br />toning up. Very often, however, the
<br />trouble is all hs the way you bold your
<br />Pen -
<br />Children now In school are not like-
<br />ly to be troubled with writers' cramp.
<br />sthey.waRia,falight to hold the
<br />pen lightly and make all the move-
<br />ments front the arm instead of the
<br />band. Tho old fashioned method
<br />which most of urs learned of holding
<br />the pen betwee-rt the thumb and fore-
<br />finger is also very likely to encourage
<br />a cramp. The lunacies become tense
<br />and hard,
<br />until finally A y they contract so
<br />much that all control over them is
<br />lost. The pen should be held between
<br />the first two fingers, well up toward
<br />the joint. The trouble may often be
<br />relieved by putting the band and wrist
<br />into the hottest water one can stand.
<br />—Boston Herald.
<br />Tenderness of the Hanging Judge.
<br />Mr. Justice Hawkins' tenderness for
<br />women prisoners was well known. He
<br />admitted ft, and he had a great dislike
<br />of sentencing these poor creatures to
<br />death who had been recommended to
<br />mercy and would probably be repriev-
<br />ed. On one such occasion the sheriff
<br />asked if he was not going to put on
<br />the black cap.
<br />"No," he answered, "1 am not. I do
<br />not intend the poor creature to be
<br />hanged, and I am not going to frighten
<br />her to death"
<br />Addressing her by name, he said:
<br />"Don't pay any attention to what I
<br />am going to read.. No harm will be
<br />done to you, I am sure you did not
<br />know in your great trouble sad sorrow
<br />what you were doing, and I will take
<br />care to represent your case so that
<br />nothing will harm you int the way of
<br />punishment."
<br />He then mumbled, over the words of
<br />the sentence of *teat so that the poor
<br />creature did not bear them.—London
<br />Graphic.
<br />Lobster Fare.
<br />Hungry lobsters In their natural
<br />state seldom defuse Bab of any kind,
<br />whether dead or alive. The favorite
<br />bait with fishermen is fresh or state
<br />herring, but even shark meat is used
<br />at a pinch. Lobsters also eat small
<br />crabs, saa urchins and mussels. In-
<br />deed, there are few forma of marine
<br />life suitable for food which they re-
<br />fuse. Lobsters sometimes capture fish
<br />alive, striking them with the smaller
<br />of their two great claws, which for
<br />this reason fishermen call the "quick"
<br />or "fish" claw, hut they will live for a
<br />long time, especially when confined
<br />without taking any food. If you tether
<br />the lobster by the large claws, you will
<br />find that, like the muskrat, he will go
<br />off some fine morning, leaving only his
<br />legs in the trap, for this animal has
<br />the remarkable power of "shooting a
<br />claw," or amputating its limbs, and,
<br />what is atilt more wonderful, of grow-
<br />ing new ones from the stumps left be-
<br />hind.—St Nlchotaa.
<br />Metals Need Rest.
<br />Metals gets tired ns well as living
<br />things. Telegraph wires are better
<br />conductors on Monday than Saturday
<br />on account of their Sunday rest, and a
<br />rest of three weeks adds 10 per cent to
<br />the conductivity of a wire;
<br />=I
<br />�I
<br />Wasp's Jaws Make Colony's Nest.
<br />Wasps readily succumb before the
<br />increasing cold of autumn. The few
<br />that escape the merciless scourge of
<br />mortality are the .queens of next sea-
<br />son. They pans the winter In some
<br />warm cranny, and. when the spring
<br />arrives each comes forth from its hid•
<br />ing place and seeks a suitable place
<br />for the nest that is to be. This found,
<br />the queen repairs to a fence or tree
<br />trunk and with her jaw rasps off a
<br />bundle of wood fiber which when
<br />moistened with saliva and kneaded
<br />forms the paperllke substance of which
<br />the nest is entirely constructed.
<br />Just as bees have invented a pecuilat
<br />nest building material in wax, so
<br />wasps have prepared a special durable
<br />paper for the same purpose. The queen
<br />mother lays the foundations of the
<br />city with ber own jaws. She attaches
<br />a sort of stalk of wood paper to a
<br />chosen support. This may be the
<br />branch of a tree, a root in a cavity
<br />below ground or a beam In IS garden
<br />shed. The stalk prepared, the queen
<br />builds a few shallow cells, in each of
<br />which she lays an egg. As these nue
<br />ture, hatch and develop Into worker
<br />wasps the labor of the little colony it
<br />turned over to them, and thus a vast
<br />nest with thousands of cells is evolved.
<br />—Chicago Tribune.
<br />The Wrong Nell.
<br />Nell is a girl who lives up on Capt•
<br />tol hill. Oa Mondays a woman comes
<br />to Neil's house to wash clothes. The
<br />woman's name is Nell too. One Mon
<br />day Nell, the girl, was in the sitting
<br />room reading when the telephone rang.
<br />Nell, the washerwoman, answered the
<br />ring. Nell, the girl, then heard Nell,
<br />the washerwoman, say:
<br />"Yes, this Is Nell."
<br />Silence.
<br />"How's that7'
<br />Silence.
<br />"What! Am I mad because you
<br />kissed me last night? -Look here, man,
<br />you're too fresh. Who are you auy-
<br />way? I never kissed"—
<br />Just then the telephone receiver was
<br />wildly snatched frorg her hand. Nell,
<br />the girl, blushing furiously, had grab
<br />bed it. She bung It on the book.
<br />"He wanted me," she said. "lie al-
<br />ways tries to tease we that way. I-1
<br />never kissed him in my life"
<br />As she 'disappeared up the stairs the
<br />washerwoman smiled and said:
<br />"That's a big one."—Denver Post,
<br />A Ghost Under the Sea.
<br />The story is told of a diver who saw
<br />two ghosts "full fathom five" under
<br />the surface. He had gone down to the
<br />wreck of a large steamer and was
<br />crossing the main saloon when two
<br />gray shapes of enormous size came
<br />shambling toward him. - He did not
<br />wait to make notes for the Psychical
<br />society, but gave the danger slgual anti
<br />was at once pulled up. Told les the
<br />cheerful light of day, it seemed rather
<br />a lame story, and another diver went
<br />down to see what he could make of It
<br />Toward' him also came the shambling;
<br />gray shapes. He stood irresolute for a'
<br />moment and then, going boldly tor-.
<br />ward, struck his hatchet through—a
<br />mirror! The ghosts were only a dim
<br />reflection of his own legs, much en-
<br />larged, of course, as everything is that
<br />a diver sees through the grelit frontal
<br />eye of his helmet
<br />PAPER WATERMARKS.
<br />Method by Which the Devices Are
<br />Imprinted on the Sheets.
<br />The discovery of the watermark was
<br />the result of an accident—probably a
<br />thousand yearn ago. Parchment was
<br />then made of vegetable pulp, which
<br />was poured in a liquid state into "a
<br />sieve; the water dripped out from be-
<br />low, and the thin layer of pulp that
<br />remained was pressed and dried. When
<br />dry it was found to bear upon it the
<br />marks of the fiber that composed the
<br />bottom of the sieve.
<br />These fibers seem to have been
<br />twisted reeds, and the mark they left
<br />on the parchment took the form' of
<br />wide lines running across and across
<br />diagonally. In those days the water-
<br />mark was regarded as a blemish since
<br />the fiber was thick and coarse and the
<br />deep impression made on the paper
<br />proved a drawback in writing. The
<br />quill of the scribe found many a yawn -
<br />Ing gap to cross on the surface of the
<br />manuscript—"switchback scripture" It
<br />has been termed. But when wire was
<br />substituted for fiber in the sieve the
<br />lines of the waterwark grew thinner
<br />and less conspicuous.
<br />The possibilities of the usefulness of
<br />the watermark became apparent by
<br />degrees. It was first found . to be of
<br />service In preventing the forgery of
<br />books and manuscripts. Many ( bogus
<br />copy of a rare work hu been detected
<br />because the counterfeiter failed to tate
<br />into account the watermarks of
<br />original. The watermark of many a
<br />precious manuscript in the world's
<br />museums is alike its glory and its sate -
<br />guard. And in the sphere of bank
<br />notes and paper money everywhere
<br />the watermark is most useful in pro-
<br />tecting the notes from imitation.
<br />The term "watermark" is in reality
<br />a misnomer since the mark L actually -
<br />produced by wire. Wire is fashioned
<br />into the desired pattern, figure or let-
<br />tering. This is inserted beneath the
<br />*beet in the last stages' Of its manu-
<br />facture and while the paper Is still
<br />capable of receiving the impression
<br />and the wire device stamps itself into
<br />the sheet. Ordinary note paper held
<br />up to the light reveals hundreds of
<br />parallel lines running up and down,
<br />betraying the fact that the paper was
<br />made on •a wire foundation. To this
<br />the paper owes its smoothness and its
<br />even texture.
<br />In the manufacttare of 'postage
<br />stamps the watermark is of immense
<br />advantage as a safeguard. The wires
<br />that produce the marks are kept strict-
<br />ly under lock and key. They are
<br />brought -oat only when wanted, and an
<br />inspector keeps an eye on them till
<br />their task is done, when they are at
<br />once locked up again.— London An -
<br />ewers.
<br />Symbolism of College Gowns.
<br />It has n said that few people, in-
<br />clud y university men them-
<br />sely anydefinite
<br />idea of the
<br />meaning of the gowns worn by collegi-
<br />ate students.
<br />In ,America university gowns exhibit
<br />much variety, there being a great dif-
<br />ference in the various institutions, but
<br />all over the country—In fact, all over
<br />the English speaking world—certain
<br />distinctions bold.
<br />The ordinary bachelor's gown, the
<br />first the student owns, L of unadorned
<br />black with pointed sleeves and is or-
<br />dinarily made of serge or other sim-
<br />ple black fable. The master's gown
<br />is like the student's, inasmuch as It 1s
<br />plain black, but the sleeves are cut dif-
<br />ferently, being long pendants shaped
<br />not unlike fish tails and hanging from
<br />the elbows nearly to the bottom of the
<br />gown. The master's gown may be
<br />made of silk, as may also the bache-
<br />lor's gown if it is worn by a man of
<br />long academic standing who has hap-
<br />pened to receive no higher degree, but
<br />the ordinary university man has DO
<br />desire to clad himself in silk.
<br />Most doctors' gowns, especially in
<br />England and Scotland, have hoods that
<br />give them certain distinctions and dif-
<br />ferentiate by differences of color the
<br />doctorates.—Harper's Weekly.
<br />A Disciple of Emerson.
<br />He stood in the driving, sloshing
<br />rain on a corner contemplating the
<br />curb.
<br />"Don't you know enough to go in
<br />when it rains?" asked an acquaint-
<br />ance hurrying by to shelter.
<br />"I am a disciple of Emerson," he re
<br />plied.
<br />His acquaintance stopped fn aston-
<br />ishment while his umbrella turned in-
<br />side out What the"— he began.
<br />"You see that curbstone," the first
<br />man continued, "where it ins been
<br />worn smooth by the throngs? You
<br />never saw it when it was washed
<br />shite, clean before. Isn't it the most
<br />beautiful gray -green and polished like
<br />a slab? Emerson said you could find
<br />beauty in the rainwater channels in
<br />a pile of ashes if you looked tor it.
<br />I'm finding It in the sidewalk."
<br />The other man's comment was
<br />smothered In a fresh gust of wind and
<br />the wreck of his umbrella,—New York
<br />Sun.
<br />Rifled Firearms.
<br />• In the South Kensington museum
<br />are several wheel lock muskets with
<br />rifled barrels made during the reign of
<br />Charles I., 1f not earlier. Such barrels
<br />were then usually called "screwed."
<br />Zachary Grey in a note on "Hndibras,"
<br />part 1, canto 8, line 638, says that
<br />Prince Rupert showed his skill u a
<br />marksman by hitting twice in succes-
<br />sion the vane on St. Mary's Stafford at
<br />silty yards with a "screwed" pistol,—
<br />London Notes and Queries.
<br />The Forests,
<br />A true forest is not merely a store -1
<br />house full of wood, but, as It were, a
<br />factory of wood and at the same time
<br />a reservoir of water. When you help
<br />to preserve our forests og to plant new I
<br />ones, you are acting the part of good
<br />citizens.—Roosevelt
<br />Revenge.
<br />"It took you an awfully long time to
<br />Ammonia From Peat.
<br />A process for obtaining ammonia pulelsl fellow's tooth," said the as -
<br />from peat has been tried in England "Yes," answered the dentist The worst someWhippg a bully *ear
<br />with considerable strecals*. j " grimly. Acs >. from come moa who tlotlw't
<br />He married the girl loved) grant todtslst.--Cbkago News.
<br />
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