Decatur Democrat, Volume 48, Number 16, Decatur, Adams County, 23 June 1904 — Page 7

THE PORCUPINE. Known Creature That Eat. the ° 7 Foliage of the Hemlock. ‘•YOU don't have to skirmish around h to get feed to fatten one of these hemlock porcupines on,” says an old woodsman. "Just sprinkle some salt over a stick of cordwood or saw log for tint matter, and he'll eat the whole business and enjoy it as you would mince pie." The customary diet of these animals is hemlock browse. They make themselves a home in a hollow • 0 „ or under the roots of some old tree, i but always within reach of a big hem- ' lock. | The hemlock is their pasture, and they make beaten paths going to and fro between the tree and their home. Once up in a tree the porcupine goes out on the big limbs and, pulling the small branches in with one paw, browses on the pungent leaves. In going through the woods you will find little piles of these fine leaves on the ground under hendock trees. That means that a porcupine is feeding in the tree, the leaves on the ground being dropped from his feast. Sometimes a porcupine will remain in a hemlock tree for a week at a time, hugging close to the trunk at night and feeding during the day. This curious little beast is the only known living thing that eats the foliage of the hemlock. DANGER SPOTS IN A STORM. Place, to Avoid When the Lightning In Flashing, Out of doors trees should be avoided In a thunderstorm, and if from the rapidity with which the explosion follows the flash it is evident that electric clouds are near at hand a recumbent posture is the safest. It Is seldom dangerous to take shelter under sheds, carts or low buildings or under the arch of a bridge, and a distance of twenty or thirty feet from tall trees or houses is an eligible situation, for should a discharge take place these elevated bodies are most likely to receive it. It is well also to avoid water, for it is a good conductor, and the height of a human being near the stream may determine the direction of a discharge. Within doors we are tolerably safe in the middle of a carpeted room or when standing on a thick hearth rug. The chimney should be avoided on account of the conducting power of the carbon deposited in it, and gilt moldings or bell wires are sources of risk. In bed we are tolerably safe, since blankets and feathers are bad conductors. It is injudicious to take refuge in a cellar, because the discharge is often from the earth to a cloud, and buildings frequently sustain the greatest Injury in their basements. QUEEN PEES. Wonderful Provision of Nature by Which They Are Made. A marvelous phase of bee life is the power which they possess to raise queens, or mother bees, from eggs or very young brood that would in the ordinary course produce workers, which are neuters, or undeveloped females. If by any chance a queen is killed or lost the whole colony would perish were it not for this wonderful provision of nature. Much perturbed at first at their loss, the bees after some hours settle down and deliberately build a pear shaped structure known as a queen cell. This is much larger than an ordinary cell, rough, irregular and strong. In this the selected eggs, or larva, are lavishly supplied with “royal jelly.” which is highly stimulative and in which the baby queen literally floats during her period of growth. The result is that certain organs and ovaries which remain dormant in a worker bee are perfected, and the new queen hatches out in about fifteen . days, or six days sooner than the workers.—London Answers.

Headdreases In Africa. The married women and the men of the upper Mobangi wear their hair long and in braids, which are profusely adorned with colored beads woven in and out among the locks. This coiffure excites the astonishment of all travelers who see it. Coquetry is the privilege of the sex under the tropics as well as in civilized lands, and the women are very proud of their headdresses. The arrangement of their hair requires a number of days, and while it is in progress or when they fear that it will be disarranged they cover the hair with a finely woven net of wood fiber. Ivory needles handsomely carved keep the arrangement in position and give it a truly artistic aspect Curious Legral Custom. A curious custom is in vogue in many parts of India. If a dispute arises between two landowners two holes are dug close together, in each of which defendant's and plaintiff's lawyers have to place a leg. They have to remain thus until cither one of them is exhausted or complains of being bitten by insects, wnen he is judged to be defeated and his employer loses his case. Audience Wot Gleeful. “So you belong to a glee club?” "Well,” answered the youth with longish hair, ‘‘that's what we call it, but no one seems very joyous when we ting."—Washington Star. Wall Street Proverb. "A fool and bis money,” remarked the observer of events and things, soon get on the opposite sides of the market."—Yonkers Statesman. Don't tt.row away the ladder by Which yeu climbed. Use it for kindling wojd —Smart Set.

THE ISLE OF NOBLES.* *• Famous Historic Site, the Cradle of Saxon Liberty. The isle of Athelney, or the “isle of nobles,” as the name signifies, is one of the most famous of historic sites. A thousand years ago it was a low islet covered with willows and aiders and surrounded by fens and overflowing marshes, altogether inaccessible except by boats. There King Alfred sought refuge with a swineherd, and there he lay concealed from the invading Danes for the space of a whole year. The resort of his chieftains to this place caused it to be known as the ‘ isle of nobles,” which may be regarded as the cradle and stronghold of Saxon liberty. After Alfred regained the possession of his throne he erected a Benedictine abbey on this spot and "endowed it with all the lands in the isle of Atbeb ncy.” The monastery has entirely disappeared. but its site is marked by a stone pillar erected in 1801 by the owner of Athelney. The pillar bears this inscription: “King Alfred the Great in the year of our Lord 879, having been defeated by the Danes, tied for refuge t,o the forest of Athelney, where he lay concealed from his enemies for the spelt of a whole year. He soon after regained possession of his throne, and in grateful remembrance of thq protection he had received under the savoy erf heaven he erected a monastery on this spot and endowed it with all the lands contained in the isle of Athelney. 'fo perpetuate the memory of so remarkable an incident m the life of that illustrious prince this edifice was sot nded by John Slade, Esq., of Maunsell, the proprietor of Athelney, A. D. ISOL”— London News.

THE MAN WITH THE ADZ. Wonderful Accuracy of His Aim al the Butcher's Block. Outside a butcher shop twenty or thirty persons stood watching a man at work with an adz. He stdod on a large oaken block, such as meat is chopped on, which he had taken from its legs and placed on the curb, sloping toward the street. The surface of the block had become scarred and rough ened from use. With clean, accurate strokes of the adz the man soon made it as smooth as a mahogany table.' It was the wonderful accuracy of his alm that made passersby stop to. look at him. He paid no attention to them. A single false blow would have ruined the block. When the job was done, the man helped the butcher mount the block, collected $5 and went off to keep another appointment. “It has taken me twenty-three years to learn to chop like that,” he said to a reporter. “My charge is from $5 to $lO. according to the size of the block. A block requires evening off in that way every three or four years. I have customers now that I had when I first began business, twenty-five years ago. In ail that time I have spoiled only two blocks, and they were during the two years of my apprenticeship. The butchers can get their chopping blocks put in condition by sending them to the sawmill. But it is more expensive, and they can’t spare them so long from the shops There is enough work of this kind in New York to keep myself and half a dozen others busy.”—New York Press. Korean Men's Huts. The quaintest feature of the picturesque costumes of the Korean men is their hats. They are mousetrap-like arrangements made from the hair of the wearer's ancestors. This priceless possession is handed down from father to eldest son, who reaches the goal of his ambition at the moment when the family hat is placed upon his head. Another grotesque form of Korean headdress is the mourning bat that is worn in rural districts by the eldest son for three years after the eftath of either of his parents. This conical shaped affair of rushes or rice straw is as large as a bushel basket and extends to the shoulders.

The Value of Exercise. The brain that never calls upon itself for work must become dull and stupid, and it is the same way with the muscles of the body. They are filled with blood vessels that should be up and doing. The blood has several purposes, and one is to carry away the waste fluids of the body. The lungs are a sort of refinery, and the blood is a distilling agent. If the blood becomes thick and unhealthy and sluggish the body does not keep its youthful state. Eyes grow dull, bps lose their redness, and the complexion is sallow and unlovely. It is an easy "and simple matter to make exercise a habit. Wart Cures. Vinegar and cooking soda in solution are said to make a capital cure for warts. If the wart is kept moiijt with it for ten minutes several times a day it will disappear in the course of a week or so in ordinary cases. Another cure is to touch frequently ■with acetic acid or nitric acid, but one must be careful not to irritate the surrounding skin by dropping either acid. Why They Spoke. “We had known each other slightly,” said Miss Evvy Waite, "but never to speak to until one day while .out skating I fell down quite near him, and ’ — “Ah yes!” replied Miss Peppery. ••That broke the ice, of course.”—Philadelphia Press. Chooainsr a Minister. Dean Everett used to say that parish committees bad no. more ability choosing a minister than a minister showed In buying a horse—Boston Christian Register. The man who liecomes his own doctor has a fool for a patient as truly as the man who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client.

WHY WINE FIRST TO HOST. In America n Mere Formality, but tn Italy a Kcal NecesMlty. The wine was opened dextrously by the waiter, who before serving the guests poured a few drops into the host’s glass. , "Why did this waiter give you a little wine before helping the rest of us?” asked a man of curious mind. “Oh,” said the host, .“that's always done.” “I know it's always done. That does not answer my question, though. Here, waiter,” the man persisted, “you tell me why when you open a bottle of wine you pour a few drops into the host’s glass before serving the guests.” The waiter smiled and answered: “It’s a matter of form, sir; an old custom, a politeness. Its origin lies in tlie fact that after the femoval of the cork there might be left in the neck of the bottle a little dust or a few specks of cork. The first drops poured out would in that event contain the dust or the cork, and thus the guest were he served first might get this refuse; hence the host is given the first drops. “As a matter of fact, if you know how to open wine you have no difficulty in keeping the bottle's neck clean. The custom, therefore, is a formality in. America. In Italy, though, ip is a real necessity, for over tilers they? pour a little oil in the necks of their bottles of native wine before corking on the ground that this makes the wine air tight. No doubt it does, but it also in some cases gives to the first glass from the bottle a decidedly oily flavor. Therefore the first glass the host gallantly takes.”—Philadelphia Record. HE WON THE AUDIENCE. The Way Fred OouglnM Got the Best of Captain Rynders. The inexhaustible Sense of humor in Frederick Douglass kept him clear of any sense of gloom, as was never better seen than on the once famous occasion when the notorious Isaiah Rynders of New York, at the head of a mob, had interrupted an antiMavery meeting, captured the platform, placed himself in the chair and bidden the meeting proceed. Douglass was speaking and. nothing loath, made his speech drily keener arid keener for the interference, weaving around the would be chairman’s head a wreath of delicate sarcasm which carried th** audience with it. while the duller wits of the burly despot could hardly follow him. Knowing only in a fceuehil way that he was being dissected. Rynders at last exclaimed. “What you abolitionist® want to do is to cut all our throats!” “Oh, no,” replied Douglass in his most dulcet tones; "we would only cut your hair.” And. bending over the shaggy and frowzy head of the Bowery tyrant he gave a suggestive motion as of scissors to his thumb and forefinger with a professional politeness that instantly brought down the house, friend and foe, while Rynders quitted the chair in wrath and the meeting dissolved itself amid general laughter. It was a more cheerful conclusion perhaps than that stormier one—not unknown in reformatory conventions—with which Shakespeare so often ends his scenes, “Exeunt fighting.” — Thomas Wentworth Higginson in Atlantic. Which In the Larner Income! Here is an interesting problem in mathematics: Two clerks are engaged, one at a salary which begins at the rate of SIOO a year, with a yearly rise ot S2O, and the other at a salary commencing at the same rate, but with a half yearly rise of $5. In each case payments are made half yearly. Which of them has the larger income? Who is not tempted to say the former.' Yet the latter is the correct answer, for in the first year the first clerk receives SIOO, but the second clerk receives SSO and $55, which amounts to $lO5 in the year. The first clerk in the second year gets, to be sure, $l2O, but No. 2 gets S6O for the first half year and SOS for the second, or $125 in all. Gin In Enidnnd In the Old Days. Before intoxicating liquor was made dear by taxes and its sale was regulated by licenses the use of it in England was astonishingly common. Not only were there in London 0,000 or 1,000 regular dramshops, but cheap gin was given by masters to their work people instead of wages, sold by barbers and tobacconists, hawked about the streets on barrows by men and women, openly exposed for sale on every market stall, forced on the maidservants and other purchasers at the chandler’s shop, until. as one contemporary writer puts it, “one-half of the town seems set up to furnish poison to the other half. ’ In the Nursery. “Mamma, why do landladies object to children?” Mother—l’m sure I don’t know. But go and see what baby is crying about and tell Johnny to stop throwing things at people in the street and make George and Kate cease fighting and tell Dick if he doesn't stop blowing that tin trumpet I'll take it away from him.—TitBits. ' Their Celebrations. Hicks—Going to celebrate yoar wooden wedding, are you? Wicks—Yes. Hicks—Well, I guess I’ll celebrate my wouldn't wedding. It was just fHe years ago that that girl from t liicago said she wouldn't marry me—Somerville (Mass.) Journal. Properly Dlnatno’cd. Lushman —I’m troubled with headaches in the morning. It may be on account of n:y eyes. Perhaps I need stronger glasses. Dr. Shrude—No; I think you merely need weaker glasses and fewer at night —Ex shame.

MOHAMMEDANS AND DOGS. They Take Particular Pains Not to (sane In Contact. In Egypt dogs are never permitted to enter the dwelling of a Mohammedan, and if one is found in a mosque he is immediately put to death. In consequence of this excommunication from the society which this animal seems so instinctively disposed to »ultivate, Egyptian dogs five, for the most part, in the open air. feeding upon garbage and any other filth that chance throws in their way. Yet they are found to be faithful protectors of the property and even persons of the very men by whom they are thus despitefully treated, although, Sonini remarks, it is extremely curious to see the pains taken by a Mussulman and a dog when they happen to meet to avoid coming in contact with each other. Notwithstanding this state of persecution, dogs are remarkably numerous in the towns of Egypt. The species is a large one, about the size and make of the greyhound. As a proof of the Mohammedan prejudice against this useful animal, it is sufficient to state that they regard the terms Christian and dog as synonymous—both, of course, in the most op-' probrlous sense. As a singular contrast for their dislike for dogs, the Egyptians have ever held cats in greatest veneration, and in ancient time even worshiped them. And historians tell us that Bubastis and Atribes, two towns in Egypt, the former a votary of cats and the latter Os mice, contracted on that account so strong an antipathy to each other that the inhabitants were never known to intermarry, although only a few miles asunder. In some parts, of India, too, we are told, they have a similar reverence for grimalkin, as the only crimes punished capitally there are the murder of a mtn and a cat. —New Orleans Times-Democrat She Was Too Enthusiastic. “Teaching to me,” said an enthusiastic young schoolmistress, “is a holy calling. To sow in the young mind the seeds of future knowledge and watch them aS they grow and develop is a pleasure greater than I can tell. I never weary of my work. My thoughts are only of”— “I am very sorry,” interrupted the young man to whom she was talking, “that you are sp devoted to your profession. Miss Clara. I had hoped that some day I might have asked you—in fact, I called tonight—but I hardly dare go on. in the light of what you”— “You may go on. Mr, Smith,” said the young lady softly. “I am a little too enthusiastic at times p.erhaps.” The spinster Aunt's opinion. Carrie—Do you think a woman Is justified in marrying a man she doesn’t know? Aunt Jane—She certainly wouldn’t be justified in marrying a man she did know. —Boston Transcript,

ISMO 000 OO j TF g | Cash Given Away to Users of I LION COFFEE We are going to be more liberal than ever in 1904 to users of Lion C-oitee. Not only will tne S Lion-Heads, cut from the packages, be good, as heretofore, for the valuable premiums we L I have always given our customers, but In Addition to th® Regular Free Premiums | the same Lion-Heads will entitle you to estimates in our $50,000.00 Grand Prize Contest?, which will I make some of our patrons rich men and women. You can send in as many estimates as desired. There will be H TWO GREAT CONTESTS 8 | The first contest will be on the July 4th attendance at the St. Louis World’s Fair; the second relates to Total B Vote For President to be cast Nov. 8, 1904. $20,000.00 will be distributed in each of these contests, making $40,000.00 on the two, and, to make it still mere interesting, in addition to this amount, we will give a ■ Graiidl First Pi izs d $0,969.09 contests, and thus your estimates have two B wwwan opportunities f winning a big cash prize. Five Lion-Heads ggj* Printed b,anks to I I cut from Lion vote on found in I Coffee Packages and a every Lion Coffee Pack- I 2 cent stamp entitle you > age. The 2 cent stamp I (in addition to the reg* covers the expense cf ? ular free premiums)? our acknowledgment to tn one vote in you that your es- | either contest: 7 timateis recorded. | WORLD’S FAIR FKEStDEfZTJAL VOTE CONTEST u | What will be the tb.af July attendance at th? St.’Louis What will be the total Popular Vote cast for President (votes g World’s Fair? At Chicago, July 4,1393, the attendance was 283,273. for all candidates c" jnbn.ee >at th; election November 8. W W B For nearest correct estimates receive' in Woolson Spice Coni- 1900 election. 13.95J.CaJ prop! for/resident. For nearest - B Dany’s office, Toledo, Ohio, on or before June 30th, 1904. we will rect estimates receive'i tn A 00; son Spice Co. S’, office, T o’edo o B give first prize for the nearest correct estimate. eecoad4>rtze to the on-pr before Nov. 5, li we will give first prize tor the nearest cor- H next nearest, etc,, etc., as follows: - * ”. rect estimate, setondJprue to tnenext nearest,ex.,etc., as toaows. H 1 First Prize ’.'..“T2.W0.00 1 Firrt Prize $2,500.00 ■ 2 Frizes—ssoo.oo each .1.000.00 2 Frizes-Stoo.oo each 1,000.00 M 5 Prtzss— 200.00 ” ; 1,000.00 6 Prises— 00 } 000.00 H IO Prizes— 10000 ” 1,000.00 IO Prizes— 100 O i’ooo'oo S 20 Prliei— 60.00 “ ...i 000.00 20 Prizes— t>o O “ I’nnn nn R 60 Prizes— 20.00 “ . ..1.000.00 60 Prises— 20 0 • A’Sno’nn 9 250 Prizes— IChDO “ 5,500.60 250 Prizes- 10 jO 2,500.00 H 1800 Frizes— 6.00 “ 0,000.00 1800 Prizes— C.OO _?_’ 000 0 2. 2139~PBIZES, I TOTAL,)’ $20,001X00 2139 PEIZSB, TOTAL. $20,000.00 h j—tmaUBUKtASEW— I rrvzro. ~ -TTT3-'r3g—ai I l—W I ■! ■ II" ■—1 ■■ 1 F I 4279 — PKSXES—,J Dislribtsfsd to ths PubSio—aggT9»atfng 145,000,03—1 n at&kion to which we she?! gir® -9 a so Stccsrs’ Clarks (see particulars in cases) Er/i'ag a grat -J COMPLETE BETAILEO PAKTECyLAR© EWRY PACKAGE OF b . LION COFFEE WOOLSON SPICE CO., DEP’T.) YOLtOO, OHIO,

lie Wan Awful Homely. One day while on a hunting expedition jn the Alps Victor Emmanuel met an old woman gathering brambles. She inquired of the stranger whether it Was true, as she had heard, that the king was in the neighborhood. If so, Was there any chance of seeing him? “Yes,” said bls majesty, “he is about. Would you like to see him?” The old woman declared that few Bights would give her more pleasure. “Well, mother, I am the king.” She stared at him for a moment and broke into a grin. “Get out with you, jester! Do you think a nice woman like the queen would marry a chap like you, with that hideous mug?” The king was not offended. Perhaps the compliment to his wife mollified him. He gave the woman a piece of money, with which he was always free, apd passed along. Ufflituibk Roasted Duck. An extraordinary effect of lightning is reported from Lake Grand! ieu, in the Nantes region. A violent tempest burst over the lake, with vivid lightning and thunder. A number of boats were on the lake, and while they were ' hurrying to bank there was a tremendous peal of thunder. Almost imme■diately there fell amorrir the boats the dead bodies of a large flock of wild ducks, some of them roasted to a nicety, and some charred to a cinder. Roast duck cooked by lightning reads like a novelty, even'in the freaks of meteorology. If it could only be adapted to the “quick lunch”''Sy’stem! Didn't Want the Family. He had at last summoned up sufficient coyrage to “ask papa,” when, to his astonishment, the blustering parent demanded, ‘.’Are you capable of supporting a family, sir?” "No, sir,” he replied with great firmness. “My father tackled that job and has had his wife’s family on his hands ever since. I only want your daughter, sir, not the family.” One Obstacle Only. 1 Scholar—Professor, your mnemonic system is wonderful, and I am sure that any one. after mastering the rules, can learn to remember anything. But I am handicapped by one difficulty. p rofessor — What is it? ' Scholar—l can't remember the rules.— Town and Country. More Important. “With jour daughter as my wife, sir, I can com) tier the world.” “But .that isn’t the question. Can you make enough money to keep your--1 self In clothes?”—Life. Waterway*. , j Bacon—l hear your uncle is to lecture ’i on "Our . Great Waterways.” What 1 does he know about waterways? Egbert—WJiy, he was in Wall street for 1 six years!—Yonkers Statesman.

ANCIENT ENGLISH INNS. Some Have Been In Existence Fo. Nearly a Thousand Years. Round and about London and its ever extending suburbs there maj' still be seen inns and taverns of great age and interesting associations. The Angel inn, Highgate Hill, dates back to the time of the reformation. Originally it was called the Salutation inn. It is built entirely of wood. Another famous inn is the Bald Faced Stag at Edgware. Nobody knows when it was originally built, and it would seem as though each successive proprietor has endeavored to place his mark on its architectural aspect, for many parts of it have evidently at different times been rebuilt. In the stables. It is alleged, Dick Turpin had his,horse’s shoes turned, so as to make bls pursuers imagine he had gone in an opposite direction. Among the very oldest of suburban London inns are the Plough, at Kingsbury Gfeen, and the King James and Tinker inn, at Enfield. The first is said to be 850 years old, and the latter was reputed to have been first built as an Inn and under another name 992 years ago. Its present name is derived from an encounter which King James I. Is said to have had with a tinker at the door of the inn. The tinker's conversation so pleased the king that he made the mender of kettles “a knight, with five hundred a year.”—Lohdon Mail. THE SURGEON’S PROBE. See That He Sterilizes It Before He Uses It. It frequently happens that the doctor has occasion to probe a wound or a sore. Notice him when he does it. He opens his case of instruments. He takes out a long, slender silver or hard rubber rod which is from six to ten inches long, with a smooth, round end. Some of them are as small as a darning needle. Others are as large as a pencil. Watch the doctor closely when he takes this probe and attempts to use It. If he does not take the precaution to clean it, stop him. Don't allow him to touch your sore with it. He has been using it on some one else and may poison you if you allow him to use it. Call his attention to the fact that he boils an instrument when he operates on any one. and he should also boil his probe before he uses it on you either for a sore or wound. Make him do It. Tell him you will furnish him with hot water, and he can dip it in it and clean it carefully before he uses It. Otherwise he will use it on you and slip it back in his surgical case and use it on the next person. In this way he scatters infectious dirt.—Medical Talk.