Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 November 1892 — An Important Omission. [ARTICLE]

An Important Omission.

The mother’s suspicions were aroused, says the Detroit Free Press, and that night, when the joung man left the house and the daughter came up stairs, she interviewed her. “Elizabeth," she said, sternly, “didn’t I hear Mr. Smipley hissing you in the parlor as I came along the hall?” “No, mamma, you didn’t,” responded the daughter emphatically. “Well, didn’t he try to kiss you?" persisted the mother. “Yes, mamma, ” demurely. The mother spoke triumphantly. “I knew it,” she eaid. “Did you permit him to do so?” “No, ma’am, I did not. I told him you had always taught me that I should not permit any young man to kiss me.” “That was right, that was right, my dear,” said the mother encouragingly. “And what did he say to that’" The girl blushed, but was undaunted. “He asked me if you had ever told me that I was not to kiss a young man.” The mother began to feel that possibly she had omitted a vital link in the chain of her instructions. “What did you tell him?” she asked nervously. “I said I didn’t remember it if you had.” Tho girl stopped, and the mother broke out urgently: “Well, goon—goon." “I guess that’s what you heard, mother!” And the daughter waited for the storm to burst. Some naval officers testing a new projectile oil the Atlantic coast were so successful as to sink a schooner. The fact that the vessel was threequarters of a mile from the line of fire says much for the efficiency of the projectile and the accuracy of tho man who aimed it. Hereafter when projectiles are being tested schooners should scurry for safety djrectly into line of Are. TnE estimate of the Kansas wheat crop by the State Board of Agriculture is 60.000,000 bushels. As the wheat so far threshed is turning out an exceptionally good quality, there seems to be no reason for doubting that the State has the best crop it has ever grown. Mat—Your last suitor, Mr. Wait, seems very magnetic. Belle—Yes, I gave him both poles. May—What do you mean? Belle- A positive negative.—Truth.

slow growth of the oak. Sixty Tears Old Before Good Seed Is Produced—Activity of the Boots. The extreme limit of the age ol the oak Is not exactly known, says the Ohio State Journal, but sound and living specimens are at least 1,000 yoars old. The tree thrives best in a deep, tenacious loam with rocks in It Stagnant water is one of its aversions. It grows better on a comparatively poor sandy soil than on rich ground imperfectly draft ned. The trunk, at first Inclined toba.irregular in shape; straightens at maturity into a grand cylindrical, shaft. The oak does not produce good seed until it is more than sixty years old. The acorn is the fruit of the oak; the seed germ is a very, small object at the pointed end - of the acorn, with the future root t uppermost. The acorn drops, and its com tents doubtless undergo important molecular and chemical changes while lilies under its winter, cohering of leaves or snow. In the mild warmth of spring the acorn swells, the little- root elongates, emerged from the end of the shell, and no matter what the position of the acorn turns downward. The. root penetrates the soil two or three inches before the ~stalk begins to show itself, and grows upward. The “meat” of the acorn nourishes both root and stylk, and two years may pass before its store of food js entirely exhausted. At the end as a year the young oak has a root twelve to eighteen inches long, with numerous shorter rootlets, the stalk being from six to eight inches high. In this stage It differs from the sapling, and again the sapling differs frppi the tree. To wutch these transformations under the iens Is a fascinating occupation. If aq oak could be suspended in the air with all its roots,and perfect and uhobscured, the sight would be considered wonderful. The activity of the roots represents a great deal of power. Tney bore into the soil, and flatten themselves to penetrate a crack in a rock. Invariably the tips turn away from the light. The growing point of a tiny outer root is back of the tip a small distance. The tip is driven In by the force behind it, and searches the soil for the easiest points of entrance. When the tips pr ( e destroyed by obstructions, cold, heat, or other causes, a new growth starts in varying directions. The first roots thicken, and become girders to support the tree, no longer feeding It dlreclly, hut serving as conduits for the moisture and nourishments gathered by the outer rootlets, which are constaantly boring their way into fresh territory. These absorb water charged with soluble earth, salts, sulphates of lime, magnesia and potash, etc , which- passes through the larger roots, stems, and branches to the leaves, the laboratory of new growth. An oak tree-may have 700,000 leaves, and from Jpne to October evaporate 226 times Its own weight of water. Taking account of the new wood growth, “we obtain some idea of the enormous gain of matter and energy from the outside universe which goes oh each summer.” Oak timber is not the lieavijst, toughest, nor most beatlful, but it combines more good qualities than any other kind. Its fruit is valuable food, and its bark useful in certain industries. An oak pile submerged for 650 years in London bridge came up in sound condition, and there are specimens from the Tower of London which date from the time of William Rufus. To produce a good oak grove requires from 140 to 200 years. It seems a long time to an American, but forestry Is a perpetual branch of economics when once established.