Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 220, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 September 1910 — Page 3

The World’s Wonders

Crabs That Climb the Trees

The robber or cocoanut crab has been known for some centuries, but until lately doubts have existed whether these crustaceans actually climb trees to reach the cocoanut The accompanying photograph taken on Christmas Island should do away with all uncertainty on this point The animals are easily r frlghtened, and scuttle off backwards at the slightest alarm. They do not dive only upon cocoanuts, but feed on fruits of various kinds, especially those :o£ the sago-palm, while carrion, of all sorts—even the bodies of their own relatives—does not come amiss. At one time, when rats swarmed in the forest at night the crabs restricted their depredations to the daylight hours; but now that rats have almost disappeared, even at night, camp utensils are not safe from their claws, in fact, they have been known to carry away cooking apparatus, bottles and clothes. The robber-crab’s method of carrying cocoanuts Is to strip them of their husks, and then to hold the nut under some of its walking legs, while it retires raised high on the Ops of those of its legs npt used for this purpose.

HIS FAME IS WRIT IN WINE

One of the monuments in Reims that attracts the especial attention of visitors to that quaint city is the statue of Dom Perignon, the discoverer of champagne. He was a Benedictine monk in the Abbey of Hautvilliers and lived from 1638 to 1716. The statue is of bronze, but Dom Perignon may well claim, with Horace, that by his use of “the foaming grape of Eastern France’’ he has raised for himself "a monument more enduring than brass.”

ANCIENT CIRCUS PLACARD

The British museum has acquired a curious relic of Roman civic life, this being a circus placard, found near the site of ancient Lanuvium. It Is a thin, oblong slab of stone, about three feet long, the upper corners of which are pierced with holes for cords tp pass through, so that It might be hung outside the theater and warn those who came late that there was no room for them within the building. The inscription Is in Latin, .“Circus full! Immense applause! Door shut!” We can Imagine the disappointment of the Roman boys, after trudging three or four miles to see the circus, to find this sign Btarlng them in the face.

VIOLIN BURIED WITH HIM

An ex-army bandmaster named Martin died dt Colchester recently, fte was very fond of a certain violin which he possessed, and had refused large sums of money for It. Before dying he left Instructions that his famous fiddle was to be put in the coffin and buried along with him. His strange request was duly carried out. The water courses of Sweden are estimated to be capable of supplying 10,000,000 horsepower for nine months to the year. ~ .

STRANGE THINGS FOUND IN VARIOUS I PORTIONS OF THE EARTH

HINDOO SIGNS WITH TOE

Identification methods were given a new twist In a Chico, Cal., bank when a Hindoo squatted on the floor, jerked off his shoe and used the great toe of his right foot for stamping an Impression on the deposit slip. The Hindoo signatures all look alike to bank cashiers, who use thumb imprints as an additional means of identification in cases where depositors hail from the far east This system could not be followed out because the would-be depositor’s hands had been scalded at Hamilton City while working around the vats of boiling water in the sugar factory. He solved the problem by directing the Hindoo to take off his shoe. This operation complete, the depositor was handed the ink pad and the deposit slip. Putting both feet on the floor, he pressed the toe on the ink and then transferred it to the paper* making a clear impression. The impression will hardly answer as well as the thumb Imprints, but the bank says it will do as long as the custom does not become general

BABY KEPT IN A SHOE BOX

The stork was In a whimsical mood the other week when he visited Mrs. Joseph Pygeorge of San Francisco and presented her with the smallest little sample of humanity ever seen out west The baby weighs exactly 2*4 pounds, is perfectly developed and in the best of health. The tiny girl Is fed by means of a glass dropper, about two thimblefuls of nourishment at a time. The midget Is kept In a No. 8 card board shoe box, lined with cotton wool and has already attracted crowds of visitors.

One of the most picturesque sights In the Interacting ilty of Seville, Bpaln, is the two-wheeled vehicle that serves as a hansom cab. It Is drawn by a gaily caparisoned horse and the driver sits side-ways on the floor. These vehicles are very numerous In Seville end are largely patronized by all classes that can afford the email amoupt that Is charged for their use. They are especially suited to the n4,rrpw and stony streets of the city. _

The Hansom Cab of Seville

BIG SPIDER CATCHES MICE

Instead of killing a large black spider which he saw tn his workshop, D. A. K. Neas of Morristown, Tenn., concluded to let It live and calls It his pet. The spider actually catches mica and seems to possess a greater fondness for the small rodents than his kind usually have for flies. Mr. Neas is a broom manufacturer. Several days ago he was attracted by the faint cries of a small animal evidently in distress. Upon Investigation the diminutive sufferer proved to be a small mouse, which had in some way become entangled in a spider’s web In one corner of the room In which Mr. Neas whs at work. Further inspection of the victim’s condition disclosed the fact that a large black spider was busily engaged In the task of binding or enclosing him in a fine web ol silken threads. Becoming Interested in the performance, Mr. Neas watched the mouse and Its struggle with the spider, and was surprised at the ease with which the spider seemed to be able to control fits captive. An endless strand ol silky thread was wound around and aSround the mouse until he was unable to move. Having rendered hjs victim helpless, the spider attacked the mouse at the throat, and its struggles were soon over. A day or two after this first occurrence a second mouse was enticed into the spider’s web and in a like manner disposed of, and then a third rodent followed hte brothers to the happy hunting grounds by the same remarkable route. Ordinarily a story of this kind 'would be received with derision, and it is probable that many will be u» able to credit the narrative In its entirety even now, but Mr. Neas is still entertaining the spider, who seems quite contented with its surroundings, and a repetition of the three occurrences related may be had at any time the mouse is provided.

CHINESE TELEPHONE STATION

So numerous are the Chinese residents of San Francisco that the Pacific Telephone company which serves that city has established a branch exclusively few the Orientals. The exchange building is of Chinese architecture and the manager and operators are all Chinese. /

REMARKABLE SPRUCE HEDGE

What is admittedly the most extensive hedge In New Hampshire stands In front of the residence of John R. Hatch In the village of Greenland, N. H. It is 200 feet long. It Is composed of sturdy spruce trees, ranged side by side as thickly as their growth will permit, and which *are now 30 feet high. This distinctive feature of one of New Hampshire’s fairest villages is 40 years old. The roadway which runs along the Hatch premises Is completely obscured from the occupants of the house as the house la completely hidden from travelers in the highway. Greenland’s spruoe hedge Is certainly the most extensive thing of its kind which one will find in or about the precincts of New England.

FOOD HEAT VALUES

WHERE THE GOVERNMENT'S EX* ! PERIMENTS ARE FAULTY. More Valuable Information Could Be Obtained If Man Fed Badly Qooked Meal Were Put In Calorimeter. The department of agriculture is conducting a series (Of novel experiments to determine the relative energy heat value of certain foods. The subject selected for experiment is required to eat a particular food. He then passes -into the Calorimeter, or heat measurer—an air-tight glass cage which has a system of pipes filled with cold water running around the inside walls. The heat generated by the body in assimilating the food just eaten causes the water to grow warmer. The Increase in its temperature is carefully noted, and a comparlslon of the increases due to different foods gives a fair measure of their relative heatproducing qualities. No one will deny that the arrangements here described are most ingenious. They seem admirably adapted to shed much light upon the subject. But that they will fall .to record the highest heat effects of beefsteak, chops, rice, cabbage and other foods must be obvious to the most superficial observer. To get that information me must go to the home. And we must have, not the well-cooked roast beef and cabbage and chops, etc., which the government scientists are feeding the subject, but very badly cookai food Indeed. It Is a fact of common knowledge that nothing makes a man hotter than a breakfast chop cooked until it is as tough as leather; or a steak that can hardly be masticated; or ham fried when he likes It boiled; or four-minute eggs Instead of the favorite two-minute eggs; or welldone roast beef when he wants It rare. If the department of agriculture could sneak up and get the Irate father of the family inside a calorimeter while in the inflamed state due to these foods—well, he would probably burst the calorimeter, The cold water would turn to steam so quickly that the pipes would have to give way. All will admit the difficulty of securing a scientific registration of such remarkable heat effects. But' this difficulty does not alter the fpet that only under these or similar conditions can the observer get any Idea of the tremendous caloric possibilities of certain foods. 'The utmost heat that a man in a comfortable ealorlfeter, fed on wellcooked food, could generate In an hour would be practically infinitesimal compared with what a small, dyspeptic man confronted with a leathery chop at the domestic board could emit In a minute. It may be that the department Intends to make farther and more illuminating experiments somewhat later. If it does not, It might as well confess that It is not trying to find out the extreme heat production of various foods—that its investigation, in a word, lacks sdope and thoroughness.—Chicago Inter Ocean.

Preserving String Beane,

“I thought I knew as much as the next person when it comes to preserving fruits, vegetables and the like,” said a New York housekeeper to a friend while waiting for her change in the grocery store. “But I’ve Just learned of something new—-a very simple way of making it possible to have fresh string beans throughout the winter, and at their lowest summer cost too. “The process is extremely simple. As soon as the beans are picked they are sorted and care should be taken to see that they are clean and dry. Then in the bottom of a wooden box lined with paper place a layer of dry table salt. On top of this place s layer of beans, then more salt and more beans in as many layers as you wish. Put a generous layer of salt on top of all, cover over with jSaper and set in a cool dry place. The beans can be taken out as wanted and will be found as fresh as when picked. Indeed, my Informant assured me she had had fresh beans In March which had been picked the previous summer. You must be careful to get the real string bean, though, green in color, for the other kinds, like wax beans, won't keep."

Dog Went Through the Paper.

A story went the rounds In New Richmond that Chief Brooks had been attacked by a vicious dog. The New Richmond News found that the story was exaggerated. Mr. Brooks had a pet dog that he had been teaching to' Jump through a hoop covered with paper—Just like the circus pups. * The other day when the chief was lying on the rug, he picked up the newspaper to read, not thinking of the dog. The dog thought it was the game and make a good running jump through the paper, landing his north rear paw in the fire department chiefs eye and his south paw in his mouth. The dog went through the paper all right, but the New Richmond News and Republican Voice Insists that he also,. in about three. seconds, went through the window, screen and all. ki-yi-ing fire and showing evidences of having been violently lifted. The chief now has one sporty-look-Ing eye out for fires and his ’face shows some signs of sprain.

On Courting Night

Above, In the shadows, the author was speaking softly to the other boarder. The other boarder was an artist, and the author and he seemed always to have a great deal to say to one another. They often came to the little Miller farm to spend care-free week ends, undisturbed by obtrusive critics and condescending art patrons, and tonight, as was their custom, they tipped their chair legs back against the shingles, their feet stretching out toward the piazza rail, their eyes searching the stars beyond. Below, on tho steps, sat the pretty daughter of Farmer Miller, gorgeous In the panoply of courting evenings, her soft hair, of mornings so alluring in the careless disarray of goldbrown strands, caressing slender neck and warm flushed cheeks, now knotted In a tight, awkward wad; and the soft house dress, which usually clung so prettily about her 6hapely little figure, displaced by a horror of stiff stafched gingham. It was courting evening, and she sat primly upon the steps complacently conscious of Importance of the occasion and of her own immaculate splendor. But the eyes of Elizabeth Miller were troubled, and a frown puckered the usual serenity of her sun-browned forehead. Was it after all, she pondered, so Wonderful a thing to be loved ahd wooed by young Dave Stetson? Of course he was handsome and rich, in his own account, and. richer still in anticipation of greater things, for some day he would be the sole owner of the old Stetson place, with Its wealth of bams, and greenhouses, Its expanse of sun-kissed hills and rich brown meadow land. It la true, however, that he might have had Nellie Wharton, the justice’s daughter, or pretty Mary Howard, for the asking. Nellie had been away to school and Mary’s father, part owner of the big Howard mills, was a \ man whose wealth and Influence were in no way to ho scorned! Yet, for all that, David had turned to her, despite the greater attractions of wealth and beauty. Tonight within ear shot of the softly modulated voice of the writer man and the answering echo of his friend’s sympathetic understanding, the eyes of ’Lisbeth Miller were troubled and the frown, deep puckering, defied the calm tranquillity of the 'summer stars. She could hear, plainly, every word of the author, though he was sublimely unconscious of r her presence, hidden as she was behind the piazza pillar. He was speaking strange, incomprehensible words, socialism, anarchy, democracy, and the tyranny of the powers. But It was not the words, or their import, it was the voice with its peculiar richness, its strange risings and fallings, its numerous subtle inflections that held and thrilled her inmost being. David might say: "I love you, I love you, I love you,” a thousand times, but his passionate outpourings could not move her one-half as much as the utterances of this strange creature, cold and Impersonal as he was. She thought: "He must see that I am pretty! Perhaps, In time—” Her cheeks flamed scarlet under their rich coat of tan.

Well, she would wait The writer and his less prepossessing friend would be returning, from time to time, during the long summer. So she would have ample time to think It over, and sufficient occasion to Impress the writer with her unsurpassed week-day dexterity and her wondrous Sunday splendor. There was the cerise silk that Aunt Sabina had left her. She would wear that one day—and grandmother Miller's black Jet necklace and edrrings should be called upon In time of necessity. She knew that the women in the great city were beautiful, but she would show this man that she could cope with any fair damsel of the far metropolis. She patted her pink gingham thoughtfully and lifted her hand approvingly to the shapeless coiffure above. Then her chin rose in proud determination. Yes, she would tell Dave at once. She would go and meet him when the front gate clicked and Inform him of the fact that there could be no more courting, no more strolling In forest pathways on summer afternoons, no more winter confidences over the open fire. The thing should be ended at once and for all time. And yet, in spite of the fact that her brain was dazzled with the thought of the tall, slender man, with his keen, Well-chizzled features and farseeing, but frankly impersonal eyes, the vision of the broad-browed face, heavy but regularly molded. Its dark eyes overshadowed by a shock of wavy hair, thrust Itself persistently upon her. Yes, David was handsome and big and kindly, and he knew how to turn a pretty compliment She recalled the night of the dance in Evans’ barn. It was two years ago that he had “offered,** and yet it seemed but yesterday, so pleasant liad been the tlmfe of courting. There was a sudden throb of the fiddle in her ears, the scrape of many feet upon »bare, swept boards, the sweet pungent odor of new-packed hay. the lights of lamps

By EDITH GRAY

swinging high from the rafters, and jack-o’-lanterns grinning fantastic, from far corners. And then a mighty beating of heart as Dave having lured her beyond the great doors, spoke to her beneath the stars. “Your eyes are very big," he had said simply, “and there Is light In them. I want them for my own." “Your eyes are very big and there is light In them!” Could the writerman do better?” Yes, yes; a thousand times, yes! For if David, with no schooling at all, could say such things, what might this other then express, with his list unmeasurable of magic words, the more remarkable that they were but half understood? ... Surely, even after this review of old, surging memories, for all that the past had been so sweet, her decision was made and, irrevocably. For, arguing with woman’s logic, If the past had been pleasant with, a man like David, what would the future be, made glorious by a great wonder, a being of experience and travel, a writer and talker, a prodigy like the man above in the shadows? The big moon swung gloriously about the far meadow hillocks, a little breeze scattered late rose petals softly at her feet The voice of the writer-man seemed a thing far-off, wondrous as the star light. Suddenly Xlsbeth Miller sat keenly erect, her ears straining to catch the words of tho men beyond. “She’s beautiful,” the artist was saying, “but the usual peasant type, boorish and unimaginative. But she would he a credit to Millet with her bossies and her loose blown hair, and even a greater artist might dlspatr erf reproducing her wonderful color.' ‘‘Right,’’ the other answered, “But you must admit that the cleverest caricaturist emild hardly do justice to her atrocities on dress-up occasions. She was unspeakably commonplace in that pink gingham tonight, and that monstrous arrangement of hair was unutterable. If only the commons would have sense enough to leave well enough alone.” They drifted off &en to town talk and friends of the city. The artist said; “I wonder if the incomparable Lucia could find amusement here?* And the other answered: "She always makes her own amusements, and what surrounds her la Invariably beautiful. Ah,” between long-drawn puffs of contentment, “there's a woman!” “Worthy even of you!” There was deep silence, save for the mad beating of a girl’s heart la the shadows, then there was a firm step upon upon the gravL The girl flew like a hurt thing down the crunching length of pathway and into the wide open arms of her lover in the darkness. “Dave,” she sobbed against the sheltering strength of firm-set shoulders- “Dave, boy, how I love you!”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT

Mind and Character of the Child Are Plastic and Parents Must Be Careful. Did you ever consider how plastic are the mind and character of your child, ready for the molding of circumstances, natural forces and the various impressions left upon it by the actions of grown people? The whole life of your boy or girl is before you. How Important, then, is the fact that first impressions should be of the finest and the best that make for the nobflity of man! One of the first ideas to be zealously guarded is your child’s belief in your perfect honesty and trustworthiness. Remember, little ones cannot tell the difference between Jest and earnest, and truth and untruth are marked by a sharp line. If, therefore, you make threats or promises that you do not keep, if you repeat childish happenings with exaggeration, if you evade, or, worse yet. lie, you are Impressing your child in a way that you may regret your life through. Be equally Insistent to have the early Impressions in your child’s life those of beauty. Remember that these are the memories that Unger through life. Do you want sordidnes and ugliness and unhappiness to cling in the background? of childhood? Keep a child happy; let it have all the pleasure and Joy and color In its life that it is In your power to give. The nursery should be the pleasantest room In the house. Nowhere else have you; the opportunity of influencing unconsciously the tastee of the young. ' In that nursery, If there are good books, works of art—not mere daubs—toys that instruct as well as amuse, collections that train a child’s incllnation for original research, those first Impressions have a lasting influence on after life and the building up of character. Do not get into the habit of thinking a child’s thoughts and notions do not count. They count for more than do your own; yours are amenable to rsa- , son or common sense, while his are not realized or understood until they have made a fluid impression for harm or good.