Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 April 1906 — FOR THE CHILDREN [ARTICLE]

FOR THE CHILDREN

Muster* «n«t Men. To play masters and men sides are chosen with an equal number of players on each side, one side being men and the other masters. The object of the play is to remain men as long as possible and to keep tbo masters out of work. The men ga outside the door and choose among themselves same trade in which the arms, legs or hands are used. Then they go inside the room and range themselves in a line before the masters, and the leader, or foreman, tells the masters the first and last letters of the trade chosen, such as A-Y for apothecary. C-lt for carpenter, and so on. He then turns to the men and says: "Now, my men. the work's begun; No more talking til! done.” Immediately the men begin to show by gestures the movements peculiar to the working of the trade selected, such as hammering for a blacksmith, sawing and planing for a carpenter. After a minute or two of this the foreman shouts. "Stop, my men, and demand yonr wages!” Each master in turn has one guess at the trade tin* men are supposed to be working at. Should they not guess right the men go out again and choose another trade, and so the game goes on. The game ends when the masters guess right, and they must they take tin* places of the men. Street Names In Mexico. As so many of the Indians cannot read the streets In Mexico are named after birds or beasts. The name of the street appears in Spanish letters, hut this is followed, by the figure of the creature after which the street Is named. For instance, Ox street is indicated by a figure of an ox In plaster or painted on a wall. The street of Flamingo presents the tall flamingo with back of fiery red, and Elephant street has a well molded figure of that animal with enormous tusks and trunk. This custom is a very useful one, for the youngest child can thus find Its way home. Even the sheep of little BoBeep might have saved their mistress an endless amount of worry had this custom of naming the streets been the fashion In Mother Goose land, as It Is In Mexico.

The Century Plant. There Is a widespread belief that the bo called century plunt got that name from the fact that It blooms only once !n a hundred years. The belief Is erroneous, for iu tropical countries the plant matures In about ten years, when It bears a crown of greenish yellow flowers, which last two or three months. The plant then dies down to the root, but new shoots come up, and thus the plant lives on. The hundred year notion grew out of the long time It takes the plant to mnture In colder latitudes, sometimes a period of seventy years. A liberal construction of the conditions, therefore, would warrant the use of the name “century,” for in growth of a plant seventy years seem a hundred.

El and le. The best spellers are often puzzled by the combination of the letters el or le. They wish to write a word in which the combination occurs, and they cannot remember whether the e or the 1 conies tirst. Rut there Is a very simple rule that may be relied upon to remove all doubt. El should follow the consonants c and s, as In receive, seize, etc., and le should follow all other consonants, ns In thief, belief, etc. There are two exceptions, however, that should be borne In mind, the words sieve and siege. Hidden Cities.1. I do not own so chic a gown. 2. Ask Hal if axles ure made of wood. 3. It must he very cold in Iceland. 4. I wish that royal roads to learning were more numerous. 5. Tropic air or arctic air is worth trying. 0. Being annoyed by the mob I left the next day. 7. What an accomplished man Chesterfield was! Answers: 1. Chicngo. 2. Halifax. 8. Nice. 4. Troy. 5. Cairo. 6. Mobile. 7. Manchester.

Trembles Like an Aspen. Why- tloos the aspen leaf tremble? There is an old legend that it trembles for shame lipcause the cross on which Christ was crucified was made of that wood, hut of course that is only fanciful. The trembling is due to a perfectly natural cause. The leaf Is broad, and the stalk that supports it is long and flexible. The upper part of the stalk is flat, and as the leaf hangs at right angles with it the least breath of air will make It tremble. The Coldest nn<l the Hottest. What a nice summer resort Werchojausk. Siberia, must lie! It 1s said that the lowest temperature ever recorded on the earth was taken there in January, 1885, n little In excess of 00 decrees below zero. Surely one could never complain of the heat at such a place. And what a nice winter resort Algeria must be, for the highest temperature on record was taken there In 1879, 124 degrees above zero. Conandrnmi. How do bees dispose of their honey? They cell it. What game do the waves play? Pitch and toss. What soup would cannibals prefer? A broth of a boy. What sort of men are always above board? Chessmen. A Pnssle. Little Miss Nettlcoat In a white petticoat And a red nose. The longer she stand* , The shorter she grows. ’ (Answer—A candle.)