Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 65, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1909 — FOR THE CHILDREN [ARTICLE]

FOR THE CHILDREN

Found In the Woods. The other day white walking through the woods «a group of little children came across a pile of acorns. They did not know bow such a big pile came to be ota one spot, bat tbe squirrel up in tbe tree could have told them that be bad collected them for his winter use. Did yon know that squirrels and birds are tbe woodsmen that frequently plant whole groves of oaks? Tile rook does not know that be Is plant-, lng a tree when be makes a bole In the ground, puts an acorn In It and covers It up. He thinks be Is patting his food In cold storage for the future. Ad acorn needs plenty of room, light and air to grow Into a successful oak. Oaks will grow In almost any kind of soil. They like that soli best into which they can send their roots down a long way. They like. too. to spread them abroad on every side in search of food. These mighty trees, with their heavy branches, hundreds of leaves, flowers and acorns, need a great deal of food. g, Tbe oak does not begin >o bear acorns until it is about eighteen years old.—Philadelphia Ledger. The Frog and the Fox. An extremely lank frog which had nothing but skin on his bones took it into bis bead to pass himself off for a doctor, and, going out of bis marsh, be proclaimed that he knew how-to care all sorts of evils. Tbe animals assembled about him. “Friends.” be said, “no longer have any fear of illness. 1 have an infallible remedy for tbe radical cure of the most Inveterate. It la a universal specific which I discovered after more than fifty years of practice and experience. I wish to make it public for the good of the animal race.” A fox. examining closely tbe figure of the frog, said to him. with an air of contempt: “Gossip, learn at least to speak. Your jargon is not intelligible. Now tell me. I pray, how you dare to pretend to cure others when you are not abre to cure yourself of your hoarse voice, your thin cheeks and your body full of blisters?" Doctor, cure thyself, is a proverb verified In this fable. One onght one self to be free from the fanlts which one wishes to correct In others.—From the French of Perrin. Curious Fact About Oranges. You have probably noticed that an apple always has five cells in which its seeds are held. But with an orange it 1b different, for the number of sections varies considerably, being generally a dozen or more. There Is a way to tell in advance, before you have taken off tbe peel, how many sections

a given orange baa, and If yon know tbe nick yon can perform what seems to be quite a wonderful Cegt in clairvoyance. At tbe stem end of the orange yon will find a little wheel shaped depression where tbe stem was palled sway, and If you win coant tbe spokes In this' wheel it will give yon tbe number of sections. Each section of the orange Is virtually a separate frnlt, and tbe number of sections seems to be governed by/the number of cells wbicb are fertilized In tbe bnd. Tbe next time you eat an orange see If yon can learn tbe number of sections by looking at the stem scar. Electricity In Fish. Those finny things which secure their food by means of th/ electric batteries with which nature bag fitted them are somewhat remarkable. Tbe gymnotus or electric eel* ot South America is probably tbe best known of these. It possesses four batteries, wbicb extend nearly tbe whole length of its body. Tbe current passes from front to back and, remarkable to relate, extends through tbe animal’s own brain. Some large ones, from six to eight feet in length, bave been known to kill a horse or a mule outrigbt with a single discharge. Tbe tbnnderfisb, a species of African catflab. was even In ancient times highly recommended by doctors for certain troubles, and tbe torpedo or electricray exhibits all tbe known powers of electricity, rendering tbe needle magnetic, decomposing chemical compounds and emitting tbe spark. Black Teeth In Biam. White teeth are admired in this part of tbe world, but In Siam black teeth are thought pretty, and there tbe girls are perpetually chewing the betel nut In order to make their teeth a* black as possible. Clotbes are not much trouble to Siamese children, for theirs Is a warm country, and they are considered well dressed when they wear a piece of cloth about their waists. Conundrums. Where can one see lame water? At Cripple Creek Why Is tbe world like a cat’s tall? Because It Is fur to the end of it. What Is tbe most difficult lock to pick? One from a bald head. Attar Storm. Last night as 1 lay snug and warm i beard tbe riot of the storm That thubdered By like trains of cars. Slammed shutters and blew out tbe stars. 1 beard tbe gay and flying rain That drummed and danced and las hod the pane. It cried. "Come out and fly with me!" The wind sang of the ships at sea. 1 woke op in the early dawn. The not and the storm were gone. A pleasant star through curtains high Looked at me with a friendly eye. The sun is sweet, the grass new green. The rain nas washed the world so clean. Here Is the dear blue of the sky. 1 am so glad when storms go byt