Evening Star Newspaper, June 14, 1890, Page 11

THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, . > * D. C., SATURDAY, é JUNE 14, 1890-SIXTEEN PAGES. WOMEN WHO WRITE. The Women’s National Press Associa- tion aud its Members. BOW THE ORGANIZATION WAS FORMED—ITS PUR- POSES AND ITS ACHIEVEMENTS—WELI-KNOWN WRITERS WTO HOLD MEMBERSHIP—WHAT IS DOSE AT THE MEETINGS. HE first dim dawning of the women’s press .organization glim- Y mered forth when in 1831 some of the “lady correspondents” got to- gether and organized themselyes into what they called “he Ladies’ Press Club.” and they appointed Mary Clemmer lindson president of the club. From over- stress of work or other excellent reason, Mrs. Hudson did not respond. It was during the warm summer of the long session of 1882, when the capital was ail ablush of roses, that the Ladies’ Club again took position as an or- Weanization. Its first \& <epresident was Mra, K ¢: A» Briggs, whose pen name was “Olivia;” its first = vice president was Rose A A EE. DS Beenie, acm de ume, ““Pips;” its first secretary, Mrs. M. D. acoln, and the first treaxarer, Mrs. Nettie Sanford. Some time atterward the club was enlarged and took the name of the Women’s National Press Association, and it has grown | and rejoiced in its existence ever since. It was composed. at the beginning. of some only of the women workers for the press of this and | other cities, for be sure there never has been that feeling ot complete good comradeship among newspaper women that exists among Rewspaper men. The assoc joys the use of a handsome apartment for its head- quarters at Willard’s Hotel. for which the mem- rs ever sing praise to Col. O, G. Staples for that and other courtesies, PURPOSES OF THE ORGANIZATION. The primal object of the W.N.P.A. is to ad- Yauce women in all literary work and to secure to them the usufruct of organized effort, All women journalists, magazine contributors, cor- respondents, reporters ur any woman who has published original-packages matter in book Torm, poets and story writers are eligible to membership. Observe that the Washington association 1s a national one and that any Women’s press association may become aux- iliary to this association by subscribing to its constitution and paying ten per cent per capita ennually into its treasury. <! The chief officer of each state association is @ vice president and must reside in the state or territory for which she is elected, and must bea member of and elected by this associa- tion. THE FIRST EVER ORGANIZED. The Washington Association is the parent stem, as it was the very first women’s press club that ever was born since the world began, and the members are justly proud of the fact. If there were such a possibility as that the Bewspaper wonien of this country could form a society among themselves pledged by oaths and vows and promised word of sacted honor to fealty andallegiance totheir united interests and to forwarding the general good and pros- ity of woman's work, whatever it might be, in the newspaper world. they might find them- selves a magnificent power for good in the land and the position attained of vast comfort to the league. WHAT Is DONE AT THE MERTINGS. At the fortnightly meetings of this associa- tion short paragraphs on current topics are read by membors. At each alternate meeting papers are read on some topic that has been previously announced, the reading being fol- ome of the sub- omen of Ancient “Legends and Myths of the North,” oman Ever be President of tue Uni! ‘What Constitutes Good Reporting “Woman's Political Influence,” and the latest matter under consideration is the “Interna- tional Copyright Bill.” Like the Pro Re Nato Society, all the meetings of this one are con- ducted according to Roberts’ rules of order. The annual dues for each member are 31. THEY GOT AN APPOINTMEN That women of the association possess some Political influence was shown in the appoint- ment of Mr. Wirt Sykes, who is the son of Mrs. Olive Logan Sykes, to the consulate recently at Bristol. A delegationof members from the asso- ciation petitioned Mr. Blaine for the office, he had no other backers, j and lo it is his! One of the unwritten Py, Jaws of the association le y! tis that its members shall not write gratuitous AS. ‘contributions for news- ee papers, SQ PAP sormen acurevewest, SON Another proud achieve: Q_ ment of the valiant as- wna. uM. mt. KING. sociation has been to secure in both houses of Congress a gallery for the exclusive use of newspaper women. club is also well satisfied with the resu! the Mary Washington tea that was held on February 22, this year. After paying all ex- penses $169 were credited to the account of the ry Washington monument fund. The reception given by the ladies of the club to the delegates of the International American Congress on the 27th of March, at Willard’s Hot gave the @V.N.P.A. a position among the bodies that entertain elegantly upon # graud scale. A HOME FOR JOURNALISTS. Among the ambitions that are burning for realization in the golden future of the associa- tion is one that a beautiful memorial temple be reared and dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Hayes, It shall be a pra journalists, a haven and shelter for those who come to the capital unfriended and where they will find, besides more substantial comforts, writing rooms, furnished reading rooms and always a friend to advise. A newspaper syndi- cate and correspondents bureau and a head- quarters for newspaper women; to establish such is the dearest wish of the heart uf this eorporation. MEMBERS OF THE CLUB. The personnel of the club is highly interest- ing. The membership bas increased a half more during the current year. Mra. M. D. Lincoln, the president. has been known for Years as a writer of Washington letters, over the siguatare of “Bessie Beech,” for — various leading journals, and is now seeing throagh the press a volume of poem and prose selections called “Beech Leaves.” 45. % The vice president is > Mrs. Mary 8. Lockwood, whi nized the ‘Travel Club and cently published “ toric’ Homes of ommsry. imgton,” # heritage for ware generations. Mrs, Aurelia H. Mohl, the correspouding secretary, organized the “Short ad ix its president. She is also a story writer of acknowledged merit. Mra. M. MeL. King. the recording secretary, is a re ular contributor an agricultural publication, and her nom de plume, “Maida McJ...” is a beloved word in many a Buckeye farm house. Mrs. Hannab re- MRS. st. ie B. Sperry. the treasurer, is = prac- tical writer and printer as well. Mrs, M. R. Moore is the auditor. Mrs, Loretta Ww. Creery is the wife of a poet and the Literary Club. am French, another member, isa lingaist, musician and classical student. Miss Cynthia A. Cleveland is the author of “His Honor. or Fate's Mysteries.” Miss Isabella L. Hopkins is a contributor to the Ceatary Magazine. Mra. H. N. Ralston is the author of “rhe Queen's Jewels” and “The White Flag of Savoy,” which was written for the occasion of King Humbert sending the flag to the Italian veterans this spring. The Italian minister, Baron Fava, sent « copy of the latter poem to the Italian monarch. Mrs. Mary Frost Ormsby, vice president for New York, is a well-known writer and teacher. Mrs. Lucy Pope Stelle is an all-round newspaper writer, contributin, mainly for papers of the west and south. Mrs. L. Sherwood » a contributor to the Sunday Her- aid and author of “Willis Peyton's Inheritance.” Mrs. Harriet Lincoln Coolidge isa high an- thority upon all subjects pertaining to the aursery, motherhood and child life. She has aow established in her home a perfectly fitted oursery and gives object lessons on the care and management of —- — ae is largely philanthropic. Mes. Lucy egett and Miss 1. T. Hopkins contribute stories and poems to ‘ines, Miss 8. T. Townsend has made extensive researches into Egyptian lore. Mra. K. T. Woods. vice president for Massa- chusetts, is the author of several works of fic- tion. Dr. C. B. Hinds and Mrs. Ella M. 8. Marble have both established several gucceas- ul polleges to the Farm and Fireside, | of physical culture. Miss Clara | Mrs. L. E. Foute, Miss C. Harrison, Miss E. F. Hort, Mrs. Belva A. Lockwood, the lawyer and Jecturer; Mrs. M. E. McPherson, Mra. M. D. Newell, Mrs. G. E. Pickett, Miss Caroline Ran- som, the artist; Mrs. H. M. Robinson, Mrs, L. W. Slaughter, Mra E. J, Smith, Mrs, £ 2S Mra." Olive ’ Logan Upton, Dr. GB. H. Walsworth, Mrs. M. F. Foster, Mrs. S. K. Maxweil, Mies Eya Quinn, Miss Nellie Shepman, Dr. F. Stanford, Dr. M. C. Bland, Mrs. V. Bash, Mrs. M. L. Rayne, and Mrs. Lilian R. Messenger, the et; Mrs. D, T. Yoorhis, Mrs. H. E. Monroe, Miss A. J. Cook, - Diendonne, Miss C. M. Flemming, . Clara B. Colley, editor, in Lincoln, Neb., As will be seen from mall percentage of the members of the W.N.P.A. whoare doing regu- lar daily newspaper work. But a long stride has bgen made in the numerical increase of women employed upon the daily press since the day, in the it decade, when an editor of the New York Express (it was also before the hyphenation of that paper with the polite Mail) advised a young woman who mounted to his eyrie down town in the post office neighborhood seeking work, that she had better apply at the office of the Tribune, where they had a “‘dale of famale wroitin, but divil a word at all, at all,” in their office! a —<oo— 4 ROSES RAISED FOR MARKET. Syke Winslow, Mrs. E, How the Business is Carried On in the Nurseries About Washington. COMMONPLACE-LOOKING per- son in a corduroy jacket and a pro- fuse perspiration was gazing over the edge of an ordinary vegetable wagon that was backed up against the sidewalk of the Center Market at precisely 142 yesterday afternoon. The vehicle was loaded to the brim with most beautiful roses— not merely the common sorts full-biown but the most costly varieties ofehybrid buds—and it was apparent that the observer at the side of | the conveyance wanted them. Possibly he was | an amateur in the horticultural way, or may be he desired a bouquet for his lady love; but, at all events, the flowers excited in him covetous Propensities, as was quickly made evident | when, after a hasty and cautious look around, | he made a furtive grab for an armful of the blooms. Unfortunately, at that moment the proprietor of the cart came out suddenly upon | the pavement and proceeded to warn off the cuss words as was best adapted to the occasion, “—— them feliers!" he said, as the unwel- come intruder took a hasty departure. Whereupon he fell almost literally tooth and nail upon the heaps of roses on the cart, tramp- ling them out of all shape and scattering the | petals everywhere, so that at the end of five minutes there was hardly # ingle bud left un- destroy Ap tly, more wanton and atrocious damage couid not have been imagined, “What op earth are you doing thet fo: queried a Srax reporter, passing by, with some indignation. The man in the wagon, who had g0 little re- spect for flowers, eyed the newspaper writer for & moment as if diposed to resent the imper- tinence of the question, but presently ne grinned amiabiy and replied: GETTING RID OF AN OVER SUYPry. “Why, wot do you s'pose would become of the rose-growing business if we gave away all the flowers we couldn't sell to peddlers like that bloomin’ chump who has just left? If I'd been a minute later that feller would have laid inastock for the day from my wagon. We don’t like to throw away good flowers, but we can better afford to do that than to give them away. At our green houses near the city we cut 19,000 roses a day. May be we bring in from 2,000 to 5,000 every morning. As a rule, a good many of them remain unsold, and the only thing for us to do is to destroy them, lest they supply the demand at our expense. ‘It is no unusual thing for us to tear to pieces 2,000 of the finest rosc-blooms in an afternoon in or- der that they may not fall into the hands of other dealers, more particularly peddlers, To us it would be no object to sell such over sup- ply of roses at a sacrifice, inasmuch as to do so would be to reduce the market value of the goods we sell. This is the great season for throwing away roses by the cart load. During the winter season we can dispose of any pum- ber we can raise. There are TRICKS IN THE FLOWER TRADF, as in every other business. Three weeks be- fore Christmas good roses are plentiful at @1 a dozen, Sowe put them away in the cold storage rooms over the market and keep them there as if they were so much cold meat until the holidays, when they can be disposed of readily for from $6 to #8 a dozen. But you know, cf course, how meat kept in that way is affected. The cold keeps it perfectly fresh, but when it is taken out of storage it must be eaten at once, lest it suddenly decay, It is the same way with roses so preserved; they are all right for sale, but are ready to drop apart almost immediately. You may take it as a fact that it does not pay to sell roses for 50 cents a dozen. If one could dispose of every rose he produces at one cent apiece the-business would be remunerative; but epormous numbers are of ssity lost. There is no article subject to barter that varies so much in price as roses do. From one day to another they are always apt to go up or down €1 or $2 per dozen, and in the marketit is hardly ever that the same price is asked of two customers in succession. Une person will very likely pay $2.50 for a dozen roses which the next comer will duph- cate for 50 cents. Shrewd dealing will save a lot of money in buying flowers at the market, Perhaps the people who get the most for their money are those who buy 25-cent bouquets, the sale of which forms no inconsiderable portion of the trade.” HOW ROSES ARE BROUGHT TO MARKET. “How are the roses brought to market?” the flower man was asked. ‘We cut them in the early morning,” he said. “Those which are to be sent in town to market are simply loaded upon wagons. But the chief part of our trade ‘consists in sending large quantities to other cities, For this purpose we pack them in long, narrow boxes, four inches deep, with a six-pound lump of ice in the mid- dle of each box. In this way we can send them fresh to San Franc i is quite a science. They have tu be taken care of as painstakingly as babies, A dozen times a day the ventilators in the hot houses where they are grown must be regulated, for, if the thermometer goes up half a dozen degrees too high or as much too low, the fatal mildew will attack them. Bugs are a constant terror and there isno end to anxieties concerning the plants, We never grow rose bushes for more thauayear, because during the first twelve. month they bear best. Cuttings are planted in thumb pots February 1. and all buds that appear betore the time of autumn frosts are caretully pinched off. Thus they are made to bloom im winter, when prices are high. When spring comes the bushes are thrown away and new ones take their places. The greatest rose- ality near Washington is Anacostia extto that comes Bladensburg. Rose nurseries occupying from twenty to thirty huge hot houses are frequent hereabout. Peduncle’s Decisive Test. From the Chicago Tribane, CHAPTER L The summer day was drawing toa close, and it was time for the picnickers to return home. ‘They had battled with abandoned mosquitoes, fired stones and disguised profanity at itinerant pigs, changed their camping ground two or three times on account of bumblebees’ nests, sunburned their noses and caught one small mad cat, sixteen crawfish and one ipping turtle. The only thing yet to be done was to finish the contents of the lunch baskets and eat what remained of the ice creai A little apart from the others sat on a buggy | cushion Olver Peduncle and the young lady to | whom he had devoted himself during the day. CHAPTER II, “Mand,” he said, as be brushed an ill-bred country insect from her dress and threw a sycamore chip at an inquisitive half-grown pig trying to be sociable, “I ed to get | this saucerful of ice cream before it was ail one.” . And he set it down on an inverted bucket. “There is more than I want Oliver,” she said. We will eat it ther.” Oliver's heart beat wildly. With a trembling hand he took Lege en g-e from the basket beside fair companion, kept the other himself, and waited. CHAPTER Im. The young lady opened the basket, took out another saucer, emptied half of the ice cream into it, and proceeded to eat her portion. And then Oliver put bis saucer down, went three hours avead of any the otters: THE EXD, | predatory stranger with such a selection of | GOOD AIR FOR CONGRESSMEN. How the Atmosphere of the Capitol is Kept Free From Impurities. THE EXTENSIVE VENTILATING APPARATUS OF THE HOUSE—A PNEUMATIC LABORATORY—MAKING THE AIR COLD, DRY, MOIST OR WARM TO SUIT— BOW THE WORK IS MANAGED, EW of the many thousands of visitors who annually promenade the tessa- lated corridors and halls of the Capi- tol and even a majority of Senators and members have little thought of the great pneumatic laboratory situated in the crypt or subbasement of that vast building. The casual visitor is often impressed with the idea that the great windowless Hail of Repre- ntatives is oppressive in its box-like closed- up appearance, But such is not the case, for it is conceded by eminent scientists that under all climatic conditions it is one of the best ven- tilated public buildings in the world. It is true that it has cost years in experiment and thonsands of dollars in arranging and altering plans and devices, but the result is a great suc- cess. The chief engineer in charge of the ventilation of the House stands in the relation of family physician to that legislative body, for it is the duty of that officer to take fre- ent diagnosis of the sanitary condition of the hall and surrounding conditions and not only temper the winds to the congressional lambs, but to detect and destroy the impuri- ties in the air on its passage through the great air ducts, THE CRYPT OR SUBBASEMENT. In order to more readily obtain a practical idea of this system of ventilation a Sran rep- resentative visited the chief engineer the other day in his cozy gas-lit office far down below daylight im the crypt of the building. To reach this office on the House side (bot the Senate and House subbasements are used as ventilating departments, being but slightly different in construction) the visitor passes through the small yacaut room just under the western basement stairway to the House floor, and descends a half-spiral granite stair that terminates in the first of the series of whitened vaults, when he fiads himself in a labyrinth of vaulted tunnels and air ducts, with an occasional space wailed off for engine rooms and offices. Fastened to the walls of the engineer's office are a great variety of highiy polished steam and other gauges, auto- matic regulators and annunciators of the most ve construction, whose almost infallible exactitude keeps the engineer in charge re- Hably informed of every throb of the engines, the revolutions of the air fans and the exact measurement of temperature and volume of air passing through the tunnels—in fact, almost tothe minimum the yolume of each respiration of the occupants of the hall, These mechanical devices are simply automatic mar- vels for ingenuity and accuracy. This sub- basement is perfectly dry, and the great cav- ernous air ducts, 60 to 65 square fect in dimen- sion, are passageways between massive brick walls leading to the flues that conduct the air to the perforated openings in the floor of the hall, THE AIR PAN, by means of which the volume of air is sup- plied, is 16 feet in diameter, driven by a steam engine of corresponding capacity. When the fan is running at the rate of 50 to 60 revolu- tione per minute it gives 50,000 cubie feet of air and has a maximum capacity of 100,000 cubic feet per minute. The fresh air supply was formerly taken directly through a window im the angle of the building next to the fan, buta few years ago a granite tower was erected in the grounds west ot the building, open at the top anda tunnel connecting it with the air ducts in the crypt to the large fan. It was found that this tower and tunnel had a chemi- cally beneficial effect upon the air, and als that the atmospheric pressure down the towe: increased the volume of air, which, together with the propelling motion of the turban fan, met every requirement. ATR RADIATOR OR HEATER. For the purpose of heating and modifying the condition of the air a group of cast iron radiatora or eaters are placed horizontally across the air tunnel, filling the space within several feet of the top, which upper space is arranged with a trap to regulate the passage of the air above the heater. ‘Iné air passing through the heater is made to any desired temperature, and the flow of fresh cool air above the heater mingles with the heated air on the further side of the heater and tempers it as desired. THE HYDRATING TANK. immediately beyond the coil of heaters is a ‘shallow tank or basin forming a depression in the floor of and longitudinally across the air tunnel. This basin is supplied with steam pipes for the purpose of heating the water in the basin to a temperature sufficient to vapor- ize the water. This is intended to hydrate or supply moisture to the air, which has been rendered dry or burnt in its passage through the heater. "Care is taken that the water is not heated sufficiently to produce steam, which would impregnate the air with an odor pecu- liarly offensive. The air passing through the vapor arising from the tank acquires the sum- mer condition of humidity, THE HALL OF REPRESENTATIVES, After examining the machinery down in this veritable “cave of the winds,” Tne Star rep- resentative returned to the Hallof Repre- sentatives to ascertain its requirements and conditions. The hall is 139 by 93 and 36 feet high, with galleries and cloak rooms un- dernesth, always open to the hall. The cubic contents are about 500,000 cubie foet of space. The capacity of ‘the floor and galle is estimated at 1,600 individuals, and the qua: tity of air determined upon for each individual is 30 cubie feet per minute in the coldest weather and 60 cubic fect at other seasons, mi % the minimum ventilation 50,000 cubic feetand the maximum 100,000 cubic feet per minute. The total of openings for the ad- mission of fresh air on the floor of the hall is about 300 square feet, and the gal- leries about 125 square feet. ‘The total openings in the ceiling for the discharge of foul air is about 670 square feet. The apertures for the admission of fresh air are in front of a continuous air pi under the floor, The entering currents are 60 arranged toward each other that aay e counter and neutralize each other, and the intermingling air assumes the desired upward direction, Fireplaces were introduced in the cloak rooms and under the galleries so that any one entering the hall chilled from out of doors in winter might more rapidly acquire warmth than would be possible in the ordinary temperature of the hall—70 degrees. HOW IT I8 MANAGED. The success of the most perfect ventilating apparatus is in {ts manipulation, The chief engineer, during the sessions of the House, is almost always to be seen upon the floor taking notes of the ventilating machinery and making observations of the condition and volume of air supply. Hanging against the Speaker's dosk, inclosed in a wooden case, is a ees, delicate instrument for the measurement of tempera- ture, technically called a thermostat, by means of which the least variation in the temperature of the air is noted, and by means of an auto- matic electrical attachment connected with a register or gauge hung in the engineer’s office down in the erypt the attendant on duty is notified of the variation in the condition of the air. By means of another equally sensitive and ingenic piece of mechanism called an anemometer the volume of air is measured, The anemometer is a small piece of delicate mechanism somewhat resembling an old- fashioned silver “‘turnip-watch” with a very sensitive air wheel attached to one side, the shaft of which operates the inclosed mechan- ism, The air passing against and through the of wheel ne the instrument, rs the volume of air pass | ob time. With this instrument always kept advised as to the passing through the House, and through in a the engineer volume of air thus is enabled to intelligently increase or diminish the flow of air to suit the condition of a crowded or empty hall, alway 8 aiming to kee, the supply for each individuel ot from 30 to 6) cubic feet per minute, as the season may re- quire, SILENCING COMPLAINTS. But even with all this perfection of ventila- tion complaint will sometimes be made. A i Hu iF et ( g i F | z. “| i i H EG 2 E E i through the air ducts up through the ball and out at the roof openin; At is perfectly feasible for the engineer in charge, with all hie perfected appliances, to produce any atmospheric condition required, in spite of climatic changes or physical derange- mente. If the air is too cold he will heat it; if the air is too dry he will moisten it; he will temper it as sanitary conditions require and ive volume and ew it to suit every need for respiration, He may remain in his office down in the crypt and by means of a perfected system of meters and automatic annunciators be kept perfectly advised as to the regulation condition of the hall; or he may remain in the hallin the full assurance that his automatic damper regulator will keep the engines ata uniform motion and his recording steam gauge will betray any useless ‘‘didos” by these usu- discreet motors. he same system used to ventilate the House of Representatives is used to ventilate the Sen- ate wing and corridors of the entire building, with but little moditication, The architect in charge of the Capitol has also adopted the same system in the committee and storage rooms just built in the western terrace to the main building. By keeping a continuous cur- rent of heated air circulating through these rooms and halls and through air ducts between the ceilings and concrete roof the dampness is eliminated from the walls and the ceiling dried by being kept at a temperature above the dew point. Contrary to general expectation these rooms are rendered dry and habitable and are Pronounced to be in & perfectly sanitary con- ition, ——_.—____ THEIR BITE MEANS DEATH. - Some Curious Facts About Venomous Snakes and Their Killing Ways. OU hear it said that the venom of one snake is so much more apt to be fatal than that of another,” re- marked a traveler from the far east to a Srar reporter, “but the fact has been scientifically demonstrated that the poison of all daugerous serpents is prac- tically the same thing, chemically speaking. If one kind of serpent is more deadly than another the reason is simply that it secretes a greater quantity of venom. Take, for instance, the rattlesnake, which ordinarily is by no means so fatal to human life as is commonly supposed, When you find it in the Painted Desert of Arizona, where the sun burns with such intensity as to rapidly engender everything in the way of poison ap- parently, the rattler is ® most perilous creature to encounter. In proportion as the climate becomes more torrid the bite of this creature is more to be dreaded, Any negro of the semi-tropics will tell you that the cotton-mouth moccasin is worse than a rattle- snake. In fact, the moccasin is most to be feared of all the snakes found on this conti- nent. It hasa most unpleasant expression when it opens its mouth, the inside of which resem- bles in appearance a soiled kid glove, and its uip is almost sure death every time. And yet the venom of moccasin and ‘rattlesnake are found by the ckemist to be constituted pre- cisely alike, and the microscope is not able to detect any difference between the two. IN INDIA, “As for the cobra—cobra di capella of India— the ‘hooded’ or ‘spectacled’ cobra, which is the most deadly of ail the snakes in the world, such a thing as the cure of a person bitten by it has hardly been known, though the natives of India have given some pretty fair evidence of possessing some secret means of treatment that is now and then successful. Certainly no effective antidote has been discovered by science, Not less than 20.000 persons are killed annually in India by snakes—most of them by cobras." The poison of this serpent is about the same as thatof the rattlesnake, but the reptile is larger and bas a much bigger store of venom. xt to the cobra in point of deadliness, so far as the snakes of India are concerned, is the krait, But the cobra di capella is the terror par excellence. It looks more like the devil than one can well describe as it erects its ‘hood’ and gazes through the ‘spectacles’ | marked clearly around its eyes in angry antici- pation of making an attack. The snake | charmers of India, however, do not hesitate to make use of full grown cobras for exhibition purposes, aud they by no means always take the precaution to remove their fangs. I know this with certainty, because 1 had the misfortune to witness a very painful tragedy on one occasion ata village a few miles from Benares. An itinerant juggler was charm- ing a snake for the amusement of an eager crowd, making the reptile writhe in graceful conyolutions responsively to the soft notes of areed pipe. It was a cobra of the largest size —over four feet long, I should think—and a very wicked-looking one at that. Something angered the serpent, and before any one real- ized what had happened it had sprung at ao little boy about nine years ol who was squatted on the ground, fastening upon his arm. The juggler quickly killed the snake, but the victim died within fifteen minutes, though ligatures were immediately applied above the wounded partso asto prevent the poison from circulating.” ACTION OF THE POISON. “How does the snake poison act?” “It has the effect of paralyzing the nerve centers in & way that is not very well under- stood; but its most important action is effected by the ifftroduction into the veins of certain germs which develop immediately into cella, these cells reproducing themselves with such rapidity that in an incredibly short space of time there will be billions and billions of them mingled with the blood. Now, the cells feed upon the fibrine in the blood and thus destroy its consistency, so that the vital fluid of a per- son far gone with snake bite will not coagulate and is entirely fluid. The red corpuscles are destroyed and the blood turns black because of the consumption by the germ cells of the oxygen which gives the blood its redness, ‘Thus comes on coldness, sleepiness and finally death, No antidote for’ snake poison has ever been discovered by science, though aboriginal people in various parts of the world claim knowledge of various vegetable remedies, It is popularly supposed that whisky is an anti- dote, but such is not at all the fact. The im- portant point in treating a person bitten by a snake is tokeep up the vitality for a whil until the first shock to the nervous sys- tem has passed. This may be accomplished artificially by large doses of alcohol, But it is not an antidote; men have been known to die who were bitten when dead drunk. Curiously enough the most venomous serpenta are not poisoned by each other's bites,.though about all other living creatures succumb to their venom, even fish, It is said that the mon- goose, which is one of the greatest enemies of the cobra, krait and other deadly snakes of India, will engage in combat with its serpent adversary and, if wounded, will go and eat of a vegetable antidote known to itself, subse- quently returning to the attack. ’ Certain species of cranes also are death on venomous snakes and think nothing of swallowing a four- foot cobra for breakfast, The mongoose, it must be understood, is not a bird, but an ani- mal of the lemur tribe. Natives in India re- gard the cobra with a sort of superstitious awe almost amounting to worship. One unpleas- ant thing about the reptile is the way it has of seeking human habitations for its abode— more particularly gardens and snug nooks be- neath verandas.” “Where does the cobra conceal its poison?” “In two little sace at the base of its wate on either side, just as is the case with all venomous serpents. For convenience in biting, the fang is a hollow tooth, and, when the rep- tile strikes, the poison is ejected ripe e it. The venomous substance, when dried, will last for an indefinite period and will pr re its deadly properties, It has been surmised that the poison of Soe es ees virulence as that of the cobra, inasmuch as so mall a Fb of ve.:om as one of the insects is armed with can produce such painful resulta, When you get up to such giant snakes as the boaconstrictor and python, which often attain @ length of thirty feet or more and bulk in portion, there is no need for an equipment of poison glands, the power of crushing and rend- ing with the teeth being relied upon for (par- poses of combat and the securing of food." ie A Parson’s Private Secretary. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press, It has often been exploited in print how use- ful the smooth and accom; Dan Lamont made himself to ex-President Cleveland during his residence in the White House. In the Rev. D. J. Burrell and his faithful factotum, L, B. Williams, Minneapolis has even as remarkable would be as ae it pastor's tad has made. In a little book carries in ete ee eee ee the of the week. It maps out the pastor’s work to ,the smallest detail and without it he wouldn't keep half or s quarter of the ote geet that fe month goes into this little book, and st the proper time Pastor Burrell gets his SEW YORK NOTEs. Happenings of the Week in the Great Metropolis, THE SMUGGLERS OF TODAY, AND HOW THEY CARRY OUT THEIR SCHEMES—SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN POLITICS—DANGERS ON SEA AND LAND—NEW YORK STREET EXPLOSIONS. Corréspondence of Tax EVENING STAR New York, June 13, N the good old days of the romantic dramas.and novels the smuggler was “jen interesting and picturesque per- son, with # high-colored sash, con- taining a perfect arsenal of pistols and knives, a generally spectacular and un- practical costume, anda high tenor voice. His usual residence was in a rocky and mysterious cave, where he lived in a happy immunity from rheumatism and bronchitis possible only in that halcyon climate which no Stanley has yet discovered for us off the stage. To the ac- companiment of tenor warblings he performed such acts of valor and chivalry that the most Prejudiced could not but feel that the trifling incidents of his having murdered the entire family of the heroine in order to carry her off to the salubrious cave was greatly to his credit. Now, alas! in the cold and practical light of the nineteenth century all that is changed, and the glamour that hung about the romantic smuggler has been quite dissi- ated. Just at present, instead of @ cave, @ usually chooses for bis residence & cozy little suite in some correct bachelor apartment house, and instead of tights, top- boots and a sash he wears spotted waistcoats, large-checked English clothes and a Mackin- tosh if it is stormy. Instead of trilling toa light guitar he occupies himself in the various pursuits of the lawyer, the editor, the physician, the banker and the gentleman of refined leisure. His cultured taste requires that his clothes sbould be made in London, but an unsympa- thetic government has imposed upon these “Piccadilly perfections” a duty that is both annoying and expensive. To avoid the pay- ment of this duty the modern smuggler, who has more shrewdness than romance, avails him- self of the assistance of the steamship employes: and various little subterfuges more ingenious than ingenuous. It is truly discouraging to these diplomatic planners that » crude and un- appreciative goverument has put a stop to all ieee choice devices, and not only that, but has allowed the horrid newspapers to print their names and those of the smuggled articles in full. It is enough to make a smuggler of re- fined instincts ‘invest in a brand-new halter and perish without remorse.” POLITICAL TRUTH. The earnest and impartial seeker after truth often finds that he is engaged in a difficult quest, At any rate if it is political truth he is after he must at least take two newspapers and then take his choice. An amusing illustration of this fact occurred this week. The Tribune on Wednesday morning in an inconspicuous and unobtrusive paragraph announced that on the preceding evening the Harlem Republican Club had held its regular meeting, at which the usual routine business was transacted, On the same morning the Sun with flaming headlines in a prominent column proclaims that at the meeting of the Harlem Republican Club of the preceding evening the Hon. Thomas C. Platt was blackballed when proposed for member- ship. This trifling incident appears to have entirely escaped the notice of the Tribune's re- orter, although one would hardly expect it to e classed as “routine business." The two ac- counts of the meeting, if arranged in “parallel columns,” would present a striking and pictur- esque contrast, By way of making things a little even Grover Cleveland bas just missed being blackballed at the Century Club, butsuc- ceeded in escaping that ignominy, though only by a perilously narrow margin. DANGERS OF THE SEA. ‘The big ocean steamships have not had mo- notonously peaceful careers to complain of this season, anda good many anxious people have felt that to embark on what had seemed so un- eventful an incident as a voyage across the At- lantic was now fraught with as many perils as the early mariners’ attempts to discover the northwest passage, Comparisons have often been drawn betweep the steamships of the dif- ferent xations, but ill luck has come to them all this year with great impartiality, French, German, American and English having all suf- fered more or less, It is undoubtedly true and certainly remarkable that in all these hair- breadth escapes nobody has been burt or lost, and intrepid voyagers are assuring us that it is conclusive evidence that you are rather safer sailing over unfathomable depths, grazing rocks and thumping into icebergs than you are amid the manifold perils of dry land; but the timid feel that the record may be broken once too often and the travelers take a longer voyage than they started for, ACCIDENTS ON LAND. In the crowded state of the park drives and bridle paths there have been so many gccidents lately from oollisions and runaways that the mounted policemen have had their hands full and have developed a really astonishing inge- nuity and agility in stoppiug runaways and often in preventing what might have been serious disasters. A rather novel competition is suggested by the offer of Mr. James 1, Hyde, who has written to the park commissione volunteering to give a cup to the park police- man at the next horse show who is most skillfal in stopping a runaway horse. It is not yet known whether the offer will be accepted, but it is a little suggestive of the gladiatorial or bull-fight forms of amusement. It would probably not be difficult to persuade the horses to run away, and the interest of the spectacle might easily be enhanced by a few dead and wounded policemen scattered picturesquely about. BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. If New York’s benevolent institutions were yuped together they would of themselves tamk good-sized town and one of consider- able architectural pretensions, New and finer buildings are constantly being added to the list, and there seems never to be wanting money to meet any need of charitable institu- tions. One of the latest additions is the new home for half orphans and destitute children, for which ground has just been broken on the splendid square of ground given by Mrs, Rob- ert L, Stuart on Manhattan avenue, extending from 104th to 105th street. The square fronts on a fine row of private residences, is within half a square of Central Park and diag- onally opposite the magnificent Norman struct- ure erected by the Astors for the Cancer Hos- pital. ‘Ihis ober has done a great work in rescuing children from unworthy parents and in aiding poor mothers left alone to provide for their children. It has for some time out- grown its present quarters in 10th street, and the capacious new buildings, with their sunny outlook, their careful hygienic arrangements and extensive play grounds, will give to the little unfortunates a beautiful and delightful home. OUR VOLCANIC STREETS. ‘The temerity of those who live on the slopes of @ volcano has often astonished the philo- sophic observer. But perhaps when the future traveler from the Congo Free State rests trom taking his suap shots of the ruins of New York from a broken tower of the Brooklyn Bridge he will be no less amazed at the foolhardin ess of the citizens of that town in putting up their buildings and plying their trades above the sub- terranean perils that lie in hiding along our streets, Yesterday we had another explosion, and one of such serious proportions that it may lead to reform before the whole town goes up ina puff and vani: in abadsmell. As of previous occasions the steam heating company seems to be chiefly responsible. Then the mis- erable state of the gas mains furnishes another explanation. The fact is that the whole soil of the streets is so saturated with'gases that it is a wonder we do not burst out, three pops to the block, up one street and down another. It is difficult to suggest a remedy, but that fact only increases the worriment in the i The radical eure would be to scoop out the abeee Sealy see betas ay Pepaaarey feet and run 4 rapid transit sys! This has bee! NOT YET OUTGROWN THE INDIVIDUAL. We are fond of @aying that the indi Instead of ‘‘withe: ma Ton yon as Tenn; geste, eis the tadividual wie is “more ook oe Ifind in a remark quoted by the F : : i i : i a it ! i Ho | 5 EE i iF fi Fats : J t retirement, he 1 AMBER, CRYSTAL AND PEARLS, | up DRINKS THAT POLKS LIK&, Facts About Three Very Curious and | Beautiful Things. MBER is curious stuff,” said a col- lector of curios to a Stan reporter the other day. “It is only compas- atively recently that its nature bas been known and even at this day very few people seem to have any motion as to what it is in reality. The ancients regarded it as altogether mys- terious and even magical. They found that it was rendered electrical by friction so as to attract light substances, and our word ‘elec- tricity’ comes from the Greek name for amber, which was ‘electron.’ A favorite puzzle with them was how the insects so frequently found inclosed in amber came to be so situated. Not as a modern poet has phrased it ike that the thing was either rich or rare, But how the devil did it get there!” “I have myself seen a chunk of very tran: rent amber in which « smali lizard with five legs was encased, looking as if it might have been alive yesterday, though doubtless it had been dead for thousands of years. The mystery re- garding this sort of phenomenon is easily enough explained whep it is understood that AMBER Is ACTUALLY THE FOSSIL GUM of an extinct kind of cone-bearing tree. In the process of hardening it imprisoned the flies and other creatures preserved in the chunks of it that are found today. It is dis- covered plentifully by digging in certain parts of the great plains of north Germany, where the strange tree once flourished. It is also found in considerable quantities along the shores of the Baltic in the yellow sand stone. At Palmicken, in east Prussia, it is dug,in regu- lar mines; elsewhere itis picked from cliffs, and a good deal of it is gathered in the shape of nodules cast up by the waves, The finest oe of amber in age is a cup made of that material now at the ‘ighton Museum, England. It was found at Hove some years ago, together with weapons and utensils of stone and bronze, so it is evidently very ancient indeed. 1n the fourteenth century and before amber was made into knives and forks with one prong, which were used by princes and church dignitaries, It was more valuable than gold then. Now it is worth from $2 to $50 4 pound, according to its quality. The most important use made of it is for meerschaum and other pipes. Meerschaum, by the way, isa material dug out of the earth in Turkey; it comes in boxes holding fifty pounds and valued at from $20 to $300. The dust and chips ob- tained from it in the process of manufacture are worked into pipes, this material being called ‘imitation meerschaum.’ Amber dust is melted and the product is what is sold as ‘am- berine.’” FACTS ABOUT CRYSTAL. “What a very beautiful sphere of crystal this "said the newspaper man, taking in his hand a cool globe that looked like a huge dew drop, which the collector handed him for ex- amination. “Yes, that is a very pretty specimen. I sup- jose you are aware of the theory entertained y the ancients regarding such rock crystal, They thought it was actually ice frozen to great density and by duration of time con- gealed beyond liquidation, ‘Krystallos’ in Greek means ‘ice.’ The famous writer on natural philo ophy, Pliny, who wrote more facts that were not true than ever any man collected together before or since, says that crystal is undoubtedly water frozen’ by cold so intense that nothing can melt it again. Ro- man ladies of that time were accustomed to carry such spheres as this one in their bands during hot weather for coolness, It was the thing also to have the material worked into wine jugs and other vessels. Nero had two drinking cups of crystal worth €3,000 each and acrystal ladle also; but when he learned that he had lost his kingdom he broke them, lest they fall into the handsof any one else. A crystal lens was employed in Rome to kindle the sacred vestal fire. Great care was taken not to put the crystal ware in a warm place for fear that it would melt. The most remarkable discovery of crystal on record was made in 1867 above the Tiefen glacier by a party of tourists, @ single cave in the granite yielding 1,000 crys- tals of from fifty to ove hundred pounds’ weight.” ORIGIN OF PEARLS, “And what is this funny little pearly object in the shape of a tiny human figure?” “That,” replied the collector, “is a dimin- utive Chinese god, covered with a coat of pearl by a real pearl oyster. On such parts of the coast of the ested benny as produce pearl oysters a regular business is often made of manufacturing pearls artificially by intro- ducing into the shells of the live oysters for- eign objects of various kinds. You doubtless know that the pearls a morbid symptom in the bivalve. A grain of sand or some such sub- stance getting into the oyster produces irrita- tion and the animal protects itself by covering the objectionable particle with coating after coating of its own pearly secretion, The in- terruption of light by the successive coats of which the pearl is formed in this way gives it its b’autiful luster, Taking advantage of this habit of the pearl oyster the ingenious China- man pries it gently open and puts in whatever he likes, may be a little figure of a god like this, The oyster goes to work and covers it with pearl until after a few months the idol is a pearl idol It is worth mentioning incidentally that sharks are by no means such a terres to pearl divers as is com- monly age It is true that now and then adiver does get gobbled, but for every such human victim hundreds of sharks are killed by the divers. In a great majority of instances the diver proves much more than a match for the shark, at home ashe is in the water and armed with a long keen knife for striking the fish behind the pectoral fin, in the fatal spot. The diver is PERFECTLY SAF" WHILE ON THE BOTTOM gathering oysters, because the man-eating sharks are not ground Yeeders and they will not touch him there. It is when he is rising to the surface with his catch, out of breath after two minutes spent below, that he is apt to find a fish perhaps 35 fect in length looming overhead like a gigantic shadow, waiting to take him in at « bite. This is unpleasant, but it is the shark that gets the worst of it usually. The first thing the diver tries to do is to get to the surface for a breath of air; then he goes under again and maneuvers until he gets the fish afoul. Pearl divers in the Torres straits are not one-twentieth part so much afraid of the tiger sharks which are swarming there as of the giant mollusk,at the bottom, six feet or more across its shell, which lies with extended jaws, as if waiting for the unfortunate fisher- man to drop into them. The victim, dropping out of his boat into the depths with a heavy stone attached to his feet, a his = hog contact with the mantle of the huge mollusk, which closes upon the limb with one tre- mendous bite. Only one thing remains then for the diver to do—namely, to amputate the limb with his own knife, because the mighty bivalve’s jaws are clasped together with a tenacity that would take several horse power to loosen, and it is anchored to the bottom with acable of its own three times as strong as the best inch rope.” He Went Out to Drop Smith. At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, says the New York Sun, I came alonz to a Kentucky “squat,” which differed from « hundred others only in the fact that a woman and boy satona log in front of the opening in the brush fence, which might be termed the gate, and because six dogs were lying in the sun instead of the usual three or four. I asked after the man of the house, plied: “He ’un hain’t home just now.” “Be back soon?” “Ireckon. He ‘un has gone down the rosd a es that Dave Smith.” “Do what?” i i FE é 8 é at : i FL Hi re : | i i Hi 2. i fh is 8 5 id : bes ! # § & i F >E i f rath iif | such ten | steel and Mysteries of Soda Water, Waters and Root Beer, Mineral HOW SODA WATER If MANUFACTURED IN BULA AND DISPENSED TO MILLIONS OF OUSTOMEAS— MINERAL WATERS BY CHEMICAL FORMCLA— GATHERING THE INGREDIENTS FOR WEIRD ROOT BEER. HERE was quite a crowd of thirsty eustomers about the soda water counter awaiting their turns fore drink of the refreshing be’ “Isn't it awfully gases: youth of deheate physique with a sky ribbon on his straw bat to a plump girl im white muslin. She, however, only responded with a slight Seep after an unusually big swallow, garing, large-eyed, over the of her tumbler at three very swell-looking young women who had just finished their allowance, A rather big and florid young man who accompanied them was proffering payment, but one of the ladies interposed. “You must excuse me, Mr. So-and-so,” she said; “I must ask ron to permit me to pay for myself and my sisters. Mamma would not like it otherwise.” Mr. So-and-so was too well bred, of oo: to press the point, though evidently marveli atthe exhibition of such an exaggerated dele cacy in the matter of a soda treat. They left the shop present! id also the delicate youth with his girl, two elderly females, a tab man and a@ dissipated-looking young person who had needed « glass of vichy to brace him, A temporary lull in the business gave a Stam reporter an opportunity to ask the clerk behind the counter how it was that he manufactured bis bubbling nectar. But he laughed as be replied: SoDA WATER IY BULK. “Most people seem to every apothecary makes his own soda water in & tank down cellar, whereas the fact is that be ever manufactures it himself under any cir- cumstances, but buys it by the quantity all ready for use. It comes in ten-gailon recep tacles and the business of producing it is am enormous one in this country. We get oure from Baltimore, but there are factories in all the big cities. Each factory has thousands of allon receptacies as I speak of, of eavily bound with metal ribs so a to withstand the tremendous pressure to which they are wubjected, It is their business to send these tanks filled to the apothecaries and others the who dispense the stuff, The latter tanks beneath their fountains, one at a time, draw from them until they are empty and thea send them back to be refilled and returned, loaded as before—and so on ad infinitum.” ‘But how is the stuff made at the factory?” ‘In the simplest way imaginable, though in vast quautities. Of course it is merely water charged with carbonic acid gas. Water as plenty fom the hydrant and ordinary marble 4s full of carbonic acid, which was combined with the lime ages ago when the earth's crust was forming under the influence of fire. To get the carbonic acid out of the marble it is ouly necessary to reduce it to powder and pour sulphuric acid on Violent chemical com- bustion results and the carbonic acid parts | cepted by old wives in raral from the lime in the ehape of carbonic acid gaa, At the factory they put the marble dust in a big metal receiver, couple of barrelfuis j ate time, with about as much water, and close it up so tight that there is no vent save one small pipe leading out of the top. Machinery keeps the WATER AND MARBLE DUST CONSTANTLY €TTRRED, while from a receptacle above sulphuric acid drips slowly down upon the mixtare. The carbonic acid gas, filling the receiver, passes out as fast as it is generated through the pipe, bubbles through weter in a little reservoir, to purify it, and makes its way through a tube that is fastened to the mouth of the 10-galion tank which is to be charged. The 10-gallon tank is two-thirds full of water and is kept shaken violently on a sort of swinging cradle while the gas is passing into it, in order that the water shall take up as much of the gas as possible. When it is thoroughly charged the tank is hermetically sealed and is ready to be delivered to the apothecary for serving to his customers, The business is « dangerons one, for once in « while a generating receiver bursts and blows the factory to finders. We pay 15 cents a gallon for our soda water, and that much will make at least sixteen glasses, so that it costs us less than acentsgiass. Add another cent for sirup and at 5 cents a glass the profit is very satisfactor: Four-fifths of the soda water fountains m: are manufactured in Boston by two great fis which are the largest users of faucy marbles the world. The most costly of them are worth $6,000 apiece and are sold in the west, where gag ve in such ways is highly appreci- ated. Immensely valuable patents cover the inside works of the modern fountain, with their hundreds of feet of block-tiu tubing, cylinders and ‘blacking-box cells,’ by which the soda water is chilled almost to freezing point before coming out at the spigot,” “How is it about mineral waters?” “They are nearly ali manufactured arti- ficially. You can take your choice of the min- eral springs at any apothecary’s shop, but what you get is almost invariably « chemical solu- tion put up by a formula corresponding to the analysis of this er that real medicinal water. There is very littie of the actual stuff on the market, comparatively speaking, the imite- tions are so very much cheaper. Good-sined factories all over the country are devoted to producing them.” ROOT BEER. “What is that queer-looking drink that I saw the fat man who was in here just now swallo: ing with such wry faces?” “Ob, that was root beer. He was taking it for spring medicine, I suppose. Lots of ple have a notion that it is necessary to et themselves with alteratives and such things at this season of the year lest they get sick, and root beer is brewed from a mixture of all the country vegetable remedies traditionally so- parts. We get it the shan: of pack of the dried ingre- dients trom New England, where it is put in vact quantities and sent all over the Bice States. One half-pound parce! of this size will make five gallons of beer. The contents are boiled with that much water and four pounds of sugar are added, with » pint of yeast. Finally the solution is strained, fermented for twelve hours and bottled or put on tap in the fountain. Ihave no hesitation in saying that the resulting beverage is the most ie stuff imaginable.” “Do you know what it is made of?” “The wrapper on the package says that it contains wintergreen, spikenard,checkerberry, dandelion, sarsaparilia, juniper and ho) Most of these ingrediente—for the reason the plants have been almost grubbed out in New England—come from North Carolina, in the region of the Black mountains, where the natives,and more particularly the Indians,earm & livelihood by picking them. These Chero- kees have all sorts 01 curious superstitions re- ‘ding the medicinal plants they gather. For | arely they call the ginseng the ‘Very Man,’ because it has a forked root. resembling i They pray m they plants they repeat formula taught them by the priests, saying: “Ob, Mountain, i come to take # piece from your side. the finder plucks the plant up and PUTS A GLASS BEAD INTO THE HOLE to pay the mountain for the plant, The seve enth plant found has special mediciual value and the first four its discovered must not be touched, though after others have been the searcher may go back and collect those four.” “In what the its thus gathered brought wo marke Bond ad ype goto ogy Ay bie as own. employ skilled botanists to the various herbs and bark—after i i a i : i i i} ei Hy E f : e 4 & i EE | i i é i i E FH ef FF | sik H e & *, ft ti Fe i | i ; k : 5 I ! i iit FE : iH | i H 5 i : i i