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THE BOUNDARIES OF ROCK CREEK PARK. THE ROCK CREEK PARK. Surveyors at Work Laying Down the Lines for the Map. IT MAY REQUIRE SEVERAL MONTHS TO COMPLETE THE WORK—THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY TO BE A SLIDING LINE UNTIL THE AREA IS DETER- MINED—THE INCLUSION OF PINEY BRANCH. Surveyors are now at work in the Rock Creek Park laying down the lines of the park accord- ing to the final conclusions of the commis- sionera, According to the act of Congress pro- viding for the purchase of the park the com- | mission is required to have a map prepared of the ground to be taken. When this map| is filed with the recorder ali the land within the lines laid down will be held as condemned subject to the payment to the owners of proper compen- | mission to include the ground on which the | elude as much of Piney Branch as possible is a sation. The surveys now being made under | the direction of Capt. Rossell are necessary to } the preparation of this map. The exterior | lines decided on by the commission can be sur- | veyed and laid down on the map in a short | time. It has been expected that the whole work could be accomplished in six weeks, but th great amount of labor involved in the survey- ing of the interior lines or the bounds of the | extended | cut off from the northeastern part of the park, | as mapped out on the first trial map and in- lands of different owners may delay the com-| pletion of the map several months. Where | there are disputes between owners as | to boundary lines the will | show the lines ek the! owners concerned respectively. and the area between them will be put down as disputed ground. The dispute will then have to be set- tled in court, and the fight will be over the money paid into the court. Capt. Rosseli will have several surveying parties in the field, THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY. The accompanying map indicates the exterior lines of the park as ronghly laid down by the commission and descrived im Tax Sran. The commission have compromised betw. the two | sets of experimental lines drawn by Capt. Ros- sell, taking the straight line om the east side and | the irregular line on the west side. The lines as laid down incinde. as is esti- mated, 1,930 acres, or within twenty acres of | the hmit set by law. When accurate surveys | are made it may be found that this estimate is Not correct and the aorthern line may be} moved on the map so as either to include more | ground or to cut off ground, according to the state of the case. It is a variable line, the only thing definitely ordered by the commission b: ing that it shall be an east and west” line PINEY BRANCH AND THE KLINGLE PLACE. i A feature of the plan as laid down is the irregularity of the lines of the narrow strip between the Klingle Ford bridge and Biagden’s Mill road. This irregularity, form- ing bulges ou either side of the creek, was brought about through the desire of the com- ACCIDENTS AND TRIFLES, Some Slight Occurrences Which Have Led to Great Results. From Lippincott’s Magazine. Some very wise men hold that there is no | such thing as an accident and no such thing as a trifle—that what looks to us» as the merest chance is inevitable and must have happened, asa part of the great foreordained history of the world, and that there is no great and no | small in the sight of Him Who sees with equal eye. as Lord of ali, A hero perish or a sparrow fall. Something of the same thought was given | expression by Michael Angelo. A visitor at bis studio marvelled that he should spend the whole day in adjusting some infinitesimal bit of clay ona statue. “Gentlemen,” said Michael Angelo, “this may seem to you a trifle, but it is trifles that make perfect and perfection is no trifle.” Nevertheless, there 1s a certain amount of amusement and even information to be gained in speculating on what might have occurred but for some more or less trifling circum- stances. f the nose of Cleopatra had been shorter,” says Pascal boldly. “the whole face of the earth would have been different.” “A common soldier,” says Edmund Burke, child, a girl at the door of an inn, have changed the face of fortune and almost of na- ture.” A giass of wine too much is said to| have turned the course of French history. The son and heir of Louis Philippe always con- fined himself to certain number of giasses, because he knew that beyond that number he was sure to get drunk. Ona certain morning he forgot tocount the glasses and drank one more than usual. Entering his carriage he stumbled; the frightened horses ran away; the oung prince leaped out of the carriage, struck pape against the pavement and was killed. ‘That extra glass of wine overthrew the Or- leaus rule, confiscated the property of the family and sent them into exile. If Mary had lived a little longer or Elizabeth bad died alittle sooner John Stuart Mill thinks the reformation would bave been crushed in England. If Napoleon had been well at the time of the battle of Waterloo the result might have been different. His indisposition, so some historians tell us, made it impossible for him to sit m the saddle without discomfort. Nay, when Noah was in the ark, would not the most trifling errog in steering have shipwrecked the whole buman race? It was a chapter of accidents that gave to Spain for many generations the leadership im the New World and the consequent wealth which made her at one period the most im- portant of European nations. Columbus, it will be remembered, after applying in vain to a number of other courts dispatched his brother Bartolommeo to ask aid trom Henry VII of fell into the bands of pirates and landed in England so destitute that he was not present- able at court. By the time he had evrued a little money he was too late, Colum- ius bad had bis memorable interview with Isabella of Spain. Even that interview was the result of accident. If Juan Perez de Marcana, the que ‘onfessor, had not happened to be passing by the door of the La Rabida monas- tery at the very moment when the weary mur- gentleman had uot possessed the penetration to be struck by the noble lineaments of the ragged and dusty beggar Columbus might never have been presented to the queen. | Therefore.if Bartoiommeo had reached London in time or if Columbus had been a moment earlier or 9 moment later in applying at the monastery door—indeed, if Columbus, like many other great men, had been of insignicant face and stature—the face of the new world might have been entirely different. sdecsctonsiaciey’y : The Growth of London. From the Pall Mall Gazette. One of the most singular facts about the growth of London is its regularity. It may be roughly taken that every month about a thousand houses are added to London In Augast of this year 765.577 houses had to be supplied by the water companies with water. In September that number bad increased to 766,797. Tn August of last year 754,464 houses had to be supplied, or 11,113 below the nuth- ber in the same month of this year. In Sep- tember of this year the companies had to supply 10,976 houses more than in September of 1889. This extension is not confined to any one of the capital, but a preference is ing shown for the uorth and northwest a “He never smiled again,” is the title of some floating machine verses, but there is nothing to indicate whether he died or joined the pro- ibitionista. —Binghamion Leader. England. Now it happenod that Hartolommeo | lms there and if the reverend | Sud her husband selecte | Kiingle house stands on the west side and to include on the other side as much of Piney branch as the limitations of the law will permit. At this part of the creek the width of the park 18 limited by law to 1,200 feet, of which not less than 200 feet shall be on either side of the ereek, So at the mouth of Piney branch the greater width is on the east side, so as to include 1.000 feet of the branch stream, while just above it the greater width is on the west side so as to include the beautiful knoll on which the Klingle house stands. One con- sideration influencing the commission to in- hope that Congress, upon this indication of the desire to and advisability of including Piney Branch in the park may authorize the exten- sion of the fark eastward from this point so as to include considerable of the pretty region along the branch about Ingleside. THE BOUNDS OF THE PARK. The boundaries of the park as laid down by the commission are as follows: The initial point begins on the north of the Blagden Mills road at a point where it is intersected by the westline of 16th street extended; thence it runs north, following the line of 16th street until intersected by a line running from east to west, which line will cluded between the straight lines of the said trial maps, as many acres as the present boundary lines will include in the projection beyond the west of the straight lines in said trial map. Thence along east and west ine toa point on the northwestern boundary line of the District distant not less than 200 feet from the east or left bank of Kock creek; thence in a southwesterly direction along said boundary line to a point on said line not less than 200 feet from the west or right bank of the said cree thence southerly to the Daniels ro: thence along said road to its intersection with the Military road leading to brightwood; thence southwesterly along the Military road to the Broad Branch road; thence along the Broad Branch road to its intersection with the Blag- Cen Mills road, or so near the said junction as is not less than 200 feet from the bank of the creek; thence keeping the said distance from the creek southerly to a point about 250 feet north of the Klingle house, where the creck bends to the east; thence around and west from the Klingle house at a distance of 250 feet toa point on the west bauk on the said creek 200 feet from it and 250 feet to the north of the mouth of Piney branch; thence south along the west bank of the creek and at a distance of 200 feet from it to the northern boundary of the Zoological Park; thence easterly along the boundary of tae’ Zoological Park 1,200 feet; thence northwardly along the eastern bank of the said creck and at such distance from the western boundary line of the park below the Broad Branch road not to exceed 1,200 feet to the Blagden Mills road, and thence northeast- wardly along the Llagden Mills road to the place of beginning. YACHTS OF ROYALTY. Emperor William’s Hohenzollern and the Yachts of Victoria and Wales. From the Pittsbarg Dispatch. The young emperor's floating palace is hand- somer in outline and color than the queen's or Prince of Wales’, but not so sumptuously dec- erated or so luxurious as the English royal yachts. There is a rich simplicity on the Hohenzollern, from the deck of winch I am sending this message homeward, that would be dificult to duplicate, and as I enjoyed a close inspection of the vessel in all its points and thoroughly studied its build and equipment, the good taste of everything struck me atevery turn. The Hobenzollern is painted white with dec- orations of gold. Its two smoke stacks are yel- low with cuffs of red at the top; the interior finish all through is rosewood and mahogany. Of course, the richest of carpets make soft the floors. and the walls are hung with pictures and almst every other possible evidence of the cul- tured taste of William IL In some of the rooms, especially in the after part of the Hohenzol- lern, several of the panels are done with bits of scenery in oil, which the emperor himself and his younger brother painted, and they are good illustrations of the fact that both are artists of no mean ability, The music room contains some of the best works of the old masters, with which the young emperor passes a good deal of his time when ateea, The dining room is splendidly fitted but rigidly simple in decorations. Only two pictures are on its walls, One is a good por- trait of Bismarck and the other of Gen. Von Moltke. The bed room is severely plain, but | the couch is richly made up, and the emperor sleeps under royal purple cover‘ngs presented to him by the queen, ‘Phe deck of the Hohenzollern is beautifully set apart and in the bow there are two magnifi- cent Krupp rifle cannon, mounted on carved brass carriages and literally covered with silver decorations and patriotic mottoes, every one of them breathing the full force of German mili- tery spirit. In fact, the whole make-up of the Hohenzollern is so rich and unique, and at the same time severe, that words fail to give any adequate idea of the ship at this moment lying under the guns of the white German gunboat Irene, which is commanded by Prince Henry of Prussia and is the constant attendant of the royal yacht. Not long after my visit to the Hohenzollern I stood on the deck of the Victoria and Albert, the queen's favorite boat. It is painted black, with yellow deck and smokestacks of the samo color, When she is aboard the decks are richly carpeted verywhere along the companion- way are little nooks, richly upholstered, where she may recline and enjoy the ocean breezes. At other times the upper floors are covered with heavy oil cloths and everything is neat- ness itself. ‘The Osborne, the Prince of Wales’ yacht, is painted and decorated just like his mother’s, except that the finish below deck is dark rather than light, but the decorations are by no means striking. Queen Victoria seems to be a | womau with a very strong vein of sentiment | running through her nature. - The Albert and | Victoria was built in the prince” consort’s time , the fittings. From that day to this she has never allowed a pat- tern to be changed. The walls of the vessel are all hung in dainty like China silk, with a small flower dotting in here and there. It is a very old-fashioned pattern, The finish below as weil as on deck is some- thing very striking and the white and gold | above finds its counterpart below. The light | color of the silk on the walls is increased by | ON DUCK SHOOTING. —__ How It is Done on the Lower Po- tomac. A MOST EXCITING SPORT. ‘Te Various Kinds of This Toothsome and Gamy Bird—He Is Wary and It Requires Skill and Accuracy of Aim to Capture Him—interesting Stories, : SS Correspondence of the EVENING STAR. Wuistie Wixo Cove, Lowen Potomac, Nov. 5. ROM the present outlook of things the lucking season this year will bea fine one. We arrived here last Saturday— Baldy, Howard and your humble ser- vant—and immediately commenced to make preparations for a week’s gunning. Our hut, while it cannot vie with some of your fash- ionable residences in Washington, is, never- theless, just as cozy. The house is of frame, with two rooms. A description of the interior might prove interesting. To enter you cross a large veranda,which en- circles the house, and, pushing the door open (for the latch string always hangs on the out- side), you find yourself in a large room nearly twenty-two feet square. In front of you is a large open fireplace and the door to the left of it opens into the store room, where the dry wood is kept. The room to the right is the kitchen. The three comfortable lounges you notice around the room are the beds, and royal ones they are; all stuffed with ducks’ down and warm as you would wish. The table in the center of the room is where we while away the time when the ducks are not flying, and those mounted specimens you notice about the room are all trophics, h one has a story con- nected with it. This brace of gray mallard cost Baldy his gun. Shall I teil you the story? All right; here goes: HOW BALDY LOST HIS GUN. It was just about this time last year that Baldy und I were down here. Ducks had been scarce right along, when one moonlight night, as we sat onthe porch smoking, we heard a terrible quacking, and looking in the direc- tion of the noise, saw clearly outlined against the sky as large a bunch of mallards as I ever ‘Look here, old man,” said Baldy to me. “we wiil have to hunt the creck tomorrow, for those mallard are going to stop there sure.” We got our traps ready that night, puta couple of dozen decoys in the skiff and went to bed, The alarm clock went crazy at 8 o'clock and we were dressed in a jiffy. Baldy raked the embers over and built « roaring good fire in the stove, while I cooked break- fast. Well, no matter what we had, it was good and substantial The inner man having been looked after we pushed the skiff off and com- menced to paddie for thefcreek, three miles sees. DGbes tke ws long to make the dis- tance, and we had plenty of time to spare when we reached the mouth of the creek, which is mite broad at this point, but narrows own to a skif's width two miles up among the waunkapins, Now, the waunkapins are favorite food for ducks and we decided to make for that part of the creek where they grew the thickest. The first gray streaks of the coming dawn were {ust appear- ing. chasing away tho darker shadows of the night, when we landed at the edge of the waun- kapin bed, Away off in the distance came a sound as if thousand men wero amacking their chops, having just finished something good to eat, It was the ducks feeding. Baldy suggested that we put out a stool of decoys and lay in the waunkapins until it was good and light, when he thought the ducks would com- mence to tly. The idea didn’t strike me as be- ing particularly brilliant, for it was cold weather and the wind was blowing sharply, So after a council of war, carried on in whis- pers, it was decided to go after the ducks, It was light enough now to make out the narrow channel, and sprawling ourselves in the bottom of the boat, Baldy in the bow to do the shooting and I aft to do the paddling. we jour- neyed on, The smacking sound grew louder and louder as with every push of the creeping paddles the boat approached nearer and nearer to the game. «There they are,” said Baldy in a trembling whisper, after we had gone about half a mile. “Shall I let ‘em have it?” 1 ceased paddling for a moment and looked above the gunwale of the boat. Sure enough there they were off to the right, feeding away as unconcernedly as possible. One big drake on the outer edge was the sentinel and he seemed somewhat disturbed, for he swam about ina circle, cocking his head right and left and quacking vigorously. I was about to tell Baldy to let’em have it when he moved ‘That was enough; the old drake quacked an alarm and all got up. making a great deal of fuss, and flew past to our left, Baldy turned and fired both barrels in tapid succession, ‘The next thing I remember was vainly trying to swim. THE BOAT HAD TURNED OVER. Imanaged to get my feet finally, for the water was quite shallow—only waist deed. aud looked about for Baldy. There he stook about ten feet away in a bed of bubbles, rubbing his eyes as though wondering what had happened, While the skiff was doing its utmost to round a curve in the channel, no doubt disgusted with its owners, We soon collected our senses, secured the truant boat and righted her. When e came to count up there was a gun missing, ‘The decoys being of wood werc easily recov- ered. Butthe gun, like McGinty, was at the bottom of the sea, and try as we might it couldn't be found. All this time we gladu’t thought anything about the result ot the shot as the ducks flew past. Laldy reminded me of it and we started to look for some evidence of his markmanship. We were well repaid, for there among the lilies lay three plump gray | mallard, I grabbed them as Baldy pushed by aud stowed them away in the steru, It was unan- imously agreed that John Howard Payne’ was never more appropriate, as Baldy carried the tune while I joined in the chorus, It took usa long time to reach home and when we did there stood Howard, who had come down on the early boat, waiting for us, He had to as- sist us outof the boat, for our legs were be- numbed. An application of corn juice, ex- ternally and internally, a good fire to toast our shins by and, above all, those mallard baked with their skins off for dinner set us all right. ‘The skins were sent to town next day and these are the result, DIFFERENT KINDS OF DUCKS. But there, I started in to tell you something about the ducking on the lower Potomac. The first snap of cold weather generally brings ducks. The first to arrive age the rooks, a small duck about the size of a fal with as fine a flavor as you would wish, They are pretty little fellows, of a dark brown color with a bronze neck, and as brave 28 a game cock, ‘fhey are the sworn enemies of the royal can- vas-back and seem to take great delight in an- noying them, but not without a purpose. You know ‘the canvas-back is the most par- ticular ot the feathered tribe in selecting its food—in fact it won'teatanything uutil after it has been thoroughly washed, ‘The wiid celery, which abounds in the Potomac and its many small tributaries aud which increases the com- mercial value of the ducks, 18 the canvas-back’s principal food, It grows from one to ten feet under water. Now the canvas-back is one of the few ducks that can stay under water a long time; so they generally select a spot where wild celery grows some distance down, and ex- perience no difficulty in reaching it. ‘The rook generally follows the canvas-back, and as soon a8 one appears with bunch of celery to wash Mr. Rook makes a rush, grabs the celery and is off. It has often been stated and with a great deal of truth that it takes an expert to distinguish a portion of it after being cooked from a canvas-back. It is an easy matter to kill them early in the season by creeping on them, but after they have been shot at a few times they grow wary. gunners claim that they cannot be decoycd, but they are mistaken—any duck will decoy to the rich maple used in all the woodwork. The queen's bed room is very large, and ivor; handled bells hang in every direction. In fact, all the fittings of this gorgeous craft are in solid ivory and must have cost « great deal, Caritas. Judge not; the working of his brain ud of his heart thou canst not see; What looks to thy dim eyes a stair, In God’s pure light may only be . A gear, brought from some well -fought fel, ere thou wouldut ouly faint and yield. ‘The look, the air that frets thy sight, May be a token that below ‘The soul has closed in deadly fight With some internal flery foe, would scorch thy smiling And cast thee shuddering on thy face. —ADBELAIDE A. Proctor, ‘® stool of correctly painted decoys, MALLARD 1N GOOD NUMBERS, Mallard are arriving in goodly numbers now, and it only needs a cold snap with some rough weather to make them plentiful. The Potomac boasts of three varieties, the mallard proper, the gray mallard and the black maliard, The firet mentioned 1s, to my view, the handsomest of the tribe. A rich glossy green head and neck, with a snowy whito collar, and the velvet black of the odd little curly feathers in the tail give pearance. The Some | who e ‘TWo VARIETIES OF TEAL There have been s good many teal about here this fall, I understand, but as yet I have not seen one. We have two varieties on the Potomac—the blue wing and the green wing. The blue wing is hi; np Anes by epicures on account of its delicate flavor. It is the first of its tribe that returns to us in the autumn from its breeding place in the north. They are little fellows, symmetrical and graceful. It flies rapidly and when it alights drops suddenly, like a woodcock or snipe. The name of thi duck is derived from the splotch of blue it has on either wing. Now the green wing teal distinguished just the same way. It basa green bar on either wing. But by far the handsdmest plumaged duck the Potomac can boast of is the wood duck, or, as it is more commonly known, the summer duck. Its color is a varied mixture of all the colors of the rain- bow, blended in perfect harmony and richly potiea. A hood of feathers, long and fine, increases the effect. They breed in hollow trees and have been known time and time again to carry their young to and from the nest in their ills.” hee) THE SUMMER DUCK never flies in flocks. With the most beautiful plumage We will have the summer duck and look, as women always do, for the most stylixh and g: ful—for what good are fine clothes if you baven’t any style? For grace the pintai another of our river ducks, takes the prize. ‘The pintail is a very handsome bird, its head and neck being rich brown, its back gray with black penciling, and the throat, breast and abdomen snowy white. While swimming it carries its long, pointed tail elevated and its thin, serpentine neck swaying in all directions. It isa good table duck, The black head is another of our river ducks, so called from the color of its head, apd although classed m the same category as rook, under the general term of “trash ducks,” possesses many good points and makes a capital cheap table duck. In this connection might be mentioned the “butter bail,” a duck resembling the Iden eye, of which Iwill speak hereafter. is little fel- tow, the smallest of ducks, plays little part in game dinners, as its flesh is NOT ESTEEMED AS A TABLE DELICACY. While the golden eye is pretty to look at it is not good toeat, for, like the “hell diver,” it feeds on small fish, and its flesh has a fishy flavor, which makes it unpalatable. There is one duck, however, that I want to call your attention to. Itis called the crow duck, and it swell named, for it looks for all the world like a crow. Its feet are peculiarly constructed, the web being separate on each toe. Some people think its meat excellent, and hotel men swear by it, for it takes the place of teal and costs about’ one-eighth as much. Now, the shoveler duck, commonly called the shufiler, is @ regular patron of the Potomac. You can tell it by its peculiarly shaped bill. It resem- bles « spoon and is provided with a set of tecth like strainers, on its edge, whereby the soft, animal matter is retaimed and the water strained through. And now for the king of ducks and his lord chamberlain. It is need- less for me to explain that the canvas-back is king and the red head his lord chamberlain. RED HEADS AND CANVAS-BACKS. ‘ So closely does the red head resemble the canvas-back that it takes an old hand to dis- tinguish the difference. Its flesh is much prized and very much like canvas back, But the king of ducks, what shall I say of him— this grand specimen of the duck family, known all over the world as the greatest of delicacies? One thing is certain—he is prized more when killed on the Potomac than anywhere else. ‘The wild celery is so plentiful in this river and the ducks get so fat that their bodies have been known to actually burs! Just a few lincs about how to kill ducks, Down here people prefer to shoot from a blind. Now a blind is nothing more nor less than four poles driven in the form of a square on theducks’ feeding ground and provided with a floor a few feet above high water and hidden by weaving evergreens all about it. In here the hunter sits, while outside, in front of the blind, is arranged his stool of decoys, which sit as naturally as possible. Keeping his eyes constantly moving to the right and left he espies a flock of ducks “coming in” and prepares to shoot. _Some- times the ducks light among the decoys, but generally they dart and speed by. This is the hunter's chance and he takes advantage of it. If successful he calls to his man on shore, who comes out in @ skiff and picks up the dead game. It’s awful cold out there when the weather is disagrecable, but it can’t compare with “box shooting” for unpleasantness, SHOOTING FROM A BOX is not allowed in some of the counties of ginia and Maryland, yet every pot hunter uses abox. It is an uncanny-looking thing, resem- bling acoftin more than anything else. On every side are large canvas fiaps called wings and these extend over the water and buoy the box and the gunner up. Having selected a good spot, the box is placed in position and decoys put out, several iron ones occupying positions on the wings. Then the hunter gets 1n, assumes a reclining position and waits for the game. Pretty soon « flock darts and the occu- pant risos quickly before they get away and gets in acouple of shots with inore or less dis- astrous eifect, But it takes a gentine sport, to the manner born, so to speak, .to hunt ducks like this, for on a cold day, with the snow fall- ing, @ sink box isn’t the pleasantest place in the world, I had a friend down here with me last year who said he had often shot in boxes and was anxious to be put in one. We fixed things up for him and started out for some partridges. About a mile from home we heard a terrific firing. Bang! bang! bang! bang! bang! bang! bang! Runuing back we found our friend standing up in the sink box calling loudly. We took askiff and brought him ashore und a sicker specimen you never beheld. His mouth was actually blue with cold and he remained in bed for a week, THE SNEAK BOAT BEST. You may talk about your blind shooting and your sink box shooting. but as for me give me wsneak boat. This isa skiff covered with ever- greens to deceive the ducks, It takes two men to operate a sneak boat successfully, one to shoot, the other to paddle. ‘The way the thing is done 1s like this: A flock of ducks is sighted, away, You paddle until within yards of them with the regular double blade paddle. When you get that near draw out your creeping paddles, small pieces of board 18 inches long and about 6 inch broad, Lie down then on your stomach and put your arms over the gunwale of the boat on either side and geutly paddle without remov- ing the creepers from the water. In this way you can get within easy shooting distance and rarely fail to drop your game. But then it’s so exciting, aud with « true hunter that’s half the pleasure, I would hke to tell you something of what a world of harm these steam launches are doing to the ducking onthe Potomac. How they chase them all around until finally they leave, but it’s getting too late tonight. The soarcity of ducks these late years has been due wholly to this and the big guunere, who hunt in the night, and not only slaugiter great num- bers, but cripple hundreds that they do not pretend to get. NJ. (el Heredity. From the Fortnightly Review, It is exceedingly difficult to find any actual cases to illustrate this point, since either natural or artificial selection has almost alway} been present, The apparent effects of disuse in causing the diminution of certain organs, such the reduced wings of some birds in oceanic islands and the very amall or aborted eyes of some of the animals inhabiting exten. sive caverns, can be as well explained by the withdrawal of the cumulative agency of natural selection and by economy of growth as by the direct effects of ‘disuse. The ilicwiag, facts, howev seem to show that special skill derived’ from practice, when continued for: severel generations, is not inherited, and not, therefore, tend to in- crease, The wonderfull skill of most of the North American Indians in following ao trail by indications quite imperceptible to the ordinary a. has been dwelt upon by many writers, but itis now admitted that the white trappers equa! and often excel them, though these trappers _h: in almost every case acquired their skill in # comparatively short, period, without any of the inherited ex- perience which might belong to the Indian. Again, for many generations a considerable | egg of ths male population of Switzerland ve practiced rifle shooting as a national sport, yet in international contests they show no arid superiority over pnd _— who are, in a large proportion, sous of men who never hand a Another case is Venomous Ones That Capture Fish— Dr. Marx’s Experiments. really a very ferocious animal,” said Dr. George Marx to a writter for Tas Star. “I know of a case where a wolf spider actually attacked » fish in the water several times as big as itself and dragged | it upon the shore. This | occurrence is vouched for 8 by the most distinguished authority on spiders living, having been wit- nessed by himself personally. The fish suc- ceeded in getting back into the water once, but was pounced upon a second time by the spider, which hada spread of about two inches and a half, and was pulled out again, to be quickly dispatched with bites, “No, the spider did not catch the fish for the purpose of eating it. Spidersdo not eat the animals they capture in the sense of consumin; the tissues, but merely suck the juices. 1 never heard of another instance of a spider's making Prey of a fish, though smail mice are often pounced upon and devoured by spiders. There is an implacable enmity between spiders and mice, perhaps partly for the reason that mice are very fond of eating spiders, as are monke: and lizards also. So when a big spider gets s chance at one of his long-tailed foes it is good- bye Mr. Mouse. Snakes have been known to fall victims to spiders, and birds very fre- quently. I myself once put a good-sized taran- tula ia a cage with a rice bird, and the spider atonce leaped upon the feathered creature, grasping it in its hairy arms and inflicting a bite that proved fatal in eaactly seventeen seo- on TARANTULA BITES, “Do I think the bite of a tarantula is poison- ous enough to cause the death of a human being? No. I amso sure it is not that lam entirely willing to submit my own Person to an experiment. There are all sorts of ape stitions extant regarding the venomous chai acter of spider bites, but I don’t indulge mu faith in any of the widely circulated traditions on the subject. For example, there is the famous ‘katipo’ spider. concerning the danger- ous character of which there exists an aston- ishingly wide-spread belief. This is a very shy black spider that hides under stones and in other dark places, On its stomach is a big bright red spot. The New Zealanders are so afraid of the ‘katipo,’ which is the name they call it by, that they will not camp in any neigh- borhood where it is found. They believe that it is possessed by an evil spirit, and assert that human beings are frequently killed by it. ‘The Kirghis of Asia are equally fearful of this spider, which they call the ‘black widow.’ ‘They say that whole herds of cattle and many camels are bitten to death by it. By the Cor- sicans the same spider is called the ‘malmig- natte,’ and they declare that many people are killed by it annually. It seems astonishing that this particular small spider should be an ob- ject of such gencral dread, UNFOUNDED SUPERSTITION, “T have good reasons for believing that all the accounts of the destructivencss of this creature are purely of a superstitious and un- founded character. There is in this country a sort of spider that we call the ‘lathrodectus,’ which is 80 near the ‘katipo’ itself as to be to ail intents and purposes of the same species. In North Carolina not very long ago # farm hand was bitter. by a lathrodectus and died that night. The case was well authenticated, and so I thought recently that I would make some experiments with the lathrodectus, just to see how venomous it really was, “I took a rabbit aud carefully shaved a por- tion of its skin clean of fur. ‘Then I mude a cut in the skin aud introduced into the wound the two little poison sacs from the jaws of a lathrodectus. Next I delicately cut the poison sacs open while they were in the wound and permitted the poison they contained to flow out, thus inoculating the animal as effectively as could be. ‘Twelve hours after the operation the rabbit was xs lively as ever. In short, no effect worth mentioning was obtained. After- ward I tried the same experiment with a guinea pig and » mouse, with Tike result. Finally, I permitted a guinea pig to be bitten three times by two full-grown spiders on the nose, but again there was no perceptible effect. The venom of the ‘katino’ may have a deadiy qual- ity of its own, but lam willing at any time to submit my arm to its mandibles, - SPIDER BITES NOT FATAL. “Mind you, I have no doubt that the ‘lathro- dectus’ and the ‘katipo’ are venomous. All spiders of whatever sortare so. Their salivary glands contain a poisonous liquid, which is ex- pelled in the act of biting through little holes like*the extremitics of the mandible or jaws. Furthermore,they do undoubtedly kill witk their Yenom many small animals, even birds, Lut that there is any spider that distills a poison fatal to human life I am confident in denying, though I kuew of one case where a little girl was thrown into convulsions by the bite of one of those fierce jumping spiders that haunt the sunny sides of ‘walls, ‘This jumping spider is of @ particularly venomous variety aud will leap at you if you do but point your finger at him. All spiders are more or less disposed to be aggressive. If you try to capture one he will throw himself back upon his hind legs and prepare to fight. AN INTERESTING STUDY. “Spiders are a very interesting study at close quarters. I always have anumber of them alive on hand for breeding or other purposes, A while ago I hatched out 200 little spiders from cocoons in a glass receptacle, I noticed that their number steadily diminished from day to day and at length perceived that they were eating each other up. In fact, they con- tinued this operation until only two were left, One of these ate the other and so I found my- self with ouly a single female remaining of my stock. She was a fine specimen, and I reared her to maturity. Nearly all ‘spiders drink water freely, and, in fact, are very fond of it; but the ‘lathrodectus’ is affected with constitu- tional hydrophobia and falls over in a spasm if @ single drop does but touch him. If you ap- proach a small camel's hair brush loaded with water to the nose of almost any other kind of spider the creature will seize it eageriy and drink. The male spider is often only one- twentieth the size of the female of its species and the female frequently makes a meal of the male.” soe ’ A Victim From Smith, Gray & Co.'s TRADING SCENE IN AFRICA. arboreal cous: i = 3 brings in a good bag of them isa hunter; QUAINT FACTS ABUUT SPIDERS. | MONKEY TALK OF THE FUTURE. Prof. Garner Says That Men and Apes ‘Will Converse Together Yet. HE SPIDEB is/ rr w smrtr 4 Question OF LEARNING THE MONKEY LANGUAGE AND THAT OUGHT NoT TO BE VERY HARD—THE PROFESSOR IS GATRERING A VOCABULARE BY MEANS OF THE PHONOGRAPE. HAVE just returned from a trip,to Chi- cago and Cincinnati, in both of which cities I spent a good deal of time zoolog- ical gardening, and secured « number of valuable phonograph records of moukey conversation on cylinders,” So said Prof. R. L. Garner of Roanoke, hon- orary curator of the Smithsonian Institution, to & writer for Tur Star yesterday and added: ly purpose in the experiments I am mak- ing is to obtain an analysis of the language of monkeys that will enable me to make out some sort of rude vocabulary of their tongue. This Accomplished, Iam sure that I can establish | communication by words with them, so as to effect an interchange of ideas. In fact, I can see no reason why a man and a monkey should not actually converse together, the one re- quisite being that the man shall be acquainted with the monkey's speech, The latter is ex ceedingly simple, and the key to it once ob- tained, most easily learned. It can hardly be expected of the monkey that he shall acquire human language. “It iawith a view to getting hold of this key to the simian tongue that I am taking advan- tage of evéry opportunity to procure records on phonogtaph cylinders of sounds uttered by monkeys, The managers of the zoos in Cin- cinnati and Chicago exhibited much interest in my recent experiments in those cities and did their best to heip me with them. Indeed, I find on all sides a most cordial sympathy with the inquiry I am making in this new line of sctentitic investigation. The idea is entirely original with myself, but my belief is that the study of the languages of the lower animals is & field that will before very long attract an army of workers, TWO WORDS ALREADY. “Already I can make a capuchin monkey un- derstand two words wherever I may meet him. One of these words is ‘milk’ and is uttered by all of them, so far as Ihave been able to dis- cover, in precisely the same way. On ap- Proaching any strange capuchin for the first time I salute him with the term, which invari- ably procures his attention and good will, ‘Lhe word it question, however, belongs only to that one species.’ For you’ must uaderstand that different varieties of monkeys employ vastly different languages, the speech of one variety being as little known to another as is the case amoug tribes of men, But moni of the same variety all use the same language, intelligible for conversational purposes among themselves, though possibly varied to a slight degree by dialect. So far I cam find out none of the Is has a range of more el vocal sounds, but these, being simply interjectional, may be so modi- fied by enunciation as to make nouns and verbs, Apparently the monkey has forty or fifty words effectively ut his command, “I find that I can communicate to the capuchin the fact that I am in pain, and can make a sick capuchin understand my sym- pathies with his suffering. It is almost impos- sible tu give in printed letters ilustrations of the vocal sounds of monkeys, inasmuch as they are nearly all vowels. It can be said, however, that the sounds are strikingly like those uttered by human beings as the expressions of similar emotions. ‘Jie vocal organs in the lower animals are comparatitely rudimentary. but development follows use and effort. All the words that a monkey needs be bas ai his command. Incidentally to the modern adveace- ment of the human race thousands of words have been added to our own speveb which were not needed by our carly progenitors. You will find certain tribes of men described by the Greek writer Strabo sho shad no language, but shrieked like wiid beasts,’ only uttering very few sounds. 48 FOR PALROLITHIC MAN of hundreds of thousands of years ago there are many scientific authorities who assert that he was actually a dumb creature—as dumb, that is to as the monkey is now. It is read- ily observed that those animals which have been associated with man for many generations are capable of producing many more vocal sounds than others of like species which have not enjoyed the same advantage. For example, the domestic cat is decidedly superior in this respect to any othe: beast of the feline genus. The reason for this is found in the change of environment and association with multipiied ideas, increased wants, &c. ow down in the scale of animal creation you discover that signs are altogether employed aga means of communication, This is exem- plified by insects, fish and reptiles. Among other things they readily undersiand any threat of attack made by their own specics, I myself have noticed that common red ants make nse among themselves of signs which they readily interpret, ‘Lam unable to say with any degree of cer- tainty what varicty of monkey is the most in- telligent, but I am inclined to think—though this beltef, founded upon observation, is greatly at variance with the popular idea—that the most intelligent specimens are found among the smuiler species and generally among those with tails instead of otherwise, My study of the chimpanzce disposes me to surmise that its intelligence less closely re- sembles that of man than is the case with some of the smaller monkeys. EXPERIMENTAL PROSPECTA. “It was only recently that the idea of using the phonograph to obtain records of nionkey vocal sounds for study occurred to me. Through its aid I hope to be able within & year to go a long way toward making out a vocabulary of simian language, which will serve as a beginning in establish ing inter-com- munication. You must not imagine that I pro- pose to demonstrate the possibility of con- verting the monkey intoa man, The monkey will always remain a monkey, but it may be that, by long-continued breeding and educat- ing, a race of monkeys very far superior to any at present existing can be produced. . When a means of conversing with the moukey has been secured, it will be time enough tb think of the intellectual ani morai development of our -—+e6e—____ of Fashion. Tustrated Monthiy. THE STORY OF AN IMPROVISED BUSTLE. RAILROADS. ——— ree D SOUTHWEST. ID SCENERY,” MAGNIFICENT EQUIPMENT, In effect Nov. 4, 1800. TRAINS LEAVE WASHING CORNER OF 6TH AND B 8ST For Pittsburg and the a A> TO vou 8T &. E NORTH, xPat a RACK SPLEND! ri ATION AA, LTS AS rorLowas vilmam Nestibaie Cate St 10-50 non eee O38 Louie ene siospig Cate eee sae ws z —4 je deianarctie Beate rity Corn = FS "47 escern Express at 7 Cars Washi ome pecting datly @t Harrisbure with through sleepers, for Lousville and Memphis. Pullman Tining Faprese: 10-00" pm daily, for ‘Piewbury ard the aprese, 10 ? Tort woh thrvagh Siceper to Pitteburg, and Vitus mune to Chicaso. BALTINONE. AND POTOMA For hawe.( gas, Rochester ¥ except Munday. 10 8.1 For Eng cansudaucus snd i Aaily; for But filo dnd! Niagara da iy, exeot Batunay. 10°00 B Mm. with Siceping Car Washington t> For Wil ‘Lock Haven and Eimime at 1030, ily ‘t Sunday. Mhatasport daily. am FOR PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK AND THE FAST, 4 at} 800, 1100 and ibs am, 2:20, 3:15, 0. 5-40, 10-4 11-20. pom. Ou sunday, My ehh tO em. FAG. 6 15 420, 10-B0 and Poms Lit seen man ‘Parvo Gers. with” Dinine “Cat baltimore to. New 3orks 140 an. gaily except Supday For New York only. Li press Dining Car, 5:00 pm daily tS —_ FOR TVHILADELPAIA ONLY. \C RAILROAD, and Niware Falls m. For W Fast Express 8:10 2 m0, week days. 4 Earnest, sunday only. 3740 p, + apc Sy greees, 18 nm, every day. For Brook yn, N.¥.,all trains connect at ey City Brookly b Atbex, aflording direct traps St, avoiding doubie terriage across New orl fs For Atiautic City, 11:40 a.m, week days, 12:20 p.m. 5 For Laltimore, 6:35, 7:20, 8:10, 9:00, 9-40, 1000, 10.50, 11-00 aud 11-40 wane Te oe, 3:30, “4.00, 4-20, 4-30, b0 40, I-00 aud ta rae wo, 7 aud 2120 » 2am, and 4 50 p.m. daily, 12-05 and Suinday’s 0 00am and 298 SOUTHER CT MAN 1 dria, 4:30, 6-35, 2:04 0 ‘ except For Anne daily, 20 and 9.00 am, ‘ept Sunday, pau, WASRINGTON IN EF For Alex an * Pennsylvar the station, where orders can be left for th bogwage to destination from hotels and res i, 1 CHAS. E. PCGH, at Geveral Manager. [033] General fase AND DAN KAILKOAD OO, NOVEMBER 2. UNgo. wee Mail, daily tor Warrem Chariottesville, “1 Stations between AlexaBdrin and Lyne oke, AUanta, Bristol, Kuoxville, Chatta is, con. WooD, user Agent am —Past Mail daily for Culpeper, Char ie, Stations Chesapeake acd Ohio Route, nk, Kocky Mouut, Dauvilie and stations be- ry aud Dauville, Greensboro’, Kaleigh, uwbia, Augusta, Atiaut Moutgomery, On an Pailms Sleeper to Metuphis via 1: -10 p.m —Western Express daily for M ule Train Washingtom to Cmcimuati, sleeper for Louteville. m.—Southern Eayress aally for Lynchbare, Danville, Keieuh, Asheville, rlotte, Columbia, Auguste, Atlauta,’ Moutgumery, New Ores, Texas and Califorma Fuliman Vestubule Car Washington to New Orieaus via Atlanta and Moutgomery Diveper Washington to Birmingham, A\ ana Georgia Pacific Railway, apd Pi Washington to Asuevilie and Hot Sprin Also Wasiington to Augneta ¥ tte. » NC, via ia Danville hington and Ohio division leave Wgh- daily, 6: and 445 2 pm. daily ington & 5 ke aud Ohio route and Charlottesville a 10 p.m and 6:55am, Strasburg lov Lickets, sleeping car reservation and information furnished’ and’ bucguce checked at office, 1300 Penne ud GU pamsenxer elation, Femme) Ivette Bata, JAS. L. TAYLOR, Gon. Pass. Agent. (CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILWAY, Schedule in Iffect May 18. Trains teave t fon Depot. 6th and B streets, 10:57 port News, Uld Point Comfort and Arnve at Old Point t-10 pan, 0 pom. 2d ain, Cinciunett Sxyreds @aity fo rstations ta Varkund, West Vingiuis, Kentucky and Cincinuatl. Vestibule dieepers through without change to Gime ma. thout ‘Care are open to H.W, FULLER Moyle General Passenger Agent ALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILBOAD. ‘beduie ip eBect June 26. 1840, Leave Washing ton 1101 sven: 3 For Chicagoand Northwest. yiess Gal) 11:30 wins express e-30 Fer Cucina, St. Louis and 1 Gail, 5-00 and 11-50 p.m. went Saber and Cleveland, expres daily 9.30.4 : 340 p 2p deuneon aud points in the Shenandoah Valen 230 au For Winchester and way stations, 15:30 p.m. For Luray, 15:30 apd *S 40 pain, , Por Buluniore, wees Fe 7230 (3:04, 40 lmanutes), 45 minutes) am. 12:1 45 minutes) 3:5, n 6:00, 6-15 ‘0, 10330 and 8:30, 9-330 45 manut aa Se 1. mua 00, 6: LLY p. For Way Stations between more, 3:00, 030, § 30 am, om Pisshinston ana, Sundays, 5:30 a 2210, 5225, 1:00, "32 a Way Siatoun, $4.35 ay Stations, $4.35 p.. or Guithersbure abd sntermediate 200,.111:00 ei, 11500. 4300, UU, tii s0U pam. dor Boyd's und mtermediate stations, *7 00. CLuren train leaves Washington om P.m.., sopLiny at all stations on Mi Brauch, erick, 10:00, (8:30, ¥:3 111730 mame 30 jms, ty el, Wiimangton, Chester, "44 prereset | Pholadelphis SOME 338 11:30 am, 12 joxton *2.50 p.m., with Pullman Buffet Sleep Munina thYvugh to Bostom whabous Bridie, laudiog paasengere in west Gences by Union ‘Irauster Company on orders leftat ‘Ucket offices, id 135) Peun. ave. and at depos, votices OAS. 0. CULL Gem Buss. Augen 3. T. ODELL, Gt. Manaxer. ae POTOMAC RIVER BOATS LAC RIVER LANDINGS. OOM RAMEN LJUHN THOMPSON, | yj, Pucsuay ‘tasoaea a Y Coun anil Kinsase. Fare, Sfst-clam, SUC ; seound-ciass, Se" “Pretebe lower than olier svuten on call Leiephone 1300.