Evening Star Newspaper, November 3, 1894, Page 22

23 ASA SUMMER RESORT The Advantages of This City De- picted by a New Yorker. ENJOYING THE COHFORTS OF LIFE Some Mistaken Notions About the Hot Weather Here. A LEISURELY VISIT Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. LL THE WORLD has read of the de- lights of Washington as a winter residence, but why does no one ever write of its e charms as a summer habitat?—for they are certainly very mfany, especially to those who desire to visit and make a thorough study of the nation's capital, but can do so at no other season. But one cannot say directly to you Wash- Ingtonians all the nice things one thinks about your charming city. That would Beem too like bare-faced flattery. Those who like, however, may read what a letter which went to New York said after a three months’ summer acquaintance on the part of its writer with its attractions. She left,to come hece, a pretty seaside resort on Long Island, which is her home for the warm months, and to which she could have rcturn- ed at any time, had she preferred; or to her n city home hear New York,with its large, airy rooms and plazzas, and admirable do- mestic service. But she has lingered here, finding an irresistible attraction in all that pertains to the capital city. Her opinion, therefore, is not that of a “bucolic” who has “never been anywhere before,” and has never been on intimate terms with any more luxuries than could be had on a $1,000 salary. On the contrary, she is thoroughly iliar with this entire continent, knows er Europe weil, and two p-evious visits to ashington have acquainted her with its winter enchantmer ts. How It All Happened. Now for the letter: “What possessed me to leave the sea- shore and come to Washington, that warm ce, to spend the summer, cherie?” Well, Il tell you all about it. My friend, Mrs. Z., who lives here, bemoaned in a letter to me the necessity of having her house shut up for three months, while she took her family off to the mountains, or else ac- cepted the alternative of renting it to dear knows who, or having caretakers to live in the basement. The latter seems the usual way in which housewives here solve the Vexed question, but either plan meant vexa- tion of spirit to the fastidious woman when he returned in the autumn, and either stuffy, “unused” atmosphere in the house greeted her nostrils and clung round them all winter, or repairs and breakages and damages took off all the profits of renting. In my reply I said jokingiy: “I think, my sister, and I will come down and live in your house, and make acquaintance with some of the fascination which I more than suspect Washington has for a summer, as well as a winter, residence.” Mrs. Z.’ clinched in earnest with the remark, and here we are. Her own servants she took with her, but secured for us an old darkey cook, whose reliability she knew from former services. He and his wife and child live in the base- ment, and care for the neatness of the house, which, as there is but little of what we New Yorkers would call dust, on ac- count of the cleanly-kept asphalt streets here, is a slight task. Virginia does the laundry for somewhat less than we would Pay outside, as soap, starch” and those things which are usually in the household stock in large quantities were placed by Mrs. Z. at our disposal, as was also the ea and fuel for the range when |. James caters f ber month. for us two for $40 “Realizing that we were { hands, we gave ourselves up to seeing and enjoying Washington. Too warm to go about much? No, indeed, except in the mid- of the day. The government buildings, those huge piles. of granite, are cool and draughty in the corridors, so that one may spend very comfortably in them the hours from about 9:30 to 2 o'clock, and so easily yisit them thoroughly and at leisure in a few days’ time, leaving the cooler, long twi- light hours in which to go about the city ts and environments. ‘ “There have not been more than ten or twelve days during the months of July, = and September, when it has not mM perfectly comfortable to walk about, except from 1 to 4 o'clock, and this in Washington—the ‘south,’ as we northern- ers say! No Mosquitos or Dust. “And my letters from the ocean shores of Long Island, from country and mountain re- sorts, tell me of the scorching heat there, the mosquitos where they never came be- fore, the intolerable dust from want of rain, the glare of the sun on the expanse of sand and all the discomforts which I, at least, have not encountered in Washington. The asphalt pavements may be hot, but they do hot reflect more heat than do the sand and water. The lace-like canopy of green spread over nearly every residence street effectu: ly prevents that overheating of the pave- ments, and, being sufficiently high and open, allow a constant circulation of the soft breeze which usually fans the capital city, und which is not possible among the denser forests and foliage in country and mountain resorts. “Stopping on any corner away from the Immediate business thoroughfares, and look- ing in any direction, one sees long vistas of verdure; sometimes in puffs of feathery green, undulating overhead along each side of the smooth, clean, gray streets, which look like endless pieces of wide,’ firmly- stretched tape; sometimes in arches, high or low, one, two or three, like gothic archi- tecture, or in flat-lying bands of green sward. With 75,000 trees adorning its 150 iles of roads, what wonder that the city ks like a bower? And one seldom sees here the hideous rows of houses, all alike as to general complexion and build, which make our New York streets so uninterest- ing. Here, though, so many have been so tightly closed that they looked as if they ad the lockjaw; yet each house and each lock seems to have an individuality. Per- aps it is because two-thirds of the resi- lences are built back from the street, upon 2 terrace, more or less wide, which is a most becoming setting for any house, and hen repeated for square after square, as ere, is one important factor in the beauty of the city. Cool Street Costumes. “You see ladies walking in the streets in- stead of on the sidewalk, perhaps, and you are so surprised, but you soon discover that every one does so if they prefer the smooth surface to the uneven brick pavements— the only unpleasant feature of getting about here. On Connecticut avenue, the fashion- able boulevard, late in the afternoon and early in the evening, one sees passing up and down ladies, old and young, who, one is told, are wives and daughters well known in the social world. They are without their hats, and often in such diaphanous sum- mer gowns as one sees elsewhere only at gay summer resorts, the sleeves a huge muslin puff coming only to the elbow, the bodice cut half high at the neck. But’ this serni-party attire is all so modest and retty, seems so customary, and, above all, is so Suited to the climate, that one wishes ther small cities would adopt the sensible fashion. No one seems surprised to see ladies—whom we frequently recognize as belonging to the haut-monde—in similar at- tire, even on the thronged Pennsylvania enue, early and late in the evening, both elegant private equipages and in the street cars. It seems the custom of all but the most exclusive class. “Cable-car rides are the enjoyable fashion of the plnce—another thing we of New York can’t indulge in because of obvious Aisadvantages. There are 2 dozen charm- {ng routes to select from, which take you far from the city’s heart (and, by the way, even the car conductors add ‘sometimes to ments of the piace. On a showery pped a car, and the "conductor THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1894-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES, ugiet ot ane beak S55 See ee ee umbrella for me, and I, in my sui stammered, ‘Oh! th—thank you, but we're not accustomed to such politeness in New York.’ ‘Oh, madam,’ said the conductor, ‘we always do thatcheer’—which is ver- nacular for ‘that here’). The Picturesque Market. “Mt. Vernon and Arlington, those places known the world over, are at the height of their surpassing loveliness of location and view, under the summer glints of the morning sun, or when the bowitching fad- ing glow of sundown lengthens the shad- ows on their wonderfully beautiful setting of flelds and forest, slopes and rises, from wkich they rise, the crowning gems. “The extensive Center Market is most fascinating to strangers on ‘market day.’ ‘There you see the real southern darkey in ali the best of his and her picturesque- ness. You see solid banks of every flower grown in these surrounding fields and known to these lovers of nature, every veg- etable the earth will produce, every fowl and creature under the size of an ox, which can possibly be turned Into money, They are all mixed in together, piled up against the owner's huckster carts, the flowers and vegetables banked against the four walis of the market square in harmonious con- fusion, a gorgeous mass of color, and in and among and over all flash and grin the dark faces and eyes of the simple aunties and uncles, or scowl the wicked, cmbittered ones of’ some rascally black, whose face, mayhap, still bears the imprint which the horrors of slavery made ineradicably on his 801 “Handsomely appointed equipages dash up to the curb and daintdy dressed ladies step out and thread their way through the moy- ing crowd, followed vy a footman carrying a large basket. Outside milady buys nose- gays of sweet field flowers and branches of bloom, and says a friendly word here and there to the old darkies. Inside she herself selects her supplies for the day from among the appetizing and endless as- sortment of evepything known to the larder of the nineteenth century housewife. “Nowhere else in the country can you see this sight, this juxtaposition of the best of both races, for nowhere else where the darkies predominate is it so much the cus- tom for the highest ladies tn the land to go to maket. Equal to the Best. “The beautiful wiid and cultivated fields and groves which surround the Soldiers’ Home, and its neighbor, the Catholic Uni- versity, are known to all who have visited these handscme buildings, and an afternoon spent loitermg throvgh the woods about them, and chatting with the old veterans, sans aris, sans legs, sans eyes, sans ears, sans everything, apparently, except ‘baccy and gratitude that they may go down to their graves in comfort, is an afternoon of profit, as well as pleasure. It might teach us all both patriotism and contentment. “Now that the delightful cool days of autumn have come, another attractive feat- ure of Washington, the stores, claim our attention. The larger ones are, in most respects, fully up to the standard of the best New York stores, and in one respect, at least, they adopt a method which mer- chants in the metropolis would find to their advantage to imitate in the keen, competi- tive race for custom and popularity, I re- fer to the practice of willingly and court- eously exchanging goods on request, with- out apparently wishing to force from the customer some reason why the request is made. You are told, on purchasing, that if for any reason you wish to exchange the article for something else, or to have the money refunded, either will be cheerfully done. The public apparently dges not abuse this custom, or it would not be continued, but likes to trade at a store where the de- sire is evidently to please, as well as give fair value, to the customer. “Now our summer in Washington is end- ed, and it leaves one with the memory of but few discomforts from excessive heat, and these only such as one must encounter invariably in this uncertain climate,whether living in town or country, by sea-shore, or on moumtai1 tops. Only last evening I heard a society girl say, gvho had just re- vurned from a three months’ sojourn at a fashionable resort, ‘Yes, It was pleasant, but for my part, I'd really much rather stay in Washington all summer long, for it is the loveliest place, all around, that I know. But the family think we must go away for a change, and because it’s un- fashionable not to, so we turn our backs upon ft In its most attractive season. Those who do remain here have a charming, free and easy out-door life with their friends, and friendships are enjoyed and become stronger during these summer evenings on piazzas and stoops, and in strolling and driving about during the long twilights.’ “So, cherie, congratulate, instead of con- doling with any other friend who may have spent a leisurely summer in this delightful Washington, and “Believe me your in clover— KATRID — ooo FAR BETTER THAN VOLAPUK. Progress of the English Tongues as the Universal Language. From the Los Angeles Times. Some years ago there was much interest taken in the proposal to create a universal language, and teachers of Volapuk, as it was called, were to be found everywhere. It was a short-lived experiment, and one hears little or nothing of it nowadays. It lcoks as if English would, before long, be- ccme the universal language. Few of us appreciate how rapidly the use of English is spreading throughout the world. ‘Three hundred years ago !t was used by less than 3,000,000 people; today it is em- ployed by more than 115,000,000 people in every quarter of the globe, and {s continu- ally broadening. In the United States alone it is spoken by 65,000,000 people, and in the British islands by 38,000,000. Canada _num- bers 4,000,000 followers, besides the French Canadians, who use {t with more or less fluency. Ii the English-speaking countries of South America it is spoken by 1,500,000 eople; 4,000,000 use it in Australia, and 500,000 in South Africa, India and other colonies. The vast total ‘of 115,000,000 rep- resents not people of foreign’ lands who speak English, but only those to whom It is the mother tongue. It is estimated that English speakers increase about 2,000,000 each year, a progress not equaled by any other lariguage of modern times. The 3,000,- 000 people who three centuries ago used the language lived, for the most part, in the British isles; now it is familiar on every continent. oo —____ WHAT DOLLAR BILLS WEIGH. A Guessing Contest Which Several Gained a Knowledge of Gravity. From the New York Herald. Several customers were chatting in a Lafayette avenue grocery store one cven- ing recently when the grocer pointed to a half barrel of small beans and asked how many of them it would require to make a bushel. Various estimates were offered. One man recklessly put the number down at 50,000, which occasioned a laugh from all the others, who had guessed a much lesser quantity, ranging all the way from 5,000 to 20,000. “Well, gentlemen,” remarked the grocer, “you are all wrong. There are approxi- mately 119,000 beans in a bushel.” No one was inclined to believe him until he showed them that {t took sixty beans, selected at random, to weigh half an ounce. ‘The rest of the calculation was simple. “Now, then,” said one of the party, “since we are engaged in guessing con- tests, how many dollar bills would it take to weigh as inuch as a silver dollar?” One said one hundred, another said sev- enty-five, while the grocer, who knew all about beans, put the figures at three hun- dred. “All wrong,” remarked the man. “It takes just twenty-two.” This was proven to be the case by experiment. ——- ° A Lover's Stratagem. From the Loutsville Courler Journal. What a prosperous world this would be if young men would apply their wits as industriously to affairs of business as they do in emergencies where the fair sex is concerned! This thought was suggested by the story of a young insurance man who went out for a moonlight drive one evening last week. At his side in the conveyance was a handsome young woman. They drove through the western part of the city, and concluded to go through the beautiful ave- nues of Western Park. But when they reached the gate the guard stopped them with the command that they must stay out or have lights in the lamps on their con- veyance, There was no store near, and they were about to give up the idea of a delightful drive under the shady trees, when in utter desperation the young man drew ferth a silk handkerchief, coiled it up and lit one end, after putting it in the lamp, The guard did not notice the trick, and they passed through the gate. 12 d- kerehief quickly burred out, leaving them in the é-rk and In the park. FOOD VALUE OF NUTS An Important Industry Rather Neglected in This Country. SOME OF THE POPULAR VARIETIES The Preparation of Almonds and Other Nuts for the Market. WHERE THEY COME FROM ‘Written for The Evening St HE LONG - EX- pected nut bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, pre- pared by the division of pomology, 1s near- ly ready for the pub- le printer, though no coples of it will be distributed for at least a year. It is @ remarkably inter- esting publication, throwing light upon the possibilities of a branch of agriculture hitherto neglected. Of the plants which are destined to be brought under systematic cultivation in this country during the twentieth century nuts are among the most promising. They have a higher nutritive worth than is pos- sessed by the apple, peach and pear, They are of the nature of staple articles of diet, and approach the grains in food value. Moreover, they are not perishable, and are easily*handled with little weight and risk. This country is largely supplied with nuts from abroad, although nearly’ all of them might as well be produced in the United States. The market supply of wild nuts is har- vested largely by boys and girl: who gather them for pleasure, though In some sections the crop is a blessing direct from nature’s hand to the poor. ‘The country “store” is the medium through which most of this product finds its way to the cities. The storekeeper consigns the nats which he gets from the children or farmers, often in exchange for guods, to a commission mer- chant in the city. When the erop is large, as is sometimes the case with the hick- ories in the central western states, dealers scour the country and buy them up in car- load lots for shipment to the cittes. The almond has been a source of great disappointment to planters in the Atlantic States. It has been said that it will grow where the peach will thrive. That is true enough, but in fruit production it fails in most of the eastern peach districts. Few attempts are now made by growers east of the Rocky mountains to produce al- monds. Forty years ago a large importa- tion of soft-shelled almonds was made by the commissioner of agriculture for dis- tribution among fruit growers. Both nuts and trees were widely distributed in the southern and middle states. Almonds for the Market. Efforts at cultivation resu!ted in failure, however, except with the worthless hard- shelled variety, owing, perhaps, to the de- struction of the blossoms by spring frosts. The early blooming of the tree is a fatal weakness of the almond from the point of view of eastern planters. But varieties re- cently originated and introduced in Cali- fornia proved reasonably regular in fruiting and have made almoné growing very profit- able in some small areas. Almond planting is now being tried with success in portions of Utah and Arizona. Gathering almonds by hand is very tedi- ous work. Generally the harvesting is done by spreading a sheet or canvas beneath the tree, and on this the nuts fall when shaken down. Ten pounds is a good yield for a tree, though oceasionatly one tree will pro- duce forty or fifty pounds. There is call for the invention of a machine for hulling al- monds and separating the nats from the hulls. It now costs nearly 2 cents a pound to gather, hull and bleach the almonds, whereas a good huller would reduce the ex- pense to half a cent. Afier the nuts are separated from the hulls they are placed on trays and dried in the sun for a few days. It should be explained that the term “hulling” does not signify the removal of the shell of the almond. The latter, as it grows on the is inclosed in a thin, pulpy envelope covered with a skin. It looks somewhat like a little green peach. At the time of ripening the envelope dries and cracks open, so that the nut often falls out and drops to the ground. When dry enough to escape molding, the nuts, still contained in thelr shells, are some- times bleached by being lightly sprinkled with water and by exposure thereupon to the fumes of sulphur. The process is apt to injure them unless very carefully done. Its only object is to make the shells white, because customers prefer them so. Broken and inferior nuts are separated from the sound ones before bleaching; they are shell- ed and sold as kernels. The aimonds are finally done up in wheat sacks and sent to market. The expense of gathering nuts is an im- portant item in the grower's accounts. A ‘Texas pecan planter thinks that something of the style of a street sweeper, which would gather the nuts into winrows, might be helpful; after which they could be col- lected and run through a machine for sort- ing and cleaning. But the nut-harvestiag machinery of the future yet remains to be invented. Persian walnuts and butternuts are picked for pickling and catsup when they are about half ripe. The division cf pomology has adopted the name “Persian walnut” for the nut commonly known as “English walnut,” or ‘Madeira nut,” be- cause it seems to have been brought orig- inally from Persia to Europe. Three species of walnut are of commer- cial importance in the United States. Of these the black walnut and the butternut are native, while the Persian walnut has been introduced from the old world. The black walnut and butteraut have been planted to a considerable degree. Butternuts and, Pecans. ‘The butternut tree is most abundant and reaches its highest development in the Ohio river basin. It does not respond readily to cultivation, though the nut germinates read- ily and the plant grows rapidly. Single ‘trees have been known to bear twenty bushels of nuts in a season. In flavor and quality the butternut is second only to the shellbark, hickory and pecan among nuts native to the United States. it has not ob- tained the appreciation it deserves. Were it marketed in larger quantities it wouid probably win its way. Anybody who will supply its meats fresh and in convenient form for culinary and dessert uses will have little trouble in stimulating a demand. Possibly a thin-shelled variety will be found some day. In a green state the nuts are used for pickling and catsup. The black walnut is one of the most widely distributed of American forest trees. Its nut has been said to be among nuts what bacoa is among meats—strong and greasy. Some choice wild varieties have been found, with white kernels of delicate flavor, and something might be accomplished by cultivatiag them. However, the planting of black walnuts for nuts alone has not proved profitable thus far. The market demand for them is not great. Perhaps the best of all nuts is that species of hickory known as the pecan. It is native to the United States, growing wild in the Mississippi valley and in Texas. The largest and finest nuts come from Louisiana, some specimens attaining a length of two inches, and a diameter of three-quarters of an inch, Comparatively few from that state reach the north, however. In Bee county, Texas, pecans are grown with very thin shells, that may be crushed in the fingers. ‘The freshly gathered nuts are placed in revolying churns, by which they are cleaned and brightened. A factory in New York city gives employment to fifty men ,and women engaged in the business of polishing or “burnishing” pecans for market, Hvent- ually cleaning establishments will be set up in the neighborhood of orchards, The hazel or filbert ts of all nut-bearing trees the one best suited to gerden cul- ture. Five species produce valuable nuts, and of these but one assumes the height and dimensions of a forest tree, the others being only bushes or shrubs. Of the five only two are native to the United States. Attempts at cultivation in this country have been chiefly confined to the European varieties and have been in the main un- suecessful. It is believed that plantations of the hazel might bé made very profitable in the state of Washington, where climatic conditions le of England. Chestnuts and Pine Nuts. The chestnuts of Hurope, America and Japan are of three djstinct species. ‘Those of Europe were or! ly introduced into Greece from or, The. number of chestnut trees di cultivation in the United States inereasing every year. In California are several orchards of 200 to 300 trees, mostly fof the Japanese and European varieties.’ There are large orchards also in Delaware, Illinois, India: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee an Virginia. Charles Parry of Parry, N. J. has’ 1,000 grafted trees. H. M. Engle of Marietta, Pa., has twenty acres of chest- nut trees. iy The dwarf chegtnut; known as the “chin- quapin,” is moretor less abundant on sandy knolls and hillsides along the Atlantic sea- board, from Delaware to northern Florida and westward across Pennsylvania to east- ern Texas. The fruit is small, but very sweet and delicious, Some valuable varie- ties’ may yet be found. Experiments in grafting European and Japanese chestnuts upon » chinquapin have been very suc- cessful been thought that the “pine nuts,” It hi which grow so plentifully on the Pacific slope of the United States and in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, might be raised profitably under cultivation. They are not seen in eastern markets, but-are sold and eaten in California cities like peanuts. Some of them are of good stze for dessert or confectionery es, and in quality and flavor are so excellent that their in- troduction would quickly obtain for them @ general popularity. They are mostly har- vested by Indians, who heat the cones till they open, the nuts being roasted in the process., A flour is made from them by the Diggers. Most horse chestnuts are not only not edible, but are actually poisonous, causing death when used as food by man or vther animals. However, the variety known as the “sweet buckeye” and a dwarf species of the Pacific coast may be eaten. To ren- der the California nut edible the Indians pares _— wash it with water to re- 10" e er principle, after which the; make it into bread. . sf ———— A THREATENED OUTRAGE. Criticising the Architecture of. the San Francisco, From the San Francisco Examiner. Apparently our post office site job is going to be capped by the construction of an ar- ehitectural monstrosity. The supervising architect of the treasury refuses to allow the public to see the plans for the new building upon which millions are to be ex- pended by the taxpayers of the country, on the ground that there would be criti- cisms which would make trouble by neces- sitating changes, Of course that means that the plans are not fit to bear public in- epection, We have feared this from the start and We expressed our fears some months’ ago. he olfice of the supervising architect of the treasury is a machine shop, in which designs are ground out like boards from a saw mill. ‘The supervising architect him- self, by the very conditions of his service, is he asarily incompetent. The character’ of fis ork Moves every intelligent architect in the couniry to language unfit for publi- cation. His government building at the world’s fair was one of the two great blemishes of the exhibition, the other being {he remaining conspicuous example of po- itical architecture—the monstrosity erected by the state of Illinois. Recognizing the deficiencies of hig office in artistic matters, Congress passed a, law authorizing the government to aVail itself of private talent in the construction, of important public buildings. This Jaw; was nullified by the Treasury Deparfment, which insulted the architects who had le the world’s fair a vision of beauty, and expressed its complete satisfaction with the work of {ts official de- sign factory. Consequently the country is doomed to go on'payjng the price of palaces for the contempt of the artistic world until Congress takes more peremptory action. Such action shoul’ certainly be insisted upon in the San, Francisco case. We have waited long enoygh for our post office to be able to wait a little longer. For a building that is to be one of the chief architectural monuments of the city we have a right to demand a decent design, and ff the official) architect laureate of the treasury cannot give it to us, as he probably cannot, we have a right to get It outside, Congress should make an appropriation for the building at its next sessior, and should insert a proviso requiring the work of preparing plans to be thrown open to the qualified architects of the country. It is the duty of our delega- tion to keep up @ disturbance until this is accomplished. BANK OF Its Unique Qualities and Wonderful Water Marks. From the Cornhill Magazine. ‘The paper alone is remarkable in many ways—notably for its unique whiteness and the peculiar “feel” of crispness; while its combined thinness and transparency are guands against two once very popular modes of forgery—the washing out of the printing by means ef turpentine, and erasure with the knife. . ‘The wire-mark, or water-mark, is another precaution against counterfeiting, and is produced in the paper while it is in a state of puip. In the old manufacture of bank notes this’ water-rrark was caused by an enormous number of wires (over 2,000) stitched and sewed together; now it is et graved in a steel-faced die, which Is after- ward hardened, and is then applied as a punch to stamp the pattern out of plates of sheet-brass. shading of the letters of this water-mark further increases the diffi- culty of imitation. The paper is made en- tirely from new white linen cuttings—never from anything that has been worn—and the toughness of it may be roughly estigated from the fact that a single bank note will, when unsized, support a weight of thirty-six pounds. The’ paper is produced in pleces large enough for two notes, each of which exactly measures 5 inches by 8 inches, and weighs eighteen grains before it is sized, and so carefully are the notes prepared that even the number of dips into the pulp made by each workman Is registered on 2 dial by machinery Few people are aware that a Bank of England note is not of the same thickness all through. In point of fact, the paper Is thicker in the left-hand corner to enable it to retain a keener impression of the vig- nette there, and it is also considezably thicker in the dark shadows of the center letters and beneath the figures at the ends. Counterfeit notes are invariably of one thickness only, throughout. aS TN LIVING WITH THEIR HEADS OFF. Several Species of Insects Are Eastly Killed by Decapitation. From the St. Louis Republic. Most persons of an observing turn of mind are aware of the fact that there are several species of Insects that will continue to live without seeming inconvenience for some time after decapitation, exact knowl- edge of the length of time which the va- rious species of insects would survive such mutilation being, somewhat vague. Prof. Conestrin! once undertook a series of experiments with’a view of determin- ing that and other facts in relation to the wonderful vitality of such creatures. In each case the d was sinoothly removed with a pair of. thin-bladed forceps, and when spontaneous gnovements of wings and legs ceased. he employed sundry irri- tating devices, such jas pricking, squeezing and blowing tobacco smoke over the in- sect. As a resujt of these experiments he ascertained that members of the beetle family at once showed signs of suffering, while such as the ants, bees, wasps, etc., remained for hours unaffected. Some which seemed stunned from the effects of the operation recovered after a time and con- tnued to live and enjoy a headless exis- tence for several days. Butterflies and moths seemed but little affected by the guillotining process and the common files (diptera) appeared to regard the operation as a huge joke. “The common house fly,” says our experi- menter, “appeared to be in full possession of his senses (rather paradoxical, when, in all probabilities, the canary had swallowed head, sense and all) thirty-six hours after- ward.” The bodies of some species of butterflies survived as long as eighteen days after th head had been removed, but the head itsel: seldom showed signs of life longer than six hours after decapitation. In the general summary of these huge experiments we are informed that the last signs of life were manifested cither in the middle or last pair of legs and that the myriopods show- ¢d great tenacity of life “and appeared metre indifferent to the loss of their eas." Not \ OUR ARMY TACTICS Originally From the System Used by Frederick the Great. PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE MANUAL Something About Drill Systems in This Country and Abroad. TO SUIT THE NEW RIFLE Written for The Evening Star. HE NEXT BOARD appointed by Secre- tary Lamont to make changes in the pres- ent infantry tactics will have to alter the manual of arms to suit the new Krag- Jorgensen rifle. In this new firearm the protruding bolt which locks and unlocks the chamber is so placed beside the trigger guard that the time-honored execution of “carry” is an impossibility. Because of the entirely new mechanism of the cartridge chamber, the introduction of the new belt and the new shell the loading and firing must be rearranged, while the introduction of the knife bayonet, with its various functions as a hand weapon as well as an attach- ment for the musket, will probably neces- sitate a complete revision of the bayonet exercises. The stacking may also suffer change, and various other suggestions are bound to come in from the field before the mew weapon wili have withstood many weeks of trial. It is the ambition of many of the officers who will have a hand in the revision to make the next code even more modest than the present, doing away with the movements which still have a savor of flourish rather than utility. As an officer pointed out to your correspondent, the strongest armies of Europe approach near- est to simplicity in their manual of arms; that of Germany consists principally of but three motions, one similar to our “left shoulder,” another like our “order” and the third merely a salute. The other na- tions, especially France, still adhere to what are called “fancy movements,” which the public, as well as some of the officers themselves, are ever loth to see abandoned. It is to its French ancestry that our tac- ties owed many graceful evolutions, which were dropped when Upton’s book was late- ly revised. The genealogy of our infantry drill book shows that we have borrowed plentifully from almost every European na- tion which ever had a published work of its own, Since the organization of our army, previous to the revolution, the Amer- ican soldier has been taught from no less than nine different works on tactics, the first of which was brought to this country by an officer who fought under Frederick the Great, most of the others being cap- tured bodily from the French treatises, especially that used in the Napoleonic war: We have thus always been up to date, a! though we could not boast of much origi- nality in the line of military instruction until after the experience of the civil war. First Competitive Drill. Frederick William the First of Pussia, the father of Frederick the Great, is said to have been the first officer to establish a ‘regular manual of arms, although he got many of his ideas from the Spanish. He drilled his men in cadence and established a system of loading and firing with num- bers. It was this ruler, often ironically called the “great drill sergeant of Bu- rope,” who enlisted a company of giants— the celebrated Potsdam Guards—the tallest of whom measured elght feet and a half. They were equipped with muskets and drilled according to a very crude system of tactics, prepared entirely for street parades and shows. Frederick established his repu- tation as a crank partly on this account, and {t was said of him and his wonderful giants that a band of mountaineers with their cudgels could drive the whole crowd vat of Prussia, But when Frederick the Great made ‘his signal victories in 1757, after he had drilled his men in cadence, according to a system derived from his father, Europe first began to appreciate the value of tactics, and for fifty years afterward her book stores swarmed with treatises on handling fire- arms in cadence. This was during the boy- hood and early career of Napoleon, and it is probable that his youthful mind was excited by some of these books when he used to stake off armies on his mother's pin cushion. Frederick the Great established the regiment, formed by twelve companies and two battalions. Each company was made up in three ranks, having a captain, three other officers, one sergeant, and ten non-commissioned officers. His manual, which was the first laid out for actual serv- ice, consisted of thirty-nine evolutions. In these days the officers made no provision in their commands against unnecessary waste of wind; for instance, we find the following English translation for some of their commands: “Join your right hand to your firelock,” “Shut your pans,” “Draw your rammers,” “Put them in your pans,” “To the left about, as you were,” and so on. Washington's Taéues, Until a century after Frederick the Great’s celebrated victories the whole of Europe was up in arms, little thought be- ing given to tactics, except in Prussia and France. In 1759 England got a translation of the Prussian tactics, and introduced it into her army and that of Scotland. Wind- ham's tactics, used in England 1770-79, be- ing a combination of the Prussian and French systems, with a few points bor- rowed from the Spanish, was the first intro- duced in America, where some of the Brit- ish troops were then quartered. It was this treatise which was studied by Washington and other of our revolutionary fathers who saw some service in the British colonial army. ‘The tactics used by Napoleon were, for the most part, original with the French, al- though there were a few points borrowed from the Prussians. Napoleon's army was formed in three ranks. When It was enroll- ed, he stood all of his men in line, the tail- est on the right and the shortest on the left. The line was then divided into thirds, those on the right forming the front rank, those in the center the rear, and those on the left the middle rank. He also originat- ed the “file closers,” or what he called the fourth rank. Napoleon's manual included fifteen numbers, nearly found in Upton’s United States tactics, only abolished three years ago. The position of the soldier was almost precisely the same as that prescribed for our army today. Various Drill Systems. Baron Steuben, who had been one of the bravest officers under Frederick the Great, came to this country in 1777, and gave his services to Washington. This nobleman had just written a book of tactics in Prussia, and these were adopted by the Continental Congress in 1779 as the first instruction book for the American soldier. Steuben was appointed to instruct army accord- ing to his own system. This was after the original book of Frederick the Great, but greatly improved many parts of it. The thirty-nine evolutions in the manual of the Prussian general were reduced to fifteen. Companies were formed !n two ranks and two platoons. As late as 1846 one of the most noted military thorities of Europe spoke of Steuben as the “father of the mod- ern drill tactics of the world.” Steuben’s tactics were, indeed, too much for the Brit- ishers. This code remained in vogue throughout the remainder of the revolution, and in our standing army up to the out- break of the war of 1812, when Secretary of Wer Eustis authorized a change. Alex- ander Smythe, an Irishman, whom Jeffer- son had made colonel of @ regiment in 1808, although he had no previous military knowledge, offered a code about this tim which was accepted by Congress and u during our second war with Great Britain, Smythe’s system was also a combination of arms was entirely after the French, many of Steuben’s egy | also remaining. In this edn? we the familiar com- mand, “ the right, turn,” for a change of directicn, Smythe only arranged four lessons in the school of the soldier and but five in the drill of the company. The formation was in three parade was sim- = to that of today. But Smythe’s popu- ity and likewise that of his tactics were soon ttered when he was ordered to the Canadian frontier, for there he made such @ botch of affairs that he was expelled from resided over by Gen. yy order of Congress to modify the French infantry tactics for our army and translate them into English. After but eight weeks’ work on the ot Scott and the board the French tactics had been translated and slightly modified, be- ing sageeret by the Secretary of War but three days after they were submitted. Ac- cording to this a company was made up in two ranks, with provision for a third. e “load” was tremendously complex, being executed in twelve com! and hteen motions. The manual] was much same in regard to commands as that of Upton’s. ‘This was changed in 1824 and again in 1831 by Scott, who, upon the latter revision, made a translation from a new drill book just issued by the French. It was said that the only originality ap} ing in these treatises of Scott's Rank rosettal through than —, American ingenuity. abridgement of 1831 was used thro’ Mexican war. Upton’s Manual. In 1836 Capt. Cooper, adjutant general U. S. A., and afterward adjutant general con- federate army, introduced an independent treatise on infantry drill, providing for both single and double-rank formations. Up to the time of the civil war this book and Scott's were hot rivals in the militia. In 1855 Jeff Davis, then Secretary of War, accepted ancther translation of the French drill book, somewhat modified for our army by Maj. herdee. When Davis and Hardee went over to the confederacy in “61 this was rearranged by Secretary Cameron, and was ured during the first year of the war, after which another book was drawn up by Gen. Silas Casey, who admits in the preface of his work that it is little more than another translation of the Frerch tactics. Casey’s tactics, how- ever, were partly what held the Union to- gether. Thus up to the close of the war each of the seven drill books was foreign, almost in the entirety. But the invention of the breech-loading gun about this time, coupled with the experience gained in the battlefield, enabled Yarkee ingenuity to crop out at last. In 1866 Brev. Maj. Gen. and Col. Emor; Upton, then but twenty-seven years old, received permission to place before C gress a plan which he had conceived dur- ing his gallant days of fighting. After be- ing heard by two boards, the latter of which was presided over by’ Gen. Grant, his bcok was approved by Secretary Stan- ton in 1867. bd originated the division of fours, by which means it was possible for the first time to bring troops into the field in two ranks, and change them to a single rank by a single command. In 1874 Upton was sert arcund the world, with two other officers of the army, to report upon the tactics of all nations, preparatory to a review of his bcok. But this grand work was destined never to take place, since Gen. Upton con mitted suicide in 1881, just as it was nearing completion. There was much dispute at the time as to the real cause of his action, it being said by vary that it was the result of discourage- men’ The Proposed Revision. In a letter to a friend, written two days before his death, he said, speaking of his work, which appears to have become too arduous: “God only knows how it will eventually end, but I trust He will lead me to sacrifice myself rather than to per- petuate a method which might in the future cause a single man his life Gen. Upton was but forty-two when he deprived his country of his valuable services. From Upton’s death to the introduction of the present tactics (ten years later) little need be suid. His sudden departure greatly impeded the progress which the War De- partment had hoped to make long before 1891. The next revision of our tactics will be distinguished as the first alteration which has been made without severe reflection on the merits of the previous system. It is said at the War Department that Gen. Miles has been anxious for several years to sit at the head of the next board, but the procrastination in regard to its convention, it is thought, has now made it seem im- possible for him to take a hand in the work, since he will, but one year from now, succeed to the supreme command, in which capacity he must necessarily pass judgment on the new code, which will not be prepared before that time. It has long bgen the ambition of the National Guard to have some representation in the board, and, ac- cording to a good authority, there appears to be some hope entertained by the most influential in militia circles that such ac- tion may be brought about. —_— HUSBANDS OF LITERARY WIVES. Two Rook-Writing Ladies Who Have Found Them Sympathetic Helpers. From the New York Sun. John Strange Winter ts not a man, as most people know. But she thanks her hus- band, Mr. Arthur Stannard of London, for the assistance he has given her on the literary hillside. Of late Mr. Stannard has been obliged to give up his own business to manage the very lucrative magazine named after his wife. “If my husband had not said my stories were good, I could never have continued them,” she says. “My husband and Ruskin were my helpers.” George Eliot, years old, thanked her hus- band, George Lewes, and her friend, Her- bert Spencer, for their opticians, which as- sisted her over the knotty points of novel planning. And when, just before her death, she learned that Mr. Lewes had shielded her from the adverse critics who were so plentiful with blame when she first started out, she revered his memory more than ever. To her second husband, Mr. Cross, she said: “I would never without Mr. Lewes have been a writer of even a little merit!” Luncheon Menus for Young Studen: From the New York Evening Post. The following luncheon menus for young students are of interest, because they ere models in a way, as they combine in the proper proportion the proteid, fat, carbohy- drates and calorics of food. They represent the luncheons served to the young women of the Boston Normal School of Gympas- tics by the New England Kitchen, and sug- gest to mothers various healthful combina- tions that please the taste, and that are inexpensive. The first luncheon consisted of beef broth, two rolls, gingerbread and butter; the second, of baked beans, brown bread, one roll, butter and an orange; the third was of escalloped meat, rolls, butter and apple sauce, and the next day came vegetable soup, rolls, butter and apricot sauce, and on the last ochool day in the week, potato soup, rolls, butter and two baked apples. Other combinations were pea soup, rolls, butter and apple cake; beef hash, rolls, butter and apple sauce; oyster soup, rolls, butter and prune sauce; croquettes, potato rolls, butter and baked apples; fish chowder, rolls, butter and orange; tomato soup, rolis, butter and doughnuts, and escalloped fish, rolls, but- ter and baked apples. Mrs. Ellen Richards, who has given much attention to suitable food for all classes of school children, thinks that, both for the sake of the sound body and mind, they should have a good nutritious, ight luncheon in the middle of the morning, when they leave home at or before 8 o’clock, not to return before 12:80 or 2. 200 An Ei ishman Who Turned Fakir. From the Pall Mall Gazette. A singular case of a European turning fakir, or Hindu holy man—and that in the most European station in India—has just been brought to light. At Bishop Cotton School, at Simla, there was once an En- glish boy named Charles de Reusselte. He got into some boyish scrape, and, to avold the consequences, absconded. Search prov- ed abortive, and nothing more was heard of the fugitive. It appears now that he had wandered no farther away than Mount Te just above. There he had taken the fakir of a nativ H e first the holy man’s acolyte and eventually his successor. Ills identity with the runaway schooiooy was ertirely lost, and the sanctity of his life made him an exceedingly influential personage. Mean- time, Charles de Reusselte had become en- titled to a large fortune, and was being advertised and sought for far and wide without success. One day a correspondent of the Lucknow Gazette. who chunced to be at Simla, fell jn with the fakir, and either discovered his secret or had It com- municated to him. But the heir manifested no desire to claim his inheritance. On the contrary, assured the correspondent that he should never revert to the religion « his fathers, nor eve? return to civilization. He ‘was quite happy where he was. There, at all events, he js still. wi temple. RAILROADS, Wash: dD. i i mi 5 i: 5 for Orange and intermedia thrvugh train Ser ‘Broot oval ana except Sunday. ‘m.— WASHINGTON. AND SOUTH WEST- of Pull- ‘Cars, runs via nnab, py York to New Orleans via os Mati” oe Be : Dining “Car Greensboro” to Mont- om TRAIN! y SION lode Wa ASHINGTON AND OHIO Di ‘ashington at 9:10 daily, 42 P.m., daily, except Sunda; | ‘nly, for Hound Hint, and $283 pa. dasly,, 108 90 a dal at Keven tnt S38 Ss ails, except Sunday," trom Herndon ouly, tcubfough ‘trains from the south arrive Washinge fon B14 (8-0 2:20 p.m. ahd 8:90 puto. | Manas, 8:40 a.m. daily from Oranges’ “Actt Sunday, and ets, Sleeping Car reservations apd informa. 1300 Pennaylvas Station, Meunsylva> tion’ furnished ‘at “oflices, ‘Bil and at Passenger Washington, D. W. i. GREEN, Gen, Sian, > PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. Station corner of 6th and B streets, effect 10:80 A.M, PENNSYLVANIA Lite. ).—Pulleoay Sleeping.” Dining, Simoking and Gianapolis, Cleveland “and Car to rg. A.M. FAST LINE.—Pullman Buffet Parlor Dining Cars Har- 10:30 Car to Harrisburg. Porlor and to Pit 8:15 P.M. CHICAGO AND ST. LOUIS EXPRESS, Pullman Buffet Parlor Car to ‘Harrisburg, Sleep: ing and Di Cars Harrisburg to St. Louis, Ci» lle and ERN EXPRESS.—Pullman Lg Ae , and Harrisburg to Ciev 7:10 B- M. 80) ‘and Dining Cars to Cincluna tl, tay Buffet Parlot N ee a a B21! 8) ath: week Gaye, Mxprese, ZL BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD. Schedule tn effect Ji Veatibuled Limited m. P. innat. ‘Ind! AL Ned Limited, #:80 p.m., express, 12:10 mix em ott Eittahere ‘and Cleveland, express daily 11:15 a Bost ad pant ‘09:40 ys way points, b9:40 p. Gatthersbarg” and .. Way points, 96:00. a8: SRG aS 0. 4:8 Wess DIOS, DIL DN Washington Junction and war points, 0 29 e118 pm. Express trains, stopping Principat stations only. 04:20, 96:30 p.m. OYAL BLJE LINE FOR NEW YORK AND PHILADELPRTA. For Phtlad . Boston and the east, daily, 4:20. 8:00 (10:00 am. ex Sun. Dini Gary, 12:00 . 8:00 (6:08 Dining 8:00 (11:80 p.m. Sleeping Car, open at 10:06 o'clock). Roffet Parlor Cars on all day trains. For ‘Atlantic City. fay, Sea Tsle City and ntine k as 4:20 and 10:00 a.m, Briga ch, week days, 12:00 noon: Sundays, 4:20 a.m. and 12:00 noon. & Except Sunday h Daly. ¢ Sunday only. x Express trains. called for and checked from hotels and Bacgage residences by Unioi Transfer Company on left at ticket offices, G19 and 1851 Pa. av ai t. R._B. CAMPRELL. 2 Gen. Mai CHT Acdule ts efert May 1S Tain vedote in effect Mag 18, 1808, Traine Teare daily from Unlon station (B. and P.). 6th and ‘ ‘Through the grandest scenery tn America, with the handsoinest wed mast complete solid train serv: fee west from Washington. 2:25 PN ATTY —Cinctonatt ant i. tou Spectal?—Solld Vestinnted. newly Faninped. fric-llghted, Rteam-hented Train. | Pullman: feet incinne fleeping cars Warhington to Trdlanano- lis and Rt Lanis without changer. Dining Cat from Washington. Arrives Cincinnati, 8:00 ata. Indinnapotie 11:45 a.m. and Chicago, 5:30 p.m.t St. Lonis, 6: BB 11:10 BLM DAILY —Tho fam Fv. Lim. fted." A solld veatibnted train, with dining car and Pnilman sleepers for Cincinnatt. Lexington and ane F Laaleville. withont chines Pottman Sleener to Virginian Hot Springs, week dare, e a.m. Observation ear from Hinton. & lexington, 8:00 p. 40 p.m.: Indiananotia, 11:15 p.m.; Chik tenon * = te Lm 7:30 a.m; ee oh 10:57 A.M. FX STNDAY —For Old Point Comfort and Norfolk. Ontr rail line. Cee tna UT Retin ok Meat r pe except Sunday, for Rich- pal Infa points; dail; ‘Virginia pot Puliman locations ant tickets at company's of fices, Devivanta_avenne. — Wow FULLER, my General Passenger Agent. — POTOMAC RIVER BOATS. STEAMER I. ¥. AKKOWSMITH, For Lower Potomac River Landi on Me Wednesday at On Saturday at. i Wednesday ‘and ‘and Bunday about 10 p.m O ‘Manager. Bee schedule. ‘EAMER HARRY ny tn etreet be NEW Pi Leaves River View wha: Tuesday jasbington, river landings, to. t comico river, Colton’s and Nomlal creek, Saturday, all above landings and Leovardtows St. Clement wharves. Returning op ‘Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday (See schedal 4025: GoW. MIDLEY.“Gen't stanager. NORFOLK AND WASHINGTON STEAMBOAT 0, DAILY LINE BETWEEN WASHINGTON, D. @, FORTRESS MONROE AND NORFOLK, VA. and powerful Iron Palace Steamers ASHINGTON AND NOKFOLK. yt it ce et a are for all Leave Wasbiogton daily at ve Wa: on, . Tth st. wart Strive ‘at’ Foctress 3 &.m. nest day. Arrive at where railroad ‘con south aud southwest. NORTH BOUND. Leave Norfolk duily at 0:10 p.m. Leave Fortresg ignroe et 7:10, ‘pin. arilve’ at Wasblugton m. a 6. ay. Tickets on eale at 523, G19, 1851 and 1421 Hem sylvania ave. G15 i5th ‘st. ww. ‘Ask for tickets via cw line. Telephone 750. JNO. CALLANAN, anlé-tt Geo. Buys