Evening Star Newspaper, December 3, 1894, Page 12

OUR CITY TREES The Oare That is Used in Making Selections. CONDITIONS THAT ARE FAVORABLE They Demand Lots of Sunlight and Plenty of Food. DANGERS OF CITY LIFE “Were it not for the trees which line her streets and fill her parks, Washington would be practically uninhabitable,” said Superintendent Smith of the botanical gar- dens. Mr. Smith is a recognized authority on trees. He loves a tree as a young maiden is supposed to love her sweetheart. In fact, trees and flowers are the sweethearts of the superintendent. He has made them a study during a long and active life spent among them, and he knows their nature, their habits, their wants as thoroughly as it is possible for man to know such things. Washington is the most beautifully shaded ity on this continent, and perhaps in the world, which ‘s owing largely to the fiitel- ligent care and supervision of Mr. Smith and his associates in the parking commis- sion. During a visit to Paris a number of years ago Mr. Smith found that city had estab- Mshed a nursery for the cultivation and care of trees intended for street uses, and that the trees were actually trained and educat- ed for the purposes for which they were in- tended. He brought back the idea with him, ard Mr. Alexander R. Shepherd, who was then at the head of the government of the District, adopted it, and a similar nur- sery was established here. This nursery now supplies the trees for street and park planting in the city. Speaking of trees for street uses, Mr. Smith says: “There is a great difference between tree: suitable for curbstone planting and those designed for lawns and parks. In Washing- ton the pianting and care of the street trees is under the control of the city authorities It ts not so In other cities of this country, and in that Washington ts more favored than the other cities. In other cities the rs of the property select such trees as they fancy, or none at all, just as it pleasos them, and being ignorant of the nature and wants of the tree, the selection is very fre- quently the wrong one. By this indiscrimi- nate selection according to the fancy of the property owner, uniformity 1s sacrificed, and uniformity is one of the great beauties of shaded streets. One owner will trim his trees ai care for them; another will ne- giect his and give them no attention after planting. More frequently than otherwise @ tree that would grow well on a lawn ix selected for curbstone use, where they will not flourish, and if trimmed at all, it is in- Judiciously done. Trees Are Natural Pirates. “To have a city really beautiful there should be uniformity in the curbston planting of trees. Not that the same variety should be planted upon every street, but when it is once determined to shade a street, upon that street the same tree should be used from one end to the other, and the trees should be carefully selected so as to secure, as near as possible, uniformity in size and healthy growth. Another good? results from this uniformity of planting. One vartety will not breed with another. By using the same species they all grow better and are better able to stand the effects of time. ‘hen, too, some trees are natural pirates—they will steal food from one an- other, and from a tree of another variety, thereby dwarfing its growth. There are trees on every street and in every park of the city that are starving to death because they are being robbed of their food by some other. “A soft maple is to other trees what the English sparrow is to other birds—a rob- ber. Trees for curbstone planting should be bold, daring, self-asserting, aggressive, ing the disposition and power to seek after and obtain food in times of famine, and of repairing any injury they may receive. This is the case especially in @ city, which, like Washington, has Its streets paved with concrete. But little moisture can enter the ground in Wash- ington, compared with the amount of rai which falls. ‘Lhe city is, in the main, com- pactly built, the roofs of the houses shed- ding the water that falls upon them into the sewers, which carry it away to the river. The conereted streets do the same. Hence the only moisture which sinks Into the ground 1s that from the rain which falls on the lawns and brick pavements. The concreted streets do one good thing, they keep the moisture that is in the ground from coming to the surface and being evaporated by the heat. A tree that would lve and flourish on a lawn will not live when planted at the curbstone, and even the bold, self-asserting tree must be trim- med, and closely trimmed at that. Starvation Among Trees. “Almost every day owners of property come to me and complain that the trees on their sidewalks are shedding their leaves, and seem to be surprised at it, when the fact is the tree {s starving to death. It cannot get food enough to make and hold its leaves. The tree needs trimming. There 4s the difference between shade and fruit trees. In shade trees we want leaves, and would much regret to see our trees bearing seeds, thereforg we trim severely to get leaves. The orchard owner wants fruit, but he prunes and prunes and gets leaves. He follows the example of the cultivator. of shade trees and cuts and lops away, and then expects to get something other than what the shade tree man receives. To get fruit little pruning must be done. “Some trees require lots of sunlight; others flourish best in shaded or secluded spots; some need a good deal of moisture, while others love warm, dry places. To make the selection of trees rightly you must understand their nature, and not ¢x- pect a tree that by nature loves shade to flourish where the sun beats down upon it all day, or one that requires lots of sunlight to grow where the sun would rarely strike upon it. All trees must have a degree of warmth, though some require much more than others. Take away this warmth end the tree is dwarfed. Perfectly formed and full grown trees have been found in Spitz- bergen that were only four or five inches high, which in more southerly climates would have reached a height of sixty or more feet. “Some trees are very sensitive to the cold, and will not grow well except In warm climates, while others do not bear extremes of heat well; so the climate must be taken into consideration in selecting curbstone trees. Soll also has something to do with the healthy growth, but not near so much as climate. The tree lives on light, air, heat and molsture, and these it must have fn abundance and properly proportioned if ft 1s expected to thrive. It craves food, and is almost always hungry. A tree must have air, that air must permeate the body of the tree and reach even the roots. The leaves are the lungs of the tree, through them it breathes. The leaf inhales from the under side and exhales from the upper. If from any cause the leaf is not healthy the tree fails to get the air it requires. It is Mke the human frame in that respect. A man’s body cannot be healthy when the Jungs ares diseased. Deprive a tree of mofsture so that the leaves cannot be kept healthy and you stop its breathing power. As Sanitary Agents. “A tree evucuates through the roots, and thus discharges Into the ground the poison and other deleterious substances the leaves have absorbed. So free is this evac- uation in some plants that the expert can Feadily tell from the smell of the soil what plants have been growing there. This breathing and evacuation goes on with a = » ; mince. Meat wc Sar : THE EVENING STAR, MONDAY, DECEMBER 38, 1894—SIXTEEN PAGES. regularity in a healthy tree. A tree both through ‘its leaves and roots. The leaves will quickly absor» all the mois- deep, earth, sending out little shoots in every di- rection to gather in what it needs. “Trees are nature's great sanitary agents. They collect and absorb the malaria that is in the atmosphere, and absorbing it neu- tralizes it, thereby purifying the air. Wil- low trees are a great absorbent of malaria, and actually flourish best where malaria is most prevalent. Their native habitat is in marshy places, and it is a great mistake to cut them down and destroy them. Fever and ague cannot live where willow trees are abundant. Rome is now Improving the health of the city by setting out trees along the marshes. They are planted to act as sanitary agents, and it will not be long until Rome will be as healthy as any city in the world. The ‘winged elm’ is an ex- cellent tree for curbstone planting because of its powers of absorption of malaria. It is so bitter that no insect will molest it. It grows well and is a very bu.d cree, uble to take care of itself. “T said that were it not for the trees Washington would be uninhabitable. That is true. Take away the trees and the heat in the summer time would be intense, and the malaria would kill those the heat spared. The leaves of a tree are great absorbants of heat, and they hold what they take. The concrete pavements on the streets take a great deal of heat, but they cast it off again. They gather heat in the daytime and keep casting it oif during the hours of the night, thus keeping the tem- perature very high all the time. Tree leaves do not do that, but retain the heat, thus, cooling the atmosphere. They 2 like ammonia in this respect. Ammonia is the one thing that above all others hungers for heat—-can never yet enough of it, and it retaing. all it can get, shivering for the want of more. “So with foliage. The idea prevails that the coolness which is found where shade is abundant arises altogether from the tree cutting off the rays of the sun. That is not true, but is mainly due to the fact that the leaves absorb and retain the heat. The desert of Sahara could be made a delightful Place to live if it could only be covered with forests. The foliage would take up and absorb the heat which now makes that stretch of arid territory almost unbearable to mankind. The Varteties Used. “We use in Washington about fifty vari- eties of trees on the street. Soft maple is a great favorite here. Its native habitat is near streams, where there is plenty of moisture, and it is bold to seek after the moisture it dentands. By trimming closely they succeed admirably on our streets. They would not live and flourish if not trimmed. They hunt deep for food, and will steal all they can from other trees. “The Carolina poplar is another good curbstone tree. Like the soft maple, it is a moisture-loving tree, and must be carefully attended or the lack of moisture will cause it to prematurely shed its leaves. One of our best growing and handsomest trees is the oriental plane, or eastern sycamore. The English plane is also a favorite. It is not a long-lived tree here, though there {s one in Switzerland known to be over 500 years old. Here they do not live longer than thirty or forty years. The Norway maple is one of the best. It does not require so much moisture, and therefore needs little or no trimming. “The Anthenian poplar is a beautiful street tree. It is symmetrical and presents a fine military appearance. New Orleans is now being planted with the camphor tree, the first being sent from here in a box. They grow well there and will prove an xd- mirable disinfectant. The plantmg of shade trees In every city ought to be under the direction of the authorities, and each city should have its own nursery for the cult- vation of its trees, and their education.” “Oaks, elms and sugar maples are beaut!- ful lawn trees, but do not do well for curb- stone uses. They require much more mois- ture than they can get on the streets, and are not self-asserting enough. They will not hunt for food as will other varieties. On the curbstone they literally starve to death. In our parks we have not as great a variety of trees as either New York, Philadelphia or Brooklyn. We have some, however, which possess peculiar habits. Take the acacia as a sample. It is some- times called the ‘sleeping tree.” When night comes it folds its leaves and goes to sleep and sleeps until daylight appears again. Many trees grow as much in the night time as tn the day, but the acacia does ni. It emphatically rests during the darkness of the night, but when the light again ap- pears it opens out Its leaves with a fresh lcok about them that fs really charming.” The talk had all been about trees, but the superintendent had something to say about flowers. “America,” he said, “annually sends abroad $1,750,000 to purchase plants, bulbs and cuttingsgthat ought to be sup- plied by the florists of this country, and that money retained at home. We can grow all these plants and bulbs here as well as they do in Europe, if our gardeners would but take hold of the matter in earnest. In propagating, flowers have one advantage over trees, in that bees and birds help in the work. A bee will fly into one flower and carries the fertilizing matter to an- other, and thus assist in maintaining the health of both. They do not perform that work for trees. Some plants have both the male and female organs, but sometimes one will be weakly and not well developed. In that case the flower fs not healthy. Flow- ers are nature's great beautifier, while trees are its great health giver and health pre- server.”” ooo STREET BOXES FOR PAPER. vT Experiment in Brooklyn a Suc- cons. From the New York Tribune. Several months ago the Brooklyn depart- ment of city works, at the instigation of the Women’s Health Protective Associa- tion, had a number of boxes placed in the streets for the reception of waste papers and other rubbish of like rature. The boxes were made of wood and painted green. About 125 were made, and they were put at points where it was believed they would be most useful. In the early part of last week people going about Brooklyn saw that there had been a change, and that in place of the wooden boxes along Fulton street metal receptacles had been supplied. ‘The natural inference from this was that | the experiment with waste-paper boxes had | been successful, and that the wooden boxes had proved too frail and unsubstantial to | answer the purpose for any length of time. | Such an inference would have been partly | right and partly wrong, as any one might | have found had he taken the pains to make | inquiries at the offices of the city works department. He would have been told, on going there, that the boxes had proved useful; so much so, that it had been thought wise to go to the expense of providing a hundred new | ones, made of galvanized tron, instead of | wood. The wooden boxes, however, are) not to be split up into kindling wood. They are to be placed on private streets, while the metal boxes are to be used on the more traveled thoroughfares. ,The latter are strongly made and ought to last a good while. They are oval in shape, with a hood half covering the top; in dimensions the new receptacles are about the same as the old ones. They are painted green and | bear the name of the department on both | front and back, and the words “Kor Waste Paper” on the hood. The new boxes cost $3 each, more than twice the cost of those made of wood. The collectors of ashes are required to empty these boxes on their regular rounds, and if they see | one filled when they are not gathering ashes in the district where it stands, they are bound either to take its contents at the time or to send a wagon after it specially as soon as possible. * City Works Commissioner White is pleas- ed with the result of the effort to educate the people of Brooklyn in habits of cleanli- ness. The process must necessarily be a| slow one, but the quantity of paper thrown into these receptacles shows that the people are realizing to a considerable extent the desirability of not littering the streets. Brooklyn borrowed the idea of waste-pa- per boxes from Boston, and its example has not been without good results, for an inquiry recently reached the city works | department from New Orleans, where some- thing of the same sort is contemplated. | One or two other places have also asked for information regarding the system adopted in Brooklyn. Some accidents have happened to the wooden boxes, but there | has been no disposition on the part of street boys and hoodlums to interfere with or break them, or even to scatter their con- tents. Occasionally a truck passing close to the curbstone has broken a box, but there is 1.0 evidence of intent tq do damage in such a case. Of the 125 wooden boxes a dozen or twenty have been brought in for repairs, and then sent out to do duty again. The new tron ones are 60 strong that it will be almost impossible to injure them seriously. | | | LUMINOUS PLANTS Some of the Marvels of the Tropical Forests, JUNGLES ABLAZE WITH LGHT A Mystery That Science is Unable to Explain. . ALLEGED HAUNTED CAVES i PRA Sata One of the early naturalists, Madam Merian I think, Gescribes an extraordinary spectacle which she observed in Asia. Her party was moving through a forest at night, when, without warning, a large light appeared. At first dim, it increased in size, growing larger and larger, until finally a tree was outlined In a soft, pulsating light. The natives were demoralized, and re- fused to approach it, saying that it was the sacred tree of fire. But the naturalist had little faith in trees of fire, and investi- gated it, finding that the light was due to certain insects, which, by the way, has never been observed since. ‘That a tree or plant could give light was deemed a figure of the imagination; yet today it is known that light-giving plants are not uncommon, and among the most" striking and remarkable of natural phe- nomena. Once in returning from a day's hunt through a deep forest in the heart of the Adirondack region I stumbled against a dead limb of a tree, when to my amaze- ment I was at once surrounded by a silvery iight that flew in all directions like darts and arrows of fire, each piece burning where it lay. This was an unusually bril- lant display of the best known of luminots plants, the “fox fire,” “witches glow” of childhood days. To the layman it is often raysterious, as investigation shows nothing but the decayed wood, and sometimes a soft, pulpy mass. The botanist will soon point out the light giver in the mycelium of some fungus that has permeated the old branch, and fairly taken possession of it, converting it into a glorious spectacle when disturbed. The vividness of the light may be estimated when it is known that print can often be read by it, and the light of some has been known to penetrate through several thicknesses of paper. Luminous Plants. Singular to say the smallest plant is often the means of producing the greatest luminous effects. This is the diatom, which the naturalists of the Challenger found floating in the ocean in vast numbers, and as the nucleus of the diatom is often bril- liantly phosphorescent some of the most remarkable displays of ight observed by the naturalists were occasioned by these little plants. But what shall we say to a sight observed by a Norwegian bark in the Bay of Funchal? The waters here are fairly alive with these little luminous plants the year around, and on the occa- sion referred to a water spout formed among them. During the day it would have attracted little attention, as the phe- nomenon is a commen one, but the crew of the ship were suddenly confronted at night by a literal pillar of fire or light that extended upward to a distance seem- irgly of a thousand feet, an moved along with a decided bend. It emitted a pale yellow light and stood out in strong re- lief against the black night, a weird and formidable spectacle, rushing on before the wind. In the legends of negrly all countries there are burning bushes and similar phe- nomena which can readily be traced to luminous plants. One of these legends from the northern part of Afghanistan states that there was a certain spring about or near which grew a burning plant which disappeared when any one approach- ed. In 1845 the natives near Sinila were greatly alarmed by a plant which they said burned with a fierce glow at night on the mountains near Syree—a, light that came from a plant known as dictamnus. An English naturalist wishing to aston- ish some natives in a wild part of Asia in which he was traveling and impress them with his supernatural powers se- cured a certain vine known as euphorbia phosphorea, and rubbing it upon a big rock caused the latter to gleam with flame and present so remarkable a spectacle that the natives ran, believing that he had set the rock afire by simply touching it. The naturalist was aware that the milky juice of this plant, that resembled the dande- lion, was brilliantly phosphorescent. Zi The Phantom of the Cave. In the Hartz mountains there has been for ages a cave known as the haunted cavern, and volumes could be written on the tales of ghosts: and strange phan- toms observed in and about it by the peas- antry. Finally an Englishman traveling in the vicinity, and hearing of it, deter- mined to investigate the mystery, and after much persuasion obtained two young men to guide him to the haunted cavern high among the mountains. After a long climb they reached the cave, but nothing would induce the guides to remain, so the Englishman took his sta- tion In the entrance and waited until night. No sooner did complete darkness set in than the phantom of the cave appeared— a remarkable semblance to a human form, with arms outspread, outlined against the gloom. If the truth be told the investi- gator was startled, but making his way to the figure that had alarmed so many wood- choppers and wayfarers he found it was a plant that grew upon the wall in that shape. It was the well known phosphor- escent fungus Rhisomospha subterranea frequently found in caves and familiar to miners. Its lght ts often so vivid that people have read by it; and many of the ghests that are seen in dungeons, caves and tombs may be traced to this innocent origin. These curious lights are not found in the tropics alone. Some years ago Mr. Mor- rell, editor of the Gardiner (Me.) Journal, wrote me that he had observed a brilliant steady Irht in bis garden at times, to- tally unaccounted for by any mechanical contrivance, and which, upon investiga- tion, proved to be the phosphorescent light emitted by the young of the plant Tianus Stypticus. In Brazil there is an agaric that often astonishes strangers who penetrate the deep jungles of the interior. Another is found growing on palm trees, emitting a brilliant greenish hue, and known as the Flor de Coco. Seme Used as Lamps. Perhaps the most startling exhibition was observed several years ago by an English traveler in Borneo. Belated “he was overtaken by night, and, there being no moon, he was fearful of losing his way, when, as the darkness came on, singular Ughts appeared here and there in the bushes and by the roadside. Some were yellow, others burned, or seemed to, with a bright greenish hue. As it grew darker the blaze of light increased, and finally the traveler was amazed to find that he was passing through lines of luminous bush which emitted light so brilliant that he could read by it—a strange and awe-in- spiring spectacle, which struck terror to the hearts of his followers, who saw him handle what they supposed to be fire with- out harm. Mr, Hugh Low, a well-known English writer, witnessed a similar scene. He de- scribes the jungle as being ablaze with light, and so vivid that he read by it. In Australia these agarics are utilized for the light they give. Espectaliy on the Swan river they are very common, where Drummond, the naturalist, first noticed two specimens on the roots of trees. He describes their appearance at night as marvelous, and compares them to veritable lamps. ‘Ther were first observed on the roots of bauksia trees, and surrounded by water, giving the impression of little isi- ands of firs. The plant was about two inches across, and when a number were detached and hung in a room they served as lights; even one placed upon a news- paper for several days served as a light to read by, the luminosity disappearing as the plant dried up. One specimen found by this botanist was nearly two feet In diameter, and regarding it he says: “This specimen was hung up inside the chimney of our sitting room to dry, and in passing through the apartment in the dark I observed the fungus giving out a most re- markable light. No light is so white as this, at least, none that 1 have seen. We called some natives and showed them the fungus, and they cried out ‘Chinga,’ the name for a spirit, and seemed very much in fear of it.”” Not Yet Explained. In Italy a plant, agaricus olearlus, is fourd on the trunks of olfve trees, that often emits a bright light of a blue tint that is so vivid that sometimes it can be seen in the daytime. The remarkable feature of these lights is that so far a satisfactory explanation has not been given. In some experiments made the light was extinguished when the temperature was lowered to a certain de- gree, but when the ‘temperature was in- creased the light reappeared. When kept below freezing for a long time the light- emitting power appeared to be destroyed. It gleamed brightly under water, and a thermometer buried in it was not affected = the slightest; so here was light without eat. Upon one occasion the miners in a Car- diff coal-mine reported that when their lights went out in a certain portion of the mine that had not been used for some time they saw strange lights, and not a few of the men believed them to be the disem- bodied spirits of miners who had been killed some years before. The story was circulated through the press, and at last was seen by a botanist, who entered the haunted mine at night and pronounced the ghbsts the light from a plant that was- growing upon the wall. There was appar- ently some reason for the excitement among the superstitious and ignorant coal- ers, as the light assumed a strange shape gad could be seen at a distance of sixty ect. Some of the most beautiful, or rather aesthetic displays of luminosity in plant- life have been observed about flowers. The daughter of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, was one of the first to observe it about the nasturtium, having seen sparks of light about the blossoms. This is especially no- ticeable about yellow flowers, as the sun- flower, marigold, yellow lily, and others; and while it has been ascribed to elec- tricity there appears to be as much mys- tery about the real cause as about the light of fungi. CHARLES FREDERICK HOLDER. —— WAS SCARED TO DEATH. SAID HE Engineer MeCarthy’s Joke in Ratl- road Building Days in Oregon. One of the most popular and best known locomotive engineers on the Southern Pa- cific railroad, on its branch from San Fran- cisco to Portland, Ore.; is Dan McCarthy, who has a daylight run through the fa- mous Rogue river valley, in the southern part of Oregon. He has been with the rail- road ever since it was bulit, and, in fact, helped to build it up through all that coun- try where the Modocs used to roam in full mastery. NcCarthy came from the east, but now nothing would induce him to re- turn to his old home except for a brief visit. He owns one of the finest fruit or- chards in all that country, probably the best valley in the world for fruit growing. He also owns a gold mine all to himself which has just been opened in a cut in the railroad through which he runs every day, and this world’s affairs look somewhat rosy for him McCarthy has many interesting stories of his early experiences of railroading in Oregen, and the one that amuses him most occurred at a place called Phoenix, in the Rogue river valley, not far from the pros- perous town of Ashland, where he lives. ‘The New York Sun relates that when the road had got as far as Phoenix, about ten years ago, there gathered one Sunday from miles around no less than 1,500 per- sons. Many of them had never seen a locomotive. They came-on horseback and in all sorts of convéyantes, and it seemed as if there could not be that many persons in all southern Oregon, The curiosity and excitement over the new railroad was tre- mendous. Inasmuch as,the company had a large force at work building the road, and as work there was easy, It was neces- sary for the citizens to move quickly if they would see the road go through, and be on hand to see the first locomotive that caine up. ‘The spectators tiéd their horses to the trees that had been felled and there was great confusion im the throng. As fast as the rails were laid McCarthy kept moving up his engine while the people gathered around to watch his machine and its won- derful workings. They interfered with the track layers to some extent, but that was unavoidable. Finally one old man came up close to the engine and asked if he could not climb up into it as a mark of special distinction. McCarthy gave hi permission, and soon the old man was sit- ting in the cab. He was in raptures and could not hold himself in. He exclaimed in the hearing of nearly all those who were present: “Thank God I have lived to see this day. I never thought it- would come that I should see a locomotive cgain. I am an old forty-niner, and have not seen a loco- motive since I left the east so many years ago. Now, I am riding on the l.comotive. Thank God, thank God.” The old man went on in this way for a long time, and had worked up the crowd to a great deal of enthusiasm. ‘They cheered him and they cheered the locomo- tive with great zest. The crowd was in- terfering -with the work, and McCarthy thought he would have a little joke and also see if he could not clear the tracks to some extent. He tipped the wink to his fireman to blow off steam in the Iive- liest fashion. The old man was beginning his fourteenth oration to the spectators when with the noise of a tornado and a terrific _s-h-h! the engine began to snort and roar. Panic seized the entire throng. The horses ran away by the dozen, men fell out of trees, hid themselves behind bowl- ders, ran hatless for hundreds of yards, crashed through debris, plunged through streams, and, panting and frightened, dis- appeared in the underbrush across the val- ley. It was every man for himself, and horses and wagons might go to perdition. The last day had come for scores of them. Some dropped in the attitude of prayer and others fell flat on their faces in the hope of escaping some of the mis- siles that they were sure would soon begin to fly. The old man who thanked God that Be had lived to see that day simply | fell out of the cab window and lay beside the engine unable to get up, and waiting for the end, which he hoped would be without prolonged agony. No such stam- pede was ever seen in that country, and the memory of it lingers vividly with those present to this day. At last the extra steam became exhaust- ed, and by degrees the crowd began to return, They came cautiously at first, and kept a respectful distance. The old man was so bruised that he could not get very far. He soon plucked up his courage to approach McCarthy and to say, standing on the ground this time: “Neighbor, I am an old forty-niner, and I have seen many hardships and have had all sorts of close calls. I fought all through the Modoc war, and I know what danger is from Indians and wild animals. I tell you I have been in some pretty tight fixes, but I want to say I was never scared to death before.”” eee —____ Paste This tm Your Desk. From Demorest's Magazine. How many people know how to send a stamp in a letter? Nine people out of ten stick it so carefully down that the re- cipient always loves his temper and gen- erally the stamp, in |the effort to release it. It 1s 1eally moré exasperating than when the sender forgets altogether the stamp he should haveyinclosed, for then, at least, it §s not wasted. Even the most extravagant of us seldom have souls above saving a stamp, ‘for is, strangely, far dexrer to us than the 2 cents It repre- sents. The tenth person sends it loose, which is well enough, providing it does not slip ont, unseen, and vanish, as these totally depraved small things have a trick of doing. The proper way is a very sim- ple one. Cut with a sharp penknife two parallel slits at the .top of your letter, and slip in your stamps, which will thus travel as safely as if in a special paper case. Perhaps you have been in a country vil lage where money orders and postal notes are unknown, and, for some reason, it be- comes necessayy to send change in a letter. Cut a plece of Mght cardboard the size of the envelope and from this cut circular pieces the size of your coins, Insert the coirs, and paste a strip of paper across one or both sides. soe Mississippi populists have begun their contest in seven congressional districts of that state. Officers of the Waters-Pierce Ol Com- pany,a branch of the Standard Oil Com- pany at St. Louis, decided to surrender to the Texas authorities on a charge of main- taining trust relations. Owing to the presence of bandits, more trouble is feared in Nicaragua. AN AMERICAN PEARL DIVER He Lives Among the Malays and Plier His Dangerous Business, Strange Scenes on the Ocean Floor— Sensation of a First Descent in the Diving Suit. From the Boston Transcript. With the single exception of the coral— which has litue, if any, popularity at the present day—the pearl is the only water gem; and of all occupations—perhaps ex- cepting aeronautics—pearl diving is the most dangerous, and is a calling followed by few men. There is ‘a vast distinction between the wreck or dock diver and the pearl diver, though the same dress is worn by both. ‘Those of the former class do not make so many descents, nor pass so much time un- der water; they are attended by faithful companions, and the boat from which they dive is firmly anchored; the depth of water also is not usually great; but with the pearl fishers all the manifold dangers become a thousand times magnified, and any atci- dent that may occur almost always ter- minates fatally. A pearl diver with a heart or lung trouble, that may have existed to but a slight degree before, if he knew of it at all, will after a few months succumb to the malady. Nearly all divers are partially if not totally deaf. Incipient paralysis is another affliction. A pearl diver is at the mercy of a half- civilized and often treacherous crew; the drifting boat to which is attached the life- line and air tube may be seized by a sud- den strong current or tide, and the diver, running to keep up with the boat, may have his lines become entangled among coral reefs or other growths of the sea. Again, the air pump may not work, the pipe may burst, or the gigantic tridacna—a huge clain whose shells are converted into babies’ bathtubs by the natives of the Philippine Islands—may imprison the diver’s foot, leg or hand. There is a fascination in the contempla- tion of these horrible dangers that makes a reckless person almost wish to venture a single descent, or, if not, to learn as much as possible the details of this singular em- ployment. The Only Amerie: The prof2ssional pearidiver of the Indian ocean is usually an uneducated man; many are natives, who wear no diving suit, only staying down a moment, seizing an oyster shell in either hand, and then striking at once to the surf ‘These men are Kana- kas or South Sea Islanders, Japanese, Chi- nese and Malays. A curious feature of their diving is that they drop from the boat feet downward, making little resist- ance—thus enabling them to remain longer on the bottom than if they dived head fore- most—as one would imagine, owing to a law of motion; they can dive in shallow water only, as the tremendous pressure of deep water would crash their unprotected bodies. The deep-water divers are nearly all sail- ors who have bought pearling boats, or are hired by companies that own fleets. These rovers are Germans, Swedes, a few English, but seldom an American can be found among the number. To my knowledge there is but one English speaking pearl diver from this country, and he a Boston- fan—Mr. H. P. Whitmarsh—a partner in a mercantile house. While in Australia some years ago he purchased a lugger—a vessel of from five to twenty tons, with two short masts, used entirely for the pearling trade—and with a crew of six Malays and a cockney English diver set out for the principal pearling grounds that lay off the northwestern coast of Australia, extending to Torres strait on the north. The luggers congregate in ficets on these grounds, and are visited every six weeks by a steamer from Singapore, that brings down Malay crews, provisions and mails, carrying back the beautiful mother- of-pearl shells, which are shipped to the London market. The vessel which the American had pur- chased had been out but a week when it sprung a leak, and the owner had to put into a creek in order to make repairs. While there the cockney diver succeeded im obtaining some Holland gin, and he became so delighted with his condition that he per- sistently refused to set sail again for the pearling grounds. Every method of inducement was resorted to, but he was obdurate, thinking, and with good reason, that the expedition would be an impossibility without his presence. The other knew that if he did not avail himself. of the spring tides—then at their height— that kept the creek filled with deep water, it would be tmpracticable to get out. He determined to dive himself and sailed away for the grounds. The Diver's Suit. The pearl oyster fs not found in beds, as our edible oysters, but. they ere scattered singly over a large area, the diver some- times having to walk many miles before filling his bag. The shells are about the size of large soup plates, weighing about a pound each, and shaped much like our oys- ter shell, only more round. It was a stupendous task that this rash American had undertaken; he had neve- made a descent, he was unable to speik Malay, and his life must be trusted to the treacherevs Mohammedan crew. ‘The next day after arriving at the pearling grounds he prepared to make his first descent. The diving suit is a west unattractive- l.oking garment, made of waterproof cloth, the cnly openings being at the neck and wrists; the legs extending inte stockings; the neck decolette, allowing the body to en- ter the garment at that opening. The wrists and hends of the diver must be sorred and oiled, that the extremely tight wriatiets will allow them to pass, fitting so tightly after they go through that no wa- ter can penetrate the garment. Over the stockings boots of canvas or leather are put—they have leaded soles, making the weight of both about sixteen pour Over the peck is put a brass corselet, fastened to the garment by four outer brass sections or rims, the edge of the dress being secured between the rims and corselet by means of brass screws'that p hrovgh eyelet holes. Upon the head {s placed the copper helmet that is screwed to the corselet. Two lead weights, shaped somewhat like a heart ard each weighing about fifteen pounds, are suspended about the neck, falling back and front similar to the famous “liver pad.”” In the helmet are three glasses—cne on cither side, the third and most important being in front, called the face-giass, through which the diver continually looks, for as he turns his head about tn this ar- mor the helmet, ot course, dees not follow his motions. In the back of the helmet 3s fastened a rubber air-tube, containing a spiral spring to keep it from collapsing, and fresh air is conveyed through this into an inner lining of the helmet over the top of the head to the nostrils. On the side of the helmet is an air-valve, regulated by the diver, that allows the es- cape of vitiated air. The life-line, an inch rope, is fastened with a slip-knot about the waist of the diver, and extends from the right side to the surface, the other end fas- tened to the foot and constantly held taut by the man, called the tender, who an- swers the signi which are jerks on the line, the code being: One jerk, pull up; two, more air; three, lower bag. Simple lan- mvage, but how emphatic in a moment of ril! ‘The air pump jupplied through the air pipe by the pump, worked by two men on the boat, each at a wheel. Perils of the Deep. When everything is on except the face- glass—kept till the last moment in a pail of water to render it perfectly clean—the diver steps over the side of the boat to the short ladder that reaches a foot below the surface, grasps the plumper of leaded line that aids the descension, and gives the or- der, “Pump away.” The face-glass is screwed on, and shut up as in a coffin, he catches the plumper-line and down he goes. The horrors of the first descent! It is like a chapter out of Dante's “Inferno,” as told by Mr. Whitmarsh: First of all comes to mind the fear that the air may not come in; again, the belief that sharks are waiting below to devour him, though they never attack dressed divers, but often eat the natives; the feet will not go down first, they ought; there is an impulse to dive In the old boyish fashion; but worst of all sensations is that caused by the fearful presure of water upon the sensitive parts of the body, par- ticularly the ears; they feel as though two iron spikes were being bored into them, the dreadful pain increases, and the poor vic- tim yells and struggles, but until communt- cation is freely opened between the nose and ears it does not cease. This occurs immediately when bottom is reached. The American diver states that all fear passed away when he reached the sub- marine land. Everything was magnified to twice its size; white coral growths, shaped like in- verted mushrooms; coraline reefs formed like trees; curious sponge and lichen-like growths were in profusion. Sea-fan and palm-shaped weeds twenty feet in height abounded, and fish, gorgeous in every color of the rainbow, swam about. Seto ha > anetRSIN TS CHINESE JUSTICE. The Native Avoids the Courts,and He Has Sufficient Reason. From the China Gazette (Shanghal). There is a remarkable contrast in China compared with the west to the indiffer- ence which is shown against attacks on property, especially in the towns, hy the whole population as far as they are not Slrect sufferers. With us the cry “Stop thief!” finds most peuple ready to assist the injured persons and help in the arrest of the thief; the Chinaman, on the con- trary, shows not only great indifference, but even disarpears as rapidly as possible from the scene of action. On one hand it is always considered dangerons to rake an enemy of the thief; on the other, to be a witness in a criminal cace is nearly as d as to be the accnsed himself. A witness is thrown into prison, bled to the ‘last farthing by turnkeys and runners, and is finally tsaten to remind him that he has to speak the truth. The more serious a case the more rapidly everybody hastens away, in order to avoid being implicated. The distrust in the administration of justice 's deeply rooted in the minds of the peopl “In life beware of yamens, ia death of hell,” ‘s one proverb. “Cash for runners and cagh for clerks,” is an- other. “If but one word cf information against a man get into the court, nine bullocks cannot drag it out again.” “Win- ning a@ cat you lose a cow.” “If one fam- fly has a law suit ten families are involved in calamity.” “Tigers and ser- pents are better than judges and run- ners,” are other popular sayings, which show how the Chinese think about the of- ficials and their doings. The fact that any one who falls into the clutches of the courts of justice saves gen- erally little more than his hare life hes given rise to singular customs. People who seek revenge upon others commit suicide in such a manner as to involve their enemy in a criminal case, out of which he emerges, if at all, a ruined man. A beggar to whom alms are refused hangs himself at the shutter of the shop where this has happened; a debtor of whom his creditor demands payment kills himself, laying his suicide at tke door of the latter, and the ruin of the person su accused is certain. Perils of Arrest. Some years ago at Peking two persons avarreled about a debt of little more than 50 cents. The debtor, in his rage, jumped frem a bridge into a dry canal, and injured bis spine very ceverely. Some toreigners who happened to pass at the time had him carried to a hospital kept by mis- sionaries, from which, however, he was removed by his family, as the complaint against the other man might not have been accepted if he had died there. The in- jured man, the lower part of whose body was completely paralyzed, wus carried back to the bridge, the scene of the orig- inal quarrel, and there deposited under an improvised mat shed; two days later he killed himself by ripping open his belly with a piece of the pt in which his fam- ily had sent his food. The creditor, though entirely innocent, was arrested, and died in prison. The concubine of a rich man died sud- denly, and it was rumored that she had taken poison in order to escape ill-treat- ment from the mother of her master. Some days before her burial two persons who declared themselves to be relatives of the deceased called upon the man for the pay- ment of a large sum, threatening that if this demand were refu: they would lay the matter before the authorities. No rotice having been taken of their threats they stopped the funeral procession a few days later at the moment when it was passing before the police station at the Hata gate. The coffin was laid under a mat shed on the roadside, complainants id accused sent to prison and some time after a post-mortem held on the body by female coroners. Five or six months later judgment was rendered, the accusers con- demned to banishment and hard labor for life, and the accused liberated, but the family ‘was ruined. At the Mercy of Jailors, G. Stent gives a very amusing and faith- ful description of a similar case in his translation of the Chinese ballad: DON'T MAKRY A WIDOW. Having vented her rage in this terrible style, She smiled on her work a demoniac smile; And while I stood there contemplating the wreck, She a and hung herself up by the neck. I wrote to her friends of her felo de se, They came, and, of course, laid the blame upon me; They rushed off at once to the magis- trate’s court, And made of the case a most awful report. I bribed right and left—the magistrate first— He was bad, I admit, but he wasn’t the worst; His — and runners and writers--what not— Soon managed to fleece me of all that I'd got. Fields, gardens and orchards—in short, my estate— All went—my two carriages shared the same fate; My three mules, my donkey, pigs, fowls, ducks and geese I sold, in the hope their proceeds would buy peace, ‘Twas settled at last, but I found to my cost In gaining the case I'd my property lost. The reasorf why the imprisonment dur- ing the trial—and it is the only one the Chinese criminal code knows—produces such far-reaching effects, lies in the fact that the prisoners are handed over to the tender mercies of the jailers without any means of help or redress. There are only common ceils, in each of which a number of prisoners are kept confined, often chain- ed together, the stench and filth in these chambers of horrors making them unfit for human beings even in the lowest state of degradation, and little or no food is doled out to the prisoners, who have to provide for their own sustenance. Every deviation from these rules, separation from the other prisoners, a private room, and better food have to he paid for, and the richer the prisoner the higher the price which is demanded. When Chunghow, the former Chinese miiister to Russia, was impeached for the conclusion of the treaty of Livadia and thrown into prison it was said that the first week of confinement had cost him 60,000 taels, and nobody — the statement improbable or incredi- le. The picture drawn here and elsewhere of the Chinese administration of justice is a@ very sad and dark one, but we ought not to forget that we were hardly better off in Europe less than a century ago. What dens of misery were the prisons for criminals and even those for debtors, not to speak of the hosritals! Was not tor- ture, in its most horrible forms, of daily legal use, and did not the punishments in- om = ees = surpass in cruel- 'y anything ever invented by nuity of the Chinese? ya Pee: —— +0 ‘The People Victoria Likes. From the Woman at Home. Although it has frequently been stated that newspapers are carefully kept from her majesty, it is well known among those acquainted with the queen’s private life that no current events or topics escape her attention. Indeed, so curious is she about the principal personages of the day that she never rests until she has obtained their photographs. Among her majesty's most curious photographs is one of Louise Michel. The queen likes two classes of people, those of rank who keep strictly within the mits of court etiquette—for which the queen fs as great a stickler as the Emperor of Germany—and those who are no “respecter of persons,” who can neither flatter nor cringe, who will reprove or gossip or repeat an amusing anecdote, such as the Scotch peasants or the most confidential servants of ihe royal house- hold. The queen has a great personal influence over children, and is very much interested in getting the opinions of nurses and gov- ernesses connected with the royal house- hold as to ‘their training. eer Superintendent of Police Byrnes and Po- lice Commissioner Martin may be forced to testify before the Lexow committee at Now York. S3—REQc—>—_x———e—e—e——————SSSSSSSSee www DRAGGED DOWN BY HIS FRIEND. The Fate of a Fisherman Unable te Shake Uff a Death Grip. From the Bostou Advertiser. In all the long list of Gloucester fisher- men who were lost during the past year there was no death that affected the fisher- folk so much as that of James McLean. McLean was known all over the town as @ genial, good-hearted fellow, ready to do turn for a brother fisherman. He had a pleasant little home in one of those weath- er-beaten houses that line the rock-ribbed Streets that limp crookedly down to the water front. McLean had six children, ranging for all the world like steps of stairs. He signed with Capt. Greenlow of the schooner Fortuna early in February He had for dory mate Abram Brow, @ bright young fellow who had been married on the 34 of February to a Gloucester girl. The schooner had been spread with bunting in honor of the day. On the 13th of Febru- ary the schooner was ordered away and McLean hastened to join, while Brow left his bride for a fortnight for the first time. A cold northeaster was blowing, with snow squalls, but the schooner made fair weath- er of it. At 7:30 that very Monday. even- ing, however, she struck on the outer bar, = + pan of a mile east of the Race Point ight. Not a man of the crew of twenty-throe but saw that a break-up was only a ques- tion of time. One by one the four dories were put overboard. The first two got away, and then Brow, McLean and Ander- son put theirs into the water. All had tek- en positions and were ready to push off when a mountain sea, frothy and boiling, rushed down and drove the boat against the stick of the anchor. The side of the dory crumpled like a lady's fan. McLean had roticed what was coming and had enly time to give one convulsive cry of warning before he found himself in the water, fight- ing toward a fragment of the wreckage. The one idea of all was to get back to the schooner.. Anderson managed to get to the bobstay, and from there he was hauled aboard. Brow and McLean were further out, where the water was yeasty white with the fury of the storm. Poor Brow, unable to swim, had grabbed hold of Mc- Lean, and, deaf to all words of wisdom, be gripped him by the shoulders. The ship: mates aboard, powerless to help, cou!d only watch the terrible struggle. They tried to persuade Brow to let go his hold. They threw ropes to him, and even succeeded in laying them across him, but he seemed pow- erless to help himself. With tears in their eyes they continued begging and praying. All the time McLean had been clining to the bit of the boat with a grip of iron. He was drawing in a terrible lottery wheve 2 blank meant death. The strainywas too much, the red hands grew white in that bitter winter air, then they turned blue, and the clench- ed fingers relaxed their hold one hy one till by sheer weight alone the board slipped from his hand and went down with Hrow clinging to him, and there were two wid- ows in Gloucester town. The rest of the crew were saved. se---- MERCURY'S GHOSTLY MOON. Mr. Maine’s Further Observations as to the Disputed Discovery. From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. In the Sun of Tuesday, November 13, Gar- rett P. Serviss discusses the observation of Mercury and an accompanying shadow, which was described in the Democrat and Chronicle last Sunday morning. 7 Mr, Serviss says that he saw the appear- ance of a shadow tn advance of Mercury during the transit, but attributed it to the mottling of the sun's surfece “and thought Uttle of it.” It ts quite apparent that with the comparatively high power (150 diame- ters) employed Mr. Serviss did not ret a very good view of the shadow, and it seemed faint, like the mottling of the sun. This view corresponds precisely with the results of the effort made here to ol.serve the shadow with a power higher than thirty-two diameters. The shadow ap- peared thin under a power uf sixty and was barely visible. The experinicat led to the Suggestion that the shadow might be missed altogether by observers using large instru- ments and high magnifying power. In such a breeze as was blowing during the transit of Mercury the seeing must always be bet- ter with a small telescope und low magnify- ing power than with a large instrument and a high power. For this reason it does not follow that a thing seen with a smail telescope must necessarily be visible in large instruments. The matter of chief interest in the re- marks by Mr. Serviss is the statement that he noted the apearance of the shadow and located it with accuracy in advgnce, or to the westward of the planet. His statement that the direction of the shadow from the planet was a little to the south of west is also strictly in accordance with the ob- servation made here, although the southerly direction was so slight that we did not men- tion it In the description published on Sun- day. The careful description by Mr.Serviss of the bearing of the shadow shows con- clusively that he saw the same thing that was seen here, but it is evident that he did not see so clearly, and, therefore, it did not impress him at the time as being of im- portance. The fact that the shadow was seen by two persons independently in this city and by another at Bayport, I, indicates that the object was real and to be explained on some other ground than an optical illusion. What is the true explanation? The sug- gestion made on Sunday that the effect was produced by a gaseous body accompanying Mercury still holds good. In discussing this suggestion Mr. Serviss is conservative, but gives it as much weight as could be ex- pected at the present. ‘The Rey. Samuel Charlesworth of London, ~ England, who came to the United States for the express purpose of observing the transit of Mercury, writes from Montclair, |. J.. to the Democrat and Chronicle ob- server as follows, as introductory to some remarks concerning the observation de- scribed last Sunday morning: “I have come from London especially to see the transit, as it could be observed alone in the United States. The inclosed rough notes briefly mention the principal object of my in- quiry.” These notes, prepared in advance of the transit, contain the following: ‘This transit, as seen from the United States, a: fords an opportunity for deciding once and forever whether Mercury does or does not possess a satellite. If there be one it must be apparent on the sun's disk, above or be- low, before or behind the pianet; if none such be seen, then the negative is equally certain.” Mr. Charlesworth, who describe: himself as “an aged amateur,” closed his circular by asking astronomers to look for a satellite, ———_ —+0«—____ FRUIT AS IS FRUIT. The Luxuries That Are Prepared for the Rich Man’s Tubie. From the New York Sua. Between the fruit one sees on the down- town itinerant stands and that which is exhibited in the handsomely appointed stores of the uptown fruiterers there is a vast difference in quality, appearance—and cost. One pays a premium on fruit as well as on anything else when the seller is located in a tashionable quarter, anu there ig just as much difference between the fruit which is bought by the rich and by the poor as there is between the fur-lined dressing robe of the millicnaire’s wife and the calico wrapper of the slavey. The latest extravagant delicacy in the fruit line is an English hot house grape call the Gros Coleman. It comes in bunches half as long as your arm, and each great, fat, luscious purple berry is as big as a plum—and it only costs $3 @ pound, The same grandiose air is seen about all the fruit that is thought good enough for the rich man’s table. The pressed figs are the very choicest of Smyrna’s crop, cach fig as big as the palm of the hand, and all packed as regularly and carefully in for- eign-looking boxes as though the spark- ling crystals of sugar with which they are covered were real diamonds. The skin of the apples is as fine in texture as a kid glove and as highly polished as a mirror. ‘The cucumbers are as green as Ireland's turf and as firm as her cliffs; every atom of loose skin and soil has been removed from the mushrooms, and their light drab tops and white stems look as though they had been smoothed off with a pumice stone. There ‘s not an atom of difference in the weight of the tomatoes spread ont on a white damask cloth, and every love apple seems on the point of bursting, so un- wrinkled and tense Is its bright pink skta. ‘The pomegrenates have the rich complex- ion of a gypsy, and even the nuts have been picked and polished and bleached until they are so clear that a fine woman could handle a bushel of them without leaving @ speck of dust or a shadow of a stain on her charming fingers. ‘There was not quite so much daintiness of selection when Adam delved and Eve span, but the prices were as high for succulent seed cases in the long run.