Evening Star Newspaper, July 27, 1895, Page 13

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1895—TWENTY PAGES. 13 2 PLYMOUTH HARBOR, country is the highest shaft ever raised to any individual in the United States. - Duxbury was originally a part of Ply- pat mouth, and here can be seen the two most Some of the Historical Spots in the Old Town. ALONG THE SOUTH COAST — The Pilgrim Hall and the National Monument to the Fathers. THE OLDEST RESIDENCES Bpecial Correspondence of The Evening Star. PLYMOUTH, Mass., July 22, 1895. Tes: ANCIENT HAR- bor, thirty - seven miles from Boston, can be conveniently reached by boat or rail; the most attrac- tive means being by boat, especially if one hag never enjoyed a sail through Boston harbor wnd down the bay. Arriving either by lanl or 32a, the first sight of Plymouth harbor must be a soul-stirring sight to every good American. Apart from all his- toric associations the scene is one of sur- passing beauty, no lovelier spot existing on the picturesque south shore of Massachu- setts. The air is delightful, and the quaint old-time residences that line the elm-shaded streets are a restful sight to city eyes, and @ joyful revelation to the breezy traveler from some flat, sumny western town. It takes only a few hours to do the principal points within the limits of the town, but all the country round is rich in historic in- terest, and no more charming place can be found to linger threvgh a summer vacation. Pilgrim Hall, which has been much im- proved by the generosity of Mr. Joseph Stickney of Baltimore, 1s the first conspicu- ous object to greet one. It is the property Built by Son of John Alden, 1666. of the Pilgrim Society, and contains most of the relics of the Mayflower now in existence. Here 1s the sword of Miles Standish, with Arabic inscription upon the blade. ‘Three large paintings of real historic interest are here exhibited—The Landing, painted by a successful amateur artist of Boston, and Presented to the Pilgrim Society, an excel- lent copy of Weir's “Embarkment” and the Embarkation from Delft Haven. In all of these can be secogrized the prominent per- sonages of the Mayflower colony—Standisn, Jchn Alden and Priscilla. Plymouth Rock. Plymouth rock, that corner stone of a nation, is in reality a very inconspicuous object about half the size of a square piano. It rises very little higher than the earth in which it is embedded, and if our forefathers did land thereon literally, they must have landed one at a time and stepped lively, as the conductors of the cable cars are always admonishing us to do. Several times has a portion of the rock been moved, once It tested before Pilgrim Hall, again it was carried to the town square, where a liberty ie was erected over it, but finally, in 1880, it_ was restored to its original position, where a granite canopy was erected over it by the Pilgrim Society, who now own the Jand on which it rests. It is not @ large rock, and the only inscription uggm it is the important date, 1620. The oldest burying ground now in Ply- mouth is just back of the town square. A few original stones bearing date of the seventeenth century are found here, but the first of the pilgrims to die were buried on Cole’s Hill, very near the place of land- ing. A single tablet marks that spot and tells how half the Httle band perished in the first winter. Their graves were left unmarked and in the spring were planted over with corn that the Indians might not learn the weakness of the settlement. Bur- jal Hill the present graveyard is called, and many desoendants of the Mayflower band rest within its walls. It is said that the only Puritans to be found in Plymouth today are the dead Puritans, who rest here, but the traits of their forefathers re- main even to this generation, and many a fair Priscilla walks about the village street plainly recognizable from the ordi- nary summer girl on pleasure bent, or that other extraordinary summer girl in spectacles, who is here attending the School “of Applied Ethics. ‘The Fathers’ Monument. Numerous old houses are to be found, several built as early as 1861, are in an excellent state of preservation. On a hill back of the town {s what is called the national monument to the pilgrim fathers. Why, it is national € cannot understand, as it is the gift of one man, who was a native of Plymouth, and is commemorative solely of events of that colony. It is a massive pile of granite, with numerous figures about the base, with a female figure representing Faith, and measuring forty Built by Son of Myles Standish. fect in height, sumounting the whole. This figure properly placed might be impressive, but at the ordinary height of forty feet from the ground it is overpowering and very ugly, suggesting nothing to the vis- {tor from’ Washi so much as that this might po: be the mother of those babes on Lafayette monu- ment at home, despite the difference in the complexion. The view from this hill is, however, one of the finest about, and by turning one's back on this particular Faith and looking across the inlet we see the Miles Standish monument in Duxbury, which is one hundred and ten feet high, and with the exception of the various Washington monuments throughout the Interesting houses of the neighborhood. The first stands on the site of Miles Stand- ish’s own home, and was built by the cap- tain’s son, Alex, in 1666, the original home having been destroyed by fire. The second is a three-gabled wooden dwelling, built In the same-year by John Alden, son of John Alden and Priscilla. The suburban towns of Massachusetts are connected by clectric railroads, and a ride from point to point adds much to the at- traction of all these coast towns. At Ply- mouth they have a pretty custom of nam- Ing their cars rather than having them numbered, and the pleasure of a ride over the nine-mile track that runs along the coast from Plymouth to Kingston is in- creased by the knowledge that we are traveling on the Puritan or the ee —_s—_—_ WOMEN AS UNDERTAKERS. They Attend to All Details Except to Conduet a Funeral. From the New York Tribune. Many women in New York have mas- tered the art of embalming and are em- plcyed as undertakers’ assistants in much the same way ay a doctor calls on the services of a nurse. There are several women undertakers who sell coffins, pro- vide shrouds and attend to other details of their gloomy calling. These last are not necessarily embalmers, and are in most instances the widows of undertakers, carrying on the business which their hus- tands established. They assume charge of a dead body and prepare it for burial, but mvariably call on some friendly man un- dertaker to conduct the funeral, and os- tensibly appear in charge. Brooklyn boasts @ woman who is not only an un- dertaker, but the sexton of a church as well, successfully discharging all the du- ties that pertain to both callings, except the personal conduct of a public funeral. “No woman has ever yet undertaken to walk up a church aisle at'the head of a funeral procession,” said the secretary of the Undertakers’ Assotiation. “She would appear extremely out of place, and nobody wculd have her. Public sentiment demands a man for that dignified office. Women can have an undertaker’s shop and sell goods, and they can be embalmers and tend to the dressing of a body, but when it comes to the funeral arrangements they have to call in a man.”" “This is the opinion of the trade, sus- tained by many voices, but a newcomer in the ranks of Brooklyn undertakers Is a woman of marked individuality and keen business intuition, who, it is predicted, is not likely to permit either popular preju- dice or conventtonality to interfere with what she elects to do. Her business was not left to her by any relative, nor did she stumble into it by accident. She de- liberately chose it, and is probably the only unmarried woman in the country pur- suing that calling. There would be noth- ing incongruous in the spectacle of this young woman ushering a funeral proces- sicn up an aisle or otherwise being asso- ciated with the trappings of woe. The habitual expression of her face is severe and austere. She is tall, slight and very erect. Arrayed in the plain tailor-made suit of black which she invariably wears her masculine appearance 1s striking to a degree. No puffed sleeves, fluffy hair, veils or superfluous drapery characterize her attire. Her skirts are as plain and scant as skirts can be, her hair is put plainly away under an Alpine hat, and she always wears the stiff collar, cuffs and formal tie that distinguish the apparel of a man. Those familiar with this unique specimen of the woman up to date assert that she 1s seldom seen to smile and is never known to speak to any one except on business, using .few superfluous words even then. In addition to her calling of undertaker this young woman lends money to a large number of people and takes mortgages on their personal effects as security. She has been singularly successful in this business, and is considered by her neighbors to be well-to-do. She is honest and upright in all her dealings, and has been known to be lenient in more than one instance when she thought circumstances justified mild treatment. This unusual woman is not a product of Brooklyn life and institutions, having been transplanted thither from a town in western New York. A Dakota Song. From the Chicago Record. A plackbird piped: I thought of you; ‘A thousand fancies dimmed my eyess ‘The bending sky of tender blue, A whispering wind the sedges through, ‘And once again before me lies The prairie tralt—that day said good-bye to you ‘And rode away Into the east—that one last view; ‘A blackbird piped: I thought of you. A blackbird piped: I thought of yous It seems but yesterday I stood where roses grew Along the trail and bid adieu ‘To you and rode away. A blackbird sung among the The sky hung over a silken blue; ‘As I rode away toward Concha’ pass I turned and wafted a kiss to you— A kiss and a long adieu. ss A Living Statue for a Month. Paris Letter to the London Telegraph. From Marseilles comes an account of an extraordinary performance attributed to a man named Durand, who is sald to have spent twenty-eight days in the Immovable attitude of a sentry. At 9 o'clock last even- ing, according to the story which has reached us, Durand descended from the pedestal on which he had stood for four entire weeks, highly delighted at having got successfully through an ordeal, which, however, has put about 10,000f., derived from bets, into his pocket. As might well be expected, he is described as being quite exhausted. His features are drawn, his head is in a congested state, and his legs refuse to bear him any longer. Had he undergone a few more hours of the trial Durand would, in all likelihood, have fallen to the ground a dying man, As it ts, the doctars who have charge of him are rather anxious as to the result of this won- derful feat of staying power, and are keep- ing Durand in bed for some days at least. Z + e+ ___. Keeping Baby Quiet. From Tid-Bits. “Gocd heavens,” roared the policeman, gpringing upstairs tnree steps at a jump and dashing with uplifted truncheon into the photographer’s studio, “what are you fignting about up here? Are you all in this row?” Grandpa and Uncle John and Aunt Sarah and pa and ma and Cousin Bessie and young Mr. Thinlegs, her young man, and the two cousins from Birmingham and Uncle Charley and grandma, all looked kind of silly and were quiet, but the pho- tographer said: “Oh, that's all right, officer, there's no row; we're just trying to keep the baby quiet while we take its picture, bless it.”” Exit policeman. Chorus—Ram, bang, smash, jingle, whis- tle, crash, slam, toot te toot, bang, bang, smash! Picture is taken. She Was Quite Certain. From the Chicago Tribune. Irene—‘‘Isn’t {t curious how innocent George Ferguson is? They say he never kissed anybody in his life, and doesn’t know how to kiss!”’ Laura—“There is not a word of truth in it! He has—that is, he—why, I should think he would know how by this time.” ——_—-+0-—____ Crushed! From the Philadelphia Record. Cholly—“How would you—aw—like to own a little—aw--puppy, Miss Moneyful?” Miss M.—“This is so sudden, Mr. leigh!” Boft- SKIES IN AUGUST Where Some of the More Prominent Stars Are Found. WHAT IS KNOWN OF THE MOON Effect of the Bombardment of Its Surface by Meteors. ABOUT THE PLANETS (Copyright, 1895, by G. S. Jones.) HE MOON, NOW IN its first quarter, in- terferes seriously with constellation hunting, only the brighter stars being visible—probably not more than three or four hundred stars in all. We will, there- fore, merely note the pesitions of a few very prominent stars and will then turn our attention to the moon itself, a celestial body which we have thus far ignored almost wholly. The bright star seen (at 9 o’clock) almost directly overhead is Vega, in the Lyre. Southeast from this star, at about one- third of the distance to the horizon, is Al- tair, in the Eagle. In a northeasterly di- rection from the same star, Vega, at a dis- tance rather more than half of its dis- tance from Altair, is Deneb Cygni, the brightest of the stars which form the Swan (Cygnus). These three stars form a large acute angled triangle, of which two sides are nearly equal, Altair being at the apex. The head of the Swan—the double star Beta, described last month—is very nearly at the center of this triangle. A little west cf south, at one-fourth of the distarce from the horizon to the zen- ith, is the ruddy star Arteres, in Scorpio, sometimes called the Scorpion’s Heart. About midway between this star and Vega is a second magnitude star, which marks the head of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder. This constellation is at best poorly marked, and tonight little can be seen of it except its head. Five degrees to the right of this star— Alpha Ophiuchi—is Alpha Herculis, in the head of Hercules. It is a variable star, ranging between the second and third mag- The Horizon ~ 9 Pt Aug 1 nitudes. It is also a double star, ahd is a very pretty object for a small telescope, Its components being yellow and green. About six degrees below Alpha Herculis, forming with it and Alpha Ophiuchi a very obtuse angled triangle, is a very pretty pair of fourth magnitude stars, which mark the left shoulder of Ophiuchus. The figure is a quite striking cne and is easily remem- bered when once observed. Ophiuchus stands with his feet to the south, one of them resting on the Scorpion; Hercules Is represented as kreeling, and his feet are toward the north. Together these two con- stellations cover. a region of the heavens about ninety dcgrees in length—the dis- tance from the horizon to the zenith. Facing the west, we shall have directly in front of us Arcturus, at two-fifths of the distance from the horizon to the zenith, and on the left, barely above the horizon, Spica, in the constellation Virgo. Ten de- grees farther to the left and only a little higher above the horizon, is the planet Saturn, nearly as brilliant as Arcturus, but of a color more inclined to orange. The Dipper, the great land-mark of the northern skies, will be ‘found tonight in the northwest at about one-third of the dis- tance from the horizon to the zenith. The moonlight has so toned down its stars that we notice what is ordinarily overlooked, that they differ very considerably in mag- nitude. Dubhe, the upper of the two “Pointers,” is much the brightest of the seven—it was formerly classed as a first magnitude star—while Megrez, the fourth star in the bowl, is now barely visible. We find the Pole Star as usual, by means of the Pointers. To the left of this and at a greater altitude, are the two Guardians of the Pole. They are directly above the Pointers, in the Dipper, and are very nearly in a line between them and the star Vega. In the same line, rather nearer to Vega than to the Guardians, are the ‘“flam- ing eyes” of the Dragon, and the lower por- tion of whose tortuous body may be traced winding partly around the Guardians and directly above the dipper. In the northeast, at about the same alti- tude as the Dipper, may be seen the W- shaped figure of Casslopela. The Square of Pegasus is fairly above the horizon, a little north of east. The Moon. What are the latest views of astronomers regarding the earth’s nearest neighbor— what do they profess actually to know about it? In answering this often-asked question we may dismiss, as not likely to interest the readers for whom we write, all consideration of the trouble which astron- omers are having over what they call the “Lunar Theory,” farther than to say that with all their acumen and ingenuity they have not yet gotten the movements of the moon down to a point so fine as to be able to predict with mathematical exactness where the moon will be at any given time. While they can do so with a precision more than sufficient for all practical purposes, there is always a very minute outstanding error in their calculations, for which they have thus far vainly tried to account. The subject of the moon's birth and in- fancy, as we might say, has lately been in- vestigated mathematically, particularly by Professor George Darwin; but we can here merely glance at some of the conclusions reached. It is thought that the earth at that early period in its history rotated on its axis faster than now, possibly in a period of three or four hours; that the moon was originally much nearer the earth than it fs now, and that the period of its revolu- tion round the earth was correspondingly short. The moon also must have had a rapid rotation on its axis, like the earth and other planetary bodies formed by the condensation of gaseous, or perhaps of loosely aggregated matter. ‘When once the earth and the moon had become separate bodies, still in a plastic condition, each by its attraction would raise upon the other great tides, which moving around each body In a direction contrary to that of its rotation on its axis acted continually as a brake, checking gradually its motion of rotation and lengthening its day. The same cause, it can be shown, would tend to accelerate the movement of the moon in its orbit, thus throwing it farther from the earth. Finally it reached its present d'stance from the earth, with its rotatibn so slowed down that it now turns on {ts axis in exactly the same time that it requires to circle in its orbit round the earth. Hence it now always preseats to us the same side. ‘These mathematicians tell us that the “tidal action’’ of the moon, though now confined to the earth’s seas, and by no means as efficient as formerly, when it ralsed great swells In the earth's molten . 1s still slowly lengthening the day. t come when the day will equal the month in length. Nay, more, since the sun also exerts a slight tidal action upon our globe, eventually the day and the year will coincide in duration, as, according to the observation of M. Schiaparell!, 1s now the case with Venus and Mercury. These, which we are not at preset concerned. Use of Photography. In the history of the moon, as in that of the earth, a time came when it was .cooled sufficiently for the formation of a crusted surface, its interior beihg ‘still molten. Thanks to photography, the telescopic as- pect of the moon is familiar to thousands of persons who have never enjoyed the pleasure of themselves looking at the moon through a telescope. Every one knows that its surface is diversified, “like the earth’s, with plains and mountainous regions. The lunar mountains are for the most part of a roughly circular figure; they form vast saucer-shaped amphitheaters, not un- frequently thirty, forty or fifty® miles across, and having, as a rule, at their cen- ters cne or more jagged peaks, which often rise at a great height above their com- paratively level floors. These are usually spoken of as “craters,” and they are com- monly suppesed to be of a volcanic forma- tion. Besides these so-called “craters,” the roughly terraced walls of which rise in some instances to the height of over four miles, and the more extensive “walled plains,” which are without central pcaks, there are scattered all over the moon--over ite plains as well as over its highlands—in- numerable circular depressions, ranging in size from hollows twenty miles across to Pitholes discernible only with a large tele- scepe, which give to the moon's face a curious pock-marked appearance. Terres- trial geography or geology has no parallel for these singular lunar markings. ‘The Bombeordment Theory. It is quite evident that the moon has passed through a series of experiences very different from those through which the earth has passed, or, at any rate, those which have left any traces in its existing rocks. How much of this scarification of its surface can be explained as the effects of shrinkage as the moon cooled, and of voleanic action, continuing until the moon's internal fires become finally extinct, and whether some at least of its “pock-iaarks” are not due to exter- nal causes, are interesting questions on which opinions are still divided. We know that the earth is even now daily lombarded by millions of meteors—bodies which it encounters in its passage around the sun, and which, for the most part, are so minute that they are consumed by the heat engendered by the friction of the air before reaching the earth’s surface. The moon is, of course, similarly bombarded. This “bombardment theory,” as it may be called, is, perhaps, the most plausible of several which have been put forth in ex- planation of the singularly pitted surface of our Satelite The generally accepted explanation of the disaprearance of the lunar oceans is that their waters are now stowed away in the moon's interior. They have been ab- sorbed by its rocks, now “stone cold,” or a@ portion of them exists, perhaps, in a frozen form in the numerous fissures and caverns with which the moon’s interior is doubtless honeycombed. To account for the disappearance of the lunar atmosphere has not been so easy. A very ingenious—perhaps a_ sufficient—ex- planation has lately been offered as a sort of corollary of the “kinetic theory” of gases. To give the explanation complete Would here be impracticable. It amounts to this: The incessantly active “molecules” which formed the moon's gaseous envelope have, in the process of time, “bounded off” into space, those on the outer border of the atmosphere having been constantly spring- irg outward, with a velocity too great to be entirely checked by the moon’s attrac- tive force, until now the Igst, or nearly the last, of these rapidly moying molecules have thus unceremoniously taken their de- parture. evar however, are remote efi concer with The Plancts.. ‘The positions of the planets for the first of the month are shown,.as usual, by a diagram of the zodiac. ,Mercury is now a morning star. Venus, an evening star, will shine with her greatest brilliancy on the 24th. She is now rapidly drawing in toward the sun, and by the end of:the month*her season will practically close. Saturn is still well above the horizon at 9. o'clock: None of the other planets are now of in- terest to the naked-eye observer. On the nights of the 9th and 10th keep a lcokout for the August meteors—the “Per- seids.” Their “radiaut/—thg,, point, from which all will seem to proceed—is (at 9 o'clock) in the northeast, directly beneath the constellation Cassiopeia. Safety of the Capitol. A foxy-looking old chap about sixty years of age, with whiskers on him which looked as if they had grown in Kansas, and clothes on him which looked as if they had been made in England, ambled into the rotunda of the Capitol the other day, ac- companied by his wife, a woman of fifty odd, weighing in the neighborhood of two hundred. Of course, the couple were at once the “sinecure” of every guide’s eye, and a rush was made for the strangers on the spot, but the old fellow was too foxy, and stood the crowd off. He chaffed them. awhile good naturedly, and then passed on to see the sights as he: pleased. In the course of an hour he came back to the ro- tunda, alone, and took a seat on one of the benches provided there for the weary. A guide spotted him in a minute, and came over to have some fun with him. Where's your wife?” inquired the Capi- director. “She's som’eres around lookin’ at things,” responded the visitor. “By herself?” and the guide's question would have indicated that the husband was quite remiss in his duty to permit his wife to go about alone. “Of course. What's the difference?” “Well, you don’t know what might hap- pen to her in a great building like this is,” said the guide, whose business it was not to let any more people go about there alone than he could prevent. “She might get lost, or something.” The old fellow sat back with an air of perfect confidence and satisfaction. “Oh,” he said, “she’s all right. Congress ain’t in sessio t _—— A Prominent Citizen. The guest from the effete east was sit- ting in the bar room of the one small tav- ern in a small town of the unregenerate southwest, because the bar room was also lobby, office, waiting room, and so forth, and so forth. Presently, as related to a Star writer, a. delegation of citizens came in under the direction of the landlord, and ranging themselves before the bar, they asked the visitor to join them. This he did, and after a drink had been taken, the landlord addressed him. “I reckon,” he said, “you never knowed Bill Keeton?” “Of this town?” inquired the guest. “Yes, he lived here.” “Doesn't he live here now?” “No. He'd live here if he lived any place, fer he knowed we thought a heap uv him, but he let go his holt last week and went over.” “Did he let go naturally?” inquired the guest with a half smile of appreciation of the situation. “You bet he did,” said the landlord proudly. “‘Nater wuz the enly one that could git the drop on Bill.” “Is he buried here?” “Course he is, and that’s what we want to talk to you about. We air raisin’ the cash to buy him a monument, and to kinder show that strangers hain’t nothin’ ag’in’ this town, we usually ask them to chip In whatever they feel like.” “Was he such a prominent citizen as that?” asked the visitor, going down into his pocket for his contribution to the mon- ument fund. “Wuz he?” responded the landlord, slap- ping the bar counter with forceful vigor, “he wuz the best we had. There hain’t been a hoss thief hung in these parts in the last ten years that Bill hain’t had holt uv the rope, and ther ain’t a man among us with a record like that.’ After this burst, the eastern visitor doubled his subscription, and invited the delegation to have one apiece with him. ————— About Mouths. From the Mammoth Spring Meritor. Some mouths look like peaches and cream, and some luok like a hole chopped into a brick wall to admit a new door or window. The mouth is a hotbed of tooth- aches, the bunghole of oratory, and a baby’s crowning glory. It is the patriot- isms fountain head, and the tool chest for ple. Without it the politician would be a wanderer on the face of the earth, and the cornetist would go down to an unhonored grave. It is the grocer's friend, the orator’s pride, and the dentist’s hope. Baldness f# often preceded or accompanted by graynees of the hats. To prevent both baldness and grayness, use Hull's Halr Renewer, an Lonest remedy. NIGHT INTO DAY Another Marvel of Electricity in Ita Application to Plant Life. SUBTLE AID 10 NATORE'S PROCESSES Growth Promoted by Prolonging the Day of Sunlight. SOME CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS ‘Written for The Evening Star. ROBABLY THE most interesting of the many miracles which scientific men are learning to per- form by aid of elec- tricity is the artificial growth of plants, technically known as electroculture or elec- tro-horticulture. This is as yet a new sci- ence, and little has been told the public concerning it. In- teresting experiments in these lines are now being carried on at several of the ex- periment stations of the Department of Agriculture. East Indisn jugglers have excited the curiosity of the world by their miraculous creations of certain plants, which they cause to spring up from seeds in a few sec- onds. Whether these adepts are conver- sant with the stimulating effects of elec- tricity upon vegetable life, and whether they use the electric fluid in these tricks, is yet to be solved. It is, however, a fact that agricultural experts in this country sre growing plants much more rapidly than nature herself, although no lightning- flash juggleries have yet been accom- plished. The agricultural experiment stations are testing several different systems of electro- culture. One of these is the direct appli- cation of electricity, furnished by a dy- namo, to the plant itself and to the soil in which it grows. Another is the distribution ef atmospheric electricity among plants by a similar method. Still other tests are be- ing made with both arc and incandescent electric lights, for supplying sunlight, so to speak, at night. The Direct Application. The first mentioned experiments are be- ing carried on by Prof. C, D. Warner of the experiment station at Amherst, Mass. Prof. Warner has prepared two plots of ground, side by side, each 6 by 20 feet long. To compare plants grown by electric aid with those raised according to the natural method, one of the experimental gardens is furnished with and the other without electricity. The soil is of a rich loam, and that of the electric garden is surrounded with a timber frame, on which are ar- ranged numerous porcelain insulators, a few inches apart, holding a continuous un- covered copper wire. This copper wire crosses the garden as many times as there are insulators on either side. The whole framework thus fitted looks like the string” frame of a large piaro. The wires are covered with earth to the depth of two inches, and in both gardens various vegetables have been planted from time to time. These plants were so ar- ranged that the rows in the electric garden ‘were continuations of those of the non- electric, in order that the contrast of de- velopment might be more easily~ noted. The wires are all fed from a small build- ing, containing the necessary machinery. After applying currents of various strengths it was found that a certain flow of elec- tricity through the electric garden pro- duced strange results. Msny varieties of seeds sprouted much more rapidly and many plants blossomed much earlier thin in the other. Roots of certain vegetables and the tops of others were found to ve greatly enlarged under this process. In fact, all plants were found to be stimulated by a current of a certain strangth. The physiological effect of the electricity upon plants, although not yet definitely understood, is pretably sim- jlar to that experienced by the human znatomy or by the animal tissues. Elec- tricity is applied to paralytics because it Stimulates the nerves and muscles, just as does exercise. A strong current is used to remove superflious hair, while, according to latest reports, a milder current will pro- duce hair on bald heads. For instance, in the same way an electric current too strong will destroy plant life, while a milder one enhances its growth. There is also the theory that the electricity produces a chemical effect upon the soil or the sur- rounding atmosphere, rather than a direct effect upon the plants. Electricity From the Atmosphere. The chief criticism against the practi- cability of these experiments is that the extra expense of running a dynamo will mere thon cover the money saved by rapid development of crops, unless the farmer works a very large reservation. In the Utah experiment station, however, experi- ments are being made with a view to pro- vide against this objection To a pole twenty or more feet high has been attach- ed a long wire, terminating in a copper brush. The wire 's conrected with a grat- ing beneath the ground, similar to that used in the former experiments. The elec- tricity, which always pervades the atmos- phere, even on clear days of summer, was found sufficient to stimulate the growth of certain vegetables. At the Ithaca, N.Y., experiment station Prof. Bailey, by aid of electric lights burn- ed all night in greenhouses, makes plant life work “over time”—that is, he forces them to do both day work and night work without a moment of “sleep.” Sunlight as well as atm>sphere and water is necessary for a plant's development. The electric light resembles sunlight in its composition more than dows any other artificial light. It isthe common theory that plants grow mostly at nigat, making use of the alr, water, sunlight aud other materials which d during the day, when It is generally believed, they reed rest, just as therefore, that aninials need rest for the building up of the tissues worn out during the day. Professor Bailey, however, does not be- lieve that plants need rest in the same sense that animals do. Plants have simply acquired the habit of gathering nourish. ment and using it at different *imes, be- cause nature has divided the day into light and darkness, and because it is better to “make hay while the sun shines,” and to use it at night when there is nothing else to do. There appears to Professor Bailey to be no reason why plants cannot grow in full light. In the actic regions, where the yeir is divided into one long day and one long night, plants grow conttauously, as conditions require. Now, if electric light enables plants to acquire stimulation during the r'ght, and does not interfere with growth, it will cause them to grow to a greater size. Plant Life Stimulated. Artificial lights are found to produce much the same effect upon plants as coes sunlight, only in a smaller degree. If a ray from an electric arc light be thrown through a prism it will separate into var- fous colors, as will a ray of sunlight. The are light ccntains more violet rays than sunlight, but has less orange rays, which latter are very valuable to plants. By using an amber globe over the aro light, therefore, its rays become more like sun- light. Professor Bailey has experimented both with a naked arc light and with one covered by a globe. He hung the uncover- ed arc light, of 2,000 candle power, inside his green house, burning it all night. He found that the plants rhatured earlier than others in a green house iighted only by the sun. ‘The nearer the plants wore to the Nght, the faster was their growth. Most of them, however, ran to seed before edible leaves were formed, and were smaller and curled. The arc light was found to have a pe- cullarly attractive influence. Some plants were found each morning to lean toward it at an angle of 45 degrees. During the day they would straighten up, but they bent toward the light again at night. Let- tuce was greatly efited by the uncoy- ered light, even when exposed to it only one-half of the night. Three weeks after planting heads of equal age both in the electrically lighted house and that receiy- ing only sunlight, those in ‘the former were found to be double the size of the latter. The colors of tulips were alsé af- fected by the naked light. They pecame deeper and richer in shade, but lost their intensity after four or five days. Petunias grew much taller and more slender and blossomed earlier ani more profusely. A plain globe'or a piece of transparent glass was found, however, to greatly im- prove the influences of the are iight. Ex- periments were tried with a globed light hung above the glass roof of the green house, it being arranged that only one-half of the building might receive the light at night. The plants ‘in the lighted apart- ment were found to be far superior to those In the darkened one. A bed of one hundred violet plants were set in the light- ed compartment, half of the ded being cov- ered each’ night with a black enameled cloth box, provided with ventilation. In three weeks those receiving the electric light every night Degan to bloom, while those receiving only the sunlight did not bear a bud for five weeks. Some Injurious Results. With reference to the fact that the are light was fcund to have injurious results, Prof. Batley finds that this effect ceases at certain distances, varying with different Plants. Panes of glass have been placed in front of certain plants, so as to cover them only half. After a slight growth the parts of the leaves receiving the uncovered light will show a clear boundary line, outside of which the leaves are much healthier. The lives of certain plants are so much hast- ened by bare electric lights that they can- not supply themselves fast enough with food, such as water, "for instance. By re- moving them to a greater distance a cer- tain point will be found where water may be supplied fast enough to meet the re- quirements. Prof. Bailey beilevei that if grown under electric lights for several gen- erations plants will adapt themselves to hastened growth, just as they have become used to green house life in winter. While Prof. Bailey is continuing his ex- periments with the arc light, similar inves- tigations are being made with the incan- descent lamp at the West Virginia experi- ment station, under Prof. F. . Rane. Prof. Rane prefers the incandescent: lamp because it is cheaper, consumes less time, and is not so bulky. Prof. Rane is meeting with much the same results as noticed by Prof. Bailey. He finds that the stronger he makes the candle-power the more marked are the increases in growth. After learning of these wonderful results from experiments as yet in embryo, it would seem that we may yet see the day when there will be many harvestings on a farm each summer. The modern farmer. will erect lines of high poles throughout his elds, supporting not only mechanism for jathering the atmospheric electricity, but also immense electric lights for supplying sunshine by night. Who can say but that forests will some day be made to grow up from seeds in but a few months, or that the builders of new houses may not «row shade trees about their homes in that time? Florists will then be able to manufacture natural flowers in less time than it now takes to plant them—all by harnessing the lightning of the heavens—for all atmos- pheric electricity is lightning—and by creating a substitute for the sun. And if plants can thus be domesticated by elec- tricity why can’t the next step be Its ap- plication to domesticated animals? 'Tis diffi- cult to imagine that a calf might be grown to a milch cow, a colt to a strong horse or a newly hatched chicken to a laying hen merely by placing them in incubators for a few hours. All this seems more prob- able now than did electroculture of piants a generation ago. Cromwell's Statue.* What needs our Cromwell stone or bronze to say His was the light that lit on England's way The suniawn of her time-compelling power, ‘The noontide of her most impe: day His band won back’the sea for England's dower; His footfall bade the Moor change heart and cower; His word’on Milton's tongue spake law to France When Piedmont felt the she-wolf Rome de our. From Cromwell's eyes the light of England's glance Fy , and bowed down the kings by grace of al = ‘The priest-andint€d princes: one alone By grace of England held their hosts in trance. The enthroned republic from her kinglter throne Spake, and ber Fass was Cromwell's. Earth has mown No lordlier presence. How should Cromwell stand By Kinglets and by queenlings hewn in stone? _ Incarnate England in his warrior hand Smote, and as fire devours the blackening brand Made ashes of their strengths who wrought her wrong, And turned’ the strongholds of her foes to sand. His praise is in the sea’s and Milton's song; What praise could reach him from the weakling ‘throng That rules by leave of tongues whose praise is e— Him, who made England out of weakness strong? There needs no clarion’s blast of broad-blown fame ‘To bid the world bear witness whence he came bade fierce Europe fawn at England's heel And purged the plague of lineal rule with flame. ‘There needs no witness graven on stone or stecl For one whose work bids fame bow down and kneel; ‘Our map of men, whose time-commanding name Speaks England, and proclaims her commonweal. —ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE. June 20, 1895. * by the house of commons on the 17th of June, 1895. Truth is Mighty, &c. “Speakin’ of snakes,” remarked the man with a timothy straw in his mouth, in the hearing of a Star writer, “did you ever hear of the blue snake of Florida?” Nobody had, and the man proceeded. “Well,” he said, with the air of a wit- ness who was giving testimony under a stack of Bibles as Ligh as a court house, “the blue snake is the astonisher of the world when you git on to his fine points. When I run a truck patch in that state some years ago I had some experience with one of them. One of their peculiar ways is to go straight for arything that they are going to tackle, and all Samhill can’t stop ‘em or turn ‘em to one side or t’other. ‘When they see it and take a notion to go for it, they go for it and get there or bust a hamestring tryin’. “Another thing about 'em is that when they strike anything it swells to such a size that ycu wouldn't believe me if I told you. Well, I was workin’ in the field one day with 8 nigger, and niggers are scared to death of blue’ snakes, when he give a yell, ‘Blue snake,’ and went flyin’. I didn’t know which way the dern snake was comin’, so I took after the nigger, and we went out of that field like two streaks of lightning, leaving our hoes standing up in the furrow. What become of the snake I don’t know, and I didn’t go back to ree till next morning, and, by gum, what I found there surprised me about as much as anything I had met up with in Florida. The snake had hit my hoe handle plumb in the center, and it had swelled up so that I got a thousand shingles, ten thou- sand feet of weather boardin’, four cords of firewood, a hundred fence rails, enough floorin’ for the Baptist Church and five hundred berrel staves out of it.” ‘The listeners expressed their disbelief vigorously. “And,” concluded the man with the timo- thy straw in his mouth, when he could he heard, “that hoe handle was still swellin’ when we got it to the saw mill.” —_—_— The Alternative Was Cheaper. From the Chicago Tribune. A middle-aged man of tall and slender build and earnest cast of countenance stepped into a hatter’s shop on Jackson strest yesterday morning, and removed the wrappings from a soft felt hat that he car- ried in his hand. “How much will it cost to have this dyed a light gray to match my hair?” he in- quired. “It will cost you at least a dollar,” replied the hatter. The caller wrapped it up again. “I won't pay it,” he said, decidedly. “For 85 cents I can get my hair dyed to match the hat. Good day, sir.” —_——+o+-—_____ From Life. CARELESS WAY OF SIGNING. ed His Own Death ra 7 From the Cincinnat! Inquirer. A prominent New Jersey lawyer tells a stcry that possesses more than local in- terest. It is a true narrative of how one man, about forty years ago, constituted himself a Lexow committee of one, and in a simple but nevertheless ingenious man- ner practically eradicated an evil in one New York court which had grown to pro- portions that seemed alarming. It was the court of Judge John T. Irving, a brother of Washington Irving. The judge was con- sidered an upright Christian gentleman of spotless reputation, and never a whisper had been heard against his name. It was the rule in those days that every time the judges signed a paper they should receive a fee of one dollar. It remained the rule for a great many years afterward, and it etill prevails in some branches, as is well known. It meant that it cost one dollar to have the judge write his autograph. One day two prominent New York lawyers were in Judge Irving’s court when he was busily engaged in signing papers. There was @ long line of lawyers filing slowly in front of his desk and as each passed up his papers he at the same time laid down a corre- sponding number of dollars. The judge would glance at the papers, make a scrawl on each and take up the next package, the pile of greenbacks growing steadily as the line of lawyers thinned out. One of the two lawyers looking on sajd to his com- panion: “I have the highest respect for the judge’s integrity, but I'm satisfied he does not know half the time what he is signing. Why, watch him; it is impossible for him aang half of an idea of what is on the er. “I feel sure that, in spite of better in- tentions, that one dollar fee acts as an in- centive, and causes his honor to slight work, and I'm going to prove what I say. With that he strode out of the room, and presently returned with a legal form signed by the sheriff, and which set forth that on such and such a day, at a certain hour and in a certain place, Judge Irving was to be ranged by the neck until he should be dead. The lawyer then took his place in the line filing before the judge's desk. When it came his turn he held up the paper, folded between the fingers, in a nonchalant man- ner, and laid down his one dollar with the other hand, watching the judge narrowly cut of the corner of his eyes. His honor unfolded the paper and hur- riedly plunged his pen in the ink. There Was a splutter, and a scrawl, and Judge Irving had signed his own death warrant. ‘Without a word the lawyer took the docu- ment and put it away carefully in his pock- et. His companion, who had watched the performance with bated breath, could scarcely believe his eyes. That night the lawyer went to a social gathering, which Judge Irving was to attend, with the death ‘Warrant in his pocket. Late in the evening he found himself in a corner with the judge, and realized that his opportunify come to serve his warrant. “Judge,” he began, “I was watching yor signing papers today, and I couldn't fol the life of me understand how you can read them all. Do you really read them?” “Why, certainly. It’s a matter of habit, you know. I have acquired it by years of prectice. i can at a glance detect tive really important sentence or word.” “Don't you think that rather a dangerous practice? Mightn’t you put your name to something you ought not to?” “Oh, my, no!” “You don’t think the dollar fee is an in- centive to a man to do the work a little more hurriedly than he ought?” “I can’t answer for other men, but I am sure in my own case the money makes no difference.” “Well,” said the lawyer, producing the death warrant and folding it in such a manner that the name of Judge Irving only was visible, “is that your signature?” ‘It looks like it.” “Examine it closely and tell me if it is your handwriting.’ The judge put on his glasses, stared at the paper an instant, and then declared it was his signature. The lawyer then un- folded the and handed it to the judge. The latter read it and turned crimson. “When did you get ‘that paper?” he sped. “I gave it to you this morning, and you signed it. I told Lawyer Bland you would “‘Kever that the signing of er it the signing of papers in Jui Irving's court was as long and tedious process as it had been rapid and careless ae 2 was ys of him that he was much slower and more painstaking than he need have been. ——_+e+_____ ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. How a Judge Si, w Its Recent and Rapid Development Upon the Continent. From the Providence Journal. 3 Before a recent meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers Mr. H, Ward Leonard delivered an interesting ad- dress upon electrical engineering develdp- ments in France and England as contrasted with those in America. In its commercial development of electricity America is placed first; in fact, far in advance of the old world countries, but considered from an engineering standpoint Mr. Leonard thinks the United States is losing the lead it has thus far held. He lays the responsibility for this condition of affairs almost entirely at the door of the great electrical monopo- lies, which have stood in the way of pro- gress and particularly in preventing the trial of devices and systems of which Bu- rope presents varieties unknown to us. He questions what has been done in this coun- try in the way of electrical engineering development since Edison started his three- wire lightning distribution at Sunbury, Pa., in 1883, and Westinghouse established his alternating system with 1,000-volt primary and 50-volt secondary a few years later, and Sprague started the Richmond electric railroad in 1887. There has, of course, been ot extension of installation along these ines. We have, Mr. Leonard says, the best three-wire central station plants in the world, also the best alternating system, converting from 1,000 to 50 volts, bul we have practically no other kind of central station to point to. We are operating 500- volt continuous current electric railways at distances for which 2,000 volts should be used instead of 500, and after investing more money in copper per car than the entire cost of the electrical equipment we still lose twice as muoh energy as is com- mercial in the line. In England in alter- nating systems a three-wire secondary is used with 100 volts on each side, and, ac- cording to Mr. Leonard’s view, there was no excuse except patents for a S0-volt two-wire secondary originally, and none save the inertia and prejudice of a a corporation for continulng to put in t two-wire secondary today, Rotary trans- formers are used in several stations in England for a continuous current, high potential multiple arc distribution, the sec- ondary being a three-wire system, and some American inventions not patented in England are found to have been utilized in central stations there, while they have been neglected in the land of their incep- tion. The United States is undoubtedly ahead of England and France in the designing of engines and dynamos. Engines were found running over in that country with what we would consider practically no governor, that is, with slow-acting throttling gover- nors. The steam turbines, both of the Parsons and De Laval make, are consider- ed interesting by reason of their simplicity and efficiency. The Parsons machines run at high speed in some English stations without vibration and were not even bolt- ed down. The steam turbine, it is now thought, Is likely to become an important factor in the electrical field. In both rheo- stats and electrical instruments, Mr. Leonard says we are ahead of the foreign practice. He thinks the craze for storage batteries as the universal panacea for electrical troubles is on the wane. The Electrical Engineer, however, in comment- ing upon Mr. Leonard's address, says no one fs qualified to express an opinion on this subject who has not studied it upon the ground in Germany, which is the only country in which the storage battery has been given any extended trial in a large number cf stations, As illustrating the wide diversity of opinions upon this sub- ject, it states that President Insull of the Chicago Edison*Company recently return- ed from Europe with his mind made up against any extension in Europe with the aid of the storage battery, while Mr, Ed- gar of the Boston Edison Company was placing an order for prompt delivery for ‘gest station battery outfit In the A Fair Cynic. From Judge. He—“When I was young I decided to make one woman happy.” She—"Well, as you remained a bachelor, you have succeeded in doing so.”