Evening Star Newspaper, July 10, 1937, Page 17

By Leila Mechlin. HERE are fashions in art as well as in dress, and, similarly, they come and they go. But in arty they leave an impress. Time wipes out the superficial but re- tains and stamps with authority works of original genius. FPurthermore, as A. E. Newton once remarked, the world does not go on and on, As many sup- pose; but rather round and round, so that in many instances before we know it we find ourselves to our great eurprise back at a familiar starting post. At one time in the past century there was a fever and fashion for naturalistic subjects in American art. In landscape our great natural phe- nomena attracted the painters and as 8 result we have Church's “Niagara"” and Bierstadt's “Mt. Corcoran” in the Corcoran Gallery of Art and “The Grand Canyon” by Moran in the Na- tional Art Collection in the keeping of the Smithsonian Institution. A gen- eration later the same impulse found expression in pictures of life on the great plains and cowboy and Indian pictures by Frederic Remington and others had a great vogue. With the advent of the impression- sts all this was changed, subject gave way to purely esthetic reaction and a great deal that was substantial in art floated away in elusive mists; tech- nique was exalted, art existed chiefly for art's sake. Then scurrying along came the post-impressionists with their introspective creed, which put chief emphasis on self-expression, re- gardless of all else, even its intelli- gibility, until finally we found our- selves confronted with the jigsaw puz- wle pictures of the abstractionists and the bedizzying compositions of the sur- realists, betokening the incomprehen- sible psychic reactions of abnormal individuals. It was time to call a halt, but it was not necessary, for change had already set in. The at- tention of painters and public had | been redirected to the “American Bcene” and by no less powerful an egency than the Federal Government. \VHEN the first art project was set k up by the Roosevelt administra=- tion as part of a gigantic relief and re- financing measure the one require- ment made of the hundreds of artists all over the country who were set to work was that this be their theme. ‘The result as shown in the first ex- hibition, held here in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, was not altogether re- assuring. In the minds of the ma- Jority, apparently American art was best typified by “Main Street” or its equivalent: but the leaven had begun | to work. We had come down to earth and potentially were ready for new flights. So far we have not, it must be admitted, soared very high, but there is a trying of wings which gives promise for the future, How much all this has to do with a recurrent revival of interest in the work of the late Frederic Remington, evidenced in part bv the sale for 87,700 of one of his paintings, “Cus- fer's Last Stand.” in the Brady col- lection, is difficult to say, but the fact | remains that subject pictures, and particularly pictures of typical Amer- fcan life, are having a renewed vogue. Also illustrations are gradually creep- ing back into our books and period- fcals. We have, it would seem, gotten a little tired of art that is just woozy. Even so. $7.700 was a good price for a Remington—a price, incidentally, greater than that brought in the auc- tion rooms for works by the distin- guished representatives of the great eighteenth century British school of portrait painting—and 20 times higher than other Remingtons have sold for At auctions during the past decade. But Remington was a genuine artist— | one of the gifted few—and his works do not depend solely upon subject for Interest or merit, "A PAINTING and two bronzes by | Frederic Remington are included in public collections in Washington. In the Evans Collection, given to the National Gallery of Art and now in- | cluded in the National Art Collection, 1s his painting entitled “Fired On”—a | typical Western scene—and in the Cor- coran Gallery of Art are his bronzes, “The Mountain Man” and “Off the Range"—the former a single rider picking his way down a perilously steep slope—the latter a group of four hi- larious riders galloping neck and neck, shooting their revolvers for the fur of the shooting, noisily making merry from pure excess of animal spirits, stimulated, perhaps, by spirits other- wise distilled It is not often that an artist suc- ceeds in two branches of art. much less three, but Frederic Remington was the exception. He was equally successful as painter, sculptor and writer—and under the head of painter ‘Wwe must also include illustrator. There are some who would put the last first, and say that Remington was an {llustrator at all times, regardless of what medium he used. But this is not quite true. Many of his paintings are primarily works of art and show & sensitive ard knowing use of pig- ment, while some of his small bronzes are frankly plastic in inception, However, it is true that Frederic Remington painted and drew and mod- eled what he saw, and that his art was the outgrowth of personal expe- riences—in other words, that his life eontrolled his art, rather than his art his life. He had the art impulse, but he had most strongly the reportorial urge—the urge to tell what he saw (or heard), which most often leads to news writing. R!.’MINGTON was born in Canton, N. Y, but grew up in Ogdens- burg, in the same State, on the Cana- dian border, where his father, a vet- eran of the Civil War, was collector of customs. While attending the Yale Art School his father died and he was obliged to withdraw and fird a means whereby he could earn his own living. He went West on a business venture which, though proving financially dis- astrous, laid the foundation for his life's work. He is said to have been 8 big man physicdlly and mentally, with simple manners, unconventional speech, frank honesty, good courage, all of which traits enabled him to make friends and keep them. Keenly alive, he loved life, and drew inspira- tion as well as satisfaction from hu- man contacts. When the time came for him to draw and paint and model, 4t was as a natural expression and without affectation—visually he re- ported what he saw, with artistic in- stinct making good choice, and with the utmost skill rendering both actu- ality and spirit. Perhaps it would be better to say “with spirit,” for this is a distinguishing quality of all Rem- ington's work—it is done with a sest, 4 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDA ;I‘IME ERASES THE SUPERFICIAL IN ART A Few Artists Inspired by America’s Great Natural Phenomena and Cowboy and Indian Life in the Past Century Have Survived Impressionism, Abstractionism and Surrealism and Frederic Remington Was Outstanding Among Them. an evident enjoyment, a freshness of vision, inherently his own, not to be assumed, and very appealing. “I cannot think of Mr. Remington as strolling out on the prairie with stool &nd umbrella and all the rest of an artist's paraphernalia, nor can I see him in my mind's eyes,” said Mr. Cortissoz, ‘“politely requesting Three-Fingered Pete or Young-Man- Afraid-of-His-Horses to fall into an effective pose and ‘look pleasant.” I see him instead on the back of a mus- tang, or busying himself around the campfire, or swapping yarns with the soldiers at a frontier post, or ‘nosing around’ among the tribes.” HUS it is that Frederic Reming- ton's works register his virility and sincerity today as well as they did at the time they were produced. They have none of the studio element, neither are they “literary.” The In- dians he painted are not of the James Fenimore Cooper variety, idealized, romanticized—they are human, real people, people of the plains, living their lives in their native environment with a simplicity and dignity implicit thereto. An American sculptor, Cyrus E. Dallin, born and reared in Utah in pioneer days, has given us likewise, in his own medium, interpretations of Indian character which are eminently | true and artistically worthy. Remington is perhaps more famous however as chronicler of the cowboy and his life than of the Indian and his customs. It was among the cat- tlemen he lived and it was with their eyes he saw life of the ranch and plain. It was a picturesque life, typi- cally American, which had its day, a brief one, and is all but gone never to return. Cattlemen there are still but | of a different type. Mostly they are dude ranch ornaments living on the Art in Washington CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART—American paintings; W. A. Clark collection paintings, furniture, tapestries, rugs, lace, etc.; Barye bronzes; American sculpture; etchings. UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM—National Art Collec- tion—American paintings; works by the old masters; stained glass; objets d'art; sculpture. SMITHSONIAN TION — Division Arts—Prints hibits; fine luminations. FREER GALLERY OF ART-— Oriental art; the Peacock Room; etchings, drawings and paintings by Whistler; paintings by other American artists. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS— Division of Fine Arts—Etchings, lithograph and engravings—color prints and reproductions -— by leading printmakess. Pennell col- lection, Whistleriana, Art read- ing room. Mural paintings in public butldings; sculpture on public buildings and in city parks. INSTITU- of Graphic and process ex- printing and il- reflected glory of their forerunners. Modern invention and progress sweep- ing across the continent has brought & new life into being which has as| little relation to the past as the glar- ing neon lights of the multiple Main | streets have to the cool, calm face of the moon. Remington's first cowboy paintings were rather garish in color, his sub- Jjects a little too much dramatized, his compositions rather loosely held to- | gether; but as he matured and his Corcoran Have By L. M. HREE exhibitions of art have opened in Washington within the last few days—one each in the Library of Congress, the | | Corcoran Gallery of Art and the] Smithsonian Institution. This is un- | usual for this time of the year. The exhibition in the Library of | Congress consists of something over 200 prints by contemporary print- makers acquired by purchase dur- |ing the last three yvears. These pur- chases have been made from income | derived through the Gardiner Greene | Hubbard bequest. Included in the | | showing are etchings, dry points, aquatints, lithographs, lithotints, mezzotints, wood engravings and wood cuts. They are the work of the‘ leading and in almost every instance | | living printmakers. The collection is | as varied in subject as in the mattet | of technique. Several rare prints by | Joseph Pennell are included, one of which was made for the New York Stock Exchange to be used as a cer- tificate of membership. The exhibition in the Corcoran ! Work of Leading Printmakers Exhibited by Library of Congress—Smithsonian and | past, and Mr. and Mrs. Copley Amorr New Displays. Gallery of Art comprises 24 water colors by Karl Oberteuffer which, unframed, have been placed in cases[ in the upper atrium. Many of these | were painted in New Orleans, others in New England, & few in cities in| Europe. All are in transparent color | and broad wash. The painter comes of an artistic family, both his father | and mother having attained distinc- tion as painters themselves. Both | are represented in the Phillips Me- | morial Gallery. The Corcoran Gallery of Art's collection has been enriched this Summer by the loan of paintings from | private collection. Mr. and Mrs. | Adolph Miller have lent seven can- vases by European masters of the have placed in the gallery's safe | keeping their magnificent Copley fam- | ily group and a single portrait by | Copley as well as a distinguished | portrait by Francis Alexander. A unique collection of original leaves from famous Bibles assem- bled by Otto F. Ege constitute the | new exhibition set forth by the Divi- sion of Graphic Arts in the Smith- sonian Building this month. hand gained cunning, his own better taste prevailed—the “mark of the illustrator disappeared and that of the painter took its place.” T WAS when this transition oc- curred that his paintings attained to lasting distinction. The historical value of his work is great, but unless he had been able to couple this with artistic quality it would have possessed only passing interest. There must be & “fusion of substance and technique.” The spirit of the subject must be superbly caught but the drawing must be good, the modeling strong, the effect unified. All this Remington learned in the hard school of experi- ence and put to good service. Espe- cially was he successful in his painte ing of night scenes in which he rendered with exceptional skill the luminousity of moonlight and figures | passing in and out of nocturnal shadows. There have not been an overplus of successful painters of noc- turns, And, finally, attention should he drawn to Remington’s skill in draw- ing and painting horses, the essential accompaniment to life in the open on our Western plains. The Indian and his pony, the cowboy and his bronco were inseparable. Indeed, as & well-known writer has remarked “these men were in fact four footed"; like the youth of today they never walked when they could ride. And the character of Remington's horses is as marked as that of his men, if | not more so; they droop with wari- | ness on the trail and from hard riding; they move with strength and | ease; they show docility and ill- | temper; they are mastered and mas- | terful—but always real horseflesh. | A full sized equestrian statue of a cowboy modeled by Frederic Reming- ton stands in Fairmont Park, Phila- delphia. Rather impressionistic in technical treatment it abounds with action—action, however, which seems too suddenly arrested and therefore ephemeral. The same fault is seen but in smaller measure, in the Corco- ran Gallery bronzes, which are ex- tremely vital but not quite sufficiently | elemental. But they have been evi- | dently modeled with great sincerity | and enthusiasm. In subject and | treatment they are 100 per cent American—our own. THE cowboy and Indian have pro- | vided themes for other American artists from the days of Eastman and | Bierstadt down to today. George de< Forest Brush did some engaging In- | dian paintings before turning to his life theme of the mother and chil Couse's Indian paintings have a tained to considerable fame, and justly; other painters of the Taos | School and of Southern California have graphically pictured for us the vanishing life of the plains, but none | Jjust as Remington dia. Charles M. Russell and Will James have ap- proached him closely as painters, il- | lustrators and authors; Percy Crosby's | drawings of Western horses and riders and Levon West's etchings are in- | imitable, but they belong to another | and later era. The chapter in Ameri- ‘ can history that he illustrated so ably | is closed. Frederic Remington died in 1909. Fourteen years later, in 1923, when the public library at Ogdensburg was | rebuilt, a Remington memorial was | established in a separate building across the way. Herein were installed the collection of his paintings unsold “Fired On,” by Frederic Remington (1861-1909), included in the Evans Collection at the N sonian Institution. JULY 10, 1937. ation —Copyright, by th al Gallery of Fine Arts, Smith- e Estate of Frederic Remington. at the time of his death and be- queathed to his widow, and by her to Ogdensburg, together with replicas of his 15 bronzes and the interesting collection of accoutrements pertinent to his art which he had assembled during his years in the West. For the upkeep of this memorial Mrs. Rem- ington gave $80,000, Roosevelt (Continued From First Page.) store. And you can also be sure that he uses only the lightest of light tackle for the fish he's fishing for. He's had the usual experiences, when fishing for kingfish in Southern waters, of hav- ing a big-voracious barracuda snap off all his terminal tackle or tangling with a big, bull-like amberjack when using tackle more fitted to catching small reef fish. But that happens to | every angler who fishes Southern waters. You never know. The safest rule s this: “Expect the unexpected.” The news dispatches recorded that Mr. Roosevelt lost some tackle on tarpon down Texas way. man wouldn't, I ask you, when he uses 12-thread line on fish weigh- ing around between 75 and 100 pounds? When you consider able thing is not that so many lines are broken but that the silver-sided Jumping jack of the sea ever is landed on such light stuff. But that's the kind of fisherman the President is. He doesn't use 40-pound test line on hardheads nor does he use 150-pound stuff on tarpon. Like all good fisherman, if the fish is smarter than he he's content to say: “Good work, boy, and long life to you.” But any man who fishes for hard+ heads in that old fishing virus running strong in his blood. Franklin D. Roose- velt loves it when he can't get any- thing better. : 7 | | By James Nevin Miller. O CLOSE is Fredericksburg to Washington—only a scant hour | and a half's drive—that sur- | prisingly few residents of the | | District seem to appreciate its charms to the extent of making a motor jour- ney to the quaint Virginia town with | the express purpose of looking at its | | landmarks of appealing history. | If you happen to belong in this general classification, it is suggested | here that you remedy your mistake. Sunday morning, say around 9 o'clock, when traffic along Route 1 is ordi- narily very light, is an ideal time for the trip of only 54 miles. Rest assured that you will enjoy yourself. With streets named in the tradition of old England, the city in which Mary, mother of George Wash- ington, made her home for so many years has innumerable features of tremendous interest, including places of intimate association with Wash- ington, Monroe, Paul Jones and other great Americans. The four major battlefields of the ‘War Between the States now included in the Fredericksburg and Spottsyl- vania National Military Park are lo- | cated within a 20-mile radius of the city of Fredericksburg (see map). The situation of the town, half-way between the Federal and Confederate Capitals and on the closest approach | from one to the other, made it an important strategic location in the ex- | ecution of several of the Federal cam- paigns in Northern Virginia, aimed at Richmond, the Confederate capital. Under the administration of the National Park Service, these four bat- tle areas—Fredericksburg, Chancellors- ville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House—are now available to the public. Park drives follow the trenches and battle lines. The numer- ous markers, entrance signs, direc- tional arrows and road-name mark- ers make it easy for the visitor to follow the battle narrative. On each battlefield are located one or more contact stations where trained his- torians (without charge) render the story of the conflict to the visitor. Each of the stations is equipped with & visitor's map upon which is indi- cated representative troop locations, making the strategy and tactics of each battle more intelligible. Here also are exhibited collections of bat- tlefield relics and photographs. Although the park was established because of its historical significance, and this feature is emphasized, recre- ational features have not been neg- lected. Picnic areas, equipped with fireplaces and tables, are located on all the battlefields. The Stonewall Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Pre- serve at the site of Jackson's wound- ing on the Chancellorsville battlefleld § | famous thoroughfare, you will agree | scenic variety or has more admirably IT'S A NINETY-MINU Week-End Motorist. is both a recreational and educational | development. while a bridle trail on | the Fredericksburg battlefield and | | foot trails on each of the battlefields | serve both the horseback rider and hiker. [JIRST of all, get on Route 1, the| main road to the South, often call- ed the Jefferson Davis Highway. No doubt, as you roll along this justly | that probably no road within a 100~ mile radius of Washington has any- thing more to offer in the way of located parking overlooks. And, inci- dentally, between here and Mount Vernon is one of the very few sections hereabouts where the eye, thank heaven, is not annoyed by unsightly billboards. Give your gas pedal a rest so you may really enjoy the beautiful Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. You pass WJSV, Columbia's broadcasting sta- tion. Take note of the many fine bridle paths through here, and slow down through Alexandria. If you've never stopped off in this historic town, by all means take a look around for at least a few moments. Surprisingly few Washingtonians, even the old- time residents, are familiar with the many points of interest here. To the left of the main road, just before you reach the center of town, is a large white sign, directing you to Gadsby’s Tavern, Carlyle House and the old Presbyterian Meeting House. Lovely to look at are the well kept fairways of the Belle Haven Country Club, to the right of the highway. Also inviting is Potomac Overlook. Certainly here is an ideal panorama of green woods, blue-white sky and Tippling waves. No wonder this sec- tion of the Potomac is so popular among canoeists, yachtsmen and owners of sail boats. After passing the big traffic light in Alexandria you have your choice of two roads. Either take the one that leads sharply to the right, or, better still, accept the pleasant suggestion of continuing straight ahead, by way of Mount Vernon. On this latter route you pass Mount Vernon Tourist Camp to the right of the highway, perhaps & half-mile past George Washington's beloved sanctuary. There’s a fine new tar surface on the road through here. A bit farther along, also to the right of the road, you'll note a handsome stone structure in the midst of a lovely lawn. Stop your car and have a look. A large sign explains that this was George Washington's grist mill, first erected in 1760 and re- produced in 1932 under supervision of the Virginia State Commission on Conservation and Development. Half & mile farther along is Fort Belvoir, part of the Corps of Engle neers, United States Army. Its en- TE DRIVE trance is to the left of the highwar. | Accotink is passed, with its handful of tiny, one-story residences and nicely tended lawns. Here and there signs say that land patents, among the very first in the Nation's history, were issued through here. One of them bears the date 1653. UEEN ANNE'S lace is blooming now in all its pristine whiteness, and orange colored squash blossoms further brighten up the landscape. There’s a cool breeze that accompanies you for the rest of your journey. Old Pohick Church is passed. Just beyond it a road sign says: “Old telegraph line. One of the first tele- graph lines in the world, a part of the Washington-New Orieans Tele- graph Co., was built from Washington to Petersburg in 1847." A few paces farther along a road leads to Lorton, the District reforma- tory. Innumerable signs through here advertise inns where delicious dinners of steak, fried chicken or old Virginia ham are served. Now a bridge leads you across the Occoquan, or Bull Run, one of the most famous creeks in all history. On all sides the farm land looks prosperous. Early vegetables seem ready for picking. Many residences have been freshened up with a new coat of paint. Henceforth it's a roller coaster journey over winding roads and gently rolling hills. There's a grand view of the mountains for at least half the trip. And, incidentally, the road takes care of three-lane traffic most of the way, with several enjoyable stretches of one-way traffic. About 32 miles this side of Fred- ericksburg a sign to the left of the highway explains that iron was made here in the middle 1700s. Quantico Creek is crossed, and soon to your left you see the road to the Quantico Military Barracks. Uncle Sam's estate here is beautifully kept and well worth a visit. i As you pass Chopawamsic Creek the notion strikes you that there are many tongue-twisting Indian names of creeks and hamlets through here. It is easy to believe that a mere 150 years ago all this was a vast virgin wilder- ness. Almost everywhere the mighty trees along the highway tower 40 to 60 feet high. When you traverse Aquia, a tiny dot on the landscape, a sign to the right of the road points to the site of the original Aquia Church, built in 1757, A couple of minutes more and you catch a pleasant stretch of one-way highway, extending about a mile and a half. You're now apparently on a slight mountain plateau, and the road has many sharp curves leading through & forest primeval. » Well, what | that | 12-thread line has a breaking strength | (wet) of about 36 pounds, the remark- NEW CRA Glass-Blowing Sign Writers, of Whom There | FT ARISES Are Around Ten in Washington, Follow Popularity of Gaseous Tubes. By Stanley Moreau. [ HE Greeks had a word for | luminous tube sign writing, but they didn't know it. And you have the word, too. The hundreds of brilliant red gl signs that burn holes in the night and challenge the sun in the day- time have given rise to & new and highly specialized craft in Washing- ton, that of the glass-blowing sign rs. The field is so narrow and the skill Tequired so great that there are less than 10 of them in the city Of these only three or four may be called past masters of the art. Are these artisans glass blowers of the old type? with bellows for cheeks, who used to huff and puff on globules of molten glass to form lamp chimneys and milk bottles? If you had thought so be prepared to banish from your mind, for they are all young men who have learned their craft in the last six or eight years. When the use of gaseous tubes became general in sign work about eight years ago they had to learn everything at once. i'rhe,\' even had to build their own ienmpmem, some of which is still | by side. in use. Like all good crafts, luminous tube | sign writing has a rich historical back- | alike are never allowed to forget | is where the Greek word comes in. Are they paunchy men, | the picture | | on A YOUNG glass blower will tell you, if you ask, that he can buy a liter, nine-tenths of a quart, of neon for $8, and that a liter of gas will fill from 1800 to 1,000 feet of tubing used in i the Potomac has to have | ground which apprentices and masters | or yellow, or ruby, In | work at hand. | this case the origin of the art lies in | producing intense heat, the cross fire, 0 the vac the realm of pure science, and here the ribbon fire and the hand flame. his signs of the story When a sign to be made is sketched and approved then drawn in full and exact size. A master copy is made and from this a reverse copy is traced on asbestos paper. When a word is complete there must still be a glass tube projecting from the back of it by which a partial vacuum can be created and the gas later introduced. Hence the reverse printing. Apprentice and master stand side Behind them is the tracing on the long, broad table. Before them is the work bench. To the right are stacked 4-foot lengths of glass, clear, according to the There are gas flames But that is getting ahead it is «The apprentice begins the Jruer‘ CNMPIM'SIL;, PARK Bealeton AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION At TON o COPYRIGHT Wilderness BATTLEFIELD FTER the hamlet of Stafford is passed, a sign to the right of the highway says: “Indian Trail. Here ran the orig- inal Indian trail. In 1664 a road was opened here, and in 1666 it was extended to Aquia Creek. In 1750 this became a post road. In Septem- zer, 1781, Washington passed over this road on the way to Yorktown, and over it the French Army later marched North.” You're now going deep into a great valley. Literally speaking, the road through here has been cut out of Mother Earth's bed rock. In some instances, in fact, the hillside has been shaved as deep as 50 feet. Potomac Run is crossed and then you pass through Falmouth, s tiny hamlet with a handful of entigue K s Pé cum'umns SALEW FREDERICKSBURG \ BATTLEFIELD EESY white structures, most of them wear- ing a new coat of whitewash. There's an especially fine new road surface through here. A couple of minutes more and you ride over an ancient white bridge and into Stafford County. Fredericksburg is at hand. Just inside the city lim- its, to the right of the highway,, you see a small white building trimmed with green shutters. This serves as the National Park Information Serv- ice. Without charge, you may secure a guide here for your tour of the major battlefields. However, at the moment, it is suggested that, without official guidance, you visit the follow- ing points of historical interest: On Lewis street, near Charles, stands one of the 13 horse-chestnut trees planted by George Washington . hl /TO HISTORIC FREDERICKSBURG Quaint Virginia Town, With Street Names in the Tradition of Old England, Has Many Features of Interest to the - ‘ L | John Augustine and Charles Wash- | ington were frequent gues's. Here's your route to Fred- ericksburg and the nearby national military park area, with an alternate road for the journey home. The entiretrip is through hallowed and pic- turesque countryside, rich in historic lore. Map was made especially for The Star by the American Automobile Associa- tion. on the estate of his only sister, Betty, | who lived at Kenmore. All the other | trees long ago died, but this one re- mains, and is marked with a tablet. Kenmore Mansion, at Washington | and Lewis streets, is open to the pub- | lic. The charge, 50 cents, may seem exhorbitant. However, Kenmore is glamorous. Mary, George, Samuel, It has touched American history closely, and one may still feel in it the atmosphere of old days and call back memories of the great men and fine ladies who | 50 frequently visited there. During the | Civil War it was used as headquarters | and hospital. KENMORE, classic example of Co- lonial architecture, was the home of Betty Washington after her | marriage to Col. Fielding Lewis. The | mansion is of brick, with thick walls | and great rooms. It is Georgian in | type and perfectly preserved. There | are slits in the shutters for rifles in | event of attack. Old trees shade the beautiful lawns. Kenmore was in imminent danger of destruction when Mrs. V. M. Flem- ing and Mrs. H. H. Smith founded the Kenmore Association, bought the resi- dence and estate and preserved it for “R."” He inserts a small cork in one end. At the distance he judges to be proper from the cork to form the straight e of the letter he must first bend. It must be a 1t angle. He holds the tube the heat and become flexibl If it becomes too h: The walls of the tube will j | gether. He takes i | makes the It isn't hard and you know it already. | British chemist, Sir William Ramsay. in 1895 discovered there were five rare gases in the earth's atmos- phere. He gave them the Greek names, neon, argon, helium, xenon nd krypton. The three first are now to produce different colors in the glass tubes. Neon gas is found rth's atmosphere at a propor- y one part neon to about 65,000 parts other gases. lips and blows ing the glass has a come thicke on the outs: into t ide diameter | half that of the re tendency to be- IIE TURNS and lays the glass down on the letter “R" as asbestos paper. enough to show all appearances, sixth sense tel puts it back peats the perf He still has a the tube and a doub) a scorch it is perfect, but his him it is not. He to the flame and re- e mark ™m to make in -back and then | still another angle for the leg of the “R." Al this time he strives to keep the thickness of the glass on the outer edge of the turns equal to that of the inner edge. When a word is complete. electrodes are sealed into each end by heating the glass until it is flexible and then letting it cool after it has fused at the tips. The wires from the elec- trodes project from the ends. Now a smaller e 1s heated and inserted into a heated part of the tubing in the word. The apprentice takes the frakile glass to the pump bench The “pump man" uses the heating, fusing and cooling method to fasten it ere are still impurities and moisture in the ng. Wires are attached to the electrode lead- They carry 30 mi at 15.000 volts, just as do after being erected. The pump is guaranteed to produce within the tube almost a perfect vacuum. Perfection isn't possible, of course, but it gets within one one-thousandth. there 'HE curre; urned on. The tube glows pi The tube heats and releases impurities from the pores of the glass as it expan The color pales away as moisture is withdrawn. The current is cut off and the tube cools, while the vacuum increases. Soon the “pump mar ns a glass petcock. TRe pump is cut off and from another part of the pump mech- anism colorless neon flows from a bot- tle into the tube. A red gauge, similar to the gasoline gauge on an auto dash- board, tells how much of the invisible gas has passed into the tube. The operator severs the sign from the pump by heating the bit of smaller glass tube. It melts and fuses without loss of gas. Current is sent through the new charge of neon and the red brillianca so familiar to us all shines forth Helium in noviel glass produces gold color. Argon and mercury in noviel glass give green. Argon and mercury in clear glass shine with the blue light that is nearly as popular as the red. g Have you noticed the drops of mer- cury in the bottoms of glass letters | having the blue color? Rubber Trees Survive, {XPERIMENTS carried on in Florida Wwith rubber trees of two types, the Hevia and the Castilla have proven very encouraging to agricul- tural experts who are seeking to es- | tablish rubber plants on Florida's wasteland in case of future economic or military emergencies. The trees have withstood temper- atures as low as 30 degrees and it is anticipated that second generation trees will prove even more adaptable to low temperatures. Florida cannot compete with the cheap labor of the East Indies in producing rubber, but if Florida waste- lands were in rubber trees and rubber Tose above a dollar a pound, as it did when restriction measures were ap- plied in the East Indies shortly after the World War, home production might become practicable The Castilla and Hevea rubber trees belong to unrelated familles, and different methods of tapping are re- quired. The Hevea has a continuous network of microscopic tubes in the inner bark, which seep the creamy latex to a single cut. Tapping is re- | peated by paring the rim of the cut, the latex becoming more liquid and the flow increasing on successive days, the so-called wound response. This method of wound renewal led to com- mercial planting in 1896, 20 years after the seeds were taken East from Brazil. Tapping by the Hevea method can- not be used on the Castilla tree, be- cause the latex tubes are not con- nected, but the latex is more abund- ant and was much easier to collect by native methods—tapping with all time. Today it is one of America’s loveliest shrines. s i many cuts—which, however, soon killed the trees. r