Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, April 22, 1915, Page 9

NORWICH BULLETIN, THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1915 S ledn’t do well as it was very dry. This THE WIDE AWAKE CIRCLE BOYS AND GIRLS DEPARTMENT Rules for Young Writers: ‘Write plainly on one side of the r only, and number the pages. Use pen and ink, not pencil Short and pointed articles will given preference. Do not use over ‘words. Original storles or letters only li be used. ‘Write yo.. name, age and ad- plainly at the bottom of the ddress ail communications to Uncle Bulletin Office, “Whatever you are—Be that! ‘Whatever you say—Be truel Straightforwardly act, Be honest—in fact, Be nobody else but you.” A BOY'S TROUBLES. By Emma A. Lente, hink thers never was a boy had such a time as I do; ometimes wish with all my heart that I was little Fido; r mornings when I've been asleep but just a teenty minnit, ey call, “Come, Fred, get up and dress; now hustle and begin it.” d if to breakfast I am late, a touch of icy coldness s me there, so I step in without a bit of boldness. d father looks across his specs, and savs: “Now, that's a caper hever used to cut! and then he turns and reads the paper. @ sister rolls her eves at me, and looks so shamed and worried;— hard to part my hair just so, and primp when I am hurried; d my big brother always seems so trim and prim and quiet, flon't suppose when he was small he made a bit of riot. d then comes school-time: “Hurry, Fred you'll again be tardy, 4 we will get another note from grim Proffesor Hardy. i all my books have slipped away, so I must hunt and fing them; neant to put them on the shelf, but it's so hard to mind them. all my lessons that I learned last night are gone completely, blots come on my writing-page that I should keep so neatly d when my book or ruler drops and males an awful clatter, scholars laugh, and teacher says: “Now, Frederic, what's the mat- ter? |4 there’s so much for me to learn about the whole creation— will §t hurt if T don’t know about each foreign nation? school hours are so long: and then 2t home are errands waiting ‘hinder me from playing ball, and skimp my time for skating. then I have to go to church and Bible school on Sundays, after that has passed along, then comes the old blue Mondays. there were rever holidays lorious long vacations, Iy think that I should die with all my tribulations. and mother, bless her, smiles and tries to make me feel contented,— a happy thing for boys when mothers were invented! ICLE JED'S TALK TO WIDE- AWAKES. guess folks grumble more about weather in April than any other hth in the year; not because the pth is so different from other hths but because we usually expect than we get in April, while in months we get more than we ex- post tells us, “When April one was asked whether she could e reliable weather, she laughed till cried, and sald, ‘Bless you, I've 4, but things will get mixed up to- you know April is not only the th of showers and rain bows but al- birds and flowers, yet man is al- complaining that its nights are cold, or its days too warm, and its jther too variable. But April has n April ever since the calendar was and long before; and Harriet Spafford describes it well she says, “A gush of bird-song, of dew, a cloud and a rain- s warning, suddenly sunshine and blue—an April day in the ning.” has a menacing neighbor in h and is chilled by north winds fugitive snow squalls, but her ers are hardy and the violets and ts ‘seem the brighter after having kn @ snow-flake bath. some great writers think a per- April morning is just as pleasing as a rare day in June, and the children who dig dandelions and gather flowers on the green hills and in the lusky valleys think so, too. An old ahyme says: “If oak and ash leaf out together, then shall we have lovely weather. April puts sunshine in the sky, and in May the leaves uncurl making this a lovely world, April is when Wide-Awakes should take on gladness with the birds and fowers, WINNERS OF PRIZE BOOKS, 1—Catherine Nelson. of —Tom Fairfield at Sea. 2—Viola Greene, of Colchester — A ‘World of Girls. 3—Edith W. Hathaway, of Bozrah- ville—The Palace Beautiful. 4—Marie Agnes Shea, of Norwich— Seven Mails, 5—Geraldine Gereau, Daddy Joe’s Fiddle. 6—Hattie Perkins, of Colchester— Tom Fairfield’s School Days. 7—Francis O’Connell, of Norwich— The Iron Boys in the Mines. 8—Catherine Nelson, of Versailles— Tom Fairfield at Sea. 9—Ruth Philips, (Cratuity,—of South Canterbury—What Two Children Did. Winners of books living in the city may crndl at The Bulletin business of- fice for them at any hour after 10 a. m, on Thursday, Versailles of Baltie— LETTERS OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Catherine Nelson, of Versailles: I thank you very much for the book you sent me entitled, “The Moving Picture Girls Snow-Bound.” I have read part of it and find it very interesting. Frank O’Connell, of Norwich: I thank you very much for my prize book entitled. “The Boys of Columbia High” I have read it through and find it very interesting. Carrie A, Pratt, of Pomfret Center: 1 want to thank you for my prize bool “The Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake. T've read it through and I liked it fine. It doesn’t seem that my story could deserve such a nice prize book. Mildred Mirtl, of West Willington: I thank you very much for the prize book vou sent me. The name of it is “The Boy Pilot of the Lakes.” I have read it all through and liked it very much. E. Abbott Smith, of Burnside, Conn.: 1 thank you for the prize book I re- ceived entitled “The Moving Picture Girls.” 1 have read it most through and like it very much, STORIES WRITTEN AWAKES, The Yellowstone National Park. The Yellowstone Park is in _the northwest corner of Wyoming. You must not think it is little because it is called a park, for it is almost as large as the state of Connecticut. It is own- ed by the government, and congress has decided that nobody must use it for farming and that it must be kept a large park. The most curious things of this re- glon are the hot springs and the gey- sers. The’ hot springs are always boiling up water and mud. The water and mud contain different kinds and as they fall back they leave a sedi- ment which in time builds up a won- derful structure which contains all the colors of the rainbow. What would you think of a spring which always flowed mineral paint? There is such a spring in Yellowstone Park which boils and boils until it has made a great paint pot covering more than an acre. The geysers throw up great vol- umes of water and steam into the air. Some spout once in about a year and others spout every few minutes. The Grand Geyser, the greatest in the world, sends steam and water three hundred feet into the air. Another wonder of Yellowstone Park is the Yellowstone river and its can- yons. At one place the waters of this river fall three hundred feet. They go through a canyon of many colored Tocks which is one-third of a mile high. I hope some day I will see these wonderful sights. - ALICE M, GORMAN, Age 12. Versailles. BY WIDE- The Farm, I live on a farm of sixty-five acres. My father keeps three cows, and one heiter. We also have a horse, dog, pig, and hens. I help to keep the house for my father. I have two sisters and two brothers. Last year my father gave me a piece of land for a garden. I planted some sweet corn, string beans, peas and musk melons. My sweet corn and peas did very well; but my muskmelons The Pool ere is no doubt that roots have iral duties to perform. That of hors for the plant must be well n to every Wide-Awake boy or but there are other dutles not parent, but very important. Root Pull. This duty is very ent in a raspberry shoot. In the fis it can be noticed without trou- Absorbing Moisture. This is done ly by the root-hairs, but the ess is what should interest every ent of nature. It is the osmose ess and takes place when liquids flerent densities are separated by membrane. (Ask your teacher you_the principle). Shun Light but Seek Air. You ve known this, but maybe have considered what an important fac- it is in the raising of crops. Think moment and give reasons why mer should cultivate the soil or young grain crops turn yellow h™ the surface crusts after too rain. " Root-push. This is a duty that but little considered, yet the cir- tion of the sap depends upon its . The root grows in Just behind the root-cap, gradually enlarges in diameter meed of more connecting ppe es necessary. Each of the older ots that have lost their root- and gone out of business as food have an outer skin and a er just within. The skin is pidermis,” the soft layer the jr” Inside of the cortex is the '-dy axis or center. If you ! 1! it closely you will see fine sil- lines that radiate from the center cortex (never mind their ). Nothing passes through the unl the root is young and then through the radiating root-hairs. skin then presents any loss of food in the pipes from evaporation or reabsorption by the soil. 6—All branches run from the central axis just the opposite of the branches in the stem or trunk. Why do you think if the root is a mere pipe for carrying the food from the active part of the root to the stem? 7—Uses of Roots. (a) Fleshy roots. Here the central pipe in hard roots becomes a soft, nutritious substance. The old woody or conducting portion is confined to thin layers, vet it be- comes very evident in old radishes while in beets it can be seen in con- centric layers with the fleshy sub- stance. Fleshy roots are generally biennials. What do I mean by that word? (b) Water roots. Have you ever seen any? How white and thread-like they are, yet tender and succulent. &) Affinity for water. This is an- other factor that the farmer should study. Can you tell why? All roots do not grow in the ground. There are plants that are real robbers, as they live by attaching themselves to other plants from which they draw their nourishment ready-made. There are several of such grafters at The Pool. They live by burying their roots in their host. They are suckers in- deed. But more about them hereafter. (Dodder and mistletoe are" such plants.) There are other classes at The Pool that live upon dead and decaying plants, Still another class are grafters but yet do it under cover like some people we know. They live an homest life, maybe, above ground, but send their roots into those of a neighbor and steal a part of what the neighbor has gathered. Roots will be more clearly discussed as the citizens of The Pool commence their annual work and show you how thy live and grow. GRANDFATHER LOWATER. yoar I am going to have a bigger place for a garden. ANNIE MOTYKA, Age 10. Leonard Bridge. My Trip to New York. It was Saturday pight that we de- cided to go to' New York for our Easter vacation. Our bags and grips were all packed - tightly and we were soon ready, walting for the car. Soon oth- ers gathered, until there were quite a few also waiting for the car. In about five more minutes we were all sitting in our seats. When we were all settled the car started on towards New London. It was very close in the car, 50 We had to open the window beside us. Soon the car came to a stop and, seeing that all the other people were getting off, we also got off, and were soon going for the New York boat. There we met a few of our friends go- ing on the same trip. We bought our tickets and were soon shown to our room, which I thought to be a very neat one. At about 1130 at night the boat started off. It was quite breezy out and.we had to close our windows. Soon the wind was getting worse, Which frightened us. The boat rocked back and forth, which made it a very rough Journey. In the morning, as 500n as we got off the boat, we were glad to be safe and on our way. This was the first time I was ever in New York. We took the Grand street elevated, which I thought a very odd thing in comparison with our cars. ‘We were received by our friends in a very hospitable way. We took off our wraps, for we were very tired after our long journey. Later they eerved tea, which made us feel more at home. In the afternoon our friends took us to some amusements; among them were the aquarium. We saw there many queer and enormous animals, some of which we thought to be more than wonderful. Next time I hope I shall be able to tell you about many more_things. EVA SADINSKY, Age 12. Norwich. Ruth’s Adventure. Ruth and her nurse, who were re- siding in London, decided to visit the park near their house as it was a gay day and so many people were out. They were lucky to get a seat in the park, as most of them were occupled, and they were in a good place right near the road where the queen would soon pass. The queen finally passed, attended by some of her ladies in waiting, and then there was waving of hands and lifting of bats, and people were bow- ing and smiling. The nurse was so_excited over the sight that she quite forgot Ruth. She called for the child, but it was of no use, as her voice was lost in the crowd. She also inquired of different police- men, but that had the same effect. Finally_she resolved to go home, be- cause Ruth may be there, When she reached the house Ruth’s father and cousin were awaiting her arrival, but hearing that Ruth had been lost, the father notified the police and asked them to search. All this time Ruth had been waiting at the park entrance and upon seeing an omnibus coming in her direction she decided to take a ride in it. She had heard nurse speak about riding in one, but she had never had the experience herself to know what it was like. She g0t a top seat, as she hoped to enjoy the scene and get the fresh air. Her fare was fourpence, o she had enough money to pay it, as her father had given her two shillings for pocket money. She was glad when the omni- bus returned, as her journey had been an unpleasant one, through the smoky air and the worst part of London. She hired a cab to drive her home and apologized to her father for her wrongdoings, and her most undelight- ful time, and she resolved that it was much pleasanter to g0 out with nurse, LILLTAN BREHAUT. East Norwich, N. Y. My Stay on the Farm. At one end of the farm is a wooded area of land, the growth of trees being for the most part maple. In early spring the maples are tap- ped and sugar is made from the sap. As it was summer I did not have the Dleasure of seeing this. In the center of the farm are the farm buildings. The house stands near the road, while down a little slope is the barn. Alongside the house is a shed which separated, one side of which is used for wood, while on the other side is the cream separator and a churn which are used. The upper part of the shed is used as a grain n. There are eighteen animals on the farm, including 16 cattle and 2 horses. It was the hay-making season and we had much fun riding on the hay loads from the fleld to the barn. When we went to the village my uncle had a load of hay to haul, so 1 decided to ride on it, It was very pleasing to ride seven miles on a nice load of hay to the village, my stay in which I will de- scribe later. PAUL E, MAURICE, Age 12. Versalilles. Early Flowers. We are trying to see who can get the first flowers for our school. We already have the pussy willow, skunk cabbage and alder blossom. The first flowers of spring are not found on the ground. We have to look for them on the trees or bushes. Soon we can get apple, Dear and peach blossoms. We can get the peach blos- som easy; just go into the sarden and pick them. The peach tree looks very pretty. When spring comes, the flowers are small and very pink. Our teacher told us to look for the arbutus flower. It will be here soon. 1t has a pink, pretty blossom, and we are trying to see who can get the most flowers. I like blue, red and yellow flo the best. bl Iam glad some of the Wide-Awakes do; and T am glad spring is here, HELEN ZABILANSKY, Age 7. West Willington. The Little Orphan. Once there was a little girl and her mother was dead. Her father married another woman who had two little girls of her own. To the little girl she was very bad. She would make her work very hard, but wouldn't give her any dinner. When she sent the children to school she gave her girls lots of things for dinner, but for the poor little girl she wouldn't give anything. When they ate eggs they would put a little of the yolk on the girl's dress to make be- lieve she was eating, but she never even tasted the eggs. She was always hungry and feeble until she grew to be larger and got her food. ANNA PELC, Age 12. Bozrahville. Fritz’s Intelligence. Some dogs show great intelligence. Fritz was a large, pure blooded collie. He was very proud of being with the boys, and one day they-took him when they were going bathing. ‘They bathed in a pond which was crossed by a railroad having one track. While the boys bathed Fritz sat on the track and watched them. ‘Suddenly, to the horror of the boys, @ train appeared. There was no time for the dog to get off the bridge, and it was too high for the dog to jump. The boys turned away to avold the sight of poor Fritz's death. To their amazement, after the train had thun- dered by, Eritz trotted off the bridse, entirely uphurt. He had laid himself down as flat as he possibly could and let the train pass over him. FANNIE ROSENBERG, Age 11 Norwich, Bobby's May Basket. It was a gloomy, rainy day that Bobby first heard of May day. Cousin Edith had told him how children in many different countries had happy times on the first of May, gathering wild flowers to put in baskets, dancing about a beautiful Maypole and having a queen of May, and it all seemed so beautiful to Bobby. It was then that Bobby decided to celebrate May day all by himself. He knew where a great many lovely wild flowers grew, for he had often gone home with Hannah, their faithful maid, who lived at the other side of the town, and back of whose home grew many wild flowers. One day he eaid to Hanmah: “I want to make a basket to flll with spring flowers,” and asked permission to g0 home with her and gather them, and of course Hannsh said “Yes.” How do you suppose Bobby filled and made ‘his baskets? Well, I will tell you. He made them out of straw- berry baskets which he found in the paniry. With Hannah'q help, he cov- ered the baskets with ®lovely crepe paper of violet, olive and yellow. “The baskets must match the flowers,” he said. “Won't they be beautiful filled with big blue violets?” and Hannah thought they would and guarded the flowers carefully, whenever she went home, to await the coming of Bobby before May day. The weather was lovely, although now and then a shower came, but it only made the flowers fresher and sweeter, and when Bobby went to fill his baskets he found all the blossoms he needed, and such pretty ones, too. The violets he put in the violet bas- kets with their dark leaves. In the yellow baskets he put little wild hon- eysuckles and in the olive baskets he put wild bluebells. There were eight baskets when all were finished. Hannah asked to whom he was go- ing to give them, and to her surprise Bobby said gravely: “I s'pose I will give one of them to old Mrs. Brooks. She’s been sick all winter and hasn't seem a flower from the woods,” and then he named all the sick people on his street and said he'd ‘!(fike each one one of his pretty bas- ets. Barly on the first of May Bobby was up and, to his surprise, hanging on his own door, was a May basket with a little card in Hannah's handwriting: “For the little boy who wants to make others happy.” Feeling very happy, indeed, he ran up the street and hung a May basket on the door of each sick neighbor, and how pleased were the people who got them! “Dear me! It makes me think of the time when I was a little girl and gath- ered wild flowers,” old Mrs. Brooks told Bobby, with tears in her eyes. And Bobby’s mother thought it very nice, for she had one of the lovely blue baskets at her plate at the breakfast table. T think May day the lovellest day of the year, don’t you? HATTIE PERKINS, Age 15. Colchester. The Shape of the Vienna Roll. A little more than two hundred years ago, when Austria was at war with the Turks, the enemy" laid siege to the city of Vienna. So closely was it sur- Tounded that nothing couid be brought in; and the people began to fear they would starve. One night, as a poor baker was at work in his cellar, he heard a rumbling noise. Stopping to listen, he found that it was caused by some marbles rolling about on the head of a toy drum that belonged to his little boy. Curious to know what made the mar- bles roll, the baker put his ear to the drum. Then he heard at a distance a sound like that of hammering. What did it mean? He listened again; the sound seemed like that made by a pick, and the thought came to him that per- haps the Turks were digging a mine under the city. Springing up, the baker hurried to tell this to one of the head officers of the city. The good man was laughed at; but he begged that the matter might be Jooked into, and it was found that he was right. Then a mine was started to meet that of the Turks, and the city was saved. After the war, the emperor sent for the baker, thanked him for his service to the country, and bade him name his own reward. ‘The man_ was as modest as he was patriotic. He only asked that he and his family should be allowed to make a bread roll in the shape of a crescent, So that the people of Vienna might al- ways remember how God had saved the city from the Turks. This, of course, he was allowed to do. To this day the Vienna roll is made in the shape of a crescent. GERALDINE GAREAU, Age 9. Baltic, Frank Goes to New York. Dear Uicle Jed: Sometimes I go [ with my pape to New York city to see my uncle and aunty, who live on Washington Heights.. We go to New London by the New London boat, and I like to get up early in the morning to see the pretty sights as we get near to New York. ‘We get off the boat and then take the subway to my aunty’s house, ‘They have a dog whose name is Jack, and he knows lots of tricks and I am always glad to go and have a good time. They live quite near the Hudson river and I often go and see the boats going up and down the river. Sometimes the elevator boy takes me to the top of the building, which is quite high, and I go and play on the roof. I can see quite a way off. The New York Americans used to play baseball near there, but they have gone away. They are going to build on the place where they played ball The 168th street subway station is across the street, and I go down to see | the trains. They. go quite fast. My aunty takes me to the big stores with her. It is nice to go to New York, there are so many things to see there, and I always have a good time. I am hoping to go again this summer when school closes. ‘When we come back on the boat we pass the Statue of Liberty and go un- der some big bridges and - don't get back to Norwich umtil the next morn- ing. But it is nice to get home. FRANK CROOKS, Age 9. Norwich. The Care of the Eyes. Our eyes have three coats to protect them. We must all take good care of our eves, so as not to wear glasses. The reading of daily newspapers in steam or electric cars or in carriages will severely strain the eves. It is a dangerous habit to read in bed. or by moonlight. After reading or sewing for a long time, we must rest the eves. Sizht is the highest and most perfect of all our senses. IRENE MATHIEU. Columbta, Sending a Letter to Cuba. How easy it is to send a letter! We write the letter, seal it, put on a stamp and drop it into a mall box. A man comes to the box and takes out the letter. It goes to the postoffice. Here it is stamped with the date. A man looks at the letter to see where it is going. It is for some person in Cuba. He puts it in a bag and sends it to a train. Now it is off for some port from which a steamer will sail for Cuba. MARJORIE FAATZ. Willimantic. A Boy's Telegraph, The best telegraph known before the use of electricity was invented by two school boys In France. They were brothers named Chappe and they were in_different boarding schools some miles apart, and the rules of the schools did not allow them to write letters to each other. The two schools were in sight and the broth- ers invented a lelegraph. They put up poles with bars of wood on them. These bars would turn on pegs or pins. They were turned up or down, or one up and the other down. or two down and one up, and so on. Every move- ment of the bars meant a letter. In this way the two brothers talked to each other, though they were miles apart. When the boys became men they s0ld_their plan to the French govern- ment. The money they got made their fortune. About the time they were seliing their plan to the French government a boy named Samuel Morse was born in this country. Fifty years later this Samuel Morse set up the first Morse electric telegraph, which is the one we now use. In the old days telegraph wires were strung all over the country. It took weeks to carry news to places far away. There were no railroads, and the mall had to travel slowly. A boy on a horse trotted along the road to carry the mail bags to country places. From one large city to another the mail was carried by stage coaches. When the people had voted for pres- ident it was weeks before the news of the election could be gathered in. Then it took other weeks to let the people in distant villages know the name of the new president. Nowadays a great event is known in almost every part of the country on the very day it happens. FRANCIS O'CONNELL, Age 11. Norwich. The Story of Ch In a country far over the sea there lives a very strange people. This country is China. If you and I were to go there, we should see many strange and curlous sights. We should see the men dressed in loose robes, with flowing sleeves, and hair hanging down their backs in long, straight braids. They wear clumsy shoes which turn up at the toes. They speak in a peculiar language. Passing throught this country, you would see many fields in which grows a shrub, deep green in color. It has little white blossoms. It is the tea plant. When it s time to gather the tea, the leaves are taken off and dried in large pans. After the leaves are dried, they are sent to our country and other countries, At one time the Chinese were the only people who knew how to make baker’s shop. Their mother and fath- er were at work in the factory. The boys had thelr dog with them. They sald, “Let’s make a fire So they got some matches and #zper and ut_it. The fire caught a rag hanging on a line above the stove, The boys tried to run for water but could not find the door in the smolke. Suddenly the fire alarm rang out loud and clear. Arthur was just coming home. He saw the smoke, and rushed inside, broke the door open and entered the room. “Where are you,” he asked. “Over here,” sald a choked voice. Arthur heard the fire engine coming. It rolled up to the house. The fire- men soon had the fire out. The hoys and dog had a narrow es- cape, and were all drenched with wa- ter; but they were more frightened than hurt. You may be sure they made up their minds not to play with matches again. FERBERT CARLSON, Age 12. Baltic. LETTERS TO UNCLE JED. How Frank Lost and Won. Dear Uncle Jed: T am sending yocu a story of a brave boy. Frank was a boy who never had much chance to go to school, so he ‘was far behind the others. He was very ready with his pen, and as he had no hope of excellinug in any other study, thought he would try for the writing prize. He succeeded so well that his copy book would have dome honor to one much older than he, When the prizes were awarded the chairman said: “Here are two copy books. It would be difficult to tell which 1s the better, but for one cory in Frank's, which is much better than any in Henry's.” Frank's heart beat high with hove, which was not unmixed with fear. Blushing to his temples, he sald “Please sir, may I see that copy?” “Certainly,” sald the chairman, much surprised. After looking at it Frank sald, “Please sir, that is not my writinz, it was written by an older boy who took my book by mistake.” “That may alter the case” said tte chairman, The two books went back and after comparing them Henry was awarded the prize. Frank was much disappointed. The boys laughed at him. One boy sald: “You were a green- horn to say anything about that mis- take.” “I should not have told,” sald an- other. “Nor L” said a third. But Frank replied: “It would not have been right, and I would rathe: not have a prize than gain it by claim- ing the work of another.” “Hurrah for Frank! Three cheers for Frank!” shouted most of the bovs. And Frank was much happler than if he had gained the prize by the means of a silent lie. pDon't vou think Frank was a nice oy ? CLARBENCE A. HATHAWAY, Age 11. Bozrahville. china, and thev were careful not to let any one else find it out. Other people tried to find out the secret, but for many years thev failed. In one town in China a great many potters lived. The great pottery fur- naces burred night and day, and boat loads of beautiful chinaware were sent away to other cities and foreign lands. But the potters were afraid some one would find out their secret so they would not let a stranger stay in the city over night. Many people tried to make the china. They bought the same kind of clay, bricks that the. Chinese bought, but they could not make the cups. But now the secret is out all over the world and cups. vases and other things are made of china. ‘CATHERINE NELSON, Age 12. Versailles. Brave Mary. On the wide prairle, for away from every other dwelling stands a neat lit- tle House. This house is Mary’s home- It is plain and simple. Mary has done much to make it the pleasant home it is. Her hands pre- pared the two pretty flower beds by the path leading to the front door. Her hands also have dropped the corn in the large fleld south of the house, Mary can do girls' works as well as boys.” If you look in the house you will see a great variety of ornaments, which her skilful fingers have mads to_beautify this prairie home. Do you wonder that she love it, and that her eyes watch anxiously the flerce fires which sometimes sweep over the prairies. I will tell you what a narrow es- cape the dear little home had once. It was in autumn when the hay was in great stacks mear the house. It had been sultry for a number of days. One morning Mary rose with a suffo- cated feeling. She had fancied she smelled smoke all night. She- hardly dared look over the prairie. Father away—what could she do to save thelir home if the cruel flames should come now. But coming they were. She was sure of it after the first hasty glance. She must save the house and the hay. Her invalid mother and the boy could do nothing. As rapidly as possible, she broaden- ed tho circle about the line of build- ing, lighting the grass with one hand and dashing out the blaze with the other, when it threatened to go be- yond her control. At last the flames were almest upon her, she ran back within her burned circle and watched to see if the fire would leap the line. She had filled the tubs and pails with water- and when the wind lodged cin- ders at the foot of ahay stack. Mary sprang at.it, striking it with her wet blanket. She worked until completely ex- hausted, hiit the dear little home was saved. FRANK PARDY, Age 14 Norwich. Indlan Corn. ‘When the white men firat came to America, they aid not know how to plant or use corn. The Indians taught the white men how to plant it. Corn_grows well in every state In the United States, and is the most im- portant grain crop that we have. The greater corn growing states are Ohlo, Indiana, Ilinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missourl. These seven states grow - about half of the corn raised in the United States. In the south, where cotton can he grown so successfully, less attention has been given to corn raising. There- fore the southern states have bought chiefly from the corn belt. Corn can be raised suecceasfully im every southern state- and the farm- ers have made a great mistake by not raising it before. In former years the southern farm- er did not study the cultivation of corn as he did the cotton plant. , Age 14 Versailles. The. Twin Calves. My father had a pair of little twin calves come to him Cbristraas night We all love,them. .We Damed them Jessie and Bessie. . They are red and white just their mother. They are very pretty. My little brother calis them his. ISABEL HERINDEEN, Age 10. Southbridge, Mass. “A Narrow Escape.” One afterncon, Frank, and Joe, and Bill_were in the house alone. Their brother, Arthur, had gone eut to the The Bird's Home, Dear Uncle Jed: Each mother bird has her own way of making the nest. but there is one thing almost all of them try to do, and that is to hide ii. They cannot put their little homes out in plain sight, as we do our nouses, because so many creatures want to ro» them. Squirrels and snakes and rats and some big birds and cats like to eat eggs and young birds. So most birds, first of all, try to find good hiding places. Some tiny war- blers go to the top of the tallest trees and hide the nest among the leaves. Otioles hang_the swinging cradle at the end of a branch, where cats and snakes and naughty boys cannot come. Song sparrows tuck the little homa in a tuft of weeds on the ground, and bobolinks hide it in the deep grass. After a safe place is found they have to get something to build of. Thay hunt all about and gather small twigs, or grass stems, or fine rootlets and pull narrow strips of bark off the ~rapevines and birch trees; or they pick up strings and horsehairs and many other things. Robins and swallows have mud for their houses. As they go on building, the mother bird gets inside and turns arourd ard around to make it fit her form and be smooth and comfortable for her to set in. ‘When the nest is made, it must be lined. Then some birds go t¢ tae chicken yvard and pick up feathers and horsehairs. Some of them pull off the soft down that grows on plants which makes their nests warm and comfortable. MARIE AGNES SHEA, Age 11. Norwich. About Rats. TUncle Jed: Rats are very clever ani- mals, and also very mischievous omes. They are great eaters and will gnuw_[ through boards and dig through the ground to get at food which has besn put away. Young rats are very kind to the old ones, when they go from a place be- cause there is not food enough they do not leave the old ones behind, but help them along With them. ‘An officer of a ship one bright moon- light night saw three rats coming slowly up a large rope that was used to haul goods into the vessel with. They walked very slowly and the man saw that the tail of the first rat was in the mouth of the second. and the tail of the second in the mouth of the third. The middle one was blind and they were helping him along. Rats are great travelers. They & around the world in ships. If they find a ship leaks they leave as soon as they can. Sailors will not sall in a ship that rats have left, as they be- Ieve it will sink, Though rats are great thieves they do much good. They eat scraps and waste of all kinds, and other things that would make the air unhealthy. EDITH W. HATHAWAY, Age 9. Bozrahille. The Duke of Wellington. Dear Uncle Jed: The Duke of Wel- lington was one day taking his usual country walk, when he heard a cry of distress. He walked to the spot and found a chubby, rosy-faced boy lying on the ground, bending his head over a tamed toad, and crying as if his Ht- tle heart would break “What's the matter, my 1ad?” asked the DuRe. “Oh, sir! Please, sir! I bring it something to eat every morning. But they are going to send me off ever sv far away to school; nebody will bring it anything 'to_eat when I am gone, and I am afraid it will di “Never mind my lad,” sald the Duke. Don't cry, lad. Tll see the toad is well fed and you shall hear all about it _when you are at school.” The boy thanked (he gentleman heartily, dried his tears and wen* home. 'During the time he was at school he received five letters couched in the following terms: Strathfleldsaye, July 27, 1831. Fleld Marshal the Duke of W=Ilin ton is happy to inform William Har- ries that his toad is alive and well. MAY DANAHY. Norwich. One Eye for Rats, Dear U#cle Jed: I live on a farm. I am 12 years of age. I have chickens, two hors several cows, two little bossy cal pigs, one dog and a cat and also three ducks. I take care of the chickens and pick up the eggs every day: I keep track of how many ye get a day, and how many dozen we get in a week. It is much fun to pick up the egss. ‘We have a little chicken we call Biddy. She does not scem to grow, but every time we open the dcor she comes in and eats bread crumbs and other scraps out of our hands. Our cat has only one eve. but she catches many rats. She stays in the barn all day and hunts for them. Qur dog's mame is Swift, and she is a good watchdog. 1_hope other Wide-Awakes have a chance to live on a farm where it is healthy. MABEL PRUE, Age 12. Eagleville. Their Visit to Norwich. Dear Uncle Jed: T am writing yogh about my visit to Norwich, My sister and I went to ses ot Aunt Nellie, during our Easter vaca- tion. We played with our cousins, Lloyd and Olive, all the time. My sister watched Lloyd fly "is kite, while I amused his little sister. Olive, She is only three years old and is quite small, One day she took a large bunch of bananas and was carrying them to a neighbor. She fell down in the street and dropped all of them. I had to pick her up and carry them for her. Wednesday we went to a church supper, with all the family. There was a large, dark hall in the church where we played hide-and-go-seel after sur- per. It was about 8.30 when we came back. The next day Aunt Nellie took us all to the moving pictures, where we met our Aunt Grace and went to her home, We stayed there until Sunday and then came home, after a pleasant visit, to take our part in the Easter concert at our church. ELSIE E. CHURCH, Age 10. ncasville. Gladys Likes the Birds. My Dear Uncle Jed: My vacation is ended and I am going to school again and I am glad, for I do love to go to school. I am trying to learn all I can so it will help me when I am older, I went to Jewett City on my vacation to visit with Dr. Holmes and his wife. I had a mice time. They had a fine SR INOIAN ATHL ANOD FAMILY Y AU TO =N INDIAN BRAVE WILL TAKE FAMILY ON - Portland, Ore, April 22—Im- mo-tan-ic, Indian parson and athlete, has' given up the calico pony for the “fire-wagon.” This old brave, who lives on the Umatilla reservation, near Pendleton, Ore., has just purchased a five-seated car, mastered its myste- ries and will drive from Pendleton to Portland, take part in the floral pa- rades during the rose festival, Jume Journey “to. (i Danase Pecitic Repo: journey to- the acific Expo- sition at San Francisco, He will cov- LONG AUTOMOBILE JOURNEY. er more than 1,000 miles by automo- bile. Im-mo-tan-ic is the Indian who once wrestled Frank Gotch. He will take his family with him on_the long journey. The Indian is forty-two years of age and, so far as known, the only full bloded Indfan in the west who drives an automobile, while wearing war paint and feathers. He will lecture throughout California on Oregon Indian life. Im_mo-tan-ic is one of the Indians identified each m.r with the famous Pendleton und-up.* Notice to Nurses If you have a stubborn case of infant scalding, chafing,orabed sore case thatis troubling you, let us send you free a box of d qkos omfort Powder We want you to try this wonderful skin healing powder at our expense, as we can prove to you, with one trial, that Sykes’ Comfort Powder is truly what it is called, “the nurse’s best friend.” ‘There are thousands of nurses that never go without a box of Comfort Powder because it saves suffering of infants, children and bedridden peo- ple, and brings comfort and peace to the nurse. Your name and add.ess sent us an a postal card will bring to you the fres trial box by return mail The same offer is open to mothers. THE COMFORT POWDER CO., Boston, Mass. (20 years at Hartford, Ot.) THE JOY RECIPE! TAKE CASCARETS BE CHEERFUL! REMOVE THE WINTER'S POISON FROM YOUR LIVER AND BOWELS. SPEND 10 CENTS! DON'T STAY SICK, BLLIOUS, HEADACHY, CONSTIPATED. It's Springtime n up inside and feel fine. Take Cascarets to liven your liver and clean the bowels and stop headaches, biliousness, bad breath, coated tongue, sallowness, sour stom- ach and gases. Tonight take Cas- carets and enjoy the nicest, gertlest liver and bowel cleansing you ever ex: perienced. Wake up feeilng grand— Everybody’s doing it. Cascarets beat for children also. dog and two cats. They were just right. I felt sorry for the little birds whep it was storming and so cold Saturday. A good many come around_ by do and I love to feed them and wat them eat the crumbs. I love to see them build their nests. £ Last summer I found quite a num- ber that fell out of their -beds, antf how they did cry for their mothers. Poor little babies, 5 An old cat got one of them and how bad I did feel. Goodbye for this time. GLADYS RANDALL, Age 10. Voluntown. 5 Pop-Corn Candy, Dear Uncle Jed: I made some pop- corn candy the other day and I thought perhaps the Wide-Awakes would like to_know how I made it. First I popped some corn, then i ran it through the meat grinder, then I beat the white of an egg and beat into it three heaping tablespoons af sugar and mixed the popcorn and cgg with a spoon; then I packed it i a buttered tin: when it hardened cut it into squares. VIOLA GREENE, Age 10, Colchester. Peace on Broader Lines. Mexico by providing for neutral pass senger trains gives out hope that & working _agreement for Dpeace om broader lines may not be impossibles Washington Star. 7 — Martha Washington 29 East 29th St, near Fifth Ave. NEW YORK ADVANTAGES The 450 bedrooms are for the exclusive use of women guests; the two lower floors - containing a magnificent res- taurant with orchestral musie evenings and the grand lobby and second floor with numerous private pariors are for both men and women. Thie secvice fs or that SOl careful kind; nearly ail the empioyes are women; the tele- phone and paging system s de~ veloped to a science; the cham- ber maids are accustomed to assistin uests Al ke little things neces. To the woman seeking pro- fessional, social or busin restige a residence at the M; fha Washington Is a real asset. q A Dipht, chesrtul | rvem costs $1.50 per day and more for a larger room or one bath. Meals are served both Tablé d’Hcte and a la Carte. An illustrated booklet sets forth other Interesting facts and will be sent free.