Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, April 27, 1916, Page 9

3. will ::o preference. Do not use over 4. Original stories or letters only ‘Write your name, age and ad- Dlainly at. the bottom of the Address all communications to Uncle Jed, Bulletin Of are—Be that! “Whatever- you ‘Whatever you say—Be truel Straightforwardly act, Be_honest—in fact, Be nobody else but you.” POETRY. The Little Brown Bulbs. The little brown bulbs went to sleep in the ground, In their little brown nighties so warm and so, round, And Wlntfir. he blustered and roared over! 3 But never a bulb turned over in bed. But when springtime came tip-toeing over the lee, With finger on lip, as still as could ‘The little brown bulbs at her very first tread, Just split up their nightles and jump- ed out of bed. —Anonymous. My Paw Said So! (From the Detroit Free Press.) Foxes can talk if you know how to listen; Paw sald s Owls have big eyes that glisten; y Paw sald so. Bears can turn flip-flops, en’ ellum trees, An’ steal all the honey away from the An’ they dom’t mind the winter, coz they never freeze; My Paw sald so. Girls is askared of a snake, but boys ain’t; My Paw said so. They holler and run; an’ sometimes they faint, My Paw sald so. But boys 'ud be 'shamed to be fright- ened that way, When all that the snake wants to do is to play; Yun‘\'eI got to believe every word that say; My Paw said so. climb ‘Wolves ain’t so bad if you treat ’em all right, My Paw said so. They're as fond of a game as they are of a fight, My Paw sald so. An’ all of the animals found in a wood Ain’t always ferocious. Most times they are good, The trouble is mostly they're misun- derstood; My Paw said so. You can think what you like, but I stick to it, when My Paw said so. An’ TNl keep right on sayin’ again an’ again, My Paw said so. Maybe foxes don't talk to such people as you, An’ bears never show’ you the tricks they can do, But I know thé stories T'm tellin’ are e; My Paw said so. UNCLE JED'S TALK WITH WIDE- AWAKES. If the Wide-Awakes keep their eyes open they will notice how orderly na- ture is. She is orderly where man charges her with disorder quite likely she is merciful the man says she is not. You notice the wind and the rain. High winds usually follow heavy rains, and a drouth follows an excessively wet season. The winds cooperating ‘with the sun hastens the soaked earth to become dry; and the lack of rain following an excessive wet spell sweet- ens the sofl so that it is the better fit- ted to grow crops. I noticed a pair of sparrows last week building a nest. The larger part of the coarse work was done by the male sparrow. He laid the foundation of the nest. Then he and the female gathers clean soft grasses to make it more comfortable and then the female devoted herself to collecting feathers to line the nest so it should be com- fortable for the young birds. Watch the growing plant and see how orderly it is in taking root and form. How the branches take position opposite one another or at spaces which allow of no pairing. How or- derly they come to the flowering time; and how regularly the bees and the butterflies come to be of help to the flowers. Some plants are so dependent upon insects they cannot grow without them. The red clover you see in the fields cannot grow in countries where there are no bees. f Have you noticed where a hiil has been cut through the order in which it has been built up. It makes no dif- ference whether an earthquake or water had a hand in depositing the material, the heaviest stones are at the bottom and they grade up to the finest, then the coarsest earth which grades up to the finest. Then the rind of loam the depth of which shows how long the decaying matter and the growing weeds and grasses have been under the action of the sun and rain and ice and sow nundergoing a change from sand to loam. The Wide-Awakes who keep their eyes open and write what they see instead of what they read to the ‘Wide-Awake Circle will be the ones to win books. TUncle Jed likes the boys and girls ‘who write about their excursions, plc- nics, travels, pets, games and enjoy- ments. He has nice letters of this kind and there is room for more of them. LETTERS OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT lvy Fisk of Norwich: I thank you for ‘the prize book you gave me. I have read it and I like it_very much. 1t is full of interesting adventures in the Maine s. Frank H. Kowats of Stafford Springs: I thank you very much for the prize book, The Boys of Bellwood School. I read some of it and found it very interesting. Irma Graff of Norwich: I thank you for the interesting prize book entitled Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch. try to win another. Mary A. Burrill of Stafford Springs: T thank you ever so much for the prize book you sent me. 1t is a very inter- esting story. Marion Royce of Norwich: I thank you very much for the book entitled I shall ALLEN AND HIS DOG ROVER In a pretty cottage on one of the shaded streets of Newbury, Allen Stevens (14 years of age) lived with his mother, who, since her husband’s death had defrayed all necessary ex- penses by taking lodgers and taking in sewing. Dire misfortune befell them, for one stormy day Mrs. Stevens exposed her- self and soon became seriously ill with pneumonia. She recovered slowly, for she worried because she could not see how they could procure the daily ne- cessities. She knew it would be sev- eral weeks before she could resume her accustomd duties, and that the money on hand been used to pay the nurse for her services. Allen remained at home from school after the nurse went away and loving- ly waited on his mother. The neigh- bors were friendly, and kindly assist- ed them by bringing in cooked food and caring for the sick woman until she was able to sit on the veranda. Allen spent some little time each day in reading aloud to her, who on this afternoon did not listen to the story, but was thinking of their daily needs. He missed the comments which she usually made, from time to time as he read, and he soon observed the tears that were slowly trickling down her cheeks. Allen laid aside the book, rose, and fall of sympathy put his arms about her neck and asked if she was feeling 1 again. “No, my dear, but T am much trou- bled about how we are to provide for ourselves, for it will be some time be- fore I can resume my sewing and take “Oh!” replied Allen, “is that all? ‘Why, Rover and I will look after you!” “Ah! I know,” she replied, as she patted the dog’s shaggy hair, “but nei- ther of you have any capital for us to live on.” “Just don’t worry, mother; we will soon earn some, for now that you can be_left alone we can begin to work.” The next morning Allen hustled about and when his mother was cared tor and ing was in order, he started off in search of with Rover trotting along by his side. No one in the stores needed an er- rand boy, 50 he met several trains and sarned fltu cents for carrying two dress suit cases. He spent this money in purchasing for his mother and the o walked to his his hand fully repaid him His confldence in his ability to earn support feelings as <he in some way to of daily papers. ‘He stationed himself on one of the principal corners near the business section with Rover by his side. He shouted himself hoarse as he called in a drawling, sing-song, clear voice: “Have a Tribune, Daily News and All about the fire, the mys- tery of Hart’s Hollow, the robbery and all the events of the day.” Something said reached the ear of the pass- erby, who would hastily thrust his hands into his pocket for the required change and put it into the boy's out- stretched hand, then passed on. After the papers were nearly sold he would pat Rover on the head and whisper to him that he must do is part. Allen cleared quite a space and then told the waiting people that they would now see the tricks his wonder- ful and intelligent dog could perform. Many laughed, but soon all were in- terested and amused in watching the dog, as he obeyed his young master and did in his way all that Allen ask- ed him to do. ‘When Rover was asked how old he was he answered by barking four times in succession; when told to say “Good morning,” Rover would bend three legs and raise the other paw to shake hands with the person to whom he bowed his head. When told to be “a dead dog” he would lay down and relax all his muscles which would immediately become alert and active when ‘Allen called out “Come, Rover! All alive!” When asked to say his prayers he would kneel down and bow his-head on Allen's master shouted, “Amen,” then up Ro- erv would jump at once. He played ball and performed various other tricks and last he would take a han- dle in his mouth which was inserted in a box and pass it around amonsgst the people who had witnessed his per- formance, pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters rattled and jingled against each other as they fell into the box. The people never tired of the dog's tricks, and the last part of every af- ternoon of each day a crowd would collect around Rover and Allen, who entertained taem so well that they ‘waited impat tly for the next after- noon to " ‘Allen 3 beyond his - expecta. tions and they not only procured their daily food, but were able to pay the r'en’: until his mother was strong and el She then resumed her dutles of be- ing the bread-winner and Allen re- turned to school, with a firm determi- nation to malce the most of his school ‘his | Gays, for he now feit that a full knowl- edge of the required studies were step- stones to help him in future 10sen work, He and his mother fully realized that Rover shn‘lélw ths’:om_r :t:a Te- Mrs, Stevens "ded him by pur- chasing him. a new collar which was fastened with a large bow of wide burnt orange n. It is needless to say that al- ways shared with his master and - tress whenpever they had any nice ex- tra treat. DIANA. ! Outdoor Chums you sent me h‘wuhln- 1 think it very interest- George Owen Geer of Thank you very much for the book you gave me. I think the ies are fine. 5 Ray 8. Holdridge of Ledyard: Have just finished my book and found it great. 1 am thanking you for the same, Norwich: prize stor- THE WINNERS OF PRIZE BOOKS. The 1—Lucy Gray of Yantic: The Bobb- sey Twins at Snow Lodge. 2—Mildred Grandy of Yantic: The Campfire Girls in the Outside World. 3—Katherine ‘Gorman of Versallles: The Girls of Central High on Track and Field. 4—Carl Anderson of Baltic: Robin- son Crusoe. ;- 5—Edith W. Hathaway of Bozrah- ville: The Automobile Girls Along the ‘Hudson. 6—Ruth Morse of North Ashford: The Bobbsey Twins at Meadow Brook. T—Carrie A. Pratt of Pomfret Cen- tsar: The Girls of Central High on the 3—Grace Burrill of Staffora Sprinss: Little Stories for Little People. —_—— = LETTERS TO UNCLE JED. King Midas. Dear Uncle Jed: 1 thought I would write you about King Midas. Once upon a time there lived a very rich king, whose name was Midas. King Midas had a girl named Mary- gold. The king was very fond of gold. He loved it more than anything in the world. One day. while King Midas was in his treasure room count- ing his treasure. When he looked up he saw a stranger in the room. “You are a rich man, friend Midas,” sald the_ stranger. “Yes, I have some gold.” answered Midas, “but it is not enough. “What! Are you not satisfled ™ cried the stranger. Midas shook his head. “What do you wish,” asked thp stranger. Midas thought and thought. At last he looked at the stranger and said: “I wish everything I touch might turn to gold.” “Are you sure that you would be satisfied then?” “Yes.” amswered Midas. Everything King Midas touched changed to gold. Just then Marygold ran to her fath- er and put her hand around his neck. “Good morning, dear father,” she said. The king kissed his little daughter. “Mv dear Marygold,” he cried. Marygold did not answer. His kiss had changed her into gold. The next day the stranger came in and said: “Well. friend Midas, how do_vou like the Golden Touch?’ Midas shook his head. “T am very unhappy.” he said. “Why 1s that? “Gold is not everything,” said Mi- das. “I will tell you how to get rid of the golden touch. Go and bathe in the river and evervtbing vou want to change back you pour water over it.” Kinz Midas ran and poured water vgold, and she was changed If again. How happy Midas " may be sure he was glad 1 af the zolden touch. ESTHER LEVINE, Age 9. Colchester. g A Mayflower Hunt. Dear Uncle Jed: The other day two of my sisters and I went out to look for may flowers, down in the pines where they grow. It was about a mile down there, and it was a bright sunny day. All the way down we looked beside the road for blossoms, but there were only buds. We saw many birds flying about as if looks ing for places to build nests. When we reached the other farm we saw three deer in the field. They ran away as soon as they saw us. We found quite a few Mayflowers and they were very pretty and sweet. We found some hepaticas the fifteenth of April. They are the first spring flow- ers and the Mayflowers come next. After we picked the flowers we started home. As we were very thirsty we drank some water at the spring. I am glad spring is here again after the long winter and I guess every one is. MARY A. BURRILL, Age 13. Stafford Springs. Bananas. Dear Uncle Jed: Bananas are a na- tive to India. Now they are found in all tropical countries. “We get most of our bananas from the West Indies and Central America. There are some bananas produced in Florida, Loui- siana and California. There are many varieties. The banana commonly exported is the Martinique. They produce a large bunch of yellow fruit. Another de- lcious variety is the apple banana. They produce small fruit and the fragrance and the taste is like an ap- ple. In Hawaii a home garden will pro- duce fifteen different kinds of bananas. Bananas are common in the tropi- cal countries. There is another kind called the cooking bananas. They are edible raw. They have a thick, salmon-col- ored flesh. They have a dark. skin. The natives of the South Sea Islands subsist entirely on bananas for their main food. LUCY GRAY, Age 13. Yantic. The Oldest Cemetery. Dear Uncle Jed: The oldest cemetery of this-town is the Gallup cemetery on_ Pine Hill road. The oldest stone in that cemetery is that of old William Gallup. On Pine Hill road the first church in town was built on the very day Sterling was incorporated. Rev. James Bulingama was one of the most noted gospel preachers in New England. The Sterling Hill church was built ailn‘li! next the Line church on Ekonk . Sterling Academy was built west of the Green on Sterling Hill. Lafayette and a company of Revolu- tionary soldiers camped on the Green east of the school house. Mr. C.:Ames of Providence did much to bring the railroad through Sterl- ing and gave a station, but when the first train came by he was dead in the house and this train carried his body to Providence for burial. LENA SAYLES, Age 13. Moosup. The Connecticut Colony. Dear Uncle Jed: The Connecticut Colony was settled in the vears (1633- 36) by Thomas Hooker and a body of people who believed as he did. ‘The laws of Massachusetts Bay Colony ‘were much too strict. As the land occupied by the new colony was claimed by the Dutch, the new settlers had to fortify thelr homes against them as well as the native Indians. The Pequot Indlans did not _ like these .¢‘pale new settlers. They held caouncil of war and decided to tm get the oln . heard of this he went at once to the of the chief of ‘the N: tts and bersuaded him not fo join the Pe- quots. In (1637) the Pequot Pequots - attacked a mall _town i and white. We got them when they were about two weeks old and they lefaces,” as they called the | miost war began. The | Canada thistle ery much. There are eighteen children in my school. I am in the sixth grade and _the .lr?dl::; that I have '.Ira: Reading, arithmetic, language, history, geogra- phy-.':ivlcl‘ physiology, wi mu: CLARA HOLBROOK, Age 10. Hazardville. STORIES WRITTEN BY WIDE- AWAKES. The Polar Bears. Away in the cold, cold, north, where "the ground is never clear of snow, and where, even in _summer mountains of ice float about in the sea, lives the polar bear. No cold is so severe as to hurt him, for he is covered with the thickest of fur. He walks along the field of ice, and enjoys the sharp air as much as you do the sunshine on a bright May morning. His feet never slip on the ice, for they are covered with long halr, which makes his footing sure. 1f he finds himself on an island of ice, it is no matter to him, for he can swim. He swims in the water as fast as he walks on the land—now floating on the surface like a duck, and now diving under like a fish. Quietly he prowles about in search of food, and finds a _meal everywhere, though you might thing there is lit- tle to eat in these dreary regions. Sometimes he catches a seal asleep on the ice; or dashes after one in the water; sometimes he dives after fish, and catches even them, swift though they are. A deal whale affords him food enough to last for many days, and if animal -food becomes scarce he finas some mountainside from which the snow is melted and feasts on berries; or if he gets very hungry indeed, he manages to make a meal of seaweed. HAROLD HATHAWAY, Age 8. Bozrahville. Jack’s Heroism. Jack lived on a large farm in the country. About a half a mile from the house there was a large pond. One day Jack was fishing in the pond. It was getting late so he start- ed _to go home. Suddenly he heard a cry and looking 'k he saw his friend, Raymond struggling in the water. He did not hesitate a moment but tore off his jacket and shoes and jumped into the water. He swam to Raymond, who could not swim, grab- bed him by the arm and swam to shore. Raymond’s father,, who was a rich fisherman, gave him a gold medal and twenty-five dollars. Jack and Raymond were very good friends after that. ROBERT BORGESON, Age 10. ‘Willimantic. His Scotch Collie. My dog came all the way from Boston, Mass., on the train with some of her sisters and brothers. She is a graceful dog and very gentle to cats especially. She is a beautiful Scotch Collle, with long, shaggy hair and a very good watch dog. When the firebeil rings she jumps and howls about the house like a wild wolf. ‘When she is out at night and the firebell rings she runs around the house a few times and then she will run down to the corner and wait for the motorcycle to come after my fa- ther. When the recall rings she runs down to the corner and waits until he comes back. q JOSEPH GERNHARD, Age 12. Norwich. Our Two Cats. ‘We have two cats. They are gray are three years old now. One is called “Buster,” and one “Peanut.” In the winter every time the door is opened Peanut slips in. He climbs up to the kitchen cabinet and helps himself. Sometimes we put him down in the cellar under the kitchen. He then crawls up between the walls and sleeps by the chimney where it is warm. One evening we had an entertain- ment at our schoolhouse. They both followed us up there, and I had to car- ry them home. NANCY TETREAULT, Age 13. Versailles. Little Boy. Dear Uncle Jed: One warm day a little boy was lying under a maple tree reading a story and his mother sald: “Little boy, go down to the garden and get me a head of lettuce.” The little boy said: “No, I can't go. I'm too hot.” When his father heard this he lift- ed the little boy up carefully by his waist and dipped him into a tub of water and then said: “I guess you are cool enough now so you can go down and get the let- tuce.” The little boy went drip, drip, drip- ping, down to the garden and got the lettuce; and came back drip, drip, dripping to change his clothes. GRACE BURRILL, Age 11. Stafford Springs. The Mischevious Dog. My dog Sport is very fond of chas- ing hens, turkeys and following hawks, crows and other birds. One day I spled him in the hen coop and gave him a good switching, but not long R e e ea <l a hen which he caught afterwards. ‘This got my mother very angry and she decided to sell Sport, but I begged her not to sell him because he might be needed many times to drive away woodchucks from the gar- den. That is the way with some dogs, if they aren’t fed good and cared for. WALTER SUPINA, Age 14. Weed Seeds Carried in Hay. that jt was a dreary out-of-season day, and that the wind, blowing arourd the corner of the house, had a bitter, hopeless sound as on the coldest win- ter day. Her eyes wandered disinterested over the gray-white ecene and to the walnut tree. It grew right out- side the window so she could see quite clearly a woe-begone little white and black and red shape. Could it be a robin out in the storm? She began to be sorry for it, even sorrier than she was for herself. Suddenly the little cottony shape became animated. It shook itself and flapped its wings; it lifted its head to- ward the drab sky—and it sang! Robin Redbreast had at last decided to be happy despite the snow and the chilly wind. The woman at the window hearl the song and she, too, became animat- ed. A light came into her eyes—a wlad light. She unfolded her idle hands, opened her sad, turn-down-at- the-corners mouth, and began to sing, too. It was an old hymn she sang— one of the kind we love to sing when we come into the light from ese. And she sang because the robin had made her glad. CARRIE A. PRATT. Pomfret Center. Our Cattle. We have four cows whose names are Molly, May, Ruth and Fannie. Molly and Fannie are red and white. They are all good and gentle cows. We have a heifer whose name is Belle —she is black and white and is very pretty. We have a young bison that is red and white. He has large horns and will hook at us when we go by his head. We also have two heifer calves whose names are Beauty and Lucy. Lucy is red and white. She is very pretty. Her mother’s name Is Ruth. I Kave led her a great many times. she has much more life than Beauty and will try to get away from me when I lead her. Beauty is very pretty: her mother's name is Molly. My sister Peayl want- ed to lead her. Papa thought she had better leave her in the barn, but she thought she could bandle her. Ome or two of my schoolmates were there, and to have a little fun I jumped and scared her. She “snaked” Pearl through the mud and we laughed and laughed. She has not asked papa to let_her lead Beauty since. One morning 1 went to give Beauty and Lucy their milk. While I was leading Lucy 1 sat the other pail down and Eeauty bunted the pall and tipped it over, so she had to go with- out her breakfast. I call Fannie my cow. She is very pretty and I think a great deal of her. RUTH MORSE, Age 12. North Ashford. Whatever You Undertake, Always Do Your Best. “When I was a lad,” said a wealthy and distinguished merchant, to one asking the secret of success in life, “I went to pay a visit to my grandfather a venerable man, whose velvet cap, blue coat, and high silver knee-buckles filled me with awe. On bldding him good-bye, he drew me gently to him, and placing dis hand on my head, said: “My iittle grandson, 1 have one thing to say to you; will youstry and remember it I looked at his face and nodded, for 1 was afraid to promise aloud. “T want to give you a piece of ad- vice,” he continued, “which, If you follow, will prove a sure passport to success. It is this: Whatever ,you undertake, always do your best.” “This was my grandfather's only legacy to me, but it proved far better than silver and gold. T never forgot those words, and I tried to act on them. After reaching home, iny uncle gave my cousin and myself some weeding to do in the garden; it was in the aft- ernoon, and we had plans for some- thing else. My cousin was so {ll- humroed that he preformed his work very carelessly, and I began mine in the same way. Suddenly the advice of my grandfather was called back to my mind, and I 41d my best. “By keeping always that dear mot- to in my mind, I have always gained the confidence of those with whom I have dealings; and prosperity has crowned my efforts. My only secret of success has been my grandfather's legacy—"“Always do your best.” GEORGE BUNENSTOCK, Age 18. New Yory City. Picking Berrles. Berry-picking begins in July. T¢ one is a good picker, he can get three quarts of huckleberries in a short while. Two or three boys go to- gether. They start for the berry fleld about six o'clock. It is a two mile walk, and this is mostly uphii. This walk takes about three-quarters of an hour. We call large black or blue berries, “blubs.” We try to get these for a top on our pajl. We can get home by half-past ten or eleven o'clock if we have good luck. ‘When one goes after berries, much can be seen and heard. Squirrels can be seen running about and once in a while a deer will be seen. Snakes are seen very often. Birds can be heard singing and crickets chirping, and the wind can be heard whistling through the trees. berries, are ‘Bugs, l'!;l]ckl, and wvery troublesome. creep around sometimes in on your clothes, and your pail. Sticks fall in while you are Chattfield. TV moving from one place to My mother has tried both ways, and tglh l:;ve come out good, especially e pi By picking berries; anyone can earn TRV ARY, ANDERSON, Age 13. A Baftic. PE— Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1804 an army expedi men headed by Lewis and Clark were sent out by President Jefferson to ex- plore the Louisiana purchase. In 1805 they sailed into the Mis- sourl avnr and_came -crn-‘m big flocks of wild' turkeys. i i § £ i ¥ i ¥ B : i ! o %‘!i’ pfe g Hiy i i g { : E ¥ 2 it Hi agé; E i i g i i qg H £ g Some to live in cellars, or in tatics. are not likely to be disturbed there. Others prefer to make their homes un- der the cdges of shingles, or In the cracks of a wall, while many others live on the ground or under the bark of trees. There are wary little spiders who live among flowers, ready to catch any insect visitors. Spiders are divided into two groups —the cobweb spider, which spins a web and lies in wait for his prey, and the hunting spider whoch goes boldly forth to seek it The fine silk of the webs and of the cocoons which hold the eggs is very wonderful. Some spiders weave soft silk nests among the leaves, and thelr bables find themselves in the dainti- est of cradles. One spiger has a curious way of building her house. She first makes a hole or cave in the ground, six or seven inches deep. In this burrow she will keep her babies when the weather is chilly, and many spiders would be content with such a warm, comfortable home. But she is not so easily satisfled and she cannot rest until she has added a tower to her mansion. She is a carpenter, ma- son. and a mother, all in one. The timbers which she uses are scarcely two inches in length, and her bricks are tiny, round balls of earth. She works inside the burrow, placing her sticks with care. She holds each log in place with her fore feet and fastens it with strong silk. Then she arranges her bricks carefully and neatly, taking pains that there shall be no rough cornmers to hurt her lit- tle ones. When the work is finished she has a fine fower more than two inches high, where her babjes may enjoy the sunshine. KATHERINE GORMAN, Age 11. Versallles. How the Felspar Mine is Operated. Tn my previous letter about a Felspar mine, I said I would write about the operation of the quarry. Holes are first drilled in the ledge from two to ten feet deep. Usually six ten foot holes are blasted at once It throw= about fifty tons or more. When the steam drill is ‘working zood it drills about sixty feet = oay. It is very interesting to watch the men work, as every blast turns out differently. Dyrnamite is put into these holes in proportion to the quantity of rock to be thrown out, this being packed down by soft dirt.. The dynamite is ignited by means of a fuse attached to an_electric battery. When the This id called a blast. blast is all ready the danger signal is given for the men to seek safety and the blast is set off. Many tons of rock are thrown out with one blast. When the signal Is given that all danger of flying rocks is past, the men return to the quarry where the pure spar is sent to one heap. and that which needs sorting is sent to anoth- er where several men are engaged re- moving (by means of small steel hammers the quartz and mica, com- monly called ising glass) from the Felspar. The mica is called a by-product and has a great many uses. The Felspar freed from any foreign matter is ready to be shipped to the potters, soap-makers, etc., there to be ground for their purposes. There are many grades of Felspar: the product of the mine of which I write being of such puremess is call- ed virgin Felspar. In my other letter I told about the jewels found in Felspar mines. T thought this might be interesting to tho%e who knew nothing about Felspar. RAYMOND WELDEN, Age 12. Wilimantic. Bees. T am going to tell the Wide-Awakes about ‘There are many cousins in the bee family, some wild and somg domesticated. Humble and bumble bees are the musical members of the family. The family consists of the queen, or female, the drones, or males, and the workers. When you wish to in- vestigate a hive. put on thick gloves, a mosquito netting about the hat, and :le the wrists of your sleeves close- y. ‘The workers do all the work about the hive, build the cells, collect the honey, feed the young, make the bee bread (compressed poilen), and fol- low the queen In her journeys. The bees manufacture their own wax for the interior of the hive and shape their cells. When a queen is desired, a particularly large cell is built; for a drone, a geometrl perfect cell is constructed. A bee sweeps the honey out of the flower with its little brush-like tongue, deposits it in the honmey sac, and there a little change takes place which transforms it into the secretion ed honey. which is put into the to feed the young. SARAH Norwich. call- cells HYMAN, Age 12. Stone House Grey. Stone House Grey was a large house situated on one of the most re- fined streets of London. The deriva- tion of its name was unknown. Tt had been called Stone House Grey be- fore Mary's ancestors had livea The house was now occupled Lady Chattfield, Mary’s mot g Chattfield, Mary's 3 ‘The house contained fiftecn m‘ rooms, five of which were unoccupled. The house was made of had a very large plece of land around it which was used as a garden which could be l.‘néotl of flowers. there. by Lord and 5 RAFF, Age 13. 3 pilie shosplss B end of the leaf the main rib extends like a tem- dril, and to this is attached a little pitcher with a 1id on the top. lid though it can be raised, is gener ally shut down. The rain, therefore, cannot get in, and yet the pitcher is always full of water. Now, how do you suppose this wa- ter gets there? It is a part of the sap of the plant, and is poured from thousands of little mouths on the in- side into the pitcher, which is thus kept filled with water. This plant is quite comon in the is- land of Ceylon, where it is called the monkey-cups because the monkeys sometimes open the lid and drink the water. Men, too, sometimes drink from these little pitchers, when there is no spring of water at band where they can quench their thirst. The leaf of the Venus fiy-trap, @ plant which is a native of Canada, is a real frap for flles and other in- sects. When undisturbed, it looks as it no danger were there: but let an insect ajight on the leaf, and he is made a prisoner at once. The two parts of the leaf close and the points on the edge are locked together, so to_furnish bars to the prison. Most leaves are thin, but some are very thick, as in the case of the In- dia rubber tree. The plants called cactuses have thick fleshy leaves, wkich make them look very awkward, but the flowers are very beautiful. It is a singular fact that if one of the leaves is broken off and put into the ground, it will take root and grow. Why does a leaf fade when it is plucked from a tree? It is because the sap can no ionger get to it; just as no water can get into a house when the water-pipe is cut off. When the leaf is on the tree, the sap flows to all parts of it through the ribs of the leaf; the ribs, like the stem, having innumerable little pipes in them for the sap to run In. But when a leaf is plucked, the watery part of the sap escapes into the air torough innum- erable MNtle holes or pores on the un- der surface of the leaf, so small that they cannot be seen without the ald of a powerful microscope. When the ribs and the fine network between them bave thus lost their supply of eap. the leaf is said to be faded. The water in the leaf of the pitcher plant, as alrcady stated, comes from the pores on the inside. If, instead of having a pitcher shape, the leaf were laid open and spread out like a com- mon leaf the water would all pass away Into the gir: but the little pitch- er, with curious lid, prevents the mois- ture from escaping, and is soon quite full. This shows how much water es- capes from leaves into the air. 1f any comon leaf could be changed into & pitcher or cup shape, with a 1id on it, it would soon become filled with water, flowing into it from the pores of the leaf. Leaves may be sald to be contin- ually breathing moisture into the air. This moisture helps to make the air soft, and the fragrance of the flowers makes it balmy. Each leaf, it 14 true, ylelds but litle water and eo does but little good in this way; but there are so many leaves that a large quantity of moisture is continually es- caping from them into the air. EDITH W. HATHAWAY, Age 0. Bozrahville. ? Farming. It is great sport to be a farmer in the summer time when the orchards are filled with apples of all kinds, and when the flelds are decorated with waving corn and vegetables. That is the time for fun. You can set off to do the chores with your pockets full of apples and os. pears, or even peach Weeding is the greatest sport of all, especially when you get in the midst of a radish patch or peas and cab- bages. ‘As a whole farming is the best sport 1 ever came across. When you can eat a breakfast, dinner or supper, of fresh milk, new laid ezgs and fresh vegetables there is nothing like it. ALFRED BALDWIN, Age 13. Versailles. Production of Anthracite in 1915, ‘The production of anthracite in 1915, as shown by the final figures compile: by C. E. Lesher, of the United States Geological Survey, from returns made by the o ors, 'was 79,459,876 gross tons, differing from the estimate of 79,100,000 tons published last January by less than ome-half of 1 per cel. The value of this output was $184,633.- 498, an average of $2.32 per ton, a val- ue slightly higher than the average in 1914. Compared with the figures for 1914 those for 1915 show a decrease of 2 per cent in quantity and 1.9 per cent in value. Anthracite is used mainly as a do- mestic fuel, and the mild weather dur- ing the early months of 1915 resulted ina in consumption. A fall- ing off in the exports to Canada, ‘which normally takes a large quantity, and light buying by bouseholders and retall yards in this country during the tributing to this There were 176,552 men employed In the anthracite mines in 1515, a greater number than in any yeag except 1914, ‘when there were 179,679. The average number of days thesg men worked was 230, ac compared With 245 in 1914, and the number of tons produced per man per year was 450, and per man per day 1.96, as against 451 tons per year and 184 tons per day in 1914. 1915, and 57 els the surface, 1,001,431 tons having taken from steam-shovel The l&.—u shovels