Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, February 22, 1910, Image 1

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YORKViLLE ENQUIRER. ISSUED SBHX-WEESLT. l. m. OBIST'S SONS. Pabiuhm.} 5 jMfr gamp)!": Jfor th^ promotion of th< jgoliUcat. gonial, ^.gricnttntat and (gommtijtial jnttrwts of lh> fro^U. ' {TK^o?'.^Ftgr.avlc.^NI> B8 r ABL13 BED 188S. YORKVILLE, 8. C., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1910. ISTO. 15. Truxton f King / Copyright, 1909, by George J\ Barr McCutcheon II Copyright. 1909, by Dodd. 1/ Meed 41 Company Synopsis of Preceding Chapters. Chapter I?Truxton Kin* arrives In Edelweiss, capital of Graustark, and meets the beautiful niece of Spantz, a gunmaker. II?Kins does a favor for Prince Robin, the young ruler of the country, whose guardian is John Tullls, an American. CHAPTER III. Many Persons In Review. Truxton King witnessed the review of the garrison. That In itself was rather a tame exhibition for a man who had seen the finest troops in all the world. A thousand earnest looking soldiers, proud of the opportunity to march before the little prince, and that was all, so far as the review was concerned. Mr. King saw the court in all Its glory scattered along the shady Castle avenue?in carriages, In traps, in motors and in the saddle. His brain whirled and his heart leaped under the pressure of a new found interest in life. If Truxton King had given up in disgust and fled to Vienna this tale would never have come to light Instead of being the lively narrative of a young gentleman's adventures In faraway Graustark, it might have become a tale of the smart set In New York, for, as you know, we are bound by tradition to follow the trial laid down by our hero, no matter which way he elects to fare. He confided to his friend from Cook's that he could never have forgiven himself if he had adhered to his resolution to leave on the following day. "I didn't know you'd changed your mind, air," remarked Mr. Hobbs In surprise. "Of course you didn't knew it," said Truxton. "How could you? I've Just changed it this instant I didn't know it myself two minutes ago. No, sir, Hobbs?or Is it Dobbs? Thanks. No, sir, I'm going to stop here for a?well, a week or two. Where the dickens do these people keep themselves? I haven't seen 'em before." "Oh, they are the nobility?the swells. They don't hang around the streets like tourists and rubbernecks, sir," In plain disgust "I say, who Is that Just passing? the lady in the victoria?" King asked abruptly. "That is the Countess Marlanx." "Wh^w! I thought she was the queen." Hobbs went Into details concerning the beautiful countess. "I was Just going to ask if you know anything about a young woman who occasionally tends shop for William Spantz, he amorer," king finally asked. Hobbs looked Interested. "She's quite a beauty, sir, I give you my # word." "I know that, Hobbs. But who is she?" "I really can't say, sir. She's his niece, I've heard. Been here a little over a month. I think she's from Warsaw." "Well, I'll say goodby here. If you've nothing on for tomorrow we'll visit the castle grounds and?ahem!?take a look about the place. Come to the hotel early. I'm going over to the gunshop." He was whistling gayly as he entered the little shop, ready to give a cheery greeting to old Spantz and to make him a temporizing offer for the broadsword. But It was not Spantz who stood behind the little counter. Truxton flushed hotly and Jerked off his hat The girl smiled. "I beg pardon," he exclaimed. "I? I'm looking for Mr. Spantz. I"? "He is out. Will you wait." She turned to the window, resuming the wistful, preoccupied gaze down the avenue. "Beg pardon," he said politely. "I wanted to have another look at the broadsword there." Very quickly?he noticed that she went about it clumsily despite her supple gracefulness?she withdrew the heavy weapon from the window and laid it upon the counter. "I am not?not what you would call an expert," she said frankly. "What's the price?" he asked, his courage faltering under the cool, impersonal gaze. "I do not know. My uncle has told you. I am quite new at the trade. I hope you will excuse my ignorance. My uncle will be here in a moment." She was turning away with an air that convinced King of one thing?she ?? ??, o norenn n-hr> in nr> sense had ever been called upon to serve others. "So I've heard." he observed. The bait took effect. She looked up quickly. He was confident that a startled expression flitted across her face. "You have heard? What have you heard of me?" she demanded. Mr. King was Inspired to fabricate in the interest of psychical research. "I have heard that you are not the niece of old man Spantz." He watched intently to catch the effect of the declaration. "You have heard nothing of the kind," she said coldly. "Well, I'll confess I haven't." he admitted cheerfully. "It pleases me to deduce that you are not related to the armorer. You don't look the part." Now she smiled divinely. "And why not, pray? His sister was my mother." "In order to establish a line on which to base my calculations, would you mind telling me who your father is?" He asked the question with his most appealing smile, a smile so frankly impudent that she could not resent it. "My father is dead," she said seriously, "and my mother is dead. Now can you understand why I am living here with my uncle? Even an amateur ?" ' Hao tr> that Vmv. sir. do VOU expect to purchase the sword? If not I shall replace It in the window." A k$*tory of GraustarK. By GEORGE BARR ( M'CUTCHEON || Q ==^J "That's what I came here for," said he, resenting her tone and the icy look she grave him. "I gathered that you came in the capacity of Sherlock Holmes or something else." She added the last three words with unmistakable meaning. She was leaning toward him, her hands on the counter, a peculiar gleam in her dark eyes, which now for the first time struck him as rather more keen and penetrating than he had suspected before. "I simply want to tell you, Mr. King, that unless you really expect to buy this sword it is not wise in you to make it an excuse for coining here." "My dear young lady, I"? "My uncle has a queer conception of the proprieties. He may think that you come to see me. Young men may ft. & k\ JU "TAKE MT ADVICE?DO NOT PLAT WITH FIBK," HE SAID. chat with shopgirls all the world over, but in Edelweiss, no, unless they come to pay most honorable court to them. My uncle would not understand." "I take it, however, that you would understand," he said boldly. "I have lived in Vienna, in Paris and in L<ondon, but now I am living in Edelweiss. 1 have not been a shopgirl always." "I can believe that. My deductions are Justified." "My uncle is returning," she remarked suddenly. "I must not talk to you any longer." She glanced uneasily out upon the square and then hurriedly added, a certain wistfulness in her voice and eyes: "I couldn't help it today. I forgot my place. But you are the first gentleman I've spoken to since i came nere. When Spantz entered the door the girl was going listlessly from the window and Truxton King was leaning against the counter with his back toward her, his arms folded and a most Impatient frown on his face. Spantz's black eyes shot from one to tne other. "What do you want?" he demanded sharply. "The broadsword. And, say, Mr. Spantz, you might assume a different tone in addressing me. I'm a customer, not a beggar." The girl left the window and walked slowly to the rear of the shop, passing through the narrow door, without so much as a glance at King or the old man. Spantz was silent until she was gone. "You want the broadsword, eh?" he asked, moderating his tone considerably. "It's a rare old"? "I'll give you a hundred dollars?not anotner cent," interrupted King, not yet over his resentment. There followed a long and irritating argument, at the conclusion of which Mr. King became the possessor of the weapon at his own price. "I'll come in again," he said indifferently. "But you are leaving tomorrow, sir." "I've changed my mind." "Then you have discovered something in Edelweiss to attract you?" grinned the old armorer. "I dare say you're right. Clean that sword up a bit for me, and I'll drop in tomorrow and get It. Here's 60 gavvos to bind the bargain?the rest on delivery. Good day, Mr. Spantz." "Good day, Mr. King." "How do you happen to know my name?" Spantz put his hand over his heart and delivered himself on a most impressive bow. "When so distinguished a visitor comes to our little city," he said, "we lose no time in discovering his name. It is a part of our trade, sir, believe me." 'Tm not so sure that I do believe you," said Truxton King to himself as he sauntered up the street toward the hotel. Mr. Hobbs, from Cook's, was at his elbow, his eyes glistening with eagerness. "I say, old Dangloss Is waiting for you at the Regengetz, sir. Wot's up? Wot you been up to. sir?" "Up to?up to, Hobbs?" "My word, sir, you must have been or he wouldn't be there to see you." "Who is Dangloss?" "Minister of police. Haven't I told you? He's a keen one, too, take my word for it. I heard him ask for you." He lost no time in getting- to the hotel. A well remembered, fierce looking little man in a white linen suit was waiting for him on the great piazza. Rarnn Jasto Dangloss was a polite man. but not to the point of procrastination. He advanced to meet the puzzled American, smiling amiably and swirling his imposing mustache with neatly gloved fingers. "I have called, Mr. King, to have a little chat with you," he said abruptly. He enjoyed the look of surprise on the young man's face. "Won't you join me at this table? A julep will not be bad, eh?" King sat down opposite to him at one of the piazza tables in the shade of the great trailing vines. A waiter took the order and departed. "Now, to come to the point," began the baron. "You expected to leave tomorrow. Why are you staying over?" "Baron, I leave that to your own dis- 1 tlnguished powers of deduction," said I Truxion genuy. ne iuuiv a. ?vii? *?*... at the straw, watching the other's face as he did so. The baron smiled. "You have found the young lady In the gunshop to be very attractive," observed the baron. "Where have you known her before?" "I beg pardon?" "It Is not unusual for a young man In search of adventure to follow the lady of his choice from place to place. She came but recently, I recall." "You think I knew her before and followed her to Edelweiss?" "I am not quite sure whether you have been In Warsaw lately. There Is a gap In your movements that I can't account for." King became serious at once. He saw that It was best to be frank with this keen old man. "Baron Dangloss, I don't know Just what vou are driving at. but I'll set you straight, so far as I'm concerned. I never saw that girl until the day before yesterday. I never spoke to her until today." "She smiled on you quite familiarly from her window casement yesterday," said Dangloss coolly. "She laughed at me, to be perfectly candid. But what's all this about?" Dangloss leaned forward and smiled sourly. "Take my advice?do not play with fire," he said enigmatically. "You?you mean she's a dangerous person? I can't believe that, baron." "She has dangerous friends out in the world. She is Olga Platanova. Her mother was married in this city twenty-five years ago to Professor Platanova of Warsaw. The professor was executed last year for conspiracy. He was one of the leaders of a great revolutionary movement in Poland. They were virtually anarchists, as you have come to place them in America. This girl Olga was his secretary. His death almost killed her. But that is not all. She had a sweetheart up to fifteen months ago. He was a prince of the royal blood. He would have married her in spite of the difference in their stations had it not been for the intervention of the crown that she and her kind hate so well. The young man's powerful relatives took a hand in the affair. He was compelled to marry a scrawny little duchess, and Olga was warned that if she attempted to entice nim away from his wife she would be punished. She did not attempt It, because she is a virtuous girl. Her uncle, Spantz, offered her a home." "Baron, are you sure that she is a red?" asked King. "Quite. She attended their councils." "She doesn't look it, 'pon my word. I thought they were- the scum of the earth." "The kind you have in America are. But over here?oh, well, we never can tell." "I'm much obliged. And I'll keep my eyes well opened. I suppose there's nn harm in mv Jroine to the ShOD to look at a lot of rings and knlckknacks he has for sale?" "Not in the least. Confine yourself to knlckknacks, that's all." "Isn't Spantz above suspicion?" "No one In my little world. By the way, I am very fond of your father. He is a most excellent gentleman and a splendid shot." Truxton stared harder than ever. "What's that?" "I know him quite well. Hunted wild boars with him five years ago in Germany. And your sister! She was a beautiful young girl. They were at Ciarlsbad at the time. Was she quite well when you last heard?" "She was," was all that the wondering brother could say. The baron left the American standing at the head of the steps, gazing after his retreating figure with a look of admiration in his eyes. Truxton fared forth into the streets that night with a greater zest in life than he had ever known before. A man with a limp cigarette between his lips was never far from the side of the American?a man who had stopped to pass the time of day with William Spantz and who from that hour was not to let the young man out of his sight until another relieved him of the task. To be Continued. A CHINESE STRATAGEM. Legend of How a Projected Invasion Was Averted. Rajah Suran, who was one of the earliest rulers of India, overran the entire east with the exception of China, killed innumerable sultans with his own hand and married all their daughters. It is said that when the Chinese houtvi of triumnhant Droarress and learned that he had reached their frontier they became much alarmed. The emperor called a council of his generals and mandarins, and upon the advice of a crafty old mandarin the following stratagem was carried out: A large ship was loaded with rusty nails, trees were planted on the deck, the vessel was manned by a numerous crew of old men and dispatched to the rajah's capital. When it arrived?the most wonderful part of the story is that it did arrive?the rajah sent an officer to ask how long it had taken the vessel to make the trip from China. The Chinamen answered that they had all been young men when they set sail and that on the voyage they had planted the seeds from which the great trees had grown. In corroboration of their story they pointed to the ru9ty nails which, they said, had been stout Iron bars as thick as a man's arm when they started. "You can see." they concluded, "that China must be a very long distance away." The rajah was so much Impressed by these plausible arguments that he concluded he would not live long enough to reach China and abandoned his projected invasion. ittiscfllanrous grading. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. What and How to Buy and How t< U?e Th?m. Since the prime object In the use o! all commercial fertilizers is to increasi production, they must be used eithei to supply plant food directly or to ? act upon the soil that a larger quantitj of its nutritive elements will be at tn? disposal of the plant. In actual practice most commercial fertilizers combine both effects. All the substances required by plants except three?nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash?are abundant in most Boils. The chief function of nitrogen In plants Is to promote growth, but It li also of very great Importance In th? perfection of fruit Nitrogen enters largely Into the composition of plants, and It follows that everything of vegatable origin Is a valuable source of thli substance. When vegetable matter la burned, the nitrogen la released from Its combination and escapes into the atmosphere and Is lost. The forma moat Important to the farmer of the south In which nitrogen is available are vegetable matter, the droppings of animals, cottonseed meal, bone meal, nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, and the products of the slaughter pen in what la known as tankage. Next in Importance as a plant food is phosphoric acid. It Is largely required by the plant for growth, but Is absolutely essential In the perfection ol seed and is a great factor in hastening the maturity of crops. The form of phosphoric add most accessible to the farmer is known as acid phosphate. Pota3h is more directly effective in promoting fruitage, but it is rarely very deficient in soils, and especially in soils of the gulf states. It is found in abundance in ashes. Commercially it is most cheaply obtained In the form of kainlt Since the elements of plant food already mentioned are required In different quantities by different plants and since the soils vary In their supply, it is well for the farmer to know what his soil and plants need before investing his money in fertilizers. The practical way for the farmer to determine these facts is to observe the growth of the plants on his land. If the plants grow rapidly and make an abundance of leaf and stalk, it is evidence of a good supply of nitrogen. If there is not a proportionate amount of fruit, it is a sure indication that the soil needs phosphoric acid. On the other hand, If the plant has not a good color and tends to drop Its fruit before it reaches a fair size, it indicates that the soil requires potash. Most of the soils of the south are deficient In both nitrogen and phosphoric acid, and some In potash. So when we buy commercial fertilizers, we buy them for their content of these substances. If the farmer has saved all his manures and has grown cowpeas abundantly, as he should, he will rarely have to buy nitrogen. Commercial plant food, called "fertilizer," is never sold pure, but in combination with other substances. The substances with which It Is combined are of no value to the farmer, but simply add to the weight. The laws of nearly all of the states now require that on each sack of commercial fertilizer shall be stamped just what plant food it contains. This composition is given in percentages, which means that in a hundred pounds of the fertilizer there are so many pounds of the particular substances. For example, a certain fertilizer is offered for sale on the sack of which is branded the following: Nitrogen 3 % Soluble phosphoric acid 6 % Reverted phosphoric acid 4 % Available phosphoric acid 10 % Potash 2 % Translated into terms of pounds,, this means that in a sack weighing 100 pounds there are? Three pounds of nitrogen. Six pounds of soluble phosphoric acid Four pounds of reverted phosphoric acid Ten pounds of available phosphoric acid Two pounds of potash. This gives a total of 15 pounds of plant food in a 100-pound sack. When a ton of such fertilizer is bought, the purchaser secures nitrogen, 60 pounds; soluble phosphoric acid, 120 pounds; reverted phosphoric acid, 80 pounds; and potash, 40 pounds. Notice that what is called "available" is the sum of the soluble and the reverted acid. In this fertilizer we obtain three things that are of use?3 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 2 pounds of potash to the hundred pounds. If cottonseed meal, acid phosphate, and kalnit are used to make this fertilizer, it will require the following quantities for one ton of the mixture: Price per Lbs. ton. Cost** Cottonseed meal ... 690 $25 $8 65 Acid phosphate (15 % available) 1,108 15 8 31 Kalnit 202 12 1 21 2,000 18 17 Ammonia is nothing but nitrogen in combination with another substance of no value. Inserting the ammonia in the formula is apt to deceive one who does not know the distinction. Remember that it is the pounds of plant food that are wanted, and not just a sack of stuff the majority of which is of no value. Taking acid phosphates as an example, we find that there is a great variation in their composition. Some run as low as 10 pounds of available phosphoric acid to 100 pounds, while others contain as much as 14 to 15 pounds. As phosphoric acid generally sells at about 5 cents a pound, the former would be worth 50 cents a hundred, whereas the latter would cost 75 cents. In buying, then, it Is economy to take the high grade goods, even though they cost a little more. An average sample of cottonseed meal contains the following percentages of plant food: It is a bad practice to burn off fields and destroy vegetable matter; It is better to turn it under. The humus in vegetable matter has a value in soil renovation frequently greater than Its value as a plant food. ** These prices are based on cottonseed meal, at $25 per ton; acid phosphate, at $15; and kalnit, at $12; If the price of these articles varies up or down, of course that of the ton of fertilizer will vary accordingly. Nitrogen 7.5 % Phosphoric acid 2.5 % Potash 1.5 % | : A 100-pound sack will therefore contain the following quantities of plant food: , Nitrogen 7.5 pounds. Phosphoric acid 5.2 pounds. Potash 1.5 pounds. j j The phosphoric acid may be constd5 jered as available, as the fermentation c | renders it so. v I It fprtllh.Arfl orp iirpH tho fnllnwlnc rgeneral rule should govern: On rich g glands use mainly fertilizers that will t . Istlmulate the fruit and not the stalk . growth. On lighter lands use more , jtof the elements to force growth, com- t , jbined with others which will mature j , fthe fruit. e ' High grade 14 per cent acid phos- r , phate may be considered a basis for f , increasing fruit and hastening matur- e , lty of crops. Even on the richest land f , .it has been demonstrated that a small ^ .percentage of pltrogen added to the q lacid phosphate gives better results. f i Use three parts of acid phosphate and , ,one part of cottonseed meal for cotton. t A mixture of one part of cottonseed s , meal to two parts of high grade acid a , phosphate will greatly Increase the ^ t growing condition and will be better r , for medium soils. Air-slacked lime Is of value for use ], on stiff or gummy soils to loosen them s up, permit the air to enter, and pre- c iVent a sour condition of such soils 0 !'when too wet 0 On thin or Impoverished soils equal ^ quantities of cottonseed meal and acid e i phosphate can be used to advantage. n in case tne roregoing can not be ot>- t talned, standard grade commercial fertlllzers may be used. These should c contain In the mixture 8 to 10 per cent j, of available phosphoric acid, 2 to 3 per c cent of nitrogen, and li to 2 per cent ^ of potash, or on some lands a high c grade acid phosphate, 14 per cent, may t] be used. On black waxy land the best prac- 0 tlce Is to have cotton follow a crop of p cowpeas. e Where lands are greatly worn by -j years of cropping, more fertilizer should be used to the acre, and it should con- a tain about equal parts of cottonseed -j 'meal and high grade acid phosphate. e The beneficial efTect of commercial fer- t) tillzers depends largely upon the pres- j, ence of humus In the soil; hence the 0 importance of using stable manure and t, plowing under green crops. In applying the foregoing lnstruc- n tlons the farmer must use considerable Si Judgment and modify his practice ^ where necessary to lit local conditions.- n In the absence of a good machine, a apply the fertilizer as follows: e Mark out the rows or bed-up, Bpac- a ing as specified in the circular of this 5 series containing general instructions q (Circular No. "A"?69), and distribute ^ the fertilizer In rows. Follow after a with a bull-tongue or scooter shallowly e to mix the fertilizer thoroughly with the? soli. 81 Bedding-up land Is a precaution s] against a heavy rainfall after planting. e In sections where there Is no danger <j from excessive moisture, flat planting e nreferred. and in some cases it mav _ be necessary to plant a few Inches be- w low the surface. Seeds must have moisture, but they must be kept out of t( standing water in the soil. Sl The fertilizer should be distributed 8I several days before planting, as there ^ is danger of injuring the seed if p brought in immediate contact with ^ strong fertilizer. A very careful mix- w ing of th6 fertilizer with the soil is t| necessary for the same reason. On all j( except very rich waxy lands, It will 0 pay to use commercial fertilizers some- 8( what liberally. d Where as much as 400 pounds of e fertilizer Is used for corn we recom- a mend two applications, one in the fur- n row before planting and an application C] of from 150 to 200 pounds of cotton- t] seed meal In the furrow when the corn c is about 1 foot high. Where lime is used scatter it broad- a cast when the land Is plowed, using j about 4 barrels of air-slacked lime per n acre, or apply In the row about 2 bar- w rels per acre a short time before plant- u lng. mixing it thoroughly with the soil, j, S. A. Knapp, Special Agent In Charge. s| , | d "OLD HICKORY'S" NERVE. g tl An Arrest by Jackson and a Time He w Didn't Dance. b It was a fighting age in which An- n drew Jackson lived, and every man k who expected to command the re- T spect of the world went prepared not 11 only to fight at a moment's notice, e but also to meet his man on the field tl of honor. e It can easily be imagined that An- tl drew Jackson, with his excitable na- a Uln /lAmlnaoelnff morinnr finrl Vlld habit of regarding every opponent as n a personal enemy, was by no means tl the most peaceably disposed citizen cl of the new settlements of Tennes- o see. The stories of all his brawls and e duels would fill a volume. t< Jackson's superb nerve is well il- o lustrated by the following anecdote d which comes down to us from the is time when he was supreme judge on h the Tennessee bench. One day a rj desperado named Bean paraded up and down in front of the log court- c| house and threatened to shoot sher- Sj iff, judge and jury. Twice Jackson ordered the sheriff to arrest the man, e and twice the sheriff was overawed t< by the desperado's threats and for- h midable appearance. "Deputize me. I'll arrest him my- P self!" said Jackson, losing patience b at last. b The sheriff complied, and Jackson, S taking two pistols, walked out into v, the street. Bean at once meekly sur- _ rendered. "When the Judge come walkln' out," 81 Bean afterward explained, "I looked him in the eye, an' I saw shoot, an' ei there hadn't been shoot in nary other eye in the crowd. So I says to myself, says I, 'Ole hoss, it's about time ? to sing small,' an' so I did." On another occasion, while Jack- f( son was riding circuit, he was stoppe"d by two rivermen?of the class whose boasts it was that they were it "half horse, half alligator, tipped n with snapping turtle"?and was told j? that he would have to dance for their edification. Jackson meekly answer- l( ' ed that he was not accustomed to B : dancing without his pumps, but that a i they were in his saddlebags and If gj ; his captors would permit ne wouiu t put them on before giving the per- w formance. Nothing loath, they con- a sented. Jackson accordingly opened t| the bag and, plunging in both hands, drew them out with a pistol in each. p Pointing them full at the men, he b roared: h "Now we'll see who does the dancing! Dance, you devils! Dance!" They danced.?Chicago Tribune. ? 80ME FALLACIE8 OF FANCY. Men Pick Up 8trange Ideas and Hold on to Them. Most children brought up in the :ountry believe that the trees make he wind. A leading citizen declares hat when he was a boy he thought he engineer had to steer the train to ceep it on the track. A young writer, n his early childhood, believed that sverything that went on in the world Lround him was a great theatrical perormance, staged for his special beniflt, says the New York Evening Post. These are what we call fallacies? rom the Latin verb fallere, to deceive, ts the psychologists tell us, they come Jther by reasoning falsely from corect premises, or reasoning correctly rom false premises. Most of them, specially children's, are by reasoning ' alsely from correct premises. ChilIren are likely to have imagination, 'he imaginative person wants to explain the natural phenomena about ilm in the most entertaining and atractive way. The matter-of-fact peron, the hard-headed business man, eldom has any fallacies. What he ias are all decided by reasoning corectly from wrong premises. The world is full of fallacies, entirey apart from the great mass of supertitions, which in themselves form a lass. A little knowledge is a dangerus thing, and a superficial knowledge f the sciences will cause people to elleve that the earth is cookle-shapd (this fallacy is fairly out of date ow), or that orchids live on air, or 8 hat salamanders can really live In a re. Other weird beliefs run a parallel ourse with the materia medlca; for 0 istance, that whooping cough can be 11 ured by letting a piebald horse a reathe on the child, or that measles v an be cured by taking the child 0 hrough three parishes in a day. a Weather is the subject of quantities f absurd theories, among which some c eople rank first the idea that the gov- a rnment forecasters can predict it c 'here in a. belief that mild weather fol- " jws a mild December?an unpleasant * ugury, if true, for the present year. 11 'here were those firings of cannon and ' xplodlng aerial bombs some years ago 11 3 make rain fall on the thirsty farm c inds. We are even told now that our c Id pets, the equinoctial storms, are e ut creatures of the imagination. n History abounds in things which F ever happened. Wellington never F aid, "Up guards, and at them!" at the a attle of Waterloo. Dick Whlttington ever came to London with a domestic 8 nimal called a cat. William Tell nev- b r shot the apple off his son's head, d nd Horatlus never defended the ridge. The old story about Lady " fodlva has been absolutely disproved, t fount Ararat was not a mountain, but n region, and Adam and Eve were nevr turned out of the Garden of Eden, n Cinderella is said to have worn glass t Uppers to the famous ball at which F be made her reputation. In the old * astern version, she wore fur slippers, & 'he French translated it "pantoufle d n vair," and the English translators c llstook it for "pantoufle en verre," v hich is pronounced the same. Q It is harder to unlearn a thing than j learn it. People who have always n lept with their windows shut and who P sw their children up in clothes for J1 tie winter are almost beyond hope. A a Russian landlord of an apartment s ouse in a good neighborhood uptown, b hen his tenants complained to him h lat the apartments were cold, and he c arned that they had their windows d pen to sleep by said: "In Russia we ?al the windows up on October 1 and * on't open them again till May." Ten- 8 ment mothers think green bananas ti nd strong tea are good for threelonths-old babies, and you Dositively n annot convince most of them that li lis Is not so. (Well, fashions In baby ? ulture change from year to year. At ? ?ast some of us pretend to think so? r nd there you have a pseudo-fallacy! v low can you expect the tenement lother to stop feeding her baby beer b 'hen the seventh edition of "Bringing a 'p Little Ones" reverses half the feed- P lg rules of the sixth edition?) o That cats suck the breath out of h leeping babies Is an old absurdity that d ies hard. The human race Is lntelll- b ent enough In this day and genera- h on to understand electric lights and n 'ireless, aeroplanes and automobiles; ti ut you still occasionally see In the ewspapers accounts of cats who have fi illed babies by sucking their breath, t! his Is one way of saying that the cat, a king a warm place to lie, has Jumped J d Into the baby's bed and suffocated tie occupant by lying on It The av- d rage little baby is less in weight than fi tie average cat, and is scarcely capble of driving a cat away. When a woman opens a closet and a e 10th flies out she thinks, as a rule, lat the moth has been eating her C lothes. The case is even on record si f a young woman who, on being ask- tl d what she had given a captive moth o ) eat, said: "Oh, I gave it a bit of Id rags!" Of course, the creature oes Its eating In the grub stage, and n i harmless when It has become a flylg thing?save that It will produce ivenous progeny. The pendulum does not make the d lock go. It merely makes It go evenr. c Steam is invisible. What we see merging from locomotives and the II )ps of tall buildings Is steam which n as begun to turn back into water. e Nails and teeth of animals are not olsonous themselves. A scratch or Ite from a dog or cat may prove so, ut only because some impurity or s erm has been deposited In the ugly -n round which results. When a ser- c ent bites he discharges a special poi- n jn, which is secreted, from glands. Many people think that a soft-boll- t d egg which has been allowed to cool j, annot be made hard by second boillg. This Is not true. a Every time a workman falls from a p jrty-story building there are people e > say: "Well, he probably didn't feel t( ; when he struck." There Is little or v 0 basts for this belief that a person a 1 dead or unconscious at the end of a e >ng fall. Our surviving jumpers from e Brooklyn Bridge prove this, and that a person retains consciousness is 1 hown by the case of the English boy ho fell down a pit some 250 feet deep v nd shouted. "Below!" three times on 1; tie way down. One theory Is that a s erson falling would not be able to * reathe, but a train at 60 miles an f our Is moving faster than one would 'I love in falling 100 or so feet, and no ^ ne pretends that one would die of j suffocation if he puts his head out of :he train window, furthermore, one :ould fall from the top of the Singer 3ullding In six seconds, whereas one :ould hold one's breath for many times :hat number. The old tradition that a drowning person rises three times before he goes lown sounds well In Carnegie medal stories, but Is not true. A person rises is many times as he can get to the surface^ which may be once or a hunIred times, and he drowns when he Is 10 full of water that he cannot )reathe. Dickens, in "David Copperfleld," encouraged the fallacy that at the seailde, deaths always occur when the lue is going oui. ine uiuuugy ueiwecu ;bblng life and ebbing tide la a pretty >ne; but that Is about all there Is to L Wart lore is voluminous. It Is said hat a wart will leave a person if a ock of his hair is cut from the nape if his neck without his knowing It; hat a wart will result If a frog spit on >ne; that warts may be cured by rubilng them over with a black snail, vhlch must afterward be impaled on l hawthorn; that if a bag containing is many pebbles as one has warts be ossed over the left shoulder, it will ransfer the waris to the person who ticks up the bag; that If one takes a ilece of twine, make as many knots >n it as there are warts, touch each lart with the corresponding knot and mry the twine In a moist place, sayng: "There is none to redeem It beide thee," the warts will disappear; .nd so on, ad infinitum. Lord Bacon seriously wrote in one >f his works how an intelligent and ion-superstitious woman, the wife of n English ambassador, had cured his arts by rubbing them with a piece >f meat, and nailing the meat up on . window post in the sun. These ideas are all absurd, of i ourse, and not very common now; but .nother health fallacy is extremely ommon though equally baseless, lamely, that It Is desirable for a baby o be fat because it will then be more lealthy. Children grow fat on starchy i oods, and these are not the ones that nake strong people. The Lancet delared as long ago as 1872 that fat children were less able to resist disase. That is why reputable doctors 1 owadays discourage the use of the atent baby foods, whose speciously ; lump products smile from so many , .dvertisements. There is no such thing as a death gony. People sometimes die in agony iut the agony is a cause or a colncilence, not a result. It is with tears that we discard the ine old notion that cats see better in he dark. They see better than we do, io doubt; but that is not saying much. There used to be a belief that rats iever went on a ship that was destined o founder at sea. This has a fine auernatural ring; but, as a matter of act, has a good deal of truth at the ottom. Unseaworthy ships in the olen days were likely to be leaky and ontaln much bilge-water. The rats vould naturally abandon such damp [uartera for a drier berth. To freeze a living thing means to lost minds to kill it Tet all hardy lants can be frozen without being inured. So can many insects, if they re not broken while in that brittle , tate. Punch once suggested even that luman beings could be frozen without arm, and said that this would be a j onvenient way of disposing of chilren during a railway trip. In South Africa, and also in parts of ( England and Wales, it is believed that snake will not die till sunset, no mater how religiously you hack at it , Diamonds will wear out though to , lost people they are the symbol of idestructibllity. They cut glass, to be ure, but they are worn down themelves in the process. An engagement , lng, by the time the wearer is a bride, , . ill be nicked around the edges. Catgut is not made from cats at all, ( ut from sheep and horses. And, peaking of music, it is not true that ( laying discords on a piano will put it ut of tune. A person capable of play- | ig discords habitually would unoubtedly be the sort to injure a piano y hammering it indiscreetly. Playing armonies on a piano or an instrulent of any kind does improve its one. i Among popular quotations which are alsely attributed to the Bible are hese: "God tempers the wind to the horn lambs."?Sterne's "Sentimental , ourney to Italy." "In the midst of life we are In eath."?Burial service; originally . rom Luther. "Cleanliness akin to godliness." "Little children, love ye one anothr." Bibles still carry the date 4004 B. !. opposite the first chapter of Gene- ' Is, but not many people longer believe hat the world was only 4,000 years Id when Christ was born. Some other fallacies are these: That the sun and moon are larger ear the horizon than overhead. That sea water never freezes. That fog hinders sound. That Ice is never colder than two egrees. That a green Christmas makes a fat 1 hurchyard. ' That if you toss a coin ten times and I comes "headis" every time it will be lore likely to come "talis" the elev- 1 nth time. , 9 , I Ravenous Eaters. Touching the matter of eating, the ' torles told by the old chroniclers and ilstorians of the abnormal appetites of ertain Roman and oriental men of ( lote, fairly stagger belief. Gibbon tells of Soliman, a caliph In he eighth century, who died of acute ndlgestlon in his camp near Chalcls, ' n Syria, Just as he was about to lead i n army of Arabs against Constantino- < ile. He had emptied two baskets of ' eres and figs, which he swallowed al- j ernately, and the repast was finished i i-ith marrow and sugar. In a pilgrim- ! ge to Mecca the same caliph had eatn with impunity at a single meal sev- j nty pomegranates, a kid, six fowls, < nd a huge quantity of the grapes of < 'ayef. 1 Such a statement would defy belief ] fere not others of a similar character i fell avouched. Louis XIV. could hard- 1 y boast of an appetite as ravenous as ] lollman's, but he would eat at a sit- l ing four platefuls of different soups, < whole pheasant, a partridge, a plateul of salad, mutton hashed with gar1c, two good sized slices of ham, a i lish of pastry and finish this >mple epast with fruit and sweet .is.? yondon Saturday Review. WHY DENMARK ACCEPTED COOK Mauric* E. Egan Explains Why His 8tatsmsnts Wars Accepted. Why Denmark In general and Copenhagen in particular accepted the statements of Dr. Frederick A. Cook that he had discovered the north pole, was explained by Maurice E. Egan, United States minister to that country, who Is making a brief vli" ti St Paul. 'The north pole is looked upon as standing in the front yard of Denmark," Mr. Egan said. "Little Danish children are brought up on tales of exploration. To them the study of the arctic is like the study of fairy tales to the children of America, or of the study of the life of George Washington. "Americans are the most popular of foreign people In Denmark, and when a reputable explorer, as Dr. Cook was believed to be, arrived on the Danish shore and announced he had found the pole, the people met him with acclaim and gloried In his conquest. His announcement touched the subject nearest their hearts. He was banqueted and feasted. Proofs of his discovery were not asked for because It Is not customary to ask for them. His statements were accepted without question. "Because of these conditions Dr. Cook's statements were accepted until the scientists made their report on his records. And, mind you, the scientists have not attempted to discredit his statements. They merely have said, 'We do not And proof that he has reached the pole.' "If more data were brought, if Dr. Cook should go to Etah and return with the Eskimos, they would reopen the case and give him further hearing. The Danish people are gentlemanly and unless the fact that Dr. Cook had not reached the pole was , glaringly apparent, the scientists would not accuse him of lying." Mr. Egan said the report that the king of Denmark was angered with him for inducing him to decorate Dr. Cook was untrue. "A New York paper printed a dispatch," he said, "which stated that King Christian was Incensed becaus3 I had foisted Dr. Cook upon them. The truth of the matter is that King Christian has been dead for three and a half years and that King Frederlch, who now rules the nation, did not decorate Dr. Cook at all."?St. Paul Dispatch. SOUTHERN PUBLICITY WORK. Railway Will Take Up Promotion'of the South. President Flnley announces that the Southern railway will In the near future, through it* land and Industrial department, again enlarge the publicity and promotion work which It has carried on for the development of the country reached by Its lines. It was necessary to curtail this work somewhat following the business depression of 1947, on account of both general and special conditions. It Is now felt that not only the business conditions In the country, but the local situation in the southeast, warrant a larger campaign for the location of Industries, the bringing of new settlers, and a general development work, that Is the resumption In full of the company's efforts to build up the southeast. In carrying out this policy, there will be a larger use of the trade, agricultural and other newspaper and periodicals of the north and west, the publication of many special pamphlets, exhibits at many northern fairs, and a larger work in northern Europe. The Southern has found that one of the best methods of publicity Is In the exhibits of the products of Its territory at the larger fairs held In the north and west, and more attention than ever will be paid to this line of work. The south will be advertised in northern European countries by the circulation of specially prepared matter, and by the use of newspapers, In a way that Is consistent with our immigration laws and as is permitted by the laws of the respective countries. The Southern has maintained for Borne years a European agency of its land and industrial department, with headquarters in London, which will carry on the prosecution of active efforts to Interest land seekers and investors from that side of the ocean In the south. The most thorough co-operation possible Is to be given to local business and other organizations In the development of the various communities along the Southern system. EUROPEAN EQQ8 ARRIVE. About 80,000 Dozen Have Come, Each Egg Coated With Paraffin. For the first time in five years European eggs are now being Imported Into this country. The foreign eggs began to arrive several days ago and Eire still coming. They axe all shipped by brokers from Hull, England, but were gathered originally from Austria, France and Germany. Up to Friday, the total receipts of the foreign eggs amounted to 900 cases, holding upwards of 80,000 dozens. All the foreign eggs are coated on the outside of the shell with a secret compound of paraffin to preserve them. The coating is almost transparent, but It is so noticeable that foreign eggs may be readily distinguished by its presence from the domestic. The coating is not removed, so that the public In buying the eggs in the grocery stores will know if it is getting foreign or domestic products. Arrangements for the movement of European eggs to New York were begun several weeks ago, when the fresh gathered eggs were bringing 50 cents a dozen at wholesale in this city, and even storage eggs were up to 28 or 29 cents. Since then prices have been 9teadily declining, and yesterday the finest fresh. gathered eggs were quoted it 28 to 28) cents at wholesale, while the first grade or eggs in warenouses could be bought at 22 to 23 cents. The foreign eggs are sold at wholesale for from 23 to 24 cents. The duty on the foreign eggs Is 5 cents a dozen and the shipping charges about 4 cents a dozen. The dealers say that the London and other European markets are flooded with eggs, and the extremely low prices abroad enable the shippers to pay the 9 cents for duty and freight and make a profit in New York, pven at he prices now prevailing here. Dealers who are handling the European eggs say that the foreign preserving process maintains a fresher flavor than is obtained by the American plan of keeping the egg a in ice.? New York Sun.