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141 &
SPRING IS AT HAND.
XIrs. Hippo and Mme. Leo Prepar
ing for Easter Parade.
Coolofclcal Gnrden Una Ita VatKy
I'nlr No Lena Than the Smart
Set on the Other Side
Central l'urk.
Special New York Letter.
Mil. D01I0NQ wrinkled his brows
in a very distressing manner.
Ho had partaken o his third
cup of tea and he looked nt the sky
quite anxiously, Indeed, the ground
hog must have known his business,
lor there was every indication of an
early spring. Having, evidently,
made a satisfactory meteorological
urvey, Mr. Dohong turned to his
waiter and said somewhat impa
,liently; "Cheny! Cheuyl"
Perhaps you don't know what
cheny" means. In Unit case if you
will turn to Prof. It. 1. Garner's lat
est Chimpanzee dictionary, contain
ing fully 25 words, you will sec that
all well-educated monkeys say
'cheny" when they want something
to drink. Mr. Dohonir wanted his
iOurth cup of tea and he knew how
to ask for it as well as you or I.
Of course Mr. Dohong is a monkey.
Otherwise he wouldn't have made
that remark about 4,eheny" But in
other respects he acted a good deal
as a man might act whose table
manners are not exactly up to the
standard of the Waldorf-Astoria set,
Imt who on certain occasions can ap
pear fairly civilized while taking his
breakfast. I have known Air. Dohong
to go through an entire meal in u
very decent manner. Then again I
have seen him, when his keeper's
back was turned (Mr. Dohong thinks
the man. is his private waiter), grab
up the teapot, utterly neglecting the
cup, and swallow down the en
tire contents at one big gulp. As a
usual thing, however, he sips his tea
"IS MY HAT ON STRAIGHT?"
quite demurely and uses his napkin
With considerable grace.
In a word, Mr. Dohong is the most
genteel monkey in the New York
Zoological gardens out in the big
Uronx park, to say nothing of the
other animals, many of whom belong
to the Smart Set. If you could have
gone there the other day witli me
and afterwards made a visit to the
winter quarters of the animals in
Central park you would have been
proud of some of the specimens that
Mr. Darwin insisted came down di
rectly from our ancestors. The in
mates of the "zoo" are feeling par
ticularly fine. It may be that, like
their more highly-educated brother
animal, man, thej' nre animated with
-the exhilarating thoughts of spring
moving, for several new houses have
been prepared for them and doubt
less they are anxious to get into their
commodious homes.
There is the new lion house, for in
ftance. It is the finest one In the
world. The 12 lions which have been
installed there nre very happy in it
and look complacently at the vis
itors for whom seats have been pro
vided. Or if the lions tire of the pub
lic gaze they may retire to their pri
vate apartments that have been ar
ranged at the rear of their cages.
All the modern improvements have
been placed in these new houses
running water, steam heat, etc.
Numerous other new quarters have
been constructed for the other in
habitants ofthe "zoo" and the mem
bers of the various families are
rather on the qui vive in anticipation
of moving time. Why, if you could
have seen old Mrs. Benr the other
day gathering her cubs about her
and walking up and down tho spa
cious yard allotted to her and hers,
you could almost have imagined that
he had her boxes ami bandboxes
about her packed and readyfor the
moving.
And gracious goodness! Over in
the elephant house there is the same
kind of excitement. Not that the
elephants are going to move this
spring. My, no! They have their
own house, you know an elegant old
mansion but still there are indica
tions that the rejuvenating effects of
Fpring are upon them. Of course, it
is tile time of tho year when the new
styles in spring and summer coats
nre in vogue. There 's not an animal
in the Hronx or Central park that
will not have a new coat this spring,
a'hat is why they are all feeling so
frisky In tho elephant hoUBe. One
might, if one were real intimate with
tho family and if one were there all
the time, see Mrs. Elephant trying
on a new love of a hat and nuking
her maid, Miss Monkey, if it were
on straight. Or if one would go over
to tho hippopotamus' apartments one
might possibly see Papa Hippo being
measured for a new spring suit. But,
anyway, all the auimalts are begin
ning to admire themselves and pre
paring to lay off their winter cloth
ing. And perhaps you think the ani
mals are not vain. I have seen two
Guinea cocks do a genuine cakewalk
for the delectation of a hen which
stood Bobcrly by and awaited the
conclusion of the performance. Any
self-respecting animal or bird knows
MEASURING MR. HIPPO.
when it is well dressed and makes a
presentable appearance.
When the great crowds of visitors
throng the Zoological gardens and
Central park at the first show of
pleasant weather and see the well
kept animals in both places, they will
not realize the care and attention
that liave been bestowed upon the
menageries during tho long cold
months of the winter. They will not
realize that many of the nnimals re
quire the tender watchfulness that is
given to babies when the tempera
ture gets down about zero. Hundreds
of the birds and animals that are na
tives of tropical countries would con
tract colds and pneumonia and con
sumption if the temperature in their
houses were not kept perfectly even.
The iires must be watched day and
night and intelligent keepers are
constantly in attendance. Then, too,
the food must be prepared in a cer
tain way and if any animal is the
least indisposed he is given medicine
and treated as tenderly as if he were
a human being.
At the Bronx now there are abotit
1,000 animals, and in the Central Park
menagerie about 400. Many of these
animals are very expensive nnd in
the event, of their death would be
hard to replace. The most expensive
animal is the rhinoceros, which is
valued at $12,000. The. one in Central
park is GO years old, but according to
the best accounts pf naturalists he
has 30 or 40 years to live yet, if he
reaches the full span of his exist
ence. The price of an elephant vnries
from $1,500 to $2,500, and his longevity
is usually placed at from 50 to CO
years. Lions are worth all the way
from $S00 to $1,500, and live to be
from 20 to 30 years old. The ages of
other animals run from 10 to 25
years.
Aside from the expense of acquir
ing two such menageries as those i
' READY TO .MOVE.
the Bronx and Central park the cost
of maintaining them is enormous.
Many of the animals must have beef,
and they must have it in large quan
tities, which at the present Jigh
price even for inferior cuts (but the
quality must be of the highest), re
quires tlie expenditure of thousands
of dollars during the year. Then
there is a large corps of keepers',
many of whom must be skilled in
their line of work, the expense of
heating and numerous incidentals
that make a total sufficiently largo
to cause the tax dodgers to dodge
all the harder. It costs over $100,000
a year to maintain the animals in the
New York Zoological gardens and
the Central Park menagerie. The
two institutions nre under entirely
separate management.
Tho "Zoo," as it Is commonly
called, is already one of the largest
menageries in the world. When com
pleted it w.ill be the largest. It ii
situated in the center of the great
Bonx park, to the north of the city,
and connected with innumerable trol
ley lines and the Third avenue elevat
ed railroad.
FREDERICK BOYD STEVENSON".
n Wfi$ P-4L
WASHINGTON'S MALL.
Most Attractive Public Reservation
in the Country,
Proponed New National Mnncmra
Uulldinff Will Add Imprennlvr-
ni' to It I'lacc Well
Worth Vlaltlng.
Special Washington Letter.
THE III is a public reservation ex
tending from the capitol to the
white house, and it is called
"The Mall." There Is a well kept boul
evard more than a mile and n half in
length, because of its devious windings
through the bowered park, although
the direct distance from the white
house to the cnpitol is only a mile.
It wns the purpose of the designer of
the city thatMhis reservation should
be kept guarded from tho public, so
that the presidents might have a pri
vate driveway to the legislative halls;
but that idea did not long prevail, and
"The Mall" has always been opened
to the uses of the public.
This great reservation is in South
Washington, and cannot be seen from
Pennsylvania avenue, because that
thoroughfare Is lined with business
hoUses; very few of them worthy of
the situation, and substantially all of
them too small and insignificant in
appearance to be located along tho
grandest avenue in the world.
When William M. Springer, of Illi
nois, was in congress he advocated and
tirged the purchase of the entire south
side of Pennsylvania avenue by the
federal government, for the purpose
of erecting thereon handsome and sub
stantial public buildings. The idea did
not then prevail, but it is gradually
becoming popular. It can be safely
predicted that within another decade
the government will mnke that pur-
PROPOSED NEW NATIONAL MUSEUM BUILDING.
chase, although the cost will be tre
mendous. When it was urged by Mr.
Springer, 20 years ago, the whole south
frontage of the avenue could have been
bought for comparatively little money.
The congress recently appropriated
$3,500,000 for the erection of a munic
ipal building for the District of Co
lumbia, and specified that it shall be
built on the south side of Pennsylvania
avenue, one block from the treasury
department. The post oflice depart
ment is now located on that thorough
fare, and hereafter when appropria
tions are made for a hall of records, the
department of commerce and other
great public needs, they will be erected
on contiguous ground. It takes n long
time to build any city, and particularly
a nntionnl capital.
The botanical gardens are located
on the Mall, directly opposite the cap-
PROF. S. P. LANGLEY.
(Secretary of the Smlthaonlun Institution.)
itol grounds; and they nre bounded
on the north by Pennsylvania avenue
and on the south by the Mall. The gar
Jens liave a frontage of three blocks
on the avenue, and thence westward
the business buildings occupy the av
enue frontage.
Driving westward along the Mall we
come to Aririory square, where the
ftrs't troops were enlisted for the de
fense of the capital in 1SG1; and where
now are located the buildings of the
federal fish commission. To the right,
as we drive westward, is the railroad
depot where Garfield was shot; and
:o the left is the long wharfage where
hundreds of thousands of Foldiers em
barked and debarked, and in plain
view is the celebrated long bridge.
Crossing Seventh street, we come to
the army medical museum, which be
longs to the office of the surgeon gen
eral., Here ore exhibited marvelous
things in surgery nnd medicine; cele
brated coses treated on the field In In
dian warfore, the Mexican, civil and
Spanish wars. And, after crossing
Ninth street, gtill driving along the J
boulovard of the Mall, beneath the lm
penetrable leaves of magnificent trees
and surrounded by sward as green and
smooth and attractive as nature ever
made, we come to the National mu
seum, which is an outgrowth of tho
Smithsonian institution.
Next we come to the department of
agriculture, which is surrounded by
the best kept grounds in this city; a
department -so rapidly growing that
congress has recently made a pre
liminary appropriation for the erec
tion of a new and more commodious
building, also to be located on Penn
sylvania avenue. And then, crossing
Fourteenth street, we come to the
great bureau of engraving and print
ing, where all of our paper money Is
made. Next, still within the Mall, wo
come to the Washington monument,
and here, circling northward, we como
into the grounds of the white house
and department of state. When you
come to the national capital you must
take tlilfe drive; or, if you can't afford
to drive, take one whole day for a
strolling walk through the Mall. It Is
often neglected by visitors who do not
see it, and have never heard.of it.
You should take time t6 enter tho
National museum and also the Smith
sonian institution. In 1810 an act of
congress was approved which found
ed the Smithsonian, nnd out of that
institution the National museum has
grown to great proportions. Smith-
son not only gave money, but also, a
collection of curios which formed tho
nucleus of the great collection1 which
now standB unrlvnlcdl in the world for
magnificence nnd variety. There wns
a private socictj' known as the Na
tional Institute which gave to tho
Smithsonian an excellent collection,
some time about 1850. Then, in 1870,
the grenter part of the mntcrial gath
ered for the centennial exposition at
Philadelphia was given to the Smith
sonian, which expanded that institu
tion beyond the capacity of the orig
inal building, so that in 1S70 con-
,gress appropriated $250,000 for tho
building now known as the National
museum.
In the building which wns yet un
adorned, but tinder roof, the inaugural
ball was given on the night of March
'4, 1881, when Garfield was inaugurated.
This building and the Smithsonian,
with nil of their store rooms, stables
and sheds, make use of 23S.089 square
feet of floor space; and that is not half
enough. For lock of space most de
plorable conditions are now apparent,
every branch of the service being se
riously hampered by inadequate space.
Long ago It became impossible to moke
proper disposition of (specimens, so
that year after year large and' valuable
collections ore packed avtoy in rented
buildings. Consequently, they are not
half catalogued; and even those which
are catalogued are inaccessible.
These conditions liave been placed
before congress by the officials of the
museum, and at the last session on ap
propriation of $5,000 was mode for tho
preparation of plans for a new build
ing, which must cost not more than
$1,500,000. The plans have been laid
before congress, and the appropria
tion will probably be mode before tho
adjournment on March 4. The plans
contemplate the erection of a rectan
gular building 480 feet front, 345 feet
deej), and SO feet high, with four floors
and about 400,000 feet of floor space.
It is the purpose of the officials of
the museum and the Smithsonian to
make out of the proposed appropria
tion just one-half of the building,
and afterwards complete it with a
subsequent appropriation which ne
cessity will require. The fireproof
building which the service needs
will eob't not less than $3,G0O,'d6(f; but
the congress always takes two bites
at a cherry of that size. Tho one
half which it is proposed to erect
will present the appearance of u
completed structure.
1 So much of the building as is now
proposed will be used tor storage
purposes, primarily, because it is ab
solutely necessary that the valuable
collections now packed away in
rented buildings shall be removed to
fireproof rooms. The losses which
are liable to occur by fire would be
irreparable.
The National museum is of three
distinct functions, as described by
its secretary. First, it is a museum
of record. It preserves a vast
amount of scientific knowledge; sec
ond, it is a museum of research, be
cause Its collections are arranged
on scientific Hues, and constitute an
everlasting stimulus to scientific in
vestigation; and third, it is an edu
cational museum, illustrating by
specimens every kind of natural ob
ject, every manifestation of human
thought uud activity.
SMITH D. FRY.
SOME IMMENSE FARMS.
Ok In Texna, Owned ly IlltnolN Sya
dlcmto, la na Larue na the Stilt
of Connecticut.
While the United States census re
ports 6,000,000 farms averaging 140
acres each in the southwest states,
and territories, the average size i
500 acres each. Col. C. C. Slaughter
of Dallas, Tex., has 1,250,000 acres ofi
farm and ranch land. In the Pan
handle district of Texas the Capi
tol syndicate, of which Senator C. D.
Fairwell, of Illinois, is the head, has
a ranch of 3,000,000 acres, or more
than as largo as tho state of Con
necticut. They raise from 10,000 to
20,000 acres of corn and other forogo
crops and ship from 18,000 to 20,000
beef steers each year; 250cowhoytt
and 50 farmhands nre employed. In
Oklahoma is one ranch of 50,000
acres. They rnlscd this year 8,000
acres of wheat, 5,000 acres of forage,
millet nnd Knfilr corn; 8,000 to 10,
000 cattle arc shipped each year. Al
though the expenses of running tho
ranch are $95,000 a year, the profitn
tho lust year were $150,000. Tho
Forshn farm in central Kansas has
5,000 acres. On it nre a flouring mill,
a complete weather bureau, post of
ilco for owner and employes, gaa
plant and long-distance telephone.
The wheat grown is made into flour
on tho farm. There is the largest,
field of alfalfa in the United States,
1,500 acres in one tract. This cutrt
three crops a year, about one ton
at each cutting. Frank Rockefeller
has 14,000 acres of grazing and farm
ing land in western Kansas, of .which
about 5,000 acres arc under "cultiva
tion and the rest. In alfalfa and tim
othy pastures. There are somu pf
the finest bred Hereford and Short
horn cattle in tho world on thia
farm, valued at $350,000, including'
one $10,000 bull. Tho grain for those,
cnttlo is grown and ground on tho
farm. He intends to convert 10,000
acres of pasture land into alfalfa.
The cattle and horse barns are of
iron and stone, .lohn W. Stewart,
of Wellington, Kan., hns 140 farms,,
all separate and in different partM
of the state. It Is not uncommon,
for a farmer in these sections to buy
15 harvesters, a dozen plows and as
many corn harvesters at one-time.
Fifty men make a good harvesting
crew for a farm there.
ALL-AROUND LOG SLED.
It In Strong, ISoNlly 1'ul Tokc titer nnd.
Can 111 IJNcd with Snow
or Without.
I have been putting out, some lum
ber, and as thero was little snow, t
have used the sled shown herewith.
It is called a snapdragon and is' such
as is used in the lumber camp. It
can be used with or without snow.
I took two yellow birch stumps; about
FOR DRAWING LOGS IN WOODS,
six inches through and three feefc
long for runners. Tho two Jninks
were abotit the same size and two
feet eight inches long.. The forward
bunk is put on with one bolt in each
end, so it can have a good chance .fa
work.
For the middle bunk I put - twtf
two-inch holes through .each ripijier
then took a small, .round birch ofthe)
size wanted, heated it hot in a flro
and bent it in the shape needed to
put over the, middle bunk and tho
two ends down through the runner
then wedged them solid, but so there
would be plenty of piny. Tho nose
of the runners must be made so they
will not catch on every rock or
stump. This can be done by putting
the forward bunk at the very end
of the runner. The chain' is put on.
the log with a half hitch and drawn
through a hole through both bunks.
Hlreh is tho best wood, as it wears,
the. smoothest on frozen ground.
Orange Judd Former.
Tin:; A' illume iif( Aijnni;iijiceN, . '
The appearance of our cheese,
factories: and creameries has much
to do with insuring on improvement
in the products. The surroundings
of these places do much to set this
pace. A nicely built, clean creamery
is an inspiration to all connected
with it. The workers take better
care of themselves, and the patrons!
are mere careful to bring only good
products. This is the tendency ef
fective to n greater or less degree.
What con we expect of the patrons,
when the creamery itself is a
tumbled-down affair, with drains
filled with a stinking combination of
putrid milk and dirty water? The
"task of securing from the patrons.
clean milk is nearly o hopeleis one,
unless the establishment that re
ceives it is measurably clean.
Farmers' Itoview.
The dairyman who looks oftcr the
comfort of his cows will get the
most out of them, lie will lessen tho
cost of milk proictlon, which is tha
sumo thing as im-reuse in price.
Ssa-ssssJ" I "-
