INLAND WA TER WA Y
THOUSAND MILE
tOQH TO BE READY.
}.
Months' Steady
ft Go from
appropriated
(he ompyletlon of the
; . in the
. tMOO miles long and ex
Ike waterways in New
down through
rivers into
connection is made
canal from New
iteBwwswnUTP. Thislast
is just being com
i through the golf coast
and Texas. With
of the railroad
t»irt through this re
the canal is the
public work in the
It is about 800
from Donaldson
on the Mississippi river a few
above New Orleans to Browns
ville; Tex, on the Rio Grande, at the
moat southerly point of the United
real of the tip of Florida pen
Of this S00 miles there are
than S5S miles to be dug, the
Die coast line through
of bays and rivers al
Just made by
the rivers and harbors
complete the canal but
of considerable
affording an effec
feasibllity and value
(he
the Mississippi westward to
which marks the
Louisiana and Tex
wIU tap several water
the great Louls
and large areas of
nd cotton lands. The
ie navigable for a long
and taps a large and
timber area on
and Texas sides,
lift month of the Sa
hke is the Noches
navigable beyond
and affords water trans
te the Beaumont and con
again Is Galveston
five separate water
Hke the fingers
hand. Of these
which is now being
nw deep-draught ves
sels to load and unload their foreign
cargoes at Houston, the railroad cen
ter of the southwest, and -the Trinity
'river are the morft Important The
latter could, be made navigable for
light-draught vessels all the way to
Dallas, 300 miles from tidewater.
The canal at this point touches
Galveston with its fine deep water
harbor and docks, an ocean port of
fast-growing importance.
. Beyond the Brazos is the mneh-.
talked-of area generally particularized
as the Gulf Coast country, the phe
nomenal productiveness of which is
Just becoming known. This region
was recently given its first railroad.
The value of the canal will be two
fold. It will open a great deal of ten
ritory that cahnot be reached from
the railroads and it will provide lowei
Tripping on a Melon Barge in the
Southwest.
freight rates. The actual cost of
transportation by water is only a thin)
to a fifth of what it is by rail, the
ration of difference growing greater
with the increased length of the haul
i In the southwest there 1b an even
greater difference in the charges,
freight rates being high in Texas. II
is estimated that If the canal were
now in operation a saving of $3,000,
000 a year to the shippers could be
effected by its use.
The intercoastal will connect the
southwest with the great canal sys
tems of the north by the Mississippi
I and its tributaries. More than 2,000
; miles of actual canal, besides the
j-great lengths of connecting natural
! waterways, will thus give comprehen
sive water service from the chief
commercial centers.
A less important though interesting
phase of the new canal is its possi
bilities for pleasure trips. The region
along Its entire course is rich in re
sources, historical associations and
picturesqueneSs and the climate is
snch that the trip could be made in
January without discomfort.
FUR SEALS DOOMED
ft is pacBaBj certain that before
Inc tbs United States government
vffl decide to slaughter the entire
herd, toss vtfiog sot the species com
»h*dr sad finally, so far as the wa
ter* of the north Pacific are con
Alaska from
exclusive property
anderstood) over the
of Behring sea, which
had been regarded as
to Brand a Seal.
the
> lake belonging to the czar.
the Pribylov is
by the way, were not
little over a cen
; axainly to the circum
tbey are shrouded in al
With the islands,
tor seals; and we
in protecting
the latter for an in
tf only it had been
Sit »f their, lives
of the Priby
the seals
kbit the Pribylov islands In
■t, for breeding pur
ses in November and
■l The rest of the
hi a migratory voy
i waters, the heri
the month of Feb
aome distance
b, and thereupon
again. Having
of theirs, it has
for the masters
•quipped for iMs
£
sort of fishery to follow along with
the herd throughout its entire migra
tion, and to kill' off the animals at
leisure..
Sometimes the seals, under such
: circumstances, are speared while
j sleeping on the water, but usually
; they are shot. When shot, unless in
stantly killed, they dive, and. as a re
sult, nine out of ten of those fatally
injured are lost. Accordingly, it is
estimated that the capture of 100,000
seals by- thl3 means involved the de
struction of about 1,000,000. If ex
posed to attack in no other way, the
herd could not survive such decimina
tion for an indefinite period; but, to
complete the deadly work, the seal
hunters pursued the practice of coast
ing in the vicinity of the island, and
destroying the females as they ven
tured out to sea in pursuit of fish
for food.
When an animal is assailed on its
breeding gorunds, it is surely doomed,
in as much as nature’s, opportunity of
multiplying the species is cut off.
Thus It has been with the £ur seals.
Every female killed in the vicinity of
the islands left one or more pups on
shore to starve to death, and in this
manner, year after year, tens of thou
sands of the young perished miser
ably.
Against such depredations by *ur
own people effective measures might
have been adopted, but our govern
ment has been almost helpless to deal
with the Canadian poachers, all ef
forts to secure the cooperation of
Great Britain being vale. In as much
as all of the sealskins are dyed and
otherwise prepared for market in
England;-'where for many years the
industry has given profitable employ
ment to- upward of 20,000 persons, the
attitude of our friends across the aea
in this matter has been, to say the
least of it, unintelligent but even yet
it is unchanged, the main cause of it
being that the British authorities
were reluctant, on technical grounds,
to admiit that our rights in Behring
sea extended beyond the customary
three-mille limit. Now, it happens that
the female seals commonly swim
from 20 to 30 miles away from the is
lander In pursuit of fish, and thus the
Canadian poachers are easily able to
destroy them.
«m THE Q1RLS.
if yon would be
i it a point to always
on the face, wear it
No matter If your
*ad your shoes squash
ttma jaa take a step,
■emember the old
are worth more than
should be thorough*
retiring at night A
take a mixture of
and plaster it
Whoa yon remove it in
a alee, rosy, healthful
will he the result.
of summer freckles
for as usual. These
avoided by wearing a
when you go out of
ffiul blackheads very
bast way to remote
ia to pry them out with a hat
sharp file.
ia nothing so fatal to facial
vs a had carriage. See that
keeps it In good con
£5
The eyebrows may be made heavier
and darker by shoveling coal three
hours every day in a coalyard.
Keep the naila clean and well pol
ished. A little stove polish and a
brush will do it nicely. Remember the
words c»f a celebrated French beauty:
'Well kept nails is a source of great
gratification.”
Keep the bands soft and white. II
the knuckles are too prominent run
them through a clothes wringer twice
a day for a few weeks. This will also
make the hands longer and more
graceful.—Milwaukee Sentinel.
His First Operation.
The visitor found little Bessie cry
ing as though her heart would break.
“What is the trouble, little girl?”
asked the visitor, sympathetically.
“Beo-hoo!” sobbed Beusie. “B-Bobby
Wants to be a surgeon when he gets
big.”
W(l
irry
you, my
"And does' that
dear?”
“Y-yes; he has cur. all the sawdust
out of my dolly to see
pendicltis.”
II
she has ap
TO WED ARTiST JULIAN STORY.
Mis* Anne Thompson.
It is reported Miss Anne Thompson of Philadelphia is to marry Julian
Story, the artist, who recently was divorced by Emma Eames, the singer.
Miss Thompson is the daughter of George Lee Thompson of Philadelphia and
is wealthy in her awo right.
DISCOVERY OF DRESDEN CHINA.
Valuable Secret Entirely the Result
of an Accident.
Dresden china was discovered
through accident. John Frederick
Bottcher was a chemist’s assistant in
Berlin about 1700. At that time all
potters were endeavoring to discover
a means of making translucent china,
but in vain.
Bottcher, having fallen under sus
picion of being an alchemist, was
obliged to leave Berlin and take refuge
in Saxony. Augustus II. was elector
of Saxony, .and in a hope or finding the
secret of the philosopher’s stone he
placed young Bottcher in a laboratory
with orders to carry on his experi
ments. While working along the lines
designated by the elector, Bottcher
surprised himself by discovering some
thing akin to Chinese porcelain. He
was at once bidden by the king to
pursue the quest of making china. He
might have continued his endeavors
for many years, had not an accident
given him the key to the translucent
china.
A wealthy iron founder was riding
on horseback near Aue, in Saxony,
when he noticed that his horse lifted
its feet with difficulty. On examina
tion he found that the animal’s hoofs
were filled with a peeculiar white ad
hesive clay. More out of curiosity
than anything else, he took some of
this clay home with him, and succeed
ed in making it into a fine white pow
der. Through chance Bottcher ob
ARTICLES LOST AT SEA.
Hats and Other Wearing Apparel Per
quieitea for Neptune.
Did you ever speculate on what be
comes of the hats and other articles of
wearing apparel {hat find their war
into the sea from the steamers that
are constantly plying back and forth?
Hardly a ship steams from one port
to another without somebody’s hat or
boa or shawl blowing overboard. Thou
sands of them have been lost that way
and scarcely a single' one has been
recovered. They are dashed to bits
by , the waves, blown to shreds and
otherwiBt destroyed.
But once In a blue moon a hat does
come back to land, as in the case not
long ago when a large fish was caught
In cleaning it a woman’s hat, almost
Intact, was found in the stomach of
the denizen of the deep. There la
reason to believe that this bit of fem
inine wearing apparel had not lodged
very long In its curious resting place,
for even a fish is not proof against
Indigestion or its equivalent' when it
comes to eating straw braid, feathers
and flowers. This hat has been pre
served as a specimen of considerable
interest on. account of its unique
travels. Of course if the fair owner
ever makes a claim on it and can
identify her property it will be re
turned to her.
Ths Modern Newspaper.
“When ex-Gov. Pennypacker was
still a judge," said a Philadelphia re
SHOWS ADVANCE IN SHIPS OF WAR.
_A
ARMAMENT OT.
CONNECT!'
^^7^a>ifRTTCR>
SECO'M OAKY BA
'.THE
TCin
Y
oNDAjnr battekv
20- 3*RAFU>r:RE
12.- 3 FDR SEKLAirm
a-lPDR..'AUTO.
|-5-Kelp
©— .MACHINE
Modern Battleship Compared with the Monitor and Merrimac.
Lying in Hampton Roads during the recent great naval review was the
aged relic of a lost era, the Canouicus, and on a certain day about forty-five
years ago a mighty action was fought around the spot whereon she is an
chored—an engagement that caused a revolution in naval architecture, the '
ultimate results of which are to be found in the 16,000 ton battleship Con
necticut, lying hard by. For around the point where the Canonicus lies the
Monitor and the Merrimac settled on that momentous day the destiny of the
sea forces of the Northern and the Southern States during the civil war.
taiued some of this powder and found
that it was the long-sought kaolin.
The secret of the translucent china
was solved, and the king ordered a
china factory to be built, of which
Bottcher was the head.—Sunday Mag
azine.
Implicit Obedience.
The famous Field family, Cyrus
and his brothers and sisters, were
brought up to obey. The father was
a clergyman with $800 a year for nine
children, and frugality and right liv
ing were absolutely necessary.' Once
a useful rat trap was missing. The
father gave orders that when it was
found it should be brought directly
to him. A few days afterward during’
service, when the sermon was In’full
swing, there was a clattering up the
aisle. It was two of the Field boys
carrying the rat trap. They gravely
set it down before the pulpit One
of them said simply: “Father, here’s
your rat trap.” Then they turned
and went out.
The Reason for It.
Mrs. Hiram Often—Why did you
leave your last place?
Pretty Servant—The couple I lived
with didn't agree.
Mrs. Hiram Often—Why should
their disagreements bother you?
Pretty Servant—Why, the mistress
didn’t like me, but the master was
Quite fond of me.
Lacemakers Will Not Leave Home.
“One reason that the imported laces
will always hold good is that the
Swiss workmen, who are most expert,
will not live in this country,” said D.
E. Schwab. “While domestic manu
facturers can do right well in copy
they cannot turn out the fine finish.
“The Swiss workmen live content
on a small wage, and with their fam
ilies and relatives about them they
are happy. But in this country it is
different; they don’t stay long. The
importation of these people has been
tried, but without success.”
porter, “he showed me in his uptown
house his superb collection of old
newspapers. As he turned those fad
ed pages I said: ‘Do you think, sir,
that our newspapers have improved?*
He smiled, his shrewd and kindly eyes
twinkle and he answered: ‘They have
grown larger.’
“Laughing, I asked him what he
thought of our Sunday papers. ‘They
are marvelous,’ he replied. ‘They are
encyclopedic, henever I take one of
them up I am reminded of the old
Frenchman of the ljwt century who
read his paper with' great care and
thoroughness, but whose progress
was so slow aad whose paper was so
large that he was always eight
months behind the current issue.’"
Hardly Understood.
“Silent Smith,’’ said a broker, “was
a good, kind man, but a busy one, a
foe to bores and time wasters. He
used to fish occasionally at Shawnee
and a Shawnee farmer on a junket
to the city once made bold to visit
him in his New York office. ‘Wall,
Josh, how’d “Silent Smith use ye?’
they asked the farmer at the general
store on his return.
“ Fellers,’ said the old man, warm
ly, ‘Silent Smith is the perlitest cus»
I ever.see. I hadn’t bin settin* chat
tin’ with him more’n a quarter of an
hour ’fore he’d told me six times to
come in an’ see him ag’in.”’
Ancient Artists in France.
The caves of southern France are
the most remarkable* in the world for
their wall pictures, made by prehis
toric men, who were contemporary
with the .mammoth, the rhinoceros
and the reindeer in that country.
• Some of the pictures are engrave ! in
the rock, some are.painted with dif
ferent colors. They usually represent
extfhct animals, such as cave lions
and cave bears. A faithful represen
tation of the rhinoceros, with its two
horns of unequal length, is found in
. a cavern at Font de Gaume.
SOUFFLE OF PRUNE
SAVORY DISH NOT SUFFICIENTLY
WELL KNOWN. '
Excellent Substitute for Fruit When
the Latter la Out of Season
Other Recipes Well Worth
Trying.
Prune souffle with the proper sest
may take the,place of fruit in a sea
son when it Is scarce. For prune souf
fle beat the yolks of four eggs and
three tablespoonfuls of powdered
sugar to a cream. Add one small
teaspoonful ot vanila and mix them
with half a pound of prunes. Wash
well and stew until skins can be
pierced with a toothpick, then drain,
remove stonee, and cut each prune
into four pieces.' Mix in lightly the
whites of four eggs, which have been
whipped to a stiff froth, a dash of
salt having been added to the whites
before whipping them. Turn into a
pudding dish and bake in a moderate
oven for 20 minutes. Serve as soon
as taken from the*oven. A few nuts
added to the prunes before the whites
are folded in are an improvement.
Varying baked beans may be accom
plished by trying a recipe liked by the
Spaniards. One quart of white beans
par-boiled, one quart of strained to
matoes, one onion chopped fine, one
tablespoonful of sugar, one-quarter of
a teaspoonful of mustard, a sprinkle of
red,pepper, two or three small slices
of salt pork. Salt to taste. Add one
level teaspoonful .of b&king soda to
water in which the beans are being
parboiled. More or less red pepper
may be used as desired, and in place
of salt pork a tablespoonful of but
ter may be substituted. If salt pork
is used, parboil and cut into small
squares, mix all in baking pan, and
bake in oven two hours, or until beans
are tender.
To stir the appetite of an invalid
it is necessary to Introduce a novelty
in diet Add a few grains of salt and
pepper to three beaten egg yolks, half
a pint of beef tea, flavored with pars
ley; strain into a double boiler and
cook, stirring slowly until thickened;
pour into cups and serve either hot or
cold.
Onion sauce lends tone.tp. meats. To
make one that has met with favor
among the best cooks, boll three or
four white onions till tender, then
mince fine; boil one-half pint of milk;
add a large tablespoonful butter and
salt and pepper to taste; stir in the
minced onion and one tablespoonful
flour moistened with cold milk. Boil
till smooth. Serve with roast fowl.
Children enjoy cream puffs and
cream cakes above all other things.
Cream till smooth one pound of but
ter, and add the yolks of eight eggs
beaten well with one-half pound of
powdered sugar and one teacup of
sweet cream. Stir in flour to make it
stiff enough to roll out thin. Sprinkle
over this powdered Bugar, cinnamon
and nutmeg. Cut in the shape of leaves
and bake in a quick oven.
Rhubarb tarts may be made Eng
lish fashion with a thin top crust
over the stewed rhubarb. Buy firm,
juicy, tender rhubarb, measure suffi
cient sugar, and put with the cut
pieces on to stew. Pour into a deep
pie tin and put on pie crust, baking in
oven until done.
HOUSEHOLD HINTS.
To prevent white fabrics, such US
tulle or silk evening gowns, lace or
crepe shawls, becoming yellow when
packed away, sprinkle bits of white
wax freely among the folds.
Macaroni or rice, if placed in a col
amW*r after cooking and rinsed with
cold water, will not stick together in
a solid mass, as it is otherwise in
clined to do. The rice can be put into
the oven for a moment afterward to
reheat.
Wallpaper which is not stained in
any way, but simply soiled by dust or
smoke, can be cleaned by the simple
means of oatmeal. This should be ap
plied with a piece of flannel, the whole
surface of the wall being gone over
by degrees.
In case of a tiled floor, a little lin
seed oil rubbed in, and the tiles sub
sequently polished, brings up the col
ors wonderfully.
To clean a kettle, fill with potato
parings and boil fast until quite clean.
Succulent Orange Cake.
Orange cake ranks among the good
things of a luncheon climax. Sift one
and one-fourth cups of pastry flour
with a pinch of salt and two teaspoons
of baking powder, four times. Beat
one cup of sugar, three egg yolks and
one white until creamy and light yel
low in color. Add ohe-ftfurth cup of
cold water and the juice and grated
rind of half an orange, and beat again.
Lastly add the sifted flour and beat
ttmroughly. The latter should be
thinner than for an ordinary cake.
Bake 25 or 30 minutes in a moderate
oven. Use a pan eight by ten inches
in slse. For the frosting, beat the
white of dn egg until stiff, add gradual
ly one-half cup of powdered sugar,
sometimes a bit more is .required, and
the Juice and grated rind of half an or
ange. Beat until stiff and spread
evenly on the cake.
How to Clean Paint Brushes.
So many people renovate their own
houses now, and repaint and touch np
their garden railings, that the follow
ing hipt may be of some use. When
you have finished painting put your
brushes into a stone pot in which you
have melted some soft soap and soda
in a little boiling water. Whisk the
brushes round and round In this;
change the water, add more soap and
soda, and so on until the brushes are
clean; rinse them in warm water, and
leave them standing in cold water un
til yon wish to use them again. If
they have become dry and hard, rinse
them in turpentine before washing
them.
Mock Bisque Soup.
One-half can of tomatoes, warm one
quart of milk, then add the tomatoes,
one-half cup batter, one tablespoon
cornstarch (dissolve conrstarch into a
little of the cold milk before adding it
to the hot milk), one teaspoon salt,
one-half teaspoon pepper. Serve with
croutons. Croutons are made by cut
ting your bread into little cubes about
one-half inch square and fried in but
ter until brown. V,
FIRST MINT TO FALL.
OLD PHILADELPHIA STRUCTURE
WILL BE TORN DOWN.
Modem Warehouse to Replace Build
ing Where Earliest Coins of the
United 8tates Were
8truek.
Philadelphia.—One by one the old
landmarks in thin city which were the
pride of our first president, George
Washington, are disappearing. The
'alest heroic structure to be removed
is the old United States mint building
at Nos. 37 and 39 North Eleventh
street, which was Bold under the
hammer recently for 945,000 by the J.
Louis Kates estate to Frank H. Stew
art of this city, who will give cer
tain portions of the building such as
the corner stone, pillars and other val
uable stones, which are of historic
value, to the Historic society of Penn
sylvania. Mr. Stewart will demolish
the old structure with great care, as it
is believed that in certain crevises
many valuable old coins may be
found. Upon its site a modem ware
house will be erected.
There is nothing at all striking
about the building, which has a very
plain front, and of the thousands of
persons who daily pass up and down
Seventh street, some who are business
men, visitors, laborers, etc., very few
of them know that behind its ven
erable walls this country turned out
the first coins ever struck for the
United States. It is three stories
high, and at present occupied by
shops.
Through the center of the building
is an alley, which runs to the points
where the mechanical plant and smelt
ers were located, the front of the
structure having been used for the of
fices of the mint. Very little remains
now to indicate that the building was
once used for its original purposes,
with the exception of the old vaults
in the basement, which are still in a
good state of preservation. The mass
ive blocks of stone that were used in
their construction and the substantial
character of the work speak well for
the mechanics in the old days.
The building is nearly 115 years old.
On April 2. 1892, congress passed an
act providing for the erection of the
mint The lot was bought on July
18, 1792, and the corner stone laid
with Masonic ceremonies on July 31.
On this occasion President George
Washington took an active part in the
ceremonies.
The first coins made there were cop
per pennies in 1793. The first purchase
for this purpose was six pouuds of
copper ucrap, for which one shilling
and six pence was paid. The coining
of silver was begun in 1894 and in the
following year gold currency was Irst
made.
Many of the early coins that are
most highly prized by numismatists
were coined in this old building. The
-Washington liberty cap cent of 1793.
which are now, extremely rare, apd oa
winch there is a large premium, and
the 1804 dollar, of which there are but
four authentic specimens in existence,
and which are highly valued by coin
hunters and dealers, were coined
there.
The old building was maintained for
coin purposes until 1835, when it was
superseded by the second mint* on
Chestnut street, corner of Juniper. In
the following year the property was
Old Mint Building at Philadelphia.
ordered to be sold by the secretary
of the treasury, and was pnt up at
public auction at the Philadelphia ex
change and knocked down to Michael
Kates for $8,100. His heirs hare re
tained possession ever since that time.
The property measures 87 by 116 feet,
and has a lot extending 17 by 30 to
Filbert street. It is assessed for
$23,000.
It was announoed by Mr. Stewart
that he Intended presenting to the
Historical society of Pennsylvania, of
which he is a member, the eorner
stone, which will undoubtedly oontain
various articles of a historic nature.
There is a possibility that Mr. Stew
art may realize several vnousaad dol
lars when he demolishes the building
by scraping the chimneys and the roof
for particles of gold that escaped In
the crude methods of {eftning a cen
tury ago. Great care will be taken
In the destruction of the building to
Insure the saving of such bidden
wealth.
TO HEAD NAVIGATION BUREAU.
Appointment of Admiral Brownson
Expected Soon.
Washington.—Rear Admiral WHlard,
Herbert Brownson. who Is expected
ADMIRAL BROWNSON.
i (Naval Officer Who Will Soon Take
Charge of Navigation Bureau.)
soon to take charge of the bureau of
navigation at the navy department, is
one of Uncle gain’s noted naval offi
cers. He was born at Lyons, N. Y.,
in 1845, and was graduated 20 years
later from the naval academy, of
which he was superintendent from
1902 until 1906. Previous to the war
with Spain he went to Europe to as
certain if any warships were for sale,
and more especially to prevent any
purchases by the Spanish govern
ment, and performed his work so well
that he was thanked by .the depart
ment In the conflict over Cuba Ad
miral Brownson commanded the Yan
kee, which was manned by New York
naval reserves. While a midshipman
on the Mohegan years ago he was In
strumental in the destruction of a
band of pirates that had preyed on
towns along the coast of Mexico.
Hard Student.
Farmer Wayback—I see your boy is
home from college. He seems to take
great -interest in his books. Farmer
Wheatleigh—Yea. He sat up until two
o’clock ttfe morning stnding Schneck
on "Poker.”
ELLEN TERRY WEDDED A CAIN. .
Youthful James Carew Becomes Third
Husband of Famous Actress.
New York.—Ellen Terry, leading
actress of the English stage, 69 years
old, is a bride for the third time in
her long career. Her husband is
James, Carew, her leading man In the
American tour which ended * recently.
He is only 32 years old. They were
married in Pittsburg. March 22. in
the course of the tour, by a justice of
the peace, but it was not until the
other day that it became known.
Mr. Carew said his bride would not
abandon her stage' career. He said
they had known each other two years
and had been engaged months. The
bridegroom is six feet tall, bread of
shoulders, with a ruddy, clean ^haven,
handsome face. He is a native of In
diana who has worked his way to the
forefront of a stage career. He took
a three years’ course in philosophy,
economic and English literature in
Columbia university by studying sum
mers and playing during the winter
months. His stage career began
eight years ago in Milwaukee in a
stock company.
Miss Terry’s first husband was G.
F. Watts. R. A., the noted artist, to
JAMES CAREW. ,
(Third Husband of Ellen Terry, Fa
mous English Actress.)
whom she was married In 1864, two
days before she was 16 years old
She was divorced from him and was
married to fi. A. Warden, a newspa
per man. In 1867. ,
SCHOOL HABIT8 IN PERSIA.
Boys Sit on Floor and Recite Lessons
as'If Chanting.
Oriental children hare their mar
ties, their skipping rope and the little
toy plows into which cats and kittens
are harnessed for play. They enjoy
life fully as much as do American
children. When the boys are 10 years
old they are sent to school in the
nearest mosque. Parents will some
times take a boy to school and de
liver him over to the gentle care of
the teacher with these words: “His
bones are mine, but his flesh is yours.
Teach him and punish him as you see
fit” .
When boys go to school they usu
ally sit in two rows. One row sits
along one wall, books in hand, and
the other row along the opposite wall.
The teacher sits in the middle of
the room. They do not use ciuiry,
but sit on the floor, which is cov
ered with a reed matting. When
they are studying their lessons they
sway their bodies backward and for
ward as if they were in a rocking
I chair and read with a loud voice in
a singsong style as if they were <fhhnt
in*;. ' > ,
They have neither blackboards nor
slates, but use paper and reed pens
in learning to write. They put their
left knee on the floor and set their
right one up for a desk to rest the
paper on. They use the Arabic al
phabet and read and write from right
to left instead of from left to right.
They also begin their books at the
back, reading forward. The ability
to read a single Persian book is con
sidered in Central Asia to be the sign
of a liberal education. The afctend
r.ace at school is voluntary, no one
being compelled to send his boys if
he r refers to keep them at homo.
Recent tests made in western Aus
tralia have gone to prove that yate is
the strongest wood known. Its aver
age tensile strength is 24,000 pounds
to the square inch, equaling that oi
cast iron. Many specimens are much
stronger, some having stood a test ol
17% tons per square inch. The yate
tree grows to a maximum height of
100 feet and is sometimes three feet
in diameter.
