The Conservative ,
young houso-lly. As a matter of fact ,
flics do not grow sifter they appear as
flies , but they go through an elaborate
process before that. First , they are
eggs , then they are three kinds of larva ,
one after another , then they are pu-
pue , and they emerge from their pupal
ease as mature flies. The entire pro
cess takes fen days , with the ordinary
fly of commerce , so that there is time
for fifteen generations in five months of
\varm weather. A single fly lays at
least. 120 eggs ; : i cubic inch of horse
manure will produce two hundred flies ;
those who wish to know , and have the
leisure , can figure out how long a pas
senger train , running between the earth
and the moon , loaded with flies from
their neighbor's barn , would take to
pass a given point.
The "Washington experiments are con
sidered to prove that flies are more
finicky than one would think , and will
only lay their eggs in horse manure , and
that by taking care around the barn the
eggs can be destroyed. If this is so the
experimenters' conclusion seems reason
able , that people in cities at lejist may
arrange some day so that window-
screens and fly paper may be dispensed
with. It is said that by throwing the
stable-sweepings carefully into a tight
box or closet , and scattering chloride of
lime over them , the generation of flies
can bo absolutely prevented , and that
the difference in the neighborhood is
very noticeable.
Some curious facts which we note , are
that the regular honse-ily cannot bite ,
having only an arrangement for sucking
up liquids ; that the fly which does bite
is a different kind , called the stable-fly ;
that the bug known as the thousand-
logger is a great destroyer of flies ; that
a fly that you see with a red patch on
his back is attacked by parasites and
will not live long ; that the lazy stupid
fly who provokes you in the fall is the
cluster-fly , and that it is he that you
find dead , stuck on the window-pane ,
with a little patch of white around him ;
and that flies are undoubtedly carriers
of gangrene and other contagions.
TUBES XOTK1) FOK SPECIFIC
VIRTUES AND USES.
OAK TREE , the king of the forest and
patriarch of trees , wholly unrivalled in
stature , strength and longevity. The
timber is used for shipbuilding , the bark
for tanning leather , and the gall for
making ink. Oak timber is used for
every work where durability and
strength are required.
Oak trees best resist the thunder
stroke. ( William Browne is responsible
for this statement ) . It bursts into leaf
between April 10 and May 26.
In 1757 there was an oak in Earl
Powis's park , near Ludlow , 1(5 ( feet in
girth (5 ( feet from the ground ) and 60
feet high ( Mai-sham ) . Panshanger Oak ,
in Kent is 10 feet in girth , and contains
1000 feet of timber , though not yet in
JLi &ji
its prime ( Mai-sham ) . Sulcoy Forest
Oak , in Northamptonshire , is 24 feet in
girth ( Marslmm ) . Gog , in Yardley For
est , is 28 feet in girth , and contains 1(558 (
cubic feet of timber. The king of
Wynnstay Park , north Wales , is ! ) ( ) feet
in girth. The Queen's Oak , Hunting-
fleld , Suffolk , from which Queen Eliza
beth shot a buck , is ! 5 feet in girth
( Mai-sham ) . Shelton Oak , near Shrews
bury , called the "Grette Oak" in 154 ! } ,
which served the great Glendower for a
post of observation in the battle of
Shrewsbury (14015) ( ) , is ! 57 feet in girth
( Marsham ) . Green Dale Oak , near
Welbeck , is J58 feet in girth , 11 feet
from the ground ( Evelyn ) . ( Jowthorpo
Oak , near Wetherby , is 48 feet in girth
( Evelyn ) . The great oak in Broomfield
Wood , near Ludlow , was , in 1704 , 08
feet in girth , 25 ! feet high , and contained
1455 feet of timber ( Lightfoot ) .
Beggar's Oak , in Blithfield Park , Staf
fordshire , contains 827 cubic feet of
timber , and , in 1812 , was valued at 200
( Marsham ) . Fredville Oak , Kent , con
tains 1400 feet of timber ( Marsham ) .
But the most stupendous oak over grown
in England was that dug out of Hutfleld
Bog ; it was 12 feet in girth at the larger
end , ( i feet at the smaller end , and 120
feet in length ; so that it exceeded the
famous larch tree brought to Rome in
the reign of Tiberius , as Pliny states in
his Natural History.
Swilcar Oak , in Needlmm Forest , is
600 years old ( Strutt ) . The oak of the
Partizans , in the forest of Parey , St.
Ouen , is above 650 years old. Wallace's
Oak , which stood on the spot where the
patriot hero" was born ( Elderslie ,
near Paisley ) was probably 700 years old
when it was blown down in 1859. Salcey
Forest Oak , in Northamptonshire , is
above 1000 years old. William the Con
queror's Oak , Windsor Great Park , is at
least 1200 years old. Winfarthing Oak ,
Norfolk , and Bentley Oak , were 700
years old at the Conquest , more than
800 years ago. Cowthorpe Oak , near
Wetherby , is 1600 years old ( Professor
Burnett ) . The great oak of Saintes , in
the Chareiito Inferieur , is reckoned from
1800 to 2000 years old. The Damorey Oak ,
Dorsetshire was 2000 years old when it
was blown down in 1708. In the Com
monwealth , it was inhabited by an old
man , and used as an ale house ; its cavity
was 15 feet in diameter and 17 feet in
height.
In the Water Walk of Magdalen Col
lege , Oxford , was an oak supposed , to
have existed before the Conquest ; it was
a notable tree when the college was
founded in 1448 , and was blown down in
178 ! ) . On Abbot's Oak , Woburn , the
vicar of Pnddington , near Chester , and
Roger Hobbs , abbot of Woburn , were
hung , in 15557 , by order of Henry Vllf ,
for refusing to surrender their sacer
dotal rights ( Marsham ) . The Bull Oak ,
Wedgonock Park , and the Plestor Oak ,
Colborne , were both in existence at the
Conquest. The Shollard's Lane Oak ,
Gloucestershire , is one of the oldest in
the island.
The Cadenham Oak , near Lyndhurst ,
in the Now Forest , buds on "old Christ
mas Day , " and has done so for at least
two centuries ; it is covered with foliage
at the usual time of other oak trees. The
same is said of the tree against which
the arrow of Tyrell glanced when Rufus
was killed.
OUVK , used in wainscot , because it
never gapes , cracks or cleaves.
The eight olive trees on the Mount of
Olives were flourishing 800 years ago ,
when the Turks took Jerusalem.
OSIEU , used for puncheons , wheels for
catching eels , bird cages , baskets , ham
pers , hurdles , edders , stakes , rake
handles , and poles.
PKAK TKEE , used for turnery , joiners'
tools , chairs and picture frames.
It is worth knowing that pear grafts
on a quince stock produce the most
abundant and luscious fruit.
PINK THEE. The "Old Guardsman , "
in Vancouver's Island , is the largest
Dongas pine. It is 16 feet in diameter ,
51 feet in girth , and 150 feet in height.
At one time it was 50 feet higher , but
its top was broken off in a storm.
PLANE THEE. Gross delights to grow
in its shade.
POPLAK TKEE. Sacred to Hercules.
No wood , is so little liable to take fire.
The wood is excellent for wood carvings
and wainscoting , floors , laths , packing
boxes and turnery.
BLACK POPLAH. The bark is used by
fishermen for buoying their nets ; brooms
are made of its twigs. In Flanders clogs
are made of the wood.
The poplar bursts into leaf between
March (5 ( and April 19.
ROSE TKEE. The rose is called the
"Queen of Flowers. " It is the emblem
of England , as the thistle is of Scotland ,
the shamrock of Ireland , and the lily of
Franco.
It has ever been a favorite on graves
as a memorial of affection ; hence Pro-
pertius says , "Et teuera poneret ossa
rosa. " In Rome the day when the pope
blesses the golden rose is called Dominica
in Rosa. The long intestine strife be
tween the rival houses of York and
Lancaster is called in history the "War
of the White and Red Roses , " because
the badge of the Yorkists was a white
rose and that of the Lancastrians a red
one. The marriage of Henry VII with
Elizabeth of York is called the "Union
of the Two Roses. "
The rose was anciently considered a
token of secrecy , and hence to whisper
a thing null raw means it is not to bo
repeated.
In Persian fable , the rose is the night
ingale's bride. "His queen , his garden
queen , the rose. "
A juvenile story in which the boy's
answer begins "Please , sir , " can bo set
down as not having been revised since
Peter Parley's day.