he Omaha Sunday
S AZINE, Pa3E
ALL 71
OVER
Bee Ma
i ... ... .
IHow MAN'S
PROGRESS Is
Measured li;:
His HOME
THE home ii the bent mark of man's civilization.
t ha live In a cave or a rude hut he can hard
ly be credited with having made great strides In
the arts. The history of mankind points with unerring
finger to the home as the Indication of the height of
culture of each and every race.
Going back before history began, where we have no
written account! of the Uvea of men and women, the
borne becomes most enlightening as to the mode of
life and Idea a then prevalent. '
The very first habitation of man, as far ai can be
learned, was the natural cave, out of which he may
have driven the cave-bear, or the sabre-toothed tiger,
but he had not yet learned how to build a house. He
took It ready made, hollowed out of the rock by the
wearing stream of water, or made accidentally by the
upheaval of an earthquake. The next step was to
hollow out a cave In some location which seemed best
to him, using brsnches of trees or pieces of stone
,to dig with.
t The oldest of these caves In which men and women
(lived, as proved by the tools found there, are In
France and Germany, and some scientists assert that
this was at least a half a million years ago, while the'
most conservative hold that man has been on earth
Dot lit than two hundred and fifty thousand years.
It was when Europe was almost Arctic In climate
fend the mammoth and the elk and reindeer ranged
Science Finds the KIND OF DWELLINGS a Nation Has the Surest Index to the State
of Its CIVILIZATION
On the Left a Cave Dwelling; on the Right a
Hut of the Irish Elk Age--Two of
Man's Earliest Habitations.
A Lycian Hut of Wood Built
High Upon a Rock for
Greater Security.
over the plains and mountains that
th'e cave was the only safe resort
for weak little men and women.
When these men had learned to
make weapons of flint, they man
aged to kill the mammoth and even
the swift-running deer, and some
of them stripped the skins from
the' elk and built temporary tentB,
In which tbey lived.
These elk-tents are found In ire
land, of course, In fragments, but1
still proving that man lived there
In those skin-tents many ages ego.
In the later stone-ege men had ,
found out how to put slabs of stone
together and build a primitive kind
of stone house, and gradually they
learned that very elaborate houses
might be constructed by shaping
snd fitting the stones, even though
no such thing as mortar was yet
known. Some of these ancient houses are found on
the Island of Sardinia, and while at first only one
story shigh, the Ingenious men of that age soon de
vised a method of piling the stone symmetrically, In
ever decreasing circles, so that tbey built tower
houses, with two and three stories, stone stairways
leading from one to the other.
They were clever enough to roof these towers with
branches, held together and made water-tight by a
mixture of dried grass and mud, which lasted well
and served as protection and fort in one. In build
ing these truncated cone tower-houses the builders
were careful to leave niches near the stairways 1n
which the householder might conceal himself and at
tack any intruder by surprise. These ancient build
ings called "Nuraghl" are some of the most Interest
ing proofs of the Ingenuity of man of the later stone
age. ' ,
With Increasing mentality cams the development
from the stone to the bronze age, when men learned
how to extract copper from the earth, smelt It, and
mould it Into spear beads, tools and Implements of
JMost Men's WIVES ARE ONLY LOANED to Them
UNLESS you married a mother
less girl you know the do
mestic status of a mother-in-law.
Before your marriage you
knew her only through stock Jokes,
cartoons and musical comedies.
J Just at present there Is an agree
able dearth of mother-in-law humor
on the market. But the Isdy Is
till doing business at the same old
stand.
There are some men who divide
matrimony Into two parts, of which
their wives' mothers are the great
er. This appears strange, since when
each of these became a husband It
leeraed mutually understood that
-Tie was at least one "better half."
The law, It seems, put a "Joker" In
.he marriage contract.
s: But these same men will tell you
their mothers-in-law are-no Jokes.?
And If, at this psychological' rao-
ment, you chance to let your facej
slip out of Us -usual contour tbey)
either suppress a desire to slay)
frou without warning, or pray fer-j
vently you will not marry an or-j
phan
Now It la a strange thing that!
the world wllJ often find much hu-S
mor In what to others are very
trsglo situations. When a man,
commits a somersault into the cen-j
tre of a perfectly muddy puddle.J
passing humanity is very likely to
1 smile. The only difference here;
between tragedy and comedy Is a';
wet pair of breeches. It all depends;
on who has to wear them. I.Ike-'
wise, though the metaphor Is mixed.'
' the same thing might apply to
pne's mother-in-law, )
There must ! something behind'
It all. Why do some men bear such
malice toward their first maternal
ancestor-by law? Whose fault Is It
the mother-in-law's, or the man's?
And, to approach the issue mors
generally, why Is a mother-in-law,
anyway? The marriage bureaus
never mention her. The marriage
ceremony doesn't Include her. And
certainly you didn't agree to marry
her, too.
Boiled down, the residue seems to
assume this consistency: In the
first place, your wife Is always her
mother's daughter. That is a nat
ural law which no marriage con
tract can annul.
Your mother-in-law did not give
you her daughter; she merely
loaned her to you with certain
obligations on your part, including
Interest both moral and financial.
If, perchance, you do not quite ful
fill her Ideas of these obligations,
then the mother-of-pearl has been
cast before swine, and your gold
coin of conjugal happiness bas
rolled down a rat-hole. This, It
seems, Is the first real cloud that
darkens a mother-in-law's face.
Dlplomatlo relations having thus
been broken, your wife must sow
assume the role of mediator and
arbitrator. If the embassies of both
feudal families happen unfortu
nately to be installed In the same
house, then the situation Is even
more strained. No long notes are
written, but emphatlo demands and
ultimatums are Issued and received
through the modiura of the diplo
matic corps represented by your
wife.
She, too, occupies a very precari
ous position. Now she Is neutral,
now pro-husband, and again pro
mother. As the controversy pro
gresses, each of the warring fac
tions recognizes that the balance of
power rests entirely In the hands of
the wife-daughter. Great care must
be taken not to antagonize her in
any way that might make her fly
over to the enemy's camp. That, of
course, would mean disaster for the
deserted party.
How soon you may obtain a treaty
of peace, and on what terms, will
all depend on circumstances. Pos
sibly you may see fit to evacuate
your domestic citadel, bearing
wife; again you may decide to re
main and throw up lntrenchments.
But unless your wife joins moral
forces with you, or is a born diplo
mat, you may expect to endure a
long siege.
Model of an Egy ptian House. It Was Built of
Clay Much as the Adobe Dwellings in
Some Western States Are Now.
every kind. The soil was tilled now With stone and
copper "plows, and better and safer housea were
needed. They were too far from the mountains to
utilize natural or artificial caves, and there was little
stone to be found.
They sought water in the fine lakes of Switzerland,
and with tbelr stone and bronze implements having
learned bow to cut down and shape logs, they began
to build real houses. It seemed safer to build these
out in the lakes, so the platforms of logs were placed
upon piles, and the houses built on these. It was far
easier to defend the narrow bridges against animal
foes or other savage tribes than it would have been to
guard a hut in the woods.
The Lake-Dwellers, as they were called, developed
to a high state of civilization, learning how to weave,
make pottery, and more elaborate metal utensils.
Further advance was marked by the conquest of
iron, the iron age always following the bronze age In
all parts of the world. The still higher state of cul
ture led to better social organization, and with tribes
and chiefs came the early forms of religion and special
modes of disposing of the dead. Burial even in' a
cave was no longer sufficiently advanced, but burning
upon a funeral pyre was necessary to the great chief
of the Iron-age.
While this development was going on In 'Europe
special advancement had taken place In Babylonia and
Egypt, where human beings were found very early in
prehistoric times. In Mesopotamia there was no
stone, and so clay and wood became the material for
house building. At first the bricks were only dried
in the sun, but with the discovery of the hardening
effect of fire, they were afterward baked as well as
we now bake them.
The first type of house was, however, that made of
trees and logs. The forest, with its shade, suggested
naturally the earliest shelter, and in Imitation of It,
trees were cut off, and then roofed over, or corner-
Mil i ?'! o i ENI.
An Assyrian Stronghold Very Tall but Con
taining Only One Floor. The Observa
tories at the Top of the Towers Were
Reached by Stairs Winding up
the Outside of the Building.
' posts were placed la position end logs piled up to
make homes for men, women and children.
In Egypt, clay houses were the earliest forms made,
resembling more or less the adobe dwellings found
in the western part of the United States, In later
ages wood was mor extensively used, but this could
come only after torils bad been perfected and archi
tectural Ideas had grown.
The ancient Hebrews, both in their original bjme
.in Babylonia and in Canaan, also built houses largely
of clay-bricks, using unbaked bricks on the Inside and
baked on the outside only.
In Phoenicia, where there was more rock to be
found, the earliest homes seem to have been hewn
out of the mountain-sides, Just as in Europe.
In Lycia we find remains of houses built of stone
or wood, as the material most easily secured, and
sometimes a hut is built of wood, high up on a rock,
for greater security. The Phrygian house was like
an American log-cabin, while in Persia they might
build houses-of clay or wood, and gorgeous palaces
later, but the nomads still live in tents made of skins,
like the Irish of the earliest ages. ' ,
How Many POOR Spellers There Are
S
EVEN out of every 100 third-
grade public school children
cannot spell the word "has."
This and other curious evidences
of the special problems which
have to be solved In the teaching
of spelling are brought out by Dr.
Leonard P. Ayres, of the Russell
Sage Foundation, as the result of
DON'T BE ALARMED If You See COLORED RATS
D
ON'T feel too alarmed if you
chance to see a red, blue,
pink, green or yellow rat.
Such a sight la not necessarily a
sign that there Is something wrong
with your eyesight or your brain,
for there are many rats with coats
of those colors scurrying about
some of our large cities.
In the effort to collect Informa
tion about rats that will aid in
their extermination, scientists con
nected with the government health
service ere painting them. The
different colors given them aid In
Wcmtlfylng the rats later on and In
ascertaining how fur they have
travelled and what their habits of
life are.
SCIENCE NOW KNOWS
What a Year's Snow and Rain Weigh
IT Is tU:; Ul Uit t
Stilts weighs tn t't
the anuuitl fill (f n nttt in lbs ("tilted
Bfiiibborhood of sorXWOOMt tons !
Sewer Pipe from Lava
SCWtR p'pei i tru k nia hiu be n from the nioltstt t flow- :
lug fr m itit arm volcano KIUu, in th lUonttat) UUndi, If th
tli of SB tiMo f'H' ninnuU'M'itrr h recently llt4 the UUmlt r
followed !. VVHti rri-er tuict.tneiy, lie declare, pipes 'ou!d h nild.
from the Ue f recite iv p r tiil lt !rm to in material
t3 U lOt' r'ndles bucket toatrywr of pi iittfil "(mW of
wtthiundng fcei up ti !'' d.fe F, "ul.t r-e u 4 t hr ! ol
' j r it i t f 'i !N pit.
Rlectriftt-t Pants
PSlS - t I r us- U'e ar Hei!i" h 1 ik
1 1' ft tMKthM- H f '' I st tret ..'ftlai In ! tif
rw. M link e? ., M tie ilikstta Vlennt fofeiir vt
S4ht, ,m t nnrftet !! lie cm!Vn V.s fmeat ouil to !
t tea tr t Vtli'ff, w U pt!Mt. it Itwat ;! a1.
I'M:. ... -ru- ami ntwtr, mijM t ftiV!r ta iuiMh
Ta ',! Bi. mn sicetitoU ,Ji r' ! r t tM'-''g :re
ii -uui, -. u ; t, n! t tk'tu''r J!t ''
t.HU':? tan r' 1 t a Uk !. n 14 ht : si
4tft.' pt j u-s U 4 ! f. ffc ( fc'm:f f
aa I tt'.n. 'B"i i I1 I k iot T tles 'f er't
if! ! 'x.r;,' irM k , I ! sx
The experiment was first tried In
Seattle. A lot of rats were dyed
red, yellow, blue, pink and green
and then turned loose, the chief
idea being to ftnd out how far they
would wander. Advertisements
were published, offering $2 aplere
for the painted rats, dead or alive,
with Information shout the places
where they were caught.
One fact that has been ascer
tained about rats by these novel
experiments Is that they sre at
tracted hy the shining of phospho
rus in the dark, and that this Is
why they have the habit of gnaw
ing matches. It U a very unfortu
nate trick of theirs, causing many
tires. Not n U)vt of the nmht costly
(Ires In New York and otht-r cities
era sirtei tn this way.
Another thing about rats, of
uhlih pcopt gt-nernlty are un
aware. ( thm Itiey re rottri
not of f.H'J ti'r'rciv, hut if umall
tslimMfi, Unmet Iroes thv carry
nT article of )c!ry tpcrtmp et
frmteit by the g'nterl nnl hide
thm tn th. it!i ir o:nr r '
n hers n r.ir h i n ittn o er I hem
Mstiy 1 icrMi.- rnf. unlu'lv
mi. t l, h is 'tf?ire'l il!mll
t;-r Set tif lh!i.er)r Ha" cim-
e !M- hv ri
l l)ii he cf
Ne t'r'csn1, 'it
er (. r d'
e t- t t sUnn
(n rr t'f e
Trs iii
y 1 i t ' ihtn
'ht . i n'ih u
M IS tilio t'f It
they t f
C' Sr i t K s .N
Ci!il' I .,
It tri'fM '. ..(
r f tv'i" t !
ti I h ituM t'f h
i' ' ik-pl
( ii i i t I'm
l..i.'. fit t ' . S n
operations of the Public Health
Service.
To quell an epidemic of bubonic
plague, and prevent future trouble
of the sort, the health authorities
had set about the' business of ex
terminating the rats of New Or
leans by trapping and poisoning
these rodents being the carriers of
the disease. It gave the mice a
fine chance to multiply, because
their chief enemies are rats.
In truth, It is the rat, and not the
rat. that Is the worst foe of the
mouse. Mice rsn scarce survive
tn a place where there are
rats.
The mont Important work accom
plished by the Public IIlth Ser
vice at New Orleans, however, wis
th rat proofing of all dwellings and
other buildings. As a result, the
city in eventually made mouse
priHtf as well as rat proof, and so
the plsftue of mlcs soon came to an
end.
Itj Interfiling In know that the
rit his some unefulnesa to nun
kind. If c!y as a mouse kil
ler. Then l no!hr n tht bi
been found fir the animal, which
tti fH'lM eicep-toa ct Ihe
r
t
I
I hi l lh l I noting ConlrU anc th it l I'ro- inf
t!t-tttf In I'tr-rntinii tttk Uil fnnt
Uunrtin Abrttf m l ,w trr Ortfti Ship,
i '. " M 4. ., " ( Ml ('! t' , K It I'll Ml
house fly) Is man's greatest enemy.
Its hide Is converted into a deli
cate leather, for book-bindings,
purses snd certain other purposes.
Up to the present time this indus
try Is restricted to the city of Caf
cutta, which is one of the most rat
infested places on the face of the
globe. It was started only half a
dosen years ago, but the annual
value of Its manufactured output
already Is said to be $300,000.
During the Russo-Japanese war
tens of thousands of Japanese sol
diers, campaigning In the cold
climate of Manchuria, were pro
vided with ear muffs made of rat
skins. Attempts have been made. 1n
Franca snd elsewhere, to utlllte
rat skins In the manufacture of
gloves. They hsv not been sue-
ccijful, because the plts are too J
small, snd alio for th reason that
they are inn deitca'e snd easily
torn. Tt h been found) Ituprao.
tlcable even to ue Ihetn for glove
thumbs. Th remmon brown ral Is
a ground dweller, and rosy
I kept put of sny buUJ.
iff by eo or rate
Mooring and brick
or concrete walls
Wi feet shots ground
and we f est be ;
!' It 1'tit (hi sort .
ef protection tl tti J
etcttide the Ms'h rst,
h!'-l l a cUmfcor j
It wtU fn sotrsnc
f a home ty way (if
Hies er telephone
wtr, tfieumn tU.
l :ii tir t'riu, tj
ventllstors t n
tkS fi f T. i' T
is r'.if r '( It
ft t H fr
s H k 1.
a long series of investigations.
As a result of combining the four
most extensive studies that have
been made to Identify the words
commonly used in different sorts
of English writing, Dr. Ayres has
selected the 1,000 words that con
stitute 90 per cent of the language
ordinarily used. This selection
was made from various English
authors, from four Sunday news
papers of Buffalo, N. Y and from
the business and family corre
spondence of over 2,000 adults.
The object was to "develop a scale
for measuring attainment In tje
spelling of common words on the
part of school children."
Co-operating with the city su
perlntendenta in eighty-four cities
of the United States, Dr. Ayres
had the 1,000 commonest words
tested by an aggregate of 1,400,000
spellings, secured from 70,000 pub
lic school' children. The result, ac
cording to Dr. Ayres, made it pos
sible to accurately measure spell
ing ability, and to compute the
amount of Improvement in spelling
the same words from grade to
grade.
By a scale arrangement, extend
lng on a line from 0 to 100, "spell
ing ability" is eally and scientifi
cally determined. For example,
nine words of most frequent use,
viz.: "the," "In," "so," "no,"
"now,- "man," "ten," "bed," "top,"
revealed that second grade pupils,
on an average, spelled correctly 94
Ver cent of these words. - At the
other extreme of the scale the
words 'Judgment," "recommend"
and "allege" were found to be
spelled correctly by Just 60 per
cent of eighth-grade pupils. Per
centages above and below these
would Indicate variations from the
normal In spelling.
Dr. Ayres fjnds thst "Intellectual
abilities are distributed in much
the same way among people as are
physical traits. Just as there are
few dwarfs, many people of me
dium height and very few giants,
so there are very few exceedingly
poor spellers, many medium ones
and very few exceptional ones.
"Few words do most of our work
when we write. Fifty words con
stitute, with tboir repetltionx, .?
halt of the words written. u.
child wlo masters the l.nno u nit
on the scale given will make no
iipelllng errors
his writing."
In nine-tenths ot
YOU MIGHT TRY
To Clean Mica.
r) clean the mica tn stove doors rub with s soft cloth dipped m e'n
parts of vinegsr and cold wster.
What Ammonia Will Do.
AMMONIA in warm water will revive faded colors, snd it MU remove
art sputa on rugs snd carpets like mute
When Enclosing Stamps.
They can't get out of a ssM envelop.
WHEN oroin sumps da not stick one corner to the letter, Put
" them In loose. Th
Packing Flowers.
't,OWrRS that sre sent long dinamss will sir tn perte.t tnntit!,
If wrapped la a wet newipiper with few pi-cei if I. en. lot.-d
WHI N th (t
tfcsAre. .
A Fire Preventive.
A bw'Ur t retenllts ll t U t !'y the
weep eai-a try ir
A S-ife Match Holder.
oi ! met- hi t in Kh 1 1 wbn h liy t " '
hut fiem ttt a a( r w:k a tw . tu
thtt lif i tut t " r
D
(if n;i nt
. nf i S ii-.
" ill- rt I
t
