The San Francisco call. [volume], July 03, 1909, Page 1, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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The San Francisco Call Junior Section
Issued Every Saturday Fc>r {ttt^|Bpys /and\ Qirls of: San Frrancisco and California
HAVE YOU SEEN ALONZO? HE RIDES ON A ROCKET TO THE PLANET MARS
OUR COMMON FROGS AND THEIR COUSINS
SEWARD WALLACE
• *-vIRDS and squirrels are such-dem
\~\ onstrative, beautiful creatures that
. • they absorb much attention when
•we are jn the country.: Yet we. ought
rot to Torgef that "our beautiful land
i* favored with natural dwellers in
woodland a&d meadow which are not
briijs or bunnies, but which are never
theless highly interesting. '
Our true frogs are those that live,
in the water Itself, or near it,'. and not
on land or in troee. We .will probably
«cc first the common leopard frog and
the pickerel frog, both ardent song-
Ftfrs of marsh and- swamp. \u25a0 It seems
purzllng that a frog should have four'
legs and no tall, while their tiny' babies
have along \u25a0fine tgtil and no. legs. . But
rs they grow and grow their tails be
come shorter, . while the soft : skin of
iheir sides pushes . out-., into knobs,
where the legs are coming beneath.
The hind legs appear first, as. short
protrusions: then the front ones come,
and gradually the tadpole 'finds he has
four legs as well, as a tail. • And now
he begins to swim- ?ess and to climb
and cling more. Tail going, becoming
wnaller and smaller, irhile the tadpole
is getting, oh, so hungry. . He is ab
sorbing his .tall arid his appetite is
growing, while the -curious gills with
which bis neck has been fringed pret
tily all ak>njr now wither tip. Finally
he looks" as much' like a frog as can
s>e.- except that he still has a- vei*y
short, taij. His "body lias -shortened up
s&me; too, while the absurd little legs
begin to ;' grow Jong a.nd strong. It
is it first a. race between the front and
the bind legs" and .between gills and
..tail.- But lhe "tails 'have It," while
the hind lega? soon outrun the/front
ones. .-• the ' last '.sta-ge of his growth
tiow commences. He loses all. his tall,
the. front legs are- bowed,' like a bull
dog's,: and the" hind ones develop enor
mous .muscles,' with Which' later In life
he wiil leap. six to eight feet easily. It
.will him. two or • three . years to
grow up.- ' • •• .'" /. \u25a0
. Most frogs and .toads undergo . a
similar change,- which is called by a
Uirig' word,..rrietarfiorphosls. The but
terfly grows from a -.worm by a similar
.sort -of -change, in Its cocq'on, the worm
hatching from an egg fiFst.
\u25a0 The pickeFel frog- you can tell by his
handsome back, whfeh. is a fine- light
brown and has two rows/ of large
obJong, square marks down it .of dark
er" brown. Along each side' of his nose
runs .a. black line, '• Hie- relative, .the
leopard; is -bright" sneen ot greenish
brown sometimes., and his marks are
irregular black blotches edged with
white,, whence his name, the leopard
frog. Both these live in ponds and
the deep» darkened places in swamps,
: where the yellow marigolds and the
blue water iilles .liy-e also," . They are
by f ar- thie noisiest -fellows if ;we except'
master- bullfrog = and the ra-re spade
footed toad, whose noise requites sepa
rate mention. • ; \u25a0'-.
Anothei' -pretty \and familiar frog Is
the Tquiet, gentle wo.od frog, whose 'sci
ontlfic name) Rana ' sylratlca, or the
F ylvari frog, ; is well earned by his
habit of dwelling •in the prettiest
wooded ponds -and damp woods.- He is
a email.- delicate, creature", pale red
. dish brown. ' 'nearly "plain,- but with a
. broad, almost red -band f rdiri his mouth
to his eye. .along tliie head. -His note
Hi feeble, so' he has parried the ifame,
the silent, also. ' \u25a0
In- clear springs, ponds ; and brooks
we will meet almost, 'everywhere east
of the prairies a splendid green, frog,
whose white throat and bright eyes will
make us" love him on sight. He Jumps,
plump", splash into the waier and then
JUNIORVILLE PEOPLE CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY IN GRAND STYLE
comes up close under the bank, pok
ing his bit of a green nose out, just
up to the eyes, and watching us keenly.
We can sometimes take a little stick
and gently scratch his back without his
moving at all, or even quickly put our
hand over him; but a noise drives him
at once into the deep water.
If -you do catch- a frog do not hold
him too long or pull his legs too hard,
but notice his ears. I would wager not
one in ten boys or girls could find them..
Oh, yes, ha has excellent ears, they
can hear under water better than out
of it. but they are not like ours. Do
you see that round, thin and flat place
just behind the eye on each side? It
looks like- a drumhead and is his ear.
His nostrils are plain, and see his
bright, pretty eyes with the black pu
pils. His feet are webbed for swim
ming and his toes very long. Watch
him jump from your hand far into the
pond.
Our -bullfrog is the largest . frog
known in this country, but in other
lands are some as large, and in the
rocks are v found remains of giant frogs
beside which he Is a pigmy. However,
he can grow to be a foot long, which
is. quite large enough. His common
place dwelling is a pond, lake or river,
where there are reeds and- muddy
banks. And his famous bass voice is
familiar to us aIL - . , . .
Besides these water loving v frogrs
there are frogs which ; dig into the
earth and burrow, called spade foots.
provided with a spur on the hind feet
for digging." They * are remarkable
songsters, making a noise so load ! it
has been compared' to a steam whistle.
Spade footed frogs are very rare, in
deed, and .1 have never seen one alive
and never heard one whistling.
Tree frogs, in spite of their arboreal
habits, are real frogs, and Jln spring
these handsome little chirpers go into
the water to lay their eggs. Most of
their life, however, is spent In the
trees and bushes, and while in Europe
there is only one kind of tree frog, we
are blessed with no less than five dis
tinct kinds.
The swamp loving cricket frog, which
lives in bushes over the water, is a tree
frog In the making. .He has not the
curious feet lobed at the ends for
clinging to leaves and hanging upside
down,, as his cousins, the real tree
frogs, have, but his hind legs are very
long and so he is called the cricket
frog,- and he Is a perfect jumper. Real
tree frogs are wonderful creatures, of
a bluish green or leaf in the shade
color, and he has something of the
power of turning in a moment from one
tint to another, like a chameleon. Some
of the frogs are rare, particularly the
toothless frog— most frogs have a few
upper - teeth^the swamp cricket frog,
just mentioned, and the swamp tree
frog.
The Fourth of July
Don't forget, when the old flag waves,
The boys in blue in their lonely graves;
Gone the drummer, the bugle, the scout.
But don't forget what 'twas all about.
Don't forget that to make us free .
Brave men fought both .on land and sea;
We owe it them that our nation's name
Live untarnished and free from shame.
Teach the children to love the right.
Honor the flag, arid with their might
Guard- the ballot, that, this may be
Ever the home of the brave and the
free!
Teach them to feel that of all 'birthdays
That of their country Is best always;
Let the -rockets soar and - the; people
shout, :'\u25a0;\u25a0•••' '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0,
But don't forget what 'tis all? about. -
ifewl&r — Sallie M. Moses.
S^ FRANCISCO, C^.,:j|A^
ur Birthday
WE live in a comparatively young
country, for we have had but a few
real birthdays, dating back as we do
to July 4. 1776, when our forefathers*
announced to the world that thereafter
the United States of America was a
free and Independent nation. We are
very young in the estimation •of our
cousins across the water and of such
dynasties as India and China — and they
also think we have lots; to learn.
But although this is but the one hun
dred and thirty-third anniversary of
our birth, it is doubtful if a-'majority
of the people, especially in the newer
settled parts of the country, could" give
a clear account, of why, we hold the
day in remembrance, or' why we. seem
to be more patriotic; then than. at any
other time. This we must attribute
to the great : Influx of foreigners dur
ing the last few years, who naturally
are not' well acquainted' wiih, our his
tory. They, know this is i a land of
freedom, where men are ejqual in the
race for money and fame; -.where their
children or grandchildren/ may aspire
to the highest gifts of thje nation; so
they seek our shores from * every quar
ter of the globe. \u25a0
It is our task to teach vthese new
comers the reason .of our. fourth of
July celebrations, to make them un
derstand why, the' stars and stripes is
the most beautiful flag in the world;
why our men in civil life -are ready
at the < flrst,call to arms to <Ttop every
thingand-'joln the regular> troops in
defense of that ' flag; why.>wis [ have no
conscription; no forcing- of ,i>ur young
men into; the army.. Our. frtnmtry be
longs to each man, womaty and child
who is a citizen ;of it, and f that is why
we take a personal interest in it and
love its flag, which stands for happy
homes, work' for all, liberty to choose
our religion and our" rulefs.
And .we are not so sure that all
the children of American 1 parents are
well posted in the history, of the fourth
of July.' The schools do -all they, can
in teaching the facts , arid in \ training
their pupils in love for t their country,
but the \ home teaching . ijs ' also . needed.
So on this day let us tell the young
people all about the revolutionary war
and its. results; of the Handful of cou
rageous men who at the risk of their
lives signed the declaration of inde
pendence,, and while th<B' flags float and
the fireworks light r the heavens the
children will remember who made this
holiday possible. ; #
The Starry -Flag
From proud Atlantic s surging waves
To where the broad Pacific lies,
And playfully" the! bright sand laves
Beneath clear, sunny skies;
* ' • \u25a0 '\u25a0
From far along Canadian lines.
The rocky borders of the land.
To where the gulf In beauty shines,
And breaks, upon the strand. \u25a0
From Allegheny's crested mounts,
And on the Rockies' summits gray.
Where brightly, snow fed crystal founts
Are welling forth alway; v^
On Mississippi's mighty tide's,
And on. Ohio's silver stream, '
Or where the Susquehanna glides, *
Or SchuylkiU's ripples gleam;
Where 1 . Delaware, with current J grave.
Is sweeping. outward to the sea; . '
In every, land, on every 'wave,;
.The starry flag floats free!
r '-'"'-\u25a0 \u25a0 ' >
And through all' time -this flag above,
;In triumph'%o'er oppression's ~'i holds,
Shall, in the light of peace and love.
Unroll its glorious. folds.', ! -
- '-r -—Stockton Bates.
GOOD STORIES IN FEW WORDS AND BRIEF, POINTED POEMS
Nationality
If you would contemplate nationality
as an active virtue, look around you.
Is not ohir own history, one witness
and one : record of 'what It can do?
This d?fy — fourth of July--and all
which it^stands for— did It not give us
these? glory of 'the fields of that
war, thhs s eloquence ;of that revolu
tion, tbjis one wide sheet of flame
which wrapped tyrant and \ tyranny,
and- swept <-. all that escaped from It
away, iforever. and forever, the courage
to fight, to retreat, to rally,' to ad
vance, to guard the young flag by the
young * arm and the young heart's
blood, to hold up and hold on till the
magnificent "crowned
the work— were; not all these imparted
as inspired by this Imperial sentiment?
Has it not here begun the master
work of man — the creation of a na
tlonaljife? Did- it not call out that
prodigious \u25a0-development of. wisdom,
the wisdom of. constructiveness, which
illustrated the years after the war,
and the framing and adopting of the
constitution? Has it not, in the gen
eral, contributed to the administering
of that government wisely "and well
since?. Look at it ! ; It has kindled us
to no aims; ' of .conquest ; It, has involved
us Yin 'no: entangling alliancesr it has
kept ouc;ijeutrallty;dignlfled;and ; just;
the ' viqjories rof .'pftac«i,^;a ve: Ueaa^our
prized victories, biit Hhe^a'rger ."and
truer; grandeur :; of ; the nations^ for
which- they are created, and for -which
they must one day before sonic tri
bunal, give account— what .'a measure
of these it has enabled us already to
fulfill!' It. has lifted iUsUo, the throne,
and has set on our brow the name of
the great republic:; it has' taught us to
demand nothing wrong, and to submit
to nothing wrong; it ;has made our
diplomacy sagacious, , war v and ac
complished; it has opened the iron" gate
of the 'mountain, and planted our en
sign on the great tranquil sea; it has
made the desert to blossom as the
rose; It has quickened to life the giant
brood of useful arts; it has . whitened
lake and ocean with the sails of a
daring,; new and , lawful trade; it has
extended to exiles, , flying as clouds,
the • asylum of ' our better liberty; it
has scattered the seeds of -liberty," un
der "law and under order^ broadcast;
it has seen and helped American feel
ing to swell'into a fuller flood;- from
many a field, and, many a deck, though
It seeks r not. war and fears not ; war,
it has .borne f the radiant flat? : all un
stained; it has opened our age of let
tered glory; it has opened and honored
the age of the industry of the people.
RUFUS CHOATE.
-L. . \u25a0 - - ' '
Fairy Song
Shed no tear! O shed no tear! '
The flower will bloom another year.
We«p no more! O .weep no more!
Young- buds sleep in the- root's white
core. .
Dry your eyes! O dry your eyes!
For I was taught In paradise <
To ease my. breast of melodies-^-.
Shed no tear. \ ;
Overhead!* look, overhead!
'Mong the.Wossoms white ;and red — :
Look: up! -look up! I flutter now
On \u25a0 this flush pomegranate 'bough."- .
See me! ,'tls this ; . silvery bell
Ever cures the good? man's* ill.
Shed no 'tear! O shed.no tear!
The ; flowers ,will ; bloom another year.
Adieu, adieu,: I; fly," adieu/
I vanish ' In the heaven's ' blue— •
\u25a0 _ Adieu, adieu! \''.
S ! ; - ' — John Keats.
The Fourth of July
uur country's day of gladness,
- The day we 'love to keep,
Remembering the fathers
1 Who long since fell in - sleep.
The day ..which marked an era,
When faint we were and few.
With pur history all before us,
And'our work laid out to do.
Brave were the hearts that' challenged
' The .haughty mother land; )
Strong were the hands that carried
. The * musket and the brand. .'
Staujojih were the souls that. waited,
, Pure_were the hopes that flamed,
And righteous were the leaders,
i For. God the land who claimed.
With banner and with bugle,
. With song and happy v cheer,
With tumult and rejoicing,
We hail It year by year.
Our country's day. of gladness,
•Thai marks from sea to sea.
Through mount and stream and prairie,
' The birthday of the free.'
God keep our land - forever;
. God -guard and ;make her great!
Jehovah lead her armies;
Jehovah guide the siate.
Through; all our -lengthened borders,"
From all" pur clustered homes; \u25a0"
The '/cry; for" God andj Freedom.
'From heart, and hearthstone comes.
" "\u25a0'.\u25a0\u25a0 .' - ' . - -'—Alice Jiogc^s/^'
\u25a0 \u25a0 ' •
The First Taxicab
In the matter of the T taxicab. investi
gators.are finding thai," as with most
other things-in this world, it is not as
new as it seems.:
Students had hinted for some years
that a vehicle of this description was
known in .anrient China, but to Profes
sor Giles of Cambridge, Eng., has been
reserved" the honor pt discovering an
actual contemporary account of it. This
occurs In a history of the Chin dynasty
for the period of 265-419 A. 1).. The
name for the cab was the "measure
mile drum carriage." Of course it was
not self propelled, the motor power be
ing horses. The description says that
"in the middle of it there is a wooden
figure of a man, holding a drumstick
toward a drum, and at the completion
of every 11 the man strikes a blow on
the drum." a history of a later
dynasty (815-987) has-been found an
other record of a taxicab, which is. de
scribed as follows:
"They, are-painted red, with pictures
of flowers and birds on : the four sides
and in two stories, handsomely adorned
with carvings. At the completion of
every, li the wooden figure of a, man in
the lower story strikes a drumi and at
the, completion ,'of every, 10 li a man in
the .upper story strikes a bell. There
is a pole ', with phenixllke' head." and a
team of four horses. Formerly the
chariot held 18 soldiers, which number
was Increased in 987 by the Emperor
T'ai Tsung to 20." .
A third account has. been found in a
history covering the year 1027, where
the mechanism is described. In the
fourteenth century a Chinese poet, well
known in his day. wrote an "Ode to a
Taxicab." — Literary Digest.
Latin
Latin. is a dead language,
As ; dead "as can be ; 7 \u0084
It killed the ancient Romans, ' .".- -
\u25a0 And ; now Is killing me. \u25a0 *
;*Non paratus," Freshie riixit,
- With: a sad "and- mournful look;
"Omne> recte," 'Prof.vrespondlt; .
f."Nihil," scribit.ilnimy book.
An Object Lesson
AS a boy before going to college the
writer entered a wholesale dry
goods store in the city of New York,
owned by men, of national reputation.
In the linen room were the boy and a
single salesman, both newcomers. £>n
the first, morning, after their arrival,
one of the heads of the house came into
the room with a, customer, and himself
showed him the goods. The business
was clone after this fashion: the mer
chant said this linen is such a* make,
so many threads to the inch, so many
yards to the pound, at. such a.^price.
And the customer said I will take' so
many pieces. In. 15 minutes he sold
him $2.500- worth of goods. The cus
tomer went out and the merchant then
turned to the salesman and said:
"That's the way to sell goods. I 'can
sell that man at any time all that he
wants, because be knows that, so far
as it Is in my power, I will tell him
the exalt truth. If you treat your cus
tomers In that way, you can sell goods."
That' was our Introduction to the
wholesale business of New -York. It
was an object lesson which has Influ
enced the life of the writer. In his
judgment there are many thousands of
businessmen who are doing business in
that ' honest way arid prospering. be r
cause honest.. To make a
s'tatenrent contradictory to this weTioHl
to Imply a lack of knnwledgjeof things
ss" they are:— BxchanK**. , r \., 1 ,
After the Fourth
Hurrah, hurrah, for the glorious Fifth,
And our boys who survived the fray;
Who wear, the scars, of the ' bloodless
-'\u25a0 wars.
They, fought and won in a day.
The shouting, screeching, howling mob
* That rent the heav'ns with noise!
Are -these sweet things, tied In leading
..strings.
' Those same distracting boys? \u25a0
But yesterday they were soldier lads.
Marching to fife and drum;
While with frowning brow each told
• us how. ' .
He was going to make things hum.
-\u25a0 \u25a0'.-\u25a0-"- .- " T "• •\u25a0'•'.•
"You bet we will." And you bet, they
• They're now the Invalid Corps.
With blackened stains, and powder
grains.
But safe at home once more.
Then hurrah, hurrah, for the glorious
Fifth! + >;i f V
for our patriot kids.
Who are laying low — for repairs, you
know, ' y'
And doing as mother bids."
Coiffures of Old
A contributor to "The Point of View
in the current Scrlbner's, deploring the
"monumental style of hats and head
dresses," tells of the old days of the
French court when the coiffure went by
the name of the pouf sentimental. Thl3
was a collection of objects symbolic of
all that was dearest to the wearer. The
wife of a naval officer, bore on her
head a frigate breasting \u25a0 the wave?
with all sails set. A - mother loaded
down her head with, five dolls to rep
resent h«r five children. The duchess
of . Lauzun \u25a0 wore > a superstructure pre -
s^nting'an entire landscape. The di
rector of the royal opera ruled against
the admission , of women wearing-ex
tra vagantly large coiffures.
The Boy and His Top
A little boy had bought a top.
The best in all the toyman's shop: \u0084£v*
He made a whip with good eel's skin*
He lash'dthe top and made it spin;
All th« chHdren within call.
And the servants, one and all.
Stood around to see it and admire.
At; last the" top began to tire;
He cried out, • "Pray don't hit ma.
Master.
You whip too hard — I can't spin faster.
I can spin quite as well without It."
The. little boy r.eplled, '.'I doubt It; "
I ' only whip you for your good.
You were a foolish --lump of wood.
By din^ of whipping you were raised
To .seen yourself admired and praised.
And if I left you. you'd remain
A foolish lump of wood again.**
EXPLANATION
Whipping, sounds a little odd,
I don't mean whipping with a rod.
It means to teach a boy Incessantly.
Whether by lessons or more pleasantly.
Every hour and, every day.
By every means m every way.
By reading, writing, rhyming, talking.
By riding to see sights, and walking:
If you leave off he drops at once,
A lumpish, wooden headed dunce.
— John .Hookham Fr«re.
\u25a0•;•• - -yl:';y l :' ; - • .
Some Old Games
Fl«R»r*./or Scissor* — Scissors usual
ly 'come under the ban. of the nursery
authorities;* - even- -"\u25a0 those '-'-'wl'th "blunt
points representing precarious play
thing* for " small children, A substi
tute "for, "cutting out* may. however.
be found In "tearing paper Into the
snaps of animals and figures with the
fingers,, and proves Just as popular
with the small .nursery people as the
more dangerous amusement. Ordinary
kitchen paper may be used, or prefer
ably the common white paper which is
used to line shelves. Trees, animals,
little men and women, or even doll's
furniture can be "torn out" with the
fingers.
To Make Them, Mnnd Alone — With
rounds of cork and matches, tribes of
small Noah's ark men can be made,
the skeleton bodies being wound with
stiff " paper, on which buttons can b«
painted or" marked in chalk, while
rounds of cork, instead of feet will en
able the family to stand alone.
. \u25a0
Summer
'Neath summer skies, all earth Is glad
And smiling meets the day.
The hills and valleys flower clad
Wherever we may stray.
Each stareyed blossom lifts its faca
" In greeting mute, bur sweet.
The roses in their tender grace
And violets at our feet.
There's tints of beauty everywhere.
On leaf, on flower and lea.
A perfect' scene of loveliness.
Alike by land or sea.
— Lizzie M. Soutfen.
A Good Reason
' Teacher — And why are you so late.
Tommy."
Tommy — Please, miss, it's muvver's
washing day. She's been and lost th*>'
lid of the copper, so I've been, sitting
on to"p to keep the steam in.— Sketchy
Bits. . . v -
By the Moon We Sport and Play
By the moon we sport and play.
With the night .begins our day;
As -we. dance the dew doth 'fall;
Trip U.y little urchins all!
Two. by 'two. and three by three.
And about go we. and about go w«!