JUNIOR SECTION THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL Issued Every Saturday J^or^ HAVE YOU SEE ALONZO? HE DIGS FOR A WATCH AND FINDS A BIG SNAKE HAWK LIFE IN AMERICA THERE are a number of hawks com- . mon to America, some of local and others of general dlstribu 'ion, the largest, the osprey or fish hawk, having the proud distinction of being purveyor to the eagle. The next in size, and most beautiful, are the red tailed and the red shouldered — commonly known as hen hawks, though it has been proven that the ; number of young chickens they de- | stroy is unworthy of notice when com pared with the vast number of mice and other small animals which they ' retire "from circulation. To every ' chicken captured as many as 100 of the latter are taken. The real menaces to the poultry yard are the sharp skinned Coopers and the marsh hawk, all of these being able to dart down, secure their booty and be off before they are noticed. The rough legged or black hawk is the most nocturnal of the family, choosing the late evening, when small animals are abroad, as his season of greatest activity. The sparrow hawk, the emallest and, next to the rough '^gged. the most graceful member of the family, is the tnest proficient mouser and an enemy of the brown grasshopper, . known .as -the "tobacco . epitter."' One bird alone will destroy 200 or more of these in a single day. Some varieties are watch tower hunters who perch on stumps,'- leaf less trees or haystacks, or hang bus p<*nded in the air waiting for their victims to pass under them. Others are brush and grass beaters, while some employ both methods, but all are more or less cannibalistic, and all are valuable as destroyei-s of harmful ani- ' mal and insect life. With keen eyes exploring the grasses and low. herbaceous growths for the tiny, helpless creatures either crouch- Ing there in fear or peacefully nibbling the succulent roots, back and forth beats the hawk with alternate- wing tips brushing the tops of the vegetation to flush his prey, sending the little refugees scurrying in every direction, or causing them to crouch close to the ground; frightened meadow mice hide in iheir covered runways or seek shel ter in their domed dwellings; wriggling snakes betake themselves to their" holes and warty toads close their bright eyes and trust their earthy color to protect them. " Often the vigilanv hunter snatches up his victim -with no pause in his flight, then sweeps on to some perch where he can enjoy his feast at leisure. Even his I ominous shadow ' passing over them as the hawk swims above the heavens is enough to strike terror lo the creatures who know him as an pnemr, for any moment he is likely to drop down upon them as though shot from the sky. On descending thus to earth he clasps his victim in his crooked and almost invariably fatal talons. Even though his clutch should accidentally prove Insecure his wings and tail enclose his quarry In a prison from which there is no avenue of es cape save that beneath his armed beak. -Yet this bird, hated by the unthink ing partly because of his rapacity.-but more because of reputed visits to; the poultry yard, is, not without his merits. The same wings that in. the meadows surround and Imprison his prey are used In his home life to form a vaulted STILL SEARCHING FOR GENE JUNIORVILLE PEOPLE SEE THE SIGHTS AT RENO cover to protect from the heat of the sun and also from storms and rain his helpless young," for whom he cares most tenderly. However cruel he may be to his enemies, to his own he is as gentle as any bird in the wood- . Proudly he as sists his constant mate In pluming her beautiful '" feathers, and lovingly he strokes both her and the little ones with the beak that Is looked upon as cruel by those who have with him only a belligerent acquaintance. While these birds are attached to their home locality they are known to take long flights. Nuttall relates an Instance of one of this family, a Can ary falcon, that was sent to the duke of Lerraa and that returned in 16 hours from Andalusia to the island of Tene riffe, a distance of 750 miles. It is said that were it not for the power ,of in flation, not of the lungs alone, but; of their whole bodies, the swiftness with which . thjese, as ; -well as some other birds, move through' the air would cause suffocation. - Though through their fondness for flesh many a downy chick fails to reach maturity, many a tuneful warbler is called to his reward, and the billowy trail of song ' of < many a goldfinch be comes only; a memory echo, were It not for their - assistance our farms 'would soon be overrun by. pests. lmpossible: to hold In check, by artificial means, and when even the worst of hawks are weighed iiv the balance the greatest weight will be found upon the side -of beneficent service. '• Animals in Yellowstone Within the Yellowstone national park there is no open season for pame. Uncle Sam stands between the wild creatures and harm all the year round- Beauti fully do they respond to his protection, showing, within the park's precincts, remarkable confidence in the friendli ness of man. • There are, buffalo, ante lope, deer, elk, bears and small game of many kinds. But these dumb wards of the government are not fooled into car rying their confidence beyond the park limits. Once across the line, even the "closed season" doesn't always Insure safety,' and- park .animals: assume all their old time shyness and caution. Hunters in -the country around the .Yellowstone tell, wonderful stories of the keen sense- shown by. the game •wandering . beyond the shield of park law. The park's herd of elk 'Is sup posed to number. many thousand. Dur ing the "closed - season" In Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, park elk wander far away through the wild lands and dense forests of these three states. But no sooner does the cracking of rifles proclaim "open season" than these elk strike back for. their "house of refuge." . Hunters tell of following herd of fine elk long distances, but the wary creat ures would keep, just beyond rifle range, moving steadily toward the Yellow stone. Crossing the line, which they locate with the accuracy of a^govern ment "surveyor, and once more under park protection, they seen also to throw caution aside* and await the hunters with an air of assurance that no harm can befall. Said an old huntf-r to the writer: "I'd follow an elkmore'n 20 mile, and not a shot could I get. I knew just the minute he hit the- park line,* for 'he' threw up his head with a snort that said plain's : English:' 'Young feller, what you "going to do about It?' " —Contributed. . >SAN;FRANOiSCO,vCAL., SATTLTRDAYgJTOY 17, 1909 \u25a0 \u25a0 7... " • \u25a0 \u25a0 " I \u0084; S . . 4;. - Bear That Eats Pudding IN the New York zoological gardens there is a young Canadian black bear that ha's become very haughty of late. - Part of his biography has just been published. It appears that 'when bear was a cub he was, a. farm pet, wa^ as domesticated as a dog "and wan dered untethered. about the yard. and all over the farm. The. sort of Hfe.be led and some of the stunts he did'are entertainingly written. in "The Frolics of My Black Bear Cub," by Mrs. E. H. Baynes in the March- St. Nicholas. The article is illustrated by photo graphs which show also a tame prairie wolf and a deer, playfellows and do mesticated companions of tho cub Jlm mle.. We quote one of tho "frolics": 'Jimmy's favorite chum arid playfel .low. was Romolus, a young prairie wolf.' The fact "that they were such .good, friends was due largely, to Jim my^s good nature, for certainly Romu lus* teased him in every -possible way. Even in the matter of food,. Jimmy was disposed 1 to be generous," and he seldom resented, the attempts of Romulus,, or of Actaeon, the deer;' to' take : from him his bread, and apples.: There, was,;how ever, one particular kind of food, which he Insisted on .having, his . full [share of, and that was plum pudding./ He would eat it- at any time of the day or night, whether/he was hungry^ or^not, and -if there ;w'm any limit to the; a,mount"_he would eat, no 'one', ever, discovered "it. No matter: how much vas given to him he never seemed to 'considerrthe quan tity, sufficient to warrant his sharing it with his playfellows, "and If ' either of these' attempted 'to forcehim to* di vide, with him the result was . a .fight- Not that Jimmy was really vicious, but he gave his companions, to understand that on the subject of plum pudding his opinion, •was law. j . One day, after romping in the snow" all the morning, JiTnmy presented himself at the kitchen window, and several slices of bread were passed out to.hlm. The cub" took them In his mouth, let them fall to the ground and continued to peer into the room. To a Honey Bee "Busy-body, busy-body, Always on the wing. Wait a bit where you have lit, / i And tell me why you sing." ; Up, and in the air again. Flap, flap, flap!.» And now she stops, and now she drops \u25a0 Into .the rose's lap. "Come, just a moment, come', \u25a0 From your rose so red," . Hum, hum, hum. hum- That was all she said. \u25a0-'\u25a0' }V; \u25a0 - - - - - • . • ' ~ . \u25a0' : Busy-body, busy-body,, . Always light and , gay, . It seems to, me, for all , l see,. Your work is only. play. \u25a0 And now. the -day, is sinking to The goldenest of eves, And she doth creep for quiet' sjeep Among the lily leaves.! - "Come, just a moment, -come, V . « •From your snowy bed."" Hum, 'hum,; hum," bum — r; • — That was all she said. But, the while I mused, I learned ; \u25a0 ...The secret of. her ..way; . Do my part .with -cheerful heart. And turn my work'to^play. GOOD STORIES FEW WORDS AND BRIEF, POINTED POEMS Why Is the/Sea Salt? Sea water contains/about 3% per cent of sodium chloride andother'salts. The evaporation of all the' oceans would leave a mass of salt:sufiicient to coVer the, entire, globe to : the. depth of 200 feet, and equal to the bulk, , above sea level, of one-fourth that of the whole earth.. • '-'' , . : The theory that this enormous quan tity., of ; salt has .'been- dissolved from continental" rocks-; and carried .down 'to the sea by streams is not tenable,-be cause the salts 'found.; in., solution .-in river water contain .^o per cent of ;car bonate of lime and only; 7 ; per cent of chlorides, while common salt; or sodium chloride constitutes 89 ; per cent of the salts ' of sea water.' -Then the evapora tion of Inland „ seas, .which / has taken place In Central Asia .has left, saline deposits very different in ' composition from the salts^ of- the ocean: It appears therefore . that salinity must' be regarded ] as: an original j prop erty ofj the ocean. • Suess has "advanced the theory that' the ' salts /now/^f ound j In the sea have been"' ejected by -volcanoes In early, stages of thejearth's;f ormatioh; Even* now :e very Increases 'the quantity ,'of .water; vapor,. carbonic; acid, and compouclJfaPdr chlorine and; Rjilphiir In the atmosphere. Jand these substances ultimately find thelr/.way ; to the ocean. After, every .eruption » of yesuvlus 4 the crater Is covered with^a •gleaming* white layer »of , common/ salt, .and .the vol canoes of South/ "America Reject 'enor mous .quantities -of hydrochloric "acid. The Blackbird . O, Blackbird! sing; me something well; While all the neighbors shoot: thee ] round, .. J I keep; smooth plats of fruitful ground, \u25a0 Where thou may'st warble,/; eat, and , • dwell. The espaliers and' the standards all Are thine: the range of lawn and .:: ..park, - ... \u0084-'.-:\u25a0•\u25a0 ; .-' ' v/./:--v,v /./:--v, .; - The.iinnetted blackhearts ripen dark, All thine," against the garden wall. •Yet,' tho' I 'spared ye all the spring, Thy sole delight ;!»,/ sitting 5ti11, ..-; - : ' With that gold dagger, of thy bill ., To fret, the summer jenneting. A goldencbill! the; sliver' tongue, Cold February loved,/ is dry; • Plenty corrupts the /melody ' . That made thee, famous .once, when , young. And In, the sultry, garden /squares, :-'. . Now .thy flute notes, are changed' to - coarse,'; ,/-•' ;/•-,;/-•/•''"\u25a0" / ; ... /' Ihear thee not at all;or hokrse ,. . As when a hawker. hawks, his wares. Take warning! He that will, not sing • While y'onVsun' prospers in the-blue" Shall 'sing for want ere leaves . are V / new, • />':"-\u25a0: : - < - [\u25a0[\u25a0 Caught .in the frozen palms 'of Spring. /. —Lord;; Tennyson. .' The Rule of Three Multiplication t is j vexation, _ .^ r DivisionHsas bad; The Rule -.' of } Three / perplexes .-me And' Practice, drives -meimad. ',<'/• My Doves My little doves have left a nest : Upon an Indian 'tree, '".-\u25a0\u25a0:\u25a0\u25a0 Whose leaves -fantastic take their rest t Or motion from the. sea; For, ever there the sea winds, go : With sunlit: paces to and fro. . v -; :/\u25a0 • -;/ •\u25a0-\u0084' ,- -\u25a0 ... \u25a0 The tropic .flowers looked up to it, - The tropic . stars looked down. And** there my little doves did sit '\u25a0'.'\u25a0 '. With feathers softly brown. 5; ./;-•.,\u25a0 And .'glittering ; eyes that showed their right -: ;, '.\u25a0-\u25a0" . To general -Nature's deepdellght. My little doves .were ta'en away ,'/ f From that glad - nest of theirs, ; Across an ocean .rolling = gray, " - And- tempest clouded , airs. ", - : My little doves. /who i lately- knew The sky and wave by. warmth and blue. And now, within the city, prison - In/mist and ;chillness pent. :, With, sudden upward look they, listen, Forjssounds of ipast content, .- For/ l^p of .water, s'tnell-of breeze Or nutfrult .falling from .the; trees. . ; S—fillzabeth; Barrett Browning. * •*• A Great Industry /O^es* 1 than.: sQ> -years ago other straw berries' than' those, growing wild, were almost unknown in this country. There 'were' a : . few of the ; cultivated . varieties to , be - found .' in the markets of -.the larger/ cities as' a -luxury -within 'reach of ~ the ; only, \u25a0: and here and there some gardener or; farmer," more progressive/ than' his neighbors.' had a small patch for private use." Today the; growing of 'the best varieties -of the- luscious fruit. has reached propor tions undreamed- of 'a few "years", ago. Strawberries are grown for the- market with fahv success In almost ,all parts of the country,' but the earlier supply comes, :of j course, . from ;the ! states to the, southward. . It Is reported from the strawberry/ section- of North Carolina that the largest crop in years. will soon be moving" toward the northern mar ketß,. and. how great the industry has grown; to be. In 'that section is indi cated by the estimate, that 6,000 Vcars will be_; required to move ; the 'berries over the Atlantic, coast; line. And, this is only, a beginning, for 'as the; season advances 'strawberries will be / finding their. • way; to .'market ' from -every \u25a0 stato on 'the Atlantic '\u25a0\u25a0 coast at, least, as/ far north as New 'Hampshire.— Manchester Union. * / . " : -\u25a0 ..-'• ;—; — . . , Ah ! Bleak and Barren Was the &\u25a0; /^ Moor Ah! bleak and s barren .was'., the ..moor, \u0084 Ah! loud and 'piercing was the storm; | The I cottage | roof : . was '/sheltered . sur,e, *The cottage hearth; was bright and >-v- •• warm.* *• •"--*-':\u25a0• * \u25a0\u25a0•• \u25a0>\u25a0 \u25a0" -~ \u25a0 ••-*-*-•- •• An orphan boy the' lattice pass'd, . And.as'he marked "its cheerful glow, . Felt^'drfubly; keen the- midnight 'blast, ; , ;. And -doubly i cold the 'fallen-' snow* '/'i i They marked 1 him-as< he onward Tpress'd' - \u25a0 With ; fainting j heart ; and weary jlimb ; g Kind vvoices^bade?hlin' > turn -and '"rest; - And.gentle : \facesf welcomed J him: 1 ; : The dawnils up-^the' guestiis'gone.' -.-; The f; cottage*; hearth 1 ; Is /.blazing • still, X Heaven I pity.; all t} poor J wanderers \ lone ! Hark, to the wlnd^upohthei-hlll.-. V —William', Makepeace '\u25a0 Thackeray. . Nurses on Horseback In picturesque uniforms, in which scarlet and blue and gold predominated, a troop of ' women on horseback pa raded the west end r of London a few weeks ago. The parade, says an Eng lish paper, is eloquent testimony to the excellent progress that is being" made by the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry corps, which has been formed to ren der, whenever the- need for their.serv ices arises, first aid on the battlefield. *A voluntary and as yet an unofficial organization, it Is composed of women who. are ..rapidly making themseU**3 proficient not \u25a0_ only in first aid and riding, hut also in veterinary 'work, and in other services in which they may be/ called upon' to act. There are' lieutenants of the. corps and sergeants, corporals and troopers, among the ."officers being Lady Ernes tine Hunt, eldest 'daughter of the mar quis of Ailesbury. /\u25a0. The. riding lessons are given by cav alry experts at the riding school of the "Blues." .There : . the nurses- Jump; the bush hurdles singly and in pairs and perform' with ho" little ; dash : all the evolutions, of the cavalry drill. The Nightingale and Glowworm A nlghtingarerthat all day long Had-cheered; the village with, his song. Nor yet *at evehis. note suspended. Nor. yet when eventide was ended. Began to feel, as well he might, The, keen demands "of. appetite. When. Iboking-eagerly around. He spied far off, upon. the.ground, A something shining 'in the dark. And knew the; glowworm by his spark. So, : stooping down from. hawthorn top, \u25a0. He thought to put him in his crop. The worm, aware of his intent. Harangued him thus, right eloquent — "Did you admire -my lamp," quoth he, "As much as I your minstrelsy? You would abhor to do- me wrong. As much as I to spoil your song: For 'twas the selfsame power divine Taught you to sing and me.to shine; That you with music," I with light. Might beautify and cheer the night." The songster heard his short oration. : And warbling out his approbation. Released him, as my story tells. And found a supper somewhere else. -William Cowper. ' What He Had Read / Tile rector; of ;a church in Aberdeen shire" was greatly "pleased by I the knowledge of his- catechism displayed by a* bright urchin. After a series of questions .about -religious knowledge, all. of •which were answered satisfac torily.' the clergyman next. asked. "And now, my; little .friend,*, have you ever read the Thirty-nine- Articles?" "No, sir,".' rejoined r the youngster, - anxious to.. display.. .his..* knowledge ;., "but . I've read the .'Forty Thieves'." c ••.\u25a0\u25a0-. ;».. — « — ; 'The Year's *at the Spring The yearns fc at t the spring; .. i . The day's at the morn; Mornlng'_s ..at seven; ,.„ , The- hillside's dew/pearled; The : lark'sfon the, wing; The snail's on; the; thorn; God's In his' heaven — All's right with the world! —Robert Browning. Tears, Idle Tears Tears, idle tears. I knowinot what they , . mean, 1 Tears from the depths of some divine despair Rise in the, heart. «nd gather to the \u25a0 eyes. In' looking on the happy autumn fields. And thinking of the days that are no more. \u25a0 Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail, That brings our friends up from the underworld. Sad as the last which reddens over, on* That sinks with all we love below • the verge; So sad. so fresh, the days that ars no ~s more. Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns The earliest pipe of \u25a0 half awaken'd - 'birds To dying ears, when unto dying eyea The \u25a0 casement slowly grows j a j glim mering square; So sad, so .strange, - the days that ar* . no more. Dear as remembered kisses after death. And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feign'd . On lips that are for others;; deep as ; love, , . * '\u25a0"\u25a0•Dwept as- first" lore>~»u — Lord Tennyson. His Favorite Bird Some diners - wera discussing ; , the merits \u25a0of different kinds of gameblrds. One preferred wild duck, another wood cock, and still another thought a quail the most delicious article of food. The discussion and the dinner ended at about. the same time. "Now," said on« of the company to the colored waiter, "what kind of game Co you like best?" "Well, suh, io tell the truf." replied the negro, "almost any 'kind of bird suits me. but what I like bes* Is an American eagle served on a illbir dollar!" * Fable Shorvlnc Hott the Cavern Followed tke Hut*.« Advice' . This. fable la a very short one;' The cave resolved to make his fortune; He got a door and In a year Enriched himself with, wine and beer. Mamma will ask you, can you tell her. What -did the cave become? — A cellar. —John Hookham Frere. No, Dog! Reared in the strict school' of "Yes, sir!" and "No. ma'am!" addressed with oiTt thought of servility to all elders and 'better?. I find this is* a season of rare courtesy and scant civility. Well dp I remember that- awesome scene at my father's stable when a stout and re bellious little, sister, seething with dis appointment-over some denied dainty, answered "No!" to a well meant proffer of a less desirable dl3h. "No, dog? or No. cat?" my father Inquired with omi nous calm.' "No. -dag!" the sturdy, lass recklessly replied. I quake e^«n now at. the thought of the breathless pain* which, followed, and draw" a veil over the painful aftermath. — Appleton's.