it
ik
IT
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v
NOT AN OPTICAL ILLUSION
Swonl Swallowing llcally
Feat It Appears to Be
the
Throat of MountelmnUi Trnlncd to
llrci hc All Sortn uf Olijertis Ho
trie I rick In Done Anlunlile
Service Hendered to Medicine
Persons who -visit those summer sea
side resorts which are favored with a
boardwalk with numerous small the
atres along It wherein are to be seen
continuous performances of more or
less merit will hae doubtless come
across a sword sw allow er This ac
complished Individual comes out dress
ed In a brilliant costume At one side
there are flags of different nations sur
rounding sabres swprds and yatagnns
and at the other a stack of guns pro
vided with bayonets Taking a Hat sa
ber whobe blade and hilt have been cut
out of the same piece of metal he in
tioducer the point into his throat taps
the hilt gently and the blade at length
entirely disappears He then repeats
the experiment in swallowing the blade
at a single gulp
Subsequently after swallowing and
disgorging two of these same swords
lie causes one to penetrate up to its
guard a second not quite so far a third
a little less still and a fourth up to
about half its length Pressing now on
the hilts he swallows the four blades
at a gulp and then he tiikes them out
leisurely one by one The effect is quite
surprising and the larger number of
spectators account for it by the suppo
sition that the performer produces an
illusion merely appearing to swallow
the swords which in reality find their
nay into some exterior receptacle This
is indeed sometimes the case but the
majority of sword swallow era really do
introduce Into their mouths and food
passages the blades that they cause to
disapjear They attain this result as
follows
Parts of the throat despite their sen
sitiveness and their rebellion against
contact w ith solid bodies are capable of
becoming so changed through habit
that they gradually get used to abnor
mal contacts This fact is taken ad
vantage of in medicine It daily hap
pens that persons affected with disor
ders of the throat or stomach can no
longer swallow or taka nourishment
and would die of exhaustion were they
not fed artificially by means of the oeso
phageal tube This tube is of vulcan
ized rubber which the patient swallows
after the manner of sword swallow ers
and thiough the exterior extremity of
which milk or bouillon is introduced
But the patient before being able to
make daily use of this apparatus must
serve an apprenticeship The first In
troduction of the end of the tube Into
the pharynx is extremely painful the
second a little less so and It is only
after a large number of trials more or
less prolonged that the patient suc
ceeds in swallowing ten or twelve
Inches of the tubing without the slight
est disagreeable sensation
With the sword swallow ers it Is ab
solutely the same for with them It Is
only as a consequence of repeated trials
that the pharynx becomes sufficiently
accustomed to it to permit them to fin
ally swallow objects as large and rigid
as swords sabres canes and even bil
liard oues
All sword swallow ers do not proceed
in the same way Some swallow the
blade directly without any Intermediate
apparatus but In this case their sabres
are provided at the extremity near the
point with a small bayonet shaped ap
pendage over which they slip a gutta
percha tip without the specators per
ceiving it Others do not even take such
a precaution but swallow the sabre or
sword just as It Is It is said that an
old Trench zouave who has become a
juggler allows the spectators to touch
below his sternum the projection that
the point of the sabre in his stomach
makes on his skin
The majority of sword swallow ers
however who exhibit upon the stage
employ a guiding tube which they have
previously swallowed so that the ex
periments they are enabled to perform
become less dangerous and can be vari
ed more This guiding tube is made of
thin metal Its dimensions permit of
the easy introduction of the flat bladed
sabres among other things and of the
performance of the four sabre experi
ment and of the Introduction of sabres
and swords of all kinds
To explain the trick from a physi
ological standpoint the sabre swallow
ed by the performer enters the mouth
vnd pharvnx first then the oesophagus
traverses the cardiac opening of the
stomach and enters the later as far as
the antrum of the pylorus the small
cul de sac of the stomach In their nor
mal state these organs are not In a
straight line but they are forced so
by the passage of the sword In the
first place the head Is thrown back so
that the mouth Is in the direction of the
oesophagus the curves of which disap
pear or become less the angle that the
oesophagus makes with the stomach
becomes null and finally the last
named organ distends in a vertical di
rection and its internal curve disap
pears thus permitting the blade to
traverse the stomach through Its
greater diameter that is to say to
reach the small cul de sac It should
be mentioned that before such a re
sult can be attained the stomach must
have been emptied through fasting on
the pait of the operator
Sword swallow ers have rendered im
portant services to medicine It was
due to ono of them a swallower of
both swords and pebbles that In 1777
a Scotch physician Stevens was en
abled to make the first studies upon the
gastric Juice of human beings In or
der to do this he caused this Individual
to swallow small metallic tubes pierced
with holes and filled with meat accord
ing to Reaumurs method and got him
to disgorge them again after a certain
length of time It was also sword svval
lowers who showed physicians to what
extent the pharvnx could become hab
ituated to contact and from this re
sulted the invention of the Foucher
tube the oesophageal tube the wash
ing out of the stomach by means of a
rubber tube used as a siphon and the
recent methods of Illumination and
photogiaphing of the stomach
Ilnlltrnyit of Knglnnd
If our railways were at least well man
aged we should only have to pay three
times more for their services than the
Germans Swiss Trench and Belgians
pay to their railvvas But the assured
monopolistic position of our railways
makes them reckless and causes enor
mous waste of time and money which
also has to be paid for by the nation
which means out of the pockets of tb
wage earners In our productive Industries
Our railways stand as regards their
performance at exactly the same point
on which they stood thirty jears ago
and are on the lowest level of railways In
any of the leading countries True they
have Introduced a few Pullman cars etc
but these Pullman cars are of little use
to the mtion and no use at all for the
development of the country They serve
onlj for the comfort of a few Individuals
not for the prosperity of tho country
Our trains arc made up of toy trucks
earning ive to ten tons of goods each
and are pulled by toy engines
In other countries large engines pull
large cars Moving goods in sm ill par
cels In small wagons and In small trains
if large ones can be had Is like empty
a tank with a teaspoon when a bucket
available It means an enormous waste
of time and money An English goods
train moves from S00 to 150 tons of goods
One thousand five hundred tons of goods
in ten trains means ten times the expenses
for drivers stokers brakemen shunters
machines and sheds machine cleaning
machine repairing a huge additional coal
bill nd blocked lines all over the sys
tern The same thing applies to passen
ger trains Two of our trains which one
can see on any of our main lines dally
starting with two engines each might be
hauled by one strong engine at little
more th in one quarter the cost In this
way the hard won earnings of the nation
are being wasted by our railway compa
nies which consequently charge us rates
about four times larger than they ought
to charge
In this country the legal maximum fare
In the third class Is about 1 penny per
mile In the United States the legil maxi
mum in tho first class is 1 penny per
mile The Contemporary Kevlew
NEW LONDON SUBWAY
Grent Itnpld TrutiHit Scheme IVovv
llelnic Developed
There is now in process of development
a rapid transit scheme which if it is car
ried out should revolutionize the present
congested conditions of man of Lon
dons principal thoroughfares
Briefly the proposal is to construct a
shallow underground tramway the trams
of course to be propelled by electricity
from Westminster up Parliament Street
through the Strand Fleet Street Cheap
side and past the Bank of England to
the London County Councils tramway
terminus at Moorgate
The father of the scheme is J A
Baker a prominent member of the Lon
don County Council and for several years
chairman of the highways tramways
committee Mr Baker interviewed b a
Dally Mall representative willingly
consented to go into details
We are sending he said our tram
ways manager and our electrical engineer
to Hungary and America to study the
system of underground tramways at first
hand They go as the accredited repre
sentatives of the council and when they
return and bind in their report we shall
be able to say approximately what we In
tend doing in the matter
There were however Mr Biker went
on to point out many obvious advantages
attaching lo the scheme as a whole leav
ing details of construction and working
temporarily out of the question One was
of course the rapidity with which this
particular kind of subterranean transit
could be operated At present a Journey
by bus from Westminster to Moorgate
Street occupies from thirty to thirty -five
minutes even under tavorablo circum
stances The underground electrically
propelled tram would cover the same dis
tance in less than half the time Nor
would it be necessary for passengers In
order to reach the cars to take a long
Journey by lift down Into the bowels of
the earth A divo into a sort of ornamen
tal kiosk conveniently situated at the
edge cf the roadway a trip down a dozen
steps and there you are ihe top of the
tunnel through which the trains would
travel would be only about two leet be
low the level of the roadway and the
said tunnel In addition to Its primary and
principal use would also serve as a sort of
conduit through which would be carried
the whole system of gas and water mains
electric underground wires and pipes of
every description
There would thus be an end at once
and forever to rhc eternal tearlng up and
relaying of the thoroughfares affected a
nuisance dating back so far at all
events as the Strand Is concerned to the
early part of 1790 Of course mains and
pipes of all kinds would have to be taken
up and relaid Some would have to be
diverted Others would be abandoned
and an entirely new system constructed
This part of the work would probably be
very difficult and expensive but in the
end it would pay
The first step in the building of the
tramways would be the excavation of a
vast trench sixteen to clghteon feet deep
throughout the entire length and width
of each street the whole of the wheeled
trafiic being meanwhile necessarily di
verted to the side streets But after this
great cataclysm there would ensue an
era of eternal calm It would never be
necessary to open the streets again
As has previously been intimated the
details of the scheme have yet to be for
mulated but enough is known of similir
systems already In operation In Budapest
Boston New York and elsewhere to In
dicate the main lines upon which Lon
dons must of necessity be carried out
Supposing the scheme Is finally approved
by all the authorities concerned the initial
stage will be the cutting of the trench
alluded to above and which will of neces
sity In our comparatively narrow streets
extend in width from pavement to pave
ment This may and probably will be
done in sections so as to dislocate the
traffic as little as possible Then will fol
low the process of rooting In Steel
girders laid transversely will form the top
of the tunnel and will be supported at
either end by perpendicular pillars of like
construction and of similar material The
girders will carry a layer two feet thick
of solid concrete and this will form the
new roadway over which buses and cabs
but not so many it Is hoped will travel
as now while underneath the cars will
whirl cither way every two or three min
utes The cost of such an innovation
must naturally be considerable more es
pecially In the Strand and In the city
where many old cellars run underneath
what Is now the roadway These of
course would have to be negotiated for
and acquired
Tor the re3t it may be mentioned that
there will be absolutely none of the
gloominess usually associated with un
derground lines the interior of the sta
tions will be lined with white enameled
bricks Rnd illuminated throughout by
electricity while the cars will be com
modious tastefully upholstered and well
lighted It Is probable that the third
rail system of supply will be used as
permitting of a lower pitched tunnel than
the overhead trolley system Tinaliy It
should be stated that the propoted line
from Westminster to Moorgal Is In the
nature of an experimental one Should It
prove to be tie success its projectors
hope and desire then similar lines will
be carried underneath Piccadilly the new
thoroughfare and oth
er streets wherein the construction of sur
face tramways would be undesirable or
impracticable The benefits of the sys
tem In such a huge city as London arci
obvious Lumbering crawling buses
with the tlresomo stops at all the prin
cipal crossings where tho traffic Is reg
ulated will be things of the past The
trams will glide smoothly and quickly
carrying passengers from point to point
without any annoying waits In connec
tion with the surface tramway lines peo
ple living in the suburbs wil be able to
reach their places of business in even
quicker time than by train when the walk
to and from the station Is taken Into con
sideration and not only will time be sav
ed but It is expected that the new mode
of traveling will be considerably cheaper
than the railway London Mall
THE TIMES WASHINGTON SJJNDAY AUGUST 25 1901
SCULPTURED BY GLACIERS
Beautiful Geological Specimens at
the National Museum
Hock burfuccfi Delicately Cnrv cd nnd
Grooved 1 n lrehlstorlc Convul
lou f Vntiirv Host Tnct Are K
tnuIUhcd 1 the Sc IentlMtN
In the section in the National Mu
seum devoted to geology are specimens
of rock surfaces curiously and some
times beautifully grooved and carved
The carvings in ome cases are so per
fect as to suggest the work of the skill
ed artisan As a matter of fact these
apparent moloinss are not moldings at
all nor aic they the handiwork of man
They represent a conv ulsion of nature
at a period so remote that there is no
mode of reckoning it In other words
they are the rock scorings of the glacial
invasion of the northern part of this
country Whether the Ice came down
by land or sea whether by glaciers
creeping over the face of the country
or by icebergs and ice floes sailing over
submerglrg waters science is unable to
determine Be that as it may that
the ice came sweeping down over the
face of the earth In huge quantities
and with irresistible force these n ckj
In the Museum attest
These rock scorings are the trails left
by the Invader To the geologist their
character reveals the nature of the icy
visitant as tracks reveal the track
makei The glaciallst distinguishes
with as much certainty the traces of a
glacier or of an iceberg or ice floe as a
hunter the track of a bear or a moose
or a serpent A glacier may be likened
to a prehistoric monster who leaves
a print of its foot imbedded in the rock
From such slight tokens of its some
time existence Prof Owen builds the
semblance of the entire animal classes
it and describes its habits
Tor purposes of convenience in geolo
gy the common term grooving Is used
to describe all the effects of the glacial
invasion on rock surfaces alluded to
Itespecting their mode of origin glacial
grooves belong to two classes which it
Is of some Importance to distinguish
The one class had an existence as
grooves prior to the Incursion of the Ice
and were simply molded and modified
by it The other elas3 owe their origin
solely to glacial action
Previous to the sweeping down of the
Ice the surface of the rock had been
subjected to various destructive agen
cies which produce great Inequalities
In it among which were surface
srooves Thus the Invading ice louna
furrows formed already Where these
lay coincident with Its course Its work
was merely to rasp them out and polish
nnd striate their sides In their remodel
ed form they sometimes have the aspect
of channels due wholly to glacial ac
tion but the observation of the expert
often discovers features which in their
nature indicate that they could not
have arisen solely from glacial abra
sion There must have been a
channel to guide and mold to It
self the abrading Ice
A main element In the grooving was
of course Inequality In the hardness of
rock This finds its simplest expression
where beds of unequal hardness were
slightly upturned so as to present their
beveled edges to the ice which acted
along them like a beading plane In
such cases the soft beds were easily re
moved while the harder ones were left
standing forth as ridges the whole as
suming a fluted surface Groov es of this
sort which are to be seen in several
specimens at the National Museum are
little more than an expression of the
unequal hardness of the rock beds On
a Large scale this is thought to have
been sometimes an important factor in
determining the topography that re
sulted from glaclatlon
That streams of water flow beneath
glaciers has been detei mined by most
abundant observation but excepting in
the immdi ite vicinity of the ice bor
der where r lone observation has pene
trated the precise relations of the Ice
to the stream are chiefly matters of
conjecture Whether the ice continually
tends to press down upon the stream
and to fi rce it hither and thither at will
or whether the stream maintains itself
by melting and wearing back the en
croaching Ice as fast as it presses upon
it and so retains a constant channel
is unknown It is quite certain how
ever that such subglacial streams hav
much abrasive powr because they are
loaded with line rasping glacial slit a
most effective abrasive agency That
they cut for themselves lock channels
Is unquestioned that Into these the Ice
subsequently molds itself and in turn
molds them by Its own abrasions
is attested by observation The
curious form of some of the rock
scorings suggests that they were par
tially worn by a stream of water while
their engravure points to their occu
pancy by ice which was molded to their
tortuous courses and which in turn re
fashioned their walls reducing them to
those smooth striated surfaces and
those beautiful curves that attest to
the eye of the trained observer the
work of a glacier
TRAVELING IN ENGLAND
One Americnn VA lio PrcferM Hrltlnh
3IetliodN to 1 hone lined Here
It is still ta my mind an open ques
tion whether the English or tho American
mode of railway traveling Is the more
comfortable One oscillates between the
two systems n a state of painful Inde
cision with views that vary according
to the experiences of each journey At
present the English system has my vote
Nothing at any rate could have been
more easily managed than yesterdays
Journey My companion and my self took
a hansom from our doorstep and drove to
Huston with the baggugt on lop At tho
station the difficulty was not to get
waited on but to prevent more than one
porter from forcing hi services uon us
In three mlnutea after dismissing the cab
we had bought the tickets and had lound
and were seated in an empty compart
ment The baggage was labeled and
put In tho luggage von a few yards ahead
of us and the porter pocketed a tip of
1 pence not only without grumbling but
with an obvious recognition that his
services might have been had for a penny
or even twopence less Nothing so far
could have been simpler We had tho car
riage to ourselves and neither ut Wllles
den nor Coventry the only two places at
which we stopped did anyone attempt to
get In
Tho English railroad carriages are of
three classes first second and third The
first class seats only six p rsons leaving
ample elbow room for each the second
and third seat ten five on each side The
difference between the last two classes is
mainly one of upholstery and price and
sometimes of position The holders of
third clasB tickets are usually placed next
to the engine where they may bear the
brunt of a collision or at the end of the
train where tho Jolting Is the greatest
It may perhaps be necessary to remind
those who have not befcn In England that
the ordinary ratlroait carriage here Is
nothing like the American car If one
were to take a New York Central car nnd
divide it Into eight water tight compart
ments each about seven or eight feet
long and ten ort twelve wide nnd each
complete in Itself and were to label each
compartment a carriage one would get
a rough but fairly nceurnto Idea of what
Is still the distinguishing feature of rail
roads in England Tha English carriages
do not communicate with one another
their doors open onto space when in mo
tion or onto a platform when drawn up
In a station and none of them Is supposed
to hold more than ten people Thero are
two seats facing one another and run
ning along tho width of the carriage
Over the seats are racks for ones lighter
baggage and from the centre of the car
riage roof a lamp is suspended Under
certain circumstances for Instance when
one has the carriage to oneself English
traveling is a delight The carriages on
all the chief lines are at least as com
fortable as the Pullman car on an Ameri
can road and It Is not so difficult as It
sounds to secure one from invasion The
guard is always ready to lock the door
for u shilling and bundle would be Intru
ders elsewhere
THE IDEAL SOLDIER
feome of the Requisite Demanded In
a 31odern Fighter
The only answer to the question What
is a soldier which gives the essential
the sine qua non quality is the answer
A man who can kill other men with
rllle fire A soldUrjis a rifleman A
man may be able to kill other men with
rifle fire and not be a perfect or a rea
sonably efficient or even a useful soldier
but unless ho can kili with the rifle he
Is not a soldier at all A man may be a
splendid marcher he may be trained to
take cover with extraordinary skill ho
may be an expert at digging trenches his
drill may be perfect his power of turn
ing himself out smart and clean and
with all his belongings in the most per
fect order may be miraculous and yet if
he cannon shoot with a rifle he is no sol
dier Imagine an army composed of men
possessing all the qualities we have enu
merated except the power of shooting
and then Imagine another composed of
men who could all kill with tho rifle but
had only that gift Both would bo very
bad armies no doubt but who would
hesitate to declare that the rlllemcn were
be soldiers and the other army though
composed of very accomplished men were
without the thing which Is essential to
soldiers
Needless to say we do not Insist that
the true answer to the question What Is
a soldier is A man who can kill with a
rifle merely as a piece of dialectical
analysis We insist on the fact because
unless and until people not merely admit
the fact with their lips but realize it we
shall never get a true reform of the army
Bine shooting must be the foundation
Etone on which the army rests On that
foundation must be built up a superstruc
ture which seems and in a sense is as
Important as the foundation but we must
always remember that though can be no
superstructure without a foundation
there can be a foundation without a su
perstructure Having laid the foundation
of rllie shooting and answered the ques
tion What Is a soldier with the reply
A rifleman let us next ask and try to
answer the question What Is a fully
qualified soldier7 So many things aro
necessary to make we will nt say tho
perfect soldier but the soldier who shall
be able to render his ability to use his
rillc fully effective that it is difficult to
know which to name first In our opin
ion the most important quality that can
be laid on the foundation or rifle shooting
Is that of discipline using tho word In its
widest sense The rifleman must be not
only willing but able to give an instant
and what is more an intelligent obedi
ence to the orders of those above him He
must obey and he must also if possible
seize the object of tho order and obey
not like a machine but like a thinking
man He must that Is not be hypnotized
by formal drill Into a mechanical obedi
ence but must give an obedience which is
co operative and not merely pas slve
Next to this moral essential we should
put for the modern soldier the hunter
and scout qualities the ability to take
cover to watch the enemy and his move
ments to see without being seen and to
take Intelligent advantage of all means of
protection from the enemys lire while at
the same time pressing his own advance
Next the soldier should bo able to use the
spade and be capable of rapidly construct
ing protective works which though ef
fective shall be almost invisible to the
enemy These are qualities for use In the
fighting line To bet him into the fight
ing line the soldier must as far as possi
ble be endowed with he gift of mobility
He must be good atl marching but he
must aLo be able to make use of other
forms of transport If and when they be
come available A soldier must be able
to ride a horse should It be possible to
provide him with thai means of getting
over the ground and furthei ho must be
able to look after ljis ijorse If he gets one
Again he should bo able to ride and mend
a blcyelo if fortunq should enable his colo
nel to commandeer a thousand bicycles
and so turn a three days march Into a
days march BuL though this disciplin
ed rillenian who can stalk scout nnd dig
and also ride either horse or bicycle If re
quired will already bo of great use in war
he can no doubt be Improved by the addi
tion of certain other things accomplish
ments rather than essentials but none the
less of Importance
If he Is given a physical training which
m ikes his frame and his muscles like
those of an athlete he will do doubt en
dure longer and shoot more steadily than
If he has had no physical drill Further
more if he is something of a gymnast ho
will If he Is making a rapid advance on
foot be able to surmount obstacles with
much greater ease It will clearly for
example he good for him to be a swim
mer Again if he has learned the hand
ling of a bayonet his enemy will fear the
chance that he may get to close quarters
more than If the same enemy knows that
he has no skill with the bayonet Lastly
If Ihe soldier happens to be an expert at
drill In close formation he and ten thou
sand men like him may be ablo to get
through the narrow streets of a great
city more quickly and with far less con
fusion than if it has no practice nt mov
ing In close order London Spectator
TO PROTECT SHADE TREES
Dr L 0 Howard Offers Sugges
tions on the Subject
The Entomologist of the Aerlcnltn
ml Department Tel In IIosv Defolia
tion VI ny He Averted In Wnnhlng
ton Innrcta That Cauae Havoc
The beautiful shade trees of Washing
ton are In a fair way to become defoli
ated It is not the common caterpillar
that Is doing the most mischief this year
but an ubiqultlous little creature that re
joices in the psuedonym of thyriduptcryx
ephemeraeformls or bagworm
Dr L O Howard Entomologist of tho
Department of Agriculture when ques
tioned as to the kind of Insect which is
working such havoc In tho verdure of the
parks and public places of the National
Capital stated that this did not seem
to be as bad a year for caterpillars as
usual Discussing the question he said
that most of tho defoliation was due to
the bagworm which seems to have vis
ited Washington in greater forco this
summer than for some years This
I exclusive Insect has the habit of
Yesterday there was no need to call in er
the guard My companion and myself by
sheer good fortune had the carriage to
ourselvs all the way from London to
Birmingham When tho train drew up
at New Street tuition It was the work of
less than three minutes to have a porter
pick out our baggage and call up a han
som Had we been In America vo should
have been obliged 1 to make a special
exiedltlon to purchase our tickets a day
or two before we intended to use them
- to send round for an express company
to take charge of our baggtgc 3 to
travel in a car with some fifteen or
twenty other people 4 to submit to the
pestiferous attentions of the car boy and
to resist as best we could his efforts to
sell us the daily papers boxes of candy
the latest novels and a photographic al
bum of the place we were going to and
5 to have run the risk of not g tting our
baggage delivered until the day after our
arrival Yesterday we had privacy every
reasonable comfort and full command
over our belongings Of course yester
days excrlcnce must not be taken as
typical You may have to put up with a
crowded carriage filled with objectionable
people from whom ycu have no chance of
escape till the train pulls up at a station
Still given an element of luck or good
management you may travel short dis
tances ill England with a degree of com
fort that no American railroad can pro
videNew York Commercial Advertiser
ning a web or bag about itself so that
It may be safe from the attacks of birds
and other enemies of insect life Tho
time to efficiently combat the depreda
tions of this insect Dr Howard says has
passed for this summer
The best time to spray the trees Dr
Howard says is In the spring Paris
green should be used A good way to get
rid of the insect is to go over the trees
in the fall or winter when the branches
are bare and remove the bags
Besides the bagworm which Is so
much in evidence this year some of the
most relentless Insect enemies of leaf life
arc the elm leaf beetle the white marked
tussock moth and the fall webwormT
The elm leaf beetle is net to be so gen
erally feared as some of tho Insects nam
ed because as far as is known no other
tree than tho elm is attacked the common
English elm being the favorite variety
The beetle makes its winter home under
the loose bark of trees or In the cracks
of boards or telegraph poles and In the
former case as soon as the buds begin to
break forth In the spring begins to feed
upon the leaflets They feed until the
leaves are nearly grown and then the fe
males lay their eggs which are deposited
on the lower sides of the leaves being
sometimes arranged In two or three Irreg
ular rows In about a week the larvae
are hatched and begin operations at once
on the Inside of the leaf which they soon
reduce to a skeleton if left undisturbed
The most satisfactory spray to be used
against these Insects Is parls green lon
don purple or arsenate of lead and the
best time Is Just after the buds have
bursted A second spraying should be
conducted two weeks later and a second
and a third and fourth may be necessary
especially If heavy rains have fallen
The white marked tussock moth will at
tack almost every variety of shade fruit
and ornamental trees having an appar
ent preference for the soft maples pop
lars elms alders and birches
The female moth lays the eggs In Sep
tember and It is in the egg state that the
Insect passes the winter In Washington
the caterpillars hatch In April or May
After the Insect has gorged himself for
four or five weeks he begins to spin a co
coon of delicate grey silk Within a few
hours after the completion of the cocoon
the larvae are transformed to pupa and
remain in the pupae condition about two
weeks
Upon emerging from the pupae condi
tion the adult Insect presents the phenom
enon of an absolutely wingless female and
a winged male In this respect resembling
the bagworm
A remedy advised by the Department
of Agriculture to destroy the eggs of
these Insects is creosote oil to which
turpentlno Is added to keep It liquid In
cold weather and tar to blacken it so
that treated egg masses can be recog
nized easily This mixture can be daub
ed on the eggs by using a sponge at the
end of a long pole The liquids recom
mended for the slaughter of the elm leaf
beetle are also recommended as sprays
The webworm Is an almost universal
feeder the records of the Division of En
tomology showing about 1M species of
trees attacked by the Insect- Spraying
with arsenical poisons and collection of
the cocoons aro two remedies advised
The authorities who control the selection
of shade trees for parks and streets gen
erally make their choice with reference
to rapidity of growth and amount of
shade produced The maple and the box
elder answering these requirements are
Introduced In great numbers But the
maple and the box elder are of all varie
ties most susceptible to Insect destruc
tion Among the large shade trees the
different species of oaks appear to be most
immune Washington Is unfortunate In
that the shade trees lining the streets and
those in the parks are under the same
control The appointment of a forester
and an entomologist to supervise the care
of our shade trees would it Is claimed
be a wise move on the part of the Dis
trict Board
A bulletin issued by the Department of
Agriculture contains tne following re
marks on this subject
A most excellent plan was urged by
one of the Washington newspapers in the
summer of 1SDL It advocated a tree-protection
league and each Issue of the pa
per through the summer months contain
ed a coupon which recited briefly the de
sirability of protecting shade trees against
the ravages of Insects and enrolled the
signer as a member of the league pledg
ing himself to do his best to destroy tho
Injurious Insects upon the city shade
trees immediately adjoining his residence
This is only one of several ways which
might be devised to arouse general inter
est
The average city householder seldom
has more than a half dozen street shade
trees in front of his grounds nnd It
would be a matter of comparatively little
expense and trouble for any family to
keep these trees In fair condition It needs
only a little intelligent work at the prop
er time It means the burning of the web
of the fall webworm In May and June it
means the destruction of the larvae of the
elm leaf beetle about the bases of elm
trees in lute June and July It means tho
picking off and destruction of the eggs
of the tussock moth and the bags of the
bagworm in winter and equally simple
operations for other Insects should they
become especially Injurious What a man
will do for the shade and ornamental
trees In his own garden he should be
willing to do for the shade trees ten feet
in front of his fence
The Modern llrooni
The lingerer In Broad Street station art
er midnight may see an odd sight the
cleaning of the great terminal by the use
of a blast of compressed air Not a nov
eltv by any means nor an oddity for the
same process is In use elsewhere
The air current has long been In use In
connection with Pullman cars and with
tho cleaning of cushions in them and oth
er cars The last few years has seen It
Introduced for the pur ose of taking the
dust off the walls and de corations in the
station for which purpose it Is found far
more satisfactory than the bucket duster
and soap brush of the olden day The
application of the air current Is simplicity
indeed
Trom the powerhouse at Eighteenth
Street to the Broad Street station pipes
aro laid carrying the compressed air To
these pipes a rubber hose Is attached for
all the world like a garden hose In fact
it is a garden hose or was Intended to
be with a special nozzie This hose Is
long enough to reach tho ceiling And the
man using It carries It about blowing the
dust off tho seats and from tho ornamen
tal figures In tho decorated walls
To the country visitor in particular the
hose seems a thing of mystery To the
emigrant from foreign shores it seems un
canny and supernatural Tho man with
the hose If Mr Markhams hero will par
don tho expression fills tho latter with
awe and sometimes with fear As to tne
American rustics they first look In as
tonishment and then ask what it can be
that comes from the nozzle of the hose
Air Great Scott Tunny air they must
have In Philadelphia that will act that
way
With this appliance the work of dusting
out the entire great station waiting rooms
occupies but a few hours Sometimes it
in done In two hours Nothing Is wet and
everything can be left Just as It Is
In the crevices nnd corners In the back
depths of the carvings and niches In all
the odd places and narrow cracks the air
blows Its cleansing way
In Broad Stre et Station the cxpnsslon
turning the hose on anything has natu
rally acquired a new significance Phila
delphia Times
MYSTERIES OF IDENTITY
Strange Cane Which Have 1 ong
lnxiled Police and Sclentlat
Tho announcement made In the public
journals that an Interesting case of dis
puted Identity connected with a charge
of murder was lately Investigated at Col
chester revives a subject of extreme In
terest not only to the public but equally
to the medical man and the law Ques
tions of personal identity have always
possessed a fascination for the novelist
as well as for the chronicler of causes of
a legal kind Certainly if we are to Judge
by the records of Jurisprudence of the dif
ficulties which often attend the establish
ment cf the identity of the living and of
the dead still more the settlement of the
whys who point Is apt to bo one of
a highly complex nature Miss Braddon
In Henry Dunbar uses the Identity
question as the pivot of the story James
Payn wrote a novel which had for Its bur
den the same Idea and the fertile brains
of other romancers have utilized the like
ness of one being to another as the crux
of the situations they depict
But in real life as 1 have said there is
as much that Is startling to be found
when questions of Identity have to be
threshed out in our courts of law Seem
ingly easy ard simple conditions of set
tling the personality of an individual are
often supplanted by difficulties arising on
the one hand from likeness to somebody
else and on the other from varying testi
mony of witnesses The feature which
appeals to one person is missed by an
other and so the conflict of evidence con
tinues The TIchborne case offers an apt
illustration of this fact Omitting the evi
dence of those whose Irtetests were bound
up with the claimants case there re
mains a certain amount of testimony
honest enough In Its nature which assert
ed Its belief that he was Roger TIchborne
The classic case of Lesurques and Duboso
dramatized In the Lyons Mall Is an
other illustration which had a ghastly
ending of tricks which the irony of fate
may play with coincidences
There was a case tried not very long
ago In London where a man was charged
with bigamy He married a Brighton lady
under a certain name say A and It was
alleged he was reallv B a married Lon
doner The case hinged round the ques
tion of identity of course and though
the jury disagreed If I mistake not at
the first trial the evidence that A and B
were one and the same man satisfied a
second jury who duly convicted him In
such cases of course it is the facts of
residence travel appearance at a given
time at a given spot and so forth which
make or mar the case of the accused
seeing that nobody has yet been able to
emulate the dexterity of Sir Boyle Roche
famous bird More luck than the biga
mist was one said to be a man called
Stuart who was charged at the Old Bail
ey In 1831 with being an escaped convict
His Identity with Stuart was sworn to by
the goal governor and the guard of the
conv let hulk But Stuart said his name
was Stlpler and denied that he was the
missing prisoner It was mentioned in
evidence that Stuart had a wen on his
left hand This wen therefore must have
still been present or the scar left by an
operation which removed It Happily Mr
Carpue a famous surgeon wa3 in court
He heard the evidence regarding the wen
and gave his testimony that the presence
of either the wen or the scar would settle
the mater The prisoner showed neither
and was duly acquitted
In the case of the dead Identity Is hard
er to establish thvn In the living Death
often alters the aspect so deeply that or
dinary evidence Is apt to fall In settling
the disputed point Many a dead man
has been identified even by a wife as a
certain individual while a few days later
the supposed dead person has walked Into
his house Where science steps in to
solve problems of identity is in cases
where possibly only fragmentary portions
of a body have been found and where a
body has to be reconstituted as tney
day in France when the scene and de
tails of a crime are reproduced for the
particular benefit of the accused person
In the Walnwright case science was able
to declare the identity of Harriet Lane
the victim in this way
The Waterloo bridge murder of 1S57 Is
another celebrated example of the recon
stltution of the individual Here from
the mutilated remains found in a carpet
bag on one of the piers of the bridge the
experts were able to show that the vic
tim was a man of between thirty and
forty years of age about five feet nine
Inches In height of dark complexion and
killed by a stab between the third and
fourth ribs on the left side The fate of
Count Fosco In The Woman In White
was believed by many to represent the
end of the Waterloo bridge vlctm
Sometimes things are complicated
through purely accidental circum
stances Here is a case In point
On August 19 1S31 an old woman Caro
line Walsh by name from Kilkenny went
to stav with one Elizabeth Ross and her
husband in Goodmans Fields London
After that evening all trace of Caroline
Walsh disappeared Mrs Ross was ar
rested and charged with her murder But
the defence alleged that a Caroline Welsh
also an Irish woman who had been con
veyed on August 20 to the London hospi
tal where she died a few days later was
the missing woman Caroline Walsh had
a basket containing the tapes and other
articles she sold but so had Caroline
Welsh So far the Identity appeared to
favor the defence but closer scrutiny
showed the flaws In the plea Caroline
Walsh was a clean tidy woman aged
eighty -four with grey hair and with peer
feet front teeth Caroline Welsh was a
dirty emaciated woman aged sixty and
all her front teeth had disappeared Again
while Walsh came from Kilkenny It was
discovered that Welsh was a native of
Wnterford The defence broke down es
pecially as evidence was forthcoming that
Walsh had been murdered and her body
sold for anatoailcut purposes Mrs Ross
paid the penalty ot her crime Chicago
Chronicle
The Laugh on Whom f
Prom the lluflalo Express
Soire men are great jokers thej think
Thatd aimed at Schinkcns
He and lib wife vreie sitting on the vcraniLi
He had the paper
After rratlin awhile he spoke
Heres a story about a woman sarin a
train with her apron he said
Dear dear did he ware it as the engine
came aun allied his wife
No Rruntea Sthinkc yi she waited under
the burning trestle ard when the tram ffl
through she caught it li her apron
Vnd the cross fool actually expected his wife
to laugh
C
5
FASHIONING BOOK TITLES
How the Modern Successful Novel
Itcccives Its Name
Brevity- the Lnttrr Dny Aim Some
Maaterpfeces oOomenclatnre The
Old Half Pnae DealR natlon Some
Very Annilng Mlaconceptlona
In the choice of a book title at the pres
ent moment brevity Is the first consider
ation Pnhllhrs object to long names
booksellers dislike them and the general
public cuts or mutilates them A title
must be short distinct and easily remem
bered Every word beyond the three or
four that are absolutely necessary Is a
word too many It Is better for a tltio
to cxolaln little or nothing than for it
to explain too much When Klnglake
christened a fascinating book of travels
Eothen readers could draw no possi
ble foretaste of Its contents from that
mystic Eastern word yet the title was
a good one Only those few who under
stood Romany could judge what to ex
pect from Borrow s Lavengro yet that
also Is a masterpiece of titles At one
time Borrow had contemplated the far
less satisfactory title of Life A Dra
ma which would have been both vague
and misleading The choice of title Is
Indeed one of an authors most difficult
and often worrying tasks
The old fashioned title erred in trying
to combine the duties of preface and con
tents list with Its own natural office it
would take far too much space to quote
many such titles but as a moderate ex
ample we may notice the title of a pop
ular work published by William Hone In
the year ISC This title runs as follows
The Year Book ot Dally Recreation and
Information Concerning Remarkable Men
and Manners Times and Seasons Solem
nities and Merrymakings Antiquities and
Novelties on the Plan of the Even -Day
Book and Table Book or Everlasting Cal
endar of Popular Amusements Sports
Pastimes Ceremonies Customs and
Events Incident to Each of the Three
Hundred and Sixty five Days In the Past
and Present Time Forming a Complete
History of the Year and a Perpetual Key
to the Almanac Of course this title ad
mits of ready- condensation and the book
Is now always simply referred to as tho
Vear Book but It Is a fair sample ot
our forefathers love ot multiplying
words We may take It for granted that
at no time would a bookseller have en
tered the full name In his bills
One more lengthy title will be quite
enough for quotation this Is the title pre
fixed to a book in Its second edition pub
lished by Bohn In 1842 Encyclopedia ot
I Jterary and Ty pographical Anecdote Be
ing a digest of the most interesting facta
illustrative of the History ot Literature
and Printing from the earliest period to
the present time Interspersed with bio
graphical sketches of eminent bookseller
printers type founders engravers book
binders and papermakers of all ages and
countries but especially Great Britain
with bibliographical and descriptive ac
counts of their principal productions and
occasional extracts from them Including
curious particulars ot the first Introduc
tion of printing into various countries
and of the books there printed notices of
early Bibles and Liturgies of all coun
tries especially books printed In England
or In English a history of all the news
papers periodicals and almanacs publish
ed in this country and an account of ink
and paper writing and printing mate
rials the invention of paper and paper
machines compiled and condensed from
Nlchols Literary Anecdotes and numer
ous other authorities by C H Tlmperley
Second Edition to which Is added a con
tinuation to the present time comprising
recent biographies chiefly ot booksellers
and a practical manual of printing Lon-
aon
Readers of the present day whose read
ing is often almost confined to skimming
the headlines of a newspaper would nev
er wade through such a title as this It
must be understood that neither of these
Is an extreme specimen of what the old
fashioned title maker could do Even that
delightful work which we now briefly de
scribe a3 Boswells Johnson has a
somewhat formidable front page The
Life of Samuel Johnson LL D compris
ing a Series of his epistolary Correspond
ence and Conversations with many Emi
nent Persons and various original Pieces
of his composition with a Chronological
Account of his Studies and Numerous
Work3 the whole exhibiting a view of
Literature and Literary Men in Great
Britain for nearly half a Century- As
opposed to this Lockhart gave us simply
The Life of Sir Walter Scott
In the case of a work of history or biog
raphy the choice of a title is usually easy
and obvious often there are no alterna
tives to choose from With fiction It Is
difficult- Dickens considered twenty one
different names before he selected The
Tale of Two Cities He always liked to
have his title chosen before he seriously
began to write at a tale He said once
I shall never be able to do anything
for the work until It has a fixed name
In general the best name for a novel is
the name of Its hero or heroine Dickens
generally acted on this principle himself
and his departures from it as in Our
Mutual Friend and Great Expecta
tions are not exactly happy Scott did
the some for the most part but he some
times bickered with constaDie aDout nis
titles It was Constable who prevailed
en Scott to use the name of Kenll
worth Instead of calling that romance
Cumnor Hall and the publisher also
suggested that the Abbot should be
christened The Nunnery as a more fit
companion title to the Monastery
In the last resort many an author has
been compelled to take the suggestions of
his publisher In this matter of titles It
was Blackwood who persuaded George
Eliot to select the name of The Mill on
the Floss Instead of calling that tale
Sister Maggie The publishers choice
was the more picturesque though less
really appropriate One of Hawthorne s
novels wras actually published under two
distinct titles In America It appeared as
The Marble Faun in England as
Transformation A was the English
publishers who objected to the former ti
tle Neither can be called quite happy
but certainly the American Is the better
Walt Whitman found the question of
names for his works a most trying one
and only selected such titles as Leaves
of Grass and Specimen Days after
long and careful consideration Some
times book names intentionally or other
wise have ben absolutely mlstding
Ouldas Moths has been enquired for
by entomologists and Rusklns Treatise
on Sneepfolds by farmers
Seamen used to ask for Coleridges An
cient Mariner and Wordsworth s Ex
cursion wns bought by
Lorna Doone was sought for at
the libraries because the good loyal public
ladies chleflv though It had something to
do with the marriage of the Princess Lou
ise and the Marquess of Ixirne The Bi
ble In Spain though its title is absolutely
correct proved a staggering surprise to
many worthy and pious subscribers to the
Ulbie society in one ot nis essays Jlr
Blrrell chuckles at the thought of boys
being allowed to read this work of Bor
rows on Sunday under the idea that it
was quite a Sunday book
That a title la truly of importance was
proved by the fact that a tale christened
Ihe Champion of Virtue did not at
tract the public at all but when It was
renamed The Old English Baron It went
off charmingly Writers of the date of
Jane Austen delighted in moral titles
such as Pride and Prejudice The pub
lic now does not care for such labels Ti
tles ot epithet or self criticism such as
Babs the Impossible or Peg the
Hake are more popular More than half
the criticism poured upon one of Mr
Caines recent novels was directed against
its title
The wise author is still generally con
tent with the name of his leading charac
ter such titles as John Inglesant or
Aylmln are wholly satisfactory With
few exceptions the greatest works of fic
tion are christened in this manner books
like Guy Mannerlng David Copper
field Esmond Pere Gorlot Anna
ICarenlna There are exceptions as
when Thackeray christened a study of hu
run life Vanity Fair and Victor Hu
so studying a lower phase of the same
ife entitled his picture Lcs Mlserablcs
But these titles In themselves are great
inasmuch as they are brief and self-descriptive
Balzac was actuated with the
i tmc broad philosophic spirit as Thack
rav when he gave his works the general
Itle of Tho Human Comedy London
Standard
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