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A HISTORIC SHELLFISH. The Pnrpora Was Quite a Factor In the World's Civilization. A small sea creature has done a lot to assist the development of civiliza tion. It is known as the murex or purpura. From it the Phoenician?, manufactured the Tyrian purple, the origin of their wealth and prosperity. As each shellfish yielded but- one drop of the dyeing material and as 300 pounds were needed to dye fifty pounds of wool the home fisheries became in time exhausted. Then, finding it neces sary to seek a supply elsewhere, the traders started on the first voyage of discovery ever made. Owing to this voyage the Mediterranean, with all the countries that surround it, was dis covered. Through this small creature also the first colonies were founded. The Phoe nicians, finding it impracticable to bring home large shiploads of the fish, built at those spots where the raw ma terial abounded factories, which gradu ally developed into permanent settle ments. And as many of these colonies were founded on Grecian Islands the apt natives quickly acquired the arts and industries of their visitors, which were soon diffused throughout Greece, and the first seeds of civilization were •own. BELLS AS BAROMETERS. Tlielr Tone Will Indicate What tfe« Weather Will Be. Church bells can serve another pur pose besides ringing you to worship. They make a good substitute for a barometer. As the atmosphere Is the *ole conductor of sound from the bell to the ear, It is obvious that the In tensity and quality of the sound as perceived by the ear will depend on the state of the medium through which it comes. For instance, if bells sound rcry distinctly of an evening, this points to the probability of a wet day following, since air heavily charged with moisture conducts sound better than dry air. So, too, as dense air con ducts better than light air, bells sound more clearly when the barometer is high than when it is low, other things being equal, and so, too, with hot and cold air. These principles are familiar to all country folk living within the sound of church bells. About five miles from Lebekke, in Belgium, there are some small bells which are called ••water bells." When they are heard -distinctly in the town rain is sure to follow.— London Spectator. The Better Half Indeed. An English judge recently had an in spiration. A defendant appeared too dull to make a defense or answer in telligibly questions put to him by the judge. Suddenly the judge said, ''Where do you live?" and the intelligible reply, "About five minutes off," was at once forthcoming. "Then just run home and fetch your wife, and run a little quicker than you talk." It was done, and the wife's clear and businesslike statement of the facts won the day for her helpless husband. THot a Safe Rale. "I believe," said the enthusiastic young author, "that the first thing a man should do when he proposes to write a paper of any kind is to get full of his subject" "I disagree with you," replied his more mature friend- "In fact, I shud der to think of what might result if I followed your advice." "What are you working on?" "An address on Intoxicating liquors to be read before our temperance so ciety." ELECTRIC SUBSTATION AT BRAWLEY ONE OF NATURE'S TOOLS. bow Teazels Are Csed In Finishing Different Cloths. Growing by the wayside you will of ten see that stately, spiny looking plant, tbe teazel, but I wonder how many know that it has helped to finish many a piece of cloth they wear. We are apt to think of a tool as something of man's make, yet here is one of nature's own, and nothing has ever been manufactured to successful ly take its place. For ages the teazel has been used for fulling cloth— that is. raising the "nap"— and the manu facturers refer to "nap goods" thus treated as "gigged." When ripe, the dried spike heads are gathered, packed carefully in bundles and shipped in all directions to facto ries. The variety mostly used have the extreme end of the spikes hooked or curved backward. This is called "fullers* teazel." These heads fona/ a sort of brush and are attached to a wheel or cylinder which revolves against the surface of the cloth, and these curved spikes catch part of the threads and pull them up, making *i fuzzy nap. This is trimmed down and leaves that soft, velvety finish to the cloth. The spikes have strength enough and elasticity, but when they come io contact with a rough place in the cloth they break and so avoid tearing the material. Try as they may. no one has ever been able to invent a tool possess ing all of these qualities, so the teazel stands unrivaled for that use. The plant as we see it growing wild looks perhaps at first glance somewhat like a thistle, but it really has a dignity and character all its own. The heads in flower are covered with a fluffy down, lavender or white, and as the blossoms drop spikes appear until lat er it fairly bristles. The leaves, point ed and spiked, shooting out each side of the stem, meet at the base and form a little basin in which is usually wa ter. So we have the name of the plant from the Greek "dipsacus," meaning thirsty, and many other fanciful ones, such as Venus* cup, Venus' bath, wood or church brooms, gypsy combs, cloth ier's brush, etc. — St. Nicholas. ODDITIES. Bees never store up honey where It IS light. The moth has a fur jacket and the butterfly none. A squirrel comes down a tree head first and a cat tail first. Leaves will attract dew when boards, sticks and stones will not. Corn on the ear is never found with an uneven number of rows. The dragon fly can devour its own body and the head still live. A horsefly will live for hours after the head has been pinched off. Pish, flies and caterpillars may be frozen solid and still retain life. A horse always gets up fore parts first and a cow directly the opposite. Some flies thrust their eggs into the bodies of caterpillars, but always in such parts of the body that when the larvae are feeding on the flesh of the foster parent they will not eat into any vital part. Why He Quit. "Did you read my novel, Crlticus?" "Well, I read as far as the chapter where the hero was shot, and then I Cult" "Oh, bat the hero recovers in theasxt chapter." 1 wss afraid be would. That's wfey iq&LV The California Cream & Butter Company will pay 28 3-4 cents per pound for Butter Fat f. o. b. Los Angeles. We always Lead in Price. Our Motto: Top price, Full weight, Correct test. Your shipments Solicited. E. W, Ecker, Agt. El Centro. Watcn us I Watcn Us! And Let Us Watch You We can fit you up with a new Watch or we can put that old one of yours in repair and guar- antee the work either way. Everything in Jewelry and a nice assortment of Watches and Clocks at the ■■ .- T • 1 Imperial Jewelry Co. Imperial, California. HEDDEN & HULL c a°,"tr.r Cement Work Estimates Furnished On Application IMPERIAL - - - CALIFORNIA I Brown's Express and 1 § BAGGAGE DELIVERY B r§ D. A. Brown, Prop. Stand Cor. Ninth g H and Imperial Aye. 'Phone Res. 159. q eg Trunks 25c in city, 35c outside. All g B orders carefully attended to. Trunks § g stored; 25c a month. g L. M. LYON Representing THE LYON BROS. CO., H. O. COGGINS CO., New York City Pittsburg, Pa. California ami Colorado Cantaloupe Distributors ■ J Selling and -Distributing Agents for the Brawley Cantaloupe Growers* Association Brawley, California Holtville Cantaloupe Growers' Association Holtville, California El Centro Cantaloupe Growers' Association El Centro, California We have agents in every city in the United States that can handle and sell satisfactory car lots of cantaloupes and these sub-agents dis- tribute to reach all smaller points accessible. We aie the original distributors of the Rocky Ford, Colorado, can- taloupes, and opened up and established them on all Eastern markets. We have contracted with the old original Rocky Ford Association of Rocky Ford, Colorado, to distribute their crop of 1906, making the Bth season we have been appointed by unanimous vote, their selling and distributing agents. We also have contracts with Manzanola, Weitzer, Newdale, Fairmount, La Junta, Granada, Amity and Holly, making NINE Associations, covering the original territory, comprising the Rocky Ford Cantaloupe District of Colorado. NOTE — Our Mr. L. M. Lyon will take personal charge of the Brawley office on May 10 and remain during the shipping season, and until May 1 his address will be 330 Washington Street, New York City. Mr. Peter P. Hovely is in charge of the Brawley office until Mr. Lyon arrives. I C E The Holton Power Company AT THEIR ICE MANUFACTURING 1 PLANT AT EL Centro, Cal. IS PREPARED TO FURNISH lOE AND REFRIGERATION In any quantity and at reasonable rates Ice will be delivered in the towns of. Brawley, Holtville, Imperial, El Centro and Cal= exico in any quantity desired and for less prices than is charged by anyone else. • For information and prices, address HOLTON POWER COriPANY EI Centro, California