Newspaper Page Text
i
4
V
EDITORIAL PAGE
•THE SUNNY SOUTH
OCTOBER 1. 1904
Ghe SUNNY SOUTH
Published. Weekly by
pie interested in such matters increases, augment-
I ing correspondingly the chances for the ultimate
success of the undertaking. The explorers them-
| selves are materially furthering the probabilities,
Sunny South Publishing Co i 5? appl>in g sy st f"> ati c wmmonsen* to their work.
~ J 0 . They go about their preparations with all the deli-
Businefs Office beration, intelligence and attention to detail, which
THE CONSTITUTION BUILDING the wise s eneral ff ives to V ie pitching ’ ? f a , cam_
i paign against a well-entrenched enemy. Each year
| sees the perfection of some device which helps on
j the work and the entry into the lists of new ex-
' plorers, flushed with confident determination and
| willing to profit by the experiences of the men
who have left their bones on the many routes to
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Subscription Terms:
To those who subtcriba
to C3fr« Sunny South only
Six Months, 25c ^ One Year, 50c
LESS THAN A PENNY A WEEK
Entered at the veeteOee Atlanta, Ga.,aa aecend-claae mail matter
March 13, ~
,1901
Fke Sunny South la the oldest weekly pnpor of Literature,
Romance, Fafl and Flfllon In the South & St Is now res
flared to the original shape and mill be published as for*
merty every mtrok JP Founded In Utld It greet until :S99,
when, as a monthly. Its form was changed as an eJtperU
meat & St now returns to Its original formation as a
weekly with renewed vigor and the Intention of ecllpw
ing Its most promising period In the past.
the inscrutable antipodes.
Peary may not succeed in his undertaking, but
he w ill be accorded the admiration of those Ameri
cans who recognize and commend the never-say-
die spirit which hr*; given this nation its pre-emi
nent position of today.
England and the Quick
Lunch
Off Again for the North
Pole
NDAUNTED by his own failures and
those of others in the past, Com
mander Peary is preparing for an
other carefully-planned dash to the
pole. The funds still lacking to
make lip the complete expedition, he
expects will be subscribed by his en
thusiastic fellow-citizens, who, out
Cigars as Dramatic
Life-Savers
HIS may not be a suffi
cient excuse for cultivat
ing a fondness for tobacco
in general and expensive
cigars in particular—if ex
cuse be needed—but it's
strangely true that cigars,
generally good cigars,
have many times saved
valuable human lives.
M. Guizot, the great
French historian, for in
stance, owes his lfle to a ]
cigar. One day he was
walking In one of the gardens of Paris |
when he noticed that he was being fol
lowed by a shabbily dressed man, who |
evidently had some purpose in view t
which included the historian.
M. Guizot finally sat down on a bench
and his unwelcome follower seated him
self there also, all the time watching
him with a threatening air whioh might
have proved disconcerting to a man
troubled with “nerves.” The historian
was not troubled. He pulled a cigar out
of his pocket and lighted it.
—
A
Ions' the Hip'hwa 1
Y \
m. m.M. M V* M. JL M. M. M. ▼▼
By FRJiWK L. STANTON
Y 1
J
GOODNIGHT!
I.
Darkness descends: the birds are
swift in flight:
Goodnight! Goodnight!
Thy face is bloom, thy golden hair is
light;
Yet Darkness falls: Love’s dream
must leave my sight:
Goodnight! Goodnight!
-all beautiful
If Love be with you, w..lk the way,
Nor heed a stormy warning.
The winter’ll blossom like the May.
And Heaven will say, “Good Morn
ing!”
PROVERBS OF THE HIGHWAY-
Let us never complain of this oil
world not being bright enough. Vv"
may find too much fire in it before
our time.
Wisdom is not confined to any
time or place. The fact is. it slips
away from us before we have a
II.
Love was that dream
and bright:
Goodnight! Goodnight!
But all Love’s lilies now are ghostiy j chance to confine it.
white, Misery likes company, but so does
Red, wrathful thorns have given Joy, and Joy invariably has a fiddle
wounds of might: 'under his arm.
Goodnight! Goodnight! ! Many folks write treaties on the
devil, and it does look as if th»
Recently a poet was attacked and ! might be civil enough to wait until
a, .v, . .. tv , , „„„„ severely beaten by a Texas desperado | nc comes for them and gives an ac
At that action the strange man arose This shows that some desperadoes * count of himself
nil m11♦ t„m., Mini V,„ Knnn niistskpn I . * CUUIll Ul U1IUOCI1.
can read.
and muttered that he had been mistaken,
as the scoundrel he meant to kill did
not smoke. The historian was consid-
HE quick-lunch man has encountered
varying; success in his audacious in- i ® rab; y puzzled by this occurrence until
r & r , u t' i i .... , j he learned several days afterward that
vasion Ol set old itug'land. With I a man answering the description of the
his skittles, his gasolene Stove, his : f «l!°w who had followed him had been
mixer and stirrer, and numerous j pubUc ° fficlal agatnst whom he had a
other implements necessary to the grudge. He had mistaken M. Guizot for
prosection of this vital branch of the official and no doubt would have
migrated t<T
made the assault on him had he not pullr
the culinary art, he ; ea out the ciKar .
Staid Albion, three or four years I The late King Humbert of Italy in his
He was determined to teach youth was an babitaal smoker. One
day while driving through the streets of
ago.
the British public something about I Naples he happened to drop a cigar
tile art of consuming the midday j which he had just lighted. He noticed
meal without interruption to one's i that , a si "S“ larl y dejected-looking cm-
... fji- l zen darted forward and grabbed the
business. He lias plied his trade j Cigar from the street. He thought
of national pride, will come to the 1 with glittering success in the United States, mak- j nothing more of the matter until some
assistance of his project. Doubtless J ing a fortune for several opulent syndicates, and he ™” Ilths later> when u was call . ed h J 9
, , r 1 /-r, ... , , , memory upon receipt of a n unsigned Iet-
ne does not overestimate the public I saw no reason why the intelligent Britisher should ter relating that the writer had been on
spirit of the American people. They not see the same virtues in his scheme which were the verge of committing suicide when
* -I Ur, 4-Ur,
THEIR MISSION.
What have new times got to tell?
“Country’s doin’ mighty well!
Trouble comes, but never stays—
Roses blossom in bright ways!
Little sorrow—little strife.
But with Love that sweetens life!’
We hear of an American author
who was recently “presented at
court.” We sincerely hope he didn'ti
get $10 or thirty days.
have always shown themselves in- j visible to the shrewd Yankee. So he set up shop he hdd Chcinted to P ick the cigar
. - , which the king had dropped.
terested in such stalwart ventures as in two or three of London’s teeming centers, ad- j The smoking of this, he said, had
his, and they have demonstrated that interest elo- j vertised extensively in the dignified cosmopolitan changed tbe moodiness of his thoughts
quently in cash and otherwise. ^ Peary does not hold periodicals and prepared for a land-office business, j smeide* had’^een” overcome 6 ^ITadded
the record for “furthest north.” Two years ago he i In two or three instances, his expectations were that he was ha ppy to say that the trou-
reached the latitude of 84 degrees 17 minutes— fulfilled. The logic-ridden English, at first sheered b ! es whIch had threatened to overwhelm
within six degrees of the pole. His was the great- shy of the innovation. It was so radically opposed | king-'s’^gar''saved 1 himself but the
est achievement on that particular route, hut Nan- j to his rigid dietary ideas, that he hesitated to place j other man.
sen, in 1896, and Abruzzi in 1900. in a different por- his gastronomic salvation on the swiveh But as ,„ rhen tber ® ls the story ° f hr * w
turn or the frigid zone, did much better from a Ins friends, bv twos or threes, became more ven- | with a cigar The singer had just start- '
THE GOAL.
I.
This is the lesson
When the sky is drear:
Long road before you,
But it ends somewhere.
A SONG.
I.
Weep not, nor hearken
When tempests increase;
Tempests may darken
If thou be at peace.
SAMPLE copy
Read it carefully and
send your subscription.
ONLY 50 CENTS
A YEAR.
Think of it!!
Tell your friends
the sunny south
ATLANTA, GA.
15he Busy World
11.
So that Life’s roses
Bloom at thy feet,
My way discloses
Thorns that are sweet.
II.
Bright sun shinin’
Where the hills stand clear:
Long road and lonesome.
But it ends somewhere.
III.
Ring out the chorus,
Till the angels hear:
“Long road before 11s,
But it ends somewhere!**
arctic experience and no man is his superior in the
lore which is necessary for successful exploration in
those frozen regions. His present purpose is to
have constructed a vessel of sufficient strength to
withstand the rigors of that clime as far north aa
sible, when he will abandon the shty and make a
^ic dash in sledges across the white fields to the
ted 90th degree of latitude. Whether or not
reachesjt, his hope is to establish a new record
this discovery he went forth and advertised it
broadcast. As a result, in several sections of Lon
don, the quick-lunch man has succeeded beyond
his most hopeful anticipations and is disposed,
after all, to look with a lenient eye on the failings
of the impassive subject of King Edward.
On the other hand, there have been unlucky
quick-lunch men. Opening their establishments
with all the care and skill peculiar to the above-
‘t arctic penetration, possibly laying the founda- mentioned, they discovered that the trade to which
ion for the work of some more lucky or well- j they specially appealed, was not so readily con-
equipped successor. | verted from its prosaic, old-time wont. English-
There is nothing commercial in this scheme to j men, bold enough to make an experiment, entered
conquer those mysterious and indomitable fast- ! his rooms, took a meal, paid the price and hastily
nesses of snow and ice. Science now knows that, heat a retreat, glad to escape from the environs
there can exist no polar route which can shorten the of such helter-skelter, strenuous, devil-may-care
course of the vessels of trade, or offer them a safer | hurry. The men of this class, took good care to
passage. If there is treasure of any intrinsic worth j warn their friends against a similar course. With
near the pole, its value or nature is not known, and | a large portion of the medical fraternity to back
all in this direction is speculation of the most ob- them, they declared that meals served in such
scure nature. The mainspring of all attempts on abrupt fashion were unhygienic in the last degree,
the pole, is the yearning to he the first to gaze at inviting dyspepsia and early death. Anyhow, they
man with whom he was locked in the
compartment drew a truculent-looking
knife and announced that he intended
to cut his throat. The singer recogniz
ed that he had to deal with a crazy
man. and he saw that coolness alone
could save him, as It was highly prob
able that a struggle would end In the
maniac accomplishing his purpose.
MANIAC ENJOYED A SMOKE.
“Before you begin, wouldn’t you like
to smoke a good cigar?” he asked of his
murderous companion.
“That wouldn’t he a had idea,” said
the man, laying aside his knife. "My
nerves will be steadier.
Mario gave him the biggest cigar he
had in his case and when the crazy man
had smoked it he offered him another
big one. The roan continued smoking
the singer’s eiga“.- and luckily for the
Italian he had a good supply. The man
was still smoking when the train stop
ped at the next station and Mario man
aged to hand him over to the police.
A plot against the life of Mazzini. the
Italian patriot, once failed because of
his courtesy with a box of cigars. It
came to his knowledge that an attempt
was to be made on his life. He pro
cured a box of the finest cigars and
waited for bis would-be assassins to eall
on him. Wlhen they came in he handed
out the cigars. Taken aback by this
manoeuvre, they took them and began
to smoke.
They did not find it easy to kill a man
who had just handed them good cigars
awkwardly until i
THE POOR PUBLISHER.
‘They tell me poor Jones is writing
another novel.”
_ ^ __ j. ami* “Yes; his publisher needs another
standpoint of distance. Nansen reached 86 degrees turesonie and sampled the products of the quick- | ®d o n a long railroad journey when the {J b ^ e g V. tomobile ’ an(1 a cou P le of
14 minutes, and Abruzzi 86 degrees 34 minutes. It lunch rooms, they were discovered to be innocous
is doubtful, though, if either one of these two un- j and toothsome. Furthermore, he found out that
derwent the severe hardships which Peary encoun- by patronizing a restaurant characterized by quick-
tered. Both, probably, had better financial backing j ness and method, he saved half the time he had
and were more independent in their range of ac- i previously appropriated to the midday meal, to the
tion. Peary, however, has had every variety of advantage of his business. Full of the merits of
III.
Earth give thee never
Grief, dear, or moan;
Love’s love forever,
And Love is thine own!
FROM AN AUTHOR’S NOTEBOOK.
I struggled 20 years for recognition
and ven now it is a hard matter to
get a publisher to recognize me—
across the street.
If they would only give Genius a
few monuments during its lifetime i T
could make a fortune by going into
the marble-yard business and selling
off a few headstones to the commu
nity.
Wrote six love songs yesterday for
a. barrel of flour and a side of meat
Next thing I know I’ll have to write
an ode for a barrel of molasses.
Poets have ceased to live in gar
rets. They occupy the ground floor
now. so that they may see the
bailiffs when they take the elevators.
Eldible Mushroom,
Easily Cultivated at Good Profit
IN TWO PARTS—PART I.
By HELEN HARCOURT.
Written for Sunny South
that isolated spot; to stand at the tip end of the, argued, what was the use of so rushing through ^aLzhTLid^ about
e and gaze over fields, mountains, seas, who the day, when one had all of ones’ life to live?, “Gentlemen, take another cigar.
I be-
HE common field mushroom,
which bears the aristo
cratic name of Agaricus
campestrls. In scientific
circles, is the only species
thus far cultivated in
America in commercial
quantities. Yet there are
other varieties still more
delicate and desirable, and
there Is no reason why
these should not ultimately
00 n*e Into our markets.
When they do, there will
be a marked advance in the mushroom
industry, and a demand will spring up
that will tax the supply to meet.
There is an impression abroad that the
culture of mushrooms is a difficult one,
and that there are secrets in it known
only to a few favored ones. This is an
entire mistake. There is no mystery,
deep or shallow, in mushroom culture.
Nor is it even necessary that the plant
ows what and to he able to say, ‘‘I am the first And what enjoyment was a meal eaten with the 1 lieve you came to kill me? why do you b ? grown in gloom and darkness, as is
_ 1 1 1 it • _i ~ 1 r r 1 t • s 9 nnt nrnrppfl to hiisinPSS? M Epriprnllv snnnncprl Thom ?c ~
uman being who has seen this mighty domain!” j eves on the clock, fearful lest two minutes he ' not * >roceed to b » sl ness? ’ generally supposed. There is a reason
he unimaginative man may think this conscious- wasted in unnecessary mastication? How could a I lame regret and left.
The assassins muttered some words of j f or these widespread mistakes, and that
Two more instances are given to show
where men saved themselves from em
barrassment, not from peril, with using
cigars. When Bismarck was entering
Paris with the Germany army he no
ticed that some French workmen were
gathered at the gate, evidently prepared
to make a hostile demonstration. Quick
for a match. The man handed him one
and the attitude of the Frenchman
changed completely as the German lead
er thanked the workman courteously.
Edwin Booth once thus disarmed a small i
®ess small recompense for the expenditure of him-j man enjoy the solidcomforts of a juicy “roast beef
dreds of thousands of dollars and the myriad dis- ; of old England” under these conditions, and had
comforts of the way. But hundreds of valiant, ven- he not just as well live on pemmican, or some
turous spirits have thought otherwise, gladly giv- j other of the concentrated foods used by arctic
ing up years of their lives, vigor from their frames, | explorers and other folk forced by exigency to
cash from their coffers, and frequently life itself, if j dine in a hurry?
they could but push a scant few miles nearer the So there you are. with the two contradictory
pole than some other ambitious striver. sides of the case, and they are representative, as
Geologists, too. say that their science may he a matter of fact. For the quick-lunch system in
much enriched by studies made in these hitherto j vogue in this country has its advantages and dis-
unexploited regions. They believe that many of i advantages, and they are about as outlined in the
the secrets concerning the origin of the worlcl, its I two hvpothetical cases above. Undoubtedlv, the | mob of men wbo b a <i l^en hired to make
. , *111 1 . . • 1 1 - * J o rl om on citrQitinn of a norfnt»»vi v,«.
slow evolution, possibly the growth of the vital | rapid midday system saves time. Undoubtedly,
principle itself, may he locked up in these valleys of in many instances, it tends to indigestion and sub-
white silence, awaiting the investigations of the j sequent ill-health. It seems to us that the solu-
man hold enough to seek them hand in hand with j tion is a happy mien. Is it not possible to pre
death. It is believed, also, that much knowledge: serve the best features of the system hv insuring
can he gleaned regarding the operation of ocean j dispatch and, on the other hand, impressing on the
currents and winds, the formation of icebergs, the ! men who take advantage of the quick lunch the
effect the arctic zone has on the climate of the re- J necessity of thoroughly masticating their food and
mainder of the world and numerous other details | not bolting it?
of great importance. 1 Such a course as this would, we believe, make
For these reasons, the more cultivated section safe and sane one of the foremost of the socalled
of the world’s population, has heretofore been the ! “American institutions,” doing away with the ob-
backbone of arctic exploration. As knowledge he- j jections which, under present conditions, make
comes more diffused, however, the number of peo- its benefits dubious to say the least.
reason Is not one that does honor to
human nature. It is that many mush
room growers, desiring to keep the
knowledge of a profitable crop to them
selves. have taken pains to foster and
spread the popular impression that there
are many difficulties and mysteries in
the way of profitable mushroom culture.
ly he turned ills horse toward them and. i Tbe - V llot only refuse any information on
pulling out a cigar, asked their leader i * be subject, but lock the doors of their
When Men Live for Centuries <4*
P
ROFESBOK MDTC HNT-
koff, of the Pasteur Insti
tute has recently given a
lecture upon old age, which
he believes to be merely
a “cronlc disease,’’ for
which he believes tl»t sci
ence will shortly find a
cure. We read that quite
a sensation produced
In Paris by the professor's
words. We are not sur
prised. What a vista of
change must open the eyes
of those who can 'bring themselves, even
for a moment, to consider his statement
in the light of a possibility.
The immediate result of such a discov-
«ry as Professor Metchnikoff contem
plates would be. we think, an overwhelm
ing sensation of relief. A sudden access
of happiness would come to all those who
arc no longer young as they saw the
prospect of life stretch out Indefinitely
before them. The scientific miracle of
which he dreams would not, of course,
confer immortality upon man. The old
would still be liable to all the Ills that
flesh Is heir to. Within a limited num
ber of years the chances are that such
diseases would kill even the strongest.
But we all hope-i« live to be old. Most
men not only wish, but in health believe,
that nothing but old age will kill them,
and If there were no such thing they
would look to escape death altogether.
After the first sense of relief was over
there would come, we fancy, to all the
thoughtful a strange feeling of leisure.
Both young and old—or, as we should
learn to say. both experienced and inex
perienced—would tell themselves that
there was no hurry. No man would need
to lay up for his old age, or try to f?et
throtfgh his life wonk by any given date.
All tlie things, great and small, which
ambitious men set before themselves as
goals to be attained would cease to be
definite ends and would become Indefinite
aspirations. There would be lot* of time
to think and it would be time enough
to act when we had done thinking. Indi
viduals and corporate bodies would alike
have fewer mistakies to regret. The
statesman could put off his plans till
his next, bout of power. The man of sci
ence could work slowly in his laboratory,
believing that he would have time both
to conceive and to work out, both to In
vent and to perfect. The man of letters
would accumulate experience for a book
which could appear at any time. The
shopkeeper would not need to be In any
haste to make a fortune. Of course, as
before, every one would want money
end In order to live comfortably and the
vast majority would still make their
bread by the sweat of their brow or their
brain, but no one would lay up for his
old age or for the old age of his chi!
dren. Work would be regarded as some
thing to be done always. The whole
pace of life would be altered, and pleas
ure, as well as success, would be more
soberly sought. All the sights we want
to see we could see "at any time;” all
the people we want to meet would be
sure to cross our path again. The sense
of "now or never” which acts as so great
a spur would disappear.
LIFE WOULD BE TOO LONG.
It is not impossible that after the first
joy—like the joy of the convalescent—
of taking a firmer grasp of life was over
a deep sense of ennui would take hold
of the world. After all. In its hurry Is
Half its delight. If It were less certainly
and arbitrarily limited It would probably
be less vivid. Born leaders of men
would, indeed, have a great chance to
modify the face of the world; great
painters and poets might leave to their
fellows a far larger bulk of work than
they do now, but we very much doubt If
this would bs ths ease. Wo are Inclined
mushroom beds against all seekers after
knowledge. And this they do because
there Is money in it, and they want a
monopoly so far as possible. It Is a
miniature "trust,” in short.
As a matter of fact, mushrooms are
demonstration at a performance ho ! eas >’ to grow, and a careful, intelligent
was giving on ope of his tours. They j beginner is often quite as successful as
had been hired bjr rival actors to attend j growers of long experience. Success de-
Booth's performance and cause an up- l> Pn<1 s on general conditions. These are
roar which would spoil the play. They
were seated in two upper boxes and
Booth learned of the plan. He sent
them a box of cigars and expressed the
hope that they would fie pleased with
good materials, business methods, a per
sonal interest in the work, intelligent
management, and perseverance until ex
perience has been bought, and confidence
attained. And this last quality has a
them even if they were not with his wonderful power. 1 he person who he
performance. The policy succeeded and
the men who were hired to hiss stayed
to applaud.
The Revised Version.
(From the Brooklyn Eagle.>
When Henry Ward Beecher was ask
ed by an Eagle reporter to give his
views of the revised version of the Scrip
tures, he answered, “Come here ten
years from today and I will give you
my opinion.” The reported recorded
the date, and would have been at Mr..
Beecher’s door at the time named, had
the great preacher lived so long. But
In the smile and twinkle of the eye with
which Mr. Beecher postponed his answer
he betokened his estimate of the
changes in the text of the Bible that
had been made with such expenditure
of time and such heralding of trumpets.
And that estimate seems to be shared
•by nearly all other prelates, for it is
not easy to find other than the King
James version in our churches and
Sunday schools.
Although the revision of the Testa
ment Into stricter English was a use
ful literary exeroise, the differences dis
covered between the new and older
versions are commonly too slight to
Justify the change. In some cases force
has been lost at the gain of verbal cor
rectness, In other cases the substitution
of Involved for simpler forms has been
a disadvantage. The Twenty-third
Psalm In the old version says, “Yea,
CONTINUED ON ELEVENTH PAGE.
though I want tnrougn
shadow of death, I will fear no evil."
The new version puts It thus: “Y^a,
though x walk .through —ft’s daik
vale of shadows, no evil will I fear. •
There is no gain In this. On the c ■
traTy it Is closer to the vernacular and
uio.o grammau. ally senslo,e to say ,
will fear no evil,” than to phrase' it,
“No evil Will I fear.” In many other
Instances sentences have been reversed,
for no clear reason.
lieves, and is determined, that he will
succeed in any undertaking, generally
does succeed. All these things are
requisite to succeed in any business. The
farmer needs them just as much in rais
ing goats, sheep, poultry, cattle, grain,
fruits or vegetables.
The growing of mushrooms is a clean
and pleasant business, aside from the
preliminary work of handling the manure
and making up the beds. It is especially
an industry in which women may en
gage with quite as much prospect of
profit as men. With even n\ore, in fact,
for the work of planting the spawn, gath
ering, sorting, packing and marketing
the mushrooms is light, and needs light
fingering, such as pertains to women more
than to men. As to the actual details of
raising the crop, we shall have more to
say next week. Our talk today will be
more as to the varieties and the ways
of telling the edible from the poisonous
species.
POISON AND EDIBLE.
The mushroom, or agaric, as it is some
times called, ls a species of fungi, of the
suborder Hymenonomycestes, a name
that is surely quite enough to sour and
poison the disposition of the whole fam
ily. As elsewhere noted, the species most
cultivated in this country In the com
mon mushroom. It Is a native of most
temperate regions of both the northern
and southern hemispheres. In eastern
Australia there grows a very large and
fine variety. The enterprising grower
who imports and domesticates this giant
mushroom, in the United States, will
reap Be fortune. The common mushroom
ls found during the summer and autumn,
but chiefly In the latter. In pasture, or
chard and vineyard. The fact that other
and poisonous species grow there as well
has caused many a delicious meal to go
unplucked, because of the natural fear
of making a mistake between the edible
and dangerous varieties. So now let
its set ourselves to learn the difference
between our friends and our foes in the
moist lands.
The question is often asked, "How can
you tell a mushroom from a toadstool?”
It ls one of those questions that should
never be aeked, because people whose
lines are cast along the mushroom paths
—that is. in the country, should know bet
ter than to ask it. The answer is, brief
ly, “You can’t tell ’t’other from which,”
because a toadstool is a mushroom and
a mushroom is a toadstool. The question
should be, "How can you tell an edible
fungus from one that is poisonous?” All
the knowledge that we have on the sub
ject has been gained by experience and
practical tests. We know that some
kinds are edible, because either by acci
dent o r design, some one has tested them
and found them good and wholesome.
We know that other spedies are poison
ous. because also either by accident or
design, have even eaten and have caused
sickness and sometimes death.
But there is still room for extensive
experiment in this lowly field. The num
ber of species that have been tried, and
either found or not found wanting is
very small »is compared with the whole
number of toadstools or mushrooms that
have not yet been tested. Of these It
can now only be said that, judging by
their resemblance to the edible or poi
sonous varieties, they are probably edi
ble or non-edible. But analogy is by no
means a sure guide, and those who ex
periment in person may have some dis
agreeable surprises as well as some pleas
ant ones.
It is a popular belief that all the j
fleshy, umbrellalike are divided into two ,
classes, mushrooms, which are whole- i
some to eat. and toadstools, which are
very much the contrary. This fancied I
distinction does not exist. All the um- j
berllalike fungi are toadstools, and it is
to the best known edible members of this
family that the general name of mush
rooms has been given. There are many
of the toadstools not popularly known as i
mushrooms that are edible, quite as much
so as the common agaricus of commerce.
More of these presently, it is efton said
that toadstools grow in a single night.
This is-p another great mistake. They
first appear on the ground, the trunk of
a tree or similar places in the form of
small solid balls. These greatly enlarge
and finally shoot up in a stem or stipe,
bearing the umbrella top or pilus, ns it
is called. This plleus is at first closed
on the stalk, thus still further emulating
an umbrella, and then expands more or
less, according to its species.
The button mushrooms that are im
ported from France in cans are merely
young mushrooms. These buttons arise
from a complicated mass of fine, color
less threads that germinate in the ground,
in logs, manure or other damp sub
stances. This mass of threads is known
to the growers of mushrooms as spawn,
and to botanists ae mycelium. It is from
these threads that the toadstool or mush
room has its birth. Its development from
the spawn to the button takes consider
able time. It may be weeks, months,
even years, before the spawn ripens and
sends up the buttons. The spawn itself
performs all the duties of the roots,
branches and leaves of a tree. The re
sulting button is the blossom, the full-
fledged mushroom, the fruit of the plant.
It is not, as generally suppled, the plant
itself. The spores of the mushroom cor
respond to the seeds of a fruit or berry,
and exercise the same reproductive pow
er. When once the button has been de
veloped and pushed up out of the ground,
the mature fruit develops very rapidly,
and it is from this fact that- the saying
has come, that toadstools or mushrooms,
grow in a single night. All the assimi
lation of food that goes to make the
plant, all the absorbing power, all the
vegetable functions, are the work of the
spawn, while the toadstool is only the
reproducing body. Its microscopic, dust
like spores are as the seeds of ordinary
plan^.
DIFFERENT FORMATIONS.
In the toadstool family, it is the under
part of the pileus that bears these spores.
Sometimes this surface is a series of gills
resembling knife blades which radiate
from the stalk to the clrcumferance like
the spokes of a wheel. In other In
stances, the under part of the pileus is
a mass of small tubes packed closely
together, side by side. In other toad-
Oniy fragmentary rumors are drifting
through from the Far East at present.
The main body of the Russian army is
entrenched about Mukden, with the Jap
anese battalions in close touch all along
the line. Skirmishes and light encoun
ters are frequent, although no battle
worthy the name has occurred within
the last few days. Opinion is divided as
to the probability of a decisive clash
it Mukden. One set of experts believe
I hat Kuropatkin will again measuro
■--trength with Kuroki here, while another
maintains that his obvious move will he
on toward Tie pass, which he can de
fend with more ease and greater change
of success.
From neutral sources, it seems evident
that the Japs are preparing for an ex
tensive winter campaign in Korea. Ad
ditional troops are being imported and
the conscription laws so amended as to
largely increase the national reinforcing
ability A movement against "Vladivos
tok is also projected, the first stages of
which are already said to be under wav.
On top of these preparations, Japan .a
preparing to raise a domestic loan of
$40,000,000. Tlie issue price will n^* 9^.
and the interest 5 per cent. The govern
ment does not anticipate any more diffi
culty in floating this loan, than that
encountered with its predecessor of a
few months ago. Several Tokio bankers
have already indicated their willingness
to subscribe in considerable amounts,
and it will not be necessary to go out
side of the country to make up tm
amount. No peace talk has loomed re-
centlv and it appears to be the concen
sus of Russian sentiment that the only
ssible course for that country is to
po
prosecute the wa
radically defeated, even tb ° u *F
pire he thoroughly impoverished m
meantime.
UCHESS CECILE,
r until Japan has been
the fiancee of the
crown prince
Germany, is pretty
and girlish, hut is
said to he a daring
horsewoman.
She
has a natural seat,
and also can strad
dle a horse in the
style of a woman of
the plains. She is
a sister of ths
reigning grand duke
of Mecklenburg-
Duchess Cecile
Schwerin, and was born September zj.
1886. The house from which she de
scends claims to be the oldest sovereign
house in western Europe. Duchess Ce
cil e is a great-great-grandchild of Queen
Louise of Prussia.
BORGE
DTTH, the well-
known English au
thor, has aroused a
storm of protest in
Europe and Ameri
ca by advocating,
through the col
umns of a I»ndon
paper, a limited pe
riod of marriage.
The contract, hs
pleads. should be
for a definite period
of time — “forty
George Af ere*di*h
years, forty hours or forty minutes”—
or whatever period may be agreed upon
by the couple seeking marriage. Mr.
Meredith is now in his seventy-thtrd
year. He published his first volume of
poems just half a century ago. He has
written several novels, the last appear
ing in 1895. In late years he hap again
turned his attention to poetry, but his
last volume attraeted little attention in
he literary world.
M. WALDORF AS-
TOR. who recently
arrived from Eng
land. is maJking a
study of Christian
Science for the pur
pose of enlightening
an Episcopalian
minister at home
concerning the cult.
IT 1 » investigation
includes a visit to
Mrs. Eddy, the
founder, at Con
cern TVtrldor' Jlvtor cord, N. H.' Mr
Astof, it will be remembered, is thr
self-expatriated American who has
foresworn allegiance to this govern
ment. to become a naturalized British
subject. His action grew out of the
rigid enforcement of the tax laws
against his vast New York estate—a
proceeding against which William Astor
vigorously hut vainly protested.
CONTINUED-ON LAST PAGE.
A. SMITH, who has
just been created
by King Oscar of
Sweden as knight
commander of the
Order of the Vasa,
a distinction rarely
conferred on a for
eigner. ls a citizen
of Minneapolis and
president of the C.
A. Smith Timber
Co. He has been
a liberal patron of
Swedish - American
' A Smith
institutions, and it was mainly through
his efforts that the idea of a Swedish
building at the St. Louis fair was real
ized. Mr. Smith is a millionaire. H«
formerly was a partner of Plllsbury, the
flour manufacturer.
RINCE 8VTATO-
POLK - MIRSKY.
the new Russian
minister of the In
terior, who suc
ceeds the murder
ed Von Plehve. has
been successivelv
governor of 7en«v
marshal of the no
bility of the prov
ince of Kharkoff
and Ekaterinoslav,
and assistant mln-
SoiatoooiirwMiosky lster of the Interior
under M. Sipiaguine. who also was as
sassinated. The prince is 47 years of
age, and began his career as a soldier,
but later entered the civil service. He
is said to possess a horror of religious
persecution. His father was a famous
general during the reign of Alexander
II. The prince’s wife is a great ad
mirer of Count Tolstoi.