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TERRAPIN ARE SCARCE, . THE CATCH OF DIAMOND BACKS GROWING SMALLER DAILY. Fish Commissioner Bowers Declares the Species Must Eventually Be come Exterminated Without Radi cal Measures Are Adopted. In his annual report Fish Commis sioner Bowers calls attention to the growing scarcity of the diamond back ed terrapin, and declares that the species must eventually become ex terminated if present methods of the industry continue, or if no steps are taken to arrest the decline by culti vation. For years the Chesapecake Bay has been the most productive re gion of this high priced and muc’h‘ sought delicacy. Statistics ' of the catch in that region, therefore, will give a pretty good idea of the rapid decline in the industry. In 1901, for instance, the catch of terrapin in Maryland’s part of the bay was only one-sixtieth of the quantity and cne twentieth of the value of the catch of 1891. In that portion of the bay be longing to Virginia the catch in 1901 was one-tenth the quantity and one thirtieth the value of that in 1891. This decrease has in part been made -good by the importation of ter rapin from the South Atlantic and Gulf States, and has, therefcre, not had the ‘effect on prices that might otherwise have been expected. Though the more Southern terrapin ijs inferior to the Chesapeake Bay variety it becomes a fair substitute ‘on being kept awhile in pounds before being shipped to market. . The Commission is now making a study of the diamond back terrapin of the Chesapeake Bay region with a view' to ascertaining the extent and causes of the decrease, the laws reg ulating terrapin fishing and the like. Incidental to this investigation into the extent and fiauses of the decrease of the terrapifi special attenticn is directed to those points in the natural history of the species which bear on the question of artificial rearing, .and a series of experiments has be:zn in augurated directed to this phase of the subject. : The most notable of these are ‘ex perimental pounds on the Chopiank River, Maryland, laboratory and in vestigations at Beaufort, N. C. At the latter place the terrapin are Kept under the constant observation of scientists employed in the laboratory, and a careful study of their growth, breeding habits and the like is made. Also here in Washington the Commis sion has men making a syste2matic study of terrapin brought together from Declaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, in order to de termine the specific or varie:al differ ences. All these investigations and experiments were commenced in 1902, but the final report on them will not be made up until the end of the pres ent season, by which time it is hoped a practicable method of cultivation may have beenn deveoloped. g Inquiries and experiments of much the same nature are being made with reference to the oyster, the lobster and the blue crab. Experiments in the hatching and rearing of lobsters are conducted at the Woods Hole, Mass., station, and a final and com plete report on them will soon be made by those in charge. Also the Commission is having a handbook prepared giving information regarding the habits, growth and rearing of lobsters, as well as the method and extent of the lobster fisheries. Touch- | ing these the reports says: ] “The condition of the lobster fish ery has been practically unchanged' for several years, although it cannot ‘ be doubted that the tendency is downward. The catch fluctuated some what from year to year and certain lo- ] calities may show a decided increase; | but if the general output in a State! is greater in one yecar than anothex'l the cause may usually be found in | the fact that the fishery was prose-f cuted for.a longer time or that more men and more apparatus were em ployed.” It seems very improbable that there will be any general improve ment in the fishery until new methods of conducting it are adopied and shall have continued for a number of years. Uniform protective laws are greatly needed, and without them the work of the Commission in lobster cultiva tion will have but little effect at this stage of the decline. From data collected by the Com mission it appears that there are at this time about 213,000 men engaged l in the fishing industry in this coun try, of whom 155,600 are fishermen. ‘ The aggregate capital invested is - $76,850,000, of which about ome-watrd represents vessels and boats of all ing. Squarely in the midle of the sorts and apparatus of capture. The value of the catch at first hands:is estimated at $49,882,000, of which the ccean and coast fisheries represent $44,564,000. The ocean fisheries of New Eng land, which have always been the most important of their class, have been in a satisfactory condition. At the two great ports of Gloucester and Boston the guantity of fish landed by American fishing vessels in 1902 was about 168,000,000 pounds, valued at $4,380,000, an increase of 17,000,000 pounds and $130,000, as compared with 1501. The mackerel catch has never since 'reached the proportions attained in the years preceding 1887 although the report shows it to be now greatly in excess of the product during the first half of the present period of unprec edented scarcity. Commissioner Bow ers says the tendency of late has been upward, and it is believed that in a comparatively few years the mackerel will have again become abundant on our shores. Of the culture of cod in the Atlantic coast the report says the Commis sion’s ‘“expectations have been more than realized. Practical results of an unmistakable character were first ‘ manifested in 1889, since which time | a very lucrative shore cod fishery has | been kept up on grounds-that were | entirely depleted or that had never | contained cod in noteworthy numbers in the memory of the oldest inhabi tants.” During the last year the Commis: sion has distributed in New lEngland sireams 4 d lakes great numbers of land locked salmon, cod, lobsters, crapple, flatfish, sea bass, mackerel, scup and tautog. The cultivation of the last four named had not been pre viously carried on.to any considerable extent. Experiments with them, as well as with the land locked salmon, will therefore be closely watched dur ing the next few years. IMoscow and Dalny. : The destruction, of Dalny, however, is rather a different matter from'.the destruction of Moscow. The lattgr act left the great Napoleon, in the midst of an enemy’s country, far from home with nothing to relieve the dis” tress 'of his army. Here the condi tions are reversed. It is the Russians who are far from home while the en2my is comparatively near its base of operations. Its policy is also dif ferent from that of its huge antago nist. Up to date it has shown no dis position to burn its bridges. Making Dainy useless for its immediate pur pose may be temporary obstruction and embarrassment, but hardly a se rious discouragement. The quick moving and resourceful Jap if he can 'not find a way generally makés one. 1 If docks and piers are denizd him he can wade ashorc through the esél grass almost anywhere along the coast.—Boston Transeript. paid off his debt to 98. Thus one small cent paid up a total debt of seven cents. Who lost by the trans action ?—Philadelphia Press. Coarze hats are to be had, thovgh they are not ever-coarse. ' ing A oncealing €. B Ja e Meredith, NE of the precious lost arts of our time is the art of growing old gracefully. 1t of This is particularly true of women with wiom the. cu tm(; : youth has become more thaa a fad, It is an obsession that 3 o | [ & ; : s {,,J,E”,;‘,“; their waking thoughts and nightly dreams. Sipada. in -‘-i-‘”fi?fl" Every woman you know past thirty has but one 11)"1' I:l . has life, and that is lo keep young. Every paper you pt(; \mageage columas and pages devoted to telling its femlnmg reade;‘s ihOW = away wrinkles, and obliterate triple chias, and avoid gray ha & A arbant e fvery woman you meet spends hours in the privacy of her apal sel ping around on one foot, or tying herself up in figures of eight, 1 hacek of attempt to preserve the waist measure of eighteen and the lissome § her vaaished girlhood . : > L . . of Beyond thirty the entire feminine population consists of 111{ 1"352921;33 fob Ponce de Leons engaged in a frantic, nerve-wearing, heart-breaking the fountain of perpetual youth. They do aot find it, of course. They find the peroxide bottle, abz:c:_tffig complexion specialist, and the stay-maker, that for a time seem ?t i Elthat for the thing they seek, and they cry out that they have found it, an there are no more old women. : Kl d In a way this is true. There are no more women who are frankly altl‘ serenely old, who have accepted age graciously and without regret, f‘)"d tvrfu(; are eajoying the calm twilight of existence that is, g)erhaps. the most beau part of life, as it i 3 the most beautiful part of the Gay. old There are not even any old women’s fashions in our stores, or ar(\ly ith ladies' corners in our household. Grand mama weats a pl(ftu;je hat s‘%\ erehtgvr as many flowers and feathers and furbelows as Ler debutante grand- alilfg 2 . ; Nowhere does the make-believe young womea flourish so plent utya: . . . right here in New York. Ridc on any car, sit in any theatre, @?Pfil 1: fiflei restaurant and you may see her cn every side of you wita helm\‘vnta efd é = in with powder, her faded old cheeks painted vermilion, her acanly oli nfer brows peaciled into the proper line, her dim old eyes looking all the i‘ 1]“ R under the elaborate gold or brenze of her faise hair, her avqirdupe(?; sfio;\:‘ into the tightness of a youthiul gown, or tie bones of her scraggy nec ing under strings of jewels. | Women regard growing old as the greatest curse that can befall them, but this is only because they make it so. ; - ; All of us have known bri'liaat and beautiful young women, .but when we think of the most attractive woman we have ever known, the tenderest and the most lovable, and the one whoze charms abided with us longest, it is of some old woman with snowy hair, and peaceful eyes, wise and graciouf; in speech aad manner, and into whose presence it was a rest and a benediction to come, e ¢ It is a great art for a woman to laarn to keep young, but it is the greates art of all to learn to grow old graccfully.—New York American, M Behind Intellect Viorals Behind inteliect By the Rev. IDr. N. D. Hillis. ' 2 . . mmmemmd [ method of testinz whether a nation is waxing or waniag in : manhood is a simple method, God says that a nation piles up the clouds of a cominz storm. Not s'mply is it a sign of individual, Dwmmrmmemnd] ccclesiastical and naticnal decay for a people to emphasize things f, and forget men, but also when the scholarship of the m'i;n)d ‘z:nd SEdal nteliect is f2r ahiead of the morals of the heart an:rl con‘%c,.(,n(c. We kaow mu+3 ahout cocaine, morphine and op’um, but when | a druggist tells us that he £:.ls $3OO worth of cocaine and morp.n‘ne tq :”;')mefiré 1 every month, we would trade off half our knuwiedge of naturc for obedienc | to the laws of nature. : o L In 1849 Carlyle stcod up azd hurled thunderbolts at Enghn_d 3 econouiil system. England scoffzd at him. He said that they were ma:;mgvmcn(;mig industrial machines; that they bhad forgotiten the ne:_‘essn_y. of strcnr:-’,th-' 0 England to-day, up in those counties where Cariyle deiiverad }};a.' \}ramfi:l}g‘; Four years ago England was involved in a war. She opened enlistiag Ol“e in Birmingham and Shefic'd and lLeeds. Only one man in siX ‘v;:(l)? é):ng enough and broad enough to meet the military reqmremen.t-o. The \{ : e i tral population of England are feeblings. They have white blood corpusc instead of red. : e Parliament appointed a cemm'tiec of investigation. They returned the verdict tahat England in making colten had destroyed the mea. Thus Eng kand was destroying herse!f. In a nation where four generations ago it was | regarded as a disgrace for an Engiishman or a Scotchman to beg for bread, now 4,000,000 out of 32,000,000 siand in line for public ctarity to the pauper. In three generations more, since th 2 pocr reproduce rapidly, you will have what has happened in Ireland, and Engiand’s 4,000,000 paupers will become 16,000,000. ; ; There was a day when one cc’'cze man out of every flve went into the Christian miaistry. In this age only cne out of every 250 think of it. In this i church you haven’t a single boy in cne of your families who is pursuing a " course for the Christian ministry. i (\e‘ ’ ‘-4,‘ | 5 2 I | n O ~ Mysteries © ature. | By John Burroughs, | gr=semmmme )W does the bulb of the common lawn-lily get deeper and deeper | & into the ground each year? Why does the ginger-rcot hide its ' ‘ blossoms when nearly all other plants flaunt theirs? Why do the B /..L_J roots of trees flow through the growad like “runnels of molten iy 38 metal,” often separating and uniting again, while the branches \i‘ |55 ‘are thrusf out in right lines or‘curves? Why is our common yellow birch more often than any other tree planted upon a rock? Why do caks or chestnuts so oftea spring up where a pine or bemlock forest hes been cleared away? Whay dogs lightningz so commonly strike a hemlock tree or a pine or an oak, and rareiy or never a beech? Why does the bolt some titnes scatter the tree about, and at others only plough a chrannel down its trunk? Why does the bumble-bee complain o loudly whea working upon cert2in flowers? Why dogs the honey-bee lose thé sting when it stings a per son, while the wasp, the hornest and the bumble-hee do nct? How does the cnimney swallow get the twigs it buiids its nest with? Irom what does the hornet make its paper? : I have never been greatly interested in spiders, but I have always wanted to know how a certain spider managed to stretch her cable squarely acress the road in the woods, about my height from the ground.—Country Life in America,