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SNAKES’ HYPNOTIC POWER.
Experiments Disproving the Serpent Charm Theory.
{ i a popular belief that serpents
~V l> the power of capturing their
llll ' v ~y casting a mysterious spell
I ' I ’ e ' i . {he victims. Even scientists
!' , > seriously considered this sup
; , ed mesmeric power over birds.
L vier ascribed it to narotic
■ ili u via, Audubon to the self
firing audacity of nest birds,
Bonpland to the “instincts of curios
. , in d maternal devotion,” Russel
llace to “°P tic influences akin to
hypnotism.'* The latter theory is the
; ost generally accepted, and in the
ura i districts, both of Europe and
\orth America, bird charming snakes
; re classed with such indisputable
phenomena as fish deluding anglers.
Contemporaries of more than aver
se intelligence will describe the
j’aring eyes of a rattlesnake that
paralyzed a youngster on his way to
school and maintain that they saw it
chann down a squirrel from the top
of a walnut tree.
An opportunity was afforded me
j as l summer of discovering the snake
charm theory. The pharmacist of a
medical college had procured a num
ber of live serpents for experiments
with certain antidotes, and during
the summer vacation boarded his pets
in a suburb of Bennington, Vt. They
arrived in a moderate sized dry
goods box, and with the owner’s per
mission my neighbor transferred
them to a roomy outhouse with a
close fitting door and a wire screen
front. Through a glass window their
movements could be watched in spite
of two bundles of straw and other
aids to comfort. Cold weather leth
argized them, but on warm after
noons four or five of ten rattlesnakes
and six moccasins were generally in
motion.
Were they trying to get out? Their
conduct rather suggested a sanitary
penchant for moderate exercise and
sun baths. And there seemed no
doubt that they had a memory for
meal times. Generally revivals re
peatedly preceded the gong by a min
ute or two. The owner’s signboard,
“Dinner at 3 p. m.,” attracted rather
a surplus of sightseers, and when it
became known that our experiments
promised to solve a problem of ages,
catering, too, became superfluous;
volunteer gifts of rats and blackbirds
arrived in excess of our needs. Be
fore the summer was over our visit
ors had settled the snake charm con
troversy. Twenty-eight out of thirty
intelligent witnesses agreed that
there is no hypnotism about it.
Our first doubts were aroused by
the complacency of birds and small
mammals and their absolute indiffer
ence to the presence of their formid
able fellow captives. Within two
feet of a coiled rattler a blackbird
would alight, on the rim of the drink
ing trough and adjust the defects of
his toilet, splashing water in the very
face of the reptile that watched him
with piercing eyes. Then, after re
peated sips, he would condescend to
notice the crawler that had uncoiled
by that time, and would finally hop
, the mustard pest.
75-
• - --
How Farmers Get Rid of Plague That
Has Cost Millions.
Do results justify the tremendous
expenditure of money and effort for
adapting science to the ends of agri
culture?
ild mustard has been and is yet
the curse of the farmer’s field. The
old method of dealing with the pest
was twofold, to summer fallow, plow
and harrow the infested field for a
season, then w r hen the crop was
planted the next year, if the mustard
b HI grew, to have the children wan
der through the field plucking out
the weed by the roots.
f ihis was a waste of time and grain,
little plantlets of oats or barley
"ere trampled down or derooted for
every mustard plant pulled up. The
new scientific method is to use no
seec * that is not guaranteed. But
"-at of the field already infected?
what of fields infected by other
"eeds quite as noxious as mustard?
it was in the spring of 1908 that
the American Steel and Wire Com
pany called attention of the agricul
lUra~ expert' to a by-product of their
11011 an d steel manufactory, an iron
sulphate solution, which seemed to
-s roy weeds without injuring grain.
!le chemists of the company con
'*t ed with the agronomy experts.
1,0 il on sulphate was diluted in
water.
1!le remedy did not always act the
It was found that it would
|, 1 A ° k early in the morning during
jc dew or after a rain, for the sim
-1 - rec.son that moisture diluted it
niuc h. Finally a suitable spray
§ machine was obtained from Ger
i,ull - cud the iron sulphate was ap
-11,1(1 a hout the third w r eek in June,
A m a mustard was in the third leaf
‘ ‘ ! 1 previous to bloom, and the grain
! : l ' ts not yet high in the blade.
Ulla t was the result? The weed
r - "ilted up and burnt as if by fire.
grain blade remained a little
mckened, but unhurt, for new shoots
a '° e 011 in fresh growth.
‘ 11 many Western States the
CTO P represents a yearly yield to
. ® J arni er of from $20,000,000 to
1( ’ J ,(,(1 0,000. Half that destroyed by
msiard represented loss of ten to
u ' f, u millions.
tl l( J l!at araoun t is practically saved to
* ™* r ß’ pocket by the discovery
,1 1 K ‘ lr °n sulphate solution. Multi-
Il;( 1 ‘ at amount by the dozen or
er- VT ateS are £ oat grow
* 1 t the importance of the discov
y can be realized.—From Outing.
aside just far enough to avoid a dis
pute about bathing privileges, but
still within easy reach.
Nor had the restlessness of rats
anything to do with the dread of im
mediate danger. -They were trying
to gnaw out, but in the intervals of
such efforts were apt to run straight
into the pile of straw that formed the
favorite rendezvous of the serpents.
The snakes, indeed, were in no hurry
to abuse that confidence. When they
did get ready they scorned hypnotic
artifices. A gradual elevation of the
head, a noiseless approach with a
short halt in reach of the bird that
was picking crumbs in his feeding
corner, then a slow contraction of
coils, a snaplike dart and a leisurely
retreat as from a task accomplished.
The bird had taken wing, thoroughly
alarmed now, and fluttered about Ifhe
wire screen in the desperate hope of
finding a loophole of escape. In less
than thirty seconds the poison began
to take effect. The bird clutched at
the screen, with his head hanging
further and further back, then re
laxed his grip, dangled by one foot
for a while and came flopping down
oil thd floor. It was not dead yet,
but dazed, looking this way and that
and fluttering about in a strange,
aimless fashion, and more than once
right toward the destroyer, who at
last began to manifest an interest in
its antics. Once or twice the serpent,
coiled near the centre of the floor,
seemed strongly tempted to risk a
conclusive spring, but drew back
again, fully aware, perhaps, that a
better chance would be only a ques
tion of a moment.
The bird was still on the floor,
staggering to and fro, when a side
ward collapse marked the beginning
of the end. Its foe watched it with
lifted head. The chance had come.
No risk of a rough and tumble fight
now; the victim had ceased to flutter,
and the old rattler quickly dragged
it off to the straw pile. A full hun
dred experiments repeated this same
sequence of manoeuvres in all essen
tials.
The poison fangs of a snake have
no proper roots, but terminate in a
virus bag, and are attached to the
jaw by means of ligatures that make
them movable to the extent of erec
tion and retraction. This arrange
ment makes it difficult and rather
superfluous for the snake to secure
his victim at the first spring. The
fangs are adapted only for a snap
bite, hut their owner can afford to
bide his time. The virus that has
been known to overpower strong men
in half an hour lethargizes birds and
small mammals in half a minute.
Wherever stricken they are apt to
collapse in sight, if not in direct
reach, of their assailants, whose keen
eyes detect the slightest commotion
in the neighboring weeds, but who
would find it a very long time be
tween meals if they had to rely upon
the hypnotic power of those eyes.—
Thomas C. Hutton, in the Scientific
American.
ADVERTISING CHARITY.
Paid Appeals in Newspapers Best
Way, Says Dr. Lindsay.
At the School of Philanthropy the
other day Dr. S. M. Lindsay instructed
the students in the art of securing
popularity for the objects in which
it is interested. One way was to buy
advertising space.
•‘You have got to have the news
papers with you in any campaign,”
said he. “The platform and the pul
pit do not exert the influence they
once did. You are going to be ad
vertised in the newspapers, anyway;
it’s worth seeing to that you are ad
vertised right.
“Let me tell you how one man ad
vertised a group of social reformers.
He was a country boy, who came to
the city and made ten or twenty mil
lions by perfectly honest, straight
forward methods. He said to these
men one day: ‘Buy a certain amount
of space in the newspapers of the
district which you'wish to influence.
Present your appeal in that space,
and ask for money, votes and moral
support. You’ll get back all or near
ly all the money it costs you, you
will educate the public and you will
acquire a control over the papers.
“ ‘I dispense my advertising money
through an agent, who controls per
haps $600,000 or $1,000,000 of ad
vertising funds. Occasionally in one
of the papers in which my advertise
ment appears I see an editorial hostile
to my business. Then I drop a note
to this agent, and he writes to the
paper saying that the article in ques
tion is offensive to one of his advertis
ers, and he will appreciate it if the
publisher will refrain from further
utterance along that line. This letter
is read very carefully because it
comes from an agent that controls
$600,000 of advertising.'
“I wouldn't for a moment,” said
Dr. Lindsay, “excuse the newspaper
which paid any attention to such a
communication if it believed the busi
ness was humbugging the public. In
that case the newspaper ought to tell
the advertiser to take his advertise
ment and go. But in our case the
ftcial reformer is not working to
hun*bug the public but to benefit it,
and is entitled to all the influence he
can gain for that end.”
To influence legislatures, Dr. Lind
say thought, petitions were not “worth
the ink it took to write them.” Cir
cular letters addressed to legislators
often produced an actually hostile
effect. The only thing that really has
an effect on the hard hearted law
maker is personal appeal or a per
sonal letter. —New York Tribune.
mar rests the crom on Persia's keao.
, . ' *
MOHAMMED ALI MIRZA.
(Born June 21, 1572. Acceded January 9, 1907.)
Novel Dustpan.
A novel device recently patented by
a West Virginia woman is the unique
dustpan shown in the illustration. It
was designed with one object in view
—to overcome the objection of the
ordinary dustpan. In the latter no
provision is made for preventing the
dust and dirt from blowing off the
pan after it has been gathered. In
this improved dustpan it is impossible
for the dust and dirt to drop on the
floor. This dustpan, when closed, is
in the form of a box, one of fhe sides
of the box forming the front edge of
the dustpan when the latter is
opened. In the top of the box are
slots, through which extend the rods
of the handle. These rods are pivoted
t the front edge of the box. After
the dust and dirt have been brushed
into the dustpan the box is lifted by
the handle.
As the latter is drawn up the front
of the dustpan is drawn up, throwing
all the dust into the box, the lid ef
fectually sealing the front and pre
venting the accidental escape of the
contents in any way.—Washington
Star.
Having a Good Time.
A wholesale scorn of physical ills is
a good thing, according to the philos
ophy of a boy in the State School for
Dependent Children, who wrote his
father thus:
“Dear Papa—We children are hav
ing a good time here now. Mr. Sager
broke his leg and can’t work. We
went on a picnic and it rained and
we all got wet. Many children here
are sick with mumps. Mr. Higgins
fell off the wagon and broke his rib,
but he can work a little. The man
that is digging the deep well whipped
us boys with a buggy whip because
we threw sand in his machine, and
made black and blue marks on us.
Ernest cut his finger badly. We are
all very happy.”—The Delineator.
LEO TOLSTOY AND WIFE.
, public . PM.'..-
ate directed against the present system of “govern,
tnent by execution’’ in Russia.
Not Only Could, But Did.
Sometimes there is a drop of re
gret in the cup of joy served by fate
to the husband of a brilliant talker.
“I should think it would be a privil
ege to sit at the table with your wife
three times a day,” said one of Mrs.
Grandon’s ardent feminine admirers.
“Only twice a day,” said Mr. Gran
don, with a bow. “I do not go home
at noon.”
“Too bad!” said the admirer. “We
could not get on without her at the
club, I’m sure. Why, 1 believe she
could talk intelligently on a thousand
topics! ”
“She can —and does,” said Mr.
Grandon, and with another bow he
slipped out just as his wife appeared.
—Youth’s Companion.
Form That Fits All.
Through the ingenuity of a New
York man, shopkeepers and dress
makers will be able to get along here
after with one kind of dress form.
Long waists and short waists all look
alike on this body portion, which can
be adjusted to fit anything the human
form can wear. The form is made
similar to those now in use, except
that the model can be moved up and
down on the upright rod that runs
through the centre and affixed at any
height over the line that may be
desired. In the old-style form a
short waisted waist did not fit on a
long waisted model, and vice versa,
and both for window display and
dressmaking a number of different
forms were required each for a differ
ent type of figure. Either for fitting
or display this invention is expected
A—M.II in. I I ■Ml'———i mmmmm—————W
Can Be Changed at Will.
to be of value, both in the saving of
money and time, for not only will
one take the place of several of the
old designs, but it will not be neces
sary to scour about for the suitable
form for each occasion.—Philadel
phia Record. #
Automobiles and Roads.
A great deal has been published
in the agricultural press in regard to
the automobile monopolizing the ru
ral highways to the detriment of
country folk, for whom they were
originally intended and by whom
they are built and kept in repair and
in passable condition. As the self
propelled vehicles come into more
general use on the country roads it
is evident that we are face to face
with anew and unlooked-for prop
osition in the maintenance of our
thoroughfares in the rural districts.
Every one living, in the country,
through which the auto cars pass
with considerably frequency, has no
doubt noticed the evil effects of the
rapidly moving machines on the road
ways used and upon the crops grow
ing in the fields along the roads.
There are several good reasons for
this: The pneumatic tire and the
excessive rate of speed.
Ordinarily, the pneumatic tire on
the auto has a tread, ranging from
three to five inches, and owing to its
elasticity and resiliting it readily re
sponds to the weight of the car and
to the uneven places in the highway.
In so doing the tire is pressed close
ly to the surface of the track, there
by excluding the air, and as the car
rushes onward the partial vacum,
thus formed momentarily, causes an
inrush of air, and with it is carried
the finely powdered dust particles.
This dust is then taken up by the
wind and blows across the fields, up
on the lawns and into the very homes
of the country people. Then, there
is the velocity of the car to reckon
with. This has as much to do with
the dust nuisance as the tires. Into
the trail of the fast going vehicle
great quantities of dust are driven,
due to the “suction” produced by
the abnormal speed. The same effect
is noticed in the case of high speeded
railway trains, only here it is less
disastrous to the comfort of the rural
dwellers. However, an interurban
car along the country roads is just
as bad as an automobile for caus
ing the intolerable dust nuisance to
the farmers.
Aside to causing discomfort to the
country folk through the dust nuis
ance, the auto does great damage
to the rural highways, especially in
the dry seasons. Not only are con
siderable quantities of the road ma
terials removed in the way of the
dust stirred up by the rapidly mov
ing carriage, but lasting injury is
also worked by the skidding of the
wheels at bends in the roads as well
as throwing gravel and other road
building materials off to the side of
the road,mnd the result of the elas
tic nature of the tires and the cen
trifugal force of the swiftly revolv
ing wheels.
Automobiles are now doing more
damage to the rural roads in the dry
summer months than all the horse
drawn vehicles combined can do, in
the way of pulverizing the surfacing
materials and in aiding their remov
al via the wind and Must route.
The feature about this unpleasant
condition is that the farmers, who
are obliged by law to make, improve,
maintain and pay for the country
thoroughfares, are the ones to suffer
the most in the despoliation of what
rightfully belongs to them in the way
of service and utility. The auto
ists who thus abuse these public road
privileges do not contribute a. single
penny towards and maintenance and
improvement of the roads.
The State laws are in general too
lax in dealing with the autoists. The
license fee of a few paltry dollars is
inefficient and the enforcement of the
speed limit clause is entirely too un
common in the country, to make the
present automobile statutes benefi
cial and far reaching. The fee for
an auto license should be at least SSO
per year, and this should go to the
road building fund of the county in
which the license is obtained. At
present these fees go to the State.
Increase the fees for license and let
the local communities receive the
benefits by applying them towards
the keeping up of the public roads.
At the same time have a jail sen
tence for the scorcher and racer in
autos.
In many cases where fields are
alongside the roads, farmers have
had the value of their hay and other
crops reduced through the effect of
the dust, raised by the continual
passing of speeding autocars. Hav
ing no means of redress, these farm
ers must humbly submit to this
treatment and swallow their anger,
until such time as we shall have suit
able laws to satisfactorily control
this modern evil. —Indiana Farmer.
Struggle For Rare Coin.
A keen struggle for the possesion
of an extremely rare coin between
the Pope and King Victor Emmanuel
of Italy, both numismatists, has just
ended in favor of the former. The
Vatican collection, which consists of
some 17,000 pieces, is now the richer
by an excedeingly rare specimen: A
golden crown struck by Innocent IX.
The coin was found in a garden at
Acqui and was secured after spirited
bidding by an admirer of the Pope,
w T ho has presented it to the Vatican.
Agnostic.
The term “agnostic” was invented
by Professor Huxley about 1885 to
indicate the mental attitude of those
who withhold their assent to what
ever is incapable of proof. In regard
to the divine existence, miracles and
revelations, agnostics neither dog
matically affirm nor deny, but simp?y
say “agnosco”—l do not know- -they
are incapable of proof.—The Ameri
can.
L and j
XiLfu noifs r JM
In the French Pyrenees a quart of
milk costs four cents.
Seventy thousand Americans emi
grated to Canada in 1906.
The average yield per acre, the
world over, is only 12.7 bushels of
wheat.
The Rock of Gibraltar is honey
combed with seventy miles of tun
neling.
The railways of Hokkaido, Japan,
are now all under the control of the
General Government.
There is little more than twenty
six and three-quarter miles of rail
road for every 10,000 inhabitants.
While the tonnage of the fleet of
the great lakes is increasing the num
ber of craft is decreasing, owing to
the greater capacity of the newer
boats.
Denmark’s tobacco crop amounts
to only about 100,000 pounds a year.
The cigars manufactured in that
country are made from Brazilian and
Java tobacco.
In Australia, trapping rabbits and
preparing them for export affords re
munerative wages for a number of
men and boys at a time when agri
cultural operations are dull.
Systematic investigations of the
Philippine Islands reveals the fact
that the group consists of 2600 isl
ands, while before the American oc
cupation the number was estimated
at 1200.
The death of the oldest cat in Ken
tucky is reported. His name was
Whitcomb Riley, he belonged to R^ - .
L. E. Campbell, of Bowling GreeV
and he died in the twenty-secon\
year of his age.
Saulte Ste.
the season of 1907 reached a grancP
total of 57,217,214 tons, which shows
a net increase of twelve per cent., or
6,466,134 tons, as compared with
that of the season of 1906.
Eighty-one years old and never a
toothache and never a tooth lost—
that is, since he lost his baby teeth!
This man is Captain William Dix, of
West Tremont, Me., hale and hearty,
who reads without glasses.
Thomas Kelly, of Ballygawley, Ty
rone, Ireland, who at 107 climbed a
ladder and repaired his own roof, ac
cording to the London papers, is the
latest centenarian to give to the
world his recipe for old age, which is
made up of “plain food, early rising
and hard work, a sparing use of al
and hard work and plenty of fresh
mountain air.”
Everything as It Should Be
I3y THOMAS L. MASSON.
“I have a question to ask you.”
The proud, intellectual beauty
looked intently in the face of the
young man who had sworn to love
her forever. “We are in such perfect
sympathy,” she said, “that it is hardly
worth while to refer to a slight de
tail, and yet, as a mere formality,
the matter would better be referred
to, now that we are about to be mar
ried, and the long evenings are ahead
of us—evenings during which we
can discuss the manifold questions
of the day.”
He smiled brightly. “I’m only too
delighted, dear,” he replied, “to sat
isfy your curiosity. Pray proceed.”
Smiling lightly, she said, “Very
well, then. This is the question to
which I am sure you must have given
earnest and prayerful thought. In
which, among all of Ibsen’s plays,
do you consider the great master
reached the height of his genius?”
“Do you wish to know my real
opinion?”
“I do.”
Lowering his voice, he said, “Dar
ling, the Ibsen cult makes me very
weary. He never wrote anything
that can be remotely considered a
work of genius. He is a freak.
There’s nothing in him. I ”
“Do you really mean that?” She
strained him to her heart.
“I do, indeed. Does it please
you?”
And she replied, “Ah! I cannot
tell how much. I was afraid you
might appreciate Tiim even in a re
mote wav. And I knew if you did
you might rudely break in at times
on my contemplation of his immen
sity. Now* nothing can happen to
draw us apart.”—From Judge.
Seating Capacity of Theatres.
“A Paris journalist,” says the Ber
liner Tageblatt, “has devoted his en
ergies toward perfecting statistics to
show where the theatre is most pop
ular. His figures show that —which
is no surprise—the land of unbound
ed possibilities comes first. In New
York, the American metropolis, the
theatres have a seating capacity of
123,795. Then comes London, with
120,950, and Paris takes third place,
with 83,331. The statistician never
gave Berlin a thought, it would seem,
believing that Berlin is an unim
portant theatre town.”