Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-21

nations artistic development.
WHERE FOLKS EAT CORN.
The Favorlte Food of Southern People
and How They Live Upon 1t.
"One reason why spend my summers in the
south is that things are so much cheaper down
there" said a Washington lady to a writer for
The STAR the other day. Last season spent
in delightful Virginia valley, where I rented
little house for myself and family at almost
nothing month, and supplied myself with
necessaries from what the natives had
to sell. Being 10 miles from rail-
way was an Inconvenience; but thanks
to this very fact, there being no mar
ket within reach, was able to buy a dozen
plump spring chickens for S125, and other
edibles at proportiOnate prices. have found
it so all over the south, where the people have
no ready way Of disposing of their produce,
| and little money goes astonishingly far. For
| instance, last summer paid II cents a pound
for the finest butter. COOKING butter was only
to 10 cents pound; used no lard, because
butter was cheaper. Eggs were 10 cents a
| dozen and vegetables and fruits cost hardly
anything.
Having been born in New England can
not get over my amazement at the extravagant
fondness people in the south exhibit for corn
| In every shape. In Massachusetts no one ever
thinks of eating corn bread; they do not know
how to cook it there and they would not like
IL if they did Down south, on the other
hand every one must have corn bread three
| times day every day in the week. Also what
seems to me a horrible mess of corn meal
boiled into 'mush' and eaten in that shape
| mnst appear on the table twice each day and ia
consumed in large quantities by every
body Besides there are many ex-
trna - IA
unfamiliar to the inhabitants of the eastern
| states, where beans and brown bread go so far
| to satisfy corresponding appetites. The eating
| of corn seems fairly to be race habit. In
| Germany and in Europe generally it is not con-
| sidered fit food for human beings, and yet
| political economists say that the condition of
hundreds OF millions of poor people over there
would be vastly improved if they could only be
! taught to like the vegetable. Efforts in that
| direction have been made. but in vain. Ger
| send to southern folks. 1t is the cheapest food
! in the world, with the exception of beans and
| peas.
WHITE CORN MEAL.
SIN the south every one eats white corn
meal in preference to yellow. Northern peo-
| ple even in the middle states. do not like the
white meal as rule, and almost always make
I their corn bread of yellow meal. This is be-
! cause they do not get white meal fresh when
| they buy it, Ii they could go TO n mill near
/ by as is done in the SOUTH and get their white
meal ground within twenty-four hours, at
! most forty-eight hours, they would realize
| how much better than the yellow meal it is,
! But the white meal will not keep at all and
loses its quality within five or SIX days
eff things to eat are cheaper in the south
| than In Washington, such necessares of life
are considerable more costly in Boston than
they are here. Marketing in general is much
dearer there. For example. the best cut from
| the tender part of the round costs at most Is
cents pound in Washington, while in Boston
| the price is 25 cents.
Speaking of corn reminds me OF very
charming Young woman from Virginia who
| made me fortnights visit here this spring.
used to have lots of such things as / thought
| people where she lived liked, but evidently she
| sighed for her accustomed home diet. At all
events she CHANGED to be not very well during the
latter part of her stay at my house, and when
l asked her if could provide anything for her
| that she was especially fond of, she replied
| that she rather craved the 'delicacies with
which her grandmother provided her at home. ;
But of course, she added, she could not expect
| to find them i'll Washington.
"'Such delicacies what do you mean?'
asked somewhat wonderingly.
"'Well, such as ash cake, for instance. One
makes up corn meal into cone shape of dough
with water and salt. Then the cone is wrapped
in a cabbage leaf and put into the hot ashes Of
an open fire to cook. Oh, it is so goodp"
Strength of the Limpet.
Some interesting results of naturalist's in
quiries are sent to the London Daily Ne,cs by
Mr.. J. Lawrence Hamilton, NJ R. C.S., Brighton
who says that, in proportion to its size, the
limpet is probably the strongest of known ami
mails, excepting the Mediterranean Venus ver-
rucosa, a cockle-like creature. which pulls 2,07l
of its shell. "At FoIkestone. by
means of accurate appliances" says Mr. Law
renee Hamilton, II found that the common
seashore limpet which. deprived of its shell,
weighed a minute fraction less than half an
ounce required, when pulled according to its
plane of adhesion force exceeding 62 pounds
to remove it from its powerful grip upon the
local httoral low tide rock, or upward OF LISA
times its own dead weight. The superficial
area Of the base of this individual
limpet measured "a square inches
Taking the atmospheric pressure at
l4.7 pounds to the square inch, this would even
only account for 35.23 pounds, or little more
than half the power exercised in the air by this
jects in the water, would. OF course, have
pulled much greater weight than that Of Ga
pounds Thus, in the air, limpet pulled up
TO 81 pounds but subsequently, In spite of its
previous fatigue when covered by the incom-
ing tide, it then took upward OF "a pounds to
remove 1t. l doubt whether the limpets adj
hesive force has anything to do with the ques-
ton OF atmospheric pressure. In other ex-
perments even bits OF rock came away stick
ing to the limpet's embrace"
The End of a Bad Affair.
A case in which John L. Sullivan figured
was ended in the superior court at Boston
Thursday. Tom Kelley, who drew q razor
across Tom Shea's throat in q row over