The morning call., 1893-05-07
THEOUERY COLUMN
Facts About the Electoral
Vote.
CORK OAK AND CORK CUTTING.
When Oatmeal Was Used in England.
Gray Parrots as Talkers-Popuiar
Names of Cities.

ELECTORAL VoTE-P. c., City. In the
convention Of 1877 there was diversity of
opinion regarding the mode of electing the
President of the United States. The ma
jority during the greater part OF the time
favored his election by Congress. Other
plans were for an election by the Governors
of the various States. by general popular
vote, by secondary electors chosen by elec-
tors-the last to be chosen by popular vote.
The systeDl finally adopted is to be found in
the constitution, article II, section l. The
twelfth amendment, which changed the
mode to its present form, WAS proposed at
the first session of the Eighth Congress and
went Into operation in 1904 The electors of
each State are TO be appointed "in such
manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct" The power thus given is
not limited TO appointment by a
popular vote, but includes any manner
whatever. and accordingly, in the earlier
days of the Government, the electors in
many States were chosen by the Legislature
of each of these States, practice followed
in South Carolina until 1868. Colorado's
electors were so chosen in 1876. In Marcel,
1872, Congress fixed the first "Wednesday in
December as the day on which the Presiden-
tial electors were to meet, aud they were to
be elected within the thirty-four days pre-
cediDg. This act required the electurs to
prepare three certificates of their votes,
these to be certified TO by the Governor OF
the State Two were to be sent to the
President of the Senate at the Capitol, one
by mail and one by special messenger, while
the third was to be placed in the hands of the
Federal Judge OF the district in which the
electors voted. If neither the former
reached their destination by the first
Wednesday in January a special messenger
was 10 be sent to the Judge to obtain the
third. On the second Wednesday in Feb
ruary the President Of the Senate was to
open and count the votes. In January.
1916, an act was passed fixing the Tuesday
after the first Monday OF November as the
day on which the electors were to be ap-
pointed. 1t had not heretofore been required
that these appointments be made on the
same day throughout the country. II also
gave TO tile States authority to provide for
leges and to provide for cases in
which the first elections did not result
in a choice. The constitution provides
for count of the votes Dy the President OF
the Senate in the presence of the two
houses OF Congress, and this was during
the earlier years of the Government
adhered 10. Gradually Entertainments on
the authority Of the President of the Senate
led to the present condition in which the
votes are canvassed and passed upon by the
ubh'S's bitJ assuming bi6 IUhcI W dCCtpb
or reject any returns. Electoral College is
the name given to the Presidential electors
OF State when cGnvened for the par, oSe
of casting their vote for President and
Vlce-PreslGent. The term came into use in
1921, but was not officially used until il ap-
peared in the law of January %, 1S45
CORK TREES AND CoRKs-M. c., CITY,
The cork tree or cork oak is native of the
south of Europe and the north Of Africa
The great supply of c0rks comes from
Spain and Portugal. The bark in trees or
branches acquires fungous appearance.
new layers Of cellular tissue being formed
and the outer parts cracking from disten-
sion until they are finally thrown off in large
flakes, when new formation Of the same
kind takes place. The tree has two barks,
the outer one being the one that is stripped
for use. The cork increases In value as il
is soft and velvety. The cork that Is in
tended for the markets Of the world is gen.
orally stripped off year or two before it
would naturally come of, and the process
Is repeated at intervals of eight or ten
years. The bark oil young trees and
branches is of an inferior quality
and Is used only for floats aad nets and the
Ike. The removal of the corr does not i'm
ply the removal of the whole bark OF the
tree. but only the external layers of spongy
tissue. all the greater part of which has
ceased TO have any true vitality, and has
become an incumbrance to the tree So
far from being an injury to the tree 1t is,
| when properly done, O benefit, for il pro-
notes the growth OF the tree, which con-
tinues to yield crops of cork for $50 years.
When the outer bark is stripped the inner
bark appears blood red. Ii this inner bark
Is split or Injured the tree dies. Generally
when the tree is about or 10 years old the
outer bark for about two feet above the
ground is removed. About ten years after,
the outer bark having grown In again, the
tree Is stripped again, this time four feet from
the ground. After that 1t is stripped every
ten years, each time two feet higher up, un.