The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-11-17
A Cat That Pays for Its
Board and Lodging.
Gathers Nuts and Works a
Churn With Great Success.
A New Kind Of Fruit That Italian
Vendors are Now Selling.

Hereabouts the cat is looked upon rs
valuable chiefly for its rat and mice kill
in9 accomplishments. AT times also a
particularly fine specimen may win a
prize In feline show; but aside from
this the cat has never been regarded as
OF any value. Miss Angie Eddes. who
lives nesr stockton, CAL, has demon
strated thnt the cat may be made valuable
as an assistant to its owner. Bildad is the
name Miss Eddes has given her feline
assistani,and 1t has its home on the small
ranch whi ch Miss Eddes owns and
manages, as her father, being a cipple, is
unable TO perform much, il any, manual
aaor. Among otner sources of revenue
Miss Angie has a dozen fine bearing al
mond treesthat bring in no inconsiders ble
amount, and Bildad is invaluable to her
ing in falling tirre Miss Angie sets large
basket oct IN the orchard and Bi.dad
begins work frisking back and forth un-
der the trees, picking up the plump
brown nuts, never ceasing till the basket
Is full, when he goes in, letting his mis-
tress know by pulling at her apron, that
he needs ter help. Aside from thus re-
lieving Miss Angie OF all the trouble of
gathering the nuts Biidsd's services are
called into requisition to protect them
from rats which, otherwise, would begin
TO ravage the trees as soon as the young
almonds show evidences of msturity.
Among Bildad's other accom- plishments
is that OF churning, In when he has De-
come very expert. Old MIR. Eddes, who
has quite an Inventive faculty, has manu-
fsctured little cburn, with unique,
light-runniug trescle, upon which Bidad
mounts, and tresos away with the most
praisaworthy industry till the work is
done. So expert has the cat become that
be can tell by the sound OF the m ilk
when the butter has come. and strikes
with h1s paw on little bell, which IL at
tach,d d 10 the churn 10 let hi, mistress
know. In the midst of all this industry
Bildsd finds time for as much fun and
frolic as the average cat, aud Ia source
OF great amusement and pleasure to the
old man Ehdes, relieving bin of many
could be fornd than the cid man, Miss
Angie and Bildad.
gentleman, who knows whereof he
speakP, says That some Of the Italian
fruit vendsrs WHO trundle carts through
the strests are Offering for sale what they
csll the priokly Mes ina pear. 1t has q
leathery pale yellow rlnd, studded with
black its in regular diamond pattern.
In shspe and general aspect it is not un-
ike pineapple that has been shaved,
md 1t is apparently humble mem Der of
the citron family. The peddler will
whip OF it's jacket for you with two
doxtrous turns of his KNIFE, revealing a
deep red ruipy mass that is fairly swarm
ing with seeds. The flavor resem bles a
Jaw-paw, bot Is even less pronounced. II
IS pretty innocuous eating. and wnen il
s accompanied with the certain prospect
hat tho invisible prickles of the skin
will cause the hands to tingle twenty
our hours after you have forgotten all |
bout the taste OF the fruit. You wonder
vhv such poor stuff is protected by so
orbidding an exterior. There is nothing
nnocuous about the sting.