The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-07-12
Most Vegetables Raised
From Imported Seed.
Why the Noble Red Man Never
INDUCES in Laughter.
Blue Grass That Is Really Blue-At-
tempt to Make Diamonds.

Most people who sit down TO thelr ulh-
ner table are accustomed TO regard large
part Of the chinaware silverware, and
table linen before them as of foreign
make, but it seldom occurs to them that
many OF the vegetables placed on the table
are also of foreign extraction. 1t does not
often happen that the vegetables them
selves were brought from without the
country, but in majority of cases the
seed from which they were raised were lm-
ported from France, Germany, England or
Denmark. Nearly all OF the asparagus
seed sold by the seedsmen in this country
come from France.
Beet seed generally are from France and
Germany. half tine cabbage seed come
from France aud the other half from Ger
many All the best cauliilowcr seed
come from Denmark. Half the celery seed
on the market are from France France and
Germany furnish about all The carrot
parspip, parsley. radish, rhubarb, satisfy,
spinach and turnip seed. The United
States is able to furnish the market with
seed for beans. about half the cabbage
seed, the chief varieties of cauliilower,
some celery. all the sweet corn, cucumber,
egg plant, leek. lettuce. muskmelon, wa
tsrmelon, onion, pumpkin, squash, tomato,
tobacco and seed for field crops Nearly
oil the flower seed sold in this country Is
and flower seed is chiefly for the reason
that they can be brought into the country
cheaper than they can be raised here
though i'm some cases it is claimed that
the foreign seeds give better results
The American Indian is by nature
stole. Laughter is something no does
not indulge in because he considers 10
shocking TO his dignity. There Is little In
the life he has led TO cause him TO laugh.
He understands "a joke that Is made at
the expense OF an individual and that is
all. He indulges somewhat IN sarcasm,
and that might pass as wit in more civil
lied society, but the attempt TO make
him out born humorist.is very wide OF
the mark. 1t is impossible for anyone TO
think even Of funny Indian. He do.
lights in copious draughts OF firewater.
and will drink hi mseif into helpless
state Of intoxioation, but eveu when in
his cups he Is not funny. He does not
appear among the favorite topics for fun.
among the comic writer's and picture
makers. The reason for 1t all is clear.
The Indian, is the embodiment of cruelty
which Is never connected in the remotcst
manner, with what We understand as
bunor. For ages he has cultivated the
suppression of his emotions. until he has
reached the state of insensibility. Grief
Is likewise unknown among the Indians
Their mourning Is done by the women.
The Indian warrior as supposed To neither
weep nor laugh. His joy is expressed in
war songs. reciting his conquest in battle
and the amount Of game he has slaugh-
tered. Brutality is the keynote OF his char
acter, and IL there ever was any original
humor in him it has long since disap-
peared. Association with the whites may
be changing him, but it will be long
time before he either laughs or labors like
n white man.
One of the standing jokes OF the blue
grass region of Kentucky Is that the
blue grass Is green. People who visit the
famous ricn grazing country are often the
subject Of jokes when they want the blue
grass pointed out TO them. But there is
blue grass that is ms blue as q cloudless
sky on a summer day. 1t is a native of
the Apache country. 1t can be found all
through New Mexico and in some OF the
adjoining states. 1t is known as the
Apache blue grass, and has broad spear
and grows couple of feet in height A
field covered with il looks like a lake in
which has been dumped n barrel Of indigo.
1t is said TO be one OF the most beautiful
sights in the southwest to view great
fields Of blue grass, dotted here and the re
with flowers. Especial attention has been
given to the cultivation Of "A patch of the
grass at the department of agriculture at
Washington. where IL grows luxuriantly.
and is one of the interesting sights TO all
visitors to the grounds of the depart
ment
Many ambitious alchemists have spent
time and money in the effort To produce
diamonds but only one has had the cour.
age TO come before an audience and show
how IL could be done. Prof. Crooke lee.
tured at the Royal Institute at London on
diamonds After an exhaustive talk on
their origin he said. "And now ] will
make a diamond. He gave instructions
TO his assistants, and il seemed to be the
easiest thing in the world. What you
have TO do he explained, is 10 liquefy
carbon and then compress IL and there are
your diamonds. So he placed some pure
iron in crucible with little charcoal
for sugar. and put the crucible in an
electric furnace The highest temperature
which scientists can measure is 1900 de-
grees, which is eighty times hotter than
sweltering summers day. In that cruci-
BILE the heat was beyond the limit of
accurate measurement. The switch was
turned, binding flash OF light filed the
room. the apparatus became Kissing
splitting caldron. The attendants wore
blue spectacies and gloves. Ladies put
up their lans 10 protect their eyes from