The times., 1901-06-12
LIVE TOPICS ABOUT TOWN.


stilts. Almost everybody who has studied
| geography Is familiar with the pictures
OF South American and African native
| houses built upon poles and perched up
twenty or more feet from the ground. in
order that the occupaafs may be safe
from the attacks of wild beasts. and from
| the sudden rising of the water in the
rivers. These houses are entered by
means of ladders which are drawn up at
night or in time of danger
On Nichols Avenue, Anacostia, just be-
| low the insane asylum reservation, is a
colony Of houses built upon a plan simi-
lar to this. The little frame buildings rest
upon piers of brick some Of them twenty
| five feet high. The road facing which
they are built runs along the ridge of a
hill, and the ground falls away on both
sides so abruptly that it might almost be
called precipitous. But ground facing a
much used thoroughfare Is valuable, and
I the enterprising real estate agent has hit
upon the silt system of architecture
which avoids a hlling-in process that
would be almost prohiDtuvely expensive.
There are probably twenty houses along
the north side of the road built in this
way and from any point Of view they
appear exceedingly strange. Looked at
from the road they seem to be rising
out from the top of trees; looked at from
the valley they seem to be clinging to
lie SiQG OF the CtlH ana 10 De Just about
ready to drop of into space. The method
of construction seems to have proved a
safe one, for some of the houses look a
score of years old at least 1t is EVIDENT
ly a popular style, for there are several
new buildings on stills being erected this
season.
'Hurrah for commencement time, say
7" was the emphatic manner in which
well-known florist, a few days ago. ex-
pressed his opinion Of this season of the
year. Il say so because that is the
time when the florist really makes money.
You may talk of Easter time and of
Christmas and of almost any other time.
but none of them can hold candle to
commencement time. The flowers that
are sold to friends of graduates, in the
first place, are Of the most expensive kind.
I venture 10 say that the roses and other
frst-class flowers that have gone out Of
my store during the last few weeks are
worth a hundred times more than all
those sold about Easter time. And they
brought me in more, because roses are
the blooming flower just now, and are not
so expensive to get nor so difficult to keep.
The price is not so very much lower, for
to cut the price Of American Beauties
would be TO cheaper them In the eyes OF
tho purchaser. So I sell them at almost
the same price I did at Easter time, and
pay much less for them the flowers that
are in demand at commencement time are
much the more durable and lasting, and We
do not suffer the loss that we are liable 10
suffer at Easter time and Christmas tide
At Easter and Christmas we have TO get
in large quantities all a once. which OF
course means a risk ii We do not sell all
The demand for flowers during commence
ment time is steady and we can calculate
that Just so many roses and so many
peonies will fill the bill There are lots
sold for decOTat ton, but those do not count
so much as those sold for presentation
One Of the drawbacks to the Easter trade
is the fact that the flowers are sold to
churches in large quantities, practically
at wholesale. and therefore our profit is
not so great as It might be otherwise.
The festive commencement time is the
great time for US"
A colored settlement in Montgomery
County, Md. is much disturbed by a
threatened law suit over fowl. Upon
the gender of the fowl depends the issue
Of the case. A lawyer of the county has
been called in by one of those interested
and he is resolved TO press the case to
decision The case has peculiar features,
and it is doubtfulif the judge before whom
it is tried be he ever 50 learned, can ind
a precedent upon which to base his YER
dict. The fowl is a goose-but the ques-
tion is. Is il goose The plaintiff says 1t
is, and the defendant says it IS not. Min
ME jackson declares that Ethel DumOnt
has in her possession one goose belonging
to the plaintiff She declares that the de-
fendant has had the goose for some time,
and she wants TO have IL returned, to-
ge:her with the sum of 80 cents for the
eggs which the said goose has laid while
in the possession of the defendant. The
plaintiff is willing to compromise and take
81 for both goose and the eggs IT has laid.
Ethel Dumont the defendant, denies
the charges in toto. She says that the
fowl in her possession does not belong
an al hplnnn niQintin
she AYERS in support of this statement the
fact that the fowl is not of the eSg-iay-
ing kind. but Is merely a homely old
gander. Nearly all the lawyers Of the |
county and all the amateur lawyers who |
gather at the cross roads grocery are at |
tempting to unravel the intricacies OF |
the case.
Not many people are aware that the !
public dump behind the old Observatory !
grounds is located on an historic spot, |
and is likely TO cover over one Of the most /
noted landmarks of Maryland colonial |
days. Half concealed by the water and |
almost covered by rubbish is a large rock !
which has been known for over a century |
as Braddocks Rock. Upon it General !
Rraddock is supposed TO have made his
landing when he crossed the Potomac in /
1854, making his way toward Fort Du- |
Quesne. He had set out from jamestown |
and with young George Washington in !
his army was advancing to the French |
stronghold. His route through Virginia
is pretty well located, and it is known
that he made his first camp on the north
side Of the river about the place now
called KaiOrama Heights. having crossed
the Potomac about the middle of the day. |
The tradition of the rock has been pre-
served by the people who live near il,
and some effort is now being made to !
sa ,e IL from complete Obliteration. The
patriotic societies are attempting to have |
the dump restricted in such way that
The Clergy like It.-Here are few
names Of clergymen OF different creeds who
firm believers in Dr. Agnew's Catarrhal Powder
to ''live up to the preaching in all it claims:
Bishop Sweatman Rev DR.. LangtTy Episco-
uaIianl. Roy nr. MithroM and Rev DE-. Cham |