The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-12-31
] Shorthand Skill.

At the National shorthand Teachers
Association, held III Cincinnati q few
days ago. Fred ireland, official stono.
f grapher Of tho United stntos House Of
4 Representatives. wrote OIL blackboard,
from dletntlon, quotations from tho Cons
grcsslonn Record at tho ratio or 253 words
per mlnutel And, what Is more, he jaftcr-
wards read the matter without All error
In less than so seconds! ILLS sped amazed
the convention" we nre told. and Bonn
Pitman, father Of shorthand III Amer
ica," praised Mr. 1relnnd's work. which.
Indeed, was wonderful.
There arc thousands Of shorthand
writer's In tlls country, but worry fow
Of them can attain such speed as thnt OK.
hibitcd by Fred ireland. His, exploit
speaks wonders for tho nlertness Of his
mind, his skill III shortening signs anil
his s,ipploness OF hand. But his acfIcve-
,nent not only was In rapid ''writing'
but In the accuracy and facility With
which lie read his notes. All In vain
is It FOR man to writo fast" II he can
not readily read what he has written.
10 be first class shorthand writer. one
must not only write quickly, but must
do tho writing so that it will be legiblc--
to himself at least--so thnt lie may
transcrlbe his notes correctly and easily.
1t IS glvon to few persons to be tie
marvel in shorthand writing that Mr..
ireland Is, but the art is not difficult
one to learn. thougt'it requires intelis
gence, patience ,and practice-practice in
reading ana writing.
widely and closely. Tho young steno-
grapher who is not willing to do great
deal Of reading In order to familiarzc
himself or herself with words and phrases
need not expect to become an expert.
Comparatively fow are willing thus to
qualify themselves, and hence 1t Is that
experts are scarce, though so-callcd
shorthand writer's arc to be numbered by
thousands Far. be It from us to dis
courage any Industrious ana capable per-
son who is learning this business; wo
feel that we are doing beginners a service
In pointing QUITO thcm that to win great
success, they must acquire great skill.
=--.-..-.. g. :. -. = =
The Oyster and Other Things.
a protest has been raised by Rear-Ad-
mlral French T.. Chadwick, Of the United
states navy, and others arc Joining With
him, against the ovor cultivated oyster Of
the North. 1t seems that somo OF the
oyster planters OF that section have been
putting their oysters into frcsl, water to
"fnttcn," as they term It. In this way
tho planters draw off the natural Juices
by the chemical process osmosis, and SUBJ
stitute therefor quantity OF wator,
which puffs the oyster up and makes
B It look white and fat; but robs 1t OF its
natural flavor. Such a process Is an In
suit tonature, and an affront to one
OF naturo's most delicious products.
Everybody who knows anything about
1t at all knows that tho oyster is sweetest
and best when served on the half shell
and favored with Its natural juices. A
quantity Of oysters taken from tho shell
and dumped into 4 plate change tfoir
taste most percepllbly to the con
noisso,ir, and are MS different rs guam
tity Of ripe fruit in tho tropics differs
from tho same fruit plucked green and
brought north to rlpen off the tree, Per-
sons who eat raw oysters served with
horscradlsh, tomato cats,,p or Worcester
shire sauce do not appreciate this differ.
once, for with such strong flavors one
meat il an good, or as bad, MS another,
But those who have acquired a tastc
for the natural oyster with Its own flavor
know the difference full we'll.
Nature may be assisted by natural pro-
cessca but by OVERRIDING III emntter We
lose In one direction far more than we
gain IN another. Somebody has humor-
ously remarked that the people in the
South have spoiled their negroes and tholr
Strawberries by c,lltivntng thom, we arc
not supposed to discuss tho negro feature
| or the question IN ms conhection, put
those of us who are old enough remembc,
| the old-fashioned strawberry, which was
| small, but compact and Fat" rosy-check
cd ana juicy. 1t was doubtless of this
berry tho remark was made that 'Tht
good Lord might have made n better
berry than tile strawberry, but he novo
did" since then wo have Strawberries
OF larger variety, hut they arc pith!
and frequently inslpld, and no moro t.
be compared to the odiginal than tn
modern, now-fangled, soft-hnnded negro i
to be compared 10 the stnlwart African
Of ante-bcllum days.
--=-S-s--z----s =ya=--s.==z- r--r-=
A Hint to the Legislature.
'"rho General Assembly did not trans
act any business to-day. Neither brancl
Ia! a quorum, and 1t will be surprs,
| ~ 80 ,bnro "a oh