Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-12-28
The Sun Shines Warmly, the Birds
Sing, and Tree Buds Are Ready
To Burst Forth.
NOTHING LIKE IT IN YEARS.
Pleasant for the Time Being and
Keeps Down Coal Bills at a
Very 0pportune Time.
But Hearts of Ear mers and Orchards
lists Are FiIl,d With Fear Con.
corning tho Ouflook,

Good old motherly Dame Nature
and President Roosevelt seem to be
in competition this year to see who
can break the most presidents. Just
as the politicians have given up all
hope OF forecasting what the prssi-
dent will do. so thu scholars Of the
book OF nature seem lost In their ef-
fort to translate December texts,
For instance the daily predictions
of probable snow that Prof. Hyatt
has been handing out for a couple of
weeks. don't mean Just the same az
they did when the snow used to come
iiocklng down like fleece in shearing
season, whenever he hung UP his
sign asking for 1t.
And now tho wsather-wise Of HUI
man kind are feeling sympathy with
other children OF nature. for the
Gouble-crosslng Is not confined to the
weather man and the miserable hui
man who bought a supply OF winter
underwear Tho good mother Is play
ing the role OF tho porter who woke
the man In lower Is TO tell him 1t was
quarter past one. when the maj, had
requested that no be called at 3
o'clock.
TREES ARE BUDDING.
The trees are astir these days, with
hope of spring. and It Is not yet
the middle OF winter. Go into the
fields, and you Will find the new
green below the frosted brown OF the
last warm weather's growth. Look at
the shrubbery out on your lawn, and
you Will find tho buds swelling with
a pride that belongs TO April. Even
the birds are fooled, for the spring
time twitter Is in the air. despite tho
seas OF mud underfoot where winter
lies temporarily crushed and the
| proud snow nantes OF yesterday
squat down into melting slush. The
trouble Is overhead where tho warmth
| OF summer sun Is coaxing the birds
out of retirement and the blossoms
| to unfold.
THE FROST DANGER
There is a practical side to tho stu.
| alton, and one that presents an i'm
mediate danger. Tho iife OF the tree
buds and flower buds is now protect
ed by little corky casing that forms
through tho fall. Once the new life
forces It's way through that, 1t liz prey
| to the froste and snow. and no one
has yet begun to hope that this sud-
den friondliness of nature really be-
tokens permanent spring. The fear
Is rapidly growing that II ths warm
spell continues another week, II will
result In vast damage to hortioui-
tural interests everywhere. in that tho
sprins crop OF buds will be destroyed.
NO ICE SKATING
Ask MelIen the skating man what
he thinks of the present thaw, That
is. ask him IL you want to hear his
choicest brand OF explosives to ex-
press an unkindly feeling towards the
fates.
Here is what Mellen did. He basked
In the good graces of the long winter
last year, gathering IN quarters and
half dollars from young lovers who
would skate their way into the aztec
tons OF their favorites or who skatcd
for tho opportunity 1t gave to hold
hands with good excuse.
WHAT HAPPENED.
This year he wanted to make morn
money, and when the cold snap came q
month ago, no was Just starting Ia
work on new ponds near Tenth South
on State street. Just north OF the Heath
ponds. AS the temperature fell tc
near zero, he caught the Infection
shifted big Income, and rushed men,
scrapers and teams TO his land. The
snow fell over the frozen land. hui
this only made him put on more teams
and more mon, and they worked
through every kind Of weather. Their
came the erection OF tho lumber head
quarters and the bridge to tho ca
track. These structures were put up In
the most severe kind OF weather and
under great difficulties that would MOI
have been encountered had tho fol
gone forward more slowly. But tn,
fear OF losing good business spurrec
him on.
WOULDN'T FREEZE.
Finally he was ready. The peopl,
who watched the work by day, ant
thought OF tho freezing weather b,
night wondered when the ponds woulC
, be flooded, and II they would be read,
for the holiday skating. which make
the big bulk OF the gate receipts. r.
{ dint OF the hardest kind of work, tn,
! ponds were flooded, and the gravel ap
proaches built.
Then came the thaw. The water ha,
rippled back and forth IN the warn
! southern winds since then, the grave
Z has sunk In tho soft mud bottom be
. low II "a the earth has lost more an
9 more OF its frost, and the holiday sea
!, son is fast rushing along 70 the da,
. when tho children will be back 4
school with the attendant vanishing O
Christmas chances To hold hands o.
skates, at two bits per, with quartz
extra for supernumerary lady. TIL
, business chance turned out TO be onl
! n gamble with nature, and the leas
: she can do 20 square things on lowe
2 state street will be 10 clamp down tn
!, mercury 10 zero for whole month be
h ginning on January resolutions day
The years end thaw is new to Sa
Lake. 1t has come sometimes In De
cember early. and IL Is always followe
by another thaw in January, that bs
IS tokens the breaking Of winters bach
:, bone. II the January thaw follow
J; upon the heels Of the present uncallc
d FOR streak OF warm weather, this wir
ter will turn out TO be a poor one Z,
water. as the mountain SHOWS will M
pack hard enough to last through n