davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17
Romance Of a Sweet Pea

The parent of nearly all the most beauti-
full varieties of the American sweet pea is
the Blanche Ferry. which has pretty 70
mancie connected with its discovery. Some
fifty years ago. the comedy daughter OF a
well-to-do farmer ran away from home to
marry young quarryman. and her home
thereafter was always In cottage. often
but q. mere hut, on the very thin soil over
lying the limestone lodges where her hus-
band worked When her baby died she
went back to her fathers farm to bury 81
and took With her on returning to her cot
tage some seed of a white sweet pea and
seed OF the old Painted Lady pink
Thereafter, however great her poverty.
she never failed to grow near her cottage
home some of these sweat peas. as a re-
minder of her happy girihood and her dead
baby They were always grown on thin,
poor soil. often so thin that they could only
be kept alive by constant attention and
watering. AS a result of such environment
for many plant generations the flowers
acquired dwarf growth and a great album
dance of bright colors. Some twenty-five
years after the baby died a seedEsmau.
passing the little home of the mother, no.
ticed the beauty Of the sweet peas and OBJ
tained a teaspoeuful OF the seed This he
multiplied into thousands OF pounds and
sold as seed OF the Blanche Ferry variety,
which is now famous throughout the world
for it's beauty and the many beautiful varie-
ties 1t has produced
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

In the growing Of healthy, even rows where
irregular ones formerly sprung up year
after year, is that part Of the seed OF
each plant Ia unhealthy and should De
thrown away. Each tobacco plant produces
about a half billion seeds, each capable OF
producing a plant Two-thirds OF these
seeds are large, the remaining third small.
The large ones produce vigorous. uniform
plants while the small ones proauce not
only uneven rows but tobacco that is sus-
ceptible to the dread disease known as
calico or mosaic" From this the plants
from the large seeds seem to be immune.
The next step was to invent machlne
which would separate the good from the
bad seed and this has now been done;
device in which a foot bellows blows the
small seed out of the top of cylinder that
retains the large seed being the result.
Lecturing Tour in Train and Boat.
To put these new discoveries before the
tobacco growers an ingenious educational
crusade has been inaugurated. A. d. ShaInel
and w. w Cooley, experts in charge OF the
breeding experiments, have been touring
parts of the tobacco belt In special trains
and boats after advertising their coming
some days ahead. The first train OF the
kind ever run carried them through the to-
bacco region of southern Maryland this win
ter, the tour being made under the direction
Of VIM. l.. Ames. director OF the farmers
institute of that state. The two experts
gave in one day fourteen lectures in as
many different places. and for three days
they were aboard a specially chartered
boat which carried them down the Chesa-
peake bay and through its tributaries, ten
lectures being delivered at as many stops
per day. They have just returned this week
from another tour of three days through
Virginia in a special train of two cars. fur
nished for the benefit of the growers by the
Southern railway.
To test the bureaus newly-created varie-
ties on practical commercial scale, MT.
Cobey has been cooperating with growers
in the Florida region in the cultivation or
from two to five acres per plantation OF
these new varieties. One great thorn in
the side of the southern grower has been
the lack of nitrogen in the sandy soil.
Leguminous crops must be grown on the
tobacco plantations in order TO supply the
deficient nitrogen. and the best adapted
crop for this purpose was the COW pea. I'M
til It attracted from far and wide the
"nemetode," an insect which destroys the
roots OF many plants Nothing daunted,
the bureaus experts set to work and IN
vented q new variety of cow pea immune
against the insect. and thus the nitrogen
manufacture by aid OF this legume now
thrives between tobacco seasons.
1t Is really remarkable how much pains
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

srovsrs arp now taking for tha psifsctiqn
81 their toba0co crops. After the soed u
passed through the separator The vsry sop
Into which Il II planted must BE- ststflined,
The upper 6ix inches or earth b tbo eead
beds e placed IN q wagon Dor, IN The iot.
tom Of which are perf0rAted pipes attached
to steam boiler. The steam b turned on
until potato placed r. the soii hes thor.
wesd sssd. insects or fungous GernS have
bean destroyed and anofhNs wagon load -
made ready for the process.
After the little seedlings have eprupg
up they are transplantsd In the f1sids b.
machines driven by horses. In the case
OF our finest Florida wrapper tobacco, all
OF the plants are grown under shslterA
Acre after acre II studded with posts six-
teen feet apart. either way. there bsins
stretched over the top wires running In
one direction and stats In the other. Acre
upon acre of white cheese cloth d then
stretched over the wires and nailed to the
stats, until one great continuous tent, re-
Variable to behold. results. Other plauta.
tons use Stats three inches apart instead Of
cheese cloth. But the object Of the shelter,
in either case, Is to reproduce tropical con-
ditions, the wrapper tobacco being grown
from sumatra seed. The greater humidity
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17
square in front OF the town hall.

square in front OF the town hall.
Here, seated by gaily decorated plat
form. is enthroned the mayor OF the city,
surrounded by all his municipal officials
One Is amused to note that In this remotet
and sleepy little Hainault town there Is as
much stately form observed among munich
pal officers as there would be at the Inn
perial courts of Berlin or st. Petersburg
The queer-looking dancing men dance
more wildly than ever In front of their
mayor: and 50 contagious Is their example
that presently the thousands of spectators
begin to dance too. SO that In few minutes
one sees the extraordinary spectacle of the
entire Grande Place black with human be-
ings dancing for dear lifel
Here are elderly ladies weighing more
than 250 pounds; there. serious-eyed man
with couple of infants In his arms All
are dancing-an entire countryside; and II
rain comes on, the spectacle Is still more
bizarre to the foreign spectator at an upper
window. who sees ten fifteen thousand
umbrellas capering UP and down below him
TO the wild strains Of the Walloon bands.
Only when positive physical exhaustion
supervenes does the crowd cease to waltz;
and then men. women and children seek
their own homes in the town, or melt away
into the fat plains of Hainault to their own
remote villages, feeling sure they have done
their duty by taking part in the strange
pageant as their forefathers have done be-
fore them all down the centuries.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17
Mine Explosions.

From the New York Tribune
When one considers how old the industry
of mining coal is he cannot avoid wonder
Ing why fatal explosions like that reported
from Biuefleids. w. Va. continue to occur.
In some mines there is larger percentage
of gas than in others, but practically all
Except those In the anthracite region are
subject to the trouble. Nearly or quite a
century has elapsed, too. since Davy devised
means which have been fairly enioacfous, II
faithfully employed. Since his day there
have been, to be sure, Improvements in the
safety lamp; but even the old type would
still be serviceable il only used In the way
the inventor designed.
There can be no doubt that the great ma
tority of accidents of the kind under con-
sideration are due to the reckless and un-
lawful relighting of lamp that has become
accidentally eXtinguished. The practice
trouble, because II he goes outside the mine
(as be should) he must often proceed a
considerable distance In the dark. To pro-
vide against contingencies, therefore, men
often carry with them keys wherewith to
unlock their lamps. and matches Inasmuch
as they violate the rules with impunity on
some occasions they come to think that they
can do so always. Further encouragement.
II Is to be feared. Is derived from the tacit
approval of fellow-workmen, though the
lives of the latter. as well as that of the
offender. are imperiled by the act.
Inasmuch as the miner cannot be effect
iNSiy rtstFdillSu IL mas Dcen proposed TO re-
move temptations from him. Small quanti-
ties of some illuminate have been arranged
In such manner that they can be fnclosed
In lamp and can be fired automatically by
percussion or friction. Extensive labora-
tory experiments with the invention have
recently been made by the Belgian govern
ment. In most instances the apparatus
worked satisfactorily. but occasionally gas
outside of lamp would be ign'ted. 1t was
thought, however, that these exceptions to
the rule were attributable to the form of
the lamp itself; for many styles were tested.
Should further experiments verify that be-
lief x might be feasible at last to make a
safety lamp that was absolutely safe.
American mine operators IL not already
familiar with the Improvement should in
form themselves fully In regard to It, If
the hopes which II has inspired abroad are
realized much property as we'll as many
lives viii be saved
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

e peculiar : ss.s]Ey Il tae a,ncne ss 9
hsad- aFlss-e kin1 6 30 b.. ss,ch g wsa
mssa ~ az osssssR piasss wv q sous
feet toug. peatd6s these, each hat u pr9.
Mid With Jones streaming ribbons, whiis
ses ~ s ssSssss Iscs .nS
fibbons 70 match those streaming nom biz
Is1A "stlisl' also rsars grotssaus HAsh
balls MS entire cutis may cost 49, small
Il saiies are selected With as much car, s. 8,
the carnival COMMITTEES - Though thsy
oSss-1mmsrssu, b fsss ths honor q BE- :.
ing chosen q "gille" II 20 arsa4 amouw the
young Lotharios Of Binche and carriss'sueli
prestige with the matdsus OF the town that
are only too pleased TO make the nscessary
financial sacrifce which tho strange media6.
val costume demands.
ehrove Tuesday afternoon sees the "gillsSs
Of Binohe In all their splsndor Of feathers.
ribbons, masks and bells 400 Of them ale
together--parading the streets exactly az
their fore{athers have done for thousand
years. Before them 40 the brass bands
way toward ths Grande Place. The 'gtlles'
invariably dance a. they walkt and after
every few steps, with ozlo accord they halt,
bow down low and then straishten chem.
selves with q sudden jerk, that the
tanSiing and tinkiing Of their bells may be
heard afar of.
There is great excitement in the little
old-worid town az the 'gilles" come along
with their gay streamers floating this way
and that, enveloping them In rainbows OF
color. The crowd behind thump their wood
en- sabots on the stones and crane eager
necks to see whom the pelting begins For
each "gtlle" carries straw basket hanging
from one side OF his belt and filled with
oranges.
With these the dancing men lombard the
crowd ais they prance forward; and no
sooner is an orange basket emptied than It
Ia filled lip again by the quantity clad boy
attendant that waits upon each "gille."
Villages for many miles around empty
themselves into Binche on the great day of
the oarnivali and every man, woman and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

broed-isaf wrapper tobacco. which via
yithstand any climate IN the tobacco Dali.
What 90 these ingenious field experts 90
but intei.marry the Cuban and ConneoIou.
species and get an offspring with better
aroma and flavor than the Connecfiout
and yet greater hardness than has tne
Cuban. It Is simple matter OF fsrtinxne
the blossom of one plant with the pollen
OF the other. In the same way they are
cross-breeding our Havana seed tobacco
with the sumatra and obtaining an on
spring with leaves and veins better adap--
ed for making wrappers than any that We
have grown here before. Another diseov-
cry is this. The humn,ing BIRDS bees ana
moths, which up to the present have peen
unfortunately marrying our tooao,o
plants by unoonsciousiy carrying the pol
len of one into the blossom OF another
when they gather honey-have, IN fact, been
ipturing the crop. II each tobacco blossom
is fertfiized by Its own pollen rather than
cross-fertilized by pollen from another
plant of It's own variety, more vigorous
and more uniform yield Is obtained. To In
trcduce this method these experts are
showing the growers how to tie up the I'M
opened blossoms In paper bags kept IN
place until the seed Is set.
A no less important discovery, resulting
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

and more even temperature of the tropics
are thus simulated. and both finer and
thinner leaf results. All of our filler TO-
bacco. including that from Havana seed.
Is exposed directly to the sun in growing,
no shelters whatever being used.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

his paper he interprets snow. With almost
20 apparent effort In one Of his pictures OF
the Tokaido he has represented furious
summer shower and In his Yedo group Is
mantle Of snow. Tns Japanese delight in
the action OF the elements. ana they look
upon snow AZ a benedietion from the gods.
To them It IL pause-a sacred silence
and they render II by elimination rather
than positive Interpretation.
Blossom Festivals.
The blossom festivals also find place in
HiroehigSs Illustrations. In his Yedo pic&
lures we fnd a characteristic presentation
Of the cherry season." when the villagers
are all abroad revslins In the beatty OF the
blossoms. a. well as one OF the plum tree
season. when the flowers are white, but
the wcrshtpers no less numerous. Figures
positions, but not obtrusivsly. Sunsets,
morning mists and moonlight effects are al
approached and ciey'sriy rendered. but spe-
cial attention should be directed TO ms az
mirabIe draughtsmanship. and In particular
to the sympathetic manner In which ne mas
interpreted trees
A tree some one has said, has as much
character as o man, and though TINS may
be an exaggeration, II has the proyerpiai
credited. This Hiroshige seems to have
understood-his trees possess individuality,
and they are well rooted In the ground
His compositions, too, are almost inyari-
ably good. Witness. for instance. little
book Of illustrations entitled Sweeping
Sketches" This II made up of dozens OF
little views not more than two or three
inches In dimensions. all of which are Pic
turesque, clear cut and significant-land-
scape art reduced to its lowest terms ana
It's simplest formula.
Mr.. Arthur Dow in his book on the art
Of design shows the value OF such drawings
as these, and with American models tho
same method Is now being taught quite
universally Ii our public schools. They
speak a ohild-ianguage, but they Demon
strats the Importance of line and mass.
Prints by Many Artists.
In an album containing prints by many
artists. exhibited at the Library OF Con-
gress, will be found two specially interest
ing examples of Hiroshige-one a fan de-
sign showing boats on broad sheet OF
water. and the other Mt Full from across
the bay. Both are peculiarly scholarly, and
each In O. measure discloses. through strik-
ing similarity. the source OF MINISTER'S IN
splration.
The second Hiroshige was an adopted son,
and the third who took the name was like
wise faverte pupil Much confusion has
sonalities. but neither pupil in his work
came up to the standard of his master.
Their landscapes are creditable, however
and well worthy OF consideration.
Painting, a Japanese writer has said, ts
voieeless song, and so at least it must be
confessed the artists of Nippon have made
II, LEILA MECHLIN.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17

poisonous brand of la Santa Yerba upon all
smokers. Neither Is II the design OF the
bureau to bring the holy herb more near
ly within reach of the frail youth of the
country. There are tens of thousands or
smokers in the land who are suffering from
nicotine poisoning in one form or another,
but yet who cannot break the bonds OF their
slavery to the weed. To these tobacco
possessing the minimum OF nicotine, but
the maximum of flavor and aroma, would
be a godsend.
10 view of the really wonderful feats
which this government office IS accomplish
Ing in other lines, we can have no reason
to doubt that 1t will succeed along this
one 1t has already invented new tobaccos,
so why not one with little or no nicotine!
DR.. Galloway, the chief OF the bureau, is
Just now putting to rights new adjunct
10 be known as his tobacco laboratory.
Here Dr. w. w. Garner the chemist In
charge. will test samples Of the filthy
weed" sent In from all parts OF the tobacco
belt. He will study in detail the compost
ton of good and bad tobaccos, whose
qualities of burn" favor. aroma. etc, are
due fundamentally to chemical composition.
Two tobacco plants may grow side by side
under the same conditions, yet one may
take up from the soil too much chlorine,
not enough potash. too much sulphuric
acid. and so on. Not long ago the story
was being hawked about that the flavor
and aroma OF the sainted herb were due to
benefcent microbes, which preferred the
climate OF Cuba to that of our own coun-
try.
Then the Agricultural Department en-
ployed to look into the matter DR.. Oscar
Ioew, who discovered that certain fer
ments which he called engines rather
than bacteria, were responsible for tobacco
aroma and flavor. DR.. Garner will use this
as a working hypothesis. He will pry into
the causes OF these engines at the same
time that he Is, by analysis finding to-
baccos which have the lowest nicotine con-
stituent. Then by selection and cross
breeding II will be simple matter for the
bureaus agents in the field TO produce a
plant with the maximum of valuable en-
zyomes and the minimum OF that poison
which chemists have named In honor Of
Moot, Its discoverer.
Inventing New Tobaccos.
That this can be done VIII not sound ex-
trevagant after we have seen how this
bureaus experts are now inventing new
species Of tobacco IN the field; how they
are eliminating the bad properties and in
creasing the good at will. Cuban nigh
grade tobacco, as we know, has been the
envy OF our growers since the industry
started there. But the Cuban species are
too delicate for our climate.
Now. up IN Connecticut we have a hardy
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17
DANCING CARNIVAL.
The Quaint Custom of Little Cid
Belgian Town of Binche.

From the Technical World
The prosperous little country OF Belgium
abounds IN most peculiar manners and GUS
toms and strange old-world ceremonies.
many OF them purely pagan survivals For
example there Is the Whit-Tuesday danoing
procession at Echternach. when one sees an
entire countryside-men, women and chill
iren, not to mention priests in full vest
ments-graveiy dancing with q hop. skip
and a jump through the sid-world streets
of that Luxembourg town.
It is web known. too. that the Flemish,
and Walloon peasants arc very tenacious
or their ancient customs and of these per-
haps the duaintest is the procession of
dancing sgiliies.' which takes place on
Shrove Tuesday IN the picturesque little
town OF Bsnche. in the province OF Haif,-
ault.
These GILES" or dancing men. who form
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-17
! TO REDUCE NICOTINE
Object of Proposed Expert
ments With Tobacco.
/ BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY
Soon to Begin Investigation of 'The
Weed"
THE CIGAR-sM0KING MACHINE
Unique Apparatus in New Labora-
tory-How It Measures the Points
of a Good Havana.

Copyright. 1905. by John Elfreth Watkins.J
To reduce the nicotine content of tobacco
and at the same time retain all of the orig
inal flavor and aroma OF the weed ts the
object of a brand-new line of research--in
the interest of the nervous man-directly to
be commenced by the national bureau Of
plant industry. OF course. 1t is not the oh
4ect OF this institution to force this nor
BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1906-06-07
FL viaje en- gIobo
Del Principe Dsa Iaiss d Bsrssa

Londres, Il de Mayo. Ell princi-
pc don jaime de Borb6n Ell baron
Josef Won Korwin, teniente del eier-
c1to austriaco, Sc proponen salir de
Londres en- globo, cruzar el mar Bal
tlco y procurar descender en- un pun
to cualquiera de Austria, recorriendo
una distancia aproximada de mil mi
las. La expedition no tiene igual
hasta hoy, y la 1nica que Sc lie apro-
xima es la del conde de IA Vau1x de
Paris a Kjef, en- Russia durante Ia
Exposition de Paris. Saldran ma
mana 81 el viento sopla en- direction
favorable. Aunque Ell hidr6geno es
pellgroso 10 emplearan q fin de at
mentar la velocidad del globo. lie
yaran provisiones para cuarents Y
ocho horas, salvavidas y sufciente
cantldad de Ia misma grasa que ns6
Holbe1n al cruzar el canal q nado.
por 81 les Ocurre un accidente al pa
sar sobre el mar. Ell globo pesa con
todo su equipo 900 libras, Ell lastre
1 ,ooC y los dos aereonautas 400. EI
baron Won Korwin es jefe de Ia sec
cion de globos militares del eiGrcito
austriaco y en- los tltimos diez a7os
ha hecho 900 asoensiones y I3o
viajes en- globo.
BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1906-06-07
Plausible aCu0rdO

El Secretario de Estado, Nj. Root
~ ell seGor Casas1s, emba iador de
Mexico, frmaron el 81 de Mayo el
|convenio que venfan negociando pa
ra la debida distribuci5n uso de las
IaguaS del Rio Bravo del Norte. &
Rio Grande que dicen los america
NOS, entire los habitantes riberefios
de uno y otro pals.
Si Ell SenadO aprueba dicho pscto
|pondra este feliz termino 4 una con
tienda de veinte amos. Desde hace
mas de I'm siglo los mexicanos han
hecho uso abundante de las aguas de
ese rio para regar sus tierras. pero
en- amos rec1entes numeroSas compa-
Mas anericanas empezaron q cons
truir represas que desviaron gran
parte del caudal de aguas, travendo-
las a la parte de aca del rio. Los
mexicanos hicieron las reclamacio-
nes respondientes por los dafios
y perJulc1os que sc les irrogaban
pero sin resultado alguno hasta aho-
ra. Por dltimo Ia construction de Ia
g1gantesca presa de Engel, en- Nue.
vo Mexico, que cost6 siete millones
de pesos, precipito una crisis que
d1o origen las negociaciones ahora
terminadas con Ia frma de este CON
venlo.
En- el Sc reconoce, necesariamen-
te, Ell derecho de los mexicanos 4
una Justa parte de las aguas, 81 bien
en- atenclon que los Estados Uni
DOS asumen todos los gastos de cons
truccion de Ia gran preSa y los ca
males necesarios, la cantidad de aqua
adjudicada 4 Mexico es solo una
parte proportional del caudal del rio.
BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1906-06-07
VapOr Palacio

En- su primer viaje 4 Nueva York
ha llegado a dicbo puerto el nuevo
de la Compafiia Hamburguesa- -Ame-
rlcana, ''kaiserin Ausgusta Victo-
ria. Los expertos en- asuntos nava-
les, no creian que Sc 9udiese adelsn-
tar muchO mas en- Ia construction d.
los trasatl anticos, despuGs que Sc echo
al aqua el vapor "Amerika, Y. sin
embargo, en- concepto de los mismos-
el nuevo buque sobrepasa en- como
didad y ventajas al citado. Su lon IT,
gitud es de 100 pies, con q 900 to
neladas dc capacidad y 5000 dc
desplszamiento. Esta iluminado po-
1000 luces incandescentes; las cal
deras desarrollan una fuerza de
II, 400 caballos de vapor mantienc
una velocidad de IS nudos por hora.
Tiene acomodado para $500 pasa-
jeros; esta provisto de servicios de
elevadores; ofcinas de ferrocarriles
expresses, floristeria, restaurant pars
coniida a la carta biblioteca; cuarto
obscure para que los pasaieros afcio-
.nados a la fotografia puedan desarro-
liar sus planchas, puente de paseo
con una area de 10000 pies cuadra-
dos y I'm jardin de palmas en- el cual
los viajerOs, no importa cual sea l.
estacl6n, pueden disfrutar de una
Temperature tropical.