Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1910-06-10
NOTES OF INTEREST.


packers who have been arrested for vllo-
lating the shortweight ordinance by III
Guiding the sticks and other wood used
in stretching and hanging carcaSseS Tor
dressing. 1t is evident that dealers VIII
have TO take into account the weights OF
packing materials, in order 10 ayold
prosecution for giving short weight; bul
it will be hard TO beat the snrewd gro
GERS and butchers who weigh their hands
as they permit them to IInger IN the
scale pans while cOmplacently reading
the figures on the bar. Nothing but I'M
mediate reweighlng can defeat that game
the state fish hatcheries have been
planted" in lakes Mendoza and Monona,
at Madison. If they could all grow 10
eatabe fish, there would be great sport
IN a few years on the lakes mentioned.
But some of the fry go into the
maws of other fish; some go out OF eX-
lstence from natural causes: and worse
than all. some get into nets of illicit
fishers before they have attained their
ma jOrity as candidates for capture with
line and hook If Illicit fishing could
De stopped the fish would multiply de-
spite natural interferences.
The resignation of Associate Justice
Moo1y from the supreme court of the
United States. furnishes evidence that
the illness which forced his cessation
from work nearly a year ago still holds
him in it's clutch. When he was named
for the position by President Roosevelt
IN 1906 he was in the prime of life
tifty-three years Of age and in vigorous
after the hope of his early recovery had
passed away would have embarrassed
the court. which has q large accumula-
ton Of cases on its docket. Justice
MOOdy's retirement gives another OppOr-
tunity to President Taft to name mem
Der of the court which finally interprets
the Constitution of the United States.
People who have not closely followed
the history Of the Halley's comet cpl
SOde of the present year of grace, might
be induced to believe that it has resulted
in a good joke at the expense of astron-
omers. But that notion is incorrect. BY
what has happened nobody but pseudo
astronomers and sensational newspaper
writers has been discounted. All that
real astronomers asserted regarding the
comet has been borne out by what has
occurred. And what has occurred on
this occasion of the comets visit, as real
astronomers are aware, is very much like
what has occurred before. Pepys has
left in his Diary Il record of the fact
that at the end of 1852 he. rose at two
vantage in the suburbs to see the comet,
and was unable to catch a glimpse of it;
and that he saw it later. and was dis
appointed because it had lost its tail, but
interested in it as duller and larger than
any of the stars.
Having been within a short distance
of the North pole with Feary. Capt.
Bartlett of the Roosevelt is now ambi-
tious to seek the South pole. But ac-
cording to Lieut.. ShackletOn, and he
ought to know something about it, condi-
tions at the South pole are not at all
like those described by those who have
travelled within the northern polar circle.
Lieut.. ShackletOn says dogs cannot be
used ON the south. because the wind
blows the SHOWS along the ice cap so
steadily that the animals would be blind
ed The eyes of ponies are above this
drift and that is why he used them.
It is evident from this that would-be ex-
plorers from the north will have to I'M
learn and learn over to some extent
when they enter the Antarctic regions.
The sinking of the French submarine
Pluviose seems to have resulted from
recklessness on the part of her com
mander, who tried to make his craft dive
under the passenger steamer which
struck her a fatal blow The incident
will cause wonder why, after SO much
has been said concerning ways and
means for enabling men to escape in
such contingencies, the crew of the Plu-
viose was without one of the contriv-
ances described and pictured in technical
periodicals. 1t is due to those who 90
down 10 the sea and under the sea in
such ships that every device that will
increase the possibility of escape should
be utilized.
One of the best jokes of this comet
season is on Capt. Knapp, chief hydro
grapher at Washington, who sent out q
general appeal to navigators asking them
to watch for the heavenly visitor careful
ly note its position and its peculiarities,
and report observations to him. So
widespread has been the interest i'll the
comet that incoming reports are swamp
ing the appropriation for the payment Of
the cost of the messages, which come
Collect" and Capt. Knapp can devise
no way to bring the flood of invited OBJ
servation to an end. Therefore the an
preparation will probably need tail in
the form of a deficiency provision
At a recent session in Boston of the
Massachusetts committee which is in
vestigating the milk business, farmer of
Central New Hampshire submitted fig
ureS under oath showing that with milk
and butter at present prices there is an
actual loss on every COW of three dollars
annually. A Massachusetts man testified
that there is a loss to the producer for
every cent less than five cents received
for each quart Of milk. This is said to
be the cause of farm abandonment in
New England and the reduction in the
cattle population. During the past few
years there has been q movement back
to the abandoned farms OF the east be
cause of belief that western enterprise
can make the old farms pay; but these
statements from New England farmers
do not support that belief.
Archaeologists will condole with the
authorities of the University of New
Mexico over the destruction by fire of
Hadley hail. its science department. at
Albuquerque. A priceless collection of
Indian and geological relics was de-
stroyed with the building. The incident
ought to warn owners of collections of
this kind to keep them In fire-pr0of
buildings, because every year adds to the
value of relics by making it more diff
cult 10 secure them.