davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1912-09-01
American Grape Claimed Most Popular of Fruits


bending nature to man needs, for they
have banished the sinister shadow Of the
phyllOXera. and have shown the California
grape growers that they need not grope in
the dark any longer, but proceed with
the re-establishing Of their vineyards.
each with fine resistant varieties precisely
suited to his own particular hillside or
valley acres.
The crown-gall Of the grape is disease
of European origin. which has proved
very destructive to the old world vines
supported into this country. although. as
in the case of phylloxera, the new world
vines are more less resistant. The
cause of crown-gali is still under investi-
CATION, various workers making different
findings. but the question, has been SO
narrowed down that the guilty hacterium
among the half dozen or so still under
suspicion cannot much longer escape de-
lection.
Vines attacked by the crown-gall show
ly the site of injuries. After several
years these outgrowths extend upward
along the larger branches, often for four
they are constantly rupturing their outer
layer. through which the sap of the
vines is lost. The gals usually develop
annually, rottng away at the end of the
growing season. the rot killing the sur
rounding tissues and cutting off the cir
cuiation of the vine. having much the
effect of a cancer
Evening star., 1912-09-01

duoryards for twelve and twenty years,
respectively. and f. Fl. Mosher OF West
port Mass. has positive knowledge Of a
toad which occupied a certain feeding
ground for eight years. A toad wants
plenty to eat. but at the same time he
can live a long time without anything
NJ. Herrisant. in 1777. imbedded three
toads in plaster and placed them in the
archives of the French Academy Of Sci
ences. At the end OF eighteen months
two of the toads were still alive. In 1917
DIR. Edwards repeated this experiment
but submerged the plaster blocks in wa
ter, and the toads died. Buckland buried
toads in cavities in sandstone and lime
stone, and found that all the toads in
sandstone were dead in thirteen months.
while those in limestone survived for
two years and more. That toads hi
bernate in winter there can be no ques-
Evening star., 1912-09-01

give you some idea of the extent of the
concrete alone. They contain over four
million cubic yards. or enough of this
artificial rock to make a solid wall fifty
feet high, ten feet thick and over fifty
miles long. Such a wall would reach
from Washington to Baltimore and have
ten miles to spare.
Each of these locks has twin. The
whole consists of two mighty cham
bers the side walls of which are about
fifty feet wide at the bottom and grow
narrower and narrower as they come
to the top. where the width is eight
feet. They are about eighty feet high
There is another wall in the middle
which is sixty feet wife. and within
these walls are the two mighty cham
bers which are closed at each END py
the gates.
So much for the outlines of the struc-
ture. The foundations of the locks are
as complicated as catacomb. They nave
tunnels and galleries running this way
and that. and in their floors are many
great holes as big as hour parrei Where
the water comes into the chamber SO
in the space of eight minutes. The
water is admitted by mighty culverts
or conduits which run along the side.
These are tunnels through the concrete
construction and they VIII carr! river
from Lake Gatun to lift and lower the
vessels.
You often hear ii said that we are
bringing the waters of the Atlantic and
the Pacific. together. This is SO only
figuratively speaking. There will be
no salt water in the canal except at the
ends. The locks Will be filled with fresh
water from Lake Gatun and it will be the
Chagres which we shall harness and make
pull up and let down the steamers from
ocean to ocean.
But let me tell you more about these
big tunnels. into which the water nrst
flows. They are so huge that you could
drive a caravan of elephants and giraffes
through them, and the elephants might
walk four abreast and not touch the sides.
while monkey seated on the head of
one of the giraffes would not reach the
ceiling They would easily hold Pull
man train, and a brakeman might stand
on the top and not ruff1e his hair
These great tunnels or culverts are con-
Evening star., 1912-09-01

tion, and Figuier states that they freeze
without being killed.
The toad suffers from enemies. both nat
ural and unnatural. Hawks, owls,
snakes and skunks kill many annually.
while ducks, hens and geese feed on the
young during the breeding season. Man.
who is most benefited by the toad, de-
stroys more of them than their natural
enemies. This is done by the death deal
ing lawn mowers and the burning OF
lawns and fields OF course, the small
boy gets I'm his work, and in most cases
they have been taught that it is not cruel
or wrong to kill common toad. But
the Agricultural Department has estab-
lished high value of the toad. and his
rights ought to be respected and protect
ed. They figure 1t down that one toad
is worth $19.44 to a gardener for the pro-
lection he gives during one season.
Evening star., 1912-09-01
Straight Talk.

A LBERT J. BEVERIDGE said in Chi
cago Of a corrupt boss:
Hes very virtuous-oh. very virtuous.
"A millionaire once went to him and
said:
II want to get in the Senate. Will you
sell me your support
No. sir the boss answered. striking
himself upon the chest. No. SIR! I'm a
free-born American citizen. and I'll sell
my support to no man.
But said the millionaire, hlandly, as
he drew out his check book and fountain
pen. but, If you won't sell me your sup
port. perhaps you'll rent it to me for
the term of this campaign
Now you're talkin'.' said the boss. In
a mollff1ed tone" :
Evening star., 1912-09-01

"orsan beater' one gets by analogy the
rather uncomplimentary term piano
FOUNDER. $50
The next. improvement was called the
clayichord. 1t had brass strings and an
improved method of causing the strings TO
vibrate. It was also a boxlike AFFAIR and
was originally. placed on table while In
use 1t was further improved, more KEYS
were added and legs were given the cum
bersome box. ani il took, in the seven
teenth century, somewhat the form OF a
small square, piano. 1t was very pop
ular instrument and did not go wholly out
of favor until the day of the piano
dawned. The tone. while weak. was capa-
BILE of rejecting the most minute grada-
tions Of touch of it's performer Its mas
ters felt that they could interpret COM
position more completely through il than
through the harpsichord, virginia. or other
similar instruments. the arrangement for
striking the keys on both these latter In
struments being such that the lightest
touch and the heaviest pounding produced
the same result. And therein lies the es-
sentisl difference between them and the
clavichord. Their shape also varied, the
harpsichord having the shape Of harp
laid out horizontally. hence its name. The
virginia. of the earlier of legless type
looks, when closed, more like very low
trunk than anything else.
After the fifteenth century 1t became
the fashion to Orpament these fnstru-
ments very elaborately, paintings, gold.
in the keys and cases. Queen Eliza
beth was a skillful performer, and had
a number of most elaborately orna-
mented virginals. as these various in
struments were almost indiscriminately
called at that time. One of these was
made Of cedar, covered with velvet and
lined with silk: 1t was five feet long
by one and half wide and seven inch
es deep It weighed but twenty-four
pounds. The fifty keys were of ebony
or ivory inlaid with gold. silver and
rare woods. each key consisting of
about $50 pieces. The front OF the case
was Of gold. and on different parts of
1t were painted the royal arms and
other Ornamentations.
The National Museum has none so
gorgeous as this, but some are highly
ornamented. showing much gliding and
often pictures. Mount Vernon also
contains an interesting specimen Of the
harpstchord. 1t was given by George
Washington to his stepdaughter. Nellie
CustiR
It II a characteristic Of these old in
struments Of German make that they
have their natural keys, m&de OF ebony
Evening star., 1912-09-01
Rather Neat.

MISS INEZ. MILHOLLAND. fresh
AVA from helping the striking London
dockers-who, however went down to de.
feat-discussed the new status of woman
You perceive the new and higher
status of woman" she said, sin the re-
spect that men now show toward mar
r,age Men didn't always show this re-
spect l remember a story
Miss Milholland smiled.
"a man and his wife, she said, were
wrangling The wife. completely out OF
patience at last, exclaimed:
Are all men fools?'
":No. my love-. the man answered
some are bachelors
Evening star., 1912-09-01
Agricultural Entomo1ogists Say Toad Is Valuable.

toads for colonizing purposes, and the
case OF the authoress. Celia Thaxter. is
cited where her beautiful and expensive
gardens at the Isles Of Shoals were over
run by insects and snails. Toads were
imported from the mainland and placed
in the gardens, and after a short time
the pests were suppressed and the flow
ers preserved from harm. At Maiden.
Mass, collection of valuable orchids
were severely injured through attacks Of
myriapods and SOW bugs. Toads were
introduced and all ravages and damages
from this source ceased.
So long as a toad gets plenty to eat he
is at home. and his homing instincts are
we'll known to people familiar with his
habits. Two toads occupied the same
Evening star., 1912-09-01
PIaided Silks as Trimmings.

DARK-COLORED serge dresses in seal
II brown. navy and black are often
frightened up by the use OF plaided silks
for the waist. or the introduction OF these
bright-colored patterns for the collars.
girdles and a portion OF the sleeves. In
some cases. when the plaided waist 10
seen the skirt material extends into the
waist section I'm bib or jumper effect
Narrow pointed directoire collars ex-
tending in sharp points over the shoulder
are also made of plaid when the waist In
developed in the dress material. Robes
pierre collars. turnbackf cuffs and military
girdles and sasiles are also made In these
fancy silks.
SILK dresses plaided OF with yellow, red
and green on dark blue. black or brown
background are used with buttons to har-
monize: for instance. amber balls or blue
buttons with red or green centers. They
are applied IN profusion both on waista
and on skirts.
Evening star., 1912-09-01

nected by pipes which run down to the
bed or floor of the lock chamber, and
which are so arranged that when the
water is let in it rushes up through the
openings and fills the chamber, the water
being held in by the gates
There are only two locks here at Mira
flores. The steamer comes straight in
from the Pacific when the water in the
lock is at sea level. This water is salt.
Then the gate at the Pacific end is clos
ed. and in from the tunnel comes the
water from the Gatun lake, having passed
through the Culebra cut and Miraflores
lake 1t fills the lock, raising as it does
the ship to the level of the water in
the lock above.
The vessel then passes into that lock,
through the gate facing the Pacific, and
it is raised to the level of the Mirafores
lake and steams through it until it
reaches the lock of Pedro Miguel. Here,
in the same way, it is boosted thirty feet
higher, to the eighty-five-foot level of
the Culebra cut. The ship now has
clean, clear steaming way of thirty-one
miles, including the cut and the Gatun
lake. before it comes to the GatuH dam
and to the three series of locks which
drop it down to the level of the Atlantic.
The matter is simple enough. 1t is
merely like putting a block of wood in a
tub and pouring in water to make it
rise to the top. or like opening a spigOt
in the bottom and letting it drop as the
water runs out. The only difference is
that the block is small and it weighs but
few pounds, while the ship which will
go through these gigantic lock tubs may
be as long as was the Titanic or longer
and it may weigh tens of thousands of
tons. the Olympic. for instance, has
a gross tonnage of G0,OOO and, / am told.
dimensions of each of the chambers are
1000 feet long. 40 feet wide and more
than SO feet high.
The gates to these chambers are even
more wonderful than the chambers them
selves The chambers are of concrete.
The gates are of steel and that in thou
sands. yes in millions of pieces, put to-
gether so tightly that they will hold these
Evening star., 1912-09-01

in their hands the latest weapons and
fired them with the determination to go
out into their vineyards and give no quar-
ter The simplicity of means. no less
than the convincing results appealed to
the most discouraged and most skeptical.
Under each trellis a ridge of soil was
thrown up in order to encourage the
worms to come still higher above the
roots of the vine as the time drew near
for their transformation into beetles, and
as many were thus exposed they fell prey
to birds and insects. Where the beetles
had already been hatched and were hum
grily riddling the grape leaves. the artil-
lery, or spraying apparatus. was unlim-
bered and brought into action with deadly
effectiveness.
Grape growers out on the Pacific
coast speak of phylloNera and the
California vine disease with the same
awe thar one usually speaks of the BIZ
bonic plague. They burst upon the
grape districts of that region without
warning. and rage with unparalleled
v1rulence. just as do the contagious
diseases to which man is subject when
they are introduced among peoples
who have never been exposed to them.
In southern California from 10000 to
$4,000 acres have been laid waste, the
entire vineyard paintings of Napa and
Sonoma valleys having been complete
ly destroyed once and partially sec
ond time. Conservative calculations
showed in 1903 that loss due to the
destruction of vines in California was
at least $1,000 day. The Importance
of giving help has been fully
appreciated in Washington. as the in
dustry is still in it's infancy and its
future should he brilliant. for in the
Golden Gate state alone. which pro-
duces hut 25.000.000 gallons Of wine
annually. the area adapted to grapes Is
equal to almost the whole of France,
whose yearly output is 100000 900
gallons
Evening star., 1912-09-01

The war against these plaques has been
long and stubborn and marked by many
failures and great loss of precious time.
The campaign against the California vine
disease forms a particularly dark chap
ter: in spite of the very able and earnest
work of experts in this and other coun-
tries it's cause and control remain undis-
covered.
In the case of the phylloxera. however.
there have been decisive victories. This
root-louse was unknown in Europe or in
California up to 1850: 1t was found in this
country alone east of the Rocky noun
tains. where it was looked upon as more
or less inevitable and comparatively
harmless. This resistant capacity in the
native vines is very remarkable In
stance Of acquired immunity: In the long
struggle with the phylloxera they have
developed powers which enable them to
withstand its attacks. The insect, when
once introduced into Europe. and into
California. where the old world varieties
of grapes were grown exclusively. spread
with inconceivable rapidity. as no known
means of fighting grape pests could check
il.
In 1862 and 191 the Agricultural De-
partment detailed an expert TO make a
thorough study of the situation. and as a
result of his report urging immediate
help. 1t began Investigations in eleven ex-
pertinent vineyards scattered widely over
the state. In these open-air Laboratories
the governments scientists are once more
Evening star., 1912-09-01

forty-siX gates being on an average al
most Sill 900 apiece
The sum seems great until one realizes
just what it covers. 1t includes alto
gether something like 5000 tons of steel
made up of tens of thousands of pieces,
some SO big that it takes mighty steam
crane to handle them and others as small
AS a pin or a needle. For instance. there
are more than 100000 pounds of steel
bolts and nuts and half million
pounds Of nickel steel pins. There are
millions of pounds of riveted structural
steel, over three million pounds of carbon
steel castings and hundreds of thousands
of pounds of Venadum steel. made UP
in an infinite variety of parts.
/ have before me the items which
formed part of the bid They include
twenty gates for the Gatun locks, twelve
for the locks at Pedro Miguel. and four.
teen for those here at Mirafiores Some
of the gates are seyenty-seyen feet high
and some as low as forty-seven feet
four inches. Each is made in two leaves
or doors which swing back and forth
Think of door as tall as an eight-stOry
house. Make it about fffty-fve feet In
width and you may get some idea OF
these mighty doors. each containing Its
myriad parts of steel, put together like
a watch. which have been made at Pitts
burgh and shipped in pieces down to the
canal. The weight of the biggest leaves
is something like 600 tons, or enough to
form good load for a dozen freight
cars.
Think of hanging gates of that kind in
such a way that they can swing back
and forth at a speed that will not affect
the waters which flow In and out. and at
the same time quickly enough to allow
ships to go through these locks within
eight or ten minutes, and you have some
idea of the difficulties of their construc-
tion.
The government has made a working
model of these gates in the shops at Cor
gona. and it will be on exhibition at the
great fair at San Francisco. 1t is made
on scale of a half inch to foot and
it shows not only the construction of the
lock chambers. but the method Of operat-
ing the gates and other machinery. This
model is only six feet, four inches long
and eight and one-half feet in width. 1t
looks exactly like a lock in miniature
with the gates at the end. The gates are
perfect limitations. having pins for every
rivet and in all about 10000 pins on the
sheet copper which covers them. They
are operated by a one-fifteenth horse
power motor. and are equipped with such
Evening star., 1912-09-01
In D IAMETE r.

huge watts of water and raise and lower
within them vessels worth millions of
dollars
But first as to the cost. l have said
S5,GOO.O0O. The actual sum is more than
that. The contract for making them was
let by competitive bids in which the
United States Steel Trust and four others
of the chief steel manufacturing COM
Evening star., 1912-09-01

panies of the United States submitted
offers. Each had to put up checks for
several hundred thousand dollars as a
guarantee that it would carry out its
BIDS but these sums were returned to
those Who failed. The lowest bidder was
the McClintic-M Marshall Construction
Company of Pittsburgh and it's offer was
So,375.OOJ. This was for the making OF
Evening star., 1912-09-01

AN writing these
notes this bright
Sunday morning in
the great locks at
MirafloFes. j am
within eight miles
of deep water in
the Pacific ocean
and at the two
first great steps up
which the steam
ers will climb on
their way across
- MI.
Evening star., 1912-09-01

all the species can be interming.ed at the
will of the expert vineyardist.
For the past ten years most OF the en-
ergies of the governments grape experts
have been directed to the stamping out
of insects and fungi which injure grape
vines. East Of the Rocky mountains the
most prevalent enemies are black rot ana
the grape root worm: together they have
damaged the vineyards of this section to
an extent which is almost incalculable
On the Pacific coast the phylloxera. the
crown of all, and the California vine dis
ease have stalked through the vineyards
like a plague: how perilousiy near 10
completely prostrating the industry out
there they have come only men VINO
have been on the ground can know
Ever since the beginning of CONNER
cial grape growing in the eastern states.
black rot a fungous disease which
bIackens and -mummifies the fruit, has
been the most serious enemy with which
vineyardists Of this section nave had 10
contend. The bureau of plant industry
has always been in the thick of the hght
AGAINST black rot, rushing its experts
into infected regions to organize the
grape growers and train them in the use
of the most effective fungicides and
spraying apparatus. AS an example OF
data, " Y. where the vineyards have
suffered greatly from this malady and
the growers had lost faith In the ordl-
nary preventive methods, recently re-
duced its prevalence from la per cent TO
less than per cent. resulting in an in
crease of $50 profit per acre of grapes
The other great fight east of the Rockies
has been with the grape-root worm.
beetle which i'm the iarval stage feeds
upon the roots of the grapevine. rms
insect during the last ten or fifteen years
has worked great harm in vineyards along
the southern and eastern shores of Lake
Erie, comprising the grape-Srowing terri
tory of northern Ohio and the Erie and
Chautauqua grape belts of Pennsylvania
and New York. Until the appearance OF
this beetle. American vines had been sin
sularly free from insects which attack
the roots, but 1t has now come to be
recognized as the most serious of the
two hundred or more species in the United
States which feed directly indirectly
upon our native grapes.
In 1900. when the grape-root worm first
appeared in injurious numbers I'm the
Lake Erie valley, the grape industry was
just emerging from a period of depression
which had caused. for several years. an
almost complete cessation in planting of
new vineyards. The period of low prices
had resulted in Indifferent care. thus Gre
AunS d coHnition very IdNoIduie " tne IN
crease Of this pest The tendency of most
viney ardists at that time was to pull out
declining vines rather than to go to the
expense OF fighting the invader. The crop
that year in this section was 5000 car
loads. the yield of about 10000 acres
Since 1900 fully 10000 acres of bearing
vines have been aided to this area. yet
the yield for 1873 was only little more
than half that of 1900.
Evening star., 1912-09-01

TN an out-of-the-way corner of the ole
annex of the National Museum is
= collection of spinets, virginals. clavi
chords. harpsichords and other forerun
ners of the modern piano, that, though
interesting, are generally overlooked by
the visitor This collection includes
with others the instrument that is sup
posed to have been the first of the piano
class brought to America. 1t is an in
significant looking affair. in fact. small
enough to be carried about under the
arm And. indeed. its original owner is
said to have often done this very thing
When invited out for the evening 1t was
his custom to carry his piano with
him.
There are also in this collection those
early harplike instruments. the Tyre and
the monochord, invented no man KNOWS
when and which are the earliest known
forbears of our modern grand piano,
the clayicytherium or clavichord. the type
of stringed instrument to which Keys
were first attached. then the various I'M
provements up to the harpsichord. and,
finaNy, the piano.
Keys had been attached to wind instru-
ments long before they were used in con-
neCtiOn with strings. lHe organ Soh0
sequently preceded the piano. Although
the date cannot be exactly determined, 1t
is supposed that some time during the
fourteenth century, and probably in ltaiy,
KEYS were first used in connection with
strings. The cythera was the first instru-
ment thus equipped, and the result was
the clavicytherium. This was a small OBJ
oblong box in which were strings arranged
in the form of a triangle. stretched
over a sounding board. The strings were
of catgut, and were struck by means OF
ouills attac ched to the interior end OF the
keys These instruments had at first only
three octaves.
1t is interesting to note that the piano
and its predecessors were never afflicted
with the enormous keys of the medieval
organ The latter were in many cases
five or six inches broad, two or three feet
long. and had a drop of about a foot.
They could only be moved by blow OF
the fist. And when the unfortunate Or
ganist's fist became too tired. his only re-
course was his elbows. The organist OF
those days was called the organ beater." !"
Though the players of the piano and the
various allied instruments were spared, II
can be readily seen that from the name