El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-16

life to small lakes and artificial ponds
Cigars in quantities less than 5000
are not allowed to be imported. Why
this is nobody knows. The treasury
itself is unable to explain it, but such
is the fact in law. 1t goes back to
the days of the civil war and the pre-
sumption is that the legal enactment
on this point was obtained by cigar
dealers along the border who were
anxious TO exclude retail competition
from Canadian sources.
ABsintae is shut Out.
Absinthe was shut out under the
law which fOrbids the Importation OF
foods and drinks injurious to health.
But it is safe TO predict that the de-
mand will be plentifully supplied by
domestic product probably inferior
A crude but salable absinthe liquor is
made from the essential oil Of worm
wood. In the proper manufacture OF
the stuff however, the leaves and
the tWigs of the absinthe plant are
STEPPED in water together with hys-
SOP. calamus, chronicle, anise, fenneL
and other vegetable ingredients. The
decOctiOn thus obtained is then dis
cobol sugar, and cOlOring matters.
Lottery tickets, of course, are shut
out because this sort OF gambling is
destructive of good morals. Besides,
such enterprises find the poor their
chief prey. Nevertheless, it is beyond
question that a great many tickets IN
Mexican. Central American, and other
foreign lotteries do find their way to
this country through the mails or
otherwise In Latin lands, whether IN
the new world or the old, the lottery
evil always f1Ourishes, and reaches out
as far as il can to augment its III
got profits.
Articles produced in whole or part
by convict labor are excluded In
most of the states of the Union this
kind of labor is allowed to compete
freely with the toll of the honest
workingman but our government re-
fuses to permit foreign Jallbirds TO
enjoy the same advantage
The requirements Of permits for I'M
porting birds. already mentioned, IS
designed TO exclude certain undeslr-
able feathered immigrants, such as the
European stating, which is a first
class nuisance. There is in New Yea
land a species Of parrot which we
should not welcome called the
'-Weka." 1t attacks sheep, devOUrlng
their kidneys. Likewise, the govern
ment is on its guard against certain
Objectionable mammals, such as the
Malta goat This goat is a wonderful
milk giver and would be heartily well
coined, but unfortunately it is very
liable to be infected with Malta fever
a disease dangerous to human beings
Fear the MOngOOse.
The mammal whose exclusion IS
most anXiOusly desired is the much
advertised mOngOOSe, native 10 south
ern Asia. which looks somewhat like
a ferret though bigger. once intro
duced into this country, it might east
" do $50, 900 900 worth OF damage an
nually. It is a wholesale destroyer Of
chickens. a killer of lambs and pig
lings, and a deadly enemy to all kinds
Of game birds that nest on OF near the
ground. In Jamaica and in Hawaii,
whittier it was carried for the purpose
Of destroying the rats that infested
the cane fields, this abOminable little
beast has already done incalculable
damage.
Another possible immigrant that is
deemed very undesirable is the So
called flying fOX'-'a giant bat. native
to the tropics of the old world Our
bats need on insects. but the flying fox
is a fruit eater. The largest species
has a wing spread of five feet Such
bats are sometimes found IN tlocks
mbering thousands They have reg
uIar camps" in the midst Of mOrasses.
or in other inaccessible places from
which they issue forth at night TO
make raids upon fruit orchards
A special order was recently pro-
mulgated forbidding the importation
Of venOmous snakes into the Hawaiian
Islands The reason for this IS some
what out Of the ordinary. 1t is feared
that if poisoning serpents were
brought in and managed to escape
from captivity they would in thatwarm