The Penn's Grove record., 1912-05-17

"Yes!" Emmanuel Catty sat up tri
umphantly. with my patent manure
l will grow the biggest radishes in the
United States"
Emmanuel Catty was a recent emf
grant to America. On the voyage
thither he had become converted to
vegetarianism, and henceforth intend.
ed to devote his life to the culture
of vegetables, convinced that fame
and fortune would crown his efforts.
1t had taken his fertile brain but q
short period to evolve a manure, com
bined of more chemicals than could
be named in a summers day. OF its
universal efficacy he had no doubt;
but DESTROYS of proceeding with all
prudence, he intended to try it first
on the humble but tasty and succu-
lent radish. He MANFRED his plot of
ground, and sowed his seed accord
ingly; but. as time went on the leaves
Of only n radish appeared above the
ground.
Never mind" said Emmanuel, ut
will be a monster"
The weather was exceedingly hot,
but the radish grew and prospered.
It's leaves filed all Emmanuel's little
plot and broke down the fences. EN-
manuel watered it daily from the well
at the back of his house; but the heat
continued, and by and by the well
gave out. Then, one by one, all the
wells in the ~neighborhood gave out;
there was a drought.
Presently the only green things in
the neighborhood were the leaves of
the huge vegetable, which, in spite Of
the heat, continued to grow and pros
per-. People came from miles round
to see the radish, till Emmanuel piled
a huge barricade Of old meat tins in
front Of it, and demanded a cent
apiece for permission to look inside.
Then still more persons came, for
they knew there must be something
worth seeing, If they had to pay in
order to see. Emmanuel's pride and
his profits grew daily, till at last it
was time to dig up the radish.
But, behold! 1t would not come up.
Emmanuel Catty, ware that it would
be work of some difficulty, had requi.
sitioned half-a-dozen neighbors with
picks and shovels to assist him, and
a large cart wherewith to carry the
radish away. But the farther down
he and his companions dug the far
Their the radish extended.
Its bulk diminished, it is true. after
they had dug down a hundred feet or
SO; it showed slight symptoms of mar
rowing, as if intending to taper, as
do ordinary radishes. But it's perfec.
ton had to be taken on trust, for Ies
its owner and his companions dig as
they would, the radish showed no
signs of stopping. The tail seemed
prepared to continue indefinitely.
By this time ~scaffolding was erect
ed, and the sides of the pit round the
radish were strutted up; the whole
state had gone wild with excitement,
and three leading newspapers had
opened subscription lists to enable
Catty to continue the work of extract
ing the radish. So the digging con-
tinued, and as Catty superintendent it,
he realized suddenly the cause of the
AAOuSAlJ that WiSICucu IdulSu udu
drawn to itself all the water in the
neighborhood, and tapped the wells!
If anything, this increased the in
terest of the public; people felt that
they had sacrificed something to the
radish, and had a right in it; so the
boring went on with undiminisheG en-
ergy, Emmanuel Catty heading the
workers and rejoicing in the thought
that he was famous at last.
After some weeks, however, the
work came to a standstill; the heat
in the mine was becoming intense,
and the radish still extended down.
ward. Emmanuel nearly wept with
disappointment when the suggestion
Of giving up the task was first made.
Come what would, he vowed he would
e the end of that radish. q believe"
he cried, that it goes right through
the earth!"
People looked at each other dubi-
ously; it seemed possible that the
idea was correct; but how to put it
to the test? The heat in the mine
was already sitting. Then Catty had
another idea.
Let US ~excavate inside the radish
Itself" he cried. That will be cool
enough"
This was true; the water which the
radish had sucked up into itself from
SO large an area kept it cool and
fresh; besides, it was easy to work,
and not difficult to strut up; so into
the very heart Of the radish plunged
Catty and his devoted followers, bur-
rowing steadily downward, and exca-
waiting the radish pulp day by day.
Some Of it they ate, thereby obvi-
ating the necessity for a large supply
of provisions. The hole in the radish
communicated with the mine, and the
mine in its turf with the upper atmos-
phere; so the air supply was sufi-
cient, and they p~ersevered.
at strikes me-" said one Of Catty's
companions n morning, that we
must be really getting somewhere at
last" He struck his pick against the
radish wall as he spoke, and it went
through. The next moment a shout
of horror burst from the workers.
Water was pouring in at the hole!
Luckily, the hole was one of he
smallest-the radish texture strong.
With already hewn fragments or rad
ish, they contrived in desperate haste
to stuff up the aperture. Then Catty
stopped and tasted the water pooling
about his feet.
Its salt!" he cried. I'VE are pass
ing through the seal"
Panic seized on his comrades. They
cut and hewed their way into the
"