Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-06-27

rectly by the Father Of His Country
One Of the gifts now In the care Of tn,
government Ia a Bible cover Of tapes
try which was used to protect ths
family Bible OF Frances Thornton
Washington. a niece Of George Wash
ington, from dust and hard usage. A
piece Of the crepe which was hung or
the door knob at Mount Vernon on the
occasion of the funeral OF the nrsi
president is another one Of the me
MORALS.
Another cloth memorial IL a piece
Of crimson material from q flag car
ried by the Continental forces who
were under the command of Col. Bur
CESS Ball during the Revolutionary
war. An impression in crimson show
ing the crest Of Joseph Ball of EppIng
Forest. grandfather Of George WIS sh-
ington. also is among the gifts.
Washineton's Gold Epaulets.
Getting down to the things which
actually were used by George Wash
ington. mention should be made OF a
pair Of gold wire epaulets Of ancient
design which were worn by him when
he was a colonel in the French and II.
dian wars. Washington wore these
epaulets also throughout the entire
campaign with Braddock.
In addition to the pair OF epaulets
there Is a single n which Washing.
ton wore at different times during the
Revolution. The w~hereabout Of the
companion Of this epaulet is not
known. A Masonic apron Of the Revo-
lutionary war period with the insignia
in gold and which was the property Of
Col. Burgess Ball, is included In the
collection Of gifts.
When Lafayette was in this country
In 1924 WIS presented ' III a hard.
wood snuff box. beautifully polished
and bearing the Frenchman's portrait
1t was the gift Of American admirers
Of the foreigner who had come to q d
the colonies. Later Lafayette present
ed this SNUFF box to his godson, Fay.
cite Ball. a relative OF George Wash
ington.
One Of the interesting objects in the
collection Is an antique mourning
brooch Of gold worn by Mary Ball.
This is one Of the few authentic relics
Of Washington's mother which Is ex.
tant. It must be remembered that
Mary Washington before her marriage
a Mary Ball. The articles have all
been placed in n Of the cases OF
Washington relics in the National mu.
seum's hall of history.
Chance for "Wlzard" Burbank.
Scientists Of the agricultural de-
partment are showing great inter.
est In a bill which has been favor,
ably reported from the house com.
mittee on public lands to turn over
under certain conditions semi-arid
lands in California. New Mexico, Ari-
IONA and Nevada to Luther Burbank
Of Santa Rosa. Cal, In order that he
may be given a chance to demonstrate
that spineless cacti, valuable for do
nestle animal food, can be grown
there, and thus desert lands be made
profitable.
Representative Raker Of the com.
mittee on public lands has submitted
a favorable report to the house asking
that the lands be turned e to Mr..
Burbank for experimental purposes
and in his report he says that there
seems to be no doubt that the Cali
fornian "has ~propagated a spineless
cactus most valuable for forage, which
If properly introduced may revolu.
tionize the agricultural conditions In
many Of the semi-arid and arid reg.
ions of the southwestern part of the
United States"
In the favorable report on the bill
an explanation is made OF the terms
under which Mr.. Burbank can take
over these great tracts Of land for exl
perimental purposes. The report says:
SIN order to encourage these expert
mentations. it Is proposed to permit
Mr.. Burbank, after 1t Is demonstrated
to the satisfaction Of the secretary Of
the interior that said cacti can be thus
commercially and profitably prepared
to purchase the amount of land as
stated in the bill at the usual price OF
SLIPS per acre IL without the railroad
limits and $3.50 an acre IL within the
said limits. At the present time the
lands in question are without any com.
mercial value.
Experiment In Deserts Wanted.
1T should also be stated that Mr..
Burbank is now propagating these cac.
ii, and selling the same to all corners
at a reasonable price, but these plants
are going into sections of California
where their growth and propa.
Is not attended with any great
expense or uncertainty. 1t is the
view of the committee that 1t is most
desirable to encourage these expert.
in the parts, of the arid
and semi-arid southwest which are at
this time practically deserts and now
await development. If this encour.
agement demonstrates that these sec.
are suitable for the production
Of these cacti, the beneficial results
will be Of incalculable value to the
nation"