Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-07-24
EVENING Chat

In these days when the army worm
is ravaging lawns and the web worm is
eating the hearts of the corn and the
San Jose scale destroying the vigor of
the fruit trees it is a matter of remark
as to why the weeds escape. The
weed is something which the average
man cannot understand and which the
farmer does. TO the farmer they mean
trouble and work. Just as an illus
tratlon OF the manner in which weeds
can spread it is only necessary to look
at the lawn of the federal building
Before the contractors began to en-
large the building Uncle Sans lawn
was the finest in Harrisburg and its
VelVety appearance attracted much at
tehtlon. 1t was kept up to the minute
and dandelions and plantains found
no root there. In a few months a
Grange has come over it. Take, for
instance, the side along Court street.
Within fifty feet there are twelve kinds
OF pestiferous weeds. There is the
burdock, something like the wild mus
tard. a plant suspiciously like chicory,
plantalns. dandelions and everything
that should be kept out of a we'll
ordered lawn that has been kept at
top-notch in the heart of a city for
years. The question is how did the
weeds get into the lawn? Most of
there are outlots and yet they are on
the one patch of lawn that rivals the
Capitol Park and flourishing vigorously
and in full flower.
"One thing you can put down to the
credlt OF the army worm, and it is
probably the only thing too" re-
marked man who is interested in
educational affairs. And that is the
manner in which the presence of the
worm has stimulated interest in the
study of natural history. l know of
people who never paid much attention
to the varieties of creeping, crawling
things that we have about us until the
army worm began maneuvers on their
front lawns. They proceeded to look
up the characteristics of the militant
pest and the last few days have caused
a good many people to be looking up
other things in the same line. 1 have
noted 1t in conversations and 1 guess
the public library has had some de-
mands in that direction"
Property owners in the western part
OF the city are complaining bitterly of
the squirrels which have invaded their
premises. They insist that these squir-
rels follow the telegraph wires from
Capitol Park and on this overhead
route reach the most distant parts of
the city. One prominent citizen said
ne had noticed a squirrel cleaning out
a robins nest and when one squirrel
was shot for killing young birds the
survivor Immediately went down town
ana brought back another mate. The
same gentleman remarked that the
squirrels in Capitol Park were a posi-
tive menace to the bird life Of the city
ana that the pigeons around the Capi-
tol were worse pest than the army
worm.
What's the reason that the Como
doguinet and other streams in Cum
oerland and Perry counties have it all
over our own Swatara as fishing
grounds asked one of the city's old
time anglers. Il used to go fishing in
the Swatara about the early seventies
and 1t was noted as good fishing, but
IateIy never hear of anyone going
there. In fact, the average Dauphin
county angler goes to the Cumberland
or Perry side when he wants to catch
nsh. There used to be good fishing in
some of the creeks up the county and
now you never hear of them, and the
average man can't name the streams
between the Mahantongo and Cone
WACO that flow into the Susouehanna.
from Dauphin county,"
Members of the Harrisburg Cana
dlan hshing contingent are in their
glory just now. They are going and
coming and each one is telling the
other how fine is the fishing or the
sleeping or the other delights. Yester-
day f. w. Fleitz former Deputy Attor-
ney General and a Bobcaygeon habitue
OF eighteen years. ran right into an
Eagiesmere partisan. 1t happens that
Eaglesmere is very popular with many
Harrisburgers and this Eaglesmere
man happened to be Charles H. Berg
ner. They argued the respective
merits for a quarter of an hour far
more earnestly than they did cases be-
fore courts.
The ringing of the Courthouse bell
yesterday afternoon for a test of the
bell about 1.S0 caused some people TO
thlnk that court was being convened
earlier than usual. So they went into
the courtroom. 1t is one of the hottest
places in Harrisburg early in the aft
ernoon and the interested ones sat and
sWeltered. They sat and sat and finally
about 2 o'clock the court officials came
IN and things started as usual. Then
some indignant ones wanted to know
why Brownie rang the bell.