Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-05-03
EVENING Chat


People with bent for natural his
tory and men who look after electric
lights say that in the last week or so
they have found numerous specimens
OF bugs that are ordinarily not known
10 be active in this latitude until about
the first of June. This is attributed
10 the fact that the unusually warm
weather In April fooled the beetles and
crawlers and other insects into be-
lleving that summer had come and
they came out for their annual careers
OF annoyance. A couple of big moths
that have seldom been known until
late in the Spring have been found.
Most of the bugs were found early in
the week as the cold spell following
the storm of Thursday drove them
away and those which were discovered
were half frozen, showing the effects
OF the change in temperature. Some
entomologists say that the sudden cold
spell may bring relief from bugs for q
time as the ordinary first visitors will
have been killed off or so weakened
that they will not be a nuisance. The
cooling of the temperature may also
nave the effect of preventing the Sec
ond generation of bugs from coming
early. Last year 1t stayed warm from
the middle of Spring and there were
successive generations of pests with
out much interruption.
The display of straw hats as an OBJ
serVance of May day did not amount
TO much in Harrisburg on Saturday
ana the weather man was called
names A week before people rushed
to hat stores and Saturday they de-
cided that the old derby or straw
Kelley" could do a little more SER
vice. However, a few devotees of
fashion were on time even if they did
look shivery Saturday and Sunday
With their straw hats and some frank
~ sported overcoats on their arms.
very few straw hats were to be seen
IN the street. cars or jitneys and those
who did wear them looked uncom-
Portable.
The drop in temperature recalls the
weather conditions of two years ago
When TINS part of the State woke up
about May 10 to find a frost and to
discover that the furnaces needed to
pc hred up. The frost caused much
damage on the farms and nipped a
good many trees, although the de-
struction of the fruit crop was not
nearly as total" as claimed in the
dispatches from the peach and apple
belts.
The unusual April weather has also
been responsible for a remarkable ad-
vance in the rye crop and the fields in
the vicinity of the city which were
sown only recently show a big growth.
In some places the rye has started to
head and the general condition of the
Stalks is pronounced to be good. The
amount OF rye sown is also of unsual
interest as patches are to be found on
farms where it was not planted
couple of years ago. The general in
crease in the wheat acreage in this
section seems also to have induced
people to put out more rye.
Mayor F. w. Brown, of Franklin,
who has attracted some attention by
threatening to ANONYMOUSLY fire"
any city employe guilty of steady
drinking is well known here. Mr..
Brown was much interested irr the
third class city legislation last ses-
sion of the general assembly and at
tended many meetings. He has taken
prominent part in affairs of the
Third Class City League.
The fires that have been causing the
damage on the First and Second
mountains could very easily be pre-
vented in the opinion of people who
have been observing the outbreaks.
The cause is divided between careless
ness and sparks, say these people and
If the land owners would arrange
with some one to keep look out they
would save much timber yearly
Dauphin county has suffered loss of
thousands of dollars worth of timber
since this time last year, and it is the
best argument for the patrol system
at danger points,.
The chilly weather of Saturday aft
ernoon kept many of the National
Guardsmen in this part of the State
from going to the open air range on
the mountain above the city. although
several went out to look over the place
where the citizen soldiery are taught
to handle the weapons in the field
Indoor or gallery practice has been
going on all winter in this city and the
men are anxious to try their hands
at the range in the woods. The new
armory established by the Governors
Troop in the Bethel African Methodist
Episcopal Church that was sold to the
State for park extension will have
good arrangements for indoor work
with pistol and rife.
Tuesday of next week will be the
tenth anniversary of the Lochiel
wreck, the worst ever known in Har-
risburg and one which is still the sub
ject of much discussion among rail-
road men. 1t was characterized by
some of the most unusual features and
the casualty list attracted much atten-
tion. The wreck occurred about 40
on the morning of May II and the
hospitals and hotels OF Harrisburg
were taxed to care for the wounded.
The worst previous wreck, known as
the Dock street wreck, occurred June
%, 1895.