Oxford Democrat., 1921-06-21

Here and There.
Strawberry time this year has sug-
gested Q query. 1t is, what was the first
poem, or verse, II one wants to be fussy
and make distinction between the two,
written In New Englands There 10 3
tradition and there Is some circumstan.
tial evidence to uphold it that Q young
Pilgrim, before the tough climate OF
Cape Cod ossi6ed him, committed
poetry. Il was In strawberry time and
there were several young Indian squsws
about, 80 perhaps he was justified. Any.
way the test Of the pudding 10 In the eat
Ing, and the test of poem Is the length
Of its life. The verse was short but Ii
has lived to the present time, therefore
IL must be some poem. It seems this
young Pilgrim was ont strawberrying
the summer after be landed at Plymouth
and he came across some red Indian
women picking red strawberries. Some
Of them had pspooses strapped on
boards, which they hung on the limbs OF
trees for the winds to rock and Groom .
lullaby. Il 30 impressed him that he
tore piece Of bark from Q birch tree
and wrote this qustrsin which has I'm
pressed humanity for three hundred
years, and Ia still In the impressing busi-
ness:
"Rock.a-bye baby on the tree top.
When the wind blows the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks Che cradle win fan.
And down VIII come cradle, baby and al"
Perhaps rs popular Q song writer as
has lived during the last half century
was Stephen G. Foster, who wrote "Old
Folks ct Home" "My Old Kentucky
Home" and Q dozen other southern
melodies. Lovers Of those songs may
be interested to know that the city coun-
oil OF Pittsburgh, Pa, have appropriated
$500 for . tablet 10 be placed In the
house at Bsrdstown, KY, where he lived
after he moved from Pittsburgh, the
city In which he WAS born. Most people
admire these old songs 90 they do not
stop to be critical, but Colonel Henry
Wattsrson In his recent autobiography
has attacked him with that vitriolic pen
Of bis. karse Henry was educated for
. musician, but, like many other people, |
obtained bis living by another calling; |
but be loved music and fraternizsd with
musicians al his life, among others With
stephen G. Foster. he accuses Foster |
of plsgisrixing,-says the melodies
which he published "a his own were |
stolen from German music teacher, In |
whose head melodies were continually |
creeping and haunting him 90 persistent.
ly he committed them to paper In frag.
form. Wasterson says these /
fragments came into the possession of /
Foster, who utilized them for his songs. /
Maybe that 10 90, but most Of us don't /
care 70 long n We possess the songs.
Pearls are very precious and very
ut least with those who can
Afford them, and always have been. The
great trouble being there is not enough
,f than to 20 around. II there were
perhaps they would not be 30 expensive.
But scheme has been devised to create
more Of them. The method pursued is
10 introduce into the living oyster o lit
10 piece OF mothsr-of-pesrl, which In o
little while will be covered with . skin
,f the same substance, and a. the years
20 by with another and another skin,
nntil, say hfty years, solid pearl will be
produced. Some Oxford County men
Ne pearl hunters among fresh water
and some Of them have intro
iuced grains of sand beneath the shells
Tor the purpose Of forming new pearls.
II such were going into the pearl raising
business the substitution Of mother.of-
pearl for sand might be advantageous,
,ut to wait fifty years would be q form
II benevolence TO the coming generation
most OF them are not capable Of. /
Winnicke's comet is joy-sailing In our
,art Of the heavens, and some people are
polling their eyssighs trying to see the
hing. So far they have failed unless
hey had access TO powerful tslsscope;
mt perhaps that 10 not to be wondered
& when its nearest point Of approach, |
vhioh was on Monday last, was ten mil
lon miles distant. But IL the comet
ant be seen perhaps one can see the
tars shaken from its tail In making the J
harp turn In its orbit. Anyway some
stropomess predict meteorlc shower
bout June 81. - result OF its near sp-
roach.
Considerable publicity has been given 4
as finding Of che nest OF . Canada jay
ut In the state OF Washington. None h
! the great museums have specimens Of h
,is birds nest or eggs. They are rarely
'und - they are clsverly concealed. d
be nest recently found had four eggs
sout the size Of . robins, sharply =
,intsd at one end, light blue In color
scklsd with light brown. The habitat n
these birds 10 In the north, but they K
lnturs into the State Of Maine occasion
y, and lumberjaoks sometimes hnd oil v
Ut In the great forests north Of us. lv,
From census reports 1t is learned there Y
. 100 establishments making talking y
Achinea and records, and that this out "
{ for the year 1919 amounted 10 el6S,- y
5000. ni
t1