The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-09-13
In New York
BY PAUL HARRISON

note: One of the factors in the rise and fall of the stock market is O gray tomcat that lives in the Ex- change building. When he comes on the floor, visiting around al the various trading posts and pur- ring, superstitious members believe the markets going up. But when he lies down by one of the posts steels, for example-that's a sign those stocks are going down.
 Agriculture report: New York CTS are needing the back-to-the- farm idea, and farms actually within the city limits have dou- bled in number in a year. There are 446 now, but only one on Manhattan Island. That's a truck farm near upper Broadway, is five acres in extent, and is worth $4O0,0OC.
 Racket item: Some of the taxi drivers and helpful, night-bloom- ing lady friends have teamed in a new sucker game. The girls ride in the back seats, entice lone- ly males into the cabs, ride to distant addresses, change their minds and demand to be taken miles in the opposite direction. When 8 taxi meter registers $15 or $2O the victim usually gets out and walks home.
 Cut Price Memento
 Advertisements: For sale, by a Fifth Avenue shop, one platinum slave bracelet, made in Italy. Ten years ago an offer of $10,0O0 for it was refused, but owing to rapid depreciation in sentimental value will sacrifice for $35O. Original owner was a motion picture actor named Ru- dolph Valentino.
 Sports note: Nearly every eve- ming pedestrians at Longacre Square witness a race along the crowded sidewalk. Bets are made and small cash awards go to the \ contestants-a couple of legless beggers perched on roller-skate carts. Regular alienation of winners has led to dark hinnts Of collision.
 Science news: Broadway crowds quickly crowd around young man who tinkers with a mys- tesious- looking box from which a maze of wires lead to suitcase parked on the curbing. He adjusts a lot of knobs and light goes on in the box. Appar- ently obvious of the onlookers, he speeds into an aparture and speaks excitedly: "Okay, Charley II can see you now! You got your hat on an you're smokin' a cigaret Can you see me all right? It works, Charley, IL works!" Suddenly noticing the gaping crowd, he then opens the suitcase and begins selling "sou- venirs of a great scientific triu- mph." The souvenirs are little cardboard boxes each containing a mirror, and are sold with com plete directions for using them to look around corners.
 
 Sidcline's a Pipe
 Nearly all the Broadway din- ing places" go in for dlstinc. tive decorations involving celebri- ties who have been there. Sardfs is most notable for caricatures, Daye's Blue Room for photo- graphs, and g. score of others dis play sketches, letters and auto graphs. Keen's Chop House, pur- posefully hewing to the old Eng fish tavern tradition, keep pipes' About 10000 clay pipes are dis played in racks, and each one mas been smoked by somebody--may- be Peggy Hopkins Joyce, maybe David Balasco or Victor Herbert,t perhaps only by a visiting grocer from Six Corners, Kansas.
 A pipe costs 50 cents - which makes a nice little sideline for the establishment - and anybody can buy one. smoke it and have 1t filed away in a rack with his name. The acrid taste of a new clap pipo is considerably mellow ed by sentiment. Many of the pipe stems are broken - another tavern tradition. which means that the pipes broken are labeled with the names of Teddy Roose- ye1t. William Howard Taft, Buf" falo Bill Cody and James Gordon Rennett. as well as the above- mentioned Belasco and Herbert. Knows His Onions
 Your correspondent, who likes onions. was surprised but not shocked to learn that an onion Is a lily. Not only botanically, but legally. A seed merchant tells me that some time ago prignt young man loaded pusncart with crimson bulbs, wheeled them to a ferry station, and did 8 hve- lv business selling "Allium cepa iilies'' to home-going commuters. Somebody had him arrested; sald he was peddling ordinary req on. ions. He admitted all that' puI the judge discharged him.. An Allium cepa lily, declared the wise couft, is an onion.
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