Chapter III: Part 3

With the autumn we prepared to journey Romeward, and sad good-byes were said. Everybody was in tears except the twins, and as we started for the train they appeared with the precious goldfish. Here was a dilemma! Mother said firmly that she could not possibly go all the way to Rome with more than one pair of twins. Grief and dismay made their eyes brim over, and uncle said: "Let's keep some dry eyes in this party. I'll bring the fish to the station." He brought them in a little tin pail with holes in the cover for air, and in this style Romulus and Remus set forth on their wanderings. The sleeping-car porter looked on them with a friendly eye, and thus we arrived safely in New York, where we went aboard a Mediterranean steamer bound for Naples. Mother left the twins with their pail in a safe place on deck, while she looked after the baggage. They were gone when she returned, and rather frightened, she rushed to her state-room, where she was still more startled to find the Captain stooping over something on the floor. He rose and spoke courteously, "I beg your pardon, madam, but I found the children and their Romans on deck. I am a Roman myself, and I will give orders that no one of this quartette lack for anything on my ship." Thanks to the Captain's patriotism, we had a most comfortable voyage as we steamed across the Atlantic and past Gibraltar, through the beautiful Mediterranean. The eyes of the twins opened wide when they reached Naples and saw the fires of Vesuvius, but in the hurry to reach Rome we drove straight to the railway station. As we stood in the long line of people who were pushing and crowding to the train, some impatient traveller jostled the pail so that poor Romulus and Remus wriggled on the stone floor. Mother almost abandoned them to their fate, but a porter was quick-witted enough to clap them into the pail and rush off for fresh water. He returned in time to hand them through the train window to their beaming owners, and with an eye to further reward he brought a bottle of water also. There is no water on Italian trains, and but for this happy thought the fish would have perished during the seven hours by rail to Rome. The swaying motion of the train was far worse than that of the steamer, and mother and twins were kept busy filling the pail as fast as the water splashed out. By-and-by we rolled into the Roman station, and father was so glad to see his loved ones that he declared he felt like eating the whole party, fish included.

Thus the little American goldfish came to live in the shadow of the Roman Capitol, in sight of their wolfish namesakes. Every visitor heard the story of their adventures, and one sympathetic listener brought them a new globe with two dear little bronze wolves in the bottom; but, alas! their stay on classic soil was brief. During the long sea-voyage they had lost their bright golden hue, and wore rather a pale, silvery look, so that the twins became anxious about the health of their pets. A fish-dealer said that goldfish thrive best when fed with the wafers used for taking medicine. Half a wafer was dropped in for their supper, but next morning poor Romulus and the wafer floated on the water together. The twins were inconsolable, till mother organized a grand funeral procession to the flat house-top, where Romulus was buried in state under a peach-tree which mother had grown in a packing-box from a seed brought from her American home.

Remus lived on alone without the luxury of wafers, for the fishman, when interviewed by the tearful twins, said that Romulus died of over-eating, since wafers are mince pie and plum-pudding to goldfish, who are such gluttons that they can be trusted with but a pin-point of their favorite dish. The tragic end of Romulus was forgotten in the joys of Christmas-time, when the twins showed some little Italian friends their first Christmas tree, for they know nothing of Santa Claus in Rome, but receive gifts from an old woman called Befana. She comes at Epiphany, when there is also a procession up the 124 marble steps that lead to the Ara Coeli Church, in which there is a "presepio," or representation of the infant Christ in the manger. The nursery window overlooked these steps, and just underneath was a fine array of toys and sweets to tempt the Roman children, who go every year to recite poetry before the "presepio." The twins spent the morning watching the crowd and driving an occasional bargain with the toy-seller beneath their window. They borrowed the servant's basket, which she lets down with a string, Roman fashion, when she hears the postman's knock and does not want to go down the long stairway to the _portone_, or big street door, to receive letters. They sent down pennies in the basket, and drew it up with the desired plaything, until lunch called them from their fascinating employment. Poor lonely Remus was set in the window to enjoy the fun, but on their return the globe was tenantless. The toy-woman below saw the dismayed little faces peeping over the window sill, and called up to say that she had picked up a dead fish on the cold marble step. The basket went down once more, and was drawn up slowly and sadly with poor Remus's body.

We buried him, too, under the peach-tree on the house-top, and set up the little bronze wolves for a double monument; but the twins have never wanted any more goldfish. They write their own letters now, and seal them with a tiny stamp of the Roman wolves; but to this day they bemoan the fact that while Remus met rather a historic fate, their favorite Romulus died a glutton. But father comforts them by saying that those "noble Romans" were very fond of good things, and their fish no doubt followed the example of many another Roman citizen.

To continue the subject of aquatics, which the Department took up last week, let us turn to the art of diving. Before learning to dive, the beginner should accustom himself to keep his head under water as long as he can hold his breath, and he should practise opening the eyes under water in order to become used to the appearance of things below the surface. Diving, even more than swimming, demands that a boy or man should have confidence in himself. Nobody should attempt to learn how to dive when alone; even more than when learning to swim, he should have some one near at hand in case help is needed.

To learn how to dive, the beginner should first squat down on the edge of the float or spring-board from which he is to plunge into the water, holding his hands out before him just as he does in the breast stroke in swimming (described in this Department last week)--that is, with the arms extended, the hands horizontal, and the fingers close together, the thumb tips and the forefinger tips touching one another. Then he should allow himself to tumble forward into the water, striking with his hands first. The eyes must be kept closed when plunging into the water, and should not be opened until after the head is immersed.

It is very dangerous to plunge into the water with the eyes open, and a number of people have been blinded by so doing. Always duck the chin a little in toward the breast just before the head strikes the water. As soon as the body has entered the water the hands should be bent back and the head raised to an upright position. The bending back of the hands sends the body upward toward the surface again. As I have said, the first trials at diving should be mere drops into the water off the edge of the float from a sitting position.

After the beginner has learned to do this he should lean from the waist over (as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 6), and likewise fall forward. When he has mastered this method he may stand upright, as shown by the figure drawn in heavy lines in Fig. 6, and as also shown in the photographic illustration No. 1.

The accompanying series of pictures illustrating the dive in detail are made from instantaneous photographs of Professor Gus Sundstrom. They show, in No. 1, the upright pose of the body just before taking the plunge. The diver stands upright on a spring-board or on the edge of a float, with the arms held stiff to the sides, the chest well filled with air so as to give buoyancy to the body, and the eyes resting on about that spot in the water where he expects to plunge below the surface.

The diver then raises his arms before him, the palms downward, not held closely together like an arrow-point--a position assumed by many divers who do not know the correct way. He then allows his body to fall forward, bending his knees and giving a slight spring with his legs. As the body rises in the air the arms are gradually lifted, until, when the body is about to enter the water, it lies practically in a straight line from toes to fingers. Fig. 6 shows very clearly what happens as soon as a man plunges into the water and turns his palms upward. The body describes a sort of arc under water, and the head comes to the surface about six feet from the point where it entered.

The whole science of diving depends upon the spring taken before leaping into the water--that is, the diver should be careful to give enough spring to throw his body sufficiently forward to give the legs time to follow a curve, otherwise the body will fall flat on the water, and this might result in serious injury to the performer.

The high dive is different from the low dive only in that a run is taken, instead of plunging into the water from a standstill. Of course in this case the spring is greater, the body goes higher into the air, describing a greater arc, and dives deeper under the water, unless some effort is made to prevent. This effort is very simple, and consists of bending the hands back as aforesaid, in throwing the chest back, and in bending the legs back.

If the intention of the diver is to sink to the bottom of the stream or pool, to pick up something, for instance, he should not perform any of these motions, but allow his body to go unrestrained. To rise again from the bottom, keep the hands well below the shoulders, and work the feet as when treading water. The body will thus come to the surface very quickly.

As was said last week, the fastest way to swim on the breast is to use the over-hand stroke. It is the most common stroke in racing, both for long distances and short distances. But in order to acquire speed in swimming, one must practise considerably and maintain a certain kind of more or less strict training. The swimmer needs plenty of sleep. He should go to bed not later than 10.30 every night, and should rise early. He should then take a very light breakfast--a glass of milk and a piece of toast, for instance--and take a walk of a mile or so.

When he comes home he should exercise with light dumbbells and rub down with a coarse towel. Then he should take a more solid breakfast, consisting of coffee, eggs, and steak. An hour or so afterwards he should go for another walk, this time of from five to ten miles, and every now and then during this promenade he should sprint from 50 to 100 yards. This sprinting limbers the legs, which is necessary for the swimmer.

Punching the bag is another good exercise, and of course a certain amount of swimming should be done, though it is not necessary by any means to swim every day. Mr. Arthur T. Kenney, the champion amateur swimmer of America, swims only three times a week, and manages, in that way, to keep himself in first-rate condition. He believes in keeping the muscles pliant and in preventing them from becoming hard. Therefore it is well for the swimmer not to indulge in much rowing, for that is the exercise which hardens the muscles of the arms.

It goes without saying that when training for a race the swimming should be done in a stream or lake, and not in a tank in-doors, for the open air is much better to exercise in than the close air of the tank or gymnasium. Young swimmers should practise short swims in order to develop a speedy stroke, and not attempt long distances until they have acquired the leg action necessary for racing. Short swims of 50 or 100 yards are the best distances.

Furthermore, it should be remembered that fast and hard work should not be attempted before the body has been gotten into perfect condition, otherwise the swimmer becomes overwearied, and is unable to perform the work which he otherwise could.

It is only natural to suppose that any one who expects to enter a swimming race has been swimming enough during the summer to be in fair condition. Therefore if he follows the course of training briefly described above for about a week--which is Mr. Kenney's method, and has made him the champion of American amateurs--he will then be in condition to work systematically in the water.

As in every other kind of athletic sport, a swimmer must give the greatest attention to form. Do not allow yourself to be carried away by the desire to acquire speed, but try so to master the action of the arms and legs that presently they will work almost automatically, and perform to the best advantage for the expenditure of energy. It is well to swim half the distance of the race about three times a week, but no more, and after this has been done for about two weeks it will be noticed that the action of the body has become much easier, and that speed has increased. Then a certain amount of time should be devoted to the practice of starting.

A start in a swimming race is very much like the action of a standing broad jump; it is a spring from a mark. The proper attitude to assume at the starting-line is to have the legs bent, the arms held back, the body leaning forward just as far as equilibrium will allow. As soon as the pistol is fired, or the word to start is given, swing the arms forward, and spring with all the strength of your legs as far out into the water as possible. Pay no attention to the other competitors, and do not look forward into the course, but give all your thoughts to making a long leap. This start should be a low dive (what swimmers call a "skip-jack"), and the head should be brought to the surface as quickly as possible by taking a stroke under water.

An important thing to remember is to have the arms in position to take a strong, steady stroke as soon as the head comes above the surface. It will require a great deal of practice to master all these details of the start, and therefore it is advisable to practise these things on the intermediate days of swimming. For instance, swim half your distance one day, practise starting the next, and then swim half your distance the next day, and so on.

After coming out of the water the swimmer should be well rubbed down with a coarse towel, and he should, if possible, have somebody to knead his muscles, for this sort of massage helps greatly to limber the tissues.

The football season will open in the colleges in a very few weeks, and the schools will follow their elders shortly afterwards. The question of summer training for football-players has been more or less mooted for the past few years. I believe that the best opinion among athletes is that for young players it is not advisable to try to get into training much before September. The summer is intended for recreation and not for work, and sport is a pastime, not a business.

Those college-men who set to work in August, gathering at the training-table a month before the term opens, are making a business of football. They are devoting their energies to the sport for the sake of winning, and not for the pleasure they get from playing. And this sort of thing is bad for athletics, and bad for that particular branch of athletics which becomes the victim of summer training. Nevertheless, there are cases where a little preliminary thought and work may be of service--I mean especially with captains of teams, or with half-backs and quarter-backs, who have the ambition to make their school or college teams, but who feel that they have not had enough experience as yet to feel sure that their work in the fall will assure them of the place.

It is a very different thing if an individual, or two individuals, at their homes in the country, choose to kick a football over an improvised goal-post, or choose, two or three times a week, to go out on the grass and fall on the ball, or to go out in the road and run a few miles to improve their wind. It is a different thing from getting eleven men together for concerted work. In fact, it is well for the amateur sportsmen who recognize their own weaknesses to try to remedy them at home in the early fall. This is not making a business of sport--it is rather developing a healthy interest and ambition.

Captains of teams, as I have said before, can spend several weeks prior to the opening of the school term in reading and learning the rules of the game, and in planning out plays and tricks which they think can be effective against their opponents. The captain of a school team has usually played one year or more on his school's eleven, and is consequently more or less familiar with the style of play of the other schools in his league; and by giving thought to the work as he has seen it performed by each one of his rivals, he may very well be able to develop some sort of counter-strategy which shall prove most effective later in the season.

Recognizing the fact that the school captains all over the country will probably wish to be giving some consideration to the new season from now on, this Department will shortly begin a series of four papers on the science of football, and on this game as it is to be played this year, illustrating the text with photographs and diagrams. But before we begin with the theory of the game, it will probably be well to touch lightly upon training and practice.

Let us assume that the majority of school teams will be getting together toward the end of September. At that season of the year, especially after a long summer vacation, in which, if there has been any exercise taken at all, it has been exercise of an entirely different kind from football, most of the players will be soft, and their muscles will need hardening. During the first few days practice should not exceed more than twenty-five minutes at a stretch. It should consist of dropping on the ball, and of snapping the ball back from the centre to the quarter, and of passes from the half-backs to the full-back and to one another. A little running, for wind, is also advisable.

The running should not be of the long-distance kind to begin with, but sprinting, and very short sprints at that. A good way is to line the whole team up across the field, and to have them sprint to the 25-yard line. This might be done twice a day--once at the beginning of the practice, and once at the end. As the days go by, the second sprint can be lengthened, until the men are required to run as far as the 50-yard line, and a week or so later they should be made to run the entire length of the field.

Where it is possible, the players should return home from the field on which they have been practising at a swinging trot, and upon reaching their various rooms they should bathe and rub down so as to avoid stiffness resulting from the new exercise. It ought not to be necessary for me to say that football-players, and especially young football-players, should make a point of getting to bed early--before ten o'clock, if possible--and of rising regularly in the morning.

After this preliminary work has been going on for a week or two, more serious practice can be undertaken. The candidates should be divided into squads, the centres and quarter-backs, the half-backs and the line-men working together. Practice may now be kept up for three-quarters of an hour each afternoon, the backs, of course, devoting themselves to punting and catching, whereas the line-men work at breaking through, and at tackling, and at falling on the ball. Not more than half of the time devoted to practice should be spent in playing the game itself; but in that time, when the two teams, the first and the scrub, are opposed to one another in regular football array, they should play as hard and as carefully as if they were indulging in a contest with some strong rival.

On alternate days the scrub team should keep the ball in its possession constantly, in order that the first team may get practice in defensive play. On the other days the first team should hold the ball, in order to develop the strategy of offensive work. It is also well, as the season grows older, to have the regular half-backs play on the scrub team, in order that the rush-line players of the first team may have the advantage of playing against the best backs their schools can turn out.

H. P. BOARDMAN, BURLINGTON, VT.--You can get the information you
ask for in Zimmerman's book on bicycling. Any dealer in sporting
goods can secure the book for you.

"TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL."--ILLUSTRATED.--8VO, CLOTH, ORNAMENTAL, $1.25.

THE GRADUATE.

Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly
answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to
hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.

COLORING PHOTOGRAPHS.

A very simple and easy way to color photographs, and one by which a person with little or no knowledge of painting can produce quite pleasing effects, is called the "Hallotype," from the name of the inventor, Mr. J. B. Hall.

The process consists in printing two paper positives from the same negative, rendering one transparent by the use of dammar varnish, and painting the other, and placing the transparent print over the painted one, and fastening them securely between two plates of glass.

To render the print transparent, after it has been toned and dried, lay it face down on a sheet of glass, and varnish with dammar varnish. This varnish can be bought ready prepared, or may be made of one ounce of dammar-gum dissolved in two ounces of spirits of turpentine. If one coat does not make the print transparent enough, apply a second when the first is dry. Be careful that the print, when drying, does not stick to the glass.

Another way to make the print transparent is to apply the print to glass, and remove the paper, leaving the film on the glass. To do this take a spoiled negative or piece of clear glass, clean it thoroughly, and polish it with French chalk to remove all trace of grease. Varnish the glass with varnish made of one ounce of balsam of fir and two ounces of spirits of turpentine. As soon as the varnish begins to set, take the print, which must be thoroughly wet, blot off the moisture from the face with clean blotting-paper, and place the print face down on the glass. Roll down smoothly with a squeegee, taking care that no air-blisters remain between the print and the glass. The paper can now be removed by rubbing it gently with the fingers, moistening it with a wet sponge as it dries. When the paper is removed, varnish the film and set it away to dry.

The other print is now to be colored. For this one may use either oil or water-colors. If water-colors are used, they should be mixed with Chinese white to give them body. The paints are applied roughly, the only care being necessary is to follow the outlines of the objects, and to use appropriate colors. The result will be a daub without any special form.

When the colors are dry place the print under the transparent picture, matching the outlines of the two pictures perfectly. If the print has been rendered transparent by varnishing, it is best to attach it to a glass by pasting it at the corners before fitting the colored print over it. Back the two prints with a piece of thin white card-board, and place another glass back of the paste-board. Bind the glasses with a strip of adhesive paper, such as is used for binding lantern slides, and then frame or finish in any way desired.

If the film has been transferred to glass, a pretty way to finish the picture after the painted print has been fitted to it, and the glasses bound together, is to take gilt paper and cut an opening of a size to correspond with the picture, and place it over the face of the picture like a mat. Put another piece of plain paper over this and fasten to the picture. The picture may either be framed or bound with ribbon.

This is a good way to use up spoiled plates, and after a little practice one can make very good colored pictures.

* * * * *

FALSE ECONOMY

is practised by people who buy inferior articles of food. The Gail Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk is the best infant food. _Infant Health_ is the title of a valuable pamphlet for mothers. Sent free by New York Condensed Milk Co., New York--[_Adv._]

ADVERTISEMENTS.

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ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO., NEW YORK.

This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the
Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our
maps and tours contain many valuable data kindly supplied from the
official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen.
Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L.A.W., the
Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership
blanks and information so far as possible.

Last week we followed the route from Chicago to Waukesha as far as Lippencott's, on Fox Lake, advising the rider to make the distance from Chicago to Lippencott's in one day, running as far as Wheeling in the morning, stopping there for dinner, and continuing to Lippencott's in the afternoon. It is possible to make the rest of the journey to Waukesha on the second day, and by referring to the map in the last issue of the ROUND TABLE the reader can follow the route from Fox Lake to Salem--the rest of the distance to Waukesha being shown on the map given this week.

The distance from Lippencott's is about fifty miles. Leaving Lippencott's, ride to the south about three-fourths of a mile, then turn sharp to the left instead of continuing back towards Wheeling. Hold this road for about two miles as it turns northward, and then run straight along on or near the shore of Fox Lake out to Antioch, the only turn being about half a mile before entering the town of Antioch itself, which is evidently enough to the right, as the town is in sight.

From Antioch, after crossing the track, proceed northward along the main road direct to Salem, a little over five miles from Antioch; thence run on out of Salem in the same direction about a mile; take the left turn at a junction of five roads, and ride out toward Fox River by Silver Lake, which will be on the left. Cross the river a good five miles from the fork beyond Salem. After crossing the river keep to the right, and follow the river itself all the way into Burlington, along an easily found road. At Burlington recross the river again, and follow a somewhat winding road to Rochester. Burlington is about eight miles from the bridge over Fox River, and Rochester is five miles from Burlington. Keeping on through Rochester, continue two miles to Waterford, and there turn northwestward and run a good eight miles to Mukwonago. The road is not especially good here, and there are some opportunities for losing the way, unless the map is followed carefully. It will pay to make inquiries occasionally. On leaving Mukwonago run on about five miles to the north, and at a fork, which is evident on the map and will be easily found on the road, turn to the right, and run to Saylesville. Thence proceed direct to Waukesha, seven miles away.

Burlington is the place to stop for lunch; that gives a ride of about twenty-five miles or more after lunch and twenty-six or twenty-seven miles before, thus dividing the journey in halves, and making a pleasant two days' run from Chicago to Waukesha. That is, leaving Chicago, stop for the noon rest the first day at Wheeling, and spend the night at Lippencott's; on the second day stop at Burlington for the noon rest, and reach Waukesha in the late afternoon.

From this point the rides about Waukesha, which have already been described in the recent numbers of the ROUND TABLE, can be taken, and a good fortnight's bicycling trip can be spent to great advantage in this one district alone. All the country along the route is made attractive by the conspicuous absence of bad hills and by the constant appearance of water, either in the form of ponds or lakes or rivers.

During the next weeks we shall give some especially interesting trips in Illinois, in the vicinity of Chicago, such as trips about Ottowa and trips to St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan. All of these are carefully chosen trips, adapted to the average bicycle-rider--not the long-distance century-runner--and it will well repay any wheelman to study these maps in and around Chicago.

This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin
collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question
on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address
Editor Stamp Department.

The American Philatelic Association has just held its annual meeting at Lake Minnetonka, Minn. The membership is 1046, and the treasurer reports a surplus on hand of about $1300. The annual dues have been raised to $1.08, being exactly nine cents per month. The following were elected officers for the ensuing year: Messrs. Olney, president; Vanderlip, Toppan, and Kilborn, vice-presidents; Chandler, treasurer; Beard, Phillips, and Doeblin, secretaries; Mekeel, superintendent of sales.

Plate Nos. and U.S. Revenues continue to increase in value, and now a long-neglected department of philately is exciting widespread interest, viz., U.S. entire envelopes. I have always advocated collecting entire envelopes, showing the different dies and colors of papers, leaving to specialists the different varieties in shapes, sizes, water-marks, gums, etc. The only objection has been the necessity of having separate albums for the envelopes. One of the curious facts connected with auction sales is that frequently a perfectly clean entire envelope could be bought cheaper than a cut square envelope of the same die, and on the same paper. A few collectors have availed themselves of these opportunities to their own profit.

The issue of the Columbian series of U.S. stamps seems to have led large numbers of persons who know nothing of stamps, except that some rare ones bring big prices, to buy quantities of all the Columbians and lay them aside as a speculation. These hoards are now coming into the market, and every week quantities are purchased by the dealers at a discount on the face value. This is especially true of the denominations 50c., $2, $3, $4, $5. Very few of the $1 stamps are offered, thus their price is fairly well maintained. But the others are bought at a discount of ten or fifteen per cent., thereby breaking the speculative prices. Still, every lot that comes into the market reduces the quantity held in reserve, and prices may advance materially at any time.

A. CAREY.--M. stands for German marks, worth 25c. each; F. for
French francs, worth 20c. each; £ for English pound sterling, worth
$4.88; also for Italian liras, worth 20c. each.

A. B. HERVEY.--It is impossible to say which of the Plate Nos. are
rarest. One dealer may have a large quantity of certain Nos., and
lack those of which another dealer has a superfluity, and _vice
versa_. A priced catalogue of Plate Nos. can be bought of any
dealer for 25c. The prices are a fair indication of present values,
which, however, are fluctuating. The following list of Nos. wanted
has been advertised by one of the largest dealers. They must be in
strips of three, with full Imprint and Plate Nos. attached, either
tops, bottoms, or sides.

UNWATER-MARKED.

Nos. 2, 6, 7, 10, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 31, 34, 49, 50, 53,
54, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77,
78, 80, 84, 85, 88, 89 (will pay $25 for this), 90, 92, 93, 94, 97,
100, 104, 105, 106, 109, 110, 111, 123, 125, 135, 136, 137, 138,
139, 140, 141, 146, 151.

WATER-MARKED.

Nos. 24, 29, 33, 35, 60, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80,
82, 84, 90, 93, 100, 102, 105, 109, 110, 116, 123, 126, 131, 132,
133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 159, 258, 259, 260, 261, 265,
266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288,
289. Nos. 24, 29, 33, and 35 on water-marked paper are worth $5
each and upward.

There must be thousands of these sheets in the smaller
post-offices.

R. B. B.--The U.S. coins mentioned are all current, and turn up
constantly in the ordinary course of trade. The foreign coins are
no longer current, and are worth bullion only. The red Centennial
is listed at 50c., the green at 25c. I would advise you to buy a
25c. catalogue, as it will give you full information on values.

D. H. WILSON.--Foreign copper money has no value in this country.

J. M. S. CARTER.--To see water-marks, dip the stamp in water, and
try it in various positions and in various lights. The letters on
English stamps are control Nos. (see ROUND TABLE for October 8,
1895). Rare stamps are more valuable on letters. Common stamps are
common in any way.

A. SACHS.--Certainly. Buy a catalogue. If you intend to collect
stamps systematically, you must have a catalogue.

E. T. SYMS.--Spanish stamps cancelled by heavy lines straight
across, and those having holes punched in them, are both
remainders. They are genuine stamps which could have been used for
postage before they were "barred" or "punched."

A. CHAMBERS.--O.S. on British Colonial stamps means "Official
Service." The New South Wales stamps with different initials were
used in the different public offices. For instance, those with the
surcharge L.C. stand for Land Commissioner, etc. Some of these
stamps are very scarce, and all are worth more than the same stamps
without the initials.

H. D. JACKSON.--There were so many varieties of Revenue stamps that
it would be impossible to answer your question accurately. In
general the imperforated stamps ate worth much more than the
perforated. The average perforated Revenues can be bought at from
1c to 25c. each in all values up to $10.

M. SHRENE.--A complete set of Columbian stamps, from 1c. to $5, is
worth $25, either used or unused.

LURA E. COSLEY.--All the U.S. stamps are now water-marked. A
portion of a letter is to be found on every one. The letters are
U.S.P.S. (see ROUND TABLE, August 6, 1895).

S. ISABEL CARTER.--They are not coins, but are "war tokens," which
are extremely interesting, but at present have no monetary value.
They were collected from 1862 to 1864, but the dies were in the
hands of the manufacturers, who immediately struck a quantity
whenever there was a premium. This discouraged the collectors. Some
day they will doubtless be much sought after, and will then become
valuable.

HONESDALE.--V nickels without the word "cents" can be bought of
dealers for 10c. each. Your dime and copper are still current and
quite common. The "Exigency" is a "war token." Letters on U.S.
coins show the mint at which they were coined. The Philadelphia
mint, however, does not show any special letter.

PHILATUS.

* * * * *

OLD TREES.

On the slope of the Sierra Nevada, five thousand feet above the sea-level, there are a number of trees varying from 250 to 320 feet in height and from 10 to 20 feet in diameter. The bark of these trees is from 12 to 15 inches in thickness. In 1853 one of them was cut down and 21 feet of the bark from the lower part of the trunk was used to make a room, and when completed it was large enough to contain a piano and seat forty persons.

On one occasion it held 150 children. The tree from which this bark was taken was reputed to have been three thousand years old. There are many old trees in the world standing to-day, of which we name the following:

The camphor-tree of Sorrogi, in Japan, is hollow, and will hold fifteen persons. Superstition relates that it grew from the staff of the philosopher Kobodarsi, and Siebold thinks the tree may have existed since the time of that sage at the close of the eighth century. The cypress of Soma, in Lombardy, is perhaps the oldest tree of which there is any record in the world. It is generally supposed to have been planted in the year of the birth of Christ, but the Abbé of Beliz states that there is extant at Milan a chronicle which proves that it was in existence in the time of Julius Cæsar, B.C. 42. It is 121 feet high. The olive-tree at Pessio is probably the most ancient in Italy, and is stated to be 700 years old. The dragon tree of Orotava, in the island of Teneriffe, is considered to be one thousand years old. It is stated to have been as large and as hollow in the fourteenth century as it was when found by Humboldt, late in the last century. There is an extraordinary tree in the neighborhood of Finale which bears something like 8000 oranges in one year.

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* * * * *

The New Way of Extracting Gold.

In these days, when so much is heard about gold and silver, I
thought the Table might like to know something about gold-mining at
Cripple Creek. Well, everything here is new--the buildings, the
shops, the whole town; but more remarkable than that fact is the
one that the method of getting gold out of the earth is new too.

It is estimated that not fewer than 2500 men are at this moment
walking over the rocks of Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and California
looking for gold. Nobody prospects for silver nowadays. It is all
gold. The reason for this is that gold is so valuable, and silver
so cheap. But there is another reason, and that is that gold is
found everywhere, and a new way has just been discovered for
getting it out of the rock or sand in paying quantities. Hence
gold-fields that once were not worth working are now rich in
promise. Gold is one of the most plentiful of metals, but we have
just found out how to get it.

Near Cripple Creek is the largest reduction-mill in the world. Into
it are poured vast quantities of what look like cobble-stones, and
out of it come fortunes every month. The way this is accomplished
is by putting into the mill, with the cobble-stones--which
cobble-stones have the gold in them--cyanide of potassium. This
stuff looks just like common alum, but it is not alum by a good
deal, for it is deadly poison. It is made from the hoofs, horns,
and refuse of cattle. It has a wonderful way of taking hold of the
particles of gold after the rock has been ground to a powder, and
of letting the gold go again when it is wanted to do so. The effect
is that rock that under the old processes was not worth handling
is, under the new cyanide process, a "gold-mine" in reality.

This method of gold extraction was invented by two Scotchmen, and
came here from Australia. Now there are a score of cyanide-mills in
Colorado, and it is predicted that the next twenty years will see
gold far more plentiful than the world ever dreamed possible for it
to be.

WALTER C. NEWPORT, R.T.K.
CRIPPLE CREEK, COL.

* * * * *

Another Word from Distant South Africa.

I live in Africa. I am thirteen years old. My sister wrote you, and
a great many American children have answered her letter. One little
girl named Xena gave a description of herself which was so like me
that when Bertha read the letter they all looked at me and laughed.
So Bertha thought I'd be the best one to answer her. I wrote, but
after five months of anxious waiting, my letter was returned to me.
If Xena sees this I hope she will write again, and send her proper
address in print writing.

Can you tell us what has become of the "Author of the clever
contrivance"? He was among the first who wrote to Bertha. We are
most interested in him, because he was an invalid. Bertha answered
him, but he has not written again. Father gave us leave to
subscribe to the ROUND TABLE, but there are so many troubles lately
that we have been obliged to put it off--war, drought, and locusts.
Besides eating the grass, beans, potatoes, and pumpkins, they have
eaten the leaves off the fruit trees. The latter all look as if
winter had come--all except the orange-trees. Father kept them off
these trees with flags on long bamboos.

FLORENCE MARIA.
KOONAH, VIA GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, FEBRUARY.

* * * * *

Playing at Newspaper-Making.

When amateur papers attain the excellence of those made by professional journalists it is time for the latter fellows to bestir themselves. _Ye Round-Table Jester_ comes to us from Brooklyn--the Avalonia Chapter, No. 792, No. 369 Lewis Avenue. The publishing committee consists of Sir Knights William Hathaway, Beverly Sedgwick, Frederic Cook, and Russell Molyneux. It is mimeograph print, type-writer text, in two colors, and profusely illustrated by "Bev"--Mr. Beverly S. King, who has won several ROUND TABLE illustration prizes. The prospectus says the artistic abilities of the Chapter "had to find vent somewhere." Genius always "gets there," you remember.

The front-page illustration shows two Knights, one of 1396, the other of 1896. One is in armor on a horse, the other in knickerbockers on a bicycle. Here are some _Jester_ jokes:

BUT IT WOULDN'T WORK.

MOMMER. "Johnny, what's Willy crying about? And why have you got that baby sitting out there in the sun?"

JOHNNY. "Why, Popper told me that if I left his tools out in the sun it would take all the temper out, so I thought I'd see if I couldn't get a little temper out of the baby."

ONE KIND OF A SCORCHER.

TOMMY. "Say, Pop, I saw Bridget scorching this morning."

POP. "What's that? Bridget on a wheel? I'll give her notice at once!"

TOMMY. "Oh, that's all right, Pop. She was only scorching your shirt when she ironed it."

* * * * *

Kinks.

No. 23.--AN ANAGRAMMATICAL ACROSTIC.

If the cross-words--of equal length--are rightly guessed, one of the vertical columns will spell the name of an English scientist and astronomer of world-wide fame. The name is also concealed in the anagram.

A TOCSIN ANEW.

Cross-words.--1, To fawn. 2, A pendent ornament. 3, To spring, 4, A part of a flower. 5, A public alarm-bell. 6, To cogitate. 7, To hold fast. 8, An Indian dance. 9, To reel. 10, A boaster. 11, A showy but worthless ornament.

* * * * *

No. 24.--RHYMED WORD-SQUARE.

First is a Spanish steed, of stature very small;
Next, a Roman magistrate, with power over all;
My third is some strong savor--perhaps of frankincense;
My fourth implies "to banish"--if found in use at all;
And, last of all, aquatic birds, with breadth of wings immense.

* * * * *

No. 25.--CROSS-WORD ENIGMA.

My first is in club, but not in mace;
My second in lineage, but not in race;
My third is in spruce, but not in larch;
My fourth is in journey, but not in march;
My fifth is in Odin, but not in Lok:
My sixth is in herd, but not in flock;
My seventh in park, but not in lawn;
My eighth is in bishop, but not in pawn;
My ninth is in gun, but not in yak;
My tenth is in russet, but not in black;
My eleventh in sack, but not in cape;
My whole was a fire-arm of ludicrous shape.

VINCENT V. M. BEEDE, R.T.F.

* * * * *

No. 26.--A RIDDLE.

I am sometimes a _quadruped_; still, like a fish, I have _scales_ running all over me. Some say I am foolish and put on airs, but I guess my argument is pretty sound. As an instance, though I own my own home, I live in board. Furthermore, I have the reputation of being square and upright; perhaps too much so, for I am often played upon. My name contradicts itself, and when I am largest I am called a "baby." I am a thing of note, and though extremely bulky, am always peddled. What am I?

SIMON THEODORE STERN.

* * * * *

No. 27.--A DAY OUT.

The name of the author of the work mentioned completes the sense.

A Beggar's Opera, Night Thoughts, Ivanhoe set out one day for a Fancy and Imagination. He was thoughtful enough, Alma to starting, to Uncle Tom's Cabin away a lunch of Essays of Elia and Novum Organum and some Scottish Chiefs bought from a The Country Girl. Being a Handy Andy of fishing, he carried also a The Christian Hero, The Soldier's Return tied to a The Cloister and the Hearth. He wore a Rab and his Friends The Faerie Queene and a Elegy in a Country Church-yard Song of a Shirt.

As he was a Hiawatha, he made Tale of a Tub progress, till he stumbled over some Queen Mab The Hunchback, and so got an Pleasures of the Imagination. "Land of Labor and of Gold Cotter's Saturday Night!" he exclaimed, in a Tristram Shandy, Sir Thomas Overbury voice. "It is enough to anger a Rape of the Lock or a The Circassian Bride. But what are The Excursion in curing a Age of Reason?" he asked, with a Deutsche Mythologie smile.

He made a fire to The Free his fish, and while they were The Ring and the Book he went to a Christabel to dig for ore, with the intention of showing it to a Vicar of Wakefield to see if Velasquez and his Works The Phrenologist could be made of it. He dug until the sound of a The Adventures of a London Doll and a Hohenlinden recalled him Douglas.

* * * * *

Answers to Kinks.

No. 19.

1, Union-Jack. 2, Jack-o'-lantern. 3, Jack-oak (American black-oak). 4, Jack Sprat. 5, Apple-jack. 6, Jellow Jack.

* * * * *

No. 20.

1, Iowa (I-owe-a). 2, Agate (a gate). 3, Cat's eye. 4, Jade.

* * * * *

No. 21.

1, Garnet (gar-net). 2, Quartz (quarts). 3, Opal (O pal!). 4, Hyacinth. 5, Jasper. 6, Jet.

* * * * *

No. 22.

Minerva, Eros, Atlas, Hecate, Achilles, Venus, Mars, Chiron, Pan, Janus, Io, Hebe, Ge, Midas, Ganymede, Ceres, Hera, Castor, Vesta, Hymen, Leto, Hermes, Orion.

* * * * *

Questions and Answers.

Frank T. Jones is wrong in his controversy with his friend. There are many higher spires in Europe than St. Paul's, London, which is 404 feet. The cathedral at Cologne, Germany, is 507 feet. "Ramie" is a Javanese word, adopted in the United States as the name of a kind of grass growing in China, Borneo, and Java. It is of the _Urticaceæ_, or nettle, order of plant, and its fibre can be made into a cloth resembling silk. It is grown to some extent in our Southern States, and its culture is likely to increase.

D. A. Bowman, 4412 Delmar Avenue, St. Louis, Mo., says, "I would like to hear from amateur papers wanting stamp departments, also would like to receive copies of papers devoted to Round Table Chapters." Edward C. Wood asks if any one can tell him on what nights in August and November meteor showers come. A shower was expected on the night after the total eclipse of the sun during the second week in August, but so far as the Table has heard, no shower came. There is no particular date in August, November, or any other month when showers can be predicted with certainty.

Mary M. Hardy, aged fourteen, who may be addressed, College Campus, Easton, Pa., wants to hear from Marion M. Clute, whose morsel about that unreliable Florida lake interested her greatly. She asks Miss Marion to write her, and promises to respond at once. Leo Heileman, Box 823, Phoenix, Ariz., has Aztec relics, and is interested in mound-builders' relics and similar curios. He wants correspondents. A. Haven Smith, Orangeville, Pa., has seeds of Pennsylvania wild flowers, labelled with both common and scientific names, and is interested in Indian, Aztec, mound-builders, and all similar relics. Floyd Pennoyer, Schaghticoke, N. Y., asks Latin students to give him a literal translation of the following:

"Sunt hic etiam sua præmia laudi,
Sunt lacrimæ verum."

Mail answers to him direct.

* * * * *

Why Boers Fight Well.

Having many chances at success proves often a disadvantage. General W. F. Molyneux, a fighter in the Transvaal, tells in _Campaigning in South Africa and Egypt_ about going to the house of a Boer, upon the latter's invitation to become his guest on a deer-hunt. The General arrived on horseback, accompanied by one servant. Dismounting, he carried into the house a bag containing what would measure a peck or so of common cartridges. The Boer looked at the bag in astonishment, and exclaimed:

"You Englishmen must be very rich. Cartridges cost sixpence each here."

Rather mystified, and declaring that there are poor Englishmen, General Molyneux asked, "Where are your cartridges?"

"In this," replied the Boer, tapping his double-barrel.

"Then you don't intend to do much shooting?"

"Well, two spring-buck are as much as I can carry."

"Suppose you miss?"

"Nobody misses when a cartridge costs sixpence."

The sequel was that the Boer got his two deer, one for each cartridge, while the General fired five shots and got one.

* * * * *

Anachronisms In Art.

Tintoretto's painting representing the children of Israel gathering
manna in the desert shows the Hebrews armed with guns; while
Brenghall, a Dutch artist, in a picture of the Wise Men of the
East, placed in the hand of an Indian prince, as an offering to the
Holy Child, _the model of a seventy-four_.

JOHN COBBE.

* * * * *

A Day at an Arapahoe School.