Chapter IV: Part II (1)

Now we must put our heads together and think of the outfit necessary for our explorations. It is not a small undertaking to explore the great equatorial African forest, and a great many things are required.

It troubles me when I think of our outfit, for I dislike luggage, and I have learned that the less luggage a man has with him the better off he is; the fewer wants he has the better off he is; the fewer people he has round him the more independent he finds himself; and the more he can help himself the freer and the happier he is. But when he has to buy the right of way in Africa, he cannot travel with little luggage, for he is obliged to get a lot of things and goods, not only to give to the Kings who send him forward, but also for the men who are to be his followers and carry his goods and outfit. He has to give presents to his hunters, who face dangers and sometimes death with him.

An explorer has also to take care of his followers, and to have a fellow-feeling for them when they are ill, so he must take quantities of medicine for his people and for himself.

If he expects to have some big hunting and to kill birds, he must have lots of powder and small shot and bullets. He must have shot-guns and rifles. If he wants to stuff the animals and birds he kills, he must have the instruments and other things necessary for the purpose.

If the explorer wants to astonish the natives and fill them with wonder, he must take with him articles that will surely help him to attain that purpose. The explorer should also have a careful personal outfit, so that he may not be in want of clothing or shoes before he can return.

So, dear young folks, we have to think a good deal about what we need, and be very busy before we sail from New York for our destination, the west coast of Africa, and we are to land somewhere on the Gulf of Guinea by the equator. We must first buy our goods; money in gold and silver coins is of no value among the savage Africans. A rod of gold or copper or brass is the same in their eyes, except that they would prefer the brass rod to one of silver. The gold or the brass rod would be of the same value. Friend Paul would have been a poor spirit in a short time if he had had nothing to give to the natives, and nothing to pay them with when they carried his loads. In fact, nobody would have carried his loads; no King would have sent him to another King, and in the course of time they would have become tired of giving him food for nothing. What made me a great spirit in their eyes was what I gave them, the strange things I carried with me.

_Goods to buy._--We must have a lot of beads of different sizes and colors. They must be opaque--that is, not transparent--if not, the natives will not take them at any price. The beads are the most important item of the outfit. In many tribes the natives only wear strings of beads round their waists, and, if they are rich, also copper or brass rings, round their necks, or several round their wrists or ankles. White beads are very much prized by the cannibal tribes, among whom I have been; they string them in their hair and beards. One must have black beads--these are prized very much by non-cannibal tribes--also red, blue, yellow, green, and brown beads. Large beads of the size of our marbles, and even larger, are very much valued by some tribes. All these beads are manufactured in Venice, Italy, and nowhere else.

After the stock of beads, the most important item is that of copper or brass. You must have a good stock of brass and copper rods about the thickness of your little finger and 2-1/2 feet long--these are used round the neck, ankles, and wrists; brass kettle; large shallow copper dishes about 2-1/2 feet in diameter--with these they make hollow rings for the neck, wrists, or ankles; a little quantity of cheap cotton goods with gaudy patterns; a few gaudy coats with sleeves of different colors to the body of the coat--the natives like bright colors; a few cotton umbrellas of very bright colors--these and the coats are for chiefs, who also like opera-hats. No one but people of royal blood in some tribes can wear high hats, and often a hat is the only thing Kings or Princes wear.

Red woollen caps; fire-steel and flints together for the natives to start a fire with; files; knives; fish-hooks; and a good many small looking-glasses; a few flint guns--the kind known as Tower guns, made especially for the natives of the Guinea coast; and coarse powder for chiefs ruling over tribes where the use of firearms is known; a few bright second-hand yellow and plush waistcoats with large brass buttons of the size of dollars are also very much appreciated by the people of royal blood; a few colored shirts. Trousers are of no use. I had to throw away those I bought for the natives; no one would wear them. Beads are the most useful to pay the porters with. Of course the explorer could travel with fewer articles, but the stock I have described is one that gives him great prestige.

_Medicine._--These are medicines that are essential. The most important of all is quinine. When not a physician, it is not necessary to take with you an apothecary shop. I took calomel, morphine, laudanum, rhubarb, castor-oil, Epsom salts, Fowler's solution of arsenic, ammonia, a couple of bottles of brandy to be mixed with laudanum, some lancets, and pincers. Fever and dysentery are the two diseases to be most dreaded by the white man, especially the fever. Many white men who go to Africa die of fever. I always used to take big doses of quinine--ten, twenty, thirty, forty grains at a time, and repeated those doses two or three times during the day.

_Ammunition._--Let us attend to the ammunition. First we must get some good rifles that are strong and not complicated in their mechanism, for the big forest is a bad country for rust; some shot-guns, and also revolvers and hunting-knives. We must take, if we wish to make a large collection of birds to take home, hundreds of pounds of the smallest kind of shot for small birds, and then hundreds of pounds of large-size shot for larger birds; a great many cartridges, and large numbers of bullets for the rifles, and buck-shot; steel-pointed bullets and explosive bullets. Powder for ammunition must always be plentiful. My ammunition alone amounted to over ten thousand pounds.

_For preserving the skin of animals and birds._--Fifty pounds of arsenical soap; arsenic, one hundred pounds; scalpels, a dozen; pincers; big knives, half a dozen; camphor.

I had a peculiar way of preserving my butterflies.

_Things to astonish the natives._--Musical boxes; powerful magnets; round plain Waterbury clocks; lots of matches; electric battery. Hardly anything I had astonished the natives more than my musical boxes. When I used to put these playing in the midst of the street, they thought many spirits were talking to me. They marvelled when they saw the magnet holding in the air their knives or spears. My round plain Waterbury clocks, which only cost me a dollar apiece, were of great service to me. I used to hang them outside of my huts, and the tick-tack used to frighten the natives, and they did not dare to come round my huts at night, for they thought the noise inside the clock was made by guardian spirits. The matches were objects of great curiosity to them, and a present of a box of matches to a King, or even a few matches, was highly prized by him. The electric battery used to bring terror into their hearts after they had received a shock.

_Provisions._--A little stock of rice, for it takes time to get accustomed to the food of the country, which is chiefly of plantain and manioc. I had some flour, for I intended to make my own bread on the coast. I had coffee--coffee and quinine I never was in want of. I had two little filtered coffee-pots. The forest was so full of malaria that very seldom I woke without a headache in the morning, and the first thing I did was to make a cup of coffee; after drinking it my headache went away. Do not forget to take salt with you, for salt becomes priceless in the interior, and to be without salt is a great privation.

A thorough explorer who goes in wild and unknown regions must find his way by astronomical observation, so that he may be able to present a reliable map on his return. This part of the outfit alone is quite an item and somewhat expensive, for not only must you have instruments to find out your longitude and latitude, but you must have others to give you the height of the country, the temperature in the sun and in the shade. You must have a number of watches; these are absolutely necessary in order to know your longitude. Never mind if they do not go very well; but you must time the space of time by minutes and seconds between the observations.

_Scientific instruments._--Five watches; one I wore at home, and four were specially made for observation. They were large, and of silver, and made especially for me. The hands were very black, and so were the hands marking the seconds, so that the minutes and seconds could be distinctly seen. If my watches had stopped, I should not have been able to find my longitude--that is, to know how far east or west I was. Four sextants; one for taking altitudes of the stars and planets, in connection with a lunar (a lunar is to find the distance between the moon and one of the eleven lunar stars), to an artificial horizon--that is, an improved iron trough which I filled with quicksilver kept in an iron bottle, to imitate the sea; on this the stars were reflected, and with the aid of my sextant I could see when they were on the meridian. Three thermometers for knowing the height of the country by boiling water; two thermometers to know the heat of the sun, marked to 230°; three other thermometers, graduated for Fahrenheit and Centigrade. (I wish we might give up the Fahrenheit, for it has no scientific basis.) Three aneroids to know approximately the height of the country while on the march, to avoid making observations by boiling water, which takes so much longer time; two telescopes; four compasses; universal sun-dial; two magnifiers or reading-glasses, to find out quickly the degrees, minutes, and seconds marked on the sextants; one extra bottle of mercury, containing seven pounds, for artificial horizon; rain-gauge, to find out the amount of rain falling in the country; scale; two protectors, circular, with compass rectifier; paper, slates and slate-pencils; nautical almanacs for four consecutive years; memorandum-books for keeping journals. Skeleton maps, ruled in squares. Note-books.

_Clothing._--This item is a very important part of the outfit of the explorer. I was more afraid to be without shoes than anything else, for if the worst came I could have made garments with the skins of goats, gazelles, or antelopes. Clothing of wool is of no value whatever in the jungle. After a few hours nothing but shreds would be left. Twill goods which are strong are the best. These should be of dark blue, which become lighter in color as they are washed. No coats, but a certain kind of blouse, as here represented, of very strong material, just as strong as the trousers, with many pockets, etc. The shirts must be of gray flannel, just like our common shirts. This avoids underwear. Panama hat with high crown, in which you can put green leaves or wet towels when going in the sun. I learned how to make soap by boiling ashes, then using the water that had been boiled, and mixing with palm-oil or some other oil, and boiling these two together. In many tribes I had to do my own washing, for the natives, who rubbed their bodies with clay and oil or powder of colored wood, did not know what dirt was. Oh, how I used to hate washing-day! One must have an outfit of needles of different sizes. These I kept in quicksilver salve, otherwise they become useless in a few days on account of the rust. No neck-ties. One hundred pairs of lace boots, these coming above the ankles, with no high heels, and soles not too thick, so that they may bend when jumping from the root of one tree to another. The nails were of copper, for, as I have said before, iron gets rusty so quickly in the great forest; forty-eight pairs of strong twilled trousers; forty-eight flannel shirts; ten dozen pairs socks. Such is the outfit friend Paul had with him.

PHOTOGRAPHING A FLASH LIGHTNING.

Having your camera all ready, the apparatus pointing out of the open window of your room, which room must be the uppermost one in your house, how are you going to manage so as to catch a picture of the lightning?

Theoretically, the photographing of a star does not seem so difficult; practically, however, innumerable precautions are necessary. Astronomical photography has got the matter down very fine. Your camera follows automatically the movement of the stars, but it is a mechanism which requires great delicacy in perfecting, and which costs several thousands of dollars.

The great astronomer does not do a great deal of active star-hunting. He may not sit down exactly in an arm-chair, but he makes himself fairly comfortable at his work. That scientific person, however, with a hobby for photographing meteors must be active. He has to be on the full jump. He knows that at a fixed time of the year and in a particular part of the heavens there are to be found a stream of meteors. There is, however, little certainty about his catching a first-class one. The field of the camera not being large, he cannot sweep the whole heavens. So it often happens that though he may have secured an assorted lot of meteors, the one particular and brilliant shooting star which he has seen with his eyes has escaped his camera. Meteors do not pose. That is not in their nature.

If the meteor is eccentric, what about the flash of lightning? You may have any number of storms during a summer, but they are not always accompanied with visible electrical phenomena. There may be plenty of lightning, however, but not in your horizon. But say there is a first-class storm, and with lightning. You have read the meteorological data for the day, and can in a measure anticipate this storm. If you are weatherwise, you know your local conditions, where is north, south, east, and west, and if experienced, you ought to be fairly certain as to the possible direction the storm should come from. Anyhow, you are prepared and have everything ready. Even should the lightning come, as far as taking its picture goes you may be disappointed. The storm may move so rapidly that all the electrical phenomena occur directly overhead or back of you. There may be what seems to you but a feeble discharge of electricity, but it is its distance from you which makes you think so. Then the flash is so far away that the light of it is insufficient, and so a poor, dull, uncertain picture is the resultant.

It is quite a feat to take a first-class flash of lightning, and with reluctance I am forced to conclude that there is much luck about it. But if chance enters for nine-tenths in the photography of lightning, there is the one single tenth which is constantly in your favor--that is, if you are adaptive, watchful, and always ready. You may look for lightning a whole summer and never catch a fine flash, through no fault of your own; and the very next summer, at a first essay, you may secure a magnificent print.

On the 13th of July of this year, at 9 P.M., I was watching a heavy storm in Brooklyn, New York; and my attention was directed to one great blinding flash of lightning, which, starting almost at the zenith, blazed across the sky and came to earth in some region unknown. I never saw a more vivid flash. It ought to have particularly riveted my attention, but it did not, and for this reason: It had just so happened that I had become interested in what are side flashes, or what are called "supplementary" ones. Now the question has been mooted as to what is the character of what seems to our vision to be second flashes--that is, apparent flights of electrical fluid coincident with the first or strongest one, and some scientific men think that as often as not we see the reflection of the important flash mirrored by the clouds in many different directions.

Intent on that side issue, though appreciative of the main discharge, my attention was called to two lines of lesser brilliancy which appeared to the right. "If," I said, "somebody had only photographed it all, how glad I should be!"

Imagine my pleasure when next day Julius Roger, Jun., an amateur photographer living next door to me, casually asked me "whether I had noticed the lightning of the night before"? My reply was "that I had noted it"; but I did not mention what I thought was a special feature of the electrical display.

"Here is one flash I took," said the young gentleman, and he showed me the photograph, an exact copy of which illustrates this article. On examining it, the first thing I did was to look for the particular side show, and there it was.

"Did you notice these?" I asked, pointing to the two cross lines.

"Not," said the young gentleman, "when I took the picture. I went for the main flash. When the picture was developed, then they came out, and they surprised me." I asked the photographer how the print was produced. This is his exact reply:

"It was about nine. I noticed the storm, and that the lightning appeared in the same westerly direction. There were quite a number of flashes coming in succession from the same quarter of the heavens. I pointed my camera to that position, leaving it exposed. When that particular flash made its appearance it impressed itself on the sensitive plate. Then I quickly closed the camera and developed the plate. The picture was taken on a Crown Cramer plate, which I believe to be particularly sensitive."

"You have certainly been on the watch for such a picture for a long time," I said.

My photographer's--who is a singularly modest young gentleman--reply was, "Maybe he had."

Looking at the print it will be seen how the effect of the brilliancy of the flash is heightened because of the intervention of a steeple, and there is even a luminous spot in the window of the steeple, where the lightning shines through it. The two side flashes are perfectly shown to the right. The exact time having been noted, I found out that this particular flash of lightning demolished a house in New Jersey, the distance of which from Brooklyn was, as the crow flies, nineteen miles.

BARNET PHILLIPS.

[_The series of four papers on the Science of Football, by Mr.
W. H. Lewis of the Harvard Football Team of 1893, begun in this
Department in the issue of September 8, is continued this week, and
will be concluded in the next number of_ HARPER'S ROUND TABLE.]

Offensive team-play in the game of football means every man in every play every time.

First, in logical order, is the start-off, or opening play. The eleven should line up on the 55-yard line--the centre of the field. The rules allow three men to start before the ball, but not more than five yards back. The three fastest men should be selected for the flying start, preferably the two ends and a half-back. The ends should be out in the wings of the line, and the half-back near the centre; one of the remaining backs--full-back if he be not the kicker--should stand at about the 40-yard line to look out for a return. The other players should be lined up on either side in equal numbers, and at intervals far enough apart to sweep the field. (See Fig. 1.) The ball should be kicked as far down the field as possible without kicking into touch or kicking over the goal-line. The object is to gain as much distance as possible by the kick.

The only way to retain possession of the ball after the start-off, is to kick it so that it will roll slowly enough to allow the rushers to follow it closely, and with force enough to carry it only the required distance. This was done by accident in one great match, and was thought a very good play.

The direct attack is a style of offence generally known as "straight" football, "common," "ordinary," or "barn-yard" football. The object of this style is to take a given point by force instead of by stratagem. To illustrate the principle, take a few ordinary plays.

Full-back through right guard and centre is shown in Fig. 2: 1 showing the formation before the play starts; 2 showing where the play hits the line; 3 showing the runner through the line, everybody into the play. The centre and right guard will have to block longer than the other players, but should get into the push as quickly as possible. The play starts on right guard and centre, and goes there; there is no feint made in any other direction. The right half may be sent through right guard and tackle in the same way, the quarter-back, left half, and full-back behind him, or the left half may be sent through the other side in a similar manner. These are commonly called dive-plays. In them the backs should stand from three and one-half to four yards back. The success of the plays depends upon the runners reaching the line with all steam possible at the moment it opens, and in the whole eleven getting behind and pushing, as there will always be something to push against.

Circling the end is shown in Fig. 3. This may be done as in either Part 2 or 3 of that diagram.

In either case the backs should unconsciously stand back a foot or two farther than for dive-plays. The interference should be headed far enough out to draw out the opposing rush-line. The end should help block the opposing tackle. If the opposing end is a very good one, two men should be assigned to him, as in 3, Fig. 3; if not, one, as in 2, Fig. 3. The interference should keep the opposing eleven on the inside as far as possible.

The indirect attack is commonly called trick-play. Trick is hardly the word to use, however, because it has a suggestion of unfairness about it. The word "strategic" perhaps best characterizes this class of play. The growth of this style has been marvellous in the last few seasons. The tendency at present seems pretty strong in the opposite direction, towards straight football. One of the oldest tricks is the familiar criss-cross between the two half-backs. There is a very good criss-cross between tackle and end. The end should be near the side line, say over on the right. Let the left tackle run twice, and on the second run give it to the end, who has the long field, and if he is speedy he should make a good run. There are also plays in which the ball is concealed, as in the famous play used by Stagg's team, in which the opponents were drawn out towards the flank, and a runner was sent through the centre.

Kicking is the easiest method of gaining ground, although it gives the ball to the opponents; but it is better to allow the opposing team to have the ball on its 25-yard line than to have it yourself on your own 25-yard line. It is almost impossible, when the teams are anywhere near equally matched, to rush the ball from goal to goal without relinquishing it. One team starting from its own 25-yard line may rush the ball to the centre of the field, or to its opponents' 40-yard line. There it is more than likely to lose it. The defensive team is getting stronger all the time, and the offensive one weaker. An eleven should have a scheme for a kicking game determined by the relative strength of its rushing and kicking. How much kicking can be done depends on the direction of the wind more than upon anything else.

Do not wait until the third down to kick. Your opponent expects you to kick, because you must. Good judgment should be exercised in the placing of the kicks. A team should not kick from right under its own goal-posts, because of danger of the ball's striking an upright or the cross-bar. Change the territory by running a play out on the end, then kick.

_Signals._--A signal is a sign of some kind given to indicate to the player the play to be used, and the time of its execution. Signals should be as simple as possible, so as to be easily understood by the side using them. The signals, once decided upon, should be thoroughly learned by constant drill, drill, drill! It is important that every man should know them thoroughly. They ought to be second nature to him. They should be perfectly clear to him the moment they are given, so that there is no conscious effort of the memory at all. Without them there can be no concert of action, and team-play is absolutely impossible.

In the first place, there must be a vocal signal, as it is almost impossible for the whole eleven to catch a visible signal. A very simple code is to number the holes in the rush-line from left to right, or _vice versa_, and then disguise the hole number by some simple combination of figures. (Number the holes as shown in Fig. 4.) Let the hole where the play is to be made be the second digit of the second number. If the signal were "12, 61, 83," then 61 would denote the hole or indicate a play around the left end; the numbers 23, 24, etc., would indicate a play between left guard and centre. There are six possible variations from this simple code.

There may also be a system with an index number--as 43, for instance. Let the hole number be the second digit of the first number after the index; the numbers "81, 43, 36," call for a play between right guard and tackle, 6 being the number of that hole. The plays may be numbered, and the figure indicating the play may be disguised. Or plays may be lettered, as is often done. All formations should be numbered or lettered in some way.

If the play called for does not indicate which back is to carry the ball, the quarter-back should have a silent visible signal of some kind. Usually the quarter uses finger signals, putting the hand behind his leg where it cannot be seen by the opponents. One finger may indicate the left half; two fingers, the right half; and three fingers, the full-back, or middle man. Pulling up trousers or stockings, or scratching the head, may also indicate what man is to take the ball.

The signal should be called once only. The second calling is not necessary at all; besides, it slows up the game. Men feel that they have plenty of time after the first call, and loaf to their places. They are not particular about catching the first signal, since it must be given again.

The signal should be called by the quarter-back, as the play must be started by him, and he is in a better position to see the best opportunity for the next play, and he can be easily heard from either flank of the line. If the captain should change a play, he should not call the signal himself, but tell his quarter the play he wants.

The signal should be called loudly enough to be heard by every man in the midst of the din of battle. The quarter should put as much earnestness and enthusiasm as possible in the calling of the signals. Snap them out, and let the merry war go on!

Where sequences are played without vocal signal, the quarter should have some sign for his back, although it is not absolutely necessary. Sequences should be short. The time to play them is at the opening of the game. They cannot be played continuously, as the contingencies of the game cannot easily be foreseen.

_Generalship._--The generalship of the game devolves upon the captain. There must be one head on the field, and only one. A game may be largely planned before going upon the field. At the time the game is being mapped out is the occasion for consultation with coaches and players. Before the game it may be decided what is to be done under given conditions of wind and weather, or what is to be done if the team gets the ball at start-off or not. By studying an opponent's preceding games, it is sometimes possible to determine somewhat in advance the kind of game that is likely to succeed against that particular team. The strength and weakness of the team must be considered also.

First, consider the matter of generalship without reference to the opposing team. There are two ways of advancing the ball--one by kicking, the other by rushing. The rushing game is divided into straight football and strategic. There are practically three schools of football: the simple straight football, the strategic, and the kicking. The right use of these different methods of advancing the ball, the proper proportion of each kind of plays, is the great problem of good generalship. Simple straight football should form the basis of the offensive game. This is more easily executed, and is less exhausting upon body and mind. A trick requires the doing of so many things by each individual at a given time that there is produced a great mental strain. Men begin to worry and wonder whether the trick will succeed. And if a fine trick fails they despair of the success of anything else, and so lose spirit. At any rate, they have lost that force and energy necessary to play good, hard, straight football. The trick should be merely an incident of the game. Its proper function is simply to add a little uncertainty, and to keep the other side guessing. It is a mistake to think that the only scientific game is the strategic one. The science of the straight game does not lie in the formation, but solely in the execution.

The bulk of rushing games should be straight football. Three or four tricks, or half a dozen at most, are a sufficient number. The whole repertoire of plays should be not less than twenty nor more than thirty. A few plays well executed are better than a load of stuff indifferently learned. It may not be best in all cases to have the kicking game the dominating feature of the offence. That will depend largely upon whether the team is best at rushing or kicking. A judicious admixture of both is the desideratum. If a team has the wind in its favor, it should take advantage of it and kick often. If it has the wind against it, it will be forced to rush more or less. When a team is down in its own territory, if it is going to rush, the play should be one that is likely to make considerable ground if it succeeds, and an open play of some kind should be the one used.

In bringing the ball in from touch it is not wise to always use the "long field." The "short field" often yields good ground.

The plays should be varied enough to keep the opposing line in its normal position. If one point be continuously attacked, that point will be strengthened. If the middle of the line be attacked, the middle will close up. If the flank or end be attacked, this line will be opened because of a movement towards the end in order to better protect it. The line should be continually opened and shut so as not to allow the opponents to concentrate at any given point.

The speed in playing is another feature in generalship. It is not the number of plays per minute that counts, but the speed in execution. Hasten, but do not hurry, is the rule here as everywhere else. Enthusiasm and not excitement is what is wanted. Too rapid a succession of plays results in a jumble merely, and a sort of feverish excitement instead of deadly execution. Still, it must not be understood that a calm, deliberate, sort of a game is the one to be played. When the opposing team is on the run, there should be no let up in the fire. As the advancing party gets nearer the goal, the harder, faster, and more aggressive should be the game. No time should be given the other side to pull itself together, but it should be driven back and over the goal-line; then it is time to rest. If the opposing side is weak on the ends or at a particular end, it is good generalship to take advantage of that weakness. The same thing is true of tackle or centre. This is to be considered, however, that opponents will always endeavor to re-enforce or strengthen a known weakness. The result is that nominally the weakest point may be the strongest. It is well to try the whole line occasionally. The strong man may be caught off his guard. While plays or downs should not be wasted against stone wall, the brutal policy of attacking one point at all time until it gives way should not be indulged in even on the ground of generalship. A team ought to make the best use of its own strong points. If a particular back is good at carrying the ball, give him enough to do, but do not kill him. If there is a back particularly good at kicking, kick, and kick frequently. If a tackle or guard is good at making holes or immensely superior to the man opposed to him, send the plays through that point.

* * * * *

The ninth season of the Cook County High-School Football League opens this year with the promise of a larger membership than ever before, none of the nine teams which were members of the League last year having dropped out, and with the possibility of five new teams coming in. This Association was organized in 1888, and the only schools which were originally members now left in the Association are Hyde Park, Lake View, and Englewood. They are the strongest schools of the section, and one of them has each year carried off the championship. Lake View got the pennant in 1888, 1890, 1892, and 1893; Hyde Park in 1889 and last year; Englewood in 1891 and 1894.

The Hyde Park team seems to be stronger than any of the others this year, and should repeat the success of last fall. Seven members of last year's eleven are back in school, and a large number of candidates are training for the open places. West Division has bright prospects likewise. They had a strong eleven last year, and also have seven of the old men back, and about thirty candidates trying for places.

The men in training for the Englewood High-School team are a heavy set, and should develop into a strong eleven. Lake View High-School ought to appear somewhere near the top at the end of the season; in Wiezerowski, captain of the team, they have the best end that has ever played in the League. The Manual-Training School players are laboring with the difficulty of an unsportsmanlike faculty, and will probably be unable to develop a good eleven. Evanston High is also unfortunate in having but three of last year's men back again, but with good coaching they ought to be able to do something by the end of the season. Oak Park H.-S. is about as badly off, having but two players of last year's team in school, and few men capable of filling the vacancies. Oak Park's eleven last year made the State record of scoring the greatest number of points in any one game; it defeated English High, 80-0.

LEO LYON, SAN FRANCISCO.--See HARPER'S ROUND TABLE for August 13
and 20, 1895.

K. W. WRIGHT, NEW YORK.--_Defender_'s measurements are given as
follows: Length, 124 ft.; water-line, 89 ft.; breadth, 23 ft.;
draught, 19 ft. The lead in her keel weighs 80 tons. You will find
an article on the building of _Defender_ in HARPER'S ROUND TABLE
for September 17, 1895.

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

THE GRADUATE.

Any question 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.

Owing to the number of questions, we devote the entire Department to answers this week.

SIR KNIGHT LUTHER PFLUEGER sends a description of a way in which
one of his friends made lantern-slides. He bought some glass strips
of a size to fit his lantern [Lantern-slide covers could be
used.--Ed.] and some transfer-pictures which are used by
school-boys to embellish their books. He gave the strips of glass a
thin coat of mucilage, and allowed it to dry. He then applied the
paper, which had been wet in such a way that the paper was
thoroughly soaked, but the face of the picture was dry. (The
pictures could be wet by thoroughly saturating a piece of
blotting-paper with water, and laying the pictures on it, face up.)
He then pressed the pictures on to the glass, took hold of one
corner of the paper, and pulled it off, leaving, if successful, the
thin film of the picture on the glass. This part of the operation
requires carefulness. This method enabled him to make cheap and
pleasing slides. Thanks for the description; some of our amateurs
will be glad to try it.

SIR KNIGHT CHARLES M. TODD says he is thinking of buying a small
camera, and wishes to know what apparatus he would need for
developing, etc.; which are the best, films or dry-plates, and if
they are manipulated in the same way; if blue prints are
permanent; what prints can be made the cheapest; and the name of
some good work on photography. Sir Charles adds that the first
thing he looks for in the ROUND TABLE is the Camera Club
Department. The outfit required for developing and finishing
pictures is: one red light; one developing-tray, 4 by 5; one
fixing-tray, 4 by 5; one toning-tray, 5 by 8; one printing-frame;
one ferrotype-plate for drying prints; one 4 oz. glass graduate.
See No. 781 for directions how to make a lantern, and also hints
on reducing expenses. Dry-plates are easier for the beginner to
manage than the films, but fine negatives are made with either.
The same treatment is given both, with the exception of drying.
The films, after washing, are soaked for five minutes in a
solution made of 1/2 oz. of glycerine and 16 oz. of water. This
prevents the film from curling. Blue prints are permanent; they
are also the cheapest. Wilson's _Photographics_ is a good work on
photography.

SIR KNIGHT B. P. ATKINSON asks how photographs should be prepared
for prize contests; if pictures can be copied with an 8 by 10
camera and a single lens; when an article on posing will be
published; if exposure meters are reliable; what is the cause of
negatives having a spotted appearance when ice is used; how
pin-holes in negatives can be remedied; what kinds of lenses are
best for landscapes. Platinotype prints make the most artistic
photographs, and should be mounted on plate-sunk cards. These
cards are made specially for platinotypes; full directions for use
come with the platinotype-paper. Pictures may be copied with an 8
by 10 camera, but the single lens would be hardly suitable for
fine copying. A rectilinear wide-angle lens is a good lens for
copying. Suggestions for posing will be given in the early number
of the ROUND TABLE. Exposure meters are not always reliable. The
spotted appearance of the negative is probably caused by using the
water at too low a temperature. The temperature should never be
below 50° to insure good work. Pin-holes may be covered by
painting them over with retouching fluid, and, when dry, taking a
fine camel's-hair brush dipped in lampblack (moist water-color),
and touching the spot very lightly with the lip of the brush,
taking care that it does not lap over on to the film. A little
practice will enable one to fill up pin-holes or light spots so
that they will not be noticed in the print. For landscape-work a
single achromatic lens will give sharp definition and good
contrasts. For general landscape-work a medium-angle, rectilinear
lens will be found satisfactory. The angle of view of the lens
should be from 45° to 60°.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

A cream-of-tartar baking powder. Highest of all in leavening strength.--_Latest United States Government Food Report._

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.

Continuing the journey begun last week from Chicago, we start from Joliet for the run to Ottawa. From Joliet continue along the river and canal. It might be well to inquire the condition in which the tow-path and the road happen to be at the time of your going over the trip, in order that you may take the one most used by wheelmen. Sometimes the tow-path is better, and other times the road should be taken. Here is one of the advantages of being a member of the L.A.W., since the local consul will gladly give you any information on this matter or any other concerning that particular country that you may desire. Generally speaking, it is well to keep to the tow-path, as the ride is more picturesque along the canal.

From Joliet run in a westerly direction, turning sharp to the left at the outskirts of the town, and continuing until the railroad and canal are crossed, proceeding then either along the canal, or, if you take the road, following the route marked on the map which runs between the canal and the river. After crossing the railroad and the canal, keep to the right instead of crossing the river, and the road to Channahon, twelve miles away, is clear except at a point about half-way from Joliet, where the left fork should be taken. Passing through Channahon, turn westward to the right, and then running almost directly westward, crossing the railroad, instead of keeping to the left, and running down by the canal. Before crossing the C.R.I. and P. Railroad, turn southward to the canal, and following the tow-path run into Morris, where dinner can be had. To leave Morris ride northward across the track again, thence westward, not far from the railroad, to Seneca, between ten and eleven miles away. Proceed on the main road, always in the vicinity of the canal and railroad, through Marseilles on to Ottawa. The road turns a couple of miles before Ottawa is reached southward, crosses the canal and railroad, and runs then into the city.

This trip is most of the way over capital road; there are few hills, and there is a good deal of diversity of scenery. Much of the interest of the trip is in the different points of historic interest along the way and in the vicinity of Ottawa. The distance from Joliet is about forty-five miles, but it can easily be done in a day by even inexperienced riders, owing to the level country and the good condition of the roads.

NOTE.--Map of New York city asphalted streets in No. 809. Map of
route from New York to Tarrytown in No. 810. New York to Stamford,
Connecticut, in No. 811. New York to Staten Island in No. 812. New
Jersey from Hoboken to Pine Brook in No. 813. Brooklyn in No. 814.
Brooklyn to Babylon in No. 815. Brooklyn to Northport in No. 816.
Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie in No. 817. Poughkeepsie to Hudson in No.
818. Hudson to Albany in No. 819. Tottenville to Trenton in No.
820. Trenton to Philadelphia in No. 821. Philadelphia in No. 822.
Philadelphia-Wissahickon Route in No. 823. Philadelphia to West
Chester in No. 824. Philadelphia to Atlantic City--First Stage in
No. 825; Second Stage in No. 826. Philadelphia to Vineland--First
Stage in No. 827; Second Stage in No. 828. New York to
Boston--Second Stage in No. 829; Third Stage in No. 830; Fourth
Stage in No. 831; Fifth Stage in No. 832; Sixth Stage in No. 833.
Boston to Concord in No. 834. Boston in No. 835. Boston to
Gloucester in No. 836. Boston to Newburyport in No. 837. Boston to
New Bedford in No. 838. Boston to South Framingham in No. 839.
Boston to Nahant in No. 840. Boston to Lowell in No. 841. Boston to
Nantasket Beach in No. 842. Boston Circuit Ride in No. 843.
Philadelphia to Washington--First Stage in No. 844; Second Stage in
No. 845; Third Stage in No. 846; Fourth Stage in No. 847; Fifth
Stage in No. 848. City of Washington in No. 849. City of Albany in
No. 854; Albany to Fonda in No. 855; Fonda to Utica in No. 856;
Utica to Syracuse in No. 857; Syracuse to Lyons in No. 858; Lyons
to Rochester in No. 859; Rochester to Batavia in No. 860; Batavia
to Buffalo in No. 861; Poughkeepsie to Newtown in No. 864; Newtown
to Hartford in No. 865; New Haven to Hartford in No. 866; Hartford
to Springfield in No. 867; Hartford to Canaan in No. 868; Canaan to
Pittsfield in No. 869; Hudson to Pittsfield in No. 870. City of
Chicago in No. 874. Waukesha to Oconomowoc in No. 875; Chicago to
Wheeling in No. 876; Wheeling to Lippencott's in No 877;
Lippencott's to Waukesha in No. 878; Waukesha to Milwaukee in No.
879; Chicago to Joliet in No. 881.

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.

Two hundred thousand sets of the 1860 issue of the Nova Scotia stamps have turned up, and the entire lot is said to have been sold to a syndicate of Canadian dealers. The find is so large that prices on this set must fall very much. The veteran dealer J. W. Scott states that fifteen years ago he purchased several hundred sets lacking the 5c. from a gentleman in Ottawa at about 50c. per set. The 5c. has been the commonest of all this issue during the past decade.

The proposed philatelic club-house in New York is probably an accomplished fact. One hundred gentlemen have subscribed $25 each to pay rent for the first year and furnish the house, which will probably be the meeting-place for all the metropolitan societies! All auctions are to be held in the club-house, which is to be a general rendezvous for all philatelists, and the centre of all philatelic matters in America.

The Geneva exhibition has been a great success. The stamps were well shown, and the local committees made things pleasant for all visitors. The exhibition closed with a grand dinner to which 125 gentlemen sat down.

There were 82 Zurich 4 rappen, 82 Geneva 10 centimes, 32 Vaud 4 centimes, shown, almost all of which were in used condition. These are the stamps worth from $100 to $200 each, but the bulk of them were in the albums of eight or nine of the exhibitors. Pastor Lenhard took the gold medal for the best Swiss stamps, Stanley Gibbons the gold medal for the best collection of any one country. He exhibited his Trinidad and St. Vincent collection, worth $25,000.

Plate No. 89 is the scarcest of all the plate numbers. Dealers offer $25 each for either the top, bottom, or side imprints of that number. It has been ascertained that 9000 sheets of 400 each were printed, each quarter sheet of 100 stamps bearing the plate number on two sides; thus 72,000 copies of this plate number were issued. Who has any? Of No. 116, which is also quite scarce, over 75,000 full sheets of 400 each were printed, probably one-half on un-watermarked paper.

A collection of 20,000 buttons, including specimens of those worn on all the uniforms in the world, has been left by a rich Englishman named Hamilton, who died recently in Vienna. He had also brought together 352 fans, which had each belonged to beautiful women. Another fad of English collectors is the buttons of servants bearing their employer's coats of arms.

The button craze is rapidly growing, and probably will reach its climax early in November, after which time it will gradually die out. Several collectors have over 300 different buttons in every variety of shape, size, color, design, and motto. The buttons were sold early in the season for $30 a thousand, but the price has come down to $7 a thousand. Specially handsome buttons are $10 a thousand. The sidewalk peddlers sell them at 2c. each, or three for 5c.

In consequence of the civil war the Postmaster-General of the U.S. directed that on and after June 1 all mail matter coming from the seceded States prepaid by U.S. stamps be held for postage, and sent to the dead-letter office at Washington. In August the Postmaster-General directed that Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania could prepay letters by stamps of the 1847, 1851, and 1857 issues until October 1, from other loyal States east of the Rocky Mountains until October 15, and from California, Oregon, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington until October 21, after which dates all stamps issued prior to 1861 were valueless, but would be redeemed up to October 21. After the war was over millions of these U.S. stamps were offered to dealers by parties who got control of the stock on hand in Southern post-offices in 1861. They were very cheap then, but are growing dearer every day.

R. A. FITZGERALD.--I cannot say what would be the value of the
original Ordinance of Secession of the State of Alabama. I should
think that some of the Southern historical societies would be glad
to buy it.

H. D. T.--Unperforated U.S. Revenues, 25c. Certificate worth 25c.;
40c. Inland Ex., $5; $2 Mortgage and $3 Charter, $1.50 each. Your
$2 bill is worth face only. Your other questions are too vague.

A. COHN.--The 1868 U.S. 1c. blue grilled is quite scarce, either
used or unused. If you iron soaked stamps you will probably
obliterate the grill.

A. A. SCOTT.--The most advanced collectors of U.S. Revenues prefer
to buy the unperforated stamps in pairs or blocks. This of course
costs a good deal of money, and ordinary collectors must be
content with single specimens. Such copies should have a good
margin, on all four sides. There are many faked unperforated
stamps, which are made from the ordinary perforated stamps with
wide margins.

R. CREIGHTON.--Split stamps have been used in the U.S., but, with
one possible exception, without authority of the U.S. government.

EDWARD HUBBARD, 515 Myrtle Street, El Paso, Tex., wants stamps in
exchange for Porto Rico and Mexico stamps.

A. MERRIAM.--Coins made in the Philadelphia mint have no special
mark of origin. Coins made in the Carson City mint are marked
"C.C."; the San Francisco, "S."; the Dahlonega, "D."; the New
Orleans, "O."

W. R. WHEELER.--U.S. Revenues were first used in October, 1862,
and almost every legal or commercial document (policies, leases,
conveyances, etc.) used during the next ten years bore Revenue
stamps. Also every receipt, and check, every box of matches or
bottle of medicine, every photograph, every barrel of beer,
package of tobacco, etc. In fact, very few things escaped taxation
in those days. After the war ended, one tax after another was
removed until only the tobacco and liquor taxes remained. These
pay taxes by stamps to this day.