The interest in golf among the schools of the country seems to be growing rapidly, and at a number of the large out-of-town schools, as has already been told in this Department, courses have been laid out, and tournaments have been held, notably at St. Paul's School, Concord, Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, and at Lawrenceville.
The first scholastic tournament to be held in New York was that played by the students of Berkeley on Election day. The competition was medal play for a cup offered by Dr. White, the winner to receive an individual cup in addition to having his name engraved on the championship cup, which is to remain in the possession of the School Athletic Association.
Great interest was taken in this tournament, and although H. M. Bowers, one of the best golfers in school, was unable to take part, the competition brought out some good play. The tournament was held at the Van Cortlandt Park links, and there were fifteen entries. Studwell won by an easy margin of seven strokes over Granbery, who came in second. Summary of the match: G. Stuart Studwell, Jun., out, 63; in, 60—total, 123. E. Carleton Granbery, out, 73; in, 57—total, 130. Theodore R. Pell, out, 67; in, 66—total, 133. Cornelius S. Pinkney, out, 76; in, 64—total, 140.
The last three holes on the Van Cortlandt course are long ones, the equivalent in distance to the total of the first six, the distance between the eighth and ninth holes being nearly half a mile. Thus a score of 60 on this course at Van Cortlandt Park would seem to be about as good as 50 on an ordinary course where the holes are shorter.
The Van Cortlandt Park course has only recently been opened to the public, but doubtless it will soon become one of the most popular in the neighborhood of the city. The first hole is an open one, and may very well be made in three strokes. There are two obstacles before the second hole, a stone wall and a brook, but a long drive ought to clear both of these. A skilful player can make this hole in three, but the ordinary player will doubtless require four strokes, by reason of falling short of the stone wall.
There is a bunker that even the unskilful player should be able to drive over toward the third hole. On the way to the fourth there is another stone wall, just beyond which is a hazard in the form of a dry river-bed. The third stone wall lies on the road to the fifth hole, and ought to be cleared with the second shot. It is unadvisable to attempt to drive over it, unless one is particularly skilful.
The sixth hole is a very short one. It starts with an easy hazard, a little ditch not more than ten yards from the tee, which anybody but the most inexperienced should be able to drive over safely. The return trip consists of only three holes, but they are all harder than any of the preceding. There is long grass, and the railroad track along the right of the first two, and then the shore of a pond as a boundary for the ninth. Therefore any swaying to the right will prove expensive; to the left the ground is level and safe.
The seventh hole might be called an open one, except for the low stone wall that runs through it, and a dirt bunker at a good distance this side of the putting-green. Both these obstacles, however, are placed so as only to penalize the very poor player. Toward the eighth hole one meets two more bunkers, that ought also to be easily handled by a fairly experienced player. Thereafter comes what is said to be the longest hole in the United States, the distance being 700 yards. The turf is fairly clear, and crossed by two stone walls, and broken by a dirt bunker. It is possible to clear the first stone wall on the drive, and a brassey shot will bring the ball nearer the second. It is proposed to shorten this last hole at an early date, and to lengthen the eighth to about 580 yards, making the two thus more nearly equal. As it is, the ninth hole is an unsatisfactory one to play.
The trouble about crossing the next hazard is the danger of swinging to the right and going into the tall grass, or even into the pond. Then comes the bunker, and after that the course is clear. I am told that the best record for this hole is 7, which is remarkably good. It is also said that the best amateur record over this course is 42, but there is nothing to show that this is a fact. Studwell's best figure was made in the second round,—60; but Granbery made it in 57, making the record for that tournament.
The rules adopted by the Milwaukee schools to govern interscholastic sport are in some respects severe, but it is very probable that the condition of affairs necessitated this stringency. Many of the students are complaining that the 70-per-cent. standard in scholarship required of all those who wish to take part in athletics is too high, and it is very probable that next year this figure will be somewhat reduced. It will not do any harm, however, for a short time, to bring things around with a sharp turn, and to make high scholarship a condition of participation in sport.
In looking over these new rules there are some which strike one as somewhat peculiar. For instance, it is specified that nobody shall play under an assumed name. That it has been necessary to insert such a regulation proves conclusively that amateur sport must have fallen to a pretty low ebb if boys would enter contests under names not their own. But we know that this is done, and that it was shamefully done, by a number of football-players in Chicago this last fall.
One of the new Milwaukee rules provides that "the principal of the school, or persons authorized by him, shall be the manager or managers of the teams representing the school." This is not a desirable change. It is always best for schoolboys to manage their own sports, and if it is found that they cannot or will not manage them properly and honestly and in a sportsmanlike manner, then it is time for older heads to take a hand in the proceedings. But even then it is not advisable to have head masters as managers.
It is far better to let graduates of the school act as an advisory board, and to empower graduates with sufficient power to control the actions of the undergraduate managers. It is hardly possible to find any school principal who can understand and be in thorough sympathy with the boys in their athletics. A schoolmaster is bound to look at things from a different point of view from his pupils, and he would naturally try to reach an end, doubtless for good, in an entirely different way from that which will appeal to the students.
On the other hand, graduates of the school, who are no longer affected by the influences of active personal competition in sport, can better understand the methods and feelings of the students and the requirements of school athletics. They are closer to the boys than the professor can possibly be, and they naturally inspire more confidence in the younger men, because the latter feel that these graduates have a livelier personal interest in sport itself than an older man can have, who has probably never participated in any of these games. Furthermore, a number of these graduates, who might be called upon as advisers, are probably in college or have been through college, and have there acquired much valuable experience in the conduct and management of athletics of all kinds.
One of the chief elements to do away with in the management of sports, especially where reforms are being undertaken, is friction; and there is bound to be more or less friction between head master and pupils, because their chief relations are so entirely different from the new ones that are being inaugurated through athletics.
Among other suggestions proposed at the time these rules were adopted at the Milwaukee schools was one that certain changes be made in the football-playing rules. Fortunately, however, there was enough good sense in the committee to overcome this proposition, and it was decided that the intercollegiate football rules were plenty good enough for Milwaukee.
A new departure in interscholastic sport is to be made by the East Side High-School of Milwaukee this spring. It intends to put a crew on the water. A number of men are already in training, and a racing-shell has been secured. If an eight is eventually turned out, it will be the first crew that ever represented a high-school in the West, and, so far as I know, the first that ever represented any high-school in this country.
No particular progress has been made so far in the arrangements for the Knickerbocker in-door games. It is probable that there will be a relay-race for "juniors," which is an absurd and unnecessary event, as most of these "junior" events are. If a boy is too young to compete in the regular events at an athletic meeting, he is too young to go into active competition at all, and it will do him more harm than good to train at that age. I hope to see the day when these "junior" events will be entirely done away with, and when boys under sixteen years of age will be discouraged from competition with older lads. These youngsters have plenty of time ahead of them, and their constitutions will be much the better for it if they postpone athletic work until their muscles are better able to stand the exertion.
A very good change that is to be inaugurated at these games is the adoption of the regulation high hurdles—3 ft. 6 in.—instead of the dwarfed obstacles that the New York I.S.A.A. has hitherto favored.
It is reported that the Harvard School will apply for readmission to the New York Interscholastic League this spring. It is to be hoped that there will be no opposition to this request, for it would be unjust to keep a body of young men from participation in interscholastic sport because of the mistakes of some misguided youths who attended the school before they did, and for whose actions they should never, of course, be held responsible.
Just as we are about to go to press I am informed that the Connecticut Interscholastic Association has decided not to divide up the $400 surplus remaining in the treasury after the football season. The officers of that Association are to be congratulated upon this action. They will no doubt eventually realize that they have done much for the good of amateur sport in Connecticut by keeping the money question as far away as possible from athletic competition.
The Interscholastic skating-races held at the St. Nicholas Rink last week were contested at too late a day to allow of proper comment in this issue of the Round Table. Mention of them, therefore, will be reserved until next week.
Ice polo has begun to be played among the Boston schools, the first game of the season having been held in the last week of December. There were several matches on the 21st of that month, Stoneham High defeating Wakefield High, 1-0, English High First defeating English High Second, 2-1, and Somerville High defeating Medford High, 5-0.
A few days later Arlington High met Cambridge High and Latin, and took them into camp, 2-1. Arlington's team-work was far superior to that of the Cambridge men, and although the latter tried all sorts of changes in their team, they were unable to withstand the fierce rushes of their opponents. The same afternoon, on Spy Pond, Arlington met Winchester High, and scored another victory, 3-0.
This Arlington H.-S. team is undoubtedly a very strong one, and is putting up good polo this winter. On January 3 they met Cambridge Latin, and defeated them, 6-0. Arlington's especially strong point is in passing.
A very unsportsmanlike dispute has arisen between two schools of the Worcester County South Football Association. Both the North Brookfield H.-S. and the Southbridge H.-S. claim the championship of the League in football, and so eager is each to write the word "championship" upon its school banner that each seems to have lost its head in the discussion. As to which school is entitled to this rather empty honor I am not prepared to determine, although both parties have laid rather lengthy arguments before me, but it would seem that North Brookfield has the better claim.
A game was played early in the season between these two schools, in which a member of Southbridge H.-S. acted as referee. His decisions proved unsatisfactory to the North Brookfield players, and a squabble ensued. As I understand it, the game was left undecided, with the score favoring Southbridge. Later it was arranged that a second game should be played by these two schools. It was played, and North Brookfield won, 4-0.
If this contest was held to settle the question that arose over the first game, then the first can have no bearing on the championship, and the final game alone counts as a championship game. But the defeated players cannot see it this way, and the result is that both schools are claiming everything in sight, and their mathematicians are juggling figures to prove the case. This is one of the evils of the "championship" system.
The Graduate.
Caring for your health, and studying simple, every-day economy, you will see to it that no baking powder but the ROYAL enters your kitchen.
The low-grade, cheap powders contain alum and lime, and injuriously affect the stomach and kidneys.
M. Taine, the famous french essayist, once said that a book was only the overflow of a man's mind; that his mind must be full of thoughts first before anything could come out on paper, and that after the mind had been filled to the brim a book overflowed. So that in reading any work of great merit we must always read between the lines, and see how much more the author meant to say than he did say, and how much care and thought and study he must have put into it before it appeared in its present form. Any one who understands books, therefore, has for them a wholesome respect that approaches reverence, and you can estimate the amount of brains a man has by the way he treats his books. If he tosses them about, if he leaves them lying open, if he turns down the leaves, you may be sure he uses them but little, and knows less about them and what they contain. There is many a strong athlete and good fighter who is as tender as a woman with his books. He loves to have them around, to sit in the same room with loaded bookshelves, and to turn to them occasionally. There you will find—in the room of the boy or man who knows books—copies of this or that book, from the Three Musketeers to the Bible, pretty well worn, and showing that they are not merely once read, but that they are companions to whom he turns when he feels blue, when there is nothing else to do for the moment, when something is bothering him about which he does not wish to think.
Another good remark somebody made once is that if you own books you do not have to read them. That is, if you hear of a certain book, you say, "I must get that out of the library and read it." If you do so, it is necessary to read it at once and return it. If you can buy it, you read what portion satisfies your particular want at the moment, and then there it stands among your other good friends, always ready, like any real friend, to serve you at a moment's notice in any way it can. Indeed, it is a real friend, because it never deserts you, never goes back on you, never changes, unless somebody borrows it, and that is not the book's fault. The mere fact that your room is filled with books is a good kind of influence, for there is something in the mere proximity of books that makes a chap serious occasionally, and induces him to sit and ponder once in a while in the midst of his grind, his sport, his daily work, and his other and less valuable friends at school or college.
Then, too, in these days, when there are so many hundreds of books a year and so many millions already published, it is utterly impossible to try to read, as the old fellows in the later Middle Ages used to, everything that is published. It is far better to re-read some good familiar things again and again. They are good books, they are your especial favorites, and you will seldom fail to find something new in them each time you read them. It gives you a little idea of how much the writing of them must have meant to their author if you can read them, say, twenty times, and still go on finding something you had not succeeded in discovering in them before.
Some day you will go to call upon a friend who is perhaps a good deal older than you are, and finding him in his library, you will walk in and come upon him standing at his bookshelves, with a volume in his hand. As he stops reading or examining a book, he will sit down, talking with you and handling the book carefully, smoothing down its outside cover, or gently feeling the leaves between his thumb and forefinger. Then, as he gets up to take down a book to show you, he will gently blow off the dust from the top, in order that as he opens it no dirt shall go down between the leaves, there to remain and work ruin like sand-paper. Such a man understands books and has an affection for them. He may be a busy merchant; he may be a lawyer; he may be a bookworm; but in all three cases he is sure to be a refined, educated, more or less scholarly man, because no one can live in the company of good books long and be otherwise. It is a good plan for a schoolboy to begin to make his library at once. Money spent in good books is never wasted, and no sensible parent will check a reasonable desire for them. At college the library will increase, and before you know it you will be starting in on your work of life with one little room in your bachelor apartments or your family home that is just as good as a teacher—better in many ways.
There is one thing that every bicycler needs to look out for more than for anything else, and that is the bicycle-thief. There is no denying that he springs up everywhere, and his ingenuity is something to marvel at. The latest device of these people is somewhat amusingly shown in a story which comes to us from over the sea. It seems that a well-known guards Colonel was exhibiting to an admiring group of ladies in Battersea Park, the other morning, the excellences of a magnificent bicycle, rumored to have cost an immense sum, when he was courteously accosted by name by a well-dressed stranger, who ventured to admire the wonderful machine. The stranger inquired as to the cost, and address of the makers, and asked if he might mention the Colonel's name when ordering a similar machine, a request to which the Colonel, who thought that the stranger might be an acquaintance whose face he had forgotten, immediately acceded. Then the stranger wanted to try the bicycle, and the Colonel, proud that his machine should have created such an impression, agreed to that proposition also. "I am only a novice, you know," the stranger remarked, as he treadled feebly along in a serpentine course; and then he mysteriously quickened his pace and began to ride straight. He was out of sight in a minute, and the Colonel is still waiting for him to return.
Travellers in the buffet-car of the Chicago Limited have provided many good stories for the delectation of readers. The following is a good instance.
As the train pulled out of Chicago, a quiet, gentlemanly-looking man entered the buffet-car, and ensconcing himself in a comfortable chair, drew out a long cigar, and entered deeply into his paper. He remained so quiet and retained his seat so long that another passenger, whose hearing distinctly stamped him as a commercial travelling man, one of the kind full of chatter and curiosity, could no longer restrain himself. Addressing the quiet gentleman, he inquired, "Travelling East?"
Slowly removing his cigar the gentleman turned and looked at his questioner with slightly elevated eyebrows, replying, "Yes."
"New York?"
"Yes."
"Pleasure?"
"Yes and no."
"Great place, New York. Ever been there before?"
"No."
"I'm going home this trip—New York, you know."
The gentleman made no reply but resumed his paper. After a little silence the commercial man began again.
"I'm with C. & Co., on Broadway. If you drop in I'll show you over the city."
"Thank you, it will not be necessary."
"Excuse me, but might I ask what you're going to New York for?"
By this time most of the other passengers were interested. The gentleman, who was extremely annoyed at the drummer's curiosity, laid down his paper, and exclaimed:
"I'm going to New York, first, because the train is taking me there; second, because I've got lots of money and can afford it; and last, because if I like the place I intend to buy it."
The commercial man subsided amidst a roar of laughter.
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.
A short time ago directions were given for vignetting pictures, using empty plate-boxes with an opening covered with tissue-paper. This is a good way to vignette pictures, but a new box must be prepared for each kind of vignette desired. By using a sheet of ground glass in a frame and painting on it with a non-actinic paint, water-color paint, a vignetting glass is made which is always ready for use by simply washing off the paint and covering again, leaving the shape of the vignette clear.
The frame for the glass may be of wood, or one can take an empty plate-box a little larger than the printing-frame, cut out the bottom, and put the glass in its place, gluing strips of cloth along the edge to hold it in place. The ground side of the glass should be uppermost.
Mark on the glass with pencil the shape of the vignette, have some Gihon's opaque—which is a non-actinic water-color—and paint the glass with it, except in the place marked for the vignette. The paint should be mixed quite thick and be applied evenly, so that the light cannot shine through the glass except where the vignette is to be made. Along the edges of the opening work the paint with a piece of moist surgeon's cotton, which will give a soft effect in the printed picture. A new vignette is made by washing the glass and applying the paint in a different shape. This device for making vignetted pictures will be found very handy, and one which can be easily prepared.
Sir Knight W. Ryerson asks to have the rules of the competition published; what the cause of the yellowish color is in the finished negative; the expense of putting up a reasonable amount of toning solution; and the necessary qualifications to belong to the Camera Club. The competition rules were published in the Round Table for October 6. The yellowish color in the negative is caused by the unused silver salts not being thoroughly dissolved out of the film. If a toning solution is prepared with chloride of gold and sodium with bicarbonate of soda, it will cost 35c. for the chloride of gold and sodium, and 5c. for the bicarbonate of soda. Put the 15 grs. of gold and soda into 7½ oz. of water. This is the stock solution. Put the bicarbonate of soda in water, using just enough water to dissolve it. To make the bath for use, take 3½ oz. of water, and ½ oz. of the gold solution. Dip a piece of blue litmus into the solution, and if it does not turn the paper red, add a little more of the gold solution. Add to this a few drops of the bicarbonate of soda, till it turns the litmus-paper back to blue. Mix the bath half an hour before it is needed. To be a member of the Camera Club one must be an amateur photographer. To join the club, send name and address and state your wish to the editor of the Camera Club.
Sir Knight Wilbur T. Helm, Jun., and Sir Knight Hall M. Crossman ask whether a pocket-kodak picture can be entered in the prize competition, and which is the best film or plate. The pocket-kodak pictures are under the size allowed, 4 by 5 being the smallest size entered. The Stanley, Carbutt, Cramer, Seed, as well as other standard makes, are all good plates. Eastman and Carbutt films are both fine.
By Woodrow Wilson, Ph.D., LL.D. Copiously Illustrated by Howard Pyle, Harry Fenn, and Others. Crown 8vo, Cloth, Deckel Edges and Gilt Top, $3.00.
What particularly strikes the reader in enjoying Professor Woodrow Wilson's "George Washington" is the way the writer makes that historic figure warm and vital for us.... This stimulating and delightful historical study.... This work of Professor Wilson's must be widely recognized as of great value, because of this grasping of the salient features of Washington's life and character, the features we all want to see.—Hartford Courant.
We must now be content with a word of praise for its finished literary workmanship, its accurate scholarship, and its high patriotic ideal. We doubt if the career of Washington has ever received worthier treatment at the hands of biographer, historian, or political philosopher.—Dial, Chicago.
A familiar and delightful study of Washington.... We do not recall a popular work on Washington of more graphic interest than Professor Wilson's performance.—Philadelphia Bulletin.
A Story of the Youth of George Washington. By Molly Elliot Seawell. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.50.
An absorbing tale.... The account of Braddock's rout is an admirable bit of descriptive writing. The style is warm and polished, the characters are faithfully drawn, and there are passages of intense interest in the book.—Philadelphia Bulletin.
The youth of George Washington is treated in almost biographic form, and certainly with lifelike effect.... The book is well adapted to the needs of young people, giving them an admirable picture of Washington's early home life.—Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph.
Volume XVII. With 1276 Pages and about 1200 Illustrations. 4to Cloth, Ornamental, $3.50.
An ably edited, well-balanced magazine, which presents valuable history, art, and science, so interwoven with the best fiction and sport as to make its pages as valuable as they are attractive and entertaining. The "Round Table" has the correct idea of healthful juvenile literature.—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
The illustrations are plentiful and in the highest style of the art, and the contributions—stories, poems, sketches, and essays—are, as everybody knows, the best work that can be secured by the leading authors and artists who write for children.—Hartford Courant.
A volume which comprises within its covers a whole young people's library of history, science, literature, fiction, fun, etc., and a whole gallery of pictures besides.—Advance, Chicago.
'Tis said that few winds are so ill that they blow nobody any good, but the wind that blew a recent hunting-party into the middle of the upper Niagara River, and then over the falls, was an exception. It did nobody any good. True, the victims of the tragedy were that Shakespearian character (1) who lived in a group of Mediterranean isles; a Roman satirist (2) who is always mentioned whenever a teacher is; and the Greek philosopher (3) celebrated for wise sayings and just judgments, who lived in a city renowned for its heroic resistance to barbarians.
"One of these never really lived and the other two died long years agone, say you?" "Well, suppose they did. Pray don't spoil a story by speaking at the wrong time."
These three persons went gayly out, undismayed by the warning on the boat-house sign:
BOATS TO LET.
Adssdq Mfbwf Yzw Xlnkzmb Yvsrmw (4)
I nearly forgot to say that there were to have been five in the party, but the Schoolmaster of our Republic (8) and the Mad Yankee (6) read the sign and refused to go. But such a lot of things as were found by the three who went!
First they explored a mysterious excavation (7) contained in a street-sweeper, and a place of trade (8) kept in an insect. They met a wise man (9) in conception, and bought a warm covering (10) contained in a wrinkle; some small cord (11) done up in strengthening medicine; a bedded carriage (12) in sparkling; a covering for the head (13) in an impropriety; a quantity of paper (14) in demand; some food;(15) in a scoffer; a chart (16) in a telegraph; a clamp(17) in useful; a white linen garment (18) in military weapon; a large farm (19) in the gills of fishes, and some certificates of stock (20) in a title.
These filled the boat, though some were eaten, some lounged upon, and others studied. Queer place to shop? Well, never mind if it was so. Let my story go on.
As the three men were trying on what they found in the impropriety which they had purchased, one of them discovered a few things that had probably been left in the boat by a former sailing-party. The first (21) had once been in the fields and brooks, aye, a part of it even in the sky. Then it had been warmed, put through a process that city folk are laughed at by country folk because they cannot manipulate, and finally subjected to great pressure. The second (22) was once a part of a great mountain. Then it helped raise potatoes. Next it was buried in a grave. Again it was heated and then cooled, and became the source of so much comfort that the wonder was its owner left it behind. The third thing (23) is supposed to bring good luck. It is something that, in its natural position, moved rapidly—often with two motions at the same time. There was that about it which masons use. It was a sad loss to its owner, no doubt. The fourth and last thing was a liquor (24) contained in a secretion of the ear. It was not the first time that a drinking-vessel (25) which we find in refreshment brought death in its train. From that moment the men were doomed. They grew reckless, and here are some of the things they thought they saw:
An agricultural implement (26) in a railway employé; a small bed (27) in a writer; a temporary shelter (28) in a native of South Africa; an open land (29) in the bottom of a ship; a small house (30) in a window covering; a stream of water (31) in a dance; a church seat (32) in a cordage manufactory; a man (33) in a lizard; and a small horse (34) in a place of worship.
Finding all these in a place so strange, and making so poor use of them, it is no wonder that that which the sign-board warned them against carried them over the falls, and brought an end to the story. The local paper next morning said the bodies of the three were recovered and taken to "The Bad Lands of the Say It" (35) for burial.
In the foregoing story there are not a few questions in philology. There are also some popular nicknames, an anagram, and some riddles. In sending answers, do not write out the story. Number names as numbered here, write one below another in the proper order, and put your name and address at the top of your first sheet of answers. Mail answers not later than February 6, 1897, to Harper's Round Table, New York—no street number required—and put in the lower left-hand corner of your envelope "Puzzle Answer." Correct answers, with names of winners, will be published in Harper's Round Table as early after the close of the contest as possible, probably within two weeks.
The prizes, which will be awarded by the Messrs. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York, are: $40, divided among the ten best solvers according to merit. If one solver stands conspicuously ahead of the rest he or she will be given from $10 to $25, as the comparative excellence of the answer warrants. Persons of any age may help find the answers, but only those who have not passed their 18th birthday, and who are members of households in which this paper is regularly read, may send them in. Merit signifies correctness and neatness, and has no reference to the solution reaching the office of Harper's Round Table first in point of time. Elaborate decoration of answers is not encouraged. Use common stationery, note size, and do not roll. Write on one side of the paper only. Everything comes to those who—try!
H. M. Kimball says he made a battery after the suggestions given in the Table, and that it worked well when he put one cell in the circuit. But when he connected two, the battery seemed to give out. He asks for an explanation. The matter is, probably, that he connected the negative to the negative and the positive to the positive poles, in which case one cell nullified the strength of the other. The positive should be connected to the negative pole, and the negative to the positive. That is to say, the zinc to the copper, not the zinc to the zinc. Yes, the Calland cell is dirty and easily upset. In these days of improvements in batteries it is cheaper and cleaner to buy one's cells outright. The only thing lost then is the experience gained in putting them together—and the fun of doing the thing one's self.—Edgar W. Hall asks for a charter for a Chapter, and fails to give the name of the latter. What does he call his society? Tell us what name to fill in, and we will send charter promptly.
James D. Waite says his school battalion went to Washington last year, and is going again this year, and he offers to write a morsel describing the trip. By all means let us have the morsel. You are a member of the Order if you have a Patent in the Camera Club. One Patent admits to all divisions of the Order. Henry T. Smith asks what the new process is by which so much more gold than formerly is now gotten out of quartz and gold ore. Here it is. It is somewhat technical. It was invented in Australia. The machine consists of vertical distributors and mercury baths, placed as follows:—The crashed materials or slum enter a cast-iron trough or distributor, which is from 3 feet to 6 feet long and 5 inches wide; its sectional shape is half round. At the bottom of this distributor, and in a straight line from end to end, is a row of 1-4-inch holes, 5-6 inch from centre to centre. Below this is placed a mercury bath 2-1/8 inches wide by 5/16 inch deep, running the whole length of the distributor, and placed at a distance sufficient to cause the materials passing through the holes to form an indentation in the silver about the size of half a pea. These jets strike the mercury in the centre of the ripple at right angles. By these means the whole of the stuff is brought into forcible contact with the silver without separating it, and flows over its surface into another distributor below; and from there it again passes through another row of holes, and brought into contact with a second bath of silver. This operation is repeated until every particle of tailings has passed over eight mercury baths.
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 old-style St. Helena stamps have been displaced by the current issue of the De la Rue type. The immediate advance in prices of the obsolete set prompts the Weekly Era to warn the dealers and speculators that the extreme rise in ordinary stamps, simply because they have become obsolete, will tend to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. In many cases such advances are not only unjustifiable, but foolish also, in view of the fact that large stocks are in existence. Every one except speculators will heartily agree with the Era in trying to abolish an evil which threatens the popularity of stamp-collecting.
Philately is only one of the many forms of "collecting" which are a part of our human nature, but it seems exceptionally conducive to sociability, good-fellowship, and general jollity. The Collectors' Club House in New York was taken in hand by a Christmas entertainment committee, who decorated the house with greens, put up a big Christmas tree, and made the whole house seem homelike. The entertainment was given on the night of the 28th of December, and those members who were unavoidably absent missed a great treat. The Christmas tree was stripped, and almost every one received a present of something he did not want—upon the condition, however, that the parcel should be opened by the recipient in full view of all the audience. The burlesque presents showed both good-humor and wit.
New Issues.—British Central America.—
| 1d. black. |
| 2d. black and green. |
| 4d. black and orange. |
| 6d. black and blue. |
The above watermarked Crown C A.
| 2s. 6d. black and violet. |
| 3s. black and yellow. |
| 5s. black and violet. |
| £1 black and orange. |
| £10 black and vermilion. |
| 1s. on £1 blue and red. |
| 2s. on 6d. lilac and red. |
| With black surcharge. |
The above watermarked Crown C C.
Congo.—
| 15c. black and ochre, banana-tree. |
| 40c. black and green, canoe. |
Nankin.—
| 1/2c. gray, two figures. |
| 1c. rose, pagoda. |
| 2c. green, two elephants. |
| 3c. yellow, landscape. |
| 4c. claret, pagoda. |
| 5c. violet, bell. |
Salvador.—
The 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 50 centavos and 1 peso of the current series have been issued with "Official" surcharge.
South African Republic.—
| 4d. olive and green. |
| 6d. mauve and green. |
Sweden.—
| 25 ore, orange. |
| 15 ore, light brown. |
J. Fetteridge.—The "Officially Sealed" stamps are losing favor rapidly, and probably will be omitted in future catalogues. They are interesting as labels connected with the postal service, but they cannot be called postage-stamps.
F. G. Elliott.—During the first half of this century the mint frequently made use of old dies when making a later issue. For instance, the 1838 1c. die was used for the 1839 issue. The figure 8 was changed to a figure 9 in a bungling manner, with the result that the date looks as if it had been struck 1838, and then restruck 1839.
C. Rawson.—The 3c. U. S. Revenue "Telegraph" stamp, unperforated, is worth 75c.; perforated, 15c. The 3c. "Playing Cards," unperforated, $15; perforated, $4. The 3c. "Proprietary" and "Foreign Exchange" are not known unperforated; perforated they are worth from 5c. to 10c. each. The other stamps mentioned are worth 1c. each.
Ole C. Olsen, 2912 Quinn Street, Chicago, would like to exchange stamps, both common and rare, and U. S. adhesive and revenues.
K. H. Truax.—The 1882 Nicaragua is worth 2c.; the 1/8 Philippine Islands, 1886, is worth 5c. The dealers named are responsible men.
H. M. Ormiston.—The 20 para, Turkey, 1865, is yellow, and worth 6c. The 1869 issue is green; worth 3c. The 40 para, pink and black, is a local stamp worth 30c.
J. Gordon.—The English compound envelopes are good for postage, but the fact that they were made for anybody who was willing to pay the cost, on any kind of paper, of almost any size, and almost any combination of stamps, leads collectors to disregard them, as a rule.
A. Bull.—Do not hoard any Columbian stamps. They keep turning up in quantities, and are offered at a discount of five or ten per cent. on values 1c. to 50c.; twenty-five per cent. on values $2, $3, $4, and $5. I know of one lot offered which contained 12,000 6c. Columbians in complete sheets.
C. B. Viner.—I recommend applying to some dealer. There are three 1798 dollars, worth $2, $3, and $6 respectively. See answer to George Jay.
George Jay.—There are three 1799 dollars—the five star, worth $4; the six star, worth $2; the 1799 over 1798, worth $3. The old German and Spanish coins are worth bullion only.
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