Harper's Catalogue,
Reading edition
Thoroughly revised, classified, and indexed, will be sent by mail to any address on receipt of ten cents.
Writing Letters.
III.
Young persons—and old persons too, for that matter—ought to be careful what they put down in writing. Letters are permanent things—or likely to become so. Italian, Spanish, French, and Continental Europe business men are much more cautious about signing their names and about reducing business matters to writing than the same class of men in England and America. But if these Continental business men do sign anything, they live up to it. Americans are too much given to agree to almost anything, and then—regret having done so. Young men fall into this error.
In correspondence, be very sure that you know to whom the letter is going, that it reach him, and that it will then be promptly destroyed, before you trust to paper even that indignation which the world agrees in calling righteous. Trivial matters of a personal character that ought not to be said ought much less to be written. A good rule is: Never write anything that you would blush to have all the world read.
In constructing letters, give some advance thought to the task. Avoid details, be explicit, and polite. If you ask a reply and it is your business, enclose a self-addressed and stamped envelope, but do not put into it a sheet of blank paper. Say all you have to say before you sign your name. "N. B.'s" there is no excuse for. If you find one necessary, write your letter over again. Too much trouble? Not so. It is the least troublesome in the long-run, for, having taken it a few times, you acquire the habit of constructing your letters as you wish them, and ever after avoid both re-writing and "N. B.'s" If you enclose other papers in the envelope with your letter, say so, and specify what they are.
Do not imagine yourself to be your correspondent's only correspondent. If you are writing on a business matter, begin one letter where the last one ended. Give details of your business in order that your correspondent may learn at once what you are writing about. If your letter be an answer to another letter, answer all of the questions. Don't neglect to look at the letter and think you have answered. Consult the letter and be sure about it.
The Lake Worth Country.
I suppose there is not a tract of land in the United States that has increased in value so rapidly as that of the now famous Lake Worth Country. Twenty-five years ago there were no settlers there, and it was not until early in the '80's that it began to be attractive. Several years ago the finest piece of land on the lake could be bought for $250. Congressman Miner, of New York, was offered a portion, but refused. Last winter he was told that the same piece of property is now worth $50,000.
The improvements along the lake cost millions of dollars. Among the lovely places is that of C. L. Craigin, of Philadelphia. It cost more than $115,000. Mayor Swift, of Chicago, has a winter home overlooking the lake, situated on a high bluff. The most conspicuous place on the lake is the site of the Episcopal Church, Bethesda-by-the-Sea.
A part owner of the famous Hutchinson Land Grant is Colonel A. T. Lewis, a native of Mississippi. In 1836, during the Indian war, he marched from St. Augustine to Tampa Bay. He was in the fight that resulted in the death of the Indian chief Hoocha Billy. He also secured the title to the Spanish grant opposite Ancona, which he had been contesting since 1875.
Harry R. Whitcomb. Umatilla, Fla.
At School in Germany.
I am an American boy, from the city of New York, but already three years have gone by since I last passed the Narrows on my way to Europe. I shall never forget my feelings as I saw the last of the well-beloved coast, which I knew I should not again see for many years. I had previously been over Lake Ontario (and in my whole life I was never in a worse boat), and a good way up the St. Lawrence; but still it was a curious sensation to see nothing for days but sky and ocean. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my trip pretty well. I was not troubled by seasickness, and arrived, after a journey of seven days, at Southampton. I passed a week in London, which I was very anxious to visit, but after having seen some of it, my curiosity quickly subsided. It is not half as nice as New York. Then I went to Cologne viâ Flushing, Venlo, and from there to Stuttgart, the capital of the kingdom of Würtemberg, where I still live.
One often mentions the beautiful position of this town, and it has indeed many advantages which we do not find in other German cities. Among other things Stuttgart is especially noted for its good schools, and of these the "Realgymnasium," which I frequent, is probably the best. Contrary to the so-called "humanistischen gymnasium" we are taught only Latin, not Greek and Hebrew, but a great deal of mathematics. There are three departments: lower gymnasium, first to third classes (primary); middle gymnasium, fourth to sixth classes (grammar school); the higher gymnasium, seventh to tenth classes (college). Of these again, classes one to seven have each three parallel classes, viz., a, b, c. The three highest, VIII., IX., X., have only one class each.
Our general hours for lessons (I am now in the VII.), are, in winter, from 8, in summer, from 7-12, and from 2-5. That's pretty long, but still when we get home our work is not nearly done, for we have a good deal of work to do at home. With mathematics—that is, geometry, algebra, and physics, I get on very well, thanks to the good grounding I received in America, but Latin is in some sense my stumbling-block. Still, I already appreciate the beauty of Latin literature. French I read with perfect ease and pleasure. I could tell you a good deal more about school, but I fear to weary my readers, so I will only mention how our bodily education is cared for.
Thrice a week we have gymnastics, once swimming, four times fencing (with foils now, afterwards with bayonet and sabre), and we also play a good deal of football, which has begun to spread in Germany during the last three years, and which, by the wish of the Emperor, has been introduced into all the higher schools. Like many other classes mine has also formed an eleven, of which I am captain. Our school library is very good, consisting of about eight thousand books of the best German, English, French, Latin, Spanish, and Italian authors. These form ample amusement for our leisure hours. Our summer vacation lasts from July 25th till the 6th or 7th of September, Christmas holidays from December 23d until 5th or 7th of January. At Easter we have two and a half weeks.
I am, comparatively speaking, a recent member of the Order of the Round Table, but a very old reader of Harper's Young People. I myself have had it since 1887, and before me my brother took it for several years. The volume of 1880, in which, if I remember right, Moral Pirates and Who was Paul Grayson? (I think that was the name) was printed, is still in my possession. I have followed with great interest the stories of Mr. Kirk Munroe—the Mates, Fur-Seal's Tooth, Snow-Shoes and Sledges, Fire Rangers, Road Rangers, and Sea Rangers. Of Captain King's stories I prefer Cadet Days to Corporal Fred.
This is my first trial of a letter to Harper's Round Table, and I much doubt if it will pass muster, but I hope I shall be allowed to try again, and to be more successful then. I always read the letters and questions, and if I could be of any use to a member I would do so with the greatest pleasure.
Paul Loesey, R.T.F. Stuttgart, Germany.
Plants that Live on Insects.
The plant known as the Drosera, or Sundew, is very curious, and is well worth watching, for it is what is called insectivorous. That is, it eats insects for food. Its leaves are covered with bristles, and on the end of each bristle is a drop of sticky secretion which, when the sun shines on it, looks like dew, hence the common name. But if a fly or other insect lights on the leaf, he gets caught. Then the outer bristles turn towards him, and at last, although it takes about twelve hours, the leaf folds around him. The plant takes all the nutriment from the insect's body, and opens, ready for another catch. It has been proved that a plant fed on animal food is more vigorous than a plant that is not. This Drosera is very common in wet meadows and on the shores of ponds. It has a more expert cousin, the Dionæa. This closes its leaf very quickly, and the insect has no chance to escape.
Lincoln W. Riddle. Jamaica Plain.
Legendary Geography.
CONCEALING RIVERS, CITIES, STATES, AND ISLANDS.
In the country beyond the mountains,(1) where we spent our summer vacation, a kind of fish(2) is caught by fish-spearing,(3) in the cold spring(4) between the rivers(5) by a husher or bully.(6)
Traces of the silver or lead ore(7) in the Green Mountains(8) on the cross shore(9) are distinctly seen in the bold rock(10) by the long lake,(11) where the tired and drowsy(12) fishermen, stopping for rest and refreshment, are lulled to sleep by the thunder of waters(13) rushing through the strait(14) near the islands of land turtles or tortoises.(15)
The country is rich in geographical interest and old Indian legends. It is a curious coincidence that the initials of the geographical names concealed by their definitions, when properly arranged, give a national holiday of historic importance.
Answers.—1, Housatonic River. 2, Tippecanoe River. 3, Androscoggin River. 4, Sandusky River. 5, Nashua. 6, Indiana. 7, Galena. 8, Vermont. 9, Yokohama. 10, Aleutian Islands. 11, Kennebec River. 12, Iowa. 13, Niagara. 14, Detroit. 15, Gallapagos Islands. Thanksgiving Day.
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.
PHOTOGRAPHING THE STARS.
How many of our Camera Club have tried to photograph the stars? Of course, to make accurate pictures of the stars one must have special apparatus, and the camera must be adjusted by machinery so that it will move as the earth moves; but one may make very curious and also interesting pictures of star "tracks" with an ordinary camera. The winter-time is the best time of year for making such pictures, for the stars appear much brighter then than in warm weather.
Use a moderately quick plate and expose for fifteen or twenty minutes, pointing the camera toward that part of the heavens where there are stars of the largest magnitude. When the plate is developed, there will appear on it what seems like white marks, more or less distinct, according to the brightness of the stars which came within the compass of the lens.
If the camera is pointed toward that part of the sky which answers to the equator the lines will be straight, but if the camera is pointed toward the North star the lines will be curved. An interesting study may be made of one of the planets when in the vicinity of stars of first and second magnitude. The plate, when developed, will show that the planet travels in a different direction from that of the stars. The moon may also be photographed, and a much shorter exposure made than for the stars; indeed, one can make an almost perfect photograph of the moon when it is full, or nearly so.
Of course the plates are of no special value except as curiosities; but one may be as fortunate as was one young amateur recently, who, when exposing a plate, caught the image of a large meteor which shot across the sky within the field of his lens. Several interesting pictures of comets have been made with an ordinary camera; but these celestial visitors come few and far between. Photographs may be taken on bright moonlight evenings, and are sometimes very artistic. It is necessary to expose the plate from half an hour to an hour, according to the quickness of the plate and lens used.
E. A. M., New York, wishes to know if blue prints may be made with a pocket kodak. Blue prints may be made from any negative, however small. Films make as good blue prints as glass plates.
J. Moultrie Lee, Jun., says that he cannot find the articles which are referred to in previous numbers. He says that he turns to the number of the book and pages, but finds nothing relating to camera work. This must be because he turns to the page and not the number of the Round Table. He asks for a formula for sensitizing paper. A formula for making plain salted paper will be found in No. 796 (January 29, 1895) and in No. 803 (March 19, 1895). This formula was also reprinted in the circular sent out in October last. Our correspondent also asks how to make a waxed paper negative from a print of which the negative is destroyed, and how to transfer the film from one plate to another. In answer to the latter question, a paper is already prepared giving direction for this process, and will appear in an early number of the Round Table. To wax a print, heat an iron hot enough to melt wax readily, but not hot enough to scorch. Take a piece of pure white wax, rub a little on the face of the iron, and iron the print lightly on the back. If the picture is a landscape do not wax the sky. After it is waxed enough to be transparent, rub the iron over the print to warm the wax, and take up all the excess of wax with a clean piece of blotting-paper. It can then be placed in the printing-frame, using a glass support, and printed from, the paper negative being waxed in the same way.
Lady Helen Garner wishes to know what a "kit" is, and what it is for. The "kit" used by photographers, which is probably what Lady Helen means, is a thin frame inserted in a plate-holder so that one may use a smaller plate than the one for which the holder was originally made. If one has a 5 by 8 plate-holder, a frame with an opening 4 by 5 or 3-1/4 by 4-1/4 may be placed in the holder, and by this simple arrangement the smaller sizes of plates used in the larger holder. A 5 by 7 plate is used in a 5 by 8 holder by using two thin strips of wood half an inch wide. Both the frame and the strips of wood are blackened.
Sir Knight Sprague Carleton wishes to know how to make good transparencies, as those which he has made lack detail and are not transparent enough. Directions for making transparencies were given in the Round Table No. 798 (February 12, 1895); but another paper will soon be published on this subject. If Sir Knight Sprague will tell what process he uses, time of printing, etc., we will be glad to suggest what remedy is needed. It would seem from the description that the transparencies were over-exposed.
Sir Knight K. Gregory says he is going to buy a small camera, and wishes to know how to develop and print his own pictures. He will find directions for beginners in recent numbers of the Round Table. The first paper was published May 21, 1895, and the others follow in order.
Sir Knight Fred E. Turner wishes to know if the process described in the Round Table for making prints with nitrate of uranium produces permanent prints. The prints made with the salts of uranium are, if properly treated, as permanent as the blue print, with perhaps the exception of the green, which sometimes loses the brilliant tone which it has at first. This is due to the development and fixing of the red print. This process was first practised by Niepce de St. Victor.
Plenty of sleep, fresh air, careful diet and the daily use of a good soap like the Ivory will purify the complexion as no cosmetic can.