The Voyage of the Rattletrap

By Hayden Carruth, Author of "The Adventures of Jones." Illustrated by H. M. Wilder. 16mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.

The story of three boy chums and of their cruise across the Dakotas in a "prairie-schooner." The log makes amusing reading, even though there are no very exciting adventures to chronicle. Mr. Carruth has a genial humor in the telling of ordinary happenings that is irresistible, and he even manages to impart a great deal of useful information as he goes along. The new Northwest is a great country, and the author tells us very pleasantly some things about this big slice of Uncle Sam's territory.

By KIRK MUNROE

The kind of stories that healthy, hearty boys are apt to like.—Independent, N. Y.

Master of the art which keeps the young reader's interest at a tension.—N. Y. Sun.

Rick Dale

A Story of the Northwest Coast. Illustrated by W. A. Rogers. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.

A capital story, brimful of adventures.... It is a good, clean, captivating tale.—Observer, N. Y.

Snow-Shoes and Sledges

A Sequel to "The Fur-Seal's Tooth."

The Fur-Seal's Tooth

Canoemates

Raftmates

Campmates

Dorymates

Each one volume. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1.25.

The "Mates" Series, Four Volumes in a Box, $5.00.

Wakulla

A Story of Adventure in Florida.

Derrick Sterling

A Story of the Mines.

The Flamingo Feather

Chrystal, Jack & Co.

And Delta Bixby. Two Stories.

Each one volume. Illustrated. Square 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, New York

A Cuban War Story.

The Rev. Dr. Conwell, a well-known Baptist clergyman of Philadelphia, recently went to Cuba. On his return he related the following incident to his Sunday-evening congregation:

"A planter, with whom I talked several times, told me that some months ago, on a very dark and rainy night, a light-house on the south coast of the island was captured by insurgents, and as the keeper was, of course, a government official brought from Spain, the insurgents took him prisoner. Some of his captors urged that the keeper be shot forthwith. The keeper bravely accepted his fate, and as he was being led out he requested as his dying petition that his captors would keep the light burning on that stormy night.

"The insurgent colonel, who since has himself been killed under Maceo, was so captivated by the brave keeper's thoughtfulness for the unknown sailors beaten toward shore in the terrible hurricane, that he ordered the release of the keeper, and presented him with some silver plate, which the insurgents had confiscated from some wealthy planter. One touch of nature," added Dr. Conwell, feelingly, "makes all the world kin."

More Signs and Omens.

I live in the "Sunny South" too, and here are some of the signs most often heard here:

Peacocks' feathers bring bad luck.

A black cat brings good luck.

Watch a person out of sight, and you will never see him again.

If you point at a grave, a member of your family will die.

Bring a hoe or other garden tool into the house, and it will bring bad luck.

A good fire-maker will always have a smart husband.

A hard storm is often a sign of the death of some rather unpopular man.

I don't know as these are strictly local, but all of them are very common here.

Carolyn Sherman. Ash Grove, Va.

Queer New Orleans Customs.

New Orleans has some customs peculiarly its own. One of them, the decorating of the cemeteries on All-Saints day, is not done in any other place in the United States. On that day the cemeteries are beautifully decorated with all kinds of flowers. The fronts of the great white tombs (for there are few underground graves in New Orleans) are often so covered with flowers that you can hardly read the inscription. This is lovely while it lasts; but when the flowers are faded and dead, it is rather pathetic than otherwise to wander through the streets of the silent cities of the dead. Metaire and Greenwood are the most beautiful cemeteries, and the old St. Louis the most interesting. Here are buried the old French people who died over a hundred years ago.

Another queer custom, but which is dying out, is the giving of "lagniappe" (pronounced lan-yap) in the stores and markets. That is, they give you an apple, an orange, or a few pieces of candy in the grocery stores, in addition to what you have bought. They used to do it in the old French Quarter more than anywhere else, and often gave lagniappe of coffee, tea, sugar, or rice. But now they give hardly any, except to children, and sometimes even they have to ask for it.

Then the street-criers, too, are amusing. A familiar sight is a dilapidated wagon and horse loaded with sacks of charcoal, while an extremely dirty-looking individual screams, "Charcoal, two bits a sack—charcoal!" "two bits" being used invariably, instead of twenty-five cents, among this class of people, and even among the better classes.

New Orleans has a most excellent system of street railway, although it is but lately that it has had it. Before, there were only small cars with one mule attached; so you can imagine the electric cars are a great improvement on the old style of transportation, which was both slow and uncertain. But it has taken away a good deal of the quaintness from the city. There are only two mule lines left, and these will soon be replaced by electric ones.

The city lost one of its old buildings by fire two years ago, which has been replaced by a handsome modern structure seven stories high. I refer to the St. Charles Hotel. There are very few handsome public buildings here; about the finest are those of the Tulane University. The soil of New Orleans does not admit of very heavy buildings being built, although they now drive piles of sixty feet for foundation.

New Orleans is fast coming to the front as a grain-exporting point, the Illinois Central having recently finished an immense elevator and dock. It has been for many years the largest cotton-exporting port in the world.

The two public parks, Audubon and the City Park, could be made very beautiful if they were improved. Their natural beauty is so great that one does not mind their somewhat wild state. Little by little they are being improved, but, both being large tracts, it takes a long time. The trees in both are immense live-oaks, and under those at the City Park many of the duels of the earlier Louisiana days were fought.

West End, the one nice resort of New Orleans, is situated on Lake Pontchartrain, about six miles from the centre of town. Here, in summer, there is music every evening by a fine band, and trains run at intervals of fifteen minutes. It is a most delightful way to spend an evening, as there are no mosquitoes, and the breeze off the water is always cool. The mosquitoes are a great pest here, and even in winter they are quite bad, we being compelled to sleep under bars a good share of the time.

This is a very easy place for visitors to find their way alone, as the streets are all plainly marked and numbered. All the cars start from Canal Street, and it is almost impossible to lose one's way.

As Canal Street is the starting-point for all the cars, it is quite a feat to cross without risking your life. Policemen are stationed on every corner, and it is very rarely that an accident occurs.

Sophie Eleanor Clark.

What do You Think They Weighed?

Don't you think the following pretty good? I got it from an old man who says he won $5 for answering it years ago.

A man had an article weighing exactly forty pounds. He let it fall, and it broke into four pieces. But it was such a fortunate fall that the pieces were afterwards available for sale weights, and with them he could weigh any number of pounds from one to forty. How much did each piece weigh?

J. Lurie. New York.

We do think it good. You ought to be able yourself to tell a good puzzle, for you have won some of our puzzle-prizes. The Table will publish the answer in a week or two.

Laid and Wove Paper.

Edward C. Wood, of Philadelphia, asked the difference between laid and wove papers of fine grade. The question was referred to a manufacturer of this kind of writing-paper, and he answers in the following interesting way:

"You have seen your mother roll out pie-dough with a rolling-pin. She rolls it out on a board into a thin even sheet with a smooth surface, which is like the surface of 'wove paper.'

"Now after doing this, if she were to take another rolling-pin, and place around it wires laid close together and parallel with each other and with the length of the pin, and bind them in place with other wires wrapped around the pin and about an inch apart, and then if, with the rolling-pin thus prepared, she were to roll the even surface of the thin sheet of dough, the impression of the wires would be left in the dough, producing a surface like 'laid paper.'

"In making paper a flat surface of wire-cloth corresponds to the board. The paper pulp or 'stuff' (made by grinding up rags very fine, and mixing them with water until the composition looks like cream), which is spread in a flat sheet over the surface of the wire-cloth, corresponds to the dough. And a roll (covered with wire-cloth for wove paper, and with wires laid parallel with each other and with the length of the roll for laid paper) corresponds to the rolling-pin.

"This roll, called the 'dandy,' covered with wire-cloth, rolling over the surface of the thin wet sheet of paper-stuff, smooths it down into an even regular surface, and produces wove paper.

"The dandy-roll, with parallel wires, rolling over the wet sheet of stuff, leaves its impression in the thin sheet, and produces laid paper.

"The lines at right angles to the parallel lines are called the 'chains,' and are produced by the impression of those wires which are wrapped around the parallel wires to hold the latter in place around the dandy-roll."

The Name "Indian Summer."

Henry Osborn asks why Indian summer is so called. I have always heard that it is the time of the year when the Indians laid in their provisions for winter. During the summer they only hunted for pleasure. Cold weather came before they realized it. Just at this state of affairs the Indian summer came in and gave the Indian one more chance to provide for winter.

Harry Richardson.

This reason is a new one to some, we think. Can anybody else give a reason popularly said to be the origin of the name? And will some one write out the scientific cause for the hazy atmosphere of this season? Is the cause well known?

Advice to Boys of Fifteen.

"Mercer" asks the probable expense of two boys of fifteen going round the world on a bicycle; whether it is prudent to go; and if any publisher or publishers would perhaps accept and pay for an account of the journey a sufficient sum to reimburse the boys for their necessary outlay.

The expense of such a trip would not be less than $4 per day for each boy for the entire time absent from home. It might be less than this in the far East, but in other parts of the world it would be more. If this estimate errs, it does so in being too small. Is it prudent? We should say, with perhaps not as much emphasis as would the parents of the boys in question, no. There are many dangers, but if there were not, what substantial thing is to be gained? Prudence in a boy of fifteen demands that he shall be in training, save during the few summer months, which are not long enough for a world bicycle tour, for the future. There may be publishers who would pay a big price for such a manuscript, but they are not advertising that they will do so.

Questions and Answers.

A member of the Camera Club sends the Table $1, and asks if there are other members who have old negatives, in perfect condition, of scenes of places of interest anywhere, size four by five inches. If any member has such will he write to the Table, describing the subjects of the pictures and the number willing to be given for $1? Do not forward negatives until requested.—W. Randall Spurlock, 3108 Highland Ave., Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati, O., asks if any one can give him the address of Capt. J. D. Randall, who is, or used to be, a Mississippi River boatman, whose boat ran, at one end of its route, to Memphis.—Chas. Henshaw, 432 North State Street, Chicago, wants to join a Chapter or some club somewhere that is interested in photography.—Chas. K. Russell, a Brooklyn member, asks us why coins are put into corner-stones when laid. We always supposed it was merely to preserve them for a future generation, the same object in view when records, newspapers, and memorials are enclosed. We can find no other reason. Is there any other reason?

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.

HOW TO MAKE ENLARGED NEGATIVES FROM SMALL PRINTS.

Though the rules for the photographic contest stated that no picture less than 4 by 5 in size would be admitted, yet the editor constantly received letters asking if pictures taken by the small pocket-cameras would be admitted. These tiny pictures, though often good in detail and well chosen as to subject, are on too small a scale to be admitted to any contest; but if one has a small picture which, aside from size, seems worthy of being entered in a competition, a large negative may be made from it, from which prints may be made and sent to the contest.

The first thing to do is to make as good a print from the negative as possible. Squeegee this print to a glass plate—a spoiled sensitive plate is the best for this purpose, as the glass is usually free from defects. If the picture is larger than the glass, squeegee the picture in the centre of the glass, and either block out the clear glass with Gihon's opaque, or cover it with black needle paper. From this paper positive is to be made the negative in the same manner in which one enlarges from a negative to make an enlarged print.

Choose a room which has but one window. It is better to take a room on the second floor where an unobstructed view of the sky can be obtained. If the room has two windows one must be completely darkened and the other covered, except a small space large enough to admit the glass plate on which the picture is squeegeed. On the outside of the window arrange a large piece of white card-board at an angle of about 45° so as to reflect the light through the picture.

The camera used for enlarging may be a 4 by 5 or larger, and a little practice will enable one to make excellent negatives. Take the focussing-glass out of the frame, and place the glass containing the picture in its place. The focussing-glass is easily removed by loosening the screw in the side of the frame and slipping out the piece of wood which holds it in place. Put the focussing-frame in the camera, and place the camera close to the window, so that all the light that enters the space left in the window passes through the camera. The lens is of course turned inside the room.

The camera should be supported on a table, and fixed so that it cannot jar. Directly opposite the camera, on the same plane, must be placed something to serve as a support for the sensitive paper, and a wooden box with the bottom covered with white paper will be found to answer every purpose. A convenient way of arranging the camera and box is to take a board, place the camera at one end, and the box at whatever point the clearest focus is obtained.

Having everything in place, shut out all the light except that which enters through the camera, and focus the picture on the plain white paper. Mark where the image falls, close the shutter, and by a red light place a sheet of bromide-paper on the space covered by the image, holding it in position by means of small thumb-tacks.

Open the shutter of the camera and expose for ten or fifteen minutes, according to the density of the negative. If the light is poor, a much longer exposure must be made. One can time the exposure by making one or two experiments with small strips of paper and developing.

For developing this enlarged negative use hydroquinone. Do not over-develop, clear with acetic acid, fix, and wash thoroughly. When dry the paper may be rendered more transparent by waxing, or it may be printed from without further manipulation. If the negative is inclined to curl, straighten it by drawing it over the sharp edge of a drawer.

S. W. Hines, Jun., asks if it spoils plates to cut them with a glass-cutter; whether dark or light objects take quicker in snap-shots; how to print lantern slides, and where an outfit for lantern-slide-making can be obtained. Sensitive plates may be cut into smaller sizes and used if great care is taken not to scratch the sensitive film, though if one has plates too large for the camera it is a better plan to change them for a size that will fit the camera. See Nos. 798 and 799 for directions for making lantern slides. All the outfit required is a box of lantern-slide plates, some good negatives, a printing-frame, and a lantern. The finishing, cover glasses, binding strips, and name-markers will be required. We will publish soon another article on lantern-slide-making for the benefit of the new members of our Camera Club. Light objects always take quicker than dark ones.

D. Saylor Wilson, 120 McDonough St., Brooklyn, N.Y.; William Seymour, Marshall, Mich.; Arthur S. Dudley, West Salem, Wis.; Ralph Bulkey, Jun., 345 Miller Ave., Columbus, O.; S. W. Hines, Jun., Cumberland, Wis.; Charles Boyden, Jun., 4053 Washington Ave., St. Louis, Mo.; E. L. Dedham, Orysa, Tenn.; John D. Duff, 922 Duquesne Way, Pittsburg, Pa.; Arthur Nilsen, 69 West Fiftieth St., New York city; Horace A. Williams, Parkesburg, Pa.; Donald C. Vaughn, 1 West Eighty-second St., New York city; Arthur Ehrhart, Maywood, Ill.; Evarts A. Graham, 672 West Monroe St., Chicago, Ill.—wish to become members of the Camera Club.