Josquito Is
eservirig of
Attention
y Woods Hutchinson, M. D.
NE would , have thought that the
prtng poets, chanting from time
immemorial, would have 'lug - up
1 rhymed avery possible and juiagln
r sign ot spring. But while they
ig the changes Industriously and ad
meam -upon the buds and the pud
1 the flowers and the bowm and
lambkin and the ducklet and the
let., they,' In the vernacular, "over
ked One beat bet."
Their verse are full of the mualc of
f birds, from "The time of the slng-
ot birds la come" and Chaucer's
ialnt "smale . foule makken moiodle."
it they -totally forgot to mention
other kind of spring music equally
aracterlstlc and even more stirring,
d . Inspiring, though to a different
nd Of "frenzy." and that Is. the high
tched pipe of the mosquito as h
ngs In: your ear. With apologies to
nnyron;
i tha aprlng the star-eyed daisies
Fleck the sward with gold and white;
i the spring the wanton skeeter
Wakes and file abroad to bite .
Of all spring songs the mOayuito's
is the greatest and most important
neskage" for us one which wo neg
ct at our peril.
From a health point of view, we are
bout, coming to the conclusion that
ie proper study of mankind Is insects,
p to a decade or so ago we regarded
hen:nerely as trivial annoyances,
trlflea light as air," to vex us. very
x asperating and trying at times, but
o be regarded chiefly as a means of
rac for the development of patience
nd other Christian virtues and un
worthy of more than a passlnj; mo
'vent'a thought or attention by serious
ilnded and grown up persons. Now
ve Jiftva discovered that they must be
ounted among the deadliest ana most
estructlve enemies of'the human Bpe
les and dealt with accordingly.
I No Other single group of agencies,,
utslde of our own specie, mow
hrough our ranks' such a fearful swath
t death and destruction of working
owar, of suffering and slcknees and
inancial loss as the mosquito with his
.rlginal packages of malaria and yel
low fever, the free delivery fly with
Ma 'typhoid and summer dysentery, the
"tea with his bubonic plague, the lice
vith their spotted typhus fever and
he tsetse fly with his sleeping slck
iess. '
i Even the bomb dropping Zeppelins
and aeroplanes are not to be mentioned
in tha aame breath with the mosquito
and the fly as destroyers of nfc and
limb. A million lives a year by malaria
and yellow fever, and another million
by bubonic plague and sleeping sick
ness, would be a moderate estimate.
I
I : Nor should we console ourselves
jwith the Illusion that Insects are dan
I garouM only in the tropics. The malaria
carrying mosquito ranges clear up to
i our ; northern boundary, and many a
new aettlement in our middle west ana
northwest has been broken up. and
driven out by malaria. Just a the
earliest Virginia settlers at Jamestown
wera.
CA. famous old pioneer physician of
tha middle west uaed to declare that,
la hta opinion, Michigan. Indiana. Illi
nois and Iowa could never have been
settled by the white race without the
atd Of quinine!
All through pioneer days ant up to
SO or 40 years ago malaria used to be
quite common along the coast and riv
ers ef New York. New Jersey, Connec
tlcut and southern Massachusetts, and
van in this day a fair sprinkling of
casea of malaria drift into ou;- New
: Tork hospitals every spring and sum
I mer from Long Island and the Connec
' tlcut and New Jersey coasts.
The mosquito is still our enemy and
well deserves a "clean up wee.c" of
his own, while the fly, of course. Is
always and everywhere with us, busily
spreading disease germs and other
filth by aeroplane parcels) po-n, and
Whenever we will we may swat him
good to our own. benefit.
EAR STORY LADY:
Will you please tell us a
story about animals? 1 enjoy
your stories very much. I am 8 years
old. ISABEL HALL.
D
By GEORGENE FAULKNER.
NCE upon a time a black
bird and his mate lived
together in a tall tree.
They were so happy that
the blackbird kept sing
ing sweetly to his mate
and pouring out his
heart as they- built their
nest together, and when the nest was fin
ished and they settled in it, the blackbird
sang more sweetly than ever. Now, the
King was tiding that way, and when he
heard this song of joy he said to his fowler:
"You must catch me that blackbird, for I
wish to hear that happy song each day."
And so, not long after that, the fowler
came with his nets, but by mistake he
caught Mrs. Blackbird, who could hardly
sing at all, for he could not tell her from
Mr. Blackbird, as they both wore such
black feathers. The King was delighted to
get the bird, and so she was put in a cage.
Now, when Mr. Blackbird heard that his
dear little wife had been stolen by the king
he was very angry indeed, and he made up
his mind that he would go to the palace and
make war upon the King and demand that
she be set free again.
So he got a long, sharp thorn and tied it
at his waist for a sword, and on his head
he put half of a walnut shell for a helmet,
and he took the skin of a dead frog and
put it on for armor, and the other half of
the walnut cfiell he used for a drum, and
so he mar-lhed away, beating upon his drum,
to make war upon the King.
As he walked along the road beating his
drum, he met a cat.
"Meow, meow," said the Cat. "Where
are you going, Mr. Blackbird?"
"I am going to fight against the King,"
answered the bold Blackbird.
"1 will go with you and help you," said
the Cat, "for the King drowned my kittens
and 1 should like to help punish him."
"Jump Into my ear, then," said the bold
Blackbird, "and I will take you with me."
Then the Cat climbed into the Blackbird's
ear and curled up and went to sleep and
the Blackbird marched away, beating on his
drum.
Farther down the road he met some
Ants.
mmEMSM WML BffiaMMbM
" want my wife released at once," said General Blackbird. "You shall not have her," said
the kin. "Very well, then," answered the blackbird, "war is declared."
"Whither away, Mr. Blackbird?" said
the Ants.
"1 am going to fight against the King,"
answered the bold Blackbird, "for he has
stolen my wife from me and shut her up
in a cage."
"All right," said the Ants. "We will
Join you, for the King is our enemy. He
poured hot water down into our hole."
"Jump into my ear," said the Blackbird.
Next the Blackbird met a Rope and a
Club, and when they heard that he was
going to fight against the King, they
jumped into his ear and away he went.
Not far from the palace of the King the
Blackbird had to cross over a River.
"Whither away, Friend Blackbird?" asked
the River.
"To fight against the King, for he has
taken my wife as a prisoner."
"I will Join you," said the River.
"Jump into my ear," said the Blackbird.
So the River also went into his ear, and
away they all went to the palace of the
King.
When they reached the outer gate, the
bold Blackbird knocked loudly, "THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!"
'
"Who is there?" said the Porter.
"General Blackbird, come to make war
upon the King and get back his wife again."
And vhen the King saw the bold' bird,
he nearly fell from his throne, he laughed
so hard. "Hal Hal Ha! Ha!" roared the
King. "What do you wish with me, bold
General Blackbird?"
"I want my wife released at oncel" said
the Blackbird, beating upon his drum, "Rub-a-dub,
rub-a-dub!"
"You shall not have her. 1 have shut
her up in a cage and I am waiting for her
to sing for me," said the King.
"Very well, then," answered the Black
bird. "War is declared and you must take
the consequences. "Rub-t-dub-dub, rub-a-dub,
dub," went the drum.
"SeUe that Insolent birdl" said the King'
"and shut him up in the henhousel I do
not think that there will be anything left
of him in the morning."
So the servants took the Blackbird and
threw him out into the henhouse.
When all the world was asleep Black
bird said:
"Come out. Pussy, from mv ear.
There are fowls in plenty here:
Scratch them, make their feathers fly.
Wring their necks until they die."
"Meowl Meow! Meow!" said the big
Pussy-cat, and in an instant all was wild
confusion in that henhouse.
"Clutk-cluck-cluck-ck-ckl" went the
hens, as they went scurrying all over the
place.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo-doo-doo-ool Get out
of here, oh do-do-oo-1" shrieked the roos
ter. "Quack! Quack! Quack!" said the
ducks. "Alack! Alack! Alack!"
"Hiss-hiss-hiss-sissl What's amiss-miss-iss-iss?
hissed the' geese.
But the big Pussy-cat got them all and
scratched their feathers and bit them and
wrung all of their necks, and then she
went back into the Blackbird's ear and they
all went to sleep.
When the morning came the King said
to his servants: "Go and find the carcass
of that insolent bird and give all my poul
try an extra .measure of corn." But when
they entered the chicken-yard, there was
General Blackbird strutting about among
all the dead fowls.
The King was very angry when he
heard about this, and he said: "Tonight
you must shut that insolent bird in the
stable among my prancing steeds, and they
will soon kick the life out of him."
So General Blackbird was shut up in the
stable for that night.
At midnight, when all the world was
asleep, Blackbird stih
"Come out, Rope, and come out, Stick,
Tie the horses lest they kick;
Bet the horses on the head,
Beat them till they fall down dead."
Out came the Rope and Club from the
Blackbird's ear, and the Rope bound all the
horses until they could not move and the
Stick beat them until they all fell down
dead. Then the Rope and Club climbed
back into the Blackbird's ear and they all
went to sleep again.
The next morning the King said: "1 am
sure that my horses have settled that Black
bird. Go out and bring in his corpse."
The servants went out to the stable and
there was the Blackbird sitting on a stall
drumming away on his walnut shell, and
all around him lay the dead bodies of the
horses.
"He shall not trick me again," said the
King. "1 will kill him tonight. He shall
be put in with my elephants, and they will
crush the life out of him." So that night
the servants shut the Blackbird up in the
shed with all the big elephants.
At midnight again, when all the world
was asleep, the Blackbird began to sing:
. "Come out from my ear, you Ants,
Come and sting the elephants;
Sting their trunk, and sting their head,
Sting them till they fall down dead."
Then out came the swarm of Ants from
the Blackbird's ear, and crawled up inside
of the elephants' trunks, and they burrowed
into the elephants' brains, and they bit them
and stung them so sharply that the ele
phants all went mad and trumpeted wildly
as they pushed each other about and tramp
led upon each other, until they all fell down
dead.
The next morning the King said to his
servants: "There will not be even a
feather left of that insolent Blackbitd, but
go out and bring me in some proof that he
is dead."
But when the servants went out there
they found the Blackbird playing upon his
drum, while all about him the dead ele
phants were piled upon the ground.
When the King heard this, he was
furious, and he said: ' "I cannot find out
how he does this, but tonight you must tie
him to my bed and I will watch him."
So that night General Blackbird was
escorted to the King's bedroom and there
Hrl fat M tho ICintr'n hpd
Tha Vintr urrttiM nnt ftr trk elAjn Vint lrrtt
awake and listened to find out what the
Blackbird was doing. At midnight, when
all but the King were sound asleep, the
Blackbird began to sing:
"Come out, River, from my ear,
Flow aboii-t this bedroom here;
Pour yourself upon the bed,
Drown the King till he is dead."'
Then out came the River, drip-drip-dilp,
pour-pour-pour-pouring out of the Black
bird's ear. It flooded the room, the, chairs
and table began to float about, then the
King's bed began to float about and the
King himself was wet.
At last the King was frightened almost
to death, and. he cried out: "Oh, good Gen
eral Blackbird, stop the River! 1 will give
you back your wife if you will only begone'
and leave me in peace."
1
So the Blackbird stopped the River and
he took his wife and they went back to
their home. On their way back the Black
bird took out all of his helpers from his
ear and put them back where they each one
lived, and he took off his helmet and said,
with a low bow: "My friends, my wife and
1 appreciate and thank you for your very
timely assistance, for without your aid 1
should never have been able to overcome
the enemy."
Then the Blackbird threw off his frog,
skin coat of armor and put aside his thorn
sword and his walnut helmet and drum.
and he and his wife flew back to their home
Ui the tall tree and he sang her a sweet
song, and they all lived happily ever after.
(This old tale is retold from "The Talk
ing Thrush and Other Tales From India,"
by W. H. D. Rouse.)
PICTURE WIZARDRY
TiQXAmfiirma avmarr ws
ALL JUOfTJ KEXXm
II f - A I J
By CHARLES A.
OGDEN
This Proves That the Professor Is Absorbed in His Music
Peculiar Case Is
' Tried in England j
tU 1 1 Tm M X lUVU f- m,W vaa wiw
Intentionally Tea oows x-ooa tum
'.Would Increase Voltune of Milk.
. London, May 20. (I. N. S.) Eng
land Is campaigning? for Kood, cleaa
J milk, such as is common In the United
. States. This has resulted In ti curious
cas In the courts. John Hunt a
;: farmer, Is accused of diluting his milk
by a method of feeding ills cows.
'. ; The local justices In Coton, Cam
X.brldgeshire, finel Hunt $2..r0 on th-V
ground that he had Intentionally fed
( bis cows to produce a quantity of milk
.. without regard to quality.
1 Tht case was appealed, the defense
'Claiming that the milk was Just arf
nature and the cow had made it, anl
. the five Judges of the divisional court
' BtiU have It under consideration.
' Sweden and Kussia
;C On Strained Terms
- HI Ta'allsg Continual la Spite of Of
. , ' flcial Assurances That Friendship
.;.'-i Xmlata Between Two Countries.
a ;X Stockholm. May 20. (I. N. s.)
:. i Tha relations between Sweden and
Buaaia remain strained in spite of the
official assurances of friendship ex
f '. Changed by the governments of the
two countries. In the Inst four or
flva weeks several hundted Swedtsn
,f citizens have been expelled from Rur
Bia under various pretexts. Othera
.' have been arrested and throws into
prison as alleged Oerman spies.
The action of the Russian author-
ttlea ia bitterly resented here and the
i Swedish government has instructed Its
? minister at Petrograd to make a sharrp
. ; protest.
(D
WIS
have
Tfcfessor
DBlinki
directirg.
hi3
! little
' orchestra.
i 1 -
if we fT ! r-A
l! 1 ' JfS j
i W tmT nner- I
and
Some
shading,
we see
one of
the
members
of the
orchestra.
I BM
One Is a Fighter Bold, the Other Seeks a Tighter Hold
.4
Missouri Horse Says
w mm it is Hit
X
Xaoh Tina Animal Struck He Speaks
v Word Distinctly; Owner How Teaon.
iug Elm Other Words.
T" Iligginsville. Mo., May 20; Negro
tablemen look askance and shake their
heads with doubt when they approach
; a borne on the farm of Clay oodloe,
-near.Houstonla, Mo: A belierthat the
' horse has supernatural powers is the
reason.
Ooodloe recently was breaking the
horse. Ha struck him with a whip.
"Ohrraxclalmed the animal in almost
human tones. Then it was that the ne
groes be Ran to take notice.-
, Each time tne poiw u disciplined he
save "Oh!" distinctly;, t Ooodloe is try
ing, ta teach the , horse to.. say other
words. " ,
Here ft) I
we: see 7ll v I
Ferdie I Jik I
readv II JJ V I
dash I j
away J I 7 I I
war. I j j
Now .
well
add
just-
a few
"pen
strokes:
like
' this
J 1 , yl
.then
ahttle
shading
shows
us a
lady
iclimbing
mountain.
10 j I;
r. j) j h
4