Bulled Treasure
by (jjbhfy,
Offer of $200 Refused
For Confederate Stamp
Two ladies, accompanied by a
gentleman who turned out to be
their attorney, advanced to the
counter and said they wished to
learn whether or not their en
velope was authentic.
The envelope, yellowed with
age, did look authentic. Tom,
the owner of the stamp shop,
picked it up. It was common
enough envelope of its day it
probably had been made about
I860, but except for its manu
facturer there was nothing com
mon about it at all.
In the upper right hand corner
was a 10-cent stamp of the
Confederacy. It was dull rose in
color and carrying the picture
ol Thomas Jefferson surrounded
bv the legend, "THE CONFED
ERATE STATES OF AMER
ICA." To the left of that was an
other, a hand stamp consisting
merely of a circle containing the
words "MONTGOMERY
SOUTHERN EXPRESS ALA
BAMA." Of those words only
"EXPRESS" was in straight
line, the others were curved
about it.
The stamps had been canceled
by hand, in black ink, and the
date could be made out without
too much difficulty as August
25 or 28, 1862.
Tom studied the envelope fol
several minutes through a mag
nifying glass.
"It seems authentic to me," he
said at last. "I am quite sure
that this envelope was used for
conveying money to the ad
dressee." "How can you be sure of that,
sir?" asked the lawyer.
"I'm not positive," Tom re
plied. "But the Southern Express
Company, which took over
throughout the South in 1861
from the Adams Express Comp
any, was commonly used by the
public for carrying valuables of
various kinds. They apparently
felt it was safer than the regular
mails. Of course, that didn't sit
well with the Post Office De
partment, and they made it
obligatory for the express user
to pay the regular postage rates
anyway, even though he didn't
use the mails."
"But is that all you've got to
go on?" Persisted the attorney.
"No," Tom said, "But it's all J
can tell you right now, outside
of saying that I'll gladly pay
you $200 in cash for this enve
lope." The ladies looked at each
other and at the attorney and
smiled as they picked up the
envelope. "We're convinced it's
authentic," they said.
A CELERY VASE FOUND TO BE NOT SO COMMON
The blue cornflowers looked
very pretty in the pale amethyst
vase, but Cousin Abbie apparent
ly didn't think so.
"Anything but that," she
groaned, as she removed the
flowers from the vase and pass
ed them to the maid.
The maid reached for the new
empty vase, but Abbie dismissed
her with a brief "I'll empty it,
and we'll not use this for flowers
again!"
It was evident that the maid
thought Cousin Abbie fully as
eccentric as I did, but I was in
a position to inquire the reason
for her act and did so as she
returned to 'the room.
"Why did I change my mind,
Pinkney?" she asked, setting the
vase on the table between us,
"because I just learned . today
this is valuable.
The piece didn't seem especial
ly so to me. I had seen it around
her place for years. It used to
hold sticks of celery on the din
ing room table when I was a
boy, and I reminded her of that.
"I know," she said, 'and I
would think that you would
have seen it for what it is and
told me about it, rather than
my having to find out by acci
dent in a shop."
I apologized for my ignorance
and asked for enlightenment.
"Well," she said, "this is what
is known as a diamond quilted
pattern with vertical ribbing,"
and she went on to tell me about
a similar one she had come across
that afternoon. It was slightly
darker in color, but otherwise
it was practically identical. A
trifle over eight inches high, it
had vertical ribbing, or fluting,
running for about an inch down
from the top and two inches up
from the bottom. The interven
ing area was cross-hatched in
tiny diamond-shaped lozenges,
hence the name.
"But this is a fairly common
pattern," I said, "Many firms
made it back along about 1880."
"I know," Cousin Abbie re
plied, "but celery vases of this
type are rare enough so that the
one I was offered today was
priced at $235. And someone
snapped it up right while I was
looking at it.".
A WEBSTER FIRST FOUND IN STACK OF OLD BOOKS
There must have been over a
ton of lawbooks stacked on the
office floor. At first, I thought
all of them were bound in a
musty leather. The place smelled
as if they were a musty-dusty
smell that was not unpleasant
and which quietly recalled long
afternoons and evenings of
studying for exams.
Presently I noted that some of
them were not bound in leather,
but were bound in a stout cloth
binding that wasn't more than
"0 years old or so.
In other words, I might be
able to get something out of the
books beyond just the price of
pulp. Some of them might still
prove of use to a lawyer, and
not simply as filler material for
his shelves.
. I bid $15 for the lot, and then
when the young lady in charge
demurred, I let myself go and
raised the offer to $20.
She accepted doubtfully so
much so that I couldn't help ask
ing why.
"Is just seems to me," she
said, "that there ought to be
some books there that are really
worthwhile. Their original cost
was in the thousands."
I agreed, and on the impulse
of the moment told her I would
let her know if I found anything
valuable.
I did find something valuable
or relatively so. I came across a
calf-bound volume of An Amer
ican Dictionary of the English
Language, by Noah Webster.
I opened it hastily to the title
page. The information was what
I hoped for New York, 1828,
the mark of the first edition.
I set the book down shakily
and hunted for the other volume
there are two. It wasn't there.
I went through the pile twice.
When I called the young lady
and told her my predicament,
she took the news quite calmly.
Wasn't there anything else of
value? she asked. I assured her
there wasn't.
"Well," she said, "I have the
other volume here. It's in ex
cellent shape, too. And you can
have it for $75."
I exploded, but it did me no
good.
"A two-volume set like this
sells for better than $100, retail,"
she said, "so my price for this
volume is $75. Take it or leave
it."
I took it.
(Released by McClure News
paper Syndicate)
Wafer-Robbing Weed
Studied in Kansas
Hays, Kan. (U.R) Scientists
are starting the study of a weed
that may be robbing Kansas of
badly needed water.
Using a $4,500 grant from the
Interior department. Ft. Hays
State college researchers under
Dr. Gerald Tomanek will study
the tamarisk or salt cedar plant
Tamarisk has been found to
make a measurable difference in
the water table below the earth's
surface by absorbing water
through its roots and transpiring
it freely through the leaves.
Checking it near Kansas reser
voirs and rivers, the research
team will try to determine the
extent of the plant's effect in a
state hard hit by almost five
years of drought.
The plant eventually may be
designated by the Kansas legisla
ture to be a noxious weed, sub
ject to organized destruction.
Dead fin Sunday Clusiiled 1 at
at noon Saturday.
Old fort Niagara
Popular With Tourists
Youngstown, N.Y. U.P.) Old
Fort Niagara, overlooking Lake
Ontario at the mouth of the Ni
agara River, is getting more
popular as a tourist attraction
as the years go by. President
Paul P. Cohen of the Old Fort
Niagara Association reported
that the ancient stronghold drew
250.707 persons in the year end
ed May 1. It marked about a
17,000 increase over the previ
ous year and set an all-time record.
Farmers Warned Against
Milking During Storms
Wellsville. Utah (U.R)
Dairyman Reid W. Parkinson
warned colleagues against turn
ing on milking machines during
thunder storms. He said a flip of
his milker switch during a recent
storm knocked 11 cows flat and
killed five of them. Parkinson
said a bolt of lightning apparent
ly was fed through defective
wiring into the cows, electrocut
ing them. Total cost: $1,500.
Southern Oregon Coast's Flowers,
Scenery Admired by Motorloggers
Improvement Jobs
Speed Travelers
Along Route 101
The feUowtar Is e Mflrfau.
tten of moterlor appearing
Jolr 21 la nrth wMt Bnterre
nn magazine ef The Seaday
Oreronian. It Is ene mt an an
neal eerlee sponsored Jointly by
the Oregon Ktate Motor associ
ation and The Oregenian.
BV GWLADYS BO WEN
Sonet? Bailor. The Ortcomoo
People down around Brook
ings way are understandably
annoyed when they hear stories
about "the entire Oregon coast
from Astoria to Gold Beach.
Brookings may be some 36
miles south of Gold Beach,
which puts them just about six
miles north of the California
border, but it is still very much
in Oregon.
Until the last few years, the
southernmost reaches of the
Oregon Coast highway, U. S.
101, were as noted for tortuous
curves as for scenic beauty. But
today, as we found on a motor
log for the Oregon State Motor
association and The Oregoman
in the formers white Ford,
there are wonderful stretches
of new highway all the way
from Taft to Brookings.
From late spring on. there is
no more beautiful stretch of
coast highway than from
Brookings north to Florence.
Lilies Planted at Brooking
Beginning in late May, the
tourist sees the coast rhododen
dron at its height, Scotch broom
bursting into bloom, whole
fields of iris from mountains to
sea and Azalea state park at
Brookings at its fragrant love
liest By midsummer these have
faded, but Brookings is again a
floral paradise then, thanks to
the flourishing cultivation of
Croft lilies.
There are also many beach
flowers in summer blossom, and
along Coast range roads from
the Alsea river south, digitalis
flowers profusely.
The motorlog car pulled Into
Brookings of a late May after
noon after a pleasant drive from
Jacksonville. After locating our
motel, we went back down the
'road to 20-acre Azalea state
park, which became part of the
state park system May 26,
1939. Two years later, the peo
ple of Brookings decided to hold
their annual Azalea festival and
flower show, complete with
queen and court, a ball and all
the -other et ceteras attendant
upon festivities. War restric
tions put a stop to the celebra
tion the next year, and it was
not until Memorial day of 1946
e ioctiMO
ek
FI0fine l
Rocky eoant In Brooklnffa-Harbor area lnred motorlog party
to halt white Oregon Stats Motor association ear for views.
that the festival was revived.
Now it is bigger and better
than ever.
These azaleas, all native to
the Brookings area, are known
botanically as rhododendron oc
cidental. They grow in various
shades from almost pure white
to a deep salmon pink with buds
that are almost red.
Finally, some of the last of
the virgin myrtlewood groves
are to be found on the Cheteo
river just east of Brookings.
To those who are only familiar
with second-growth myrtle, the
virgin trees present a striking
appearance. The wood was so
much sought for paneling, and
all sorts of bowls, trays and
other souvenirs, that the great
trees seemed doomed to the
sawmill.
The Portland Garden club be
came interested, along with
Save the Myrtlewood, Inc.. and
other organizations, in the pres
ervation of one of the groves,
much as similar clubs have pre
served groves of California red
woods. In 1948, the local club
won the founders' fund of the
Garden Club of America, and
with this award, together with
a sum raised locally, purchased
160 acres of land, which was
dedicated that same year.
Grove Named After Owner
The grove is known as Alfred
Loeb forest park, named for
the former owner.
Route 101 all the way north
from Port Orford is almost
continuously lined with rhodo
dendron, blooming companion-
ably with squaw grass and rud
dy huckleberry as it does in
the mountains. This is the same
rhododendron Californicum that
blooms from the Cascades to
the sea but its blooming time
is earlier on the coast.
The iris, while not so spec
tacular as the rhododendron, is
equally profuse and charming
In its own way. This is the
Douglasiana in various shades
(...
t r a tisiii'i
la. Cjftt
i vmt hit
F - r
lttlkMS'
Mtife-l-t
Motorloggers nsed the Oregon
Coast route from California
line northward to Florence.
of blue and purple. (Down in
the redwoods below Brookings,
it is another variety, the
orangey bracteata.)
Up around Florence the rho
dodendron is so profuse that
the citizens have declared an
annual Rhododendron festival
the last week end bi May and
have mapped out a "rhodjr
drive." This guides the visitor
by signs in a wide sweep sea
ward and then back into the
hills behind the town, where
the blossoms can be admired
without heavy traffic
Improvements in the Coast
highway, by the elimination of
curves and adding a third lane
over passes, have added much
to the pleasure of driving U. S.
101 these days. Brookings resi
dents boast they can make the
trip to Portland these days in
7i hours. It's only 345 miles
but miles that should properly
be driven slowly to savor to the
full the beauties of nature of
fered en route.
Sunday, August S, H5i
MEDFOHD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE THIRTEEN
Is That So?
Of our web-spinning spiders
each species makes exactly its
own kind of web, constructing it
time and again according to
deeply established instinct. For
example, when a baby spider
spins its- first web, even if it has
never seen a web before, it mak
es one just like its forebears',
except of course on a smaller
scale befitting its smaller size.
Except in a laboratory, there
Dr. Peter N. Witt of the Univer
sity of Tubingen, Germany, has
found that certain drugs can
cause certain variations, each
drug producing its own distinc
tive departures from the normal.
Because of the importance of
his experiment, I am reporting it
as given in the fascinating book,
Twentieth Century Bestiary,'
In studying his spiders. Dr.
Witt found that the spider's
drive to build a web seemed to
be in direct proportion to its
hunger. A hungry spider would
build a web every day, an enor
mous expenditure of energy, Fe
males being almost again as
large as males, apparently re
quired more food and hence
built their web more often.
The web, of course, is the orb
spinning spider's tool for catch
ing food. To it, the sense of touch
is what the sense of sight is to
a human. And so the spider
which can see but poorly, sits off
in a corner of its structure with
two hairy forelegs resting on a
"signal" thread running through
the outer edge to the center of
the web. There it waits tensly to
get the "welcome" vibration of
any victim.
And the moment a fly's vibrat
ing wings touch the threads of
the filmy web, the spider rushes
upon it, paralyzes it with its poi
sonous bite which also predi
gests the innards into a palatable
liquid form and binds it with
sticky thread. At leisure it sucks
in the preserved juices.
In this capture, says Witt, sight
Frank W. Cafalano
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Custom Homes a Specialty
PHONE 2-2174
ty EUGENE BURNS
Ranger-Naturalist
plays little if any role. For ex
ample, it was found that a tun
ing fork vibrating with the same
frequency as a fly's wings would
also provoke the spider's assault,
so would the vibrating dummy of
a fly. But when the signal thread
was cut so that the spider could
not feel the vibrations of the web
then it paid no attention what
ever to a fly crossing the web
even directly in front of it.
Kept on Diet
To keep his laboratory spiders
building, the animals were kept
on a diet which was sufficient to
keep them healthy but yet sparse
enough.to make them build each
night.
Because it was easy to capture,
Witt selected the Zilla x-notato,
an orb-spinner. To capture it, he
simply lured it out of its hiding
place in the garden by touching
its web with a tuning fork. While
busy attacking the work, he laid
a paper bag on the signal thread.
Returning from its fruitless sal
ly, the spider then entered the
paper bag without even noting
that its house had been changed.
Then, the paper bag was fasten
ed to the corner of a portable
frame in the laboratory and
thereafter the spider built web
after web on the frame.
Because the delicate threads
were so gossamer and difficult
to photograph, Witt thickened
them by dusting them with a ma
terial which did not bother spi
ders. (Glass bowls, one with a
solution of ammonia gas in
water and a second with a solu
tion of hydochloric acid were
placed under the web. The ris
ing vapors combined in the air
to form fine crystals of ammon
ium chloride and in 20 minut
es the crystals had covered all
the threads with a fine white
layer so light that it did not
make the delicate filiments sag
but thick enough to make every
thread stand out clearly when
the white-coated web was pho
tographe dagainst a black back
ground with the light from the
side).
Sugar Conceals Tail
To administer his drugs, a
fluid containing the drug, sweet
ened with sugar to conceal the
taste, was injected into the hind
part of a fly where the spider
customarily taps for juices. The
taste of sugar apparently was
delicious for the spiders readily
took every drug offered.
Giving a sleep-producer, the
drowsy spiders would skip the
spinning of the longest and
most difficult outside-frame
threads, resulting in conspicu
ous gaps in the web.
A stimulant, in turn, caused
the spiders to spin a spiral which
had the usual over-all shape but
tended to zigzag like an un
steady walker. A pain-killer
caused the spider to omit the
first part of the spiral leaving
the outer part of the web un
covered by cross members. And
one which produces strange hal
lucinations in humans upset the
spider's sense of direction: the
regular spirals went off in
every which direction.
Because the drugs always pro
duced their own distinctive de
partures in this experiment, the
lowly little spider gave the doc
tor an objective and measure
able report. A thing, he says, he
could not have gotten from hu
mans who are moody, compli
cated, variable and apt to carry
memories from one experiment
to another.
(Copyright. 195S. by
McClure Newspaper Syndicate)
(Releasad by
McClure Newspaper Syndicate)
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyclo-
Daily's U-Drive
Medford Airport
Ex-Creampuff Filler
Now Bakery President
Chicago (U.R) The head of
one of the country's largest bak
ing enterprises began his career
as a S14-a-week creampuff filler
when he was 14.
Charles W. Lubin has worked
up from that position in a Deca
tur, 111., bakery to his present
rank of president and co-founder
of the kitchens of Sarah Lee,
Inc.
Starting business for himself
with $700 capital and $800 on
loan, Lubin and his brother-in-law,
Arthur N. Gordon, formed
the Community Bake Shop in
Chicago. This firm now has sev
en area outlets in Chicago.
However, the big step to prog
ress was the purchase of a fruit
cake in 1942 which the pair nam
ed Sara Lee after Lubin's then
one-year-old-daughter. The Sara
Lee firm now has national distri
bution and originated the special
process which allows cakes to be
baked in their own aluminum
foil package to preserve fresh
ness and increase sanitation.
depia Americana, my panel of
judges will award each week to
the reader who sends me the
best true-life nature adventure,
the best nature observation, or
the best question on nature and
wildlife, a complete 30-volume
set of this world-famous refer
ence work in a handsome Seal
craft binding. Each week new
submissions will be considered.
Sorry, I simply can't answer
your many friendly letters.
Please address your letter to:
Is That So! co Medford Mail
Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito,
Calif.
Nuclear Plant To Have
No Affect on Water
Chicago (U.R) The propos
ed Commonwealth Edison nuc
lear power plant will be as safe
as an ordinary factory, company
witnesses told the Illinois Com
merce commission.
John Poer, chief engineer for
the project, said the water drawn I
into the plant from the Kanka-;
kee river and later discharged
into the Illinois river will not be
affected by radiation. The plant I
will shut itself down if any in
crease in temperature or excess- j
ive steam formation occurs, he
said.
The project will cost approxi
mately $45,000,000 before it is
completed in 1960. The General
Electric company is building the
special atomic generators which
will produce 180.000 kilowatts of
electricity for area residents.
LEGAL NOTICES
CALL FOR BIDS
Sealed bids will be received bv the
Board of Directors of Medford School
District 349-C. Jackson Countv. Ore
con, at the Board's Office, 500 Monroe
St.. Medford. Ore., up to 11 am. Sat
urday. August 11th. 1956. For Asphal
tic concrete, paving en estimated area
of 2.200 Sa. Yds., as shown on plans
available at the School District office.
Signed. Rebecca Jensen. Clerk.
Dead Une Sunday Classified Is at
noon Saturday; 10 a.m Mondav for
Monday: other days 5 30 previous day.
Ship Passengers Given
Samples of Products
Green Bay. Wis. OI.PJ When
the cruise ship carrying mem
bers of the Cleveland, Ohio,
Chamber of Commerce and their
wives stopped here, it didn't go
unnoticed. The Green Bay As
sociation of Commerce met the
S.S. South American and gave
each passenger a sample of Wis
consin cheese, facial tissues
made in Green Bay and a pam
phlet pointing out places of his
torical interest.
You Can Own Two for On
When You Own ...
"The Amazing Volkswagon"
MORSE
MOTORS
1201 N. RIVERSIDE
PINE FIRE WOOD
Big Loads
3 for $25.00
Phone 2-8277
Ipacific ,
laDUSTRIA!"
It S. Central Phone 3-S30S
MOVING?
Save by Renting a
BEE HIVE
U - DRIVE
Vans Stakes
and Pickup Trucks
Also Avlt
RENT-A-CAR
SIGNAL TUNE-UP
& REPAIR
rh t Grape Phone 1-3 Ml
POISOII OAK?
Try a Bottle of ZEMACOL
You must be eitilfied e rear re ears
cheerfully refunded. Get a bottle ta
dar at WESTERN THRIFT.
CORN REMOVER v
CJvm instant roliof from paim wwj pi
iVry rwnovM hard corns, Mft mm
papillomas, Jwb nail. It contain hv
oral Afferent 3f that sorfon, looso
o strong odd mistwros. WKm
thort kovtt, foiWd try on. Try'
ovr Iwmn RoUef, wHh foJtovot'
fwosKnfj first dji socoodj
eeeey beck guarantee. .
Exclusively at
WESTERN THRIFT
BUYING! SELLING!
RENTING! SWAPPING!
1 .sssf -if
LCC
' "4S
raff
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Results! It's the Town's Biggest Market Place--
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