Let us therefore pass to a brief consideration of the educational
features that are to be derived from an examination, no matter how
cursory, of the displays that are to be seen within the buildings.
First of all, and indeed frequently the most important, is the exhibit
made by the national Government. In the special building devoted to
that purpose are shown the exhibits of the several executive
departments, including also that of the Smithsonian Institution and
its dependencies, and the Fish Commission. As a result of the years of
accumulated experience there has been in each of the expositions
previously mentioned, except that in San Francisco, a distinct
improvement in the installation of the exhibits in the Government
Building, until it was recognized in Atlanta that the display was
superior to that in Chicago, and in Nashville "the best exhibit ever
made" was the verdict of those who had seen the successive expositions
previous to that in Omaha. Therefore the telling of a story by means
of objects in the best manner possible is the result sought for and
attained most perfectly by those who installed the Government
exhibits.
It is, of course, understood that the purpose of the Government
exhibit is to familiarize the public with the methods of carrying on
the functions of the different departments. Thus, in the post-office
exhibit there is shown the entire sequence of postage stamps, both of
the United States and foreign countries, the various kinds of mail
bags, figures of the mail carriers in their different uniforms, and
finally models or pictures of the methods of transportation. The
Treasury Department shows the working of the mint by the striking of
commemorative medals, while a full series of the existing medals and
coins of the country are displayed in cases on the wall. The functions
of the Department of the Interior are shown by exhibits of a series of
models of some important invention, as, for instance, a sequence
showing the development of the sewing machine. In this way--for of
course the blanks and other documents are shown--the working of the
Patent Office is demonstrated; while the Geological Survey, also of
the Department of the Interior, presents a series of minerals, showing
the economical wealth of the country, together with its maps and
reports, results of work accomplished. Everything can not be shown,
but a most excellent idea of what each department does can be had from
a study of the exhibits of the Government.
Next in importance to the Government Building is the one devoted to
commerce, and here are usually to be found the weak points of our
American expositions. In lieu of a series of exhibits showing the
progress in a given industry or trade, we find too frequently a
collection of nondescript articles without much if any relationship to
each other. This is due primarily to a lack of proper organization in
soliciting exhibits, and also because the awards or medals of the
jurors are so often of no relative value. The second condition is an
outcome of the first. To be more specific, in Nashville there were no
exhibits from any one of the larger and well-known silver firms, and
yet American silverware has a recognized status as one of the most
successful of our American art industries. Cut glassware is another
branch in which our artisans or art workmen have achieved splendid
results, and still there were no exhibits from art glassmakers in
Nashville. Certain varieties of art pottery and art glassware, such as
the Rookwood pottery and the Tiffany glass, are seldom seen at these
smaller expositions. In consequence the juror makes an award to the
best article of its kind on exhibition, which may be but a third-rate
article compared with others; still it is the best shown in the
exposition, and therefore worthy of recognition. Another unfortunate
feature must be mentioned at this point. It is the decorative
feature. At the last World's Fair held in Paris there was a colossal
figure of George Washington in chocolate exhibited by an American
manufacturer of that article. While it might be considered as a
laudable attempt to make known to the French nation the features of
the "Father of his Country," and from that point of view worthy of
recognition, still it was no evidence of the superiority of the
chocolate, and therefore could not be considered in connection with
the giving of an award. This condition of affairs prevails at every
exposition, and too frequently an exhibit of a meritorious article is
made in such a modest manner that its claims are overshadowed by the
pretentious display of something quite inferior.
Two conditions thus present themselves--namely, the lack of proper
exhibits and the improper presentation of certain exhibits. The first
condition may be overcome by a more perfect canvass of the industries
of the country. In nearly every one of these there is a national
organization, and it should be the duty of that body to consider the
matter. By the appointment of committees and working among the
representatives of the industry, either a good exhibit from the
leading firms could be secured, or else a collective exhibit of the
best from many firms could be obtained. Typical of the last named was
the exhibit made by the potters of the country at the World's Fair in
Chicago. By the adoption of such a method of displaying the products
of manufacturers the possibility of the second condition would be
entirely eliminated.
After all, the value of these expositions is chiefly educational, and
surely no more perfect way of educating the visitor or sightseer could
be found than by placing before him a historical series of products,
beginning with the one made first in point of time, continuing with
better specimens, showing the improvements that have resulted from
increased experience and knowledge, and culminating with the finest
product now made. The contrast between the first and the last would be
indeed most striking.
It must not be thought from the foregoing remarks that these
interstate expositions have been lacking in the presentation of the
products of their own home industries. Far from it. In San Francisco,
in Atlanta, in Nashville, and in Omaha the local manufacturers did
themselves great credit by the admirable way in which their goods were
shown, but it was just in this particular feature that the weak point
indicated previously made itself most conspicuous. A local silversmith
could hardly be expected to compete with the more famous manufacturers
in the same line in larger cities, and yet in the absence of an
exhibit by the better known firm an award would naturally be given to
the smaller manufacturer, thus creating a false impression to the
world at large.
It must not be assumed that the educational value of the exhibits in
the Commerce Building is without commendation. Next to making a thing,
the seeing of it is most important, and surely no one can pass along
the aisles of any exposition without noticing much that is new or
unusual, no matter what his previous experience may have been. It is
in this connection that the foreign section is frequently most
instructive. Warm furs from Russia and the north, rich fabrics and
strange metal ware from the Orient, rare porcelains from Copenhagen,
and brilliant glassware from Bohemia and Hungary, tell the story with
striking vividness of the special products of the Old-World nations.
As has been shown, the finished products of manufacturers are those
that are housed in the building devoted to commerce and manufacturing,
but the raw materials require a building or two for themselves. That
in which the products of the earth are exhibited is usually designated
the "Minerals and Forestry Building." This requires but brief mention,
and has its chief interest for the expert. Geological specimens,
including paleontological and lithological exhibits, show the age and
character of the soil, while the rocks further indicate the
possibilities of the territory, for they show the geological horizon.
In natural order are shown the minerals of the country. At Atlanta and
Nashville the richness of the mineral wealth of the Southern States
was fully demonstrated. Not only ores such as those of iron and
manganese, but the combustible minerals, as coal, lignite, and
petroleum, were exhibited. More striking, perhaps, are the great
numbers of economic minerals that these expositions show. The
materials--phosphate rock, sulphur, and nitrates--used in making
artificial fertilizers; the marbles; the pigment-yielding minerals,
including ochres, umber, and barite; the clays, with their products of
earthenware and pottery, bricks, and tiles; and even mineral waters
are among the different minerals to be seen. It is from such exhibits
that something of an idea is obtained of the enormous wealth that is
contained in the earth, waiting only to be excavated and fashioned
into articles of beauty and utility. While such exhibits are
frequently to be seen in museums, still the average mind is more
impressed by the casual examination of these things in expositions,
and one's pride of home increased by the rich stores of mineral wealth
attractively installed. It is customary also to show models of the
machinery used in mining, and even books, maps, and drawings are not
uncommonly seen.
A similar arrangement is followed in regard to the forest products.
Logs and sections of trees, as well as samples of wood and timber of
all kinds, are shown. Then come the finished products--boards,
shingle, and moldings--and finally the manufactured articles, such as
pails, tubs, and then furniture. Barks, as for tanning or dyeing,
seeds and gums, and the wood pulp for paper are on exhibition. Among
the miscellaneous products deserving mention are fibers, as used in
basket-making or cane work.
Forestry as a science is made the basis of a series of exhibits. These
include timber culture, tools used, and methods employed in planting
and caring for trees. And finally lumbering as a science finds a place
in the scheme followed in this department. This includes the tools
used in lumbering and the methods employed, as well as exhibits
illustrating the tan-bark industry, the turpentine industry, and the
charcoal industry. So it happens that there is much that can be
learned by the student who will devote a little time to the analysis
of the exhibits in the building devoted to the products of the mines
and the forest.
A visit to the Agricultural Building reveals to the interested
observer those products of the soil that are for the most part the
result of cultivation, and so we find exhibits of cereals--wheat,
oats, barley, and the like--and then their immediate products: bread,
pastes such as macaroni, and starches. The sugar-yielding plants,
together with honey and the manufactured product, as candy and other
confections, come next in order. The root crops, such as potatoes or
beets, and the vegetables, are of much importance. Preserved meats and
food preparations, dairy products, spices, tea, and tobacco are among
the articles on exhibition. Then come the plants yielding fibers, as
cotton and the like; but we hasten on to make mention of the exhibits
of implements used in agriculture and its special subdivisions, such
as horticulture, viticulture, floriculture, and arboriculture. Who
will gainsay the fact that the farmer can not do otherwise than learn
much from a visit to the home of the products of the soil? It it also
customary to include a live-stock exhibition during some period of the
exposition.
Mention has been made of the building devoted to the finished products
of manufactures and of the buildings in which the crude materials are
displayed. Besides these there are usually several buildings devoted
to the exhibition of the means by which the original substances,
whether from the mine, forest, or farm, are made up into the
commercial product for the merchant. One of these is called the
"Transportation Building," and in it we find the various means by
which the raw materials are conveyed to the factory. From the lower
forms of transportation of which man is the motive power, such as the
wheelbarrow, upward through the various forms of vehicles of which the
power comes from horses and other animals, until as the topmost member
of the series is shown the magnificently equipped train of railway
cars, provided with all the conveniences that modern luxury can
devise. If the visitor is not content with land locomotion, more than
likely he can find an exhibit in which transportation on water is
possible, as by means of a naphtha or steam launch.
Machinery is the active means by which the immediate transposition of
the crude material into the finished article is accomplished. And in a
building where the ceaseless belt moves with the rapidly revolving
pulley may be seen the many forms of machinery which the active brain
of the ingenious mechanic has devised to cheapen labor and increase
production. The change of the cotton fiber into cloth, or the passage
of the silken thread into the finished handkerchief; the revolving
cylinder on which the virgin sheet of white paper becomes the printed
purveyor of news; or the many and varied appliances by which the piece
of leather is fashioned into a covering for the foot; or again the
means by which the strip of steel is made into a pin or needle, are
among the interesting things that may be seen in Machinery Hall.
Conspicuous among the many interesting wonders of science that were
shown at the Centennial, in 1876, were the few, insignificant, blue,
flickering, and unstable lights that ushered into existence a new era
in the history of electricity. In Atlanta, in Nashville, and in Omaha
a building was necessary to hold the appliances and products of the
latest of our sciences. Telephones no longer impress us by their
newness, and the appliances of electricity to heating and lighting are
now household necessities. To those who treasured the memory of the
beauty of the lighted Court of Honor at the White City in Chicago
there was given a greater joy when the entire grounds of the beautiful
Centennial City in Nashville were illuminated with more than seventeen
thousand incandescent lamps. Daylight had faded into darkness only to
emerge into an electric day of brilliancy unsurpassed. Thus was told
the story of the progress of the science which as a result of the
studies of Franklin, Henry, Morse, and Graham Bell may well be
regarded as the American science.
A parting word must be given to the amusement features. How the
Streets of Cairo, now so hackneyed, linger in one's memory! The
Enchanted Swing was one of the novel features of the Midwinter Fair in
San Francisco, and of weird interest was the Night and Morning in
Nashville. The Mexican and Japanese villages were excellent features
in Atlanta, and so was the Chinese village in Nashville, although the
"Old Plantation" was more popular. Panoramas such as that of the
Battle of Gettysburg, or pyrotechnic spectacular shows such as The
Storming of Wei-Hai-Wei, are of value. The musical features must not
be forgotten, even if popular fancy leans toward Dixie, for the
occasional "Gems from the Operas" help to leaven the mass. At
Nashville the military drills by the national and State troops were
of considerable interest, and much had been hoped for in Omaha in this
respect, but the war prevented.
In this analysis, incomplete, it is true, of these American interstate
expositions something has been shown of their design and more of their
benefits. They have had for their purpose the exhibition of the
materials, processes, and products of manufacture, but their ultimate
benefit has been that of education. To the thoughtful an opportunity
has been afforded of following the crude material through the
processes of manufacture until the finished product has been
exhibited. The variety of crude materials was shown him, the different
processes were contrasted, and finally the completed article was
exhibited which possessed this merit or that advantage according to
the process followed. For the mere pleasure-seeker there were the
delights of attractive surroundings, the beauty of the exhibits, and
the delights of music or other entertainments. Indeed, all the
influences are for good.
Let it then be the effort of every one, whether official, exhibitor,
or visitor, to use his influence to improve and elevate these
expositions so that only the most desirable localities shall be chosen
in which to hold them, and let the selection of exhibits be made so as
to include the most worthy; for then, and only then, will the visitor
derive the greatest benefit.
And so from time to time and in various places we shall have these
interstate expositions, which will show to the world the advancement
made in the development of the resources of our great country.
BOOKWORMS IN FACT AND FANCY.
BY WILLARD AUSTEN.
"What is a bookworm? Tell me if you can;
I merely mean the insect, not the man--
A reptile whom a wit like Hood might dub
A grub that grubs in Grub Street for its grub."
ROBERT ROCKLIFF.
So much mystery has gathered around the term bookworm, so much imagery
has been employed in depicting the appearance and devastations of this
mythical creature, that many have been prepared to accept almost
anything, no matter how fabulous, that might be said about this
unknown enemy of literature. Reaction against these weird and
fantastical accounts is indicated by the question, not infrequently
asked, "Are there such things as bookworms?" Few are aware that in
this creature we encounter another case of masquerading, that these
"destroyers of the Muses" are common enough pests playing other rôles
than those in which they are familiarly known. Some of them are met
with daily in the house and elsewhere, and arouse no unusual interest,
while the world goes on wondering what a bookworm is like.
Insects injurious to books and bindings are not a new subject. The
Greeks and Romans observed and wrote about them, but notwithstanding,
their knowledge of zoölogy, comparatively speaking, was so meager,
they do not seem to have felt any of the mystery or wonderment about
these creatures which we have felt. The terms _blatta_, _tinea_,
_silphe_, are frequently met with in the works of classical writers,
and, while we can not be sure of the particular species they intended
to allude to by these terms, we do in many instances know from the
context that the creatures known to them had like characteristics with
those known to us, and that they were given to literary depredations
as are their descendants.
The earliest allusion to a book-destroying worm which has come down to
us from classical lore was rescued from oblivion by the lad Salmasius
in 1606, when he discovered the manuscripts of the anthology of
Cephalas in the library of the Counts Palatine at Heidelberg. Among
the fragments in this collection is one attributed to Evenus, the
sophist-poet of Paros, who wrote about 450 B. C., in which the "foul
destroyer" is thus berated:
"O worst enemy of the Muses, devourer of the pages of books,
Foul destroyer that lurkest in a hole, ever feeding on what thou
hadst stolen from learning,
Tell me, black-colored bookworm, why dost thou lie in ambush to
injure the sacred decrees while fashioning thy envious image?"
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, mentioned the "little
scorpionlike creature found in books"; a characterization which
obtains to-day for the little creature which Leunis calls the
"_Bücherscorpion_." Horace addresses his finished book, to which he
imputes an unbecoming haste to be displayed on the booksellers'
stalls, thus: "When thumbed by the hands of the vulgar, you begin to
grow dirty, then you will in silence feed the groveling bookworm."
Ovid, in his exile at Tomi, likens the "external remorse of its cares"
which his heart feels to the gnawing of the _tinea_.
Considering the fact that Pliny is said to have comprised in his
Natural History all the knowledge of the natural sciences then known,
it is a little surprising that he had not more to say regarding book
insects. Here and there in his writings, however, he speaks of worms
in connection with books and papers in the same casual way as other
classical writers, causing you to feel that he was conversant with
their destructive tendencies. The epigrammatist Martial in the first
century, and Lucian in the second, both use the term bookworm;
Martial, in much the same way as did Horace, warning his book of the
fate awaiting it; Lucian, in his well-known dialogue, The Dream; or,
The Cock, as a symbol of the condition to which miserly man may
descend.
Sufficient has been said to show the attitude of the ancients toward
these little pests, that had no more regard for their precious
thoughts than for the utterances of modern "statesmen," whose speeches
are "read by title and ordered printed."
Crossing the cloistered period of the ages called dark, when books
were so few and so constantly used by the jolly monks that these
little creatures must have had a difficult time getting a living
unobserved, we come down to the sixteenth century, by which time books
had begun to multiply and worms to propagate. In the last quarter of
this century we find Pierre Petit, who is numbered among the
celebrated pleiade of Latin verse writers along with Rapin,
Commire, and others, addressing these "impudent creatures" in a
thirty-four-line Latin poem titled In Blattam.
A curious and interesting characterization of some species of book
insects has come to us in the writings of Christian Mentzel, the
German naturalist and philologist, who lived in the seventeenth
century. When one reads that he heard the bookworm crow like a cock,
and said, "I knew not whether some local fowl was clamoring or whether
there was but a beating in my ears," one can not help wondering if
there was not something defective in his ear drums; but further on he
says, "I perceived, in the paper whereon I was writing, a little
insect that ceased not to carol like very chanticleer, until taking a
magnifying glass I assiduously observed him." From this one concludes
that if the fault were not with his hearing, by which some well-known
sounds made by book insects seemed to him like the crowing of a cock,
an altogether different cock from the kind we know must have lived in
his day.
The earliest observations on the subject possessing any scientific
value were made by Robert Hooke in his Micrographia, published in
London in 1665. In many respects this work was a curious medley of
facts and fancy. The registers of the Royal Society, of which he was a
member, testify to the eagerness with which Hooke hurried from one
inquiry to another with "brilliant but inconclusive results." Among
the many objects which engaged his attention was an insect which he
described in a chapter entitled Of the Small Silver-colour'd Bookworm.
His description shows it to have been the "fishtail," by naturalists
called _Lepisma_, well known as one of the pests that not infrequently
is found in the library as well as other parts of the house.
Many interesting instances of the discovery of bookworms are found in
the literature on the subject, showing the keen interest felt in the
search for specimens of the "destroyer," many of them revealing the
fact that some unique and curious creature which stands alone in its
taste for literary food was sought. Mr. Blades reported in 1858 that
he found specimens in some black-letter fragments at the Bodleian
Library, that were recognized by the librarian, Dr. Bandinel, who
crushed them with his thumb, saying, as he wiped his thumb nail on his
coat sleeve, "O yes, they have black heads sometimes." The librarian
of Hereford Cathedral, the Rev. F. S. Havergal, contributes his
observations, covering a period of eighteen years, during which time
he reports that he found two distinct species. From his description,
however, it appears that he failed to recognize that the two were the
larva and imago of the same species. Many cases of the finding of
bookworms reported in England and America are not accompanied with
sufficient data to determine just what they were. These contribute to
the general impression that many have sought but few have found what
were thought to be "genuine bookworms," while on every hand are those
creatures which under the right conditions become book destroyers.