109 East Fifty-seventh Street, New York City.
* * * * *
I have a collection of stamps, and would gladly exchange with any
correspondents. I have stamps from Colombia, Venezuela, Germany,
England, and other countries.
ELIAS DESOLA,
162 East Sixtieth Street, New York City.
* * * * *
I would like to exchange flower seeds with any little girl in
California or Florida. I have verbenas, mixed phlox,
four-o'clocks, sweet-williams, balsams, alyssum, salvia,
mignonette, and red and white petunias.
ADA BELT,
1099 Wilson Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.
* * * * *
I have a collection of postmarks, and would like to exchange with
any correspondents of this nice paper. I am eleven years old.
"EXCHANGE," 939 Main Street,
Buffalo, Erie County, New York.
* * * * *
If any correspondents will send me a list of the stamps they
require, and also of those they have to spare, I will like to
exchange with them.
JOHN R. BEDFORD, 5 Spencer Place,
Fourth Street, New York City.
* * * * *
I would like to exchange some revenue stamps for postage stamps.
Among those I wish to exchange are two varieties of one-dollar
stamps and a forty-cent stamp.
LEONARD T. BEECHER,
Wellsville, Alleghany County, New York.
* * * * *
I take YOUNG PEOPLE, and I think it is splendid.
I have a great many French, Italian, English, and German postage
stamps which I would like to exchange for others.
GEORGE B. DONNELLY,
P. O. Box 4574, New York City.
* * * * *
I am collecting postage stamps, and would like to exchange.
Correspondents will please state the number of stamps in their
collection, and send me their list. I have twelve hundred stamps,
and I am thirteen years old. I would like to know the age of my
correspondents.
CHARLES S. PETRASCH,
13 West Thirty-second Street, New York City.
* * * * *
I would like to exchange postmarks with any boy readers of YOUNG
PEOPLE in the West. I am twelve years old.
ARTHUR S. MOORE,
40 Third Place, Brooklyn, New York.
* * * * *
I would like to exchange postage stamps with any correspondent.
R. L. PRESTON,
P. O. Box 327, Lynchburg, Virginia.
* * * * *
LOUISE.--Your question, "Is the mosquito of any use in the great economy
of nature?" has often been asked by many older and wiser than you, for
it is not generally known that in their larval state mosquitoes form an
important branch of nature's army of tiny scavengers. The larvae live in
the water of stagnant pools and marshes, and feed upon particles of
decaying matter, and as their number is so very large, the amount they
devour is considerable. By thus purifying the water they destroy the
miasma which would otherwise arise and pollute the atmosphere to such an
extent that no human being could breathe it with safety. The value of
the work accomplished in tropical countries by these tiny scavengers is
very great. It is estimated that the air of certain marshy regions would
be so poisonous that no animal higher than a reptile could breathe it
and live, were their purifying influence removed. We do not know that
mosquitoes in the winged state have any useful mission beyond that of
depositing the eggs which produce the larvae, but that alone saves them
from being "nothing but a nuisance."
* * * * *
F. A. REILLY.--The subscription price for HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for 1881
will remain one dollar and fifty cents, the same low figure as for the
first volume.
* * * * *
BRIAN B.--The large green worm that feeds on carrot, caraway, parsley,
and some other common garden plants is the caterpillar of the _Papilio
asterias_, a large black butterfly which is seen in great numbers at
midsummer, hovering about the flowers in gardens. It is especially fond
of the sweet-scented phlox. This butterfly is very handsomely marked
with rows of yellow spots near the margin of its wings, and on the hind
wings, which are tailed, there is also a row of blue spots, and near the
lower angle an orange-colored eye with a black dot in the centre. The
wings of this handsome insect expand from three to four inches.
* * * * *
"THISTLE."--It is not easy to say why such great numbers of potato-bugs
are found crawling on the sea-beaches. These striped cantharides are so
numerous in all parts of the country that they are probably blown
seaward by the wind, and naturally sail ashore on the tide.
You will find simple directions for pressing flowers and leaves in the
Post-office Boxes of YOUNG PEOPLE Nos. 34 and 46.
* * * * *
F. B. W.--Write again to your correspondent. There are so many possible
reasons why he has not answered you that it would not be fair to him to
print your notice. Possibly he has misdirected the letter to you.
* * * * *
Favors are acknowledged from Fred P. Herron, Albert C. B., Jessie R.
Ellerby, E. N., Richard F. Morgan, Willie C. Chapman, S. B., Frank
Davis, S. Donald Newton, Gertrude B. Duffee, Frank Haid, John R.
Bancroft, H. S. G.
* * * * *
Correct answers to puzzles are received from Eddie S. Hequembourg, Mary
Tiddy, "Chiquot," William H. Dobson, Dana D. Stanton, "Milwaukee," Percy
McGeorge, "Nellie Bly," E. D. W. R. Garden, George Volckhausen, James H.
Beddow, Howard A. Esterly, "Ivanhoe."
* * * * *
John H. Bartlett, A. O., and J. C. Locher have sent neat specimens of
the five-pointed star, which were received too late for acknowledgment
with the others.
* * * * *
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
UNITED DIAMONDS.
1. In strawberry. By way of. A fabulous woman. A unit. In huckleberry.
2. In peach. An article very useful to travellers. A color. A jewel. In
plum. Centrals of diamonds read across give the name of a common shrub.
OWLET.
* * * * *
No. 2.
WORD SQUARES.
1. First, mountains in Switzerland. Second, mountains in Asia. Third, a
river in Hungary. Fourth, a town in Piedmont, once an ancient Roman
settlement.
JULIA.
2. First, a part of the body. Second, a disease. Third, invalid. Fourth,
a hollow.
CHIQUOT.
* * * * *
No. 3.
CHARADE.
My first is needed to make my second, and should always be in my whole.
BOLUS.
* * * * *
No. 4.
NUMERICAL CHARADES.
1. A fanciful character in one of Shakspeare's plays composed of 11
letters.
My 3, 10, 5, 1 is agony to weary fingers.
My 8, 2, 1 is a problem.
My 6, 9, 5, 11 is done by every school-boy.
My 7, 2, 8, 4 is fine powder.
LONIE.
2. An inhabitant of Africa composed of 10 letters.
My 2, 7, 8, 5, 4 is a bird.
My 6, 9, 3, 4 is a piece of money.
My 1, 5, 10, 7 is a beautiful flower.
FANNIE.
* * * * *
No. 5.
ENIGMA.
My first is in board, but not in plank.
My second is in hoard, but not in bank.
My third is in sin, but not in good.
My fourth is in tin, but not in wood.
My fifth is in sword, but not in arms.
My sixth is in town, but not in farms.
My whole its forehead proudly rears,
Crowned by two hundred and fifty years.
ARTHUR AURIE.
* * * * *
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN NO. 47.
No. 1.
B F
U R N A R M
B R E A D-F R U I T
N A G M I X
D T
No. 2.
Telephone.
No. 3.
1. Hipparchus. 2. Epicharmus. 3. Herodotus.
No. 4.
F O A M A R G O
O H I O R E A P
A I M S G A L A
M O S S O P A L
* * * * *
Charade on page 696--Salt-Petre.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE will be issued every Tuesday, and may be had at
the following rates--_payable in advance, postage free_:
SINGLE COPIES $0.04
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Subscriptions may begin with any Number. When no time is specified, it
will be understood that the subscriber desires to commence with the
Number issued after the receipt of order.
Remittances should be made by POST-OFFICE MONEY ORDER or DRAFT, to avoid
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ADVERTISING.
The extent and character of the circulation of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE
will render it a first-class medium for advertising. A limited number of
approved advertisements will be inserted on two inside pages at 75 cents
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Address
HARPER & BROTHERS,
Franklin Square, N. Y.
Harper's New and Enlarged Catalogue,
With a COMPLETE ANALYTICAL INDEX, and A VISITORS' GUIDE TO THEIR
ESTABLISHMENT,
Sent by mail on receipt of Nine Cents.
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE, N. Y.
COLUMBIA BICYCLE.
[Illustration]
Bicycle riding is the best as well as the healthiest of out-door sports;
is easily learned and never forgotten. Send 3c. stamp for 24-page
Illustrated Catalogue, containing Price-Lists and full information.
THE POPE MFG. CO.,
79 Summer St., Boston, Mass.
=COINS AND STAMPS.= My revised catalogue of coins, showing _buying
prices_, just out--price 10c. No. 20, of the St. Louis _Philatelist_,
the best stamp paper in America, is now ready, and will be mailed free
for stamp. E. F. GAMBS, Coin and Stamp Dealer, 621 South 5th St., St.
Louis, Mo. Established 1872.
ABSORBING STORY
OF A
BOY'S LIFE AMONG PIRATES.
* * * * *
=THE ADVENTURES OF REUBEN DAVIDGER;= Seventeen Years and Four Months
Captive among the Dyaks of Borneo. By JAMES GREENWOOD. 8vo, Cloth,
$1.25; 4to, Paper, 15 cents.
* * * * *
This is a book which will be devoured by youth with much the same
engrossing interest that made the perusal of "Robinson Crusoe" so
delightful. The author has the power of literally enchaining the
attention of the reader, whether of larger or smaller growth.--_Brooklyn
Times._
* * * * *
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
HARPER & BROTHERS _will send the above work by mail, postage prepaid, to
any part of the United States, on receipt of the price_.
CHILDREN'S
PICTURE-BOOKS.
Square 4to, about 300 pages each, beautifully printed on Tinted
Paper, embellished with many Illustrations, bound in Cloth, $1.50
per volume.
The Children's Picture-Book of Sagacity of Animals.
With Sixty Illustrations by HARRISON WEIR.
The Children's Bible Picture-Book.
With Eighty Illustrations, from Designs by STEINLE, OVERBECK,
VEIT, SCHNORR, &c.
The Children's Picture Fable-Book.
Containing One Hundred and Sixty Fables. With Sixty Illustrations
by HARRISON WEIR.
The Children's Picture-Book of Birds.
With Sixty-one Illustrations by W. HARVEY.
The Children's Picture-Book of Quadrupeds and other Mammalia.
With Sixty-one Illustrations by W. HARVEY.
* * * * *
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on
receipt of the price._
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
SOLUTION TO MARINER'S PUZZLE.
Divide the piece of plank described in the Mariner's Puzzle, published
in No. 47, into five squares, as represented in Fig. 1; then draw a line
from A to B, and from B to C. Cut off the two triangular pieces marked X
X, and re-arrange them as represented in Fig. 2, and you will have a
piece of plank of the shape and size required by the mariner to stop the
leak in his ship.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
IMITATION SCREW-HEADS.
BY F. BELLEW.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
Here is a simple little thing of my own invention, from which I have
derived a good deal of fun from time to time, and from which the readers
of YOUNG PEOPLE may extract some amusement. It is an imitation of the
common screw-head, and is made in this wise: Take a piece of common
tin-foil, and mark on it with a pair of compasses or a small thimble a
number of circles; then, with a broad pen or small brush and black ink,
rule across each a broad line, as represented in Fig. 1. Then, when your
ink is dry, cut out the little circular pieces very neatly with a pair
of scissors. They resemble so exactly the head of a real screw as to
deceive the most acute observer. Once I made a box for conjuring tricks,
with a side swung on hinges, and fixed the sides of the box with these
screw-heads in such a way as to impress the spectator with the idea that
it was a piece of workmanship that could not be trifled with.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
On one occasion a much-loved relative of mine had left me alone in her
house while she drove over to the station to meet her husband. I did
not wish to waste my time while she was away, and having nothing else
to do, I cast my eye round for material. At last it lighted on an
article of furniture: this was a bureau, highly prized by my much-loved
relative. I have attempted, feebly, in the subjoined sketch to convey
an idea of it, but am fully conscious that I am far from doing it
justice. But this bureau was of solid mahogany, and had belonged to her
grandmother--qualities enough to make anything dear to the heart of a
true woman. On the side of this solid mahogany bureau I scrawled a
ragged line with the sharp corner of a piece of soap, and gummed some of
my screw-beads down each side of the mark, as in Fig. 2. Then I waited
until my much-loved relative returned.
"Aunt," I said, in solemn tones, "look at the end of your mahogany
bureau. It is all my fault, and I am as sorry as I can be. I know how
you value it, and realize the extent of the disaster; but I've fixed it
up as well as I can, and I guess it won't show much."
My aunt rushed to the bureau, and there she saw the patched and botched
wreck.
"Oh dear!" cried she, "to think--just to think--how could you be so-- I
knew something would come of swinging those vile clubs. I'd rather have
given a hundred dollars. It's too bad. And such a mess! Why didn't you
wait till I could send for a proper man--a cabinet-maker or
something--to mend it?"
Then she ran into the garden, and called to her husband: "Oh, George, do
come here, and see what that boy has been doing! My dear mahogany
grandmother's bureau all knocked to pieces, and patched together with
big screws. Such a sight!"
As soon as my aunt left the room I seized a wet towel, and quickly
removed all the appearance of damage, so that when she returned with her
husband, and with averted face, bade him look upon the wreck, the mild
old gentleman, after putting on his specs, and making a careful
examination, reported that he could see nothing the matter.
"For pity's sake!--the man must be getting blind and foolish," cried my
aunt. "It's as plain as Charley Meeker's nose on his face."
A discussion of some length here followed between my aunt and her
husband, which was terminated by the lady stepping up to the bureau,
with an air of triumph, to point out the broken places. Never before was
seen such a perplexed woman. She looked and looked, and felt all over
the precious piece of furniture with her finger, and, I believe, would
have fairly gone demented had I not broken the spell by a roar of
laughter. When I explained the trick I had played, she too laughed
heartily, and boxed my ears, saying it was just like me, and that I was
always up to some prank or another.
And so ended my first practical joke with the screw-heads.
[Illustration: RE-ENACTING HISTORY--A SKETCH AT TARRYTOWN.
MAJOR ANDRE. "Look here, fellers, there ain't a-goin' to be no hanging,
yer know."
JOHN PAULDING. "No hangin'! W'at er yer talkin' 'bout? D'yer s'pose
we're a-goin' back onter history and Gineral Washington? Get out! Course
yer've got to be hanged; and ef yer don't like it, we'll get some feller
as does. That's all there is to it."]
End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, October 12, 1880, by Various