The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Autobiography of a Steel Trap By Cieorge B Kcrtter. •now over mo and my J»wt w»re whIU Willi frost wid Icf und I couW he»r the Ue Id lUe laki- cracking and groan- About mLlnlght 1 saw a beautl- Ing. ful animal coming toward me. I thcught Hi flrst that It was tho rolUe (log. but a» lie cr lue nearer 1 hhw that he was dlfteri'iit. He whs nboul the (line color m the collie doK. hut he waa hinaller and had a biK buahy uU I am a «tB<>! trap. I havo two strong •t*el JawB. (out rolled by two stilt ^^^ keen bright eyeH. •teel gprlHK- 1 w?* maie in a (,'reBt |j,. reachid for the bait that hung shop where .-I'l'l trapB were mado. Af- oy^>r ,„c aiul Ktci'nod tijuarely on my ter I had been temiiered ami tested I trencher wliPti «uap went my Jaws and was put In a great store tobeaold One | eaught bim by one of hU front legs. day a man cune Into the store and \vi?i|. we had a desperate struggle bought nie. I heard suiue one say that there In the Ice and suow. but I held he wa.i a trapper and that he had an ^y ^s the huurii paj>ed, I noticed Iron coiiHtllutlon and a steel heart. ,(,flt he didn't lull as hard a« he did The next day he took me way off In gj jj^Bt and pretty noon he didn't pull j the »x)odi anil stopped beside a stream ,,( „ii „,„i then he^was still. | of water. He then fastened ine by a \\Tien my master, the trapper, came chain to a «take driven in the ground, „pxt day, I heard hlra say, "Well! j opened my Jaws, covered me carefully that Is a flno fox. Froze to death, didn't • with dry leaves, hung a bait over me |,e?' I and went off and left mc. Well, these are Just a few of the ex- 1 I had been accuKtoined to bo much perlences that I hnve had. If I had ; nolae In the .'hop where I was made. ,i,e ome to tell you and you had the and In the btore. that 1 f<U ii little time to l'.<ten. I could tell you of hun-| lon«ome there all aloiie In the silent jreds of (.ther experiences that I have woods, but I had plenty of excUemeat ),ad. I and the Uiousands of other, later on. trap« like me have been the cause of Pretty soon I .-aw a beautiful anl- untoij sufferings and our Jaw.s are mal coming toward me. 1 learned af- jyed with the life blood of millions of j terward.s that he w; .^ a colHo dog. He i„nocent, harmless little creatures had soft, Kilky. yellow hiir and beautt- ^j,o have Just as good a right to live ful brown eyes. He came Fuimng gg you, have. | along the ground and almost put his "Cruel steel trap!" do you aay?' nose between my Jaw.s. Just then he Don't call me cruel. Call the trap- 1 »tepp«d squarely on my trencher, when p^^ that sets me, cruel, and tbe man snap went my Jaws and I held him fast »ho buys the furs and animals that 1 ' by one of his front pawe. Well, such catch and the men and the women who a time as we did have. He whined wear the furs. I Jii«t hold on because and barked and howled. Ho reartid up i am compelled to do so and have no and rolled over on the griunl He bit choice In the matter, but they do Itj his foot and bit my Jaws and bit the from choice. ground. But I Just held on. It la my j am a steel trap. I Just hold on, | business to hold on. I am a steel trap, because I can't open by own Jaws and I He then laid down and Just moaned release the poor suffering animal as 1 1 with pain and looked at me with those would like to do. | beautiful brown eyes with the most Won't you please make laws which ' beseeching exprec/ilon as much as to will put me out of business, for I am •ay, "Won't you please let me go?" not willingly cruel. 1 hold on because I have seen so much suffRrlng «ince i can't let go. I am a steel trap, that day, that I have lost all pity now but that was my first experience and I did feel sorry for the po(ir dog, for he suffered so, but I Just held on. It Is my buslneM to Just hold on. In a few minutes n man came run The mysterious autumn haze Steals across the blue ravine. Like an Indian gbofit that strays Through his olden lost demenre. The King's Jewel House in London is Restored. Scaffolding and tarpaulin shrouding an ancient building behind Westraln- ning up Heseemed to know the dog s'er Abbey mark where restoration la | and called him bv name and the dog 1" progres-.s at the King's Jewel House, Yes. by every trace and sign jumped up and klr. ed him. j commonly, known as the Jewel Towerj The good roving days are here. The man then put his feet on my"' Westminster. ] .MounUln peak and river line springs opened niv Jaws and took out The tower once si cod in the garden i Float the scariet of the year. the dog's foot and the dog with a grate- »' the Abbot of Westminster, but Is ; ful carew for his master ran limping â- Â«"' 8° hemmed in by buildings that Lovelier than ever now away Tite man said some very un- ^he visitor has to go through a mews is the world I love so well, oompiimenury Uilngs about tbe people to »ee It. It was built towards the end Running water, waving bough, who set traps then caught me by tbe of the Hth century, in the reign of And the bright winds mag|c spell. Jaws pulled up the .stake and held me Tllchard II. In early times the King's and threw me stake and all. Into a JeweLs were kept there; down to 70 riou.se the taint of migrant blood, deep pool In the strt-am and told raq >Bars ago it was the store-chamber for with the fever of the roadâ€" to stay there and rust out my life In A"^'* °' Parliament; and now it Is used impulse older than the flood usele-flness and 1 thought my ueful- ^y the standards department of the Lurking in its last abode, ness. if I ever had any. was at an end. board of trade and contains some of . The next morning I saw my master, their heavier testing machines. | Now the yellow of the leaf the trapper, coming. I could aee'hlm The pressure of the vaulta from thoi Bids away by hill and plain, but he couldn't see me at first. He Interior has caused large fractures and r shall say good-bye to grief, finally spied me at the bottom of the fisauras on the outer surface. Wayfellow with Joy again, deep pool, and got a long pole and The roof timbers are seriously de-| -Bliss ('arman fished me out and said some uncom- <'»>ed. principally by the wood-boring - pllmenury things about people who '"sect Xestoblum Tessellatum, which throw away Meel traps. My master, caused so much damage in Westmln- tlie trapper, then took me a long way "^'^r Hall, off In the woods and set me again by, ^^ ., the 8id<> of a lake. { A Century of Glass-Making, '1 h;it night It was bright moonlight | The name of Chance is met with in and I saw a little animal coming to- aclentiflc work all over the world, in ward me. It was a slim, trim little connection with microscopes, tele- creature with dark brown fur and scopes, laboratory ware, and, In fact, britht. black eyes. 1 found out after- wherever gla.ss of high quality Is em- REPLENISHING INLAND FISHERIES Importance of Work of Dominion Fish Cultural Service â€" Methods of Propagating. As the Wsherlevi of Canada are cue fry so that they may be carried until of Its chief natural resources and fill 'hey reach the "fingerling" sUge are , . , , ,. being developed and last year the dis- ..ch an important place In Its com- .^i^utlon of "flngerilngs" and oldet Hl9rclBl life the Department of Marine n,,, ,rora the Dominion OovemmenI and Fisheries operates no less than 41 hatcheries was Increased twenty pet li^h hatcheries, which are located at cent, to a total of tbirty-flve and a hall strategical points between the Atlan- ' million. So far as la feasible the dis- ! tic and tbe Paclflc, for the purpose of tributlon U arranged on a "standard" : replenishing the rivers and otljer in- ' basis. Streams and lakes are ex- ! land waters. | amlned and classified according t< Fish culture or Aquaculture holds a their physical condition, the extent to I somewhat .similar place with regard to which they are fl«hed, and their gen- l the water as agriculture does with re- ! eral value from a fish-producing stand- : gard to land. The former aims at the ' point. ! larfiest annual crop of fish of the most Since l<e Inception the Canadian { valuable kinds that the re^ipective Pish Cultural Service has given almost waters will produce. i its whole attention to-the propagation During tbe spawning season the ripe , of the more important food fishes such females are skillfully manipulated by | as Atlantic Salmon in the eastern pro- trained employees and their eggs are vlnces; whiteflsh, salmon trout, and extruded by a gentje pressure into pickerel In Ontario and tbe Prairie pans where they are carefully fertil j Provinces, and Paclflc salmon in Bri- ized with the "milt" of the male flsh. ' tlsb Columbia, while the demands of The fertilised eggs are carried In Jars anglera has resulted in the recent in- and trays in running water In tbe elusion of such game flah as sfeckled, hatcheries until tbe young flsh or "fry" rainbow, cutthroat, and kamloops hatch out. During this period they are trout. Some of these species are also safe from injury from freshets which becoming established In water to would scour out the Epawnisg beds; {which they are net Indigenous. Pacific from receding waters, which would 'spring salmon are being caught in lake leave them exposed : from serere Ontario, and eastern whiteflsh, black frosts, which would kill them; as well baas, and Atlantic salmon are being as from the ravages of fish, egg-eatlns taken In British Columbia lakes and birds and many other natural enemies, rivers. Rainbow trout are being intro- ! In Canada the eggs of the flsh that duced Into streams on tbe eastern \ spawn In the autumn hatch out in the 'slope of the Rockies in Alberta; and I following spring, or In a period of from experimental plants of tbe same ,\t Ayder Alaska the United States and Canada meet In the north. The, five to six months, while the eggs of species are being made In Nova ScoUa, ' the spring spawning species batch In of Brown and Loch Leven trout In from four to six weeks. | New Brunswick, and of lake Ontario When the "fry" are first batched and lake Superior herring In alkaline they subAlst upon the contents of a lakes in Saskatchewan, rolk or food sac and when this is prac- ' That the fisheries of the country tically consumed and they begin to have been maintained and increased rise from the bottoms of the troughs In all waters that have been systema- In search of other food they are trane- tically stocked with hatching fry, ferred as speedily as possible In cans, while similar waters that have not or scow, to the waters that It la de- been so assisted have become de- sired to stock. The absorption of the pleted are well-known facts. For In- food sac takes from three to four stance in 1895 whltefifh had become cross mark.s the boundary post. Towarda the mountain Is the U.S., and on the side near the camera Is Canada. Autumn. The falling leaf is at the door; The autumn wind Is on the hill Footsteps I have beard before Loiter at my cabin sill. Landmarics of London Make Way for Progress. The changes of time and tbe steady blows of the- pick-axe have sent an- other London landmark to destruction In a cloud of dust, says a London dis- patch. This was tbe building at 34 Cockspur Street which for generations ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^ ^j^^ hatching so scarce in lake Ontario that there housed the establishment of a famous p^^,^ ,^ affected by the temperature was practically no commercial fishing .« .. . .f . "^^ . , .u. », â- ,„ o' the water. Warm water gives whereas by 1917 the commercial catch Affixed to the front of this building ^^.^^^^ ^^^^j^^ ^^^^ ^^j^ ^^^^^ amounted to 12.034 cwt. and In 1922 was a great white-faced clock sur- , ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^, ^j^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ .^his improvement Is mounted by a t me-ball. and very old ^^^^^ ^p,^jy ,, j,,^y ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ • ^^^j^^^ ^y ^^^^ directly Interested Londoners recall that riding to the t^cWHtas avalUble at the various to the hatcheries on both sides of the ^"IP Z? ^^°'J^l' ? ",l f. .""^ i hatcheries for feeding and rearing the lake. In Piccadilly, the Duke of Wellington would draw rein to correct his time-! ~ "^j ~ piece by the one which hung out high I Harbor LigutS. School Plays Forbidden. over the street. And now the old clock • When ships sail softly into port with its time-ball, which became a ' And hail the setting sun. landmark to Londoners of a succeed- Contentment holds the voyagers log generation who, on foot or on To know the Journey done; busses, could view it from the far side To greet the friendly harbor lights of Trafalgar Square, has disappeared That signal, one by one. . with the demolition of the building of which it was so long a part. "^e passage of time has brought strange changes to th's part of L^indon wh'ich became known as Charing Cross For lights that glow at door and sill Reflected In the heart. And weary men, at close of day Returning from the mart. Discovered by Accident. Sheffield' plate was discovered by ac- cident In 1742 by Thomas Bolsover. a Sheflleld mechanic. It is said that he was repairing the handle of a pocket-knife composod partly of sflver and partly of copp«r, and in making his repairs accidentally fused the two metals. He at once con- ceived the idea of uniting these two metals and using this as a substitute for making articles which hitherto them As sacred and apart. Student plays have been banued in all middle schools, colleges and uni- versities In Japan by order of the Minister of Education on the ground ' to say for certain. Conjecture has It that they promote promiscuous love that it was because of a fancied con- affairs and are Injurious to the public nection with the mews adjoining the morals. * \ celebrated "Cock Tavern" where Sam- In respon.se to a storm of protests uel Pepys, who described it In his after King Edward I. erected a Gothic Greet, each, the light that shines for j had been made of sterling sliver only. cross there to mark the spot where ] hb Queen's coffin rested In the thir- : teenth century, wheu the royal funeral ' procession halted on Its way to West- For lights that glow at door and sill; minster Abbey. [ Are neai>er than a star. Why Cockspur Street came to be so | .\nd stand for holy, blessed things named no antiquary appears to be able' Wherever mortals are; To reach their welcome once again No road's too hard or far. â€"Faith Baldwin. WHKN that he was a n.lnk. He smelled ployed. ThU great British firm, which ^ 'â„¢"' "'"K"''^'' »<'*'°°'« ^^"^ contended , diary 8« "a great ordinary mightily I th- bull that was hung over me and celebrates its hundred years of exl«t-|""'' ^""^-^ '"""»""" """."' ."'." """^ ".en up,- dined Mrs. Turner. Betty reached up to get It when snap went ence this year, my Jaws and caught hlni by one of in glass-making. The Crystal Palace, bis feet. He «<ju8aled and moaned originally erected in Hyde Park, was with pain for several hours and pulled glazed wlUi lOO.OOO square feet of an hard as he could to get away, but Chance's sheet glass. Until the war I held on. Pretty soon I heard a grat- thoy were the only British manufac- Ing, gnawing sound. It lasted for a turers of optical glass, and the large little while and then all was still and astronomical telescopes of many of the I didn't hear him or feel him any more, world's biggest observatories are fitted When my manter, the trapper, came with their lenses. Ulghthonses, too, to vUlt me the next day. I heard hlra on all the coasU of the world flash â- ay: "Ha! the IH|tle rascaJ gnawed off their beams from prliiius produced at his foot. Thorels a good. mink skin the well-known Smethwick works, gone, but I will catch him again some day." The trapper then bet nic again and Nature Lover. have found kindness in frinedly hearts .... But peace on a fragrant lanei. Harvest of Barnacle*. Thirteen Ion' of barnacles were went off and left me. The next night ' taken from the bottom of a ship after w».s 11 terribly cold night. I shall a voyage of six month.i from Bombay •ever forget It. Tho wind blew the , to Liverpool. that plays furnished one of the best cried up," dined I means of promoting foreign language [ and Talbot Pepys, Sir Dennis Gauden. converaation. the Minister finally con- ; and Gibson, and they were "mighty That laughed in the shower of leaves sented to modify his niling slightly. ' merry, this house being famous for i That dreamed In the pour of rain. He will allow student plays In boys' . meat and particularly pease porridge." schools with the stipulation that there | in later days Tobias Smollett was I love the light that dwells in hearts, be no female Impersonations and plays ^ In the habit of frequenting "a small But I must lonely be may be produced In the girls' schools . uvern In the corner of Cockspar In the quiet fields at twilight hush If there are no mule roles enacted. He | street" called the Golden Ball, "where To And eternity, first stipulated that the plays Tor boys' [ we had a fnigal supper and a little j â€" W. H. Melvin. schools should have none but male punch, as the finances of none of the' '^ - parts and those for giris none but fe- ; company were In very good order," I ^*^^ *''* l-oo"*'**- male parts, but eventually consented j _ [ The city girl boarding in the country in special Instances'. to permit acting: "hi« E e j spoke to the farmer about the savage of both male and fiemalc roles If the , *'"* ' I way In which the cow regarded her. men taking female roles wore male MoUier's face wore an exasperated | "Well," said the farmer, "It must costume and the giris imperaonaUng , ^°°^ a* she rapped her little son smart- ,,6 on account of vou wearing vour red male parts dld,_not attempt to make their costumes fit' the part. -^ir. ♦â€" Making^ Homes Homelike on the Prairie. Excellent results are being t by the Tree Planting Division Intenlor Department with the p of conifers in Western Canad in^itectiou of the plantings sho of the several varieties, a vet ipercentflge have sucrnetled In ea Ing themselves. The spp<'les suits are as follows: White spnicp, planted 1918, h ft, 98 per cent, living; Lodgepo planted 1916. helgljt 7 ft. 2 ln„ cent, living; White spnice, pin 1918, height 5 ft.. 97 per cent. Scotch pine, planted 1918. heigl I In.. 94 per cent, living; White ! planted 1922, 96 per cent, llvlnji pine, planted 1922. 93 per cent. Scotch pine, planted 1922. 94 p« living. Undoubtedly these hardy ever are particularly suited to prairie Ing. and. once Mtablls.hed, â- Â« withstand nil kinds of neglect, \ they respond readily to cultlfatj ly on the knuckles. It was at dinner- ^ajgt ' time, and everyone who has a son ..j^^^ ^^:- cried the giri. "Of aged six knows how difficult It Is to course I know It's terriblv out of stvle. teach the little fellow table manners ,,^1 j ,,ad no idea that a cow would that win pass In good company. notice it Johnny would persist In putting the food tno his mouth with his knife in- He £'eems to have specialized In making small articles such as buckles, buttons, snuff-boxes, and patch-boxes, some of which were only half an inch in diameter. He did not appreciate how important his dlscoveo' was, and consequently did not reap the full results from his remarkable invention. .^ $2,500 for an Egg. The most valued egg in the world Is that of the great auk, a bird once common in the regions of the North Atlantic, but now extinct. The las-t auk egg sold realized about $2,500. The auk was a diving bird about the size of a duck, but was unable to fly because of .its small wings. It laid one egg at a time. The birds and theii eggs were used largely tor food among seafaring folk. So many ot them were killed that the species has entirely disappeared. ReforestPy In France. France b^gan systematic tree-plant- ing along its national roada In the reign of Francis 1., more Inan 300 year? ago. When a contract Is let toi a new state road in Prance the speci- fications Include the trees to be set out. and the contractor is responsibU for his trees for tn'o years after ha sets them out. ThU <.hii.-in!ng iicrtml' is the lat»^t study of Mrs. Stunley Baldwin, wife •Ctht (V>eMrvati>-j leader, who la now premier of Great Urttaio. We We Live in Deeds. live In deeds, not year thoughts, not breaths- In feelings, not In figures on a ^ Wp should count time by heari-t He most lives Who thlnlm raoet. feels the n acta the best. !' '.if .\l»ur Wii>' the most pictflvsqu"- ivj-son -onfrrenru. hU appearance giving a welcoaM heript*. V.