C. Y. P. R. U.
Robert, A. C. F., and Others.—The common white pigeon is the offspring of the common pigeon, which is of various colors and markings. By selecting only the pure white birds for breeding, and rejecting those of other colors, a strain of blood is established in course of time, so that the birds will breed true to color.
All taxidermists make use of white pigeons, and the demand is often greater than the supply. They are used, when set up in various positions, as emblems of purity and hope at church fairs, Sunday-school festivals, and by florists. For a large handler of white pigeons, address Taxidermist, No. 199 William Street, New York city. White pigeons are obtainable of all dealers in fancy poultry throughout the country.
Dealers complain about careless packing, and state that much higher prices might be obtained if the game, fish, animals, and birds were taken better care of after being caught, and not over-crowded in the boxes, so that when exposed for sale they would look clean, fresh, and smooth, as if just caught. Some of the largest dealers in dead game are at Washington Market, New York city. A very excellent book on breeding and taking care of pet stock is published by Cassell, Petter, & Galpin, No. 596 Broadway, New York city. Much interesting and valuable information can be found in Gibson's Camp Life in the Woods; and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making. By W. Hamilton Gibson, Author of Pastoral Days. Illustrated by the Author. 12mo, cloth, $1. Published by Harper & Brothers. This is a perfect manual for youthful hunters, and contains hints on life out-doors in all its aspects. Shelter, food, trapping, boat-building, bait, and, in fact, everything a boy needs to know about the woods and their inhabitants, are considered in this book.
For information about purchasing and disposing of live rabbits, squirrels, and all cage birds, etc., etc., address Aquarium Stock, 76 Fulton Street, New York city.
The topaz occupies some distinction among gems. The finest varieties are found in the Brazils, Ceylon, and the Ural Mountains, either crystallized or in small rolled masses in the alluvium of granitic rocks, about the size of a large nut. In color they are commonly white, bluish or yellowish white, much water-worn, and perfect crystals are rare. The common kinds are found in many parts of the world. A crystal nineteen ounces in weight was discovered in the Cairngorm Mountains, in Aberdeenshire, and some have been obtained in Cornwall and Ireland. The topaz is rendered very electric by heat and friction; and by this property it may be readily distinguished from a diamond or ruby, for which otherwise, when cut and set, it might easily be mistaken.
The topaz of the ancients had a green color, and is supposed to have been our chrysolite. It was found in the island of Topazios, in the Red Sea. "This place," says Diodorus Siculus, "was ten miles long, and called the Island of Serpents, from the number of reptiles formerly infesting it. The topazion here found was a transparent gem, agreeable in aspect, resembling glass. No one was allowed to land there under pain of death, and no boat was allowed to be kept on the island. Provisions for the few soldiers on guard there were brought at intervals from the continent. The gem was not discernible by day, its lustre being then overpowered by the sun's rays, but at night it was conspicuous by its brightness. The guards who divided the island among their patrols then ran up, and covered the luminous spot with a vase of equal size. Next day they would go their rounds, cut out the patch of rock thus indicated, and deliver it to the proper person to be polished."
We have five articles in this number to recommend to the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. Every little pair of hands that opens Young People, the Postmistress hopes and fancies, has two corresponding little feet nicely incased in woven stockings without the suspicion of a hole in them. How did the world ever come to have woven stockings? Look at the article on our fourth page and see. Three centuries ago William Lee's observation of the labor performed by four knitting-needles in the hands of his patient, hard-working wife resulted in the invention of the stocking-loom. There is no use in telling the boys to read the rest of Mr. Payn's story. We know they have been waiting breathlessly for a week to find out what became of Philip Ashton. They are going to take a great interest, too, in the boy hero of the great floods, "Dad" Little. After these good things have been read and digested, we want them to pay particular attention to "Something about Sonatas," by Mrs. John Lillie, and see how much it will help them in the study and appreciation of music.