West Washington, D. C.
I wish to tell the Post-office Box about my little sister. She is not quite two years old. The other day she asked mamma for some cake. Mamma told her it was all gone; but on looking in the closet she found some small pieces, which the little rogue ate, and pulling mamma's dress, said, "I want some more all gone cake."
She is always applying quotations from little verses and songs, of which she can sing more than a dozen. Yesterday she threw her little china kitten on the floor, saying, "Jack fell down and broke his crown"; then she fell down herself, and said, "Jill came tumbling after."
I hope every reader of Young People has such a darling little sister.
Josie Belle A.
Easton, Maryland.
My brothers and myself enjoy reading Young People. We think Toby Tyler's "Mr. Stubbs" is a most remarkable monkey.
Papa tried some pretty experiments for us this winter. He took some glasses and partly filled them with water. Then he covered the water with raw cotton, over which he sprinkled grains of wheat. In a short time the wheat came up very tall and beautiful, falling over the sides of the glasses.
Then he put a sweet-potato in a glass jar half filled with water. Very soon it put out a great many slender sprouts, which we trained up on strings. The vine is flourishing now, and we say we have potatoes growing in this cold winter weather.
Emma E. J.
The Young Chemists' Club still continues to be a success. At a recent meeting, Professor S—— was present, and gave us a very instructive lecture upon the products of coal-tar, of which I give a brief abstract to the readers of Our Post-office Box: The most wonderful product, from the manufacture of coal-gas is coal-tar—a most unpromising-looking substance, but containing much of interest and value. By distilling coal-tar we get many more new products. By continuing the process of distillation, a dead oil is obtained, which is very valuable, as it yields carbolic acid, a great disinfectant, and creosote, which is used extensively to protect wood-work exposed to the weather.
We thank Young People for its kindness toward us, and we are trying to pay it back by taking an active interest in it.
We would like more experiments from the readers, and would also like to know of some good books on chemistry.
I would be pleased to correspond on scientific subjects with those young chemical students who have requested my address.
Charles H. Williamson,
President of Young Chemists' Club,
293 Eckford Street, Brooklyn, E. D., N. Y.