STICKLEBACK 



, r ). r >53 



STILT 



power as a romance writer, second not even to 

 that of Scott. The charm of his first romance, 

 Treasure Island, with its unfailing fascination 

 for young and old, is aptly set forth in these 

 lines of Bert Leston Taylor's : 



Comes little lady, a book in hand, 

 A light in her eyes that I understand, 

 And her cheeks aglow from the faery breeze 

 That sweeps across the uncharted seas. 

 She gives me the book, and her word of praise 

 A ton of critical thought outweighs. 

 "I've finished it, daddie !" a sigh thereat. 

 "Are there any more books in the world like 

 that?" 



No, little lady, I grieve to say 



That of all the books in the world to-day 



There's not another that's quite the same 



As this magic book with the magic name. 



Volumes there be that are pure delight, 



Ancient and yellowed, or new and bright ; 



But little and thin, or big and fat 



There are no more books in the world like that. 



A.MCC. 



Consult Swinnerton's Robert Louis Stevenson: 

 A Critical Study; Raleigh's Stevenson. 



STICKLEBACK, stik"l bak, a group of small 

 fishes of the northern hemisphere, so called be- 

 cause certain of the fins are replaced by strong, 

 sharp spines. Instead of having scales the body 

 usually possesses a series of hard plates. There 



STICKLEBACK AND ITS NEST 



are both fresh-water and ocean species, the for- 

 mer attaining a length of from two to four 

 inches, and the latter, of not more than seven. 

 These fish have the peculiar habit of building 

 muff-shaped nests of sticks and roots for re- 

 ceiving the spawn. The male carefully guards 

 the spawn, and he also watches over the young 

 for several days after the eggs are hatched. 

 Sticklebacks feed upon aquatic insects and 

 worms. 

 348 



STICK 'SEED, a tall, hairy-stemmed weed 

 of the borage family, so named because its 

 fruit, a small, dry nut, has rows of sharp bristles 

 that stick to the clothing of people and to the 

 fur or hair of animals. The plant grows in dry 

 soil quite generally throughout North America, 

 from the Mexican border northwards. It has 

 slender branches, gray-green leaves and small 

 blue, white or lavender flowers. The stickseed 

 is a persistent weed, and can be eradicated only 

 by patient digging and cultivation of the 

 ground. 



STIKINE, stikeen', RIVER, a North 

 American stream which has been for many 

 years the chief avenue from the Pacific Ocean 

 into the interior of Northern British Columbia. 

 The Stikine flows into the Pacific Ocean 

 through the narrow strip of Alaska soil which 

 shuts off a large part of British Columbia from 

 the sea. It rises in Canada, on the west slope 

 of the Cassiar Mountains, in British Columbia, 

 and describes an irregular semicircle in its 

 course, running first northward, then westward, 

 and finally curving gradually to the south. The 

 river is 335 miles long, and drains a basin of 

 approximately 20,000 square miles. In summer 

 there is steamer service on the river as far as 

 Telegraph Creek, 170 miles from its mouth. 



STILL 'WATER, MINN., the county seat of 

 Washington County, is on the Saint Croix 

 River, which forms the southeastern state 

 boundary, eighteen miles northeast of Saint 

 Paul. In the surrounding Jake region are a 

 number of pleasure resorts. The city is served 

 by river boats and by the Northern Pacific, the 

 Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha and 

 the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul railroads. 

 In 1910 the population was 10,198. The area 

 of the city is three and one-half square miles. 

 Stillwater has a Federal building, a courthouse, 

 an auditorium, a Carnegie Library and a city 

 hospital, and manufactories of threshers, trac- 

 tors, clothing, sash, doors, woodwork, boots 

 and shoes and twine. Its lumber interests are 

 important. It is the seat of the Minnesota 

 state prison. The place was settled in 1840 and 

 became a city in 1854. The commission form 

 of government was adopted in 1916. 



STILT, a wading bird having long, slender 

 legs which give it the odd appearance of walk- 

 ing on stilts. The birds are found throughout 

 the warmer parts of both hemispheres, but the 

 only North American species is the black- 

 necked stilt, which ranges from Oregon south- 

 ward. It is a handsomely-marked bird about 

 fifteen inches long, with white under parts, 



