THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
183 
could not say he wagged that tail. He 
waved it. 
It was a siglit to see Spartan stretched 
fall-length on the rug with two large cats 
lying acL'oss him, to say nothing of Leo, a 
waspish Italian greyhound, that wanted 
to drive away the cats and have Spartan's 
great body for his own sole resting- 
place. 
Spartan- could have throttled Leo and 
crunched up the cats with perfect ease, 
but instead of doing so he let them have 
their own way, only giving them a lazy 
glance sometimes, when the dog snarled 
and the cats swore a little more loudly 
than usual, as if he wondered they could 
be so stupid as to quarrel about trifles. 
How that much-enduring beast was 
kissed, hugged, i^ulled about by his mas- 
ter's children! How droll it was to see 
him, when he missed his master, steal 
into the forbidden territory, the drawing- 
room, where hung a good portrait of bin], 
and seem to find comfort in gazing at the 
copy in the absence of the original. 
Spartan and his master spent several 
happy years together, and travelled thou- 
sands of miles in company. 
Once they suffered shipwreck on the 
return voyage, and after an absence of 
several months from home. The vessel 
during a dense fog got aground on the 
"Knock Sands" — near neighbors to the 
famous "Goodwins." 
The seamen got out the boats, but my 
father i^esolved to stay by his shi[) so 
long as there was the smallest hope, and 
at first refused to leave it. The men 
begged him t ) go, and at last two of them 
tried to forca him into the boat. 
Spartan was the pet and playfellow of 
every man on board, but he "could not 
permit the best amongst them to meddle 
with his master. When the first sailor 
laid hold of the captain, the grand dog 
flew at him, and, in less time than it 
takes to tell, laid liim flat on his back 
and held him until my father bade him 
leave go. 
Then the great fellow laid down at his 
master's feet with a menacing air that 
seemed to say, "Try that again, if you 
dare." 
The men lingered with the boats, and 
as the case soon became hopeless, my 
father at length left the doomed vessel. 
But he was not quite the last to quit the 
ship, for Spartan saw him safe in the 
boat, and then leaped in after him. 
When telling us the story of thiit ship- 
wreck and of Sparta,n's doings, my 
father's eyes used to light up with pleas- 
ure as he spoke of the gi'and, old New- 
foundland. And we children, never sal is- 
fied without hearing just a little more 
than the story, wanted to know what my 
father saved beside his life and Spartan 
when his good ship went dowi]. A smile 
played on his kind face as he answered, 
" AVell, only three things— my old violin, 
a MS. written by my uncle, whose name- 
sake I was, and this." 
" This " wa,s his pocket Bible. I have 
it to-day — every leaf yellow, and most of 
them stained with salt water, his firm, 
handsome writing on the fly-leaf. But I 
think tiiere have been some salt drops on 
the pages that did not come from the sea. 
And in going over the list of arti<;les saved 
from the wreck — when money, instru- 
ments, all that most men would have 
thought precious, were lost — one rea(l& 
tlie character of the man. Here I will 
stop. I began to tell about the dog, but 
somehow I fancy those who read Spar- 
tan's brief memoir will leave off, think- 
ing most of Spartan's master. 
— — » ♦ . 
House Plants. 
^^glOTTED plants should not be wet 
1 too often. They should not be= 
« watered until they really need 
^s^Qm it. It will be evident that they 
rc'ciuiie wetting, if in taking the earth, 
from the pot it crumbles to pieces like- 
dust ; a sure sign is to knock on the side 
of the pot, near the middle, with the- 
finger knuckle. If it gives forth a liollow 
ring, the i dant needs water ; if there is a 
dull sound, there is still moisture enougii 
to sustain the plant. Plants must not be- 
wet more tlian once or twice a day; on 
dry, clear days they require more water 
than on damp, cloudy days. On the 
other hand the earth must not be allowed 
to dry out entirely, for that is also very 
injurious. In wetting them the water 
must be i^oured on in such a way that it 
will run out again through the hole in the 
bottom of the pot. If the earth gets too 
dry, it is best to place the pot in water, so 
that the water will saturate the dirt very 
gradually. They may be watered at any 
hour of the (lay, except when the sun is 
shining on the pot or has just left it; for 
the earth gets hot when the sun shines on 
it, and then if cold water is poured on it, 
it will cool off too rapidly. Keep them 
free from dust, if possible. Cover them 
over at sweej)ing time. If the plants are 
on a table, contrive an upright post or 
stick to be set in a hole in the middle of 
the table to hold up the centre of a. 
spread of some kind that will cover the 
plants. In the absence of such protec- 
tion, contrive some method of using old 
ne wspai)ers. Before swee] dng protect the 
plants by the use of a covering, and let 
this remain over them until the dust has 
completely settled. All smooth-leaved 
plants, especially ivy, cape jessamine, 
camellias, and the like, should have their 
leaves washed with a. soft sponge — a rag 
will answer — on both sides, with tepid 
