4886 
741 
THE CUT-LEAVED NORWAY MAPLE. 
One of the best of maples for small places 
or where round-headed trees are desired is a 
variety of the Norway called Dissectum (Acer 
platanoides dissectum). The specimen at the 
Rural Grounds has been growing about nine 
years; that is, the tree was received from the 
nursery nine years ago aud was two or three 
TRANSCONTINENTAL LETTERS. 
LX VIII. 
MARY yVAOER-FTSHER. 
Peach Spring Station; a nice breakfast ; on 
the wa V to the Grand. Cafion of the Color¬ 
ado; Farlee , the cosmopolitan “boss”; a 
«*tremendous ride” on a “mud wagon”; 
“the most marvelous road in America”; 
nothing overwhelmingly wonderf ul; a six- 
mile trip'in the Grand Canon. 
Peach Spring Station is an important 
point for railway trains on the Atlantic and 
Pacific Railroad.as it affords au unfailing sup¬ 
ply of water of gieat excellence, which in Ari¬ 
zona, whore rain does not fall sometimes for a 
year' or more, is worth more than gold. The 
spring is four miles distant and the water for 
the town is conveyed through a pipe. Some 
peach trees were planted several years ago 
near the spring which gave it its pleasant 
name, and as wo rode past them on our road 
into the Grand Cafion they were in full bloom. 
It was the second day of April. 
Although Peach Spring is the station to 
alight at for the Graud Canon, comparatively 
very few people have as yet stopped off to visit 
this unparalleled scene of desolation, where 
one fairly sees where tho "foundations of the 
earth wore laid.” The visitors of most note 
have been scientific men. The railroad through 
here is of comparatively recent construction, 
aud while the place has for several years been 
known as one of the "seven wonders of this 
country, its renown is 
still a thing of the future 
as a tourists’ resort. Rail¬ 
way folders announce it as 
being 18 miles from Peach 
Spring Station, and I have 
seen spirited pictures of 
the stage coach d rawn by 
four horses conveying 
travelers from the station 
to the cafion. But I can 
only write of it as we actu¬ 
ally found it. The station 
is the usual forlorn place 
of these arid regions— 
shanties planted about, 
saloons, maybe a land 
office; but here there is a 
tolerably good eating- 
house, large aud airy. 
However, the railway 
officials had advised us, if 
we wanted a good break¬ 
fast, to go to a certain 
shanty where a “nice white 
woman” did the cooking, 
and served meals. Thither 
we went, and sat on high 
stools by a counter, and 
watched the "nice white 
woman” cook the breakfast 
over a stove on the other 
side of the counter. Al¬ 
though she fried the 
beefsteak in fat, we bad 
the satisfaction of seeing 
that the cooking was done 
neatly. She gave us hot 
biscuits, griddle cakes, 
fried eggs, boiled potatoes, 
coffee and bread and but¬ 
ter at 75 cents for each of 
us. Every article of food 
was imported. We bought 
bread here for our lunch 
basket, each small loaf 
costing 20 cents. Two 
days later we breakfasted 
in the ruilway eating 
house, or hotel, and had an equally good meal 
Meantime Anaximander had found Farlee, 
the proprietor of the stage coach aud the road 
leading to the canon, and had engaged him to 
take us into the canon and bring us back to 
the station, and for this service wo were to 
pay tho usual charge of 810, for each person. 
Farlee said the distance was 28 miles; that it 
would take us about 8>£ hours to go and six 
to return; that we could stay as long as we 
liked; that we could take our own "proven¬ 
der” or he would furnish our meals at 75 cents; 
that be hail built a hotel in the canon where 
tion and took out a pair of small'horses which 
rejoiced in the names of Pop and Rowdy, aud 
hitched them to a’two-seated buokboard. .This 
was the actual stage, and into it we clam¬ 
bered. It was without cover, the sun was hot, 
it was dusty for the first few miles, but the 
air was altogether delicious,hnarvelously dry 
and pure. It must have been the atmosphere 
that sustained us for the undcrtakiug, r tired as 
we were at 4 tbe outset from loss of sleep anil a 
fatiguing journey. I wore my gloves into 
tatters hanging ou to the seat, aud if there had 
been any unoccupied places I should have been 
bounced into them all during that tremendous 
ride. 
Peach Spring Station is 4,800 feet above the 
sea level, and from there.to a ridge a mile or 
so distant there is au aseent'of 200 feet. The 
road from the ridge to the Colorado River 
level descends 3,900 feet. The road follows 
the bed of what is called Peach Spring Canon, 
and Farlee told us that he had spent several 
thousand dollars in making the road travers¬ 
able, and several more will be required to 
make it a go ni thoroughfare. However, Pop 
and Rowdy knew every inch of the way, and 
wormed the backboard in and out among the 
rocks and boulders, and to hear Farlee screech 
to Rowdy for any misbehavior was equal to 
the scream.of a steam engine. Although this 
road through the Peach Spring Canon is un¬ 
doubtedly the most marvelous road in Ameri¬ 
ca, it probably impresses no one as being such 
in making the descent. At all events, I was 
silently disappointed at not being more pro¬ 
foundly impressed. I remembered when l 
thought Watkins Glen quite n'gorge, and Wil¬ 
liams's Canon and the Ute Pass in Colorado 
were not to be spoken of derisively. I knew that 
silver—he was tidy, deft,'ingenious, a jack-at- 
all-trades, and.good at all. 
Refreshed by our meal, wo set out with 
Farlee for guide, who took us into a tributary 
cafion called Diamond Creek. The water in 
it is clear, but there are no diamonds. We 
had not proceeded far before it became evident 
ttiat we were too heavily weighted with cloth¬ 
ing. The ladd ie flung off his blouse. Anaxi¬ 
mander and Farlee took off their coats, and I 
parted with the 'skirt of my*woolen frock. As 
we were'to return by the same route we hung 
our.cast-off clothing *on the. limb"ol' a tree. 
The canon was jitterly uninhabited by human 
beings, as the 'Indians from some superstition 
never enter it. „We bad previously listened 
to a statement from’'a .scientist in Cali¬ 
fornia that one peculiarity of the cariou 
was its. freedom from * noxious creatures. 
To be sure we saw homed toads—one 
was caught for ^the laddie—and georgeous 
lizards and strange insects,. But presently 
Anaximander came to a bait and;quickly said: 
‘‘Hello. Farleel What do you call this?” Far¬ 
lee stopped and exclaimed "By jolly!'if it aint 
a rattlesnake ! I fairly lived in the canon for 
three years, and that’t the first varmint ever 
seen here,” putting the heel of his high boot 
upon its neck. The poor thing had but one 
rattle and ."seemed harmless^ enough; but it 
made me thiuk of similar "varmints” occa- 
sioually Lduriug our six miles’, tramp that 
afternoon. But we "encountered nothing uu- 
pleasant. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
The Prevention of Fire. —Pamphlet by 
Wm. P. Gerhard, C. E.—Published by the 
A LEAF OF THE CUT-LEAVED NORWAY MAPLE. From Nature. Fig. 411. 
all the gorges I had ever seen—including the 
Marshall Pass which Anaximander had seen— 
and which a flood had proyeuted me from 
having crossed—were mere pigmies in com¬ 
parison with this, still nothing was overwhel¬ 
ming as 1 expected. Some euriou rock ex¬ 
posures rose high iu the air—one was called 
the Great Chimney. It was fiO feet perfectly 
square—it looked the size of au ordinary chim¬ 
ney. Another point was called the Beehive. 
There was a great deal of truprock iu places 
supporting enormous layers of sandstone, the 
strata of which were perfectly horizontal. 
author at 9 Aster Place, New York.—Most of 
the matter in this work refers to methods to 
be employed in preventing fire in large build¬ 
ings where many persons are found at one 
time—like churches, hospitals, asylums, etc. 
There is much that will be useful to the occu¬ 
pant or builder of an ordiuavy residence how 
over. It is stated that the origin of a fire, in¬ 
cendiarism excepted—is always traceable to 
carelessness either on tho part of the builder 
or occupant. There are too many cheap,shoddy 
buildings put up. They look fairly well from 
the outside, but witbiu are tilled withiuflamma- 
ahle. We often find them filled with ch ip 
shavings, painters’ rags and other inflammable 
material. Rats and mice rpvel in their 
spaces. Rata often accumulate unburs. 
matches and also oily waste and greasy ragn 
Manv a mysterious fire can be traced to these 
collections. All such spaces between floor 
joist should he closed by completely filling in 
fiotn the sill or girder upon which the floor 
joists rest, to the wall, with concrete, plaster 
or brickwork. Tt is thought that for a roof 
on a country house, shingles laid over mortar 
are better than slate laid in the ordinary way. 
The careless manner in which timber fa placed 
near to the masonry of flues and fireplaces is 
often the cause of fires. Where woodwork is 
placed near stoves it should be covered by 
bright tin. Warm air furnaces frequently 
prove causes of fire. They should he inspected 
frequently, from the furnace to the register. 
Furnaces should always be of ample size. If 
too small there are times when they must be 
forced to redness. It is safest, to locate hot¬ 
air registers in side walls. When thev are 
placed in the floor flue wire netting should 
cover them—otherwise combustible substances 
mav be dropped into the flues. Hot ashes 
should never be placed in wood rccpptaeles, 
nor piled up in the cellar nor against the 
building. Matches should be kept in tin or 
earthen boxes out of the way of rats, mice or 
children. Safety matches are best. The so- 
called "parlor” matches are dangerous. Speak¬ 
ing of protection against strokes of lightning, 
it is stated that the French Academy of Sci¬ 
ences formulate the rule that a eonductor pro¬ 
tects a circular area whose radius is equal to 
twice the bight of the rod above the roof. 
There are many excellent hints in the pamph¬ 
let which all builders or superintendents of 
public buildings will find interesting. Price, 
60 cents. 
Mississippi Industrial Institute.— This 
institution is located at Columbus. Mks. It is, 
as we understand, the first school of its class 
for girls. At several other industrial schools, 
girls are admitted, but this appears to be the 
first one from whie h bovs are excluded. The 
school is doing an admirable work There are 
341 young women in at¬ 
tendance. as we learn from 
the last catalogue. This is 
a remarkable showing for 
a State where local 
tradition so violent!v op¬ 
poses an industrial trai ning 
for women. The design 
of the institution is to fit 
young women to help 
themselves in the world: 
to make them independent 
and selfreliant. We 
should say' that the institu¬ 
tion had attempted too 
wide a scots*. There are 
four departments: viz.. 
Collegiate, Normal. In¬ 
dustrial and a Department 
of Music, and Fine Arts. 
Mississippi has already a 
normal school.and the uni¬ 
versity and other colleges 
are open to women. There 
are now. unfortunately, 
too manv teachers of music 
and "fr e arte.” We 
should prefer to have the 
school more like that for 
the bovs at Starkville, 
where the industrial side 
is so well advanced that 
one can see no other. The 
industrial department in¬ 
cludes instruction in tele¬ 
graphy. type writing, cut¬ 
ting and making garments, 
etc. We should prefer to 
see classes formed in dairy¬ 
ing or poultry raising. It 
will be interesting to note 
the kinds of work these 
young women prefer. We 
find that 88 are studying 
type-writing, 53 tele¬ 
graphy, 51 printing and 
32 dress-making. Many 
are taking more than one 
of these studies at one time. 
We should prefer to see 
fewer typewriters. In 
order to obtain profitable 
yvork typewriters will be 
obliged to go to the cities. 
There are no large cities in 
Mississippi. The young 
women could do more 
good to themselves and 
their State by studying 
dairying. housekeeping 
and woman’s part in agri¬ 
culture. This would be 
more practical and profit¬ 
able. 
we would find comfortable lodging. As 
Farlee was an individual character, it 
may be of interest to add that ho 
had been all over the United States, 
had served in the war, had been in a rebel 
prison, had boon shot and maimed,lmd at one 
tune been nearly "done for” with lung trou¬ 
ble, but had come into the wonderful air of 
Arizona aud was then as healthy and hand¬ 
some a mau as one would find iu a day’s 
travel. He went into a corral near the sta¬ 
Everywhere cacti were growing—some in 
bloom—Farlee said there were 17 varieties of 
cactus in the canon. A part of the way we 
rode through an avenue of Oeatiro (Fouquiera 
spletuleus) just bursting into bloom, and most 
of the flowers anil shrubs were new to us. 
Finally we came to the "hotel” which Farlee 
had built with his own hands—a rude affair, 
but delightfully clean, aud a precious haven 
ot rest. We had dinner—Farlee was a capital 
cook; he had pretty decorated china and nice 
bio material, while the spaces between partitions 
and ceiling joists form concealed passages for 
rats, foul air aud odors as well as smoke aud 
flames. Through these a fire can spread with 
marvelous rapidity, while it is next to impos¬ 
sible to reach it with yvater. The first step 
towards the prevention of tire, then, is to see 
that tho house is yvell built. Some excellent 
advice is given regarding sound building con¬ 
struction. The hollow spaces betyveen floor 
boards and lath aud plastering are )bjection- 
feet high. It is now about 12 feet high, and 
being round-headed is also 12 feet in diameter. 
Tho stem is eight inches in diameter at the 
base, and branches out tyvo feet above. The 
branches are crooked, or rather most of them 
changed their direction at every joint. The 
tree is well clothed yvith leaves, which as 
shown in the Illustration, Fig. 411. are deeply 
cut into three parts, while each part is vari¬ 
ously lobed. The leaves remain green later 
‘ than many other kinds of maples, and do not 
| duo'ge to the beautiful fall colors which yve 
see iii the Sugar and Swamp Maples. 
