6 
mountainous, absolutely barren and 
rainless, ‘There is a natural harbor 
there and a little village of about 500 
people, when the houses are full. 
It is a winter resort for the weal- 
thy who have hit the fast pace, for 
men whose nerves shrink at noise, for 
men and women who have lung troub- 
les. It is absolutely the quietest place 
I ever found for a peopled place, The 
laughter of the bathers is the most 
noise in that little city. 
I was told there was not an ounce 
of natural water on the whole island; 
that every gill of water was brought 
in by steamers. Walking around the 
streets I saw signs out “Water” as 
we put out our ice signs. It is deliv- 
ered daily. I asked a man how the 
mountain sheep lived without water, 
and he said he “guessed they drank 
salt water.” I guessed there were 
springs. 
When the big steamer was loading 
to take the transients back to the 
mainland, a dozen row boats, with 
Filipino boys, swam around the big 
boat asking the passengers to throw 
dimes and nickles into the water, For 
a full half hour I watched the pieces 
of silver thrown over the ship’s side, 
and only one coin found the ocean 
bottom. No matter where thrown the 
boys would dive for them and would 
catch them as they sank. Some times 
there would be a half dozen divers 
after one dime or nickel, and it was 
astonishing how long they could stay 
under water when they had to make 
a long or deep dive to catch up with 
the silver piece. 
The water on this island coast is so 
very clear that one can see the ocean 
bottom sixty feet deep, and to ride in 
the glass bottom boats and see the 
wonders under water is a sight one 
will never forget. 
Big seals come up in the harbor 
with big fish in their mouths, and give 
the tourists a rare spectacle, while 
they eat their lunch. On both trips a 
big whale came up and gave the pass- 
engers a benefit. One was not over a 
quarter of a mile away, and he spout- 
ed a long time in plain view of the 
hundreds of passengers. Before he 
dove, he raised hig great body fully 
two-thirds its length above the water. 
For many of us it was our first sight 
of a live whale, and an interesting 
sight. 
On the trip over the sea it was 
rough and after only an hour that 
falling sensation began working on 
my stomach, I went to the center of 
the boat, found a secluded place back 
of the wireless station and lay down 
crosswise of the boat. After a few 
minutes a girl came in, looked at me 
and asked if I was seasick or resting, 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
I replied “resting” and asked why she 
was interested, She laughed and re- 
plied: 
“We want to bring some drinks in 
here but if you are sick it won’t do.” 
A few minutes later three girls 
and a big cowboy came in, followed 
by a porter with booze and _ beer. 
After they had put away enough of 
the goods to become friendly, the 
leading lady explained to me that they 
were a motion picture troupe going 
over to the island for “antediluvian 
short stuff,” and then she went on for 
an hour and gave me _ behind-the- 
scenes shop talk that was certainly 
entertaining. 
In Williams I saw a half dozen 
men carrying a man into a house. 
Thinking there had been a killing I 
followed them in. It was a rooming 
house. They laid him on a bed and I 
crowded near to see how badly he was 
shot. One of the men was sprinkling 
water over him. He opened his eyes, 
tried to raise himself, fell! back, smiled 
a drunken smile and repeated: 
“And when they put me in my lit- 
tle bed 
They couldn’t tell me and my jag 
apart.” 
He was a prominent physician of 
the town. . 
I met three Mexicans and a white 
boy armed with poles and ropes on 
the outskirts of the town and asked 
the young American what they were 
after. He told me rattlesnakes, He 
said they killed, skinned them and 
sold the skins to a man in the town 
who bought them. He tanned them 
and made belts, neckties and hat 
bands. The boy said that some days 
they would kill a half dozen, other 
days would not find a one. They got 
a dollar a piece for the raw hide. 
Rather risky business for the limited 
income. 
If there is a Mason in Arizona, you 
would see him coming, for they cer- 
tainly wear the display signs. Some 
of them have badges as big as two- 
bit pieces and you will often see the 
square and compass on belts and 
neckties. As a fellow remarked: 
“They will have them on their hat 
bands next.” 
I have covered the most of the in- 
teresting old spots of the southwest. 
in my five annual trips to the south- 
west. There are hundreds of places 
I have not yet visited, but they are all 
ruins of the same ancient people, and 
after a time the descriptions become 
as old as the country—hence this let- 
ter closes the American southwest 
letters. 
Next summer I have a trip sche- 
duled of entirely new places—places 
where white men do not go—and the 
trip should be a gold mine. 
HORTICULTURE 
And Kindred Interests 
(Department managed by a North Shore Gardener) 
Anyone interested in the practise 
of pruning, either as an amateur or 
a professional gardener, can acquire 
greater skill if he first considers the 
underlying principles, asking the 
questions, ‘Why prune?’ ‘What 
for ?”—“ what is the effect of pruning 
at different seasons and in different 
ways?” In the first place, what are 
we trying to do when a start is made 
with saw, shears or knife chopping 
away at trees and shrubs? 
Some reasons for pruning are: To 
shape a tree or shrub to some desired 
form, as a globe-shaped shrub, for 
instance. To remove dead wood 
because of its unsightliness and en- 
cumbrance, cutting close to the main 
trunk or limb that the remaining part 
may heal over and stop the progress 
of decay. To produce larger and bet- 
ter fruit and flowers. Under this head 
we would prune to let in sun and air 
to get better colored fruit and to 
help prevent fungus diseases; also 
remove weak growth and thin out 
crowded growth. To keep the tree 
or vine low enough and of a shape 
for convenience in spraying and har- 
vesting. To prevent the tree from 
‘injuring itself by limbs that cross 
and rub, ‘To remove diseased parts 
and prevent spread of disease. To 
invigorate the remaining parts, espe- 
cially if the older parts are removed. 
To make the plant bear fruit or flow- 
ers instead of making wood growth. 
To prevent in young trees the forma- 
tion of crotches that will split down 
and to train young trees into desir- 
able shape and size. 
Some of the effects of pruning are: 
Pruning in winter stimulates wood 
growth. Pruning in summer sup- 
presses rank growth and causes the 
formation of fruit buds. For ex- 
ample, pinching back the new growth 
of dwarf fruit trees in summer makes 
fruit buds form on the remaining 
portion of new growth, Removing 
fruit buds or flower buds causes the 
remaining flower or fruit buds to 
