Chapter XXIV: Part 24

While tobacco is a native of the Americas, it is a fact that it will grow after a fashion almost anywhere. Milton Whitney, Chief of the Division of Soils, United States Department of Agriculture, in his bulletin on tobacco soils says tobacco can be grown in nearly all parts of the country even where wheat and corn cannot economically be grown. The plant readily adapts itself to the great range of climatic conditions, will grow on nearly all kinds of soil and has a comparatively short season of growth. But while it can be so universally grown, the flavor and quality of the leaf are greatly influenced by the conditions of climate and soil. The industry has been very highly specialized and there is only demand now for tobacco possessing certain qualities adapted to certain specific purposes.... It is a curious and interesting fact that tobacco suitable for our domestic cigars, is raised in Sumatra, Cuba and Florida, and then passing over our middle tobacco States the cigar type is found again in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin.... It is surprising to find so little difference in the meteorological record for these several places during the crop season. There does not seem to be sufficient difference to explain the distribution of the different classes of tobacco, and yet this distribution is probably due mainly to climatic conditions.... The plant is far more sensitive to these meteorological conditions than are our instruments. Even in such a famous tobacco region as Cuba, tobacco of good quality cannot be grown in the immediate vicinity of the ocean or in certain parts of the island that would otherwise be considered good tobacco lands. This has been experienced also in Sumatra and in our own country, but the influences are too subtle to be detected by our meteorological instruments.... Under good climatic conditions, the class and type of tobacco depend upon the character of the soil, especially on the physical character of the soil upon which it is grown, while the grade is dependent largely upon the cultivation and curing of the crop. Different types of tobacco are grown on widely different soils all the way from the coarse sandy lands of the Pine Barrens, to the heavy, clay, limestone, corn and wheat lands. The best soil for one kind of tobacco, therefore, may be almost worthless for the staple agricultural crops, while the best for another type of tobacco may be the richest and most productive soil of any that we have.

~WHERE HAVANA TOBACCO IS GROWN~

Havana tobacco, which means all tobacco grown on the island of Cuba, possesses peculiar qualities which make it the finest tobacco in the world for cigar purposes. The island produces from 350,000 to 500,000 bales annually, of which 150,000 to 250,000 bales come to the United States for use in American cigar factories. The best quality of the Cuban tobacco comes largely from the Vuelta Abajo section, although some very choice tobaccos are raised also in the Partidos section. Remedios tobaccos are more heavily bodied than others and are used almost exclusively for blending with our domestic tobaccos. While there are innumerable sub-classifications, such as Semi-Vueltas, Remates, Tumbadero, etc., the three general divisions named above, Vuelta Abajo, Partidos and Remedios, embrace the entire island. If a fourth general classification were to be added, it would be Semi-Vueltas. The Vuelta Abajo is grown in the Province of Pinar del Rio, located at the western end of the island. It is raised practically throughout the entire province. Semi-Vueltas are also grown in Pinar del Rio, but the trade draws a line between them and the genuine Vueltas. Partidos tobacco, which is grown principally in the Province of Havana, differs from the Vuelta Abajo in that it is of a much lighter quality. The Partidos country is famous for its production of fine light glossy wrappers. Tobacco from the foregoing sections is used principally in the manufacture of clear Havana cigars. Some of the heavier Vueltas, however, are also used for seed and Havana cigar purposes. Remedios, otherwise known as Vuelta-Arriba, is grown in the Province of Santa Clara, located in the center of the island. This tobacco is taken almost entirely by the United States and Europe and is used here for filler purposes, principally in seed and Havana cigars. Its general characteristics are a high flavor and rather heavy body, which make it especially suitable for blending with our domestic tobaccos. Havana tobacco is packed and marketed in bales.

Preparing the Seed Beds.

The first step is the preparation of the seed beds. For these beds low, rich, hardwood lands are selected. The trees are cut down and the wood split, converted into cord wood and piled up to dry. About the middle of January this wood is stacked up on skid poles and ignited. The ground is thus cleared by burning, the fires being moved from spot to spot until a sufficient area is cleared. By this process all grass, weeds, brush and insects are eradicated. The ground is then dug up with hoes and cleared off and a perfect seed bed is made.

The tobacco seed is first mixed with dry ashes in the proportion of about a tablespoonful of seed to a gallon of the ashes, and about this quantity is sowed over a square rod of land. This amount is calculated to supply plants enough for one acre of ground, but the farmers usually double the planting as a precaution against emergencies. After the seed beds are sowed they are covered over with cheesecloth as a means of protection, and they are carefully weeded and watered until the leaves have attained a length of about four inches. They are then ready for transplanting, which operation begins about the middle of April.

Fertilization.

In the meantime, the tobacco-growing areas have been prepared by plowing and fertilizing. The matter of fertilization has been the subject of much study and many experiments, and it has been definitely established that cow manure is one of the best for this purpose. This natural fertilizer is distributed on the fields at the rate of ten to twenty two-horse loads to each acre. In addition to this from two hundred to three hundred pounds of carbonate of potash, and from two thousand to three thousand pounds of bright cottonseed meal are employed. The total cost of this fertilizer amounts to about $120 per acre.

Planting.

After the fertilizer is well plowed into the land the ground is laid off into ridges about four feet apart, made by throwing two one-horse furrows together. These ridges are about two feet in width and are flattened on the top so as to make a level bed for the young plant. The farmer then measures off and marks these rows at intervals of 16 to 18 inches. At each mark he makes a small hole, and after pouring in a pint of water the plant is carefully set. Machine planters are used for this purpose to a limited extent.

Care of the Growing Crop.

The growers usually calculate on finishing their planting about the first of June. The young plants are then closely watched and are hoed and cultivated at least once a week. They are also supplied with sufficient water to keep them alive and growing. At this stage of the proceedings, the planter begins to look out for worms. The butter worm is one of his greatest enemies. This is a small green moth that lays its eggs in the bud of the plant and turns into a worm two days later. To stop the ravages of this insect, it is customary to use a mixture composed of some insecticide mixed with corn meal. A small pinch of this mixture is inserted at regular intervals in the bud of each plant until the plant is nearly grown.

When the tobacco is about three feet high, all such leaves as were on the plant when it was first set out are picked off and thrown away. About this time the crop is usually threatened by another enemy known as the horn worm. This is a large, mouse-colored moth, which swarms over the field about sun-down, and deposits green eggs about the size of a very small bird shot, on the back sides of the leaves. This is a very ravenous insect and unless carefully watched it will devour every leaf of tobacco, leaving nothing but the stalks standing. It is removed by picking off and by insecticides.

Harvesting.

About sixty to ninety days after setting, the bottom leaves on the plant are ripe and the grower is able to remove from three to four on each stalk. This is called priming. The primer detaches each leaf carefully and places it face down in his left hand, inspecting it at the same time to see that no worms are carried to the barns. Upon accumulating a handful, he places them in baskets that are lined with burlap to prevent injury to the leaf, and the filled baskets are either carried or hauled to the barns.

About this time the plants have begun to bud out at the top, and this bud, with a few small leaves around it, is broken off. This process is called topping, and is done for the purpose of confining the development of the plant to the leaves below. After topping, the priming of the tobacco is continued for about three weeks, and until all the upper leaves of marketable value have been harvested. In the meantime, the suckering has to be looked after, which is the removing of the small branches that have a tendency to grow out of the main stalk of the plant.

In the barns the leaves are placed on long tables, behind which stand the stringers. They string the leaves, each separately, on strong cotton twine, about thirty leaves to a string, spaced about an inch apart. If this is not done carefully and accurately, several leaves may become bunched together and the cure will thereby be impaired. It is attention to this detail which prevents the defect known as pole-sweat. These strings are tied at either end to a tobacco lath, and the lath is hung upon two poles. These poles are placed in courses in the barn, at spaces of two feet, one above the other.

~HOW TOBACCO IS CURED~

Here the tobacco undergoes its preliminary, or barn cure, and during this period the grower is constantly on the anxious seat, having to open and close his curing houses according to the changes in the weather, and to look closely after the ventilation of his crop in order to avoid the development of stem rot and other afflictions with which the tobacco is threatened at this stage of the proceedings.

Bulk Sweating.

In due course of time the laths are taken down, the strings removed and the leaves are formed into hands and tied with a string. The tobacco is then packed temporarily in cases and delivered at the fermenting house, where it is put into what is known as the bulk sweat. This consists of uniform piles of tobacco covered over with blankets, and which are frequently “turned” in order that they shall cure evenly and not become too dark in color. From the bulk sweat the tobacco goes to the sorting tables, where it is divided into numerous grades of length and color. It is then turned over to the packers, who form it into bales.

How is Tobacco Cultivated?

As the young plants spring up and begin to grow, they are thinned out, watered and cared for until along in October or November, and as soon as the weather becomes settled for the season, the little seedlings are transplanted into the field. Some growers use shade, but most of the tobacco is grown in the open. The plants are placed in rows, very much as corn is planted, only farther apart. The plants are carefully protected from weeds and insects, and in December the early tobacco is ready to be harvested. Here the mode of procedure differs according to the discretion of the grower. The plan universally in vogue until recent years was to cut the plant down at the base of the stalk. Lately, however, the more scientific growers harvest their tobacco gradually, picking it leaf by leaf, according as they ripen and mature. The tobacco is then allowed to lie in the field until the leaves are wilted. The stalks (or stems, according to the method followed) are then strung on _cujes_ or poles, so that the plants hang with the tips down. The tobacco is then allowed to hang in the sun until it is dry and later carried into the barns, where the poles are suspended in tiers until the barn is full. Tobacco barns everywhere are constructed with movable, or rather, adjustable, side and end walls which permit of a constant adjustment of the ventilation. While hanging in the barn the tobacco undergoes its preliminary cure and changes in color from the green of the growing plant to a yellowish brown. The climatic changes have to be carefully studied during this process. If the weather is extremely dry it is customary to keep the barns closed in the daytime and to open the ventilators at night. It is generally desirable to keep the tobacco fairly dry while it is undergoing the barn cure. After a few weeks, and when the hanging tobacco has reached the proper stage of maturity, a period of damp weather is looked for so that the dry leaves may be rehandled without injury. When the desired shower comes along the tobacco is stripped off the poles and placed in _pilon_--that is, in heaps, or piles, on the floors of the barns and warehouses, each pile being covered with blankets. Here, being in a compact mass, it undergoes the _calentura_, or fever, by which it is pretty thoroughly cured, the color changing to a deeper brown. After about two weeks in the piles it is sorted, tied into small bundles or carrots, and these in turn are packed in bales. After being baled the tobacco, if allowed to remain undisturbed, undergoes a third cure, by which it is greatly improved in quality. It is then ready for the factory.

The Shade-growing Method.

The shade-growing method is one of the institutions of modern tobacco cultivation. The principle is this: The sun, shining on the tobacco plants, draws the nutrition from the earth, and the plant ripens quickly, the leaves having a tendency to be heavy-bodied and not very large. To defeat these results and produce large, thin, silky leaves for cigar-wrapper purposes, the grower sometimes covers his field with a tent of cheesecloth or with a lattice-work of lathing which protects the growing tobacco from the direct rays of the sun. Thus the ripening process is slower, causing the leaves to grow larger and thinner and less gummy; and being thinner and less gummy, they are of a lighter color when finally cured. This method is employed by some growers in cigar-leaf districts, such as Cuba, Florida and Connecticut.

How Are Cigars Made?

While many labor-saving devices have been introduced in all branches of tobacco manufacture, it is a curious fact that in the production of the best grade of cigars, namely, the clear Havana, the work is done entirely by hand. In fact, it may be said that in the process of manufacturing fine cigars exactly the same principles are followed as those of two centuries ago. There has been much improvement in the artisanship of the worker, of course, but no rudimentary change in method. In the manufacture of snuff, chewing and pipe tobacco, cigarettes and all-tobacco cigarettes, machinery plays an important part; and mechanical devices are also used extensively in the production of five-cent cigars and in the still higher priced grades of part-domestic cigars, such as the seed and Havana. Some of these appliances are almost human in their ingenuity. But in fashioning the tobacco of Cuba into cigars that are perfect in shape, in formation and in all the qualities that go to make a good cigar, there is no substitute for the human hand.

Upon opening a bale of tobacco the workman takes each carrot out separately, shakes it gently to separate the leaves, and then moistens it, either by dipping it into a tub of water from which it is quickly removed and shaken to throw off the surplus water or else by spraying it with a blower. It is left in this condition over night, so that the leaves may absorb the moisture and become uniformly damp and pliable.

The tobacco is then turned over to the strippers, who remove the midrib from each leaf, at the same time separating the wrapper from the filler. From this point on the treatment of the wrappers and fillers is different.

The half leaves suitable for fillers are spread out and placed one on top of the other, making what are called books. These books are placed side by side, closely together, on a board, and a similar board is placed on top of the tobacco to hold it in position. Later, it is packed into barrels, the tops of which are covered with burlap, and there it undergoes a fermentation. It is usually allowed to remain in this condition for ten days or two weeks, when it is rehandled and inspected, and if found to be in the right condition, it is placed on racks, where it remains until it is in just the proper state of dryness to be ready for working.

~THE GREAT CARE NECESSARY IN SELECTION~

The wrapper leaves, after leaving the hands of the stripper, are taken by the wrapper selector, who sits, usually, at a barrel, and spreads out each leaf, one on top of the other, over the edge of the barrel, assorting them as to size, color, etc., into several different piles or books. Each of these piles is divided into packs of twenty-five each, and each lot of twenty-five is folded over into what is called a “pad” and tied with a stem. It is in this form that they go to the cigarmaker.

Every morning the stock is distributed among the cigarmakers. Each workman is given enough tobacco to make a certain number of cigars, and when his work is finished he must return either the full number of cigars or the equivalent in unused leaves.

The tools of the cigarmaker consist merely of a square piece of hardwood board, a knife and a pot of gum tragacanth. He sits at a table upon which rests the board, and at which there is also a gauge on which the different lengths are indicated. Fastened to the front of each table is a sack or pocket of burlap into which the cuttings that accumulate on the table are brushed. The operator deftly cuts his wrapper from the leaf, fashions the filler into proper form and size in the palm of his hand (this is known as the “bunch”) and rolls the tobacco into cigar form, In winding the wrapper around the “bunch” the operator begins at the “lighting end” of the cigar, called the “tuck,” and finishes at the end that goes into the mouth, which is called the “head.” A bit of gum tragacanth is used to fasten the leaf securely at the “head.” The cigar is then held to the gauge and is trimmed smoothly off to the proper length by a stroke of the knife at the “tuck.” The cigars are taken up in bundles of fifty each. They next pass into the hands of the selectors, who separate them into different piles, according to the color of the wrappers, and who also reject any cigars that may be of faulty construction. Broken wrappers, bad colors or any other defects are sufficient to cause the rejection of a cigar. The rejected cigars are known as _resagos_ (“throwouts”) or _secundos_.

From the selectors the cigars go to the packers, whose duty it is to place them in the boxes, and to see that the colors in each box are uniform, marking the temporary color classification on each box in lead pencil. After being packed, the filled boxes are put into a press and so left for twelve hours or until the cigars conform somewhat to the shape of the box which contains them. On being removed from the press, if to be banded, the cigars are carefully removed in layers from the box, the bands affixed, and the cigars replaced. The goods are then placed in an air-tight vault to await shipment.

When the cigarmaker ties up his bundle of fifty cigars, he attaches to it a slip of paper upon which is marked his number. This enables the manufacturer to keep an accurate account of the number of cigars made by each workman and also to place the responsibility for any defects in the workmanship. Cigarmakers are paid by the piece, the scale of wages ranging from $16 to $100 per thousand. In nearly every factory there may be found advanced apprentices or old men working at the rate of $14 per thousand and also there may be found skilled artisans making exceptionally large odd sizes at more than $100 per thousand, but these are not generally considered in the regulation scale of prices. In averages, the workmen earn about $18 a week and make about 150 cigars a day.

Just a Few Figures About Tobacco.

The internal revenue from tobacco for one year would build fourteen battleships of the first-class; or it would pay the salary of the President of the United States for nearly a thousand years. It would pay the interest on the public debt for three years, and there would be enough left over to add a dollar to the account of every savings bank depositor in the United States.

The money spent by smokers for cigars only, _not counting_ cigarettes, smoking and chewing tobacco and snuff would more than pay for the building of the Panama Canal, besides taking care of the $50,000,000 paid to the new French Canal Co., and the Republic of Panama for property and franchises. And in addition to this it would cover the cost of fortifying the Canal.

Or it would build a fleet of thirty-five trans-Atlantic liners, each exactly like the lost _Titanic_, coal them, provision them and keep them running between New York and Liverpool with a full complement of passengers and crew, almost indefinitely.

There are 21,718,448 cigars burned up in the United States every twenty-four hours; and 904,935 every hour; and 15,082 every minute; and 251 _every second_.

The annual _per capita_ consumption of cigars in the United States, counting men, women and children, is eighty-six cigars.

_If all the cigars smoked in the United States in one year were put together, end to end, they would girdle the earth, at its largest circumference, twenty-two times._

AS TO THE CIGARETTES, there are 23,736,190 of them consumed in the United States every day; and 989,007 every hour; and 16,482 every minute. With every tick of your watch, night and day, the year around, the butts of 275 smoked-up cigarettes are dropped into the ash tray.

Cigarette smokers in the United States, not counting those who roll their own smokes from tobacco, spend $60,645,966.36 for the little paper-covered rolls.

If all the cigarettes smoked in the United States in one year were placed end to end and stood up vertically they would make a slender shaft rising 512,766 miles into the heavens.

_If strung on a wire they would make a cable that would reach from the earth to the moon and back again, with enough left over to circle one-and-a-half times around the globe._

If this quantity of tobacco could be placed on one side of a huge balancing scale it would take the combined weight of four vast armies, each army consisting of 1,000,000 men, to pull down the other side of the scale.

The weight of the tobacco consumed in the United States in a year is equal to the weight of the entire and combined population of Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama.

ARCH: IN THIS PATTERN RIDGES RUN FROM ONE SIDE TO ANOTHER, MAKING NO BACKWARD TURN.]

The Story in a Finger Print[7]

[7] Engravings and story by the courtesy of Scientific American.

Our Fingers.

One of the most interesting facts about our fingers is that every member of the human race, irrespective of age or sex, carries in person certain delicate markings by which identity can be readily established. If the inner surface of the hand be examined, a number of very fine ridges will be seen running in definite directions, and arranged in patterns, there being four primary types--arches, loops, whorls, and composites. It has been demonstrated that these patterns persist in all their details throughout the whole period of human life. The impressions of the fingers of a new-born infant are distinctly traceable on the fingers of the same person in old age. The fact that these patterns on the bulbs of the fingers are characteristic of and differentiate one individual from another, makes it an ideal means of fixing identity. Even men who look so much alike that it is virtually impossible to tell one from the other so far as facial characteristics are concerned, can be identified by their finger impressions.

Innumerable illustrations can be given of how the perpetrators of crime have been identified and convicted by their finger prints. Impressions left by criminals on such articles as plated goods, window panes, drinking glasses, painted wood, bottles, cash boxes, candles, etc., have often successfully supplied the clue which has led to the apprehension of the thief or thieves. One of our illustrations is that of a champagne bottle which was found empty on the dining-room table of a house which had been entered by a burglar in Birmingham, England. There was a distinct impression of a thumb mark on the bottle. An officer of the Birmingham City Police took the bottle to New Scotland Yard, London, and within a few minutes a duplicate print was found in the records. The burglar was arrested the same evening.

WHORL: RIDGES HERE MAKE A TURN THROUGH AT LEAST ONE COMPLETE CIRCUIT.]

Many similar instances could be given of how thieves have been caught by handling bottles and glasses. On one occasion a burglar entered a house in the West End of London, and before leaving helped himself to a glass of wine. On the tumbler used he left two finger imprints, and these were subsequently found, upon search in the records at New Scotland Yard, to be identical with two impressions of a notorious criminal, who was in due course arrested and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

A somewhat gruesome relic is a cash-box which bears the blurred thumb mark of a man who was convicted of murder. The box was found in the bedroom of a man and his wife who were murdered at Deptford, London, in 1905. The cash-box was taken to New Scotland Yard, and the impression photographed and enlarged. Two brothers, suspected of the crime, were arrested, and the thumb print of one was found to be identical with that on the lid of the box. Our photograph of a gate recalls a curious case that recently occupied the attention of a London magistrate. In this instance a thief successfully climbed the gate, which was ten feet high. In his attempt to reach the ground on the inner side he placed his feet on the center cross-bar, at the same time holding the spikes with his right hand. In this position he fell, and the ring he wore on his little finger caught on the spike indicated by the arrowhead. This caused him to remain suspended in the air until his weight tore the finger from his hand. The ring with the finger was found on the spike, and in due course was received at New Scotland Yard. An impression was taken of the finger, and search among the records revealed a duplicate print, which led to the man’s arrest.

If a criminal handles a piece of candle or removes a pane of glass and leaves these behind, it is a hundred to one he has left a valuable clue for the police. The candle shown on the following page bears the imprint of a man’s thumb, and was found in a house which a burglar had entered. By handling the candle, the thief virtually signed the warrant for his own arrest.

The system was first used by the police in the Province of Bengal, India, at the instigation of Sir William Herschel. Its value was at once apparent. The work of the courts was considerably lightened, as the natives recognized that a system of identification had been discovered which was indisputable. Then from the police it was introduced into various branches of the public service, and here again its value was quickly demonstrated. When native pensioners died, for instance, friends and relatives personated them, and so continued to draw their allowances. By recording the identity of pensioners by finger prints, this evil was quickly stamped out.

PALMARY IMPRESSIONS OF WHOLE HAND, SHOWING HOW IT IS COVERED WITH RIDGES AND PATTERNS.]

RIGHT HAND LEFT HAND
THUMB
FIRST FINGER
SECOND FINGER
THIRD FINGER
FOURTH FINGER

FINGER IMPRESSIONS OF AN ORANG-OUTANG (ANTHROPOID APE) TAKEN AT THE LONDON ZOO. THEY WERE MADE BY SCOTLAND YARD.]

The wonderful lineations, in the form of ridges and patterns, which adorn the palmar surface of the human hand, had, of course, been known for many years. Mr. Francis Galton, the famous traveler and scientist, was perhaps the first to give serious attention to the subject of finger prints. He discovered many interesting facts about them. Then, in 1823, Prof. Purkinje, of Breslau, read a paper before the University of Breslau on the subject. Up to this date, however, no practical use could be made of the impressions for the want of a system of classification. Prof. Purkinje certainly suggested one, but little notice appears to have been taken of it.

Naturally, to be of any value to the police or to any government department, it is absolutely essential to classify the prints in such a way that they could be readily referred to and identity established without undue delay. It was virtually left to Sir William Herschel, of the Indian Civil Service, to invent a really practical system of classification, so it may be claimed that the finger-print method of identification, as at present adopted, is the discovery of an Englishman. Then it is only fair to add that Sir Edward R. Henry, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police of London, has also devoted much time and study to the subject. His book, “Classification and Uses of Finger Prints,” has passed through many editions, and has been translated into several foreign languages.

A CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE HAVING THUMB IMPRINT, WHICH LED TO ARREST OF A BURGLAR.]

Impressions are divided up into four distinct types or patterns. First, we have arches in which the ridges run from one side to the other, making no backward turn. In loops, however, some of the ridges do make a backward turn, but are devoid of twists. In whorls some of the ridges make a turn through at least one complete circuit. Under composites are included patterns in which two or more of the former types are combined in the same imprint. Although similarity in type is of frequent occurrence, completely coincident ridge characteristics have never been found in any two impressions. It is not necessary here to enter into a detailed account as to how the classification of these wonderful lineations of the human hand is effected. It is based on a number value, attained by an examination, by means of a magnifying glass, of the “deltas” and “cores,” which break up a collection into as many as 1024 separate primary groups, each of which can again, by a system of sub-classification, be further split up into quite a number of sub-groups. When the British police discover finger prints on articles at the scene of crime, the latter are at once conveyed to New Scotland Yard. If the impressions are very faint, a little powder, known to chemists as “grey powder” (mercury and chalk), is sprinkled over the marking and then gently brushed off with a camel-hair brush. This brings out the imprint much more clearly. If one places his dry thumb upon a piece of white paper no visible impression is left. If powder, however, is sprinkled over the spot and then brushed off, a distinct impression is seen. In the case of candles and articles of this nature, a drop of printer’s ink is lightly smeared over an impression, in order the more clearly to define the ridges and patterns.

ON THE SPIKE OF THE GATE (INDICATED BY AN ARROW) A CRIMINAL LEFT HIS FINGER AND RING, WHICH LED TO HIS CONVICTION.]

At the headquarters of the British police at New Scotland Yard they possess special cameras and a dark room for photographing these thumb marks. The dark room is 21 feet long and 7 feet wide. When finger prints are required for production in court they are first enlarged five diameters with an enlarging camera. The negatives are afterward placed in an electric light enlarging lantern, with which it is possible to obtain photographic enlargements of a thumb mark 36 inches square. The lantern is arranged on a specially made table 12 feet long, the lantern running between tram lines, so that when moved it is square with the easel.

Criminals have naturally come to dread the value of their thumb marks as a means of identifying their movements. Some will try to obliterate the markings by pricking their fingers, but so far this has not availed them. To successfully accomplish this it would be necessary to obliterate the whole of the palmary impressions on the tip of each finger of each hand.

Then the system, too, is far in advance of any other, both in reliability and simplicity of working. Compared to anthropometry, for instance, invented by M. Bertillon, in which measurements of certain portions of the body are relied upon as a medium of identification, the finger-print system is certainly preferable. In the first place, the instruments are costly and are liable to get out of order; while the measurements can only be taken by a fairly educated person, and then only after a special course of instruction. In the finger-print system the accessories needed are a piece of paper and ink, while any person, whether educated or not, after half an hour’s practice, can take legible finger prints. Then the classification of the latter is much simpler and readier of access than the former.

At the time of writing there are some 164,000 finger-print records in the pigeon-holes at New Scotland Yard, and the number now being added to it is at the rate of about 250 weekly. The system, too, is not only in use in Great Britain, but in all the provinces of India, including Burma, and in most of the British colonies and dependencies. It is being rapidly extended, not only throughout Europe, but also through North and South America.

SPECIMEN FORM.

This Form is not to be pinned.

MALE.

H.C.R. No. .....

Name .....

Aliases .....

Classification No.

28. MM.
32. II.

RIGHT HAND.
1.—Right Thumb.
2.—R. Fore Finger.
3.—R. Middle Finger.
4.—R. Ring Finger.
5.—R. Little Finger.

(Fold.)

(Fold.)

Impressions to be so taken that the flexure of the last joint shall
be immediately above the black line marked (Fold). If the impression
of any digit be defective a second print may be taken in the vacant
space above it.

When a finger is missing or so injured that the impression cannot be
obtained, or is deformed and yields a bad print, the fact should be
noted under Remarks.

LEFT HAND.
6.—L. Thumb.
7.—L. Fore Finger.
8.—L. Middle Finger.
9.—L. Ring Finger.
10.—L. Little Finger.

(Fold.)

(Fold.)

LEFT HAND.

Plain impressions of the four fingers taken simultaneously.

RIGHT HAND.

Plain impressions of the four fingers taken simultaneously.

Impressions taken by

Classified at H.C. Registry by

Tested at H.C. Registry by

13336

Rank

Police }
Force. }

Date

Date

(P.T.O.)]

The Story in a Honey Bee[8]

[8] Pictures by Courtesy of E. R. Root Co.

Of all the insect associations there are none that have more excited the admiration of men of every age or that have been more universally interesting than the colonies of the common honey-bee.

The ancients held many absurd views concerning the generation and propagation of bees, believing that they arose from decaying animals, from the flowers of certain plants, and other views equally ridiculous from our present point of view.

Where Does Honey Come From?

Honey is a sticky fluid collected from flowers by several kinds of insects, particularly the honey bee; and the common honey bee from the earliest period has been kept by people in hives for the advantage and enjoyment which its honey and wax gives. It is found wild in North America in great numbers, storing its honey in hollow trees and other suitable locations, but not native to this country, having been introduced in North America by European colonists.

The story of the honey bee is one of the most interesting of all stories of the living things found on the earth. The busy bee is the ideal example of hard and persistent work and has for a long time been the subject of interesting study for young and old. The bee is one of the busiest of all of the world’s workers, and it is from the honey bee that we get our expression “as busy as a bee”; such other expressions as “to have a bee in one’s bonnet”; also such others as “quilting bees” and “husking bees” are founded on the known activities of the honey bee. The first expression means “to be flighty or full of whims or uneasy motions” which comes from the restless habits of bees, and “quilting bee” or “husking bee” originated from the knowledge that bees work together for the queen. In a quilting bee or husking bee a number of people get together and work together for a time for the benefit of one individual.

Honey Is Produced by Bees which Live in Colonies.

~HOW A BEE MAKES HONEY~

A colony of bees consists of one female, capable of laying eggs, called the queen; some thousands of undeveloped females that normally never lay eggs, the workers; and, at certain seasons of the year, many males, the drones, whose only duty is to mate with the young queens. These different kinds of individuals can readily be recognized by the difference in size of various parts of the body, so that even the novice at bee-keeping can soon recognize each with ease. This colony makes its home in nature in a hollow tree or cave; but it thrives perhaps even better in the hives provided for it by man. In a modern hive, sheets of comb are placed in wooden frames which are hung in the hive-box in such a way that they can be removed at the pleasure of the bee-keeper. A sheet of comb is made up of small cells in which honey is stored by the bees, and in which eggs are laid, and young bees develop.

How Does a Bee Make Honey from Flower Nectar?

In the spring of the year the colony consists of a queen and workers, there being no drones present at this time. During the winter the bees remain quiet, and the queen lays no eggs, so that there are no developing bees in the hive. The supply of honey is also low, for they have eaten honey all winter, and none has been collected and placed in the cells. As soon as the days are warm enough the bees begin to fly from the hive in search of the earliest spring flowers. From these flowers they collect the nectar, which is transformed into honey, and pollen, which they carry to the hive on the pollen-baskets on the third pair of legs.

The nectar is taken by the bee into its mouth, and then passes to an enlargement of the alimentary canal known as the honey-stomach, where it is acted upon by certain juices secreted by the bee. The true stomach lies just behind the honey-stomach; and if the bee needs food for its own immediate use it passes on through the opening between the two stomachs. On its arrival in the hive the bee places its head in one of the cells of the comb and deposits there the nectar which it has carried in. By this time the nectar has been partly transformed into honey, and the process is completed by the bees by fanning the cells to evaporate the excess of moisture which still remains. When a cell has been filled with the thick honey the workers cover it with a thin sheet of wax unless it is to be eaten at once. The pollen is also deposited in cells, but is rarely mixed with honey. The little pellets which the bees carry in are packed tightly into cells until the cell is nearly full. If a cell of pollen be dug out of the comb, one can often see the layers made by the different pellets. This collecting of nectar and pollen continues throughout the summer whenever there are flowers in bloom, and ceases only with the death of the last flowers in the autumn.

What Does the Queen Bee Do?

Almost as soon as the honey and pollen begin to come in, the queen of the colony begins to lay eggs in the cells of the center combs. The title of queen has been given to the female bee which normally lays all the eggs of the colony, under the supposition that she governs the colony and directs its activities. This we now know to be an error, but the name still remains. Her one duty in life is that of egg-laying. She is most carefully watched over by the workers, and is constantly surrounded by a circle of attendants who feed her and touch her with their antennæ; but she in no way dictates what shall take place in the hive. The eggs are laid in the bottom of the hexagonal cells, being attached by one end to the center of the cell. The first eggs laid develop into workers, and are deposited in cells one-fifth of an inch across. As the colony increases in size by the hatching-out of these workers, and as the stores of honey and pollen increase, the queen begins to lay in larger cells measuring one-fourth of an inch, and from the eggs laid in these cells drones (or males) develop.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMB HONEY.]

The eggs do not develop directly into adult bees, as might be inferred from what has just been said; but after three days there hatches from the egg a small white worm-like larva. For several days the larvæ are fed by the workers, and the amount of food consumed is truly remarkable. The larva grows rapidly until it fills the entire cell in which it lives. The workers then cover the cell with a cap of wax, and at the same time the larva inside spins a delicate cocoon under the cap.

EGG OF QUEEN UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.]

THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMB HONEY.]

What Are Drone Bees Good for?

The worker brood can at once be distinguished from the drone brood by the fact that the workers place a flat cap over worker brood and a high arched cap over drone brood; and this is often a great help to the bee-keeper in enabling him to determine at once what kind of brood any hive contains. Twenty-one days from the time the egg is laid the young worker-bee emerges from its cell, having gone through some wonderful transformations during the time it was sealed up, this stage being known as the pupa stage. For drones the time is twenty-four days.

About the time the drones begin to appear, the inmates of the hive begin to prepare for swarming, which, to any one watching the habits of bees, is one of the most interesting things which takes place in the colony. Several young worker larvæ are chosen as the material for queen-rearing, generally located near the margin of the comb. The workers now begin to feed these chosen larvæ an extra amount of food and at the same time the sides of the cells containing them are remodeled and enlarged by the destruction of surrounding cells. The queen (or royal) cell is nearly horizontal at the top, like the other cells of the comb, and projects beyond them; but then the workers construct another portion to the cell into which the queen larva moves. This is an acorn-shaped cell placed vertically on the comb, about as large as three ordinary cells. As the cell is being built, the queen larva continues to grow until the time comes for her to be sealed up and enter her pupa state. Although it takes the worker twenty-one days to complete its development, the queen passes through all the stages and reaches a considerably larger size in but sixteen days.

WORKER-COMB.]

A STUDY IN CELL-MAKING.

Note that the cells are made independent of each other, and that it is the refuse wax, like droppings of mortar in brick-laying, that seems to tumble into the interstices to fill up.]

In the swarming season, at about the time the new queens are ready to leave their cells, the old queen leaves the hive and takes with her part of the workers, this being known as swarming.

HOW TO BUMP THE BEES OFF A COMB.]

AN APIARY IN SUMMER.

This photo shows the windbreak of evergreens surrounding the yard. The house-apiary is shown in the background, the upper story of which is used as a workshop. A trellis of grapevines is placed in front of each hive. In summer there is ample shade, and in the fall and early spring the leaves are shed, leaving plenty of sun to strike the hives when it is most needed.]

A SWARM ENTERING A HIVE.]

How Do Bees Build the Honey Comb?

In the hands of a bee-keeper the departing swarm will be put into another hive provided he wishes to increase the number of his colonies; but in a state of nature the swarm will find an old hollow tree or some similar place in which to establish itself. The bees, before leaving their old hive, fill themselves with honey until the abdomen is greatly distended, and for this reason it is not necessary for them to collect nectar for a day or two, for they have other work to do. Some of the bees begin to clean out the new quarters and get it fit for occupancy; but most of them begin the construction of new combs. To do this they suspend themselves in curtains from the top of the hive, and remain motionless for some time. The wax used in building comb is secreted by the workers in eight small pockets on the lower side of the abdomen while they thus hang in curtains. Finally, after enough wax has been formed, they begin to build. The small flakes of wax are passed forward to the mouth, there mixed with a salivary secretion to make the wax pliable, and then are placed on the top of the hive by the first comb-builders. Other workers then come and place their small burdens of wax on those first deposited, and this continues until the combs are finished. There is more to comb-building than the mere sticking on of wax plates, however, and nothing in all bee instincts is more wonderful than the beautiful plan on which they build the comb. The cells are hexagonal in shape, so that each cell in the center of the comb is surrounded by six others. Nor is this the only remarkable thing in their architecture, for each comb is composed of a double row of cells, the base of each cell being formed of three parts, each one of which is likewise a part of a separate cell of the other side of the comb. By this method the bees obtain the greatest possible capacity for their cells, with the least expenditure of wax. The accuracy of the cells of the comb has in all ages been an object of admiration of naturalists and bee-keepers.

As soon as there are some cells constructed, and even before the cells are entirely completed, the queen begins to lay eggs, and the workers begin to collect the stores of honey and pollen. They also collect in considerable quantity a waxy substance from various trees, commonly called propolis, with which they seal the inside of the hive, closing up all openings except the one which serves as the entrance.

EFFECT OF A STING NEAR THE EYE.]

The cells which are used for the storage of honey generally slant upward slightly to help keep the honey from running out. Queen-cells are made only when a new queen is to be reared.

Can a Bee Sting?

It is true that bees cannot bite and kick like horses, nor can they hook like cattle; but most people, after having had an experience with bee-stings for the first time, are inclined to think they would rather be bitten, kicked, and hooked, all together, than risk a repetition of that keen and exquisite anguish which one feels as he receives the full contents of the poison-bag.

What Happens When a Bee Stings?

After the bee has penetrated the flesh on your hand, and worked the sting so deeply into the flesh as to be satisfied, it begins to find that it is a prisoner, and to consider means of escape. It usually gets smashed at about this stage of proceedings, unless it succeeds in tearing the sting--poison-bag and all--from the body; however, if allowed to do the work quietly it seldom does this, knowing that such a proceeding seriously maims it for life, if it does not kill it. After pulling at the sting to see that it will not come out, it seems to consider the matter a little, and then commences to walk around it, in a circle, just as if it were a screw it was going to turn out of a board. If you will be patient and let it alone, it will get it out by this very process, and fly off unharmed. I need not tell you that it takes some heroism to submit patiently to all this maneuvering. The temptation is almost ungovernable, while experiencing the intense pain, to say, while you give it a clip, “There, you little beggar, take that, and learn better manners in future.”

Well, how does every bee know that it can extricate its sting by walking around it? Some would say it is instinct. Well, I guess it is; but it seems to me, after all, that it “sort o’ remembers” how its ancestors have behaved in similar predicaments for ages and ages past.

Odor of the Bee-sting Poison.

After one bee has stung you, if you remain where you were stung, the smell of the poison, or something else, will be pretty sure to get more stings for you, unless you are very careful. It has been suggested that this is owing to the smell of the poison, and that the use of smoke will neutralize this scent. This probably is so.

What Should I Do If I Am Stung by a Bee?

The blade of a knife, if one is handy, may be slid under the poison-bag, and the sting lifted out, without pressing a particle more of the poison into the wound. When a knife-blade is not handy, push the sting out with the thumb or finger nail in much the same way. It is quite desirable that the sting should be taken out as quickly as possible, for if the barbs once get a hold in the flesh, the muscular contractions will rapidly work the sting deeper and deeper. Sometimes the sting separates, and a part of it (one of the splinters, so to speak) is left in the wound; it has been suggested that we should be very careful to remove every one of these tiny points; but after trying many times to see what the effect would be, I have concluded that they do but little harm, and that the main thing is, to remove the part containing the poison-bag before it has emptied itself completely into the wound.

Why Are Some Races White, and Others Black, Yellow and Brown?

What you eat determines your color, according to Bergfield, a German investigator. Not necessarily that you yourself could effect any change in color, but your ancestors for thousands of years have unconsciously been influenced by the food they have eaten and the drinks they have drunk.

For instance, the original men were black, says Bergfield. Their chief diet was of vegetables and fruits, he explains, and these same food contains manganates that are not unlike iron. Dark browns and blacks result from this combination. It is a scientific fact that negroes who drink milk and eat meat are never as dark as those who eat vegetables.