THE COMET.
Devoted to the I D terests of the Austin High School.
NO.3.
VOL. 1.
CONTENTS.
First
page-
'fHE FLOWERS
OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA.
NEW
DISTURBANCES
IN
THESSALY.
WITHDREW
OPPOSITION.
ABOUT THE MAINE.
'::-econd Page.-
ITALY'S
NATIONAL
BIRTH-
DAY.
THE MAINE DISASTER.
Third Page.-
AN
AZTEC
MANUSCRIPT
FOUND.
SCHOOL NEWS.
Fourth
Page.-
BASEBALL
TEAM.
EXCHANGE
CLIPPH\GS.
THE
FLOWKRS
Of<'
CALIFORNIA.
You have all heard of the flowers of
Southern
California,
of their size,
of
their numbers,
of their brilliancy.
In-
deed, some stories
sound
almost
in-
credible.
In Ca liforn ia, winter and spring are
the best flower seasons.
During these,
if well watered,
the flowers surpass in
size and numbers
any others I have
ever seen.
The geranium
is one of the hardiest
plants,
and is seen in almost
every
yard; for its bright red and white flow-
ers are very pretty and attractive.
If
trained
upon a trellis or a porch, the
plant grows to a considerable
height,
often reaching
the top of the house :
but in such cases, the lower part of the
vine (?) is destitute
of leaves, course,
and altogether
a draw-back
rather
than an addition
to the looks of a
yard.
However,
if they are kept cut
back, they make a very pretty
bush,
especially
when they are
in
bloom.
The beautiful
heliotrope
and nasturti-
um, also, are vines, and can be seen
running
upon the tops
of
galleries,
high fences, and other
such
places.
The Calla lilly, which we watch and
tend so faithfully
here, is used for
hedges there.
I am sure I have never
seen a prettier
hedge than one I saw a
few weeks after I arrived in Los Ange-
I
I
I
I
I
I
les.
It was of Callas standing
abou
three teet high, and not only served as
a fence, but also bordered
the walk to
the house,
There-must
have
been
about a hundred pure white lif lies with
yellow centers,
rising amid the thick
green leaves, so you see i': made a
beautiful
bright
border.
Carnations
are raised i:J. great quantttte,
are lar 6e,
and, like a ll other flowers, are profuse
bioomers.
Though
California
flow, rs claim size
and numbr rs, they lack the best qual-
i s, to me-
heir perfume.
So much ir-
I igalion
is needed there that the flow-
ers have V€rY little odor.
In fact, i:
is quite surprising
after chatting
for
several minutes
under a large treee to
look up and discover
the tree is a
magnolia
in full bloom.
Those in Cal-
ifornia miss, also, the pleasure
of our
'/of
e j ,HDine fllIDrgtriilce
THE
-i
MAINE.
Maine, one of the most
easels a' h Umt
States navy, was blown up by a ter-
rific explosion
in Havana
harbor
of'.
the evening of February
15th, many 0'
its men were
wounded
and
many
more were killed in the crash, or hurl-
ed into the water and drowned.
From
all available
information
to be had,
the following
summary
shows the
to;
tal results
of the disaster.
Total of-
ficers and men on board the Maine 355,
Mora McCombs.
total officers and men lost 248, men in-
NEW DISTURBANCES
IN THESS-
jured 57. From the most. reliable
in-
ALY,
rorrnatton
there were two explosions.
The first was comparatively
light; al-
A !though
the final
treaty
betweeu
most simultaneoualy
t'herewas
a sec-
Greece and Turkey was signed several
ond, which shattered
the massive
ves-
weeks ago, the
Turkish
troops
re-
Eel, hurling
men and everything
else
main in 'I'hessaly,
and there have re-
on the ship high into the air and in-
cently been collisions,
'between
them
to the water.
A number
of expert
and the inhabitaits
of the Greek vil-
divers are now at work on the wreck
lages.
The
most
serious
encounter
of the Maine, and their work will prob-
was in the district
of Agrapha,
where
ably have much to do towards
discov-
several villages
were burned.
ering (he cause of the explosion.
In
the few days that
have
intervened
WITHDREW
OPPOSITION.
eince the disaster
happened
no
addi-
I tional facts have been received upon
The Japanese
government
withdrew
which
to base an opinion
as to its
its oppposition
to the annexation
of
cause.
It is, however,
an established
Hawaii
to the
United
States
some
fact that the harbor
of Havana
is
time ago.
It sti'll asks the right
of
filled with submarine
mines and tor-
protection
to all of its citizens.
pedoes.
The Maine, though
of the
second class, was regarded
as one of
The corner
stone o.f the
Colored
the best battle
ships
in the world.
Sam Houston
College was laid on Feb.
2. A large crowd was present
to suit
(Continued
on Second Page.)
cality,
So you see California
has not all,
indeed,
I would
not give a yard of
our flowers with their sweet perfume,
which makes them a constant
pleasure
to us, for twice the number of those of
California
with their brilliancy
of Col-
oring and size.
I
I
-