furrows appear near the insertion of the petiole, which gradually deepen until the leaves hang on only by a slender woody fiber, which is sooner or later snapped by the wind.
Dec'lara'tion of Independence. Not till after the battle of Bunker Hill and the appointment of Washington as commander-in-chief of all the colonial forces, was the separation of the colonies from Great Britain generally and seriously considered, though North Carolina in May, 1775, had at the famous Mecklenburg convention cut itself off from all allegiance to the mother-country. In May of 1776 Washington wrote from the head of the army, then at New York: “A reconciliation with Great Britain is impossible. When I took command of the army, I abhorred the idea of independence; but I am now fully satisfied that nothing else will save us.” Before this, Massachusetts, followed by South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina, had instructed its delegates in the Continental Congress to vote for independence. In May, Virginia, followed by New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maryland, sent similar instructions to its delegates. On June 7 Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, moved a resolution in Congress that “these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states and that a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective colonies for their consideration and approbation.” This resolution was adopted on June 11. Two committees were appointed under it, one to prepare a declaration of independence and the other to prepare articles of union or confederation. The committee to prepare the Declaration of Independence consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. They reported on June 28, but a delay was caused by the delegates from New York and Pennsvlvania not having received their instructions. It was passed on July 4, 1776, by the votes of all the colonies, each colony having one vote. The sessions of the Continental Congress were held and the Declaration signed in the old Pennsylvania state-house, known afterward as Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Here still hangs the cracked and broken Liberty Bell which, after the first reading of the Declaration, was rung for over two hours, with the firing of cannon and the beating of drums. Twenty-three years before, this bell had been cast with the prophetic words inscribed on it: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
Dec'ora'tion Day, called in the eastern part of the country Memorial Day, is the day set apart for commemorating the services of the soldiers and sailors who lost their lives in the Civil War. Speeches and processions are made in their honor, and their graves visited and decorated with flowers. It is observed by north and south alike; and in most of the states on the same day — May 30.
De Cosmos, Amor, whose real name is Dennis E. Lennox, was born in Nova Scotia, went to Australia, and in 1859 came to British Columbia. He was the first citizen of the province to advocate responsible government and union with the Dominion. From December, 1872, to February, 1874, he was premier of the province.
VIRGINIA DEER
Deer, a general name for a considerable variety of cud-chewing and hoofed animals, including the stag, elk, Virginia deer, wapiti and reindeer. Members of the group are found in all countries except Australia, Madagascar and South Africa. The deer have solid horns which serve to distinguish them from the hollow-horned oxen and antelopes. As a usual thing the antlers are carried only by the males, and they are shed and renewed annually. The female
reindeer has antlers as well as the male, and, occasionally, in other forms antlers appear as rudiments in some individual females. When the antlers are renewed, they start as outgrowths from the frontal bone and are covered with soft hairy skin and richly provided with blood-vessels. The skin covers them till they attain their full size, and while it is present they are said to be “in the velvet.” They grow with great rapidity, the large antlers of a stag being completely produced in ten weeks. As soon as they are full-grown, a ring, is formed at the base which pinches off the blood-vessels, and the outer covering skin begins to shrivel and come off in strips, and it is still further worn off by
