It has been wisely observed by one who is more famous for the wisdom of his writings than for the amount of money he has made in speculation, that when a market reaches the top there is no visible sign to indicate it; that on the contrary, at this critical point, everything seems to indicate much higher prices. Also the majority of traders, tipsters, financial editors, and even the brokers themselves, are apt to be most bearishly disposed when the market is at its lowest point. This same authority declares that when the “cats and dogs,” that is, the poorest and most neglected stocks in the list, begin to advance it is time for holders of securities to cash in their profits. It might be further observed that when plums get ripe and the melon season is on, it is a sure indication that summer is well advanced; likewise when, after a long season of bullish anticipation, the stock market “plums” are being distributed, and the “melon-cutting” process is in full swing--when the favorite “mystery” stocks have disgorged their “hidden assets,” and begin to sell ex-rights, ex-dividend, ex-merger and ex-mystery, it is a pretty sure sign that the “bulls” are running short of provender, and that the “bears” are about due for their inning. A man who accumulates large paper profits in speculation and fails to “cash in” until a large part, or all, of his gains have been dissipated in the process of deflation which inevitably follows every boom, is comparable to one who plants a field of grain and refuses to harvest it at maturity, hoping that the ripened kernels will get a little larger. Many a speculator has been brought to grief by an insatiate greed for that coveted topmost point, instead of being content to sell at a good profit and leave the possibility of a small gain to the individual who buys his stock. [Illustration: _Chorus of the bears_:-- When the plums are gone and the bulls go hence, We’ll sharpen our claws and jump the fence. ] NONE ARE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO REFUSE TO SEE--NONE SO FOOLISH AS THOSE WHO SCOFF AT WISE COUNSEL