Except for the cue ball, no ivory balls are used today on the pocket table. As a substitute, a great variety of composition balls are used. The composition is another trade secret. Having been carefully weighed in a perfectly dry state, the necessary amount of composition is placed in a telescoping steel cylinder, the two ends of which are perfect hemispheres and the diameter of which on the inside is the exact diameter of the proposed ball. The cylinder is then placed in a hydraulic press and under a pressure of 30,000 pounds to the square inch, the cylinder and its contents are telescoped until the mass inside is perfectly round. The molded ball is then taken from the press and smoothed. The holes for the number tablets are bored and the tablets forced into position. The tablets are made to conform to the rotundity of the ball and set flush with the surface. The ball is then smoothed and polished. The cue bridge handle is made in a manner similar to the cue, except that it is not jointed and the span is substituted for the tip. The span has four slots along the top, which maintains a contour to assist the player in striking the ball on either side, or top or bottom of the center facing the player, when the cue ball is too far away to make the bridge with his hand and fingers. The span is made of either hard wood or ivory. The temperate and torrid zones of the world are ransacked in order to secure the wood, the minerals and the animal substances, all of which are necessary to provide the means of play. Those of us who play the game (none of us, not even Willis Hoppe, know all its possibilities) may well paraphrase Thomas Carlyle’s reference to books and say, “Blessings on Herodotus, or whoever it was who invented billiards.” * * * * * What is the Hottest Place in the United States? A narrow valley in California, called “Death Valley,” between the Panamint and Funeral Mountains, is considered the dryest and hottest place in the United States. Its central part is three or four hundred feet below sea level and is covered with salt. Its temperature has reached the extreme of 122° F. It is called “Death Valley” because a party of emigrants perished there in 1849. [Illustration: WHITE BLACKBERRY] [Illustration: THE SPINELESS CACTUS IN FRUIT] What are White Blackberries Like? The accompanying illustrations show some remarkable white blackberries which have been developed by the great horticulturist, Luther Burbank of California. They grow thickly, are large in size and the taste is similar to that of the ordinary variety. Some spineless cactus in fruit are also shown. They make an excellent cattle food. He has also originated a new fruit, the plumcot, by combining the plum and the apricot; developed very excellent varieties of potatoes and cherries; and produced various new apples and stoneless prunes as well as new peaches, nuts, roses, callas, violet-odored lilies and many other new varieties.