and
exciting. The Worcester High-School managed to retain the championship
of the Association by scoring 19 points; the Worcester Academy took
second place with 14-1/2 points. This prowess was not relished or
appreciated by the boys of the Boston schools, who are not by any means
anxious to see the pennant float over any city but the Hub; yet it has
been evident for some time that any one who wants to defeat these
Worcester school-boys will have to get up very early in the morning and
travel remarkably fast.

THE GRADUATE.

[Illustration: STAMPS]

This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp collectors,
and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the
subject so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor
Stamp Department.

Since the discovery of the variety of the twelve-cent United States
stamp illustrated last week, many collectors have sought to find other
varieties in the same issue, thinking that if a new plate was made for
the twelve cents it was likely that other new ones were engraved for
different values. Thus far no further discoveries have been made.

The one, two, five, and ten cent values of the new United States
newspaper stamps have thus far been issued.

In the three-cent stamp of the 1857 issue, the "Outer Line" variety
consists of a fine line running all around the stamp. Each of the stamps
has a line on the side, but in the variety an additional fine line
appears at both the top and bottom, the perforation sometimes destroying
one of them. The outer-line variety is not as scarce as the price given
would indicate.

The high values of United States envelopes are now a thing of the past,
the department no longer printing any value higher than five cents on
the envelopes.

Many stamp papers say that only the one, two, and three cent values of
the new postage-stamps have been issued and printed, but the ten has
also been sent out.

It would not be surprising to many collectors if the current issue of
United States stamps, which were first printed by the Bureau of
Engraving, should be catalogued as a separate issue before many years,
there being many points of difference between those first put out and
what the bureau is now printing. The colors, perforation, and gum are
now much superior to the first printings, and smaller things than these
have caused stamps to be separately catalogued.

Another question that puzzles many collectors