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About Aurora observer. (Aurora, Marion County, Or.) 19??-1940 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1911)
C /T Y OA' AT//ÖCAT, A A A ß/A Photo by Underwood & Underwood. • but reveling In their freedom. The men rode far in advance or at the rear^ on the look-out tor enemies, and scouting the country in search of new pasture. Sometimes they indulged in a course with their greyhounds after hares or gazelles. It is a fine sight to see a large tribe on'migration, Imbued with the spirit of “ divine unrest” When the tribe reaches a well, the camel herds are watered quickly, and the tribe moves off, never camping be side the well. As of old, the most fre quent causes of quarrel are th j waterings. Robbers lie in wait at the wells in order to catch unwary stran gers coming to drink. Around every Well that I saw there was an ominous little graveyard. During a journey of over ' seven hundred miles I found but five wells, but the supply of water in these was almost unlimited. Eventually, when the chief finds a suitable gracing ground he lights a fire as a signal to the rest or the tribe, who are scattered over a largé stretch of desert. The smoke of the fire shows the wanderers the direction of their chief’s tent; then they gather round and pitch their own in groups near by. v In this arid, inhospitable land there is scarcely substance enough to sup port human life, and even what there is has to be wrested from Nature. Flocks need grazing, and as the herds increase they need more extensive pastures. The men therefore fight for the best and widest pasturages, and also to secure larger herds of. camels, Although the Arab’s life Is one of supreme idleness, given up to the breeding of his herds, yet the desert air is not conducive to rest. The Bé douins lie in their tents for a week at a time f then the fit comes on them and they collect in bands of 50 or 100 individuals and go off on a marand^ ing expedition. They are daring rob bers, arid their one alleviation frbm the dull monotony of life is systematic thieving. These raiding parties ren der the whole of Arabia unsafe, and are the terror of all travelers. The bands are composed of from 20 to 150 men. . Mounted on swift dromedaries, armed with breeching-loading rifles, carrying food and water for many days, they are the most mobile war riors In the world. In Arabia travel is only possible by means of camels. The prancing Ara bian steed is a myth to the. traveler across the whole of thé Old, World from Moroçço to Manchuria thére runs a great belt of wäste-land,5 a zone of country composed for the most part o f sandy deserts, only broken here and ...there by a rich fertile valley or an isolated oasis. T ie Sahara, Arabia, Eastern Per sia, Turkestan and Mongolia are the connecting links in this great desert zone. The occurrence of such names at Nafud, which means “ exhausted^, Robi ^ el.,Khali—“the abode of empti ness,” and Gobi or Shames—“ the void,” conveys to the mind only too clearly the character and climate of these regions. ' Of these desert countries Àrâbia is the least known, and, therefore,, the most interesting. Few people realize that- Arabia, the great. desert penin sula, though situated f so close to the western world, is still practically “ter ra incognita»”;*? •$$;. is tô' all intents and purposes a closed, country, for few travelers hdv.e attempted to penetrate its deserts, and . still fewer have suc ceeded. The uenjtm* „of ,, Arabia has been "called "“¿h lion’s den,” and it is certainly easier to get into than to get out of. , >v f • JTor a quarter of a century Arabia has'been passed by and entirely neg lected by explorers. This is not be cause Arabia is without interest, or that it is all a hopeless waste of sand, possessing neither Inhabitants, trade, nor history, but simply because it is such a difficult country to travel- im On all sides Arabia presents a hostile, forbidding fact to the traveler. Fana ticism, pirate-haunted coasts,, and waterless, robber-infested deserts are the drawbacks to travel in Arabia, and complete the isolation of the pen insula. Only the hem of Arabia is known. Aden, Mecca and Muscat are probably the only place-names that the majority of people connect .with Arabia. • >*.- . ;t Arabia, one of the few countries left of the explorer, holds Out that great est of all attractions to the adven turer—the hostility of the inhabitants. Ice barriers guard the pole, fevers and swamps long held Central Africa im- pregnable, but added to the natural difficulties of Arabian travel is the determination of its inhabitants to keep out strangers. It is as “ for bidden” a land as-ever Tibet wasl Indeed, it offers to the traveler the miximum of danger .and discomfort and the minimum of reward. Over the immense area: of desert only one form of existence is possible —nomadism. In Arabia, the barren- est Of all countries on earffr, ’"'âôm'àd® Ism is found In; its purest form. In such a land of nakedness man can only exist by constantly changing his abode and seeking pasture fo r 1 his flock In different localities. Two- thirds of the population of Arabia Is nomadic. A scarcity of water and lack of fodder, a variable rainfäll and therefore a changing pasturage, forces a nomadic life on , the inhabitants of these barren lands. In Arabia Nature 'seems to show herself in her- most cruel form. Sand deserts of the most utter desolation, mountains of black lava and red sand stone? and horrid volcanic tracts most difficult to travel over are the chief features of Arabian scenery. The fact that the whole peninsula is lack ing in flowing water, couple^ with the poorness of , the, vegetatipn, ren ders the conditions of. life difficult in the extreme. The ' nomad’s existence is a continual and relentless struggle with Nature. His environment has made him cruel and warlike; the;^salt of the desert wells seems to have en tered into his soul and mq.de himi bit ter towards all men. The Arabs are true Ishmaelites.’ and have no definite abode; their life is a constant wandering. They never cultivate the soil, but live entirely on the produce of their herds. Their tents are therefore adapf&d to their restless life, quickly taken dpwn or put up and easy of transport. They are made of camels’ hair,* loosely woven, supported on poles by very long guy-ropes, They are .^.sufficient, however, to protect occupants from the hot sun, but not from the rain, and in winter the encampments are the most uncomfortable places im aginable to live in. The women oc cupy one-half, the men use the other,, partitioned off by a brightly-colored curtain. The average tent measures twenty yards by six. . . At the best of times the Bedouins | are half-starved, camels’ milk and bread being the staple food, but all day long they appease their hunger by sipping strong black coffee. On occasion a feast takes place, especial ly on the return of the men from a successful hunt, arid then there is a surplus of meat. ^ When necessity forces the tribe to migrate, which is very often, for^graz- ing is not sufficient in any one place to support their immense herds of camels for any length of time, the whole tribe moves at -once. Early in the morning the tents are taken down by the women and rolled up into'huge bales with which the men load up the Arabs of the Desert. camels, together with other house hold impedimenta. When the camels in the peninsula. I never saw a hors*, are laden the .small children are worth looking at in those desert re lifted on to the top of the loads, and, gions ; indeed, I cannot see how horses all being in readiness, the migration could be bred to perfection in such a begins. The great tribe, divided up herbless land. Without the camel life into groups and families scattered would be impossible. The “humpy over the desert moves off in search of herds” are the sole products of the new pastures. Early in the morning desert, and , on them one must wander the herds had been driven off by the from well to well if one determiries boys and girls. These are now fol to brave this most inhospitable and lowed by the camels laden with the dangerous of journeys. Camels form tents, canip kit, and'small children. the chief concern of the Arab’s exist The women walked by the side, or ence; they sqpply him with all his rode perched on the top of the tent wants, tents, food, clothing, and loads, singing wild Bedouin songs as transport, hence the breeds are well they moved, heedless of their poverty selected and pedigrees carefully kept BARE KNEE STYLE IS SCORED harden three per cent of growing boys A Hero Again. and girls, It undoubtedly militates The great, inevitable conflict in the against the good health of 97 per air was on. Our fleet of airships was confronted cent.” j81 by that of the enemy. Suddenly a scout-plane darted in When the English Laugh.' with the news that the enemy, was A correspondent recalls a pointed bringing up its reinforcements. but discourteous and yet not wholly Unleks something tremendously undeserved interjection made, at a lo heroic was done all was lost. cal political meeting. Quickly Richmond Pearson Hobson, A woman, whose husband had tem sailing on a single motor plane,, dashed porarily lost his voice, loyally appear into the imminent breach. ed to make a speech on bis behalf. In resonant tones he began deliver She said a good deal at the outset ing his series of Chautauqua lec about the state of his larynx, and then tures. plunged into politics. Having ex This quickly used up all the air hausted that theme, she returned to over an area of one hundred miles in her husband’s health, and described, diameter. not only his c'sappointment at be ing unable to address them, but her Beats of the Human Pulse. own, efforts to patch him up for the The average of the pulse in infancy fray. She had tried hot fomentations, is 120 per minute; in. manhood, 80; at she had tried poultices, she had made 60 years, 60. The pulse of females, is him gargle his throat, she had steam more rapid than that of males. ed his throat for him, she had sprayed his throat and made him try every A Running Business. kind of lozenge^ Was there anything “What is to be done about the price else she could do for his throat? And of these skates?” a voice said: “Aye, mem, cut it.” “ Put them on a sliding scale,” x t e n d in g E English Medical Writer Says It Un doubtedly Militates Against Good Health of Children. Medical men in England now have turned their criticism upon parents who clothe their children after the fashion of the Highlander, leaving the knees exposed by having them wear stockings which reach only half way up the leg. “ It is true,” says the Hospital, “that this type of costume is popular in Scotland; but it Is permissible to noint out that even there it is a relic, if not a barbarism, at-any rate of the time when a Highland boy, to sleep warmly on a winter’s night, dipped his plaid In water, wrapped it round his body and awoke the next morning without the slightest need for a dose of aspirin. “We no longer have that race, eith er in the Highlands or elsewhere, and certainly not in crowded cities where the practice of the open knee is pe culiarly popular. It need only be add- <>d that while such a practice may The death knell of scrub stock, whether animals or plants.is sounding ar and wide. Where fórmèriy scrubby oarent stock was once commonly used, hey are gradually but surely declining n popularity. The farmer is awaken ing to the value of good blood. In the ive stock industry breeders have edu cated the general farmer to an appreci- ition of the benefits and greater prof its possible through careful selection and mating of pure-bred foundation tock. State legislation has aided in .he eradication of scrub and grade stallions. Pub ic sentiment has cheap ened the erstwhile popularity of scrub and grade bulls, boars aiid ramspnbut only recently has the farmer’s atten tion been directed to the’.carieful selec tion and testing of all his seed grains and» the fuse of only purerbred strains of grains in his crop rotation. By increasing the produòtion of corn in the United States one/ bushel per acre an annual increase Of 115,000,000 bushels would result. To augment the oat and „barley yields -one'bushel per acre would mean' arfnual Increases of 34,000,000, and*7,000,000 bushels respec tively. When one considers that the use of carefully selected seed will not only Increase production one bushel per acre but will easily render possible the enormous .importance of universal, knowledge Concerning' the v&lué of pure grain .seed is evident. Importance o# Proper Curing. /- When taken b om the stàik, corn usually contains from 20 to 30 per cent, of moisture, 'which, unless reduced to 10 or 12 per cent., is likely , to injure the quality of the seed. In the north ern states, where the seasons are short, we find the most convenient way of ridding the corn of'» this excessive moisture is by the use of artificial heat. Corn should never be placed against the south side of a building, where there is .likely to be strong sunlight, as the rays of the sun will injure the vitality of the seed or the side of the aar turned toward the sun. If corn is aured by hanging under.a porch or un der the roof of the corn crib, it should tibns of tens to correspond with the sections in the. seed tester, which are "usually in tens: A nail should be driven betvv.etyi each Motion and the various seci-oris a s" well as each individual ear of eacn section, numbered. At least lour. o-eiJ/t-iS, are taken ' sin^y-from d-ifferefit parts of each ear and placed directly in front of the ear i.om which taken, until kernels have been removed irom all ears. the preferable device .or testing Is a box" 20x40 inches square %nd usually six Inrines'lri depth. Sawdust is an ex cellent material «to use as a germina tion bed, but it should first be boiled in water in order tp kill bacteria or mo.ds. The sawdust should be placed ¿in the box about three inches deep and should he moist but not soggy. A piece of good muslin upon which two-inch squares have been drawn with an indelible pencil and numbered to correspond with the sections and in dividual^ ears to be tested, is pulled tightly over the sawdust and tacked se curely to . the sides of the box. The ¿kernels of corn taken from ear No. 1 are put into square No. 1 and from ear No. 2 In square No. 2, until all . are used. A plain moistened cloth is placed over the kernels and a muslin sack made for the purpose and partially filled with sawdust about two inches thick is placed on top pf the cloth and pressed down firmly over the corn. The tester should then be placed where it will beiheld at1 ordinary room temperature or a little warmer. During the day the sawdust reaches a temper ature which it holds during the night, even though the outside temperature drops several degrees the germination bed will be fairly constant. After five .or seven days have elapsed the sawdust pack should be removed and the cloth rolled back upon tho qprn, being careful not to disturb the kernels underneath. The kernels should be inspected to note if any have absolutely failed, if each kernel has put forth both root and growing point, and the vigor or vitality shown in the germination. All seed which does not gerriiiriate should be rejected. Jhp GoodjSeed, on the Right, Will Reproduce Itself, While Those of Bad Form, on the Left, Will Tend to Continue Their Freakish Characters. be, stored away fin some dry room where it will not absorb moisture from the outside atmosphere before hard freezing weather begins. Where, kitchen or furnace room can be used for curing corn small hanging devices may be used for the holding of the corn. A simple and practical method Is to use cord, tying the ears so they are a safe distance \ apart for drying. Another device is to use dou ble cord, placing ears between them so they can be held securely and hung on a nail or hook by a loop. Ar. attic which can be ventilated and has a chimney passing through it. or is directly over a heated room, so that it can be kept at a fairly uniform temperature through the winter, Is an exceedingly good place to cure corn. Testing Seed Corn. Each ear of corn should be tested before planting and all ears rejected that do not germinate and show lack of vigor or vitality. Fifteen average ears of corn will plant one acre, using four kernels to the hill, placing the com three and one-half feet apart be tween the rows. The most perfect seed ears having kernels of a uniform width should bo used for seed. These should be se lected from the store room and laid out on the floor or on cables to be convenient for making the .test Care should be taken to place the ears in a building %here they will not be dis turbed during the period of the test, otherwise, if disarranged before com parison can be made, the results will be for naught' The ears should be arranged in sec- Before shelling the seçd, remove the butts and tips, as these grains are of different shape arid will neither plant uniformly nor give a uniform germina tion. If the butt and tip kernels are planted at all they should riot be used with the middle kernels, but should be planted by themselves. The prospective seed buyer should first send to, the seed dealer for a sam ple of small seeds, such as alfalfa, clover, etc., upon which he can make a germination test A simple seed test can readily be arranged. Take two tin plates, one a little larger than the other, cut a piece of cotton flannel to ¿t in the larger plate, soak the flan nel in water, then squeeze out the sur plus water, and put the flannel in the larger of these plates. Then place 100 or more seeds In this plate, cover the seeds with a similar, pad, well moist ened with water, and then cover with the smaller tin to retain' the moisture. The tester should then be placed in some convenient place where the tem perature ranges from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit The tester should be examined every 24 hours to see that the pads do not become too dry. It is advisable to loosen up the lower pad occasionally to let in oxygen, which will aid in the germination of the seed. In about three days the seed will begin to germinate and at the end of five days they should all be germinated. Good seed should give a germinating test of at least 90 to 95 per cent., bet ter still, If It reaches 100. No clover seed should he sown that does not test at least 80 per cent.