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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1877)
November. THE WEST SHORE 43 LETTERS TO BOYS AND GIRLS. Jennie E. Jaraeaon, in Rural Press, writes: Does any little girl or boy remember what I promised to write about this week Perhaps 1 should not have included a boy when asking this question if there hail not been a boy in the house who has always teased for a "rag baby," and who enjoys playing with paper dolls as much as any girl 1 ever saw. Perhaps Borne little girl will say, when her father or brother brings homo the newspaper, "You dou't want the paper now, do you! Got something else to do 'sides read, havn't you?" I guest they will let you have the paper, and we will go away by ourselves and talk about dolls. I can Bee, in the city where I am writing, mauy beautiful dolhi some of them are as heavy as you would want to lift. There are blue eyes and black eyes that never Bhed tears, and always shut up tight tut noou m the head touches the pillow, there are light curls and dark curls, and shining braids of hair; charming dresses of silk aud satin, and lace, with loug trains. All this tiuery iB very nice, indeed, but, bless you! I believe you can take more real comfort witli a rag doll. These wax beauties are a vexation of spirit. If they are laid too near the tire thoy melt, if they are too cold they crackle aud it they tumble down, in stead of jumping up aud trotting off, they are very likely to have their cute little noses smashed, or holes in their little pink cheeks, or, posBibly, a crack away round tlieir curly heads; then where, oh! where, are the beautiful dol lies? But, if you can get some one to cut out a body of atout cloth in two parts, back aud front alike (or the upper and lower parts separate bo that the doll can ait down better, and the feet and hands are better if made and sewed on, unless one has considerable skill iu cutting), and atuIT it, it will last years and years. Then one can have a whole family of rag dolls with out spending any money. Wouldn't it be nice to have a good-sized family and a black Dinah or Sally to take care of the children. 1 saw a black rag doll as tall as a girl of 14, standing at the door of a toy atorc on Washington street, in Boston, yeater dav. Her name was "Aunt S;illy." I saw a little girl awhile ago who had had her Mack Dinah nine vcars. The black skin, or outside cloth, had worn off from her face, and bIio was white woman. Ah, Ves! a jolly family of rag dolls you can have, if you only have some ou to help you. But if mammae and aunties arc all too busy, do not bo discouraged, for there are other ways to make dollieB. When 1 was a little girl 1 lived upon a farm, I think that farms are the nicest places ever found for young folks. Well, there was an old house, used only for a shop and store-house, in which we used to play. When we thought we bad not enough really, truly, dressed-up dolls, wis would make some. Shawls rolled up and pinned together were nice, bflOMM they were fame enough to wear our own baby clothes. Long, smooth pieces of wood would sometimes answer for babies, even cobs with pieces of print pinned around tl.em, were pressed into service on extra uwnimii Small walnuts, called "this barks," maki cumical faces for little old women. The body can lie made ot cloth, ami the head sewed on ny mi , ii . of two holes bond in one side. The pointed end of the nut makes a saucy little nose, and the eyes and mouth may be marked with ink. 1 have seen them dressed like quiet Quakers, with their large lioniicta made of "wiggin" and covered with drab cloth, tlieir plain drab shawls and white neck handkerchiefs. If yon cannot get the nuts, or the rag dolls, von can make paper dolls. If you cannot get cards take stilt writing paper. If you have not the fresh slips, take that which has heen writ ten over on onu side. I was fortunate enough to have a sister who was very skillful in drawing faces, so I had beautiful dolls by tli doen. beside the bnughtcu one. If you have no one to help you, you can cut out some pretty people trom pictures, and lay them ou the white paper and cut around them. Halt mm nose, mouth and hair with a pencil, using it also for making suits for boys, ror the Sirls i and ladies' dresses, lay them down upon oubled paper, letting the fold come at the nock. (It is better for those who wear dresses to ban their arms stretched out 01 either side.) Then mark around the shoulders, under the arms, and trace out a dress, either long or short as you wish. Cut this out, and, unless it U low ill the neck, cut a slit down the hack of the neck, shanod like a letter V. through which you can slip the head. You cau make shorter ones for polonaise, little ones with straps over the shoulders for aprons, pointed, round, scalloped, and all ways. Hats, too, can Ite made by tak ing the paper double and pasting all together, leaving only enough room to let the head slip in a little. Bright colors of paper can be used, or white trimmed with colors or a pencil. Ah! How many pleasant hours Ihavepsued llyig W'L' ' oc-Us. ENSILAGE, OR FERMENTED CORN. The Pacific Rural Press of recent date, in speaking of the new European method of pre paring corn fodder for dairy cows, savs: e read many accounts of successful experiments with the system in France and i it is UN being put to the test in the Eastern States. It has been a leading topic m foreign agricultural journals, and certainly it cornea to ua not as a wild theory, but as a success ful practice and therefore worthy of trial under our conditions. The best summary of the methods and rationale of the system which we have seen ia one compiled by Prof. a. C. Cald well of Cornell University, for the New York nbune. From this summary we shall take leading points. This method is known in France as the "en Bllaife" of fodder, because tha falrU. i. ...,. times packed iu "silos," or pits: in Germany the product ia called "aour hay," because of the Biigiiuy aciu taste that it acquires iu conse quence of the slicht fermentation th.t am iu the mass. ihe process consists simply in packing the green or partially dried fodder very compactly, either in long, narrow piles above ground, or imuMivw um oiiauow trencnes tnat are some times lined with masonry, either DO the aides alone or on sides and bottom. The closely, packed fodder is covered first with a thin layer of straw and then with a layer of earth from 18 to 24 inches in thickness. The conditions essential to succesa are; First, entire exclusion of extraneous water, whether from the ground surrounding the pile or from the clouds; second, solid packing of the fodder, so as to leave the smallest possible air spaces within the mass; mini, penect exclusion ot the air by ah un broken covering of earth. These simple condi tions uuiug luiuiicu, tnc preservation ot tlie fodder for mouths aud even for years, and its goon quaiuy, are insured ncyoiid I douht. tration of the fodder with respect to ita most aiuahie ingredient, the nitrogenous substance or the albumiuoids, by reason of the conversion of some of the less valuable non-nitrogenous subatauces, such as starch, sugar and crude niter, into gaseous products that escape, nut not only isthe proportion of valuable albumin oids increased by this process of fermentation. but this con stituent of the fodder becomes more digestible. The fermentation of the fodder is generally completed in about eight weeks, although silos have been opened after four weeks, and their contents have been used for fodder ; but it is undoubtedly better to allow tire fermentation to run its full course ; if the fodder is properly packed there is little, if any, danger of its being spoiled, for the fermentation seems to stop after it has reached a certain stage, and the contents of the silo, if then left undis turbed, remain unchanged for months ; in some cases silita have not been opened till after a period of two years, and the contents were found to lie in a good state of preservation Wlieu the silo is opened attur the fermenta tion is completed the covering of straw will ho found to have become matted together so that it serves admirably to keep the dirt out of the foddor underneath; the straw, together with a thin layer ot corn-todder, will also Itc tound te be moldy; but beyond that all will he in a good Btate of preservation. The fragments of the stems will bo soft and watery, and the loaves u ill n-t.iin their original aiincarauce. except that their color will ho a darker and duller green. But it must be especially noted that tne loriiieiueu rauuw wnwuja mumy comes spoiled ou exposure to the air, so that it must bit fed out soon after it is taken from the silo, and the exposed end of the pile where the fodder iB taken away for each day s consumption must be left carefully covered with bundles of straw well pressed dow n. UtttWOJ all Kinds eat tins punier wifooni Lecouteux, editor of the Journal D'Auricul- any urging, except perhaps t ture Pratvue, and one of the most enthusiastic I first, and after thev have bee a little time at 'III,' :l vU-d.illlr.l to advocates of the ensilage or corn fodder, and ! it they will prefer it to most other kinds of fod who practices on his own largo estate what holder. The testimony to this ellect ll unanimous, preaches in his paper, sows com in drills, allows When given, as it always is, with some dry it to atand till the ears are formed, and har-1 fodder, it does not affect the health of the an- wtimms BOTTLE TREK OF AUSTRALIA. A Wakmnu to Boys. How many timet must hoya be told the danger of tying halters around their waista when riding horseback? We hope no little boy who reads the Rural PJUW will ever do it. Let the following from an Oakland paper be a warning to all: John and Joseph Sylvia, aged 1 1 and 9 years respectively, started out for school yesterday morning at eight o'clock on horseback. It had been their custom for the lut !i,r,r mm u thus ao to the Fruit Vale school-house, -lohn fastened the rotx halter around his body to keep it from trailing on the ground. While they were ironing aiong tne Moraga mad, the horse became frightened and started to run, throwing both lya from their aeata. Joseph wee not hurt much, but the hal ter rope was tied too well, and John, the elder of the two, was dragged fully two miles. When the horse was stopped at trait Vale, the body was a horrible tight, completely broken, man gled and bruited. The younger brother followed h burse, sobbing at if bis heart would break. vesta it just as the grain is passing out of the milky condition; he cuts it in lengths of from half an inch to an inch, with a feed cutter mounted ou a platform in such a way that the material shall fall from the cutter on the spot where it is to lie packed, and mixes it with half its bulk of cut straw and chair. The pile is gradually narrowed in at it nses alwve the surface of the ground, to that when twii.lml it terminates at the lught of from six to seven feet in a narrow ridge like the roof of a house. So much of the pile as can lie made in one day is at night covered with ttraw, and thnn with a liver of earth about nine inches thick the earth Iteing thrown up from along the tidet of the piles, to as to leave a ditch Hanking it for the drainage oi tunacc water. If the pile ia to be continued on a tuccediug day oue end oi il can oe ten, unumnw with straw. When work is resumed on the pile the covering of earth is completed on that part which was partly covered on the previous day, by making it up to the full thickness; on renew ing the packing of the fodder at the open end of the pile great care mutt be taken hi make a perfect union Iwtween the section made OB tuc cessive days, both b respect to the fodder itself and to the covering, to that the air will find no way of access to the interior to tpoil the prod uct by an excessive fermeutation. When the pile is quite completed the cuvcr ering of earth must lie carefully watched, es pecially for the first two weeks, in order to re pair any fissures that may resjult from the aet fUmm J th. mass of fodder w ithin, or any deep channels that may be washed out by heavy rains. When the pile it built upon the surface of the ground it ia made about ten feet wide at the bate ; the length will vary, of course, with the amount of fodder to be packed in it ; if .r... !,. rt" uimI thev are usually made from teven to ten feet wide, and three to four feet deep. In dry ground where the standing w ater does not come near me lunm it ' more economical U utt trenches, I -r a larger quantity of fodder can be covered with the tame quantity of earth. The moat prominent change the fodder under goes consists consists in the luat of from 30 to 40 X oi water, or a partial drying f the fad .l..r A nruceat of fermentation teU m. the most important result of which it the ooocen- a ret instance. mals iii any other way than favorably. A fair lrdinary raLiou consists iu the, usual practice of bout ;t" pounds of the fermented fodder with fioht of drv hav for I.tXKl imitnda of live weight. It wat uenerallv nmferrt'd to give it to milch cowa and fattuning animals, and it is stated that pounds for I, (MM) pounds ot live weight may Ihi given to a cow without affecting the taste of the milk. In Hungary, where they have practiced this method of preserving fodder for more than "JO yearn, they think that the yield ot milk is increased ny lis use. as tne result of one careful experiment that was tried in France, it was found that the quantity of milk was not increased, but it Itecaino much richer in fat, and if richer in fat, then, accord ing to the most generally accepted view, richer in other solids also. Tint lii.KAtiHiNU orSroNOBt. As the bleach ing of sponge by means of sulphurous acid or chlorine it injurious to the health of the oorator, a writer in a foreign journal recommends a pro cess in which no noxious gases of any kind are evolved. The apongetare first soaked in hydro chloric acid ! remove the lime, then washed with water, and immersed in a R solution of iMitataium pennant-ana te. Whh taken out they apjmar brown, from the despotism of manganese FUNNY PARAGRAPHS. A OUUMTatal says that people do more harm at dances with tlieir tongues than they do with tlieir toes. A Mi'i.K struck a few days ago on the Erio tow path a cap and suspenders were found of his driver. It is said that the Russians are preparing a Sedan for the Turks. If they don't Frenchify it too inueii it may uo. A Bum Tom has MM found who ia a first lass farm hand. No one has taken him hi hand to give him lessons. A Nkw Yokk prison convict, ti. K. Gordon, has invented a new propelling power for vessels tor which ne nas i-eeii oiiered tu.lt t. TKi.KtiKAi'ii Hues are to accoiintany cavalry at a hose cart runs with a tire engine -reeled up and run out as they advance or retreat. "Don't trouble yourself to stretch your mouth any wider," said a dentin to a patient: "I In tend to stand outside to draw your tooth." "On, Georgie ! 1 am ashamed of you -nibbing your lips after that pretty little girl hat kissed you !' "I'm not rubbing it out, mamma. I'm nibbing it iu !" A Nkw Yohk chemist says he wants nothing more than three pails, a barrel of old w ater and twenty cents worth of drugs to make s;x gallons of just such champagne as foola pay a dollar a pint for, . "I say, boy, is there anything to shoot about i here f hiouircd a siHtrtsnian ot a Ihiv he met. "Well," was the reply, "nothing just about here; Put the school master is down the hill youdor- you can pop him over." Tii'KiMS amused his wife from a sound sleep the other night, saying that he had seen a ghost iu the shape of a donkey, "Oh, let me sleep," was the reply of the irate dame, "and don't be frightened at your own shadow." A RlM River schoid district has a teacher and money, but no children. If that teacher is a ycung woman, let her ojhu school, and mere u oe a iiutan 10 aucuu aim simiy gram mar at least. Amo, auias, amat. Till other day the Duilof. (FsVjL JbfJs, Itt A brilliant npOftof atony wedding that occurred iu that town, announced that "the bride's trousers were the loveliest we ever saw." Ho wrote it "trousseau," but the iutelleiit composi tor made the fatal mrr paf and went West PiiitisiAs Cahk ov Animal-. The lmdon fiwnisf BUtkee note oi HUM amended rogulationa relative to tlie mode of transmission of livestock front place to place which have boon issued by the Priixiiiau authorities. Within certain distan ces liens ts may lie either carried, driven, or led. All rough treatment is to Ito avoided, worrying with dogs, tugging at leading rojes, lioatiug with cudgels, striking with lints, kicking, and vari ous oilier favorite means of persuasion employ ed by theVlroverelass, Iteing expressly forbidden. Lame beasts Buy lw driven or led only when the attendant is iiiriiisheil with a veterinary eertlti cate thut this can be done without causing them p.nu. iieu miens or enrriages are ho circum stanced that the cattle ennnot walk into or nut of them, they must 1st lifted in or out gently, and not "thrown alnuit like socks." ItiniUug with ropes or chains must lie avoided as tntirfi as iosaihle, and w ill only lm generally tolerated in the case of hulls. A siillieieney of space must he allowed ill trucks and other conveyances. Poultry may only be forwarded ill cages or other well ventilated receptacles, and then' must be plenty of room for them to stand up oi lie down at pleasure Transport of binls in sacks or net' is absolutely prohibited, as also tying tlieir wings or feet, or tying several birds together, or carrying them by the feet Any in Iringeiiieiit ol these regulations m niui.halilii hy a tine not exceeding thirty shillings, or by pro portionate length of imprisonment. A CURIOUS AUSTRALIAN TRKR Tho "Isittle tree" is an Australian tree of the family SUmdi.u-fr. It has the calyx live cleft, liauallv colored; no petals; column of ata- inena with l.'t or rarely IU aiithera; stigma peltate, carpels tivu distinct, with two or more ovules, narrow digitate leaves; ianiculate auxll lary inflorescence; (lowers unisexual or polyga mous, the female Dowers expanding tint The tree has a ureal v expanded trunk which is swollen to a dispniiHirtionate sire. Where the ground is rocky tbit extension is greatott jnat iielow the branches, but iu favorable toils the toot oi tlie tree la largest, loriniug a uni form cylindrical column from whose auuiiuits the branches itauu as from the neck of t Inittln. The family "f which the Little tree is a millil iter, embraces many trees valuable fur tlieir wmsl and for thuir nutritious seeds, the moat famous of which is t.'arnu, from which choco late ia derived. hich muat now lie removed by aUteping aollltlnll ot them alnnit two tiiiuut'' oxalic acid, to which a little sulphuric acid hat been added. At soon at tlie aponget apiear white, they are well washed out with w ater, to remove the acid. Strongly diluted sulphuric acid may tte used in the place m tne ouuic aciu Wiiv Fi.owr.Ks RATI DlfffUUf Horn mR numuisu. -Sir John LuhUtck alludes to the fact that at certain (articular hours tlowert close. Thia habit of going to sleep is yery curious, arid Ulll'-reni no went aucii uih-m h..,m Tin- maaon for it. however. U nbviiHit, for tlowert which are fertilized by nwtha and nthar niffht-Hviuir insects would derive no ad vantage hy being open by day, and on the other hand, those fertilited by twee would gain nothing by being open at night The cloving .( il .mi tp. he believes, haa reference to the habits of insecta, and it mast he tonfeated that the opeaing and closing of tlowere ia grwlual, and that the houra vary greatly according t OnN k miom ForsTAixt,- That fountains are rusiueiiUl tin onu dispuU-a, but according to a ptmrfMl) by Mr.ltniney I--i.-m- the ManeheaUir (Eng.) Literary aud I'hdnauphical Society, they have also an iiiiHirtaut sanitary utility. He intends that the iitunMphere H towns may he aeiiaibly otouiml and improvwil in miaiity" by tlieir action. He say t: "A water foiintsin may iv regarded as a lllll'll MetJlHI HllMMk Die friction of tlie wtter issuing through the jnta ii'M'loping electric f-tioti, materially smisUkI by the emveraioli of the pray into vpienus vaN-r. I wtiuld suggest Uiat this fact should lie. prominently brought More municiltal loiliea, to induce them to erect fountains in all avail able plai ns in large cities at sanitary agents. They might prove highly beneficial in crowded localities." I lo subject of otoiie, in itt various phases, is engaging the attention of mauy scien tific inquirers. At Yum Owl Risk W tub Thai is. The Supreme Court of Michigan decides that rail road companies are not reapontible in damaget for injury to jiertnnt voluutarily ciistaing them aelvea to danger by walking on the track. In such a case the negligence of the xrson inlurwl coutnhutet to the injury, tnd the court should instruct the jury tint the plaiutitf is not entitled to recover.