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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1882)
July, THE WEST SHORE. '39 THE MARK TWAIN. HUMORIST S ACCOUNT OP THE GREAT PREACHER'S FARMING OPERATIONS. J Mark Twain has written of Mr. Beecher's old frm on the Hudson river 7 as toliows j i I Mr. Beecher's farm consists of thirty 'six acres, and is carried on on strict Iscientific principles. He never puts in any part of a crop without consulting his book. He plows, and reaps, and fdigs, ana sows according 10 me Desi authorities, and the authorities cost more than the other farming implements do. As soon as the library is complete the farm will begin to be a profitable investment. ( But book farming has its drawbacks. Upon one occasion when it seemed morally certain that the hay ought to be cut, the hay book could not be found, and before it was found it was too late, and the hay was all spoiled Mr. Beecher raises some of the finest crops of wheat in the country, but the unfavorable difference between the cost of producing it and its market value after it is produced has interfered con siderably with its success as a commer cial enterprise. His special weakness is hogs, however. He considers hogs the best game a farm produces. He buys the original pig lor $1.50, and feeds him $40 worth of corn, and then sells him for about $9. This is the only crop he makes any money on. ' ; He loses on the corn, but he makes Sixo on the hoe. He does not mind this, because he never expected to make anything on the corn. And any way it turns out. he has the excitement of raising the hog, whether he gets the worth of him or not. His strawberries would be a comfortable success if the robins would eat turnips. but they won't, and hence the difficulty. One of Mr. Beecher's most harrassing difficulties in his farming operations comes ot the close resemblance of dit- ferent sorts of seeds and plants to each other. Two years ago his far sighted- ' ness warned him that there was going i to be a scarcity of watermelons, and he s L. r r . . . . uicrciorc pui in a crop 01 iweniy-sevcn acres of that fruit. But when they came up turned out to be pumpkins and a dead loss was the consequence, Sometimes a portion of his crop goes into the ground the most promising sweet potatoes, and comes up the infer- nanst carrots though I have never heard him express it in just that way. When he bought his farm he found one I egg in every hen's nest on the place I He said here was just the reason why I o many farmers failed; they scatter I their forces too much; concentration I was the idea.. So he gathered those f e?g together and put them all under I ne experienced old hen. That hen I roosted over that contract night and day I for eleven weeks, under the anxious f personal supervision of Mr. Beecher I hiuudf, but she could not "phase" those eggs. Why? Because they were those infamous porcelain things used by ngenious and fraudulent farmers as ' nest eggs." But perhaps Mr. Beech- most disastrous experience was when he tried to raise an immense crop of diied apples. He planted $1,500 worth, but never one of them sprouted. ne nas never been able to understand to this day what was the matter with those apples. Mr. Beecher s farm is not a triumph, t would be easier on him if he worked it on shares with some one, but he can not find anybody who is willing to stand half the expense, and not many tnat are able, bull persistence in any cause is bound to succeed. He was a very inferior farmer when he first be gan, but a prolonged and unflinching assault upon his agricultural difficulties 1 1 1 f.- CP i 1 i j I - nas naa us eneci ac last, ana ne is now fast rising from affluence to poverty VEGETABLES AND SALADS. All vegetables have an effect oh the chemistry of the body so that we cannot speak too highly of their importance at table. Asparagus is a strong diuretic, and forms part of fhe cure for rheumatic patients at such health resorts as Aix les-Bains. Sorrel is cooling, and forms the staple of that soupe aux herbts which a French lady will order for hersclt after a long and tiring journey. Carrots containing a quantity of sugar, are avoided by some people, while others complain of them as indigestible. It is the yellow core of the carrot that is difficult of digestionthe outer, a red layer is tender enough. The large sweet onion is very rich in those alkaline elements which counteract the poison of rheumatic gout. If slowly stewed In weak broth, it will be found to be an admirable article of diet for patients of studious and sedentary habits. The stalks of cauliflower have the same sort nf value, onlv too often the stalk of a cauliflower is so ill-boiled and unpala table that few persons would thank you for proposing to them to make parj of their meal consist of so uninviting an article. Turnips are of'en thought to 1,. SnHiirAitihle. and better suited for cows and sheep than for delicate people but here the fault lies with the cook quite as much as with the root. The cook boils the turnip badly, and then pours some butter over it, and the eater f .itrh dUh is sure to be the worse for it. Try a better way. Half boi vour tumio. and cut it in slices like fcalf-crowns. Butter a pie-dish, put in i mm mnitteii " with little U1C NHM, weak broth," dust once with bread crumbs and pepper and salt, and' keep in the oven till it gains i bright golden brown. . This dish, which is the Pied montcse fashion of eating turnips, Is quite unsuited to cows, and ought to be popular. Our lettuce has a slight narcotic action, of which an old French woman well knows the value, and when properly cooked it is really very easy of digestion. But in our country, though lettuce is duly grown in every garden, you often hear the remark, UI can't eat a salad." and as few cooks know how to use the vegetable which has been refused in its raw state, the ettuce is all wasted, and so is the garden in which they were grown. Oh, it's wilful waste, and consequent woful want,' of ; our English tables ' 'and kitchens Mri, Reeves's Cooktry and Housekeeping, The LaConner oatmeal mill is . fast nearing. completion, and will be ready to commence operations in about one month. " , We are In receipt from iRand, McNally & Co , of book recently published, entitled "The West." It it the work of Robert P. Porter, Special Agent of the Ceniui Bureau of the Government. After an examination af the work, we can thoroughly appreciate the wiidom of the recent appointment of Mr. Porter a a member of the Tariff Commit ion. , It li not a mere compilation bucd on the lat ceniui. it take tne lacii 01 our srowm anu mrowi upon them other facte calculated to Intereit and attract the attention of every student and Kientitt. The labor Incident to the' work, muit have been very great, and the conclusion drawn, together with the manner of connecting one Induttrial fact with that of another, give the work a permanent value. By the aid of diagram! and tablet arranged to a nicety, and requiring rare ikllf, Mr. Porter makes Matlstlc absolutely eloquent. Theprogreii of the State and Terrltorlei in the development of natur al resource, growth of population, of politic, pread of industries and manufactures, In social and commercial aspect, are act forth with noon day clearness and In such a manner a to rob the examination of the dryneu usually Incident to such a work. The nice detail into which Mr. Porter ha entered Indicate a spirit of truth and c (Act nets that enhance the value of the work. No section of the country hat been overlooked, everything tliat concerns national greatness b ably treated, the work contain no puffery of any particular section. All stem to be solid facta. The West" should be In every library as a work of reference and value. Every farmer should have i. , , .. The Farmers' and Mechanic' store, 184 First Street, It one of the busiest place In the city. Their straightforward Way of doing business k now pretty generally understood, and that accounts ur the extensive patiaoage they are receiving,