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About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1902-1919 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1906)
t POISONOUS PLANTS OF ' i WgmgfJ ' THE UNITED STATES, ll EfpS' CUV ELLIOTT MITCHELL dft Farmers from time to time send In complaints to the Department of Agri culture that not only their stock, but even farm hands, have been sickened and killed through the presence of some poisonous plant on their farms. So frequently have these complaints arrived at the department that offi cials of the Bureau of Plant Industry, under the direction of Mr. Frederick V. Coville, the chief botanist, are now making extensive experiments to as certain the exact elements causing this damage. In order to aid farmers in the detec tion of the most common plants found on their farms, the department has is sued a farmers' bulletin, No. 86, en titled "Thirty Poisonous Plants of the United States." This gives in detail full descriptions of the plants, the nvmntoms of the noisoninir. and in many cases antidotes for the relief of men or animals taking in the poison. It would be well for all agriculturists to keep a copy of this pamphlet among their ready reference books. The offi cials of the Bureau of Plant Industry are only too glad to furnish this most valuable farmers' bulletin to all who may apply. - I Destructive to Live Stock. Probably the most destructive pois onous weed in the United States is the loco; the damage is so extensive that during the period between 1881 and 1885 the State of Colorado paid out over $200,000 in an endeavor to exter minate the weed. ' The foliage of the loco weed Is not the agent which imparts the poison to live stock grazing upon land impreg nated with it, it is the roots and stalk which contain the poison. Animals under the influence of the stimulant go through antics as though they were in toxicated, their eyes become glassy, they sprawl around in maudlin fashion until, with sheer exhaustion, they fall to the ground In a stupor. The effect of the poison Is not acute, hut in its Blow progress simulates diseases caused by bacteria, worms or other parasites. The stages of a locoed ani mal are recognized by officials of the WHITE LOCO WEED, department; the first, lasting several months, is a period of hallucination with defective eyesight, during which the animal may cut all sorts of capers. Once acquiring a taste for the loco plant the stock refuse every other kind of food until the Bccond stage is ush ered in. This second stage is a linger ing period of emaciation characterized by sunken eye-balls, lustorless hair and feehlo movements. The animal dies, as if from starvation, in periods rang ing from a few mouths to ouo or two years. Various States nave attempted to adopt measures for the eradication of the loco weed, but so far these at tempts have not met with much suc cess. Colorado, a number , of years ago, offered a reward of so much per ton for quantities of the loco weed brought In for extermination. Tho Mexican greasers, with great thrift, started in to farm and raise loco weeds. One of the prime reasons for failure to f-nullente this weed I y Slate action has been the inability to prop erly identify the loco plant. In some States it has been one wood which has caused tho poison, and in others an entirely different species 1ms re sulted In live stock destruction. Experiments In Poisoning. However, the Department of Agricul ture is uow making experiments with various poisonous plants of the West, injecting the subtlo poisons into sheep, cattle and guinea pigs, and studying every symptom, until it is hoped that some measures may be adopted by stockmen to prevent loss through eat ing of the loco. But it Is not only the West that is complaining to tho Department of Agri culture on account of the presence of poisonous plants, for there is no sec tion of the country which does not abound with some form of plant life which is either of an irritant or poison ous character. New Jersey recently reported a few cases whero children were poisoned by water hemlock. Ore gon loses cattle every year through one species of clcuta. Familiar to us all Is the action of poison ivy. Whllo It is irritable to human beings, it has no apparent effect upon animals, horses, mules and goats eating its leaves with impunity. A number of peoplo are Im mune to Its action, but some lose their resistant power in middle life; others have been kuown to attain Immunity only through considerable exposure to the poison ivy. Deadly Mushrooms. The meadows and pastures of many ltit Vullt'V llll iHo.tVfttrt.'.'f"'. in stum lor win. Aiprmiumw'iliiiifi luiit twiii m-ml ! rRBK r'K collation "I Mower wf.iaov.'r'JU'kiiHiti. (HILLSIOC NURSERY, SOMCRVILLC, MASS. fen BULBS ffifl iUU sac-no.. .roWiTtt .loom. Ilyn.'mths, VW'v f 11llU, Iwullolua, ,i''.f OXilllS, TtlWT't, -i llt-llonl. JtnlHls 5 jialliwlila, I'lum'iW 1 Lilv, Itewry l.ilv, 1 i:liiinlll. I.lllcfi of .J" homesteads teem with mushroom growths, some of them edible and oth ers deadly poison. Among the latter class the farmer has to contend with two species, the fly amanita, or, as some call it, the fly killer, and the ARXICA. death cup. The former has been used in Europe for hundreds of years as a fly poison, and in Asia it was formerly used as an intoxicant. Cattle are pois oned by this species as well as men, and It is supposed that the flesh of We stock so poisoned is rendered unwhole some. The death cup is not quite so large as the fly amanita and is not so attractive in appearance to the inex perienced and experimenting epicure. A large number of cases of poisoning have been attributed to this fungus; in most of them it was supposed to be edi ble, and in a few instances tho mere handling of the plant caused serious trouble. The bulletin above mentioned goes on to describe the common poisonous weeds and plants of the country, some of which are thriving in abundance in the East, West, North and South, and it is believed covers the weeds which bring harm to the farmer of every sec lion. The following is the list of plants described in the bulletin: Fly ahianita mushroom, death cup mushroom, fulse hellebore, pokeweed, corn cockle, dwarf larkspur, Wyoming larkspur, purple larkspur, choke cherry, wolly loco weed, stemless loco.weed, rat tliibox, caper spurge, snow on the moun tain, poison ivy, poison oak, poison su mac, red buckeye, water hemlock, Oregon water hemlock, poison hemlock, broad lenf laurel, narrow-leaf laurel, great laurel, stnggerbush, branch ivy, Jlmson weed, .black nightshade, bittersweet, sneezeweeil. To Shorten Moulting. Tho vnrious state experiment sta tions have been devoting considerable time and attention to one feature of poultry raising, which has been a stumbling block in the way of obtain ing the greatest amount of prollt out gnOWY MILKWEED. of the business. When a ben moults she stops laying eggs and no amount of persuasion can Induce her to again commence doing business until she is ready. The California Experiment Station has boon making tests with the object of shortening the moulting sea sou of laying fowls. Ileus usually commence moulting in the early fall and tho plan of the California station is to hasten this time into early sum mer. This is accomplished by a method of light feedlug, followed with heavy feeding. The egg-laying is stopped and moulting is brought on by a one half reduction of the supply of nitro genous food, meat, middlings, and the like. Tho bens, under this plan, stop egg-laying and go to moulting. In nliout a month, it is claimed, the moult ing process is all ilnished and then the ordinary feeding is resumed; the hen thou begins to lay eggs early in the fall. The experiments of the station have not been concluded, so that It is still unsafe to say whether or not the new method will prove practically suc cessful. Came as a Shock. Flossie "Mamma, were you at heme when 1 was born?" Mamma "o, dear. I wa9 at grand ma's, iu the country," Flossie "Wasn't you awfully sur prised wheu you heard about it? Why Is a ragged loy like a minister near "the end of his sermon? lie's tore'd his close. "My ancestors came over In the Mayflower," boasted IHueblood, "but it isn't generally known." "That's all right old man," said his friend. I'll never tell. You cau't help what your ancestors did!" 1 Breeding Sturdy lettuce. Through the process of "forcing," owners of grjeenhouses are able to produce crops, weeks and months before they could arrive at maturity through natural courses. In addition the crop is made to develop far more rapidly and to attain proportions such as nature could not accomplish. From $2,500,000 to $3,000,000 worth of lettuce alone is "forced" In the United States each, winter. Green- bouse gardeners In an .endeavor to "get rich quick" have failed to note that this; fording was weakening their Btock .until now the weak let tuce often becomes so disleased In the hothouse that it is by no means rare for a gardener to lose an entire crop of greenhouse lettuce by a disease to which these overstrained plants are particularly liable. Dr. B. T. Galloway, chief of the Bureau of riant Industry, in order to correct this evil, has been working for two seasons on this subject and has at last succeeded in obtaining a crop of winter lettuce plants immune to the lettuce disease. At the same time the plants are of large size and capa ble of developing as early as the most specialized of winter lettuce. This work has Involved much time and the sarlflce of thousands of plants. Seed of healthy winter lettuce was planted, and at the proper time the plants were crossed with wild lettuce a species free from disease. Millions of seeds of these cross-bred plants were sown in beds a thousand in each and out of each thousand two or three of the largest and best were taken, while the rest were destroyed. From these extra Eight Weeks Growth From Seed of Aew llybrxd and Stand ard Variety. The New Lettuce Grows Very bank. large early and fine heads another crop was raised, and it is from these that seed will be furnished to the greenhousemen of the great cities. It is believed that through this work will be saved from ruin the winter lettuce industry, which for the last three years has been threatened with extinction. Secretary Bonaparte, Farmer. About 15 miles from Baltimore 13 the farm of Secretary Charles J. Bona parte of the Navy. Before he became the head of the Navy Department.Sec retary Bonaparte used to spend six months of the year on his farm. He arose daily at 5.30 and always took a look over the place before breakfast After breakfast he would drive into the city, arriving usually about the time people were getting out of bed. . 'A . HON. CHARLES J. BONAPARTE, Secretary of the Navy. Secretary Bonaparte has never ex pected to make a fortune" out of his farm, but simply supports it as a means of recreation. Smile, a siirn of lianninessr miss, tho cause of much happiness. Hence the expression, a miss is as goou as s-mlle. The temperature in the Sahara Des ert often rises to i."0 degrees 1n the daytime and siuks below freezing point at night. "A little learning la a dancer "cs thing. Prink deep, or taste not of the Pie-: -u Spring." Paeon. "And he that dues one fault at f"st And lies to hide, makes two." ij J -r- fiVt'ijiitVjjflrti'friri MOOSE IN NATIVE WILDS. ANTLERED KING OF AMERICAN FOREST ABOUNDS IN REMOTE N0RTI1WEST REGIONS. Senses Developed to Remarkable Deeree-feed Partly Under Water in Summer Many Bulla Killed in Fratracidal Battles. Few people have any conception of the astuteness of the moose, said a suc cessful hunter who is exceptionally well acquainted with the habits of this splendid game animal, in speaking of a recent trip. They possess a keenness of scent and hearing that is almost be yond belief, and an Intelligence that 13 seldom credited to them by any one except those who have devoted consid erable time to studying them and their ways. In the section of the country where we were the larger part of our stay moose were exceedingly plentiful, and we had the finest opportunity to ob serve their actions. We followed them from one place to another, endeavor ing not to frighten them and all the while noticing them very closely. In the mating season, which com mences around September 20 and ends about the middle of October, the bulls are exceedingly vicious, while the cows are timid and seek the deepest forest3, being easily frightened. It is my opinion that the males kill many of their mates at this time. The cows soon betake themselves to some island, in order that they may not be disturbed by wolves or other wild animals. The moose calves are about as homely and unsightly as anything I have ever seen. Their heads are nearly as long as their bodies, and when they are three or four weeks old they weigh about 100 pounds. The calf and its mother remain to gether for about nine months, the mother, of course, providing food and shelter for thg younger animal. But after that length of time, has elapsed she will try to got away. In order to do this she will often travel miles up stream, so as to leave no scent, and, as a rule, she succeeds in accomplish ing her purpose. The bulls have a peculiar grunting sOund by which they call to the cows. A man can imitate the call after long practice, but not so perfectly as to de ceive them. The only way in which this ruse can be successfully carried out is to make your call at the same time that the moose make their noise. In this manner I have called them under the branches of the tree in which 1 have been sitting from distances as great as a mile or more. The males also have an odd habit of striking their antlers against trees, making a sound that rings clear as a bell, after which they bellow long and loud. - On a quiet night they can be heard miles away. This appears to be their mode of expressing defiance and challenging a rival to contest. Antlers No Handicap. It is astonishing to see them go through the woods while bearing their Immense branching antlers. They cal culate the distance between two trees to a nicety and hardly ever strike a branch. But perhaps the strangest part of this performance is that this doea not seem to retard their speed in the slightest. In the summer they seek the water, where they will not be N pestered by flies, and stay there during most of the warm weather. As they are not built to reach the grass with their jaws, be ing very high in the forequarters, they feed on lily pads, roots, watercress and moose maple during th.- summer. The watercress grows chiefly in deep water, and to reach it the moose dive in water from ten to fifteen feet in depth, leaving only their heels visible. They stay under from a minute to a minute and a half, and usually do their diving at night. When they have filled their large jaws they proceed to sort out such parts as they want and eat them leisurely. When autumn approaches they take to the rocks and high places, where they live on yellow birch and wTiite willow tops. They stand on their hind legs to reach the top of a birch tree fifteen feet above the ground, snap it off, and then pull off the young shoots. In the winter they sustain themselves on lichens, ground hemlock and white cedar. When the snow becomes deep and the temperature is far below zero, they herd together in some dense cedar swamp and trample down the snow Often as many as siity gaiher at one time ia this way. 1 nm J ml fell si vm i ll mm mm Tropical Fcults. I xnere is Humeunug luiuauug in ujd dfiveloDment of tropical fruits,, those things which we can not grow in the enmerate and colder climates, where Jack Frost is sure to reap his annual harvest There is the mango, for In stance, which the Department of Ag riculture is growing in Porto Rico, and the alligator pear, a most delicious tropical vegetable-fruit, the pepino, and a score of others which will stand little or no frost To most persons there Is a glamor and a fascination about the tropics and its products. We have in the United States no tropical section. Frosts or chills of atmosphere are likely to "isit us at all points. In I'orto Rico and the Philippines, how ever, are found the genuine tropical conditions where nothing worse occurs than the hurricane which sweeps away every vestige of vegetation, house and occupants; but there is no frost While we have taken control of I'orto Rico and the Philippines, never theless, it is the constant endeavor of the home government to cross and hy bridize tropical with hardy fruits so that they will stand the cold and frost of northern climes. The artifi cial evolution of the hardy orange is an example of this. By selection and cross breeding, plants can become wonderfullv well acclimated and as a result the northern varieties and species are gradually iu vading the southern fields, while the northern orchards are constantly being augmented by new snecies hitherto exclusively southern in temperament To Keep Egg Records. The Maine Experiment Statitrh has published a description of a nest box which is claimed to be simple and in expensive, and certain in its action, for use where it is desired to keep a record of how hens are laying, In order to weed out the poor ones of the flock. The station has used these nests in ex periments undertaken to establish breeds of hens that shall excel as egg producers. A description of this box, and how to make it can be found in farmers' bulletin No. 114, of the De' parimenr. or Agriculture. NO MORE GEER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Inc. I (SOLE OWNERS AND MAKERS) 40 Exoliango Place, NEJXV YORK. II you don't know all about the GEER REIN, writ us for Testimonials and further Information. International Harvester Co. GASOLINE ENGINES When equipped with an I. IT.C. gasoline engine, the farra7the dairy, the mill, the threshing machine, or the husker and shredder can be operated more economically than with any other power. Farmers who have water to pump, wood to saw, feed to grind or com to shell, can do this work at a minimum cost with I. II. C. engines. . I. H. C. HORIZONTAL ENGINE I. H. C. gasoline engines are made in the following sizes : 2, 3 and 5 H P., vertical type, stationary; 6, 8, 10, u and 15 II. P., horizontal type, stat ionary; and 6, 8, 10, is and 13 H. P., horizontal type, portable. WRITE FOR GASOLINE ENGINE BOOKLET. International Harvester Co. of AmTnca (Incorporated) 7 Monroe Street Chicatfo. 111., V, S. A. LADIES THIS Habile Fur Scan GIVEN AWAY Send us your name tnd address and we will lend yot free and post-paid 4 riecea ot our iewelry noveltlea ft sell at 1 0 cent -ch. Everybody you show them to will but them ot you. When Bold send us the $2.40 and wo will once send you this Handsome Fur Scarl It la nearly 48 Inches long, made from black Lynv fur, has six full, bushy ,bs, very latest style, and wa know you will be more than pleased with It. When you receive It we know you will say it la the most elegant and thoroughly good fur you have ever seen. Nothing similar to this scarl has ever before been ottered is a premium ( il will give years of satisfactory wear. It gives stylish, dressy effect to the wearer's appearance. The only reason we can otter them is we bad s large number of them made up for us by one of the large furriers during the I'immer when trade was quiet ; this Is the only reason we are able to offer such an expensive premium. We hope you will take advantnge of our offer without delay. This Is at extraordinary offer and cannot be duplicated by any other reliable concern. We trust you with our Iewelry uotll sold. It costs you nothing to get this fur. Address, COLUMBIA NOVFI.TY CO., Dept. 655 East Bwd, Mass. S I L o s , Pine, Fir, Cypress and Yellow Pine.' I Write for Catalogue. I Eagle Tank Co., 281 N. Green 8t., Chicago, 111. IF YOU WANT A JACK Send for our Jack Catalogue. Sure to con tainjhe description of exactly what yon wc Hydraulic Jacks our Specialty Watson-Stillinan Co., 40 Dey St., N. Y. City. PENSIONS Over cue Million Dollars allowed our clients during the last ' six years. Over one Thousand claims allowed through us dur ing the last six months. Dis ability, Age and In crease pensions obtained in the shortest possible time. "Widows claims a specialty.. Usually granted -within 90' days if placed with us immedi ately on soldier's death. Fees fixed by law and payable out of allowed pension. A successful experience of 25 years and benefit of daily calls at Pension Bureau are at your service. Highest ref erences furnished. Local Magis trates pecuniarily benelited by sending us claims. TABER & WHITMAN CO.," Warder Bld'g, Washington, D. C.1 RUNAWAYS They can be prevented in every instance with a GEEIi SAFETY REIN. A positive and complete cure for bolting andpulling horses. Works independently of driving reins; Fits any bridle can be buckled on in a minute; no matter what breaks, you are safe. The Geer Rein will instantly stop any runaway, without injury to the horse, or M0MEY REFUNDED. PRIOU f S.OO EXPRESS PREPAID. ASK YOUR DEALER, OR WRITE THE