Lincoln County leader., December 26, 1913, Image 2

BUILD NESTS OF MUD
SOUTH AMERICAN BIR03 COM
STRUCT STRONG STRUCTURES.
A Small the Robin, the "Cameras'
Demand a Luxurious Home and
Have the Ability to Put It
Together.
Visitors to Argentina or Uruguay
. are aurprlaed to see big wads of sun
baked mud perched upon trees, rocks,
the cross arms of telegraph poles, or
fence posts, and still more amazed
to learn that these curious masses
are the nests or birds not unlike our
robins. The people call the little ar
chitects caseras (housekeepers), or
horneros (oven birds), for their build
ings resemble the dome shaped ovens
of clay that stand In every farmer's
dooryard, says the Youth's Compan
ion. When the autumn rains soften the
parched earth, pairs of these fore
handed birds gather beakfuls of the
sticky adobe soil, and mold It into a
roughly globular form. They mix In,
very cleverly, a little horsehair, or
some fine grass and rootlets, which
prevent the walls from cracking as
they bake Into sundried brick. When
they have finished the outside, they
build a partition of mud inside, near
the rounded entrance. The inner
chamber thus formed is accessible on
ly by a small aperture at the top, and
In It they prepare a comfortable bed
of grass, or sometimes of feathers.
The finished affair is as big as a peck
measure, and may weigh eight or nine
pounds. ' It does not crumble away for
two or three years, but the birds build
a new home each season. The mother
bird lays five white eggs in the early
spring.
The country people like to have the
oven birds about their houses, and the
birds usually turn the doorway of
their nest toward a neighboring house
or road. One observer says that a
pair lived on the end of the protruding
roof beam of a ranchhouse, where all
the family enjoyed their lively ways
and shrill song. One day one of the
birds was caught in a rattrap, and
when released, it flew with crushed
and dangling legs into the Inner room
of Its house, where It soon died. Its
mate stayed about, calling incessantly
for two or three days, and then dis
appeared. Soon it returned with a
new partner. Together they plastered
up the entrance of the old nest with
fresh mud, and built a new home upon
1U roof.
The advantages of the oven like
nest, especially when it has two
rooms, are many. It completely con
ceals the brooding mother and young,
It shades both parents from the hot
un and the heavy showers, and the
outer chamber furnishes a sheltered
lodging at midday or during the night
for the father of the family. :
; The caseras suffer, however, from
one bold and persistent enemy the
martins. These big swallows refuse
to breed anywhere except in an oven
bird's nest If they cannot find an un
tenanted one they will oust the first
pair of caseras they find from their
snug quarters. Strangely enough the
poor owners seem unable to prevent
the outrage, although they angrily
drive away all other birds that come
near their castle.
Not Fairly Handicapped.
Two farmers happened along a roau
where an automoblllst had had a
breakdown and was busy making re
pairs on his car. They stopped to
see what was doing, when Farmer No.
1 remarked to Farmer No. 2: "Them
fellers that make such a noise goln'
up my hill they ought to be shot"
Whereupon Farmer No. 1 replied:
"Well a little. 'Course, you llvin on
a hill 'at goes up you got the disad
vantage. Them 'at lives on a hill 'at
goes down got the advantage. Auter
mobiles don't smoke and snort a-goin'
down hill."
Do You Know This
The middle verse of the Bible Is th
eighth verse of the 118th psalm. The
twenty-first verse of the seventh chap
ter of Eira contains all the letters of
the alphabet except the letter "J." The
longest verse is the ninth verse of
the eighth chapter of Esther, The
shortest verse is the ninth verse of
the eleventh chapter of St John.
He Did.
"Can yon help me outr said thb
hobo who had sneaked Into the office
building.
"Well," replied the tired business
man. "I sprained my foot on that
last book agent but I'll do the best
I can."
And he chucked the mendicant down
one flight of stairs.
Tragto Cook.
Quest (who has been Invited to sup
per by an actress) Our hostess pre
pared this little feast with her own
hands, she tells me. What do you
say to thatT
The Other Quest (shrugging his
shoulders) That she Is a tragedienne
,1a the art of cookery, also
LONDON'S "PEA SOUP" FOG
Visitors to World's Metropolis Made
Fun of It In Seventeenth
Century.
London and Londoners have been
the butt of many a good joke, but per
haps the oldest subject of the humor
ist is the London fog. The mist which
Is commonly called "pea soup," dates
back to the seventeenth century.
There are records as far back as that
which Indicate that the city suffered
even in those days from mists as in
tense as any of those of today.
In November, 1699, Lord Evelyn
made a note in his diary to the effect
that there was "so thick a mist and
fog that people lost their way In the
streets, it being so intense that no
light of candle or torches yielded any
direction. Robberies are committed
between the very lights which .are
fixed between London and Kensington
on both sides and while coaches and
passengers were passing. It began
about four in the afternoon and was
gone by night At th,e Thames they
beat drums to direct the watermen to
make the shore."
Visitors to London in those days
were In the habit of making fun of
the fog just as the visitors of today.
Condomara, Spanish ambassador In
Queen Elizabeth's time, said to a
friend who was returning to Spain:
"My compliments to the sun, whom 1
have not seen since I came to Eng
land." In Elizabeth's time the burning of
coal was prohibited while parliament
was in session. So dense were the
fogs during the years 1813 and 1814
that when the Prince Regent tried to
make his way to Hatfield, the home of
Lord Salisbury, he could not find his
way and was compelled to forego the
trip and return to Carlton House,
which he reached after a succession of
accidents.
Purity and Health.
The board of trade has given th
Pure Food society the Bame official
status already enjoyed by the societies
for the prevention of cruelty to chil
dren and animals, and In future tht;
purveyor of bad milk and the faker
of jam may expect the same summary
prosecution as the child beater and the
brutal tormetor of a donkey. As a
matter of fact, none of the enemies of
the people Is more dangerous than the
man who sells poison cunningly dis
guised as food. To ask for bread and
to be given a stone Is to be grievous
ly disappointed. But no man endeav
ors to masticate a cobble stone in the
belief that it is a penny roll. To ask
for bread and to be given an Ingeni
ous substitute is far worse. The con-,
sequences are far more serious. Stunt
ed growth, disease, and death are the
toll of the adulterator. Herod as a
baby killer was an amateur compared
to the milk adulterator, and In many
a poor street Rachel Is weeping for
her murdered children. London Dally
Express.
Government-Owned Smoke.
Citizens of these United States who
yelp for government ownership of
every industry that displeases them
ought to live in France a while in
order to get acquainted with a horri
ble example of what political pater
nalism really means. In the French
republlo the government controls the
sale of tobacco, which Is famous for
Its Infamous quality. Instead of im
proving the cigarettes and cigars sold,
the authorities occasionally soothe
consumers by Inclosing various pres
ents in the packages of smokables.
ThlB Is sometimes adding. Insult to In
Jury, however, for the tobacco is sold
according to weight Recently, when
a certain brand of cigarettes was ac
companied by a heavy shoe buckle
the worm turned and kicked.. At the
"Direction des Tabacs," however, the
officials have all the hauteur of the
American political appointee, and tha
kicker was asked coldly if he expect
ed a pair of shoes for ten cents.
Wall Street Journal.
Not Used to Telling Truth
A Baltimore lawyer tells of tha
plight of an Irishman summoned as a
witness in a burglary trial in the city
mentioned.
It was apparent from the start that
the witness was much alarmed and
rattled by his unsought and undeslred
prominence in this trial.
' "Remember, Casey," said the judge
presiding, "that you have sworn to
tell the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth.'
. "Yls, your honor-r," stammered
Casey, his eyes wavering from the
Judge to the Jury and back again; "an
I'll do the best I can. But I hope ye
glntlemln will be a trifle alsy on me
at the shtart, for I'm little used to
that sort of thing, your honor-r."
Humor From London Opinion.
Matrimonial Agent The lady la
ugly, I admit, but take the photo with
you, you might get used to her face
In a little while.
For Fingermarks on Wallpaper.
Finger marks on wall paper will
quickly disappear when rubbed with
a stiff dough of flour and water.
OYSTER SEASON HERE
SOME METHODS OF PREPARING
THIS GENERAL FAVORITE.
Better Than 8ervlng Raw, Stewed oi
Fried Kaboba May Be Recom
mended Scrambled With Oys
ters Excellent Pan Roast
By LI DA AMES WILLIS.
No true oyster lover falls In appre
ciation of the merits of the raw oys
ter, served without the accompani
ment of coarse vinegar and peppery
sauces. If one must resort to sucb
condiments to enable one to eat the
delicate monster uncooked, then one's
palate lacks, discrimination and deli
cacy. Here are four of the best recipes
known:
Kabobs. Remove the gills and mus
cular part from large oysters. Dip
each in melted butter, then lu sea
soned dry bread crumbs. String six
oysters, . alternating with them strips
of sliced bacon cut same size,- on a
small silver or aluminum skewer.
Lay these in a frying basket and im
merse in deep, hot fat, frying a nice
brown. Serve with little lemon and
tender, crisp celery.
Scrambled Eggs, With Oysters.
Put a piece of butter In your omelet
pan, and when melted, add as many
eggs as required and a tablespoonful
of cream to each egg; scramble, and
before the eggs are cooked add the
oysters, well drained and small sized;
a seasoning of salt and pepper and a
little minced parsley, or Instead of the
parsley add a little celery salt Cook
until the edges of the oysters curl,
then remove at once from the fire and
turn onto a heated platter. .
Southern Pan Roast The largest
and finest oysters should be used for
this purpose. Drain them well and
heat in a deep frying pan, with a gen
erous lump of butter melted, Cover
the pan and shake constantly over a
hot fire. Have ready a dish well but
tered and garnished with parsley and
lemon. When the oysters are brown,
turn out on the dish, add salt and dust
of pepper and pour over the oysters a
little melted hot butter, mixed with a
teaspoonful of minced parsley.
Oyster Salad. Cook the oysters In
their own liquor until they are plump
and gills ruffle. Drain and season
with salt ' and pepper and set In Ice
chest to cool. For 100 large oysters
take two heads of lettuce, chill and ar
range the leaves in your salad bowl
and turn the oysters Into the center
of the lettuce .heads, having cut out
the coarse stems. Mince a few 'olives
or capers and sprinkle over the oys
ters and serve mayonnaise dressing
with the salad. If you have some good
home-made celery vlngear, use It In
making the -mayonnaise for your oys
ter salad.
How to Cook Endives.
The following is an excellent French
way of cooking the endives: Boil the
leaves in lots of salt and water; when
tender, pour the whole thing Into a
large solve, and, as soon as the hot
water has drained away, put the sieve
under a tap and let cold water run on
It for a few minutes. After the cold
water, put the endives on a chopping
board or rub It through a fine sieve;
In both cases return It to the fire after
putting it into a china saucepan, with
a pat of butter and one teaspoonful of
fine flour. Melt and mix the butter
and flour, stir in the vegetable, and
let It simmer 15 minutes. Add a lit
tle cream or milk quite at the last mo
ment, to make it look soft and pretty.
Grape 8herbet
Put one cup of sugar with two cups
of water, cook three minutes and then
cool. Add two cups of grape Juice
and the mixture Is ready to serve.
When frozen to a mush stir In the
white of one egg beaten stiff with a
rounding tablespoon of powdered su
gar. Prepare the grape Juice as if
to be used for jelly.
Washing Flannel.
To keep flannels from shrinking
wash .them In the following way:
Shred a piece of the best white soap,
boll It In a quart of water, have ready
a tubful of warm water, pour In the
boiled soap and make a good lather.
Then place the flannels to be washed
Into this, wash them thoroughly In It
but do not rub soap on them. Rinse
In warm water, wring out and dry as
quickly as possible In the open air out
In the sun. When this is finished,
Iron when sufficiently dry with a warm
Iron.
English Hot Pot
On a cold night nothing la finer for
upper. One pound pork chops, four
or five onions, eight or nine potatoes,
alt and pepper. Slice potatoes. First
a layer of potatoes, then a layer of
onions, then a layer of pork, out up,
and so on until all the things are used.
Have the top layer of potatoes. Salt
and pepper and fill with hot water.
Bake In a moderate oven two or three
hours. Cover with a plate until the
last half hour. This Is delicious.
Enough for three or tour people.
NEW IDEA OF MOTHER-IN-LAW
Possibly This Is One of the Arrange
ments That Would Do Away With
Old Problem.
"John- Blank has Just been telling
me of his trouble at borne," said the
lean man, as he settled back in the
car seat beside an acquaintance. "I
guess he tells pretty near everybody,
so I'm not letting the cat out of the
bag by speaking of It"
"Oh, yes," murmured the friend,
"his mother and his wife don't get
along together, and Blank is between
the devil and the deep sea. Say
when do you think this weather will
let np?"
"Dunno," replied the lean man.
"But say I don't see why there's got
to be so much mother-in-law trouble.
Now you take my family. Mother Is
dependent on me and she lives with
us. According to most people, that
would spell sure trouble. But in our
case It hasn't worked out that way."
"Your mother and your wife are
both fine women," commented the
friend. '
"I guess that's It," agreed the lean
man. "You see, I didn't marry till
middle age, and mother and I lived
together alone up to that time;
"Then I met Florence. She was a
successful business woman. It takes
a lot of good hard sense to be that,
and she had it. Well, we married,
and she came right into my home,
with mother welcoming her as a
daughter.
"Now, what did my mother do?
Did she sit back and sulk, or did she
get up and assert her supremacy
"She did not She held a business
session with my wife, made a state
ment of assets and liabilities, as. you
might say, turned the business over
to my wife, declared she was willing
to be a consulting partner If neces
sary, but that It was her Intention
and earnest desire to be relieved of
responsibilities and take a rest
"'It's working out beautifully. My
wife is the manager of the household.
I believe that she and mother have
a sort of directors' meeting once In
awhile, but mother has refrained from
giving any advice that wasn't askeik,
and has never Insisted upon the car
rying out of the advice she has given.
She is a pleasant and honored mem
ber of our family. In times of need
she has thrown herself Into the work
without saving herself, and we owe
at least one of our children's lives to
her care." Edna K. Wooley in the
Chicago News.
- Family Pride In Germany.
'The suicide of Princess Sofia of
Saxe-Welmar represents a tragedy
which Is very old both In life and lit
erature. The opposition to her en
gagement with the son of a banker
seems to have been the subject of gos
sip In Qermany for some time, and it
is to this cause that her act of self
destruction Is generally ascribed.
Distinctions of rank play a part In
German consciousness which we can
scarcely realize In this country, and
they have a basis in history and na
tional character which Is not to be
disposed of by a contemptuous aston
ishment None the less, "family
pride" seems to cut a poor figure by
the bier of a young girl self-destroyed.
Poor Financial Returns.
Sir Ernest Shackleton, the antarc
tic explorer, told some amusing stories
of hiB lecturing experiences a few
days ago at the Browning settlement,
Walworth. On one occasion at Leith
the audience was so small that he
went to the cabman outside and said:
"I will pay for someone to hold the
horse, and you can come in and hear
the lecture." "Oh, no, thank you,"
said the cabman; "I'm all right where
I am." Afterwards) with his wife, Sir
Ernest counted his losses and said:
"Twenty-five people at a shilling a
head that makes the total receipts
25 shillings. "Buf aald his wife,
"you must deduct two shillings from
that I sent the cook and one of the
maids."
Luminous Fire Boxes.
To enable New Yorkers to find flrt
alarm boxes at night, the superintend
ent of the fire alarm department Is
painting them with luminous paint
It is of white zinc, and In some parts
of the city, where there is a little
light, one of these boxes can be dis
tinguished for a long distance.
German Emigration.
Emigration through the German
ports of Hamburg and Bremen In the
first seven months this year was al
most 100,000 more than In the corre
sponding months of last year and 14,
000 more than In the record year,
1907. .
The Big Item.
"Does It take much money to send
a boy to college T" asked the Boob.
"No," replied the Cheerful Idiot "It'u
keeping him there that takes the
coin."
Then and Now.
Knlcker "We used to watch the
game through a knothole In the
fence." Bocker "Now we see It
through a hole in a $20 bill."
REALLY OLD FASHION
TODAY'S MODE COPIED FROM
THAT OF THE PAST.
Nothing New About the Much-Die
cussed Designs Which Have Found
Favor With the Present Gen
eration of Good Dressers.
Women that in obedience to fash
Ion, sport a high standing feather on
coiffure or bonnet and thus are a
nuisance in public places where spec
tators behind them would like to see
the stage, are merely imitating their
English sisters of the eighteenth cen
tury. Some one wrote in the Times
of 1795: "At all elegant assemblies
there is a room set apart for the
ladies to don their feathers, as it is
Impossible to wear them in any car
riage with a top. The lusters are also
removed on this account and the
doors are carried up to the celling.
A well dressed lady who nods with
dexterity can give a friend a little
tap upon the shoulder across the room
without incommoding the dancers.
The ladies' feathers are now general
ly carried in the sword case at the
back of the carriage.
In Berlin the number of men be
tween seventy and eighty Is 12,898,
while the number of women is 25,204.
In Greater Berlin the figures are 20,
049 and 37,520, respectively. The
number of men between eighty and
ninety In Berlin is 2,036, and the num
ber of women is' 6,371. Three out of
every four nonagenarians in this city
are women.
"Lady Jockeys" promise to be a
regular feature of races In France,
but the woman cab driver, the "femme
cocher," is disappearing from the
streets of Paris. Six years ago there
were at least 100; now there are only
six or seven, and of these all but one
will soon disappear. The survivor
says that at first men rushed for
cabs driven by women, and gave gen
erous tips, but that was when the
woman cab driver was celebrated
in song and in the revue. Then came
neglect. This reminds us that about
half a century ago Mrs. Cuyler of
London was known as the "Cabman's
Terror," for she knew the distance
between any two points and handed
the exact fare. And now there Is a
woman In London who Is accused of
this hobby: She takes taxicabs and
compels the drivers to sue her for
their fares.
The hobby of certain swell women
In Paris is a more amiable one. They
make shoes. The Dally Chronicle
says that this a reversion to. a Lon
don mania of over a century ago.
Mrs. Charles Calvert wrote In her
diary on May 4, 1808: "I begin a new
science today shoemaklng. It is all
the fashion. I had a master with me
for about two hours, and I think I
shall be able to make very nice
shoes." And In the same month Lady
Sarah Spencer wrote to her brother:
"I am today in a state of great van
ity. I have, to my eternal glory be
it spoken, made a pair of shoes.
There is for youl So if all other
trades fall I shall certainly establish
myself cross-legged at the corner of
an alley and earn a livelihood in the
midst of leather, awls, and hammers.
In the evening Harriet and I divide
our time between muslck and shoe
making, which Is now the staple trade
of the family." Philip Hale in Bos
ton Herald.
When Juries Mete.
"Up In Alaska there used to be a
district attorney who was long on na
tive oratory, but short on education.
Once, while prosecuting a big case, he
came to the finish of his argument,
and, according to Wilson Mlzner, who
was np there at the time, he leaneed
across the rail and made this plea:
"AH I asts'of you, gentlemen of tho
Jury, la that you now retire and mete
out Justice as she deserves to ho
rnet!" Diagnosed.
"I've cared for several persons," she
explained, "but I never have loved
anyone so that I would have been,
willing to give up my home and work
for him, If necessary- That Is real love,
isnn't ttr "No, that Isn't real love.
That is softening of the brain."
Boom I
"That new maid at Mrs. Van Wit
kle's threw some gunpowder In the
stove by mistake and was blown
through the roof. Poor girl I"
"No, poor Mrs. Van Winkle. That'a
the fifth maid this year who has left
her without giving notice."
Look to Worklngmen't Health.
Because the vitiated air is bad for
the worklngman, the German govern
ment has forbidden the drying of plas
ter In new buildings by the use of
open stoves. The stoves must now be
connected by pipes with the outside.
- Truth and Life.
Where the seeking of truth begins,
always the life commences, too; so
soon as the seeking of truth is aban
doned life ceases. John Ruskln.