Willamette farmer. (Salem, Or.) 1869-1887, April 13, 1872, Image 2

Willamette farmer., April 13, 1872, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextIT" h .i! Q arm. SPUING WORKjWf THE FARM. In nwoll regulated factory, tho manager cnn often tell what the mon will bo doing cnch day, for a week or a month nhead. Hut it is not so on n farm. Wo know what work tlicro is to bo dono, hut nro never certain as to tho particular timo when wo can do it. And tho success of a far mer depends a great deal on having everything In its place, in working order, and ready for uso at any mo ment. It is at all times, but particu larly so at this season, a good plan to write down everything that you pro- poso to do, and what to do it with, and how, going as much into dotnll as possible. Auk a farmer what work he has to do this spring, and he will reply: "I have got to plow twenty acres of corn stubblo for oats, uud break up twenty acres for corn." And n person that know nothing about farming might suppose, from Ills re ply, that this was all lie had to do. It is evident that tho farmer regards this as his principal and most Impor tant spring work. In ono sense of courso this is true. Hut in point of fact tho plowing of this forty acres of land Is tho very last thing that re quires his consideration. It is the littlo foxes thatspoll tho grapes. The farmers of tho United Stales sustain moro damage, every year, from a lit tle stagnant water beneath the sur face of their fields than from tho great floods on our mighty rivers. There is hero and (hero a farmer who spends so much time In getting ready, that hu has no time loft to do tho work. A farmer should train himself to think and lay plans in ad vance, and get everything ho Is like ly to need ready for immediate iitc, but when tho timo comes for tho performance of tho work ho must throw oil' his cent and labor with his might, llo must pay great attention to such Important little things as he Is Inclined to overlook and neglect, and ho must study hli operations un til ho finds out what are tho points of greatest lmor(nucc. An experi enced threshor pays moro attention to some of tho little pinions that re volve rapidly than to tho main driv ing wheel, llo looks at every part of his machine, hut more frequently at those which nro most likely to gel out of order. Anil so it is In farm ing. Tho steady, big Jobs, will al most take caro of themselves. It Is tho little details that are apt to lie neglected, and yet upon them main ly depends the prnllt or lows of the whole year's operations. Look well to the iHMiuics, the pounds will take caro of themselves. American Ayr! ctdturM. DRAINAGE IN ENGLAND. Drainage is of Mich vast import that no farmer can work to advan tage unless this operation is fully and well done, it requires the most care ful supervision and attention in all its deUills; fur Minuld drainage ho imperfectly done, 'tis woio for the laud than If It had not been drained for Imperfect work destroys tho natural leakage that has been going on for generations. W'nen 'tis neees wiry to operate, the first considera tion should Ik (lie nature of the suh soil, and whether Intended for per manent pasture or arable. If for the latter, and the subsoil should be of a strong clay tendency, tho depth should not bo less than four feet, and not more than twenty-nuo feet apart from drain to dndu ; on moro porous soils, both the depth and width should bo Increased and in some In stances a single drain will suthYlciit ly dry a wholo field. This Is tho caso whore u single spring exists and the reslduo of tho land or n dry nature; but my experience Is that drainage does grout good in our most uppu rout dry suksoils, ovon should nomi tor over lodge on such land. I have known sandy land lu KngUuid always iuui uu rougn wiui coucn grass wnicn is mo nrouio farmer's greatest enemy till ono or two very deep draius have been inserted, ami where even at the depth of ten feot mi 3 no water was visible, still tho subsoil if held in tho hand a short timo would lcavo moisture upon it. Af ter drainage tho couch grass would entirely disappear in two years. The noxt Important thing is tho sizo of tho drain tile. The pipo should al ways hoof such dimensions that nov er moro than half should fill with water and tho other half remain for tho dimensions of air, for should tho drain-pipe, become quite filled with water, and no air admitted, it can novor operate, but will lccomo stag' mint In tho soil. Tho drains, when freshly cut and tho pipo properly placed, should remain open for n week or two, so as to enable tho sub soil to becomo thoroughly pulver ized, and should always be replaced In the drain In a dry state. Tho drainage will at once act upon tho land. Whorcas,lfthosub-.soll should bo replaced In the drain in a raw or fresh stato, It will take two years be fore action takes place. I have drained somo thousands of acres in England soils of nil descriptions and I found by experience that it was imiMisslhlo to drain too deep. Tho average prlco per acre on ono largo estate was from 5 to S, completed. The work was generally executed by piece or task-work, tho men earning good wages ; and as the winter sea son Is tho best timo to opera to, gen tlemen rcqulriugdralulng to bo dono coniint better employ their capital than giving such kind of work to the laborer during Inclement weather when littlo else can be done. LONDON DETECTIVE POLICE. Ncnrly every ono has heard of tho Loudon detectives. They form n class distinct from tho regular polico force. In addition to tho arrangement of beats and fixed points, each division sends forth a certain nuinlterof plain clothes men, whoto duty it Is to sup plement as detectives the efforts of the constables in uniform. They go out dressed up as sailors or laborers, or other, and were it not for tho cleanliness of their faces and tho se vere cut of their hair, to say nothing of their methodical tread, they would pass very well. As It Is any thlof worth Ills salt is able to distinguish ono of them at a glance ; but at a lit tlo distance oven thieves' sharpness might be deceived. To be a detect ive Is, in tho eyo of tho ordinary po liceman, not only to bo clashed as a sharp and responsible man, but to be a lucky and money-making man. They are divided into two branches thedlvlsloual detectives, and those of Scotland Yard. Tho lattor are, In a measure, tho staff of tho force, aud form in some sort a connecting link lielwoeii headquarters and the vari ous divisions. If u murder Ihj committed, tho in spector of tho locality details u coup le of his plain-clothes men to make Inquiries. Tho men chosen have generally t-onio knowledge of tho place and the people about, and they learn what they can relative to tho matter. A report Is sent up to Scot land Yard, and if the caso Ihi Impor tant It Is put Into the hands of one of tho crack detectives there. Ho goes down to tho locality, aud puts him self Into communication with thedl vlsloual detectives, who have been talking to apple-momeu, cxaming pot-wye, and sounding cabmen with eomiuemiaiiio ministry, iie re quires them to yield up all their knowledge, hilariously acquired, and they do so, with the best grace they can, Inwardly cursing him anil the commissioner who sent him. For al though they have tho pains of mak ing all tho inquiries, and have stood tho excuse attending the getting of a clue which may intimately lead to the desired capture, they will now havo uono of the glory of success, and only u small portion of any reward which nmy bo ottered. Sometimes tho divisional detectives, who do the work, get only 10 out of a reward of 200, which Is generally offered on tho occasion of n great crime, A swell detective, If ho gets his nnmo Into tho papers, and ho goncnilly does, will got tho lion's shuru, not on ly of public applause, but of any sub stantial reward tho case may bring. WILLAMETTE FARMEE. muntific. IHK BITK OF TKOT. Tho latest effort to determine the exact spot where once stood tho great city of Troy tho Illon of Homer's Iliad is being made by Dr. Helnrlch Schlicmann, n German savant, whoso namo is familiar for his scientific travels, in Nicaragua. Tho Doctor commenced ills investigations of tho basin of tho Scamander river in 1871, and selected tho site of Now Illon, a city built in the sixth or sev enth century, B. C, on tho supposed location of Troy, but which now no longer exists. Tho great disadvan tage connected with this most inter esting research Is, that nothing abso lutely certain survives to indicate, to begin with, that Troy, oven in tho days of Troy, was anything moro than a fable and u tradition. Dr. Schlicmann, however, steadfastly upholds the opinion that a city called Troy onco existed, but Its remains havo not yet been discovered. If theso ruins can bo discovered, lie says, they can be found only on the spot where New Illon stood. Ho has pursued his investigations on Mount Hisarlak, a lofty hill bordering on tho alluvial plain of Scamander. Ho has dug to n depth of thlrty-thrco feet below tho surface of tho hill, and has discovered many interesting re mains of human handiwork lu tho shapo of stone implements of rough manufacture ; bronze and copper ar ticles; wldo earthen burial vases; urns, tripods, drinking vases, hand mills of stone, and houso walls, con sisting of largo stones, cemented by mud ; idols of a priap-llke exterior, and also rough drawings of owl heads. In the layers nearer tho .surface,. ho found a great number of articles mado of tcrrn-eotta and resembling boys' tops, ono of theso contained a nicely engraved Inscription in I'hrc niclau characters, consisting of six letters. Dr. Schllomann does not, however, connect theso discoveries with Troy, bul, on the contrary, is of tho opinion that these mounds are much older than the Trojan war probably by a thousand years or more. An Interesting archeological fact in theso discoveries Is, that Im plements of tho stono period are found in layers above that of tho bronze or copper period. Washtny ton Jtitrlot. AX APOCRYPHAL COMIX A report has obtained circulation, probably without foundation, says an exchange, that a Cluuevn Professor has discovered an Immense comet, which from its direction must collldo with the earth on the 12th of August next. It Is nlno stated that many weak minded people, both In this country and Europe, are very much alarmed at the announcement. Ho far from such an event being unwelcome to K'lcutlllo men, nothing could bo more ncceptublo to them to have a large comet approach near enough to tho' earth and switch its tall lu the faco of mankind, for no such body (save Euek's, a very small aud distant ono) has made its appearance In tho heav ens since tho great value of tho spec troscope in tho determination of the constitution of such wandering bodies, were nmy understood. rm... a - carin win no closely scanned, and will I i-uuuiu ni-ii-ui'u iu ucicrnuuc. Willi , fehS?ri:ftW,n, ' U 1,1,ys- kill characteristic. ft,.V .'. y .""" Mus., flWvhJ ironi any sueh source, there Is littlo need lor Tear. It has been quite fully determined that the most of them at least are comparatively harmless lwd len nothing lu fact hut huge "gas bags ' scarcely more tangible than the streak of llKht sent out Into space by a lantern on n dark, tonev ovi.i.i.., There Is but little doubt but that tho earth has paused through the tatts of at least two comets within the last forty years, without knowing it at the time the phenomena attending the passage having, in both cases, been at tributed, at tho time of tho passage to some iwcullaratiuosphorle phenomena. The llntt one, about 1837, is well re membered by the writer. The atmos phere over nearly, or all this continent et which 'CSh verV n;arXfiWC--(';'"-- was aglow with a red lurid light, which caused alarms of flro In various parts of tho country the atmosphere having tho appcaranco given by tho reflection of a flro at great distance on a slightly foggy night. Tho con tinuance of tho phenomena was ob served for several hours. Intention or Suspension Bridges by the Chinese 1,900 Years Ago. Tho most remarkablo evidenco of tho mechanical science and skill of tho Chinese nt this early period, is to bo found in their suspended bridges, tho invention of which is assigned to tho Hnn dynasty. According to tho concurrent testimony of all their historical and geographical writors, HaiiLdeanir. tho commandor of tho army under Kaou-tsoo, tho first of tho Hans, undertook and completed tho formation of roads through tho mouiitaucous provlnco of Shcnsc, to tho west of tho capltol. Hitherto its lofty hills and deep valleys had ren dered n communication difllcult and circuitous. Willi a body of 100,000 laborers ho cut passages over tho mountains, throwing tho removal soil into valloys, niul whero this was not sufllclcnt to ralso tho road to tho required height, ho constructed bridges, which rested on pillars or abutments. In another plnco ho con ceived and accomplished tho daring project of suspending a bridgo from ono mountain to another across a deep chasm. Theso bridges, which are called by tho Chlnoso writors, very appropriately, flying bridges, and represented to bo numerous at tho present day, are sometimes so high that they cannot bo traversed without alarm. Ono still existing In Shonso, strotcheslOO feet from moun tain to mountain, over a chasm COO feet. Most of theso flying bridges are so wldo that four horsemen can ridoon them abreast, and balustrades aro placed on each sldo to protect travelers. It is by no means improb ablo (as M. Pauthlor suggests) that, as tho missionaries to China mado known tho fact moro than a century aud a half ago, that tho Chlnoso had suspended bridges, and that many of them wcro mado of iron, tho hint may- havo been taken from thonco for similar constructions by Europe an ouglucors. CimiosiTU:s on Motion. Is any chaugo operated on a man by n change lu tho velocity of his motion round tho axis of the earth ? Suppose, for In stance, a dweller In latitude GO were to suddenly change his residence, to the Equator, ho would double his velocity. For while at latitude. CO, ho travels with the earth at tho rato of 600 miles an hour, at the Equator ho docs 1,000 miles an hour. Again, at latitude 72 tho Grcenlanderis lazily carried round a paltry 130 miles an hour while the North Tolo calmly revolves about once In 31 hours. Of courso tho mo tion Is unfolt, because all things movo together ; but the change, from the tropical to an artlo climate Is so great that It may possibly produce physical or mental effects of which wo aro as yet unconscious. Of courso the steer ing of a ship from north to south must bo sensibly effected by tho con stant acceleration from west to cast. On tho long railways of Russia, too, I believe It is found that tho mils are uniformly more worn on ono side than on the other, in consonueneo of Hilu Gun Corro.w-Gun cotton is now iiinntirnntiinwi i England t exceeding 100 tons per annum, The cotton fibre is reduced to a pulp, sl Paper making, in which condl' to an uon uio excess of acids Is readily re moved. Tho pulp is compressed into discs, under a pressure of eighteen tons to tho Inch, and then dried. Tho discs are I Inch to 7 Inches in dl. meter, and J inch to 2 Inches thick. I ..i me uin-u uir ims compressed cotton uurns uiieiisciy,uut without explosion, but when properly exploded under close confinement, its strength Is from two to five times that of the same weight lu gunpowder. If aecldeutly wetted, this form of gun cotton can bo redded by exposure to tho sun, or even by gentle heat, without risk of explosion or deterioration. , ,"IJf ESE STiioxoMY.-rrof. Jna illlnms, of tho Royal Astronomical Society of England, has lately pub. lhhed a Iwok of Observations on Comets, in which ho makes a brief allusion to tho progress In this branch of sclouco which has boon mado by tho Ch incsc. Ho soems to rccognlzo us authentic, observations recorded 2,300 years beforo tho Christian crn DICKENS AND HIS WIFE. Gall Hamilton, in tho Independent thus discourses about ono of the world's latest and dearest idols : I havo no tenderness for Mr. Dick ens. I do not beliovo in his deep soul of truth and goodness, or in his noblo and pure sympathy with what is highest and best. "I desire, In tho most public and universal man ner," to declare thnt n regiment of littlo Nolls and Tiny Tims cannot re deem tho man who publicly dishon ors tho mother of his many children. Mr. Dickens, holding tho pen of a ready writer, told his story glibly to tho world. Mrs. Dickons, suffering tho deepest wound n woman can know, has remained steadfastly si lent. Tho wlfo's silonco is full of dignity ; tho husband's speech bris tles with disgrace. Ho feels no shame in saying that ho lived with a woman as his wife, exacting from her all tho duties and enforcing all tho suffering of a wife, until ho had consumed nil tho vigor of her youth; and that ho has then turned her away, and announces to tho world that sho was unfit for him ! Ho feds no shamo lu saying, virtually, that while this woman was living in his houso as his wlfo, another woman was also In his house, holding In re gard to both himself and his children a position which belonged to tho le gal wlfo and mother. England is beating her obstinate head against ' marriago with n deceased wife's sis ter; but hero it is n wife's sister su perceding tho living wife. It was Mr. Dickens who mado this public proporty. y his last will and testa ment ho oven stretched his dead hand out of tho grave to In) nro his discarded wifo ; aud neither in this world, nor tho next, nor tho world after tho next, shall a man oscnpo tho cordial hatred of nt least ono heart for such coarse and shameless selfish ness. A WOMAN OF GOOD TASTE. You seo this lady turning a cold oyo to tho assurances of shopmen and tho recommendation of milliners. Sho cares not how original an nrtlclo may bo, if it bo ugly, or how recent a shape, If it bo awkward. Whntov er laws fashion dictates, sho follows a law of her own, and Is novor be hind it. Sho wears very beautiful things which peoplo generally sup pose to bo fetched from Tnris, or, at least, mado by n French milliner, but which as often nro bought at tho nenrest town and mndo un by her own maid. Not that her costume is olthor rich or now : on tho contrary, sho wears many n cheap dress, but it Is always pretty, and many an old one, but it Is always good. Sho deals In no gaudy confusion of colors, nor uoes sho nirect a studied sobriety ; but sho either refreshes you with n spirited contrast, or composes you with a Judicious harmony. Not a scrap of tinsel or trumpery nppears upon her. Sho puts no faith in velvet bands, or gilt buttons, or twisted cording. Sho Is quite nwarc, howovor, that tho garnish is as Important as tho dress; all her Inner borders and headings nro delicate and fresh ; and should' nnythlng poop out which Is not intended to bo seen, it is quito as fit ns that which Is. After nil, thero is no great art either in her fashions or her materials. Tho secret slmr.lv consists in her attention to her sta tion, her ago, and her figure. And no woman cnn dress well who does not attend to theso points. After this, we need not say that whoever is attracted by tho costume will not be disappointed in tho wearer. She may not bo handsome nor accom plished, but wo will answer for her being oven-tempered, well-informed, thoroughly sensible, and a complete lady. M .!