GORVA
SEMI-WEEKLY.
UNION Estab. July, 1897.
GAZKTTK Katab. Dec, 1862.
i Consolidated Feb., 1899.
COKVALLIS, BENTON COUNTY, OREGON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1901.
VOL. I. NO. H9.
GAZETTE
A COUNTRY BREATH.
A hay-load in the city square,
The sweets of a whole summer fair.
In one rude wagon piled:
The fragrant breath of warm, still rains,
The scent of strawberries in green lanes,
Faint petals blown from roses wild.
And straightway all the bustling place
Is filled with some enchanted grace,
And tinkling with the notes
Of field larks, and of silver streams,
Of south .winds, murmuring their dreams
Through airy aisles of oats.
My lady in the gilded shop
Let all the tawdry trinkets drop,
And through the magic sees
A dooryard sweet with mint and phlox.
And pink with ruffled hollyhocks,
That nod to belted bees.
The sooty laborer, with a thrill,
Plucks shamrocks on an Irish hill,
A gamin cheers and chaffs;
All busy footsteps pause a bit,
Somewhere is toil by clear skies lit,
A sunburnt world that laughs.
And long and long the sweetness stays
And cheers the crowded, noisy ways,
Like happy news from home,
Till the pale moon and misty stars
Look down as if, by meadow bars,
Their rays touched clover bloom.
But little recks the countryman,
Bound homeward on his empty van,
Along the closing marts,
What store he brought with him to-day,
Or what, within a load of hay.
Could touch so many hearts.
Youth's Companion.
THE POOL OF SALT WATER
jrjHIS is the seaweed room," an
m nounced the housekeeper, putting
a key into the lock; "it's been shut
up for a long time and will be a bit
musty."
With this she threw open the tstout
oaken door, and we entered a square
apartment, darkened by closed shut
ters and heavy with a strong, pungent
odor. As our guide raised a window
and opened the blinds there was a rust
ing all aboutusas of the flight of pig
eons. This was caused by the flutter
ing of quantities of dry seaweed which
were festooned upon the walls and over
the doors and windows.
"That's nothing but common sea
weed," said the good woman, noticing
our interested glances. "It's used only
-as an ornament and to give character
to the room. All the choice varieties
are in these glass cases, and pressed
in this pile of scrapbooks, with notes
and explanations under 'em."
"Did Professor Linwood collect these
specimens himself?" I asked.
"I suppose so. He used to go on long
voyage to the tropics and come home
laden with new varieties, and then he'd
spend mouths classifying and arrang
ing them. He was a diver in his
younger days, and after that made con
tracts for lifting sunken vessels, or
exploring old hulks that had money or
merchandise on board. He'd put on
his diving suit and go down with his
men, I've heard tell, and many's the
strange adventures he's had in ships
at the bottom of the ocean so he told
iue one uay wuen ne reit cnatty. mat s
how he first took to collecting sea
weeds; he ransacked the bottom of the
sea to get specimens. But after his
marriage he never seemed to care for
It any more, but perhaps all this don't
Interest you it's the seaweed you
want You can examine it as much
as you like."
We did so and fingered long, held by
the charm of this strange room, that
was redolent with the mysteries of the
great deep. We .sat on a couch, talk
ing In low tones, and listening to the
rustling seaweeds over our heads, our
feet resting on some of the same mate
rial, which had bgen fashioned into a
rude mat that covered the floor and also
the divan on which we were seated.
The whole apartment was full' of it In
all forms and phases. A wreath of it
surrounded the only portrait in the
room that of a young girL with frank,
pleasing eyes and a sweet mouth.
The housekeeper, who had excused
herself for a few moments, now re
turned with tea and biscuits. As she
poured the fragrant beverage into little
fat cups, we ventured to Inquire who
the original of the picture was.
"Mrs. Linwood, the professor's wife,"
replied the woman, giving a quick, ap
prehensive look at it over' her shoul
der. "Then," replied my companion, "it's
no wonder the. professor took no more
voyages after his marriage!"
"I said he collected no more seaweed,
sir," responded the housekeeper. "He
made one voyage directly after his mar
riage, and took his bride with him. The
vessel was wrecked In a terrific storm
and only a few of the passengers were
saved. Mrs. Linwood was among the
lost"
"That was an odd coincidence that
she should be lost and he be saved,"
I said, half-questioningly.
"Well, sir, that leads up to the most
peculiar story you ever heard. As long
as the professor lived I never dared
breathe it, but now he's gone I might
.. relate a strange circumstance in con
nection with this room.""
We encouraged her so. much that the
good woman began immediately.
"It was not until the professor was
nearly 60 that he thought of taking a
swife. Then he was very foolish, if I
. may fee allowed to say it for he fell in
love , with a little girl only 18, and he
being rich, her parents favored the
match, though she was much attached
to a second cousin of hers, a young fel
low lu an importing house, poor, but
wim gooa prospects, ana as luck would
have it this coucsln was on the same
steamer that took the professor and
his bride to China, he going there on
business for his firm.
"It must have been hard for the two
poor young things to be doomed to such
a long voyage, under such circum
stances, especially as the professor was
of an intensely jealous disposition and
forbade his wife to speak to her cousin.
"But, as I said, the vessel ran aground
in a storm and sank almost immediate
ly. Mrs. Linwood was drowned, and
her husband came back a changed
man, broken in mind and body. He
had even lost his interest in his partic
ular fad, and I have seen him shudder
at the sight of a piece of seaweed. He
locked up his room, and I never saw
him enter it again except on one no
table occasion."
"What was that?" Inquired my com
panion. "Well, you see, not having his scien
tific studies to take up his mind, the
poor man became very lonesome and
morbid. He neyer wanted to be alone
and must needs have a houseful of
company the whole time. This was
easy, for he had a great many nephews
and nieces, and they, with their friends
kept us In a state of commotion, es
pecially during the holidays and in
summer vacations.
"One Christmas eve, his favorite
nephew, Jack Newton, came late in the
evening, and to savo my soul I didn't
know where to put him to sleep. He
was a merry, rollicking lad of 17, and
he said he'd sleep In the attic any
where so that he got a chance at din
ner next day always thinking of his
stomach, like any healthy boy.
"The attic was out of the question.
Suddenly a thought came to me, and
I asked him if he'd mind sleeping in the
seaweed room.
" 'Just the thing awfully jolly,' said
the boy, giving me a squeeze that near
ly broke my neck.
" 'Then not a word to your uncle,' I
said as soon as I could speak.
" 'Mum's the word,' said the boy with,
a wink.
"So I fixed him up a bed on this 'ere
couch we're a-sitting on, and as it was
bitter cold started a bit of fire in the
grate. Then I locked bim in and carried
away the key, so that if by some
strange .chance the professor should
stray up there late In the evening he
would find the key gone, and probably
think it had been mislaid, for It us
ually hung on a nail beside the door.
"If I'd known the queer tricks of this
room then as I do now I'd never have
locked the boy in.
"What happened during that night
I got straight from Jack myself. It
seems he went straight" to sleep, and
never woke till the faintest bit of day
light was stealing into his window.
Then he was aroused, poor chap, by a
low murmur of voices, and sitting up
he saw on the earth two figures talk
ing together one a girl with long black
hair and the other a young man who
held her hands and was bending his
face down to hers. Both of 'em was
dripping wet, and he could hear the
trickle ,pf the water as it fell on the
big stne hearth they were standing
on. Their faces were turned from him,
but In the girl's hair was tangled a
quantity of seaweed.
"Did I tell you Jack was a plucky
little fellow? He was, to the back
bone. He said to himself that what he
saw was 'an optical delusion,' I be
lieve he called it, that there was no
body but himself in the room there
couldn't be, because the door was
locked. 'What do you want who are
you?' he cried, and with that jumped
out of bed and came straight toward
the two figures. As he advanceh they re
treated toward the. window, and when
he reached the window there wasn't
anything there, though the window
was shut except for a little space at
the top.
'.'Well, Jack went to bed and lay
thinking it over for an hour, then fell
asleep again. He was perfectly
healthy, Jack was, and hadn't much
idea of the supernatural.
"But now comes the strange part of
it for as he was dressing the next
morning what .did the boy find but a
pool of salt water on the stone hearth,
in that' little hollow you can see from
here that has been worn in It, and. ly
ing in it a bit of fresh seaweed, in
which was tangled a long black hair!
Then, as Jack told me, his own hair
hegan to rise in good earnest, and he
was scared.
"So that morning after breakfast he
takes the bit of seaweed to his uncle
and asks him if he'd ever seen any
like it
"The profesor looked at the piece of
wet weed, and his color .went like the
going out of a lighted taper. 'It's an
uncommon variety,' he said, 'as it's
never found except on the bodies of
drowned people. Where did you get it
Jack?' And he looked at the boy wild
ljke, for I was a-watching of 'em from
the passageway.
" 'I found it in my room,' blurted out
the boy. 'There was a couple of peo
ple in there last night, uncle, dripping
wet' .
" 'What do you mean?' gasped his
uncle, looking at him strangely.
" 'Come and I'll show you,' he says,
in spite of the fact that I was shaking
my fist at him from the hallway. So
together they went up to the seaweed
room, I followed to explain why I'd
taken the liberty to lodge Jack there.
But the professor never noticed me. He
followed Jack into the room, "white to
the lips, and, kneeling down, examined
the little pool of water on the hearth.
'It's sea water,' he whispered, after a
moment 'What did you, see, boy? Tell
me everything.'
" 'There's nothing much to telLuncle,'
went on 'Jack, in his straightforward
way. 'The girl's hair was down her
back all wet, and full of seaweed. And,
see! Here's a long black hair In the.'
seaweed I found.'
"The professor looked, then gave a
cry such as I hope never to hear again,
and fell back on tne floor unconscious.
He came back to life, but never was
well after, and he died six weeks aft
erward. Before he went he became
communicative, and the secret of his
wife's death came out He and his
wife were in a small boat, the last to
leave the sinking vessel, together with
a few other passengers and. one sailor.
The professor, being a man of author
ity and a well-known seaman, was in
charge of the boat Just as they were
pushing off they saw a figure clinging
to the mast just above the water. It
was Mrs. Linwood's cousin and former
lover. At this she cried to her hus
band to put back to the ship and rescue
him, and took on so at his danger that
the demon of jealousy entered her hus
band's soul, and he swore it would be
impossible to go back, and that to take
another person into the boat would
sink It. At that moment the mast dis
appeared, and as it did so the young
man sprang into the sea waving a fare
well to his cousin. Then, with one
look at the professor that he never
forgot to his dying day, Mrs. Lawson
jumped overboard and probably sank
immediately at least, the body could
not be recovered.
"Yes, it was a strange thing, those
two coming back If It was them to
his room; those who have book learn
ing can make it clear, perhaps, but I'm
only an Ignorant old woman and don't
understand these deep things; I can
only tell it to you just as it happened."
BOTH OF THE OLD SCHOOL.
Bnt the Old Gentleman Rather Got the
Better of the Old Lady.
There is a wealthy old lady in De
troit as there probably is In every city
of any size, who would rather have her
own way than to have her own fortune
doubled. With her is a niece, put down
as the prospective heiress, and the
young man whom she wants to marry
went to ask for her hand. He was
promptly informed by the old lady that
he was useless generally, that he was a
specious hypocrite, that he could not
have the niece, and that if they mar
ried without her consent the girl should
never inherit a dollar, relates the Free
Press. Next" -day ae- young - man's
grandfather called on the tyrannical
aunt and profusely thanked her for
what she had done.
"We are of the old school, you know,"
he said, suavely. "We have lived to
see a time when wealth has become
all-important, but you and I cling to the
sentiment that pride of birth is far bet
ter. I know that you do from the fact
of refusing your niece to my grandson.
It was good of 'you, and I came person
ally to thank you. I could never have
been happy again had he married be
neath him, and he backed from the
room, while she was trying to sputter
forth her overwhelming indignation.
"I'll show him," after she had averted
apoplexy, "the aristocratic old pauper.
Never he happy again, hey? I'll see
that he's not," and her pen flew while
she blustered to herself. "Thought I
wouldn't know how to avenge myself,
did he? The conceited old survivor of
a crazy prejudice!"
In answer to the note came the young
man, flushed" and expectant He could
be married to the niece quietly that
evening or give her up forever. Of
course the ceremony came off and the
aunt was enjoying internal ecstacies
over the way she had outwitted the old
gentleman. Later the new nephew
turned to her and innocently remarked:
"Good old granddad told me he was
sure he could get your consent but I
can't conceive how he did it." .
They revived her with smelling salts
and helped her to bed. She was still
there in the morning, but sent for the
man servant and said, emphatically:
"If that old Blank dares call here
kick him out" -
Learning How Not to Sneeze.
Sir F. Hastings Doyle in his auto
biography relates how during the '50's
Lord Halifax was walking with Lord
Dundas, when the latter suddenly be
gan to make hideous faces to such a
degree that Lord Halifax became seri
ously alarmed and gasped out: "Shall
I run for a doctor?" Lord Dundas gave
a peremptory "No" as far as he was
able. When he had recovered from his
paroxysm he said:' "I .was only in the
agonies of trying not to sneeze. The
awful court etiquette in regard to th:s
matter has made me really ill many a
time. Nowadays I cannot, from long
habit really sneeze, but the sensation
that brings about sneezing simply agon
izes me."
Drove Stage 63,600 Miles.
With a record of having traveled a
sufficient number of miles to have taken
him four times around the globe, Da
vid E. Little, of McConnellsburg, Pa.
has resigned as stage coach driver, after
a service of fifteen years. During these
years Little carried over 13,000 passen
gers across thte Cove mountain, among
them some of the distinguished men of
the country. He has crossed the moun
tain in his daily trips over 9,300 times,
has driven 93,600 miles, and has lived
in the coach and on the road 3,000 days
of ten hours each. In all this time he
has never missed connections with the
trains on the other side of the moun
tain. One Election Cariosity.
It is one of the curiosities of the
Presidential election that the banner
Republican township should be located
in North Carolina. In the Shelton
Laurel township in that State McKin
ley got 210 votes and Bryan none.
Meat Spoiled by Tobacco Smoke.
An experienced chemist says that
fresh meat In a room filled with smoke
of tobacco absorbs nicotine readily and
may-become badly tainted.
Beauty unadorned may be all right In
some cases, but a little dressing always
Improves the turkey.
CBILDEEFS COLUMN.
A DEPARTMENT FOR LITTLE
BOYS AND GIRLS.
Something that Will Interest the Jn
veniVe Member of Every Household
Quaint Actions and Bright Sayings
of Many Cute and Cunning Children.
- ",
Bough-house is the expression used
by the boy of to-day when he is describ
ing a general scuffle, and he always
smacks his lips over the word. But
rough-house has its disadvantages, as
many sprains and bruises can testify,
and If the same amount pf fun may be
had from some less trying amusement,
an amusement, say, whiph Is quite as
energetic and quite as exciting, the boy
of to-day will certainly adopt it in pref
erence to rough-house. 5
A terrier fight is exciting, and it is
funny it is also energetic and victory
depends quite as much "upon the skill
of the fighter as upon- his strength.
Furthermore, a terrier fight is not bru
tal. No boy will hurt himself while en
gaged in this sport As shown in the
illustration, two boys are placed facing
each other In the center of a room;
hands clasped beneath the knees and a
A "TERBIKB FIGHT."
stick just under the elbows, as shown.
Each contestant endeavors to push the
other over; but as it requires consider
able attention to keep your balance at
all when in this position, the attack is
no easy matter. .-.. -
.,. To suddenly, give way Is a maneuver
almost sure, to upset -your adversary,
but unfortunately it is very apt to up
set you at the same time, and only after
considerable practice will you be able
to overcome a man in this way. The
pivot, a sudden swing to the right or
left, is safer, though not quite as ef
fective. Always remember that the
best terrier fighter Invariably makes his
opponent throw himself. - Give way at
some unexpected pohiif and unless he Is
a skillful man he Is sure to go over.
Never try a hard push except in the
last extremity, when everything else
has failed.
A terrier fight consists of three one
minute rounds, with thirty seconds' rest
between each round. The one scoring
the largest number of falls during the
time set Is accounted the winner. Chi
cago Record.
A Queen' Dolls.
The Queen of Roumanja was sponsor
for a peculiarly Interesting exhibit that
was lately held in London for the ben
efit of certain charities and hospitals.
She placed on exhibition- her famous
collection of dolls dressed in the cos
tumes of various countries. The Queen
of Holland herself dressed some Dutch
dolls, and, indeed, dollies of every na
tion, dressed as fine ladies and as peas
ants, were represented. In order that
some distinctive American dolls might
be in the Queen's family, the New York
Tribune offered prizes for five typically
American in costume. Four "lady"
dolls and one "gentleman" doll took
the prizes. The latter prize approxi
mately went to a boy, a New Jersey
lad, whose doll represented "Uncle
Sam" in gorgeous attire. Of the oth
ers, one In rich brocade and fine cap
represented Martha Washington, one
was a negro mammy in white apron
and brilliant turban, a third was Pris
cilla, the Puritan maiden, in simple
frock and hooded cloak, the fourth was
Pocahontas In beaded dress and moc
casins. Altogether the American chll-(
dren can have no cause to be ashamed
of their exhibit
What African Maidens Learn.
' Immediately after a girl enters the
Sandy a mark designating her rank is
tattooed on a conspicuous part of her
body, says Montressor Paull in an arti
cle on "Boarding Schools for Native
Girls in South Africa," published in
Woman's Home Companion. During
her stay at the school she is Instructed
by this faculty of old women In sing
ing, In plays and in the dance, and is
required to commit numerous songs to
memory; she is taught to cook, and in
structed in other domestic duties, and
is shown how to knit nets and to fish.
At intervals the girls are permitted to
visit their parents at their homes in the
villages But before making these vis
its they must first satisfy the require
ments of what is deemed the conven
tional toilet Their whole bodies are
thoroughly rubbed with white clay, and
then aprons made of the fiber of the
leaves of the Palmyra palm are put on
them, as the use of cotton stuffs are
prohibited.
Mr. Nobody,
I know a funny little man,
As quiet as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done .
In everybody's house.
There's no one ever sees his face,
And yet we- all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr. Nobody.
'Tis he who always tears our books
Who leaves' the doors ajar;
He pulls the buttons from our shirts '
And scatters pins afar.
That squeaking door will always squeak,
For, prithee, don't you see,
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody?
The finger marks upon the doors
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blinds unclosed
To let the curtains fade.
The Ink we never spill; the bouts
That lying round you see.
Are not our boots! They all belong
To Mr. Nobody!
Fcheme of a Bright Boy.
A bright boy In New York makes a
fairly good living by visiting stores and
offices and sharpening the lead pencils
of lawyers,, clerks and other men of
business who have little time to look
after such comparatively trivial affairs
of office work-
How He Measnred Time.
Teacher Charles, what Is the short
est day of the year?
Charles (from experience) The day
your father promises to give you a lick
ing before you go to bed. Columbus
Dispatch.
The Colors Reversed.
A curious butterfly exists In India.
The male has the left wing yellow and
the right one red; the female has these
colors reversed.
GUARDED HIS REPUTATION.
Mountaineer Wonld Not Say He Missed
a Deer to Save $25.
"A business matter took me out West
last fall," said the well-known attor
ney, who was in a reminiscent mood,
"and I took advantage of the opportu
nity to make a trip Into the mountains
for a week's hunting. I hired an old
man to act as a guide and do the cook
ing and I enjoyed myself to the ut
most. The mountains were full of big
gams, but the state had lately passed
a law prohibiting the killing of deer,
which was particularly . aggravating,
as we were continually running across
them. Now, I am a respecter of the
law unless I am retained on the other
side and I found it hard work to re
frain from shooting at the deer that
presented, themselves as if they knew
that they were free from danger. But
along toward the last our meat ran out
and I told the old man that we would
have to have some fresh meat, even if
we had to kill a deer. He agreed with
me and it wasn't ten minutes later
that deer sprang up ahead of us. I
wasn't prepared for him, but the guide
was,' and he made a clean miss, much
to his disgust That was the last deer
that we saw and we returned without
having broken the law. But no soon
er had we arrived at the point where
we had started from than the old man
was arrested for killing a deer, and I
took it upon myself to defend him, as I
knew him to be innocent. I took the
stand In his behalf, and thinking it
best to make a clean breast of the mat
ter, admitted that he had shot at a
deer, but missed him. Then I put the
old man on the stand to corroborate my
testimony.
" 'You admit having shot at the deerr
said I when the old man took the stand.
" 'Thet's what!' he answered.
"'A-nrl you missed him T I continued.
'"No; slree! he shouted. 'I killed
him, b'gee!'
"That took the wind :out of my sails
and I collapsed, the result being that
the old man was fined $25.
"After the trial I took him aside and
asked him what he meant by swearing
to a lie and convicting himself.'
, " 'See hyar,' he answered; 'I've bin
lyin fer twenty years about never
havin' missed a deer thet I shot at, an'
ye don't think thet I would ruin my
reputation fer $25, do ye?"' Detroit
Free Press.
PECULIAR KIND OF EARTH.
Properties It Possesses that Are Little
Understood by People.
It is safe to :y that the majority of
people never even heard of the peculiar
kind of earth called loess, yet It is a
most interesting formation and is found
in Europe, the United States and China.
In China it is held responsible for the
vagaries of the Yellow River, which
changes its bed whenever it feels so
disposed. William Starling says of tils
peculiar earth:
"Loess, wherever found, is a' yellow
ish, brownish or grayish earth which is
so soft and friable that it Is easily re
duced to powder between the fingers,
and yet of so firm a consistency that
when undermined by currents of water
or other disturbing influences it will
stand in perpendicular walls several
hundred feet high. The particles com
posing the, earth have been, by some
process, reduced to such a, minute state
of 'division that it is asserted that they
can be rubbed into the pores of the skin
and disappear without leaving any con
siderable residue.- Ia China roads are
soon worn into this material, the walls
on either side still retaining their per
pendicular till In the course of years
there is formed a sunken road perhaps
seventy or eighty feet beneath the level
of the plateau. Often there are suc
cessive cuts which are transformed into
terraces, and houses or villages built
upon them after the manner of cliff
dwellings. Indeed, chambers are fre
quently excavated deep into the walls,
and even whole suites of roomsJ In
fact, as Richthofen says, the dwellings
vary from simple caves to veritable
loess palaces. .
"Similar things occur in the loess dis
tricts . of the United States. Near
Natchez, in Mississippi, and no doubt
at plenty of other places where the loess
formation prevails, sunken roads may
be seen twenty feet or more in depth,
with vertical sides. During the siege
of Vicksburg the people dug themselves
bomb-proof shelters in the loess. In
Nebraska and Kansas dugouts in the
same kind of soil are not or were not
uncommon. In America and In Europe
its utmost thickness Is 100 or 200 feet
but In China It has a development of
ten times that much."
Traffic in Geese at Berlin. -The
aggregate wholesale traffic Ic
geese at Berlin amounts annually to
nearly $2,080,000.
The prudent society belle . tries to
make her waist as little as possible.
As to the Best Pheop.
The breeding of sheep has been carried
on for so many years with so much
skill and good business judgment, that
there is not one breed that is not the
best, or that is any better than another,
when the same good care and skill are
expended on the flock. Just at the
present time the Shropshire Is the most
popular of all the coarse-wool breeds,
in the proportion of five to three of the
next in order, which is the Lincoln,
then comes the Leicester, Oxford,
Hampshire, Cheviot and Southdown..
Every one of these sheep is good and
In prominent tests as to their profit as
mutton there is not anything to choose
between them. Every sheep has been
bred by the most skillful English sheep
men, and on this side of the ocean our
people have successfully maintained
the excellence of those sheep which
have been Imported. The Shropshire Is
mostly chosen to cross on the common
sheep, while the Lincoln comes next
as a popular sheep for this use. For
your locality, perhaps, the Cheviot
would be preferable, because Its home
is In the hilly country between England
and Scotland, and it is hardy and will
be easily acclimated. The illustration
of It which is given on this page, is life
like, and exactly represents the animal
as it stands. It gives a fleece of good
wool, is a first-class mutton sheep and
is extremely hardy. Its mutton is high
ly considered, but for mutton solely the
Southdown- stands- and -has always
stood first of all sheep. It is, however,
to be remembered that the quality of
mutton Is controlled mostly by the
food. The best sheep for any man is
that which he will love the most, and so
we will do the best for. Montreal Star.
A Slnsh Scraper.
Where a farmer has a large ditch
running through his farm a slush
scraper Is indispensable. This one is
made from two inch plank, sides five
feet long, with one end patterned for
the scraper and tapered to make suita
ble handles, as shown in cut The
scraper box should be four feet- wide,
two feet from front to rear of box, and
one foot In depth. These dimensions
will move almost a half yard of mud at
each load, and a team will pull it eas
ily. The top and bottom of scraper
should be banded with tire Iron, which
will make it more rigid and wear bet
ter. Any blacksmith can make the
blade out if an old drag saw blade or
suitable piece of flat steel. This should
be bolted and riveted to the box and
band irons of box and made quite sharp
to cut well. The eyelets shown in il
lustration near the blade are to fasten
a log chain into. With this scraper one
can clean the. slush out of a large ditch
and work the team on bank. The length
of chain can be regulated to suit the
depth of ditch. We used a scraper sim
ilar to this last autumn on our farm and
found It excellent to clean out slush
and also to dress off overhanging
banks. Correspondence Ohio Farmer.
8hylng Horses.
Horses often have what is called the
vice of shying that Is, of starting sud
denly at the rustle of a leaf or a piece
of paper or at the approach of any ob
ject to which they are not accustomed.
Clearly this is the remnant of an in
stinct inherited from their wild pro
genitors In the steppes or prairies,
where the sudden 'rustling of a leaf
might indicate the presence of a wolf,
and where everything that was
strange was therefore suspicious. It Is
Idle as well as cruel to beat a horse for
shying. That only increases his alarm,
and may easily reduce him to the state
of terror in which he loses his head en
tirely. Horses In that state seem to
lose not only their heads, but their per
ceptive senses, and a horse In that con
dition may dash headlong against a
stone walL The habit of shying wjien
once formed Is difficult to cure, but it
may be almost always be prevented
by such consistent kindness of treat
ment as to overpower the inherited in
stinct of instant flight from possible
danger In which the habit originates.
New Package for Butter.
A new use has been found for glass.
It consists In packing butter In a box
.made of six sheets of ordinary window
'glass, the edges being covered with
gummed paper. The closed box Is
then enveloped in a layer of plaster of
jiaris a fourth of an Inch thick, and It
PBIZB CBEVIOT BAH.
SLUSH SCRAPES.
a w citu wilu u. specnitiy prepareu pa
per. As the plaster is a bad conductor
of heat says the Scientific American,
the temperature inside the hermetically
sealed receptacle remains constant, be
ing unaffected by external changes.
The cost of packing is only about two
cents per pound. It Is used to a great
extent in Australia. Butter has been
sent from Melbourne to Kimberley, In
Africa, and the butter was found to be
In a perfectly sound condition. Cases
are now made which hold as much as
800 pounds of butter.
starting Early Potatoes.
The plan tested at the Rhode Island
stations of sprouting seed potatoes, in
trays so that they would be fairly
grown, or as large as they usually are
at the first hoeing, when they were set
in the field, seems to be so simple and
to have so increased the yield, as well
as given an earlier crop, that we cannot
refrain from mentioning It again. In the
hope that some of our readers will try
it They used trays 3 feet long and
1 feet wide, a convenient size for one
man to handle, and holding about a
bushel each when they were spread
out The sides of the trays were but
about an inch high, and the bottom was
of laths placed an inch apart Then
these were placed on a rack so as to
leave eight or nine inches between
them, and that placed so as to give each
tray air and sunshine above and be
low, in a room only moderately warm.
Thus they had on each piece a strong,
vigorous sprout three or four inches
high when ready to set them out and
they found that the Increase in yield at
the time they were ready for digging
or when first fit to sell was 27 per cent
over those kept In a cool cellar and
planted In the open ground, while when
fully mature the gain was 40 per cent,
with more large potatoes.
A .Good Harrow.
I have made a new Innovation In my
neighborhood in the shape of a 3-A har
row, having fifty-eight -inch teeth,
and taking a sweep of nine feet To
this I hitch three horses, and can go
over thirteen acres a day, putting It in
splendid order, as the teeth are laid oil
two Inches apart, and counting the
TOP VIEW OF HARROW.
width of the teeth, no clod over half an
inch in diameter can pass through. This
is as far ahead of the old few-toothed
harrow as the binder is ahead of the
cradle. The frame is made of 2x4's,
and can be made any width desired.
For braces bolt an inch thick plank
across from side to side, and then have
the blacksmith make from wagons tire
a good hook and circular brace. As to
draft I find three horses can take this
tool as easily as two horses can take a
double A harrow, and do three times
the amount of pulverizing. J. S. Mor
rison, In Practical Farmer.
Raise Hoks on the Farm.
Every farmer should be a hog raiser:
at least to the extent that hog prod
ucts can be consumed on the farm.
If he can do so, and nearly every one
can, he should also raise some pigs
for market If his farm is large
enough he should by all means
grow .and fatten enough hogs
to fill a car, and just as soon as
they are In marketable condition send
them to the packery. On small farms
it may not be convenient to raise many
more than is necessary for home use.
But one or two, or a dozen, or twenty,
as the case may be, put in first-class
condition and sold to people in the town
or country, who will not or do nol
raise their own pork will prove profit
able. Poultry Notes.
Hens will not lay In cold bouses.
Arrange for plenty of sunlight In the
winter. .
Do not place too much dependence In
one kind of grain.
Keep the late hatched turkeys until
February.
Comfortable quarters for winter wlU
be a saving of feed.
To prevent egg eating make the
nests high and dark.
Old stock of any kind decrease in
value as they become older.
Those who raise fowls for market
must keep young stock.
Weight and condition) come from the
surplus nutrition in the food.
If the chicks begin to droop, examine
their heads for the large lice.
If the young fowls droop from too
rapid feathering, feed some meat
With fowls it Is much better to keep
the appetite sharp, compelling them to
hunt for food. -
While sour milk is relished by the
hens, it should not take the place of
water.
Unless soft feed is being given," the
trough should never be used for holding
food.