-v
CORVA
SEMI-WEEKLY.
FTHOTT K.tab. .Inly. 1897.
GAZETTE K.tab. Dec, 1SG2.
i Consolidated Feb., 1899.
CORVALLIS, BENTON" COUNTY, OBEGON", TUESDAY, APKIL 16, 1901.
VOL. I. NO. 51.
GAZETTE
CHARACTER BUILDING.
A tiny form, new breathing clay,
What does it mean?
An immortal soul has come this way,
Has come to earth, on earth will stay
Until the firm, calm voice doth say:
"Come home!"
Ours is the privilege to mold
This character.
Each one of us, the young, the old.
Great strength and beauty yet untold
This gift divine may soou unfold
To ns.
Protect him from each impure thought,
This new-born babe!
The greatest blessing ever sought.
True manliness, "may thus be wrought,
For what he thinks impure or not
He is.
The architects of man are we,
Each one of us.
And what false builders we should be
Is living that a child might see
That wickedness, that calumny
Is life.
The son of friend, the son of foe,
It matters not.
As builders we must strike the blow
To make or mar. Build high or low,
The day will come whoa we shall know
Onr work.
"Keform the world!" has been the cry
For many years.
"With sin, unhappiness must die!"
We meet with small success, and why?
The reformation has passed by
Ourselves.
Before we seek to build a man
A perfect one
We must ourselves remove the ban
That crushes us; the gulf must span
Between the earthly and the plan
Of God. Bartlett Warner.
.
r.
A NOVEL EXECUTION.
ND don't you find it very dull
up here all alone?" I asked.
"No," he answered: "not so dull
as you might think, by any means.
You see, there is plenty of game to be
had, large and small, for the shooting;
the scenery is delightful to me, who,
like you, am a bit of an artist, and then
the banditti usually provide a little ad
ditional excitement. "What!" I said,
"are there banditti around here, then?"
"Yes," he answered; "most certainly,
though not in the direction from which
you have come. But as you proceed
into iionemia you will nnd the moun
tains Infested with them, and I shall
send an escort down with you to-morrow.
Indeed, in these piping times of
.peace it is chiefly for the purpose of
' escorting travelers through the moun
tains that we are here. You will have
a. specially strong escort to-morrow,
though, as we have here at present con
fined in the fort a notorious bandit we
'captured but yesterday in a raid on his
hiding place, and to-morrow I shall send
him down to Robensburg for trial.
There is no doubt what his fate will
be. Two murders have been proved
against him, and there are numerous
unproved ones and hundreds of rob
beries down to his name. It is, as you
say, a long way to send him, but
Robensburg is our headquarters, and
Be will be tried "by the military there.
But you must be tired and glad to get
to bed." Saying this, he showed me to
a small bedroom and left me to my
'slumbers.
I was awakened early by the sound
of a' bugle,' and was soon out to enjoy
the fresh air and fine scenery. I -was
" immediately struck by the strong posi
tion of the fort, the site on which it was
i, Built being admirably adapted for de-
rense. xne road, if road it could be
called perhaps pass would be a better
word here ran for a full mile in a kind
of glen or gully, lined on either side by
. lofty and precipitous rocks which,
towering up high on either side, left
only- a narrow way in the middle.
Standing in the center of this gully, you
could look along the path about half a
mile each way, at which distance it
came to a stop, the road suddenly dip-
ping down on one side to Robensburg
and on the other toward a forest. It
was in the middle of this valley, or
rather cutting, that the fort had been
hllllt. stretching' ncrn&a tha narninr nrntr
from one wall to the other, so that, if
- necessary, the road could be completely
blocked and swept by the guns of the
fort. In times of peace the fort had
a gate left permanently open, allowing
travelers to walk right through it and
pUrsue'thelr way "to the other side.
My friend the lieutenant soon joined
me, and I remarked on the strong posi
tion held by the fort. "Yes," said he,
' smiling, "I think we could give a good
account of ourselves before an enemy
could pass along the road from end to
end," and he pointed to the three guns
mounted on each side, commanding the
two roads. A large one was in the mid
.: die and a smaller one was on each side
. of it, and very formidable they looked.
;He said I might leave them at noon,
"TVhen the escort for the prisoner would
. be ready. Hardly had he finished
'speaking when a shout was heard in
the fort, followed by the report of a
rifle and a babel of cries. The officer
rushed down to see what was the mat
ter, I following him closely. Arrived at
the square, we found a crowd of sol
diers assembled around a man lying on
the ground, bleeding profusely from a
wound in the shoulder. The officer was
quickly told the cause of the tumult
The bandit, while being led out of his
cell, preparatory to being marched
away had suddenly stabbed a soldier
jyitn & hidden knife, and, taking ad-
vantage of the surprise he created, had
escaped from the fort, though a sentry
had 'fired at him. He was soon de
scried flying down the road which led
to the forest, and several men started
j In pursuit ' The officer was about to
follow them when a grizzled veteran
touched his shoulder and said a few
words to him.
"Are you quite sure you can do it,
gunner?" asked the lieutenant "Per
fectly certain, sir," replied the old sol
dier. "I will lay my life on it she will
not fail us at this moment."
"Very well, then," said the lieuten
ant "recall the mer."
The bugle rang out and the pursuers
turned and slowly retraced their steps
to the fort
"After all," he went on, "it is our best
chance, for they could never catch him.
Just look at the pace he is going at! I
would not lose that scoundrel for any
thing, and if we cannot take him alive
we must anticipate his fate and take
him dead."
Several men had been potting at the
fugitive with their rifles, but without
success, so he ordered them to desist
as it was only throwing away ammuni
tion. Lighting a cigarette, he sat down and
calmly watched the ever-lessening form
of the brigand. I now went up to him
and asked the reason of this strange
apathy on the part of the garrison.
'Don't be In a hurry, my friend," re
plied he, smiling; "we are not so lazy
and foolish as doubtless you think. Lis
ten to me." He then explained that
just as he was also starting in pursuit
of the fugitive the old gunner had told
him that there was a far quicker and
surer method of arresting him than that
of pursuit The big gun in the center
of the rampart on that side had, by
constant practice, been trained to
throw its projectile exactly In the mid
dle of the narrow path just before it
dipped out of sight, and had been kept
permanently in that position. "And,"
the lieutenant went on, "Gunner Muller
is ready to swear that a ball or shell
thrown from that gun will hit the ex
act spot, provided the gun has not been
shifted. Now, in that case, all we
have to do is to wait till our friend
there gets on, or near, that spot aud
there you are! You see it is impossible
for him to turn to the right or left till
he gets out of the pass, owing to the
precipices on either side. You know,
Muller," said he, turning to the gunner,
who was standing by, "the right kind of
shell for this case?"
"Yes, sir," said the soldier, saluting;
"I know the very thing required, and
if the rascal is within ten yards' radius
of the bursting point he won't gain the
end of that path.'
"Good," said the officer; "load!"
The heavy shell was hoisted into the
breech, and everything was got ready
for the shot. This all happened in
much less time than it takes to describe
it, and how the man was within eighty
yards of the fatal spot. After finding
that he was not pursued, he relaxed the
speed at which he started from the
fort, and was now trotting steadily on
toward the desired -goal, keeping In
the middle of the path,' and no doubt
congratulating himself on his escape.
When within thirty yards of the place
he dropped to a leisurely walk, looking
round continually to make sure that no
one was after him. Once he stopped
and, turning round, made what seemed
a gesture of contempt at the fort, and,
having thus relieved his feelings,
walked on again.
Slowly he neared the fatal spot. All
on the fort were breathless with sus
pense and doubt for it seemed quite
possible that the gun might somehow
have got shifted since the last practice.
Only the old gunner was calm and con
fident and lovingly eyed his great
charge. I was standing with the lien
tenant near the gun, and the wall was
lined with every man in the fort, eager
ly gazing at that small, dark spot mov
ing so slowly on.
As the bandit neared the end of the
path the old gunner handed the lanyard
of the gun to a subordinate and bade
him fire when he lifted his foot. Then,
taking a telescope, he directed his gaze
on the fugitive. A deadly silence
reigned in the fort I could hear my
heart beating plainly, and I believe ev
ery man was in an equal tremor of ex
citement. I half hoped that the man,
robber and murderer though he was,
might escape.
When would the signal be given? The
suspense was becoming unendurable. I
looked at Muller he was gazing
through the telescope. Suddenly he
kicked out his leg, still keeping his eye
to the glass. A vivid flash followed, a
deafening roar, which shook the fort,
and then a cloud of white smoke ob
scured everything. When it had cleared
away Muller was standing beside my
companion, with a look of content on
his face.
"I was right, sir," he cried; "he was
hit fair."
True enough, nothing was to be seen
where the bandit had been. A loud
cheer followed the announcement, and
the officer shook hands heartily with
Muller, and retired to make a report of
the matter, while a party was sent to
collect the remains of the victim. A
few hours later I left the fort with my
escort, after a hearty farewell to the
commandant As we passed the fatal
spot I shuddered to see unmistakable
signs of the accuracy of the shot.
Chambers' Journal.
Not a "Broncho-Buster" from Choice,
Gov. Roosevelt, in speaking once of
his experiences in the far West, made
this confession: "You know I am not
nearly so fond of 'broncho-busting' and
riding wild horses as some persons
might have you think. It wasn't be
cause I liked that kind of work that I
did it But I always took Just what
came, and if it happened to be the
wildest animal in the bunch I got on,
and stayed on, too, for when I got on
I made upymy mind to stay, and I have
yet to see the broncho that could make
me give in." Ladies' Home Journal.
Unawares. -
"She came upon him unawares," read
the teacher. "Can any little boy or
girl tell me what 'unawares' means?"
Up went the hand of the youngest pu
pil. "I know!" he cried, "if s what we
wear next to our skins."
THE JOKE WAS TURNED.
A Man Who Digared a Pit and Fell in
' It Himself.
"It didn't turn out as Jones figured,"
said the talkative man with a grin.
"He Invited me to pay him a visit at
his summer home in the country, and
I accepted without any idea of what
he had In store for me. No sooner had I
arrived than he Informed me that he
had me booked to act as Judge of a
baby show that was to take place the
following day. I laughed at him, and
told him that I would have to be ex
cused. But he pointed out the fact
that I had been advertised to act, and
that it was now too late to withdraw;
so I consented, although with a good
many misgivings concerning the out
come. "Well, when I stood up on the plat
form, and saw twenty-seven proud
mothers holding as many babies before
me, I came near losing my nerve and
bolting. However, I took a brace and
told them to form in line and march
past me. They did and the sight made
me dizzy, and for the life of me I
couldn't tell a white baby from a col
ored one. To catch my breath and gain
time to collect my thoughts, I told them
to march around once more, the result
being that I was more rattled than
ever. I was about to ask them to
parade once more when I saw Jones
grinning at me from the rear of the
hall, and I realized the hand that
he had had in getting me into the pres
ent situation. Like a flash, I saw a
way out of the trouble, and a chance
to even up matters with Jones at the
same time; Clearing my throat I ad
dressed the expectant mothers as fol
lows: " 'I have asked you to pass before me
more as a matter of form than any
doubt concerning the winner of this
contest That the babies are all dears
I think you will agree with me, and I
also think you will concur with my
judgment when I state that there is
one baby here so much prettier than
the rest as to place it in a class of its
own, and to that baby it is my duty to
award the prize. But to save the heart
burnings of the other mothers I think
it best not to publicly announce the
winner at this time. If the mother
who holds the winner at this instant in
her arms and she knows to whom I
refer will call at the home of Mr.
Jones to-morrow morning at 8 o'clock
she will be awarded the prize she so
justly deserves.' '
'Then I left and caught the first. train
for home, I gather from the some
what warm and incoherent remarks
that Jones has made in my hearing
since that there was a wildly exciting
time when twenty-seven fond mothers
called in a bunch to demand the prize
that I had awarded. Jones ref uses,.to
tell how it ended, but as he appears
afraid to go back I rather imagine
that the end is not yet." Detroit Free
Press.
IDEA. HAD A FATAL DEFECT.
Plan of an Inventor to Thwart the En
terprising: Burglar.
"I ran across a queer old relic in my
line of business recently," said a safe
and lock expert who is in the city to
see the carnival. "I was prowling
around a machine shop in a town up in
Iowa trying to find a fitting that I
needed, when I happened to notice a
sheet-iron box which seemed to have
once been entirely covered with glass
tubes attached to the surface by ce
ment All of the tubes were broken,
and most of them were missing, but
the general arrangement .could be eas
ily traced and the contrivance im
pressed me at once with a sense of fa
miliarity.' Presently I remembered
about it It was all that was left of the
one-time famous 'anesthetic safe,' an
Invention which ought to have been
sponsored by a society for the preven
tion of cruelty to burglars. The idea
of the thing was that any cutting or
drilling through the outer casing should
release certain chemicals which would
promptly stupify everybody in range
of their fumes. In the morning the
owner would find his valuables intact
and could simply call a dray and pack
off the unconscious burglars to jail.
"With such a device it was not nec
essary to have massive steel walls, and
the model which I chanced to resurrect
was made of one-eighth-ineh sheet
iron. The inner box was entirely sur
rounded with glass tubes about the
diameter of a lead pencil and filled al
ternately with two chemicals which
were supposed to produce stupefying
gas when they came into contact.
There was a thin outside casing, and
the theory was that any effort to break
in would necessarily fracture two or
more of the fragile glasses. It seems
incredible, but several prominent capi
talists became greatly interested In the
scheme and stood ready to back it with
unlimited means until actual tests
finally convinced them of its grotesque
impracticability. How the model ever
drifted to the Iowa machine shop I
couldn't find out It had been there
for years and was probably part of
the plunder of some forgotten junk
sale. The only other safe I know of
fit to rank with the 'anesthetic' as a
freak was one designed by an inventor
in Washington. It was circular in
shape, with a pivot at the bottom, and
at night time the plan was to connect
it with an engine belt and spin it like
a top. The inventor was very much
in earnest and made a large working
model. He admitted modestly that the
sate could only be used 'where steam
power was available.' What would pre
vent the burglars from throwing off the
Deit ne oidn't state." New Orleans
Times-Democrat
Largest Carpet in the World.
The largest carpet in the world is
in
Windsor Castle. It is 40 feet in Ih-p-ih,
and contains. 58,840,000 stitches. The
weaving of it occupied
twenty-eight
men fourteen months.
ynivi
Indian Child Life.
There is not so much difference after
all between Indian and white children.
The Indian boy of the Flathead reser
vation, writes a Montana correspon
dent has his miniature bow with its
diminutive quiver of arrows and be
strides a stick and gallops to the chase;
later, when he has attained sufficient
length of limb to bestride a cayuse, he
is given a pony, which succeeds the
stick as a steed, though it has not much
more rapid powers of locomotion. His
sports resemble in many respects those
of his white brother. He plays a form
of "shinny;" he hunts imaginary deer
and bear and buffalo, and it is reason
able to suppose that he engages in war
fare with the trespassing pale face, and
routs him utterly from the hunting
grounds of his fathers. He is in every
respect a boy, and a boy is about the
same sort of an animal no matter where
he is found, whether it be in a tepee or
in a mansion.
The Indian girl, too, has her quiet
play, as does her white sister. She has
her dolls she calls them papooses and
her mother finds time to make for her
a tiny cradle board, which she swings
across her back and "packa" her crude
babies of wood or of buckskin. But
her playtime is of shorter duration than
that of her brother. She early learns
the lesson of stolid obedience to the
male members of the family. She is
the same servant of her big brothers
that her mother is of her father. But
she knows nothing different and she
accepts with Indian stoicism.
If you can watch Indian children at
play, yourself unobserved by them
for they are extremely shy you will
see that there is not much difference
between their amusements and those of
the children that you see at home. The
pony, the dog, the chickens, the pigs
all furnish amusement for the little
reds. They practice throwing the rope
at the dog and the pig, and they find
in the chickens excellent moving tar
gets for their bows and arrows.
Just as the parents of prospective
Presidents and first ladies of the land
delight to array their youngsters in at
tractive raiment, soothe Indian parent
finds pleasure in" clothing his children
in the best that he can' purchase. An
Indian child dressed, for a holiday Is a
picturesque object. He is covered with
beads and fringe and fur and trinkets.
He is a brarre in epitome and his sister
Is a reducedcopy of her mother.
Then there is another striking simi
larity between the Indian child and his
white fellow. There is nothing that he
JJkes better than a story. 'His mother,
when he is a baby, croons to him ithe
song that -her1 mother sang to her in
infancy, and' it is as universal among
these people' as a Rock-a-by-Baby
among white, mothers. When he Is
older his mother tells him the interest
ing stories of the coyote, the wolf and
the bear--of . folk lore of his tribe. As
he becomes old enough to attract the
attention of his father, the latter oc
casionally tells him stories of the old
time prowess of his- tribal chiefs, of
their welfare and their triumphs of the
chase. The nickering light of the
tepee fire throws shadows which his im
agination easily transforms into war
riors and hunters of mighty valor. And
so the boy grows up. If you know
what white boys are, you know what
little Indians are, for boys are boys.
To Make a Five Pointed star.
The design shown In the illustration
makes clear the problem of accurately
cutting a five-pointed star for flag or
other purposes: Take a square of card
board and draw the diagonal dotted
line, as in figure A; fold the square on
these dotted lines, and the result will
be figure B. Then make the dotted lines
shown here and bend this triangle over
so that its point will touch A; this will
HOW IT IS DONE.
give figure C. The triangle C is -folded
over at the lettered line B C, figure D
resulting. The left side of figure D la
then folded back on the right with the
result seen In figure E. Cut along the
dotted line from the center of the long
est side of the triangle, as seen in the
illustration. When the cardboard is
unfolded the perfect star, as at figure
F, appears. The poiuts may be blunt
or sharp according to the position of
the dotted line in figure E. By moving
it further to the right the points will
be made sharp and to the left broader.
This process of making the star will be
found simple. If the illustrations are
carefully studied.
The Boy Who Tries.
The boy who wins is sure of praise,
And yet I somehow prize
Through stress of dark and cloudy days
The gallant boy who tries.
Not once or twice nor thrice he lifts
His sturdy hand ere life
Shows bright and clear the blue that
rifts
With peace the sky of strife.
The lad whose valor holds its own
In presence of defeat,
ik
Who falls and rises, makes no moan
In dust, or cold, or heat
I find it in my very soul
To bless the stubborn stuff
That takes of poverty its toll.
Ana makes that dole enough.
A thousand praise the boy who wins.
But twice ten thousand rise
Beyond this world of clamorous dins
To praise the boy who tries.
Margaret E. Sangster.
A Little Swapper.
A little boy was suffering from a se
vere cold, and his mother gave him a
bottle of cough mixture to take while
at school. On his return she asked if
he had taken his medicine.
'No," he answered, "but Bobby Jones
did. He liked it so I swapped it with
him for a handful of peanuts."
Johnnie's Charity.
Mother Johnny, what became of the
piece of cake I left on this plate?
Johnny (aged 5) I gave it to a poor,
hungry little boy, mamma.
Mother That s right dear; I'm glad
to see you are inclined to be charitable.
But who was the poor little fellow?
Johnny Me.
HOW A YOUNG FATHER FEELS.
Emotions that Overcome Him Are Ex
perienced but Once.
When the average novel writer
wishes to describe a set of emotions
for which he has no appropriate name,
he usually refers to them as being
''mingled," and this, perhaps better
than anything else, reflects the condi
tion of a man when he first becomes a
father.
Coupled with the feeling of intense
pride that comes to you as one of the
"interested parties" in such a moment
ous event, is the kindred feeling of
utter insignificance you also have,
which acts as an antidote.
After being ordered out of the room
by the doctor and the trained nurse
you wander aimlessly down a side
street although you cannot for the life
of you tell what there is to be ashamed
at and as you approach your office ypu
grow more and more uneasy.
And yet while there is guilt written
all over your face there wells up in
your heart a veritable fountain of in
tense egotism, which is immediately
on tap to the first moment of con
fidence.
You assume a careless, devil-may-
care abr, and carry your indifference
to the: point of intensity. And then in
response to inquiries for your face it
self is a story bearer you announce,
as if it happened daily like the weather
report and the time table, that it Is a
boy or a girl, as the case may be. Thus
you run the gantlet, and, finding that
the world still moves and breathes and
everybody is inclined to settle down,
you watch your chance and get the first
unmarried man you can find to consent
to listen to you. You pour Into his sym
pathetic ear the whole story. You tell
him how much the baby weighs, who
it looks like, how you felt and how you
feel. You describe your aspirations for
that child, talk about love and duty and
education and training, get more con
fidential and finally leave him, with a
sense of your own intense importance
which only another interview with the
doctor and the trained nurse and the
baby can wipe out
But all things have an end. At the
end of a month, while you are at your
desk at profit and loss, someone comes
in, slaps you on the back and shouts:
"Well, old man, how's the baby?" And
you reply absent-mindedly: "Oh, he's
all right!" Life.
HE REASONED IT OUT.
How a Small Boy Accounted for Bad
Weather.
There is always some one who has a
good baby story to tell, and here Is the
latest. This baby is one of a larger
growth, a small boy who has reached
the mature age of 6 years. He had a
great disappointment the other day. He
was to be taken on a nice little excur
sion, and he certainly would have
gone but for the weather, which on this
particular day was so very bad that no
mother would take a small boy out in
it Being a boy, the young man did not
cry, but he felt hurt, and set out In a
logical masculine way to reason mat
ters out He is a well-taught smart
boy, and he has learned many things,
among others something of the creation
of the world ages ago and the Creator.
He also knows that the Creator of the
world is the Creator of what is known
as the weather. After thinking the
.matter over, he went to his mother.
-: "Mamma, it is a long time since God
made the world, Isn't it?"
"Yes," answered mamma, "a long
time."
' "Then, don't you think, mamma," he
went on, earnestly, "that he is getting
pretty old to manage it?"
The young man's reasoning had what
he must have considered a sound basis,
the family concluded In thinking it
over, for he has a grandmother who is
now an old lady, and he has frequently
heard remarks as to her Inability to do
this, that, or the other on account of her
age. New York Times.
Women Beat Men Again.
Statistics shdw that women
live
lonsrer than men. For instant
in
'Gprmanv. onlv 413 ont nf 1 nnn maia
reach the age of fifty years, while more
than 500 out of 1,000 females reach that
age. in tne unnea states there are
fpmnle to 1.308 mfllA rptifanon.n.
In France, of ten centenarians, seven
are women and only three men. In the
rest of Europe, of twenty-one centenar
ians sixteen are women.
Deaf Mutes in Germany,
Deaf-mutes are on the' Increase in
Germany. There are no fewer than 6,
458 persons in institutions where deaf
mutes are specially instructed.
A Rat and Storm Proof Coop.
Says a correspondent of the Poultry
Journal: The brood coop I have had
most success with is made as follows:
length, 24 inches; height In front 20
Inches; rear; 12 inches; width, 18 inches
(inside measurements). I make the
coop of matched pine, with board floor,
the cleats being on the outside so as to
raise the coop off the ground. The top
projects three Inches at the sides and
four Inches at the rear. I make a closed
front (boards the same as the coop),
the front being hinged to the top and
front mite.-ed so as to close tight when
down. The coop front is kept in place
by cleats on the inside, these cleats al
lowing about seven-eighths of an inch
space on both sides when the door is
down for ventilation.
The front has iron strips, with three
or four holes fastened about the center
for the purpose of forming a hood to
the coop which can be set at different
angles by placing screw eyes to the
sides of coop. This feature of the coop
Is grand, as by the hood the hot sun
can be kept out as well as driving rains.
These coops save me many chicks each
season. They are rat proof and storm
proof. The hen is kept in by a lath
front fastened just at the edge of coop.
By painting these coops and storing
when not in use they last a long time
and repay for their cost many times
over. When the chicks are older, I
utilize dry goods boxes cut down to
about the -same shape, only I make a
hood of about the lowr 18 inches only.
Cats, Rata and Chickens.
A certain well-known writer for ag
ricultural papers says that "the cat
should be fed but very little. If they
are given enough food to satisfy their
hunger, they will hunt but very little."
Now it has been our fortune when we
lived in a house that there should be
one or more cats in it, and sometimes
others at the barn, and not one of them
was ever allowed to go hungry much
longer than the members of the family
did, yet most of them that we remem
ber were good hunters, and seldom
would one of them ever eat a rat We
have seen a half dozen or more rats
piled up around the doorstep in the
morning, when we were newly moved
to a farm where the buildings had stood
empty for some time, and the cat that
caught and killed them, after she had
called her mistress to look at them, was
as ready for her breakfast as if there
had not been a rat on the premises, and
she had it too. The cat bunts because
she likes it, just as many men do, and
if she was hunting because she was
hungry she would have found better
picking at the chicken pen than among
the rats at the barn. Our cats catch rats
and sometimes snakes and even frogs,
but never are hungry enough to eat
them, and, being well fed, seldom touch
a chicken or a small bird as a half
starved cat will do. Starve no cats in
our neighborhood when we have chick
ens in the yard and birds in the trees.
Massachusetts Ploughman.
Making Hotbed.
We used to believe as we were taught
that the way to make a hot bed was to
put in manure about three feet deep,
trample it down well and allow it to
heat up, then fork it over and let it
cool, after which put It back and when
It showed temperature of 100 degrees
or more, cover with six inches of earth
and allow to heat up again. When the
heat had increased again and then fall
en down to 90 degrees it was time to
sow the seed and after the seed came
up It should be at 75 to 80 degrees dur
ing the day and 60 to 70 degrees during
the night, at which temperature plants
make a good natural growth, not too
rank. We should not dare to risk the
growing of lettuce, radishes, tomatoes,
cucumbers and some other hothouse or
hotbed plants during winter in any
other way now, unless on a small scale
as an experiment but there are those
who assert that one foot of manure is
enough where the object is only to start
plants like tomatoes, peppers, cabbage,
cauliflowers and others to be set in the
open ground, and when the tempera
ture reaches 100 degrees cover with
earth and sow seed at once. It wHl not
often rise above the germinating or
growing point again, or if it does, it
may be lowered by raising the sash,
and the plants will be more hardy,
making a vigorous but more stocky and
hardy growth than by the old method.
Some gardeners should try both plans
and report the results in plant growing.
American Cultivator.
Hand or Machine Labor.
There are many kinds of work upon
the farm which, if performed by hand
labor, require much strength, and
which can be done equally well when
the machines are driven by other pow
er. The grinding of grain has passed
out of hand labor long ago, but the cut
ting of fodder, sawing wood, pumping
water and running of churn and sepa
rator are yet done on many farms by
main strength of hand labor. The
steam engine run by gasoline or other
I COOP FOB YOUNG POULTRY STOCK.
fuel, the windmill and the tread power
are all in use for aomg such work, and
each has its advocates. Can any one
decide which will do the most work at
the least cost or the amount that It
will be profitable to employ either for?
Or must we wait until electricity be
comes a cheaper motive power than
either? Exchange.
A Farm Library.
If we had occasion to employ a law
yer we should feel distrustful of one
who had not a good library of law
books. They are the tools of his trade.
He can refer to them for the opinions
of wiser men than himself, and learn
whatever he has not learned or refresh
his memory on points which be studied
once but which may have faded away
during the lapse of years. But we And
many fa- TS without a book treating
on any branch of their business, and
some without even any paper that
treats on agriculture. Either they must
have a great deal of knowledge in their
brains, or they must often find them
selves lacking information upon some
questions such as so often come up in
their daily practice. New England
Farmer.
Pruning Frnit Tree.
March and April are often favorable
months for pruning fruit trees, espe
cially such as have been so well cared
for that there are only some superflu
ous branches of last year's growth to';
be taken off where they crowd or are
growing across one another. But the
experiment station in California ad
vances another idea In regard to spring
pruning. They say that of four peach
trees, two of which were winter pruned
and then the fruit thiuned, and the
other two that were spring pruned after
the fruit had set the latter bore the
most peaches, and they were very
much larger. If this is true we do not
know why the same principle may not
hold good with other fruits. Ex
change. Saving Fodder.
One of the items of greatest waste
on the farm has besn the reckless way
in which corn fodder has been handled.
The silo has solved the problem of
making the most out of this valuable
food, but not. one farm in 100 o.b per
haps 500, has a silo. Left to ripen to a
degree that would make it worthless
and then possibly rot in the shock, the
cornstalks on most farms have fallen
into disrepute, and very few regard its
feeding value as' they should. :With
improved machinery for preparing It
for feeding thei'e should be 'more
thought given to utilizing fodder, which
can be made a good substitute for hay.
National Stockman. -
Sowing Lettuce.
Says a grower in an exchange: As
soon as the ground can be worked in
the spring a sowing of the black-seeded
variety of lettuce is made in the open "
ground, the rows being spaced one foot ;
apart and every other row being left
out so that celery may be set in later.
When the plants are large enough, they .
are thinned so as to stand one' foot
apart in the row. Sowings are made
in this way every ten days until about' :
the 20th of August These sowings,
with those under glass, give continu
ously maturing crops of lettuce the
year round.
Blind Staggers in Sheep. ,
Blind staggers is due to indigestion
and the result of it on the brain. The
remedy is to give an active purgative
to relieve the stomach, then give half
a level teaspoonful of bromide of potas
sium in a bran mash twice daily. It
is frequently an immediate relief to
bleed from the large vein in each ear,
cutting it carefully lengthwise. An ef
fective purgative in this case Is two to
four ounces of epsom salts dissolved
in half a pint of water. To drench the
head and neck with cold water is also
useful.
Bert Size for Silos.
It seems that one may make a stave
silo too large to insure strength of the
structure, says the National Stockman
and Farmer. Probably 18 or 20 feet is
the limit in diameter. One dairyman,
having so large a herd that he could
easily use off the surface of a silo 25
feet in diameter, built two silos of that
size, but the curve of the sides was so
slight that a storm drove one side In
despite the tight hooping. The greater
the curve the greater the power of re
sisting pressure when the silo is empty.
Hay for Cows.
The trouble with most hay, particu
larly clover and timothy, is that it is
not cut until too ripe. Insist upon get
ting bay cut early, particularly when
the price is as high as it is this year.
The cows will eat up timothy hay clean
if it is cut just as the bloom begins to
appear. The same is true of clover.
Corn fodder which was cut moderately
early and balance with bran Is an ex
cellent dairy feed. . ' . r
Packins Butter far Family Use.
In packing butter for family- use
work into rolls, lay in large stone Jar,
cover with brine strong enough .to float
an egg, put a level teaspoonful of (Sail
peter and a pound of white sug.iri'tb
each two gallons of brine; then put a,
weight on butter to keep it under brine
The French forest Inspector at La
mur has found a way of making wood
by means of dry distillation and high
pressure impervious to water and acids
and a perfect electrical non-conductor.
It cannot be too often repeated that
it is not helps, but obstacles, not facili
ties, but difficulties that make men.
W. Mathews.