M0
CORVA
A
SEMI-WEEKLY.
COBVAIililS, BENTON COUNTY, OltEGON,. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1902.
WSgSEi&Sm. i ConsoUdated Feb., 1899.
VOL. IIL NO. 30.
xklijnj A. Jl Hi.
(Copyright, 1902.)
CHAPTER L
THE OREGON "DESERT."
From the north boundary line to
the south boundary line of the state,
there lies in Eastern Oregon a strip
of territory about 400 miles long and
about 200 miles wide, which was
once known as the Great Oregon Des
ert, and through which ran the old
Oregon trail.
This desert, unlike most deserts,
contains many oases. There are run
ning streams of pure water, and nu
merous springs boil from the sided of
the mountains and rise even from des
ert sands; and wherever this water
touched the fertile soil, beautiful mead
ows of native grass greeted the eye
of the occasional adventurer.
But these seemed few and far be
tween in early days; and for lack of
knowledge of their location many a
weary traveler lost his way between
tbem, and his bleached bones for
many years afterward marked the
last place where he laid himself down
to rest.
Even in these days when much
of the ground, accessible to water, is
occupied by the pioneer homesteader,
cne may travel a hundred miles or
more without encountering a single
human habitation, or living thing.
The Oregon desert is practically a
succession of mountain plateaus. It
i3 at a high altitude at every point.
To reach it from most any direction
one must climb a great mountain
range, and meander at intervals
among snow-capped peaks and through
rock-boHnd canyons and gulches; and
to cross it. one must traverse wide
stretches of barren plains that never
taste of water, except from the melt
ing snows of winter, and must also
encounter lava beds and walls of rock
Bcemingly insurmountable. These
plains remind one of a huge extinct
volcanic crater, although they cover
thousands of acres in area, and it
raxes aays or travel 10 truss iuuj ui
them. They vary in size, however,
rom small plateaus of a few acres to
the illimitable outstretched plains. But
they all bear the same characteristics.
The traveler, whether passing through
a small basin or a great plateau, is
struck with same impression. A wall
surrounds each of these ba
sins or plateaus and sepa
rates one from another. These
walls consist of rocks piled upon one
another with masonic care, the joints
x being broken as perfectly and smooth
ly as if done by skilled human hands,
ond they rise perpendicularly from ten
to two thousand feet into th air. and
to make them the more difficult of
ascent, a thick layer of flat rocks lie
alons the top of the wall extendiug
out on either side into wide eaves and
sheltering them like the rim of a hat,
or the eaves of a flat roof, and these
are called the rimrocks.
While they appear to be a succes
sion of plateaus, independent of one
arother, and in nowise connected
whereby one might scale the walls
which separate them, yet, with sel
dom an exception, nature has come
to the rescue, and by the same pro
cess through which the great upheav
els were caused and these mountains
of lava rocks and plains of volcanic
ashes were formed, serpentine
shaped canyons and gulches had rent
the walls, and through these the trav
eler may find his way from one basin
to another.
The smaller plains were the scenes
of many conflicts, and were often
places of great slaughter in early
days. Bands of deer and antelope
often wandered into them, and the
watchful Indians came upon them,
and guarding the only places of out
let, would charge down upon the en
caged animals and slaughter a whole
bend. And these animals were not
the only victims to Indian cunning
and bloodthirstiness. Many an im
migrant train whose members had
become exhausted and careless from
want of proper food and water, to
gether with the care of their jaded
animals, reduced to mere skeletons
from plodding through the burning
sands and drawing heavy loads over
the flinty rocks, without feed or
water, while passing through these
canyons and beneath the rimrocks,
came under a shower of poisoned ar
rows that left death along the trail.
The heaps of rocks 'in the gulches
and canyons, and tht little mounds
scattered over the plains, are yet in
dexes to many of these sad stories.
Captain Jack had his territory, and
had some principle, although he died
or the gallows, but the marauding
chiefs, Egan and Paulina, knew no
bounds of territory and knew no
limit for crime and bloodshed. The
peaks, buttes, streams and canyons
still bear their name? from one end
of the desert to the other, and there
is no landmark that guides the trav
eler through the plains that does not
recall some memory of the terrible
crimes of these two chiefs and their
bloodthirsty warriors, and many of
these were committed even after the
arrival of the bold and determined
General Crook.
But in early days wherever there
was water and natural meadows, ani
mals of all kinds flocked. Horses and
cattle were plentiful, and wild game,
fiom the monarch grizzly to the com
mon jackrabblt including elk. deer,
antelope, mountain sheep, mountain
lions, cougar, coyote, wildcat and
marten roamed at will, and were sel
dom ever disturbed by the hand of
man. The flesh of the game animals
was, the tenderest and best, while
the furs produced in this section
were considered the best in. the mar
ket. li, was Lilt? paiauiso ui uio uuu
and trapper.
CHAPTER II. .
THE LORD OP THE DESERT.
In the center of one of these
plateaus containing hundreds of
thousands of acres of land, is a low
round mountain. From the distance
It looks like a mountain peak, and is
MS
called Mount Juniper, but from its
base to its summit it is only about
one thousand feet. Its south side is
covered with runty evergreen of the
juniper species, from which the moun
tain takes its name, while the summit
and east and north and west sides
are barren, and huge boulders lie
piled upon one another, and deep can
yons cut their way down its sides.
In the canyons on the south side
numerous springs boil forth and send
their waters dashing over the rocks
fc the plains below, the moist from
which produces a meadow at the foot
of the mountain of several hundred
ac;es. A fence of barbed wire at-t-irhed
to Juniper posts, protects this
meadow from the stock for which it
is not intended. '
At the foot of the mountain, and
sui rounded by tall clusters of juni
pers, is a large single-story hcise,
luilt of the rocks that from time to
time have rolled down the mountain.
To the east are stables, corrals, hay
racks, watering troughs, and all the
appurtenances of an old-time western
ranch. To the west is a garden spot
irrigated from pipes that run from a
reservoir fed by springs higher up
the hill, and In the rear is a young
orchard where every indication points
to the fact that the trees are being
nurtured and cultivated for experi
mental purposes. In front of the great
stone building beautiful walks are laid
out, along which shrubbery, roses and
flowers of many varieties grow, with
a beautiful green lawn for a back
ground. Fountains play in the sun
light through the heat of the day,
and the ice-cold spring water is thus
tempered for the tender roots of the
young vegetation. .
The grounds about the house, in
cluding orchard, garden, stables and
cowsheds, are Inclosed with a rock
wall several feet high, with loopholes
here and there in .the wall, which
show that the place was constructed
with a view of being able to defend
itself in case an attack was made
from the outside.
But it is the interior of the house
that the reader should see. In the
front room there are easy chairs,
lounges, tables, books and- .writing
materials. On the walls there are
pictures. To stop here one would
imagine himself in a cultivated home
in a thickly settled country, " but in
glancing' further one sees reminders
of the fact that one is in reality in
a frontier place of abode; By the side
of the outer doors stand tho latest
manufacture of rifles, and guns of
all makes hang in the racks over the
doors and about the walls. Large
revolvers swing from points here and
there like ornaments, while numerous
varieties of this deadly weapon adorn
the tables in the room.
In the main bedroom this same
abundance of firearms exist, and in
this room, as in the front room, a
large table stands in one corner and
upon it is fastened all of the latest
iu'proved apparatus for loading and
reloading cartridge shells, and an
abundant supply of ammunition is at
hand to withstand an ordinary siege.
The other rooms of the building are
only ordinary bedrooms, showing. the
luck of care and attention usually
found in batchelor's quarters, while
the dining-room and kitchen are large
and spacious, and a large supply of
provisions are stored away to keep
a large .number for an indefinite pe
riod. The front bedroom, like the
kitchen and dining-room, is kept in
perfect order. These and the front
room are frequently visited and occu
pied by the owner, and they must be
kept intact, or the derelict may suf
fer more than a Btorm of words. But
the other rooms of the house present
a different aspect; the beds are un
made, and men's wearing apparel are
scattered about the floor; broken
matches, half consumed candles, and,
in fact, a general miscellany of un
important things make up the debris
of the rooms. But there is a deserted
appearance about the place. Save a
slight noise from the cooking apart
ments, occasioned by the work of a
stout round-faced Englishman, who
might be taken for almost any age,
and who does the work of chef, cook,
dishwasher, housekeeper and man-of-all-work,
In performing his routine
labors, no other sound is heard.
But there are two occupants of the
place at this time. In the front room
a man sits in a peculiarly-constructed
chair in deep meditation. An anxious
look occupies his countenance, and
now and then a cloud seems to ob
scure his whole face. It lights up
with a beam of pleasure for a moment,
as if the way looked clear to the
thinker, then the clouds again, fol
lowed by gleams of light and grimaces
caused by a tortured conscience. The
chair upon which he sits is a home
made affair. It has huge posts and a
high back, with long, awkwardly-constructed
rockers that give it the ap
pearance of having been made for a
giant. The front posts extend up
almost even with the arm-pits, and
support wide arms so broad that
they look like tables. In the left
hand of the man occupying the chair
is a book, but the thumb only marks
the place to where he has read and
his arm lies carelessly on the table
like arm of the chair. On the right
He sat in a high-bached home-made
chair.
table, or arm of the chair, sits a goo
let half-filled with old Scotch whiskey,
the right hand clasping it gently. Al
though the glass is conveyed to his
lips occasionally it is never permitted
to become empty, a demijohn within
easy reach being drawn upon at in
tervals when the fluid runs low in the
glass :. ' .:-" - : '
. The chair does not' only look as If
It- had been made for a giant, bnt a
modern - giant does occupy it. Six
feet three, when, standing, large
limbs and spare hands, the man shows
wonderful strength, though his con
stitution has been battling with
Scotch whisky and a remorseful con
science for many years. - A broad
mouth, long nose, deep set eyes, large
ears and high cheek bones show as
plainly as does hia brogue that he is
a Scotchman. Like his servant of the
kitchen, he might also be taken for al
most any age. His smooth-shaven face,
reddish -complexion and close clipped
hair, give the casual observer the im
pression that he is not more than
forty, but the wrinkles in his face
and neck, the inevitable markers of
time, and the solid grey that inter
mingles the light red - hair, tell the
close observer that he is , at - least
sixty, if not more.
"Will she make it here without a
misshap," he muttered, with an anx
ious look upon his face, and then in
almost Inaudible tones. pWhat will be
the result if she reaches this place
i;i safety? But she will never do it!"
and he took a quaff from the goblet
to relieve the terrors of . his soul,
which were depicted in his face.
CHAPTER m,
"And how did you leave dear un
cle?" Inquired a young woman in a
oice of innocence.
"Oh, in the very best of spirits,' re
plied a rugged frontiersman, covered
with the dust of the plains.
"And how long shall it be before
we reach his place?" inquired the
same female voice.
"Within about two days that is if
nothing happens to prevent it," re
plied the man.
"But nothing can happen to prevent
it, except an extraordinary event, can
it?" Inquired the girl assuringly, and
continuing as if to remove all doubt,
"you look fresh, your men are all
fresh and your horses look as if they
were anxious to start on the return
Journey."
"That is all true, Madam, but in this
country we ' never -count on anything
until it's accomplished, and the 'ex
traordinary' is likely to happen any
time."
"Oh, then are we to pass through a
dangerous section?" inquired the
maiden with some alarm.
"No, not particularly, but when the
Snakes are skulking among the rocks
they are likely to strike at any time,"
replied the frontiersman.
"What kind of snakes are they," in
quired the .young woman - "I have
read of your American snakes," she
continued, "and know that there must
be very many varieties, and that they
must be dangerous but never read of
them biting people on horseback."
"But these Snakes bite at any time
and at any place," replied the man
with a smile. "They prefer the dark
however, and more often strike from
ambush. To be plain with you, Mad
am, and you must be a nervy girl to
have crossed the ocean and come this
far alone, the Snakes I speak of are
Indians, belonging to the tribe of
Piutes called Snakes for the very rea
son that they strike from ambush."
"Then are we in imminent peril"
inquired the girl with self-possession.
"No, no, not that. Miss, -we might
make this trip a dozen times without
being molested, but the Snakes are on
the warpath now, and while cattle
stealing and horse stealing is their
principle object, they are not averse
t bigger prey, especially when the
odds are in their favor. They go in
small bands, though, and our boys are
capable of holding their own with
most of them. As It is getting late
and we1 wish an early start in the
morning, I would advise you to retire
and get a good rest, for a couple of
hundred miles on the back of a cayuse
will prove a task for a tender young
lady like you." and as the young wo
man walked away to her tent, Dan
Follett muttered to himself: "A
pretty fair flower to be plucked by the
Flutes!"
(To be continued.)
Egyptian Girls at Play.
In her "Recollections of an Egyptian
Prlnceas" the author describes a little
game at romps in the garden of the
palace which discloses a. very close
touch of nature.' The princess was
seated near a little lake, which had
been constructed in a serpentine shape,
winding about under rustle bridges.
She was laughingly scolding one of
her attendants,- when the girl broke
away," crying out, "My mistress is an
gry with me! . I'll drown myself !" and
rushed into the water.
The princess called out, "Oh, etop
her! Stop her! and three or four fol
lowed Immediately. But the first knew
well enough that the water was not
more three three feet deep, so she had
done it for a joke, and she turned
round and threw water in the faces of
her pursuers.
The princess had seen the joke di
rectly after the cry had escaped her,
and now joined heartily in the fun,
and urged others to help In the cap.
ture. The general harem dress when
warm weather set in was white Indian
grass-cloth, mre or less fine, made
loose, and confined at the waist by a
colored sash, a ribbon to match being
usually worn round the throat, and to
tie back the hair. '
The dress 'could not be hurt by the
Immersion, but the ribbons might be
spoiled. Some were seen to cast a
glance on their pretty ties, which was
a signal to those who saw the look to
rush upon them at once and push tbem
in.
There was nothing but screaming
and laughing, several disporting them
selves Vu the water, others pursued all
over the garden, met et the cross
paths, turning and doubling on their
pursuers. The princess clapped her
hands with delight and laughed unre
strainedly; and the girls themselves
were immensely pleased with the Joke.
T0UN
A Sleepy Time Story.
Can't get to bleep, my little boy Phil?
I'll tell you a story, if you'll keep still.
There once was a giant who grew so high
That he bumped his head on the evening
.; --sky:': -. --,;--.: v. '
And he thought a star was . a firefly, -.. - -For
it burned bis ear and went whizzing
by. - "
With one big gulp he swallowed the seai
And left dry land where water shotild be.
And he said: "This drink taBted gritty to
- . me?' .r-i;..-He
had swallowed clamshells and alL
you see! t-I -
Huge roast turkeys were bites to h5m
He swallowed a thousand and still was
slim. . ." ' ' " ';"".'' ' .
He ate green cheese from the moon's pale
rim, -- ' ; ' - ii'
And that's why the moonlight has grown
' so dim. 'ifr '.
He thought the mountains were anthills,
; too, :-:':'.. --- Y;
So he trod them down with his monstrous
shoe,
And then he cried for something to do. -He
cried, "Oh, dear!" and he cried, "Boo,
hoo!" ... . " ' . Vf:.'.," .
Then he cried salt tears till an tocean
grew, " " '
Where his tear drops fell this is truly
true -'
A moriBtrous ocean, all white and blue!
But when he saw what his tears could
do
He wiped his eyes on a big white cloud,
Then he wrung it out as he laughed aloud.
You thought it was thunder and hid your
head
Under the sheets in the small white bed.
And out you did not dare to peep,
Till the great big. giant fell fast asleep,
A-sleep a sleep a-slee py sleep!
My boy and his giant are fast asleep.
New York Press. .. -'.:-. .
The Camphor Lanach. "
The Illustration shows a little boat
cut out of tin with the help of a pair
of scissors, flat at the stern and cut
like a fish tail. To improve the boat's
appearance, make a mast of -straw,
with a small flag. To make it ; more
impressive, little figures of -men t-and
women and children can be cut from
paper and put on the launch, with a
captain to command It Now place
the boat on the water and you will find
that it floats well. To move the boat,
place a piece of new camphor in the
cut at the stern of the boat. The cam
phor, expanding, will drive the boat
forward, which motion will last for
hours.
Monkey's Smart Trick.
Tracy, . the half -grown panther cub
which escaped from the New York Zoo
logical Park recently and was recap
tured two days later, got the worst of
it one day since in a row with Jack,
the Japanese red-faceu" monkey, in the
cage adjoining his.
Tracy gained so much fame through
his runaway trip that every day crowds
journeyed to the park to have a look
at him, reports the Detroit News-Tribune.
The big crowds didn't seem to
please him, and he grew sulky. When
the monkey shook his -fist at him
through the bars that divide their
abodes the panther bounded toward it.
The monkey was the quicker . and
caught the panther by the left ear. Be
fore the fight had gone far Keeper
Schloesser came up and tried in many
ways to stop the fight, but without suc
cess. .
Finally, he got a pall of water. Rush
ing back to the cage he yelled:. "Here,
Jack, come get your water." The mon
key has been trained to pick up a pan
in his cage, bring it to the front bars
and let the keeper fill it. So when the
keeper came with the pail Jack let go
his hold, got his pan and walked to
the front of the cage. His arm, it was
found, was badly torn by the panther's
claws.
No sooner was his pan filled than he
went back to the pars facing Tracy and
again shook his fist. The panther roar
ed and again sprang toward it with his
mouth open. The monkey stepped back
and threw the water in the beast's face.
Tracy's mouth was open, and he gulped
so much of the water down that he
nearly choked. . Swallowing so much
water made him sick, and he went to
the far side of his cage and lay down,
quite subdued.
Don't Be a Second-Class Man.
You can hardly imagine a boy say
ing: "I am going to be a second-class
man. I don't want to be first-class and
get the good jobs, the high pay. Second-class
jobs are good enough for
me." 'J Such a boy would be regarded
as lacking in good sense, if not in san
ity. You can get to be a second-class
man, however, by not trying to be a
first-class one. Thousands do that all
the time, so that second-class men are
a drug on the market, remarks Success.
Second-class things are only wanted
when first-class, can't be had. ; You
wear first-class clothes If you can pay
for them, eat first-class butter, first
chjuu meat and first-class bread; or, It
; A FLEAS IRQ TOY.
you don't;, you wish-you could.' , Sec
ond-class men are no more . wanted
than any other second-class commod
ity. They are token and used when
the better article is scarce or is too
high-priced for the occasion. For work
that really amounts to anything, first
class men are wanted. -
Getting the Wont.
A boy came to the door of a lady's
house, and asked if she did not wish
some berries,' for he had been out all
day gathering them.
"Yes," said the lady, "I will take
them." She took .the . basket, and
stepped into the house, the boy remain
ing outside, whistling to some canary
birds hanging In their cages on the
porch. .
"Why don't you come in and see that
I measure your berries right?" said the
lady. "How; do you know but that I
may cheat you?" -'.
"I am not afraid," said the boy, "for
you would get the worst of it." .
"Get the worst of it ?" said the lady.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Why, ma'am," said the , boy, "I
should lose only my berries, and you
would make yourself a thief. Don't
you think' that would be getting ' the
worst of itr . - .
The boy 'was right. He who steals
or does anything wrong or mean just
to gain a few pence or a few shillings
burdens himself with a sin which is
worse than all the gain. Let this be
borne in mind the one who does a
wrong to another always gets the
worst of it. Brethren Evangelist.
A Scientific Question.
Five-year-old Martha was quite awed
by the sudden gloom . when passing
through a tunnel, and asked her moth
er how they built a tunnel. Her mother
explained as best she could, how the
men dug through the solid earth, etc.,
and after she had finished, the child
asked: "Well, how do they put In the
dark, mamma?"
Not Exclusive Knowledge.
One day Auntie asked little Florence,
"What does mamma keep, the little
switch for?" " 'Ena knows," was the
reply. Turning to Lena, Auntie asked
her what It was for and Lena said,
"Florence knows." Florence disliked
to have the question turned back to her,
and she replied indignantly, "'Ena
knows duss as well as Florence." Lit
tle Chronicle.
She Knew Its Name.
Little Irma, aged 3, was out in the
yard, but presently came running into
the house and said:
"Mamma, mamma, the pig is out,"
Thinking she was mistaken the mother
sent her brother Oorwin out to see and
when he came in he said, "Yes, mamma,
it's a fact"
. " Tls not, it's a pig." said Irma, Indig
nantly.' How Thoughtful of Her.
Little Frank, 3 years old, was hunt
ing eggs one day and found one that
was warm. Running to his mamma he
held the egg up and said:
"Mamma, look, one of the chickens
has laid a cooked egg." Liittle Chroni
cle. He Knew What They Were.
The primary teacher "was printing the
letter "d" on the board for the infant
class when little Clarence, aged 5,
quickly raised his hand and said:
"Please, teacher, I can make those fry
ing pans."
An Unusual Kffect of Heat. s
- Three-year-old Ethel - was taught to
say perspire instead of sweat. . One hot
day when there were visitors, she said,
"Oh, mamma, we are all Presbyterians
to-day."
CALL IT THE CAN CITY.
New Name for Baltimore, Once Noted
for Its Monuments..
That more attention is paid to matters
of business nowadays and less to senti
mental considerations is shown in the
case of Baltimore, a new colloquial
name for which city Is sought.
It appears from the most recent cen
sus bulletin of the division of Ameri
can industries that 60 per cent of the
oyster-canning in the United States is
done in Baltimore. It is not alone on
oyster-canning, however, that the fame
and profit of Baltimore as the Can City
rest, for in addition to oysters, fruits,
shrimps mussels, crabs and corn, are
packed in large amounts in Baltimore,
and the increase in these lines is con
tinuous. '
For many years Baltimore has retain
ed the name of the Monumental City of
the United States, not by reason of the
great number of monuments it pos
sesses, for Baltimore In that respect
does not rank so high as New York,
Chicago, Boston or St iLouls, but be
cause it was the first city to commem
orate the services of George Washing
ton: with a monument, the Maryland
Legislature having made provision for
one in 1809. The monument was begun
on July 4, 1815, and completed In 1830.
Still another notable-memorial in Bal
timore Is the Battle monument, begun
In 1815 in honor of the defenders of Bal
timore in 1812, when It was attacked by
English soldiers. The popular opinion
Is that Baltimore is distinguished for
the number and beauty of its monu
ments, but actually it gained the name
of the Monumental City by its prompt
ness In raising two.
Baltimore owes little of its present
material prosperity to its monuments,
but much to its large canning interests, I
and to this fact is ascribed the project;
which has considerable local favor, to'
have It called hereafter the Can City,
as Pittsburg is the City of Steel, Troy
the City of Collars and Cuffs, Paterson
the City of Silk, Lowell the City-jttf
Spindles,'. and Washington the'City'bf
Distances. New York Sun.
A wise man always bets on the top
dog and the bottom fact
Farm Conveniences.
The first of the illustrations shows
how a low down wagon may be made
for handling silage corn, or f or draw
, ing green corn fodder, or corn that is
not husked, or anything of that char-
acter, from the Wisconsin Experiment
I Station report." The second cuts show
i how ladders may be made that are
I convenient for picking apples. The
last representation represents a sort-
ing table, or chute for sorting apples.
Apples should not be piled upon the
ground after picking, but should : at
once be placed on a sorting table like
this and run off into barrels and bead
ed up at once. The upper end, of this
chute should be higher than the lower
end. The last two illustrations are
from the Minnesota Horticulturist.
Fall Plowing for Spring: Crops.
One advantage of fall plowing is that
it enables the land to absorb and store
up more water for plant use than does
the unplowed solid land. Another is
that it dries, out quicker, j that, it can.
oe woritea earner in tne sprang.- xnose
two statements may seem contradic
tory, but they are easily reconciled.
The water penetrates through the loose
furrows to the subsoil, where it re
mains to be drawn up by capillary at
traction as soon as the ground is work
ed over with the disc harrow in the
spring, and the surface gets dry and
warm. The water, being below the fur
row, ' does not make the ground as
cool or as hard to work as if it was
In the surface soil. An experiment
made by Prof. King showed that un
plowed land had evaporated or lost
nine pounds of water to the square
foot more than the fall-plowed' land
from April 30 to May 6. This was equal
to 1 Inches of rain in a week. What
need would there be of Irrigating, the
land if that was stored up in the sub
soil, for the plant roots and the sun
shine to pump up when there was a
drought, if the top soil was stirred by
frequent cultivation? The importance
of this frequent shallow cultivation, In
a dry time, and keeping on the surface
a dust mulch is not sufficiently under
stood yet. American Cultivator.
Blar Arkansas Pears. '.
The St. Louis Chronicle a few days
ago published a picture of a Duchess
pear grown with six others oa one twig
In Illinois, and sent to that office. It
was a wonderful evidence of the fruit
development of Illinois and attracted
general attention. Now comes Arkan-
ARKAITSAS PEAKS.
sas with a claim that Illinois cannot
outshine Arkansas. Another box of
pears was received from G. M. Settle
mire at Cherry Valley, Arku, containing
a twig to which were clinging ten big
pears, being three more than the twig
from the Illinois tree. The ten pears
weighed seven pounds and five ounces.
Planting; Wind Breaks,
In many sections a wind-break would
be a decided advantage on nearly all
farms, and if one is located where
small evergreen trees may be had near
by, from the woods, for example, they
may be transplanted now with but lit
tle loss, and especially so if in sections
where the rainfall has been copious
during the summer. ' Thds is the period
of root growth with evergreens, so that
it the young tree is properly handled
It will Bve. Select a cloudy day for
transplanting the trees, and have the
boles ready for tbem before digging the
trees. ' If the ground around the young
trees is not moist, pour a pail of water
slowly " around the roots before dig
ging. Then dig carefully down, so
that the tree may be taken up with a
Jf , . - - :- -
mound of soil adhering to the roots;
place It in the hole prepared, fill in with
fine earth, working carefully around
exposed roots and covering them well.
press the soil down firmly until the hole
is three-quarters full;, then pour in
water In sufficient quantity to thor
oughly wet the roots; a half hour later
fill the hole to the level of the sur
rounding surface with soil, and press
down firmly. Large trees, in small
numbers, may be successfully . trans
planted In the manner advised. " ,
The Apple Crop. :
The apple crop could be made much
more profitable If better care were
taken of the inferior fruit Much of .
the crop that falls prematurely could
be utilized in the manufacture of cider,
which in turn can be disposed of in
the form of vinegar at a reasonable
profit. Wormy fruit should be fed to
farm animals, more especially hogs, as
they not only ' have a feeding value.
but handling them in this way tends to
lessen the .number of Insects fn the
future. Many persons make the mis
take of leaving' their orchard down to
a tough sod. In the marketing of fruit
careful sorting is always profitable.
In the picking season such apples as
become bruised may be dried and sold
at a profit if not manufactured Into
cider. Apples are exceedingly health
ful . and should be used even to a
greater extent than Is now the case.
. Sunday on the Farm.
Sunday on the farm is regarded as a
day when members of the families
may draw near to one another. It may
be regarded as the "home" day of the
week. It Is a good practice to finish
the work a little earlier on Saturday,
as this makes a splendid preparation
for spending the Sabbath day in a
proper manner. Regular Sunday school
attendance Is considered important, as
is also that of church going. Part of
the. day may be profitably spent in
reading good books or magazines,
whjle part of the day may be devoted
to singing by members of the home.
One writer thinks It necessary to
guard against too much gloominess in
the home on the Sabbath day. Iowa
Homestead.
For a Stubborn Horse.
George Becker of Piatt County, Illi
nois, sends Iowa Homestead a sketch
of a device he has used for holding a
horse that has be
come stubborn and
hard to control by
the bit. The lines
are passed through
rings of the bridle
bits and snapped
to either the hame
ring or the gag ring of the bridle. This t
gives the'drivef pUrcbaW on the hor
and the slightest pull will have a great
deal ' of effect on the actions of the
horse. Almost any person can hold a
bad horse by this method, Mr. Becker
says. '.- .
. Mnttoa and Wool.
It is surprising how niany people are
still thinking that the mission of the
sheep Is to grow wool, says an ex
change. Many are abandoning sheep,
says a writer In the Ohio Farmer, just
because wool is low, and going into
cattle and hogs because beef and pork
are high. The fact that mutton is also
high and that a pound of mutton can
be produced at less cost than, a pound
of beef and about as cheaply as a
pound of pork, and that whatever wool
is produced is additional gain, is lost
sight of.
Increasing: Use of Corn Fodder.
A census bulletin reports that in In
diana in 1899, 38,039 farms used 564,
770 tons of cornstalks for forage. Ohio
came, next, with 32,658 farm, using
563,149 tons. The other big corn pro
ducing States used far less and thus
permitted a large portion of their corn
crop to go to waste Since 1899 the
amount of corn fodder used has great
ly increased, but there are no statis
tics of the amount at hand.
Farm Notes.
The importance of using plenty of
seed may be mentioned from the fact
that only 30 per cent germinates on the
average. The conditions of the soil,
kind of seed. Its age and depth of the
planting must be considered, but the
rule to be observed is to use rather
more seed than too little.
An excellent time to select seed corn
is when it Is being husked. All seed
corn should be kept in a dry place, and
if hung up where the air can circulate
through it so much the better. In
some sections -seed corn is injured in
winter by severe cold, but this danger
is not so great If the seed is kept dry.
It is not a bad plan for any farmer
to have some specialty aside from his
regular crops, if he is not too short for"
help. Among the things to be suggest
ed a small area in some one fruit
would be within reach of alL This
would afford a profit in the majority
of seasons, and every now and then
comes a year when a fruit crop is
worth a very handsome sum.
Lime has been used- at some of the
experiment stations on land intended
for clover with most excellent results. -The
crops of clover on some plots have,
been Increased over one-third In com-'
parison with land that received no
lime. As lime is the cheapest sub
stance that can be applied to land and
gives good results on all classes of soils
Its use should be more general.
When the crops are removed from
the garden burn the ground over so as
to destroy the weeds and seeds. It
may then be. plowed and seeded to rye
if not. too late in the season at the
time, the rye to be plowed under in
the spring. The object should ' be to -avoid
having weeds in the garden so
as to render the work less difficult dur
ing the busy season, and If this- mat- -ter
Is carefully attended to there will
be no weeds to kill in two or three
seasons. - -.