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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1907)
THE ROAD TO Is FAME By ALBERT HlGGINS Copyright. HB6. by P. C. Eaatment It was Grandma Foster who waa to blame for it She came on a visit to her daughter. Farmer Stebbins' wife, and found her niece Hattie teaching the district school and engaged to be married to a worthy young man named Hiram Ball. Miss Hattie was fairly educated, fairly good looking and very well contented with her life. . Grandma's coming, however, started the fires of ambition. Once during her long life the old lady had attended a theatrical performance. It was in the town hall of her native village. The plfly was "Uncle Tom's Cabin," of course, and the company was made up of barnstormers, but it was a great play, and It made grandma, who was oury a little girl then, thrill from top to toe. Soon after her arrival at the Steb blnses Hattie walked across the veran da In a way that made the old lady exclaim: . "Bless my soul if that don't remind toe of Ophelia in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin!' You've got her walk to perfection. Child, have you been practicing for the itage?" "No, grandma." "But the way you just turned around, your looking back at me with your bead over your shoulder, your smile, the way you stick up your chin, all re mind me of Ophelia. You could step right on the stage and play the charac ter." That was the beginning. Grandma announced her great discovery to her sister and brother-in-law and advised them to put Hattie on the stage at once; but, meeting with decided oppo sition, she said nothing further to them. Many weee the councils held between her and the niece, however. It had been forty-two years since grandma had seen the historic play and what she couldn't remember she imagined.. Within a week she had de cided that Hattie could not only play the part of Ophelia, but of little Eva, "BLESS UT BOI'Ij, IP THIS DON T REMIND MB OF OPHELIA." Legree, Marks and even of Uncle Tom himself. She couldn't fail to be the whole show, and in four weeks she would rise from "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to Shakespearean plays. The old lady believed what she said, and the young lady believed with her. Hiram Ball tried his best to open his fiancee's eyes. "Your grandmother is a fool!" was bis blunt way of putting it. "Because you can smile and giggle is no sign that you would make a great actress. You just give up the idea and settle down and behave yourself." ."Mr. Ball, I permit no one to speak disrespectfully of my grandmother In toy presence," replied the young lady, with freezing dignity, as she took three Strides to the east and then turned about and took three strides to the west. "Hattie Stebbins, don't make a jay Of yourself. You'll never be an actress any more than I'll be Cicero. It hain't In us." "Speak for yourself, Mr. Ball. My resolution is taken. It Is irrevocable. Nothing that you can say will shake toe In the least. Destiny calls me." "What, do you mean to tell me that you are going to be silly enough to go on the stage?" he shouted. "Remember whom you are address ing, varlet!" she warned as she drew herself up. "By gum, but you have gone crazy! That old grandmother of yours ought to be ducked in the goose pond. What does she know about acting?" "Enough, sir! Here our paths di verge. From this hour we are stran gers." "Then go right along and make a fool of yourself!" called Hiram as she turned away. When the grandmother was Inform ed of the Insidious remarks of Mr. Ball she held out new encouragement. She discovered new things to found new predictions on. The very way that Miss Hattie climbed a fence, fell down on the lawn or ran Into a clothes line proved to her that the girl waa born for the stage and bad been mol dering in obscurity. The district school was continued, and nothing might have come of the talk bat for the week's holiday In Sep tember to give the carpenters time to make some repairs. Grandma had gone borne, and now Miss Hattie went over to the county seat to visit a girl friend. She and Hiram bad been 'out" for the last three months. In stead of moping and sorrowing and breaking bis heart he had again called her a jay and continued his business of buying butter and eggs, for the mar ket A theatrical company playing "Did She Love Him?" had struck the town and excited, the people. The actors and actresses had sauntered about the street and been the observed of all ob servers. There was talk of a "tre mendous cast" and a "carload of scenery-" There was talk of a "farewell tour" and "tremendous applause." The play had run several hundred nights in New York and the same in London, and its author had' received over a million dollars In royalties. Miss Hattie Stebbins had determined, from the first to join the company. She met the manager iir a grocery where he had called for crackers, cheese and herring, and, to her intense joy, he was looking for a young lady to play second lead. Her salary would be $25 per week. Her part would be to hold up the train of the leading lady's dress as she entered the parlor, trim two lamps and ask the 'feeding lady if she should turn the cat outdoors. The manager could promise her no more just at present as the leading lady was insanely jealous of her part, but later on there would be a change. It was agreed that Hattie should leave when the company did and make her first appearance at the next town. She dodged her friends and was at the depot as the company made ready to depart at midnight It departed In the caboose of a freight train. The manager explained that they preferred to travel that way in order to view the scenery. There Were five actors and three ac tresses.' The actors were gallant enough, but the actresses held aloof and threw out Insinuations and made Hattie feel as badly as they could. There was sleep that night for all who sat on the floor. In the early morning the company rolled into ifs next stop ping place, and the manager took the upper rooms at the village inn. These included the garret. He did this, he explained, on the ground of health. He borrowed Hattie's watch that day and forgot to return it She went on in her part that night She had studied it for hours and was letter perfect She fell over a chair on her entrance, and she fell over another on her exit, and, though the actresses sneered and wanted to know if she thought she was in a cabbage patch, the manager took her aside and said he never saw such acting by an am ateur. She had only to keep on and fall over four chairs to bring four rounds of applause from the audience. He wound up by borrowing her breast pin. For a whole week Miss Hattie Steb bins played second lead and rode from town to town in cabooses. For a whole week the actresses showed their jeal ousy of her. Sometimes enough money was taken In to pay the bills and get to the next town. Sometimes the print er and the landlord were held up by promises. Sometimes the audience numbered fifty people, and the ap plause that went up the manager call ed "positively tremendous." Sometimes only half a dozen people sat around and wondered what it was all about. Miss Hattie had two gold rings, and the manager borrowed both of them. She loaned two or three of her dresses and a hat to. the actresses in the hope of getting into their golden opinions. She learned to enter and to exit, and if she fell down she learned to fall grace fully on her' shoulder. The manager as sured her that the pinnacle of fame was not far away, and everything looked rosy, when she awoke one morn ing to find the company gone and to learn that the landlord was holding her for the bill. Luckily her father arrived at that juncture. There was no scene. She did not fall Into his arms. She had had acting enough. He simply took her home, where she found Hiram waiting for her. He had been biding his time, and there was no scene with him ei ther. He simply remarked that if she had got over being 4 jay he would like to revive the marriage question, and an hour later a female head was resting on a manly shoulder and gazing up at the new moon with dewy eyes. After a long while Hiram gently asked: "Dearest, what does varlet mean? You know you called me one." "It's it's some kind of an animal, I guess, and I'm sorry," she replied as she snuggled closer. Adam Knew the Flood Was Coming;. An apocryphal book called the "Less er Genesis" and well known to the early Christian fathers tells a wonder ful Incident in the life of Seth, the ! third son of Adam and Eve. When ; the goodly Seth was about forty years of age, he was "rapt" up Into heaven by a trio of angels and there told and shown what was In store for mankind. Among other things, the coming of the ' great deluge was made known to him, ' w was a,so ihe coming of the Saviour, j When be returned to earth. Seth told . bis parents what had happened and of what he had seen and beard concern ing the future of the human race. "And I Adam was much grieved when it was ' made known to him that the world would be destroyed by water on ac count of the wickedness of bis own children, but a great peace and calm ness came over him when Seth told how the face of the earth would again be repeopled. His Joy was ex ceedingly great when Seth related what was In store In the coming agea,' ' and he was particularly glad to know that redemption should finally com , through Jeans, the Christ" THE HOG HOUSE. Ample Overhead Ventilation Needed to Avoid Swine Fever. Too many men who keep hogs pay no attention to the ventilation of then winter quarters, or if they attempt to ventilate at all they do little more than leave a few cracks around the bottom through which the cold air can get In, but provide no way for it to get out Experience has shown that drafts are the prime promoters of colds, which develop into pneumonia and what Is generally known as swine fever, says the American Farm World. It is im portant that the bottom boards of the hog house should be thoroughly well battened, and the divisions between the pens should be treated In the same way. -" Ample ventilation should be provided from the top of the house and not by underneath drafts. Who has not seen hogs piled upon each, other in cold weather, shivering, fighting to get into i warm place? UnJer such conditions It is impossible for a hog to put on flesh, and there are nine chances In ten that he will take cold, which may develop into serious lung trouble. Overhead ventilation is easily secur ed by leaving an open space of, say. six inches between the top of the out side wall and the roof. An English farmer who has had great success with hogs builds his houses with a section of the wall bung on a swivel pin in the middle which can be swung open whenever sunlight and air are needed. When the section is released it swings back into an upright position by gravi tation. . . - . In order to let the rays of the sun Into every part of the building the houses have been laid out north and south, so that by opening the wall shutters on the east side the morning sun is let in and by opening those on the west side the rays of the afternoon sun can penetrate to every part of the house, keeping it sweet and clean. Honesty In Selling Stock. There is no business in the world where reliability and absolute truth is so essential as with a breeder of blood . ed stock. He knows all about his : stock, their strong points and their weak ones. In his sales he can ad vance the breed or Injure it and can help a customer or be his ruin, for his : customers are entirely at his mercy. I He can be a man or jockey. A breed er should be so honest and upright that a stranger might write him for an ani mal, telling him the weak points in his own breeding and rest assured that what he received would remedy the de fects. A breeder should feel that in terest in the success of his favorite breed that would not allow him to ever sell an animal to a customer unless he honestly believed it would be. a benefit to him. C. M. Winslow, Ayrshire Breeders' Association. THE SWINEHERD Hogs will not thrive in damp, dirty, drafty quarters, and the man who attempts to raise them for market un der these conditions is simply working against himself. He not only loses the greater portion of his feed, but his time and labor as well. Condiments at All Times. Condiments must be provided for the hogs at all times. These are not costly. , They consist of wood ashes, soft coal broken into small bits, mor tar, rotten wood or anything of that character. Hogs eat these readily, and they are great aids in keeping them in health and consequently in growing rapidly and fattening quickly.. The animals must have some salt the same as other live stock on the farm. Dipping Very Essential. Dipping hogs is very essential to the health of the animals. It keeps them free of mites and scab diseases, makes them more thrifty and consequently more profitable. Dipping should be done twice each year. It is not a diffi cult operation after the dipping plant Is established. Swine Notes. You can't get the best results by breeding immature animals. A good sow in perfect health will lose flesh while suckling her pigs. Even the best bred hogs will pat their feet in the trough if they can. Burn some cobs to a charcoal and give the hogs some now and then. It helps to keep them healthy. Avoid drafts In the hog house A hog Is susceptible to colds and rheu matism as well as people. Look out for holes In the bottom of the pen. Hogs are great on the gnaw ing business. First you know there may be a hole and a broken leg. A good hog without a pedigree is bet ter than a fair one with it The boar at the bead of the herd should be changed often. The good brood sows should be retained as long as their usefulness continues. - Breed the sows so they will farrow In groups of, say, five: The pigs may be divided at pleasure then, and fewer sows will be suckling pigs than If the j pigs come at different times. Besides, . ft is almost as easy to look after five i sows as one. Convenience In feeding and watering stock is a thing to be sought for by all. Especially is this true of swine, where there is so much feeding and watering to be done. It Is quite a chase to keep the watering troughs free from ice In freezing weather. Every fine day give the brood sows exercise In the open air. Scatter a lit tle shelled corn en the ground to en courage them to move around. Fresh clean water should be given to the hogs every day to drink; also a good allowance of roots should be given them daily. ! SOAKING STOCK FOOD. Some Hints For Breeders Ly Professor Thomas Shaw. Food is seldom soaked far horses. In the true sense of soaking it is proba bly never thus prepared. ' But when horses are worked hard it has in many instances been found profitable to chaft the hay and grind the grain aad to mix the grain with a sufficiency of cut hay which has been moistened with waier. When horses are on short allowance for time to eat they can take more fosd In a given time thus prepared than if, given in the ordinary way. Bran is also fed to them occasionally as a mash that is. water is poured on it, frequently hot and the mass is stir red so that it all becomes moi;t Thus prepared the bran can be more readily eaten by horses, and the influence on the digestive tract is also probably more helpful because of the moisture than if the mass had been fed dry. Food is seldom soaked for cattle. The chief exception is corn. ' It is n it soak ed when thus prepared for them in or der to make it more digestible, but be cause of certain exigencies that ariso relating to the feeding. When corn gets very dry, especially on the cob. and is fed to cattle for a long term of feeding it is liable to produce soreness of the mouth. When this result fol lows they are chary about consuming it and do not eat enough to produce the ' gains that are sought. Experi ments have shown that corn soaked for swine does not produce more gains than when fed dry. Cattle not only moisten food well while masticating, but the fluids are abundant with which It comes in contact In rumination' and also in the various processes of diges tion. Sheep do not require soaked food. In fact, it would be more or less distaste ful to them. They have an almost marvelous power of masticating food, so that it can be completely digested. Nearly all If not indeed all the small cereals are greatly improved for swine by soaking them. In some instances, when the weather will admit of it they may be soaked for at least three days. Usually, however, they are fur ther improved by grinding and also by soaking subsequently. When thus pre pared they are more readily consumed, somewhat more easily digested and will be consumed in larger quantities. It is admissible in the winter to feed whole grain other than corn to swine well advanced in growth and to brood sows when scattered on a hard and clean feeding place. If fed in a trough it will be consumed so quickly that much of it will escape digestion. Professor Thomas Shaw. Fertilizing Value of Food. In fattening cattle the value .of the manure is usually set off against th" cost of labor. The fertilizing value . a ton of clover hay at present prices for nitrogen, phosphoric acid and pot ash is estimated at above $7. With the grains fed the fertilizing value varies, but it is highest with those that are more nitrogenous. Of the fertilizer ingredients consumed in the feed over 90 per cent is distributed up on the land in the manure. Professor D. W. May, Kentucky Experiment Sta tion. THE HORSEMAN Horses seldom suffer from decayed teeth, but because of the upper teeth closing on the lower ones a little on the outside points sometimes are formed which lacerate the cheek or penetrate the gums, creating a tenderness that prevents the proper mastication of food, annoying the horse so that he falls away very rapidly. To prevent sore shoulders of working horses H. E. Cook recommends perfect ly fitting collars, fitted to the shoulders by working the horse in them after a thorough soaking of the collars. He would avoid sweat pads under all cir cumstances, except where they become absolutely necessary because of lack of properly fitting collars. One of the most important items in the welfare of a horse is a plentiful supply of pure, fresh water. Water should be given the first thing in the morning, and It should be offered the last thing at night when the final round of the barn is made. Teach the foal to eat early. A few ground oats and bran with a little milk is a desirable ration. The foal will not take much at first but will soon show a readiness for hearty meals. In the early part of the season it will always pay to allow the foal to suck some time during the forenoon and also In the afternoon, giving the mare a drink and a few oats to eat while the foal is sucking. It will benefit both the mare and the foal. John Gardhouse, Onta rio. It Is easier to keep colts from learn ing bad tricks than to break them of these habits. For that reason have every strap and rope used by the colts so strong that they cannot be broken. Once a colt finds out that he can get away from a baiter or other part of a harness there will be trouble perhaps for all time. Always be careful to give the mares plenty of exercise in winter after the work on the farm is done. It is a great mistake to overfeed or pamper a horse beyond a certain stage. When straw is used every spear should be taken out of the stall every morning. The soiled and wet parts should be put on the compost heap and the rest put in the sun to air and dry for use the following night . Heating a horse isn't so dangerous. If s the cooling off. A healing liniment much liked by horsemen Is made as follows: One part liquid carbolic add, four parts glycerin and six parts sweet tie. 1 IPS &r i Cfl That all cream Is not good cream is a fact generally conceded by careful diarymen. The surest way to improve its quality is to improve the quality of mi'k. Even where a great deal of care is exercised in milking and afterward straining and cooling it often happens that there will be some taint or bad flavor. Sometimes the fault is with a single cow. It may seem to be charac teristic of her milk at times or the whole herd may yield an ill flavored product for a day or more, due to hav-. ing eaten moldy feed, turnips, garlic or obnoxious weeds or forage. The tream from such milk is not relished; neither is the butter which is made from it and It hardly pays to spoil a good reputation at the creamery or store by getting rid pf an occasional poor product in this way. Some work has been done of late at the Virginia station that promises to improve the quality of cream from milk of an inferior grade. When the" Milk la "Off." As soon as the milk is found to be "off" in flavor the cause should be learned. If one cow is causing the trouble heep her milk out and treat It separately.- As the acids and bad fla vors are largely found in the milk se rum the cream should be skimmed as close as possible. If setting pans are in use some form ' of skimming cup should be used that will allow all skim milk to drain off before it is emptied into the cream Jar. Thus the bad fla vor will largely be eliminated, where If the milk had been mixed with that of the herd of the bad flavor It would have permeated the Whole milking. With a separator the bad flavors can be eliminated much more completely. If only a part of toe milk is tainted the cream can be separated, then mix ed with skim milk from an untainted product and separated again. The same end. could be accomplished by setting the cream screw to skim very close, but the cream would not be uni form with that of the usual run. Skim as Close aa Possible. . When the milk from the whole herd is tainted the above plan must be re sorted to that of skimming as close as possible. A good machine can get most of the cream in about one-tenth of the weight of the milk. Such cream should test around 40 per cent and will be al most, thick enough to cut. Practically all the milk serum has been eliminated, and with it have been taken the taints and ill flavors also. It is not likely that more than one or two milkings will be so contaminated. Close skimming with the separator is a good practice at all times. Cream that will test 30 per cent butter fat will stay sweet longer than that con taining more milk serum, testing, say, 20 per cent. A good method of improv ing the quality of cream as above sug- ested should be of considerable value, specially to the individual who retails cream to private trade. As a means, however, of producing a good product it should be of secondary importance. The primary object, says Homestead, is to produce clean, pure milk; then good cream will be insured. A London Prise Winner. The subject of the illustration Is Un aware, a Jersey cow that attracted JERSEY COW TTNAWABE. great attention at the dairy show held in London. The judges were unani mous in awarding Unaware first prize in her class. Dutch System of Feeding;. The Dutch system of feeding and rearing the famous Holstein-Friesian cattle is simplicity itself. The calves are given whole milk until about five weeks old, when the ration is gradual ly changed to skim milk and grain. The grain is cooked or steamed and fed with the milk at first and later fed dry immediately before the milk is given. ' When grass is available, It forms the entire ration for heifers, and during winter the rations are only suf ficient to keep them growing. Bulls are fed in the same manner until they are a year old, after which they are closely confined, but regular exercise is given daily. Bulls used for breed ing are kept In stables or paddocks and are well fed, but not allowed to become fat. Roots in winter and green forage Ja, summer axe largely .sd, Rheumatism In Hogs. At this season of the year, when the weather changes are frequent extra precautions In the hogpen will pay. Avoid damp , bedding and, above all things, shut off the cold, damp winds. Hogs that are well kept are especially susceptible to rheumatism. Now, don't go and turn your hogs out In the cold In order to make them hardy, so they will be able to ward off the disease. It will be more profitable for you to give them reasonable protection. On the other hand, do not think it neces sary to have a frost proof, air tight hog house. There Is reason In all things, especially In caring for hogs. Additional Local. It ie reported that a committee of clU sens interested in the municipal owner ship of Eugene's waterworks system has a source of water supply in prospect, sufficient to supply a city of 100,000 in habitants. The location of this water sapplv is not announced at this time, but it is stated that the water comes di rect from the mountains, cold and clear, and the water shed necessary to protest the oead-works of the gravity system, is no. large, and so it is stated, can be se cured at a ytry reasonable figure. Reg ister. The condition of Mr 8. Philip Phile. I who has been ' seriously ill for several weeks, is not improved. Friday night Mrs. Pbile's brother, Carson Rodamock er, who makes his home at the Phile residence, was striken with paralysis and is in a serious condition. The organs ol speech are affected. It was April fool day and two young ladies entered a candy store in Eugene and with the greatest suavity and com posure said to one of the proprietors. "Mr. , we want two bits worth ot candy." Especially anxious .to please, the urbane proprietor filled up a sack of delicious chocolates and bos bong and handed them over. One of the ladies toesed down two broken and useless quarter inch bits that they had dug up from a carpenter shop and passed out toward the door. The dumb-founded proprietor could not speak for chagrin and as the girls passed out of the door, they called back in sweetest voice "April tool !" and the proprietor fcsid never a word but just thought. Mrs. Austin, who has been ill for the past ten days, is not improved. She has an attack of la grippe. Mrs. Minor Sick received a letter, Tuesday, from her sister, Mrs. Mary Black, now at El Paso, Texas, in which the writer says the weather is so hot there that people have to sit on their porches until 10 or 11 o'clock at night, It being impossible to sleep berauBeofthe heat. Mrs. Black's borne is in Oregon and she expects to return to Corvallis by the last of May, where the climate is more pleasant. The F. M. S. of the M. E. church met and was entertained at Ike home of Mrs. S. IV. Holmes, Wednesday afternoon, and a very pleasurable time is reported. Two wagon loads of movers were in town, Wednesday, bound for a point up the Columbia, w here the men stated they would go to work on the railroad that is beini; built in that section. The wagons were supplied with stsve and beds, and several women and children were in the party. Whi re they came from was not learned. Miss Blanche Rood, who made ber home for a time in this city and who went back to Lisbon, North Dakota, about a year ago, is now at Clear Lake, Iowa, visitine relatives. Rumors of ber coming marriage are going the rounds among Corvallis friends. John C. Veatch and Francis V. Gal loway have been chosen by the faculty of the V. of O. to go to Sa t Lake Oitv to debate against a Utah team on April 28th. j Reports from the bedside of Mrs . j Grant Elgin, who was operated on in a Portland hospital, Sunday, for appendi- j citis, are very encouraging. It is said she is getting along as well a9 could be ' expected, and if she continued to improve during the day yesterday it was believed the danger point would be passed. Reuben Kiger, who has been confined to his home with illness since before Christmas, is slowly improving, although still unable to be out of the bouse. Mrs. H. F. Fischer went to Portland, yesterday to be at the bedside of her daughter, Mrs. Grant Elgin, who is in the hospital there. , Sievert Ramsdall, who had his foot crushed by a falling tree several weeks ago at Kings Valley, was in Corvallip, Wednesday. The injured foot is getting along as well as could be expected. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy, parents of R. H. Kennedy of Mt. View, have arrived from the East and are guests at the home of their son. 1 Mrs. Mary Stewart, familiarly known as "Grandma." has been quite ill this week. The ailment is la grippe. THE FEEDER, Grain mixtures are more satisfactory than unmixed grain. It seems that the sheep like the mixture better and make more rapid gains. c 1 : ij . rTOiim nuya worn, a It has been proved by a series of ex-1 periments that corn alone is the most expensive feeding stuff for bogs. One part of oilmeal , and four parts of corn made a gain of 1.48 pounds of pork at a cost of $2.75 per hun dred. Corn alone makes just about half as much gain at a cost of $3.63 per hundredweight This represents the two extremes In the experiment' It is possible that some farmers may see In this the reason why they have not been making more from their bogs. ' The average man has plenty of corn. ; ana ms crop or oiimeal depends upon ,. the liberality with which be buys. It ; seems expensive to buy feed when the " cribs are fall and running over. As a matter or tact it s economical, says Kimball's Dairy Farmer. It does not pay. to cjrjSoe, bogta odb food.
