Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1908)
" OLD PARIS STREETS. Odors and Filth of tha Thoroughfare of Long Ago. The automobile which glides noiselessly and smoothly along the well paved streets of Paris would not have had so easy a time some centuries ago. Nowadays one of the first demands civilization makes upon a community is that the pav ing and the sewerage shall be good. It is hardly possible for the twen tieth century mind to conceive the conditions of old time streets and of the inconveniences and dangers the public endured. Some idea of ancient Parisian thoroughfares is given in Tighe Hopkins' "An Idler In Old France." Lutetia, the name by which Paris was first .known, is said to have come from a word meaning "mud." This derivation is inexact, but its appropriateness was practically borne out in the condition of the streets. Unpaved, rough as wood bind tracks, flooded with waste wa ters from the houses, the roadways were populated by pigs, dogs, geese, ducks and rabbits. In 1131 ' Philippe, son of Louis le Gros and heir to the throne, was killed while riding in the city streets by being thrown from his horse by an ab bot's pig. Snows and rains made the roads almost impassable, and the odor from them ro far above the housetops. It was said that on the darkest night a traveler, out of his course, might know by the stench how near "he was to Paris. The mud of the streets gained an eariy celebrity. "It sticks like Paris mud" was a proverb of an.tiquity. If clothes were stained with it one was advised to "cut the piece out, for it burns whatever it touches." In 1185 the king, standing by an open window of the palace, viewing a cart which had stuck in the mud, was so sickened by the stench that he gave orders to have the streets paved. This movement inaugu rated the street department of Par is, but the effort was a feeble one. The work was begun, but at the people's expense. The king offered only a slender contribution. Taxes were levied on duelists, on candles, boots, cake and other things. But the enterprise was soon abandoned. It was not until 138 that any systematic care was taken of the Streets and pigs denied the public ways. Even then the cleaning was confined to the highways. The smaller streets were still filled with heaps and hillocks of rotting ref use. The germ wise minds of today may well wonder that any good or any continuance of life came out of such conditions. Not pair. "Look here, Abraham." said the judge, "it's been proved right here in court that instead of doing something to help support your wife and children you spend your whole time hunting possum !" The old negro hung his headV "Now, Abe, you love your wife, don't you ?" "Ah suttinly does!" "And your children?" "Yas, suh." "And you love them both bet ter" "Better ev'ry day, jedge," Abe broke in. "Better than a thousand pos sum?" "Look hyah, jedge," exclaimed Abe, with widening eyes, "dat's takin' a coon' at a pow'ful disadvan tage." Bohemian Magazine. Alas, Poor Kids. "This book," remarked the house to house merchant as he dexterous ly inserted one foot in the door way and smiled pleasantly, "is well jjamed 'The Mother's Guide.' With its aid you can bring up your chil dren properly." His victim thoughtfully exam ined the binding and felt tha weight of the book. Then she gripped it by the edge with her right hand and brought it down, whack, on the other. To the astonished salesman she appeared to be trying to see how convenient it was to handle. But ior what purpose? "I don't think I'll take one," she remarked at last. "I'm sure it's no better than the ordinary slipper !" London Answers. Tha Source of Supply. The sling, or "shanghai," as it is sometimes called by boys, who use it to shoot at birds and any other target that takes their youthful fancy, is an illegal weapon in Mel bourne, where the police confiscate every one they see. One day Bobby, aged five, meet ing another "bobby" in blue uni form and brass buttons, asked eagerly, "Is it true that you take 6hanghais from little boys?" "Indeed I do," answered "bob by senior. "Then will ' you please give me one ? asked Bobby junior inno cently. Youth's Companion. NOW THE BABY CALVES. By T. A. EORMAN, Kansas. , It -beats the world how small farm ers, men who would engage hi the most economical use of their land and who should be saving every vestige of fodder and grain, will hang on to the old notion that the supreme service of a good cow is to rear a calf or two for the feed lot and in the end sacrifice her own body on the butcher's block. This beef idea Is an extravagant idea. There are many farmers who would not object so much to milking cows and patronizing a creamery u tney reit nssnrort thev could raise a calf with credit to themselves and their other j farming operations. It is possible to rear a cair on tne hand separator sweet skim milk prop- ARISTOCRATIC BEAUTY. First prize Jersey calf at national dairy : show, 1907, owned by Overton Hall farm, Tennessee. Hoard's Dairyman. erly combined with grains, which calf at the end of twelve months will be worth as much money to the farmer either for placing in his feed lot or in selling to some feeder as the calf that . has been reared at its mother's side. j I would have on every farm a herd . of eight or ten cows, which cows can . Ue handled with very great profit to the farmer and will add very largely to a system of maintaining soil fertili ty together with a sensible use of the land in the growing of crops. Now, the farmer cannot afford at the present time to sacrifice his chances for a good calf, and he need not do so. Even though the farmer Is procuring excellent prices for his butter fat he cant afford to mistreat or stunt the calf during the first two or three weeks i of its life. I would, theref ore, be as : liberal as need be in feeding a young calf whole milk during this period.. At the end of the third week of the hand raised calf s existence he should be on a ration composed wholly of skimmilk, eating some corn chop and nibbling hay. (The calf should be thrif ty, the eye bright, the coat glossy and smooth and the calf active. If properly and wisely fed until this date the calf will be all this and even more hungry, 'playful and lusty. , v Aside from the corn and the milk ration, see that the calf gets plenty of hay. It must have roughage to aid di gestion and distend the stomach. The potbellied, cat hammed, stunted and miserable calf creatures to be seen on many farms, not so frequently now as formerly, are the rasult of improper judgment used in feeding the baby calf. The calf so described is a dis grace to the owner, and he should feel ashamed of having produced the like. Time on the farm is money just the same as in the factory. The farmer who is rearing a half dozen calves per year can't afford to be without stan chions. (See cut from Kansas Farmer.) Stanchions are as necessary in feeding calves as is an Improved stall in niak tng the dairy cow comfortable. If calves are fed in an open pen in summer time I would build a stan chion in the lot. I would also have a set built in the calf barn. Stanchions are not so expensive but that the farmer can afford two sets. At mealtime each calf will have his head in the stanchion and the calf CALF STANCHIONS. waiting to be fastened. The feeder closes the stanchion and the calf is se cure. The feed Is given the calf ac cording to his requirements and desires of the feeder. If the calf Is a slow eater it is not molested by the greedy calf next to him. Stanchions on the dairy farm will expedite greatly and overcome many of the obstacles and disagreeable things In feeding calves. Creameries and Factories. There are now In Minnesota 825 creameries and seventy-six cheese fac tories In actual operation, nearly all of them being operated and owned by the farmers, using the same system of bookkeeping that Is given in the short course In the dairy school, and every creamery In the state Is using the Bab cock milk test and is making first class butter-. President Northrup of- Minne sota University. Good Methods. "The idea that great outlay for equip ment is necessary to produce clean milk Is erroneous. Milk of the best quality may be produced in an ordi nary barn if the proper care be taken. The trouble has not been lack of ex pensive equipment, but lack of clean methods." This brief statement by Illinois dairy autnorities simplifies tha milk problem Immensely. , THE LATE- ELEANOR" KIRK. A Tribute to Her , Life and Doctrine ' ' by Qna "Who Knew Her. - x notable Illustration of her, own bright, optimistic philosophy waa -the-late--Eleanor Kirk. -.'. She. advocated steadiiy the power of an immortal soul to rii!e its own body and environment. , What she wrote and taught maj be known Iroza the titles of some of her ' books "Prevention and Cure of Old Age," "Perpetual Youth." "Where You , Are."-"The Bottom Plank of Mental. Healing." She held that the Creator desires his children to be and to have, all that Is good, therefore gave them divine power to lift themselves above the dark, troubled waters of disease., poverty and unpleasant surroundings The temptation to give down to dis ease, bodily discomfort and old age Is as much to be resisted as yielding to the moral temptation to steal and lie. This inspiring doctrine was what Elea nor Kirk preached and practiced. She did not believe in beginning to die thirty years before your time comes. Therefore Eleanor Kirk lived to the age of seventy-six years, with a mind bright, alert and receptive as it had been when she was 'twenty. She be lieved in the power of an immortal j soul to manifest even physical come- liness so long as it remains on this earth, and wherever she went stran- J gers always asked. "Who Is that bean- j tif ul woman with the white hair?" - When at last Eleanor Kirk passed t from this life it was not because of ; sickness or old age, but the result of -j accident, an injury received in a fall j at her home. As the world goes this teacher and ! practicer of the cheerful doctrine that ; in reality all is good had as hard a : life as falls to most. At least that was true the first half of it. before she her self had lifted herself out of It. Her maiden name was Ellen Maria Easter brooks. In private life she was Mrs. Ames. Eleanor Kirk was her nora de plume. She was born in Warren. R. I. She was born, too. with intense feel Ing and sympathy, a vivid imagination and a gift in the use of language. This naturally fitted her to be a writer, ant j writer she was from the beginning She was' also a loving, devoted -family woman. In the sixties she was left with five little children dependent on her for support With her pen brave Eleanor Kirk reared and nobly edu cated these children. She was for a time a reporter and special feature writer on the New York Standard, and John Russell Young was her editor in chief. In all weathers, in all places, all hours of the day or night, Mrs. Ames went wherever her work called her. She went .fearlessly and un grudgingly too.. She never stopped for a second to consider whether this or that assignment was suitable for a woman; febe jus went and fulfilled the task. ' '. ' : - i One summer- when She went by the sea she was In an unsually" exhausted state. She always kept a home for her children and attended to her domestic affairs. That summer when she had pulled herself and the family down by the . sea and set up housekeeping it seemed to her she had come to the end of her rope mentally and physically She felt as if she could not go a step further in the doing of two people's work. She was of a deeply spiritual nature, which welled up in her as an intense, living faith in God. In desper ate emergencies she always called on the great unseen power for help, and help now, not next week or next year. She told me she always got it, espe cially as, like the little girl with her prayer, Eleanor Kirk did not "bother God about little things." These she worked put by her own common sense and industry. On this special occasion, lying upon the sands under the sky, with the sea murmuring around her, she demanded help from the unseen power which she believed in. Instantly the answer came to her in a conviction that she would never have to do regular news paper work again. It flashed through her consciousness that another means of maintenance would open to her. It did. From that time Eleanor Kirk be came a magazine and book writer. Poet she always had been. She was one of those grand, eter nally progressing souls that can throw off and away old, wornout thoughts. habits and notion? and take on always the new and the better as it comes to light. Twenty years ago the variously called new. thought, divine metaphys ics, mental science doctrine whatever each one's preference pleases to name it caught the open mind of Eleanor Kirk. It appealed to her as hardly anything had ever done in her life be fore. With her perennially youth ful enthusiasm she seized upon it and made It her own.- She became one of its most eloquent and faithful ex ponents. Few of the new thought writings are so earnest and impressive as those of Eleanor Kirk. Fifteen years ago, with heart and soul full of things she wanted to say on her own account, she founded Eleanor Kirk's Idea, one of the brightest, cheerful est, most Inspiring little, magazines ever published in the interest of the new thought. ' After thirteen years of a merry, fairly prosperous existence it was discontinued, though Eleanor Kirk continued to write till the last. She loved all living creatures and sympathized with them. Consequently she drew all to her with the magnet ism of white magic The world this strong, beautiful soul has left will be the darker to those who knew Eleanor Kirk. ELIZA ARCH APJ CONNER. When the Rug Curfs Up. If the rug curls up at the corner, it can be straightened out by covering with several thicknesses of cloth, thor oughly dampened, and p res; ing witli a hot iron till perfectly dry. . HURRY UP' ICE CREAM. - Newfangled Contraption , That Makes a Brooklyn Home Brighter. ' "My wife's feeding me Ice cream twice a day now," said a man the oth er, day, "and she threatens to make it three times a day before August, That -will make it ice cream for breakfat and I guess I'll have to draw the line at that. There's a limit "Expensive, you say? Bless you, no. That's the reason I haven't got up my nerve to kick yet You see, she makes it herself, and .she's got it figured out that it costs hardly anything, and as for the bother why, it doesn't bother her at all. At lesst that's what she says. - "It's a new patent freezer that got her started. Some friend told her about it and nothing would do but I must get her one something a child can handle, you know, makes the home brighter' and all that sort of thing. Just a metal box about a foot square,' it was. " 'See here,' I said to her when I got It home. you can't make ice cream in that thing.' and 'Can't I? she said, and disappeared with it into the kitchen. "Well. sir. in half an hour or less back she came with plates of ice cream all ready for eating. It was good too It was all very simple. Inside the metal box was a cylinde and in that you put the cream and other stuff that is to be frozen. Then you pack' the box full of very fine cracked ice, turn the handle for only a few minutes, and the job's done. "My wife went to the new freezer like a child with a new toy. At first It was only dinner, but now she makes It late in the evening and insists on my eating some before going to bed. I'm 6ure she has ice cream for lunch every day when I'm not home. I know be cause I went home for lunch to sur prise her once and found that ice cream was about the whole bill of fare, so I came away in a hurry. , "I'm hoping she'll get tired of her new plaything after awhile and let me off with .only an occasional congealed dessert. It really is a mighty handy contraption if only she wouldn't overdo It. She's got so expert now that the whole operation takes less than twenty minutes."' , ' NOVEL STOVE LID. Used as a Damper Without Removing Lid From the Fire.- A new type of stove lid is the recent invention of a Pennsylvania man. It is designed to be used as a damper without necessitating, the removal of the lid from the fire.. " As Shown in the illustration, the dampering of the fire can be accurately and minutely regu lated. This stove lid is made in two sections, the outer section having a large circular recess one-half the depth WAYS OF USINO THE LID. of the lid. The upper section fits and revolves in the recess and contains numerous round apertures. In the re cess in the outer section are triangular openings corresponding with the tri angular sections of apertures in the Inner lid. Obviously when the inner lid is re volved so that the apertures are over the openings in the outer section the fire will be dampened. When the aper tures do not register over the open ings the stove opening will be as ef fectively sealed as with the common solid stove lid. The dampening is regulated by. placing only a portion of the apertures over the openings in the lower section of the lid. NEEDLEWORK NOTES. Dark red linen makes a girlisb. dress that can be worn with a coat or lin gerie waist The material launders nicely. Many of the striped walking suits are trimmed with pompadour ribbon on the collar, narrow revers, cuffs and belt, the ribbon matching the stripe of the material. When altering a blouse for any rea son it is a great mistake to move the shoulder seam to the front A far bet ter plan is that of dropping it baefc wat Instead of forward. New vanity bags for dancing parties are most attractively . made of dainty ribbon in the form of a tiny bag, which holds powder and puff ball, while the bottom on the outside has a mirror, held in place by a shirred piece of ribbon, after first being glued to the rib covered cardboard which forms the inside of the bag. , Some women waste , their time In featherstitching dainty garments with embroidery thread. The embroidery thread being soft when the garment is laundered it is pressed Into the ma terial .and loses its -individuality. Twisted cotton, which comes , by tha ban In various numbers and which la sometimes used for crocheting, is the most satisfactory thread witb which to do this dainty work. I f ? o o e L't e l 1 arm and K THE FRUIT CROP. Some Ideas Worth Putting Into Prae " . tice Next Season. ; . It is. a mistake to suppose that fruit bearing plants will do their best if J they receive attention only now and j then. Irregular care will not amount to much. Moreover, the cultivator should, j as soon as the bearing season is over, j begin to consider what may be done to induce a better crop next year. . Many old plantations of raspberries and blackberries that are filled with dead canes and weeds can .be so re newed and renovated ' that they will bear an- abundance of fine fruit. To keep a berry patch In the highest state of productiveness the old canes should i be removed after fruiting and the young growth of small canes properly pruned out and thinned in the row. If this is neglected next year you will have a small crop of inferior berries,, good neither to eat nor to sell. Blackberries and the red or sucker varieties of raspberries require similar i 1 . Tn Ifo 1 1 .. rt n..H;.-nf.. ,i .1 1 to thin plants in the row. Blackber ries should be thinned so the plants will stand at an average distance of TKAININO THE PLANTS. about one foot apart in the row'. Save only the largest and best canes. The width of the rows may be two feet, with a space of four feet between them. Keep the ground clean with cultivator and hoe and the soil stirred about the plants. Keep in mind the tree form when pruning. Pinch off the top when the cane is about four feet high. The lat erals will then grow, and you will have a bush something like a tree pruned to vase form. The laterals should be cut back to one or two feet in length, and the new growth will then make a bush of sufficient size to make a large crop. Tender varieties that must be laid down in winter should not be so pruned. Blackcap raspberries and blackberries require more room be tween the plants in the row than red raspberries. Cultivate, if possible, until July, then place a heavy mulch of strawy manure between the rows to retain the mois ! ture and furnish plant food. Set posts i four or five feet high. Nail-two pieces 1 of board about two feet long and four inches wide horizontally on the posts. one at the top and one about three ; feet from the ground. Nail smooth fence wire to the ends of these boards or arms to support the canes. The plan described for raspberries and blackberries may be test adapted to general culture, but there is another . by which the finest dessert fruit may be grown. Set the plants about seven feet apart each way, allow only three or four canes to grow in a hill, set three posts around these in the form of a triangle and nail some wire around them for a support. Make the soil rich and cultivate both ways with a culti vator. In May of each year keep back all of the new canes except three or four of the strongest for next year's fruiting. Give clean cultivation until July, .then mulch between the rows. If you wish to set a new patch of these CONVENIENT CRATES. berries select a deepy clay loam, but make it only moderately rich with sta ble manure for raspberries, as the canes are less hardy in very rich soil. - The marketing of small fruit- may be greatly facilitated by having a num ber of basket crates. A plan for such container is shown herewith. Its di mensions are so arranged that three of the crates can be made to occupy the space of two when it is desired to store them. The dotted lines indicate how the two crates may be arranged opening to opening so as to contain the third. The dimensions of the crate are shown on the top crate, the same being sixteen' and one-eighth inches long, thirteen and one-eighth inches wide and twelve and one-eighth inches high, with two end cleats which makes the capacity equal to a bushel- By turning the paper to the right a better j view of the crate may be bed. f. ;X ; r " " " " v " ' T " v i ' i ' 'fa s; I f ? I 1 i Ei j I i I i CUTTING TREES. Economy Dictates That Sapling . Should Not Ba Felled. '. " It is worth while for farmers to pay '. a little more attention to their farm timber lots. Any one who has' had to buy lumber lately knows that its price is almost prohibitory. In fact building operations o the farm as well as. elsewhere have,been greatly kept back by the high prices asked for all kinds of lumber. Take a trip about the country, and you will see some things that will make your heart ache if you care any thing for trees. In the mill yards of the east and middle west, where hem lock and pine grow, you will find little trees, hardly as large around as a stovepipe, waiting to be sawed. Some of these will hardly make a 2 by 4 scantling. If those saplings could have been permitted to stand a few years longer they would have been worth many times more- than they are now. But the spirit seems to be to cut the trees down now and let them go for what they will bring. This is quite in Hue with much we do in other directions at the present time. The dollar we can. get now is the dollar we must have. -Tomorrow may look out for itself. The farmer has it in his power to put a :heck to this waste. How? By cutting only such? frees as are dead or beginning to die. The best farmers do this themselves, and if they rent their lands they Insist that their tenants shall do the same. And then they may set out more trees. If they are compelled to cut any live trees for building purposes, they may also set out other smaller trees to take their place. They may also fight fire. the worst enemy we have in our for ests. They may work for better timber laws. And they may educate their boys to love the woods and try to keep them growing. - CUCUMBERS. They Need Plenty of Heat, Light and Moisture. To grow cucumbers to perfection plenty of heat, light and moisture are required. They will thrive in-' any good soil not too heavy or sandy. Seed may be sown as soon as the danger of frost is past. Six or eight seeds should be planted in each hill, the hills being about six feet apart each way. In the early spring seed may be sown in hills which are protected by glass covered frames. When the plants have grown to about four inches in height and there seems to be little danger of them being Injured by insects or other causes they should be thinned out to about three plants In a hill. Frequent cultivating is needed until the vines begin to run freely. As cu cumbers are subject to several dis eases, the old vines should be de stroyed or cleared away in the autumn, and the crop should not be planted two years in succession on the same land. The worst feature of cucumbei culture is the Insect pests, but these may be controlled by dusting with dry insecticides or even with bone dust. Cucumbers for pickling should be gathered when quite small. They may be successfully preserved in' brine, from which they are taken as needed, soaked in fresh water and placed in vinegar. There are many varieties, each good for a purpose. Eradicating Weeds. In many sections of the west when the weeds get too large for the harrow, farmers use what is known as a slicker. The details of construction are shown in the accompanying illus tration. The slicker is usually about twelve feet wide, with four runners. The run- cs w A SLICKER. 1 . . c o v. .. cA. o In' C inch scantling. Boards are nailed on top of the runners. An iron five eighths of an inch in diameter is fas tened at the back of the runners, so that it drags in -the soil one to two inches below the surface. A thin bar vi steel as ioug as iub wiulu vi implement, about two inches wide and sharpened on the front, is sometimes used instead or tne iron rou. lue uar is bolted to the bottom of the back oe the runners. The weight of the driver who rides the implement causes the rod or knife to run just undr the surface of the ground. When the rod clogs it is dumped by lifting on the handles, shown in the cut. It works very nicely when the soli is smooth, finely pulverized and reasonably free from stubble and other trash. When the slicker is to be used care should be ex ercised in turning ine siuuoie uuust well. Potato Rot. A man who has tried the experi ment claims that it is very easy to pre vent potatoes from rotting by placing in different parts of the cellar in which tity of lump slack lime. He states that this lime absorbs the moisture which tatoes and in his case has resulted in keeping his stock of this commodity always in good condition. The plan Is simple enough and is well worth a . . . . i i .jt -i i tl lai Uf v ue Mbu UCUlty in Keeping lis iH-tf iuea ut m j damp cellar. ' y