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About Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18?? | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1884)
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD. Fattening Stock. It is not every farmer who can fatten an animal economically. It is an art that must be learned by study and practice. There are many phases to this subject, and their numerous conditions must be thoroughly understood if the farmer would realize the most from his feed ; -Quantity of food, quality of food, variety of food, warmth and quiet of stables and many other important items must be taken into consideration in fattening stock. As in many other departments of farm labor, there is a great lacking here of systematic work. Some are ignorant as to the best methods, while others are careless of their real interests, and have no regularity in their work. Every farmer seem3 to have his own way, and it is too often chosen with re gard to the convenience of feeding rather than the economy. Ten chances to one he never knows whether he has gained or lost on the animal he has sold to the butcher. We cannot lay down any definite rules to be followed in fattening stock, and it would be still more difficult to follow them up to the letter, supposing they were given. But we can learn the gen eral principles of economical feeling, and should never rest until they are put into practice. A man of good sense and judg ment can apply them to his own particu lar circumstances. I might, for instance, say that the most economical method of feeding rough food is by the process of steaming, which would be very true, while at the same time I would not ad vise all farmers to go to the expense of purchasing an apparatus for this work, To those who have a large number of animals and proper facilities it would be good economy, but to the small stock raisers or fatteners it would be impracti cable or too expensive to be economical. The same might be said of the silo and other theories or methods. Throwing aside the discussion of par ticular methods, I would beg leave to call the farmers' attention to some few things that can be applied alike to all, and in the programme of which the nicest system and regularity should be observed : First Fatten stock in the stall. Turn them out for exercise, but never feed in the yard. The animal that is obliged to fight for its food among the herd, and eat it after it has been fouled and trampled, cannot thrive up to its fullest capacity. There is also an enormous waste of food when given in this manner. Second Give the animals warm, well ventilated and quiet quarters. An ani mal will take on fat much more readily when it is made comfortable and not in constant fear of injury. The idea that an animal should be confined in a dark stall probably originated in this way. I do not consider darkness an important condition, for if the other conditions were attended to there would be no rea .sonable grounds left for such a theory. Nothing should be neglected that will add to the comfort of the animal con fined. It should be carded and bedded as well as fed. Third Give them their food in such a condition that they can get its full nutri tive value, and that, too, with the least trouble and annoyance. If the fodder is coarse, it should be cut up and sprinkled with meal. A ton of corn stalks treated in this way will do more good than a ton and a half thrown into the manger whole. If given whole, they will nose it over Tintil they get all the leaves off, and then commence on the tender portions of the stalks, gradually working the mass over until it is thoroughly fouled by their breath, causing them to leave nearly half of it uneaten. They should have their feed of roots cut up, so that they will not be obliged to gnaw them off. or run the risk of choking. Fourth Feed them regularly and water them regularly. Regular feeding is an important element in fattening stock, and one that is too often disregarded by the farmer. His chores must be done "when he can do nothing else before day light in the morning and after dark at night, with a little intermediate atten tion whenever he happens to be around the house. The idea of taking caltle out of a warm stable and turning them into the yard before they have fairly eaten their breakfast, and leaving them out until dark again, is a very barbarous one, and will surely work a loss to the farmer who harbors it. W. D. B., in Prairie Farmer. Farm and Garden Notes It is claimed that the use of an extra amount of rennet in order to make cheese cure quicker damages the stock, making it "bone dry and stiff." No good farmer will be long without platform scales to weigh stock or produce that he proposes to market. The use of these scales will pav better interest on their cost than will that of many other implements on the larm. The State chemist of Georgia advises growing swTeet potatoes for fattenins purposes. He finds thut two bushels of them are equal in nutrition to one bushel of corn. Land in the South that will produce forty bushels of corn will easily grow 151) bushels ol sweet potatoes. The idea that apples stop the flow of milk arises from turning cows into or chards to pick up the fallen fruit. They get a very uneven supply, and after heavy winds undoubtedly eet too many A few fed daily will increase the flow" tind the amount fed may also gradually be increased with benefit. There is a great advantage in subsoil plowing for wheat. The colder and poorer subsoil is not turned up for a seed bed, nor do the wheat roots penetrate it deeply in the fall. But next spring and summer this loosened subsoil is a reser voir for water, giving it out as most needed to perfect the head and grain. A writer in the New York Tribune states that for five years he had a horse with hoofs shelly and brittle, so that it was difficult to keep shoes on him during the dry weather of July and August. In May last he dressed hi3 feet with pine tar, and now repeats it every week, and the hoofs are perfectly sound even in midsummer. Professor Arnold states that it cost more to make milk from old cows than it does from young ones having the same milk-producing capacity. The period of profitable milking does not terminate at the same age with all cows alike. Some hold out longer than others, but, as a rule, the best effects do not icach be yond the eighth year of the cow's age. It is claimed by an experienced horti culturist that there is nothing equal to the little and often system of pruning or rather pinching. The soft young shoots can be easily removed by the finger and thumb, and the pruning, ' instead of be ing confined to a single period, extends throughout the whole season, or when ever a shoot is noticed that demands pruning. Those who breed poultry are often per plexed to know why the late hatched chickens do not thrive as well as those hatched early in the season. In nearly all cases the difficulty may be traced to lice, which prey so greedily upon the chicks hatched in warm weather a3 to make them feeble and subject to disease. The best remedy for them is to dust the chicks with Persian insect powder and thoroughly clean the coops. A writer in the Santa Cruz (Cal.) Sen tinel keeps caterpillars, the appel aphis and other varieties of pernicious insects from his orchard and grapevines by the following process: ''I take a five-eighths bit and bore to near the center of the tree, in trees five inches and upward in diameter, fill tightly with sulphur and ramie, then plug with a thin piece of basswood, so that when dampness comes to it it will reject water by easily swell ing." Whenever a practical test of different animals is made in feeding it is sure to demonstrate that the employment of im proved breeds secures a product of such superior quality as to command an en hanced price, and more of it in a given time, or on a given amount of suitable food. The great advantage and economy of employing improved stock would be still more apparent is pains were taken to make the feeding experiments exact and complete. Small or newly set garden plants or vegetables, which need watering in dry weather, may be more injured than ben efited if the operation is not properly performed. Merely wetting the surface of the earth forms a hard crust as soon as it becomes dry. Covering the surface "an inch and a half deep with fine broken manure will prevent a crust, and the earth will remain moist much longer. Newly transplanted plants will do much better with this mulching. When farmers learn from experience that by housing their manure and thor oughly working it over, mixing with ab sorbents and such as muck, earth, road dust, leaves, etc., to take up the liquid and the ammonia set free, its value is double what it now is, and that, too, at an expense much less than the same amount of plant food could be obtained in an artificial fortilizer, a new era will have been reached ' in agriculture, and we shall see the fertility of our old farms brought back to where they were fifty years ago. 1 he common practice of allowing ewes and lambs to run together until taken up for winter is bad for both. While the ewe does not afford the three or four months old lamb sufficient nourishment to meet his wants, she does afford enough to cause him to continually chase her about, to annoy her and to spoil his appetite for other food, and the drain upon her system is sufficient to cause much loss of flesh. The proper age at which to separate a lamb from its dam is when it is from fourteen to sixteen weeks old; but it should be prepared for the separation by being previously taught to eat. Probably there is no branch of farm ing where, with proper care, an equal amount of capital invested will yield so large and sure returns as poultrv keep ing. As an exchange remarks, "Poultry can be converted into money while living or dead, and no one has to wait for years before he gets some of the benefit for outlay and labor. But though this is unquestionably admitted and proved, nevertheless poultry keeping will not yield much-prout if left to shift for themselves, and neglected and unprovi ded for in food and comfortable housing. To be remunerative, the comfort and well-being of the stock must be at tended to." , Household Hints. The unpleasant odor which pervades a house while cabbage is being cooked may be avoided by fitting a tube to the lid of the boiler, which conveys the steam from the cooking cabbage into the pipe of the stove. To prevent ink from damaging pens, throw either ' into the ink-stank, or the bottle in which the ink is kept, a few nails, broken bits of steel pens (not var nished), or any piece of iron not rusted. The corrosive action of the acid contained in the ink, is expended on the iron in troduced. To remove iron rust, dissolve half a teaspoonful of oxalic acid in part of a cupful of boiling water, dip the rust spots in this for a short time, then rinse in several waters. As the acid is a poi son, great care must be used in setting it aside, and one must be sure of putting it out of the reach of children. An ornamental and convenient wall pocket is made by covering a large palm leaf fan with silk. If the silk is thin put a sheet of white wadding under it, so that the ribs in the fan will not show. The silk must be put smoothly over it. The handle of the fan must, when it is hung on the wall, be at the left-hand side, not inclined at all, but pointing straight toward the left. A pocket is to be shirred on across the fan; it is cut rounding at the bottom, and straight across the top. At the top of the pocket put a bow of ribbon. Above the pocket on the plain silk work, in delicate gray etching silk, a spider's web, and at one side pin on a metal spider, which can be obtained at a milliner's store. This makes a pretty ornament for the wall of anv room. New York Pod. How the Sultan Goes to Trayers. An American correspondent tells in the following how the Sultan of Turkey goes to prayers at Constantinople : At 0110 end of the main palace is a handsome cream-colored mosque with two minarets. Around this, though kept at a respectable distance, were crowds of people. The street leading to the mosque was also lined with an ex pectant multitude. Men were sweeping the street clean, and then sprinkling fresh gravel over it, to make the passage of the carriage easier. Presently every thing was complete, and soon after the glitter of arms appeared in the distance. The escort of soldiers was an immense one, representing the very flower of the Turkish army. They arc well-developed men, elegantly uniformed, and un der thorough discipline, as wa3 evidenced by the admirable style of the few evolutions performed inci dentally. When the soldiers had been distribu ted properly in phalanxes about the door I could get a view of the reyal train. There were two carriages filled with fa vored members of the harem who did not alight. There was one carriage contain ing the five princes of the royal house hold, scared looking little fellows, from ten to perhaps sixteen years of age. There was thi sultan's cabinet and imme diate staff on foot, directly in front of the imperial barouche. There were two other men in the carriage with his majes ty, one of whom a fine-looking man was Osman Pasha, I was told. The car riage halted, his majesty alighted, and in company with a few of his intimates, ascended to the mosque, the head priest sweeping off the steps before him. As he did so the mueddin in the minaret bal cony above sounded his sonorous call to prayer. Of course I could not get a good view of the Sick Man owing to the tantalizing movements of the boat. He is apparent ly of medium height, and others who were present say, has an expressionless face, indicative of dissipation. Perhaps his sickness is not wholly political. He was dressed after the most approved French style, in a black suit, with frock coat, black tic, and the national fez as a headdress. The lappel of his coat wa3 distinguished by two or three decorations, including, doubtless, the Star and Garter. I am told that his devotions consumed an hour. ..... Uses of Arctic Exploration, In three hundred years there have been some two hundred Arctic voyages, for various purposes and with various fates. The Greely expedition was but one of thirteen expeditions. Five hundred men passed two winters within the polar circle, and nineteen of them only were lost. And Lieutenant Ray says that the result of the observations of all these expeditions will be the doubling of the world's knowledge of the magnetic forces. That is to say, as the Rev. Brooke Herford states in his admirable sermon upon this subject: "Not one of all the thousand and ten thousand craft sailing to and fro among the many lands of earth but will be a little surer of its compass, a little closer in its reckoning, a little safer than it ever was before." Is this worth nothing? Is not the risk, the loss, even amply recompensed? But also, as Mr. Herford points out, the moral qualities, the patience, the cour age, the self-denial, the faith, the en durance, developed by these Northern researches are incomparable. "There is simply no other chapter in the history of human doings to be compared with it. Beside it the adventures of commerce and conquest look greedy and base, the stories of chivalry are mere tinsel, the long heroism of the Crusades seems a fevered frenzy." Cui bono? is not an argument to discourage the restless soul which the prospect of peril inspires, nor will the pathetic story of the patient and generous endurance, amid apparently remediless suffing, which the record of the Greely expedition discloses dismay or deter other Greelys from daring the same dangers. The Arctic story is one of the saddest, but it is also one of the noblest, in the annals of human heroism. Ilarpefi Magazine. Pleasures of Old Age. A fine old writer says that an "old man who is not a fool, is the happiest creature in the world." With adequate means of support, with few and simple wants, he sits in his great chair, reviews a long life well spent, sees his children and grandchildren developing into use ful and noble lives about him, watches the progress of society, and reflects that he has sown seed which is now bearing fruit. Acje's chief arts and aims are to grow wise, Virtue to know, and, known, to exercise; All just returns to age then virtue makes, Nor her in her extremity forsakes; The sweetest cordial age receives at last Is consciousness of virtuous actions past. All contact leaves its mark. We are taking into us the world about us, the society in which we move, the impress of every sympathetic contact with-' good or evil, and we shall carry them with U3 forever. We do not pass through a world for naught; it follows us because it has become a part of Vs. INSTINCT TS. INTELLECT. Remarkable Lessons Taught in the 4uiiual and Vegetable Kingdom It has been but a few years since man kind was willing to admit that animals were endowed with reason. The intel ligent and learned, however, do admit that some animals not only have minds but that they reason also. Instinct will no longer answer as a name for the in telligence qf animals. What shall the quality of mind be called which enables a young pigeon, after havins been taken ;400 miles from the cote in which it was hatched, and tossed in the air to strike a bee-line direct for its home? A dog was once taken 157 miles from Cincin nati in a railroad car and set at liberty. In less than three days he had traveled the whole distance and arrived safely back at his master's house. ' There is a species of fishhawk in our Northern lakes which seems to have most remarkable eyes, microscopic as well as telescopic. You may often see this fel low in the morning hovering over the Iplacid surface of some lonely lake, when he will dart off, leave the water, and take up his position upon the bare limb of a blighted tree, and watch the track over which he flew. Presently you will see him leave his perch and, with the accuracy and velocity of an arrow, strike the bosom of the lake, grasp a fish and bear it to his perch. Nature has fur nished this bird with the bait to become a successful fisherman. He has in his throat or aesophagus a small sack in which he secretes a kind of oil. This he drops upon the surface of the water; the fish are attracted to it, and at once there is a great commotion in the water. The hawk, seeing this, takes advantage of the situation and at once pounces upon his prey. 1 Among the instances of a superior sense in the kingdom of the lower animals is the turkey buzzard. Take your position upon the prairie just at daybreak, where you can see in all di 'rections for ten of fifteen miles, and often further. Presently you will discern what seems to be small black specks, but in the course of half an hour these specks will be cir cling high in air over the spot where some dead brute is lying. When you first saw the birds they were miles away. Now, the question is, do the birds see the ani mal, or smell it, or both? Certainly there is no human biped that can either see or smell any object at so great a distance, especially if the dead animal is on the ground and obscured. If the birds have eyes that have the powers of the tele scope then the problem is solved; if, however, the bird detects the location of the animal by the sense of smell, we can hardly conceive of olfactory nerves of such delicacy. The hearing of many animals is alto gether superior to that of man. As is well known to all observers of nature, the cervical genus are particularly gifted in this way. The deer, the moose, the cariboo, antelope and gemsbok havo hearing so accute that if the wind be favorable they can hear the footsteps of the hunter for miles. While we are quite sure of our po sition regarding the instinct, mind and reason of some animals, we are not cer tain that plants have mind and reason, to which instinct is so closely allied; but that they have what the world calls instinct there can be no question. There is a special aquatic plant, said to grow in the island of Madagascar, which if planted upon the north side of a wall or barrier, and there is a stream or pool on the opposite side within reachable distance, will at once bend its steps toward the water, travel persistently up and over the wall, down the other side and never rest until it gets to the water. There it stops. Some readers have heard of the Venus's fly-trap of the Southern States. Some of its leaves are made specially for fly-catching. This plant secretes a sweet fluid at the proper season to attract flics and other insects. When they light upon this resinous fluid they become entangled and in their struggles the trap closes upon them and their doom is sealed. They are then absorbed, utilized by the plant, forming, as Professor Gray thinks, food for the plant. Another of these savage carnivorous plants is called the "sun-dew," which grows in our marshes. It garnishes its leaves with rubies and tips every point with a beautiful diamond. The beams of the morning sun kiss it as the courtier presses his lips to the jeweled hand of his lady-love. All this artistic display is made to tempt the victim to certain death. Around the brilliant rubies and diamonds there is a colorless glue. The moment the feet or wings of any creeping thing touch this substance the fate is death. Their vain struggles only bind them more firmly. The leaf now closes upon them and the prickly points pierce their bodies like the fangs of tigers or the talons of an eagle. But the great destroyer is the pitcher plant. Nowhere can there be found such a death-dealing instrument or one more ingeniously fitted for its work. The leaves form into tubes, at the bot tom of which there are the secret pools of death. Into these the unfortunate victims are hurled. Once down they are lost. But it by chance some insect more resolute and stronger than his fel lows makes his way up the inside of the tube a part of which is smooth and he may think he is about to gain his liberty, the illusion is soon dispelled. The prisoner is met with, a perfect chev-aux-de-freize firm, sharp hairs bar his progress, and he can only fall back to his final execution. The machinery of these plants is perfect no human agency can surpass it. They do their work like thinking beings. They require no teach ing. There is an intelligent, vitalizing and energetic force organizing and per fecting all these things. New York. World. FACTS FOR THE CURIOUS. l- An astronomer says that to travel the distance of the sun at ordinary railroad rates of fare would cost over $2,500. 000. , ' ' The first telegraphic instrument suc cessfully operated was by S. F. B. Morse, 1835, though its utility was not demon- strated until 1842. Southey records in his "Commonplace Book" that a physician, who had seen more than 40,000 cases of smallpox, said he had never met with the disease in a person with red or light flaxen hair. Science is not without its caprices. Fifteen years ago, says the Medical Ga zette, extirpation of" the kidney wa3 looked upon as a curiosity, if not exactly a monstrbsity of surgery. - At present there are 250 case3 on record. Condors have become a pest in Chili, ana the government is trying to extermi nate them with a five-dollar bounty. They are so keen-sighted that shooting them is out of the question, and the only known method of capture is by traps baited with flesh. There can be no destroying the eggs, because this vul ture breeds on mountain peaks far above the snow line. While the eucalyptus or Australian blue-gum tree destroys malaria and keeps off mosquitoes in marshy soil, it has no such effect upon dry soils. The differ ence is ascribed by a German scientist to the fact that the tree is constructed to act as an evaporating machiwe, and only does its work in marshy land. A feature of the tree i3 its adaptability to different climates, it being now grown in almost every civilized country were frosts do not occur. There are now on the pension rolls eighty-two widows of revolutionary sol diers, and forty-eight of these come from the Southern States. Nine are from Ten nessee, eight from Georgia, eleven from Virginia, four from West Virginia and twelve from North Carolina. There is only one revolutionary widow from Mis sissippi, one in Massachusetts, three in South Carolina, four in Ohio and New York, five in Maine and New Hampshire, seven in Vermont and eight in Pennsyl vania. The feudal system of military service in exchange for lands was fixed upon England by the Norman conquest and was borrowed from France. It was as sumed that the whole land belonged to the king, who divided it in knight's fees among his followers, not only by way of rewarding them, but to prevent insurrec tion. ' When the Mason & Hamlin Company an nounced the accomplishment of a great im provement in Upright Pianos, which they would soon give to the public, much was ex pected, because of the vast improvements which had been effected by them in reed in struments, and the acknowledged superexcel lence of. their organs. Those expectations are fully justified by the pianos which they are producing, which have extraordinary purity and refinement of tone. Every me chanic will see that the peculiarities of their construction must add greatly to their dura bility and especially their capacity to keep in good tune. This company have as great a future in their pianos as they are already realizing in their organs, which are confessedly un equaled among such instruments. Boston Traveller. .i A good medical authority says beer is con ducive to heart disease. No Physic, Kir. In Mine !' A good story comes from a boys' boarding school in "Jersey." The diet was monotonous and constipating, and the learned Principal decided to introduce some old-style physic in the apple-sauce, and await the happy results. One bright lad, the smartest in school discov ered the secret mine in his sauce, and pushing back his plate, shouted to the pedagogue : "No physic, sir, in rnine. My dad told nie. to use nutliin' but Dr. Pierce's 'Pleasant Purgative Pellets,' and they are doing their duty like a charm!" They are anti-bilious, and purely vegetable. Virginia's crop of peanuts is estimated at 11,000, C03 bushels this year. Any lady who desires further information than can be given in the limited public epace of newspaper columns can obtain Mrs. Lydia E. Pinkham's pamphlet "Guide to Health' by sending a stamp to Lynn, Mass. Of the C0,000 Jews in New York city not one is a bartender. "Hello !" we heard one man say to another, the other day. "I didn't know you at first, why, you look ten years younger than you iiid when I saw you last." I feel ten years younger," was the reply. "You know I used to be under the weather all the time and gave up expecting to be any better. The doctor said I had consumption. I was terribly weak, had night-sweats, cough, no appetite, and lost flesh. I saw Dr. Pierce's 'Golden Medical Dis covery' advertised, and thought it would do no harm if it did no good. It has cured me. I am a new man because I am a well one." Chcrch bells are going out of use in every considerable American city. It's no secret nostrum. We speak of Dr. Pierce's Extract of Smart-Weed, composed of best French Brandy, Smart-Weed, Jamaica Ginger and Camphor Water. It cures chol era morbus, colic or cramps in stomach, diar rhoea, dysentery or bloody-flux, and breaks up colds, fevers and inflammatory attacks. Since 1882 France has had five epidemics of cholera. Hat-Fever. I have been a great sufferer from Hay-Fever for fifteen years and have tried various things without doing any good. I read of the many wondrous cures of Ely's Cream Balm and thought I would try once more. In fifteen minutes after one applica tion I was wonderfully helped. Two weeks ago I commenced usiig it and now I feel etif tirelij cured. It is the greatest discovery ever known or heard of. Duhamel Clark. Farmer, Lee, Mass. Price 50 cents. 25 Cents WiJ buy a Treatise on the Horse and His Diseases Book of 100 pages, valuable to every owner of horses. Postage stamps taken. Sent postpaid. New York Horse Book Co.. 134 Leonard Street. New York city. "KoiiU on Knts. Clears out rats, mice, roaches, flies, ants, bed bugs, skunks, chipmunks, gophers. 15c. Drgts. To Match that Bonnet ? Feathers, ribbons, velvet can all be colored to match that new hat by using the Diamond Dyes. 10c. for any color at the druggists. Wells, Richardson & Co., Burlington, Vt. MIB U-39