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About The Athena press. (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942 | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1909)
Pay to Hare an Incubator. Six years ago we purchased a 100 egg iucubator and every season It has been set five or six times and have never had one failure nor one bad hatch. The hatches are always In the nineties with the exception of once when we only got seventy-eight chicks, Our hatches are about the same each time each season through. We nearly always have from ninety-two to ninety six chicks, seldom lower than ninety three, more often higher than that, and always such strong, lively chicks, al most never a cripple among them seldom one In 500. Our Incubator has not had the advantage of being kept In a cave or cellar, but we have done so well with It that we have purchased another of 120 and one of 240-egg ca pacity, as we are going Into the bust ness more extensively. We can truthfully say that the in cubator is a great time and labor saver and a money maker. It Is one of the best investments any fanner or any one who raises poultry can make. Who would care to go back to the slow way of raising chicks with the sitting hen when It can be done with the incuba tor so easily and so well? With the hen the season of hatching is soon over with, while with the lncubatvr the early fries for market can be sold when the market prices are best and the early pullets hatched that will be wanted for fall and winter layers. We do not have to wait on the sitting hen to hatch out a few chickens when we have the Incubator to hated them by the dozens. A good Incubator will pay for it self over and over the first season of its use. It Is Indispensable in the poul try business. To all those who con template purchasing I would say, don't get one that Is too cheap. (Jet a good one, even if you do have to pay more. h J; exercising a Boll. The accompanying cut furnishes an excellent plan for exercising a bull. A large, strong post is sunk into tho ground and securely set. On top of this post is placed an iron plate some what similar to that used on the bol ster of a sleigh or wagon through which the king bolt passes. A long sweep, evenly balanced, is placed upon the top of this post and pinned by means of a long rod, or, as we might say, king bolt The sweep is necessarily large at one end and small at the other, which makes It possible to bal ance with one end comparatively short and the other long. The bull is tied to the rope attached to the further end of the long arm, and hi that way can have a large circle to move in. TJie supporting post should be above the ground high enough to carry the FOB KXKKC ISINO THE BULL. sweep above tho bull. For a time the bull may attempt to free himself, but if the post and sweep are made prop erly and securely there will be no dan ger and he will soon settle down to exercising In a much better manner. The Value of Tile Draining. Tile properly placed makes soil dryer In wet weather and more moist in dry weather. This is difficult to understand until we consider the na ture of the soil. Soil In proper condition is porous, something after the manner of a sponge. It will hold water up to a certain point without leaking. Until it becomes thoroughly saturated, it con tains air as well as water. Air is warm and air Is needed by plants in the process of growth. Tile leads the water away quickly In the spring so the air can penetrate the soil and warm It so seeds will germinate and grow quickly. Un- drained land, If low, fills with water In the spring to the saturation point and the excess of moisture passes off in vapor through the process of evapora tion. It requires a great deal of heat to warm the water sufficiently to cause It to pass off In this way. That heat is ost. After evaporation has dissipated the moisture and the soli becomes dry nough to work it breaks up In clods, because It has baked down and packed together like mortar. It Is almost im possible to prepare a good seed bed In such ground. Agricultural Kpitomlst. a MISNAMED EXHIBIT. Bring Joy to the Mnnenm Visitor and Worries the Curator. A curator at the Metropolitan Mu seum of Art is threatened with insan lty, the cause being a small misnamed exhibit in the gallery outside his office door. "Twenty times a day," declared the harassed man, "people discover that that china statuette out in the Frank lin collection is named General Wash ington instead of Benjamin Franklin Then they burst in here and announce their discovery and wonder tha: no one ever noticed It before. Half my time is spent in explaining that we know It well, that it was simply a mis take of the potter who labeled it in France over a century ago, and that we cannot change It nor wouldn't if we could. "Of course I tell them this courte ously and patiently, and you know what a strain that is when you are going over the same thing for the thousandth time! I'd latch the door, only there are too many employes seeking me all day long, so here I must sit and listen to the names of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin repeated a mil lion times till I wish that neither of those glorious patriots had ever lived, And it's driving me insane, I tell you J it's driving me insane!" Just then the door opened and a lady popped in with : "There's a statue out here named General Washington, but I'm sure ' And the weary curator, being a South erner, rose smilingly to his task. New York Times. INCUMATOB AND BBOODER. The good ones are the cheapest In the long run. There are some incubators that have to be watched closely to give results, but these are the thin-walled kind that will not hold even tempera ture. Our Incubator floes not get any watching after it Is once set going. We leave for an all-day visit any time even at hatching time and It lakes care of Itself. For the amount Invested an Incuba tor will make more money than any machine I know of. Mrs. I E. Brack. Handling M nn lire. , It Is pertinent also to here refer to the trial conducted by the Cornell Agricultural Station to demonstrate the losses to stable manure when ex posed to leaching and weathering. A pile of manure that contained elements worth $5.48, after being rxpoHed for live months wn m only $2.0,1. Lenv ..miiure In plies in the Held is an antiquated method that should never be practiced, for the reason that It results In fertilizing the spots where the heaps llo too heavily, giving them fully three times as much of the fer tilizing elements as they need, while three times as much ground receives less than it needs, or not enough to make a showing. Where manure is allowed to lie In heaps on a field for a few weeks or a month, it Is an im possibility to spread it so as to get an even distribution of organic mat ter and of the elements of fertility. It is preferable to spread the manure di rect from the wagon with a fork, al though this Is by no means an up-to-date way of handling it. For the most economical results, immure should be hauled direct from the barn as soou as it is made and scattered over the fields by means of a spreader. In this way, and iu this way only, cau the full value of manure be saved, provided, of course, enough bedding is used In the barn to nicely absorb all the liquid ex crement, the plant food of which amounts to nearly one-half of the total in the manure and liquid excrement. Country' Itnlnfnll. The total rainfall of this country, Including snow and that on water areas, was given as 2iri,(XX),0O0,OOO,O00 cubic feet a year. Half or more Is evaporated. About one-third flows into the sea. The remaining one-sixth is either consumed or absorbed. Of the 70,000,000,000,000 cubic feet flowing an nually into the sea, less than 5 per cent Is used for power. It Is estimated that 85 to 05 per cent of the volume Is wasted In freshets or destructive floods. There are In the United States proper 232 streams navigated for an aggregate of 20,115 miles, and as much more Is navigable by Improvement. A Ilreed Worth Paying For. The calf which an English farmer had taken the summer resident to see surveyed his owner and the stranger with a weary eye. "What breed Is your calf?" asked the visitor. The farmer removed a wisp of straw from his mouth and said: "The critter's father gored a Justice o' the peace, knocked a book canvasser end over end and lifted a tramp over a fence; and, as for his mother, she chased a brass band out o' town last New Year's day. If that ain't breed enough to pay 25 shillings for, you can leave him be. I'm not pressing him on unybody." A Very Cheap Gate. A light, useful and durable gate can be made of sassafras poles and barbed wire as shown in the cut Set a strong Coll AM) WIKE GATE. post 4 feet iu the ground iu the middle of the gateway and balance the gate on It The lower rail Is made of two forked sassafras poles securely nailed together so as to work around the post. W. H. Thompson, in Farm and Home. When to I'laut Cherrie. About tho best time to plant cherry trees is In early fall or very early in spring. It li better to plant in Octo ber, tven before the leaves fall, strip ping tha leaves off, than It is late, Just before winter sets In. In fact, many trees would do better than they do, vert they set early, stripping their leaves, not waltlug for the leaves to fall. , Alcohol from FMt. Alcohol Is obtained from peat by treating the fiber with sulphuric acid and fermenting with a special yeast A ton of dry peat yields forty-three gal lons of pure spirit at one fourth of the cost of potato alcohol. Separable Metal Barrel. An economical retainer In which to ship products &uih ns cement, lime and plaster is described in Popular Me chanics. Its halves are separable and can be nested in a compact form for the return Journey. The cost of the barrel is about $1, which is a little more than twice that of a wooden bar rel, but they are claimed to be good for at least fifteen round trips, and the room they occupy when empty cut down the shipping bill one-half. Illnta for the Fanner. Lime sweetens the soli as generous deeds sweeten the soul. Use the hatchet on the old rusty cans. At least don't use them for milk or cream. Sow some peas and oats to help out when hot weather comes- Then put In some fodder corn planted thickly in the rowt Johnny The camel can go eight days without water. Freddy So could I if nm would let me. Harper's Ba zar. "You have a fine house and piece of ground here !" "Yep ! Made it all with my pen." Writing?" "Nope; pig." Judge. The Colonel Confound it, sir; you nearly lilt my wife! Jagson Did I? Well, you have a shot at mine. The Sketch. "Judge, did you ever try an ab sinthe frappe?" "No; but I've tried a lot of fellows who have." Cleveland Lender. Ethel Jack simply raved over my figure and my complexion. Maud And is he still in the asylum? The Clubwoman. "She said she'd marry me if I felt the same way a year from then." "Did you?" "Yes, but toward another girl." The Tatler. "Why marry at all?" asks Lady Ar thur Paget One reason Is that most of the ladles Insist upon it. Chicago Record-Herald. "What broke up the suffragette pa rade?" "A department store hung out a sign announcing $2 silks at $1.99." Birmingham Age-Herald. i "I've had to give a great many wed ding presents," declared he. "So have I," responded she. "Suppose we marry and get square with our friends?" "If I were you I wouldn't be a fool, Dlggs." "True," replied DIggs, com placently. "The unfortunate part of It Is that you are yourself." The Cir cle. "My daughter's music," said the proud, j ireut, "cost us a lot of money." "Indeed!" rejoined the visitor. "Did some neighbor sue you?" Chicago News. Barber (rather slowly) Beg pardon, sir, but your hair is turning a bit gray. Victim Shouldn't wonder. Look at the time I've been here. Chicago Daily News. Club Doctor (with view to diagnosis) And now, my man, what do you drink? Patient (cheerfully) Oh er well, doctor, I'll leave that to you. Bystander. Mrs. De Crimp (day after election In 1915) Where did you get the new hat? Mrs. Toll Worker My husband gave me $5 yesterday for my vote. Brooklyn Life. Mother And when he proposed, did you tell him to see nie? Daughter Yes, mamma; and he said he'd seen you several times, but he wauted to marry me Just the same. The Sphinx. Redd Didn't I see you going along In your automobile to-day? Greene What time? Redd Four o'clock. Greene Four o'clock? Oh, yes, we were going then ! Yonkers Statesman. He (rhapsodlcally) I adore every thing that is grand and exquisite. I love the peerless, the serene, the per fect In life.. She (blushing coyly) Oh,' George, how can I refuse you when you put it so beautifully? "How would you go about making a layer cake?" asked the Inexperienced wife. "I'd put the heavier layers on the bottom," replied her husband, the geometrician. "That is the way to keep the center of gravity well within the circumference of the base." "When Clubber gets arguing he loses all tact." "As for Instance?" -"Why, las; night he told an oppoueut who Is lame that he hadn't a leg to stand on ; another who squints that he was sorry he couldn't see things as he did; and man who stammered he urged not to hesitate In expressing an opiulou." Btraj Stories. 'icass of omns pm OIYWlSYAiBKf OWA'S law authorizing the establishment of commission gov ernment in cities of 25,000 or more population, which has been very successful in Its first year of trial by Des Moines, accord ing to reports from that city, was enacted by the Legislature in the spring of 1907. Applying to eight cities by virtue of th population clause, it was Instituted in Des Moines, a city of 75,000 inhabitants, soon after the Supreme Court of Iowa, in February, 1908, upheld its constitutionality without a dissenting opinion, and has become widely known as "the Des Moines plan." In Its general features the plan provides for a method of city government that has been tried, with good results, for several years in Houston and Galveston, Tex. Instead of a mayor and a board of aldermen or councllmen, the "Des Moines plan" makes the governing power of a city a commission consisting of a mayor and four councllmen. Large powers are combined in the com mission, which makes the local laws and executes them through a division of authority whereby each member of the commission becomes the head of a department These departments are as follows: Public affairs, accounts and finances, public safety, Including fire and health; parks and public" prop erty, public improvements. The Iowa law may be adopted by any city within the State having suffi cient population, which makes it eligible for eight cities. Cedar Itapids has followed the example of Des Moines and has elected to try it. If 10 per cent of the-voters of an eligible city petition for the purpose an election must be held to decide whether tho city shall adopt the law. A majority of the voters may adopt it or may drop It after trial. Initiative and referendum provisions form an important part of the law. At the demand of 25 per cent of the voters there must be a referendum on any action of the commission, positive or negative, and the decision of the majority of voters at the refer endum election is made binding on the mayor and councllmen. Atl ordi nances granting franchises must be submitted to the voters for adoption or rejection. Sessions of the commission must be public. To Judge from the reports from Des Moines, the plan has been especially effective In financial and police matters. For tha second year In its history, It is said, tho city has lived within its Income, having a surplus of about $20,000, instead of a deficit of $50,000 or more. The five members of the com mission have been paid $3,000 each, wherens councllmen were formerly paid $250 each, but it Is estimated that business methods of administration have saved more than the $15,000 total cost of the commission. Every depart ment of the government has been reorganized; sinecures have been abolished, and it is even stated that "there are no more political Jobs." Streets have been kept clean, better lighted at less cost, and paving contracts have been carried out In the spirit and the letter of the contract Each commissioner takes personal pride in his department and feels personal responsibility for it Heretofore, says Dr. L. O. Howard, It has been supposed that the gipsy moth was distributed only by caterpil lars carried by moving objects, such as carriages. The moths cannot fly, and the part taken by birds and winds in distributing them or the caterpillars he regards as problematical. Yet re cently isolated colonies of these moths have been found in the woods far from roads and paths, and the ques tion arises, How did they get there? Dr. Howard requests Information and suggestions on this point Recent excavation at the Maumbury Rings Circle, in England, is regarded as corroborating the tradition that a Roman amphitheater once existed on that site. A stratum of quartz, flint and fragments of shells, such as the Romans placed on the surface of the arena where gladiators fought, has been found there. A very Interesting fact is that other remains indicate that the place was used by Neolithic people as a flint workshop. It is ap parent that they used picks made of deer's antlers to excavate the pit where the flint was found. The pit is 80 feet deep. The place seems to have been almost continuously occupied since Neolithic times. It Is known that the Christian era, based on the birth of the Savior, is older by several years than the time assigned in the calendar; but the pre cise year in which Christ was born has never been finally determined. Lieu tenant Colonel G. Maeklnlay has re cently Investigated the question anew, and has stated his conclusion in a book, for which Sir W. M. Ramsay has written a preface. The date on which he fixes for the Nativity is 8 B. C., according to our present chronology. He bnses his reasoning on the assumed association of John the Baptist with periodical "bright shtnlngs" of the planet Venus, tho suggestion being that these special apparitions of Ve nus are the groundwork of the story of the "Star of Bethlehem." Prof. Todd, the astronomer of Am herst College, who Is conducting ex periments in South America, ascended a mountain In the Andes to an alti tude of 14,000 feet above sea level, and there remained for one hour in a steel tank of 270 cubic feet capacity, filled with air compressed to the same ten sion that air maintains at an altitude of 1,000 feet. His pulse was reduced from 104 to 91. His breathing and physical -condition remained normal. A decompression of the air to Its normal tension at 14,000 feet was then made In seventeeu minutes. The experiment is looked upon as being important as regards the treatment of diseases af fected by various degrees of air pres sure. Experiments heretofore conduct ed In the Andes to see what effect high altitude had on human life show, says the Boston Transcript, that at 14,000 feet and over the air pressure Is bo light as to produce incapacity for work, prostration, and sometimes death. At the level of the sea the air pres sure Is approximately IB pounds to the square Inch. At an altitude of 14,000 feet it Is approximately 9H pounds. Experiments to determine the effects of light on a number of dyed colors were undertaken by Herr T. Frusher, who exposed for a perod of forty days samples of a number of color, with the following results: Of the natural coloring matters, camwood, the fastest of the red woods, and fustic, the fast est of the -yellow woods, both fade a little; logwood in pale shades is con siderably decolorized, the destruction of color not being so apparent in dark shades; logwood blacks finished with chrome turn greener than unfinished blacks; vat-dyed indigo gives the fast est of all blue colors. Among the ar tificial coloring matters tested, alizarin blue antracene brown, in pale shades, are only moderately fast, gallocyanln Is not quite so fast as alizarin blue; napthoj black, diamond black, anthra cite black and other wood 'substantive azo blacks are much faster to light than logwood black. LONG PELT WANT. A Plea for a Graduated Standard o. Mlaconduct. What is really wanted at the present time is a standard of misconduct. We are constantly doing things in doubt, as if we hadn't a right to do them. The confusion caused by people do ing things which In their circumstances we had no right to expert Is the prin cipal cause- of our troubles. It ought to be definitely settled, for example, that any millionaire who has, say, over a hundred millions will thereafter lead an honest life. If he has only fifty millions his life should be semi-honest, and if he has only a paltry ten millions then it ought to be conceded that he can loot a few railroads or so until he gets on his feet Up to, say, ten thousand n year no man can afford to be dishonest Ha ought to get up In the cars and give his seat to women undr 35 at leust, and of course he will not take the chance of robbing any safe. From ten thousand up to a hundred thousand he can engage in little dishonest fliers by making one of a pool or putting through a land deal or so for variety. When he gets fifty millions or more together, however, every man ought to ask himself plainly the question wheth er from now on he ought not to be a philanthropist Doesn't he owe this to his fellow men? Life. A BEILLIANT GERMAN IDEA. Prof. Eugeu Bormel, the Berlin sculptor, suggests that houses In earth quake regions be built of steel and riv eted to a rocking steel foundation. This would give the houses an agree able motion that would make an earth quake a pleasure. If the motion be came too violent, probably the furni ture could be riveted to the floor and the people lashed to the chairs. HI Waterloo. The Friend Your husband funniest man I ever heard Is on the the vauaeviue stage. He amuses every body, doesn't he?' The Wife He does not He can't amuse the baby for five minutes. Cleveland Leader. The more pigeonholes in a man's desk, the harder it is for him to find what he Is looking for. WHO USES SNUFF NO WAD ATS P Chewing and "Robbing" Largely Practiced In the Mill Town. Year by year with never a set-back, the American Snuff Company has steadily increased its business, its divi dends and its surplus, while the un initiated continue to ask, Who uses snuff nowadays? The company's an nual report for the fiscal " year ended Dec. 31, 1908, shows net earnings of $3,474,318 compared with $2,170,585 for 1907; a net balance applicable to divi dends on common stock of $2,154,818, a surplus for the year of $1,214,080 and a profit and loss surplus of $56, 888,310. After paying dividends on the preferred stock at the regular rate of 6 per cent, quarterly dividends at varying rates each quarter, amounting to 14 per cent for the year, were paid on the common stock, says the New York Commercial. A 5 per cent quar terly dividend has been declared on the common stock payable April 1 - to stockholders of record March 13. This puts it on a 20 per cent basis. . The American Snuff Company was formed in 1900 to take over the snuff properties of the American Tobacco Company, the Continental Tobacco Company, ond some smaller allied con cerns. It has outstanding $12,000,000 of preferred stock and $11,001,700 com mon stock, with assets valued conser vatively at $31,341,642. An official of a prominent Boston wholesale house which distributes the products of the American Snuff Com pany through New England yesterday explained the mystery of what be comes of all the snuff in these days when the habit of taking snuff is gen erally supposed to have died out He said that snuff is no longer snuffed to any considerable extent; but the habit of chewing or "rubbing" snuff has been Introduced into the mill towns through out all the Eastern" States. The strength of the position, from a busi ness standpoint, lies m the fact that the women in the jnills are as much addicted to the practice as the men. This man, who is an expert in the to bacco trade, attributes the introduction of the snuff-chewing habit to the Swedes, and he says that the Ameri can Snuff Company has found It neces sary to manufacture special brands of the class of goods made in Sweden to satisfy this demand. He says that very little snuff is snuffed in the olr way. ON AN OCEAN LINER. it uuhh i I'ny iu l ei iiangmy wim the Stenarda. "Never, oh, never, speak harsh words of rebuke to a steward on an ocean liner," declared a Congressman of New York. "One summer I Journeyed over to the other side. The first day out at meal time, I found that I had to em brace the table leg to get near enough to operate with my knife and fork. For my unpleasant seat I called the steward to account. Most harsh was my criticism. Then I told him I would have my meals served thereafter In the upper cabin. "The next morning the cabin stew ard told me of a better room, and that I should get it immediately. It was more costly and elaborately furnished than the one I occupied with my trav eling companion. Then, too, It was on the main deck. I looked over the new room and decided to change. I had my luggage, with that of my friend, moved below. When. my friend found the new quarters he gasped with horror. 'Man alive I' he said, 'this is the worst hole on the ship. You and I are in for a great big seasick.' We got every Jar of the ship and good and seasick, too. " "The day I landed the dining room steward met me on the deck. 'Much obliged for changing.' he said. 'It was at my request that the cabin steward got you to move. The gentleman ahead of you in that cabin and who wanted to move gave me $75 to fix the deal. I thank you for what is a most glori ous tip.'" Washington Post Teddy's Friend In Africa. "Say, ma, can I eat this horseshoe?" "Yes, ray child, but be sure and "re move the nails. I'm so afraid of ap pendicitis." He Did It. "I refused Jim and he swore he'd do something deseperate." . "Goodness f Why, he proposed to me jesterday." "The dear boy : Co-fc kept his word, after all." Cleveland Leader. " ' Aa Inclination. The daughter of her mother was do ing a stunt at the piano. "My daughter's music." said the proud parent, "cost us a lot of money." "Indeed !" rejoined the visitor. "Did some neighbor sue you ?"--Boston Post About all the future some people have left is longing for 6prlng when It is winter, and longing for summer when it Is spring. A good many people believe that to know a lot of contemptible gossipy la to be wise.