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About The Athena press. (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1910)
HP Coast Key West, Fla., was for many years the center of a prosperous fishery for sea turtles, but recently the business has been rapidly dwindling owing to the improvident methods employed, the young and the old and even the eggs being gathered In without thought of the future. Three species of turtle, the green, the loggerhead and the hawksbill, are caught and handled by the Key West fishermen and dealers, according to an article in the Montreal Star. The green turtle Is the most highly prized for food. This turtle is found on the Atlantic seaboard from Long Island to Brazil, and at one time was especially common on the keys along the Florida coast. The female turtle lays from 300 to 600 eggs in a season, burying them in the sand and leaving them to hatch without further attention. Owing to their many enemies it is probable that but few of the young turtles survive. The loggerhead turtle occurs along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Brazil and is common on both the east and the west coast of Florida. It Is more common than the green tur tle, which Is undoubtedly owing to the fact that it is the least valuable of the marine turtles and there Is little demand for Its flesh. More eggs of this species are taken for food, how ever, than of any other. ... Grow to Enormone Slae. It attains an enormous size, far sur passing the green turtle. Examples weighing 1,600 pounds have been cap tured, but the average now is prob ably about 200 pounds. The female of this species breeds during the summer, the first eggs be ing laid generally during the night of full moon In June. A peculiar fea ture of the laying process is that noth Ipg apparently disturbs the creature or is sufficient to drive her away. Striking her with a stick or Jumping up and down on her back produces no effect. After finishing, however, he Is very timid and flees for the water at the slightest noise. - The hawksbill or tortoise shell tur tle Is found on the southern coast of Florida, and thence to the West In dies, the Bermudas and South Amer ica. The flesh Is rarely eaten, al though the eggs are gathered for food and for the manufacture of oil. The great value of this species Is In Its horny covering, which Is the tortoise shell of commerce. The hawksbill does not grow very large, the maximum weight not ex ceeding 400 pounds. Those with a greater weight than 100 pounds are not now common on the Florida coast. The shell of the smaller turtle is thin and of little use; It increases in thickness and value with the size of the animal. In turtling gill nets and cast nets are generally used. The former are about 100 yards In length with a stretch mesh of from 24 to 26 inches. They are either anchored or drifted at night, and the turtles swimming along get tangled up in them and fall an easy prey. As the hawksbill turtles spend most of their time at the bottom , in deep water, different apparatus must be used to catch them. The turtler first discovers their location by means of a water telescope, which is an ordi nary water bucket with a wooden bottom removed and a pane of glass substituted. By putting this on the surface bottom down and placing the head in the upper part the bottom Is clearly visible. When found a round iron hoop with a bag of coarse twine is lowered over the animal and as he struggles upward he becomes entangled in it and Is brought to the surface and drawn Into the boat. A three tooth grapnel is also used at times. This is lowered and the animal is caught by the shoul der. Keeping Turtles Alive After Cap ' tare, ' Turtles generally have special spots In shallow water close to shore to which they return every night, and each animal has its own wallow or burrow, where it remains when not eating or traveling. It Is in these places that they are generally sought. In pegging the aim Is to drive the peg in the chimes of the carapace of the turtle, as this offers the best hold ing part and does the least damage to the animal. When a turjle Is seen the pegger stands erect on the forward thwart with his miniature harpoon poised for a prompt throw at the right moment. . As soon as the animal 13 hit it dives and drags the boat forward at a rapid rate. It is very soon compelled to come to the surface to breathe and Is then easily secured by means of a rope, if too large to be taken into the boat. When landed at Key West the tur tles which have been kept alive all that die are thrown away as worthless are placed In small, square pens of wattled stakes, called kraals, built In the water, close to shore and In staked compartments under wharves, and there kept until sale days or until they have recovered from the voyage. Here they are fed on a marine plant known as turtle grass, sweet potato vines, morning glory vines, mangrove leaves, etc. When a sufficient number of turtles have accumulated an auc tion sale is held. The upper shell of the hawksbill Is covered with thirteen plates, called collectively in the trade the head. The plates vary In thickness from an eighth to a quarter of an inch, accord ing to the age and size of the animal, and weigh collectively from four to six pounds. These plates form the tortoise shell of commerce and bring about $3 a pound. In securing the plates the animal must be handled while still alive. The shell Is first cut loose from the tur tle with a knife. It is then put into a boiler of ' boiling water, and in about five minutes the plates can be ripped off with a knife. If allowed to remain a little longer In the water the plates would drop off of their own accord, but they would be injured by too long submersion in the hot water. The Cubans use a knife heated al most white and with this tear off the plates and ret the still living animal go. Formerly the plates were de tached from the bony framework by laying the animal while alive on a hot fire or sometimes by soaking it while alive in boiling water. Fortu nately these inhuman methods are rarely practised now, ' The under shell of the hawksbill, called in the trade yellow belly and by the fishermen calipee, is also saved. After being dissolved by means of chemicals it is used in the manufac ture of meerschaum pipes. The up per shell of ' the loggerhead is em ployed in the manufacture of cheap combs, glue, etc. The proverbial nine lives of the cat are well known, but the cat is not In it with a turtle when it comes to hanging onto life. Slgnor Rodl of Italy ,once cut a turtle's head off and noted that it lived for twenty-three days without a head, and another whose brain he removed lived for six months, apparently unconscious that it had suffered any loss. THE WEEKLY GOLDEN WYANDOTTES. Product of Sailor with Natural Gift for Breeding Fowl. The commercial Importance of the hen and her product has formed the theme of many a comment since Secre tary Coburn of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture eave cackling feminin ity her due a few years ago. in a book entitled "The Helpful Hen," but the hen as an object of the breeder's fan cy is lesa considered by the great, thoughtless, chicken-eating public. Breeding chickens Is less expensive than breeding trotting horses, for the animals cost less on the hoof, the gen erations are shorter about one-third as long and variations are more eas ily secured, the St Louis Republic says. There are no pedigreed chick- Htt it lid ....!.... , - n.t ..1 1 In.. ens. TUB Hiemiuuauuu ui a suwiius colt as the offspring of a registered mare Is simple and easy, but into the case of the chicken there are obvious difficulties. Not the least of these Is the division of maternal labor, in the accomplishment of which It comes about that scarcely any hen of birth and consideration la permitted to ait on her own eggs. A freedom is there fore allowed to breeders In the intro duction of fresh and alien blood Into well-known strains of fowls which make the breeder of dogs or horses stare and gasp. For example, the Golden Wyandotte fowl, as originally bred, has not a drop of Wyandotte blood In its veins. Joseph McKeen, a Wyandotte breeder of Omro, Wis., conceived the idea of a golden-colored Wyaudotto fowl. Mr. McKeen was au old sailor with a nat ural gift for breeding fowls. He had sone of the paraphernalia considered ' necessary for the modern breeder; he could accomplish more with a tew old boxes, a sack of corumeal and a few tens than can the avenge fancier with all his costly apparatus. A common barnyard hen Kl MeKmn a flock seemed to his eye to possess certain qualities of size and shape which marked her for experiment She was crossed with the Seebright bantam. This gave the rose comb and the laced feathers. A further cross with the partridge cochin fixed the color and Increased the size, while an admix ture of Plymouth Rock helped in the establishment of the general type and heightened the laying qualities. The fowls thus produced were golden Wy andottes, with rose comb, clean leg3 and feathers laced with black on a gold ground; but they had not one drop of Wyandotte blood. They were subsequently crossed with the white Wyandottes to increase the stability of the type. A CLOCK FOR THE BLIND. The clock shown in this illustration is a rather ingenious assembling of an ordinary alarm clock minus Its case, a discarded frying pan, and circular sheet of copper, to form a timepiece by which the blind can tell the exact time. The copper sheet is the dial, and upon it are stamped the dots which form the numbers of the Braille system of letters and figures. It was made in the Missouri School for the Blind. Popular Mechanics. 1 A Klngr'a Old Clothes. The posthumous sale of the ward robe "of King George IV. of England realized $75,000. Grevllle. who at tended the sale, says that the king "hardly ever gave anything away ex cept his linen, which was distributed every year. There are all the coats he has ever had for fifty years. 200 whips, canea without number, every sort of uniform, the costumes of all the orders in Europe, splendid furs, pelisses, hunting coats and breeches. His profusion in these articles was un bounded because he never paid for them, and his memory waa so accurate that one of his pages told me he recol lected every article of dress, no matter how old, and that they were always liable to be called on to produce some particular coat or other article of ap parel of years gone by." A Dlaeoaraglng Theory. "Why do those critics say such dis agreeable things V asked the unhappy actress. "You mustn't blame them," answered the manager. "Probably they want to avoid being overlooked in the struggle for attention." "But can't they attract attention by saying pleasant things?" "Not so much. When I was out west I learned that the man who pulls a gun on you Is remembered twice as long as the one who offers you a cigar." Washington Star. We don't care whether people like music or not, but we object to people calling 'coon songs music Nearly every father says of his chlr dren: "They are bad because thai J mother spoils them." 1639 The first written constitution known to history adopted at Hart ford, Conn. 1708 Benjamin Franklin,' statesman and scientist, born in Boston. Died : In Philadelphia, April 17, 1790.. 1730 Gov. Montgomery granted the city of New York a new charter. 1777 Vermont passed a declaration of Independence. , ' 1781 Americans under Gen. Morgan defeated the British at Compens, S. C. 1794 Commodore James Armstrong, distinguished naval officer, born in Shelbyvllle, Ky. Died August 25, 1868. 1806 John Breckinridge of Kentucky became attorney general of the United States. 1814 Thanksgiving in Great Britain for successes over Bonaparte Pomeranla and Rugen annexed to ' Denmark.' 1830 The charter of Randolph-Macon College granted. 1838 Canadian rebels forced to evac uate Navy Island. - 1842 Sir Charles Bagot arrived In , Canada to take office as governor general - 1846-rFlfty lives lost in a theater fire in the city of Quebec. 1849 Vancouver island ceded to the Hudson's Bay Company. 1866 First State election held in Kan- sas. 1867 The Kansas territorial Legisla ture met at Lecompton. . : 1858 Attempted assassination of Na poleon, III. by Orslnl. 1861 Confederates seized the 'forts and barracks at Pensacola. 1862 Confederates defeated in battle at Middle Creek, Ky. . . .John Tyler, tenth President of the United States, died at Richmond, Va. Born at Greenway, Va., March 20, 1790. 1863 Engagement between Federal and Confederate forces Bayou Teche, Louisiana.... Federal forces captured Arkansas Post, Arkansas. 1864 Sir John Lawrence made viceroy of India.. Society for promoting aerial navigation formed in Paris. 1865 Bombardment and . assault of Fort Fisher.. The Federals took Fort Fisher, North Carolina. 1866 Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, in troduced the civil rights bill In the United States Senate. 1868 Gov. Jenkins of Georgia removed from office by Gen. Meade. 1875 Gladstone resigned the leadership of the Liberal party. 1876 Memorable debate in the House of Representatives between James O. Blaine and Benjamin H. Hill of Georgia on the subject of "Amnes ty." 1879 Sir William Johnston Ritchie ap pointed chief justice of Canada. 1880 Albert Institute, Windsor, open ed by the Prince of Wales. 1884 The new Iowa State capital at Des Moines dedicated. 1887 The huge upper table rock at Ni agara Falls fell, due to weight of accumulated ice. 1891 Indian war in the Northwest ended by . the submission of the hostile Sioux 1893 Mural tablet placed In Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, In memory of Henry Ward Beecher. . ; .F. B. Stockbrldge re-elected United States Senator from Michigan.... William McKinley inaugurated Governor of Ohio. 1895 Toronto visited by a million-dollar fire, the second within a week ....Casimir-Perler resigned the : presidency of . the French repub- lie.' ' 1897 Anglo-American arbitration trea ty signed at Washington.... Alva . Adams began his second term at Governor of Colorado. 1900 Disastrous fire at Dawson City. 1401 Kingdom of Prussia celebrated Its bi-centenary. MO 3 National Board of Trade of the United States passed a resolution favoring reciprocity with Canada. 1904 Extreme cold in Eastern Canada, . breaking the record for many years." , ".-. 1907 Governor Cummins of Iowa In Inaugural address urged reform of United States constitution to pro vide for election of President, Vice "president and Senators by the peo ple.... Grand Jury at Flndley, Ohio, returned 939 Indictments against the Standard Oil Company and its high official- 1308 American battleship fleet -. wel comed at Rio de Janeiro. 1909 -King Victor Emmanuel of Italy received the officers of the Amerl can battleship fleet..., Banquet la Atlanta In honor of President-elect Taft. . . .A. Lawrence Lowell elect ed president of Harvard Univer- CoL Michael Shaughnessey, Civil War veteran and former United States Marshal In the South, Is dead at Salt Lake, Utah, He is said to have fought a bloodless duel during his term of of fice with Senator Lamar of Mississip pi. . . ' - . Profit in Crop Rotation. Farmers in lower Delaware are greatly interested in an experiment Just concluded by Capt. William E. Lank, who has thoroughly proven the advantage of the rotation of crops on a four-acre field.- Last spring he ma nured the four acres, which had been in corn the previous year. The manure was plowed under, the ground well harrowed and peas drilled in. The crop grew well, and. in June the peas were sold at a net profit of $92. , As soon as, the peas were removed, plows again turned the soil over and it was planted with corn. From this a fine crop of fodder' was " saved, yielding a net profit of $65. The ground now has a fine set of scarlet clover on tt, the seed having been sown at the last harrowing of the corn, with every inaicauuii u . r worth of clover hay in the spring ana a constant improvement to the land. Construction of Colony Howe. . During the dull Beason our local lum ber dealer and his assistant built some portable colony poultry-houses as fol lows, writes an Indiana correspondent of Orange Judd Farmer: The frame Is securely bolted to the sills,' which are made sled-runner style. The walls are made from closely-fitted tongue and groove drop-siding. The floors are tight, and the ventilators covered with screen wire to keep but rats, weasels, etc.; the cover Is roofing felt Each house is painted. The size is 6 by 8 feet; 6 feet high in front and 4 at the back. They cost me $15 each for all material and work. Very likely they could be built for less in places where umber is cheaper. Flrnt Imported Horaea. It is said that the first horses Im ported into New England were brought over ic 1629, or nine years after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. One 6tallIon .and seven mares survived the Voyage. From this it will be seen that the first nine years of our history was a horseless v"age" in New England. The colonists in Virginia differed from the sober-minded Puritans of New En gland in being fond of sport, loving fast horses and trying their speed on the race track. The horses imported were English ; hunters and , racers. Fearnaught, brought over in 1764, left his mark on a numerous progeny of uncommon beauty, size and speed. Keeping Up Spraying Fight. The fight against . insect, scale and fungus diseases in our orchards must not be dropped with the harvesting of the fruit crops. It cannot be hoped that you have, by your spraying opera tions during the summer season, killed all the scale insects and fungi, ana doubtless during the press of work on the farm during the midsummer season the matter will have beep neg lected, or very little done, since the rrult was formed, and It can be de pended upon that there will now be on your orchard trees a fine collection 01 all sorts ready to hibernate and come forth in the spring stronger than ever. How Weat Haa Developed. Five years ago it was freely predict ed that land values in the West had reached their height, but they are 20 to 40 per cent higher now than then. The families of the first comers are grown. The second generation kas come to the fore and is taking part in the business of the communities. They have grown up with the country and know what It can proauce ana Just howaluable it is for the purpose of production and for a home. -C. M. Harger In the Atlantic Magazine. ' Good Roada of Sawduat. Maklnn Rood roads with sawdust is being practiced in a number of locali ties in the South. Two ridges of eartn are thrown up (a road machine being required to do the work) at a certain width from each other, the space oe tween being filled with a six-inch bed nf aawdust. Dirt is then mixed with h sawdust and it is claimed that heavily loaded vehicles in passing over this kind of a road make no impres sion upon It ' It is estimated that' the coBt of building is about szou per mile. Feeding Calvea by Hand. . It is always best to feed the calves by hand, because one, knows just what they are getting and how much. It -is really not such a terrible task to feed a dozen calves, but is quite a nuisance to go through the motion Just for one or two. Perhaps -a great many dairy men who object to raising calves or their own herds would change their minds it they should practice it in a wholesale way. Light In Cow Stablea. The light in a cow stable should come from the rear of the cows, so the milkers can see to clean the cows properly for milking. This arrange ment Is accomplished in modern stables by building them thirty-four to thirty-six feet wide and having two rows of cows facing toward a feeding alley In the center. Pnblte Troagha Daageroaa, Be careful about letting your horses drink from public watering troughs when there are any contagious dis eases la the country. The trough la a Hne distributing center for iifectien. World'a Wheat Crop, 1909. Broomhall's final estimate ot the ' 1909 wheat crop of the world places the total wheat production of the wheat acreage of -the world at 3,347,- 000,000 bushels, an "increase of 285, 000,000 bushels over the production in 1908, a 427,000,000 bushel increase over the crop of 1907. The production i Europe aggregated 1,872,000,000 bush els, being 160,000,000 bushels over the 1908 crop. The crops of North and South America .. reaches i;040,000,000 bushels, or 80,000.000. bushels over last year. It is likely that this great pro duction will not be more than enough to supply the demands of thworld' population. ; Conaerratlve Corn Poller, It after all, but evidence of desire to speculate when the corn bell farmer, particularly the one located in the northern part, plants a type oi corn which is too big to mature in the season lying between the limits oi killing frosts in spring and fall. Where an exceptionally favorabls- season ""makes possible the proper ma turity of such corn one year, thers will be a halt dozen seasons when It will get hit with the frost before it is ripe and sour and mold in the crib. Tt la Kafta, A nlav flafa CkTlA PTITT m XI. W m.ral VU O ' ' ' W smaller and earlier maturing type. ' - Feeding Substltnte for Con. In these days of high priced corn there is a lesson in the experience of Boyden Pearce ot Hancock County, Me., who says: "I have been torced to depend upon my farm for my pork and have learned that plenty of ruta baga turnips, clover and one bag of corn will put a hog through the win ter; then to pasture till fall. It makes good pork and at a low price. There Is money in it and no need to depend upon the West for pork." Salt for Milking Cow. . Your cows will get enough salt by simply putting a lump of rock salt in the manger. A. cow giving a good flow of milk, well fed, Ought to have two ounces of salt a day, an ounce in the morning and an ounce at night. Some advise giving this to them on their en silage, when you feed ensilage and grain.' You can take a small piece of salt In your fingers and weigh it, and will soon be able to judge the amount in an ounce. Cleanllneaa In Dairy Connta. Cleanliness in all lines of dairying counts for quality of products. After milk vessels have been washed with soap and hot water they must be final ly rinsed with scalding water. When scalding water is used no drying with rags will be necessary, as the heat from the water will dry the vessels without aid. Sunning after cleaning is to be commended. Animal and Bird Farm At da. According to the Department of Ag riculture of France a toad Is worth $9; a lizard, $9; a swallow, $20; a tit mouse, $8; the robin, $4; a mat, $30; an owl, $12; a screech owl, $16; a fern owl, $30. That looks bad when some of us come to think it over and call to mind how many of our friend we have killed. Providing Salt for Pigeon. ,On one of the largest squab pl?ft in mis country salt is iurnisned t breeders by dipping the small cks in water and then allowed to dry un til they become hard and firm. These are then placed In the lofts and the pigeons pick out the salt through the sacks. Never give emmon granulated salt loose. "Whitewashing the Honaea. Nothing is better for poultry build ings from a sanitary point of view than a good coat of whitewash. Espe cially is this true when getting the poultry houses ready for the winter. All may not be aware there is quite a science in whitewashing. There are different kinds, and each la adapted for a different use. Working for Top of Ladder. Do not hesitate to work on the top rounds ot a ladder in the poultry busi ness. The higher you get the less crowded it Is, and therefore the bet ter the business pays, says a writer la an exchange. You may feel a little lonesome at times, but it Is the kind of loneliness that Is right easy to bear. . -,' .. The Power la Gaaollao. The power of gasoline Is really mar velous. The man who has used gasoline power for years does not marvel at It as does the recent purchaser. A gallon of this liquid will easily carry five passengers ten or fifteen miles, or It will grind feed cheaper than the man with horses that need the exercise can do it Great is gasoline. Inneenlation of . Afalfa, The results from more than 100 co operative experiments In growing al falfa, located in over one-half of the counties of New York State, Indicate that where neither the lime nor lnocla tion is applied the chance of a success ful crop la not more than 20 per cent; or one chance la five.