WONDER OF NATURE.
GRAND, CANYON OF ARIZONA A
-MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE.
Bubiimo Sceiury Xald Out by Nature
Hold. Muu in Ita Spe.l-Great Chuaiu
Mllea Acroaa - la a Mecca for the
Touriat.
The Grand Canyon of Arizona is
within a government forest reservation
sixty by eighty miles in size. About
two-thirUs of it Is on the eastern and
the other third on the western side.
The timber is lu fairly good condition.
There was a bad fire two years ago
which ruined several hundred acres of
tine forest, but there Is little danger
of Its recurrence because of the vigil
ance of Captain Kenton, the superln--tedent,
and his corps of foresters.
It is thirteen miles from one rim of
the canyon to that on the opposite side,
and there are two trails by which the
western side may be reached. One of
them, the Bright Angel Trail, Is oppo
site the new hotel, and although It Is
eighteen or twenty miles to the top
the climb is comparatively easy. It
follows a stream of clear, pure cbid
water which comes tumbling down a
narrow canyon on the western side,
and Major Towell during his first
memorable exploration of the canyon
called it the Bright Angel River be
cause it was such a grateful discovery.
Captain Fentou says that the coun
try on the western side of the canyon
is much better than that on the east
ern side; that the timber Is larger and
thicker, water is more abundant, and
there are a great many deer and other
big game. The forest reserve includes
a strip of thirty miles along the edge
of the canyon, and west of that, to the
Utah line, the land has been taken up
by Mormon ranchmen, who have large
lowed all of the trails to the river;
Every one of these , excursions . is
entfilgh'to use up the strongest men. .
' Nowadays oiie can ride to the J can
yon in a parlor car or a Pullman sleep
er and step , off the train into one or
the most picturesque and, comfortable
hotels' in the world. You can come all
the year round. February and March
are the least pleasant months, because
there are apt to be rain , and snow
storms. From Sept. 15 to Feb. 1 the
weather is most agreeable, but these
summer days are almost perfect
neither too cool nor too hot. The ther
mometer ranges between 65 and 75
Fahrenheit. There are several advan
tages In coming down here in the sum
mer, and a good 'many people are he-.
ginning to find them out, ; The altitude
Is 7,000 feet above.the sea, and that
Insures cool nights, no matter how
warm the days may be. But the days
are not too warm for comfort; the
thermometer seldom goes above 80;
there Is no humidity In the ' atmos
phere; and if the sun Is too hot all you
have to do Is to raise your uniberlla.
There is occasionally a freak of
weather. The snowstorm in whicli we
were lost occurred on the 20th of May,
181)9, and It is a singular coincidence
that a smiliar squall should arrive on
the very same date this year, with
snow enougu to hide the roadway
through the forest. But there is no
danger of getting lost now. The trees
have been blazed on both sides of the
trail, and if you stick to the railway
cars you are sure to bring up at the
canyon, three hours or so after you
leave the Santa Fe Line at Fort Will
lams. The snow never lasts more than
a few hours. It may fall to a depth of
two or three Inches during the night
two or three times a year, but as soon
a 8 the sun comes out In the morning it
disappears almost Instantly.
There Is a peculiar railway down
here. It Is the only one I know of in
differing In color and Intensity. ..H la I
silent desert by the' Colorado jUver,
and thftlaln nnd winds,' It U like aT,
inverted' mountain range, 21t miles
long, reaching a depth of 7,530 feet,
with a series of depressions 'averaging
0,000 feet chiseled out of the earth by
the erosion of ages.
It is the generally accepted theory
that this great chasm Is solely 'the
work of water of the floods thai
come down from ;tha mountains wvery
spring and summer but Mr. Ordonez,
a distinguished Mexican geologist, who
came here not long ago, made a sug
gestion which may not be entirely
new but-is worth mentioning.' It Is
his idea that, while the earth was cool
lng, the soil and the rocks contracted
and spilt a deep and wide Assure In
the surface of the plateau, and that its
sides have since been worn down and
polished by the action of the water.
That seems reasonable.
There are various places along the
rim from which splendid views of the
canyon may be obtained. Each Is dif
ferent. Each has Its own glories; but
what Is known as the Grand View Is
the best, because from that promon
tory the eye has a wider vista, a dou
ble view; there the canyon curves
around like a monstrous serpent, and
one can follow it a distance of nearly
eighty miles. Thomas Moran palntel
his famous pictures from what Is
known as Mornn's Point. He thinks
the colors of the rocks and the clays
appear more brilliant there than else
where. You can wander along the rim for
sixty miles. There Is no obstruction
for all that distance, and you can look
down a mile Into the bowels of the
earth. William E. Curtis, In Chicago
Record-Herald.
For Halter-Breaking Horse.
Some horses have the bad habit of
pulling at their baiters when listened. preparation of shoeblacklng, and even
EaTK In Com marc.
A poultry farm, whether ducki,
geese, chickens or turkeys be the spe
cialty, accumulate! a large and malo
dorous surplus, of eggs that refused to
develop into fowl. The average per
son would suppose that If there is any
thing on earth that Is utterly worthless-It
Is a stale egg. Millions of stale
eggs are used every year in preparing
leather. dressing for gloves and book
binding an industry that is largely
carried on In' the foreign tenement
houses of New York nnd other large
cltlos. They are also used in manu
facturing disinfectants nnd In tho
at the manger and always breaking
them. While it is generally considered
that the horse gets along much better
in the box stall where he is not fasten
ed at all It is not always possible to
arrange such a plan, so that some
thing jnust be done to break the hal
ter-breaking habit. The following plan
is adriiitted to work nicely and to break
any horse of the habit after a few
weeks' trial. Take a strong rope long
enough for the purpose and, after
QZlTXiTj
the shells are made into fertilizers.
The eggs that have not yet lost their
virtue nlso have other uses besides tho
more common ones for culinary pur-,
poses. It is estimated that fully 55,
000,000 dozen are used by wine clari
flcre, dye manufacturers, and In the
preparation of photographers' dry.
plates. Exchange.
Whon hi Stars Fell.
Almost historic Is the remark of the
awe-strlckeu lad who, while observing
PREVENTS II ALTER-BREAKING.
doubling it, pass an end each side of
the horse nbout midway between the
front and hind legs. Puss the ends
through a ring", then through the hole
In the manger and then tie the ends
in the halter ring. When the horse
pulls back the rope tightens around
the body and pulls him back, so that
after a few trials he gives up the plan.
To prevent the rope from making the
back of the horse sore, make a soft
pad of several thicknesses of new un
bleached muslin, covered on the out
side with a piece of denim or any
equally strong, clean material. Make
small straps of some of the material
and sew, to the pad, the rope passing
underneath these loops. The illustra
tion shows the idea plainly, Figure 1
indicating the shaping of the pad at
the center seam. Indianapolis News.
Road nulldlng.
The Importance of tho new olllce of
public roads, which Is the olnclal desig
nation of the division of the bureau of
agriculture devoted to the study of
roads nnd road-bulldlng materials,' has
been recognized In a larger financial
appropriation than was accorded the
ojd olllce of public road inquiries. The
scope of the new division has been ma
terially enlarged, now taking cogni
zance of the chemical nnd physical
character of road materials, work
which was formerly done, where pos
sible, by the bureau of chemistry. Ono
of the features of the nevv olllce, aside
from its enlargement and the authority
which has been given It to confer with
prospective builders and offer them ex
pert advice, Is the post-graduate course
In highway engineering, which has
Just been lnagurated, with a view of
giving young civil engineers theoreti
cal and practlcul training in road-bulldlng.
HomeniRdVWIre Stretcher.
Take a round stick 2ya feet long and
2 or 3 Inches in diameter. Make
opening in end 0 Inches long and large
Practical Land Leveler.
Fig. 1, prospective sketch; Fig. 2,
side view; leveler, E, extends back di
rectly over right side of boat, C; short
end of Iron, H, bolts to rear side of
B, in middle, and long end Is hinged
by bolt to top end of G, which is bolt
ed on top of runner with upturned end
flush with inner side of runner. Op
erator stands on boat, C, and by using
lever, E, raises or lowers scraper, B,
which is hinged on runners by bolts
between G, G and II, H. Boat, C, is
SCENE IN THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA.
herds of cattle. Nearly all of the In
habitants of that corner of Arizona
are Mormons. John D. Lee, the leader
in the Mountain Meadow massacre,
had a ranch at a ferry over the Color
ado about a hundred mlhis north of
here, where he lived in concealment
for more than twenty years. He was
finally discovered, identified, arrested,
convicted and executed for complicity
in the murder of a caravan of people
in northern Utah wihle on their way
to California. Ills widow now keeps
a hotel at Holbrook, Ariz., one of the
most important stations on the Santa
Fe Road, and several of his sons and
daughters are living in the locality.
People are beginning to find their
way here. Last year, which was the
first Blnce the railroad was opened,
about 12,000 people came. This year,
If the present average keeps up, there
will be from 20,000 to 25.000 visitors,
and everyone who comes goes home a
walking advertisement for the place.
There Is nothing to compare with It
anywhere In the. world. It Is impossi
ble to exaggerate the grandeur, the sub
limity, the inipressiveness of the scen
ery; and Its fascination cannot be ac
curately described. It is Impossible for
one man to express his emotions to
another.
It Is a singular fact that three
fourths of the people who come to the
canyon are women. A large number
of them are well along In years, and
the endurance and the nerve they show I
is extraordinary. Nearly every woman
who comes here Insists upon going
down to the bottom of the canyon,
while only half of the men show that
amount of energy. Two New York
women have been here for months.
They have visited all the places of In
terest within 150 miles, Including the
Mokl and Supal Indians, and have loi
this country over which no passes are
Issued. Everybody except the conduc
tor and the train crew even the pres
ident himself has to pay fare, and a
round-trip ticket over the entire sys
tem costs $6.50. The railroad is ninety
miles long. It has no stations except
the terminals at Williams, where it
connects with the Santa Fe, and at tho
Grand Canyon of the Colorado. It has
no side tracks except one to allow the
trains to pass. There are four passen
ger trains a day, two in each direction,
made up of a baggage car and two
coaches and through Pullmans from
Kansas City and Los Angeles twice a
week. There are no freight train? nnd
no freight Is carried except water and
other supplies for the hotels at the
Grand Canyon. The road depends upon
passenger traffic alone. That Is the rea
inn whv nnsses are not given. There
are no Bwltchmen In the employ of
the company and the pay roll carries
only twelve names, including conduc
tors, engineers, firemen, ticket agents
and all concerned, and the track is
kept In order by five section gangs of
ten men each, who are now rebuilding
it from the bottom with new ties, new
rails and ballast of volcanic cinder.
I shall not try to describe the Grand
Canyon of the Colorado. Few pens are
brave enough to attempt It, and none
la equal to the task. Famous writers
have described the canyon with fine
word-painting, but none conveys more
than a meager idea of what the can
you looks like; and it seldom looks the
same from hour to hour. With every
shifting cloud ita outlines and colors
seem to alter. As the sun rises and
sets In the heavens its majestic out
lines change like the scenes of a pan
orama. You may sit on the rim from
breakfast to dinner, gazing over the
same area, and see a dozen pictures
the great meterolc display of 1833.
turned his eyes to a familiar corner of
the heavens after an especially brill
iant flight of meteors, drew a long
breath, and gasped:
"Well, the old Dipper's still' there
anyhow!"
Much more recently a similar spe&
tacle, although in this Instance a dis
play no greater than Is ordinarily look
ed for in August skies, disturbed the
tranaulllltv of a little girl whose
father, an enthusiastic amateur astron
omer, had taken her up on the roof
with him to see the sight. He expected
her to be delighted with the shooting
stars, but he soon observed that her
expression was scarcely a joyous one.
"What Is It, Ada?" he asked her.
"Don't you like to watch them. Aren't
you enjoying yourself?"
"Ye-es, papa," she answered, dubi
ously, conscientiously trying to har
monize the dictates of politeness and
WIRE STRETCHER.
enough to allow wire to slip In. Tut
handle on the other end nnd then with
stick nt right angles to post and wire
next to post twist us tight as wanted.
Any wire can be broken with this de
vice nnd you don't have to have any
thing to fasten stretcher to. Exchange.
GOOD LAND LEVELER.
hinged to back of scraper with bottom
2 Inches above lower edge of scraper.
Iron, D, is 1-inch wagon tire and has
half twist at x, x. Chancey Avery, in
Ohio Farmer.
The Uruguay Potato,
Fresh investigation regarding the
new Uruguay potato indicates that the
plant will probably not prove of much
practical value where the common po
tato or the sweet potato can be grown
with success. It Is a tropical plant
which will not thrive in cool weather,
and even where it has succeeded it, Is
of such a weedy character that it is
liable to become a nuisance when It
How to Make a Hay Sweep.
A. E. Shreffler, of South Dakota,
says: "The following Is what I be-1
lleve to be a cheap and practical way
to make a buckcr, or hay sweep. All
the materials required for this purpose
are two lx8's, 14 feet long; one 2x12,
14 feet long; three 2x4's, 18 feet long;
one 2x4, 12 feet long, and 30 feet of
1-lnch rope. Cut the 18-foot 2x4 into
pieces 9 feet long and point them at
both ends with a sharp hand ax. Next
spike these' 9-foot pieces on the 2x12
plank, 4 feet from ench end, placing
the 2x4's 2 feet and 4 Inches apart. Cut
the 12-foot 2x4 into four equal pieces,
place upright on the edge of the 2x12,
3 feet 8 Inches apart, and brace tuera
solid by nailing the 1x8 on the stakes.
Cut rope to 15 feet length and put one
on each end of the 2x12 and you have
a reversible bucker, or sweep-rake, bet
ter than you can buy for twice the
cost."
ixi i.1 ,v,
truth. "At least, I suppose we can escapes irom cmuvauuu. , uu
spare the stars, and I think I might are experimenting wun tne new potato
enjoy it if only you can give me your express some hopes that it may yet be
word we nre sure of the moon."
Serpent Immune from Its enom,
One of the most Important things
about serpent venom is that each
species seems to be Immune to its own
poison. If a snake Is Inoculated with
its own venom It remains unaffected.
M. 0. Phisallx, who has done so much
on this subject, finds experimental evi
dence that this immunity is to be at
tributed to the presence in the blood
of a free antitoxin. This neutralizes
the poison as it is introduced.
How Lion Is Week?
"Oh, yes, he's very careful about
himself and his clothes. Why, he can
wear a collar a whole week long."
"Gee wMa. he must have an awful
long neck 1" Philadelphia Preia.
IniDroved to such an extent that Its
vigorous productive character may
bring it into use to a limited extent.
At present it is not recommended for
commercial uses.
Spreading- Manure.
Calculate the amount of mannure on
hand and estimate the expected
amount next spring. Then measure oft
or estimate the area of land that the
manure will probably cover. Do not
waste the manure by spreading it over
too much space. A small plot that is
well manured will give larger propor
tionate crops, and at a lower cost, than
a large field that is mnnured insuffi
ciently. Homeopathic doses of manure
do not give good results. Concentrate
your manure on the least space possi
ble for a fair return.
Preventing Scab and Rust.
The results of various methods of
treatment to prevent apple scab are
given in bulletin No. 88 of the Ne
braska Experiment Station. Re
moving cedar trees from the vicinity
of the orchard and destroying the ce
dar apples Is the customary way to
control the cedar rust, which Is closely
related to applescab. Thorough spray
ing with Bordeaux Is effectunl against
both scab and rust, and the spray
should be applied in a fine mist and
with considerable force. All parts of
the tree must be wet thoroughly in
order to prevent the rust securing a
start
Stopped the Crowing,
Those who live in crowded neighbor
hoods in town or city are often debar
red from keeping chickens because of
complaints of neighbors of the early
morning crowing of the cocks. The
authorities In an English town have
devised a remedy for this trouble, con
sisting of placing the perch where the
cock roosts so high that when he
stands up to crow he knocks his head
against the roof and desists. It is
I claimed that a swinging board over his
head answers the same purpose.