OIL FOR TI7E ROADS.
PROPOSED TO LAY DUST IN A
e-'
NEW WAY.
I
-------------
.'rode Petroleum to Be f ex tiered A Ion a;
the Roadway* from a Car—The I lan
la Not for Railroads Alone, but lor
Country Roa:lef Too.
The Improvementa and conveniences
appertalnlng to railroad travel come so
rapidly that nowadays they are taken
Hilite as a matter of course. What the
traveling public put up with ten years
ago as necessary evils of long railway
Journeys, smoke and dust tilling the
cars and ruining traveling costumes,
are little If at all experienced now and
would be Indignantly resented. The
Introduction of vestibule trains has
.done much to solve that problem, and
—'The next step toward dustless railroad
has been taken by many roadsand will
In a year or two be taken by all very
probably.
The secret lies In the sprinkling of
the roadbed with oil, a scheme which
was greeted rather doubtfully two
years ago when It was proposed, then
experimented with In a half-hearted
way and finally enthusiastically adopt­
ed by the road on which the experl-
'tuents were made. When the news of
the success of the new plan spread
other roads took It up, patents ou the
process were Issued, and now it is as
much of an industry its patent car cou­
plings, air brakes or any of the many
things that go to make up railroading.
Not only did the oil, properly spread,
keep down the dust, but It served to
shed water readily and thus protected
the ties from rotting. More than that,
it kills vegetation along the roadbed,
which previous to the use of oil had
to be burned out by laborers as a pre­
caution against tires when the weeds
feeders or pipes allow the oil to flow)
directly into the furrow*. Then thej
earth Is closed over the oil and the
roadway Is rolled with a three-ton roll­
er and farmers’ wagons and other vehi­
cles are kept off it for a day until the
oil has time to percolate up through
the earth, as the narrow tires of the
wagons would cut the road to pieces
before the oil had time to work.
When a roadway Is treated in this
manner the results nre said to l>e emi­
nently satisfactory, but spreading the
oil on the surface would lie of no avail,
as It would not sink rapidly enough
to escape being carried away on the
wheels of wagons. The result near lies
Moines will be eagerly watched. The
cost of the oil and the work Is estimat­
ed to lie about $141 per mile. The at­
tention of the management of various
suburban trolley roads has been direct­
ed to the oil process, and It Is expected
that something will be done with them.
GROWTH
OF
AMERICA’S THREE ADMIRALS AND THEIR FLAGSHIPS.
^RRAGC t »
THE TELEPHONE.
The United Ftatee Leads the World in
Many Particulars.
The growth of the telephone, more
especially in this country, has been phe­
nomenal. Since 1ST!), when its practi­
cal qualities were demonstrated, 772,-
989 mils of telephone wire have been
strung ou poles, burled In the grout'd,
stretched on buildings and laid under
water within the boundaries of the
United States. That Is at the rate of
38,449 tulles per annum, or, allowing
300 working days to every year, rather
more than 128 miles a day. Of the total
length of telephone wire in this country
—which would reach IMJVi times around
the earth at the equator, by the way—
309,503 miles are overhead; nearly as
much, or 358,184, are under ground; 15,-
329 are in buildings, and 2,973 are in
submarine cables. All this wire con­
nects 465,180 telephones—more than
four times as many as are in operation
in England, which has only 103,084,
and 11,330 more than the total of all
ALASKA IS FERTILE.
GROWING
THINGS THRIVE
OUR ARCTIC DOMAIN.
IN
Gratifying Information from the
Government’s 1 xperimental Agri-
cu tural Stations -Early Vegetable.
Excel in Flavor Those ¿f the States.
tained. All of the seeds were planted
between May 18 and Maj- 25. The sea­
son was backward, and It was Imprac­
ticable to plant them earlier.
Of vegetable seeds planted there
were asparagus, wax l>eans, beets,
cress, kale, lettuce, mustard, onions,
TVCIIES.
HOTEL SERVANTS ARE HONEST.
They Are Often Accused of Stealing,
but Are Rarely Guilty.
“A curious thing happened here to­
day,” said the head clerk at one of the
leading hotels lu New Orleans to a
Timos-Democrat man. “About a month
ago a gentleman and his wife, from
Milwaukee, spent a couple of days In
the house, and on leaving the lady
missed a valuable ring. She was posi­
tive she left it on the dresser and equal­
ly positive it had been stolen by one of
the servants. We set an investigation
on foot and promised to forward the j
ring If found. A little later the hus­
band wrote to Inquire whether the
search had been successful, and when
we replied in the negative be notified us
that he proposed to sue the hotel. He
claimed we bad shown great negligence
in not arresting a suspected employe,
and bls comments were bitter in the
extreme. That was two weeks ago.
“Now here is the sequel in the shape
of a third letter that arrived this morn­
ing. He says that lie and his wife
reached home a few days ago and In
unpacking the luggage found the ring
lu one of the trunks, and he is manly
enough to add a very handsome apol­
ogy for his hasty conclusions. Strange
to say, that is the first time in the his­
tory of the house that any guest lias
frankly admitted such a blunder after
taking his departure, anil blunders of
that kind are of almost weekly occur­
rence.
“It is tlie commonest thing in the I
world at all hotels for persons to go !
away declaring that they have been J
robbi d by the help. We know the miss­
ing article subsequently turned up, be­
cause the subject is never referred to
during later visits, but In the mean­
while a score or so of humble, but hon­
est and hard-working people, have been
placid under a suspicion that Is wholly
unwarranted aud unjust. That is a
point the average traveler doesn't seem
to consider. Hotel chambermaids are
continually returning valuables which
they find in rooms. Dishonesty among
tliet* is so rare as to be almost un­
known.”
The Federal Department of Agricul­
ture has shown that fruits, vegetables
and grain are being grown with profit
In Alaska, and that our great Arctic do­
main offers enormous possibilities,
hitherto unsuspected, for agriculture
APPARATUS FOR S PREAD1NG THE OIL.
on a large scale.
Along the Alaskan coast the soil Is
became dry and lntlammable In the continental Europe, which has only capable of producing grain, vegetables,
POTATOES'GROWN AT KADIAK.
453,844. Germany excels England, and small fruits and forage plants of as
fall.
The apparatus for spreading the oil leads all other European countries with good quality and In as great abun­ parsley, parsnips, peas, radishes, ruta­
Is of course very simple lu arrange­ 173,981; Sweden, curiously enough, dance as many of our Northern bagas, rhubarb, salsify, spinach, sage,
ment. Au ordinary flat car is fitted comes next with 56,5!Ht; Erance follows States, and of supporting countless thyme, turnips and Windsor beans. All
with one fixed pipe extending the with 45,1 00; then Austria with 33,862; herds of cattle. In southeastern Alas­ these, including In some cases several
length of the cross ties and two swing little Switzerland with 32.252; Norway ka Is a region as large as all New varieties of each, except the wax beans
pipes one on each side—which whim with 20.678, and Russia with 20,108. York, New Jersey atid Pennsylvania and spinach, made excellent growth
extended will reach two or more feet There are telephones In Italy, Spain,
up the sides’of slopes In cuts. Each Portugal and some of the smaller Eu­
pipe Is controlled by a gate valve ropean countries, of course, but they
worked by a lever. A supply pipe ex­ are of small consequence there, rela­
tends the length of the car and a rub­ tively, with their importance here, and
ber liose connects with the four-inch this will be understood from the state-
outlet In the ordinary tank car. A I ment that 32,000 telephones—more than
locomotive engine moves both ears and in all Norway or all Russ a, and nearly
furnishes steam or compressed air to as many as In Switzerland are In reg­
aid In ejecting the oil when thickened ular sei vice in the B 'rough of Manluit-
by cold weather. The tint car has a box I tan alone.
Besides having thousands of ml s of
for tools, extra parts, etc., and Is
partly covered with an awning to pro­ | telephone line and thousands more In-
tect the men. The sprinkling pipes are i stiumetits titan any other country, the
■ lifted for the oil to esca|H‘. The United S at< s leads the world In length
sprinkling ear Is furnished with : of line, the longest line operated In Eu-
shields, which cover ami protect the | rope being only 850 miles, while the
rails from any oil which might drop longest line here is of 2.000 miles. Un­
ALASKAN REDTOPS.
or be splashed onto (Item. One end of til recently the longest line extended
the supply pipe on the sprinkling cur is from Boston to Omaha, 1,500 miles, but combined, that Is adapted In all re­
and produced vegetables and plants
fitted with a connection for three or the line recently completed to Little spects to cattle raising.
that compared favorably with the
more lengths of hose, each terminating Rock, Ark., exceeds tills by -list miles,
The Government Is establishing three products of gardens almost anywhere
I
and
will.
In
turn,
be
exceeded
soon
by
*. lu n valve and spreader, for use by
agricultural experiment stations at in southern latitudes. The peas were
ItAud in covering sides of slopes in tlie lino to New Orleans Commercially different points in the Territory, to test
especially prolific, and the turnips, rad­
speaking, tills las line re :c. es the pres­ thoroughly and scientifically the capa­
ruts.
ishes, parsnips, parsley and salsify pro-
it was found that about 2.000 gallons ent prnc I al limit. Sclent tlcally speak- city of Its soil for producing a food sup­
douced roots as good as can be found
, It Is possible to operate a telephone ply for lt£ present and future popula­
per mile was necessary to properly
anywhere. Some of the turnips weigh­
Lost Child of the Miami«.
treat the track, and In doing the work line around the earth, but this would tion, atid enable the Territory ulti­
ed five pounds each, aud some even ten
In 1770. when a mere child, Frances
on the eastern roads tank cars con­ j require a copper wire of great weight mately to become self-supporting with
pounds, and were of excellent flavor. Slocum was stolen from her parents by
taining 6,000 gallons each were side­ and enormous cost. In practice It has respect to the food It may need.
Potatoes also were a decided success. a roving Indian band at Wilkesbarre,
tracked several miles apart, where the been found that wire of -too pounds to
The stations nre nt Sitka, on the
Many of them weighed each a [xtund Pa. She moved West with the ebbing
employes on the oil sprinkler could the mile Is heavy enough to operate a southeastern coast; at Kadiak, ou or more.
tide of Indians and was finally adopted
readily pick them up and attach them line of 1.000 miles; wire weighing H im » Kadiak island, off the southern coast;
A more Important test, however, was by a chief of the Miamls. Her parents
and
at
Kenai,
on
the
Kenai
peninsula,
pounds
to
the
mile
will
carry
nearly
to the sprinkling train when necessary.
made with grains aud foliage plants. searched far and near for their miss­
A “general treatment" of a roadbed twice ns far. It would require wire beside Cook inlet, about 110 miles to Oats and barley were'grown at Sitka ing chid. but were unable to locate her
■ends the oil down about four Inches weighing 1,500 pounds to the mile to the north and east. The conditions nt and Skaguay with gratifying results. until she bail been adopted by tlie
Into the ballast and earth and will operate a telephone line from the East Sitka represent all tlie heavily timber­ Several varieties of Norwegian aud j Miami tribe, and when overtures were
prove all sufficient for a year. After to San Francisco. Such a line will be ed region of southeastern Alaska, with Russian barley were grown with the made for her returu she declared that
that about one-third as much oil Is built Just as soon as the Pacific const Is
same excellent result as with the oats. the life in the Indian camp had such a
used annually to renew the treatment settled sufficiently to afford profitable
Of forage plants there were seeded fascination for her that she bad no de­
business
for
It.
and absolutely prevent the raising of
several varieties of Norwegian clover, sire to return to civilization. She was
dust. The oil used Is especially manu­
timothy, hairy vetch and Riga flax, and extremely popular among the members
Chinese Methods.
factured and Is practically non-inflam­
all were successful, the clover being of the tribe, and the village southwest
When wo consider the vast strides
mable, and the odor Is Imperceptible
esi>ecially vigorous, measuring over of Wabash, Ind., where she made her
after a day or two, when the oil has which our cities have taken In the sci­
two feet high.
home was known as the “white wom­
ence
of
sanitation
and
In
general
public
penetrated the earth. The oil costs
Alaska is pre-eminently a land of an’s" village. As she grew to woman­
small fruits aud berries. The flavor of hood. adopting the savage customs, at­
from $32 to $45 per mile, depending Improvements, It Is Interesting to learn
most of the native berries Is pronounc­ tire and language, she married She-pan-
largely upon the point of delivery and how the authorities In Chinese cities
ed to be so excellent that It Is said they ean-nah. meaning the Deaf Man. the
the roads which are using the system have spent the Inst third of a century,
“I vlalted Peking." says Lord Charles
are worthy of Introduction Into the chief of the Osage village, and by him
•ay the cost Is more than offset by the
States.
had four children, two sons nnd two
saving In cost of renewal of ballast and Beresford, "about thirty years ago. On
Cattle were Introduced In Alaska daughters. She accompanied her hus­
the loss on dra|s*rles and furulshlngs my returu last year I found it unchang­
ed. except that It was thirty times dir­
long ago by the Russians in their vari­ band to the Osage village and after­
of cars Injured by dust.
tier, the smells thirty times more In­
ous settlements, and, according to re­ ward to the Deaf Man’s village, and
For Country Roads.
ports, they always did well. Professor lived there long after the white man
But the use of oil to lay the dust Is sufferable, and the roads thirty years
the worse for wear. A few weeks ago
Georgeson reports that the cattle now had invaded the wilderness and begun
not to l»e conflued to railroads, al­
a mule was drowned In a hole In the
found at the little towns along the to clear up the dense forests.
though It Is on steam roads most prog­
coast thrive and appear to have be­
She-pah-can-nah died in 1833, and In
■ MOWS AT klTKA.
ress lias been made. Experiments nre middle of the roadway. Just opposite
come well adapted to the climate. This 1S47, fourteen years after, she died at
Ost-. Barley. ftsx. Potatoes and Clover.
to I m * begun near Des Moines, Iowa, lu one of the foreign legations."
Thereasott for this condition of things
excellent condition. Prof. Georgeson the age of 80, loved and respected by
the use of oil on a country highway
Its deep moss and peaty soil. At : says. Is evidence of the nutritious qual­ whites and In lians alike. Frances Slo­
to shed the water, lay the dust and gen Is quite plain when we learn that the
Kadiak the climate Is somewhat cooler, ities of the indigenous grasses.
cum's Indian name was Mah-cones-
erally Improve the road ns a substi­ six oil lamps at present employed to
Illuminate the streets of Peking repre­ and the soil less peaty, w hile lu the | The soils of Alaska are largely of qttah. or "Young Bear.” Her daughter,
tute for paving. Major Montgomery
Kenai peninsula there Is a large area of 1 vegetable origin, aud to a great degree Ke-ke-kah-kushw.n. became the wife of
Meigs. United States civil engineer. Is sent the expenditure of a liberal budget agricultural land Inside the coast '
resemble the black earth of rice lands * 1 Capt. B. Brouillette, and died on Marell
for
street
lighting,
as
well
as
a
hand
­
an enthusiast on the subject, and It Is
some salary to the mandarin who over­ range, which presents favorable condi­ or peat formations. In the southeast- | 13. 1847. aged 47. The other daughter
under his direction the experiments
tions for farming, although It Iks ern portion of Alaska there are deep ' was O-xah-was-shing-quah, who mar­
sees the work.
are to be conducted. In preparing a
It Is additionally Instructive to note north of the sixtieth parallel of north deposits of this rich soil overlying slate ried Tali-co-nah. and he dying she be­
country road the oil Is not spread on
or conglomerate bedrock. The organic I came the bride of Wah-pab-pe-tah, nnd
that upon Investigation Lord Charles latitude.
the surface as Is done on a railway
Last year the Department sent to content of many of these soils is very several of her children by the last mar-
was unable to ascertain the locality of
roadbed, as every passing vehicle
any one of the six lamps! The Infer­ Alaska a special agent. Prof. C. C. much higher than In any of the agri­ rl.tge live on the Indian land south of
would take up the oil and carry it
ence
la that it was too "dark" to And Georgesen, a native of Denmark. He | cultural lands of the States. If these Wabash In abject poverty. She died In
away. The system which has been tried
made his headquarters at Sitka and soils are so situated as to be well drain- . January. 1877. the last of Frances Slo­
in many cities, notably near I.os An­ them.
bkaguay. and experimented with seeds «*«1 they should be capable of producing , cum's children.
geles, Cal., necessitates the use of a
Kain.
of over 100 varieties of grain, vegeta­ enormous crops, and, with an abun- ,
machine with harrow teeth six Inches
Rain falls more frequently between bles. grasses and forage plants. He dant and well-distributed rainfall, they i
Home of the Edam Cheese.
Jong. This Is driven over the road and 3 o’clock and 8 o’clock lu the morning also distributed seeds to individuals in would be adapted to almost any kind j While the Edam cheese Is a familiar
the teeth cut dowu Into the earth, leav­ than at any other time during the day. other localities In Alaska and made ar- I of crop suited to the general climatic visitor on the table, not every one
ing long furrows similar to those made
rangements for co-operative experi­ conditions of that portion of the couu knows whence It comes nor how Its
It Is never possible to please halt ments and reports as to the results ob- try.
I cannon ball proportions and gay color­
in a harrowed field. On the same ma­
chine la carried a tank of oil and small your audience.
ing have been achieved. The northern
part of Holland Is the seat of the Edam
clieese Industry, and the consequent
cleanliness of the relish is therefore
doubly assured. In making it the fresh
cow’s milk is carefully strained aud the
renet added. As soon as the milk cur­
dles the whey is drawn off and the
curd, thoroughly kneaded, is pressed
into molds. This process is repeated
until the whey has all been extracted
and the curd is comparatively dry. It
is then wrapped in a linen cloth and
kept for teu or twelve days until quite
solid. Then the cloth is removed and
the cheese put Into salt lye. Afterward
a little more dry salt is sprink'ed on the
cheese, until the maker thinks it is salt
enough to insure its keeping. It is next
put Into a vessel and washed with
whey and scraped to remove the white
crust. It is next etxrried Into a cool
room and laid on shelves, where it is
frequently turned. The ripening proc­
ess lasts from two to three months, the
round balls growing the fine yellow or
reddish color peculiar to Edam cheese.
The cheeses intended to be exported
to this country are rendered still more
brilliant by dyeing the rind with a veg­
etable dye.—New York Tribune.
Queer Jap Funeral.
Lieut. Yoshibuml Fukagawa, of the
I. .1. N.. left behind a curious request
to his family a few days prior to his
death, which occurred the other day in
his native district of Hlzen. He ob­
served to his family that as be bad
never had tlie time to Investigate relig­
ious questions deeply enough to enable
him to determine wh’ch faith he should
embrace, he was neither prejudiced
against nor partial toward any form of
religion. However, he himself was of
opinion that his soul would perish with
the cessation of his life, while his re­
mains would crumble to dust. There­
fore he did not wish to have any relig­
ious service performed on his behalf.
The funeral, also, should be as simple
as could be; ami flowers and similar
offerings be strictly declined. No an­
nouncement should be made of his
death to friends of his until four or five
days after the funeral. Two or three
weeks after his death his relatives and
friends should be Invited to a banquet,
aud they should be asked to Join the
occasion as heartily as possible. A
priest might be invited, if the presence
of such a personage was deemed de­
sirable. At the funeral, also, nobody
should accompany the bier; except. If
considered necessary, one or two repre­
sentatives on behalf of the family and
relatives might follow the remains to
the grave. The tomb was to be of the
simplest description, only his name be­
ing inscribed upon It. A memorial tab­
let was entirely tab ,oed.—Japan Times.
A Real Genius.
The man that sharpened shoe pegs
at both ends and sold them for wheat
was a genius, but he has bls equal In
Mexico. Some time ago one of the
habitual revolutionary flare-ups was
about to commence in one of the bel­
ligerent little South American Presi­
dencies which masquerade under the
title of republics. A couple of hundred
men marshaled In opposition to the
government, swore solemn oaths, and
met nightly In an abandoned hut at
the entrance to a swamp. Enthusiasm
was plentiful, but arms were scarce;
so a purse was made up. and three of
the party set off to buy ammunition.
They went to Mexico, where a cargo
of powder was delivered to them, and,
after Inspection, was shipped to the
revolutionary headquarters. A signal
gun was mounted on a hilltop, and
when the day and hour arrived the
Add marshal of the revolutionary army
touched a match to the fuse of the
piece. There was no response. The
marshal used all the matches In his
silver matchbox, but the gun refused
to fire. An Investigation by the “War
Office” followed, and that cargo of
powder proved to be nothing but ma­
hogany sawdust, which had been vig­
orously stirred up with powdered
graphite to give it the proper color and
appearance.
Astronomy as a science Interest»
fewer people than gastronomy does.