Newspaper Page Text
FARM NOTES.
Fat Milch Cows. —lt is possible for
milch cows to become too fat. In this
case give less meal and more bran.
Apples.— Ohio farmers, at a loss how
to dispose of their apples, are feeding
them to their cows, and report good re
sults.
Feed for Poultry Per Year.— One
bushel of corn, or corn and meal mixed,
per head, is a fair allowance for common
fowls for a year. They will pick up
enough in addition to this to keep them
in good condition if they have a run nt
laige every day. If kept shut up some
scraps of meat aud vegetables will bo
needed in addition to the grain.
Diseased Fruit Trees. —We lmvo
tried it repeatedly and never knew it to
fail. That is, cutting off the diseased
part and slitting the bark on one side of
the limb and body from the affected part
down. In fact, if the diseased part is
cut off and the limb aud body slit, it w ill
stop the destruction of the tree, or at
least it has for us every time. —Fruit IRe
corder.
Horses Pawing in the Stable.— A
light chain is recommended by some to
break them of this trick, fastened above
the knee to hang down loose, lmt not
long enough to touch the floor. If horses
kick, fasten the chain in the same way to
the hind leg. If a horse is at all nerv
ous—as such ns paw and kick usually
are —we should oe afraid that the chain
would frighten and cause him to kick
and paw so much more violently as to
jerk it around and seriously injure liis
legs.
Digging Potatoes. —A Maine farmer
says in the New York Herald that he
paid his men $1.25 per day for digging
and pitting potatoes, which cost six cents
per bushel. He told two of the men he
would give them five cents per bushel if
they would do the work. Tliey took the
job "and went to work, aud dug and pit
ted 100 bushels per day, and went home
some times by 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
The farmer saved one cent per bushel, or
$1 per day; and the men doubled their
wages.
Produce Good Milkers. —Extra milk
ers should be kept to breed from, tlieir
milking qualities alone entitling them to
this preference. It is quite as necessary
to raise the calves of good milkers, in or
der to have another race of good milkers,
as it is to raise the fcolts of good trotters
in order to have fast horses. Extra dairy
cows are always in demand. It is cer
tainly to be regretted that more care is
not taken to improve the milking quali
ties of our cows; and it is also a source of
regret that so many of our farmers are in
the habit of disposing of so many of
their young calves to the butchers.
Furnish Your Boys With Tools.—
Prof. John E. Sweet, in an address beforo
the Onondaga Cos. Farmers’ Club said:
“ The farmer who provides himself with
the necessary tools to do the repairing of
the farm, not only makes a paying in
vestment, but does for his sons, in an
other way, just exactly what he does for
them when he sends them to school. He
gives them a chance to learn to do some
thing. From among those boys will be
found the mechanical engineers of the
future.” It would be difficult to crowd
more truth and common sense into this
short space. It is well known among
mechanics tiiat when an apprentice
“learns to handle his tools,” his trade is
half learned.
Preparing Manure for Hot-bed.—
Fresh stable manure, in which there is
plenty of litter, is most suited for this
purpose. There should be at least one
third litter in the heap. If this is not in
the mass in sufficient quantity, add leaves
or tanbark; shake it up and mix it well
together, adding water if at all dry and
musty, and throw it into a compact heap
to ferment. Let it remain a week, and
then work it over thoroughly, as before,
and add water, if necessary. Where the
ground is quite dry, a very good method
is to dig a space about eighteen inches
deep, and put in the manure, tramping
it firmly add evenly, and place thereon
the frame or sash, and put in the rich
earth, and in about four days, sow the
seed, having previously stirred the earth
freely, to destroy the seeds of weeds
therein.
Hogs in Winter. —There is no domes
tic animal that suffers so much from ex
posure to cold and wet as the hog. He
is a native of a mild climate, and should
be treated as his nature demands if we
would turn its peculiarities to our’advan
tage. And during winter he should be
provided with warm, dry quarters, plenty
of warm, clean bedding, and an abun
dant supply of nutritious, fat and heat
producing food. For this purpose there
is nothing equal to corn, owing to the
large amount of carbon in its composi
tion, which the hog appropriates in pro
ducing fat and heat to warm his system
—the same as our stoves consume car
bon in the form of wood and coal to warm
our rooms. The colder and the more
exposed these rooms are, the more fuel
we are obliged to consume to make them
comfortable. Just so with the hog the
less care is expended in making his quar
ters comfortable, the more corn he must
consume to keep up the animal heat, and,
if not supplied with the necessary
amount of food, his system has to fall
back on carbon it has stored in the form
of fat, and he must necessarily lose in
weight, at his careless or thoughtless
owner’s expense. Hogs should also have
a irood supply of water, as it is impossible
f,v them to "digest their food without
water to dissolve it and convey it into the
blood. They should be kept constantls
supplied with salt, coal and ashes. Salt
is a valuable stimulator of the appetite
and digestive organs. During warm
days in the winter the feed should be
regulated according to the temperature,
just as we would regulate the fuel ac
cording to the demands of the weather.
When the weather suddenly becomes
.warm, animals lose their appetites, and
are liable to become “stalled.” Some
cooling, succulent food, as slop or vege
tables of some kind should bo substituted
f.)r the more heating food of grain.
HOUSE KEEPERS’ HELPS.
Lamp-shades of ground glass should
be washed with soda and water, which
will not discolor them.
To Restore Velvets. —Hold over a
basin of boiling water, back down. It
takes a long time, but the nap will rise.
Lemon Zest.—Hub loaf-sugar over the
siuface of lemons. The friction breaks
the oil-ducts and the sugar absorbs the
oil. Put into fruit jars in the lump, or
pound tine. Keep tightly corked. This
is very flue for flavoring custards,
creams' etc.
Coffee. —The l>est coffee is made by
using a mixture of two-thirds Java and
one-third Mocha. Delmonieo is said to
allow one aud one-half pound of coffee
to a gallon of water. The water is til
tered through the coffee—it is not boiled.
Fried Mush.— This simple breakfast
dish is much improved, if the slices
of mush are lirst dipped in beaten egg
and then in cracker crumbs, frying in a
mixture of lard and butter to a light
brown. The meal should be thoroughly
cooki'd and the mush allowed to become
cold before slicing.
Crab Apple Jelly. —Cut out the blos
som ends and quarter the apples, but do
not peal or core them. Put into a stone
jar, covered well, and set in a kettle of
tepid water, with a block or small tin in
the bottom. Let it boil thus nearly all
day, leaving it in the covered jar until
next morning. Then sift through a colen
der, and aftewards strain through a jelly
bag. Allow a pound of sugar for a pint
juice. Boil the juice twenty minutes,
add the hot sugar, stirring Well, and let
all boil up together two or three minutes.
Some crab apples seem very dry, and
require a little addition of water to the
juice.
Dried Peas. —Soak a quantity of peas
in water for twenty-four hours. Throw
the water away, and put the pens in a
sauce-pan with a couple of onions stuck
with cloves, a bunch of thyme and pars
ley, a couple of bay leaves, whole pepper
and salt to taste. Fill up the sauce-pan
with cold water, ond set the contents to
boil until the peas are thoroughly done.
Drain off the water, pass the peas
through a hair sieve and work them in a
sauce-pan on the fire with a piece of but
ter until the puree is quite hot, moisten
ing with a little stock or some of their
own liquor if the puree be too stiff. A
piece of bacon boiled with the peas is
an improvement.
Lard. Leaf lard, skin carefully,
wash, drain, cut into bits, put into a tin
pail and set into a pot of boiling water.
After melting, throw in a small quantity
of salt to make the sediment settle, then
simmer for half an hour or until clear.
Strain through a coarse cloth into jars.
Tie over bladders or paper and cloth, the
latter dipped in melted grease. The
other fatty portions, wash, drain, cut
into bits and put into an iron kettle over
a slow fire. Add a small teacupful of
water, to prevent burning. When the
bits of fat are reduced to fibers, take out.
with a skimmer. Watch constantly, and
toward the last stir constantly. The fire
should be moderate from first to last.
Sprinkle in a little salt, and when the fat
looks clear take from the tire, and when
cool enough strain through a sieve or
coarse cloth into jars. When straining
lard, do not press the cloth as long as
the clear fat will run through, and when
you do squeeze it, strain that part into
another jar. Lard keeps best in small
quantities, so it is well not to use over
large vessels. Keep closely covered in a
cool, dark place.
A Covetous Friend.
The Treasury Department, at Wash
ington, was in the receipt some time
since of a communication from flic chief
of the detective corps of San Francisco
containing statements which read like a
highly wrought up romance, embracing
the crimes of murder, robbery and mari
tial infidelity. The story in brief is as
follows: Two gentlemen, friends of each
other, with their wives, were traveling in
California. One of them had in his
possession a number of registered United
States bonds. The sight of the bonds
excited the cupidity of his friend, who
also coveted his neighbor’s wife. The
two men walked out together one after
noon to view the mountain scenery. The
owner of the bonds was never seen again,
and his companion reported that he had
accidentally tumbled down a frightful
precipice. Subsequently, while in the
recess of a vast forest, the man tied his
own wife and burned her to death. Then,
in company witli the wife of the missing
man, he made his way back to San Fran
cisco, and, with her connivance, person
ated thejowner of the bonds and endeav
ored to negotiate the sale of them. The
two were shadowed and found to be liv
ing as husband and wife, the man assum
ing the name of the friend whom he was
believed to have murdered. Such is the
outline of the detective’s story, and, as
may readily be imagined, the Treasury
officials were on the ejui vine for an ap
plication which might come for the trans
fer of the bonds to another party. Noth
ing was heard until quite recently, when
a letter was received from the attorneys
of a lady living in Kansas City asking
the transfer of the bonds to her name.
The lady states that she is the widow of the
person in whose name the bonds now stand
registered. An account is then given of
his murder or supposed murder by the
false friend, whom, it is stated, obtained
possession of the bonds; but there is
nothing to indicate that she was an ac
cessory or that she had any subsequent
knowledge of the movements of the
murderer. _
Nineteen men out of twenty can pull
a shotgun toward them by the muzzle,
aud go their way in good health, but the
twentieth man always happens to he a
citizen whose loss is deplored by a whole
community.
THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS.
Rrmarkabl* Swllinru of Birds on lb*
Wine.
[London Standard.)
Familiar as the migration of birds is to
us, there is perhaps no question in zool
ogy more obscure. The long flights
they take and the unerring certaiuty
with which they wing their way between
the most distant places, arriving and de
parting in the same period, year after
year, are points in the history of birds
of passage as mysterious as they are in
teresting. We know that most migrants
fly after sundown, though many of them
select a moonlight night to cross the
Mediterranean. But that their meteor
ological instinct is not unerring is yet
proved by the fact that thousands are
every year drowned in their flight over
the Atlantic and other oceans. North
ern Africa and Western Asia are selected
as winter quarters by most of them, and
they may be often noticed on their way
thither to hang over towns at night, puz
zled, in spite of their experience, by the
shifting lights of the streets and houses.
The swallow or the nightingale may
sometimes be delayed by unexpected cir
cumstances. Yet it is rarely that they
arrive or depart many days sooner or
later, one year with another. Professor
Newton considered that were senfowl
satellites revolving round the earth their
arrival could hardly he more surely cal
culated by au astronomer. Foul weather
or fair, heat or cold, the puffins repair to
some of their stations punctually on a
given day, as if their movements were
regulated by clock-work. The swiftness
of flight which characterizes most birds
enables them to cover a vast space in a
brief time. The common black swift
can fly two hundred and seventy-six
miles an hour, a speed which, if it could
be maintained for less than half a day,
would carry the bird from its winter to
its summer quarters. The large purple
swift, of America, is capable of oven
greater feats on the wing. The chimney
swallow is slower—ninety miles per hour
being about the limit of its powers; but
the passenger pigeon, of the United
States, can accomplish a journey of one
thousand miles between sunrise and sun
set. It is also true, as the ingenious
Herr Palmon has attempted to show,
that migrants during their long flight
may be directed by an experience partly
inherited and partly acquired hv the in
dividual bird. They often follow the
coast lines of continents, and invariably
take, on their passage over the Mediter
ranean, one of the three routes. But
this theory will not explain how they
pilot themselves across broad oceans, and
is invalidated by the fact, familiar to
every ornithologist, that the old and
young birds do not journey in company.
Invariably the young broods travel to
gether; then come, after an interval,
the parents; and finally the rear is
brought up by the weakly,"infirm, molt
ing, and broken-winged. This is the
rule in autumn. The return journey is
accomplished in the reverse order. The
distance traveled seems, moreover, to
have no relation to tin! size of the trav
eler. The Swedish blue-throat performs
its maternal functions among the Laps,
and enjoys its winter holiday among the
negroes of the Soudan, while the tidy,
ruby-throated humming-bird proceeds
annually from Mexico to Newfoundland
and back again, though one would im
agine that so delicate a little fairy would
hi! more at home among the cacti and
agaves of the Tierra Caliente than among
the firs and fogs of the North.
The Voice.
Dr. Ward, of New York, says on this
subject, of the many agents which have
more or less influence on the voice, the
four principal are climate, dress, diet,
and exercise. Change of climate may
cause some slight deleterious effect on
the larynx, but this influence is greatly
overestimated. The present fashionable
style of dress is decidedly unhealthy.
The chest and abdomen are unnaturally
confined, the lungs and other organs act
ing abnormally. All clothing should he
loosely attached to the body, and the
dress worn high. Avoid as much as pos
sible appearing in full dress. The throat
should not he wrapped in comforters,
boas, etc. Chest protectors should not
be worn, and the feet should be guarded
against wet. The diet of the singer
should be bland as well as nutritious.
Of the different kinds of meat, venison,
poultry, roast beef, and lamb are the
easiest to digest, and due proportion of
fat should he taken as a heat-supplying
principle to the body. Cooked vege
tables, unless too highly seasoned, are
easily digested. Salads, cut cabbage,
cucumbers, etc., should he avoided.
Pastry should he invariably discarded.
Dinner at noon, followed by a light tea
at nightfall, is a rule which, if rigidly ad
hered to, will be a safeguard against all
ordinary attacks of indigestion. In order
that the act of singing he properly per
formed, it is absolutely necessary Hint
tiie stomach be nearly empty. Alcoholic
beverages should not, on any considera
tion, lx* indulged in by vocal artists.
For the full development and preser
vation of the vocal cords several rules
must be observed. The exercises must
be regularly and systematically practiced;
they must always be within the register;
they should never be pushed to the
point of fatigue; they should never he
made use of when the vocal organs are
attacked with cold, no matter how slight.
Always practice standing upright, so as
to allow of full play of the lungs and ac
cessory vocal organs. Bodily exercise is
especially beneficial to 1 lie singer. In
short, learning to sing is learning to be
healthy. The Month')) Magazine.
“My case is just here,” said a citizen
to a lawyer the other day—“the plain
tiff will swear that I hit him. 1 will
swear that I did not. Now what can
you lawyers make out of that if we go to
trial?”
41 Five dollars apiece !’’ was the prompt
reply, as the attorney extended his hand.
A Lesson In Making Out a Bill.
Speaking of sextons reminds the
Philosopher of the Syracuse llcrald of a
story which one of the old members of
the craft used to tell. He had a funeral
to conduct for the family of Mr. M., a
wealthy but eccentric merchant. When
it was over he handed in his hill made
out according to his usual custom. Mr.
M. put on his eye-glasses, opened the
bill and read it carefully through. “I
see you have a charge of thirtv-six dol
lars for kid gloves here,” said lie, “how
many pair did you buy?”
“A dozen,” was the answer.
“And here, again, you have fifty dol
lars charged for scarfs worn in the pro
cession. How many scarfs were there,
and what did they cost?”
“1 had to have a dozen—two of them
now and the rest cleaned and made over.
Their entire coat was about thirty-five
dollars. ”
“And you have put down carriage hire
at SSO. How many carriages had you?"
, “Eight in all.”
“And they cost you how much apiece?”
“Four dollars.”
“Very well, sir, I decline to pay yoiu
bill."
The sexton was thunderstruck; Mr. M.
had never been known to dispute a rea
sonable account with any one before, and
'no was reputed very rich.
“I could have gone to a store and
bought all those gloves for $2 a pair my
self,” the millionaire went on, “or $24
for the lot. I could have hired ten scarfs
and had the others made for $35. I could
have got the carriages from any livery
stable for $32. Twenty-four and thirty
two are fifty-six, and thirty-five make
ninety-one. You have charged me $13(5
for articles which I could have procured
for s3l myself. I presume there are other
items of the same sort elsewhere iu the
account.”
“But, Mr. M., I ”
“I decline to pay the bill, sir. Take
it back and make ii out again right.”
“But M., I must make something on
these affairs; that, is the only means I
have of gaining a livelihood.”
“Make your bill out ns it should he, I
say.”
“But, sir, you won’t find that any
other undertaker in the city would have
served you better. ”
“Perhaps not; and more’s the pity.
Still, 1 decline to pay your bill in its
present shape.”
Sadly crestfallen, the sexton was about
to turn away, when the merchant pointed
to a seat at his writing table.
“Sit down there,” said he, “and I will
teach you how to make out a bill. Fust,
enter the hearse, coffin, advertisements,
etc., us you have them. Then write:
‘To one dozen pair black kid gloves, at
$2, $24; to making two scarfs and repair
ing ten old ones, $35; to hire of eight
carriages at $4, $32.’ Now you have
your account in correct shape ns far as it
goes. But you have said nothing about
your own services; so write: ‘To sexton's
labor and time, SIOO. ’ Is that satisfactory?
If not, make it sls0 —$200 —whatever
you consider a fair sum. We shall not
dispute about that. What I object to is
not the amount I am called upon to pay,
but the pretexts under which it is de
manded. Your first hill wasn’t business
like; your second will be. Do you see
the difference?”
The sexton both saw and admitted it.
He learned a lesson from that interview
which he never afterward forgot.
How Butter Is Made Heavy.
Oleomargarine lmsliardly come to sup
ply the place of butter, before some
thing is thought of to adulterate oleo
margarine. The adulteration takes the
shape of soapstone powder, which is now
used to some extent by tho “honest”
butter packers. This powdered soap
stone is white and fine and tasteless, and
is sold as low as twenty dollars a ton.
From six to eight pounds of this pow
dered soapstone can he thoroughly mixed
in every tub of butter so as to de
fy detection. It greatly increases tho
weight without affecting the hulk very
much. This powder is said to ho manu
factured iu large quantities in Cincinnati
for legitimate purposes, hut a great deal
of it is quietly sold directly to some
dairymen and farmers, and that tho
adulteration is going on in the churning
room.
The buyer who first discovered this
adulterating process says of it:
“I was shown into an adulteration
room by a butter packer. Three dishes
were set before me, containing re
spectively pure butter, powdered soap
stone, and the butter adulterated with
soapstone. I first tested the pure butter;
it was of very good quality. I next
tasted the powdered soapstone; it is
practically tasteless. I then took a hit
of the adulterated butter in my mouth,
hut coufil distinguish no difference be
tween it and the pure article, f was
then asked to purchase a” quantity of
the adulterated article, hut 1 declined to
do so.”
By this process the packers obtain tho
market price of butter on the soapstone
article, which costs them but one cent a
pound to adulterate. The consumer is
paying for and eats about one-seventh of
a pound of soapstone in every pound of
butter.
A young man in Jersey City—may his
tribe increase—hearing the burglar alarm
in his house the other night, seized his
shotgun and went down stairs. Opening
the door of the laundry, he saw a burglar
crouching in the corner. He fired his
gun, the burglar fell, and although his
wound was not fatal, he was injured so
badly that he was easily captured. If
burglars could lx; assured of such warm
receptions every night they would speed
ily find some more healthful employ
ment.
A Fall River girl, earning a salary of
$3 a week, has fallen heiress to $150,000.
We never noticed it before, but she is very
pretty.—- liqston Post.
THE STAGE.
How to turn jieoplo’s heads— oomo tc
a concert late in a pair of sqcaking
boots.
Garlotta Patti and M. Do Munek
(her husband) are feted everywhere in
Australia.
Miss Florence MARRYArr is giving
public readings in England, and talks of
coming hither for the same purpose.
A volume, of reminiscences of the lato
Ole Bull is to l>e made of materials
which the violinist left with his family.
Prof. Norton, of Harvard College,
on account of ill health, lias been obliged
to give up his lectures on flue arts this
year.
Frederick Swab has received $1,500
from Harony for the exclusive privilege
of photographing Bernhardt in Amer
ica.
Lucy H. Hooper writes from Paris
that virtue on tho French stage means
alpaca gowns, a cab to drive in, aud
onion soup in a garret.
For his comedy of Black-egcd S**an,
which still holds the stage, Douglass
Jerrold received just what Milton did for
Paradise /.ns/ — -twenty-live dollars.
New Haven, Ct., is proud of its opera
houses. It has only about (50,000 inhab
itants, yet it has throe opera-houses. Uu
fortuately, only one of them is a “grand”
opera-house.
MilJUibby is a Napoleon among tho
theatrical managers. He is bold and en
terprising. He has arranged to bring
out the Passion Play. — New York Com
mercial Advertiser.
Clara Louise Kellogg is in Europe,
and one of the toughest problems in the
European miiul to fathom is why she
will persist in ordering forty barrels of
American onions every month.
Rings are not to be worn on the first
finger of either hand, says the latest am
thority, but you can not convince tho
young woman who takes off her gloves
at tho theater that two of her fingers
were given to her for nothing.
It is said that Anna Dickinson will
try by lit igation to prevent Fanny Daven
port from acting her play, An American
Girl, in any other form than that in
which it was written. Bartley Campbell
threatens similar proceedings against
Frank Mayo with reference to Van, the
Virginian.
The stone which covers the grave of
Miss Noilson in Bronipton Cemetery,
says tho Echo, has already been sur
rounded by flowering plants and covered
with wreaths and immortelles, placed
there by the hands of loving and affec
tionate admirers. At the head, pending
the completion of a suitable monument,
stands a simple white cross, loaning only
the word “Neilson.”•
Modjekka hns been sued in London
for SBO,OOO, on account of her refusal to
come to America this season. Who was
under contract to a manager for five
years. After performing in this country
three years he failed to provide her with
engagements for the fourth, and she
made a London venture on her account,
meeting with great success there. She
claims that tho contract was broken by
tho manager, aud lie seeks to hold her
to it.
The German Crown Prince has been
tho most popular of all the visitors nt
The Passion Play iu Oberammergau.
Ho stayed out the entire play, and
afterward told tho Burgomaster that ho
should never forget the performance, for
tho impression made upon him was
greater than he could express. It is al
ready a tradition among the Oberam
mergau peasantry that tears stood in the
eyes of “Unser Fritz” when ho said
tlioso words and grasped tho Burgo
master’s hand.
The Etiquette of Shoes.
Tho custom of removing hoots in
Burmah is not so much an article of
etiquette observed by equals to equals
as an ingenious device to exalt tho
monarch of the Golden Foot and degrade
his subjects, and strangers, ffx>, before
him. It is carried further at Mandalay
than at any other Asiatic court. If a
European meets the King’s palanquin in
the streets of the city he is expected to
stop then and there and divest himself of
his Ixxits. A moment’s hesitation to
comply with this degrading and uncom
fortable custom lias often entailed very
serious consequences on the foreigner;
and our diplomatic difficulties with the
Burmese Court have been considerably
intensified at different times owing to
the insistence of tho Lord Chamberlain
nt Ava or Mandalay that our Envoy
should take his boots off, and the reluc
tance of our proud and diffident rep
resentatives to appear in public in their
stockings. The British, however, am
not by any means the only people whoso
feelings have been hurt by this unpleas
ant discourtesy; and Asiatic, as well as
European, Ambassadors have been in
the most ancient times subjected to tho
inconvenience. The first Chinese inva
sion of Burmah, in the year J2H4 A. IX,
was brought about entirely by the “shoo
difficulty.” The Chinese Envoys to the
monarch Nara-thee-hn-padc had insisted,
in spiff; of remonstrances, on appearing
in the royal presence with their boot*
on. They ought to have known better;
for at PeL.f such conduct would have
been considered the height of had man
ners; and, as far as they were concerned,
their infraction of Burmese etiquette had
a very unpleasant ending. They were
not allowed twice to insult the Lord of
all the White Elephants, hut were way
laid in a quiet part of Amarapoora, and
ha<l their throats cut, a summary mode
of proceeding which brought au army
upon Burmah from the Flowery Land.—
London Globe.
“If you was a man, Jimmy,” said a
little shaver to his chum, “who would
you vote for, Hancock or Garfield ?”
I’d go with the biggest procession,
you bet.”