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NEWS AND FARMER!
tUBtIttHED EVERY THURSDAY.
<3T All communications intended for iliispa
ter.mitst be aceoitipSniod ftltil ttife fall tacii
gfjthe wittfit, not nsoeesqHjy for puWioMicn,
-ul os a guarantee of good faioii.
CsT We are In no way responsible for the
views or opinions of correspondents.
TFe cannot Itoht or return re.jccted
romnttinicntiouH.
Mowing.
O, he lightly swings liis gleaming scythe
Down in the fragrant clover,
And he hums a gay refrain the while
As he turns the winrowa ovor ;
And hia hoart boats time to the old love
rhyme—
The song of a happy lover.
Ihe cool wind faus hia sun-browned cheek,
l hen ruffles the rustling grasses
lhat softly bend their graceful heads
To every bree2e lhat passes.
And a whirring cloud of locusts loud
Springs up from the scented masses.
He notes the timid meadow lark
Above her low nest hover, •
And gently lifts hia scythe to leave
The grass uncut above her.
And the live-long day liia heart is gav
As the heart of a happy Jover.
For walking home with Ivato last night,
When the stars were softly shining,
Ho told the love lie long had known,
His arm her waist entwining ;
And he knew the bliss of love’s first kiss,
Last night when the stars weroshinig.
And so he hums an old love tune,
As he lightly cuts the clover,
And his dark eves shine with a tender light,
While ho cons the sweet scene over.
And flic live-long day his heart ia gay
Fis the heart of a happy lover.
JACK HOWARD'S SACRIFICE.
“You can have her for the asking.”
“I shall not ask.’’
“You will not?”
“I will not.”
John Howard, uncle, short, corpulent,
irascible, confronted John Howard,
nephew, tall, clean-limbed, impertur
bable.
“Why ?” demanded the former, angrily.
“She is a woman for whom 1 have no
respeef. She is a cold, hard, scheming
woman of the world.”
“She is no worse than any other so
ciety woman!"
“God pity the class 1” was young
Howard’s sole reply.
“Who are you that you should judge
this girli ’ demanded his uncle, pacing
the floor with short, rapid strides. “You,
with your dissipated habits and the rep
utation of being the fastest man in your
set. What if she be a flirt? What if
she be called ‘fast?’ It would puzzle
the worst of her sex to keep the pace
you have been going the past live years!
Who are you, 1 say, that you should
judge her?”
“Merely the man whom you would
have her marry,” said his nephew, twist
ing liis heavy moustache caressingly.
“Similarity of tastes in the pursuits you
have so aptly mentioned ought certainly
to render ns mutually forbearing, but
would hardly conduco to the moral im
provement of either. At all events, I
respectfully decline to put the matter to
the test.”
“You are ungrateful, sir!' 1 exclaimed
the old man, pausing in-his tramp and
confronting liis nephew. “Have I no
claims upon your gratitude, after all the
care and money expended upon yon
these years ?”
A slow Hush rose to the young man’s
eheeli, and the sleepy, dark eyes gained
a slumbering fire as he drew himself to
the full height of his six feet. “I admit
my obligation tayou, sir; hut believe
me, had I been aware that you were
simply enhancing my value as* a salable
article I would have declined your
generosity. In any way consistent with
my manhood I am ready to attest my
gratitude for your kindness. But wliat
you ask is absolutely impossible.”
“Then you are no nephew of mine.”
The old man was purple with rage. “I
disown you, sir' an ungrateful dog, sir !
I shall alter my will at once, sir!”
And muttering maledictions on the
youth who stood so calm under the
tirade, the old gentleman moved to his
secretary and almost instantly returned
with a parchment roll in his trembling
hands. “I disown you, sir, my home is
yours no longer. There are your hopes
and expectations.” And the old man
pointed to the parchment, crackling and
writhing in the flame of the open grate.
“You have relieved me of a great
obligation, sir. The rest of my debt I
hope to discharge soon,” said Jack,
carefully examining the end of his
cigar. “Your wish regarding our sepa
rate establishments shall be attended to
at once. Have you any other sugges
tions to make ?”
“Out of my sight, sir, at once!”
shouted the old man.
“Explicit, though unkind,” laughed
Jack as he sauntered from the room.
******
“Kendal, can you tell me the sum
total of the hills my uncle Ins paid for
me during the past ten years ?” inquired
Jack, a few hours later, as he stood by
the old book-keeper’s deskin his uncle’s
office.
“Why, yes, in a little while,” an
swered the old man.
“Be so kind, then.” And Jack became
immediately immersed in the stock col
umns of the morning paper.
lor half an hour there was silence
between the pair. Then the old clerk
handed the young man a slip of papor.
“You are sure it covers all ?” ~J “
“Yes. Mr. Howard always had your
account kept separate, for some reason ;
and I had only to run over the totals.”
Howard sauntered into his broker’s
private office, the slip of papor in his
vest pocket.
“Mr. McEhry, sell out my Chryso
lite at once, and place the proceeds, less
brokerage, to my credit at Brown
Brothers.”
“But, Mr. Howard, stocks are rising,
and Chrysolite is at the head of the list,
and going steadily up. I would advise
holding on.”
“I want the money to-day, and prefer
to sell,” said Jack, briefly, and sauntered
out.
Going through a rapid mental calcu
lation, he muttered under his mous
tache : “About a thousand. Better
than I hoped for.” And then a voice
sounded at his elbow :
“Hallo, Jack! What aro you mut
tering about in that melancholy way?”
“My fortune, Charley,” laughed How
ard.
“Well, if I had such a fortune in
prospect as you have, I wouldn’t look
so solemn about it, old man.”
THE NEWS Hill AND FARMER.
VOL. XI.
“And how much do you think it does
or will amount to ?”
“Rumor, with its hundred tongues,
had not one tongue that puts it less than
fifty thousand a year.”
“Humph! Truthful rumor,” said Jack.
Charley Grant looked at his friend
inquiringly, “Jack, something is the
matter. You have had a row with the
old gentleman, as usual, I suppose.”
“As usual,” calmly assented Howard.
“Dine with me at Delmonico’s at six,
Charley. I want your whole evening.”
“All right, old fellow,” and they sep
arated.
At the door of the banking office of
Brown Brothers, Jack paused for a mo
ment, looking contemplatively at a slip
of paper bearing a number of five figures.
“You have kept the pace famously, my
boy,” was all the reflection called forth.
Howard entered tho bank as the
chimes of old Trinity struck two, mak
ing his way to the rear office with an
air of accustomed privilege. Half an
hour later he reappeared, accompanied
to the door of the office by one of the
firm.
“Very well, Mr. Howard, the sum
■shall be placed to the old gentleman’s
credit. Avery pleasant surprise for
him.”
On his way out Jack paused and drew
a check for $1,008.48. It was promptly
paid and leisurely pocketed.
“Quite a fortune,” was Jack’s mental
comment.
The 8:20 morning train on the Den-
I v er and South Park Railroad, detained
by a heavy fall of sn iw in Platte Canon,
rolled up slowly to tho old board struc
ture that served as a passenger depot at
Weston, Col.; time, 11:30 a. m., Decem
ber 21, 1879. The multiplicity of sa
loons, in the one long row of mingled
tents and slab shanties stretching along
tho side of the track, proclaimed the
place of no little importance. Piles of
freight, heavy wagons, long mule trains
and swaggering hull whackers marked
the then terminus of the railroad.
The weary passengers turned to the
stage ollice to book their scats. “No
coaches till to-morrow, gentlemen. Last
train delayed also. Coaches left at day
light, crammed inside and out. Heavy
fall of snow in South Park. Now roads,
to break- Good accommodations at the
International, fourth shanty to the right
of office. Nine and a-lialf to Buena
Vista, sir. Next gentleman.” And the
agent, callous alike to curses or prayers,
calmly repeated his formula to another
group of unfortunates.
“Jack, what do you think of the In
ternational?” queried Charley Grant, as
the friends passed the long, low slab
sided edifice so-called.
“It is a disgrace -to the borders of
civilization. Let us see if there are any
private conveyances to be had.”
Recourse to the impurturbable agent
developed the fact that but one availa
ble vehicle remained in the station. It
was engaged at once.
“Bill, put the sorrel and gray in the
backboard, and tell Eb to stop for two
fares for Leadville. Send baggage to
morrow, gentlemen. Very busy season
and roads bad from tho snow.”
Tho two men addressed having noth
ing to offer in refutation of the last
forcible assertion, tacitly assented its
truth. A few minutes later, “Buck
board, - gentlemen,” from the taciturn
Bill. “Gimme a couple of buffaloes,
Hank. Wrap ’em up close, gentlemen.
If you don’t need ’em on the divide I’ll
eat ’em,” audas if conscious that the odds
were in his favor, Eb smiled superi
orly, threw off the break, the sorrel and
grey made a weak attempt at friskiness
lost years before, and the backboard
rolled heavily along in the deep ruts of
tho frozen ground.
An hour had passed. The uneven road
had given place to a snowy trail, over
which the wheels crunched viciously.
The wind came rushing over the plain
with a hoarse, vindictive scream, and the
air was white with snow that cut the
face savagely. The horses were labor
ing heavily through the low drifts which
had begun to fill the trail. The west
range had disappeared from view. The
driver’s face was dark and troubled.
“By George ! one deserves a fortune
for overcoming the difficulties he meets
within reaching Leadville, setting aside
those that await him there,” growled
Grant.
“But when the Eldorado is reached
and the fortune won, and that little
home and sweet Kate Sheldon gained,
how slight the hardships will seem
then,” said Jack, cheerily.
His companion brightened visibly.
“That is pretty well assured already,
Jack. Igo into the firm when I return,
and Kate told mo when we parted that
she didn’t think she could let me go
again. So, Leadville or no Leadville,
happiness awaits my return. I wish
that I could feel that the same good
fortune was in store for you, dear old
fellow.”
“The flood- tide will como in good
time, Charley,” said Howard, quietly ;
and again there fell a long silence.
The wind was rushing over tho plains
in fierce gusts, and the snow was driving
blindingly. The driver peered with
strained eyes to catch hero and there
ahead tho fast disappearing track. It
had grown piercingly cold. The horses,
almost blinded, turned their heads this
way and that to escape tho pitiless blast.
Cnarloy, wrapped in happy dreams, had
become almost oblivious to the wild
storm which had burst upon them Not
so Howard. His face grew more and
more grave. At last he leaned forward
and laid his hand upon the driver's shoul
der. The man turned and his eye met
Jack’s. In their troubled expression
Howard read “danger.”
“How far is it to the station ?”
“Five miles if a foot.”
“Can you keep the trail ?”
“I can’t! See this cursed wagon drags
eternally through the drifts, [f we cut
loose from it and make a break with tho
horses—”
The driver paused and looked in his
listener’s eyes, as if seeking resolution to
go on. Howard’s dark eyes wore thought
ful and almost sad.
“Yon think the only chance for safety
is in the horses.”
“Yes. We can run them for all that’s
in them, and perhaps make the station.
LOUISVILLE, GA„ THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1881.
But it will be a close call at the best,
and”—bending his head nearer Jack, and
glancing nervously towards Charley—
“only two can go. So long as there is
a shadow of a trail I can follow it. but
it’B going fast in this gale. For God’s
sake, decide quickly!”
The dark eyes had lost their look of
trouble. The handsome face was pale,
but calm as was its wont.
“Cut the horses loose!” came the
answer, short and sharp. “Charley,
we-must leave the wagon. Tumble out,
old man!”
Jack was already on the ground, re
mouning with rapid, skillful hands, the
heavy harness from tho cowering horses.
Charley came back from dreamland,
from the bright little home of his fancy,
anil climbed bewildeiinglv to the
ground.
“What arc we-leaving tho wagon for?
Are we going to camp hero ? What’s
nil the row V”
“The row is, my dear boy, that the
wagon sticks in the drifts, and we are
going to push on for the station on
horseback.”
“All ready, sir?” said tho driver
meaningly, looking anxiously at Jack.
“All ready. Hear, Charley, up you
go ! Now ride hard, and stick close to
your guide.”
The driver paused in astonishment.
“ But what are you going to do, Jack ?”
And Charley looked from his companion
to the driver perplexedly. Something
in their faces struck him as with a blow.
He grew deadly pale.
“My God ! jack, what is this? Can't
we all go ?”
“No, old fellow, we cannot,” said
Jack.
“But why should you be left ? This
man—what right has he more than
either of us—”
“He is the only hope of one of us.
He alone can find the station.”
“Great God! This is horrible. J
will not leave you. I cannot, Jack! •’
“Charley, you must, and at once.
Every minute is precious. Your life is
not your own. Think of Kate. You
must go, dear old. fellow. Good-bye! ”
Jack’s warm, firm hand held Charley’s
in a clinging grasp for an instant, and
then let it fall.
“By heavens! I will not go !”
The driver sat nervous and impatient.
Jack moved to his side and whispered,
“He must go- do yon understand?” ami
nodded towards the heavy wagon-whip
that lay beside the heap of harness.
“Yes; be quick about it.”
The driver grasped Grant’s rein that
hung loosely on the horse’s neck. Tin
long lash cut the crisp hair savagely.
Both horses sprang forward with a single
impulse.
Jack Howard stood alone in tin
whirling snow. His skeleton was found
there in the spring.
* * # * # H #
At one i'. m., December 21, 1879, the
telegraph operator at Leadville feeoived
the following despatch:
New Yomk, December 21, 1879.
To John Howard, Leadville, Col. :
Your uncle died yesterday from a
stroke of paralysis. You are his sole
heir. Barton Reid.
The Argonaut.
Kumyss for Dyspeptics.
It seems strange that there are so
many persons who say that they cannot
drink milk without suffering from de
rangement of the digestive organs in con
sequence. although it is generally sup
posed that milk is tho most perfect food
known. It is a fact, however, that in
some cases milk is not well tolerated by
the system—it seems to undergo imme
diate coagulation in the stomach, ami to
form there a heavy, indigestible mass.
For this reason a kind of milk-wine,
made by the fermentation of milk after
the addition of a small quantity of sugar,
has been found very valuable in the
treatment of some forms of dyspepsia
and of nervous exhaustion. This pre
paration is known as “kumyss,” and its
nutritive valno should be more widely
known. As ordinarily sold it is quite
an expensive article of die!, but it can
easily bo prepared at home by the fol
lowing process, which furnishes an
excellent product: Procure some strong
bottles, preferably such as have tho
patent rubber corks and wires for retain
ing the contents under pressure—the
quart bottles in which root beer is sold
are excellent for the purpose. About
six quarts should be prepared at one
time. To each quart of fresh milk add
an ounce of sugar and a piece of com
pressed yeast about the size of a pea.
The bottles should be nearly filled with
the mixture, and allowed to stand, un
corked, until the fermentation is well
established, which will be tho case in
eighteen to twenty-four hours utuler
favorable conditions. They should then
be corked and placed in the cellar for
a week or two, when the product is
ready for uso. The fermentation de
velops a small quantity of alcohol, but
the peculiarity of the kumyss is that tho
caseine, instead of being coagulated in
large lumps, more or less difficult to
digest, is separated in a very finely divi
ded condition, so that it can be readily
assimilated by the weakest stomach. A
similar preparation, made from mare’s
milk by the Tartars, has long been
justly celebrated for its nutritive quali
ties, and it has been of much valuo
in cases of consumption. Cow’s milk,
however, affords an excellent substitute.
Those who desire a milk diet, and who
cannot use the article in the ordinary
way, would do well to adopt the sugges
tions of Dr. J. D. Trask, who states
that warm milk can be taken without
discomfort, when cold milk cannot be
borne. He thinks we should regard
milk more as an article of food than as a
beverage. The saliva plays an impor
tant role in tho process of digestion ;
but bread and milk eaten together are
often swallowed before the saliva conies
into use, and consequently the bread is
not easily digested. Persons with weak
stomachs should, therefore, eat the
bread separately, and thoroughly mix it
with the fluids of the month. Probably
many persons who think they ennnet use
milk would find it a valuable food if
taken at a temperature slightly above
100 degrees Fahrenheit. Experience
has already proved this to be the fact in
some cases, and the experiment is worthy
of a trial,— JVeio York Times.
I OR THE FAIR SEX.
Little girls ara appearing as brides
maids.
Young children are wearing indoors
shoes of untanned leather.
Round hats turned ur- on one side are
among the latest novelties.
Shirring is tho leading feature in the
making of summer dresses.
Red is much used in summer toilets
and is shown in all materials.
Watered silk makes a stylish trim
ming for silk or satin Surah dresses.
White French bunting and nuns’ veil
ing are in demand for summer dresses.
Throat bows of satin Surah of pale
i blue, rose, or lemon-color are trimmed
with Spanish lace dyed the color of the
Surah.
Cascades of lace still form the pret
tiest of ties. They have a bow of rib
bon fastened on one side .about half way
between the thrqjit atf.Vtho wai.st, with
the ends carried over to the other side
and fastened in the belt.
A fancy some extent in
bracelets is to wear oho set with a stone
corresponding to the month. A brace
let for January lias a garnet; one worn
in February, an amethyst; March has
jasper; April, sapphire; May; agate;
June, emerald ; July, onyx : August,
earnelian; September, chrysolite; Oc
tober, aquamarine; November, topaz;
December, ruby.
\>*vh iiikl XofrHloi' Women.
It is suggested that tho Indiana girl
who harvested and sold three hundred
and fifty bushels of wheat last year will,
if she should keep on, soon be able to
support a Chicago husband.
Mrs. Millas, whose beautiful face has
become familiar through the picture of
tho “Huguenot Lovers" was oue of the
Grey sisters of Perth, who were com
monly called tlie “fair maids of Perth.”
She was a slender, blonde-haired girl,
but is now described as fat, fair and
forty, the mother of grown daughters.
Can anybody toil us why a woman,
emerging from a crowded car, always
makes believe she is going to got out at
one side of the platform, until two or
three men have jumped offin the mud,
and then steps off at the other side ?
She always does it, and we want to
know the reason why .—Philadelphia
Hull‘tin.
Tho only daughter and heiress of the
late Dr. Ayer, the millionaire pill mann
j faetnrer, is in Paris. i A correspondent
of the San Francisco Chronicle says that
[ she received an offer of marriage from
[ a Bourbor prince, a cousin of Don Car
los of Spain. She refused, and when
(he importance of the honor was urged,
she replied : “I don’t want a title half
as much as lie wants cash.
Miss. Fanny Parnell, who has beon
lecturing in Boston, is considered as
smart as her brother. She is described
as having decidedly intellectual and pre
possessing features. She is tall, slightly
built, with e*prejsii)4? blue eyes, firm
mouth, and has a wealth of rich brown
hair worn low upon a broad and open
forehead.
In London tho “Hogarth” hat is the
fashion. The idea is taken from a pic
ture called “The Forfeit.” An arch
looking girl has put on a young officer’s
hat, and the young officer bends over
her shoulder and takes “compensation
for disturbance.” The hat is three-cor
nered. It will be a brave woman who
will dare to wear it. ‘
Illnrl* Bilk Orugsi’N.
Black and white striped silk is very
popular this season .for the skirts of
dresses, or rather for their flounces.
Even stripes, each from half an inch to
au inch broad, are cboseniu satin striped
gros grain, usually with the white stripe
ol satin, and the black of gros grain ;
this is laid in pleats that have the black
on top, and the white beneath is only
accidentally disclosed. Five deep pleat
ings of this kind appear to surround the
skirt, but are only placed on the sides,
where they are not covered by tlie over
skirt, two of the flounces alone passing
around tlie foot. Sueh flounces are not
fastened down as closely as they for
merly were, being only held once, and
that not stiffly, by a ’thread below the
top, where they are first sewed on.
The over-skirt is looped high on one
side—almost to the waist, indeed—has
very ample draperies in front and back,
forming a point low on one side of the
front, and a similar point behind. This
over-skirt is of plain black satin Surah,
aud is merely hommftl by blind stitches,
and not otherwise trimmed, unless jet
ornaments or great pins, shaped like
hair-pins, are used’to|hold up the drap
ery. The basque is plain and round—
that is, it is perfectly even on tho hips,
instead of being shorter there than in
the front and back—aud is cut away
from the waist line in front. Tho Byron
collar and small cuffs have thick jet
embroidery upon them, and there are
small jet buttons for ikjsteniug the front.
This simple and stylish dress is well
worn with a black rough straw poke
trimmed with shaded red plumes, and is
accompanied by a large red silk um
brella.
Watered silk is also stylishly used for
trimming black silk or satin Surah
dresses. For instance, with a ronnd
black silk waist, the neck draping, cuffs,
and sash are of watered silk in stripes
alternating with satin stripes. Around
the neck, reaching to the waist on each
side of the front, arc three straight folds,
so laid that the satin stripes are con
cealed, and the watered stripes are on
top. The sleeves have similar folds at
the wrist. The sash bow at the back is
of the striped material, cut in half, made
with two wide loops each half a yard
long, and two long ends; these are
closely strapped amd sewed to a wide
belt of three soft folds, making the
stripes pass around the waist.—Bazar.
During the absence of Mrs. Fritz, a
poor woman of Philadelphia, from her
room, rats attacked her five-months-old
child, and before discovered the nose
and part of the face was eaten off. The
child died.
Miss Paine has assumed the position
of principal cashier of the Palmer House.
Chicago, one of the largest and most
extensively patronized hotels in this
country.
MILD PHD.OYS.
Afltoofti of Immcnoe Extern in Hie linlliiu
Tcrrltory-How they are I'uijuiif.
When W. T. Thomas arrived in New
York with a car-load of wild pigeons—
-8500 in number—he was at once pounced
upon by the übiqitous reporter.
“They make a great deal of noise,”
said Air. Thomas, “but it is nothing to
tho din at the pigoou roost where these
were trapped. I have heard the cack
liugs of the pigeons, as they were
settling on their nests in the evening,
fu ; ly a mile away.”
Air. Thomas makes a business of trap
ping pigeons for field sport. Ho will
get four more car loads from the Indian
territory, making a total of 40,000
pigeons.
“The business will not be a profitable
one this year,” he said, “because we
have got to go SQ..i;iiaits' get them.
Heretofore the pigeons have roosted iu
Pennsylvania or Michigan. But this
year, owing to the late, cold spring,
they did not come as far north as usual,
and they made a roost in the Pottawat
tomie reservation of the Indian Terri
tory, 110 miles away from the nearest
railroad station. I had to transport all
my lumber and supplies from Atoka,
and the pigeons had to be hauled there
for shipment. At one time I had fifteen
wagons on the road. There are several
streams to he forded, and the Arbuekle
Alountains have to be crossed, but most
of the way the road is pi\ tty level. It
took a wagon about tlnee days to make
tlie trip from the roost to Atoka.
“The roost is the largest I have ever
seen. The country there is thickly
grown over with what they call post oak
timber, from the fact, I suppose, that
tree trunks are just about post size.
The acorns are so abundant that it is a
splendid feeding ground for them. I
went into the roost for about ten miles
without finding any signs of an end
every tree was thick with pigeons, the
branches bending down with their
weight. When the birds have been
coming home from tho feeding grounds
iu the evening I have seen a stream
about a mile broad flow through the air
for two hours thick enough to hide the
sun, and making a noise like thunder.
I should judge the roast to be about
twenty miles long and fifteen broad.
“There has been little erno shooting,
and that has been a good tiling for ns.
as shooting makes the birds scary and
harder to trap. There is plenty of deer
and turkeys on the reservation, and the
Pottawattomies do not care for pigeons,
so they do not hunt iu the roost. The
Indians were very friendly, and some of
teem are working for a St. Louis firm
that are catching squabs and shipping
them to market. Alen go about witli
polos, punching the squabs out of their
nests. They are packed in barrels with
ice, and sent to all the large cities as
far north as Boston. My business was
altogether with the live pigeons, which
we caught iu nets.”
Air. Thomas explained the methods
of the trappers. The nets used will
cover a space of 40 feet by 30. One end
of tho net is fastened to' a rope, which
is drawn taut, so that when let go tho"
net is thrown out like an arrow, falling
upon the pigeons that have gathered in
front of it. The pigeons are generally
caught on their feeding grounds or
their water beds. When a good feed
ing ground is located the nets are set,
and the trapper puts himself in a hut
of houghs at one end of the net line.
Pigeons are saved from one season to
another for use as decoys. When a flock
of pigeons is seen coming, a pigeon is
thrown lip in the air to attaet the atten
tion of the flock, the bird being pulled
down again with a string. This bird is
called the flyer. Another decoy bird
called the stool pigeon is mado use of
at tlie same time. He is tied to a perch
on the free end of a strip of iron band
about four feet long. As the flock ap
proaches a string is pulled which makes
the spring bounce him up and down,
and ho flaps his wings to keep his bal
ance. He presents the appearance to
the approaching flock of a bird hovering
over a feeding ground, and they settle
down arouud him.
“How many pigeons have you caught
at one time,?” the reporter asked.
“I once saw fifty-seven dozen caught
it one cast of the net,” said Mr.
Thomas, “ but thirty or forty dozen is
an average big catch. Sometimes there
will be only a dozen or so. I h 8' T ".vtf?D
the net lifted up on-<A •*- - Lrc.., .
pigeons until it bellied out'fiat'll"fd
loon. A number of pigeons toward the
edge are apt to get out, but the men are
quick, and work around the edges,
stowing the birds in crates as fast as
they get them out, and rolling the net
up as they work in, until they have got
all the pigeons, when the net is set
again for another cast.”
The pigeons are caught on water beds
as well as on feeding grounds. A water
bed is made by filling an excavation
with water. The pigeons on their way
home from feeding will stop to drink,
and are caught under the nets. Some
times salt is used. “This season,” said
Air. Thomas, “the acorns were so plenti
ful that the birds did not have to search
for feeding grounds and did not decoy
well. The water beds did not draw weli,
either, as they had the Canada River,
the waterof which is alkaline, so that
salt also had no attractions for them.
We caught the most on gravel beds
along the river as they would settle
down for stones to put in their crops to
grind up the acorns.”
Pigeons are methodical in their habits
in these great roosts. Early in the
morning the Tom flight occurs. This
is composed of the male birds on their
way to the feeding grounds. When
they have fed and drunk, they return to
tlieir nests, and the female birds go to
feed. The hen flight takes place be
tween 8 and 9 o’clock. In the afternoon
there is another Tom flight, and toward
evening another hen flight. The birds
stop for gravel or water on their way
home from feeding.
•The crates in which the birds are put
when caught are simply large flat coops.
Tlie Betters are spread over an area of
twelve or fourteen miles. Every even
ing tlie team makes a round and collects
all the crates. It is now necessary to
get tlie birds “on their feed,” or else
they will die. They arc put in pens and
given corn to cat, with plenty of water
to drink. For several days after they
are captured they will liardlv eat at all,
ami it is only after they have become
accustomed to the change that they can
be again crated and shipped. Two men
travel in the car, and tlie pigeons arc
regularly fed and watered.
Pigeons nest, four times a season, i
having one egg to a nest. “One result :
of the inaccessible nature of tho locality
of this year’s roost,” said Air. Thomas, :
“is that the increase is larger than ever j
known before. The number of squabs 1
killed and pigeons netted is insignili- ;
cant in comparison with tlie number j
hatched out; there are millions of them '
there.”
These wild pigeons are r mailer than j
the domestic pigeon . their plumage is I
a mixture of slate and gray ; they have j
long fail feathers, and are birds of
far quicker and stronger flight than 1
ordinary pigeons.
POPULAR SCIENCE.
Professor S. P. Langley maintains ;
that tho total quantity of heat poured
upon the earth by tho sun is much
greater than is generally supposed. Pre- ;
vious to the atmospheric absorption,
this maximum must be nearer the violet
than the rod. If the whole of the rays
of the sun reached us the eye would re
ceive an impression of blue rather than
white. The atmosphere of the earth,
which we are accustomed to regard as
transparent, acts as a strongly colored
medium.
Oil of green color, transparent and
flowing freely, has been extracted by
Dr. C. O. Ceoh from coffee. He is eon
tinning liis researches on this substance,
and will publish the results by and by.
The coloring matter of the Rub us Cham
otmorus berries, lie says, when boiled
with cotton, wool and silk, impart to
them very readily an intense and per
manent yellow, and, as the juice of the
berries is altogether innocuous, it might
well be used as a cheap and useful dve
for buff, amber and orange shades and
for giving white wines a Tokay or sherry
color.
A French inventor lias patented a
method of improving Tndia rubber and
gutta perchaby tlie distillation of birch
bark. By distilling the outer layers of
tlie bark lie obtains a dense black gummy
matter which possesses the properties of
ordinary gutta pereha, with tlie addi
tional quality of resisting both the ac
tion of air and the stronger corrosive
acids. He claims also that by adding
a small proportion of the birch bark
gum to gutta pereha or to India rubber
(one-twentieth part will suffice) the
durability of the rubber or tlie gutta
pereha will be greatly increased, tlie
new mixture not being acted upon by
the air or by acids.
According to the London Tunes, AI.
Raoul Pictet, of Geneva, so well known
for bis discoveries of tlie liquefaction of
gases, lias discovered a method of dis
tilling alcohol by ice. Two kilogrammes
of ice are needed for the production of
a liter of alcohol, that is, for the distil
lation of 110 gallons of alcohol a little
less than a ton of ice will Vie required.
The cost of production will include only
coal tor working the steam engine which
drives the air-pump and the sul
phuric acid, the evaporation of which
produces the ice. AI. Pictet declares
that this w ill notably diminish the ex
pense of distillation, and suggests that
the excise on alcohol should be propor
tionately increased.
Air C. B. Warring lias lately been
publishing some curious calculations as
to the tensity of the forces which act be
tween tho heavenly bodies to keep them
in their orbits. Tho force which is
mutually exerted between the moon and
earth amounts to more than 200,000
millions of millions of tons ; that is to
say, if gravitation were suddenly sus
pended the moon would cease to circu
late around the earth unless they were
held together by some kind of connect
ing cord, and that cord would have to
bear the strain named above. If the
bond were a web of steel wires, eaeli
one quarter of an inch in diameter,
stretched between the earth and moon,
they ivould have to bo distributed all
over the earth on the side next the moon
at an average distance of less than six
inches from each other. The attraction
between the sun and earth is one hun
dred and seventy-five times as great as
that between earth and moon, so that,
if a similar web were stretched from the
earth to tho sun, the wires would have
to cover one side of the earth so thickly
that a mouse could not crawl between
them.
Length of Life.
The following table is one that is used
•by London assurance companies, show
ing the length of life at various ages.
It has been the result of careful calcula
tion, and seldom proves misleading.
Of course, sudden and premature deaths,
as well as lives unusually extended, oc
casionally occur, but this is a table of
average expectancy of life of an ordinary
man or woman: A person ono year old
may expect to live thirty-nine years
longer ; of ten years, fifty-one; of twen
ty pears, forty-one; thirty years, thirty
four ; forty years, twenty-eight; fifty
years, twenty-one; of sixty years, four
teen ; of seventy yeai s, nine ; of eighty
years, four. Our readers will easily
gather from the above tabulated state
ment the number of years to which
their lives, according to the law of
averages, may reasonably be expected to
extend.
A Woman’s Sharp Practice.
Twenty years ago a Liverpool steam
packet company wished to buy land of a
woman. She sold it cheap, but got a
clause in the agreement that during her
whole life she and a companion might
at any time travel free in the company’s
vessels. The day after the bargain she
sol and her furniture, left her house, and
went onboard the out ward-board bound
vessel. Since then she lias always lived
on some ship of tho company’s, accom
panied by a woman companion, for
whom she advertises and whose passage
money she pockets. She has made
over ten thousand dollars in this way.
NEWS AND FARMER
LOUISVILLE JEFFERSON CO., GA.
R. J. BOYD, Editor sod Proprietor.
SUBSCRIPTION:
SL-jO I'Ell YEAR. Six .Uonllix—7s Oil'..
rates of advertising .
One Square of one iucli $1 ‘or the li;et tune
and 50 Cents tho second.
NO. 8.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
There are consumed in the United
States annually 1,000,000 ounces of
quinine.
“What is (lie greatest charge on re
cord?” ask tho professor of history.
And tho, absent-minded student ans
wered : “Seventeen dollars for hire for
self and girl, for two hours.”— llosloii
Post.
The New Jersey fish commissioners
have planted within the last twelve
months 800,000 of California salmon
eggs, 300,000 brook trout, and 15,000
black bass, and the result, they say, is
reaching far beyond their expectations.
Extract from a book of South Ameri
can travels : Never had those lonely
wilds been traversed bv human beings,
nor did the animals betray the slightest
fear at our approach : indeed, on one oc
casion when ore of our negroes was
paddling with his arm in the water an
alligator swam fearlessly up and bit it
off without displaying the least appre
hension.
“Don’t you I hink we ought to separate
our husbands ?" said a ladv to her friend.
“Do you not see how excited they have
become? They are beginning to call
each other ‘ox’ and ‘ass’ and all sorts of
disagreeable things.” “Oh? no," was
the calm reply. “Let them go on;
they have known each other for more
than twenty years, and ought to know
what they aio talking about.”
CiiKivali'ui of I lie Date Tree in Algeria.
Tho date tree requires not only abun
dant, irrigation but great solar beat.
Tlie Arabs say that it stands with its
feet in tho water and its head in the
fires of Heaven. The love of the Arab
for this precious tree may well bo
imagined, growing as it does‘in the
sand, contenting itself with water so
saline as to destroy ordinary vegetation,
giving a grateful shade when all around
is burned up by the ni dent heat of the
summer, resisting the winds which bend
but cannot break its flexible stem, and
affording a fruit sought for in every
part of the world.
The male tree, of course, bears no
fruit; it lias mer. lv a lmneh of flowers
inclosed, until maturity, with a spatlie.
’’he females have also bunches of flowers
which, however, cannot become de
veloped into fruit until fecundated by
the motion of the male flower. To in
sure this result the Arabs ascend the
tress in the month of April and insert
into every female spatlie a portion of
the pollen of the male flower. The fruit
then begins to swell and forms long
clusters, weighing from twenty to forty
pounds, each tree producing from 150
to 200 pounds in a season. To multiply
tho date tree tlie Arabs do not sow the
seed, as they could not then be sure of
the sex of the trees ; they prefer to plant
the suckers from the base of a female
tree, whence the name “Phoenix,” these
become productive in about eight years,
but do not attain full fruition before
twenty or twenty-five. The trees are
about forty-five feet high, and as they
are planted very close together they
afford a dense shade, in which, however,
the air circulates freely, so that all kinds
of fruit vegetables, etc., can be culti
vated below them. The trees will live
for about 200 years ; they are not worth
preserving after a century. When they
are no longer valuable for fruit the sap
is extracted to make a kind of insipid
wine, and the heart or cabbage of the
tree is also eaten. They are then cut
down and the wood, although very in
ferior in quality, is here valuable, where
no other kind Cau he procured. The
roots are used for fencing and roofing,
and the leaves are made into mats,
baskets, sacks and cords.
Like all other species of cultivated
plants, the date tree has numerous
varieties. In the cases of the Zipas,
seventy distinct varieties are recognized.
Tho trees come into flower in spring,
in March or April, and the fruit is ripe
about October. The one is called the
King of the Sahara, and is regarded as
the most nutritious of fruits. Alany of
the Arabs live on dates and broad.
Scaling Letters.
Tlie sealing of a letter is not so sim
ple a matter as might be imagined. At
all times great importance has been at
tached to tlie operation, and it is well
known that the Greeks took great care
to closo their missives iti tlie most se
cure manner possible. They flrst rolled
the written paper in the form of a cylin
der somewhat flattened, which they
surrounded with a narrow ribbon or a
string to carry tho seal. The seal was
made of wax or clay. The Romans
employed the same practice, but used
more precautions. They commenced
by surrounding the rolled letter with a
thick paper ora skin, then run it through
with a string, each end of which was
fixed to tlie paper by a seal of wax or
paste made of powdered chalk. Forgers
and violators of the secrecy of letters
soon found a means of detaching the
seal by passing a hot needle under it,
and the art of opening sealed letters
was carried to such perfection under
Nero, that new methods of protecting
the secrecy of letters had to be sought
for. In France in the earliest times
common wax of its natural color was
first employed. AYliite. gray and yel
low wax was then successively used, and
the last color has even been preserved
to the present time for certain official
1 deeds drawn up on parchment. About
1550 a Parisian named Rosseau invented
tlie resinous composition called cire
d’Espagne, why, is not clear, which has
superseded all others. The use of
wafers dates from 1624, when the mode
of folding letters and inserting one ex
tremity inside the other was adopted.
The court, however, and people of
fashion still retained the custom of at
taching the sheets of a letter by a strip
! of paper or a thread and secured with
j wax. Lastly came the system of en-
I velopes, which is quite modern. At the
commencement of the century the gov
ernment offices generally tucked in the
ends of letters and fastened them with
a wafer. Subsequently that practice
was abandoned and large envelopes
were used.