Newspaper Page Text
telegraph poles.
tub business IN THEM IS QUITE
an industry.
One Michigan Town Handles 300,000
Poles a Year.
The Western Union Telegraph Com-
has R« polo headquarters for the
district located in this city,says
Manioc, (Mich.) letter to the Chi-
a the grand center,
ea go Herald. This is
the depot, the distributing point for
the territory extending from Pitts¬
burg westward to Omaha and south-
id to the Gulf of Mexico, but the
wa drawn
lines of the district are sharply
arid poles are often shipped from here
to Atlantic coast points and to the
Pacific coast and shipments have been
mar le to Mexico and Central America.
The yaid where tho polls are handled
includes about a dozen acres of land
and is situated east of the city at the
head of the government canal, through
which tho river llasm flow’s to Lake
Erie. From forty to two hundred
linen and anywhere from a dozen to
{forty teams arc constantly business employed is
fin the operations, ard the
[one of the leading industries handled of the
town. The number of poles
here in the course of a year is simply
immense, entire forests passing
through every season.
At d" present time the stock of
poles O). and is low, the receipts
since navigation closed last fall having
heen hut nominal, hut in the autumn
I when the yards are full, the value of
[die I poles in stock often runs up to a
quarter of a million dollars. The
poles, nothing but cedar used, straight,
clean and sound to ihe core, are
[ brougiit in from northern Michigan,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, in fact, from
any part of the country where cedar
grows and can he shipped.
They are shipped in by vessel from
up the lakes and by rail, hut the hulk
of them are tow ed into the river in
mammoth sack and crib rafts that con¬
tain from 5000 to 20,000 poles each.
Many poles are also received from the
Canadian shores, hut instead of being
dean and ready for immediate use
these havo left on thorn live or six feet
of the rough bark at the butt ends.
This hark is left on not through any
oversight on the part of the lumber-
men. It is carefully arranged. With-
out the hark the poles would he a man-
u file Hired article subject to duty, hut
with it on the pole is still in the eyes
the government a rough log, raw
material, and not taxed.
The poles are all purchased hv con-
tract, and arc worth from $>1.15 to $7
each, delivered at the docks. They
must he absolutely straight and sound,
ami any that are not up to the specifi-
cations are rejected by the inspectors,
'vlio are in constant attendance during
ilic receiving season. There arc sev-
cral‘sawmills near the yard*, where
die defective poles are purchased and
<-ut »P into fence posts, lumber and
dingles. The perfect poles range in
length from 25 to GO feet, and upon
being received arc assorted and piled
up according to size, ready for ship-
merit upon requisition from headquar-
ters.
•iicse piles, when the yard is full,
arc often 200 feet long and sixty and
seventy feet high, and a single pile
" represent the product from an en-
, ' re cedar swamp. The poles are all
dapped out by rail in response to or-
a, *d go to all parts of the coun-
11 7 as needed. The short poles arc
,1 ” e ^ for now lines and for railroad
'cn ice while the longer poles go to
* ant * to the reconstruction and
air °f (] ie gveat trunk telegraph
*‘ Iles w Ecre many wires must be sup-
porfed.
t he life of the average telegraph
is U years, anil those in a posi-
Il0il lo know say that the number in
tual service todav through the terri-
tui supplied from this city is upward
-
^ our millions. About three hun-
Gitusand poles are handled here
'° r y year, and the number is steadily’
)n< basing as the territory becomes
SC'tt'S. 11 " u,:cgr " ,,h
A Confession.
“ * hat lus become of that ugly, ill-
te! npered Bramble girl?”
“She’s married.”
" fiat man was idiot enough to
Marry her?”
‘•’i liis one.”—[Epoch.
Aluminium Steamships.
The new torpedo boat, Cushing, is
able to run at the rate of 29 miles a a
hour. This marks a decided advance
in I he art of ship-building, and there
is hardly a doubt that vessels of large
size, will before many years be cou-
■etructcd to go at the same rate of
speed. It is not so many years ago
since HO miles an hour was considered
a good rate of speed for railroad trains.
Indeed, there are a good many roads
in New Aork state, which do not now
average that rate of speed for passen¬
ger trains, We seem to be in a fait
way of realizing the prediction made
not long ago by a naval constructor
that steamships would be made tc
cross the Atlantic iu four days.
If aluminium is obtained in such
quantities as to make it ava lable to
ship-builders a stiJl higher speed may
be obtained. The wooden vessel was
driven from the ocean years ago by
one of iron. Then came steel to drive
out iron, and it is fairly certain ihal
steel will yield to the great superiori¬
ties of aluminium, which is stronger
and non-corrosive, and about one-
fourth the weight of steel. When
aluminium can be turned out at four
times the price of steel, vessels can be
made cheaply of it. The price of
aluminium has declined one-half
within two years, and it seems to he
going rapidly down to a point where
it will be available for ship-building
purposes. Aluminium vessels wiil
not sink as much in the water, and
will have a much lighter draught than
now, which would allow for an enor¬
mous increase in speed.— [New York
News.
A Colt That Joined a Herd of Deer.
William Nichols of Milton, Ore ,
when gathering his horses from the
range last fall found that a favorite
Percheron colt was missing, and all
efforts to find him proving unavailing,
the animal was abandoned to its fate,
which no one doubted would he that
of the vast number that have found
their way into the equine paradise
through the inclemency of the present
unusually severe winter.
During the present week Mr. Nich¬
ols, accompanied by another gentle¬
man, while hunting deer among the
mountains that form the source of the
Walla Walla river, started a hand of
17 black-tails from a deep canyon, and
to their surprise observed a yearling
colt speeding away with the baud, ap-
pareutly as l l ightened as the deer
themselves.
Although the colt had acquired their
wildness by association, he lacked the
speed of those mountain climbers and
was soon left far behind in the mad
scramble over the rugged hills. The
gentlemen, who were well mounted,
pursued and overtook the colt, which
proved to he Air. Nichols’s Percheron.
From the fact that tracks of the colt
following the trail of the deer were
seen in several instances, and other
evidences that were to he seen, it is
believed that it had spent the entire
winter with its strange companions,
and prolonged its existence by follow-
ing the guidance of the excellent in-
stinct of the deer in search of food
when the snow was deep.
Japanese “Animas.”
The “amnia®” are people employed
in Japan to administer a kind of mas¬
sage treatment known a3 “uiomu,”
which is, in fact, shampooing. Many
of them are blind, and may he 6een
guiding themselves with a bamboo
pole, and advertising their presence by
a plaintive whistle on a bamboo reed.
The Japanese of both sexes are very
fond of hot baths, which they enter in
the evening after the day’s work is
done. After their ablutions the “am-
ma” is often called in, and by’ his
treatment produce an exhilarating
glow which is conducive to sleep, and
nfso serves to renovate the exhausted
frame. The “Samicn player” is an it¬
inerant musician; 6ome of this class,
too, are blind.
The Shinto priests in Japan neither
shave their heads nor wear a special
dress, except when going to perform
their rites in the temple, and they are
not celibate monks. Their office is
hereditary in certain Japanese families.
The Shinto worship is that of the my¬
thical ancestors, princes, heroes, saints,
and sages of the nation, associated -
with the deification of heaven and
earth, the sun and moon, the air,
water, and fire, but its temples have
no idols, and its precepts are those of
Coufucian morality.
FOR FARM AND GARDEN;
I. ATE GRAFTING.
If grafts have been cut before the
buds swell, and have been properly
kept in a cool, dry place covered wia*
sand, they may be set even after the
leaves have put forth on the tree to
which they are transplanted, There
will be some check to the tree from
pruning its foliage severely at this
lime, but the new wood will grow,
and after it has fairly started ana
joined with the old, the strongest lead¬
ing shoots of the natural growth shouK
be pinched Jjack, so as to turn the sap
where it makes the growth that is
wanted.— [Boston Cultivator.
HOW TO KEEP EXTRACTED HONEY.
Extracted honey can be kept two
years—perhaps longer—in unwaxed
kegs made of staves riven from the
heart of white oak, without any per¬
ceptible change in its flavor. It seems
that other woods—the heart of old
growth spruce, poplar and Norway
pine of the North, tulip and cypress
of the Middle and Southern States—
in short, any kind of lumber that will
not impart its flavor to any liquid com¬
ing in contact with it or produce acid-
ulation (as would result in using red
oak, birch or maple without waxing)
would meet the same purpose.—
[American Bee Journal.
nOW TO TETHER A COW.
A rope is not fit to stake a cow with;
it becomes drabbled with dew, stiff and
kinked, and soon wears out. A trace
chain answers the purpose well, and
may be lengthened or shortened ac¬
cording to the intervals between the
trees. A chain much over ten or
twelve feet long is apt to entangle the
animal’s legs and throw it down, caus¬
ing injury. The stakepin should be of
iron, at least a foot long, with a very
sharp point and at the top a groove
around it, in which works a link. This
link is compressed in the middle, the
outer end receiving the chain, the in¬
ner part playing around the pin, so
preventing the chain from becoming
wound up. A stout leather strap
around the horns contains an iron
ring into which the stake chain fastens
with a snap. At night, when the cow
is led to her stall, this is snapped out
and the stall chain snapped in.— rOliio
Farmer.
SORE FEET IN SHEEP.
The foot of a sheep has a peculiar
secretive gland and a duct through
which a viscid secretion escapes be¬
tween the claws. This is known as
the interungulate gland and canal. It
is lined with short hairs by which the
secretion is at times gathered into a
sticky mass mixed with the hair and
the duct is stopped. This causes in¬
flammation of the foot and lameness.
The feet should be examined from
time to time, and if necessary’cleansed
so as to keep this dret free. No doubt
if this is neglected the secretion being
absorbed and causing tho inflamma¬
tion, foot rot may result, with the
loss of the hoofs through neglect.
The treatment of the lameness, which
is, no doubt, due to the gathered mass
of hair and sticky matter observed,
should be as follows: Soak the feet
in warm water, clean them well with a
small stiff brush and carbolic soap;
free the duct from the obstacle and ap¬
ply’ carbolated vaseline between (he
claws. Keep the sheep in a dry, clean
place with sufficient litter and the
trouble will soon disappear without
further remedies. No medicine is re¬
quired.— [New York Times.
IN PRAISE OF THE DOMINIQUE.
One of the best fowls that was ever
kept is the Dominique. It is hand¬
some, tame, prolific of eggs, as good
for the table as the quarrelsome, flighty
game, considered the best by’ some for
eating; it is the best of all mothers to
her chicks, lay’s large, handsome,white
eggs, ; s an excellent forager, scorns
the corn bin, and will not sit all day-
waiting at the door of the corn crib
for its ration, and although weighing-
only four or five pounds, yet costs less
than half as much to rear as tho eight
or ten pound birds of the larger breeds.
But in the craze for something new
this good, old-fashioned, handsome
bird is neglected.
The old favorite has not died off by
the cholera either; it is not subject to
that disease which prevails among the
always hungry, ravenous, and glutton¬
ous breeds which ruin their livers by
gorging themselves with food, Nor
is it given to brooding persistently
and sitting on stones for weeks when
an attempt is made to break them up.
The Dominique hen makes her nest
and sits her sit out and brings out her
full brood of a dozen cr more chicks,
which she rears safely by her excel¬
lent care and feeds plentifully by her
active foraging.
Nor does she trample her little
chicks by fussy uneasiness when her
owner goes around or makes them
wild by her unnecessary cluttering
when there is no danger, while, fierce
in battle, she will discomfit a hawk
and save her brood from the preda¬
tory cat. Take her all in all, the Dom¬
inique lieu deserves to be favorably
mentioned when one is considering
what fowls he shall procure to dis¬
place the lazy corn eaters, which cost
more than they come to.—[New York
Times.
STOCK FARMING WITHOUT EGGS.
I have known sheep-owners to band
together, and taking matters into their
own hands, rid a section of the coun¬
try of the sheepkilling pests in short
order. Of course there arose a great
shriek of anger and dismay from the
dogmen, hut it quickly died aw’ay, and
the sheepraising industry increased
apace. I have proved over ami over
that stock of any kind can be tiained
to come to a call, and to follow theii
keeper more easily than a dog can he
trained to drive them properly.
Driving, especially by a dog, means
worrying, crowding and hustling, and
consequent loss of flesh.
Leading means gentleness, moder¬
ation, quiet, and full benefit of all
food consumed. Stock moved about
the farm by driving are always moie
or less wild and fearful of abuse.
Those moved by leading are quiet,
easily handled, ami almost without
fear. Dogs have no place on a stock-
farm.
We once owned what we considered
a very fine dog, and were very fond of
him. lie was one of the quiet, peace¬
able, stay-at-home sort. When we re¬
tired at night he would be lying on the
doorstep, and when we arose in the
morning he was there to greet us.
That he would kill a sheep, or even
dreamed of it, never entered our heads.
Yet this same innocent dog was shot
at midnight while worrying a sheep
in a pen four miles distant from home.
That incident destroyed my sympathy
for dogs, and I have had no use for
them since. Let sheepmen combine
and secure the enactment of a law
taxing male dogs $2 each, and female
dogs $o each, and iu a few years there
will not be one dog kept where there
are now 100. But first let them de¬
stroy their own dogs, and prove that
stock can he handled without canine
assistance, and then they will have at
least one argument that will be worth
something to them.—[New York Ex¬
aminer.
FARM AND GARDEN NOTES.
How are tiie strawberries doing?
Give the bee-hive summer shade.
For piazzas—the Virginia creeper.
Dull, shackly tools arc a nuisance.
IIow about home-made fertilizers?
Employ only sober and smart help.
Never too late to fix up the fences.
The hoe (hand or horse) must be
kept going if plants are to kept grow¬
ing.
Keep the front yard clean and use it,
and let all the buildings he neat and
attractive.
There is no more eflective remedy
for the plum curculio than to shake
them off upon sheets.
Thin out the onions, beets and car¬
rots while they arc small; pull the
smallest and weakest.
Have you the potatoes all planted?
If so, harrow the ground thoroughly
before they come up.
Culture is given to admit air to the
soil as well as kill weeds. Don’t for¬
get this if your garden produces no
weeds.
It is the duty of the roadmaster to
keep the weeds along the roadside cut;
but if he does not do it, the farmer
should. It pays.
Watch for the currant worm, and
when he appears dose him with white
hellebore—a tablespoonful to a pail of
water. It will kill.
Kerosene emulsion is made as fol¬
lows: Stir kerosene with half ns much
milk until no oil is seen, then dilute
yvitk twelve times its bu’k of water.
NEWS AND NOTES FOR WOMEN.
Sashes are worn in endless variety.
Sapphires are coming into fashion.
Fashionable millinery is rich iu ca¬
prices.
Evening gowns are bordered with
flowers.
Soft caps are worn on sea voyages in¬
stead of toques.
Pearls appear in the most popular
dress embroideries.
Fine English serges are appearing in
summer riding habits.
Zouave jacket effects arc ail but uni¬
versal iu misses’ styles.
The favorite confection of the Ameri¬
can woman is chocolate.
The styles grow more and mor«
piquant iu detail and outline.
Black velvet ribbon is the favorito
style of trimming for lace dresses.
Tho Rev. Anna Shaw is said to be one
of the best women orators in America.
J)eop yellow and brown, in a simple
geometric design, is famous tor a dado.
Diamond orchids—beautiful and costly
—are the latest and most artistic things
in jewelry.
The white sunshade is novel ami
pretty, but hard to wear and very try mg
on the eyes.
The choicest thing yet, in its way, is a
parasol of white silk covered entirely in
real point lace.
a Japanese Princess is in Berlin study¬
ing the management of hospitals and
charitable institutions.
Thrifty women who like to utilize half-
worn gowns take kindly to the revival of
material combinations.
The India cottons and English cre¬
tonne are used for summer dresses by
women of art-loving textures.
Navy blue or brown flannel in short
plaited skirts and plain blouse are tho
thing for camping out iu the woods.
Blue, black, gray and violet nos the
colors most in vogue. Dress skirts con¬
tinue plain and almost close-fitting in
front.
Ouida, the novelist, has earned more
money than any woman of tho century
with the exception of Mine. Patti, tho
opera singer.
Tho visite form of wrap, long ban¬
ished from the catalogue of cold weatbei
outdoor garments, appears among the
summer wrappings.
A. well-known London lady of rank
has just had a pair of ten-button gloves
made in which each button is a diamond.
The pair cost $5200.
White lilac, white violet, white hya¬
cinth and orris are some of the delicious
scents that ultra fashionable coiffeurs
sprinkle in the hair after i. is dressed.
Handcuffs of flowers for bridesmaids
is the latest caprice abroad, the pretty
creatures being yoked together, the one
to the other, with a garland of flowers.
A feature of tho present style of dress¬
making is the almost seamless bodice
which closes on one side invisibly. All
the skirts trail in the back a few inches.
Pauline Maria Elizabeth Wcdde, a
Thuringian giantess, is good looking and
of a handsome, well proportioned figure.
She measures about eight feet four inches
h height.
A Chinese bride when putting on her
wedding garments stands ia a round,
shallow basket. This is supposed to in¬
sure a placid, well-rounded life iu her
new home.
Butterfly bows of ribbon lace and
gauzy stuffs are perched on the brim of
large hats immediately over the face.
They are cute now but sure to be com¬
mon presently.
Many of the lighter summer dresses for
seaside and country wear show broad
silken sashes in brilliant colors and some¬
times in black, which greatly enhance
their effectiveness.
Jliss Alice McGee has been admitted
to the bar at Warren, Penn. She is only
twenty-one years and passed! a better ex¬
amination than any of the young men
who were candidates.
One of the married women judges at
the Fenton (Mich.) fair entered several
articles in her maiden name in tho das?
of which she was judge aau then
awmrded them the first prize.
Fifty-dollar dressmakers have adopted
the French way of fitting a bodice—that
is, without cutting a dart in the mate¬
rial. The side gores are cut on the bias
and tho waist fits like original sin.
The coming season bids fair, from all
reports, to he the greatest lace curtain
season this country has ever known. Tho
manufacturers abroad are making great
preparations to meet the demands of the
American market.
The Duchess of Aosta, wife of the
late brother of the King of Italy, is one
nf tho richest young widows in $200,000 Europe.
3he hfis $250,000 in bank,
worth of plate, pictures, etc., and an an¬
nual State income (pension) of $30,000.
If you are going to do much walking
in the country, either on the mountain
nr in the woods, you will add greatly to
four comfort by your selection of shoes.
Oxfords, with over-gaiters, and tourist
Tuxedos, are excellent, stylish and com¬
fortable.
A pretty incident accompanied the
ihower of rice at a recent wedding. As
the departing couple were showered
with rice, a floek of coverei^the city sparrowi
swooped down and pave¬
ment, and before they flew away not a
grain of rice waa left.