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SEAWEED HARVEST.
Where French Peasants Get a
Precious Fertilizer.
Each Year They Meet to Reap
the Briny Reefs.
The seaweed harvest along the
northern coast of France is an im¬
portant occasion to the agriculturists
of that region. Tins precious fertiii-
zer is protected rigidly by the govern-
meat, and any one wlio is found
guilty of gathering any of it before
the legal permission to harvest it has
gone forth, is liable to be severely
fined.
The harvest lasts but one week, and
i 9 always proclaimed by the town-
crier in the public squares and in
front of the churches after the cele¬
bration of High Mass on the Sunday
preceding the highest soring tide of
the year, which generally occurs in
March.
Early on the morning of the ap¬
pointed day the whole populace, from
the peasant possessor of half an acre,
with no other help than that of his
own family, to the wealthy farmer
heading his large band of hired help,
turn out armed with short, sharp
sickles.
As soon a6 the receding water per¬
mits, all fall diligently to work. Soon
every rock and ledge is shaven of its
brown, slimy fleece and left as bare as
the back of a shorn sheep.
Then preparations are made for an
attack on the reefs, so numerous along
the southern coast of the English
Channel. Everything that will float
is pressed into service. Huge rafts,
roughly put together, are constructed,
and next morning, with the current
of the ebbing tide in their favor, are
towed by the people in the boats eight
or ten miles out from the coast.
Low water leaves them stranded on
the reefa and all hands make the most
of their time, laughing and singing as
they work, for the seaweed harvest is
always hailed with joy by all classes
of the peasantry, particularly by the
young people, who get almost as much
fun as labor out of the expeditious to
the reefs.
Yet the work is hard and extremely
trying, even to the most robust con¬
stitution. The worker kneels on the
dripping weed, grasps a handful in
the left baud and with the sickle in
the right, cuts it off close to the rock
and places it in a bag. As soon as,
one has cut as mucti as be can carry,
the sack is taken on the back to the
raft, upon which it is received by men
•with pitchforks, stacked aud securely
In a little time all employed are
wet to the skin. But they pay no at¬
tention to their discomfort and work
gaily on nntil the rising tide compels
them to desist from the work of
harvesting, and geutly lifts the strand¬
ed rafts and boats on its shining sur¬
face. As soon as they are well afloat
the start is made for the shore.
Towing aloug the heavily loaded
rafts is tedious work, and the prog¬
ress is slow. The wet harvesters arc
soon chilled to the bone by the keen
east wind which prevails in this latitude
during the month of March.
The morning ebb tide leaves the
rafts and tlieir spoils of seaweed high
and dry on the smooth white beach.
They arc instantly surrounded by a
crowd of noisy, eager people and all
descriptions of vehicles—wheelbar-
rows with a woman between the
handles and ahoy harnessed by a rope
>n the front; , dilapidated donkey-
carts drawn by decrepit old donkeys;
or heavy two-wheeled wagons drawn
by four, or often six, of the sleek
dapple-gray horses of the country,
harnessed in a long line one before
the otiier.
All work together, hauling the weed
to the fields already prepared to re¬
ceive it aud the spring crop of barley
and potatoes. That it may be success¬
fully used as a fertilizer, the seaweed
must be got into the ground as soon
as possible after it leaves its native
element.
So much hardship is always under¬
gone during the seaweed harvest that
ite close is always marked by a large
increase in the cases of pneumonia
and severe bronchial disorders, which
often terminate fatally. However,
these facts never affect the popularity
of the occasion. Every succeeding
year the proclamation of the “Goc-
mcnrie” is welcomed with equal en¬
thusiasm and the passenger lists of the
crazy old boats arc just as well filled
as if there was nothing but pleasure in
store for their merry crews. — [Youth'-
Companion.
A Troublesome Model.
Not long ago I bad a nonpareil or
1 ‘painted finch,” a South American
bird, from which I was making s
drawing. JIo was a blight little bird,
but ceitainly was not a good mode!.
I caught him at work one day ?
“touching up” a drawing I bad just
finished. It happened in this way:
1 was called out from the studio to
speak to a caller, and during my short
absence my feathered friend—who
seemed to be a meddlesome fellow—
punged into the bowl of painting
water to take a bath.
With wings and tail he vigorously
spraye.1 the colored liquid all over the
drawing, anu before long had changed
my picture—a painting of birds—to
something more nearly resembling a
fireworks display on the 4t!i of July.
When I came back to the sludio lie
was putting on the finishing-touches:
but as soon as be caught sight of me lie
flew out of my reach.
I will not attempt to describe to you
my feelings at that time; but I will
simply say that within a few days
after this event I presented the feath¬
ered model to a delightful old lady
who is fond of birds and flowers.
She thought him “a lovely bird—lie
was so cute;” but one day when the
neat old lady bad finished watering
her window-plants, the nonpareil saw
an opportunity to show her how
“cute” he could be. He proceeded to
take a bath in the muddy water and
spatter it over the clean, white cur¬
tains.
This was a bit of fun just to his
taste. In fact, whenever and wherever
a chance offered he would bathe, If
the faucet were loft running he would
get under it and almost drown him¬
self. I have seen him on a cold win¬
ter’s day bathe and bathe again, until
lie was so thoroughly chilled that 1
feared he would die.
On these occasions I would take
him in my hands and hold him by the
heater until he was warm aud dry;
but I have always suspected that lie
had yery little sympathy with my
method of making him comfortable,
and lie plainly showed that lie much
preferred the “water cure” to this
drying process.:—[St. Nicholas.
A (Jueer Find.
It was a queer find, that of Antone
llageiiloeker on Thursday, and none
can blame him for being surprised.
Autonc is an engineer in the employ
of the Ansonia Brass and Copper Com¬
pany, and as lie placed an extra large
lump of soft coal under the holler he
had no thoughts of what that lump of
coal contained. A few minutes later
be opened the furnace door again and
what was his surprise to see in the
furnace a handsome plant resembling
a species of cactus. It was bright red
from the heat, every vein in the leaves
being defined. He carefully removed
it from the fire without breaking, aud
when it cooled it turned to a dull gray
color. It rests on a base of coal and
then stands out a well-defined petrlied
plant, but not carbonized, so that it
burned as readily as did the coal sur¬
rounding it. He has shown the for
matiou to mauy and nothing like it lias
ever been seen hero. The stalk of the
plant where cut from the parent 6tem
is well defined. Mr. Hagenlocker is
to have it mounted and placed under a
glass case.—[Waterburv (Conn.)
American.
Duelling on Bicycles.
Duelling on cycles is reported to be
a new diversion in Spain. Two mem¬
bers of the bicycle club of Granada
recently met in a knife duel, which is
probably the first duel ever fought on
wheels. Accompanied by tlieir ser¬
geants they wheeled out some distance
on the road to Malaga, to a secluded
spot. There posted 700 feet apart, at
a sign they wheeled for each other,
each directing liis wheel with the left
hand and brandishing in the right
that terrible knife of Spain, “navaja.”
At the first clash Perez pierced the
left arm of Moreno, but at the third
encounter Moreuo thrust his knife into
Perez's right breast In a few minutes
the latter died of internal hemorrhage.
— fXew Y’ork .Journal.
FOR FARM ANl) GARDEN.
SUNFLOWER SEEDS.
Fortunate indeed is he who has a
plenty of sunflower seeds for his poul¬
try. They are especially excellent for
use right now while the fowls are
moulting. The oily nature of these
6ecds tends to assist the natural drop¬
ping out of the old feathers aud their
rapid replacement with the new, fresh
growth. They are also useful for
feeding in small quantities right along,
as they keep bowels regular and active
and the plumage of the birds glossy
and smooth, a very desirable condi¬
tion in the case of fine exhibition
stock.—[Farm, Field aud Stockman.
SHIPPING GRAPES.
Grapes should be picked after the
dew is off the vines. The picker
should cut the stein with a sharp
knife, holding it with the other hand,
and should carefully place the bunch
in the picking box stem upward, not
filling the box too full. The grapes
should not bo exposed to the light or
heat of the sun, but should be carried
as soon and carefully as possible to
the packing room and there stacked
up in such a manner as to give com¬
plete ventilation. They should re¬
main there at teast twelve hours. Then
it will be found that the stems are
wilted and flexible, and the bunches
can be handled softly without break¬
ing the skin of the berries at the in¬
tersection with the stem. — [Florida
Fruit Farmer.
BULBS.
In making a selection of house
plants for winter growing the different
kinds of bulbous plants should not be
overlooked. Probably the most beauti¬
ful and fragrant of the Holland bulbs,
which are noted for their ease of cul¬
ture, are hyacinths.
These can be grown either in earth
or water. When they are grown in
earth a single bulb should be set
in a five or six inch pot. Use common
garden soil, mixed with sand, in pro¬
portion one-third. Press the earth
down around the bulbs until the upper
part can just be seen. Water well
and set aside in a cellar or unused
room or attic. Allow them to remain
in this way a few weeks until they
are well rooted. If planted by the 1st
of September these bulbs should be
well started by the middle of Novem¬
ber, and should bloom in about three
months.
It is much easier to bloom hyacinths
in water, using the familiar bulb
glasses made for that purpose. Let
the bottom of the bulb just touch the
water, and change the water when it
becomes discolored. The bulbs should
be set away in the cellar as is
recommended when grown in earth.
Hyacinths require an even temper¬
ature of from 65 to 70 degrees, and
after being kept in seclusion until
rooted, need plenty of water, light
and air.
Other bulb9 that may be grown like
the hyacinth in either earth or water,
arc the crocus, polyanthus, narcissus
and narcissus trumpet major. Tulips
do well in pots, but cannot be grown
in water.— [Cottage Hearth.
CRACKING OF TOMATOES AND PLUMS.
One cannot always vouch for the
scientific accuracy of newspaper arti¬
cles but there is a reasonableness
about the following idea which we
find among our exchanges, that gives
it a semblance of truth. The writer
speaking of the passage of liquids
through their membranes says: “If a
bladder filled with syrup be immersed
in a vessel of water, the water will,
after awhile, become sweet; the syrup
passes through the membrane of the
bladder into the water, and correspon¬
dingly the water passes into the in¬
terior of the bladder.
But this interchange is not an equal
one; the light liquid—the water—
passes in many times more rapidly
than the heavier liquid, the syrup,
passes out. The consequence will be
that the bladder will be distended to
its utmost, and at length burst. A
ripe tomato or plum may be consid¬
ered in the condition of the bladder
of syrup. The rich juice9 of the fruit
correspond to the syrup, and the tlun
membrane, which forms the skin of
the fruit, represents the bladder.
When the ripe fruit is kept constantly
wet by a rain, osmose takes place
and tiie water passing through into
the fruit distends the skin which, not
being very strong, issoon ruptured.-—
[Farm, Field and Stockuiau.
PACKING BUTTER l'OR WINTER.
That butter may be kept for use in
the winter it is indispensable that it
be very well made. The best kind of
butter may be packed so that it will
improve in quality, but some special
methods are required for this end.
Butter that is quite free from butter¬
milk undergoes a very slow change of
flavor, and the most desirable taste
and odor, which are commonly called
the nutty flavor, are produced
by a gradual producton of a
volatile acid, known as butyric acid,
and by the action of a ferment in the
cheesy matter of the butter. If thi 9
is in excess the production of this acid
is quite rapid, and the butter soon be¬
comes rancid from the excess of it.
So that butter for immediate use may
contain a small quantity of buttermilk,
and need not be washed so carefully
as that to be kept until the winter.
For this use every particle of milk
must be got rid of, aud the washing
should be continued until the water
passes off quite clear.
Then the butter is salted with a full
ounce to the pound, and packed in
clean or new tubs, and pressed down
to exclude all air. The tub i9 first
scalded and then rinsed with cold
water, then with cold brine, and then
rubbed lightly with fine salt; the but.
ter is then packed to within half an
inch of the edge, when it is sprinkled
with salt and covered with a clean
cloth a little larger than the top of the
tub. The edge is pressed close to the
tub, and salt is spread on it. The
edges are turned over the salt, and
the cover is then put on and fastened
down tightly. The cloth is steeped in
brine before it is put on Hie butter.
The tub is then set in a cold, dry
clean cellar. It lias been kept a
year in excellent condition in this
way. —[New York Times.
LATE PASTURAGE.
One way of providing late pasturt
is to have the regular pastures divided
a tid then by keeping the stock out oi
one, permitting a good growth now,
it will furnish plenty of pasture later,
especially if well set to blue grass.
After it has become established there
is no grass that will excel blue grass
for either very early or very late pas¬
ture, while at the same time it will
furnish good pasturage all through
the growing season.
But, rightly managed, almost any
good pasture or meadow grass will
furnish good pasturage lots in the fall.
Rye or wheat may be sown early in
the fall, as soon as the season will ad¬
mit, and then after a good growth has
been secured it will furnish a con¬
siderable amount Of late pasturage.
If cure is taken not to pasture too
closely these crops will not only sup¬
ply late pasturage butalsogrow a full
crop the next season.
With all growing stock late pastur¬
age is of considerable importance, as
it will maintain health and growth at
a less cost than if the animals are con¬
fined. In doing this, it is not by any
means necessary to expose the stock.
They can be confined and fed
dry feed at night and on cold and
stormy days and be permitted to run
in the pastures when the weather
will permit. The food they will pick
up and the exercise they will take in
this way will be of benefit well worth
the trouble.
Stock reiish a variety and a change.
Ordinarily, pasturage is (lie cheapest
feed that can be supplied to breeding
or growing stock, and, although it is
not best to depend upon late pasturage
alone, yet it can be used to lessen the
quantity of dry or grain feeding nec¬
essary to keep the stock in thrifty con¬
dition.— [St. Louis Republican.
FARM AND GARDEN NOTES.
Clatter of the guineas scares aw r ay
the hawks and saves the chicks.
Learn the character of your foods
and combine your own rations.
One evil result of over-feeding dur¬
ing the summer is bowel disease.
A Toulouse gamier crossed with an
Embdcu goose gives a good market¬
able product.
Ou large farms there is no reason
why the chickeus’ runs should not be
very large, as the ground can be put
to few uses that will nav better.
SCIENTIFIC snul\
Lightning is now pliotogr^
The reign of the dog star j u
forty days, from July 3 to AnJJ
Naturalists assert that a li
swallow will devour 6000 fl; es
day.
It has often been observed ft
rails actually grow on the stiia,
amputated fingers.
Hr. E. Canon of Beilin, Gen
lias succeeded in finding the L
of measles in the blood of patied
Macrocyslis, a seaweed of the
Pacific, often grows to be iM
forty inches in diameter aud l
2000 feet in length
A process for making tit
stones out of crystalized alumi
been discovered in Glasgow, Set
Some years ago a Paris artifice
cessfully produced imitation rnl
The Brazil nut containsfreal
to twenty-four seeds, which i]
minate at one time. The most!
oils one gets through a small
the top to the open air, and I
strangles and feeds upon the re
Flies have long been accta
spreading disease; but it is
now from Havana, Cuba,
quitoes have a use, for if
late anyone after biting a
fever patient, the disease
lows is so mild that fatal rest!
rare.
The German Government
citled not to use any white
the army in the future. It
that owing to the adoption of
less powder animals of this
could be seen from a diten
a battle, and could be easily fij
by the enemy. I if
The rate of progression hour] of]
is often fifty miles an
series lias often been traced im
line from north to south a dish
400 miles. The average altih
thunderstorms has been found
not over 500 feet above the stir
the earth.
To ensure sawing steal rail
uniform temperature, thus aij
variations in length, GennanB
men now uso tinted glasse*!
make the rails invisible at a
temperature, and saw the vails
the point of invisibility is
Dane blue or orange yellonj
causes a red-red hot rail to disi
It appears that the adhesions
under favorable circumstanced
to a force of at least 715 poniB
square inch. In an experime!
formed, a force of 1260 ponndl
plied gradually, was found »!
to separate two cylinders of !
wood, the ends of which pres!
surface equal to 1.76 square i!
which were glued together end!
and allowed 24 hours to set. !
According to Science the |
very prolific. Assuming that
productive season extends
March to September, ami d
further that the snail lives aW
years, we have the following <
of the total number of the 01
of a single pair: At the f -!ot
season, 1900; 950 pairs at
of second season, 1 , 805 , 000 ,
pair at close of second
Total number of offspring
1,808,800.
Pets for the Young
Children naturally take to J
if given a charge of small d
taste for stock raising nta[
velopcd at an early age-
they must be instructed lw>*
and manage at first, and -
they will take pleasure in w
and be on the watch f° r i
meats. A mau who gives lWJ 1
to his children except tog et
of them will not be »P l'? tt0 1,0111 Jj
on the farm after they ]
— [New York Observer.
Dangers of Boutin*'
Clara-—When George * 11( i 1
ried, I’m to have my ofl
everything.
Dora—Guess you won t
Clara—Indeed I will- :
bargain. Don’t yon rcui« lU
you he proposed to me in s
aud asked if I’d flo at ^
with him just that wav '
“Y'es.”
“Well, lie was rowi"? 1
steering.”—[New York ^