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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 30, 1899)
.tuty no , isoo. OMAHA ILLTSTIJATHn 3 * EH. , Celery Culture in Nebraska When an Omaha housekeeper rings up bcr grocer and orders a dime's worth of celery sent up "right away" she probably does not know that celery Is n homo product. The * k grocer himself buys It from the commission man and ho may and may not Inquire where the commission firm gets It. As a matter of fact the celery which will be used on Omaha tables this coming season Is now growing . , In the fields In two states , Michigan and Nebraska. And the Nebraska-grown celery takes precedence In the Omaha market , both In quantity and quality , because- Its su perior quality It usually brings a little higher prlco than the famous Knhunazoo product , once considered unequnled. It Is only In recent years that celery has * * been established as n regular Nebraska crop , for celery farming Is one of the newest of our state Industries. It Is now grown In sufllclcnt quantities for shipping near Hebron , North Platte and Elkhorn , but the largest amount Is grown at Kearney. The peculiar , sandy , alkali soil of llm islands of * * the Platte seems well suited to the growth of delicately-flavored , nutty celery , and the Kearney product Is grown on the largo will vary from SO cents to $2.f.O a day , ac cording to dexterity. It Is dexterity and suppleness of hand that count lu this work , and not strength. Women could become ex ports in this line , but , while largo numbers of women have been employed In the beet Holds , they have not yet worked In the celery fields. Every sort of labor has Us own laborsaving - saving contrivances and a convenient In vention of celery culture Is the "stabber , " an Ingenious arrangement of hard wood pins combined with the spiral wlro cells of an abandoned bcdsprlng , which serves to punch holes ready to receive the tiny plants. The "stabber" facilitates the work and renders It possible to keep exact count of the num- bar of plants placed. The plant beds are prepared with great care. The ground is plowed and well harrowed and then sifted through a sand screen to take out all lumps. The beds are enclosed by planke , and ns soon as the plants are placed In them muslin Is stretched across and fastened to the planks to protect the young celery from the sun until It Is well rooted. They are kept moist WEEDING THE CELEHY. "Island , some forty miles long , which lies between the north channel and the Platte proper. The greatest essential of celery Is water , and as long as there Is water In the river the. soil of the Island remains moist. In 1S82 a gentleman who is now the largest grower in Kearney and probably the largest In the state , set out on his farm some 300 celery plants as an experiment. From that time he has grown some celery every year , and for a number of seasons past has put In some forty acres. The whole acreage planted In celery at Kearney Is about 100. With the exception of the forty acres men tioned this is In tracts of from three to twenty acres , belonging to different grow- ' * ers. Not a large amount of land it seems , but celery Is a crop which requires the most careful and Intensive culture , the cultivation costing a good bum per acre , wlt.i a correspondingly large profit when succes- ful. Like other Investments which promise largu profit , there Is a possibility of a heavy loss If the crop falls. A long drouth late " 'in summer , or an early frcozo In September , or hall , of frequent occurrence In the west ern counties , may cause a total loss after { i the cust of the summer's labor. The estl- 1 mated cost of producing celery ready for t market Is flOO per acre and the amount ' produced Is approximately quoted at a carload - * load to the acre. Of course the actual amount may vary according to the size of the stalks. Vor > largo celery might make as much as a car and a half to the acre , while smaller would make less , but a caiload Is the average. Celery Is always quoted by the dozen * Stalin and when shipped by the cirload It brings from 1C to 20 cents per d.zen. When shipped a crate at a time by express It may 'bring ' from 10 to 30 cents n dozen , ac cording to grade. It will bring more money by express , but the expense of handling Is greater. The wholesale price lias been oven , and It Is a peculiar fact that tno rotall prlco Is the oanio In nearly all locali ties. 'At Kearney , at Omaha and at Kan sas City the consumer gets three bunches for a dime , the average prlco being adhered to by the retailers for convenience. A description of the process of cultivation may bo of Interest. The first essential Is richness of soil and the second Is water. It has been said that the soil cannot bu made too rich for celery. Through the win ter many teamsters make a living by haul ing manure from the town stnbltH to the celery fields. The owner cf horses does not have to pay for having his stable yard cleaned up , but Is besieged by applicants , who offer to haul away the accumulation for nothing. Opinions differ as to how much fertilizer Is required. One successful grower has never used more than sixteen wagonloads to the aero , while another has used as high as forty loads. The plantH for early celery are staited > In greenhouse * * or hotbeds , and when barely started with ono or two tiny leaves are transplanted from the boxes Into open beds , where they are placed an Inch and a half each way. This transplanting , known as "sottln * celery , " requires a largo force of helpers. The men and 'boys are paid by the number of plants they "wet , " the pay being 17 % cents per 1,000. Poor hands can place about 5,000 plants In a day , and an export 16,000 , or a little better. The men's wages by dally sprinkling , and when the weeds begin to come they are pulled out by hand. It Is tedious , tlrewomo work , kneeling by the beds , crawling , crouching , leaning across , and hot work , too , when the sun shines. For the later celery the seeds arc sowed In open Hold 'beds ' , and the plants arc thinned out and weeded until time to sot them In the Held rows. The early celery Is transplanted twice and the later but o-ace. When the plants have attained a height of five inches they are taken from the beds , packed I'oosely Into boxes and carried to the fields. Here they are placed five Inches apart In rows spaced like cjrn rows , and 30- 000 plants are required to plant an acre. While small they are weeded In the rows by hand and during the summer are given very thorough cultivation , being gonu over every two weeks with a flue tooth cultivator. The fields do not present an Imposing ap pearance , oven the largest tracts lo king "patchy. " The rows are laid out perfectly straight , but of uneven length on the low , Hat spots of ground , which will remain insist thiough the summer. Experience has shown that It wli'l not pay to extend the rows over ridges and elevations where the soli will become too dry for celery. These low places are fearfully muddy after heavy rains , like these wo hnvo had recently , and during the winter , after a thaw , the roads over the Island marshes are almost Impassable. Hut whllo the celery grower , his men and his teams stick In the mud a part of the year , along late In summer when other crops are burning brown ho congratulates himscrf on the wlEdom of his choice , for lilt ) celery fields look cool and damp. This spring tin ; rains have been so unusually heavy that the lowest fields wore flooded , causing a loss of a number of acres of plants. Part have been replanted , but eome growers have been un able to obtain plants to replace these lost. A gentleman who has farmed on the Island for sixteen years says this Is the first year they huvo come so near drowning out. Cul tivation shoul'd have been started over two weeks ago , but wet weather has held It bock , In some cases men have been at work with hand hoes whllo waiting for the ground to dry sulllclently to bear a horse's weight. In the old method of bleaching the plants \\ero set In trenches and straw was placed en each side the rows , the soil being thrown up as they grow , so that when they had reached maturity only the tops protruded , The bleaching method used In Nebraska Is by means of boards on each side of the rows when the plants are about a foot high. Growth continues rapidly after the boards nn In place and the bleaching requires two weeks' time. The early celery is ready for market from the 1st to the middle of September and from that time on the cutting , bunching and shipping Is pushed rapidly. Celery will stand a good deal of frost and the late cel ery has a finer flavor than the earlier. The crop Is rf couiso got out of the way of a real freeze , what Is not shipped nt once be ing stored In pits. When the harvesting reason begins the celery fields present busy scenes. As soon ns the celery Is properly bleached the boards are removed , the stalks cut and carried to tables nearby , where it Is bunched and tied up In bundles of a dozen stalks each. The dnaller shipments , which are crated and ex pressed , have the outer leaves and roots trimmed cfT and are washed free from earth. It Is classol as No. 1 , No. 2 or No. 3 celery and brings SO cents , 20 cents or 10 cents , ac cording to irade. When shipped In car lots the celery U bunched In dozens like the ether , but with the cuter leaves , roots and soil ndhcrlnrc to It. Two extra floors are put In a car , making .three decks , and the bunches are packed In on end on each deck. Those car lots are specified as two grades and bring from 12 cents to 20 cents wholesale. When conditions are favorable the crop is exceedingly profitable , 'but ' a green hand can lose plenty of money at it , and oven the most experienced may find atmospheric con ditions against 'them and lose heavily. H Is an attractive crop , partly because It Is com paratively new , and visitors In celery dis tricts always like to visit the fields es pecially In the harvesting season. The breeze is scented with the fragrance of cel ery , the straight rows of green on the dark soil present a pleasant picture In the midst of bustling activity and never does celery taste sweeter than when fresh from Its hid ing Place between the bleaching b-ards. MINNIE BOYEIl DAVIS. Gold Medal for Dis coverer of Liquid Air There has Just been forwarded to the American embassy In London the first gold medal ever presented by the Smithsonian Institute of Washington. The recipient Is IM-o.1. James Dewar of the Uoyal Institute , London , and this , honor being conferred upon him for his wonderful discovery that air can bo liquefied. The- medal IB paid for out of the Hodgklns fund of $200.000. which was mtnbllshcd by a donation In October , IS'.il , from Mr. Thomas George Hodgklns of Setuii- ket , N. Y. , the Income from a part of which was to bo devoted "to the Increase and dllfuslon of a more exact knowledge In re gard to the nature and properties of atmos pheric air In connection with the welfare of man. " After the formal acceptance of this dona tion a competition was announced In which prizes were offered for memoirs recording now and Important discoveries with regaid to the nature and properties of the atmos phere ) and the Hodgklns medal of the instltu- ilnn WJIH pHinlillHlioil for limmrtunt contribu tions to our existing knowledge In this con nection , or for original and practical appli cations ( if such knowledge to the welfare of man. In addition to the special prizes which wore awarded at the COHO of the competition , honorable mention , accompanied by the Hodgklns medal In silver or bronze , was ac corded to several of the contestants desig nated by the committee on award. Carrying out the design of the founder , the first Hodgklns medal In gold was awarded to Prof. Dcwnr , In recognition of his long continued and valuable researches In con nection with the Increase and diffusion of n moro exact knowledge In regard to the na- HEADY FOK THE MAUKET turo and properties of air , and In opening the way to the practical utilization of this Knowledge In advancing human witdm > . The design for the modal , which Is shown lu the accompanying Illustration , Is by Mr. J. C. Chaplain of Paris , n member of the French Academy , and ono of Uio incut emi nent medalists of the. world. The obverse bourw the llguio of a woman carrying a torch in her left hand , and In her right a scroll emblematic of knowledge , with the legend "Per Orbem" across the face of the medal. The reverse Is adapted from the seal of ( ho Institution by St. ( Jnudoiw. Summer at the Vatican The gardens of the pope are well worth tlio small dllllctilty of getting an order to visit them , elnco this Is accorded almost for the asking and to any party of six. The p- preach Is the sumo as that reading to the library and sculpture galleries and the en trance Is to the left of these. The gate Is ko.pt by n rather seedy looking old man In military cloak , who Is frequently surrounded by n varied assortment of cats. The entrance opens on a terrace which was used In the middle ages as a lilting ground , and looking over the parapet ono seen what In the same era was a lake for mimic naval battles , but which now Is nn Italian garden laid out In llowcr beds , with paths orna mented by smnlt orange trees. Passing part way down the terrace you enter under nn arch to the right two long and ancient arcadcd avenues of Ilex , In the middle the sunken bed of ait old canal end ing In a rocky structure covered with maid enhair fern. There are kept hero a cluster of remarkable animals , resembling .sheep , goats and deer. In reality , they are moun tain sheep , sent as n present to the holy father on his Jubllco by the people of Cnrplncta In the Campagna , whoso ancient castle Is the homo of his race that of the Peccl. Close to the rockwork nt the end of the hollow stands a littro copy of the grotto of Ivourdes. Hero visitors leave their cards. It would seem that ho has no great taste for floweis , for the long strct/ch of garden In front of the summer house Is wild and neg lected. To the right of the strip of ground Is a very goodly vineyard , Leo Xlll has a plan of his own for Its cultivation , which strikes a stranger as novel and original. Ho. twcen the vines are planted thick rows of broad beans , which are dug Into the earth for manure. The yearly yield Is sonio thi'oe thousand bottles of excellent wine , chiefly sent to various hospitals. Olive trees are WASHING AND LOADING. grown agalimt the wall , but they have a sickly air. At the further end of the vineyard are some fenced enclosures containing a number of especially handsome palms , planted per haps ton years ago , and growing very well. Heneath the palms two ostriches have a dwelling and very much at homo the couple appear , whllo their plumage keeps In very good condition. In strange neighborhood within the next enclosure ( ire a herd of brown and white deer and a "pelican of the wilderness , " the latter a monster of ugli ness , his vast hill striped with bright orange and blue. A little further on Is to bo found the pontifical tifical villa , which forms the garden resi dence. It hun been only lately finished and consists of n few plain rooms added on lethe the second of the round towers , ono floor of which Is the hall for receptions. From this a path descends to the Vatican , at the end of the gardens near St. Peter's , On the way one passes an immense grotto , sur mounted by an arch and a stone eagle , un derneath which nro cool , rocky chambers full of maidenhair , The ferns grow over two Jingo dragons , from whose mouths streams of water flow to mingle with other- ) , nil falling Into a great basin below. In an enormous recess , surmounted by a castellated wall , Is n large stone table , from which rise six Jets of water , throe on euch sldo of a seventh , which spurt out star- Hhupcd , Over the front of the table a perfect sheet of line transparent water Hews down Into the basin beneath. This is the cele brated fountain built by order of the lior- Khcso pope , Paul V , and It represents very faithfully an exposition of the blissod sacra ment on u Unman altar. The arched recess Is full of maidenhair and the delicate fern Is also seen through the crystal altar clcith. The last sjMil to bo visited Is the famed casino of Plus IV , the most notable piece of architecture In the gardens. Hardly any building seems really beautiful when deserted - sorted , but the casino In its loneliness la still charming. In front of a little palace covered with renaissance stucco work , In which old terra colta bus relief A are sot , lien ix rourtjurd , a perfect oval In nhapc , with walls , arched entrance' , chamber. * , and n beautiful colonnaded loggia MIIIIO leu foot high from the ground. Thl courtyard Is surrounded with marble benches , and the walls and entrances uro IncrustiM with pebbles and shells , suggestive of the cool ness of ocean waves and broer.os. The visitor now turns Into the path loadIng - Ing to the terrace entrance , pausing to nd- mlro the magnolias and slnno pines tower ing upward u little distance from the casino. 11 Is with a feeling of very great regret that n stranger to Homo leaves the gardens , for they are peaceful and satisfying In tholr undisturbed serenity. Rails Ground lo Dust As consumers of steel the railroads In the vicinity of Pltthburg lead the world , reports the Plttsburg Dispatch. During the last three months 170 miles of now stool1 rails , averag ing ninety pnundH to the yard , have been put down or distributed within thirty miles of the center of the city. There nro 1,760 yards In n mile , which would mean 2,200 ! ) ) yards for one line of rails In 170 miles , or 2il. ! > l8,0)0 ! ( ) pounds , or , say , fill.S.lfi.OOO pounds for both lines of rails , or 2fil,2St ! : tons of steel rails "needed In ono year for Plttsburg roads , ! IO per cent of which was for renewals * on old lines. There Is somewhat of a mystery regarding where the steel worn out on a big road goes to. It Is ground down almost to Imper ceptible dust by the ? constant friction of the grinding wheels and this friction Is ir. per cent greater on curves than on straight stretches of track. The wear l also much greater on ascending grades on a straight track than on descending grades. On cures the wear Is mostly lateral or horizontal , while on a straight track It Is perpendicular , with n slight Inclination toward the Inside of the rail next lo the flanges of the wheels. The millions of tona of steel ground down to dust by the wheels of trains In this coun try are lost. H cannot bo regained for scrap , because It Hetties down Into the bal last , Is brushed away by the rush of air { caused by the swiftly moving train and , like the star dual that falls upon the ocean , IH lost forever. In time , as civilization and the wheels of civilization move nn , the railroads of the chief steam railways , ns well ns part of the adjoining ground , will become thoroughly Impregnated with steel and Iron dust from the grinding up of mils and wheels , because It must bo remembered that the wheels grind the ralln and the rails grind the wheels , and this constant shower of Iron and steel dust IB accumulating along our railroads at a rapid rate. Uameses and IIis Beer An Interesting papyrus recently dlscjv- orod Hhows that many of the ancient Egyptians were qultu ns fond of dilnklng oml liquor as are nhy of the mcdorns , re ports the Chicago Times-Herald. In this papyrus , which Is Jt.OOO years old , th philosopher Anl writes the following words of warning on the subject ( if Intoxication tea a student In Chunnu : "I have been Informed that you are not only neglecting your studies , but that you are alnj Indulging In the most frivolous pleasures , and that you upend a good deal of of your time In drinking. Now , how can It benefit you to drink so much beer every day ? Talio advice and shun that Insidious liquor. " From other sources wo learn that stu dents In the land of the pyramids onj'iytd their beer , and wore quite as fond of playing pi act leal jokes as any of tholr descendants , They loved on fcotlvo nights to assault Inno cent watchmen , and many a peaceful citizen hnvo they aroused from slumber by thunder ing on the door of his house. From the diary of an Egyptian lieutenant who llurlsluvd nliout 2,000 yeaiH ago wo obtain the Interesting Information that a quart of beer coat about fl cents , and there are various entries In the book which allow us to Infer that the average Egyptian never dreamed of quenching his thirst with loss than a quart at u time. "Indeed , " says the erudite Egyptologist who has deciphered thli diary , "there are varbus facts which justify uu In describing the thirst of the ancient Egyptians as pyramidal , "