MODERN METHODS OF
- - -
IhTTfflT HIGHbANDd '
SHEEP SHEARING GREAT HELP
In the Public Eye
Many Improvements Over Old Days When Wool Wan Gath
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RAILWAY ACROSS ANDES
hlB subject thoroughly, so went through tho shops llko an ordinary workman.
Ills first great job was tho last section of tho Manchester ship canal, on
which, by tho way, John Ward, now a labor membor of the Drltlsh parlia
ment, worked at a salary of ten cents an hour. This was followed by tho
foundations of tho Tower bridge across tho Thames In London, and the dlf
llcult task of constructing tho harbor nt Dover. At this latter place lio had
perhaps tho hardest element to contend with tho weather. Tlmo nnd again
woro his half-llnlshed walls carried away by somo great storm to which that
part of tho coast Is subject.
Tho dlstanco between Arlca and La Paz Is about 250 miles as tho crow
files, but the actual length of tho lino will bo 300 miles. Tho llrst .'10 miles
from Arlca 1b mostly desert and at one part of the )lne water for drinking
purposes will havo to bo carried some eighty miles. Tho part of the Andes to
bo crossed Ib Btlll unsurveyod, and tho population consists mostly of Indians
Hero the routo will pass through deep canons, where tho cliffs exceed 2,000
feet In height, and those cliffs are so close together that It will. bo dllllcult to
place a doublo lino of rails between thorn. Tho laborers will bo mostly na
tives, engineers being sent out from England, and It Is estimated that over
3,000 workmen will bo employed In tho construction, which is to cost $15,000.
000. From thrco to four yoars will be required to completo tho work.
TELLS ISLAND'S TROUBLES
department. Even tho high-salaried clerks and assistants aro outsiders, ex
copt whore tho duties domand an unusually well educated man or a linguist,
when tho government llndB itself compelled to name n nntlvo. Their taxeB
aro fixed arbitrarily by n board of outsiders and they havo no appeal.
The legislative .body haB an upper body of appointed department henda
and an elective lower houso of delegates with 35 members and limited
powers. Tho present clash camo when tho dolegates desired to wlpo out tho
appointed justices of tho peace and croato an elective court. Thoy wanted
representation of tho taxpayers on tho appraising boards. They wanted to
;rcato manual training schools. All of theso tho American governor coolly
;lcnled. In reprisal, tho delegates made a few salary cuts, from live to llftccn
oer cent., in tho salaries of tho American officeholders. Tho result was that
the uppor council, headed by Gov. Post, refused Its assent, and tho body ad
journed without passing any appropriation bill whatever.
WON BY ADVERTISING
after the campaign which won him his nomination. While Smith scattered
lmprosslvo oloquonco and personal attention nil over tho stato, Drown sat In
his dinky ofllco In Atlanta and sent out lottors to tho electorato Individually.
Postal cards and newspaper advertising woro incidental features. He made
no speeches, ho shook hands with no regiments of voters.
Drown is a llttlo, unimpressive Individual, solf-mado, a railroad man most
of his life and a son of tho late United StnteB Senator Joseph E. Drown. Two
years ago ho waB a state railroad commissioner and was discharged from
his olhco by Gov. Hoke Smith just
expired. Tho fact had something
with tho governorship.
TO SEARCH FOR SOUTH POLE
In
lore ino easier 10 cross. no is also con
vinced that thoro Is but ono groat Antnrctic continent and this ho hopes
to travorso.
Ambiguous Qow-Wow.
A big black dog puts In a good deal
of tlmo trotting about Pleasant Hill.
Whenover It meets any ono It wags
Its tall In a most friendly manner,
but at tho same tlmo growlB warn
lngly. Tho Pleasant Hill TImos of
fers a leather medallion to any ono
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Another link In the world's chain of railways
Is to be forged shortly, and tho master who will
direct operations Is Sir John Jnckson of London.
When It 1b stated that this railway which Is to
connect Arlca In Chile and La Paz In Dollvla
crosses the Andes In Its course, and at one point
reaches an elevation of 12,000 foot, It will bo seen
that Sir John has no light task before him, and
the accomplishment of It will add ono more
triumph to his record of engineering achieve
ments. Sir John Jackson did not, llko many of tho
great captains of Industry, begin life upon tho
bottom rung. Ho comes of well-to-do parents and
was educated at York and afterwards at Edin
burgh university. Showing early In life a de
cided taste for engineering, ho decided to learn
Eugenlo Denltcz Cnstanos, head of tho com
mission of threo sent by tho Porto Ulco houso of
delegates to Washington to explain political con
ditions in that island nnd nsk tho American gov
ernment for relief, makes out a strong caso in
favor of his people.
In truth, tho sort of control exercised over
Porto Ulco by tho United States government
seems In ninny respects worso than that of Spain,
from which wo rescued tho island. Tho Islandcra
woro really happier under Spanish domination,
nccording to Commissioner Castanos. Under tho
old order they had representation in tho Insular
government, whereas at present thoy havo noth
ing to say or do oxcopt pay tho rather high bills.
In the nine years of our rule thoro has never been
n native Porto Rlcnn made chief of an oxecutlvo
Joseph II. Drown, tho now governor of
Georgia, is probably tho llrst stato oxecutlvo to
carry tho methods of modern business advertis
ing successfully Into politics. Wo havo millions
of politicians of tho city and county size who are
adopt at self-advertising and at securing gratuit
ous publicity from tho newspapers. But Gov.
Brown Is tho llrst man to sit down with a card
lndox and a follow-up system and yank himself
from comparative obscurity into tho governor's
chair of au important state.
Drown beat Gov. Iloko Smith when tho lattor
was after a ronomlnntlon. Smith is an orator,
editor of an Atlanta newspnpor, a membor of tho
Grover Clovoland cabinet and altogether an un
usually strong man. Brown was to !)9 per cent,
of the peoplo of Georgia merely a nnmo oven
threo weeks beforo his term would havo
to do with subsequent events connected
Dr. William Spoirs Druco, tho Urltlsh ex
plorer who Is about to set out on a trip to tho
south polo, Is connected with tho Scottish Ocean
ographlcal laboratory. At 42 ho has won a repu
tation as a traveler In strange nnd faraway lands,
and hns already six polar Journeys to' his
credit.
tho present attempt to reach tho
unknown, Dr. Bruco will depart from tho
methodB of his predecessors In tho Ant
arctic search and will approach tho polo
from the Atlantic side rather than from
tho Pacific. Tho Ice Held on tho former
sldo is widest, as admitted by all who
havo attempted to cross it, but Dr. Bruco
bollovea It Is to bo less stoop and there-
who will toll tho town which end ol
tho dog to believe,
No Wheat Grains.
"What do you think of tho losers In
this wheat speculation?" "
"I haven't a grain of sympathy for
them."
TAWNY OtV
YOlAV PEREGRINS rJLCOtf
Tho distribution of blnis of prey In
tho Highlands at tho present day fur
nishes n striking object-lesson In tho
effects of protection on any given
species, sayH a writer in Country Life.
In tho middle of last century, when
game preservation as a source of In
come began to bo considered an assot
of tho country, thero wero fow Bports-
men who realized how easily and
quickly any non-migratory bird could
bo exterminated. At that period
birds of proy wero unquestionably too
numerous, and game could scarcely
havo been expected' to nourish undor
such conditions. Our forfathers, por
haps hotter sportsmen than tholr dc
scendants, skilled In all manner of
woodcraft and content with small
bagB obtained by their own unaided
efforts, wero moro tolerant and for
bearing towards tho birds and beasts
of proy than wo havo since proved
ourselves to bo. The rising valuo of
Bport, however, marked tho com-
moncomont of a rolontlcss warfare
against all marauders other than man
hlmsolf, n wnrfaro which has contin
ued to tho proscnt day -and thrcatons
to exterminate many of our most in
teresting species, which, once van
ished, can novor bo replaced. Tho
position of many of our birds of proy
Ib a mattor of tho greatest concern
to ornithologists nnd sportsmen alike,
for there aro few sportsmen who
would knowingly exterminate a spo-
clcs whose members are already so
few as to. cause no concern to game
preserves. Tho harm dono by tho fow
pairs of eagles, peregrines and buz
zards which still survive Is not worth
consideration, and the fact that most
of their proy Is obtained In tho dcor
forests renders their preBonco desir
able, rather than othorwlse, In many
of the lattor.
Of tho British caglcB, two species
havo already vanished, or almost van
ished. Experience shows that wo
cannot hope for migrants to tnko ticlr
place. The sea eaglo Is now but rare
ly seen on our coasts, nnd the llshlng
engle, tho graceful osproy, Is no lon
ger a familiar feature of our Inland
lochs. On some lone Islet or surf-
beaten rock an odd pair may survive,
but for most of us they nre but mem
ories of tho past, and never again
may wo watch them as In dayB gone
by. The golden eaglo Is the only ono
remaining to us. For lilm alono of his
race protection camo not In vain. Tho
preservation of this grand species Is
tho only bright Bpot In tho history of
tho British eagles. In some districts
tho king of birds Is actually increas
ing; almost everywhere ho holds his
own. This Is duo ontlroly to the
action taken by proprietors to protect
tho eyries, and to tho courteous for
bearanco shown towards tho birds by
tho great majority of shooting tenants
forbearance which Is, unfortunately,
not accorded to them in tho south,
whoro tho appearance of any largo
bird of proy seems to bo regarded as
tho signal for Its destruction. Tho
buzzard, in nppoaranco closoly re
sembling tho golden eaglo when on
tho wing, though easily distinguished
by Its smaller size, has In tho past suf
fered for the sins of Its bolder neigh
bors, for of all birds of proy this is
tho least harmful to gamo; mice,
voIcb and carrion form its diet, and it
Is probably qulto lncnpablo of striking
down any game-bird on tho wing un
less tho latter Is weakly or wounded.
In flight slow and heavy and by na
turo a coward, common sense will
show us that tho character of this
species qulto belles Its predatory ap
pearance. Yet In splto of theso facts,
which have been proved times with
out number, keepers continue to shoot
theso harmless blrdB on tholr migra
tion in autumn, tho porlod whon tho
young birds, drlvon away by their
parents, aro seeking rresh quarters.
If proprietors would lncludo buzzards
In tholr orders for tho protection of
oagles somothlng might bo gained. Of
all our birds of proy, tho buzzard Is,
at tho present momont, most In need
of protection.
Two other species clnlm our atton-
' Hon tho kestrol and tho merlin, both
IbUNGl LONG' EARED tOWL
of which tho writer has turned out In
considerable numbers during tho last
few years. It is, Indeed, a trent for
tho bird-lover to seo those lesser fal
cons losing their fear of man day by
day, to watch them from the window
hunting mice In, the meadows below,
hovering, perhaps, within n fow yards
of tho watcher, then pouncing, with
lightning swoop on somo hnpless
vole, pausing to dovour their proy bp
foro ono's very oyes. To naturalists,
tho fact that tho writer had threo
kestrels' nesta under observation
In 1908 In a smnll pine wood may bv
of Interost, aa showing that thero is
comparatively llttlo antagonism bo
twoon Individuals of this charming
species. In the caso of ono of theso
tho bold behaviour of tho adult was
conspicuous, aud tho fomalo would
almost allow mo to handlo her on the
nest. It was conjectured that sho wna
ono of thoso liberated In tho previous
year; ono of a brood which had bo
como exceptionally tamo beforo being
released. With certain exceptions tho
keBtrol Is always harmless to gamo.
In tho caso or 99 nests out of 100 tho
kestrels will bo found to bo bringing
fur 1. o., mice, volos, etc. to tho
young, and tho bonoilt thus conferred
on farmers Ib enormous.
With morllns this is by no lnqano
tho caso, and young grouso nro oftoh
tho principal food of tho family; but
at no othor period of tho year aro
they destructive to gamo. Owing to
tho fact that they nest on tho ground
aud In tho moat Bocluded places thoy
are not easy to locato, and to thla
they often owo their safety. Tho num
bers of kestrels In tho Highlands aro
apparently on tho lncreaso, and it
seems now to bo generally recognized
that they aro worthy of encourage
ment. Doth kestrels and morllnB aro
to somo oxtent migratory, and tho lat
ter seem less nblo to fond for them
selves whon tho ground Is covered
with snow, dopartlng southward at
the approach of winter. It 1b n curi
ous fact that grouso aro awaro that
tho kestrol Is harmless, and that tho
cock grouso will boldly attempt to
drlvo the "wlnd-hovor" nway from nest
or brood should tho llttlo falcon ap
proach too near when hunting for
mice. On tho approach of the pore
grlno, however, ho crouches close to
tho ground, well knowing that no
courage will avail him hero.
A fow wordB In conclusion bb to tho
owls, of which wo need only consider
throo species tho tawny, tho long
enred and tho short-cared, for tho
barn-owl, common In tho Bouth, Is a
raru avis In tho Highlands. Tho ap
pearance of tho short-eared owls in
autumn marks tho approach of win
ter, and tho regularity with which
thoy arrlvo at tho tlmo of tho flight
haB earned for them the namo of tho
woodcock owl. A fow of theso remain
to breed with us, nnd in tlmo moro
may bo Induced to follow tholr ex
nmplo If they nro carefully protected.
GOT HIS MORNING'S HOT MILK.
Thoughtful Friend Turned the Trick
and Landlady Received Credit
for ThoughtfulnesB.
"Living In a boardltiK nlaco la not
without Its objections," confided W. B.
Aicuaruiy to his friend over tholr
noonday lunch. "For lnstnnce, I'd llko
somo hot milk In tho morning. Thoro'B
no reason why 1 should hnvo It,
health's good and all that, but I've ta
kon a fancy to hot milk for brenkfaat.
wnen i draw up to the table, I think
to myself how nice It would hn ir I
Just had a bowl of hot milk. Dut If I
woro to asic ror it, every boardor in
tho houso would bo wanting tho samo
thing. That's tho way It goes in a
boarding house. And 1 don't llko to
mako myself n nuisance to tho land
lady. The other day I said I'd llko
somo toast. No ono olso had thought
of such a thing before, but overybody
hud to havo somo of my toast whon It
came in. And thoro you are,"
"Too bad McCarthy can't got a llttlo
Bwallow of hot milk In tho morning,"
thought McCarthy's friend as ho sat
at his desk that arternoon. "Mobby I
can fix things." Ho reachod for tho
phono and called up McCarthy's land
lady. "This Is Mr. McCarthy's physician,"
ho told her. "I wlBh you would see
to It that ho gots all tho hot milk ho
can drink every morninir. Give it tn
him Instead of coffee or tea. You sou
his norveB uro In a bad way, and If ho
doesn't get hot milk for breakfast, urn'll
havo to send him off to a sanitarium.
Don't say anything to him nbout mo
calling. Just seo that ho gots that hot
milk. Thank you very much."
And evor slnco then, McCarthy has
been bragglnc nbout what a mimi.
reador his landlady Is. "Just sort ot
knows what I want almost as soon an
I know myself," ho snys, "Novor saw
anpthlng llko It." Clovoland Plulu
Demur.
The earliest method of securing tho
ivool wob to drlvo tho sheep quickly
.hrough n narrow passage, nnd tho
iquoczlug and rubbing of ono agnlnst
mother loosened and detached tho
cvool. Later, an "Improved" plnn wbb
idopted, which, In our ears, sounds
lomowhnt inhumane, although, na a
aiattor of fact, if dono nt tho right
tlmo, thoro would probably bo noth-
:ng painful or sovoro about It. Tho
?hcop wero caught, and tho wool was
pulled from tholr bncks by hand.
rhla practlco continued for many hun
dreds of yoars, for ulthongh Labnn
uid tho othor groat pastorallsts of his
llmo clipped their sheep, Pliny tells
as that, In his day, when Romo was
'n tho zenith of hqr glory, "tho Bheop
uro not everywhere shorn, but tho
lustom of pulling off tho wool con
tinues in somo places." It is to tho
aid patriarchs, thon, that wo niUBt
Klro tho credit of having Bet nbout
getting tho wool in a bustness-llko
way, and from their day until now
practically no change has tnken placo
In tho manner and method of clipping.
Most of tho clipping on the big
Uordor farma in Groat Britain Is dono
by tho ordinary shophordlng staff.
Sheep 8hearlng Time.
Very often a helper la engaged for a
fortnight or so, to push tho work
through, but tho heaviest part of tho
burden rests on tho shouldors of tho
permanent hands, Noodlcss to say, It
is a busy tlmo while It lasts, for all
tho other work of tho farm has to be
carried on simultaneously, and It
moans, for tho shepherds, getting up
very early not Inter than 4:fl0, nnd
working lato, Tho permanent hands,
having tholr ordlnnry " work to get
through as well, do not, of course,
clip so many sheep In a day as a clip
per specially engaged for tho Job.
About a Bcoro por man, or there
abouts, is considered a very good
day's work; a good hand working full
tlmo will turn out, on an avorago,
about thirty. Formerly ho us6d to bo
paid by tho day, but It Is moro usual
now to follow tho piecework plan.
On both sjdos of tho Bordor, tho
Lowland sheep aro alwayB washed n
woek or so beforo shoarlng. Dut
many farmers assort that thero nro
other benofltB which accrue from It.
They any tho washing Improves tho
health of the shoop. Somo old writ
Brs held this vlow, nnd Youatt quotes
that oxcollcnt chomlBt Vauquelln, who
says: "In this respect I nm' Inclined
to ndopt tho opinion of thoso who
think that tho washing of shoop, dur
ing dry warm wenthor, may bo uso
ful to their health and to tho quality
af tho wool." However thla mny bo,
U Ib beyond question that tho practlco
of washing, previous to shearing, la of
ancient (Into, aud it is qulto probablo
that its origin Is to bo found in tho
FACTS ABOUT
HENS AND EGGS
How to Multo Moot Money from
Poultry,
When cholera appears in tho flock
glvo no water oxcopt that In which
pokerroot has been boiled. This Is both
a preventative and a cuce. An Illi
nois man says one of his lions laid an
egg two and seven-eighths inches long
and ono and fifteen-sixteenths Inches
wide, tho measurement being takou
with calipers.
Ono man will win with ono kind ot
hen and another muu with somo other
breed, it is with hens as It Is with
cowb. Wo Bhould chooso tho breed wo
llko tho best and then stay with It.
Fowls are nnturally hardy, and con
tagion In a llock la duo to careless
n can on tho part ot tho poultry koopor,
This la proved by tho fact that ox
port poultry rulsora havo very fow
sick chickens,
Hoiib need a bettor placo in which
to roost than tho trees around tho
houso. Ot courso, thoy mny survive
thero; but inoroly living und returning
a profit aro two different things.
Don't stop feeding tho hens sholls
Just becauso thoy aro out of doors
and can shift for thoniHolvcB. Thero
la no lino, not oven an Imaginary ono,
botweou tho days whon tho hen likes
shells and when Bhe docs not. All
days nro alike in that respect.
A woman in Vermont writes that
belief that It was bcnoflclal from tho
point of view of health. Jin tho
North Country tho clipping Is usually
dono In nn open-fronted covered shed,
whoro thero Is plenty of light. An
old sail-cloth, or a covering of boards,
Is laid ovor tho earthen floor, and
thoso nro kept clenn by sweeping.
Tho actual method of clipping Is very
similar, I fancy, In nil districts drat
tho opening out of tho head, neck,
brisket and thighs, thon tho curving
round tho ribs from tho belly up to
tho back, first on ono sldo nnd thou on
the other, and then tho quarters. A
woll-cllpped nheop should show tho
rings formed by tho shears running In
continuous linos all round Us barrol
nnd up tho quarters; there should bo
no break along the back whoro tho
lino traveling up ono sldo moots that
coming up tho othor. Theso linos, or
little ridges ot wool, should bo small
and of uniform size, and they should
all bo at tho samo dlstanco from ono
another. It is quito wonderful how
much hotter n nlcoly-shorn sheep
looka than ono which Is enreiossly
and untidily done And thoro la moro
In It than a moro pleasing of tho eye.
A well-clipped lot ot Bheop, because
of their nttractlvo appoaranco, will
uring, as a rulo, an appreciably high
er prico man another lot dono In n
slovenly manner: this ninv ft-nmiimtH
bo Boon In tho caso of clipped hoggs
'inero is also no loss or wool In tho
former caso; in tho lattor, too muoh
Is frequently loft on tho ridges, and
tills, of course, reduces tho weight of
ileoco.
Tho uso of clipping mnchlnos In
stead of hand-shears has mado, us
yot, llttlo hoadway In tho north; but
moro nttontlon Is being given to thu
Idoa year by year. On somo of thu
lnrgor farma, ono or porhaps two
hand-driven machines aro to ho found;
noiio la powor driven, if mnohlnoa
como Into gonernl uso It will bo bo
causo of thedllllculty of llndlng casual
cllppora rather than for reasons ol
economy, Tho farmers do not nntlcl
pnto any great saving of oxpenso by
tho uso of machlnoB; thoy sny that
ono man with a machine driven by n
lad or woinnn worker will not got
through moro than tho number which
two good men could clip that Is to
cay, about sixty por day. Whon tho
woinnn's wago Ib added to tho coat
of cleaning, oiling, repairing and do
proclatton of tho machine and Is sot
ngalnst tho out-of-pocket oxponsos In
curred undor existing circumstances
by a big farmer, thero can bo llttlo
saving by tho now method. For It Is
to ho romomberod, nB stated previous
ly, that most of tho clipping Is al
ready dono by pormanont Horvnnta,
whoso wages havo to bo paid anyhow,
from CO pullets nnd 12 yearling Rhode
Island hens sho sold last yoar oggs to
tho amount of $202.02, not counting
tho eggB used in a family of four.
Feed, advertising, etc., cost ?9L77
.making a gain of $1 07.85. Theso hens
laid 8,745 eggs.
To havo tho chlckenB innturo rapid
ly a proper typo of breeding fowl
should bo obtulnod. This typo consists
of fowls ot modlum slzo and brond and
blocky In ahnpo, like tho Plymouth
Rock aud Wyamlottoa. Tho chickens
Bhould bo frequently fed, and a sulll
dent qunntly of food given each tlmo
to satisfy them.
Sugar as a Finishing Feed. A hord
of IB Dlack Angus cattle which was
awarded first prlzo at tho Chicago In
ternational Stock show, and which was
sold at $17 por hundred pounds llvo
weight, was fattened on a rntlon which
Included molasses. Desldos pasture
feed, corn und oats, tho owner fed
during tho last month a mixture of oil
meal and oats, to which was added n
sprinkling of molasses. It was found
that tho molnsses added a glossiness
to tho hides and Improved tho appear
ance of tho animals In ovory way.
Alfalfa Seed. Alfalfa seeds rosem
bio thoso of rod clover In bIzo, but dif
fer lu not being so uniform In shape.
Tho color Bhould bo light ollvo green
or greonlsh yellow. Darkened, dlscol
orod and shriveled seed should bo dis
carded, aa Ita germinating powor is
low. Plump, woll-matured seed pro
duco moro plants and stronger plnnta
than do tho small aud Immature,
