TJii DAILY HEKALl), .FLATTSMCiUTn. wcnnnonA. HATURPA Y. APRIL 7. 18.
f
,.p: ,JN DUTCH HOUSES. L
THE WAR WHICH A PEASANT WO-
MAN MAKES AGAINST DUST.
XaUraatlag Study of a "Dutch Interior.
Bow LMandry Work la Don In IIol
iHd Servant A Strang Custom.
Food and Cooking.
Had Lady Maclwth lived In Holland, that
Mdainned pot' would bav been out in five
minute. Nothing, not even it, could atand
against a Dutch cleaning woman. Bhe is
Irresistible. Look how she ia armed. Glance
at her weapon. Cloths and chamois, brooms
and brushes, scrubbing brushes for the floors,
hair brushes for the wainscots, feather
brushes for the walls, tooth brushes for the
corner, geese wings for the stoves, bens
feathers for cleaning out the key holes, small
ticks of wood for poking out any unhappy
particle of dost which may have got into the
cracks of the floor, white pasta for the win
dows, red pasta fer the hearth stones, Vmery
for the steel, and several other pastes and
polishes as the occasion may require. These
are the Implements a Dutch peasant woman
uses to clean out her cottage home. Dust is
her natural enemy, she is born into the world
to fight it, it is her mission, and she does no
more than her mother and f oremothers have
dona before her. No wonder that such a
home training turns out an exceedingly high
class of domestic servant; and yet, the Dutch
mistress grumbles. Buch is life.
DUTCH IXTKIUOX.
A "Dutch interior," . from a housekeeper's
aa well as an artistic point of view, is a most
lnterestuis: stud v. It is ona thinsr to know a
. ping at the best hotels, visiting ail points of
Interest, taking careful notes by pen and
Saother exnerience and fullv as intervKtinir
to live among its people as one of themselves
to see how they live and think, manage and
eat; when they are conscious no looker on is
. by. and that they need not adapt themselves
to any stranger's custom or fancy. This
latter has been my good luck to experience,
and I can truthfully say that there are no
cleaner, more hospitable, kind hearted, do
mestic people in the world than the Dutch.
I mention "cleaner" first because with them
4t comes flni, -r IV hat would become of a
"'. ' Dutch woman, fcfc ia-'world where there is no
" 'dust is a subJocV for conjecture, and though
I look upon my visit to Holland as part of
the happiest time in my life, still my sincere
, - iwiw mm uo m -rvaa aa ivuim Mini uvtvi
TUit me. I could never live up to their idea
as rnanHn awrsr tha tnanfo I zf ia in nrriii 11
great -
, . . Washing is not done weekly-as in America,
bat allowed to accumulate for weeks, some
times even longer, an unhealthy custom ; but
in this as in many othor respects the Dutch
in K n r-rl 1 v Vmi fnl1jfcl t plAnn nntirm frnm
hygienic point of view. With them it is dust,
dust, tnd again dust.
Often the underservants such as scullery
maid, nurse maid, etc, do not sleep in the
bouse. This gives more space and room for
the family. These girls come in by the day,
sleeping at their own homes at night. All
servants in Holland dress extremely neatly,
generally In lilac print dresses, white muslin
caps, and large white aprons;
The same dress is worn in the street as in
the bouse. . If the weather ia cold, a shawl is
thrown over the shoulders. They do a good
deal of the household shopping. It must bo
indeed delightful for the Dutch mistress to
have Betsey Jane all ready dressed to run her
little errands, instead of having to wait an
hour or more while Betsey Jane curls her
"bane and bedecks herself with chean finerr.
This a good arrangement for maid as well as
mistress, for with the former it breaks the
monotony of the daily round, gives her a lit
tle blow of fresh air, besides the opportunity
of a slight flirtation with the butcher's boy
or the green grocer's assistant.
A HOUSEHOLD CUSTOJC
A strange household custom in Holland
Is the custody of the "guest money" by the
mistress. Each guest is, as In England, ex
pected to fee the bouse servants. In Hoi
. land, this money Is at once handed by the
,. recipient to the lady of the bouse, who at
'certain seasons of the year such aa Christ-
mas and fatter, divides it equally among
all her staff. Not a bad plan when ona
thinks it over, but rather startling at first to
the guest.
And now for Dutch food. All food is
arood in Holland, all coo kin a: excellent, beef
and mutton even Deuer tnan in .England,
vegetables in abundance. Butter is very
good and plentiful and is used without stint,
v. but everything ia spoiled by being served
- cold.' Rich dishes which would be most ap
petising were they eaten piping hot, become
repulsive, indigestible masses of grease
when served from a cold dish on a atone cold,
plate. During the whole of my stay in Hol
land I never once saw a dish covered or a
plate heated.
Cakes are a specialty with tha Dutch.
Each town has one or more of its own, and
it was interesting to trace the ancestry of
many of our American ones. Waffles met
- me at a kermes at The Hague. The koekje,
which is to be found all over Holland and is.
in fact, the Dutch word for "little cake," ia
;. actually and etymologically the ancestor of
tha New England cookie. Doughnuts I met
everywhere, though I cannot imagine from
where they got their ugly name of "dough
nut." Ia Holland they are called spritsen,
and in French Canada, where they are a
aort'bf national cake, they are known by tha
same of croquignoles, and sometimes beig
net, which latter nam is simply the French
for fritter. I imagine that Ja ona way and
another wa owe a good deal of our cooking
to Holland. J. E. Brooks in Good House
keeping. The Zulus' Military tactic.
The 3uius are a war like race, and tlifljr rv
, cent record in the war with England showed
j ' them to have an" instinctive knowledge of'
military tactics best suited to their arms and
themselves. For ages they have held their
r -vows against the other tribes, and rose to their
higher point of power .under the rule of the
terrible Tchaka.
Jbj, the native .fights each man throws his
assagais at his enemy, catching his opponent's
en his shield, if possible, then throwing them
back again. Tchaka had his soldiers' assagais
cut nearly through at the basg, of the shaft,
so that although still strong enough to kill a
man they would break if caught upon the
shield or ground, or .upon the man falling
with one in his body; this expedient placed
all the sound assagais in the bands of bis own
men, who then rushed upon their foes stab
bing them without mercy.
A curious fact is that over 2,000 years bo
, ore Marina, the Roman, in his war with
Cimbri," did very-nearly the same' thing.
Their javelin, called pilum, had the rivet
farthest from -he point removed and a
wooden peg inserted just strong enough to
carry it in its flight. Tchaka also invented
: the abort or stabbing assagai, and introduced
: the trick of receiving the enemies' secend
Cre which exhausted their assagais, and theu
' Charging home with their deadly short one.
v 1 , Lrn 1
. xm minimij iuu every man wiiu niu
wounded in the back, or who failed to retain
s near and shield after tha batX TaTiJ.
PENAL SERVITUDE.
THE STORY A CONDEMNED MAN
TOLD AN AMERICAN.
The Miseries of Prolonged Imprisonment
la a Siberian Dungeon The Growing
Fear of Inamnlty Lou of Setf-Control.
Scarvy Suicide.
You cannot imagine the misery of pro
longed coiiflnenient in a casemate of tbe
fortress under what are known as dungeon
conditions (kartaernoi polozbenie). My case
mate was sometime cold, generally damp,
and always gloomy. Day after day, week
after week, and month after month, I lay
there in solitude, hearing no sound save that
of the high pitched, melancholy bells of tne
fortress cathedra), whii-h slowly chimed the
quarter hours, and which always seemed to
me to half articulate tbo words, "Tee cdAij
aeedesh ee aeodee tee." (Here thou liest lio
here still). 1 had absolutely nothing to do
except to pace my cell from corner to corner
and think. For a long timo 1 used to talk to
myself in a whinper; to repeat softly every'
thing in the shape of literature tbut I could
remember, and to compose speeches, which,
under certain imagined conditions, I would
deliver; but I finally ceased to have energy
enough to do even this, and used to sit for
hours in a sort of stupor, in which, so far as
1 can now remember, 1 was not conscious of
thinking at alL
WEAK. MENTALLY AifD PHYSICALLY.
Before the end ot the first year I grew so
weak mentally and physically that 1 began
to forget words. 1 knew what ideas I de
sired to express, but some of the words that
I needed had gone from mo, and it was with
the greatest difficulty that I could recover
them. It seemed sometimes as if my own
language were a strange one to me, or one
which, from long disuse, 1 had forgotten.
I greatly feared insanity, and my appre
hension was increased by the fact that two
or three of my comrades in cells on the same
corridor were eitber insane or subject to hal
lucinations, and I was often roused at night
and thrown into a violent chill of nervous
excitement by their hysterical weeping, their
cries to the guard to come and take away
somebody, or something, which they im
agined they saw, or their groans and en
treaties when, in cases of violent delirium,
they were strapped to their beds by the
gendarmes. My inability to so what was
happening in tbe cells from which these
groans, cries and sounds of violence came
gave full play, of course, to my imagina
tion, and thus increased my nervous excite
ment, until 1 was on the verge of hysterics
mvsolf.
Several times, when I feared, that I was
losing all self control, I summoned the fort
ress surgeon, or the "feldsher, who merely
gave me a doso of bromide Of potassium and
told me tbut 1 must not excite myself so;
that nothing Serious had happened; that two
or three ot tbo prisoners were sick and deliri
ous; but that there- was nothing to be
alarmed about. A? tbe fortress contained 110
hospital, insane and delirious patients were
treated in their cells, and were rarely re
moved to an asylum unless tbey were mani
festly incurable, or the care of them became
burdensome. ' Tbe effect of the eternal still
ness, solitude, and lack of occupation on tbe
mind was greatly heightened by tbe want of
proper exercise and nourishment for the
body. "Accused" prisoners awaiting trial
in tbe Trubetskoi bastion were allowed to
have money in tbo hands of the "smatritol,"
or warden, and could direct its expenditure
for white bread, vegetables, tea, sugar, eta,
to make up tbe deficiencies of tbe prison ra
tion; but we, the "condemned," had to live
ujKn black rye bread, soup which it was
often impossible to eat on account of the
spoiled condition of the meat from which it
had been made, and a small quantity ot
"kasha," or barley, boiled with a little fat
and served without seasoning, and sometimes
only half cooked. 4
ATTACKED BY SCURVY.
Such food, in connection with the damp,
heavy air of the casemate and tbe lock of
proper exercise, caused derangement of the
digestive organs, and this was soon followed
by more or less pronounced symptoms of
scurvy. Madame Lebedeva, who was in the
penal servitude section with me, suffered
from scurvy to such an extent that her teeth
became loose and her gums greatly swollen,
and she could not masticate the prison bread
without first soaking it in warm water.
Scurvy, even in an incipient form, intensi
fied, of course, the mental depression due
primarily to other causes and made it almost
insupportable. I never seriously meditated
suicide it always seemed to me a cowardly
thing to escape suffering by taking one's own
life but I did speculate upon the possibility
of suicide, and wondered how I could kill
myself in a casemate where there was abso
lutely nothing that could be used as an Im
plement of self-destruction.
Once I went so far as to see if I could hang
myself from tbe small cylindrical hot air
pipe which projected two or three inches into
my cell from the face of the brick oven. I
did not really intend to take my life, but I
felt a morbid curiosity to know whether or
not I could do it in that way, As soon as
threw my weight on tbe pipe, it pulled out
tho masonry, making, as it fell to the floor,
noise which attracted the attention of the
guard in the corridor. I was forthwith re
moved to another cell, and I never agaic
tried a similar experiment. They say that
poor Golden berg succeeded in committing
suicide in the fortress, but I cannot imagine
how he accomplished it. I became satisfied
that I couid not kilj myself in my caseunate
in any other way than by biting into ao
artery or dashing my bead against tbo wall,
and I ultimately became so vrea that J doubt
very much whether 1 could have fractured
iny skull by the latter method. George Ken
nan, in The Century.
The Parisians Off-band Manner.
In place of their old flowery language,
Parisians have of late years adopted an off
hand manner (running to the xtr9me as is
so often the case), a manner which tbey are
kxud enough .to call English or American.
Still," there are bounds which must never be
overstepped, and a certain degree of formal
ity is always demanded in the intercourse
between tbe sexes before the world, what
ever tbey may "be behind the social scene A
Frenchman always bows when greeting a
lady, even when he shakes hands with her.
His bow may or may not be perfection; Lis
"shake band' U almost always awkward
To style it a "shake" at all is straining a
point Tbe hand is taken and as quickly let
go again as it it were of ice and there were j
omtiiloraklj tor.r rt malt.inr it. Vnr uinM
years it Las been the vogue for tbe lady ot
the house to offer ner hand to all somen
even quite young men -whom this piece of
condescension sometimes - embarrasses ex
tremely, tbey having their thumb neatly
enscoo;ei between the fold of their gibus.
Having joined bands with their hostess,
there is an end of it: tbe other ladies of
their acquaintance who happen to be in the
room do not "get nor expect mora than tha
bow simple. Paris Corr Argonaut. '..
VltiAtoan tlmnMnd mAra THxTltnAl
their native land last year than In the year t
before. 1
FARM AND GARDEN.
PROTECTION OF CHERRIE3 AND
OTHER FRUITS FROM BIRDS.
Remedies Suggested for the Appl Boot
Louse Facts About Guernsey Cattle.
Trellis and Arbor Suited to Fast Grow
ing Vines.
Farmers are often puzzled as to the
style of arbor or trellis best suited to
vines of rapid growth. The trellis shown
in tbe cnt is of simple construction, and
is advised by Farm, Field and Stockman
for grape vines, along with other sorts.
TRELLIS AKD ARBOR.
The journal qnoted from says that
grape vines planted at intervals of twelve
feet, alternating on each side so that
plants may not come opposite, will com
pletely cover the trellis and arbor over
head and at the same time bear full loads
of fruit if annually shortened in to pre
vent too (rreat elongation of the main
vines,. The leading shoots should be cut
back annually to about six feet, and the
spurs to two buds each. If grapes are not
desired any good climber may be substi
tuted, And in this case, after the trellis is
fully covered, all that will bo necessary
will be to keep down too rampant growth.
The posts rest on stones sunk a little
into the ground. The posts may be of
any desired size of timber. Cup pieces
connect them along each side, and crops
pieces join the opposite posts. "Wire is
used for the lattice work.
The Production of Apples.
No farmer who has tho land to spare
should be deterred from setting out an
apple orchard of good fruit by the fear of
no market, or, in other words, overpro
duction. The population is constantly in
creasing, and the apple is the king of
American fruits, sougp. for everywhere,
and only in exceptional cases and limited
districts is there in any year such an ex
cess over the demand as to render an
orchard of good fruit unprofitable. As
many as CO, 000 barrels of American apples
li.iv been sold in London in a single week,
and the demand for them is steadily in
creasing. And England is only one of the
many countries to which they are sent.
The manufacturers of pure vinegar in
this country also make a market for an
immense amount of the more common
varieties. The fear of apple growing be
ing overdone has been entertained by
some people, from time to time, for as
many as forty years back; nevertheless a
good orchard has continued to be a good
thing to have, and it is quite safe to pre
dict that it will be the same hereafter for
first class apples of good keeping qualities.
The amount exported to other countries
has grown to such an extent that it in
stated that the value of it is almost equal
to one-seventh of the estimated merchan
dise value of the whole amount produced.
Protection Against Birds.
Every season innumerable contrivances
are invented aud employed to frighten
birds away from cherry laden trees and
other fruits. The one represented in the
cut was originally suggested in Popular
Gardening, and, it is claimed, has been
found effectual.
MONSTER OF THE AIR.
As will be seen on examining the cut,
this is an improvement over the potato
stuck with feathers, to which the birds
soon become accustomed, finding it not
possessed of life. For the body of tbe
monster take a long mangel wurtzel, a
large parsnip, or a mammoth beet. Into
this thrust feathers along what ia to be
the back and sides, with two set in the
head for horns. For the tail, the feathers
are mounted on light twigs, the object of
this being to keep the suspended monster
lively by turning with the wind. The
eyes are important parts for giving a life
like appearance. These consist of two
bits of broken porcelain, thrust into the
root from the top downward, and with
eye boles gouged out of the sides to these.
Two small spin wheels are projected
forward of the eyes, to add horror to the
look. They are made of circular pieces
of tin, about four Inches across. These
are cut from the edge to near the center
into about ten or more radiations, and the
parts given a slight twist, windmill like.
A wire nail throueh the center attaches
each wheel to the end of a stick, and on
this it should revolve in every slight
breeze.
For suspending it, a cord which en
circles the body is carried up to one end of
a half hoop shaped iron rod, the other end
of which is bolted to n pole that is raised
slightly above one of the trees to be pro
tected. Then the monster bobs about aud
turns with the wind, the spin wheels fly
and clatter,' and altogether there is a
dreadful look to strike terror to evil doing
birds, even those disposed to boldness.
Apple Root IiOuse.
In the last annual renort of the 2few
Jersey State Horticultural ' society, along
with much other matter of practical im
portance, is a communication on the apple
root louse from Mrs. Mary Treat, Vine-
land, N. J. This communication is- of
very general Interest, for the root lice are
far more destructive to vegetation than
are those that innaDic tne stems ana
caves. Following are some of the state
ments mode, in condensed form:
The root louse increaser even more
rapidly than do plant lice, and when
ready to migrate they know enough to go
to new pastnres to found ' olonies on apple
trees not before inhabited by their pre
decessors. " For the last twenty years a
woolly plant louse has been known to
infest the roots of apple trees, causing
swellings and deformations of almost
every possible shape, and, when very
numerous, killing the tree.
Although the insect usually confines it
self to tbe roots of the tree, yet a few may
be occasionally found on the suckers that
spring up around the bntt of the trunk,
and even on the trunk and limbs, especi
ally in places where the branch has been
amputated and nature is closing up the
old wound by a circle of bark.
When It works upon the naked trunk it
often causes a mass of little granulations
to sproHt out about the size of cabbage,
seeds, thus producing, on a small scale.
the sam) eZeottaat it does c?o& te roots.
Wherever the insect works, small as it la,
it may easily be recognized by the pecul
iarly blutah white cottony matter which it
excretes from it body and which is nnver
met with in the case of the common npple
tree plant louse that inhabits the leaves
and tips of twigs. Fortunately, there are
two or three natural checks to this jest,
or it would soon destroy all the trees.
The nine spotted lady bug is one of these.
As for artificial remedies, Professor
Riley says: "The best mode to get rid of
the apple root louse is to drench the roots
of the infested tree with hot water. Hut
to render this process effectual the water
must be applied in quantities large enough
to penetrate to every part of the infested
roots." Professor Comstock says that
the root lice thrive in a dry, porous soil.
Mrs. Treat therefore recommends that.
as a heavy, damp soil does not aree with
these pests, the earth around the crown
of the tree be kept hollowed into a sort of
basin, in order that the water may collect
there.
No tree can War knots and excres
cences on its roots such as these lice make
and bear good apples at the same time,
for the main part of the sap and nourish
ment of the tree goes to support the galls
which these creatures produce.
Successive Planting; of Peas.
Peas should be planted as early as the
ground will admit, in a rich, deep soil,
for a vigorous growth and large produc
tion. Several successive plantings should
be made at short intervals to secure suc
cessive pickings through the season. The
same result can be obtained to some de
gree by planting at the same time varieties
that have earlier and later nor!"'!-; fr r'-"
ening. From the many excellent kinoa
offered by seedsmen choose the ones most
to your liking, and follow tho directions
as to planting aud cultivation that are giv
en on the packets. The wrinkled peas
are more delicate in flavor - and remain
longer in scasou than the smooth sorts,
and there are many to select from that do
not require support from brush.
Petroleum as a Wood Preservative,
As a preservative of wood, hardly any
thing better than petroleum is known, as
many persons have realized, and more are
finding out every day, and its cheapness
makes it available for purposes for which
no substitute of the same cost can bo
found. It can be applied to advantage on
unpninted posts, gates, shingles, etc.,
greatly increasing their durability, but
should not be used with colors as paint,
for it does not dry and harden well, but
wood, where it has been applied, can
afterward be painted more easily than if
it had not been used.
Tho Capacity of a Tl.-irn for TIay.
The exact weight of a body of hay can
not be ascertained by measurement, vary
ing as it will according to the kind of hay
and the length of time it has been packed
away. The rule is to measure the snace3
to be filled with hay and multiply the
length by the width and that by the depth.
all in feet, then divide by 500, which is
the number of cubic feet commonly taken
to represent a ton of average hay. Some
times, owing to quality and condition, 400
cubic feet will weigh a ton, when in ether
cases 000 may be reqcired.
Pure Water for Fowls.
It is of great importance in keeping
fowls in a healthy condition that they
should have access to no water that is not
pure. Leakings from the manure heap.
water from the kitchen sink or slop holes
in the yard are all unwholesome, as is
stagnant water of any kind. Drinking
vessels should be easily accessible at all
times and supplied, with water that is
pure and fresh, Tin, galvanized iron or
earthen drinking vessels may be used,
and should be thoroughly cleansed and
rinsed out whenever refilled.
Hasglag Tomatoes
All have heard of bagging grapes as a
preventive of mildew and rot. Progres
sive men who have tried the bags on to
matoes say that the tomatoes thus covered
were so delicate in color, so very smooth
aud perfect that members of the house
hold diil not, upon first seeing them.
know what they were, sowwe hear of
perfect specimens of pears and plums
raised in this way. It would not pay in a
money sense to do such work, but it
might well serve to delight and instruct
the little folk,
The Guernsey.
The Guernseys, one of the several types
of dairy cattle represented in the herds of
this country, are nearly allied to the more
popular Jerseys, and like them are great
butter producers.
GUERNSEY BULL "WOSDER OF THE WORLD."
The Guernseys make n fine show not
only in the herd, but in the exhibition
ring, being beautiful animals, pciaert'iia'i
larger than the Jerggya and jnore nnifprni
in eoloju ' " ' ' ' ! '"'
Numbered with remarkable specimens
of this breed is the famous cow Jolie 2d,
Imported by Mr. J. W. Fuller, of Cataso
qna,Pa.,who won first prize as the best cpw
in the island of Guernsey in She is
considered one of the best among milk
cows of this breed in tnis country. A
noticeable characteristic is the extreme,
yellowness of her skin.
In the annexed illustration is given a,
true likeness of another prominent Gnenu
Bey, the bull "Wonder of the World,'
imported by E. N. Howell, Poughkeepsie,
N. Y. At the last New York dairy and
cattle show this animal was awarded the
first prize for the best bull over 1 and
under 2 years old. He is pale fawn and
white with a rich colored skin.
Things Farmers Tell One Another.
Mr. M. B. Faxton advises that parsnip
seed be planted early, and when well up
thinned to six inches apart.
Never allow potatoes to throw off
sprouts in an over warm cellar; it weakens
vigor, says Mr. Alfred Rose, the veteran
potato grower.
Mr. J. H. Hale, Connecticut, says that
peach trees that have been annually aud
heavily banked with wood ashes to keep
out the borers have been tnore free from
yellows than those not so protected.
To have sweet corn for a succession
Mr. E. S. "Cannon advises, first, either
Cory or Northern Pedigree, then Shoker's
Early or Perry's Hybrid, then Moore's
Concord, Triumph-orHir-9ryf then Stow
eli's Evergreen, Moomo.2i or Egyptian.
The Plattsmouth Herald
To enjoying a
DASSilT AND WEBSLT
EDITIONS.
Tke Tear 1888
Will be one during which the subject of
national interest and importance will be
strongly agitated and the election ofv
President will take place, 'ihe people f
Cass County who would like to learn of
Political, Commercial
and Social Transactions
of this year and would keep apace with
the tinies should
-JTOR
Daily or Weekly Herald.
Now while we have the subject before the
people we will venture to tpeak ot our.
Which is first-class in all respects and
from which our job printers are turning
out much satisfactory work.
PLATTSMOUTH,
Boom in botn ito
EITIIEK THE-
NEBRASKA.
l IT if Ini U uvyilluvJ U a
