Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Sioux County journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1888-1899 | View Entire Issue (June 24, 1897)
Road in Missouri. According to the statement of the President of the Missouri Good Honda Association the people of that State spout $490,000 during IMXi for road im provement, while It cost them Just 00,000 for road supervisors. In other words. It cost the State $1,000,000 dur ing the year for $490,000 worth of road Improvement Broad Tread Wagona. A law lias been prepared in Rhode Island forbidding the use of wngoiw with narrow tires on the public roads of that State. This Is an excellent re quirement, and while in the beginning It may Work hardship upon individuals it will iu the end be to the advantage of all. A heavily loaded wagon with nar row tires is bud for roads at any time, but In tbe 'springtime, when the frost in coming out of the ground, it Is ruinous. These narrow wheels cut through the "metal" on the macadam road and necessitate constant and expensive re pairs. There Is no law in Maryland against uarrow tires, but In some of the counties they huve been driven out by a better method. After the war the State was filled with army wagons which the farmers had bought at gov ernment' auctions. They had narrow tires, and In Washington, and perhaps other counties, it was found they were ruining the turnpike roads. Rates of toll were so adjusted that the narrow tires had to pay much more and farm ers soon found that It was too expen sive to own them. It was also found that the wide tires on ordinary roads are much lighter draft and in that re spect, also are more economical. It Is said that at this time a wagon tire less than four or six Inches wide la rarely seen In Washington County. The Good Koada Movement. A review of the progress of the good roads movement in this country which comprises part of the paer on the sub ject read by S. T. K. Prime before county farmers' institutes In Illinois shows a hearty, co-operation of all In eresfs towards making the desired Im provement. Hut Mr. Prime has found, after extended Investigation, that most communities do not take advantage of the opportt.ultles they possess for per manently remedying the bad road evil, but content themselves with "make shifts" In the way of work to make roads passable after storms and waste In discussion time and energy that should be devoted to action. This Is especially the case In Illinois, In tin; opinion of Mr. Prime, and there is no reason why the roads of the State should not 1h nearly jKirfect, since cheap brick, stone, and gravel can be obtained In abundance. Mr. Prime points out that the first re quisite, of any good road is thorough drainage. This principle, which has leen used to reclaim thousands of acres of UimJ, liaa latterly leen applied also to roads with the same licneflcent re sult. Hut next to tile drainage ns a neeessury adjunct of tlio good roads, Mr. Prime places the road'seraper. lie says: "If your road Is tile drained, after the rain is over Just as soon as you are able to get on the road scrape your road and till up the ruts and you will have no trouble alwut Impassable roads. The more you scrape the roads the harder they get, and when the rain falls and beats upon them they shed the water almost as easily and quickly as a duck." Mr. Prime treats the subject from a Jwoad standpoint and recognizes that farmers are not the only persons who have suffered and do suffer from bad roads. He has learned that the resi dents of vllluges and the cities are equally concerned in the Improvement of the highways, but with that appre ciation af the broadened scope of the subject he makes a plea for a more equitable division of the burden of ob taining the good roads. He urges a general State tax, with the counties and villages both contributing their propor tions and the farmers being the last to 1) levied upon. The changes of tlio last dozen years, he shows, have made the farmer really less dependent on the good roads than the dwellers In the thickly settled communities. The fanner now sells his grain for "future delivery," and "all he has to do is to go to his warehouse, sell his grain for whatever month he wishes It to be de livered In, and he has from sixty to ninety days iu which to make the de livery." Referring to this custom, Mr. .Prime says: . "Before this new rder of things was In general use, constant grain traffic, when (he roads were bad, cut them up, almost destroyed them, and made our roads Impassable; this is almost now practically done away with. Ten or fifteen years ago, any one, who would have made such a statement ns this, and prophesied that In the near future we should market our grain under such conditions, would have been laughed at and ridiculed. Tbla new order of things, In my mind, altera almost en tirely the waya and means to which, and through which, we must ultimately reach the general Improvement of our country muds. The burdens which In Um Urn referred to were put upon tin farmer ought now to be divided up and spread over the entire State." .Mr. Prime does not forget the cyclists when be allots the credit for the work that has Is-cn dune Iu obtaining good roads. He pays them this well-deserved tribute: "I firmly believe there Is no class of the community to-day to whom the country at large Is more Indebted for the educational, legislative, and prac timl progress which has been made during the last four or five years along the line of good roads than to the cyclists. It does not make any differ ence what they want good roads for, they have a laudable, commendable, public - splriteduess which prompts them In all their work, and there is every prospect to-day that the oldest of them will live to see their fondest hopes more than realized." In speaking of the work that has been done In this State Mr. Prime asserts that "Illinois owes Its thanks very largely If not exclusively to the rail roads of this State, which twenty years ago came forward and encouraged tile drainage, and when tile factories were scarce hauled tile to nearly every por tion of the State at the bare cost of transjortation." It Is reassuring to find an expert like Mr. Prime taking such a hopeful view of the future of the good road movement. He makes plain, however, that It will be neces sary for all to lend a helping hand. Chicago Tribune. A Fortune In Any of the Following. A perfect and cheap Insulator for electric wires for one thing. Iu a nailless horsewhoe that will not contract the hoof. Iu a hand seed planter, adjustable Ibr all kinds of seed. A safety mailing envelope that costs no more than the ordinary one. Iu a street car fender of such merit as to induce general adoption. A device for opening and lighting street lamps from the ground. In a snow melting device for clear ing sidewalks and street air tracks. A cheap bat holder, both of men and women from blowing off. An artificial building or paving block, equal to and cheaper than dressed stone. An effective fog signal to prevent ships running aground or coming In collision. An effective tire tightener, to be op erated without removing the tire from the wheel. In a cheap and effective carpet stretcher and nailer combined, that will not tear the carpet A collar fastener In place of the col lar button that w.ll allow of different sized collars being worn. Iu a perfect device for sharpening calks of horseshoes without removing the shoe from the hoof. . In a cheap thermal fire alarm, to be 'placed In dwellings, that will uner ringly give an alarm at any abnormal Increase of beat. A device for cooling the atmosphere of railway cars by fans operated by wind-wheels extending through the roof of the car. In a coal wagon that will deliver the coal from the side of Hie wagon, and thus avoid the blocking of narrow streets while unloading. In an adjustable rack or device for displaying different classes of good In "show windows." "Window dressing" is now a recognized profession, and there are a lot of show racks, but none seem to quite fill the bill for all purposes. Not Long k)noagh. ' People who expect persons of brain to be willing to serve them ui a menial capacity continue to have trouble with their servants. A certain man hired a valet and the very next morning sent Mm to a closet to fetch a pair of shos. Tlie valet returned presently with two shoes. "Stupid!" said the master. "Thesa are two rights!" The valet took the shoes and went liack to the closet. After a few mo ments he canto back with the same shoos and said: "I'm sorry, sir, but the other pair In there are both lefts." This Is matched by the experience of the lady with her new makl. "Mary," she said to the girl, "take this tape line and measure the width of your room. I am going to give you a ' new carpet." . In a few minutes the girl came down looking perplexed. j "I'm sorry, mum," she said, "but I can't measure the room." "Why not?" "The tape Isn't hung enough." Too Kelt nod and Too Late. She kissed the old man, says an ex change; she showered upon him kisses 11 nd tears. She told all the people how good be was. I thought If she had only given two of those kisses a quarter for the la ten years how the tender-hearted old gentleman would have smiled through his tears. But now he took it all very coolly. He was dead. He wu old and poor, and she was young and rich. Hhe had ten rooms, but no roora for father. Yet he had made room for her when he had only two. Tha "old mflTi" was not educated. Hhe warn, at his exjs'nse. He had fed and clott ed her for twenty years at home and at college, until she had risen Into roora "refined aud cultured society," and married among them, The old people's dress and dialect were too coarse. Sha kissed him, and burled him in a beau tiful coffin. "Hear father" Is to have a costly marblo monument A warm kiss while living Is better than cold marble when d;ad. Without a Contaat. Preacher The meek shall Inherit the earth. Bcoffer Yea; the graveyards are full of them. Brooklyn Life. We would rather be a fat man than a fat woman. Cnltivator Follower. Cultivating the growing crops Is high ly conducive to growth, but In times of dry weather there is an enormous evap oration from the soil that has Just been stirred by the broad teeth of a cultiva tor, the land being left In loose ridges. Some advocate hanging a board be hind to drag the surface of the earth down smooth. This has a tendency to pack the surface, which Is not deslr- able. Hang the lxmrd as shown in the cut and insert in the lower edge a row of forty-penny wire nails, removing the heads. This will leave the surface smooth and level, but loose, so that the air and sunshine can enter, while at night the moisture-lnden air will enter, the moisture will condense as it is cooled by the ground, and so will re main In the soil. -Orange Judd Farmer. Fair Farmer. Well, why shouldn't fanners' girls study agriculture? Is there any good reason why the State should provide for the education of the fanners' boys and allow the girls to get their training wherever they can? Wouldn't it be a good thing to Introduce coeducation at the agricultural colleges? TheseHies tlons may have been raised before now, but we do not think they have been adequately discussed. Perhaps there has not been sufficient demand on the part of the country girls for an agricul tural education. It may be that they are too desirous to leave the farm to think of preparing themselves for wo man's work on the farm. Minnesota lias a girl's school of agri culture, said to be the only one in the' country. It has been 'established for many years, and the results are men tioned with pride by the Minnesota pa pers. The students receive instruc tions iu cooking, canning, fruit and flower culture, dairying, household chemistry, entomology and sewing, and the farmer who gets one of these well trained girls for a wife Is very fortun ate. Any one can see how a woman educated in agricultural pursuits to which she Is adapted may make herself very useful and very contented on the farm. Exelia nge. l-hcd for a Silo. In building a silo outside of a barn in some localities it will be necessary to provide some means of protecting It from the extreme cold. This may cheaply be done by means of a cover shed, an outline of which is shown in an illustration from Country Gentlo man. The space lietween its walls and the walls of the silo could be filled with straw or leaves, and thus be made to servo a double purpose, furnishing storage room and also protecting en silage. Rye Km porta. While rye Is always prone to follow wlwiit In Its fluctuations, the pvlco has be at a much greater discount than an average, one year with an other. To this must be accorded the sharp Increase In the export business, which iimountwd to nearly (1,000,000 bushels during the pant nine months compared with wily ,'$:?:i,0H bushels the sa.me period a ywir earlier. Were there any adequate outlet, however, we could spare much liuice of our annual croji, which approximates 30,000,000 bushels. It Is here seeii hat low prices help rye exports. RFatemitlze the Work. S.VKtcmatisi!in the farm work more thoroughly wl( give good result In both time and amount of work done. Ten hours a d In the Held, keeping steadily at It, except occasional storm of a minute or two to ret the hormw, with a little xrajn work will accom pllwh more In th sun of the season than fourteen hours ort aimless toll. Prunes Are Profitable. Thre ought to be much more exten sive planting of the Herman prune, We found It years ago the most paying fruit we could gnaw. It was always in good demand and at Imtter price than plums. The pruoe Is also a surer bear er than the plum, unless we may ex cept some of the new Japanese varie ties Yet, though the prune may he (Town nearly everywhere, M has been FOLI.OWKK FOK THE CLLTI VATOK. j COVKR SHED FOR SILO. planted so sparingly In the East that a large part of our supply of drti-d prun-s comes from the Pacific const States, where Its cultivation, to market 3,000 mill's east, has lieen found very prof itable. American Cultivator. Fweet Corn for Feeding. There are a good many fanners who grow sweet corn for market who do not care to grow any other kind, because having only sir.all places. If the two kinds are grown, there will be more or less mixed grains in the ear 4. What corn they cannot sell green they grind and feed to stock. The sweet corn dries down harder than will the corn whose carlsm Is starch rather than sugar. It Is also much lighter than the field com after Its surplus of water has dried out of it. Sweet corn ground with the cob makes a meal that cattle and horses are very fond of when fed with cut feed. But as its w-eight is less than the field corn meal, more must be fed to secure the same results. It is not more nutritious thitn common corn meal, If so much so, but it may be used some times to tempt the apietite of an ani mal that has bten cloyed and thus re store digestion to its normal activity. White Clover for Pasture. It is one of the advantages of rough, rocky land tluit as It cannot often be 'cultivated nor eve.r very thoroughly, the surface soil is pretty, sure to be filled with white clover seed. It is said to le natural to such land, which, means that it has so long occupied the! soli that there is plenty of seed to growj whenever It has a fair chance. It is an! excellent pasture gra.ss, as Its roots runl nesir the surface and quickly respond even to light rains, which will not re-: vlve other grasses. It is greatly helped by a dressing of gyisum. On long-cul-tlvjrted ground, especially where no clover has been thickly seeded, there will be little white clover visible. But even there It Is often ready when It gets the chance. A New Kgg Plant. While the egg plant is grown yery extensively as a market garden crop, It Is seen far too little in home gardens, and yet there is no difficulty in raising it. The main point to be olserved is that the plant is a very tender annual and has to be start ed in a hotbed or greenhouse. Many fail with it because they set out the vkarl kqg plant, plants too early. There Is no use to plant them outdoors so long as there Is any danger from frost or even so long ns the nights aire very cool, although actual frost does not occur. One-half dozen plants will be sufficient for a moderate sized fam ily. Where potted plants can be pro cured from the florist or plnnt. grower, they are far preferable to those taken up direct from the seed bed. Until re cently there has been but very little choice in varieties, the New York Im proved Purple baring leen almost the only variety raised, but now there comes the "Pearl," a white-fruited egg plant equal in size and quality to the New York Improved. The plant Is stated to be remarkably prod ictive and the fruit of the finest quality, either baked or frlod. Amoriotu Agricultur ist. Bone Hints. Being gentle with a horse will help him to be gentle. Keep the colt fat and he will make an easy-going horse. Sores on horses' shoulders are large ly the result of ill-fittlug collars. An excess of food weakens a working animal ami disables it from work. Blood, fowl, care and training are the essentials necessary for producing a first-class horse. To a very considerable extent the most costly farming Is that done with poor teams. There are few diseases to which horses are subject but are easier pre vented than cured. flood grooming does not only add to the animal's comfort, but to Its health fulness as well. Feeding a little wheat bran with the other grain will help to make the horse's hair sleek and glossy. The lcst farm horse Is the one with a kind and tractable disposition, well broken and serviceable. The farmers will always be poor who continue to raise $50 horses at an ex cuse of $100. The feed and cure necessary to raise a ptsir horse costs as much in every wny as It does for one of the best. A horse needs exercise every .day to keep his system properly regulated and make his hair to be bright and sleek. When the horse Is brought in from work he should be given a good drink; If too warm to drink he Is too jrm to eat. Knrm Notes. Changing pasturage maintain better thrift. Cultivate thoroughly whether the weeds grow or not. It Is mistaken economy not to feed young, growing pigs well. A supply of salt should Is; keit where the stock iin help themselves. Keep the teams In a good coudVtlon by feeding and grooming reguiaily. An onimal must have a good appetite If you expect stamina and constitution. The more rapidly an animal la fat toed the less quantity of food is need ed io maintain vHnllty. A thrifty fruit tree is like an animal It requires good feeding If It. makes a vigorous, steady growth. During the summer especially, aaw dust Is one of the ls-st materials that can be used for betiding for the stock In the stables. Fa rniera' Union. m www a km RECENTLY the Cuban Junta, located In New York, placed a large order for dynamite, vari ously estimated at from 50,000 to 500, 900 pounds. It was probably nearer the former than the latter figure, but even If it were the minimum amount, It would lie sufficient to tear some pretty big holes in the Spanish ranks if prop erly applied. The concern that secured this order has made lots of dynamite for the Cubans; it also supplies the needs of L'ncle Sam whenever be is in want of anything In this line. For a long time It was kept busy turning out 20,000 pounds of the stuff a day for the con tractors at the work on the Chicago Canal. In a year It turns out enough of the explosive to almost blow the earth Into smithereens. It would seem that a concern which does all this would be an imposing af fair, with a factory or series of fac tories, with numberless acres of floor space. But it is just tne reverse, auu a stranger could stand In the very cen ter of the dynamite factory and not recognize It as such. Dynamite is a peculiar commodity and it is manufactured under peculiar conditions. Uncertainty is the ruling thing about dynamite, and this domi nating feature permeates the whole es tablishment. The factory Is located at Gibbstown, N. J., a place so small and in a section of the State so sparsely set tled that the outside world would never have heard of Its existence, perhaps, were it not for the dynamite. WW 1' HUMBLE ABODE OF THE BIGGEST DYNAMITE FACTORY Its remoteness from everything was the reason of the factory being located there. A branch railroad runs into the property connecting with the principal railroads and the Delaware River. By these means the commodity Is shipped through the country aud to the sea ports. The factory spreads over a mile of j swamp laud and Is nothing more than i three-score of wooden buildings, one 'story in height and not very securely built. For the most part they look for j till the world like the run-down negro cabins of the South and are Just about 1 as handsome. They have one modern appli.lice, however, and that Is an at tnchniTnt for depriving lightning of its powers. None of these shanties Is very close to the other. Plenty of open space is a necessity when tens of thousands of pounds of dynamite are always lying around. Commercial prudence- ac counts for the cheap and scattering look of the factory. Experience has taught the owners that a single big building would lie a rash enterprise. Explosions occur once In a while, no matter liow carefully they are guarded against, and It Is an easy matter to replace the shanty, A more isitent reason is the protec tion it affords to the work people, Were all the business concentrated In one building and an explosion: occur In any one department,' the shock would cause Instantaneous upheavals through out the building, killing or maiming every one 1n the place. Several hundred people are employed In the factory. Including a doaen o men. Each and every one of them fully realb.ee the danger of their calling, and they exercise the greatest caution In performing their work. There are certain rules formulated by the com pany which' they must obey, and this m OF 15 X they are only too glad to do. One la that no matches, firearms or explosivea of any kind must le carried on the .per son. Another is that no iron or steel 1 pegs-eau le worn in the shoes. Wooden! pegs are permissible, because they are' safe. This latter rule was formulated wme years ago after one of the workmen bad stepped on a tiny piece of dyna mite, the nails of his shoe causing it1 to explode. The shock caused quite a quantity of the stuff on one of the work tables to go off, the shanty was blown up and there were some fatalitlea among the workmen. There is no need of employing special men to see that the precautionary rules are observed, as every workman is a spy upon his neighbors, for he knows that his safety depends quite aa much upon the others as upon him self. Dynamite is principally a mixture of sulphuric acid, chili saltpeter and box wood sawdust. There are a good many; other things which enter Into Its com-; position, and before it takes the shape j of the finished cartridge It paasea; through a variety of hands. There la one thing that the dynamite worker Is, thankful for, and that is that his Job; will never be usurped by machinery. ; Nearly a dozen of the shanties are; chemical houses. They are called! "safety buildings" and are used fori the storage of the many acids which. help to make dynamite what It is. One of the initiatory stages of the cartridge Is "cooking" of the dynamite gelatine. The product of the cook is nitro-glycerine. Many 'acids are poured into a big leaden tub, the most con-1 spicuous feature of which is a ther- nioinenter. One man watches the ther mometer like a hawk and adds chilled water from time to time to keep the temperature of the mixture down. Should it evince a sudden desire to rise there is nothing for all hands to do but run. ' After all the acids have been added the mixture Is allowed to stand, and .then the nitro-glycerine comes to the1 top like cream In milk. It Is skimmedl off and carried to another house, where! It Is mixed with the prepared raw ma-! terial, principally sawdust. When the coalition has lsen effected! the result, is loose dynamite, looking forj all the world like brown sugar. It Is conveyed to another, building, called the packhouse, where it is stuffed into, the cartridges. The loose dynamite ls placed In a dampened trough on a damp! table and the men fill the long narrow' tubes with the stuff, using wooden; scoops. Great care is taken that none of It, drops on the floor, as a happening1 of that kind might be the preliminary' of a big disaster. - In this room the cart ridges are packed for shipment. The women in the factory are em-i ployed In a little house given over to making the -pa per caps, for the cart ridges. As there Is no danger about tbla' work, machinery Is employed to some extent, and os a result only a dosen women are employed. As little finished dynamite la kept on the ground as possible. STock la never maintained. The dynamite la shipped off as rapidly aa It la made Into cart ridges and the burden of watching Hi passes on to otbera. What use haa a nan with walakaca for a napkin? ' ' ; :;. ,