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About Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1904)
Sfajffvention Tb liquefaction of gelatin In old mimed meats bat been found by IT. Jrtioui to be due to bacteria. Ai a ul na 1 were poisoned both by Injection tad feeding. ne conclude tbat canned tieata that tplaab on being shaken are langeroua unleaa be.!ed before use. The Harvard Observatory announce lie dlecorery, by Professor Wendell, )ta t the aaterold Iris, which wai first en In 1847. exhtblt a variation of Igbt resembling tbat of the new aster ild Eroa, wblcb w discovered In r periodic change In the light of Iris Bike place In about alx hour, and (mounts to two or three-tentlia of n nagnltude, which la much lens than ihe amount of change exhibited by (ro. A new method of producing artificial feneration Is claimed by Professor tbafer, of Edlnhurg, to be much mora tffectiv In cases of drowning and as phyxiation than any other. I'lat-lni? ihe subject In a prone position, the op tratur applies pressure with his hands a) the lower ribs, and repents this tbout thirteen times a minute by twinging himself backward and for ard. The common moving tbe sub ject' arms Is condemned as of little talue. This descriptive pbrasc U augmented y tbe grotesque appearance of an a ri tual recently added to the collection of lie New York Zoological Park, the lue !fnu. It has been said to have the tall and hind quarters of a hone, the legs of a deer, the neck and horn tf a buffalo, and a nondescript head which gives it a most fantastic look. The oddity of Its appearance Is In greased by the extraordinary posture it assumes when disturbed. It come Jroni South Africa.' The old question of the origlu of the extreme witness of the Dead Sea Ss received a new answer. William Ackroyd. after showing that the soil ind rock can have furnished but n !ractlon of . the quantity of salt that tas collected In the I lead Kea basin, proceed to argue that the most im portant source of supply of this salt V atmospheric transportation by winds trom the Mediterranean. This view he thinks Is confirmed by the fart that ihe ratio of chlorine to bromine in the Iiead Sea Is the same as in the Med tterranenn. The pcrspectartlgraph Is an Ingeu jou Instrument with which otto Klch mberger, of Geneva, makes It easy for lie amateur artist to give accurate per tpectlve to landscape", or drawing of luy objects. A folding box opens to torm a table, and near the top of Its txtcnslhle sides a telescope Is, o ' nouuted that as it Is moved alxuit In following the details of any view a Vnil l made to dravr a correspond ing line on a sheet of paper bene.ith. Crossed hairs In the telescope give pre tlalou, while the pencil Is kept upon tbe paper by sliding up and down In t suitable bolder. Beautiful drawings ire made with little or no practice, and specimen work exhibited Includes a patiora.a of the Alps and a view of Geneva. It la reported from Canadian sources that the fovernnicnt of the Province of Ontario la considering the advisability f withdrawing from sale or lease the is yet unsold nickel lands within Its territory, and reserving them for the tse of the British Imperial government Bi the manufacture of armor plate and fun. The Ontario nickel deposits, and hoe of Uie Island of New Caledonia, French penal colony in the South Pacific Ocean, are at present the world' most proline sources of nickel. The metal Is not widely distributed. Hut In Austria a process baa been dis covered for the manufacture of bronze, Which Is said to be equal to nl-kel-teel for making great guns, and the Austrian government has decided to fontinue the use of bronze Instead of tiU-kel-steel for that purpose. STORY OF STRANGE BATTLE. Aunuwar Hlaves Resist Attempt to Captnre Them by Holdiers. On Aug. 24, J H 1 (. occurred a unique itid but little known brittle, In which aithlu the Spunlsh boundary. United iui forces, with Indian allies, after the conclusion of our war with Great Britain, which we call the war of 1S12, fought against negroes using British ammunition and having, like us, Indian allies, says the Chattanooga rime. Colonel Nichols, a British command er, had built on the east bank of the Apalachlcola River (where lort (.ads Hen afterward stood) a fort for a rcf tigc for runaway negroes, that they, with Indians, might attack the frou tier settlers. It was garrisoned with British and became au Indian rendcz 4ous and fugitive negro slaves settled for some fifty miles along the river, lefying the governments of Spain and f our country, but It does not appear that they ever attacked the frontier. I After tbe war of 1812 closed the l.rltlsh withdrew their garrison, but ft the fort In possession of the lie kroes. These had Indian allies, and a Iegro, Garcia, was their leader. The hattuhoochee and Flint form the Apalachlcola at the Florida and Oeor- Ila boundary, and the fort commanded he Apalachlcola and Flint and waa I refuge for runaway slave and a hi miu ce to the border settler. It wa n a high bluff projecting Into the tlver, a deep awamp In the rear, and a reek above and below. A parapet fif teen feet blgb and eighteen feet thick tod nine piece of artillery supple heated the natural advantage. There tru ptMtjr of ammunition In the two magazine and the British bad left 3(p stands of anna. But the result showed how, feeble are such defense In the hands of men who do not know ; how to use them. ! Who were the aggressors may never ;e positively kuowD. We have only our own side of the story. Colonel Clinch, United State army, at Camp Crawford, attore, on tbe Chattahoo chee, was expecting provlaious, store and artillery from Apalachlcola Bay. and had Instructions to reduce the fort in case it opposed their passage. He atarted down stream In boat with lltt men, In two companies, under Major Muhlenburg and Captain Taylor, en countering ou tbe way a slave hunting party of Creek Indian under Major Mcintosh, ou their way to capture the negroe for their owner. These were Joined by another party, and the In dians agreed to co-operate with Clinch. Information was received that Garcia and a Choctaw chief had been down the bay and claimed to have killed some Americans and captured a boat. Clinch' force landed near the fort, the Indians were placed to prevent com munication and an irregular fire kept up, to which the liesleged replied Inef fectively with artillery. It la said that some days before some Indian chief had demanded the fort's surrender, and that the commander said he had been put In command by the British and Intended to sink any American vessel trying to pass, and would blow up Uie fort when unable to hold It, after which he had hoisted the red flag with the British Jack above. This story may have been Invented or en larged, for Americans under the cir cumstances would be dUapiKilnted at lacking an excuse for attack, and Mc intosh was on a slave hunt. The vessel below came up within four miles, a place was chosen for a battery opposite the fort, the forces of Muhlenburg and Taylor were also p!nel on the west bank, Mcintosh and the Indians with some Americans In vented the rear and on the morning of the 24th two gunboat took posltiou In front of the lottery and (ire was opened on them from a thirty-two pounder In the fort, the reply U which was so successful that speedily a hot shot exploded one of Ihe. fort's maga zines, after which the defense was Im practicable. The garrison of about 100 effectives included about twenty five Choctaw. Of the women and chil dren, over 200 In number, not more than fifty escaped the explosion. The besiegers suffered no loss. The affair reads like a fight In the Philippines. A council of Indians condemned Gar cia and the Choctaw chief to death for the previous murder of the Americans. The Spanish negro fugitives were de livered to the Spanish agent, the Amer ican to Colonel Clinch for their own ers. A Seminole party coming down the river to help the fort heard of Its fall and went home. "Fon't Forget." Many years ago, writes Thomas Bai ley Aldrlch In "Pongnog Papers," a noie. Boston publisher used to keep a large memorandum book on a table In his private office. T-Jie volume always lay open, and was In no manner a pri vate affair, being the receptacle of nothing more Important than hastily scrawled reminders to attend to this thing or the other. It chanced one day that a very young, unfledged author, passing through the city, looked in upon the publisher, who was also the editor of a famous magazine. The unfledged had a copy of verses secreted about bis person. The publisher was absent, and young Milton sat down and waited. Presently his eye fell upon the mem orandum book, lying there spread out like a morning newspaper, and almost In spite of himself be read, "Don't for get to see the binder," "Don't forget to mall B. his contract," "Don't forget H.'s proofs," and so forth. An Inspiration seized upon the youth. He took a pencil, and at the tall of this long list of "don't forgets" he wrote, "iHin't forget to accept A.'s poem." He left his manuscript on the fable and disappeared. Tbat afternoon, when the publisher glanced over his memoranda, he was not a little aston ished at the lust Item; but his sense of humor was so strong that ho did ac cept the poem It required a strong sense of humor to do that and sent the lau a check for It, although the verses remain to this day unprinted. The Ile end the Kvldenoe. Almost any clerk will take hla hat lu hand when approaching his employer, but the native clerk In India Is defer ential by nature. Tit Bits gives a char-' acterlsllc bit of baboo English written by one who wanted a holiday: "Most Exalted Sir It Is with most habitually devout expression of my most sensitive respect that I approach the clemency of your masterful posi tion with the self-dispraising utterance of my esteem, and the also forgotten-by-myself assurance that In my own inind I shall be freed from the assump tion that I am asking unpardonable do nation If I assert that I desire a short respite from my exertions Indeed, a fortnight's holiday, as I am suffering from three Ik1Ib, as per margin. "I have the honorable delight of sub scribing myself your exalted rever ence's servitor. X." Apparently the young man feared that hi bumble and touching epistle would not suffice. In the margin be had drawn a rough but graphic pic ture, howlt g the location of the three bolls "Pn ''Is own person. Iteaearch of Value. Original medical research of great ralue has been recently done by Jap anese army surgeon upon the Influ ence of Insect In spreading germ disease. A WONDERFUL WOMAN. Ida M. Tarbell, the Moat Coiwpkloo Fig-are in American Letter. Ida M. Tarbell Is the most conspicu ous figure In American letter to-day. The biographer of Lincoln and Napo leon, of Mme. d Btael and Mine. Roland and the historian of the Standard OU Com pany, hold a place unique In litera ture. Her life and tccompliibm cut i are a monument to tbe possibilities open for woman in Ida M. TAaaii.i- die present day. 8!ie I Interested In the mas condition of the world. It deaires, its necessities, Its social Inequalities. To the condi tion of the laborer, the advancement of women and the protection of children she Is devoting much of ber thought. Her leisure time i devoted to working up such historical, biographical and literary material as will best serve to influence Ihe world In the direction which she thli.k will be most bene ficial. Although born of parents who were thoroughly able to support her and who were oposed to her working, she was nevertheless convinced that per sonal freedom and individuality were to lie obtained by her own efforts, and consequently early set herself the task of earning her own living. From a farm In ICrie county. Penn., she went to Titusville, where her fath er wn engaged In the oil Industry, und she decided that she wished to fit her self to be a teacher. She graduated from the Tltusvllle high school with that Intention. Thus the historian of the Standard Oil Company was a youthful witness of its operations. Titusville was In the very heart of the oil region. Great "strikes" made great fortunes there In amazingly short time. All the hard ships of the prospectors, all the titrug gles of the producers, the troubles with the refiners and the dealings of the Rockefeller interests with the railroads were here spread dramatically before her. She spent four years at college and then went to act as preceptress of a seminary at Roland, Ohio. She did not remnin long. She did some writing for the Chautuuquan and finally became its managing editor. After six years In this work she took up historical writing. ELECTRIC CURRYING. Electric eurrjinK Is said to be the latest thing In exclusive equine cir cles, and leaders of the most pro nounced "horsey" notions and conceits are said to have decided to use no other method of cleaning In the future "Why, look a-here, young feller,' said an old horseman the other day as he addressed a New York Tribune reporter, "that there mare o' mine, an she's about ns slick as any in these parts, if I do tell It she couldn't no CTJRUYIHU BY ELECTRICITY. more git along without tbat there cur rying than she could without out. "How does It act? Well, now, here, you Just come along with me." and he led the way to the stable where two hostlers were giving a stout road horse an electric currying. To the celling were secured iwo smnll dynamos. From each long, flex ible tubes depended, and attached to each of these was a small brush, buzz lng around In a dizzying whirl, after the fashion of the buzzers which seem to the victim in the dentist's chair like overgrft-vn sawmills set at liberty, All the men hud to do was to keep moving the brushes about, and with the Invasion of each new portion of the animal's anatomy dirt and dust were -ut Hying from the hair of the horse. Both men and animal seemed to be on joying the. experience immensely. Kducatlonal Problems. The great difficulty In the business world Is to bring supply and demand together. Two advertisements, for ex ample, which have uppeured, one In Now Zealand and one lu London, seem to cry out, each forjjie other, but there they are, half u world apart. One the New inland Press rends thus: "A fulher desires the services of a trustworthy htdy to administer corpor al punishment to hU three girls tUtLte salary, references and experience. The needs of this Spartan parent are thus met by a pnrugrupb In the Stand ard: "A clergyman's widow, strict disci plinarian, gives lessons to unruly boys and girls. Advice, letter, five shillings; home consultation, six shillings six pence; corporal punishment from eight shillings slxHMice. Visits all parts, terms according to distance. Rods supplied, one shilling sixpence each." Cold anil Hwoetne. In making any mixture, for freezing It should be remembered that some sweetness Is always lost lu tbe chill ing process, and more sugar should bo added than the taste would naturally dictate. Any man who Is continually mak ing a fool of himself must be a natural born tautologlt- M"'M"t"M 1 1 1 11 1 Opinions of 144-08 8 1 1 tat t Official Corruption. Baen II B great Governments and the great munlclpal- Tltles of the world have a problem before them wblcb a yet they have not fairly faced, but which they mut face If they are to make sure y.j. in times of emergency of tbe efficiency of their agents. The growing hunger for money as the ""one absolute condition of endurable life, the increasing severity of the competition for great contracts, snd the decaying abhorrence of eulelde all tend to the de velopment of "corruption" In Its official sense, that is, of brlbe-takiug by officials, and of stealing from State and municipal department. No form of government seems to protect the nations from it We have less of it than most countries, because under our social conditions the class which really governs has been taught to regard bribe-taking as a worse dishonor ing at cards, and because those who suffer are absolutely free to complain; but even here, when the Government is forced to spend millions suddenly, rings are formed to get some of that money, and the taxpayer is fleeced through preposterous charges and Illicit commissions. It is a great blot on modem civilization, which In many respect depends upon efficiency for success. Efficiency and corruption are wholly Incompatible. ruption produces only waste, and that they can bear waste; but that Is a false view, corruption. In the first place, arrests the employment of the best men In leading posi tions, for the whole energy of the corrupt Is devoted to preventing their promotion, or If they are promoted, to rendering their positions untenable. In the second place, corruption makes energetic administration nearly impossi ble, for no Government ever loses the hope of preventing It; and to prevent It most of them apply an Infinity of checks," every one of which occupies the executive officer, and Increases the load or responsl bllltv under which at last he dare do nothing without pre vious sanction. And, in the third place, only fatal to the very Idea of duty, lerformlng it. A perfect remedy for corruption Is it requires n change In the motives of Governments cannot produce, nnd which at the pains to encourage effectively; palliatives might at least be tried. One Who complain. Another Is to pay all those who have any thing whatever to do with contracts at least decently, a rule often neglected In the case of trw experienced but subor dinate men upon wnose judgment ineir less experienced superiors In matters of business compelled to rely. And a third Is to declare bribe-giving and bribe treason severely punishable whenever It Spectator. .. Social Gravitation. HE census proves Incontestable- that the drift T I of population cityward reached Its maximum I I some years ago, and has begun to recede. Some Sv lima Hob so 1.1- "IIai-qh ftar this nitv oml tlio rvim- uiiv i u i u rau.u. . iuv n.u luv. v.uuti try will march side by side, with even step." Even this Is hardly probable. The change of drift Is owing to economical conditions that will cotitlnue strongly to favor the country. Population will till move out and differentiate from the masses. In fact, the coming deal seems to be rather an evenly dis tributed suburbanlsm, covering the whole country; while the cities will remain as ganglia. Following this Ideal the ity will grow more country-like, while steadily acquire those privileges which have heretofore be longed to the city. According to a recent census bulletin, .in increase of 32 per cent during the last ten years, which Is about the average of the Increase of the whole country. The relative gain of cities from iSSO to 1890 was from 22 to 21) per cent or 7 per cent positive Increase but from IKl to 1900 this increase was only his tells the story with accuracy. It n assuming that cities will cease to grow, hut that rela lvely they will cease to grow as fast as the country. I potent cause for depopulating the country came in with mproved machinery. Farm work could be done with few ir hands. A single reaper would replace ten men. Costly nachlnery could be profitably used only on large farms, et a single reaper might serve a dozen small farm owners GREAT AGRICULTURAL DISCOVERY ; Four-fifths of every breath of air which the lungs inhale Is pure nltro geii. It Is one of the commonest of the elements. And yet, says a writer In Harper's Monthly, It Is the one thing for the hick of which wheat fields, ?otton fields and corn fields are nbnn 'loncd ns "worn out" because It Is the most expensive plant food for ninn to lupply to the soil, und one which most pl ints :ire unable to absorb In Its pure Hate from the air. To remedy this the Department of Agriculture at Washington Is preparing to distribute among fnrmers a substance resembling compressed yeast, which will raise, not bread, but crops; for when applied to certain plants It. will enable them to biko abundant nitrogen from the at mosphere. The "yeast" Is really a mass of germs, which bid fair to be come most elllclent gardeners. It has long been known that clover Itul other leguminous crops flourish lu "worn-out" soil, and when plowed Into It partially restore the fertility of it. Studying this phenomenon, scientists have found thut In such n soil the plants have nodules, little bunches or kwellings, on their roots, which they do not have when grown elsewhere. These nodules are formed by bacteria lulled radlocola. Professor Nobbe, a German investi gator, found thut lupines which had ;he nodules would grow In soli devoid K nitrogen. Without the nodules the lupines would not grow. He obtained oine of the radlocola from the nodules Ind propagated them in gelatine till be had many millions of the germs. He then put Into three jars equal quantities of sterilized sand contain ing no nitrogen whatever. In each Jar lie planted beans. The first he fer- I til I zed with all the usual plant foods Ucopt nitrogen. Tbe second be sup 11 1' I't'l'tt'l't M 'H I Great Papers on Important Subjects. I "I I 4 4 1 1 II 4 cooperatively. So far, tha Eastern States were at tha greater disadvantage, the deserted farms were common throughout New England. It was wiser to go West with small capital, and leave tbe homestead to go back to wil derness, rather than to regain and be starved. This state of affairs, in aggravated symptoms, continued until near the close of the nineteenth century. A csuse for the reaction which we chronicle, Is the splendid increase lit tbe value of farm products, brought about by our baring) secured the world's markets. Commercial expansion dur ing the last ten years has immensely Increased the expor-i tation of nearly everything that the farm produces. Our, fruits, our meats, our corn are now found In every market! of the globe. There Is no longer any fear of overproduc-' tion; we have only to insist on the open door principle and free competition. The farmer can apply his whole attention to the Increase of products, and the conquest of Insect and fungoid enemies. Agriculture Is proving itself to be oncej more what It was in the early part of the last century, the most Independent of all the Industries. New York Independent. from early childhood even than cheat Some think that cor part of the time of corruption Is not but to the habit of hard to find, because the corrupt which society will not be but two or three Is to protect those - receiving a form of is proved. Iondon the country will I.'l) towns show about 2 per cent. does not warrant us plied with the same food and salt peter, a form of nitrogen easily ab sorbed by plants. The third he fed like the first, and In addition inoculat ed sand with bis radlocola. The result was extremely interest ing. Tbe beans all came up, and for a few days grew alike. Then the first lot, having no nitrogen, turned yellow and died. The second continued to grow in normal fashion. But the third, although It got no nitrogen in tbe soil, flourished far beyond Its neighbor, and developed a luxuriant and healthy growth, showing that the radlocola had enabled It to draw its nitrogen from the air. Professor Nobbe carried his experi ments much further. He showed that while In neutral soil radlocola arc all alike, once they have associated them selves with a given plant, ns clover, they become very nearly useless for other plants, such as beans nnd lupines. Accordingly he has labored to produce highly specialized bacteria for each crop gardening germs trained to grow their specialty. Having done this, his next move was to place them in the farmers' bunds. He grew them by millions and packed them In bottles of gelatine. All that the farmer needed to do was to dilute the gelatine with warm water, mix It with the seed and a little soil, partially dry the mixture nnd sow It. The germs did the rest. There Mas much opposition to the new "fertilizer," and one old farmer who did not believe in It planted in a big field a lot of the Inoculated seed In a big letter "N," Professor Nobbe having named the gelatine compound "Nltragen." The fnriner was amazed and convinced when above all Ills oth er benns thnt year there stood out the letter "N" In luxuriant and healthy plants. Professor Nobbe' glass Jars are In convenient to handle, so the United Stales Liepartment of Agriculture, fol lowing up hla experiments, has hit t "6"8"l 0, 1 1 i U 1 1 4 4 Forts and Naval Attacks. xe of the surprises of the Far Eastern war is 1 the failure of the fort guns to do more damage I In the attacking fleets. It was a matter of faith, a IdmAiiflr tha anthnrltlaa thut not avmi the strnnpv TRl' Jest modern battleship could safely attack an it. TaJ effective modern fort, armed with long-range s"-heavy guns. England is at present making a number of long-range fort guns for the defense of her south coast, and it Is calculated that these guns will easily be able to throw a twelve or thirteen-inch shell across the Straits of Dover, so that It would not seem to be worth while for France even to take ber Channel squadron out of port, much less to attempt to land In the face of such an overwhelming attack. But this Is mere theory. Tbe truth Is, that, although the weight and range of ihese guns have neen steadily Increasing the human powers which are to use them have not shown, and are not likely to show a cor responding progress. While a gun can carry a shell across the Straits of Dover, the gunner who could make a hit of twenty miles is yet unborn; neither eyesight nor fineness of band are equal to the task. Nor would the atmosphere permit It, If they were. Attacks by fleets are made by sea; and the sea Is proverbially untrustworthy in the matter ol! weather. Air currents, mists, uneven radiation, mirage and a dozen similar causes deflect the shot and the vision which directs It. Moreover, no one nowadays is likely ta attack a fort at close range In broad daylight. The Tort Arthur bombardments were nearly all at night, and some of them In snowstorms. It Is intelligible that a ship at sea can more or less locate a position on land, suoh as the Golden Hill above Port Arthur, over a town where there are certain t,o be some lights at least; but tjje fort has no lights to guide it In locating The Vhfp, Except the momentary flash of the guns, which give hardly any opportunity for. aiming. In the case of the Vladivostok bombardment, It seems that the Japanese fleet were too far off to do any damage, and, therefore, too far off to receive any. It is also likely that the object of that attack was to draw the Russian fire in order to locate their forts; the Russians seemed to have divined this, and naturally abstained from firiUL' M:irper's Weekly. I Ho Thought of Annexation. HE United States regards Canada ns under a- I British Imperial suzerainty, an Independent I I sovereign nation, whose title is as valid as thai I . f nr... . , r i.w, nn . , nlnl.. T V, - A I. 1. in mij nauuii in; giuin;. . j.l Lias uu luuugui of annexing Canada against her will, nor does it, Indeed, regard annexation as necessary or inevitable. It is not sitting up o' nights to coa or to coerce the Dominion into union with the Republic. If ever Canada should at her own will seek such union, the United States would probably be cordially responsive But, If Canada never does seek it, the United States will regard with entire unanimity and satisfaction the prospect of continuing for all time to share this continent with an other great English-speaking commonwealth, and will only hope for constantly increasing sentiments of mutual esteem and constantly strengthening bonds of friendship between these two. sovereign nations. New York Tribune. upon the "compressed yeast cake plan" as simple and satisfactory. Comrade. Bobby was ten years old and an ularmlngly light-hearted and careless1 young person. It was supposed, how ever, that he would be capable of es corting his grandmother to the family Christmas dinner, one block away from her home, without mishap. He was tall for his age, and he of fered his arm to his grandmother In a gallant and satisfactory manner as they started off together. "I hope he will remember that she 1 almost ninety, and not try to hurry' her. I'm sure I've cautioned him enough," said Bobby's mother, as she began to dress her jounger children. But when she arrived at the family party It appeared thnt grandmother had turned her ankle and was lying on the lounge. "Hobby, " said tbe mother, reproach- fully, "where were you when grandmai slipped?" "Now I won't have that boy blamed," said grandmother, briskly,' smiling up into Bobby's remorseful face. "Wre came to a fine Ice slldec and ho asked me if I thought I could do It, nnd I told him I did. And I want you children to remember one thing: when you get to be most ninety you'll count a turned ankle a small thlnjr compared with having somebody for get thnt you've outlived everything but lheumntism and sitting still. Anybody thnt likes can rub this ankle a minute or Iwo with some liniment, but I want Bobby next me at dinner, mind!" He Had Twenty-aeven Wive. In the course of a murder trial al Cape Town recently the defendant, art aged Malay trader, admitted that he had twenty-seven wives. Our Idea of a mean man Is one who spends two-third of bis time In get' ting money and tae other third In keep la it