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Some years ago a young man who
had just {finished his period of con
scription entered my service. He was
a capable stenographer, and had com
mand of several languages. 1 had en
gaged him that he might lighten
} somewhat the arduousness of my i
work by copying manuscripts for
publication, but principally that 1 !
might intrust to him the manage
ment of many minor matters.
Ver? soon cruel Fate struck him
blow after blow. The death of his i
first child, then of his wife, and
finally of his mother—one loss suc
ceeding another with sad swiftness—
overwhelmed him with grief and de
spair. I have always found that in
great sorrow work is the supreme al
leviator. I decided that if I could
give him work up to the limits of his
physical endurance I should make it
possible for him to support his af
flictions and sustain him in his soli
tude.
Just then I heard of Nowak's in
vention for the blind, and I had same
of his machines procured. 1 had for
a long time sought to aid the blind
in tny own and other countries in a
manner that others had not till then
attempted. 1 had found that those
who instructed the blind demanded
not enough of brain work and too
much manual labor, which deprived
their hands of that fineness of touch
which helps them to perform the
functions of eyes for those bereft of
their visual organs.
The machine did not justify its rei>
utation, and 1 had another sent from
America, a very heavy and expensive
printing machine, which cost almost
£120. and the manipulation of which
was so fatiguing that a vigorous
yooti' could not operate it for longer
.than three hours each day.
We bad established an asylum for
the aged. As 1 traversed its passages,
whence opened little rooms where the
patients were already installed two
in a room, I passed a youth wearing
dark spectacles and with the gait of
a bllw} man. I asked about him. He
was blind. "But." I replied, he is still
young." My remark suggested that
he ought to work, and that a home
for the aged wa» not his proper place.
I was told that the youth had been
a typographer iD a newspaper office,
earning about £8 a month even
when his sight had begun to
fail, and be had finally become blind.
But his employer died, and the youth,
who was married, was driven to beg
ging. Charity is not always wise.
Some charitable ladies, thinking to !
succor him. parted him from his wife,
and placed him with one of the aged
inmates.
it 1 cannot see iar, uoa nas p:aceu
In my heart eyes that can see at
once when prompt help is needed.
“When 1 had returned home I hade
Monske hasten with all speed and
hire a small house, where he was to
install Theodoresco and his wife.
The blind man began at once to 1
make proofs of the pages which
Monske then printed, and they
-worked in harmony in a little garret
in my residence. Again Theodoresco
earned his bread and lived happily
with his arrfiable young wife, thank
ing God daily for his fortune. In the
Sommer we went to Sinaia, while The
odoresco was sent to the waters, as
he suffered from muscular atrophy,
probably caused by lead poisoning, to
which typographers are subject. Soon
after our return Monske came to me.
*T think that Theodoresco has discov
ered something." And he 'explained
that his blind friend had passed the
-■summer months in trying to invent a
better printing machine than that he
was using. He had decided that the
Braille Characters made upon i»per
could he mounted on a paper cylinder
an such a manner that to take fur
ther impressions was easy. Only a
practical typographer would have
solved the problem thus.
Monske worked day and night,
making experiments upon paper, upon
card, upon wood, and Snallv. upon
metal, until the invention owed noth
ing to Theodoresco except the first
, divine inspiration.
We patented the machine in the
principal countries of the world
Monske worked incessantly. Christ
mas, 1906, he presented me with a
dainty little model, but when 1 worked
■with it it revealed some few defects.
He set himself to work again, and at
last produced the present pattern, so
incredibly simple that my comment
was ’The egg of Columbus.”
A man completely blind is now
able to print 5.000 sheets every day
without fatigue, and soon the blind
will have as many books as they can
desire. This then will come to pass!
We shail be able to impart to the
blind a high culture, and .shall profit
by their teaching. They will be de
barred only from studies demanding
the use of the microscope and the
telescope, but in the empire of
thought they shall be kings, because
they will be free from distraction.
Monske and I developed our plans
after prolonged consultations. I asked
our first oculist how many blind peo
ple were in Roumania, and when he
informed me that there were 20,000
I was astonished. We soon became
conscious that it was impossible to
proceed as in other countries. In my
native town of Xeuwied is situated
the blind asylum for the province. It
contains only 70 inmates, and it cost
£25,000 in round figures. But here
we had absolutely no money, only the
knowledge that we had a valuable
commercial asset in the machine.
Neither Theodoresco nor Monske
wished to make any personal profit,
although their patents might have
brought to them enormous wealth.
We decided to deliver the machines
at extremely reasonable prices, re
taining only a small profit for the
cause of our blind. Business began
during October, 1906. We couid have
made deliveries much sooner if we
had gone to foreign manufacturers;
tint to this 1 would not agree, as 1
wished the money to remain in the
country. Thus we had to practice
the virtue of patience, but the call of
the blind was impatient. Just at this
time our exhibition was opened; and
we had an exhibit, mounting both an
old machine and a new one, and hav
ing both manipulated by blind opera
tors, thereby showing to the world the
superiority of our invention.
I have never felt within me a sen
sation of greater pride than when I
wrote upon one panel of wood "Print
ing Machine for the Blind—old Amer
ican System" and upon another:
"New Invention by the Roumanian
Theodoresco.” Monske refused abso
lutely to take any credit to himself.
His sole desire was that to Rou
mania should come the glory of the
invention and that the name of a
Roumanian should be pronounced
blessed by the world. And when the
article had been exposed to public in
spection, offers flowed in like a swol
len torrent. In a short time our cap
ital, was £3,200, but what was this
when we had to consider 20,000
blind?
Our plan developed. \\e deter
mined to found a colony of the blind,
a city of the blind, where both those
with and without sight might dwell
together, for the greater number of
the blind were married, or wished to
be.
They should come to us with wives
and children, and we should form a
hive of industry. We had already 21
fathers of families, remuneratively
employed in chair making. Formerly
they begged, now they sang as they
worked.
A lady presented me with a field of
50 acres, and we laid this out as a
garden. We built all around it small
cottages, and had for all a common
kitchen, so that the women might be
free to work without burdening the
blind husbands with the care of the
families. We started many indus
tries—a rope and twine making de
partment. a brush factory, a shot
foundry, and others which are suited
for blind operatives. We established
a school, presided over by blind mas
ters. We taught music, one of the
blind teachers being an expert violin
ist, and he mastered the piano so as
to convey instruction in that instru
ment also.
Our city of the blind promises to
be bright and its inhabitants happy;
iue.nce 1 ’ have christened it "Vatra
Luminpasa,” the Home of Light.
j "_
Women love dress because they en
joy the admiration of men and the
chagrin of other women.
I
THE PROFjfcR STORAGE
OF THE CORN CROP
Building Should Facilitate Curing, and Be Arranged to
Minimize Work of Unloading and Loading—
By Prof, C. P. Hartley.
There was a time in the history of
the corn-producing belt when rail pens
were about the only available means
of storing the corn crop. Much to the
discredit of some corn growers this
method of storing is still in vogue,
even in sections where good means of
storage could be afforded at little ex
pense. It is no uncommon sight to see
rail pen after rail pen filled with ears
of corn and without any cover, ex
posed to ali the rains and snows of
winter, and these in sections of the
country that produce the most corn
and are consequently most interested
in higher-priced corn. This corn re
mains in apparently good condition
r
the market price of corn insist that
the price be influenced in proportion
to the moisture content of the com.
In addition to affording thorough
ventilation to the stored grain and
protection from driving rains, the
cribs should be constructed in such a
manner that they can be filled and
emptied with the least possible labor.
For level ground, double cribs with
an elevated driveway and approaches
that will enable the loads to be driven
through the cribs and dumped or
scooped out of the wagons without
any high pitching are very satisfac
tory, A crib of this kind which is
filled and emptied from the central
1
—--—-—--—- —— —
Double Cribs Arranged fcr Both Loading and Unloading from a Central ;
Driveway. The Eaves Should Extend Farther Over the Sides.
tjuiiiiu iuiu wtauifi ami is usu
ally placed upon the market in early
spring. Filled with water, it is not
long after it is leaded into hox cars
or vessels until it heats and spoils.
The installation ol' elevators where
such corn can be kiln dried has been
brought about by this poor manner
of storing the corn crop. There is now
a general prejudice against kiln-dried
corn resulting from the fact that kiln
drying was first employed and is at
present employed to a very large ex
tent to prevent further heating and
fermentation of corn that was not al
lowed to dry properly or was poorly
stored before being placed upon the
market. This state of affairs, which
results from allowing the corn to re
ui Jtcna.t is* suu«» in vji
lustrations. This arrangement puts
the laborers under shefter while filling
the wagons in removing the crop from
the crib, but it necessitates somewhat
high pitching of the corn in unloading
the wagons. On sloping ground equal
ly convenient cribs can be constructed
at less expense by extending the crib
in such a manner that it can he filled
from the upper side and emptied
from the lower side. This is a very
convenient arrangement, and if the
slope of the hill is considerable a
driveway can be made below the crib
so that with properly constructed
chutes the ears can be allowed to roll
into the wagons, avoiding the labor of
scooping. Such a sidehill crib is
.. . * - ^ - I
|-- " - . ■■ ••-<-*• -• • . - ■■.-• - , • • .
Convenient Side-Hill Crib—Easily Filled from Upper Side and Very Easily
Emptied from Lower Side.
main wet during ninte: and necessi
tates the removal of the water by ex
pensive means, keeps the price of
corn lower than il would be if the
corn were allowed to dry in the fields
and kept dr> until placed upon the
market. Grain buyers would pay a
better price if the general supply cf
corn reached them in a condition that
would insure its preservation without
drying and the resulting shrinkage.
Less than four per cent, of the corn
crop of the United States is shipped
from this country either as corn or
as cornmeal, and there is in some of
UK?
Rail **en* Without Cover Sometimes
Used for Storing Corn.
the European countries a strong preju
dice against American corn, due to the
fact that much of it reaches these for
eign countries in a condition untit for
human food. It is clearly not profita
ble to transport a low grade of corn
such distances to be sold as poor food
for stock. This state of affairs can be
entirely overcome by allowing the
corn to dry thoroughly in the field
and then keeping it well stored until
it is transported. The proper method
of treating the corn crop can be quick
ly brought into general practice if
farmers, grain buyers, boards of trade,
l shippers and all who have a voice in
i shown herewith. As the sides should
be left as open as possible to permit
j of a pood eirculaton of air. it is quite
necessary that the eaves extend well
down over the sides of the crib so as
. to protect the corn from driving rains
1 and snows.
PROVIDE HOME
GROWN FEEDS
1
i*y W. J. McSparrat,
In addition to the fact that home
grown feeds, that may be made to suc
cessfully displace at least a portion
of the purchased concentrates, are
cheaper in cost than boughten ones,
we have the recommendation always
standing for them that they are nat
ural feeds, and are, therefore, more
nearly measurable to the natural
needs of the animal than the feeds
of commerce, that have been sub
jected to the manipulation of the vari
ous manufacturers, who, indeed, have
given us merely by-products of widely
variable values.
Among all our experimenters and
investigators, we have probably no
more practical one than Dr. Voorhees
of New Jersey. He says:
•'Nature has provided in the whole
grain good proportions of the pure
nutrients, usually associated with the
crude fiber in such a way as to make
it a difficult matter to cause injury
even from careless methods of feed
ing, while the manufacturer, on the
other hand, removes more or less oi
one of these nutrients, which, there
fore, disturbs the proportions of the
constituents, and the resultant feed,
decidedly unbalanced, must be used
mere carefully and with other prod
ucts, if equally good results are to be
obtained.”
FeMflner
The first Americans never haunted feathers upon their heads with more
extravagance than their fair successors have seen fit to this season. It would
be futile to attempt to describe the endless variety of fancy feathers, but it
is absolutely true that there is no description of feather decoration that is
ignored. If it's a feather it has a chance of being worn. We are no longer
content with a plume or two, or a modest bunch of aigrettes. Even the
precious paradise and the rare goura are brave in full quantities, for those
millionaires who can afford them. If this extravagance gees on one will have
to sell a farm to buy a hat.
To enumerate the feathers it is not necessary since all are used, but it is
well to know that flufliness is theit general characteristic. The willow plume
continues a favorite on big, high-class hats. Narrow uncurled plumes or
wide quill effects are among the novelties that have pleased designers and
resulted in many exquisite effects. Short piumes in wreaths and pompons are
amoug the strongest cards in the hands of the trimmer.
Wings are medium in size, shown in beautiful colorings, and. while nearly
all "made" are very natural looking in contour, and smooth in arrangement of
featT _-s.
Long breasts of rich, dark colorings are forging ahead for use on the
smaller shapes that are expected to make their appearance with cold weather.
Pompon, cockade and "fountain” mountings are carried out with many
different kinds of feathers, while fans and trailing sprays are arranged to com
pletely trim a hat. Ostrich and other feathers in spiral mountings are best
liked in the "fountain" mountings. Boa effects in marabout, coque, down and
other feathers are quite popular.
Quills are broad and beautifully colored, but not yet much in evidence
on trimmed millinery.
Willowy Back Now
in Fashion’s Favor
Paper doll days are over with
Dame Fashion. We must have backs,
and they must be things of beauty—
that is. for the girl who wants to look
stylish. A year or two ago it was a
matter of choice whether or not one
cultivated the Ethel Barrymore back,
but there is no choice aoout the new
back. We must get willowy. Women
will all have to become contortionists
if they keep getting new backs or
fronts every year. Some say the cor
set's the thing, but girls who have
tried of laced into some of these
new "no hips" affairs say it’s all a de
lusion and a snare. The only way to
get the new back is to grow thin.
This new back goes in sharply at
the waist line and the owner of it
stands so straight that she seems to
be bending over backward. Girls who
have really acquired it say they did
it by walking. One girl never takes a
street car for any' place that she can
reach by walking. Incidentally, it
saves carfare. She started by being
tired to death after a one-mile jaunt,
but now she walks ten quite easily.
Strange to say, although she -was
rather a fat girl when she started in.
instead of tightening her corsets for
the "no hips” effect, she loosened
them. “That's so my muscles can get
a chance to work,” said she.
The thin girls who have the back al
ready are giving up corsets entirely.
"We may as well be comfortable while
it lasts," say they. The main point is
to hold the chest high, the abdomen in
and the shoulders flat as you walk. A
good exercise to get the new back is
taken on the floor. Lie perfectly flat
on the back, with the arms extended
directly out at the sides. Then with
out changing the relative position ol
the arms try sitting up straight. Af
ter you’ve succeeded in doing it once
which won’t be the first time you try
get so that you can sit up several
times in succession. This hardens the
muscles of the abdomen and back anc
gives the sharp curve at the waisi
line, which every up-to-date girl is
working for.
A collar lining of taffeta should be
cut so that the front part is on the
straight of the material, and the
curved part of the collar will ther
come on the bias.
When altering a blouse it is a mis
take to move the shoulder seam to the
front. A better plan is to let <t droi
backward instead of forward.
It is a good plan to bead steels oi
whalebones at the waist line whei
making a bodice before putting then
into the casings, as the bodices wil
then fit closer to the figure.
In sewing a piece of material on the
bias to a straight piece the former is
apt to become stretched. To avoic
this the bias should be placed un
derneath, and it will then be sewn it
evenly.
Always make the neck of a bloust
slightly smaller than the base of th<
collar band, and in tacking it int<
position it is an excellent plan to cu
a few notches in the blouse so as t(
avoid wrinkles when the collar is
finally stitched on.
Teaches Girls How
to Look Their Best
A certain eastern physical culture
teacher is busy teaching girls how to
walk, stand and manage their clothes.
"I teach them how' to look their
best." said she. "It is a hard job, for
most of them come to me in the raw
state, bad complexion and bad walk.
"I get girls ready to be bridesmaids,
and not long ago I prepared a young
woman to be maid of honor at a wed
ding. I taught her how to walk, how to
stand, how to sit and how to stoop
over. These things all come under the
head of physical culture.
"The training of the back is the
most important of our tasks. There
is a new carriage for the back, and
I am teaching it to my society pupils.
"I train the girls to be wedding
guests. This means a proper manage
ment of a train. The girl who wears
a trained gown must be nimble with
her heels. Of course, it is not con
sidered polite to kick one s train. Yet
this is exactly what a gir! is compelled
to do. She must learn to kick it so
that the kick is invisible, however.
"For the woman who is going to
adopt the new long skirt—a little
longer than convenient walking length
—there are some suggestions. If your
skirt is very fashionable—two inches
too long in front—practice walking
with a glide. Touch the ball of your
foot first, then gradually sink upon,
your heels. This gives you the gliding
carriage. One hand must slightly lift
your gown in front. I teach my pupils
how to handle their elbows. They
must use them prettily and deliberate
ly and they must learn to hold them
easily."
For Shirt Waists.
There is nothing prettier for shirt
waists than silk-faced poplin, for the
goods can be neatly plaited, tucked
and made into practically any dainty
shirt waist from the plain tailored one
to the dressy affair with lace or vel
vet garniture. The whit.’ poplin has
countless advantages. it sells for
about 50 cents a yard, and possesses
innumerable good qualities which
make it valuable to the economical
woman. The materia! washes beau
tifully and may be ironed while per
fectly dry and has a soft cashmere ap
perance, or the beautiful tailored effect
is produced in starching the goods. It
launders as beautifully as fine white
linen. Poplins of this kind may be
purchased in various colors, though
nothing quite takes the place of the
white for shirt waists, and the madras
effects with white figures are very
dainty.
New Millinery Fad.
Among the many new fancies in mil
linery are hats with velvet brims and
soft silk crowns, which are usually
trimmed with coq feathers. Another
fancy is to cover a wire frame with
pink taffeta ruchings, placed so close
ly together that the effect is that of
feathers. These are trimmed with a
twist of velvet and a buckle and are
very becoming.—The Housekeeper.
A Manicuring Tip.
If the hands are not good and the
nails badly shaped, try to improve the
latter by training the cuticle. Every
' night soak the fingers in hot water for
five minutes. Then with an orange
1 wood stick press back the cuticle to
lengthen the nails. Afterward rub «n
1 cold cream. Do not omit this or the
soaking will make the cuticle very
dry.
