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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1908)
Sj WORKING 3 AT A 1C6L0NIAL . fRAOCARPfrl ^ LOOM LOST art for nearly two dec ades, hand weaving, the In dustry which made New Eng land famous, has again come into its own. To-day the descendants of our pilgrim fathers are turning out more hand-woven linen, silk and wool goods than any other section of the United States and are keeping up a hot pace in the race against other corners of the world in the industry. 10 own a rug, a tame cover or a curtain on which ihe maker has expended his ideas and per sonality is a pleasure quite distinct from gazing at a machine-made article which can be dupli cated in any one of a dozen stores. And the fas cination of fashioning things with the hands, es pecially essentials of the household or articles that add a refining touch to a commonplace ser vice, has led many wirnn to abandon china painting and fancy work for the more active work of the loom. Though there are many amateurs in Massachu setts who make no attempt to market their wares a good many have found weaving an attractive commercial proposition. Many of these have en rolled themselves in the Arts and Crafts asso ciation. For them, rag carpet weaving provides the most direct method of securing remunera tion for theii work. Hugs of this sort are always in demand, and there is ample room for the ex ercise of taste in developing simple patterns and fln the variation of colors. Most of the rugs are woven with a grayish back ground. For the piazza and the summer home there arc lighter patterns, soft blends which will •absorb the sunshine or brighten up the tedium of a diizzlv day. For these it is necessary to use white new rags in the warp and alternating cords ©f pink or blue. The simplicity of tlmse floor coverings affects one with a strange sense of relief which may be (Inexplicable at first. It is the sense of contrast with intricate machine-made designs which are Often as confusing as the rattle of the steel ten 'taded machines that made them. Some,of these r|iSs are made In Boston, but most of them come from outside towns. Deer •field. Marblehead, Hingham and Lynn are regular stations of supply. |n Central square. Cambridge, the Massachusetts commission for the blind has ®c established factory where men weave rugs. lu 1904 the experiment of blind weavers was Hirst tried. They have proved in less than four years that their work can rank with that done by dm}one. Without prejudice, buyers are agreed to this, and in many cases they insist that the ^•ork is not only as good, but superior. Of course the rugs are made under the supervision of see ling people, who select colors and distribute the materials. An expert supervisor with the use of his eyes -first teaches the mechanism to the blind pupil, ■who memorizes everything by a numerical sys tteni. After he has mastered all the movements, lit soon caa acquire the technicalities of pattern weaving. By “numerical system" is meant the numbering of each thread, as well as the arrangement of the materials near the loom, so that once the position is memorized no sight aid is required to locate •any color. From triangles and circles progress is made to the more Intricate patterns. For some cf these a raised proof of the design is hung above the loom. By touching it with the fingers the jjattern is reproduced on the cloth. The proficiency shown by the sightless weavers lias eliminated the question of their ability to «xecute the work. The question remains: Wrhere whall they market their wares? • This problem is solving itself, for the number of people who buy hand-wrought articles is rapid ly increasing. When Charles F. Campbell, su perintendent of the industrial department of the Massachusetts commission for the blind, was asked where the department disposed of their output, lie turned up the label of the package he was tying. It was addressed to Detroit, Mich. • We have shipped stuff to Duluth and San Fran cisco," he added: "so you see the folks out west aren’t going to be distanced in this new twist Leaving linen Fabric on a SWEEDI5H LOOM the aesthet ic race has taken.” It Is the boast of the blind workers that the curtains they submitted for the Massachusetts building at the James town exhibition were se lected. The design is rather intricate, repre senting a series of In dians paddling their ca noes across the border. Rug weaving was a secondary development with the blind school. In July, 1904, they first started a girl weaving art fabrics. In October of the same year one of the men was tried on a rug. In the mechanical part of the task the workers became as adroit as if they had the use of their eyes. In conscientious ness they excel. Some of the operatives have uecome so ambitious that they conceive pat to work on and are a of the shades of color blending. absorbed in the discussion r which they feel they are vices that are ingeniously elaborated to-dav in the high power carpet factories. Weating, no doubt, originated when some prime val creature plaited his or her hair, and then tried crossing three strands of heavy grass one over the other. From mats and baskets came the idea of interlacing wool threads, and so cloth was invented. \\ caving, in some form or other, is one of the earliest signs of civilization. It might be argued that weaving is not an evi dence of the advancement of intellectuality. The wonderful shawls which come from the far east, anti which we are quite unable to imitate, are made by a peasant populace. And whoever lias turned over pictures illustrating the manufacture of Turkish and Persian rugs is as much impressed by the uncouthness of the makers as by the sym metry and imagination of the designs. Crossing the Great Divide of this continent, the Navajo and Moji Indians and the Mexican blanket weavers to the south, are not leaders of intellectual thought, though they have established blanket weaving as an industrial art. The old squaws are more wrinkled than winsome. This isn't the fault of the weaving, however, and there is no gainsaying that rugs and tapestries and draperies and all the other products of the loom into which individuality is woven, have a reac tionary effect on daily life. In Hingham, ardent handicraftsmen not long ago discovered an old colonial loom lurking in the recesses of a garret. It was dragged forth and restrung, and now it is back at work again. Here, too, Swedish linen weaving is done, for at Hingham the industrial arts flourish. Linens for dresses, toweling, sheeting and table covers are woven on the Swedish loom. The process of preparation requires almost as much time and skill as the weaving itself. To warp the skeins of linen is the first step. This is done by arranging all the threads in even lengths on a device somewhat like a turnstile, w’hicli spins around, carrying them from top to bottom and back again. Thus the threads are measured off accurately, while, by means of pegs, they art twisted into a figure eight shape. With this device as many threads as 1,000 to a yard wide material may be kept from tangling. A frame with teeth in it, like a big wooden comb, WINDING THE THREADS OH A WflRPIMG MACHINE keeps the warp an even width when the threads are strung on the loom. The threads are thus spaced accurately and then made taut by being stretched to the front beam, and the weaver is ready to start the cross j threads. In introducing variegat ed shades, every other thread can be raised by pressing a pedal, and the shuttle is thrown through by hand, the operator choosing the threads to be crossed. In embroidery work the figure is woven onto the fabric. Swedish linen fur nishes a particularly ef- j fectivc background for this sort of work, for the threads are not closely woven, and yet there is a firm appearance about a j weil turned piece which leaves no suggestion of ' haphazard mesh work. It is interesting to note, in '• connection with rag rug ; weaving, that Berea col- : lego in Berea. Ky„ lias in troducecl a rug course into its industrial . .. Thio i ^ in response to a local condition. 1 "l1' s al 111 ' school whose homes are in remote I,altli ° mountains. During the winter time, it is impost for women living in these districts to pme « to any towns. Isolated as they are, it is essential that they have some rather active occupation, an . rug weaving having survived among the moui. a whites, it was accepted as the happy solu ion. Already some of these rugs have found their way to Boston, and the industry promises to become popular through the Tennessee mountains. In the mountain fastnesses they are still making those won derful old bed spreads and table covers which are prized as heirlooms in a few New England homes. The colonial atmosphere which permeates the town of Deerfield fosters the zeal of the laborers, who devote themselves to the simple industries of earlier days From Deerfield come specially at tractive blue ami white woven rugs and exquisite jieedle work. Here, also, they dye their own ma terials in indigo, madder and fustic shades. Jour neying down one of the honeysuckle lanes one may hear through the workroom window the whack, whack sound of the reed as it presses the weaving firmly down. QUEER IDEAS ABOUT FOOD. Slowly but surely modern enlightenment Is rele- ! gating to oblivion the foolish and often costly super- j stitions which have been passed down from cen- j tury to century. Of those, however, that linger is the superstition about the spilling of salt and the sure coming of ill luck—the result of the painting of a celebrated picture which showed that Judas, at the Last Supper, sat before an overturned salt cel lar. Then there is the idea against thirteen at table because there were Christ and his twelve apos tles around that board in the upper room at the supper which was followed so soon by our Lord's death, and that of Judas, too. In some European countries ill luck is said to follow the person who stirs any liquid in a pan from east to west. In Scotland persons when baking oat cakes break a piece off and throw it in the fire to appease evil agencies. Still another custom in that land is to make a birthday cake with nine knobs, then of nineof the assembled company, when the cake comes hot out of the oven, each breaks one knob off, and throwing it behind him says: “This I give to Thee, Fox, Eagle, Wolf,” etc. In some countries it is considered unlucky to give a mince pie to a guest—it should be asked for. Like wise, a mince pie should never be cut with a knife, but held whole with the fingers and eaten that way. Also to eat as many mince pies as possible at as many different houses before Christmas, it is be lieved, will insure so many happy months for the eater. Chinaman Can Be Sarcastic Many of Their Sayings in Common Use Have Real Wit. Once in a while you meet a com mon Chinaman who has some of the wit of Mr. Wu. One such has a laun dry in Lexington avenue, not far from Twenty-third street. The other day I beard him yell at a recalcitrant cus tomer; "You no pay? Then you paper tiger!" I asked what he meant by a j "paper tiger," and he replied: "Oh, in i China a paper tiger is blackguard who I blows much but is harmless." He add ! ed: "When a man is very proud qf himself, what Americans call ‘stuck up,’ we compare to a rat falling into a scale and weighing itself. When a Chiuaman overdoes a thing we say he is a hunchback making a bow. The rich son who quickly spends his fa ther's money we call a rocket which goes off at once. We say of you rich Americans who send money to heath ens by missionaries and neglect their family at home: ‘They hang their lantern on a pole, which is seen from afar, but gives n^ light below.’ ”—New York Press. Why Snow Is White. The reason that snow Is white ts that all the elementary colors are blended together in the radiance that is thrown off from the surface of the crystals. which may be examined in such a way as to detect these colors before they are mingled together to give the eye the impression of whiteness. The whiteness of the snow is also in some degree referable to the quan tity of air which is left among the frozen particles. Considerably more than a thousand distinct forms of snow crystals have been enumerated. These minute crystals and prisms re flect all the compound rays of which white light consists.—Chicago Trib une. HOGGING OFF CORN IS AN ECONOMICAL PLAN Helps to Solve the Farm Labor Problem. — By D. A. Gaumnltz, M. S.f Agr., Minnesota. rwi uvm oi d wurn ricia i nai nas uce n rioggecj v>rr. un me rugnt may be Seen the Standing Corn Before the H ogs Are Turned In. Note. Pi*rs should not be on one field for more than 20 days, and bettor if only 14 days. The variety of rom usually grown in a locality is the proper kind to grow for hogging off purposes, since it is probably the best adapted to the local ity and gives the largest yield. How ever, getting an early start in the fat tening process is very advantageous, and it sometimes happens when pas ture supplies are short or the early sale of hogs is desirable, that such a variety does not mature early enough. To he prepared for such conditions, it is well to grow a sufficient amount of sweet corn or early maturing flint corn to tide over until the field corn is ready for use. No more than is suf ficient for early fall feeding should be grown since it costs just as much to field. Enough can thus be taken out at a time to last for two or three days. There are no definite data at hand to determine just how large an area it is advisable to allow hogs at one time in feeding off corn. Results at the Min nesota station show that where it took tne hogs 20 days to clean up a field of corn they did not make as good gains during the latter part of the period as during the earlier part. Some farmers who have tried it claim that as good results are obtained by turn ing into the whole field at once as by fencing into lots. This is a matter to be settled largely by circumstances such as the price of labor, the shape of the fields, the cost to fence them. snowing Approximately the Number of Days Required to Hog Off an Acre of Corn by a Given Number of Pigs Weig hing 125 Pounds. Will keep 10 Hoes Will keep 20 Hogs Will keep 30 Hogs Will keep 40 Hogs Will keep 50 Hogs Will keep 60 Hogs Will keep 70 Hogs Will keep £0 hogs I 2 jz u :<fS WITH CORN SHRUNK TO JAN. I, 30 fcu. 35 bu. 40 bu. per per | per acre 'acre ! acre Lbs. 135 125 125 125 125 ! 125 I ! 125 i 123 45 bu. per acre Days Days Days Days 22.5 ; 26.2 j 30.0 33.7 112 13.1 15.0 16.8 7.5 5.6 4.5 3.7 3.2 2.8 8.7 6.5 5.2 io.o u.: 7.5 6.0 4.4 i 5.0 8.4 6-7 5.6 3.7 3.3 4.3 I 4.8 3.7 j 4.2 and YIELDING: 50 bu. 55 bu.'60 bu.|65 bu. 70 bu. per acre per i per acre I acre Days Days 37.5 | 41.2 per | per acre ! acre 18.7 12.5 9.3 7.5 6.2 5.3 4.6 20.6 13.7 10.3 8.2 6.8 S.S 5.1 Days 45.0 22.5 I [ 15.0 11.2 9.0 | 7.5 1 6.4 ! 5.6 I Days 48.7 24.3 15.2 13.2 9.7 8.1 6.9 6.1 Days 52.5 26.2 17.5 14.1 10.5 8.7 7.5 6.5 grow these varieties as it does the dent and they yield much less. Flint corn is preferable to sweet corn for hogs, and field feeding of flint corn gives better results than where husked and fed after the corn has hardened. One of the great objections in grow ing Hint and other early varieties of corn has been the difficulty of harvest ing them. Feeding them off with live stock eliminates this objection, and it would seem that they might be grown and utilized more extensively. Pigs weighing from 100 to 140 pounds are best suited for field feed ing since they have at that weight f and particularly the soil and climatic conditions. Where there is much rain and the soil is sticky the areas should probably be limited so that they can be cleaned up in 20 days or less. Where there i3 but little rain, and the soil is sandy or gravelly, there is perhaps no good reason for limiting the amount of corn beyond that which they can con sume before the end of the season. If by mismanagement or accident any part of a field is left unfinished brood sows or stock hogs may advantageous ly be used to clean it up, and if the amount is large, then they should be turned in for only a short period at a time, as their breeding qualities are A Corn Field That Was Hogged Off in. the Fall, Then Disked Twice and Har rowed Once the Following Spring. formed a pood amount of bone and muscle for framework, and are in a condition to fatten rather than to grow. Those that have been grown on pasture are better fitted for the work than those that have been confined in pens, as they’are more active, and have had more experience in gathering food for themselves. They, therefore, eat corn more readily and require less amounts of expensive mill feed. S’noats of this weight nmy be expected to gain about 1.4 pounds daily. In 60 to 70 days of feeding they should gain ap proximately 92 pounds. Hogs weighing from 200 to 240 pounds almost always bring good prices. It is not unreasonable then to expect to start with pigs that weigh from 110 to 140 pounds. If farrowed in early April, pigs will make these weights by September 10. Old brood sows that are thin in flesh fatten up very quickly when turned into a field. A few weeks on early varieties of corn will usually permit such sows to be marketed early or be fore it would be possible following the common method of feeding. While eating corn in the field hogs require a great deal of clear water. They grow and thrive better when they have it, and some means of sup plying it to them fresh, and in large quantities, must he provided. When in the field, hogs do not come up and drink in droves as they do in the yards; therefore, it is necessary to keep water before them continually. When fields adjacent to the farmstead are used, hogs can be brought up to the yards and watered or fed slop as usual; where fields remote from the farmstead are used, the simplest way Is to fill several barrels or casks with water and haul them by team on a stone boat or other conveyance to the easily injured by excessive corn feed ing. For convenience, a table has been arranged showing approximately the number of days required to hog off an acre of corn yielding various amounts in order to enable the feeder to judge as to the acreage of corn he will need to inclose at a time for his pigs. Comfort is highly essentia) to the growth and well-being of pigs; and while they are out in the fields shelter of some sort must be provided for tnem. Kerosene for Head Lice.—A reader wants to know what is the very best mixture to destroy head lice on old birds. Any of the well known lice killers will do the work. If these can not be secured use kerosene and lard. Rub this well into the roots of the feathers and it will be only a short time till the bird will be free from the lice. It is said that any kind of oil is death to lice. This statement is verified by tlie fact that the duck is rarely if ever bothered with lice, be cause there is naturally a great deal of oil on its skin. Poisoning Insect Pests.—Insects that chew' the foliage may be poisoned by applying the poison so that it is taken into the insect's stomach, while those that pierce the stems and leaves must be poisoned from the outside. The arsenic compounds, like paris green, should be used in combating the leaf chewers, while soap suds and coal oil are the most popular in fight ing the plant and leaf suckers. Where a less violent poison is needed, hele bore may be used instead of the ar senic Doisons. BED-BOUND FOR MONTHS. I Hope Abandoned After Physicians’ Consultation. Mrs. Enos Shearer, Yew and Wash ! ington Sts., Centralia, Wash., says: ror years i was weak and run down, could not sleep, my limbs swelled and the secretions were troublesome; pains were intense. I was fast in bed for four months. Three doc tors said there was : no cure for me, and I was given up to die. Being urged, I used Doan's Kidney Pills. Soon I was better, and in a few weeks was about the house, well and strong again." Sold by all dealers. 50 cents a box. Foster-Milburn Co.. Buffalo. N. Y. MORE USED TO SELLING PINS. Absent-Minded Clerk (who has been transferred from notion department) —So. you'll take this piano. Shall I send it, or will you take it with you? For and Against. A Philadelphia lawyer, retained as counsel for the defense in a murder trial, tells of the difficulties in getting together a jury. "Counsel were endeavoring," says this lawyer, "to elicit from the various prospective jurors their views con cerning the death penalty. ‘ One man to whom the question was put, ‘Are you against the infliction of the death penalty?’ replied, 'Xo, sir.’ “ ‘What is your business?' he was ! asked. ‘I am a butcher,’ he replied. "When the same question was put to the next man he answered that he was against the death penalty. ‘“What is your business?’ “‘Life insurance,’ said he.” The Revolving Cat. Little Susie has always been deeply Interested in mechanical toys, and numbers several among her choicest possessions. Recently the family cat, having apparently eaten something which disagreed with her, began a mad race around the room, leaping chairs, diving under sofas and turning somersaults. Susie's mother, much frightened, seized her small daughter and mounted a convenient table. Hut Susie remained unscared. Clapping her hands in glee, she shouted, “Wind her up again, mamma; wind her up again!” Swadeshi. In the sense in which Sir William Ilareourt remarked “We are all social ists now’," it may be said that all An glo-Indians are believers in Swadeshi While all reasonable Anglo-Indians dep recate the senseless agitation and the unsound economies of the extrem ist advocates of Swadeshi principles, they are all anxious to assist that natural development of indigenous in dustries and the creation of new ones upon which the future prosperity ol the country so largely depends.—-Pio neer Mail. Had Been Attended To. An Italian went up to the civil ser vice commissioners’ rooms in the fed eral building the other day to be ex amined for a laborer's position. He answered most of the questions cor rectly. Finally they asked him if he had ever been naturalized. He seemed a bit puzzled, but at last his face light ed up. "Ah. I know whata you mean. Scratcha de arm. Yes, lasta week.”— Philadelphia Ledger. DROPPED COFFEE Doctor Gains 20 Pounds on Postum. A physician of Wash., D. C., says of his coffee experience: “For years I suffered with periodical headaches which grew more frequent until they became almost constant. So severe were they that sometimes 1 was almost frantic. I was sallow, consti pated, irritable, sleepless; my mem ory was poor, I trembled and my thoughts were often confused. “My wife, in her wisdom, believed coffee was responsible for these ills and urged me to drop it. 1 tried many times to do so, but was its slave. “Finally Wife bought a package of Postum, and persuaded me to try it. but she made it same as ordinary coffee and I was disgusted with the taste. (I make this emphatic because 1 fear many others have had the same expe rience.) She was distressed at her failure ancl. we carefully read the di rections, made it right, boiled it full 15 minutes after boiling commenced, and with good cream and sugar, I liked it—it invigorated and seemed to nourish me. “This was about a year ago. Now I have no headaches, am not sallow, sleeplessness and irritability are gone, my brain clear and my head steady. I have gained 20 lbs. and feel 1 am a new man. “I do not hesitate to give Postum due credit. Of course dropping coffee was the main thing, but I had dropped it before, using chocolate, cocoa and other things to no purpose. “Postum not only seemed to act a3 an invigorant, but as an article of nourishment, giving me the needed phosphates and albumens. This is no imaginary tale. It can be substanti ated by my wife and her sister, who both changed to Postum and are hearty women of about 70. “I write this for the information and encouragement of others, and with a feeling of gratitude to the inventor of Postum.” Name given by Postum Co., Rattle Creek, Mich. Read "The Road to Well ville,” in pkgs. “There's a Reason.” Ever read the above letter? A new one appears from time to time. They are genuine, true, and full of human interest.