Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1914)
Two Useful Winter Birds By Julie Adams Powell 7 Years ago when Mr. Eugene Setaief- ] felin introduced the English starling j into Central park. New York city, I do | not believe that he thought that it would breed so fast as to spread over j a good part of the I'nited States, in so short a time, nor that it would be come such a nuisanoe, that the Audu- i bon societies a~e thinking of having it I put on the list of game birds. This is because this new comer is driving out many of our own more beautiful song birds, such as the blue bird, the flick- j er, the wren, and whatevei bird nests in holes in trees. I have called this bird useful, in my headline. So he is, because in the summer time he kills thousands of qfubs, spiders and ineects in order to satisfy the hungry hiood of young sters, that is always clamoring for more and more. If tlieir number could V be kept down, and if the}' would not perch around our dwellings, we would be very glad to welcome them to our orchards during the grub and insect period. I Some sunny morning, you boys will ! hear a long drawn whistle outside your window, and then a sound very like a chuckle. Open the w indow care fully. and wrapped up warmly, you can stand there and view the songster, and you will find that between the chuckle and whistle, there are some very sweet notes which you did not hear before. And on the elm tree just outside the house you will see two, four and some times six birds which from that dis tance look as if they were all attired in black suits, which in the sun shine with a metallic purple and green color. You will find a compactly built bird, between eight and nine inches long, with a strong brown bill and a rather short tail. Instead of being all of an iridesceht black, the feathers of the upper parts and sides are tipped with deep yellow, the wings and tail are dark brownish gray, tipped with buff, and the under parts are heavily spot- | ted with white. The starlings do not hop. They are walkers like the crows. During the winter they can be studied more care fully than in the summer, when there are so many more attractive birds about. They are great chatterers, and often the listener will be rewarded by a series of warbles and notes of joy, which are like the laughter of little ! children. If this wise old bird sees you looking at him. he will shut up his mouth right in the middle of his , prettiest notes, and not open it again until you walk around the corner of the house out of his sight. A story was told me the other day of a pair of starlings which built their nest in a hole in the side of a house in our city of Stamford, right under the eaves. There must have been a beam projection for the roughly put to gether nest of sticks to be fastened to, but even so, when the birdlings grew large enough to move about, they fre quently tumbled out of the nest, with great scramblings and flutterings of wings and shrill cries of alarm. Inside the wall of the house was the room of a little boy, and as it hap Silver Pheasants—One of the Most Common -Species of the Family—The Upper Part of the Body is White Delicately Marked With Black. pened, the head of his bed was against the very spot where the feath ered youngsters took their naps, and oftentimes in the middle of the night the little boy was rudely awakened by the cries of the babies who tumbled out of their bed. When the little boy learned what the noise was, he watched the parents going in and out of the hole, until one day they all flew away and a piece of tin was placed over the entrance to keep them out. Last summer during a gale of wind an old apple tree in our orchard was blown directly in two. 1 found that a j starling nest was laid bare, and in the nest were four youngsters almost ready to fly.. The nest was securely ! fastened to the side of the tree which 1 was left standing, fortunately, and so < these birdlings remained a week long er, until they flew out into the world One of our very interesting little winter birds, and one of the least con spicuous, is the nuthatch—the white breasted nuthatch. He is remarkable for his stout and sturdy buijfl and strong pointed cylindrical bill and very short tail. The nuthatch is one of our common est winter birds, and easily identified. To see him run down the trunks of trees, is enough to make one dizzy, and his hoarse cry of "yank, yank" is Bath Tub for Birds on an Eight-Foot Pole. 1—Cat Guard. 2—Cross Pieces for the Birds to Rest on and Dry Their Feathers After Their Bath. different from any other bird call. In some districts the nuthatch is extreme ly shy, while at other times and places this little bird becomes as friendly as the chickadee, or the winter sparrows. Some writers say that the nuthatch feeds mostly on nut meat6, while oth ers declare that the bird breaks the shell to get at the insects and grubs which inhabit the nut. It is surely an _s. insectivorous bird, as one will learn by watching the hird industriously searching the barks of trees for larvae and insects. Their bill is very strong and the nut batch will push "a nut into a crevice and hammer away at it until the shell breaks. One day in November I saw a nut hatch on the roof outside my win dow. He had something in his mouth and without noticing my near pres ence. he hunted about for a place to hide his treasure. Under a loose shingle he pushed it, and then I saw that it wae a cherry stone. He cocked his head on one side and then on the other, for the place did not seem quite secure enough. He made a dive for a leaf, and poked that in after his cherry I ■ 1 pit. I thought that it showed wonder ful intelligence. The nuthatch is a gray and black bird, about six inches in length. The top of his head and the front of his back is a shining black, while the rest ol his upper parts are of a bluish gray. There is white on his wings, and the sides of his head and under parts are white. Just under his tail will be noticed a dull rufous color. We do not often see the nuthatch about cur hemes in summer unless we are fortunate enough to live off in the country districts. They build their pests in the hollows of trees, where the entrance is particularly small. If it is too large, they build it up with mud or clay until it is of the desired size. They are great fighters for a bird of their size, and it is a brave bird that tries to molest the nest of the little white breasted nuthatch. ARE OF THE EARTH’S BEST Deserved Tribute to the Women of Whom It Is Said They Are “Agreeable to Live With.” “I feel of so little use in these pro gressive days,” said a woman of ma ture years. "The woman of today is full of stimulating ideas. She is iden tified with important movements. She makes the most of her talents, but I— I—can do nothing. It seems as if I have so much to take up my time and yet I never do accomplish anything that will ever count in the vast scheme of things.” “You have the rarest talent that the world boasts and you make the most of it every day.” replied the visitor. "You are agreeable to live with.” Agreeable to live with! Unassum ing phrase, with what a powerful reach! With domestic squalls so flag rant, divorce rampant, “incompatibil ity" a household word, the woman who is agreeable to live with is a mighty factor in the press of progress. She brightens the atmosphere about her at a time when there seems much effort expended to make people good, but lit tle to make them happy. Such a wom an has the gift of divinity. She glori fies the commonplace. She nourishes the nation. It is splendid to uplift, to be artistic, to head world movements, but there is little that so becomes a woman as to be agreeable to live with. It is a way in which those who tarry at home may keep step with their more conspicu ously progressive sisters.—Mother’s Magazine. Australia’s Mallee Hen. The builder of the biggest nest in the world is the Australian mallee hen. a bird considerably smaller than a domestic turkey. The nest is used year after year, and as many as twen ty or thirty pairs of birds use the same nest at one yjne. It is not uncommon to find a hundred eggs in a nest, and these are very good for cooking pur poses. A large mound of earth is scratched together by the birds, the center being filled with leaves, and on these the eggs are laid. They are then covered with more leaves and earth, and the cares of the parent bird are ended. They do not sit on the eggs at all, as the spontaneous combustion of the rotting leaves generates the required heat for incubation, says the Strand. The chickens are able to run about and find food for themselves from the time they are hatched. The small hen is a very shy bird, and is seldom seen near any habitation. Peerless Geneva. The most glowing tribute to Geneva is Mr. Frederic Harrison's. “1 hold Zurich. Basle and Geneva to be the model cities of our age—the fine type of what cities will one day be in a regenerated age—the true type of civic organization, having sites of rare beau ty and convenience, spacious streets and avenues, noble public walks and gardens, perhaps everything short of grand antique buildings.” Geneva in particular is "the finest type of a ra tional city that Europe posses ses ... a true city where, as in Athens. Florence, Venice. Antwerp or Ghent, or old. men can live a whole some civic life, not in huge, amor phous caravanseries such as London, Paris or Berlin—not in suffumigated barracks such as Manchester, or Ly ons, or Glasgow—but in a beautiful, well-ordered, free, organic city.” . This Is Funny. An English paper says that the hat of a certain short-sighted master at Eton blew off one day, and as he start ed in pursuit of it a black hen dashed out of the gateway. The schoolmaster saw the hen and thought it was his hat, and so all Eton was electrified by the spectacle of a hatless and breath less learned man chasing a black hen from one end of the street to the other. AS IN OLD SAILBOAT DAYS American Vessel Will Take Cargo to the West Coast of Africa to Trade. For about one hundred years Ameri can sailing vessels bartered and traded on the west coast of Africa. So again, with the Stars and Stripes flying from its masthead, tbe Adelia T. Carleton. an American sailing vessel, loaded with a cargo of American goods, will sail for the west coast of Africa This enterprise is due to the efforts of Aurthur Muller, president of the newly organized American Tropical Trading company of New York. This company intends to take American goods on consignment—consisting of tobacco, flour, pork. salt, beef, vege tables. gin, matches, to trade for na tive products In the old timeE the American flag dying from Y'ankee ships took the place of lighthouses along this coast so regularly were they to be found. The shrewd Yankee trader, quite often master of the vessel he sailed, evaded or conquered opposition wherever he came in contact with it and returned borne with a profit which modern busi ness minds find hard to believe.—New York Sun A Poker Devotee. "liingburn says he reads everything that comes into his hands." "That oughtn't to take him long." “Why xot?" “It's mostly hearts, clubs, spades an<t diamonds." Dickens and His Madmen. M. Anatole France, who has offered his services to the F-rench minister of war, has an amusing reminiscence of Dickens—of whom he is a great ad mirer—in his “Vie Litteraire, the London Chronicle remarks. One'won ders whether it is autobiographical. “A Frenchman who made the journey to London." he writes, “went one day to see the great Charles Dickens. He was admitted, and expressed his ad miration 03 an excuse for, thus tres passing on the precious time of such a being. ‘Your fame,’ he added, ’and the universal sympathy you inspire, doubtless expose you to innumerable intrusions. Your door is always be sieged. You must be visited, every day by princes, statesmen, scholars, writers,^ artists and even madmen. ‘Yes, madmen, madmen,’ cried Dick ens, carried away by the agitation which, toward the end of his life, often moved him. ’Madmen! They alone amuse me.’ And he pushed his aston’shed visitor out by the shoul-1 ders." | Snakes in United States. There are 19 varieties of rattle snakes in the United States, one cop perhead, and one water-moccasin. The rattlesnake, of course, can always be told by its rattle. The timber rat tlesnake is the commonest. It grows sometimes as long as five feet, but is rarely found over two or three feet in length. It haunts the woods in hilly or mountainous regions, as does the copperhead. Both live on rabbits, squirrels, and other animals which they generally catch at night v TO GET BEST OUT OF COFFEE Method of Preparation Han Much to Do With Success in This Im portant Matter. There are two points necessary in getting the best out of coffee. One is, of course, to get all that is good. The other is not to get what is bad. The best preparation of co e ex tracts the aromatic oils and eliminates coffee-tannin _o practically nothing. In the first place the housewife must see to it that her coffee is finely ground. But, having had it practical ly pulverized, she must be careful that it is quickly used or confined in air-proof, moisture-proof jars, other wise the oil will escape into the air and will absorb moisture. In the actual preparation of the beverage, however, the important thing is to brew' the coffee. “Brewed” coffee is not "cooked " In the process of brewing the oils are extracted from the fibrous tissue, whereas when coffee is boiled or "cooked" the fiber is stewed in and the flavor and purity of the liquid is damaged. The water must be boiled; the coffee must not. Water at the boiling point should be poured on the coffee, but it should not stand too long, and it sh uld not get chilled. The elimination of the coffee-tannin is best brought about in the filtration or drip method of preparing coffee. When brewed in this way the coffee contains only .29 of a grain of coffee tannin per cup, fs against 2.90 grains by five minutes steeping in the perco lator method. Household TQyESTIONS To clean a polished table that has been marred by having had a hot dish placed upon It rub It with camphorat ed oil. To clean tinware dampen a cloth, dip it In common soda and rub the ware briskly, after which wipe dry. To overcome the annoyance of the hands perspiring when doing fine sewing bathe them with strong aiutn water. To lengthen the life of a comb wash it in soapy water before using it, and when it is dry rub it with a little olive oil. To restore their natural color to ivory knife handles that turned yel low rub them with turpentine. To preserve clothespins and clothes lines and keep them flexible and dura? ble boil them a few minutes and then dry them quickly. This should be done twice a month. White Fruit Cake. To make an especially dellcloua cake of the lasting variety cream together one cupful of butter and two cupfuls of sugar and add one cupful of milk. Sift three cupfuls of flour and one tea spoonful of baking powder three times and add to the mixture and stir well. Slice very thin one pound of citron, blanch one pound of almonds and chop fine and grate one medium sized fresh cocoanut and add to the mixture with one wineglassful of white wine, stirring enough to mix only. Last fold In the beaten whites of eight eggs. Bake In two loaves and cook in a moderate oven. Dishwashing Wisdom. While spending the day with a friend on a farm last summer, I no ticed a clever little arrangement of hers in washing dishes. The water was piping hot, as it should be, and in the middle of the dishpan she set a small deep pitcher full of hot suds for the silver. This obviated the need of plunging her hand down to the bottom of the dishpan, as I have always done, and also kept the silver from collecting grease—McCall's Magazine. Apple Slump. Pare and slice your apples, sweeten to taste, add cinnamou and a little salt. Prepare a crust as follows; Two cupfuls flour, two level teaspooti fuls baking powder, one teaspoonfnl salt, sifted together. Mix thoroughly with this two tablespoonfuls shorten ing, wet with milk or water until a soft dough. Place over apples. Make three or four cuts In top, to allow steam to escape, and bake. Serve with molasses sauce or with sugar and cream. Stuffed Celery. Thoroughly clean perfect stalks or celery and cover with ice until crisp. -Mix to a cream one-qu;irter pound of roquefort cheese, one-half pound of cream cheese, one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoon fal of Worcester shire dressing, one-eigh‘h teaspeonful of paprika and one teaspoonful of finely chopped olives. Stuff celery with this mixture and serve ice cold on lettuce leaves. After the cele.-y Is stuffed cut it into two-inch lengths. Sausagettes snd Tomato. Take three small pork sausages and dip in cold water for a few minutes. Now slip off the skin and form the meat into flat cakes. Fry in a small pan until nicely browned. Pour off the surplus fat and add one-half cap ful of left-over tomatoes, a little chopped peppers and. if mixture is too thin, a little rolled cracker meal may be added. As soon as hot serve on a heated plate and press small toast points around edge. For Your Bean Pot. To clean the bean pot thoroughly put .two large handfuls of washing soda in it and place in a large covered kettle. Now completely cover It with cold water and allow to boil for almost half an hour. Then wash in the usual way. Nulle Fruits. Take one pound of mixed fresh fruits; cut into dice; soak for 15 minutes in sherry; add them to a quart of lemon ice; mix well and freeze. OLD AND THE NEW IN AMERICAN NAVY America's first battleship, the Constitution, and the navy's latest acquisitions, the submarines K-5 and K-6. lying side by side in the Charlestown navy yard. KHAKI-CLAD TURKS MARCHING AGAINST RUSSIANS Regiment of Turkish regular infantry, drilled by the Germans and wearing their new khaki uniforms, march ing Across the desert to meet the Russian troops on the Caucasus border. TARGET FOR TURKS’ “FRIENDLY” SHOT This is the launch of the U. S S. Tennessee at which ^ Turkish fort in the harbor of Smyrna fired a shot, which afterward was declared to be only a •'friendly" warning that the harbor was mined and closed to alien vessels. FRENCH SOCIETY WOMEN AS NURSES Parisian women, well known in society, attending wounded soldiers at the Gare du Nord as they arrive from the battlefields. TERROR OF NAVIGATORS This big steel ball is one of the deadly mines that are feared by all navigators. It was washed ashore at Sizewell, Suffolk, and its explosives were removed by a torpedo instructor Many of these mines have been beached along the coast of England. WARNS KING OF ENGLAND Astrologist Tells George to Beware of Evil Days in March of Next Year. Boston.—That King George of Eng land must beware of evil days next March is the prediction of Catharina H. Thompson, astrologist. Miss Thompson bases her prediction on the fact that Jupiter enters1 Pisces, a watery, unstable sign, next March, and afflicts the king's radical sun, and sick ness and trouble should increase rather than diminish. While Jupiter was passing through Aquarius this year, she says, trouble for the king was allayed. Something extraordinary wi J happen, she predicts, such as the siege of London, the fall of Westminster ab bey, St. Paul's cathedral or Bucking ham palace. A Thorough Soaking. "Some of those soldlerB fighting along the Aisne must lead a dog s life.” “1 should think that lying in a trench half full of water day after day would be more like a frogs life.” “WHITE GENERAL” DOOMS FOE Russian Soldiers Have Legend of Mounted Man Whose Averted Looks Mean Death. liondon.—The Petrograd correspond ent of the Daily Mail, in announcing that Petrograd has been made a dry city for the duration of the war and that no wine, beers, or spirits will be allowed to be sold anywhere, gives a legend permeating the Russian army of a "White General," who rides through the ranks on a white horse. “If he looks a man full in the face" the legend runs, “that man bears a charmed life. Those whom he passes with eyes averted are marked for death. “During the last two weeks the ‘White General- has not been seen in the Russian ranks. The soldiers say he is busy in the German and Austrian armies, walking with his eyes to the ground." -r The girl question: "Is he married?" Ruse of a French Captain. A French captain caused a number of his horses to be loaded with hay effigies and then all bunched together ■'and covered with hay to resemble a giant haystack. As the monster em erged from the haze the Germans were bewildered, but charged, which caused the horses to separate. While the Germans were slashing at the hay effigies on the horses the real French troops got a position in the rear and defeated them. The captain was highly praised for his successful rugfc