i ,
1\ II 1I \ . .
I , ' . \ , : ' . , MTflTItE WOULD.S
BEST WRITgRS
1 .ACCIDENTS ON THE RAILWAYS.
I
(
1 Granting that there la a greater
, 1 mileage of railroad In this country ,
Ithe proportlonato travel Is probably
Igroator In England than hero. What ,
' 'then"ls the explanation of the tower
) fatal accidents , or , rather , the almost ,
total lack of accidents In that coun
try as compared with the frightful
mortality on our American roads ? The i
exact solution Is probably not easy ,
hut the moat natural oxplanaUon
that will come to the mind 18 that the
British roads are better managed and
that they are held to a much atrlcter
accountability by the authorities. An-
thor rellson also Is the total absence
-of all grade crossings In England and
" the universal employment of the best
of safety devices and signals , the
block system being practically UDI-
versal ; Now Orleans Picayune.
\ -
OUTWITTING THE SANDS.
, ' In hIs article "From Coast to Coast I
'in ' an Automobile , " In the May World's I
Work , M . C. Krarup describes how .
the motor car was gotten over a sand
'hili. The means devised for thle omer
'goncy consisted of two strips of can. ,
vas , six feet wide and twenty.four feet
long. Where the sand Is round-grain- .
'od , loose and dry the driving , wheels
'of a car can get no hold , but spin
around as In water or slimy mud. Our
I
strips of canvas , laid on the ground
'for the wheels to run over , held the
'sand together , and then the motor
power was sufficient to drive usheal ,
In this manner the two strips , each
'laid down three times , took U8 over
Wndsworth hill , much to the astonishment .
mont of a number of citizens who had
assembled there with a team of horses
.and stout tackle to help us.
I TO KILL DANDELIONS.
-
In regard to the trouble owners of
.
.Iawns and grass plots have In koeplng
them free from the pestiferous dandelion .
lion , a benevolent citizen who has ox I
perloncod lots of this trouble writes t o I
the Oregonian to say that many people .
plo bring more of this trouble on themselves .
solves by trying to exterminate dandelions .
lions by cutting the plant off just be
'low the ground. A great deal of this
'is done early In the spring by people l
collecting young dandelion plants for
I " 'groeml ' , " they being an excellent and
I , wholesome pot herb. This , It Is salll ,
:1 : dOOR not kill the plant , but causes
4 \ each root to throw out several shoots ,
, : and thus multiplies the number of
. dandellon
; i The correspondent mentioned writes
to Impress his fellow sufferers that If f
t when they cut off the dandelion plant
( " below the ground they will drop a
: 'Pinch of salt or a teaspoonful of coni
t alt I
-011 on the root left in the ground It. I .
will effectually kill It. This may seem I
z a troublesome job , but to one who ms 1 i
n 'sot on keeping his grass plot clear at
I 11andellon8 it will In the end save a
: tot at trouble . - Portland Oregonian.
CURE -FOR CONSUMPTION.
Motorcar exercise will cure co n .
sumption says Dr. Blancnet of Lyon
'He speaks from personal e3lperleDce : ,
having recovered his own health by
regularly covering about a hundred
miles a day in an open motor ca r .
Ho avers that by this remedy the
'cough of tuberculous patients Is gra d .
'ually abolished , or greatly diminished ,
and healthy sleep and appetite pro-
. duced. It Is most essential that the
, body should bo duly protected from
cold. The elements of the cure are
tht ' long stay In the open air and the
increased atmospheric pressure duo
to the rapid mallon , which oqmn : s
and strengthens the lungs.-Lolldon
, .Mail.
a
{ 1
CAN "GOOD" MEN CORRUPT ?
The ease with which good men , and
men who are reckoned honorable in
respect of their private lives , find excuses -
cuses for doing wrong In their publlo
action has been a marvel to the agos.
It will continue a marvel for long
years to coma But it Is not nearly so
marvelous as the perversity of human
nature that enables men to imagine
they are moral and devoted patriots
and faithful Christians while they are
bending their talent and influence to
increase their riches by bribing legis
lators l to do for them what they would
never do except for a corrupt consld
oration or through fear of a dominant
Intlucnce.-Boston Herald.
LOSS FROM TYPHOID.
The Michigan physician who puts
the annual money loss to the United
States from typhoid fever at $50,000.- !
000 Is far from letting forth the full
truth. He reaches his estimate by
assuming $1,000 as the average value
of the lives sacrificed and he omit
all account of the money spent in the
care of non.fatal cases. The real vale -
ue ot the lives lost-so
- far as such
value can be expressed In money-
might more properly be rated at $5" ,
000. and at least $100 on the average
must bo spent on victims who re
covcr. On this calculation , assuming
that the Michigan physician Is correct
In his number at cases , the annual
lose to the country from typhoid Is
early $300OOOOOO.-Provldonce Jour- ,
nal.
DIFFERENT MACHINE GUNS.
-
The first machine gun of any note I
was the Gatling. The original Gatling
had ten barrels placed ID a circle ,
with a breech mechanism so arranged
that by turning a crank these barrels
were successively tIred , the cartridges
being placed In a small hopper situated .
ated on the top at the gun.
The Hotchkiss was n similar gun ,
having a similar arrangement of bar.
roll , but a totally different mechau
ism The Hotchkls8 system , however ,
was used for a larger typo of ammu
Hilton than the Gatling. The French
mltrallIeuse { had thirty barrels. They
were all loaded at the same time and
all fired Simultaneously. The recall
was so great that It had to be mount
od In the same manner as a fleldplece
on a heavy carriage , requiring six
horses. The apparatus was clumsy , ,
difficult to operate , and hall a corn
paratlvely slow rate at tIre.
The Nordenteldt gun consists of a
series at barrels arranged side by
side , like organ pipes The Norden :
fold gun : generally has five barrels ,
and ! the mechanism Is worked by a
lever , the cartridges falling down
from n. hopper on the top of the arm
Into position where the mechanism
thrusts them Into the barrel , fires
them and extracts the empty case
This gun Is at great simplicity , and
for a time went Into extensive use. -
Harpor's Weekly.
A FILIAL SON.
-
M. Curio , the discoverer of radium ,
not long ago declined the red rlbbo
This at first was taken as showing
extreme republicanism. Ho refuse
because his father , a meritorious do c.
tor , who has always practiced in the
poorest part of Paris , Is still undec
rated. l\I. Curio would be pleased and
proud to enter the Legion of Honor
after his father had become a man
bor. At the same time ho does not
see how with any fairness he could bo
decorated If his wife were not aim 1
lady hODoroll.-l-arls Letter to Lon-
don ! Truth.
Weeds
.
Man hay almost always looked upon .
the weed as a mortal enemy of the
husbandman. Ho would deem himself
fortunate if he could carryon his tll
logo with never a weed to contend
with. Yet the name "weed" Is largely .
Iy meaningless , for It 18 merely a term
applied to the plants for which we have
at the present time no particular use
Yet It may bo assumed that each
weed has In It some value to the hu
man raCb that Is yet to be dlscovored.
Many of the weeds that now encroach '
on our cultivated domain wlll some
day be so changed by the hand of man
that they would not be recognized by
us to.day. In some It will be the
blossom that will be enlarged and de
veloped just as we have now devel
aped the flower of the cabbage to the
aulHlower. In others the root will
be the part that will bo developed , a8
we have from their wild and Insignifl
cant forms developed beets , carrots
and turnips.
Thus , as to the future of weeds , and
we can safely predict what the outcome .
come will be from our knowledge of
the history of the past. For we all
realize the fact that many ' of the
choicest things that como to our tables .
bles , whether In the form of feed or
for ornament , were within the his.
tory of man , but weeds hat were
thought below his notice. Asparagus
was a riparian plant growing In the
sandy margins of the rivers or by the
seashore. Celery was a strong weed
with nothing to recommend It till .
some man found how to make It grow I
tender In the shade. Left to grow
naturally It 19 of little or no use to
man. The beach pea that rambled
along the sands and rocks of the Mediterranean .
iterranean shores became , under cultivation .
tlvatlon , the beautiful sweet pea of
our flower gardens and of which we .
now have a thousand forms. How unlike .
like some of these are the forms out
of which they were developed ?
A few years ago the country was
stirred by the advent of the Russian
thistle , which threatened to put mil.
lions of acres of land out of cultivation .
tlon In ! the Northwest. A panic seized
some ot our most conservative agri
culturists and the legislatures , both
state and national , were appealed to
for Immense sums of money to be
spent ID checking the dreadful in-
vador. But the legislatures refused to
appropriate any considerable sums ot
money and told the farmers they
would have to fight this new weed
pest in the best way they could.
But before long it was found that
this weed , growing best on alkali
lands , was greatly relished In a young
state by the farm stock , and that it }
made good pa8turage. We now never
hear anything about the Russian this
tie except that here aDd there It is
being made up Into hay.
But apart from this occasional ser
vice to man there are other benefits
that come from weeds. They are the
first to take poses810n of waste places
and plough up the ground with thr.lr
roots to make way for the coming
of gr 8s. The dry soil , under the
fierce glare of the summer sun , loses
much at the humus It has in ! the exposed -
posed surface lay rs. This loss is now
known to be Tory great or would be
great , did not the weed take possession .
sian and cover the ground with their
enveloping tops. Under this shade the
ground keeps moist and the humus i is
conservel. ( The work of the bacteria
goes on in this protected soil . and
It was long ado demonstrated ' ! that nl
trates were formed uDder the road
ot these vers plants that the farmer
considers his fees.
The writer once hoard Protease
Dalloy say that he had just bought a
200 ' acre farm that '
iac covered with
weeds. The previous owner sold him
the farm at a. low price because It was
I so very weedy. The professor laughed
I
aa he remarked that ho preferred the
weeds to nothing , ae It was merely a ,
Question of plowing them under whenl
I ho got ready to use the land. Mean-
I while they were improving the land ! \
for him. Weeds do not Impoverish
the land , as they fall down and decay
on the very son where they have been
growing. It Is safe to say that the
son that will bear a godd cropy
weeds will bear n. good crop crop
other plant.
The thrifty farmer will have little
trouble with weeds , except when he
sows them In the crops ot grain that
he Is raising. The areas that are cultivated .
tlvated by hand hoeing or by the plow J
can be kept tree easy eDough. The
weed is I a friend that the farmer
would 'find it hard to get along , With.
out-Farmer's Review , I
, I
Improving Swine
. - - . . - - . - . . . . -
- . - - - .
" ' " - - _ r.I
The improvement of swine must
come as It comes in all other breedS
of animals , both by selecting and
feeding Feeding Is { probably first as
no matter how well aD animal may be
selected if he Is not fed properly the
things that have been gained by sOo s
lectlng will be lost. What Is the use
of a man trying to breed , up a strong
boned animal if . after having selected
one that shows the proper conforma'
tlon , he goes on feeding him nothing
but corn from plghood to maturity ?
It Is evident that this kind of feeding
would be a permanent check on furth
er development along the line desired
And if this selection should be con'
tlnued for generations and the feed
remain bad , little or nothing could
be gained. In the past much of the
work of Improvement has been along \
these lines and has therefore been \
uphill work. Some of our farmers 1
have tried to sct their breedlIU1J ( '
swine year after year with the hopes
of getting an improvement In stamina ,
but have continued to feed material
that went to destroy stamina aDd they
have found It to be difficult to improve .
prove their animals In the least.
The first requisite therefore Is to
begin a right system of feeding , ODe
that will develop a strong bone aDd
firm and abundant muscles. This can
be done by limiting the amount of
corn that Is fed aDd increasing the
amount of foods rich In protein By
such a course not .
only will the mus
cular systems of the animals be improved .
proved but the breeding qualities will
also be Improved , and the number ot
pigs ID each litter will be Increased.
The opposite course of feeding leads 'l
to degeneracy and impairment of
breeding qual1t1es.
Then comes the selection each year
or each breeding season. With the
proper method of feeding selection
becomes a very effective method of
Improving the animals. Within a few
weeks after farrowing the pigs will
begin to show characteristics that
I should be propagated. A few will be
I thriftier than the others. A few will
grow more rapidly than their fellows
and they will show better formation
of body viewed from the pork malcers' ,
standpoint. These are the ones that
should be chosen for the future breed.
ers , and should early be put In a lot
- by themselves and led with the Idea
, of making , breeders of them. At the
time the others begin to receive corn
In quantities sufficient to make them
lay on fat , these should
be receivln ,
. . . . .
only a little corn , just enough to bale f"\
ance the protein feeds they are re-
ceivlDg. It is obvious that no pig - . _ _ _ _
should be selected for breeding that
has been in anyway stunted In de
velopment. The pig that was not
able to take care of Itself In the gear
oral scramble for Its mother's milk
has not enough stamIna In it to make
a good breeder and It Is not desirable
to transmit that tacit
of stamina to au
offspring
The common tobacco dips are very - fjj
efficacious as a. dip for tlddlugs hogs
at lice. t