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About The Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898 | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1896)
IS h r i WOMAN AND THE WHEEL you are a woman It is your IF duty to call down bless ings upon the bead of bim who first made a wheel which a woman could ride It was a great day a white day for the sex and the race when woman mastered the graceful art of riding for by the wheel she has reached many things most desirable From the mak ers and sellers of wheels comes the sood news that the out put of wheels for women this year will be not only greatly in excess of any past year but more wheels for women will be made than for men The news is good news because of its cheering significance It means that many women will be more in the open air and sunshine than ever before in their lives it means that their flabbjr muscles will grow firm and strong their eyes bright and quick that their cheeks will lose their sickly cast and will glow with life in short that the thousands of women who ride will become healthy creatures in mind and body And every improvement thus made in personal health means a corresponding gain in public health so that we are all better for every wheel sold to a woman Womankind Calls of Congratulation In these days of announcing engage ments calls of congratulation are ex pected as also after the marriage has taken place if you have received the wedding cards if not it is to be under stood the young couple do not wish to Ished by a line of brightly colored ball fringe or by a few pompons set three together at intervals along the top A bow of ribbon matching that used on the pin cushion must be placed at the bottom point of the pocket also at the back of the roll cushion two little eye- lets by which to suspend it must be arranged This makes a very useful 0 V FOR HAT PIS and pretty item for hanging above a dressing ta ble or toilet mirror Victorias Favorite Books All through her life although it has been a busy one the Queen has says a contemporary been a great reader There is hardly any book of note that has not passed through her hands Dur ing aer majestys reign she has made a collection of about 80000 volumes kept under charge of a librarian and two assistants at Windsor Lord ORNAMENTS FOR EVENING COIFFURES VI4 W Fashion has decreed that evening Coiffures shall not appear without Consequently the up-to-date womans hair is never seen without a -decoration of some kind Coiffures have not for years been so elaborate and they can reasonably demand beau tiful combs and pins of all descriptions Little soft bobbing curls are universal ly worn and they are held in place by a diamond or jeweled side comb or pin The hair is much wared on the sides in -deep undulating ripples and the con tour of the head is often improved by a light delicately wrought gold comb which holds the hair closer to the head Many fair women with well modeled brows indulge in the simple and ele gant pompadour coiffure leaving only -a very slight curl on each side of the forehead The hair in such cases is ar xanged in a simple knot at the crown continue your acquaintance One busy woman makes it a matter of principle to call once leaving her own card and 3ier husbands on every one who sends her wedding cards Very likely she mever has time to go again but she says -if they send her cards etiquette de mands she shall make some acknowl edgment A Han cine Pin Cushion Take a piece of ordinary fire wood scrape away its sharp edges and with the aid of a pocket knife make it as round as possible This done cover wlth a thick layer of wadding and over this again lay silk satin or brocade Stitch firmly and neatly at the back and fasten off at each end with bows of ribbon If preferred two different colored lengths ol ribbon may be used instead of piece silk for covering the wadding in which case these must be arranged alternately as illustrated ani finally tied into bows at either end INow make a three cornered pocket by -cutting a piece of cardboard to shape and arranging in front of it fluted silk This must be sewn to the cardboard on either side but left open in front as here clearly shown The cardboard it self should be plainly covered with sateen and sewn along the top of the round cushion as sketched The front of the head From it hangs two or three curls The knot is much im proved by a high comb of either gold shell or diamonds Puffs and fluffy locks are banked in front of the long band shaped shell combs such as our great-great-grandmothers embellished their heads with Spanish combs elab orately carved are a feature of the hour Arch maidens nestle waving aigrettes tied with smart colored satin bows on the left side of their becurled tresses Aigrettes are also arranged with bunches of violets roses ragged sailors and Flowers and ribbons are as well grouped with perky lace butterflies The diamond star continues to be a favorite orna ment and they glisten on the heads of many smart women at all evening func tions Beaconsfields novels and Lord Tenny sons poems with Charles Dickens works have for years constituted her majestys favorite reading Dinner Gown for Summer Jn raw IsYtfaoJ The chameleon who Is said to feed upon nothing but air hath of all ani edge or flap of the pocket may be fin 1 mals the nimblest tongue - janEBggi SOLDIERS AT HOME THEY TELL SOME INTERESTING ANECDOTES OF THE WAtf now th Bot of Both Armies YPblled Away Life la Camp Foraging Expe riences Tlresocn March Thrilling ttcencsaa tfcs Battlefield Confederate Battle Flags The flags taken from the Southern rroops are now reposing in an attic in me top of the War Department but ame first to the care of the govern ment in 1S67 when they were deposit id in the old War Department on 17th street They were then about S00 in lumber 236 being recaptured Union standards These flags were obtained from the commanding generals of the United States armies and were cata logued and identified whenever it was possible In 1874 a part of the flags were placed on exhibition in a museum in the Winder building but in October 1882 all of the flags were boxed up and by the direction of the Secretary of War they were stored in the base aient of the new War Department When it was found in 18S7 that the flags were rapidly decaying they were taken up into the attic where they are it present The fact that many of the colors or iginally deposited are not now in the sare of the department is easily ex plained by the fact that flags have from time to time been returned to their owners applications being some times made for them by Governors of States or organizations Nineteen standards have been returnedto Union troops by orders of Secretaries of War among those returned being one sent back by Stanton Prior to May 1SG7 there were twenty one Confederate flags returned ten being taken from the War Department by Stantons direc tions and nine being taken out by in structions which came from him in directly But since 1887 there have been no flags Union or Confederate allowed to pass out of the custody of the War Department Some years ago an effort was set on foot by an officer of the War Depart ment to return all colors to the regi ments North and South by whom they were originally borne but several in dividuals became discontented at the suggestion and nothing ever came of the movement As a consequence they have been little spoken of since and the department is unwilling to make any move in the matter In fact the orders are that no one shall be allowed to in spect the flag room for the purpose of making any publication about its con tents this step being taken to prevent arousing any sectional feeling in re gard to the matter As a consequence no one is permitted to even examine the flags for any such purpose and the Secretary of War refuses permission to have the colors photographed Of the flags returned to the Union regiments which carried them there are over twenty Pennsylvania having received five for her troops Massachu setts getting three Michigan two New York three Ohio two New Jersey two Ilinois two and Vermont and Con necticut one each Of the flags returned at different times by request to Southern regiments there are twenty two among them be ing the Union flag which was taken at New Market Crossroads by the Penn sylvania troops the Confederates hav ing used it to deceive the enemy A great many flags were loaned out years ago by officers and as they were never returned the department is unable to replace them Of the flags taken from the Southern troops and now in the attic of the War Department there are about 250 whose history can be obtained while the num ber of Union banners recaptured and identified is sixty two The room in which they are kept is a narrow light md dry one and the colors are standing all about resting against the walls some of them furled while others hang limp about the staff all of them being torn dusty ragged and faded and often spotted with blood Other standards which have lost their staffs are rolled into bundles and pack ed away in holes in a cupboard whose doors are off from the hinges and the shaly little packages of dirty bunting remind one of a junk shop only the realization of what they all mean comes to one so forcibly that it is hard to believe that men once fought like mad to possess the bit of colored rag now lying in a dusty heap The blues and reds are too dim to be pretty the paintings are cracked and torn the stripes are coming apart while the tiny bits of stringy bullion still gleam amid the tarnished heap of former glory The wood used for the staffs is of various kinds while others are pieces of broken sticks and broken scantling bound together by strings and ropes As no allowance has been given the department with which to preserve the flags they will likely remain in the attic of the department indefinitely If any move were made to return them to the South it would awaken the old op position from many Northern soldiers who fought so bravely to capture these very colors And if it were intended to place them on exhibition in some pub lic museum most of the Southern sol diers would object to their flags being placed en view as trophies of the con quered Sc the management of the matter is an -exceedingly delicate one one which the present administration of the department thinks can best be arranged by letting the flags rest in a place where they will not be open to the public yet will be preserved from decay Among the most interesting banners shown is that captured at Antietam from the Stonewall men The colors of tlie Nineteenth Mississippi Mbones division Gen Longstreets corps Is an- other relic of value Others are the flags taken by the Union troops from the Ninth Virginia Infantry at Gettys burg this standard being in the thick est of the fight where Pickett made his famous charge and Gen Armstead fell the banner of the Seventh North Caro lina Regiment which was displayed and captured in the same part of the field during the fight at Gettysburg the flag of the Second Virginia Infan try known as Stonewalls Old Brig ade taken at Winchester by Massa chusetts troops the colors of the fa mous regiment feared for its savage bravery the Louisiana Tigers a flag taken at Malvern Hill on July 1 1802 by Pennsylvania volunteers from a North Carolina regiment the fighting being so desperate that the Confeder ates piled up around themselves the dead bodies of their fallen comrades and fired from behind this human fort Washington correspondent of the Philadelphia Times McClellans First Meeting with Iec It was near the City of Mexico dur ing the Mexican war said Gen Mc Clellan to Mr Savage that 1 first met my future great opposing commander I was a Lieutenant of engineers and Lee was a Major of engineers and a favorite on the staff of Gen Winfield Scott I was walking along across a field one day when I saw Gen Scott and his staff approaching on horse back As the party drew near to me Major Lee reined up his horse and ad dressing me in an angry tone said Lieutenant dont you know you are disobeying orders What is your name I told him my name was McClellan and that I did not know I was disobey ing orders All officers have been told to re main in their quarters and await or ders i I replied that no such order had reached me and he then peremptorily ordered me back to my quarters and hastened away to poin Gen Scott and the rest of the staff who had not stopped I returned across the field to my quarters feeling much injured for I had not knowingly committed any breach of discipline I complained to my fellow officers of Major Lees treat ment of me Scarcely had I finished my story when I was told that there was an officer outside who wished to see me and I was greatly surprised to find Major Lee seated there upon his horse He saluted and I returned the salute Lieutenant McClellan said he I fear that in our meeting just now I was discourteous in tone or manner and I have come to express to you the regret which under the circumstances a gen tleman should I assured him that it was all right and with a salute and a low bow which I feelingly returned he rode away leaving me lost in admiration of a su perior officer who could so promptly and generously repair an error Bal timore Sun Ill Put a Head on Ton I was so unfortunate as to be appoint ed corporal that winter says a writer and the first time I went on picket in that capacity an incident occurred which if it was not the origin of a once familiar term was the first instance of its use within my recollection though the emphasis at the time was somewhat different from that used af ter the phrase became a slang expres sion It happened that I was detailed with the first relief and as we rode to the line the corporal of the old picket accompanied us to show me the line and the various posts to explain the surroundings and transmit to me the orders and to call in his own men As we rode he related a joke that was played upon one of his men while there Not far from the -upper post and in rear of it was an old grave As the victim of the joke went on duty the first time the man whom he relieved told him that at midnight the night before the ghost of a man was seen near that grave rid ing around on horseback without any head This so frightened the man that he did not dare to go on duty on the midnight relief but instead hired n braver comrade to staud his picket for him When I posted my relief between 11 and 12 oclock that night this story came into mind and I thought to have a bit of sport with the man whom I was to leave there all alone at that mid night hour so I told him the story with all the awe I could put into my tone and manner But my picket didnt frighten so easily He was just lighting his pipe and replied between whiffs Well puff if theres a man puff comes around here puff to night puff without any head on puff Ill put a head on him He wasnt disturbed during his mid night vigil Rochester Times Where Men Turn to Stone Every one has heard oC the petrified forest of Arizona said a Tombstone citizen but few people are aware that there are springs in the Territory where almost any object can be petrified Frogs snakes lizards and other reptiles have ventured into some of these springs and turned to stone Leaves twigs and branches of trees have un dergone the same process But the most remarkable instance is that of a cattle--man who has the same name as my self although no relation He was in the habit of standing in one of these springs and bathing He did this fo some time when he began to feel pe culiar pains in his feet and ankles and he stopped but the t pains continued followed by a numbness that never left them He lost all control of the muscles of that part of his body and it was but a few weeks until he realized that his feet had become petrified and for the past year he has been unable to walk The rest of his body was somewhat af fected but not so much so as the waitai toad not submerged bim X- 0UE EUEAL READERS SOMETHING HERE THAT INTEREST THEM WILL iarmers Should Encourage the Study of Theories How to Make a Good Earth Scraper Crate for Marketing Produce Theory and Practice The successful man who prides him self on being a strictly practical farm er breeder or feeder with no theoreti cal or scientific nonsense about him may do considerable harm by the force of his example The fact that he car ries on his operations intelligently and successfully is evidence that he carries them on scientifically He is then al though he may not know it a scientific farmer and unconsciously understands and carries out the very principles which scientific men are trying to im press upon the minds of the ignorant and at which he scoffs Such men do harm when they sneer at the idea that theoretical or scientific knowledge is unimportant It may be unimportant to the man whose practice agrees in the main with correct principles but to the man whose practice is not correct and never will be until he understands the principles which underlie it such an Idea is disastrous If all men could or would conduct their work on right lines it would matter little whether they un derstood the principles or not But all will riot do this Most of them must know the principle first or they will not persevere in the practice some will not anyhow Let us by all means en courage the study of the theories and principles which are back of correct practice in agriculture Stockman Homemade Earth Scraper A good substitute for the expensive earth scrapers on the market may be made as illustrated The material should be hard wood and the edge in front covered with sheet Iron after which an old piece of crosscut saw may be fastened beneath the edge and turn- GOOD EABTH SCRAPER ed up at the sides The iron straps to which the chain is attached should go around the back as well as the sides of the scraper to give strength For lev eling ridges and filling depressions about the farm such an implement is very handy Avoiding Sickness There is nothing more essential to the success of a business man than the good health of himself and his family This is especially true of the farmer who must give personal attention to every part of his business and whose family is closely connected with his work Anything that interferes with the use fulness of any one in the average farm home is a serious hindrance For busi nesss reasons therefore the farmer cannot afford to have sickness in his household One of the most common causes of sickness in the country is over work Many women especially suffer from this cause and do not seem to real ize it nor do their households Another common cause of sickness is neglect of sanitary precautions The country home is usually well situated to avoid trouble of this kind but so often have we seen surroundings that invited dis ease that we have thought a country health inspector would not be out of place It should not be difficult to pre vent the pollution of air water or food in the country arid If these are all pure ere need be little fear of trouble Box for Marketing Produce Many a farmer goes to market carry ing fruit butter eggs and a number of other articles A convenient package for his use is shown herewith The box has a bail for carrying purposes One side instead of the top is hinged disclosing shelves when opened Fruit butter eggs and other small articles can be placed on these shelves and reached instantly without disturbing llisfitsr fin xlp PRODUCE CRATE other articles which is not at all the case when the package opens at the top The Dock Weed On meadow land the narrow dock is one of the worst of weeds It is so tena cious of life that even after it is pulled up and partly dried it will grow again when wet by rains and allowed to touch the damp soil It is very com monly allowed to seed and the plant being cut with the grass goes into the hay and the seeds are thus distributed in the manure pile It is in this way that the plant is distributed in locali ties where none was known before The seeds are very tenacious of vital ity as they will undergo heating in a manure pile and then grow quite as well as before being subjected to this ordeal whichwill kill most other seeds The dock roots can be pulled up while the ground is soft in the spring or from recent heavy rains any time during the summer But do not leave them on the fences thinking that they will thus dry out so as to be incapable of growing again Training a Young Cow Last fall I purchased a fine Guernsey heifer for 20 that had become spoiled in milking says a contributor to the Country Gentleman When she wMLjwiaes 2l 1 ened she stood well until she found the hired man was afraid of her when she kicked so terribly that wewere obliged to put the calf to her again The calf had been allowed to do the milking until four or five days oldr which I knew was a mistake but It oc curred while I was away from home I almost despaired of reclaiming that cow for the dairy but at the endj of six months weaned the calf and strange to say had very little difficulty in training her She Is as quiet andi gentle now as any in the herd and bids fair to be an extra butter cow Peas for Fattening Pigs Corn is not the best food for young hogs yet as It is more generally grown than any other and Is the cheapest grain feed it is the staple ration A diet of peas Is much better for making1 growth As the peas can be sown broadcast they need no cultivating and the crop may even be harvested by turning the pigs in and letting them J eat what they will We know a farmer who every year grows three to fivej acres of field peas He gets the seed from Canada to avoid the pea bug but in localities where few peas have been1 grown the pea bug has so far disap peared for lack of Its favorite- food that the pea can be grown for several years without any trouble from this source Our farmer usually gets 25 toi 30 bushels per acre and says the peas cost less per bushel than the amount of corn He has the peas ground with oats and corn and keeps some of this mixture to feed his pigs the following summer when a little grain feed does much more good than it will in cold weather American Cul tivator Old Horses Still Efficient A gray haired farmer named W B Anderson in Willink Erie County N Y drives a pair of mares that though 34 and 36 years old are still able to do a good days work on his farm or take him on the road to the city The team has never had any other owner and they have never been overdriven It is the excitement of too fast driving which the horse probably enjoys as well as his owner which shortens the life of most horses We never knew horses to attain such age as this Usually the teeth become so poor that they can only eat cut and ground feed but this is us ually best for all horses that have hard work to do as it saves unneces sary labor for the digestive organs Mineral Fertilizers for Clover Seeu It is not always the largest clover that makes the best seed crop On the contrary it is the belief of most farm ers that a moderate growth of leaf and stalk produces the best seed Large clover indicates an excess of nitrogenous plant food and a propor tionate deficiency of mineral fertility All kinds of seeds require mineral manures to make them produce the largest crop Clover is no exception to this rule Applications of phosphate of lime and potash will give the clover the material to produce seed The clover plant has the power of using nitrogen in the air in the soil and if the farmer gives it the mineral manure it needs it will do the rest A Fodder Rack When tlie pasture begins to get short the stock must have extra feed and al FODDER RACK feed rack for the pasture or barn yard is necessary The illustration shows such a rack built against a fence which has one important feature At the or dinary feed rack the strongest and most belligerent of the stock will course along the length of the rack and drive off the weaker iWth the one here with illustrated all such difficulties are avoided as each animal must keep his own place Grade Cotvs In speaking of scrub cattle it should be noted that there flows some very good Ayrshire Shorthorn and Devon blood in the veins of a large proportion of the so called common cows of this country Such cattle are by no means scrub stock When we see cows giving sixteen to twenty quarts and producing daughters equal to themselves we may well suspect some good thoroughbred ancestry somewhere Poultry Pointers If the fowls are having free range you can stop feeding them meat scraps Keep the old hen penned in a small but comfortable coop but let the chicks have free range Do not allow the drinking water to be exposed to the sun Give fresh water twice daily Do not set the hens in the hen house A sitting hen is a regular louse factory A cool out building will be much bet ter Did you ever try ducks Get a few settings of eggs now and raise a flock It will pay to raise them for your own eating Have shady runs for the chicks and no better place for both old and young stock can be found than the or chard r Let the chicks run In the garden ifi 1 they will They will gather seeds that will do both them and your garden a lot of good Dont forget that onion tops and tender lettuce are excellent for young stock Cannot you spare a little from the garden If you are raising ducks for markeC be sure to ship them when ten weeks old That is one of the secrets of auoi cess in duck culture Q i A V 3 s J m U i i J r 4l f k
