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About The Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898 | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1896)
wfir iff I I I W Jpl A jfc IM iTT si Teh AiAl ffW J m M BRAINS AND BALD HEADS derinatoligists are to be believed IF twentieth century woman stands a good chance of being com pelled to wear a wig The claim Is made that intellectual labor develops lack of vitality in the hair and that the daughters and granddaughters of the brainy aggressive women of to day who are pushing themselves into the front rank of the professions and distin guishing themselves in the fields of in tellectual endeavor will be baldheaded in early life Science foresees this la mentable state of affairs and sends a note of warning The naw woman may be the progenitor of a nobler a better woman a brainier woman but the latter will be a bald woman The new woman is herself developing a tendency to baldness It is an accepted scientific fact that excessive mental la bor superinduces a weakness of the scalp tissue and the loss of the hair that soon shows as partial baldness With succeeding generations this weak ness is aggravated and is often marked by a complete loss of hair in early life While a woman may escape actual baldness herself in her children the germ will be sown and so transmitted from generation to generation until our young women will either be bald bald as the egg of commerce or at least Tje forced to wear short crops of hair like unto that of the boys of the present day A glance over any assemblage of physicians lawyers statesmen or scientific men will show a decided ma jority of bald heads while of the re mainder the supply is light and scant and the man with a luxuriant growth in such a gathering is conspicuous by reason of the fact Close observation of the hundreds of women who are taking an active part in public affairs will reveal this tendency to scanty locks Women naturally make every effort to conceal such a fact and it is not apparent to the casual observer but inquiry among specialists who treat loss of hair and scalp diseases is niet women in enterirfg trade It makes 1 Americans feel that democratic institu lions are not a failure Only a Suggestion of Perfume It Is a Law of modern form that men shall not use perfumes Women are permitted to carry about them a deli cate odor of flowers or spices but not too much of it Time was when the scent of fine ladies and dandies was overpowering But all that is changed now and the lady is expected to carry- with her only a suggestion of perfume if she has any at all This too in spite of the dictum from Paris that the scent shall be strong Perfume is put on fehe handkerchief essence of orris is used in the hair and other essences are used in my ladys toilet but each perfume is subtle and delicate She has her bath perfumed too She puts eau de cologne into it and half a pint of benzine goes into it to clear the skin and make it Arm and tight One of the fads for the bath at present is the use of bags filled daily with almond meal or orris with shaved soap and oil of roses or violets Is It Lady or Woman A recent issue of the Verbalist has the following to say regarding au old dispute The use of the word lady whether in the singular or the plural simply to designate sex is in the worst possible taste There is a kind of pin feather gentility which seems to have a settled aversion to using the terms man and woman Such expres sions as She is a fine lady a clever lady and the like are studiously avoid ed by persons of refinement If a woman of culture and refinement in short a lady is compelled from any cause soever to work in a store 6he is quite content to be called a saleswom an not so however with your young woman who being in a store is in a better position than ever before She boils with indignation if she is not de nominated a saleslady To My Tady Who Plays See tier dainty fingers Tripping oer the keys With what grace shtdoes it With what woudrous ease Does her playing mind you Of the robins song Fiping in the tree tops All the morning long Does her touch bring to you Thoughts of breaking heartsS Is her playing mindful Of poor Cupids darts Or does sue dear maiden With the ivory Make you think of hours In some dreamy land Dreamy spot like Venice With its rippling ways Dreamy old Se villa Isnt of these she plays Nay noL so this player Of whom now 1 sing Pretty little maiden Dainty little thing Plays not of old romance No sweet dreams evokes Shes just my typewriter Copying off my jokes Harpers Bazar Friscos Female Bagpipe Player San Francisco Cal not Edinburgh Scotland is the proud possessor of the only woman bagpipe player in the world She isMiss Elaine Telfor and she is an American by birth as well as by residence She comes of Scottish stock however her father being an Ayrshire man who traces his ancestry back to Robert Bruce His daughter was fond of Scottish legends and tales in her youth and at an early age was inspired by the ambition to become the mistress of the melodious art of piping She learned readily and she is now sought all along the coast to give color WOMAX OF TO DAT with the admission that while former ly women patrons were rare they now come for treatment in numbers equal to the male customers Women in the Hotel Business The Misses Elliot two prominent young New York society women have created considerable talk by their re cent action in opening a small hotel in that city which they will hereafter con duct A few years ago such a move on the part of members of the 400 would have been a nine days wonder but New York society has lately grown wiser Ten years ago when a member of one of the oldest New York families opened a grocery store in Newport so ciety was sadly scandalized but it has been found that the effort to create an American aristocracy that would look down on vulgar trades was not des tined to succeed Indeed one of the most popular signs of the times is the action of so many swell men and WOMAN OF THE FUTURE to the gatherings of the men from Burns land Miss Telfor is a slight dark haired girl of 18 but she carries herself with the proverbial stateliness of the piper and marches to the tunes she plays She is fairly ablaze with the medals and decorations which have been bestowed upon her by the admir ing Scotch societies of California The Rush at a Barcain Counter- One of the most interesting features of the large shops where women spend much of their time and some of their money is the department known as the waitmg room There the shopper is to be seen in her most disheveled most distressed condition After the bargain counter rushes the snubs from haughty clerks the disdain of the cash girls and a long list of similar woes she re treats to the refuge provided by the pro prietor She sits in a disconsolate heap on velvet cushioned sofas She lets down her dignity and sometimes her hair She frequently curls up on one of the hot looking divans and goes to sleep She studies her shopping lists and examines those of her purchases which she carries with her She uses the firms stationery with the lavishuess whieh is nainral in dealing with other persons belongings She displays sis terly kindness towaid fellow shoppers driven by the bargain tempests into the same haven And once at least she has been moved to the most remarkable friendliness One of the storm tossed sisterhood drifted into tl harbor and spied there another who yed her cold ly After a few minutes she walked over to the lady of the frigid aspect I beg your pardon she said but I know you had intended to buy that last 50 cent fan that I got Would you like it now I find its too salmony pink anyway for me Whereupon the other dilapidated pur chasers who had put in for repairs were treated to the unusual sight of two rival shoppers almost embracing over a 50 cent fan Trainir g of TurkisluGirls Turkish girls of the better class in the cities after they are too old to attend the primary schools are largely edu cated at home by governesses many of whom come from England and France but unfortunately do not represent the highest culture of these nations so that real love of study is not as a rule de veloped under their influence Turkish women have a great aptitude for for eign languages and those met on the steamers of the Bosphorus often speak French and it is not unusual for them to speak German and English also Friends of Fitzhugh Lee the new consul general to Cuba declare that he compounded the first real mint julep that President Cleveland ever drank iBiMa NOTES ON EDUCATION MATTERS OF INTEREST TO PIL AND TEACHER A Serious Problem that Confronts City Boards of Education Unruly Boys Converted with the Rod Some School Games for the Children Truants and the Schools One of the most serious problems that confront the Chicago Board of Educa tion says the Chronicle of that city is the question of truant children and the best methods of dealing with them No hasty answer can be given at present that will in any wise meet the condi tions and yet the subject is one that deserves the attention of every worthy citizen It is obvious that truants are not de sirable pupils They are in most cases children of careless indifferent par ents They are unkempt uncouth and have usually inherited the lax bose ways of their parents Sometimes vi cious they frequently disturb the order and welfare of the school and unduly tax the time of the teachei which should be given to instruction and not to incessant reproor and discipline It Is justly complained that a few such children tend to demoralize a room and the best strength of a supe rior teacher is needed to keep in check their pernicious influence Naturally teachers do not favor a law which com rels the attendance of theso runaways Vnd the sight of a truant agent relum ing one of them is anything but wel come Then too the limited time of these pupils in school even when they re main the number of days required by law counts little in the way of direct attainment Their indifference and in ability lessen the general average of the school and the ambitious teacher has to realize that the whole tone of her school is weakened by their presence or rather by their continued coming and going Looking at the matter from this point of view it would seem best for the welfare of the school that is to say best for the majority of pupils that the truant agents be dropped and the money given to compulsory education be spent upon pupils who need no com pulsion Plausible as this seems and favorable as it would be to the higher tone and character of our schools it would be unwise and unjust For the leading object of our public schools is not to make brilliant schol ars but to secure good citizenship To this end the State is justified in taxing the people A government by the peo ple in order to be secure must be a government by an intelligent people who understand clearly the duties as well as the rights of citizens Our public schools teach not only the three Its and the higher branches of learning they teach also the necessity of promptness order harmony obe dience to law self restraint all of which are essential to good citizenship No pupil can pass the various require ments of the public school without gaining in self discipline or having clearer ideas of right and justice Beyond all other children the tru ants and street waifs need exactly that kind of influence which the public school exerts More than other chil dren they need special fitting for citi zenshipthe object for which our schools are primarily designed It would be unsafe to the State to leave them on the street in order that the general scholarship of the schools may be raised or that teachers and faithful pupils may be rid of their annoyance Even where the attendance of these truants is but eighty days or only half a dozen days the value of this time to them cannot be rated An idea of what three days in a good atmosphere may mean to a vagrant boy may be gained if we consider what three days in a school of vice would do to the best of boys The effect in the one case may be ns strong as that in the other unless one admits that vice is more potent than virtue a point that- cannot be main tained How She Converted Them The following is from an address by E B White of Cincinnati one of the ablest school men now prominent among Americas pedagogical leaders It contains a most wholesome bit of doctrine put into the form of a con crete illustration A lady who had unusual success in country schools was once employed to take charge of a Cleveland school whieh two successive teachers had failed to control Nothing was said to her respecting the condition of the school and she took charge of it an ticipating a pleasant experience in teaching in the city At noon she re turned to her boarding place in tears and said to her brother that she could ao nothing with the boys and had made up her mind to resign and go back into the country I have done my best to interest the boys she added and they have simply run over me Boys have gone head first out of the windows this moruing and back again whistling at me Do not think of resigning Mary said the brother but go back and put your school in order and give the boys a lesson in prompt obedience Ask them to rise quietly at the beck of your hand If a boy fails to respond attend to them Shall I whip asked the troubled teacher Whip Yes if necessary said the brother and I will furnish the whips Your school is in rebellion She sighed but took the whips furnished and returned to her school to try the experiment She came back at the close of school with a look of victory on her face Well Mary said the brother what kind of a school did you have this afternoon I had an excellent school she replied the last hour What of the first hour said the brother I do not like to say Did m m iwnyiiii nwiiiwiwuri Jir JwVWW h whip Whip I whipped a half dozen boys the first twenty minutes but they toed the mark after that I am going to have a beautiful school That lady taught in -the schools of Cleveland until she went to her re ward -and she nevar whipped another pupil It is aoodmany years since the speaker gve the above advice but he would grve it to day under like cir cumstances ft Primary Reading- Children cannot read until they are perfectly familiar with small words and can recognize them at sight If it be attempted before this is accomplish ed the reading is slow laborious and dull Many of our poor readers In the upper grades are so from a slovenly habit that comes from lack of proper drill The bright boy or girl will soon learn to recognize words but the slow ones must have the right kind of a drill and plenty of it Every child who enters school has a vocabulary of from two to three hun dred words The first few years of his school life the teacher merely teaches him the written and printed forms of words he already knows A good plan is to make a list of words given the pupil from chart board or book and run over them every day Tell the children you want them to make a new spelling book and you want all the words they can think of Begin for instance with a t Write it see it spell it and sound it Tell them to make another word from this putting some letter before at Write a t the first one then add the letter given you Some one suggests c write c and you have under this word and ask for another letter This time some one k ill give r then you have r at Proceed m this way until you have at cat rat fat mat Nat vat bat sat tat Then take a n and proceed in the same man ner leaving your list on board or chart You now have an can ran man fan Dan tan 3ran van Take i n and you will produce in tin fin bin win dia kin sin etc After several lists have been made make phrases such as a cat a rat a mat a fan You can carry this out indefinitely Use three words as a mauran a cat ran a fat rat ran at a man etc etc The children will enjoy the work If you have no pictures draw something to represent the word No matter if the drawing is crude children as as often amused and pleas ed with these crude drawings as with the more perfect ones For pupils who have words with two or three syllables separate the words into parts as sing ing bring ing Always have a list of words in view When there is lassitude in the number class call for a list of words or when there is a minute or two between classes turn the attention to some one of these lists If lists consist of words of two syllables as ring ing sing ing bring ing wing ing fling ing cling ing pronounce first part of each word as sing ring etc Then pronounce the last part put them together and pronounce This makes an excellent drill and one that tells in the end The Teachers Outlook School Games for Children Going to Mexico is the name of an entertaining game for boys and girls It is suitable for an evening gathering of almost any kind The company ar ranges itself in a circle with the Trav eler in the center What are you going to take to Mex ico with you Arthur asks the trav eler pointing suddenly at one of the boys and beginning to count rapidly If Arthur says apples or andirons or the name of any other object beginning with A the first letter of his name be fore the traveler counts ten he keeps his seat and the traveler turns suddenly and points at Kate One two three he counts Cookies stammers Kate You cannot go to Mexico with me says the traveler and he takes Kates chair and Kate becomes a traveler Then she tries to catch some one else The same person may not mention the same object twice An interesting diversion consists ir having every one present except those who are in the secret stand up around the room with their faces toward the hall Then the leader steps up to one person in the ring and asks Are you perfectly satisfied Then the question is asked earnestiy of each person in the ring the interest increasing all the time When the lead er has been informed that every one is well satisfied he steps to the middle of the room and says Very well you are all satisfied Yot can stand there as long as you please Institute Herald Rules for Strengthening the Memory Seek and preserve vigorous health as a fundamental condition of a good memory Train the senses to careful observation and accurate discrimina tion Deepen and intensify your first impressions of what you would mem orize a by concentrating the thought upon it b by exercising the will power in regard to it c by allowing the object or thought to remain for a sufficient length of time before the mental vision Test your memory to determine whether you commit more easily by sight or sound also to find which you retain more firmly the images of sight or the sound images Select for mem orizing purposes some selection and assign yourself a limited portion for daily memorizing at a selected hour of the morning Preserve the period re ligiously for the two fold purpose of committing the daily portions and re viewing the lessons previously com mitted Make it a rule to comprehend thoroughly every idea or fact you would commit to memory Mrs Oliphant who has written seventy-eight novels never writes in the daytime She thinks the stillness of night conducive to good writing vamvar77KZT TOPICS FOE FAHMEES A DEPARTMENT PREPARED OUR RURAL FRIENDS FOR Unfavorable Condition of AfFaira in the Farming Industry la Reported Dirty Eggs Will Not Keep Value of the Harrow as a Cultivator Condition of the Farmers The statistical report of the depart ment of agriculture indicates a rather unfavorable condition of affairs in the farming industry The exhibit shows the number of head of live stock in Jan 1 1895 and again on the cor responding date of the present year Every kind of live stock shows a very marked decrease during the year As between the two exhibits there is a decrease of 4S per cent in the num ber of horses 23 per cent in mules 22 per cent in milch cows 6G per cent in oxen and other cattle 04 per cent in sheep and 3 per cent in swine or a decrease of over 2S per cent in the number of live stock in the coun try in a single year With the exception of horses and mules the stock named is all in farm ers hands and constitutes not only a very considerable part of their wealth but is one of their chief means of ac cumulating property while they are important in maintaining the fertility of the soil and the production of the farm Not only does the report show a decrease in the number of animals but a shrinkage in the value of all except cattle and sheep which aver age a little but not much higher As a rule surnlus of grain such as there has been in the northwestern States the last year makes the price of stock firm because it is more profitable to feed grain to stock than to sell it at the low prices that abundant harvests generally create But the indications are that owing to hard times and low prices of grain farmers have had to dispose of such commodities as could be most readily exchanged for money to enable them to pay their debts and taxes The showing of the department does not give a very flattering indication of agricultural prosperity and with out prosperity among farmers and pro ducers there can be no very stable condition of business generally 32gzs Will Not Keep In laying down eggs for winter use care should be taken to see that they are perfectly clean The shell is por ous and the odors of any filth attach ed to it quickly penetrate to the in terior and begin the process of decom position It is impossible to keep eggs many months and have them exactly like fresh eggs The evaporation from the oss robs its of moisture though this is largely prevented by immersing the egg in lime water But all water except that which has been just boiled contains some air Packing eggs in salt will keep them for a short time and is the easiest and cheapest way for keeping for home use Dont Spare the Harrow The progressive farmer now does most of his cultivating of what used to be hoed crops with the harrow He harrows before planting and after planting before and after the crop is up and keeps harrowing until the cul tivator is called in because the harrow cant reach the ground on account of the big growth of the crop Such use of the harrow would have scared a con servative farmer out of his wits a few years ago but it means clean fields and good crops at the minimum cost of labor Black vs White Oats There is a popular prejudice againsr black oats in this country owing to a belief that they are more chaffy and their chaff is harsher than that of the white oat This is not true however of all kinds We have seen white oats that would weigh within a few pounds as much per bushel as barley and whose husk was almost as hard as a barley beard It is the kind of husk rather than its color that the purchaser of oats should look to It is not a good plan to feed oats unground especially if they are of the rough bearded kind The ground oat will be digested better and in any event its husk will be so broken up in grinding that it will aid perfect digestion instead of preventing it as white oats often do Crossing Brahmas and IJeghorns The first cross of Brahmas and Leg horns makes a very desirable fowl for farmers use They are good layers and are more hardy than the pure Leg horns and are also better for the table But the cross must not be interbred or it will inherit the poor points of both strains The roosters should always be pure bred fowls either of the Brah ma or Leghorn according as which style of fowl is best adapted to the breeders aims Where there is poor range and restricted quarters the Brah ma fowls will do best Leghorns are an active breed and will not do well when closely confined The Time to Plow Orchards Plow before the leaves are out is the advice generally given by our agri cultural exchanges That is all well enough for trees that are in full bear ing and past their prime Such trees need all the vitality they can comand to perfect their crops Plowing while the tree is dormant does not seriously injure it if the plow is not run deeply near the tree The cutting off of small roots is easily replaced when the grow ing season begins But if the roots are cut badly after the leaves are out the tree cannot supply sap as fast as the leaves exhale it and there is -a conse quent check in growth This is for young trees that are making too much wood growth is just what is needed It used to be said by farmers that the buckwheat crop was tUe best for young orchards The plowing for that Is doni in midsummer and one or two yean of such treatment will always indues the formation of fruit buds and bring the tree into bearing This habit oi fruit bearing once formed is continued unless Insects or blight cause the fruij to fail after it is set and the blight if very largely prevented by liberal use oJ mineral manures Turnips Are Exhaustive Turnips are often sown on land thai has borne a crop of corn or potatoes with the Idea that they will grow after frost has killed the main crop and thai thus some profit may be got without cost But thrs overlooks the fact that turnips are a very exhaustive crop especially of phosphate In England phosphate is mainly used in growing turnips which are fed off by yheep and their plant food is thus returned to ine soil almost immediatily In this way the land is put in good con dition for a wheat crop Here where the turnip crops is always removed its effect is to make the soil poorer for the crop that follows it Cleaning Land -with Buck wheat The quick growth of buckwheat and its broad leaf completely shading the ground tits it to suppress most of the annual weeds It has even been said to kill the Canada thistle but this is more probably due to plowing the thistles under in June as preparation for the buckwheat than the crop whieh follow ed But there is a better reason for the belief that growing buckwheat clears the land of wire worms and in sects that destroy vegetation There is no insect that wil eat either the root or stalk of buckwheat and sowing it onj any piece of land for two years will kill the wire worms by furnishing nothing for them to eat Shrunken Wheat for Poultry The very best use of shrunken wheat I some of whicli will be found in every 1 crop is as food for poultry The grain j being shrunken is deficient in starch but it has all the greater proportion of gluten which is the chief element of the esg while the outside husks or bran is rich in phosphate which helps to make the egg shell The poultry dealer can usually buy shrunken wheat at a lower price than the perfect grain while for feeding fowl it is really for being shrunken Keop Only Good Cows Good judges of cows are careful of the expenditure They are economical and pay a fair price for a choice animal rather than to incur the extravagance of feeding one that does not pay The rule now among experienced dairymen is to keep no cow that will not produce at least three hundred pounds of butter a year Such a cow may cost more than the average sum usually paid but she will give more profit in one year than some cows will in twice that period of time Honey from Alsike Clover Farmers should keep more bees than they do If they did Alsike clover would be more sown It has the ad- vantage of the common red clover that its honey is within reach of the couk mon bee It makes a light honey quite as good as from the white clover and there is never any failure to blossom as there often is with white clover in time of drought By cutting some of the alsike before it comes into blos som the time when it blooms may ba protracted and thus make the honey producing season longer An Irrigation Hint If windmill irrigation or pond irriga tion or any other kind of irrigation can ever be made to answer the purpose of giving a small tract of ground on every farm a good soaking just in the nick of time between tardy showers in July or August there can be no ques tion but that even so small a piece of individual enterprise as this would prove of vast public good Farm Notes Professor Crozier of Michigan sta tion after a careful study of the sub ject especially recommends broom corn millet for poor soils It is inferior to many other crops on good soils but seems especially suited to poor soils It stands drought well It is the labor that is the most ex pensive item on a farm It is much cheaper to have a good man at high wages who can handle the maximum number of cows than to have a cheap man who can do only half as much work A good farm hand who under t stands his business saves time and la- bor If you desire a full matted row of strawberries next spring work the plants in the row with a hoe -so as to kill the weeds and grass and then go deep on each side with a cultivator ap plying fertilizer liberally so as to have the plant food ready for the runners that may be sent out by the parent vines The temperature of the soil regulates the growth of the crops The farmer cannot regulate the temperature of the atmosphere but he can influence that of the soil by cultivation The er trance of air carries warmth and re duces the water in the soil thus pre paring the plant food for use by the roots of the plants Gooseberries and currants are the most neglected of all fruits receiving but little cultivation yet they pay well when made specialties The bush es need trimming and careful protec tion from weeds and grass and mouldf receive an abundance of manure or tilizer which will induce them to pro- duce more and better fruit If a burdock at any stage of growth Is cut below the surface of the ground and a handful of salt thrown on the cut surface it completely destroys ir The moisture from the cut dissolves the salt and this in turn helps to rot tee root so that no sprout from it 2 possible Khe earlier this is done the less roYble it will be to cut the XHQ below tUe surfaoo - - A i f i ft it Trt V VS X y X J 1 r t j V f i -A