THE VALENTINE DEMOCRAT
I. fll RICE , Pub labor.
f !
TALENTIN-E , NEBRASKA.
A ready made suit of convictions
never fits well on a public man.
The architect 'cannot live by the in
junction to make no plans for the fu
ture. *
It looks as if the more holes are
punched in a shirt walsr , .the bigger
Ihe price.
Washington supplies New York with
Iwo-thirds of Its pressed brick. The
? ro'duct , probably , of restless office
leekers.
The success of the Vanderbilt-Neilson
merger may suggest to the plutocratic
element the sort of combination it can
lafely cultivate.
Theodore Roosevelt says his favorite
bird is the robin. His recent utter
ances had created a widespread im
pression that it was the stork.
There are 51,538 divorced persons in
the United States. This would indi
cate that divorces are not the" exclusive
property of the "four hundred. "
r
Every now and then Uncle Sam picks
upanother island and adds it to the
Philippine group. Did Spain know
she was giving such good measure ?
The statute of Andrew Jackson in
Washington is reported to be covered
with verdigris. This is another way of
keeping Andrew Jackson's memory
. >
green. -
Some people would be willing to sit
flown and punish .themselves by read
ing the worst trash thafever was writ
ten if Andrew Lang or somebody had
called it literature.-
'Josh Billing's advice , "To bring up a
Dhild in the way he should go , travel ,
lhat way yourself once in a wlille , "
has not lost its pertinence in the quarter
f a century since it was given.
William G. Rockefeller has given
permission to the small boys to play
baseball on Sunday near his grounds ,
this should give John D. , Jr. , a text for
at , least one sermon to his Bible class.
i It appears that a large percentage of
the American people are still interest
ed in professional baseball. ' The great
beauty of basefeall is that a lazy man
pan' thoroughly enjoy It without exer-
rising a bit
The Chicago Inter-Ocean Is trying
io find out whether , or not hydrophobia
s an Illusion. We ; are not certain as to
hydrophobia , but we do entertain a
itrong opinion /that the large , cross ,
> pen-faced dog is not
The anthracite coal supply of the
United States would last , at the present
rate of consumption , for three hundred
fears. Allowing for the probable In-
frease , the supply will last two hun
dred years , says the director of the
United States Geological Survey. Any
way there is enough for next winter's
stock.
' A novelty In collections is that of a
Xew Hampshire man who gathers
fashion-plates. The earlier specimens
ire foreign. No fashion-plates were
ssued in this country , he says , previous
: o the year 1830. Andrew Jackson was
President then. The two facts are re
lated by contrast only. Fashion-plates
ire frequently changed , whereas some
political fashions set by President
Jackson lasted a long time.
Ocean cables are now so common
Jiat the public forgets how much they
1o to keep the countries of the world
u touch with one another. In Hawaii
: he cable is sufficiently new to make
It stll a matter 'of rejoicing. The second
end steamer which arrived after Pres
ident McKinley was shot brought such
encouraging news of his condition
.lhat services of thanksgiving were
planned. The next steamer brought
the news of his death and funeral.
'Now Hawaii has the news at the same
'time as the rest of the nation.
Sir William Richmond , R. A. , lately
. lectured before the Institute of British
Decorators on his mosais decoration of
1st. Paul's Cathedral. Among other In-
: eresting things he said that when he
was a boy of about thirteen his mother
took him to attend the service at St.
Paul's , and they sat In the choir. He
'ooked up at the naked roof , and on goIng -
Ing out he said , "Mother , some day 1
will cover that with mosaic. " That
Vas before he had been In Italy , or
seen a piece of mosaic. What some
boys are to do in the world Is a ques
tion which Is settled early.
That we shall eventually have an
American national school system we
have no doubt , but it will be long In
coming , and meanwhile the "little red
'school house" Is apt to be fearfully inadequate
*
adequate , except In poetry. As long
as towns have the control of their own
appointments of teachers , then * own
conceptions of what constitutes an edu
cation , we shall find queer ; discourag
ing expressions of the towns' ideas of
"schooling , " based largely upon false
economy and the school curriculum
of a generation ago. For the apathy of
the American public toward the quality
3f education imparted to its youth is
frequently startling.
A curious and interesting bit of naval
history ends with the sale of the old
United States gunboat Monocacy , on
t36e Asiatic station. The vessel , a side-
wheel "double-ender , " was sent to
"Eastern waters in 1865 because of bet
light draft. 'With her four big smooth
bores and two rifled muzzle-loaders she
did great service in the war on Korean
pirates in 1871. The next year she
stuck fast in the mud of the Yangtse
River , and remained there twenty-eight
years. Then in J900 , during the Boxer
outbreak , she was hauled out and re *
fitted , , and although an object of amuse
ment to foreign naval officers , again
proved her worth ; for her light draft
enabled her to do work impossible to
the foreign' ' fleet. Mpnoeacy is a title
which should not be forgotten. It
ought to descend to a son , or rather ,
let us , sny , to a daughter , since the
Salic law does not apply in the navy.
The author of a paper on the ques
tion , "Are Women Witty ? " recently
read before a woman's club , answered
the question in the affirmative ; but
the examples of feminine wit which
she quoted hardly justified her con
clusion. The -relation of women to
wit has been appreciative rather than
creative , and is likely to continue so.
Appreciation is as necessary as crea
tion , for no wit flourishes without an
audience. Modern women are marvelously -
velously quick in seeing the point of
even the subtlest wit. In an audi
ence a shrewd observer may note that
the laugh of the women at a clever
joke precedes that of the men by an
appreciable number of moments. Oc
casionally a woman makes a brilliant
mot , as when a Boston woman re
cently said in a discussion of the qual
ities of the sexes , "Oh , men get and
forget , and Women give and forg e ! "
This power of epigram is rare , a fact
that is scarcely subject- for regret ,
Women need not bewail their failure
to bewitty so long as they have a
keen feeling for the wit that is in
others. For their own part , they may
well be content to cultivate that gent
ler grace -called humor , which "be
gets the smiles that have no cruelty. "
The ambition that every typical
American feels , to do better than ev'
qrjrone else in everything , , is one .of
the most splendidly audacious nation
al characteristics to be found in his
tory. It is grand to think that , one
day or another , we must , by native
right , excel the English in commerce ,
the French in taste , the Germans in
scholarship , the Italians In art , the
Greeks in wisdom , and the Hebrews in
the-knowledge of God. With so much
to accomplish , the American spirit
cannot be like Goethe's star , Ohne
Hast aber ohne Rast it must be
equally without leisure and without
pause. Those in the front must leap
Into the trench and die , in order that
thos'e in the rear may pass over. .Of
this sort pt sacrifice there has been
no lack. It began when the first ex
plorers touched our shores ; and it has
been ready at all times since for
every emergency of commerce , reli
gion or war. It has made the country.
It has built up every State and city
and house of business and seat of
learning. Those who have come after
have profited by the unflagging spirit
of those who have gone before of
those who have worked hard and often
died too early. But it may be reason
ably asked if the day has not now
come for a quieter pace , and.a less
feverish sense of duty , inquires a
writer in Harper's.Weekly. . The
country is colossally rich and pros ,
perous. even if it be not rich and pros
perous enough. May not the individ
ual begin to put forth his claim ? May
he not. ask time to breathe a little ,
to' think a little , to live a little ? May
he not be permitted to remember that
in the Pantheon there are other godi
besides the great idol hustle ? While
doing his daily work arid treading his
common round , has he n > > t a right to
some measure of that tranquillity
which now h < ? can look for only in
the tomb ? or in flinging a change of
raiment into a valise and sailing out
into that big , unsatisfactory void
which we call abroad ? In these days
of co-operating energies we migfo
venture to suggest
A Society for Enabling Americaur.
Who Want to do so ,
To Stay Quietly at Home ,
Without Being Rushed to Death.
HAS LEFT HIS HIGH POST.
Grand Dnlce Alexis No Longer Heai
of the Ruaalan Navy.
The Grand Duke Alexis , who hw
been compelled by a severe illness to
retire from his position as head of tie
Russian navy , is
the uncle of the
Czar and one of the
three living broth
ers of the late Em
peror Alexander
-III. The granJ
duke is 53 yean
old and has had a
t empestuo u a
career. Several
DUKE ALEXIS.
his brother's reign ,
he was dismissed in disgrace from his
post , but more recently he was re
stored to full favor. Several years ago
he paid a visit to the United States.
Strictly Personal.
"Have you ever made any effort U
distinguish yourself In public debate ? "
"No , sir , " answered Senator Sorghum
ghum ; "when money talks its argu
ment is usually most effective when ij
comes hi the nature of a strictly per.
sonal communication. " Washington
Star.
Sure , to "Wake Up.
Rollingstone Nomoss Wet would
you do if you had $1,000,000 , Tatters ? "
Tatterdon Torn It would be jusj
my luck td wake up. Philadelphia
Record.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
To be sealed for time and eternity
by a sealing ceremony in accordanc
with the law of the Mormon Church i
held , in Hilton vs. Roylance ( Utah ) , 58
L. R. A. 723 , to be a good common
law marriage.
The placing of telephone-poles and
Avires in a city street is held , in Donovan
van vs. Allert ( N. D. ) , 58 L. R. A. 775
to be a new burden or .servitude . there
on , requiring compensation to be paid
to abutting owners.
A husband's common-law . liability
for his wife's torts is held.in .Henlej
vs. Wilson ( Cal. ) , 58 L. R. A. 941 , note
to be changed by statutes preserving
to her her separate estate and cmpow
ering her to manage it.
The placing by a private lighting
( company of poles at the curb in. a
street , and the stringing thereon of
electric light cable lines''and wires foi
the purpose of furnishing light and en
ergy to private takers , is > held , in Cal
Jen vs. Columbus Edison Electric .Light
Co. ( Ohio ) ' . 58 L. R. A. 782 , to be a
taking of the property1 of-the abutting
owners. , . ' ,
A guardian of an incoinpetint ppr
son is held , in State ex rel. Raymond
vs. LawrenceMinn. . ) , 58 L. R. A. Uol
'to have the right to remove his ward
from one State to another , temporarily
or permanently , subject , however , to
the power of the court of chancery to
restrain an improper removal. The
right to remove an incompetent person
or infant from the State is considered
In a note to this case.
; A statute exempting to married men
or heads of families .their earnings for
personal services rendered within sixty
days next preceding the levy of execu
tion , by garnishment or otherwise , be
ing reasonable , and directed to the ,
remedy , and not the right , is held , in
Kirkman vs. Bird ( Utah ) , 58 L. R. A.
069 , not to be an unconstitutional im
pairment of the obligation of contracts
entered into prior to its passage.
The exaction of a premium consist
ing of a certain percentage upon the
amount of a loan , payable monthly in
the same way interest is paid , which ,
together with the required interest , ex
ceeds the rate allowed by law , is held ,
in Washington National Banking L.
and I. Association vs. Stanly ( Ore.K
58 L. R. A. 816 , not to beauthorized ,
by a provision in a statute governing
Building associations , that the provis
ions as to bidding for loans shall not
apply to an association which fixes
the rate of premium in its by-laws
and that no premium shall be consid
ered or treated as interest.
TALLEST MAN IN THE WORLD
MEETS MIDGET COUSIN.
Hugo and Major Petit are first
cousins on their mother's side ; but they
cannot wear each other's clothes. Foi
Hugo , who is over eight feet tall , is
the biggest giant in the world , while
.Major Petit only has 32 inches to his
credit The pair recently met in New
York , and each thought his relative the
most extraordinary freak in the world
Sold Again.
Peddler Please , mum , would you
like to buy a parrot ?
Mrs. Brickrow Now , what on earth
do you suppose I want with a parrot'
"Well , mum , It just occurred to me
that you might save a good deal of
time If you had one. It's a pity to
see a intellectual woman like you
obliged to waste time makin' calls on
such a lot of ignoramuses as there is
in this neighborhood when you might
just as well be talkin' to a parrot. "
"I'll take one. "
Hafety Afterthought.
"Policeman , " said the stranger , ad
dressing the officer that was guarding
the muddy crossing , "can you direct
'
me
Here he slipped and fell.
"to the nearest' place , " , he con
tinued , gathering himself'up and sur
veying his soiled garments , ' , 'w.ht're !
they clean clothes ? " Chicago Trib
une.
" A crank is a man with a large hobby
and a small conscience.
SOME ODD SLEEPING PLACES.
.
Miss Jessie Ackerxnann Has Occnpie4
2 , TOO Beds Dnrins Her Travel * .
Few women have met with so many
extraordinary adventures in all parts
of the world as Miss Jessie Acker-
mann. the famous temperance worker ,
who has circled the globe a dozea
times. In the course of IIP-- Travels
Miss Ackermann has slept in JJ,700
different beds and among hei resting
places have .been the tomb of q.u la-
dian king , a Siberian convicts' camp ,
an Alaskan fisherman's hut and a sta
ble in Iceland. Writing of these
strange dormitories in ; the Housekeep
er , Miss Ackermann says :
"The most refreshing rest of niy life
was obtained in a hammock swung
high in the trees , beyond the reach of
beast or serpent , Jn a jungle of Java.
In my opinion , the bed itself .plays but
a small part in the wooing of 'tired
nature's sweet restorer. ' However ,
there was one night when I thought I
never would go asleep.
' 'It was up in Alaska. A young chief
w.ho had just succeeded his father waste
to be formally installed with a dance
by his subjects and he invited me to
, be present The scene of the cere
mony was several miles from the vil
lage where I was stopping. During
the.danqp : i terrific storm arose , reiir
tiering it impossible for'me to return
to the village , and a ; kind native in
vited me to his hut for the night. The
family of eleven slept on a raised
platform extending .around three sides
of the room. Here I was invited to
share the common bed , but declined
with thanks , and indicated that I
.would climb up into the rafters , where
iish and skins .were drying , although
1 had not the slightest idea how I
would ever accomplish the feat , un
less T could walk up the sides of the
house.
"One of the juvenile members of Ihe
family speedily climbed to the lofty
rafters , and , having . fashioned the
skins into the , form of a bed , descend
ed to help solve the problem of my
ascent. Every available box , barrel
and chest was piled one. upon another ,
but even this makeshift of a tower fell
short of reaching the desired haven of
rest. Finally a bright idea seized the
lad. Quickly mounting the pile and
stooping over in the attitude of one
playing at leap-frog , he politely mo
tioned me to step upon his back With
out pausing to consider the probable
fatal consequences of my rash step ( to
the boy ) , I hastily scaled , box and bar
rel , stepped lightly upon the young
brave's back and , without any prepa
ration for the night , sprang into bed ,
high above the heads of the astonished
'natives.
"We'll , I confess that I did not 'go
right to sleep. ' I gazed down from my
.insecure perch upon the entire family ,
gathered around the dying embers In
the center of the floor , where they
were engaged in drinking fish oil out
of a whalebone ladle. Their glistening
white teeth fo'rmed a striking contrast
to their painte.d faces as they talked
and talked and talked. The exasper
ating part ( for I am only a woman )
was that I could nqt understand a
word they were saying and I was cer
tain that they were talking about me.
However , sleep came at last , after the
family had retired to their universal
couch. "
Two Very Stylish Waists.
No. 1 shows a stylish elbow sleeve
shirt waist of white brilliantine. The
round yoke is made with a deep bias
fold droping like a tuck over the
shoulders and gathered seam of the
) odice. The deep bias folds run about
the bust and about the belt and give
n chic , bouft'ant effect which is par
ticularly becoming to slender figures.
No. 2 shows a pretty and simple
mode for figured lawns or batiste.
White cuffs and collar add to the ef
fectiveness of the waist.
Only One Tsar.
Impervious to criticism , although by
no means oblivious of it , Thomas B.
Reed , if one may believe his' friends ,
hardly relished the title of "tsar" so
generally conferred upon him in the
days when , as Speaker , he coerced a
fractious minority In the lower house
of Congress. But a friend of Mr. Reed
records , in the New York Times , one
nstance when the application of the ti
le amused the Speaker.
"It is an epithet , not a sobriquet , "
Air. Reed remarked one day. We were
walking along Pennsylvania avenue
when a newspaper wagon dashed up
o the curb near us , and the driver
called to several newsboys :
"Here y' are , boys , new extra ! Bomb
brown at the tsar ! "
(
"Aw , g'wan ! " replied one of the
urchins. "That's a"fake. . Here's the
sar coming up the street. "
Mr. Reed shook with laughter at the
newsboy's idea that there was only
one tsar , and that one a certain pon-
flerous man from Maine.
Great as you are , your friends will
laugh merrily after your funeral.
Grans or Grain Cutter.
We present an illustration of a new
lawn mover , which has several novel
features to recommend it over the
mowers already In the field. The man
who cuts the grass will remember that
every time he lets the work go too
long it was necessary to ruii the
mower over some parts of the lawn
several times before all the long blades
were down , or else leave the lawn
with a ragged appearance. The prin
cipal advantage of this new machine is
that , no matter how long the grass
gets , the first cutting will bring it all
down to the common level ; in fact , the
longer the grass the better the cutters
will work. As will be seen , the cut
lers are circular , toothed wheels , re
volving in horizontal planes and actu
ated by gear wheels set on the inner
ends of the drive-wheel shafts. These
cutters are in reality nothing but a set
ROTARY KNIVES OX LAW ? ? MOWER.
of circular saws , and their action is
exactly the same , sawing the grass
blades off as the mower is pushed over
the lawn. The saw spindles are pro
vided with ball bearings , thus re
ducing the friction to a minimum , and
by doing away with the necessity for
running the mower over high grass
more than once the machine should
save much labor for its owner. The
hrventor Thomas F. McDonald , of
Cincinnati , Ohio also applies the same
principle to a machine for cutting
grain or hay.
Marvels of Corn Cnltnre.
Corn breeding is a modification of
live stock breeding and follows the
same general laws and principles. It
is the application of principles of plant
and animal breeding , to the corn plant
IThe per cent of sugar In the sugar beet
has been increased from 3 per cent to
10 per cent The ordinary beet was
improved by seed selection , so that an
enormous industry has been built up
and a new source of sugar given to
the world. This has been done with a
plant which seeds once in two years.
Corn produces a crop every year , a
single seed producing a return of over
a thousand fold. From this great num
ber of offspring , varying in size , shape ,
color and composition , a selection can
be made which will develop any fea
ture of the seed or plant. By contin
ued selection these valuable attributes
can be fixed "in the characteristics of
the plant and the usefulness and im
portance of the crop increased. To il-
instrate the point : We have been able ,
by selecting ears having long shanks ,
ro increase the length of the shank
.marly two feet in five years' selection.
Jy selecting ears with tall stalks we
.rive been able to increase the height
if the stalk almost three feet in five
\-t-ars. By selecting ears from plants
'laving ' wide leaves we have been able
.o increase the average width of the
'eaf , and by selecting ears from stalks
taving narrow leaves we have been
ible to decrease the width of the leaf.
-Cosmopolitan.
"Fancy Farming. "
Tlio commonest fault with the city
iiiii's fanning is thu fact that he puts
iiore capital into it than the business
\uuiniatel3 * will bear. He goes into
: inning with the city man's desires.
> rdinarily he makes the mistake of
upposing that the mere physical acces-
orios' of life are as important in the
: ountry as they are in the city , forget-
hig that the satisfaction in the farm
ife is largely of a different kind from
hat of .the city life. The result of all
his is "fancy farming. " as the real
' . irmer dubs it. As farming for diver
sion is perfectly legitimate , but as pat
tern farming it/is likely to be a fail-
ire. It is another kind of freak farin-
ng. Any farming that is self-sup-
lorting Is legitimate , whatever its
; ind : by this It Is to be judged. The
> oint we wish to make is that reform
md progress in agriculture are to come
Yom the inside. Country Life in
\merica.
The Best General Purpose Apple.
With the desire to produce a good
Chipping red apple , the Rhode Island
Greening , that standard variety of most
ligh excellence in every point is being
argely neglected. As a cooking apple
t has few superiors. As a dessert fruit
t is highly prized. As a free grower in
the orchard , and as a , regular and abund
ant bearer It ranks among the best As
T fruit universally in demand In our
lome and foreign markets is attended
by the excellent prices it steadily com-
nands. This grand old standard varie
ty. carrying perhaps more good general
ualities than any other , should be
n re * extensively plr ated and to the
xclusion of other and lower grade va-
tatjcs. American Agriculturist
* _ _
Bis Yield ? cf Millet.
l earl millet is attracting renewed at-
ntion as a forage crop on account of
enormous crops. The Massachu-
station reioried thirty-five tons
station forty ton * .
I CTeen , the Kentucky
" tons. .
thirty
the California station over
four feet nlgfc
If cut when three or
the plant sprouts and gives another
are grown enrich
cutting. Largest crops
rich moist loam. The seed is sown the-
first of June in drills two feet apart ,
. It cm
covering half an inch deep.
broadcast The crop is a
be sown
summer feeding in. .
good one for late
, the barn.
I Variety in Feed for Horses.
Oats and hay are the recognized fee *
for horses and , undoubtedly , If one-
is confined to but two kinds of feed
these are better than any others. It
should be remembered , however , that
horses are quite as partial to variety-
more or les *
as cows , and if given
change in their foods will do better
work and without any more expense.
! An occasional feed of roots Is benefi-
1 feed of bran ,
weekly
cial. as is also a
as a mash. In feeding a grain ration
good results come from scattering It
! over cut hay after wetting the fodder.
This is better than to feed the hay ;
; separately , and especially
uncut and the grain
pecially if clover hay. which Is dusty ,
! is used. It is a good plan to cut np
I about one-half of the hay ration to feed"
with the grain in the manner suggest
ed , leaving the balance uncut , to be-
fed afterward , and give the animat
something to keep It busy. An occa
sional feed of corn either on the cob orj
'
shelled also adds to the variety ; but'
should not take the place of oats , es
pecially during the spring and sum
mer , in the regular ration.
Diversified'Production Pays.
Many a farmer is poor to-day after
ten. twenty or thirty years of hard !
work , because he has confined him
self to a single line of production , and :
that line on overproduced and consequently
quently a profitless one. To this may
be attributed ! much of the downright
poverty that has befallen the older
fanners who are still in the field. The *
dairy farmer should not depend upom
the bean or tobacco - *
milk alone , nor hop ,
bacco farmer upon hops , beans or to
bacco alone. Each farmer , naturally
and properly , should have a main line , ,
determined by his location , hir soil' '
and his markets , but with his main
line he can have side lines that will
jrive him something to sell every month
in the year and thus give him a hold on :
several classes of consumers. The
farms that pay are largely those de
voted to diversified production , while
the loudest complaints of unprofitable
ness come largely from those who are
distinctively "single line" farmers. -
New York Farmer.
Patent Hen's Nest.
Poultrymen who are looking for a
means to keep hens fr m breaking cr
eating their eggs will be interested in
a Californian's invention. The ma
chine he has devised consists of a hen's-
nest and & series of pockets or re
ceptacles , with an automatic mechan-
ish which presents each of the pock
ets in turn beneath the opening in the
f
CUPS REVOLVE UNDER NEST.
bottom of the nest to receive the new
ly-laid eggs. In the passage through
which the egg falls.to the pocket is a
trigger , which releases a rotary frame-
carrying the pockets , so that , as soon
as the egg reaches the bottom of its
receptacle , an empty pocket replaces
it beneath the opening of the nest In ,
addition to preventing the hens from
smashing or eating their eggs , this ar
rangement will afford a protection
against rats and other animals which
have been known to break and eat the-
eggs. As the pockets and operating
mechanism of this nest are concealed ,
from view by a wood or metal casing ,
there is nothing to indicate to the un
suspicious hen that the nest differs
from the ordinary kind.
A Study in Fertilizers.
The fertilizer law of the State of.
New York has operated to the "Teat
advantage of the fanner. Not
has the quality of the
goods on the
market been held wll up to the guar
antees , but the number of brands has
been greatly lessened , thus
tendinto
simplify the purchase of such goods
However , farmers have not yet learned
to take full advantage of the informa
tion at their disposal in the successive
bulletins of analysis issued
by the sta
tlon at Geneva.
Accordingly
the sta
tion has just prepared a short bulletin.
calling attention to some striking dif
ferences in quality and relative value
between brands of different classes
Every fertilizer user should avail him
self of the chance to
secure this
letin and take It as a guide 5s
lection of goods. A postal
to the station
, bearing your
address , will bring the bulletin
by return mall.-Massachusetts Pioml
man. *
' Woodwork
An old barn or shed
not
worth dan-
boards or paint can be given
a
lease of life new
with a coat
wash. Slake a bushel of
add half a bushel of salt
water , a pound of ground whiting
two pounds of dissolved
glue.
a very close , durable
a coat of it will
weather-proof for many
lampblack will make thft
or
<
less glaring , giving a quiet , gray tone
