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About The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911 | View Entire Issue (May 28, 1902)
-.-! "O V1 -V, . T " ., '' ' 'V ern- - v J-?- r eir5rt-t?. .v L.- e- . JSf RTICOUORE 1 1 i ' i 'i "i " 5ft jSmmSSSSSff 'aememv "hphmmmmj y PH . M MM. MM M nWnT tuJ mAU' 1 HmV'J.Brm i "JT IVwb JBlMrimB9H .vrioBajmwaw 4lsBmamto ' fsnVKxZSnBsssmBl anVmnstnl 1lHmumSP9BLj! eissa,ajpaaap r ;. (A- R R.) "Can you tell me how to promt cannibalism among brooder chicks? I have a lot eight days old that are doing nicely except that they hare already killed one of their num ber and mutilated three others. They attack the victim around the Tent and keep picking It until it Is dead. They hare had an abundance of grit and oyster shell aU the time. Thinking the lack of animal food was the cause, I hare given two feeds of green bone, hut I don't see that it has done any good." The trouble is not peculiar to brooder chicks. I had some cases with chicks with hens a number of yean ago. I am not sure that I am right as to the way the trouble begins, but think it is when a chick, because of Irritation at the vent, such as sight be caused by any bowel disor der, picks itself there until blood ap pears. If this then attracts the at tention of some of the others, and they begin to pick and get a taste of blood, they keep it up. It is possible that even when no blood has started the chicks seeing one of their number pecking Itself, and evidently In dis tress. Join It and soon create serious trouble; but I have seen little chicks, only a few days old, literally tear themselves to pieces without aid from ethers. Farm-Poultry. Filthy Tarda. We talk about cleanliness In the dairy, but let us not forget about cleanliness In the poultry establish ment. Dirt and disease seem to go to gether In all places. Filth makes a good medium for the development of disease microbe. If a hen bouse and yard are kept clean there is seldom any visitation from diseases that sweep away the fowls. ery often the part of the yard directly in front of the hen house door becomes very filthy. This is especially so In the spring and fall when the precipitation Is con siderable This occurs more with large flocks than with small ones. No matter how large the run for the poul try, the birds spend a good deal of .their time near the poultry house. They seem to have but little aversion for splashing through soft mud. Some times they will eat up every green thing within a dosen feet of the hen house door and leave the green sward farther away. This is more so with the large breeds than with the small ones. The solution appears to be small locks. '&. ; Kathaemem of Feeltry KaWa. All of the world's most successful men succeeded because of the enthusi asm that they had In their particular lines of work. It Is unnecessary, then. to say that a man to succeed in poul try keeping must be enthusiastic. When a man that has a big poultry establishment finds his enthusiasm waning or being diverted to some ether occupation it will probably be found the part of wisdom to drop the poultry business. A while ago the writer visited a poultry establishment where the owner had evidently had enthusiasm for the poultry nusi diverted into another channel. He tad Mother business, and that ap peared to be thriving. His large poul try establishment, however, showed ejverjr sign of neglect The pens had vMantly not been cleaned out for a month, and sick hens were apparent here and there In the flocks. Enthu siasm would never have tolerated that condition of affairs. Feeltry Potato Picked Vp. We have been asked if a cracked egg can be used for hatching. That will depend on several kinds of cir cumstances. If the crack Is not too large. It may be mended by pasting over it a strip of thin, tough paper. The hen, if large and heavy, may break it even then. If the hen be light, or if an incubator be in use, the egg may come through all right and produce n chick. Poultry manure Is a very concen trated fertilizer, and this should be borne In mind when It is being ap plied to the land. It should be saved with care, as carelessness in that re spect may render It of little value. Mixing it with dry dust will destroy Its value unless a certain amount of moisture be present When kept In barrels It is well to keep It a little moist, but not wet When too dry mischief Is wrought by chemical ac tion, and when too wet, by bacterial action. It is a superstition that salt Is poi sonous to hens. A lady saw the wri ter salting the warm mash for the poultry and said, with surprise: "Why do you put salt in their food? I thought salt always killed hens." When salt is thrown out in the form of rock crystals, fowls sometimes eat them for grit and are killed thereby. A man would be killed by salt also if he ate it in proportionate quanti ties. The danger to hens from the presence of salt crystals should re mind us that there are many other substances that If left around may prove Injurious. But poison must not be left where fowls can find it Bits . of mire, tacks and even nails may prove deadly. The writer once had a fowl suddenly go lame and killed her. .The lameness was found to be caused by pieces of wire exceeding an inch in length. These had worked from the gisxard into the flesh of the fowl, and one piece was in process of work ing out between the body and leg. A Potato Crop Mr. D. C Prosser, a correspondent of the Farmer's Review in Oceana Ossmty. Michigan; tells how a neigh bor of his made a fine thing out of a potato crop. Some years ago he had a geod-sized crop and held it for the late spring market He overdid the heMlng to such an extent that the market dropped on him, on account of the near approach of the,timo for new potatoes. Instead of letting go the owner of the old potatoes rested nil the land he could in the neighborhood ami succeeded in getting in 120 acres of potatoes, thus using the bulk of bis old crop for seed. The harvest gave a. rood croD about . 14.000 bush- These he sold at a good price.-and a large profit on the opera- .Wisconsin Cold, dry weather has unfavorable to meadows andt which are in poor condition not so much on account of severe win ter weather as late pasturing in the fall, "which left the roots exposed. Clover winter killed badly. P trsdnin The condition of spring pastures over the state Is hardly up toitne' averane the growth of grass x ..- m most localities. ' Iriak aad Daatofc Methode. Let us draw a contrast by picturing one of our own creameries about 7 o'clock a. m., and any creamery In Denmark at, say 6 o'clock a. m. What do we see In the former? Is not the creamery surrounded by a double line of men, women and child, en, all either fighting their way to the receiving platform or else scrambling for skim milk, and altogether creating the Im pression in the mind of a stranger that certain political issues were in volved, rather than the carrying on of an industry whose object is the Im provement of our social and economic conditions? In the latter case we see one large two horse spring wagon holding between thirtr and forty me dium sized cans, beside the receiving platform, and one man standing on it unloading the cans, which are taken in by one of the dairymen. When the first wagon is unloaded, matters are so regulated that another wagon arrives Just in time, so as to cause no delay either in the creamery or on the road. While one wagon is being unloaded, the other is being loaded with skim milk. The two nictnres constitute a strik ing contrast May we call them "Peace" and "War"? No doubt irisn Homestead, . UK Faslearlsatlea of BM. A series of experiments in continu ation of those conducted ia previous years, was carried on this past year, chiefly to determine the effects of dif ferent pasteurizing temperatures, be tween 140 and 200 degrees, on the bac terial content of milk, and upon the quality of the butter. Briefly, the re sults indicate that a temperature of ISO to 185 degrees is very favorable In reducing the bacterial content to a low point, and this temperature also adds keeping quality to the butter. If we wish to establish a good reputa tion for Canadian butter in the Brit ish markets, we shall iiave to adopt pasteurisation; and if we wish our butter to retain Its fine flavor for some time, we shall do well to pas teurtnt at a. tomnerature of 180 to 185 degrees. In our experiments, the whole milk was pasteurized be fore separating and the skim-milk was run over a water-cooler before it was returned to the patrons. We found that this plan enabled us to send to the farmer a good quality of skim-milk for feeding purposes. Re port Ontario Experiment Station. Tare Type of Dairy Cowa. Prot T. L. Haecker: We feed each cow all she can consume and assimi late. At the end of the first year we found that some cows charged us -7 cents per pound for butter made from their milk, while others charged only 12 cents, and others ranged between these two sums. The breed made no difference; some Shorthorns made cheap butter, and some Jerseys costly butter. Breed had nothing to do with th cost it was all in the cow. Size nr rnlnr had nothing to do With it We put all the cows that made cheap butter on one side, and ranged the cows who charged the most for butter on the other side. Each side, no mat ter what breed, ahowed similar char acteristics. Those that charged a high price were sleek, nice looking an imals that would answer the descrip tion of the general purpose cow, while those that made butter cheap had the genuine dairy type, the light quarters and the heavy wedged shaped barrel. Every pound of food consumed was put to good use. Compoaltlea of Milk. H. D. Richmond, analyst, reports in the Dairy. London, England, re sults of his work on the composition of milk as follows: The average com position of milk as shown by the an alyses of 13,978 samples during the year 1900 results as follows: The av erage for fat was 3.64 per cent; for solids not fat 8.93 per cent, and for ampule, mvltv. 1.0323. With regard to the variation of the constituents of the solids not fat the author states that "any deficiency of solids not fat below 9.0 per cent is chiefly due to a deficiency in the milk sugar;" any ex cess above 9.0 per cent Is chiefly due to excess of proteids. As the result of a considerable amount of work on the relation between the proteids and salts of milk, he considers that one third of the base with which casein is combined in milk is soda, and not lime; and that casein forms a molecular compound with calcium phosphate. Dairy Heahaadry at Chamaalra. A course of study in judging dairy products has Just been introduced in the dairy husbandry department of the College of Agriculture at the Univer sity of Illinois. The course is prin cipally designed for students in gen eral agriculture and includes a brief treatment of the subject of dairy san itation, the production of milk and the methods employed for the manu facture of common dairy products. Following this great stress will be laid on the proper selection of milk and the judging of butter and cheese. In judging the products score cards are used to illustrate the relative im portance of each of the points to be considered essential in a standard product The object of the course is to give the student who specializes In lines of agriculture other than dairy ing an opportunity to gain a proper conception of the qualities good dairy products should possess. Dairy Xetea. The old-fashioned way of making butter is to churn it into a lump, but by this means a large quantity of butter-milk is gathered in the butter, contrary to the first requisite in butter-making, which is, that we should have It as free as possible from casein or cheesy matter. Should the cream be thin and sweet It may be churned at a higher tem perature than when thick and ripened. Never feed dusty hay. The best cows are always the heavy feeders. It is not always the man with the biggest herd of cows who clears the most money from his dairy. Feeding cows right lies at the base of profitable dairying. The dove of promise comes in re sponse to prayer. Germay has imported as much as $10,000,000 worth of apples in one year and $2,500,000 worth of pears. The man with tnat particular brand of trouble nose mighty well that hay fever season's coming on. Near Scarborough, England, there Is n farm for raising butterflies and moths. The output Is 20.000 a New Adalteraat far Stock Feed. A communication from the Pennsyl vania station says: A sample of bran was submitted to the experiment station, a short time since, for examination, with the state ment that horses and cattle would not eat it Chemical analysis showed the presence of 8 per cent of protein and nearly 36 per cent of fiber or woody matter, whereas average bran contains 15.5 and 9 per cent respectively, of these constituents. Particles of yel low, tough, parchment-like substance were present in large quantity; they proved, upon microscopical examina tion, to be portions of the inner seed coat of the coffee berry. This has re cently been put upon the market as a cattle food under the name "corna line;" according to analyses by the New Jersey experiment station it con tains only 2.5 to 3 per cent of protein. .5 to .7 per cent of fat and about 60 per cent of fiber; so that it has an ex tremely low value for feeding pur poses. Dr. Winton. of the Connecticut experiment station, to whom a portion of the saxnDle was sent for examina tion, states that he had received, only a day or two earlier, a sample of bran from Massachusetts that proved to be adulterated with the same material. Its microscopic appearance is highly characteristic; the inner seed-coat of the coffee having, when magnified by thirty or forty diameters, "a peculiar marking that much resembles that of the skin on the ball of the fingers. No other such adulterant possesses this distinctive marking. Wm Frear. Whwt m Stock Fee. The following table shows the num ber of pounds of digestible nutrients in 100 pounds of both corn and wheat: Carbo- iVi' Protein. hydrates. Fat lbs! lbs. 69.2 1.7 66.7 4.3 1 lbs. Wheat 10.2 Corn 7.8 The superiority of wheat over corn for young stock evidently lies in the extra amount of digestible protein which it contains. As seen above, each 100 pounds of wheat contains 10.2 pounds of digestible protein while the same quantity of corn has only 7.8 pounds. This shows the wheat to con tain 30 per cent or almost one-third more protein than the corn. The wheat also excels the corn. The pounds per 100 In the digestible car bohydrates (starches and sugars) it contains. The excellence of corn for fattening comes from its extra per cent of fats to the protein as com pared with wheat the corn having about 10 pounds of these two ingredi ents to each pound of protein, while the wheat has only 7. The Maine sta tion obtained better results from feed ing ground wheat to dairy cows than from corn meaL Both were fed in connection with timothy hay. I am convinced from a number of years' ex perience in feeding wheat to cows at the Utah station that It Is fully equal to corn. If not superior for that pur pose. Luther Foster, Wyoming na tion. Feed Valaea. The following table shows the di gestible protein and carbohydrates In a number of our most common feeds: Carbohy Protein. drates. Green Fodder Corn fodder L10 12.08 Corn silage 56 11.79 Rye fodder 2.05 14.11 Oat fodder 2.69 22.66 Timothy 2.28 23.71 Millet 1-92 15.63 Red clover 3.07 14.82 Alfalfa 3.89 11.20 Kentucky blue grass .... 3.01 19.83 Orchard grass 1.91 15.91 Cowpea L68 8.08 Soja-bean 2.79 11.S2 Hay and Dry Fodder Corn fodder 2.48' 33.38 Corn stover 198 33.16 Rye straw .74 42.71 Oat straw 158 41.63 Timothy hay 2.89 43.72 Millet hay 4.50 51.67 Red clover hay 6.58 35.35 Alfalfa hay 10.58 37.33 Kentucky blue grass hay 4.76 37.33 Orchard grass hay 4.78 41.99 Cowpea hay 10.79 38.40 Soja-bean straw 2.30 39.98 Wheatstraw 80 37.94 Baying Aalmala. Too many men wish to settle the purchasing question by a certain fi nancial standard, rather than that of first finding the Individual suited to their needs and then talking cost aft erwards. Too many men desire to buy stock at hardly above butchers' prices, and express nq willingness to pay a premium to the man who is offering them animals that have been produced at great cost and effort We all need educating, but such men need it a lit tle more than others. One thing it will always be safe to recommend, and that is, if at all possible, purchase no stock until you have first personally inspected it It Is an unsafe thing to rely on some one else to select that for you which is to be used to develop and Improve your stock. We differ in our judgment, and each man should as much as possible rely on his own rath er than on another's judgment in buy ing stock. Do not buy animals be cause they are cheap. Buy because you need them and they will do you good. Pay for quality rather than quantity. Get a good thing rather than a poor one. and do not find fault if you get a poor animal when you have paid" the price for that kind. Prof. C. S. Plumb. The creamery manager may think that he has not the time to devote to telling the patrons of his creamery how to take care of their milk. He should, however, consider that any time put into this work means labor saved in other parts of the work. The purer the milk the easier will it be to make good butter from it Mis sionary work must be done along this line and the missionary is logically the man in charge of the creamery or factory. Horace ta Argeatiaa. With a population of 4,780,000 the Argentine Republic possesses 5,081,000 horses. It is the only country in the worrd that has a horse for every inhabitant Vanity is the daughter of selfish ness. Although ordinarj wood alcohol is a poison, Ohio is the only state which prohibits its sale on that account Every farmer should make a study of seeds as to vitality. With many there is a sort of fatality as to the germinating quality of their seeds. They take It for granted they will grow. - Seareea of Mole Sapalyw From, the Farmers' Review: Large quantities of cantaloupe of various va rieties are raised in the central and southern portion of this state unless the crop is injured in some way by cli matic conditions. Our main early sup ply, up to two years ago, was grown in this section. Extreme southern sec tions of the country are going Into the business very heavily this season, yet their product will be out of the way, or will be crowded out by the Illinois crop when our home product is ready for shipment unless for some reason the quality of the home-grown is poor. Large quantities of water melons are grown in the Carmi (Illi nois) district and the last of the Mis souri crop Is crowded out of our mar ket when the Illinois stock begins coming, on account of the difference in freight Indiana also ships quite heavily to this market .at about the same time the Illinois crop is being harvested. The Rockyford canta loupes grown in Colorado are of. su perior quality to those grown farther East, unless climatic conditions are bad during the ripening of the melons. Crop was short all round last season and very high prices ruled. The acre age will be very large this season, and it is probable that results will be satis factory to growers, although consump tion has increased very largely in the last few years. C. H. Weaver. Chi cago. m Advantage of "HoUlac Prof. W. A. Henry, In his book on "Feeds and Feeding." says: "By soil ing" is meant supplying forage fresh from the fields to farm stock more or less confined. The first American wri ter to bring this subject to the atten tion of our people was Josiah Quincy. whose essays in 1820 were later gath ered into a book entitled the "Soiling of Cattle," now out of print Quincy points out six distinct advantages from tioiling: First, 'the saving of land; second, the saving of fencing; third, the economizing of food; fourth, the better condition and greater comfort of the cattle; fifth, the greater product of milk; sixth, the attainment of ma nure. According to this author, there are six ways in which farm animals destroy the articles destined for their food. First, by eating; second, by walking; third, by dunging; fourth, by staling; fifth, by lying down; sixth, by breathing on it Of these six, the first one only is useful; all the others are wasteful. Quincy reports his own experience where twenty cows, kept in stalls, were fed green food supplied six times a day. They were allowed exercise in the open yard. These twen ty cows subsisted on the green crops from seventeen acres of land, where fifty acres had previously been re quired. Plants for the ChUdrea. - Each one of our experiment stations adds its quota to the list of new enter prises. In a recent public document the station at Mesilla Park, New Mex ico, states that it is anxious to do all in Its power to aid in the work of beau tifying the surroundings of the rural schools of New Mexico. To this end it is willing to send, free of charge, a small supply of such trees, shrubs, and plants as It has available to the au thorities or teachers of rural schools of New Mexico who apply for the same. It has already sent out stock for such purposes. It Is expected, of course, that where such stock is sent out, it will be cared for and watered when necessary. There is a natural gravita tion toward the rural schools, through which tbe station work becomes ex ceedingly effective. The New York sta tion at Cornell Is doing a similar work in sending out flower seeds for distri bution among the scholars of the state. Fralt Exhibits at lattltatei. From Farmers Review: From what observation I have been able to make I believe that exhibits at Farmers' In stitutes interest many farmers and their wives that cannot be reached in any other way. They take a pride in bringing the best product from the field, garden or pantry, and in this manner become a part of the Institute, and after they have attended one ses sion they are convinced that it is a good place to be and after receiving good cash premiums they go home feeling that some one has been work ing for them. In this way many far mers become interested and make good workers for the cause. If no ex hibits had been made these same far mers would have remained at home entirely ignorant of what a Farmers' institute consisted of or what benefits were to be derived from them. Ed ward Grimes, Montgomery County, Illinois. IUIaole Soil Servey. The United States Bureau of Soils and the University of Illinois are jointly undertaking the soil survey of Illinois. Work has begun in 'Tazewell County. In doing this work it is nec essary to proceed slowly, and take samples of the soil from the surface to a depth of three to six feet Soil maps will be made, which will show the location of all the different classes of soils. The samples are to be taken by means of augers. The experiment station at Champaign will supplement the soil survey by means of analyses of samples of the soil taken. This work is certain to be of great value to the farmers of the state, as it will make more intelligent treatment of the soils possible. It is expected that 1.000 square miles of soil will be sur veyed this season. Vac of Steps. Edwin Spicer, a Wisconsin corre spondent of the Farmers Review, asks the uses of rape. In answer we would say: Rape may be sown at any time from April to August Its most important use is as a pasture for sheep. It can be fed to sheep of near ly all ages to advantage. Generally the rape can be fed within two months of the time of seeding. Lambs should not be turned into a rape field till they have had about two hours' graz ing on other pasture. For cattle its best use is for fall feeding, and then as a soiling crop. It is fed to some extent to dairy cows. It is a good feed for swine, adding succulence to the grain feed. The Wyoming station is carrying.on experiments to determine how much water the potato crop needs. Prac tically nothing is known as yet re garding the correct amount of water to use to produce maximum yields or the times at which the water should be applied. One can stop in rising, never in de- I dining. Soag of Glarfaau. Sing away your trouble and soul-disturbing- fears: Smile away your sorrows. yir heart aches and your tears: Let the sunshine follow you thro all the coming years. Sing asong of gladness forever. Look above the trials that abound on ev'ry hand; Keep a stock of courage always at com mand; Some time In the future you will under stand Sing a song of gladness forever. When the day- Is gloomy, songs will make It bright; . When the burden's heavy, smiles iwlll make It light; Sunshine will follow in the trail of dark est night Sing a song of gladness forever. Just a song of sunshine let It flood tbe heart- ... And the bars of sorrow It will rend apart; Whisper words that courage In some soul will start Sing a song of gladness forever. Glorleas Gettyabarg. The battle on the first day was re markable not only for the acts- of great personal courage, but also for the most heroic fighting on the part of organizations. The 147th New York was the first regiment to make the great record at Gettysburg. Going into position on the right of Cutler's Brigade, and becoming hotly engaged in the very beginning of the fight Lieut Col. F. C. Miller, its command er, fell almost at the first fire, shot in the head. Maj. George Harney then commanded. The regiment fought the Forty-second Mississippi, and when the position became untenable and the brigade was ordered to the rear, the command to retreat was not received by the 147th until the other regiments of the brigade had gone. The 147th then stood alone, and not only fought the regiment to its front, but was exposed to the fire of the Second Mississippi, and the Fifty-Ninth North Carolina on the right flank. The fight was close and deadly, but Harney and his men stood up to the work until the orders reached them to retreat, which they did in good order, with colors flying. The loss of ofllcers and men was appalling, but hardly had the splendid organisation reached the new position than it became engaged in resisting the attack of Ewell's corps and assisted in capturing a part of Iverson's Brigade. But the 147th was not yet ready to rest; on the evening of the second day it was rushed over to Culp's Hill to reinforce Green's Brigade, and until long after dark fought in the dense woods among rocks and fallen timber, locating the enemy by the tongues of fire that leaped from their muskets. This regi ment was recruited in Oswego coun ty, New York, and it left the great record on Gettysburg's field of sixty per cent killed and wounded, more than twenty per cent being killed outright Saw Hard Service. Few men can claim the distinction of having actively engaged in twenty one pitched battles, and fewer have Capt. Sasanel C Wright. lived to relate the story of their pri vations and sufferings, after having been wounded so often and so severe ly as has Capt. Samuel C. Wright, a United States inspector of customs at Boston. The story of his life reads like a romance. He was thrice reported dead, and twice promoted upon the field "for conspicuous bravery in ac tion." His right eye was shot out, and tbe ball entered far into his head, but he lives to tell the story, and shows the bullet dangling from his watch chain. Grant and Lee at Appomattox. As the two sat talking on their horses only a few steps from us, we had a full opportunity not only to note their bearing, but to hear most of the conversation. I had not seen Lee for about six years, and his appearance Is thus described in a letter written the next day: "Soon after our arrival Gen. Lee came riding up, attended only by two orderlies. He looks pretty much the same as usual, but older, and his face has a very sad expression. I did not see him smile once during the Inter view. He has the same qii let. subdued, gentlemanly manner for which he was always noted." As the two generals sat talking to gether. Gen. Grant turned and beck oned to Gen. Seth Williams, his adju tant general, who rode forward. 1 was curious to see the meeting be tween Lee and Williams. Some years before the war, when Lee was super intendent of the military academy, Williams was his adjutant, and was known to be a great favorite with him. As Williams approached, the two shook hands, but there was nothing in Lee's face, as he gravely and courte ously received him. to indicate that he had ever met him before. After talking a little while Gen. Grant beckoned me forward, and on approaching Gen. Lee pretty much the same scene took place as with Williams. Gen Grant said: "Gen. Lee is desirous that his officers and men should have on their person some evidence that they are paroled prison ers, so that they will not be disturbed," and Gen. Lee remarked that he sim ply desired to do whatever was in his yower to protect his men from any thing disagreeable. I said I thought that could be arranged, as I bad a small printing press and could have blank forms struck off which could be filled up and one given to each officer and man of the army, signed by their own officers, and distributed as re quired. To this he assented. He then turned to Gen. Grant and said: "Gen eral, have you accepted private horses for the surrender. Now, most of my couriers and many of the artillery and cavalry own their own horses. How will It be about them?" Gen. Grant replied at once, speak ppi9rJk ing to me: "They will be allowed ti retain them." Turning to Gen. Le he added: "They will need them li putting in their spring crops." Th remark struck me as peculiar, and : have no doubt it did Lee. for Gran' could have said nothing which demon strated more completely his idea tha the war was over and that these war like men and horses would go at once to work planting corn. From a Pos thumous Paper by Gen. John Gibbon In the Century. Whm 1X9,838 Soldiers Tell. The greatest and most historical bat tlefield spot in the world Is that in and around Fredericksburg, Va. A comparatively small territory in this region would take In places where were fought tbe great battles of Fred ericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness. 'Spottsylvania Court House, Laurel Hill, the Bloody Angle, Todd's Tavern and a half dozen small er but hardly less bloody struggles. More than 500.000 troops were engaged in these battles. The total losses In killed and wounded at these battles were 129,838, besides an immense num ber of deaths from disease. In the of ficial data collected by Col. Fred Phis terer, in his statistical record, the fig ures of the losses at Fredericksburg and other important battles in the vi cinty are given as follows: Fredericks burg, Dec. 13, 1862, Union loss. 12,353; Confederate loss. 4.576; Chancellors ville, Union loss. 16,030; Confed erate. 12.281; Wilderness. Union, 37.737; Confederate, 11,400; Spotts sylvania. Court House, includ ing Laurel Hill, the Bloody Angle and Ny river. Union loss. 26,461; Con federate. 9.000. The general officers killed in these engagements were: Union, Maj. Gens. John Sedgwick. Hi ram G. Berry and Amiel W. Whipple. Brevet Maj. Gens. James S. Wads worth and Alexander Hays, Brg. Gens. George D. Bayard, Conrad F. Jackson. Edmund Kirby, James C. Rice and Thomas G. Stevenson; Confederate offi cers of prominence killed were Lieut Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, Brig. Gens. Thomas R. R. Cobb. Junius Daniel. Ab ener Perrin, Maxey Gregg. E. F. Pax ton, J. M. Jones, Leroy A. Stafford and Micah Jenkins. Ofleers aad Their Men. "Some of the company's officers," said the major, "had in the first year of the war original methods of main taining discipline. I remember a cap tain in the Twenty-second Illinois who scorned the ordinary methods of punishing the privates of his company. While we were at Bird's Point. Mo., in the fall of 1861. I passed his quar ters one day and found him behind his tent pounding a man as large and ac tive as himself. The captain was stripped to shirt and trousers and was fighting for the mastery. "For five or ten minutes it was give and take between him and his antago nist. Then the latter was knocked down and said he had enough. Then the captain put on his coat sent the man to the orderly's tent, and sat down to smoke with me. He said he made it a rule to trounce every man who was saucy or insubordinate, and as bis men were mostly from the country, and given to independent no tions, he found the plan to work well. He said he would no more think of bucking and gagging his men than he would of shooting him." Chicago In ter Ocean. Foraging la the Army. "Yes." said the captain, "the boys on a raid would pick up anything that came in their way. and they were worse in the first year of the war than in the last. At first raiding or forag ing developed a sort of waywardness not quite consistent with soldierly in stincts and discipline, and the study of men of good home-training under new conditions and temptations was very interesting. "No man cared to enter a house and take a book or a picture, but I have seen one of our country-bred soldiers pick up a log chain in a barnyard and carry it a mile or more without flinch ing. At the same time another fellow would appropriate a clock and carry it for three or four days simply be cause it suggested home associations. A man who considered it disreputable to take a clock would without a twinge of conscience purloin a coffee mill or frying pan. and I never could convince any of my men that it was wrong to steal a chicken." Chicago Inter Ocean. Phil Sheridan's Brother. Brig. Gen. Michael V. Sheridan re sembles his brother Philip of Winches ter fame in general appearance, al though he is taller than "Little Phil." In speaking of Sheridan's resemblance to his brother a friend of Gen. Brooke tells this story: I was at Omaha one day while Brooke was in command of the De partment of the Platte, and was invit ed to the general's house for the even ing. There I met a number of men and women. The presentations were of the regulation order, and left no deep impression as to names on my mind. After speaking to a stocky man, who even in his evening clothes looked .like a soldier, I said to one of the women, "How much your friend looks like Gen. Sheridan." "That is not strange," said she, "for they are related on their parents' side." "I don't .quite understand," I said. "Why. he's 'Phil' Sheridan's broth er," was the reply. Myatery of the Dew. After a clear, still night, every grassblade hangs thick with dewdrops, while the roads and grael paths re main perfectly dry. Did it ever occur to you to wonder why this was so? The fact is that dew is most readily deposited upon cold surfaces by tbe air which contains it The Blender blades of grass and leaves give up the warmth "tney have gained during the day more easily than do stones and earth, and so they gather more moist ure from the atmosphere. Alaaanae for Brltleh Army. Some years ago during one of Its Egyptian campaigns the British army was suddenly startled by a total eclipse of the sun for which the troops were not prepared. To prevent the possibility of another such surprise, which might have had grave conse quences, the British war office decid ed to have an almanac regularly pro duced for the army's guidance. Such an almanac has been published regu larly since that time. For various reasons the best his torical novel is the one tiat remains unpublished. Wt(Pmmk s i I u 1 1 Hm sl 1 I ' V y DECORATION DAY EPISODE. Simple but Patriotic Exercises in Western Frontier Town. "For genuine patriotism one must go to the country, or, better still, to the frontier or mountain towns. Awa; from the maddening rush for wealth the people live closer to nature and also get opportunities to form social acquaintances which develop into the closest friendships. Holidays to this class are something out of the ordi nary." Having thus delivered himself the old-time newspaper man pondered a while and then resumed somewhat as follows: "Away back in 1883 I was stranded in a little mountain hamlet in Colorado called Georgetown. It was Decoration day. My cash had run out, the two weeklies had a full complement of help and I was up against it "Going along the main street, I ran across a local correspondent for one of the weeklies, whom I had met in Denver. He gave me the glad hand and asked if I had struck any aurifer ous ore. Having told him of the de pleted condition of the treasury, he stated that a committee appointed by the G. A. R. post had met with hard luck in lassooing a speaker for the program at the cemetery. Then an idea struck him. "'Say, pard, why can't you give us a lift? There's a five dollar gold piece in it!' "Did I take it? Well, I delivered the best speech ever made in the Rockies. But you should have seen that procession. Miners wearing their red or blue shirts, with great leather belts to hold their trousers in place, sans coat and vest, but shod in high top boots and on their heads were slouch hats or sombreros adorned with rattlers. Here and there was a real veteran, whose empty sleeve cr limp demonstrated that he had helped defend the stars and stripes. Alto gether there were fewer than 300 men in line. But patriotism, pure and un adulterated; beat in every breast. I was accorded a position of honor at the head of the line alongside my friend, who was past commander of the post and measured about 5 feet 4. The commander was 6 .cot 2, anu we made up a great bunch. The line of march took in the main street of the town and then over two miles of rocky road to the cemetery. Once there I delivered my little talk and then the veterans tenderly placed flags and flowers on the' graves of their beloved dead. Many a teardrop fell upon the blossoms as the old boys passed them around and recalled their gallant comrades of years agonc. There was no work in Georgetown that day. for it was a holiday devoted to the memory of the brave men who fought to preserve the nation's honor. Give mc the frontier for tbe real ar ticle in patriotism." tet No Soldier Be Forgotten. The significance of the day should inspire every veteran soldier and sail or to pay homage to the valorous deeds of their comrades of 1898. The annals of our country have been made glorious by the noble and heroic sac rifices of her sons. It is our duty to keep ever present in our memories the historic deeds of the patriotic dead our country's dead. nnaWmHmaVLvVl' Ky VlsMy mWmWmH JnnnvmwVa 'antnnnnnnnnHnnT aafl THE FIRST VOtUNTEER. Dr. Charles F. Rand Is Still Living at Washington. At this time the living as well as the dead veterans of the great war claim our attention. It is interesting to note that the first volunteer for the civil war is still living. He is Dr. Charles F. Rand of Washington, retired from active practice by means of troublesome wounds received near ly forty years ago. Among all the war records at Wash ington there is none of an earlier en listment than that of Dr. Rand, and the honor has, therefore, been given him by common consent. Not only was Dr. Rand the first vol unteer 'for the civil war, but be was also the first soldier to win the con gressional medal of honor for distin- , guished gallantry in action. This event occurred at Blackburn's ford, Va., in less than three months after his enlistment His command was or dered to retreat, and every man obeyed save young Rand, at the time tint eighteen Tears of axe. 1 wk soldier's The rest of his battalion of 500 men was swept in disorder from the field, but Rand held his ground, notwith standing the fact that the field waa plowed by shot and shell all about him. The enemy finally absolutely re fused to fire at the boy, standing bravely alone and shooting at them as coolly as if he had a thousand men at his back. Rand then crept across a deep ravine and joined the com mand of Gen. A. H. Barnum, remain ing with them until the end of the engagement. Dr. Rand's patriotism anfl gallantry has been recognized by two governors of the state of New York and by three presidents. He was twice personally honored by President Lincoln; New York state remembered him with a gold medal appropriately inscribed, and the United States government has presented him with a plot in the most beautiful part of Arlington cem etery, where, at the proper time, the state of New York will erect a monu ment worthy of the first man to offer his services as. n volunteer during the great rebellion. Vk yp W m Wk will) 'IJJ. tftere." X4 Jams WMf coal U wJ yj . Rilcf. xfJ J V l.f ..-"-atlS -i f ' ' ,A-. :.-.
