.-f, - l'V-ar I "H vA'f "" - " '' '' "-.,.: V
V
s.-?wrs j,.:nm'5;s' '--i-i.,r.
"I -- -. T . t- . ,.
.., ,. - vi". ----nA , j;
-..: . .
-iv
-
y-r?H
:?
"IT,,
4 -
r
-: v
NEBRASKA IN GENERAL!
fv
mMCfS mL WsjWiS. . 'Il. aaaw
cjS3Si I Jtfaa T I fcsTr- ' UbYEhisHMBr9HH
S SBBjBBBBs BBaMeBBBBHa t Ms r J .rjiBBBBBBBjBTBjaW Jma
ft
t .
J
I
I
i
-
xxjg '
The Grand Army,
(fever an army like that, ne'er audi
men as they.
Ne'er a title' so grand, or cause so
great.
And never a victor so ennobled the
Well And ne'er their mate, and bless'd
be their fate!
For the grandest of all we can boast of
to-day
Are the matchless men of the G. A. R.,
As they march 'neath the flags that
they brought from the fray;
Their story Is written ineVry star!
Through many a battle they've carried
"Old Glory!"
Bat one by one they are falling away:
Still proudly they carry their heads
white and hoary
(Number their ranks on Memorial Day.)
Jt us treasure them dearer, and honor
them more.
For they made possible all we pos
sess: The Republic will know no such heroes
e'er more.
Bravely their country to hold and to
bless!
Well have patriots and heroes till the
end of Time.
And many a triumph to tell In re
union; .
But none will outlive us in story sub
lime. . . .
Uke the brave men who fought for
the Union!
Long may they live and ever In sculp
ture and song
Their names be told, as their needs so
renown'd
(These incomparable Vefrans that to
us belong). .,
And all at last in Heaven bo crowned!
Jennie Porter Pardee.
At Gettysburg.
The bent line was kept by Slocum,
the straight line by Doubleday, How
ard, Gibbon, Sickles, Sykes. Sedgwick
was In reserve. The federals had the
short line. About 4 o'clock Thursday
the second day's battle commenced
with an attack on Sickles, afterwards
on Birney.
"The troops on the Salient were
driven away, but others seized the
Round Tops, which Lee wanted. The
battle was resumed at the left on the
Cemetery, and the confederates fear
fully slaughtered. At night they at
tacked the refused line on the rocky
and timbered left rear, and were
beaten everywhere except at one un
closed point. Pickett did not get up
till that night The next morning the
confederates we're driven out of their
lodgment in Wolf's hill, and the union
army with closed lines, awaited the
assault upon the Cemetery hill, now
the center and bastion.
"From 1 to 3 o'clock the full artll
ery on both sides cannonaded, but the
union position had been fortified and
when Pickett's and Pettigrew's infant
ry stormed they were dissipated,
while an attempt to flank the Round
Tops and seize the trains was put to
confusion by Kilpatrick's cavalry.
The confederates had lost 6,500 kill
ed, 26.000 wounded and 13.000 prison
ers and deserters. The federals lost
4.834 killed, nearly 15.000 wounded
and 4,000 prisoners, and had eighteen
Important generals killed or wound
ed, the invaders a dozen. The feder
als had the fewer troops and the
fewer engaged.
"Saturday the dead were buried and
the invading army withdrew over the
South mountain to Hagerstown,
which they reached Monday, July 14,
Lee recrossed the Potomac at Wll
liamsport, Md. Twenty-two days had
been the limit of any part of that
army occupying the country north of
the Potomac, from van coming in to
rear going out
"Upon the union side the only con
troversy has been whether Meade pur
sued promptly. The opportunity to
take the confederate army was ap
parently as good after Five Forks.
'The confederate authorities have
differed as to whether Lee should
have attacked or flanked, whether
Stuart ruined him or he 'lost his su
perb equipoise.' But there were no
more invasions of the free states. The
war fell back to Winchester, where it
began, and thence to Petersburg, ex
posing Richmond. It retired from
Vlcksburg to Chattanooga at the same
time."
An Unwelcome Kiss.
There could scarcely be found a
ssore demonstrative expression of
gratitude on the part of the freed
southern slaves for the service ren
dered them by the Federal soldiers
than that related with mixed feelings
of .sadness and amusement by a vet
eran attending the encampment It
occurred at Norfolk, Va.. soon after
the close of hostilities. The volunteer,
then a young man, was strolling
through the streets when his uniform
caught the eye of a "black mammy."
She uttered a cry of delight and over
taking the soldier asked excitedly.
"For de Lord, Massa. is you one of
dent men what done sot us free?" The
soldier admitted that he was, when
without further ado the enthusiastic
mammy threw her fat arms about him
and pressed her black lips against his
bronze cheek in one resounding smack.
At f rst the military man was so taken
back that he hardly knew what to do,
but it is sad to relate that the course
which he finally followed was not a
fitting return for the affection which
had been lavished upon him.
Old Spirit Still in Them.
The appearance of the National As
sociation of civil war musicians In the
parade of the G. A. R. at the late en
campment at Washington attracted
much attention; in fact they were one
of the notable features of the day.
The drum corps was composed of men
each not less than sixty years of age.
There were three from South Dakota,
four from Denver, one from Califor
nia, four from Illinois, two from New
Jersey, four from Ohio, two from In
diana, and three from Pennsyqlvania.
Two of the number received special
demonstrations along the line because
though unable to walk, they sat up
placidly in wheel chairs pushed by at
tendants, and fifed away the patriotic
tames of war days.
He Got the Oysters.
This good story is told on a certain
captain of the old Fourteenth Massa
chusetts when they were stationed
here la Washington.
The aforesaid captain was somewhat
seted for bis love for good things
gastronomic, and one day dispatched
one of his "live Yankees" off to Alex
andria to get some fresh oysters, giv
ing mist instructions not to return
without the bivalves. The man went
est aad so store was seen of him for
several days. The indignant and dis
appointed captain reported hiss as a
deserter aad gave him up as a lost
caBeV But after a lapse of nine days,
Bailey, for that was his name, came
1st camp, leading a train of four-
loaded with oysters. Ap-
aad respectfully saluting
the iMinl and. speechless cantata.
an
oysters, captain.
Couldn't find any in Alexandria, so I
chartered a schooner and made voy
age to Fortress Monroe and Norfolk
for them. There's about 200 bushels
where do you want 'em?"
Bailey did really make the trip,
hired his men, sold oysters enough in
Georgetown before "reporting," to pay
all expenses and leave him a profit of
about 100. The 200 bushels were di
vided among the regiment, and Bailey
returned to his duty.
Soldiers and citizens in Washington
made good money in those days trad
ing in oysters and everything to eat.
and Bailey was not the only soldier
who made such expeditions down the
river.
Woman Made Good Soldier.
Perhaps in all the talcs of the war
there could not be found a more de
voted Incident than that of tht jnlist
ment of Mary Owens of Danville, Pa.
This woman wanted to accompany her
husband to the war and share its
hardships and its victories with him.
When she had fully made up her mind
she went to the enlisting officer and
passed the examination, giving the
name of John Evans. Side by side
the faithful pair fought until a ball
from the enemy killed -the man she
loved.
After the husband was burled the
soldier-wife took up her musket and
marched with her comrades. But it
was only until the next battle, for in
this she was severely wounded. As
soon as she was able to be sent home
she was discharged. On her papers
was written. "A more faithful soldier
never shouldered a musket"
Back to her desolate home the
brave woman went It was none too
soon, as it appeared, for after a few
weeks there came to comfort her a
handsome little boy. To this day the
people in that Pennsylvania town
know and respect the Mary Owens
who went to the war.
Can Spiders Fly?
It is a common notion that spiders
can fly, and many people will avei
that they have seen them fly over a
piece of water from a flower in the
center. What happens is really this:
Suppose a spider to have been blown
by a gust of wind to a plant growing
in the middle of a brook; there it is s
prisoner, and, like all prisoners, anx
ious to escape. How is it to get across
the surrounding water in order tc
reach dry land? It sets to work tc
construct a balloon; this will not be
of the orthodox shape, but it will be
an aerial vehicle that will take the
insect to land. The spider spins sev
eral threads and connects them, all
the while taking care to keep this wet
attached to the plant so that it shall
not float away. The insect labors till
it thinks the balloon strong enough
to bear the weight, then tries it II
not strong enough, the work of con
struction is continued. When the
balloon is completed the spider places
itself firmly on or in it, breaks the
"rope," that has held the flying ma
chine captive all the time, and ifc
wafted away to land. When the dis
tance is short the spider makes a line
composed of a few threads, and waits
till a strong puff of wind blows it out
straight Then the insect trips along
it and tumbles on land.
Women Had the Sadder Part.
Woman's part in the civil war,
though without the circle of public
notice, even the soldiers themselves
agree was the most trying. While the
men were in action, their blood fired
by the heat of battle, their senses
numbed by the plunge into the vortex
of death, of victory or defeat, uncon
scious of the very danger that threat
ened them, the woman were at home,
compelled, in the sanctity of their iso
lation, to bear the burden without pro
test, without oportunity to drown
their tense feelings in stirring inci
dents. At the recent encampments at
Washington the old soldiers and their
ladies, together with the thousands of
strange guests within the city, as
scmbled to witness the big parade of
the encampment the parade of the
modern sailors and soldiers. From all
the government strongholds in the
vicinity of the national capital large
bodies of troops were ordered out to
give the veterans an opportunity to
see the changes which have taken
place in the army and navy since they
carried their heavy, old-styled mus
ket, or stood guaro on the deck of a
wooden sidewhecler. which served
because nothing else could be secured
as a battleship. !
Military Surgeons.
The Spanish war has brought In its
train a vast number of momentous
problems for solution by the military
surgeons of the United States. Co
operation is essential to the accom
plishment of the task. Deployed all
along the advancing line of civiliza
tion, the medical officers of the 20th
i century are less than ever in trmrh
I with one another, and less than ever
accessible to the Inspiration of one
another's progress. The difficult but
indispensable work of combining co
operation with this unavoidable isola
tion is one of the functions of the
Association of Military Surgeons ol
the United States, which, by its pub
lications, will afford to its members
the most recent information upon the
work done, not only by its national
services in foreign stations, but upon
the auxiliary work of the state forces
and the national bodies at home.
The Battle of the Crater.
Capt McCarty, late of the Thir
teenth Ohio cavalry, has a very valu
able book, in which is a vivid descrip
tion of the fight at the crater In front
of Petersburg, in which his regiment
took part and which lost heavily. The
regiment participated In a great many
of the battles In which the Eastern
army was a factor, but none was more
bloody or more fruitless In results
than the battle of the crater.
It followed immediately upon the ex
plosion of a mine by the Union forces,
but when the troops charged" Into the
breach it was found that the Confed
erates had known of the diggings of
the mine and just where It was lo
cated, had formidable works just to
the rear of it and met our charging
troops with a concentrated fire which
no body of men could stand before and
nve. The description is written by
Howard Ashton of Zanesville.
How to Melt Steel.
Heat a piece of steel in the fire
until it is red hot; then, holding it up
with a pair of" pincers or tongs, take
in the other hand a stick of brimstone,
and touch a piece of steel with it
Immediately after the contact yosj
will see the steel melt and drop like a
liquid.
The Seedling Apple.
For a good many years there has
been a contest as to whether it was
better to hunt up new apples in for
eign countries and Import them or de
velop new apple varieties from seeds.
Both methods have -been tried and
both have yielded some discouraging
results. A few good apples have been
imported from foreign countries, but
very many, after having been tried for
a dozen years, have been cast aside as
worthless. On the other hand, of all
seedlings that have been brought to a
stage of fruitfulness not one in a thou
sand has proved to be of value.
However, we should not forget that
all the progress that has been made in
the development of new varieties at
home or abroad has been by means of
seedlings. For every good variety we
now have, multitudes of seedlings
have been tried and cast aside. We
must continue this work, though it is
very slow as a process. It is a great
task to care for a thousand' seedling
trees and bring them to a bearing age.
They must be planted at first in seed
ling rows and then transplanted. They
must be cared for after the best meth
ods for years till they come into fruit
ing. Even after that it is sometimes
necessary to keep them for other
years to determine other facts about
them; for a tree will sometimes show
increased fruitfulness as the years go
on. Among the things that must be
done for the trees are keeping the
ground fertile and the trees sprayed.
The borers must be hunted out and
the caterpillars attacked as soon as
they appear. The discouraging thing
about the work is that after so long a
wait and much hard work the grower
may find that not one tree is superior
to varieties already growing, and un
less a new variety be superior in at
least one point to other varieties it is
of no use to save it
The laborer can never know that he
is to reap the benefit of his hard
work. Even if he develops a superior
variety, other years must elapse be
fore he can make anything from it;
and even that will depend on his busi
ness acumen and business nercy.
However, the seedling is the only
available road of advance. If all apple
growers would each grow a few trees
it would distribute the load over many
backs and it would weigh less heavily
a few. Farmers' Review.
Missouri Horticultural Meeting.
L. A. Goodman, secretary of the
Missouri Horticultural Society, noti
fies us that the forty-fifth annual meet
ing of the society will be held at
Springfield, Ma, December 2 to 4. In
a circular he says: The state society
has been a great factor in the wonder
ful growth of the fruit Industry in
Missouri. She ranks first now in ap
ple orchards of any state in the Union.
The fruit lands of our state have
been brought more and more to the
notice of grower and dealer. We feel
proud today of our position, and with
Procter care and attention we should
be able to hold it To this end the
society in all its efforts to develop the
fruit interests of the state and to bring
good fruit men into it has never lost
sight of the need of the best means
for educating, assisting and develop
ing all our fruit growers; instructing
them where knowledge is wanted, ad
vising them where experience would
give the help needed, assisting, direct
ing, encouraging, whenever opportuni
ty is offered.
This forty-fifth annual meeting will
be one of the best ever held. Some of
the best men of the state and nation
will be there to help answer scientific,
technical and practical questions and
to give instructive papers. The fruit
growers of Greene county and south
Missouri will give us a hearty wel
come. One hundred and fifty dollars
is alloted for premiums, to be given
on fruits and flowers in our usual
manner. Five specimens constitute a
plate. Perfection of size, color, form
and condition will be the points con
sidered. Collections shall embrace
only one plate of a variety for the
judges to pass upon. New varieties
and rare ones are desired. Specimens
for name are always in order. Let us
make this a banner meeting. Monday,
December 1, the Ozark Apple Growers'
Association will hold its regular meet
ing and all apple growers of the
Ozarks are invited to be present; the
society delegates will also be welcome.
Railroad rates will apply for this day
also. A good program will be carried
out Fruits should all be arranged on
Tuesday. All fruit will be reserved
and put up in glass jars for the
World's Fair.
National Bureau of Forestry.
The work of the Bureau of Forestry
is now being carried on in 20 states.
Tie Bureau appointed 90 new student
assistants for this season, the entire
field force numbering 165 men. The
vork includes, among other things,
the gathering of the necessary data
for several working plans, a study of
a number of well-known commercial
trees, the examination of farm wood
lets, and a study of the treeless areas
pith a view of devising plans for for
est extension. The Bureau of For
estry began the new fiscal year of
1902-1903 with an appropriation of
$291, 860. The amount for the pre
vious year was $185,440. This in
creased appropriation shows how this
work commends itself to Congress,
and it makes possible a much wider
range of work. The present season's
work is by far the most varied and
interesting yet undertaken by the
Bureau of Forestry, and is being car
ried on in Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont Massachusetts, New York,
New Jersey. Maryland, Tennessee,
Kentucky, West Virginia, North Caro
lina, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska,
Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana,
Arizona and California. Later la
the season it will be extended to still
ober states and territories.
Chick-Pea or.Gram.
A shelling pea. practically unknown
in this country, is the chick-pea (Cicer
arietinum). the garbanzos of Spanish,
cookery, or the gram of India. It is
largely cultivated in southern Europe,
in Spanish America and many parts
of the East especially British India,
whence it Is exported. It is a stiff,
upright plant covered with hairs and
bearing inflated pods containing a few
curiously shaped seeds; the two lobes
distinctly marked and the germinal
point very prominent These peas are
eaten boiled, but more commonly
roasted. This roasted pea seems to
"have seen much in use in Roman
times, the phrase fricti ciceris emptor,
"buyer of roasted chick-peas,' mean
ing in coBTarsatiom a poor fallow.
Need of Improvement in Dairy
Methods.
From Farmers' Review: In no ar
ticle of human food Is so much filth
consumed as in dairy products. When
milk or cream is ordered even at
pur best hotels and restaurants, dirt
is frequently found at the bottom if it
Is allowed to stand a short time. This
Is not appetizing, to say the least and
is driving people who like milk to
using something -In its stead. This
greatly reduces the consumption of
milk and at present Americans do
not consume more than one-third as
much milk per capita as Is wed la
some European countries. Many per
sons use as little milk as possible
because of the careless way in which
it is produced and the fear that it may
contain disease germs. As dairy prod
ucts are usually consumed in the raw
state, there Is, of course, more danger
on this account, but when In proper
condition they are both healthful and
economical and would be consumed in
much larger quantities if people could
always obtain them clean and of good
quality.
Simply because we are accustomed
to doing a thing In a slipshod way Is
no reason for its continuance. We
are living in an age of the most rapid
change and improvement and the
sharpest competition. The public is
becoming more intelligent and is de
manding better food products year
after year, and unless the dairymen
fall into line and march with the pro
cession by producing clean muk and
dairy products their consumption will
certainly decrease. People will not
continue to drink milk In which a
sediment is found and to eat poor
butter and cheese. It is then to the
interest of the dairymen themselves
as well as the general public that at
tention be given to the production of
milk, butter and cheese that are clean
and attractive in appearance as well
as of superior quality. .
In dairying as in all other occupa
tions there is room at the top and it
is in the better class of dairying
that the profits lie, for this is as yet
a field almost wholly unoccupied.
W. J. Fraser, University of Illinois.
Gain in Feeding Silage.
There are about 3,488 hills In an
acre of corn. Valuing the corn at
from $10 to $12 an acre, you will
find feeding six hills a day, it will
cost you 2 cents a day to feed a
cow or a horse. The cow or horse
is doing its own grinding and shuck
ing the feed, costing you Vk cents
per day per animal. We remember
one year after our cows had gone
through a terrible drought, they
caught the pink-eye from a neigh
bor's cattle, which he had bought at
the stock yards. They fell off in
flesh and milk. Frost had killed our
field corn and we were at a loss to
know what to do. This was the lat
ter part of October, and we. began to
feed ensilage and from that day wo
increased our milk, the cows gained
in flesh, the hair looked silky and
glossy and the milk was of a rich
June color. L. A. Speis.
Unscientific Handling of Milk.
Mr. McNutt said: The farmer sells
his milk for 2 cents a quart the baby
who drinks it pays 8. Two cents for
production, 6 cents for distribution.
There is something wrong about that
I found out the trouble one morning
when in New York. At 4 o'clock a
milkman came along, climbed stairs
and left a pint of milk. His wagon
rattled away a quarter of a mile and
delivered another pint That morning
over fifteen milk peddlers came up
those same stairs to deliver milk. We
have learned how to distribute our
letters, but if we had the same system
of distribution in the mail service that
we have in the milk business every
letter would cost 25 cents postage.
Benton Harbor, Mich., News.
Silage Facts.
Bulletin 92, N. H. Experiment Sta
tion. Our results and those of other
stations invariably agree that the best
silage is obtained from corn that has
nearly reached maturity, with ears
fully formed and well filled. At this
stage of growth, also, a corn plant
has reached its maximum of food pro
duction. Varieties of corn should be
selected which yield the largest crops
at this stage, rather than those which
produce large plants, but are yet im
mature at cutting time. This prac
tice is already followed by many
farmers, but should be by all. For
New Hampshire, a standard variety
is the Learning dent corn, while in
those portions of the state with too
short a season for that variety to
reach a proper stage, the Sanford
flint corn can be advantageously used.
The sugar in the green fodder is
practically all destroyed In the silo,
and since it is most abundant in the
corn plant in the early stages of ear
development it is an additional argu
ment for postponing cutting until the
grain is full size and the sugars
change largely to starch. The amount
of seed per acre affects the yield of
green fodder, and also its composi
tion. A medium stand is essential
for the best results In both quantity
and quality. The practice of using
a half bushel of seed per acre is good.
In a favorable season, with plenty of
fertilizer, more seed could be profit
ably used, but the tendency to in
feriority in quality, especially In de
creasing the protein and increasing
the sugar and fiber, renders it as a
rule, inadvisable.
Rose-Comb Black Minorca.
It is worthy of note that the lat
est acquisition to the Minorca class
is the Rose-comb Black Minorca. The
only objection that has ever been
raised against the varieties of the
Mediterranean class Is their suscep
tibility to frostbite of the como. Their
combs are so large that continued
cold or exposure is sure to result in
this complaint To obviate this one
defect if it may so be termed, In this
valuable class of birds, has actuated
breeders in making a bird that pos
sesses the other qualifications, but
with low rose combs. There are two
varieties of Rose-comb Leghorns the
Black and the White, and the Rose
comb Black Minorca. The latter Is
not a standard variety as yet. but in
dications point to their admission as
such in the near future. Many good
specimens have been bred and ex
hibited at the recent shows, and suc
cess in making this new fowl seems
assured. Government Bulletin.
The greatest of unconscious humor
ists is the man who takes himself seri
ously. . We are an, more or less, un
conscious humorists.
Live Stock Items.
It la hard to get bids on short fed
iteers.
From this time until after the noli
lays, beef will have to compete with
)ig supplies of poultry in the retail
aarkets.
November 17th the best grades of
cattle on the London (Eng.) market
were quoted at 14 cents and com
mon cattle at Liverpool were bringing
11 cents. Choice lambs sold for
lift and good ewes at 11 cents.
Reports from feeding districts of
the middle west indicate that while
U some points a smaller number of
settle' than usual will be fed, in the
majority of instances stocks are above
lonnal, some correspondent report
ing 200 and 300 per cent Many esti
mate 100 to 110 per cent on feed.
Western correspondents report that
Kansas feeders are rather apathetic
and are not going into the business
on the usual liberal scale. Corn Is
not cheap enough to tempt them and
they fear beef prices will not be
maintained. This should help busi
ness for feeders in the eastern por
tion of the corn belt
The officials of the National Live
Stock bank at the Union Stock Yards
have shown their interest in the In
ternational Exposition by offering
prizes for fat stock, viz.: On grand
champion carload grain-fed steers,
$200; on grand champion carload of
feeding steers, $200; on champion car
load of fat sheep. $100.
Red Wilkes, the greatest living sire
of trotters, with 117 standard trotters
and 41 pacers to his credit, again
went under the hammer last week,
and. although he is now 28 years old,
he brought $850 or $250 more than he
brought two years ago, when William
C. Hendrickson paid $600 for him at
the Cloverdale dispersal sale.
At the sale of Herefords, November
18th, at Indianapolis, the splendid cow
Theresa, 86.482, sired by Mercury out
of Lady Wilton, and owned by S. H.
Godman of Wabash, Ind., carried off
the honors. She was sold wkh her
heifer calf. Miss Theresa, and the first
bid was $1,300. This was raised to
$1,350, at which price she was sold to
D. E. Studebaker of Warren, Ind. Miss
Nelly BIy 7th was sold to J. N. Shirley
of Lebanon. Ind., for $515, and Chloe
to Anderson ft Son for $525.
Several American capitalists have
joined in the purchase of a tract of
land In the State of Sonora, Northern
Mexico, embracing 7,500,000 acres. It
is being enclosed by a wire fence and
Is to be converted into the largest cat
tle ranch in the world. In its present
wild state It will afford pasturage for
about 60,000 cattle. An extensive ir
rigation system is planned and much
attention will be given to the growing
of forage crops. W. C. Greene, who
Is the head of the syndicate, is president-of
the Greene Consolidated Cop
per Company, which operates some of
the most productive mines of Mexico.
The annual report of State Veter
inarian Knowles of Montana, soon to
be issued, will shew the inspection of
205,728 animals of all kinds, of which
the sheep inspection aggregated 198,
287. Forty-seven horses were killed
and their carcasses destroyed because
they had glanders, while six beeves
were killed on account of tuberculosis.
The number of horses quarantined
was 1,693. As shown by the report
112,567 southern cattle were brought
into the state, accompanied by the re
quired health certificates. The num
ber of such certificates issued for ani
mals going into other states and
across the Canadian lines was 10,306,
while the number given out for ani
mals going directly to the Northwest
Territory was 5,726.
Farmers' Sons in a Judging Ring.
In a communication to the Farmers
Review Manager Skinner of the Inter
national Live Stock Exposition says:
A most highly interesting and instruc
tive innovation this year at the Inter
national Live Stock Exposition will be
the admission of farmers' sons into
the students' judging contest The
donors of the premiums for this year's
contest, Messrs. Spoor, Clay and San
ders, have specially specified that the
contest be left open to all farmers'
sons, regardless of their belonging to
any agricultural college. This will
give the colleges an opportunity to
prove up their teachings, and boys
who are not able to take the time for
schooling will have an opportunity to
become a part of this educational
feast It will hardly be expected that
any recognized, first-class school will,
under these circumstances, fail to en
ter the lists, as the schools would bet
ter look to their laurels in such a con
test Fathers whose boys have not at
tended this exposition should not al
low anything to prevent the boys from
coming this year to watch this event,
o as to prepare themselves for subse
quent contests, as undoubtedly at fu
ture expositions this feature will re
na!n a fixture. In addition to its be
mg a pleasure to send the boys, fath
ers should consider it a bounden duty
'o give them the benefit of this week's
Ive-stock education, and the man who
''arms and is not a student striving to
improve and put his place on a better
footing each year will not be a suc
cess. Remember the date, November
29 to December 6.
How Sour Soils Are Made.
The black prairie soils are invari
ably rich in nitrogen and potash, be
cause they are largely composed of the
charcoal of decayed vegetation. The
accumulation produced has been pre
vented from total decomposition by
the water lying heavily in the sells
and excluding the air. TLe drifting
sands and clay silt and the earth in
which the plants were rooted supply
suL.ilent mineral matter to make them
into healthy soils, which settle grad
ually to a fairly firm mass, except in
some parts where the water lay stag
cant too heavily the year round. The
last condition allowed only a growth
of water plants like sphagnums, and
resulted in what are termed "bogus
soils.' too deficient in mineral matter
to properly support farm crops. As a
portion of each year's vegetation be
came entirely decomposed, and the
charcoal bodies, or carbon structures,
were burned out and passed off into
the air as carbon gas, humus was de
posited through the mass, thus mak
ing food for plants to be taken up by
them in absorbing the soil waters.
T. C. Wallace.
, Method of Catching Trout
The mountaineers of Georgia catch
trout with a sledge-hammer. Their
practice Is to thump, a rock, under
which a trout seeks refuge, with a
hammer, and the concussion renders
the fish senseless.
A Cannibal Hen.
The latter part of Jane I set two
Bantam hens of a mongrel type on
pheasant eggs, placing them In col
ony coops, writes a correspondent ol
Farm Poultry. During the Incubation
of these eggs the weather was exceed
ingly warm. Each day, I took the hens
off. lifting them gently so that no eggs
secreted between wing and body
would fall and break; placing them in
their cages I allowed them all the
fresh water and whole corn tney want
ed. Each Saturday I dusted them with
a good lice killer. All went well until
the 21st day, pheasant eggs taking
24 days to hatch. On said day wnen
I lifted the door to let off the hens,
one of them was sitting on her eggs,
her comb very pale, and An appear
ance a sick and dilapidated bird. The
eggs were chilled, how long I could
not tell. The other hen seemed quite
well and contented, excepting her
comb, which was slightly pale.
With no other sitting hen on hand
and quite a distance to the nearest
neighbor, I for awhile felt perplexed,
but not for long. I was not for giving
up the chilled eggs (experience has
taught me not to). The well hen had
seventeen eggs under her. Realizing
she had only three more days to sit,
and the weather being warm, I coupled
the eggs into one sitting, isolated the
sick bird, put Iron into her drinking
water and fed her nothing but boiled
rice, rolled oats and onion tops; and
for grit egg shells. In three days
that hen showed her former vigor,
and her comb became more normal
in color.
By this time my chicks were due
from under the other hen, and there
fore examined the eggs that morning,
finding many of them chipped. At noon
I noticed half a shell just outside the
roof. Upon raising the hen gently,
I found no chick. The cage being be
fore the coop made escape impossible.
Now I was puzzled. Where was that
chick? I pondered for awhile, then
thought best to watch the hen more
closely. Suddenly she shifted back a
little and deliberately picked at one
of the chicks that had only one wing
emerged from the shell. To my sur
prise she ate the chick. A cannibal,
thought I; but there was no time to
waste. That hen would eat them as
fast as they hatched. TLa convales
cent hen was still clucking, so I rest
ed my hopes on her, placed the eggs
under her, and bless her, she hatched
and reared them, Is .rearing them to
this day. She makes a good mothei
in every respect
The Question of Size.
There seems to be a rule governing
form which confines its greatest per
fection within certain sizes. Under
size in the Bantam deprives it of the
highest form. As oversize in the
Brahma detracts from its grace of con
tour this same influence works against
an effort to advance the size of the
White Wyandotte beyondf the limit of
the rule governing the Individual
form. Bad shape has come with these
mistaken efforts, and this should be
a warning against a continuance. It
is well to guide them in size within
that limit line which gives-'assurance
of a maintenance of the best breed
characteristics, but not to go beyond.
Hold to their beautiful form by all
means; that is their real attractive
ness and value. Do nrii try to gain
size, which cannot prove of value a3
against the loss of form.
We have the greafer size In our
Asiatic fowls. A large Wyandotte
cannot excel a larger Brahma as a
meat fowl, while as a Wyandotte ol
proper proportions it may meet with
greater favor. The White Wyandotte,
as it should be, has as much size as is
consistent with its position as a gen
eral utility fowl. The grace of form
and exhibition qualities can be main
tained within these conditions as to
size. Both the Brahma and the White
Wyandotto can be improved within
the limits of the rule which controls
form as against size, and both may be
injured in an effort to go beyond these
limits. Bulletin Department of Agri
culture. Big Returns From Poultry.
Now what about the returns from
eggs and poultry meat when produced?
I am disposed to under, rather than
over, estimate in this matter. A very
moderate estimate is 100 eggs per
hen per year for sale or use. These eggs
at one cent each arc worth $1.00 all
told. In addition to this you should
have a setting of eggs that would give
you eight chickens, -srhich, at 10 cents
each, would be worth 80 cents. This
makes a total return of $1.80. What
does It cost to produce these returns?
This is just where one marked advan
tage of poultry raising comes in. A
great deal of the feed used to produce
poultry on the farm 13 made up ol
what are, comparatively speaking,
waste products small grain, table
scraps, green bone, etc. But we have
made experiments at Ottawa with a
view of learning just what the cost ot
production is where foods have to be
purchased the cost of the grain used,
being placed at a cent a pound. Even
on this basis, the cost of feeding a hen,
as shown by actual experiment, was
not beyond 75 cents per year. This
left a profit of at least $1.00 per fowl.
And this was allowing only a cent
each for eggs. Kow much greater
would the profits be if eggs were
produced in winter, when 25, 30 and
35 cents per dozen can be obtained
in Toronto or local markets? In that
case the net profi!-! would run up to
$1.50 to $2.00 per year. Prof. A. G.
Gilbert
Plum Trees in a Foultry Yard.
From Farmers' Review: I would
rot by any means have plun trees in
a poultry yard, if It must be kept clear
from grass, la order to have the plum
trees do well. I can not see what good
they do any way. for the shade from
them is very poor, besides, unless the
ground under the trees is well stirred,
after every heavy rain, the ground
will harden so they will not scratch
or keep it loose so as to act as a
mulch, consequently they will do no
good in there on that account Of
course, if you spade up the ground
under each tree after the heavy rains,
it would make an ideal dusting place
for them. A poultry yard, by all
means, must have grass, for it is al
most impossible to raise chickens and
have them do well" without it
The practice of moistening the
cow's teat with milk when milking
is a dirty one and Bhould be aban
doned. There is no dcubt about life being
one long, sweet song, but not all of as
are gcod 'singers.
teeeeefrfrfr-fr
ETTER TEACHERS NEEOED
The Forthcoming Report of Superin
tendent Fowler.
In his forthcoming report Superin
tendent of Instruction Fowler has
much to say in regard to the qualifi
cations of teachers and teachers sal
aries. He states that the time has
come when boards of education in
cities and villages should require of
teachers employed that they be either
normal school, university or college
graduates or holders of professional
state certificates. Teachers with
these qualifications, the report will
say, can be secured if they are- paid
salaries commensurate with such
training. As an example of this, Mr.
Fowler refers to the large number of
teachers who responded to the call
for teachers in the Philippines. Only
1,000 were needed, but 5,000 applied.
The report will say further that all
teachers in the grades should possess
at least three years' high school educa
tion and one year's normal school
training.
The state superintendent recom
mends that after September. 1907, no
person bo allowed to teach in the
rural schools who does not possess as
the minimum qualification a thorough
knowledge of the common branches,
such as would admit to the average
school, and also one year's drill in a
teachers' training class.
Judgment to Be Enforced
BEATRICE James Walling, a dep
uty United States marshal of Omaha
was here and served papers upon the
mayor and city council to compel
them to make a levy for the payment
of the Fiashburg judgment. This is
one of the judgments secured against
the city upon paving bonds where the
districts defaulted in their payment
and the city was sued. This partic
ular judgment is for $4,408, together
with interest and costs, which amount
to about $5,000 at this time. The coun
cil having refused payment, a writ of
mandamus was asked, and the federal
court now serves the officers with a
peremptory writ, commanding them
to make a levy to provide for the
payment of judgment, interest and
costs.
VALUE OF SCHOOL LANDS.
What Commissioner Follmer's Report
Will Show.
The report of Land Commissioner
Follmer will show that the schools
of the state will ultimately have more
than $11,000,000 of interest bearing
values contributing to their support.
At present the total interest bearing
values belonging to the fund is $9,
74,451.25. More than half of this
amount, $5,459,228.25, is In securities
of the state, counties and the recently
purchased bonus of Massachusetts.
The remainder is made up of the sale
contracts and lease contracts, bearing
interest. Besides this income the
fund will have ''the rental of school
lands, which under the present law
cannot be alienated. The table giv
ing these statistics is the first of the
kind ever compiled. It is as follows:
Permanent common school se
curities $3,072,223.'n
Cabh oa hand 111.20
Total S5.072,3.V;.
Permanent university securities! 101.05A.'T
Cash on hand 613.0.1
Total $ liH.GM.fC
Agricultural college securities. 22i,ro.1l
Cah balance C74.il
Total S !Si".SCG.G5
Normal endowment securities.! W.W
Ca.sh balance Mi43
Total $ Cy,M2.4'J
Total educational securities in
permanent school fund $.".4"t0.2T
Value of sale contracts 2.2T7.1'o.11
Value of lease contracts 2.0-J9.9IS.S
Total interest bearing values. $9,715,101.75
THE SOLDIERS' HOME.
Commandant Cole of Grand Island
Makes Report
Commandant Colo of the soldiers'
home in Grand Island has completed
his biennial report and recommends
quite a number of necessary improve
ments owing largely to the increased
number of members cared for at the
institution.
The roport shows an increase in
membership in tne biennium of twenty-one
per cent over that of t'.vo years
previous. On November 30, 1900,
there were, according to the records of i
the institution, 312 members. There
were on November 30, 1902, 415 mem
bers, of whom 313 were men and 102
women. Among the rccommemlaUoKS
are $4,000 for a new brick building
for the quartermaster and commis
sary's supplies. This would give room
in the basement of the main building
for another ward for members. An
appropriation of $7,500 is also recom
mended for better fire protection in
and about the home grounds, includ
ing a better piping of the building
and a pipe leading to the cottages
and barns, resetting the boilers, the
erection of a small building for laun
dry purposes and enlarging the en
gine rooms and improvements on the
sewerage system.
Horse is Recovered
SEWARD L. C. Johnston, whose
horse and buggy were stolen the night
the Elkhom safe was dismantled, has
recovered the same. They were found
a few miles west of Crete. The
horse had been unhitched from the
buggy and the harness thrown in the
rig. which had been turned over on
its side in the road. The bridle, whip
and robe were missing.
The faster a man is the slower he Is
about paying his debts.
Finds Foods Adulterated.
Deputy Food Commissioner Bas3ett
has filed with the governor his bien
nial report The commissioner
speaks SI the need of guarding the
public against foods which have been
preserved by the admixture of danger
ous chemicals, such as hydroflorlc
acid, a dangerous corrosive, and oth
ers. Out of 228 samples of food pro
ducts analyzed by the chemist of the
food commission, 163 were adulterated
or not sold in compliance with law.
BRIEFLY TOLD.
Mr. aad Mrs. Jobraaa of Gage coun
ty last week celebrated their goldenv
wedding.
Nebraska City has of late been shy
on wa;er and private wells have been
resorted to.
Train Dispatcher L. EL Cann of Mc
Cook died suddenly In Salt Lake,
whither he had gone for bis health.
Rufii3 Hook, a farmer living aear
Glencoe, had bis arm caught in the
cogs of a corn shelter and sustained"
serious Injuries.
Carl Sonderegger of the German
nurseries in Beatrice will ship one
million black locust trees to be used '
for forest purposes in Texas.
John Mawr, living near Elmwood,
was badly injured by becoming caught
In the tumbling rod of a corn shelling
outfit He may lose his life.
The Fremont and Blair high schools
will debate the question, "Resolved,
That labor unions are an injury to the
public." Fremont will have the choico
of sides.
Miss Gertrude Enlow, a teacher in
the public schools of Beatrice, had her
face and hands badly burned during
school hours by the explosion of a
coal tsove.
Fourteen head of cattle, the proper
ty of N. Ong of Edgar, were rim down
end killed by a B. & M. freight train.
The loss was adjusted, the appraised
value or the cattle being $470.70.
John Thompson, who lived two
miles southwest of Blair, was run
over by a train and killed, lie was
on his way home from Blair. Thomp
son wa. about 45 j'cars old and single.
Orders were received in Nebraska "
City to get things ready in the starch
works so as to start that monster
plant as soon as possible. This fac
tory belongs to the trust and has been
closed since early last spring.
Nebraska turkeys are evidently in
great demand in Chicago, a promi
nent newspaper of that city having
instructed its representatives in Om
aha to get bids to supply 1,000 of the
birds for that paper's Christmas work.
The jury in the district court at
Grand Tsland in the case of Jamieson
against the Burlington railroad re
turned a verdict in favor of the plain
tiff of $1,220. Jamieson was a brake
man and received injuries on the
road.
Thomas Barr, aged 85 years, and
Mrs. William Cooper, aged 82 years,
brother and sister, died at their homc
within an hour of each other. Mr.
Barr lived near Dunreath, Mrs. Cooper
at Resoncr. The double funeral took
place at Dunrcath.
Plaintiffs in libel suits against news
papers have not been prospering late
ly. Half a dozen such suits for dam
ages, ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.
have been decided adversely, and the
plaintiffs have been assessed heavily
for costs.
Mayor Barfing of Nebraska City has
taken action to prevent minors from
frequenting the billiard halls anil slot
machines of the city. He issued or
ders to the police to notify the pro
prietors of these establishments that
they must not admit minors.
Unearned wages may be legally as
signed according to a decision of the
appellate court of Cook county. Illi
nois, handed down by Judge Adams.
This holding is contrary to the deci
sions that have heretofore been given
by the circuit and superior courts.
The Greeley County Sunday school
convention was held at Greeley De
cember G and 7. All sessions of the
conventions were very well attended.
Prof. ii. M. Sticdley. field secretary of
the Siite Sunday School association,
took a very active part in all ses
sions. The sugar beet season just closed
has ben very satisfactory in that part .
of Nebraska about McCook. Over
600 carloads have been shipped to
Grand Island from McCook alone The
yield per acre under fair circiim
stancts has been from fifteen to twen
ty tons, and as high as $5.25 per ton
has been received by fanners.
There is yet a great deal of corn
in the fields in Johnson rounty. The
conditions of the weather have re
tarded the gathering of the grain.
The farmers are paying 3 cents per
bushel and hoard for hands and the
average man this year can gather
from eighty to one hundred bushels
per day when the fields arc dry.
A. M. Hargis. proprietor of the
Grand Island Business college, has
purchased the Security hank building
for $14,000 and will in the future oc
cupy the greater part of the building
for the college. It is a stone front,
crccte in 1839, at a cost of about
$50,000. It was recently owned by the
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
company.
.Willard Williams of AsMand, who
was at the Mead hotel for a few days,
was surprised the other evening, while
seated at the desk, by his sons, Her
bert and Albert, whom he had not
seen or heard from for fifteen and
twenty years respectively. The boys,
or rather men, are located in Cuba,
N. Y., and are prosperous and well-to-do
residents of that town.
Washington dispatch: The follow
ing pension', have been granted: Ne
braska Jamr3 Phillips Cook, Ponca,
$10; Lewis A. Ganson, Lodgepole, $17;
George W. Babcock. Ericson, $10;
John Shay, Hastings. $8; Robert D.
Robinson. Omaha, $14; John M. Car
ter. Waterloo, $S; Carrie B. Slcthow
er, Papillion. $8; Elizabeth S. Trussler.
Flattsmouth. $12; Margaret A. Brass.
Juniata, $8.
The Beatrice volunteer, fire 'depart
ment is making plans to send about
thirty delegates to the state firemen's
convention at Crete in January.
Rural mail routes will be arranged
for at Sterling and Cook, Johnson
county. In the near future. Congress
man Burkett has secured an order
from the Postofflce department in-,
structlng C. L. Lewellyn. the Inspector
for Nebraska, to go into the First
congressional district for the exam
ination of routes as soon as he, com
pletes his work la the Sixth district
a
;
i
fcM
. tA
;
)
"J
V
X
r
s
J:
fjSUfjs
--ij ::JsL. -- sS
c
mm ii i r n? 4. "TTV ' 1 innjuairrtMl
"L&--,
?JJUkK&,x&
- --j
zzlt3rl ,-rl
jgfv-iT
&3inxU
V J
Xr -
nifeSi
- - -Jbt
.