davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11

and lay the matched floor asterward,
closing up the spaces between the
studding in every place with short
blocks, which are also useful to stiffen
the studs. Thus a. mouse or rat can
not get into the spaces between the
studs, and if one should by any chance,
it is imprisoned in a cell and cannot
get any further. This is also very
effective means of avoiding the spread
of fire, which usually runs up through
the studding and burns the roof with
the whole house in a few minutes.
Ipurchased farm with old build
ings in which rats were everywhere in
overwhelming numbers, harboring
mostly under floors. l raised foot
clear above ground all floors which
could beso changed-as pig pens, barn,
etc.-and made small openings in all
the doors for cats to pass through.
The other floors were made on the
ground, of sand and coarse gravel con-
crete, or of round stone pavement,
made with water-lime and saturated
when dry with hot gas-tar. Thr corn
crib and granary was raised on four
foot posts covered with sheets of bright
tin and driveway was made through
the center. Half a dozen cats, well
fed with milk and bread, were kept,
and having no other flesh meat and
being never hungry, they had full time
for sport, and caught the homeless
rats or those few which had a hiding
place until very soon not one could
be seen.-J. n. H, n. Y. Tribune.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
Will Varieties Run Out?

This question may be answered both
affirmatively and negatively. Inprac-
tice they do run out, as q rule. Let
us remember that nothing in nature
is stable. All varieties are undergoing
modification, and most of all those
variaties which we cultivate. This ex-
ira instability in the cultivated varie-
ties is due to the fact that the condi-
tions we make for them are varying
and constantly changing. Could we
make absolutely constant conditions
the varities might be retained with
considerable, ifnot absolute, stability.
Now it happens that in practice most
varieties are grown by people who do
not give them as good conditions as
those under which they were devel-
oped, SO degeneration follows inevita-
bly,. A potato fancier brings out a
fine new variety under exceptionally
good conditions. Now it will remain a
fine variety so long as those good con-
ditions are maintained, and no longer.
This is the secret of most if not all of
the degeneration of varieties.-Dr
Charles E. Bessey.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11

feet in diameter. Fit pieces of 8 by
IL at the ground for sills; and on the
top for plates; midway, for girts, set
in flush with the post strips of 2 by 4
on each side. Then nail on side
boards on both sides and batten on
the outside. Fill in the spaces with
dry sawdust, and then spike on fiat a
plate of by IL all around. Then
put on a roof of one-third pitch,
leaving it open at the caves for ventila-
ton; also put a ventilating pipe in
the centre of the roof. The roof
should be perfectly watertight. One
side should be provided with door
way, and the inside of the doorway
should have loose cross boards, to be
put in one above the other as the
house is filled up. This space is filled
with sheaves of straw when the house
is closed. In packing the ice foot Of
sawdust is put on the ground and the
foundation must be made quite close
so that air is not admitted. Eight or
10 inches of sawdust is put around
the ice and 2 feet on the top of it.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
A Rip Van Wrinkle Toad.

While Bliss Smith was superintend-
ing some work at Smiths mill,
Scadoue, his attention was directed
to an unusual appearance in the cross
section of a solid trunk of rockmaple
they were engaged in saving into hard
wood plank. To the astonishment of
Mr.. Smith and the men they discov-
cred the saw had just sliced off the
roof from the residence of toad that
had taken up his quarters in the heart
of the tree. Mr.. Smith picked out the
squatter with two nails. The animal
was perfectly soft, and appeared to be
in mi-torpid condition. Unfort-
unately, however, while the men were
examining this ancient king of the
maple, he fell down upon the mill floor
and rolled through an opening IN the
boards. Mr.. Smith hunted after him
for half an hour. but with no success.
This is veritable Rip Van Winkle
toad. The maple tree was large and
solid, with not a sign of decay any
where. The toad lay at its very heart
and must have been there for many
years. Think of it! Asleep for per-
haps one hundred years, and then see
ing the light.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
When to Laugh.

"There is man in this city," said a
we'll known Washington lawyer to the
New York Telegram correspondent,
"whose chief stock in trade is IN know.
ing when to laugh. "Yes," he con-
tinued, "and that man is a southern
er, and his profession is that of a,
lobbyist. He is a smooth talker and
always has his hands full of business
One day last winter I was in his COM
pany, when he introduced me to a
Jerseyman. who had come down to
Washington to look after some mat
ters before congress. In the course of
the conversation the Jerseyman told
a ajoke-a veritable chestnut. My friend
laughed immoderately, but as had
heard the so-called joke thousand or
more times 1 could not join in the
merriment. The next day met my
lobbyist friend, who said: 4 was
probably as much bored last night as
you were; but the fact that INDUCED
my Jersey friend and laughed at his
stale jokes has brought me ducats-
Hereis his check for 81 900, which he
gave me as a retainer to represent his
claim before a committee ofthe house.
Sam Ward he continued, made fame
and fortune by knowing how to feed
people. Imake money because know
how and when to laugh"
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11

Cheap land is in the Southern States,
which are all large and sparsely set
tied. The soil is generally rich and fer
tile naturally, and the uncleared forest
lands, especially in the mountain
region, are the richest in the Union.
The climate in the mountain region,
which includes West Virginia, West
North Carolina and Georgia and East
Tennessee, IS exceedingly pleasant and
healthful; the barometric pressure is
from two to four inches less than at
sea level, the elevation being 1000 to
4 4,OOOfeet above the sea; the air is pure
and bracing, and the water is cold and
pure; the low latitude causes mild win
ters, snow and ice being rareley seen
and lasting only few days at the
longest, and the elevation secures a
cool Summer temperature. The nights
are cool and mosquitoes are nowhere
found. Land in this region can be pro-
cured for $1.5O an acre from IL to 20
miles from railroads, and for SIS to
$1Onear them. The latter prices pre-
vail generally all over the South ex-
cepting in a few localities, as in West
Virginia and parts of Tennessee which
are thickly settled, where farms are
worth 500 an acre down to $40 or
$50 for second rate ones.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
Care of Hanging Plants.

Most plants in baskets or hanging
pots are unsatisfactory. This is not
the fault OF the plant, but of the
grower, in most cases. Hanging plants
are usually less convenient to get at
than those growing in pots on plant
stand, and because of this they are
pretty sure to suffer from neglect.
They seldom get water enough A
pot that is hung up dries out much
ssooner than one occupying a lower
position because it is in q warmer
stratum of atmosphere, and is expos
ed on all sides, and generally it is
small, and the earth in small pots al
ways dries out rapidly. Hanging
plants should be watered daily through
the greater part of the season. In
the heat of the summer they generally
need an application night and morn
ing, but they do not often get it. A
step-ladder should be kept convenient
ly near at hand, and by means of this
1t IS easy to get at the plants. Alarge
sponge, filled with water, can be plac-
ed on the surface of thesoil. 1t is very
easy to re-saturate this when the
moisture has been absorbed from it.
Occasionally the plants should be
taken down and cleaned by dipping
them into a tub or pail of water.
When well grown, hanging plants are
very ornamental.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
Exhaustion of the Soil,

The commonly used term, "exhaus-
ton of the soil," is relative and not
absolute. The soil consists of many
Indispensable ingredients, and while
it remains in existence these remain,
and to say they are exhausted is a
contradiction in terms. The phrase
really means that the soil has been
deprived of its power of producing GER
tain crops by the exhaustion of the
larger part of the soluble portion of
one or another of these ingredients or
elements by the too often repeated
culture of some special crop. Then
the return OF this especial element to
the soil restores it to fertility. This
is all that is meant by this term, and
no good farmer need fear to undertake
the restoration of what is called an
exhausted soil if he will patiently ap-
ply the remedy. This is slow no
doubt, but it consists in growing diff
ferent crops from those previously
cultivated, and the application of the
needed fertilizer Clover is the best of
all these restorative crops.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
How Much Milk the Cow Gives,

1t is often worth while to see COW
MIXED twice in succession-twelve
hours between the milkings Thus the
buyer may see just how much milk the
COW. is giving. If the COW has a suck
ing calf it complicates matters little,
but first-rate COW ought to give much
more milk than the calf will take, so
if the buyer takes two teats on one
side and leaves the other two for the
calf, accurate conclusions may be ar
rived at. The seller almost always
overstates the milk his COW will give.
His quarts are small. If one is buy
ing $35 COW all this trouble need not
be taken. She may be worth $50 for
beef, and if she gave no milk at all
might soon be made worth S25 or
$50; SO one is really paying little for
milk. But if the price of the COW is
$75 or S1OO, as we have supposed, it
is quite worth while to know what one
buys before the money is paid.-Mason
G. Weld.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
The Betrayer of Gen. John Nor.
gan.

The Atlantic Constitution gives the
following account of the recent life OF
the woman who betrayed the great
confederate raider to his death while
he was guest in her husband s home:
1.-THE death of Gen. John Morgan
was compassed by the treachery and
demoniac daring of q wild, reckless
woman. She was the graceless daugh-
ter-in-law of Mrs. Col. Williams, who
was the cheerful hostess of the great
cavalryman on that ill-starred night.
Lucy Williams rode her horse through
the stormy darkness and summoned
the federals from Bulls Gap to sur
prise Morgan, and capture Or kill him.
The history of the deed is too famil-
iar to need repetition. The wanton
and cold-blooded heroine OF the ex-
ploit was afterward divorced from
her worthy husband and fled the
country with a married man of Green
vile cftiile name of Fitzgerald. They
went co Arkansas, and lived, | believe,
as co-partners in adultery at Helena.
Sometime ago she abandoned Fitz-
gerald, and married a man of some
means who was then wldower of
three months standing. In a few
months after the marriage with the
ex-Mrs. Williams, the new husband
also died, and she has disappeared
with the lucre of which he was pos
sessed. Fitzgerald, thus thrown over
board and being afflicted with fatal
malady, wrote to his long abandoned
wife and family, confessing all his mis-
deeds and begging to be allowed to re-
turn home to die among his children.
The request was granted him, but did
not profit him in his misery, for he
died before he could reach home, and
without seeing the faces ofhis wronged
wife and children"
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
A Curse to the Country.

The evil effect of Chinese immigration,
is being felt more keenly than ever be-
fore among the white artisans and,
laborers of British Columbia. Meet
ings are being daily held to protest
against the employment of Chineee la
Dor in that Province to the exclu ion
of the white population. At ons OF
these meetings held few days since at
Victoria the following resolution was
unanimously carried:
"That this meeting, considering the
great mistake OF the Dominion and
Provincial Parliaments, in consenting
and allowing contractors of the Cana
dian Pacific Railway, and of other
public works, to employ Chinese
coolies on their various works,
causing an influx of 10000 coolies
into this Province to the exclusion of
like number of our own race, thus
prostituting public works from their
legitimate use and end, and, further,
thereby setting a bad example, max
ing it almost a matter of necessity on
the part of citizens to employ Chinese,
comparatively the only labor now
available-therefore, expresses its un--
qualified disapprobation of such mis-
appropriation of public funds, both,
in the past and for the future, and we
hereby demand legislation making the
employment of Chinese on any
and all public works, in any province
of the Dominion, direct infringement,
of the rights OF the people, and trea-
sonable"
tits shown on i1nmistakable authori-
ty that the government has encour-
aged Chinese immigration to enable
them to carry on the work on the Ca
madam Pacific railway at minimum
figure. In this way thousands poured
into the Province who otherwise would
never have crossed the Pacific. The
Chinese question will be the main
point of issue in British Chlumbia at
the next general election.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11

"Struck a big scheme out West,"
said a travelling man to a Chicago
Herald reporter. cat Gilmore, 10
miles south of Omaha, accompany has
started q cattle fattery, if that is a
good word. They have expended
S75, 900 in the erection of big stables.
There are $3.50 stalls, and by winter,
they will have 5000 stalls. In each
stall they will place critter, and
they will all be fed with food placed
before them through asystem ofpipes-
This food is cooked In enormous steam
watts having capacity of 1000 bar
rels of feed an hour. They will ship
in cattle from the western Nebraska
ranches, and fatten them in these
stalls. They expect to put 800
pounds of meat on each of $4,000
critters in year. That represents
something like S26O,OOO of new meat,
not counting the increased value of
the original animal, as it were, after
he is transformed from range steer
into fancy beef. Corn and hay are
cheap out in that country, and it
looks to me as if the cattle fattery-
which I understand is the first OF it's
kind in the country-will prove gold
mine for it's owners" q
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11

after the art has been mastered, there
is a freedom and sense of power
worth all the struggles made. OF
course, the kitchen is not the only
place in which burdens are borne, yet
the care of the table generally makes
itself felt more than anything else;
and nomatter how well conducted all
the other departments may be, if this
one be neglected, discomfort and un-
happiness will ensue. Cooking is a
science, and for this reason girls are
often more successful than their elders
in culinary experiments, because they
comply strictly with directions instead
of guessing what quantities of ingre-
dents to use in order to produce de-
sired results. Experienced housekeep-
ers might avoid much disappointment
if they were always equally careful.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
PrOwess of New York Policemen.

New York policemen possess the
good quality of bravery, as a rule
The patrolman who outrageously
clubs an inoffensive drunkard one min
ute will in the next respond so prompt
ly to a call for daring that he com
mands forgiveness for his previous
brutality. An Italian fruit-vender was
beset by loafers the other morning,
and so exasperated that he drew an
immense dirk and stuck it through the
heart of his foremost tormentor. He
fled into a cellar. The first officer to
arrive, seeing that the stabbed man
was dead, set out without the slightest
hesitation to search for the murderer.
alone, in the dark, underground hid
ingplace. Within five minutes he came
up with the prisoner, whom he had
disarmed and overpowered. The men,
bers of the force, though largely ap-
pointed through political influence.
are required to be under 2S years OF
age on entering the service, and OF per-
fectly sound and robust physique.
This excellence of strength gives con-
fidence; but besides that they are dis
ciplined to act instantly and courage
ously Their prowess is fully recog-
nized by professional breakers. Wes
Allen, a pickpocket, was accosted ln
the Grand Central depot recently by
a big, burly officer from Syracuse, who
showed warrant tor his arrest and.
tried to take him prisoner. The re-
sponse was a blow that felled the
Syracusan. mo country chump's-
going to copper me-" Yves exclaimed
contemptuously. Then a New York
policeman of the smallest permissible
size, and so much out of health that
he had been assigned to indoor duty
in the depot, coolly grabbed the thief
by the collar and led him unresisting,
TO the nearest station, while the visit
ing officer followed, admiring the easy
feat.-Albany Journal. i
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
Going the Whole Hog.
From the Chicago Mail.

from the chicago Mail.
eyes, sir; the American hog is a
great institution, and we have him
for all he's worth out here"
The remark was made by promi-
nent stock yards packer to reporter OF
the Mail regarding last years slaugh-
tering.
"For the year commencing March 1,
1884, and ending March 1, 1885, there
were killed 4, 1892, 582 hogs in the nine
teen porkpacking houses at the stock
yards. That represents quite an
amount of pork, and it is sent to all
parts of the world, too"
"But that IS not all the purposes the
hog is put to-" inquired the reporter.
"Bless you, no; the rendering depart
ment is big Industry in itself. But
the minor matters-those of which no
one would think-go to make up q
great whole. The entrails are cleaned
and sent to the fertilizing works.
They are then blown for sausage The
bristles are carefully gathered up after
Trustee Scholl has a twenty-acre field
SouCiiWoSO VI JIG ydEoS, WIeEe He OIleS
and asserts them, and, after they are
in proper form, ships them to manu-
facturers of brushes. They are also
used for a thousand new purposes to
which they are being applied every
day. The blood has even been sold
to the fertilizers for a long time past.
1t is excellent for that end. But there
is new use for it now. Some ingen-
ious Eastern man has discovered a
process by which blood can be hardened
and manufactured into buttons, nan
dies for knives and similar articles
Even that is not all. We want the
hog, body and boots. We pull off the
hard shell which covers the cartilage
of the foot and sell it to parties who
manufacture springs for railroad cars.
1t is said to be superior to and more
lasting than rubber, for which it is
being rapidly substituted"
"You go the whole hog sure
enough"
Eyes. Nothing escapes here but the
squeal, and we are endeavoring to de-
wise some means to utilize that.
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
Housekeeping.

Comparatively few housekeepers,
says Marie Parloa, in Good House
keeping, consider how slight an extra
effort is required to give the family a
great deal of additional comfort and
happiness. Many feel that they are
their neighbors' interiors in admins
teling domestic affairs, sinlply be-
cause they have failed, owing to alb
seDae of inclination or lack of skill or
means, to load their tables with elab-
orats dishes. Let it be remembered
that, an the long run, a simple diet wall
bring better health and more happi-
ness; get, let it also be remembered,
that s. wise housekeeper will seek to
lift herself from ruts in which she May
unconsef0rIsly have fallen, and, bF
making a little change here and there
present such variety of food AIS
shall render the table attractive at
every meal. To substitute new dishes
for some with which the family have
had an extensive acquaintance does
not necessitate great expense. House
keepers frequently study and expert
meat with receipt after receipt for
making cake without stopping to
think that the same amount of
thought, money, aud labor expended
in the preparation of some simple saw
ory dish might afford much more sat
isfaction.
Ability to be a perfect housekeepes
IS not conf rEed on every woman. but
it is possible TO be good one without
sacrificing all other interests in life
While one is learning, to be sure, it
may seem as if there were not many
interests beyond the household, but
The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-11
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
Household Recipes.

FREcKLEs.-Mix together of glycer-
inc twelve ounces, rose water twelve
ounces, of sulphocarbolate of zinc one
ounce, ofspirits ofneroli half drachm,
and of alcohol three ounces. Apply
twice q day, leaving on the mixture
from half an hour to an hour.
SUNBURN.-Mix together three
fourths of an ounce of glycerine, six
drachms avoirdupois powdered borax,
and twelve ounces of rose water or
elder-fower water. This is recon-
mended as a harmless and beneficial
daily cosmetic wash.
CANNED FRUrT.-Canned fruit should
be kept in a cool, dry, dark closet. If
one hasn't such a closet, hefruit may
be kept covered with paper or cloth
and the light be excluded from it.
Light seems to have an influence on
canned fruit unfavorable and in
our readers tried painting the out
side of their glass cans to exclude light
from them?
A writer in The Medical World gives
the following remedy, having used it
with complete success for common
cold in the head: Dissolve half grain
of tartar emetic in four ounces of
water, give teaspoonful of this every
fifteen minutes for four doses. then
hourly, and after that every three or
four hours. The disease is often cured
in the course of one day.
RHEUMATIsM.-AGe German writer gives
this as a remedy for infammatory
rheumatism, of which malady he was
cured in two days time: Make a soup
ofthe stalks and roots of celery. Cut
the celery into bits, boil it in water till
soft, and then serve warm on pieces of
toasted bread; drink the celery water.
In Germany the roots and stalks are
boiled and eaten as salad with oil
and vinegar.
FLORIDA WATER.-Dissolve in one
half-gallon of O-per-cent-alcohol one
ounce each oil of lavender, oil of ber-
gamot and oil of lemons, and one
drachm each of oil ofcloves and cinna-
mon; add one gallon of water and fill
ter. 2. Mix together and filter three
ounces of bergamot, four drachms of
oil of cinnamon, two ounces tincture
of benzine and one gallon 75-per-cent
alcohol.
KNrTINGBAGs.-Very charming little
knitting bags are made of square silk
handkerchiefs embroidered in each
corner. The handkerchief is made up
with the embroidered part inside A
running string is nut in a circle inst in.
side the corners, which hang outward
so as to show the embroidery 1t is
better to cut a circle of stiff card, COW
Ell it with material of the same color
as the handkerchief, or line the latter
with something which harmonizes
with it. This circle forms a steady
base for the bag and keeps it in shape.
1t must be sewn in the center of the
handkerchief, which is finished off with
lace, and ribbons are sewn at the
points where the string comes out, to
form kind of handle.-Philadelphia
Call %