Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-12-31
PET OF FOUR GENERATIONS.
Petty, the First Doll Brought to America,
is Still the Delight of Children
EXCHANGE

is Still the Delight of Children.
Exchange.
In the early years Of the revolution d
| Boston merchant, who, like many others,
was greatly disturbed in his business and
| domestic relations, rather than have his
| family undergo the privations to which
| they might be subjected, removed them
to place which he hoped would be free
from warlike scenes. They set up home
in Andover and became the Pensioners
Rev. Jonathan French the famous minis
ter of that town.
| The cordial welcome extended by the
minister and his family TO those who had
| fed from the troubles of Boston led the
merchant to do something as testimon-
| ial of appreciation. He had seen in Lon
! don some remarkable specimens of carved
| wood In dolls, and he resolved to import
two of these limitations of human life
whenever relations with the mother coun-
| try would admit.
This he did in 1884, importing the first
dolls ever brought to this country.
! The two were exactly alike and were
called as twins. One Of them was for the
daughter of The importer and the other
for the daughter of the Andover minis-
ter.
These two dolls were regarded as rare
specimens of art, and the children who
were so fortunate as to possess them were
the envied of the community.
When the war had ceased, independence
had been acknowledged and affairs in
Boston assumed their wonted CONDITION,
the merchant went back to his old home
an the intimate relations of the families
ceased to exist. The doll that had been
kept in the merchants family was lost
sight Of. It was doubtless destroyed more
more than a century ago.
But not so with Patty, the pet of the
parsonage. Abigail French, the minis
ter's daughter, was born on the last day of
May, 1776. She was eight years old when
she received this trtasure.
Mrs. French did not fail to use the Lon
don doll as means of teaching lasting
object lessons. She insisted upon its be.
ing carefully tended and thong htfully AMI
affectionately spoken to. In Abigail
treatment Of the doll the mother saw re.
fiected on her own management of the
children of that old parsonage.
In 1896 Abigail French became the wife
of Rev. Samuel Stearns, young man who
had studied theology under the direction
f her father; from being the daughter Of
one parsonage she became the mistress Of
another.
Dressed in scarlet cloak and nat
which are still IN existence, she accomp
anied her young husband to Bedford HI
had just been made the minister of the
town; but her duties as the leading lady
of the parish did not cause her to foregt
Patty, who was brought to the new par
sonage with the brides outfit. and ha
been kept there ninety-fve years.
Members Of the fourth generation still
derive peculiar satisfaction from tend
ing the household doll, although they ar,
| loaded, as are other children, with COLI
that sing, cry and close their eyes.
Birds and Horticulture.
Prof. d. E. Lantz, of the Kansas A eri
tural College, In paper read before his
State Horticultural Society said: As te
the birds which are beneficial to hor5icu
turists and their interests, it would bt
much easier to give d list of those which
are injurious; find the balance in nearly
every case in favor of the birds. Every
circumstance attending the matter shoulc
be considered before rendering
Judgment Some birds do damage to
small fruits, but they far more than bal
ance this by feeding largely upon the in.
furious insects which infest the same
fruits. In the following list many art
named in groups only, the most usefu
groups being put first.
The birds beneficial to horticulture are
l. Buebirds, feeds intirely upon in
sects, mostly on injurious kinds; 2, toe
vireos, or greenlets q species common
feed mostly ON leaf-eating Larvae; the
hy-catchers (pewee, kingbird, etc.
species), feed entirely on diurnal lies
moths, etc. The kingbird does no appre
ciate injury to bees; 4, the woodpeckers
| Every member of this family is useful
and none DO any damage which cannot bt
prevented without destroying the birds
5, the wood warblcrs, especially the COM
mon yelowbird, 6. the orioles without ex
ceptiou);7 Z, the swallows without excep
tom; s the cedar-bird known as cherry
bird. Specimens of this bird captured
show that except in the cherry season, its
food consists almost exclusively Of cankel
worms, Goblin moths and other injurious
insects; 8. the house wren; 10, the robin
IL, the cat bird; IL, the brownthrush; l3
most Of the sparrows. These feed on in
sects in summer and upon grass and weeds
in winter; IA, thu night hawk, or goat.
sucker; Is, the cuckoo; Is, the chimney
swift. To this list add quail, most hawks
and owls, and blacKbirds.
The fruit-destroying birds are:
l. The English sparrow; 2, the bluejay
(not because of its injury to fruit so much
as because of the persistent way he has OF
robbing the nests of more useful birds);
3, the sharp Skinned hawk; 4, Cooper's
hawk; 5, the crow. This species is in
doubt in my mind; 6, the turtle dove
| { This bird does no harm, but as it also does
not do any positive good, it is of doubtful
utility. | do not think they should be de-
sroyed. | have been told that they pune
ture the grapes wnen ripe, but this has
never come under my own notice.. This
is rough list hastily made. 1t includes
only such as think are directly useful tt
horticulturists. 1t does not require thai
the orchardist shall destroy birds which
feed upon his fruit to keep them off.
few blank charges of powder shot into the
midst of the marauders will be as effective
in keeping the birds away from cherries a.
all the destruction that can be dealt Out
with shotgun. 1t is absolutely crue
to shoot birds at that season, as all the
young in the nests starve when the
parent birds are destroye d.-Orange judo
| Farmer