davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
THE MOLE is THE FARMERS
FRIEND, NOT HIS ENEMY.
He Has Eyes Thoag:' They Are Very Small
Hungarian tlet Grass-foni-
Try PickiLgs ana Hints
for tho Household.
The Mole.

Were YOU ever in a coal mine? Ii
80 am sure you were glad to get out
of that dark. damp, horrible place
into the sunshine above. But the mole
prefers his wet cold, underground
home to any other place. The mound
of earth called a mole hill is not over
his house; that is merely the dirt that
he carries out in the process of fashion
ing his home. The mOle's house is a
marvel in itself. Itconsists of several
chambers, nicely lined with leaves and
soft grass. These and the surface are
connected by several intricate and
mysterious passage ways, so that no
other animal besides the mole would
he likely to find its way into the nest
and if by accident it did get in it could
not find its way out again.
The mole is natural digger says
the National Stockman and Farmer.
God made him such and gave him the
| implements and the instructive wisdom
to follow his calling successfully. His
strength is nearly all concentrated i'll
his spade-like front legs, and with
these assisted by his strong, sharp
nose, he makes his way rapidly through
the soil.
Many farmers think that the mole is
their enemy-that he destroys their
i fruit trees and devours their crops
This is an injustice to the mole that
ought to be corrected. He is mans
friend rather than his foe, and works
in his interest with untiring zeal, and
gets no thanks for his pains. He lives
on worms insects and their Larvae. Ii
he feels hunger's pinch too keenly he
, will even pounce upon reptiles and
animals larger than himself and de-
your them. He is strictly a carnivor-
GUS animal and in no sense a vegetar-
ian, as he cannot be induced to touch
roots, fruits or vegetables. He is a
tremendous eater and would starve to
death if deprived of food for a single
day.
The popular notion that a mole is
blind is a mistake also. He can see
perfectly we'll, though his eyes are
very small. His hearing, though
acute when in his native element, is
rather dull in the air. His sense of
smell is exceedingly acute, and guides
him unerringly to his prey.
Moles are fiery and quarrelsome to
the last degree. 1t is said that when
two meet they fight and the vanquish-
ed is devoured by the victor. Thus it
appears that moles exemplify perfectly
the law of the survival of the tittest-
the weakest going to the wall.
There are many more curious
things about moles. Farmers ought to
know more Of the life and history of
the animals and insects, the plants and
weeds that infest the farm. Such
knowledge would clear up many I'M
just prejudices and teach many useful
lessons
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
'Ehe Ways Of i. Queer Old Town.

Passengers who take the , o'clock
car Oh Walnut street every morning
enjoy decidedly novel treat, through
tie kindness Of tie driver, a police
man and Il baker. The ear passes a
bakery al Il certain hoar, and just be-
fore it gets opposite the door police
man stand Ii" near whistles shrilly,
the grating i; raised and Il flour
busted arm hands out a hot loaf of
bread. This the policeman hands to
the driver, whose invar;able form of
thanks consists of the words, God
bless you, Old man. Then the driver
ties the lines around the brake enters
the car, and divides the bread with
the passengers. There were eight
solemn-looking passengers III the ear
yesterday morning, and u man getting
aboard at the Baltimore and Ohio de-
pot was visibly astonished when he
saw ovcry one Of them munching hot
bread and talking politics. -Phila,
Record.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

The late marchioness Of Waterford
was one OF the greatest beauties OF her
day. When she was about to be pre-
sented her mother, Lady Stewart de
Rothesay, took her to the court painter,
Mr.. Hayter, who was greatly struck
with he. refined girlish beauty, her
divinely tall figure, and the golden
hair ripping on her forehead. On his
expressing his admiration Lady Stew
art de Rothesay quietly united the con-
fi.lirg bonnet and let her daughter 5
magnificent hair stream over her figure.
The sun was shining into the studio,
and Mr.. Hayter used to tell how he
was dazzled by the vision of loneliness
before him in ve5ture of gold. The
hair reached far below her knees
Some years afterwards, when the wife
Of the handsome marquis Of Waterford,
abs lay at deaths door in fever. 1he
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

IT was once supposed that our an
cestors were longer-lived than are we
of this generation Such, however,
is not the case. We now live longer
on the average than they did. There
is q larger per cent of old people, both
men and women in this country than
ever before, and they live to be rela-
lively older than did our grandparents.
Human life is thus prolonged in multi
piled instances beyond the old limit OF
three score and ten, but the old people
OF our day are more vigorous, active
and useful, and in the matter of mere
physical enjoyment enjoy life better
than did the old people of the past.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
A Cleansing Crop.

One of the best cleansing crops that
we have for general farm uses is the
Hungarian millet grass. For eradi-
eating that nuisance to many farms
the Canada thistle-Hungar:an grass
is the finest thing that can be recon-
mended, and also for many other nox-
ious weeds and grasses.
There are the yellow, white and
purple varieties of this grass. but the
yellow seeded is the best for all farm
purposes. The seed can be obtained
at $1.5O to 81 bushel early in the
season, but of late the prices have
been advancing, which is q pretty sure
proof that it is becoming more gener-
ally used To get the best from it as a
cleansing crop it will be necessary to
keep the ground moving. When it is
harvested some other crop should be
sown on the stubble, SO that it will rot
out any dormant weeds that may be
ready to spring up under favorable
conditions. This is the most eifectual
way to rot the roots of morning. Clio.
ries and Canada thistles.
The cultivation OF the grass IS simple
enough, writes q correspondent of the
American Cultivation. If the subject is
to get good hay crop, land should be
taken that has been MANFRED the pre-
vious year for potatoes, cabbage,
wheat Or similar crops. When the
land is in proper condition, sow broad
cast, from one to three bushels to the
acre. A brush harrow should then be
run over it, and then the roller to
leave it as smooth as table. The
ground should be plowed deeply be-
forehand, and thoroughly pulveliZed
by deep narrowing. When preparing
land for late cabbage it is a good
cleansing crop to SOW to keep down
the weeds The grass should be cut
low down, leaving only about an inch
of stubble. The grass is greatly rel
ished by the animals, and it is II great
milk, butter and fat producer 1t is
second only to lucerne as a soiler. 1t
is second only to alfalfa for mixers
when cut and fed green. 1t is second
to none as hay, not even excepting
clover. There is one caution, however,
which is not always needed. 1t should
never be allowed to ripen its seeds
for then it is little better than oat straw
for feeding. At the very latest it
should be cut when the seed is milky.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
THEOSOPHY.
One Critic Dubbed 1t, "a Search for tho
UnknoWatle."

A great deal of attention is being
paid, nowadays to what is vaguely
called occult religion. One of its most
pronounced phases, takes the name of
Theosophy. just what Thec5ophy
| really Is, seem to be rather hard for a
person OF ordinary comprehension to
find out Its advocates call it q science,
and philosophy, as we'll as !. religion.
A satirica! critic has rather paradox
ically dubbed it, Il search for the Tn
movable
The main idea OF Theosophy seems
to be a belief in the gradual improve
ment OF mankind through the principle
OF perpetual reincarnation. After the
death OF the body, the spirit passes in
TO the physical structure of another
! being of a somewhat higher type Of
spiritual development. This process
has been going on for countless ages,
evolving, through successive genera
tions. a gradually improving type Of
mankind. This p;Occss-now enact
inG-will continue to go on and on,
until all the baser elements of human
nature are entirely eliminated.
Then-in the distant future-we
shall all dwell eternally together, in a
state OF absolute spiritual perfection.
1t will be an existence Of pure and I'M
limited and unending happiness. In
ou? present state Of semi-pcrfection,
the groSser attributes of our being pre-
vent us from being able to define or
comprehend the future state Of eXalta-
tatiOn, or the nature of its delights.
But our Theo5ophical friends assure Us
that they will be perfect and complete.
amply satisfying every requirement Of
our then perfected condition.
Of late years theosophy. in the
Western world, has received Il great
impulse from recent Investigations of
the old religious systems of the East.
We fud in the TRANSACTIONS which VIC
now have Of portions of the book of
Ruddha, and other ancient Sanskrit
manuscripts, that they teach not only
pure morality, but the highest type of
spiritual faith. Many of the sublimest
truths crysta,lize1 in our own bible
are re-echoed and confirmed by the
sacred books from which hundreds of
millions of Asiatic devotoes derive
their religious inspiration.
Should theosophy truly enlighten as
to the real nature Of this time honored
faith of the East. it is apt to do good.
1t is always well to know, not only
how our ncighbor lives, but also what
he believes in. Perhaps we may yet
find out, that nobody is so very far
wrong, and that the world is really
getting better. Boston Post.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

THERE was time when men and
women Of fifty-five sixty and sixty.
1--WE years were practically laid on the
shelf forced into retirement and super.
anuation, for two reasons. First be-
cause in the majority of instances al
that age then they were in fact super.
anuated, and second, even when the
physical and mental vigor had mol
abated, public sentiment was so uni.
yersally strong against old people,
people past fifty, that they were com
PEELED to relinauish the struggle Of
affairs and surrender it to those of a
younger generation. 1t is not SO, at
least not to the Same extent, now that
IL was then. In these days man Of
fifty and fifty-fve, other things being
equal, is regarded as being just i'll his
prime and good for fully twenty years
more of active, efficient service. The
age line, or liza of approximation. has
thus been sensibly advanced into the
seseRties
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
SHE CLIMBED THE FENCE.
story About q Russian Attache and His
American Sweetheart.


Perhaps one of the happiest Of the
long list of marriages between Ameri-
can girls and foreigners is that of the
eldest daughter of General Edward
tietf, of Russia, secretary OF legation
at Athens. Twelve or thirteen Years
ago, as an attache of the Russian lega-
ton, the young foreigner met and at
once fell desperately i'll love with Miss
Beale. The young people carried on
their lovemaking under the cover OF
friendly darkness, in Lafayette square,
Washington.
One night the Waterman went his
rounds as usual, says the Pittsbure
Dispatch, and, thinking the square to
be empty. carefully locked the gates
and departed to his home. uncon-
scious of this fact the lovers reused
from their absorbing conversation and
prepared to leave the square. Their
CONSERVATION at finding themselves i'm
prisoned was no wise improved by the
subsequent discovery that not {; soul
seemed to be" stirring Oh the streets
who could come to their rescue.
There was no help for it. The only
way out of the difficulty was to climb
the massive iron spike fence. With
great difficulty the young lady climbed
, to the top. when to her horror, just as
her feet sought to secure a resting
place in the descent the grutf voice OF
Il policeman shouted menacingly III
their ears.
Rapidly giving directions in French
to Mis-, Be;tle to proceed with all speed
possible and run for home while he
engaged the intruder in conflict. Mr..
Bashmetietf successfully tussled with
the fellow until, happy in the knowl-
edge that his instructions had been
carried out, he gave himself into the
custody of the officers, knowing that,
as a member Of q foreign legation, he
would be liberated Immediately upon
arrival at headquarters.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
AT THE FEET OF JUSTICE.

The case of Jonathan Jones, charged
with murder is on trial in Council Bluffs,
This case has been the first ON the trial list
for thirteen years. and there have been
various reasons for "a rehearlng.
Henry George gets just S3ls Of the ST.
coo left him by his New Jersey admlrer,
Georges HutchinS, for the spread or his doc
trnes The rest has been eaten up by the
lawyers, in the contest over the Request.
The papers recently mentioned the sad
case of a discharged cholster, VINO took
horrible revenge on the congregation by
sitting in pew and pulposely singing out
of tune. Whether be was indicted or not
for disturbing public worship does not .p-
PEAR.
IN q case lcforc the Court of Common
Pleas sometime ago in New York person
was brought up for trtndling in carriage
overhead his teething baby, both by night
and day. The judge, who must have been
a 1aarfied man, held that the noise was
not unreasonable, and refused to interfere
In q recent English case an enthusiastic
amateur played daily eight hours o.:
rioloncello. ard on Sundays little longer
sometimes To add to the misery caused,
the player n'ed III II nav "
Of maintaining nuisance: and the judge
before whom the case came decided that
three hours was long enough Tor any ho,
man being to play on vlolonceiio' sha
the injunction issued.
In Morlanwelz, Belgium, the trustees OF
the church engaged a mechanic for 3,oo u
wear to climb the high tower, bring aofh
and gild the weather cock and replace IT.
A written contract to this effect was illhoc
out. After gliding the weather cock 'he
mechanic asked for his money. There "as
a dispute and the church trustees refused
to pa, before he replaced it. Iherenpon
he climbed the tower, replaced the coch'
then removed it again and brought IL
down with him. The money was relus7u
him and he has brought suit Oh ths iet1Ss
Of the contract.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

B,sHor Coke in an address delivered
at a commencement of young ladies
seminary in Buffalo. expressed q hope
that none of the graduates would ever
be seen astride a bicycle and said the
girls he had seen on Delaware avenue
looked like old women on a. broom
stick From the good Bishops Ian
guage it is evident that however un-
questionable an authority he may be
on other matters, he has fallen in this
case into Il misconception no longer
shared by the enlightened laity of the
land respecting the exact structure OF
a ladies' bicycle and the position of its
fair occupant.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

THERE is no earthly reason why
lawyers and doctors should not advei-
tise. What they have at their disposal
education. talent physical ability
ID timeAth want to sell. They
are in the market with their wares just
as much as any dry goods man or gro
car Is. a good many of them put on
considerable airs, as though they are
In some Say superior to other bust
ness men. but they are as sharp afte,
the almighty dollar as any merchant
or store-keeper, have as rigid a scale OF
charges and demand their price as
firmly and sue in the courts IS readily.
In fact, they are men of Business like
the rest with precisely the same am
billions and motives. There is there
fore no reason why they should not
bring themselves and their wares to
the attention of the public in the
regular businesslike WY.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

ENGLAND has reason to be ashamed
of O good many things, but OF none
...o2o than that English law forbidding
interference with the brutal and de-
grading child marriage of India. One
hundred millions of women are slaves
in India to q degrading superstition,
and the birth of girl means life of
wretchedness. Ten or twelve years
of age is the limit for such a child to
be free. 1t is the most cruel Of I'M u.s.
tees the world ever knew. And yet
1t is perpetrated under the protection
of the English flag.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

ADVANCEMENT in methods is a
feature of military training as well as
of other departments Of human activ-
ity. The very cruelty of the exigencies
OF war forces upon its victims the
consciousness of defective rules, and
opens the way for improvement. Ger
many, far in advance of other nations
as TO the discipline of her army, and
France, who follows closely after her
late conquerors had both 10 learn
something in their struggle Of twenty
years ago, and are using their lessons
now in the training OF their armies.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
An Edison Idea.

Mr.. Edison has some singular ideas
regarding dress. He says II wear the
same thickness ef outer garments the
year round. | never wear an over
coat. 1t is big. he."E, clumsy and OF
little value as II protector against cold.
The air can set in unSer it in q num-
Der of place.. ] i.~Iease or decrease
the number of MY undergarments &C
cording 10 the temperature. Every
morning when get ont OF bed l open
the windows of my room and try the
air. Ii it is warm or mild put on my
undershirt, if cold put on two, and if
very cold put ON three
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

comes from the hog lot but not In the
abundant quantity it should on most
farms. If tie troughs cannot be
placed on q E.ank floor keep the lot
well covered with straw, fodder Or
leaves. If filth accumulates in the
troughs turn them over before putting
in the slop. We prefer little straw,
broken leaves or fodder in the troughs
to quantity of mud. The ms ure
accumulated abundantly repay5 us for
the care taken to have cleanliness.
Stockman and Farmer.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

THE experience had with the at.
tempt to check italian and Slav immi-
grafton does not leave Us ground for
firm faith that the legal barriers will
prevent the country from being over
run by Moslem beggars. There is a
better cure for this evil III the return
to the old law of making professional
nendicancy q misdemeanor and pro-
viding the mendicants with enforced
labor. Every community has the 10
cal authority to put such q law in
force. If the immigration of a char.
acter such as comes here to beg or to
subsist on the public charities grows
to a large volume, each section could
find work for it in making good roads
until the Immigrants perceived the
necessity OF finding work fer them-
selves.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

In making some excavations On the
site Of an old Baltimore house recently,
the workmen found an opening abous
three feet wide, which led into a small
underground chamber. An inspection
was made and number of old rusty
kettles and cannon balls were found.
1t is supposed that the subterr, lean
chamber was used during the revo-
lutionary war as IL hiding place for
arms,
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
81. Yan0rp uentofrat.
Opelousas, Louisiana.
L. A. sASDOZ, PaS!isasr.

THERE ha-: been, it is true, some
talk in New York OF ladies riding
horseback in regular man fashion, but
no one ever heard of q lady riding a
licycle in that fashion for the simple
reason that they-the machines-are
not built that way. A lady may ride
O. bicycle as decorously aud prudishly
as she might ride il i horse-car, and
there is no reason of decorum wig
women everywhere should not take to
the wheel for health or recreation, az
O. constantly increasing number Of
them are doing.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08

them for food. The Bean Feast, which
the Athenians celebrated in honor OF
Apollo, was characterized by tho ex-
cessive use of beans. The ECyptians,
contrary to the nations above NEIL
toned, considered beans unclean and
would not venture to touch them.
Pythagoras admonished his scholars,
''Abstain from beans The natives Of
Egypt and most all Oriental nations
look upon the black speck on tl4S
wings of the bean flower as the writ
ten characters of death.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
Did All EAc CG;,id.

A peculiar chain of events was re-
Gently brought to light in a Kansas
divorce case, in which II man petit
toned for o separation on the ground
of his wife's insanity. 1t developed
that the Judge who granted the divorce
issued the marriage license to the Pc
titioner. performed the ceremony. pre-
sided ut the trial to establish the in
sanity Ut the wife, and, finally, acting
as the Judge pro TEN. of the district
court isaued the decree Of divorce.
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
GOLD PENS,
They Get Tired and Need ~ Long Rest to
Cure Them.

i They Get Tired and Need n Long Rest to
Cure Them.
There that pen is tired and will
have to rest Il month or So
The speaker was the mortgage clerk
OF one Of the principal savings banks
In this city and as he spoke he care
fully wiped Il large gold pen and put it
away in a c;rsc
A San Francisco Post reporter, who
just entered the bank to have some
back dividend entered in his book,
overheard the remark and smiled.
''Oh, you needn't laugh" said the
clerk, for it is the true business | am
telling you. Gold pens havo to rest
now and then. Here have, suppose
two dozen pens. If | use one pom for
! several weeks or so find it will not
write to my satisfaction. Sometimes
it is too soft and sometimes it is too
hard, or the ink does not seem to flow
we'll
For Il long time | could not find
out what the matter was, but at last |
went to a JcWclcr, who. after eXamin-
i2g NY pens, said: Give 'em a rest
and they will be as good as new"
He then explained TINT the constant
use OF pen had the same effect on
the metal as is the case when razor
is used with great frequency.
Some sort of electro magnetic ac-
ton takes place in the metal, which
has Il tendency to bring into parallel
lines all the particles, and in that con-
ditiOn a razor cannot be made to hold
an edge, and a pen is equally refrac-
! tory.
If the razor is laid aside for a tine
! the particles OF metal gradually Re
sumo more or leas confused arrange
mcnt and the razor takes Oh and re-
tains keen edge.
1T is the same way with gold pen.
Now if when one of my pens gets to
acting bad | lay it aside for month
Or SO it will be all right again. That's
why | said that pen was tired and
wanted a rest
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
CurIcsities About Beans.

Of all the edible pods it is believed
that the bean has been the longest
known and most widely cultivated. it
was used as food by the ancient Jews
and considered sacred by the Greek
and Romans. A temple dedicated to
kyanetes, the God of Beans. formerly
stood on the sacred road near Eleusis.
Kyanetes was called the God Of Beans
because he was the first to cultivate
St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
Clover.

Clover is the cheapest and best pas
ture we can grow for our hogs and
the cheapest pork is produced by feed
ing the hogs grain while pastured on
clover. With the small general farm
er who grows small number of hogs
each year, this matter OF growing clo-
yer does not receive the attention it
should. Properly grown it is an addi-
ton to the wealth of the land. besides
the aid it gives to the hogs. 1t gives
to the hogs fine growth of bone and
muscle the best foundation for feeding.
The growth and fattening process with
hogs of good size can be carried on at
the same time. Better have the clo-
yer for hog pasture rank and dense
than short and light. What the hogs
do not consume serves tho farmer best
by falling on the land. We have seen
farmers Craze their fields so short that
they appeared to fear the loss ola spear
of grass, regarding that as lost tnat was
not eaten. Ordinarily we expect to
find the best herds in the most luxur-
liant pasture. When the growth, is
abundant the hogs in the late part of
the season get tender growth. which
is a splendid supplement to green corn.
Farm and Home.