davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Furrow Irrigation.

Having the water upon the land, it
can be applied in various ways. Flood
ing or allowing the water to spread
over the surface to the depth of from
two to ten inches was formerly extern
sively used but it is now employed
only for grain and similar crops. The
most common method for vegetables
and fruits is to make burrows and run
the water along in them so that it can
soak into the soil. Professor Taft, in
his article on irrigation Incorporated in
the year book of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture, says:
If properly arranged, the water can
not spread upon the surface, and by
turning back the burrows as soon as
the water has soaked in and cultivating
the soil the moisture can be prevented
from eyaporating.
Care should be taken to so lay out the
rows in the orchard or garden that the
burrows for the water can be run at
very slight slope, two or three inches
in 100 feet being all that is desirable,
while one foot in 100 feet is an extreme
slope. With little care in laying out
the burrows water can be used upon
land that at first sight it will seem i'm
possible to irrigate.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Live Stock Points.

Did you begin 1897 by having a book
in which to set down all your expenses
and income for the year? If you did
not, then you made a serious mistake
A farmer, no more than a merchant,
can have any idea of whether he is
making money or losing it unless he
keeps a strict account of everything.
There would not be half so many farm
ers groaning under debt or half so
many mortgages on agricultural lands
if the ruralist maintained strict sys-
tenn of bookkeeping. You can never
know whether either live stock or dai-
rying pays unless you know exactly
how much it costs to raise an animal
or to feed milk cow.
If you have not already done so, be-
gin now to keep stock book, in which
the history and facts in regard to al.
the animals on your place are record
ed. Register particularly the birth OF
an animal; also be particular to note
down when to look for lambs or colts
or calves to be born.
No way has been found by which
rape may be kept for winter feed. 1t
may, however, he planted very early in
the spring, and at the same time oats
are sown, and it will quickly spring up
and furnish the first spring pasture for
sheep and lambs. 1t will give them
such start that they will go ahead Of
sheep not thus provided and remain
larger and finer throughout.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
No Living Ma1nuloths,

For several years the story has been
extensively circulated that the natives
Of Alaska are acquainted with living
mammoths. The probable origin of the
story was pointed out at a recent meet
ing of the Biological Society of Wash
ington by Mr. G. II. Townsend. In 1888,
when he was in Alaska, some of the ma
tives questioned him concerning the ma
ture of the giant animal whose bones
are not infrequently found there, and
he drew restorations of the mammoth
in order to show them how it looked
when living. They were greatly inter-
ested in the pictures and made copies
of them. These copies, he thinks, have
been widely scattered through Alaska,
and being found by white men in the
hands Of the natives have given rise
to the belief that the prehistoric beasts
still inhabit that country.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Potato Fertilizers.

Fertilizers on potat toes have been the
subject of exhaustive experiment at
the Ohio State Station and numerous
sub-stations. PhosphOric acid seems to
have been the controlling element in
increasing yield in all these tests,
whereas, according to the New Eng
land Homestead" in many of the South
ern, Middle and Eastern States potash
seems to be the more necessary ele-
ment. In the Ohio test the lowest cost
per bushel of increase was obtained by
the use of superphosphate alone, but
the greatest gain per acre was with
LOO pounds per acre of a complete fer
tilizer containing nitrogen phosphoric
acid and potash. Muriate of potash
and nitrate of soda when used alone
did not give profitable increase, but
proved beneficial with superphosphate.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Farm Notes.


Butter that is washed until it Is dry
and hard usually lacks that quick,
fresh taste that is in butter not so dry
and hard
If you have a shallow we'll do not
neglect to clean it out at the first Op-
portunity which presents itself. 1t is
large factor in the health Of the fam
lily to have pure water.
Should young lamb get separated
from its mother for some hours be care
full to milk her thoroughly before you
let the lamb have access to her. The
"penned'' milk is apt to kill the lamb.
Weak and nonfertilized eggs are the
stumbling blocks on which many a be-
ginner fails. Early-laid eggs are apt
to be sterile unless the hens have been
kept warm and so fed that they will
not get too fat.
Every neighborhood has a farmer q
little more progressive than the aver
age, one who always has the best of
everything. These are the persons to
whom to go for improved stock, for adj
vice as to breeds, for lessons in the
care Of stock.
II know nothing about general farm
ing" writes a York State nursaryman,
my own particular business requiring
all my time. 1 have no special advice
to offer farmers, except that do not
think it good idea to put mortgage
ON the place in order to buy grand
piano, etc, as some farmers have done
in our neighborhood.
1t is seldom that a farmer can ac-
cumulate a sufficient amount of wood
ashes for a large field, but on farms
where wood is used there is a limited
supply, which can be put to good use
on the garden or on the young clover.
Ashes are excellent also on all grass
lands and in orchards. They are ap-
piled broadcast, in any quantity de-
sired, as many as one hundred bush
els per acre having been used on GER
tain soils.
There is an immense amount of but
ter sold every year that would have
been salable if proper made. AL
though farmers have made butter for
centuries, yet at tie present day there
are many of them who cannot put a
good article on the market, even with
modern appliances to assist them. The
creameries produce better butter than
farmers because of having skill and
experience in the business. The farm
er ed have no fear of competition if
he knows how to make butter of SUI
perior quality.
A great many persons take an inter
est in pure-bred poultry, probably be-
cause it costs but little to enjoy a small
flock, while the numerous annual poul-
try shows stimulate competition for
the prizes. 1t is a fact, ais, that the
farmers boy who is given flock of
pure-bred fowls for pleasure is induced
to take greater interest in pure-bred
stock of all kinds. He learns the value
of breeding and gains sufficient knOwl-
edge in the management or fowls to
convince him that success can be best
attained by using the best in every de-
partment of the fam.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19

Barrie, the novelist, took a dislike TO
the American parlOr. and in the course
of some remarks in Washington about
1T he said: The idea of having the
largest and best furnished room in the
house reserved for infrequent callers.
instead of allowing the.children of the
household TO enjoy it, was never a
pleasant one to me. 1t was once told
by bright hoy that he seldom was al
lowed to enter the parlor of his home
unless it was during n funeral cere-
moEy or something like that This
may have described the situation too
strongly. but it was much nearer to the
truth than otherwise"
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Maria ge by Lottery.

In some parts of Russia curious
game is still played at Christmas time,
which has much to do with the future
life of the participants.
Some prominent person in the village
announces that the annual merry max
ing will be held at his house. and on the
appointed day the young men and wom-
en- hasten to his house.
There are songs and games and
dances, but they are simply a prelude
to the more important business of the
day.
When the time comes the hostess
leads all the girls into one room, where
they seat themselves on benches
Laughing and chattering, they are
each promptly muffied in linen sheets
by the hostess, the head, hair and form
being securely covered.
The young men draw lots, and one
by one they enter the room where the
muff1ed girls sit Helpless so far as
sight or touch goes, the puzzled lover
tries to identify his favorite.
Maybe she would help him if her eyes
were not hidden, but she is as helpless
as he. Finally he chooses one, and then
he may unveil her.
This is the critical moment, and dis
appointment or rapture will be the re-
suit of seeing her face.
1t is the law of custom that the man
shall marry the girl he has picked out,
and if either backs out forfeit must
be paid. 1t is said that this matrimoni-
al lottery results in many happy mar
ria OpS
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Pruning the EYercreen.


The question of pruning is an open
one. Different people have different
views on the subject, yet all alike may
be successful. Then, again, the OBJ
iectS to be attained are often widely
divergent but on general principles,
the deciduous trees mentioned should
never be pruned or restricted in their
growth. In order to keep them shape
ly process of thinning should be
adopted and by this means oyerhang-
ing and overcrowding branches remov-
ed entirely, thus preserving an even
distribution of light and air and main
tanning the symmetry of the tree.
AS to the time to do this. when the
tree is devoid of foliage should be the
best, for it is then easier of access. it
makes less work in the removing of
branches, ETC.; there is no risk of bleed
ing and the chances of clumsy work
men tearing the bark when saving
away limbs are very much reduced.
Eyergreens should be treated some
what differently: some of the kinds
mentioned are frequently trained into
hedges and in their good nature stand
several clippings during the spring and
summer But to be absolutely correct
pruning or thinning of these should be
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
A Motor Run by MOONLIGHT.

An account is given in Nature of
motor, intended for delicate expert
ments in heat measurement, invented
by Mr.. A. r. BENEFIT. 1t is so sensitive
that it begins to revolve the moment 1t
is exposed to daylight, even when the
sun is hidden; and in clear weather it
will work all night, being affected even
by the radiant heat of moonlight. The
motive power is due to convection cur
rents set up inside the glass shade with
which the instrument is covered. While
the glass is not warmed by the radiant
heat of daylight or moonlight passing
through it, the metal surfaces of the
motor are, and the minute differences
of temperature thus produced suffice to
start convection currents.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Mi11et q Dangerous Feed.

Bulletin 36 of North Dakota Station
gives results of several years tests and
observations in feeding millet to horses
and other stock. These tests at the
station show beyond doubt that millet
fed to horses regularly for any consid-
erable time produced an increased ac-
ton of the kidneys, causes infusion of
blood into the joints, putting them and
destroying the texture Of the ends Of
the bones, so that the tendons Qeaders)
and muscles break loose and death fol-
lows.
Eminent veterinary surgeons Of
Minneapolis, New York, Illinois, Ne
braska and Delaware sent letters to
the station, which are published in the
bulletin, showing that they have found
in their practice that the same results
follow the continued use of millet as
horse feed, and two Of them describe
cases in which it was equally injurious
to milch cows.
In view Of the fact that millet is a
staple human food in many parts of
Africa, China and Japan, the above ex-
periences are rather remarkable.-Ger
mantown Telegraph.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Artificial Comb.

1t is but a few years since the ex-
tractor was invented, artificial founda-
ton contrived and the movable frame
discovered. Now the world is set agog
by German, Otto Schulz, of Buckow,
in the construction of artificial comb,
all ready for the bee to fill with honey
Both wooden and metallic combs have
been used for breeding purposes prior
to this, but never for the reception of
honey. The artificial comb is made of
wax, and, according to the Farm
Journals description of it, the only OBJ
jectionable feature is it's heavineSs. The
cell constructed by the bees is in thick
ness from two one-thOusandths to four
one-thousandths of an inch, but the
Schulz is twenty-five One-thousandths.
This would make it too expensive for
practical purposes. This objectiOna BILE
feature will doubtless be overcome, and
the combs. fully drawn out into cells,
will be given to bees as artificial foun-
dation Is now given. The insects will
then be confined to the business Of
propagatng their species and gather
ing the nectar from the opening flow
0rS
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19

resemble a cabbage head stuck on the
top of pole. The pruning habit is ut
terly vicious. 1t is very seldom that a
tree needs it. They should be left to
grow as nature intended them to grow.
Let their limbs run riot in the summer
air, and their plant branches. un-
touched by knife or saw, wave their
verdant banners in the bright sunshine.
Trees, in their natural. unrestricted
growth, with their infinite variety in
form, leaf, and blossom, are delight
to the eye, and they give peace and sat
isfaction to the mind. But a tree
pruned out of its natural shape is an
abOminatiOn.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
VIII Harness Siernon Lakes.

The tremendous power stored in the
Sierra Mountains IN California is to be
harnessed. Contracts have been let for
the construction Of an electric plant
which will supply 2,000-horse power,
and this plant will be increased as
needed until it will perhaps be three or
four times as great. At the point where
the plant will be located a waterfall Of
1,065 feet can be secured. The power
generated by such a tremendous fall
will be enormous, even if the quantity
of water is small. The electricity will
be used in working tie mines Of Gala
veras County aud for supplying light
and power to score Of thriving towns.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19

A st. Louis police judge recently dis
missed a purse snatcher and repri-
manded the woman complainant. say
ing that women who carried fat purses
In their hands offered n temptation to
starving men to steal. Whereupon an
other magistrate went to the other ex-
treme and advised women to carry re-
volvers and shoot down such thieves.
Wrong as the first judge undoubtedly
was, the second was still further from
the right. The habit women have of
carrying purses in the hands instead of
in the pockets is silly and dangerous
one, but the offense of the thief is as
great as though it were committed un-
der other circumstances, but the advice
of the other magistrate is bloody-mind-
ed and monstrOuS.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19

'The young men who will not sue
ceed," said Russell Sage recently, Civ
ing a negative answer to young in
quirer, ARE those who night after night
may be found at the city club-hOuses,
dressed in swallow-tailed coats, drink
ing a little, playing cards a little, and
eating expensive dinners" They are
sometimes called the drones of socie-
ty. This is a miSnOmer. Like some
small insects that sport for day in
the summer sunshine. they are minute
destructives. Their lives in the econ
Omy of social life make one of the
petty agencies of degeneration.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Squeezed by Sun and Moon.

A very curious observation was made
by DR.. Nansen during his adventurous
journey toward the North Pole con-
cerning the effects Of the tides on the
floating ice. The worst pressures ex-
perienced by his ship, the Fran, when
enclosed in ice Except those due to
high winds), occurred regularly about
the time of new and full moon, the
greatest being at new moon. The rea-
son was because the tidal currents near
the margin of the polar ice fields drive
the floating ice before them, and at new
and full moon the tidal attraction of
the sun is added to that Of the moon,
and the effect on the sea is increased.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
AGRICULTURAL NEWS
THINGS PERTAINING TO THE
FARM AND HOME.
How to Successfully Cultivate Melons
Method of Furrow Irrigation-Ap-
plying Potato Fertilizers Points
and Suggestions About Live Stock.
Successful Melon Culture.

WatermelonS are excessive feeders,
and many fail in attempting to grow
them because they do not furnish suffi-
cient plant food to supply the neces-
sary strength for vigorous vine and fine
fruit. Not infrequently watermelon
vines turn yellow and die when they
should be just in their prime, simply
from plant starvation.
prepare the ground as for corn. Lay
off in rows twelve feet apart each way.
| dig hole about one and half feet
deep and perhaps three feet in dame
ter. In the bottom of this | put a
peck or more of good stable manure,
tramping it lightly. Next L put in
layer of soil and follow with layer
made up of equal parts of soil and flne
rich manure thoroughly mixed, and
lastly, where the seeds are to be placed,
another layer of pure SOIL Sow seeds
thickly and cover about one inch.
When the second or third leaf shows
thin out to two or three plants in the
hill. If exceptionally large melons,
regular prize takers" are desired,
thin to but one plant in the hill. cul-
tivate about as l do corn, hoeing each
hill after entire patch is plOwed. If
very dry, cultivate often, particularly
about the hills. 1t is some trouble to
thus prepare the ground, but it more
than pays in the size, number and
quality of melons produced; also in
the increased length Of time that the
vines are in bearing. as they remain
by frost.-Orange Judd Farmer.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
The LaWleSS Missouri

The Missouri River is one of the
most lawless of the great rivers of the
world. 1t cuts didos, ruins farms and
demoraliZes whole communities along
its banks. BY a change in the rivers
course about 5000 acres of land have
been transferred from Nebraska to
Iowa. The owners of the land along
the old channel claimed the disputed
acres as accretions, and the lower
courts sustained them. Meanwhile the
Government surveyed it and sold it as
Government land. The Supreme Court
ruled that gradual accretions belong TO
the owners of the property to which
they add, but that in case of n sudden
change of course the territory involved
goes to the Government. But the mud
dy, murky stream goes right on ship
ping land to neighboring States or send
ing it down to the Eads jetties and the
GJlf-Chicago Inter Ocean.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
The Cannon Car.

Military journals express interest in
an invention by which it is proposed to
arm a self-moving car, driven by a six
teen-hOrse power engine, with two rap
id-tire cannon, mounted on piyots so as
to sweep in all directions. Having four
broad tired wheels, it is claimed that
the car can run across a level country
(barring fences, of course) at the rate of
forty-f1ve miles an hour. Terrible pic
tuers are drawn of the havoc that such
cars could make on a battlefield. Only
one man is needed to operate the car
and it's cannon, and he is protected by
strong steel shields.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
How Polar Ice Forms

DR.. Nansen observed that the ice
does not form by direct freezing on the
polar sea to a thickness exceeding
about thirteen feet. That was the maxi
mum noticed by him; but in the ice
fields the thickness becomes greatly in
creased by the piling up of broken
Masses under the action of winds and
waves. ''The massive ice-cap which
many explorers have believed to cover
thepOlar area" he said in his recent lee
ture in London, 'has been shattered.
Instead of it we have the ever-wander-
ing ice fieldSn
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
An Island and a Peninsula.

At school the other day a teacher
having asked most of his pupils the diff
ference between an island and Il penin-
sula, without receiving a satisfactory
answer. came to the last boy. Il can ex-
plain it, SIR" said the bright youth.
First, get two glasses; fill one with
water and the other with milk. Then
catch fly and place it in the glass of
water. That fly is an island, because
it is entirely surrounded by water. But
now place the fly in the glass of milk.
and it will be a peninsula, because it is
nearly surrounded by water" The boy
went TO the top of the class.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
HIS MOTHERS DARLING.
Trust Him Not in Street Cars Nor
With His Sisters Beau.

He was a nice manly little fellow in
Fauntleroy dress and with long gold
en- curls. He was kneeling in the front
seat of an Olive street car intently
watching the motorman of the grip.
The motorman stopped the car with
a jerk. My" said the little fellow,
don't he make things hum,'
The old gentleman in the seat be-
hind him nodded, and recognition by
fellow-passenger put the little man
in a talkative mood
MY name is Bertie," he said. Il
live out in Westminster place. Where
do you live?"
''On West Pine street obligingly
said the elderly man.
That's where my sisters beau lives.
That's him back there sitting in the
seat with my sister. Don't you think
my sister is a pretty girl?"
The old gentleman nodded, confirm
ing the youngsters judgment about his
sisters beauty.
DO you think he is good-looking.
too? My sister says e isn't, but he's
got lots Of dough-
By this time everybody within sound
Of the little fellows voice was laugh
ing. The girl blushed fiercely, and was
almost frantic with fear of what was
going to come next
"She had an awfully good-looking
sweetheart last summer, and he was
so nice to me, and always took me out
for walk when he came in the even
ing, waiting for her to dress But he
didn't have any dough, and so she took
up with this one. She is going to be
married sOon."
The elderly man felt sorry for the girl
and tried to stop the youngsters pratt
tie. But his voice had gone all over
the car by this time. The young mil
ionaire had heard the last remark, and
he looked dumfounded At the next
crossing he lifted his hat to the shame
faced girl, and jumped off the car.
And this is true story of ''little
pitchers that have big ears"
There is a broken engagement some
where in the West End-St. Louis Re-
nuh1ic
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19

done In the brief interval IN the spring
when they are casting their foliage
and making ready for their new effort.
This period is of very short duration
and usually happens in May. All dead
branches should then be cut back and
the remaining parts given chance to
break again. Summer pruning of these
is not advisable, and fall pruning posi-
lively wrong, for at that date the tree
needs all its energies to carry itself
through the winter, and to that end
has stored it's strength.-American Car
dening
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
India's Giant Bees.

Bee-keepers are interested in the pro-
posal that species of giant bee, inhab-
southern United States for the sake Of
the large quantity Of wax which it
forms. The demand for beeswax for
use in the arts is said to have largely
increased of late. The bees referred to
fasten their combs on the under side of
the limbs of trees, or upon overhanging
rocks. Attempts to import them have
not thus far succeeded.
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19

A movement has been started by a
club in London to furnish nurses with
healthful exercise by supplying them
with bicycles. They are supplied with
neat uniforms and have to report for
an outing once Il week. Many of them
are engaged in wheeling most of the
time, but they enjoy the change from
trundling a baby perambulator to glid-
ing swiftly along on the silent steed,
and the new movement is having a
great RIM
The Winslow mail., 1897-06-19
Too Cold for Moths.

The Department of Agriculture,
through its entomologist, DR.. Howard,
some time ago instituted experiments
to determine at how low a temperature
it is necessary to keep furs and woolen
goods in order to save them from the
ravages of moths, carpet beetles, etc.
The results show that a temperature Of
40 to ~ degrees +. during the summer
is sufficiently low for the purpose.