davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
STARS AS TINEKEEpERS
Much More Reliable Than
the Sun.

Probably the majority Of people sup.
pose that the observatories obtain the
correct time from the sun. When the
average man wishes to give his watch
the highest praise he says: 1T regu-
lates the sum-" not being aware that q
watch which would keep with the sun
around the year would have to be near
ly as bad as Cap'n Cuttle's. The farm
er may safely decide when to 60 in to
dinner by the sun, but if the mariner
was as confident that the sun marked
always the correct time as the farmer
is he would be sure to be at times 200 or
300 miles from where he thought he
was. In other words, the sun-that is, a
sundial-is only correct on few days
in each year, and during the intervening
times gets as far as whole quarter
hour fast or slow.
These variations of the sun from uni
form time caused no end Of trouble be-
tween the astronomers and the fine
clockmakers before it was discovered
that sun time is subject to such irreg-
ula1 hes. The better the clock the
wor}S it often seemed to 60.
RbAas the variations in sun time are
nowtaccurately known, correct time
might be obtained from the sun by max
ing proper allowance, were it not for the
difficulty of observing its position with
sufficient exactness. The large disc Of
the sun cannot be located so perfectly
as can the single point which star
makes. For this reason astronomers
depend almost wholly upon the stars
for obtaining accurate time. 1t is the
method of doing this which we propose
to describe.
There are several hundred stars whose
positions have been established with
the greatest accuracy by the most care
full observations at number of the
principal observatories Of the world.
II stars exact position is known, it
can readily be calculated when it will
pass the meridian Of any given place
that is, the instant it will cross a north
and south line through the place. The
data regarding these stars are all pub
lished in the nautical almanacs. which
are got out by several different observa-
tories for the use Of navigators and all
others who have uses for them. These
stars are known as "clock stars. Pop
ular Science Monthly.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
ORCHARD AND GARDEN.

Peach trees suffer the most from
standing in the thick grass. and cherry
and pear the least of any of the fruit
trees.
The objection to trying to grow
grapes in the orchard among the fruit
trees is that the grapes need all the
sunshine possible.
Mulching of fruit trees at this timeia
help in delaying blossoming in the
spring, and in this way injury from late
frosts may be prevented.
When an orchard is to be planted in
the spring it will often be found good
plan to plow the ground at any time
now when it is not frozen.
The secret of keeping apples during
the winter is cool storage and thorough
ventilation. Keep them as near the
freezing point as possible.
Most fruit trees thrive best on rolling
land. Fruits are less liable to injury
by frosts on rolling land than on level
land, even though the latter be high and
dry. .f=
1t will lessen the danger Of injury by
thawing and freezing If small mound
Of earth is drawn up AROUND the stem Of
the tree before the ground freezes. It
can be removed in the spring.
In nearly all cases large seed are bet
ter than small ones. They furnish more
nutriment to the young plants than the
small ones. which give them a good
start early in the season. and they make
better growth.
Dwarf pears and grapes are the two
fruits that seem especially adapted to
small places. where not much room csn
be spared. and where it is designed to
combine the useful with the ornament
al.-St. Louis Republic.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10

SCHOOL AND CHURCH.

Birmingham. Ala, prohibited street
preaching by Mormons.
Coeducation, says the Puritan, tends
to discourage sentiment.
There are IA Roman Catholic convent
schools in the city of Toronto.
The Advent conference at Westbrook,
Me-, decided that women may preach,
but cannot be ordained.
At the commencement Of Berea col.
lege, in the eastern Tennessee noun
tains, $500 saddle horses were picketed
on the grounds.
DR.. j. c. Culbertson, a member Of the
Cincinnati school board, believes the
schools should be moved into the coun-
try and the pupils supplied with car
rides and lunches by the municipality.
celebrating the fiftieth anniversary
Of his professorship Prof. Virchow, of
Berlin, said he owed his scientific repu-
tation almost entirely to his American
and japanese pupils, who continued his
researches.
In Ponce there is an American free
school, partly supported by the military
government and partly by the citizens
of the city. 1t has about $50 pupils and
is doing excellent work. being thor
oughgoing school according to Ameri-
can ideas.
Harvard may not hold the football
championship, but she has more stu
dents than any other American univer-
sity. The figures are: Harvard, $3.50;
Michigan, 3,346; Pennsylvania, 3,346;
Columbia, 3,0s3; Yale, 2,6Ss; Cornell,
2,645; Wisconsin, 2,02s; Chicago, 1850;
Princeton, 1874, and Johns Hopkins,
632.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
A HAPPY PHILOSOPHER.

tne weather rainy an / like the
weather dry,
He the world an like the pan the Ruler
-. runs It by,
mere nj .bby drouEhty seasons in some
w, Iair and farmin' spot,
he sireak Of too wet weather biights
another. like as not.
nut DO SO love earth's roses that the little
1norHs don't hurt
me TO me Is somethin' more than
orudStry an dirt:
ou tuned my taste to sweetness, so shun
the bitter lees
nnd SO much of honey I'm a-robbin' OF
the bees.
We found that cornfields stunted till they
NV, wouldn't pay to shock
VII yie.d in huskin' seasons lots O. nub-
bins for the stock,
~" tne shirveled wheat that rusted one O.
mn, natures weather tricks.
VIII do sight toward feedin' all the hum
cry hens and chicks
90 WHAT'S the use O. whinin' il the run O.
things don't suit,
Aou get to smell the blossoms though some
insect takes the fruit,
reckon iife's so happy can wander where
An find SO much of honey I'm a-robbin' of
the bees.
hdppy llIe dependent not on gumptiOn
or on grit.
But jes' the plain philosophy of make the
best of it,
NJ course / amt denyin' Sorrows stalkin'
through the land
But her sister. Joy, is with her, an a-hold-
in of her hand
so write me down as happy. in the summer.
spring or fall,
An even storms O. winter doesn't ice the
blossoms all,
So Jes Keep on a-huntin' in the fragrance
or the freeze,
An 4 nnd SO much Of honey I'm a-robbin' OF
the bees
Roy Farrell Greene, in Youths Compan-
ion.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
PLANTED BY THE QUEEN.
Trees That Have Been Started By
Victoria Seem to he Especlal-
ly Long Lived.

The trees planted in Great Britain by
her majesty and her immediate descend.
ants, would, if they could be collected
together, form very fine grove; in fact,
almost a wood. says the London Mail.
AS long ago as 1s45 the queen commem-
GRATED her visit to the duke of Bucking-
ham, at Stowe, by planting tree in
the grounds, and the prince consort fol-
lowed her example.
Visitors to Lancaster will find a hand
some oak near the fine old gateway
tower of Lancaster castle. On copper
plate fastened to the palisades close by
it is related that the tree was planted
on October s, 1s4s, by the queen, on her
visit to the town of Lancaster. Another
oak, now some 30 feet high, grows in
front of Stoneleigh abbey. The queen
and prince consort stayed there for
three days in June, 1883, at the time
they opened Aston hall, and visited
Kenilworth and Warwick castle. They
were originally twin trees, but the one
planted by Prince Albert died.
The queen seems especially successful
as a tree planter, for the oak she plant.
ed at Muckross, on the banks of Lake
Killarney, has far outgrown others that
were planted at the same time. The
SArvey" always points it out to his
''fares" as the queens oak.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
ARE QUITE USEFUL.
that In Of Great Use 10 Farm.
ers and Gardeners.

Ugly looking creatures!" we ex.
claim as we see the earth-worms
crawling about the garden beds in
the early morning or after rain.
But let us look upon them with .
more kindly eye and consider the
great work they do in the earth.
Darwin and Henson have proved their
intelligence and their wonderful pow
ers of preparing the earth for seed
lings. Although not SO low in the
scale as the prevalent superstition
would indicate. they cannot see or
hear. They show some intelligence
in lining their burrows, usually seiz-
ing leaves, etc, by their pointed ends.
Leaves not only serve to line and TO
plug their burrow, but also for food.
They feed, likewise, upon the or
ganic matter in the soil, which they
swallow in great quantities and eject
in the form of familiar castings"
Ii has been estimated that about ten
tons of earth in each acre of ground
pass annually through their bodies in
places where they are numerous. By
this means fresh surfaces are contin-
ually exposed to the action of carbon
dioxide and the humus acids, and are
thus decomposed and disintegrated.
These worms prepare the ground
excellently for seedlings. They slit
the soil so that no stones larger than
they can swallow are left in it. They
mix it, as does a gardener who wishes
to prepare fine soil for his choicest
plants. They cover up bones, ETC.,
thus bringing them in a more or less
decayed state within reach of the
roots. They cover seeds which lie
upon the surface, thus giving the
radicle a leverage. and, last Of all,
their burrows facilitate the penetra-
tion of the roots.
Says Darwin: The plow is one
of the most ancient and most valuable
of mans inventions; but, long before
he existed, the land was in fact regu-
larly plowed by earth-worms. 1t may
be doubted whether there are many
other animals which have played so
q part in the history of the
world as have these lowly organized
creatures. Studies.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
PULLING FENCE POSTS.
Not a Very Hard Thing to Do WheI
One Combines Patience with
Little Ingenuity.

Take the hind wheels and coupling
pole Of farm wagon and chain
with ring, or better. a large hook
at one end. Fasten the chain to tine
pole in front of the axle in such a
manner that when it is passed back
over the axle and bolster the ring or
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10

The farmers of the rich Covello wheat
district in Washington are planning to
build railroad outlet for their grain,
to be known as the Columbia 4 Covello
railway. tie-up between the Northern
Pacific and the Oregon railway & Navi-
CATION company having left them with
out transportation facilities. These
wheat growers pay large sums to haul
their crops to Dayton and other points,
some paying as high as 81 900 each year
for this purpose. and they conclude
that they might just as well put their
money into a railroad of their own.
They propose to take stock in the new
company. some paying cash, others
working out their shares grading the
roadbed. Should the weather be at all
favorable. the grading will be complet-
ed by spring. The new company incor-
porates with 800 600 shares of stock at
a par valne of one dollar each.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
Loading Bundled Cornstalke.

use common hay rack on which to
draw or haul cornstocks. and when
make the load place all butts towards
the center SO that they lap about eight
inches. This insures the right distri-
button of the load. but makes the most
weight in the middle. SO that when driv-
ing over rough places or where the road
is sideling there is no danger of it tip
ping or shaking of. A large load can
be mad. by placing it on the rack in
this ma >ner and the plan is much more
sa,isfac Dry than placing the butts out.
l have tried either way and found that
smoother. safer load can be made
with butts to the center. and when un-
lcsaing IL Is much more COW epiept to
get hold on the bundles as the heav-
lest part is near the unloader, who will
not need to exert muck strength ic
throwing the load OF to the stacker
A. w. Rodine. in Farmers Voice.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
THE SHOW WAS A SUCCESS
A Lunbernen's Minstrel PePfoPns
ance with lnprenptu Features
That MADE Rousing Hts.

Eyes, our minstrel show was grand
success" said the man from Pitch Cor.
ners as he slapped his mittens against
the stovepipe of cross roads store IN
Franklin county, Me.
I'VE never expected to bring down
the house the way we did, and II was all
unprecedented, as you might say.
"One of the end men was Roarin' Bill
Mccarthy. who came down from Jones'
lumber camp specially to take part.
Roarin' Bill is great on singing, but he
didn't make his hit with his songs so
much as little side play, az it were.
You see, Bill is awful fond Of terbaccer.
Chaws all the time, and cud il sort
Of second nature to him. So, when he
begun his first song he forgot to take
out his chaw, or spit before startin'.
Soon's he opened his mouth, Of course
the juice choked him, and he bolted for
the back Of the platform and disap-
peared. / was interlocutor, and, Of
course, I had to say somethin', 10 I
just up and said: Excuse me, ladies'
and gentlemen, but Bill has only gone
ont to spit. He'll be back in . minute
We'll, do you know. that audieucs
thought it was part Of the show, and
they laughed as If they'll split.
Then. q little later, the other end
man. Pete Soucier, the big Frenehman
who's sled tender up to Jones', fell on
the stage and busted the bass drum Of
the Pitch Corners band. The aud1encs
thought it was part Of the show, toe
and just roared.
20, yes; the show was great sue.
cess" concluded the man from Pitch
Corners- Have You got any good
smokin' tobacker ?s--Eoston Globe.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
The storaxe q Onions.

Onions, unless they have been prup-
,rl. prepared, are 6;nicult 20 keep. hat
properly ripened of. dug at the risL,
season and dried as they should be, they
will keep well. The temperature must
be low and the air dry. as in warm,
moist atmosphere they soon grow and
are spoiled. If had onions to store,
not knowing how they had been dried,
I should subject them to 100 degrees
heat for several days. which has almost
the effect of kiln drying. Then place
in shallow. Slated boxes, piled one
above another, in a cellar well ventil-
ated and keep just above freezing. II
this way is not practicable they can be
kept in building away from fire.
stored in a bin which has thick lining
and covering of chah and fine hay
Viek's Magazine.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10

Next to q street car or . church fan
the best place to study human nature
is q restaurant. II man has any Of
the animal left in him, it win become
apparent when he faces his dinner. 1t
doesn't matter whether he sits in mar
BILE halls, where you have to pay dollar
for a salad, or twists his lower extrem-
tiles about the stool Of . ''lunch" coun-
ter.
The result is the same. He il deaf,
dumb and blind. He doesn't care
whether Protus III. won at so to with
Conley up or whether the Ferris wheel
has taken . sudden notion to roll into
the lake.
But give him . chance to get outside
of his ten-cent plate Of corn beef hash
and rolls, and then watch the difference.
Watch him when he slips q .toothpick
between his teeth and walks over from
Clark street to stand for half an hour
in front of the Palmer house and blum
himself and the passing world and his
wife into thinking him = plunger, while
FheTattles dollar and - cents In his
pocket and smiles serenely Because OF
a goodly inside lining.
And the girlsl See girl with pic
ture hat, swell skirt, silver bracelet
Cyrano chain, and heaven knows what
all, come in, rustic into q seat as if she
rode in an automobile down the boule-
ward every other day, read every blessed
item on the menu and then order .
minced ham sandwich and apple pie.
And the way they size up man to
see how much he IN good for when it il
q question of two. There is girl ON
the South side-not rich girl, but
clever, attractive girl, who knows the
"proper caper" every time, and prides
herself on her discriminating quali-
ties as to just the kind of luncheon .
man is good for. She never goes by the
dress or watch charm-simply carries
out her own little game Of intuition.
"Oh, here's the dear little reed bird
on toast again." she says with q sweet
smile. II forgot game was in again.
didn't your" xs4f.f
And if he sighs and takes drink Of
ice water to cool his fevered pulse and
says he had forgotten It was in, too.
then she orders lobster salad at 10 per.
Did you ever notice how the waiter
always turns your check face down.
wards? It was student of human
nature who first introduced that wise
and delicate custom. He knew enough
not to take away q mans appetite by
a hint at horrors to come-Chicago
Tribune.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
ENe11sH SOLDIERS COOKBOOK
several Reciue, That Are Sanctioned
Ay the ommander-in-ChSef
of the Army.

Occasionally one hears a great deal
about the bad cooking and insufficient
food of British soldiers. Every now
and again some faddist or other takes
the matter up and tries to lead the pub
lie to believe that our troops are con-
demned to live entirely upon unpalat-
able food. =
Here are three recipes from Tom
my's" cookery book which are sane
toned by no less person than the COM
mander in chief himself:
Meat Soup.-Ingredients: Sixteen
and one-haf pounds meat, one pound
onions, one pound flour, five ounces
alt, one-fourth ounce pepper, five
ounces sugar, small faggot Of herbs,
3k gallons of water.
Cut the meat into pieces of about
four ounces, take eight ounces of the
fat and chop it up; slice the onions.
Put the fat in the boiler; when melted,
add the onions; stir them well, SO that
they do not get brown. In five minutes
add the meat. which keep stirring or
turning over for five minutes longer.
Then add the boiling water by degrees;
let it simmer gently for one hour. Mix
the -four with cold water very smoothly.
add it to the soup, with the salt, pepper,
sugar and herbs. Simmer gently for
80 minutes; keep stirring to prevent
flour from settling at the bottom"
No doubt the result of these careful
operations is a most sustaining and ex-
cellent soup. and one wonders how
many artisans or laborers get anything
better for dinner.
The recipe for "a hurried dinner" is
much less elaborate; but if soldiers
opinions go for anything, it is by no
means a bad one. 1t is as follows:
Cut your ration of meat into pieces
about the size of a penny, but three or
four times thicker. Skewer them upon
piece Of iron wire or hard stick. A few
minutes will cook them if hung before
the fire."
Plum pudding in "Tommy's" cookery
book:
"Put into a basin one pound OF flour,
three-fourths pound of raisins (stoned,
if that can be allowed), three-fourths
pound of the fat of salt pork (well
washed. cut into small dice or chopped),
and two tablespoonfuls of sugar or
treacle. Add half a pint of water, mix
all together; put into cloth tied tight
ly; boil for four hours and serve. If
time will not admit. boil only two hours,
though four are preferable"
There seems touch of human nature
about the war Office, after all.-Lon-
don Mail.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
Making Hin wAsIe.

1T takes the glorious old west to do
business" said the man with the alli-
gator grip, as he boarded the train at
St. Paul. 1--WE of the east are not in il
. little bit"
Anything to relate?" queried one Of
the passengers, as he woke up.
"Just few words. Travelled from
New York to Chicago with a staving-
looking girl. At Buffalo was gone on
her. At Detroit we were engaged. A
we reached Chicago she had set the
date. i returned home, wrote her 800
love letters and came out here to get
married.
'She decided that she would marry
another. She estimated the value Of
my time At $500, the worth of NV let
ters at $500 and my broken heart at 500.
and drew me = check for 81 900, and here
1t is Gave her receipt in full to date,
kissed her good-by. and there you sre
and here am. There's but one way ia
DO business, and the west knows all
about it. Yes, check for 4 thousand
and how many Of you gentlemen will
smoke . good cigar at my expense y.-
Chicago Evening News.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
ALASKA'S BLACK SAND.
ID May Ne Made to Yield Up Its Gold
by the Use Of Salt
Water.

there's millions of gold in black
sand," said III. A. Frederick. Seattle
man of experience in the Klondike,
'and l believe 1 have hit upon plan
To get it out. You know this black sand
is about as heavy as the gold, and in
panning. as ordinarily done with cold
water, the gold and the sand either go
out of the pan together and are lost,
or they stay in the bottom and are of
no more use than if they were lost. On
a claim 1 had in the Yukon country
we only got $3a out of the black sand
for a whole season, and knew that we
were losing whole lot and that there
ought to be some way of getting at it.
So / experimental with hot water,
some salt to it, and found an improve
ment. I took an iron bucket holding
two gallons, filed it about one-third
full of sand. put in double handful of
salt. filed il with water and set it on
the fire to boil. As it boiled stirred
1t, like you would stir apple butter, or
MS we stir dog feed in the Klondike.
and then poured it off into the pans.
/ don't know what effect the salt had.
but when put little quicksilver into
the pans I'll be blamed il didn't get
every particle of gold there was.
"Then i went at it on larger scale
and with the sand that was before prac-
tically valueless got SO ounces for one
days work by three men. This gold
was worth about $3.50, or say SIG an
ounce. I'm going to Cape Nome in the
spring, where there are tons and tons
has not been worked, and I'm going to
utilize the salt sea water and get rich.
You see if don't. At the same time
1 want to tell you that the Klondike
country is just beginning to be worth
looking after. So far there have only
been scrapings along the surface by
individuals with poor appliances, but
when the rich companies that are or
ganizing get to work with big hydraulic
machines and the right kind of mining
'ools, the gold will fairly run out in
ctreams. Dirt that is only worth six
to seven cents pan won't pay single
mine. to fool with. but big hydraulic
on that kind of dirt can make a million
a day. 1t is estimated that there are
IS claims around Dawson that will have
produced million each as now worked,
and there are hundreds that are good
for any amount from a hundred thou
sand TO half a million."-N. Y. Sun.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10

READY TO PULL THE POST.
hook will about touch the ground
"a little longer or shorter, according
to the size of the posts to be pulled
up.
Now back the axle against the post,
raise the coupling pole toward the
post, against which it may lean. place
the chain like a moose around the
post, slipping it down until tight.
Next bring the pole forward and to
the ground. This will raise the post
nearly a foot anG generally fully
loosen it. If the post is very deeply
set or hard to pull out it may be nee
essary to repeat the process, slipping
the moose farther down. Back to the
next post and repeat.-Orange Judd
Farmer.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-02-10
A SIMPLE FARM GATE.

body of the gate select good Ike boards
Bolt these to the. uprights and the
braces, mortising them into the end
uprights. Put wire, +, on top. to pre-
vent stock jumping onto it. For the
top hinge use an old wagon tire. and let
it extend the entire length of the gate,
as shown at e, bolting it to the gate al
both ends and the center. The portion
in the post is made of three-fourths-
inch iron, extends clear through ard is
secured by means Of a tap (h). This can
be frightened if the gate should sag.
The lower hinge may be short. Use
large oak post, securely set. ] have
used ten of these gates on my farm,
and find them most satisfactory and
very durable.-Frank Hummel, In Or
anCe Judd Farmer.