davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
The summer Fallow.

The good old advice to summer fall
low is no longer passed on from father
to son. The plan originated in the
days of the Hebrew patriarchs, and,
we doubt not has had something to do
with the barrenness that is now said to
be the state of many of the hills on
which it was practiced. When SCI
ence took up the matter it found that
no fertility was conserved by permit
ting the land to remain idle. 1t was
even discovered that a crop Of weeds
was far superior to crop of nothing!
Summer fallow-plowing up the land
and leaving it bare for a season
causes losses in several ways The up
per layer of soil becomes dust under
the fierce rays of the sun. In this
dry dust chemical action sets in and
annihilates every vestige of organic
matter-the humus. This humus was
the great factor in the retaining Of
moisture and of nitrogen. A crop
would have shaded the ground and
prevented chemical action OF the ma
ture mentioned. The loss of humus
changes the physical properties of the
soil, causes 1t to be less retentive of
moisture, lighter in color and heavier
in weight per cubic foot. Rotation of
crops, including the legumes, is better
than summer fallow.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Carlos Of the Sec
Peculiar Quantities
he hay of naples

One of the most curious forms OF
life hauled up by the nets of the Naples
fishermen are sea cucumbers"-slug-
shaped bodies about the size and shape
of the vegetables of that name, Of
pulpy flesh covered with a leathery
skin and small calcareous scales of
carbonate of lime. They belong to The
same family as the starfish and sea
urchins, and feed on small crabs and
other floating animal life that they
can capture. They have no teeth, but
the walls of their alimentary canals
secrete strong juices that kill and dis
solve the fibers of the animals which
have been caught with their sucker
feet and brought to their mouths.
They suck in the sand and mud and
digest the nourishing particles while
those which are of no use to them are
rejected. Sea cucumbers are very COM
mon in the Bay of Naples, and are
often found more than foot long. One
variety, known as the "cucumari plan
ci," has a tail. When the animal is
alive the tentacles of the tail are soft
and pliable and adhere to the rock,
but with death they harden like the
arms of starfish and the spines of sea
urchins, with which we are more ia
miliar.
The Bay of Naples abounds in medu-
sac, or jelly fish, as we call them, often
growing as large as two feet in diam
eter and weighing fifty and sixty
pounds. Some of them shine at night
with greenish light and are known
as "noctiluca" might lanterns) by the
natives. The jelly fish sometimes
make migrations in great groups,
sometimes so large and so thick as to
impede the navigation of vessels, like
the floating plants in the Saragossa
sea of the tropics. These shoals of
medusae, as they are called, may be
30 dense that piece of timber plunged
in among them will be held upright
as If stuck in mud, and ordinary row.
boats cannot force their way through
them. Their migrations have never
been explained. They are irregular
and occur at no particular season of
the year and under no particular in
f1uences. They are not affected by heat
or cold and the currents of the ocean
do not seem to control them. When
the head chief or leader of jelly fish
colony takes a notion to move, he is
sues his orders, which are communi-
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
wheat and the Hessiau Fly.

How to avoid the Hessian fly is one.
of the great problems that confronts
the wheat culturist. From time to
time discoveries are being made that
may make it possible to in the future
greatly lessen the violence of the at
taoks. 1t now seems probable that
where wheat is lacking in thriftiness
it is more injured by Hessian fly at
tRoks than where it is vigorous. This
is a principle quite generally accepted
as to fruit tree insects. Prof. Andrew
M. Soule Of Tennessee says: Wheat
on thin and impoverished land suffered
most from attacks Of the Hessian fly.
From the results obtained in sowing
wheat on different dates, it is apparent
that the date of seeding wheat deter
mines, to a considerable degree, the
amount of injury done by the fly, and
it is further evident that If wheat is
sown on carefully prepared land of
good quality where there is an abund-
ant supply of available food that it
will stool out and in a measure make
up for the original shoots destroyed
by the fly. These shoots, however,
will not be so vigorous, nor will they
fill SO well as those first thrown up"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Gated somehow from one to another.
and, at the time appointed, the entire
colony begins 70 move. 1t travels
very slowly, compared with other fish,
but makes several miles day.
The octopus vulgaris devil
fish of the ancients-is very common
in the Bay of Naples. Examples are
hauled up in the nets every day. 1t
is the guerrilla of fishes. 1t hides itself
in ambush in the crevices of the rocks
and waits for it's prey, and often piles
up stones into heap, behind which
1t conceals itself until it can pounce
upon unwary and innocent fishes that
pass by. The octopus also has the
power of changing it's color and pro-
ducing ell sorts of warts and wrinkles
upon its otherwise smooth skin, so as
to deceive it's neighbors. These traits
of character are not commendable.
The body of the octopus looks like
a round bag and contains its vital or
gans. At one end it has head like
that of toad, with two large inquiring
eyes, and branching out from various
parts of the body are eight arms united
at their base by web similar to that
in the foot of duck. Each arm has
two rows of suckers. Hidden by the
arms, and in the middle Of the body
is the mouth, furnished with pair of
powerful jaws and membraneous
flap which alternately opens and shuts.
The arms are used for swimming,
crawling, climbing and for catching
and holding the prey. 1t eats crabs
fish and other animate objects which
are caught by its suckers, carried to
the mouth by means of the arms and
are quickly killed and digested by a
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
nortlcul,ural sIrht. Abroaa.

To try and write you an article on
the horticulture / saw in Europe
would be bewildering, writes B. r.
Bones in Wisconsin Horticultural.
Nothing seems impossible with those
Frenchmen as florists, gardeners or
fruit growers. l saw men independ-
emily rich on five acres of ground.
saw caulifiowers eight inches across
and leaves touching the body of cherry
trees on which there were no less than
six bushels to the tree Forty-eight
hours after the caulifiower was cut and
the cherries picked the soil under the
tree was planted to another crop!
How they can do this is a mystery,
and as my French is limited to about
forty words, l could not ask many
questions. The gardens between Rouen
and Paris are probably the finest in
the world and the neatness of the
homes beyond compare; stone houses
with red-tiled roofs, no weeds, no
waste material lying anywhere. Pears
of all colors loaded the trees, and
trees trimmed in fantastic shapes,
cherries bending with fruit and, east
OF Paris a few miles, so many that
they fairly colored the landscape.
In Paris saw oleanders that could
climb and at Treves tree roses, ditto
At the latter place, in the great rose
garden of Europe, as late as Aug. l.,
thousands of roses were still in bloom.
What must 1t have been in June! For
shade trees they have no elm equal to.
ours; their linden is not to be COM
pared with ours, and we can beat the
oaks Of old England. The sycamore is
the great ornamental tree of Europe,
and you are never out of sight of them.
in any town from the Mediterranean
to Rotterdam.
OF grapes saw no end, thousands of
acres; the terraced banks of the.
Moselle and the Rhine are one continu
GUS vineyard. In France if you fur
nished two casks they would fill one
and take the other for pay, so great
was the vintage, this the ordinary
wine. The apples of Europe are not
as good as our windfalls. In Covent
Garden Market, London, were hun
dreds of bushels of gooseberries larger
in size than green gage plums.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
NOT FIRST ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP
Ubiquitous Advertising Man Had Not
Neglected the Opportunity.

Ubiquitous Advertising Man Had Not
Neglected the Opportunity.
Some years ago, when the North
western State of Washington was not
so thickly populated as it is now, a
young lieutenant on the revenue cut
ter Rush, then stationed in Puget
Sound, had an experience which he
sometimes relates now, although 1t is
at his own expense.
IL was told" he said, that the
neighboring snow capped mountain,
Mount Rainer, had never been climbed
by any white man, or, at least, that
none had ever reached it's top. was
younger then than l am now, so / de-
termined to gain the honor of planting
the first American flag on Ratner's
top. Several seamen VOLUNTEERED to &C
company me, and after spending some
days in making our preparations we
set out. Three days of weary march
ing and climbing brought US to the
top. With hurrah we rushed up on
large cliff, the highest point, and
then prepared to put up our pole. Sud
denly my attention was attracted to an
old staff stuck into crack. Near its
top was nailed small card, on which
in plain type, was printed: James
Ruggles, agent for Thompson's Elixir
for that Tired Feeling"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
OUR WIT AND HUM0R
LATEST EFFORTS OF THE FUN
MAKERS OF THE DAY.
Proof That a College Education Pays
-Bashful Boy Explains the Location
of an Inward Pain-owner OF Parrot
Cautions the Old Lady.
His Diagnosis.

It was with silent alarm that young
William Baker, the most bashtul boy
of his class, noted the steady progress
of an internal pang. 1t became so
acute finally that he could maintain
his composure no longer and he cried
outright.
The gentle school teacher came down
from her chair upon the dais and, plac-
ing her hand kindly upon the po5
head, asked him what was the mato*r.
William only sobbed. He dare not
designate his trouble by the rude term
under which it was known to schosi-
boys. His better instincts told him that
such language was not suited to the
ears of lady.
But after hearing much tender sym
pathy and hesitating profoundly, ne
managed to hit upon what seemed 10
him to be polite phrase of diagnosis.
And so he raised his fearful eyes and
said:
please, ma'am, I've got a pain in
my abandon"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
safa protsotad hr Contents.


After standing for dozen years by
the side of mammoth elm tree near
the Henry Fenner ledge property on
Cranston street, Providence, r. l., a
grim, rusty old safe is about to be re-
moved. The owner, l.. r. Titus, has
disposed of it to a resident of the
neighborhood, who intends to tamper
with it and eventually take it away.
There is a little story about the an
cient safe. 1t contains dynamite, just
how much is not known, but Mr.. Titus
thinks not more than three or four
pounds. 1t was used for several years
to store the high explosive used in
blasting the rock, and when the Titus
interests discontinued the stone quar-
rying business at the Henry Fenner
ledge the safe contained several sticks
The lock became manageable seven
or eight years ago and has refused to
do service since. Hence the vault re-
NAMED tightly closed, rather omi-
nous spectacle, standing as 1t has in the
open and known to harbor within the
rusty iron walls a quantity of dyna-
mite. For obvious reasons the owner
did not blow the door off.
The new proprietor of the souvenir
of the old Fenner ledge days will COM
mence operations by removing Sec
ton of the door by drilling and taking
away the dangerous explosives.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

One inconsiderate father, interested
in affairs of state, named his children,
who CHANGED to be all girls, after the
various presidents in whom he was
interested at the time of the infant's
birth. During their childhood the
girls rejoiced in the names of Lincoln,
Johnson and Grant for middle names.
They always wrote their names out in
full, taking great pride in them as
their father had done. Gradually, rs
they grew older, they wrote only the
initials, and at the present time not
one of the daughters in that family
has any middle name at all.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Shropshire Premiums.

The American Shropshire Registry
association will offer numDer
of special prizes at shows this
year, divided as follows: In
ternational Live Stock Exposition,
Chicago, 1888; Toronto Industrial
Exposition, 500; Ontario Winter Fair
at Guelph, 500. At the Indiana State
Fair, the Registry association will pay
one-third of the prizes offered for
Shropshires, which will lun PIP, IS, Sc
and So in each class. Only recorded
sheep are eligible to these special
prizes.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

poisonous fluid secreted in the salivary
glands.
A near relation of the octopus is the
sepia or cuttlefish, which has arms
much shorter than those of the octo-
pus, but they do business very much in
the same way. The chief characteris-
tic of the cuttlefish are it's ability to
hide itself and to change it's color at
will, and in the transparent water of
the bay of Naples the wonderful play
of tints in the living animal is very
much admired. This change in color
is due to large cells in the skin which
are filed with fluids. AS the cells con-
tract or expand the colors of the fluids
change and grow lighter or darker
like the blush upon the cheek of a
maiden, and give the animal an opal
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

escent tint Sometimes it looks like
a floating opal.
Another characteristic is sac 'filled
with black fluid known as sepia,
which can be discharged instantly into
the water. A small quantity will ere
ate a black cloud sufficient to envelop
the animal and allow it to escape from
its pursuer. This ink is extracted,
dried and sold to artists. 1t is the
sepia with which pictures are painted.
The cuttlefish is quite an article of
commerce in Naples, for, in addition
to the sepia, the backbone is used for
polishing wood, as tooth powder and
for sharpening the bills OF canary
birds.
Both the cuttlefish and the octopus
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
just the Place to Lie In.

Gracious! You don't means to say
you are going to move out to Bog
ville?"
Indeed, am. I consider it an ideal
place"
Huh! You ought to read the pa
pers. There's more sickness there than
in any town in this vicinity"
Il know it. I'm a physician"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

The waiter pushed the finger bowl
toward Uncle Cyrus, who was dining
at the Waldorf-Astoria.
"No, thankee," said Uncle Cyrus,
with some heat. "Yew didn't bring
tibet when l fust sat down an it's too
late now"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Actor Ito editor)-See here! In this
article you say that l am about to
start on a starving tour" when /
distinctly told your reporter that 1t
was to be starring tour"
Editor-Well, you see, he was an
actor himself before he went into this
business, and naturally he knows how
it really works"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
PATHS First Concert.

II paid Adelina Patti a pound of
candy for singing at her first concert"
says Hermann Grau, the Oldest oper-
attic manager in America. Little Miss
Patti was at that time years of age
and her concert was held in Willard's
hall, Washington, d. c."
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
A Dreadful ImputatIon.

Eyes, ma'am, strickly moril par
rot, ma'am. This is the very bird for
you, ma am"
"He's carefully brought up, is he,
dealer?"
"Werry carefully, ma'am. He's a
regular inherent, he is. But you must
be VERY watchful, ma'am."
'Watchful of what?'
"Of the kind O. language you uses
before the bird, ma'am. They do pick
up cuss words so easy!"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

From Farmers Review: The proper
time to plant broom corn is the last of
May and June. when the ground is
warm, so seeds will soon sprout. ANY
ground that will raise good corn will
raise good broom corn. Our soil is
adapted to raise finer fiber than the
soil in central Illinois. 1t should be
drilled from sixty to seventy stalks per
rod and should be we'll cultivated, as a
farmer would little CORN. G. Mon
roe, Marion County, Illinois.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
The Light That Failed.

They sat on the couch. lie gased on
her with love beaming from his eyes,
while her orbs flashed back an snul.
gence that rivaled the electric light.
You are-you are" b, breathed,
rather at loss for words Erection,
you are the lignt of my IL
She gave him a lookA alarm, and
then whispered softiy in his ear:
Take care my father does not put you
out!"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
The pasls OF ProsperIty.

when the farmer is prosperous,
everybody is prosperous" said the man
who INDUCES in dogmatic utterances.
That's right" answered Farmer
Corntossel. when the farmers have
money, the gold brick operators, and
side-show proprietors, and lightning
rod people, and everybody begins 10
look for good times"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Reward Seekers.

Some people," said Uncle Eben,
"is so dreful business-like dat while
dey looks fob reward in de mex
worl dey's mighty skeery fob fear
dey'n do any mo- dan what's neces-
sary to earn it,"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
A Domestic Mystery.

Mr.. Understanding queer about
Biffkins. He has never once men.
toned his wife.
Mrs. Binks-Perhaps he isn't mar
ried.
Mr.. Binks-Oh, yes, he is. He wearg
out three pairs of shoes a month try
ing to save car fare.-New York
Weekly.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
No words Missing.

Dear mel" exclaimed Mrs. Dropin,
as she heard Mr.. Sputter swearing in
the next room. What dreadful LAM
guage!"
Il hope you won't mind it," replied
Mrs. Sputter; my husband is merely
giving an imitation of a missing-word
contest without any words missing"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
His Great Fear.

Kind Lady-What are you crying
about, little boy?
Little Boy-My little bruther has tn
measles an can't go to school,"
Kind Lady-Ah, 1 see-you are
afraid you'll catch 'em?
Little Boy-No, I'm afraid won't.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Her Suspicion.

els your husband suffering from
the toothache?"
"Well," answered the woman, with
a tired expression, che says he's suf-
fering. But from the way he keeps
Dragging about it I'm half suspicious
that he's kind of enjoying it,"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Mo, Freehearted.

"I seen the devil once" said Brother
Dickey.
"And how did he look" some one
asked.
"Oh, he looked purity much lax
white man in 'leckshun times, only he
'peared ter be good deal mo- free
hearted"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

San Francisco has one saloon for
every twenty-five adult members of
its population. They must have to
work overtime to keep some of the
saloons going there
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
EASY Choice.

(Which do you prefer" asked the
friend, classical music or classical
plays?"
Classical music, every Time" an
swered Mr.. Cumrox. "1nere is always
noise enough in that to keep you
awake"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
his Soulful Eye.

"What soulful eyes you have!" she
said to the innocent youth.
Have II" he smilingly asked.
"Yes," she murmured in her gush-
ing way. Especially the left one.
could look into its liquid depths for
hours"
81 might leave it with you over Sum
day." said the youth. TITS glass;"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Conclusive Evidences.

Mrs. Nebb-Why do you think Mrs.
De Peyster is mentally unbalanced?"
Mrs. Keeptab-Well, she permits her
husband to sit on her sofa pillows
Ohio State Journal.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Russia has backed down from
number Of its claims as to Manchuria,
but it was careful to make so many
that 1t could concede over half and
still save all 1t wanted.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
on His High Horss.

Merchandise you're looking for Q
position?
Young College Graduate-No. I've
wasted so much time looking for
position" that I'll be satisfied to take
a job.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Mr.. Wanamaker may have been
rather ELUSIVE with the kaiser, but
the story that he worked off a pack
OF his business cards on him is prob
ably canard.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Bishop Fowler says there is no life
so conducive to laziness as the minis
try. Still, most of the ministers seem
TO overcome the tired feeling sufi-
GENTLY to write books between times.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Twenty miles an hour is the limit
Of speed for automobiles on country
roads in New York. The Astors and
vanderbilts cmplain that this is get
ting back to the days OF the stage
coach.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

King Leopold butted through the
socialist mob by letting his automo-
bile go ahead at full speed. No
crowned head should venture forth
without his automobile after this.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Not the ouestIon.

"I can get along without you," said
the employer, CURLY, to the clerk
whom he had discharged.
"That is not the question, sir" re-
piled the clerk, tartly. THE question
is whether can get along without
you"
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

On advance statistics from all parts
of the country the esteemed New York
Sun bases the prediction that there
will be a great revival in bicycling
this season. WE'LL Well Welt
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Russia's announcement that she
means to get out of Manchuria is as
good in it's way as England's fami-
liar pleasantly about evacuating
Egypt.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

Cecil Rhodes must have smiled in
his sleeve occasionally when he
thought of the good things that would
be said of him after he was dead.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

A Kentuchan shot at a man and
crippled blooded colt the other day.
This will be sure to start another last
ing feud If the owner of the colt is a
Kentuckian.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

The scarcity of steeple climbers is
delaying work on the new Chicago
postoffice, and this fact has led to the
discovery that there are only four
teen human flies" in the United
States. Here appears to be promis-
ing opening for young men who have
lofty ambitions.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

When William Tillman and McLau-
rim meet they glare fiercely at each
other and pass on. In this matter
they assert their personal courage
without sacrificing their senatorial
dignity.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05

An artificial method has been discoy-
cred of giving age to whisky. Now let
somebody find out way of giving 1t
size.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
same old Comnlnin..

i Just saw man going out, doc
tor; has he any new complaint"
No, same OLD complaint" said the
man of pills; bills too large."-Yon-
kers Statesman.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
Filial Affection.

Casey-Fifty dollars O'Brien spint
tryin' to git his mother-in-law out av
purgatory.
Daly-Fifty dollars?
Casey-Th' same He siz he wants
to git her out before he goes in, if it
kiR be done!-Puck.
The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-08-05
DlsInteotant on the Side.

"Bluffenheim is giving away a lot
Of presents with that new cigar he
is just putting on the market"
zone of them ought to be a can Of
disinfectant."