davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Jasper weekly courier., 1909-11-19
London More Absent Minded.

London, Cable: Absentmindedness
is on the increase in London accord
ing 20 Scotland Yard statistics, which
show that the number Of articles left
In cabs, omnibuses and tram cars last
year was C0.i07. This is 2,770 more
than I'm 1907.
The Jasper weekly courier., 1909-11-19
LAWYER at Ropes End.

Salem, Ore, Special: James A.
Finch. a lawyer, was hanged here for
the murder of Ralph Fisher. prom
inent lawyer, in Portland, November
% 1908
The Jasper weekly courier., 1909-11-19
Sky Pilots Nv Mail

,,o.so' o...aSo' III. Special: A oorre-
a. s,.ueloe school for ministerial stu.
49,. So an Innovation which is ,o no
el 80 in connection with the mi.
Con-. Con- ineoioEical Seminary by the
CONGREGATIONAL Church " ~
The Jasper weekly courier., 1909-11-19

London. Cable. Nine Hedvig
wangel, a well-known Berlin actress,
has renounced the stage for the Sal
walton Army. Overcome by religious
enthusiasm at one OF the meetings
of the army, she solemnIy abjured the
stage for the religious life.
The Jasper weekly courier., 1909-11-19

New York. Special Tips and his
savings were so wisely invested by
James Thielman. head waiter at Del
monicos. that when he died recently
he left an estate valued at y50O.OO0.
The Jasper weekly courier., 1909-11-19
Said Nothing About 1912.

Lincoln, Neb., Special: w. J. Bryan
left Saturday for a ive-months' trip
in Arizona, Texas and South America
He would make no statement OF his
personal intentions before leaving.
The Jasper weekly courier., 1909-11-19

Wilmington, Del, Special: Just as
he was about to be arrested for the
murder OF Mrs. Pasquarella Muzzano.
Guilo DE Sabastino committed suicide
by shooting in the woods near the
city.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
FENCE RAIL PHILOSOPHY

1t is a good thing to hold up our
heads as we go along through life, but
we must not keep them so high that
we will miss seeing the opportunities
that lie at our feet.
Better stay on the farm among con-
genial surroundings and enjoy the So
ciety of true and tried neighbors and
friends than move to town in middle
age to rust out or freeze In an in
different community of strangers.
Board of Trade spectators say they
are lucky IL they guess the market
four times in seven. Can the farmer
who knows nothing of the game, hope
to win against the men whose sole
business is to beat them?
The store bill is hard on the profits
of the farm. cash saves money and
vexation of spirit.
Bearing part of our neighbors' cares
makes our own load lighter.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
SNAKE PAID FOR THE HEIFEF
How an Enterprsing Oklahoma Lad Turned a
Rattler's Hide and Oil Into Good Cash.

. 4
The round mass then began to nat
ten out and get thinner as they slowl,
unwound. Clifford now got his long
forked stick and began to drag them
one at a time, out several feet away
from, the bunch.
Then he got the prong across theii
necks. close up to their heads. and
pressing them into the ground he Gu,
their heads off. one by one. with his
long bladed jackknife and left them ia
die.
In this way he killed about forty
snakes, including eighteen large rat
tiers, and as far as he knew not ons
got away.
am almost afraid to tell you how
much money he received from the sdlc
OF the snakeskins and rattlesnake oil,
but 1t was enough to pay for fina
young Jersey COW with her first calf,
which was a wise Investment. for a
Jersey will pay for herself every year
Of her life.
You might think killing rattlesnakes
dangerous business, but in the spring
IT is not, If you are careful A rattle
snake bite is not SO dangerous in early
spring, as the poison bags are almost
empty, and what little poison remains
is weak and lacking In viruIence.
1t evaporates during the hiberna.
ting period. A rattlesnake bite is most
dangerous from August to November,
after the snakes have been out all
summer, and their poison bags have
become full again.
Snakeskins are used in the manufac-
ture of hatbands, belts. scarfs, card
and cigar cases, purses and pocket
books. and even waistcoats or vests.
A vest made of rattlesnake hides
sells for about S25, but those made
from hides of non poisonous snakes
are much cheaper. The price paid for
snakeskins depends upon their beauty
and the size OF the snake.
The hides OF poisonous snakes bring
the highest prices.
To skin snake you simply make q
slit down the under side of Its body
and begin at the head and skin down
five or six inches, then place your
heel upon the snakes neck and pull the
skin off slowly, down to the tail.
Care should be used when your
hands are about the dead snakes head
not to let one of it's fangs puncture
the skin, more particularly II the snake
4 was killed in the summer or early au-
tumn. The skins should be spread GU,
fiat and dried in the shade.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
BY ISAAC NOTES.

clifford Can't lived with his father
and mother on a farm In valley in
Oklahoma among some mountains.
Like all farm boys, he loved to hunt
and fish and to trap wild animals for
their pelts, and he made a good deal
OF money by selling these to a travelling
fur buyer who came through the neigh
borhood twice each winter.
In talking to this buyer Clifford was
surprised to learn that he also bought
snakeskins, especially rattlesnake skins.
for which he paid from SO cents up to
81, and that rattlesnake oil sold at
from $3.50 to SIS. an ounce.
The buyer also told him how to catch
the snakes in the safest manner, es-
pecially the rattlesnakes; how to skin
them properly and care for the hides
and how to prepare the oil for COM
mercial use.
Now, there were great many snakes
around ME-. Gantts farm-cnicken
snakes, milk snakes, blacksnakes,
coach whips, moccasins, adders and
rattlesnakes in the mountains.
One morning in the latter part of
February Clifford was out hunting in
the mountains half mile from home.
The sun shone, but the air was sharp
and chill.
While passing along the side of a
rocky hill he walked across a large
fiat rock and felt it tremble, as though
but slightly embedded in the ground.
At the same time he heard a dull, buzz
zing sound under it.
He secured a stout, straight. sea
soned limb from dead tree and began
to pry at the rock with it. The buz-
zing got louder as he pried at the rock
letting the cold air and light under It.
Pretty soon he had moved 1t far
enough to look under 1t, when a
strange and fearful sight met his ewes
He saw roll of snakes as big as a
coil of rope-snakes of all kinds, mixed
and twisted together, but the majority
of them were rattlesnakes.
Almost all other snakes are afraid OF
the rattlers during warm weather
when they are all out of their holes
but when the time comes to den UP fol-
winter you will find snakes OF every de-
scription twisted and intertwined to-
gether with the rattlers, as this ena-
bles them to keep warmer than If there
were only one or two.
AS the weather was cold the snakes
were numb and sluggish and did no,
try to run away, but lay there, with.
ing, kissing, hideous mass.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
PIGEONS PAY PRETTY WELL

Boys often raise few pigeons Just
for the fun of the thing, but they can
make money in the business as well.
1T does not pay to do anything half
way, and 1t does not take any more
time to properly care for 100 pigeons
than for dozen.
II a boy starts with pure bred
homer stock he can make profit Of at
least 81 per pair every year.
The great secret is to get good
birds, and only those that are mated.
IL lot of minated birds are put in
loft together there will be a deal of
fighting, squabbling and egg breaking,
and 1T may turn out that there are
more males than females, or the other
way
Never buy birds unless the dealer
will guarantee mates.
There is always a good demand for
squads, just as there is for poultry,
and the market is not overdone Game
is becoming scarcer every year and
squads are taking it's place.
1t costs about 81 year to feed q
pair of pigeons, and figh-class birds
ought to average six pairs of squads
every year. These should sell for SO
to $3.50. leaving a very decent mar
gin.
There is a great deal to learn about
SQUAD raising, and a boy should write
to several dealers to get all the in
formation he can.
Then he should write to some man
who is raising squads for market, who
will probably discourage him.
This will take some OF the enthusi-
| asna out of him, but will serve a good
purpose.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11

about from place to place and secure
their food. but plants must get their
food and water by sending their roots
gut through the soil.
The tiny roots which spread out
through the soil are busy all of the
time taking up water from the soil
for the use of the stalk and leaves
above. This water as 1t goes into the
plant through the roots carries with
it the plant food which it has dis
solved out Of the little soil particles.
All of the food which comes from
the soil must be in solution before 1t
can be used by the plant. The water
that goes in through the roots passes
out through the leaves into the air and
leaves the plant food behind to build
up the tissues OF the plant.
If the soil is hard and lumpy the
little roots cannot penetrate far into
it, but must feed near the surface. If
we have a deep mellow seed bed, the
roots are encouraged to go deep and
gather plant food from large amount
of soil.
The plant food in hard, lumpy ground
is not easily dissolved. Stirring the
soil and breaking up the clods brings
the water into contact with more soil
surface and hastens the solution Of the
plant food.
Thrifty farmers try to keep their soil
mellow and loose on the surface so
that it will absorb and hold water
enough to carry the plant through the
dry, hot part of the season.
The pictures herewith show an in
teresting way in which the rainwater
enters the soil and how it comes back
ton.
In the first picture the rain is soak
ing into the soil, passing down into it
by gravity. and is stored for future
use.
The second picture shows how the
water during dry weather moves up
to supply the plants On one side of
the plant mulch prevents the loss
of moisture, while on the other side
the water is being lost by evaporation
at the crusted surface.
The third picture also gives good
illustration of how moisture rises
through capillarity upward through the
dry soil.
When heavy rain falls the greater
part of the water passes down through
the soil until 1t reaches a place where
all the openings between the soil par
ticles are filled with free water. Dur
ing the time between rains the plants
must get their moisture from this sup
ply deep down in the ground.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
GARDEN WORK FOR LATE SUMMER

Keep the seed pods picked off, If you
want flowers.
Treat the lilac shoots as weeds. Cut
off all seed pods if you want flowers
next year.
Mulch the hybrid perpetual rose
bushes; keep the soil underneath moist.
Pull weeds.
Many perpetual boomers give bet
ter bloom in the fall If slightly pruned
in August.
Pick off all seed pods from the hol-
lyhock when they appear. The plant
will thrive better.
Cut away all but the strongest canes
half a dozen are enough to leave
on the climbing roses Prune the June
rose bushes.
Gloxinias. fuchsias and tuberous
rooted begonias are summer boomers
and should be doing their best now.
Let them rest during winter.
See that plunged pots are not al
lowed to dry out. Even in wet seasons
the soil inside the pot may become too
dry.
Oleanders, lemons oranges, hydran-
geas, chrysanthemums and nearly all
tub plants are best wintered in the
cellar. Keep growing now.
Keep the beds of tea roses mulched
well. Do not let the soil dry out They
are not at their best in hot months
but receive new life in cool weather.
Larkspur, peoples and pansies may
all be sown this month and the seed
lings treated as perennials.
The SCOT recommended as fertilizer
for garden plants is that from wood
ashes. Coal ashes has no value
| Too much water is bad for the heIio-
trope during hot weather. Aim to give
it just enough. 1t just glories In hot
weather.
| Water the sweet peas lavishly about
the roots and be generous with the
blooms. Allow no seed pods, If yor
want flowers.
/ Cut everlastings and grasses as soor
as the flowers are fully opened, tie II
punches, hang head down and dry In
the shade for winter boquets.
Fasten dahlias and other brittle.
stalked tall growers to some supper
4 to protect them from storms of wind
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
POULTRY WORK ON THE FARM

The man who said the best poultry
men on most farms are women knew
what he was talking about.
Board floors in the chicken house are
better than wet ground, but dry
ground is best of all.
White China geese are very gentle.
They are also good watchers in the
poultry yards, as any unusual disturb
ance lis soon told by the noise they
make.
A house Sx12 is a very convenient
size for a small flock of fowls If a
large flock is to be housed two or more
small ones would be better than a very
large house.
II you force your utility hens to mott
early you will be sure of good supply
of eggs in the winter when prices are
high.
Plow at least part of the chicken
yard up, spread a little lime over it
and SOW thickly with clover seed.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
MAKING MONEY IN THE FEED LOT

Regularity is perhaps more impor-
tant in feeding sheep than any other
animals, for they are naturally regular
in their habits.
With all classes of stock the value
of the feed is the same, whether 1t be
fed to the scrawniest of scrubs or the
best of full-bloods.
Barley is one of the best feeds on
the farm. 1t contains more protein
than rye, which contains a little more
protein than corn.
In bad weather Angora goats should
be fed some cheap hay or root crop.
If protected from the rains you will
be repaid by more and stronger kids.
When good weather settles your goats
will go back to their brush eating with
ravenous appetites.
After narrowing time feed ration
of ground barley and skim milk to the
sows. This makes a splendid milk
giving food.
A cheap and at the same time sub
stantial ration for brood sows, at the
present high prices of feed, is a mix
| ture of half corn and half bran and
| shorts.
II one has oats, half corn, one-fourth
oats and one-fourth bran and shorts
would make an excellent ration
| 1t has been shown by careful expert
ments that four and one-half pounds
of potatoes, when cooked, are equal
to one pound ofscornmeal for fattening
hogs.
The average market hog should
weigh 400 pounds at months of age
For the pig Q to months old protein
is the most important feed.
| Ground faxseed is an excellent sub
stitute for butter fat to be fed tc
calves. Use heaping teaspoonful tc
every feed of milk while the calf il
from to weeks old. provided you
are feeding skim milk.
AS the calf grows older gradually
increase the faxseed meal until ths
| calf lis getting about heaping tea
1 spoonful with each feed. This may bt
mixed with the milk, but never mi,
cornmeal or any other ground feet
4 that contains good deal Of starch will
4 the milk, as that is very apt to pro-
4 duce scours.
4 Starchy foods must be mixed witt
saliva before digestion takes place. ant
anything that is drunk with the mill
does not become thus mixed, and con
sequently it fails to become digeste,
and acts as an irritant 20 the aliment
4 airy tract
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
SILAGE MAKES GOOD BEEF
Should Be Fed With Cotton
seed Meal and Plenty of
Slower or Sweet Hay.

Farmers who use silage for carrying
cattle through the winter sometimes
make the mistake of turning them on
grass before it has attained any size
and when it is very succulent, as will
be the case in the early spring.
For grain feed corn and cottonseed
meal according to the prices mentioned
In your letter. Cottonseed meal con-
tains considerably more protein than
old process oilmeal and is cheaper than
the latter, and is as satisfactory a con-
centrate for feeding with corn to beef
cattle as can be found.
For cattle to be carried over, the ra-
lion should consist of two parts of cot
tonseed meal and one part of corn. 1t
Is not necessary to feed more than one
pound a day to commence with This
may be increased to one and one-half
pounds and up gradually to four
pounds.
The cattle should be weighed at least
once in thirty days. If they are not
gaining satisfactorily increase the
amounts of the grain. Cattle of the
size mentioned will not eat more than
thirty pounds of silage. ten pounds of
hay and perhaps ten pounds of corn
fodder per day.
The hay may be fed in the managers
and the corn fodder might be fed in
racks out in the yards, and the cattle
allowed to pick at it ad libitum. The
silage should be fed in two equal feeds
morning and evening, and the hay
salong in the evening, say or 8 O'Clock.
One can estimate the feed needed
pretty closely by weighing it two or
three times. AS a matter of economy
In feeding it will pay you to do this.
because most farmers who have at
tempted to utilize silage for feeding
beef cattle made the mistake of feed
ing about twice as much as is really
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
NOTES BY A WORKING FARMER
I
.gvap eNAItoG

Not all of us can be rich, but we can
keep out of debt, lay by a little every
year and have contented hearts. Many
rich men do not possess this little
asset.
When the spring rain makes the
ground soft dig out all the brush in
the patch of useless ground and plant
fruit trees. They will soon grow into
money.
1t is not a question of whether we
can afford silo, but rather can we
afford to do without one? Better plan
now for one.
Twenty acres of corn put into the
silo will supply thirty head of thrifty
cows for the year. Try it.
A little brain work in planning short
cuts in dairy work will save an inn
mense amount of time and big work
and time is money on the farm, as 1t is
elsewhere.
Is the boy getting bit restless and
talking of starting out for himself!
| Why not give him working interest
| in the farm and show that he does not
have to go away to make money and
become independent?
| The man with a crouch is the most
undesirable animal on the farm.
One big days work, with the boys
and the hired man to help, will put the
yard and the grounds about the house
in fine order The wife will be pleased.
| too
There is no good reason why man
should not go into debt for the farm
machinery he actually needs. provided
he knows how to use and take care of
it, We have. to make machinery take
the place of men in these times, and
rightly used it will pay every time.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
A TRAP DOOR FOR PIGS

In feeding pigs with older hogs it is
necessary to have a separate feeding
pen for the pigs.
The sketch shows how to keep the
older hogs out and also to prevent pigs
from entering pen while the troughs
are being filed
The hanging gate swings outward
only. 1t is held UP while the pigs enter
the feeding pen. and being light. they
can push it forward and go out at
will.
1t may be used to advantage in fat
tening hogs that run with the stock
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
SWINGING DOOR.

hogs. After putting out the feed the
feeder raises the gate and let's in those
to fatten, then let's it fall: all others
are kept out yet those in the pen may
go out when through eating.
This style of gate is also convenient
for the lamb lot where one uses a
creep. The gate should be just large
enough to admit a good-sized lamb.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
THE WORLDS NEW BUTTER RECORD

A Holstein COW, Grace Fayne Ids
Homestead, has broken the worlds
record for butter. She was tested by
the Cornell station in March last and
showed yield in seven days of 2S.44
pounds of butter fat. This is equiva-
lent to 1856 pounds Of commercial but
ter at so per cent fat. She is years
old.
Her owner, H. A. Meyer. Syracuse,
N. Y, says that he prefers not to give
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
is FARM WIFE'S LOT HARD |?
Compared With That Of Work
ing Woman in the City
It Is Easier.
BY CLINTON NJ. sHyLTz.

Does the farmers wife work too
hard? Is she a greater drudge than
the city housewife? Is her health
broken by toll more quickly than that
of the woman Of the city?
1t is a prevalent belief that as COM
pared with city housewife the
farmers wife has a harder lot in life
We do not believe 1t. 1t is true that
q farmers wife, particularly In her
early days of married life, works hard,
but SO must the wife OF city me-
chanic. The farmers wife works to
secure home and competence for
herself and her family and in order
that she may spend her declining years
in comfort and peace, while the life OF
mechanics wife from her wedding
day to her death Is, as rule, never
ending bitter struggle to make the in.
adequate income of her husband NEE
the demands of the family.
Very few mechanics working for da,
wages ever secure competency Il
care for them in their old age It /,
hard work down to the bitter end. ant
narrowest social limitations and com.
forts of every day life.
The farmers wife must rise earl,
and cook three meals day for hei
hungry husband and boys, but che hat
an abundance for her table growing
at her kitchen door and is rarely
obliged to economic In food Tht
mechanics wife must rise even earlier
| in order to prepare her husbands
breakfast in time for him to make
/ Journey of four or five miles or ever
greater distances in time to be at his
place when work begins, and often shs
is obliged to practice the most rigid
economy in order to provide food for
/ her table.
The farmers wife lives In a clean
4 atmosphere, in riot of sunshine and
/ sweet air, while the mechanics wife,
i often during her whole life. ID confined
to three or four small rooms to which
she must climb up long flights OF
stairs, and is only able to snatch an
occasional breath of air or feel the
suns warmth for an hour. in crowded
city park.
4 Modern conveniences can now be
found In thousands Of farm homes all
over the land. Equipped with bath
tubs, hot and cold water, acetylene gas.
4 telephones and every modern aid to
good living, the farmers home is far
more comfortable, on the average, than
the home OF the city mechanic.
4 Life In a city fiat Is depressing and
has a narrowing influence upon the
/ lives of women. The telephone and
J, the trolley have banished the isolation
under which formerly farmers wives
suffered and have brought them into
Z as close relation with their relatives
t friends and neighbors as that enjoyed
, by the wife of the city worker.
a
) Some farmers still sheer at science
in agriculture. They ought to be mads
5 to continue blowing with a crooked
! stick cutting their grain with sickle
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
WING INCREASES room

In order to keep this moisture in
the ground loose, light mulch on the
surface is necessary, and this Is pre-
duced by shallow cultivation.
The fourth picture shows how moist
ure is saved by frequent shallow culti-
walton.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11

her feeding rations during the test, but
her. general ration during the year is
is follows: Bran, 200 pounds; hominy
meal, 100 pounds, and oilmeal, 100
pounds-well mixed.
Mr.. Meyer says that he very often
turns his cows back to this ration
when they are on test.
The man who bitches his horse to
fine shade tree ought to be condemned
to hold the hitching strap in his teeth
-sntil he learns better.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-11
MUST KEEP WATER IN SOIL
SURFACE 77LLAcE DOES IT WHILE DEEP PLOW
FOR THE PLANT ROOFS

Plants are like animals in that they
must have food and drink or they soon
sicken and die. Animals can move