davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13
pAWVoLcAtNo2;mpa' m' I 1HfTc11L{EEpup7I00

Then the saddle girth broke and slid down to the ground. Floeckher lost first
 his hat. and in trying to find that his horse disappeared and he went along for
 time on foot.
 After a while we got the horse and
 started on again, finally reaching path on the edge of the woods after many
 climbs over logs. The wind had now died away and the guide used a candle, by which he finally brought us through guillies to a shed known as the Lecheria, perhaps two hours from the crater. It was now daybreak, but the clouds were thick on the volcano and the mist fell in drops like rain. It is strange how ones mind works at such times. My memory went back to the lessons of my boyhood, the committing of which one of my ancestors sainted United Pres byterian doctor of divinity, enforced upon his children to the second and third gen.
 eration and I found myself rehearsing
 parts of the xxiii Psalm, Rouse's version. You may remember the verse;:
 Yes, though I walk through Deaths dark vale,
 Yet shall I fear no i'll!
 For Thou art with me. and Thy rod And staff me comfort still" I also hummed that other fine Psalm
 which seemed to just fit into the occa- sion
 to the hills will lift mine eyes, From whence doth come mine aid, My safety cometh from the Lord, Who heaven and earth hath made. Thy foot He'll not let slide, l Nor will He slumber that thee keeps, | The Lord that keepeth Israel | He slumbers not nor sleeps. | Indeed, it would need the Lord to keep | any mans foot on the mountain of Poas, l if he had not one of the little Costa
 Rican ponies to lift him up and down,
 A Ride Which Would Surprise ROOse- | welt
 | I should like to see Theodore Roosevelt | try that ride. I am accustomed to the
 saddle and usually make an aggregate
 of 1000 or 1900 miles every winter over the
 bridle paths about Washington or in the
 mountains of Virginia. They are the smoothest of polo grounds compared to
 our scramble up this volcano. The ride | by daylight was even worse than that in | the dark. for here we could see the dan gers before us and the trail was far
 rougher. It was right through the mighty woods, and the greater part of 1t con- sisted of steps cut out of the precipitous
 hills, so slippery and. muddy that the ponies at times put their feet together l and slid going down them. No American horse would have risked it, but these Costa Rican ponies are like goats and | they seem to use their heads in their
 climbing. I verify believe, with the aid of | Bedouin guides, that they could easily make their way up the pyramids. and ! Floeckher who has never ridden before, | says that he will bet money he could ride
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13

Alajuela, Costa Rca. YHAVE just returned from the hardest
 volcanic trip of my life. As a boy, A before the cog railroad was built, climbed up through the lava ash of Ve- suvius and came within an ace of being killed by a change in the wind, which threw some of the red hot stones at my feet I know the volcanic mountains of the Hawaiian Islands and have climbed up the famous Tenger. the largest vol cano in Java. which has the Promo, an- other live volcano in it's crater. I have seen Stromboli and Etna in eruption and have made something of study of seis- mic conditions in the earthquake land of Japan. My other experiences, however. were nothing like the climb up the Poas volcano, which included ride of more than IS hours in the saddle of Costa Rican pony over what I believe is one of the widest and hardest mountain trails of the world.
 Poas and Its Geyser
 I doubt if many of you have ever heard of old Poas. Nevertheless it Is one of the most famous volcanoes of Central America. It belongs to the volcanic belt of Costa Rica, which includes Tur- rialba, over two miles in the air; Orosi at the extreme north end of the country
 
 high and has had half dozen eruptions. accompanied by earthquakes which have been felt in the city of Panama
 The Poas volcano has two or more craters and each Is over a mile in cir conference It has one which is on the very top of the mountain filled with a sheet of blue cold water anG surrounded by semi tropical vegetation It has an- other which is as ragged and bare as the shores of the Dead sea and down which shoots up the greatest geyser on earth. At times this geyser spouts every few minutes. At other times it is quiet for long period and again it will throw a column of sulphurous steam thousands of feet Into the air About two years ago 1t shot up great volume of mud, vapor and rock to height above it's surface of more than two and one-half miles The distance to which the column reached was estimated at over 13,OO0 feet. At the top the steam spread out like a mighty umbrella over the mountain, and stones as big as cannon balls fell breaking trees and limbs and going deep into the ground. At that time there was an earthquake which threw down many of the buildings of San Jose and this was followed by second earthquake several months later by which the city of Car tago was brought to the ground and about 600 human beings killed in the ruins.
 A Night at San Pedro
 The first part of our journey was not extraordinary for Costa Rca, but it would have been worth a description had
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13
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1 it been made farther north The party
 consisted of myself and stenographer, Mr Carlisle Floeckher; my interpreter, l Mr De Soto, and q guide whom we 1 picked up at San Pedro. We came from | the capital, San Jose, to Alajuela on the l railroad a distance of about 20 miles, and there packed our outfit on horse
 back We had raincoats. blankets and sleeping bags, for we were expecting to
 be out in the open with the winds of the Andes bowling about us. We wore l heavy clothing and had on our pajamas
 over our underwear and also chamois ] Jackets inside our coats Our blood is | thin from our stay in the tropics and we needed all we had on when on the top I of old Poas to keep us from freezing | Very fortunately. however, we were l able to dispense with our sleeping bags | by staying at a little inn at San Pedro. about two hours ride from this point, | and starting from there at o'clock in 1 the morning. I shall not soon forget that | night at San Pedro. My flesh Is soft from | the spring mattresses which Uncle Sam | furnishes at Panama, and the San Pedro | bed was a board. There was no light l but a candle. and so we lay down at about o'clock. I counted the hours | rung by the church bell until midnight, and then dropped off by taking the GOV | CTS and laying them under me to soften l the DoardS.
 The Stars of Costa Rica
 i It was just o'clock in the morning when the guide called us, and half an hour later we had had cup of hot coffee and were on our way up the mountain. We rode at first through the starlight. We could see the Great Bear turned up- side down as it seems to be here, at this hour. and also the Southern Cross at the other end of the heavens. Tine stars were wonderfully clear. The milky way shown brighter than at home, and the whole vault of the sky with it's myriad points of diamond-light fitted close down over the mountains. Indeed, the night was so beautiful that it reminded me of that line where in Marlow's pr. Faustus he speaks of the charms of his lady love: ''Oh thou art fairer than the evening air. | Clad in the beauty of thousand stars" |
 But had Marlow been on Poas he would | have made that thousand millions. The | whole sky was peppered with stars, and | each one seemed a planet.
 Shortly after we left the hotel we had l a magnificent view of this valley of the | upper Andes, in which Alajuela, San Jose | and other towns lie. San Jose was light | ed by electricity, and it seemed a great | golden lake on the star-lit expanse below | us.
 For the first few miles the road was | fairly good We passed through sugar and coffee plantations. and by rude fac | tories where with lamps or candles the l
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13
Rea1 Ron1a,1ces Of the Business World
 The Start of Theatrical Reuoution

many artistic successes as some man.
 agers have to their credit, but as the father of the 10. 20 and 30 playhouse he has the satisfaction of knowing that he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13

men were already grlnuing the cane. They start at 1 o'clock in the morning and at about have enough juice to boil down for the day.
 Climbing Up the Volcano
 So far all was peaceful enough and as we rode rapidly along on our Costa Rican ponies I thought of the remark of the British consul at San Jose that the ride was a hard one and I rather sneered at his judgment, saying to Floeckher, 'Why, my boy, this Is a cinch. It is like riding a rocking horse over the Washington as- phalt"
 I was soon to find my mistake. We shortly left the road and took a trail over the mountains. Senor De Soto, who venture Is a descendant of the man who discovered the Mississippi, and the guide, peon named Roja, agreed that we had better take a short cut over the hills as it was too dark to go through the woods. We did this and came at once into a series of ravines and gorges so deep that we could not see our horses heads in front of us..
 In the meantime the clouds had ob- scured the stars. 8 mist rose and the cliffs seemed to extend up on all sides. We forded several streams, and I was warned to put only my toes in the stir rups lest in case of fall should be
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13

has brought the theatre to more millions of persons than any other man in his- tory.
 Copyright, 1912, by Richard Spillane.)
Evening journal., 1912-04-17

ice and snow. In spring people are
urged to put up nesting boxes where
the birds may make their homes and
rear their young. In summer these
little feathered neighbors need human
protection to shield their young from
the attacks OF cats.
Are you going to join the ranks Of
the bird protectors of this landg II
you are Now is the time to show your
loyalty to your feathered friends.
Make some nesting houses and get
them up at once. The song birds are
here and they are beginning to look
for places to build their homes. Il
Isn't difficult to make nesting boxes.
Once the birds have discovered them
they will begin TO collect material
with which to line them and make
them soft and "comfey" for their fam
lies.
Any small wooden box may be con
verted into house like the one shown
in the illustration. Use thin, smooth
boards for the roof. Notice he board
placed below the house. This is &c
keep the cats from climbing up 10 ths
birds home. The other house is mad.
by following out large tree limb and
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
EXPERIMENTS IN GOOD ROADS
Present Efforts May Lead to Dlsoov-
cry Of Binding Material That
Is Quite Essential.

The efforts to obtain a durable bin.
der for road material are not without
value, becauce they clearly show what
to avoid, and may, by the slow pro
cess of elimination, lead to the dis
covery of the binding material that is
so essential to road making at the
present time.
There is nothing yet known in this
country. nor yet In France, where
system Of $4,000 miles of federal roads
is under constant, scientific super
vision, tina. will Withstand the double
effect OF horsedrawn vehicles and
pneumatic-tired motor cars. But II
there is any combination that will
meet these requirements. It is certain
10 be brought to light some day. and
by Just the kind of experiments made
in Camden and elsewhere. says the
Newark News.
In Vermont and In Massachusetts,.
where crushed stone is abundant. the
roads that are made OF good gravel
appear TO be giving good satisfaction.
In the first place, they have the very
decided merit Of being much cheaper
than macadam roads. and they seem
to require less scientific and less cost
ly repairing And in addition they
are not so dusty as the mscaes am
when the latter has been subjected to
heavy traffic and the wear and tear
of automobiles.
Gravel roads are also said to be
gaining in favor in Pennsylvania, but
the difficulty is to find gravel depos-
its large enough to meet the require
ments of extensive road building and
repairing Where good gravel can be
had the contention is that the state
can get better results by using 1t than
by spending much more money for
macadam. Be that as it may those
whose memories go back beyond the
time of improved road building in this
state remember that the roads were
always fairly good in districts where
gravel was abundant and was freel.
used.
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
CULTIVATION OF PEACH TREE
Should BE Kept Thrifty and Healthy
and Care Used to Conserve All
Moisture Possible.

II is very essential 70 take the very
best possible care Of the young trees.
They should be kept thrifty and
healthy, and all necessary care given
them to conserve the moisture and
plant food In the soil
Early in the spring. as soon as the
soil will permit. II should be stirred
6 70 S inches deep; thus. II the trees
have been planted as deeply as they
should, piowing this depth will cause
them to produce a deep root system
which will not be Injured as quickly
by freezing or drought. After this
plowing the fertilizer should be ap
piled and worked with a disk harrow
or oultivator.
Frequent civilizations should be
given with the cultivator or disk har
row, running deep enough to form a
good soil mulch. and prevent subse.
Quent baking or crusting Of the sur
face and prevent loss Of soil moisture
by evaporation. Thorough culture
kills all the weeds. which are a con.
slant drain on the soil moisture and
plant food, and also assists in de.
composing and liberating any plant
food which may have been turned un-
der.
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
BALANCING THE cows RATION
Desirable to Furnish as Much Rough
age az Possible Because II 10
Cheapest Food.

In making up ration for cows It is
desirable to feed as much roughsge
as possible because it is usually the
farmers cheapest feed. However,
the capacity of the animal is limited,
and we must be ruled by common
sense.
II is possible to balance a ration in
protein, carbohydrate and fat with
only coarse dry roughsge which the
COW would not be able to consume in
large enough quantities to produce a
reasonable amount Of milk. It is easy
70 balance a ration of grain alone
which is also undesirable
The ration should be balanced in
amount of roughage and grain as we'll
as in protein. carbohydrate and fat.
The amount of grain by weight should
rarely equal the amount Of dry rough
sge and should usually be less than
one-half. This does not apply where
such roughage as silage is fed, be
cause silage contains more moisture
and weighs heavier than other rough
age.
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
MANURE LOADER is USEFUL
Device ls Arranged to Take Up tho
Material and Hold II Until Re-
leased Into Wagon.

In describing a manure loader. IN
vented recently by c. Elsasser Of
Manhattan, Kan, the Scientific Ameri-
can says:
The apparatus illustrated herewith
in a side elevation shows the lever
and connected parts in position there
held when II is hauled forward to take
up the load. and is for use in taking
up and loading upon wagons manure
or offal found in yards or corrals. A
vertical frame is mounted on wheels
and adapted to be hauled by a team
attached to the rear vertical post OF
the frame, the same having a caster
wheel to enable the frame to be read
lily turned to right and LEFT. In front
is a long beam constituting a. lever
which swings vertically in the frame
and whose front end is provided with
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
NoTFs
-ss-lss--s=Ysl-.E .Ea6 - ~ =

A laying hen requires more water
than food.
Don't let. the COWS out in the storms
to stand around. 1t doesn't pay.
The COWS that produce the largest
amounts Of butter fat do it most eco
nomically.
The calves should by all means be
kept in clean. we'll lighted and ven
tilated stables.
A gallon of cream testing 75 per
cent. should churn a little over two
pounds of butter.
The object OF COW testing and keep
ing record to improve the herd and
increase the output.
The thermometer must be used as
regularly in the dairy during the
summer as during the winter.
Braa is a very good feed for COWS.
Il is light, palatable and rich in min
eral matter, especially phosphorus
BY intelligent breeding and care,
most Of the dairy herds can be
brought up to double their produc.
ton.
The spread between the common
end good cattle keeps widening all
the time, as good cattle are getting
scarcer.
BY kneading and rubbing the teats
a good form may be given this organ
and future milk secretion be much
increased.
Prof Smith of the Nebraska sta
tion believes that corn fodder is one
of the most economical feeds for fat
! tsning steers.
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
IMPORTANCE OF THE BARREL
Business Part Of Dairy Cow Should
Be Well Rounded and Lone-Legs
Should Curve Out

The barrell is the business part Of the
COW, hence it should be well rounded
and long. The ribs should be far
apart and we'll sprung. The back
should be long and slightly arching.
The long tail is simply an indication
of a long spinal column. The legs
should be curved out. in order to give
ample room for the udder between.
This should be square. well set behind
and extending we'll forward. The teats
should neither be too long nor too
short, and set square on the four quar-
ters The texture of the udder should
be like that of a soft glove. so that
when it is MIXED out, it would col
lapse. The whole form should be
wedge-shaped. No one of these points
taken alone is a safe guide; taken
collectively they are safe to indicate
a good COW,
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
RESTING PERIOD FOR A cow
From Six to Eight Weeks Is consld-
cred About Right for Good Dairy
Animal, Says Hoard's.

II is considered better for a COW and
her calf to give the COW rest be-
tween her periods Of lac'ation, Says
Hoard's Dairyman. From six to eight
weeks is considered about right for a
good dairy COW. 1t is not wise, how
ever. to force a persistent mixer dry.
Care must be taken at this pc
riod or there is danger of the udder
becoming caked and permanently in
jured.
With a COW that persists in giving
milk 12 months in the year it is
well to decrease her ration and give
her nothing but dry feed when she is
nine and a half months along in her
period Of lactation-that is, if she
has been bred TO calve 12 months
from the beginning Of her period Of
lactasion. AS a rule, 1t is not dihieult
TO dry a COW off if proper attention
is given at this period.
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
Good ROAdS
q Farm Notes

Test your seed corn before plant
ing.
Cold water is practically useless for
removing bacteria.
Weeds cause an annual loss of many
millions of dollars.
The best fertilizer for the garden is
rotted stable manure.
Coarse manure from the horse stable
Is the kind to put in the hotbed.
Good seed is one Of the important
factors in the production Of good
crops.
When rhubarb grows rank and spin
ding It needs thinning out and work,
ing over
The silo correctly. used will solve
the question Of profit from 800 an
acre land.
The silo is the only safe and sure
way and the cheapest way to handle
the corn crop.
Generally speaking. the depth to
plant should be fcnr times the diam
eter Of the seeds.
Know whether a plant requires a
situation dry or moist. hot or cool.
sunny OF shady 10 know where to put
that plant.
There are very few farms on which
additional labor expended in preparing
the seed bed would not yield hand
some returns.
Rotation Of crops is one Of the sim
pie. practical methods Of increasing
the productivity of the farm and dis.
tributing labor
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
HORTICULTURAL
Sals..a1g NOTES

Discover and destroy brovn-tail and
gypsy moth nests.
Cut down all dead trees, as we'll as
decaying branches of live trees.
II leaves strew the lawn do not re-
move them They protect the grass.
Paint all wounds made in pruning
with pure white lead and pure linseed
oil.
The fungicidal value OF lime-sulphur
is increased by the addition Of arsen-
ate OF lead.
In setting out Strawberries pinch on
most Of the leaves and the plants will
take hold better
When spraying. If showers come
and wash off the poison, spray those
trees a second time.
Healthy foliage held late In the sea
son enables the trees TO build stronger
buds for the next crop.
Peach trees should be planted IA
feet apart each way. 270 trees per
acre. and on sandy soil.
Strain all spray materials through
a good, fine strainer. II avoids clog
ged nozzles and wasted time.
II in doubt as to what variety OF
strawberry to plant this spring let us
say a word for Senator Dunlap.
The selling OF fruit is business;
therefore. to do It most successfully,
business principles must be followed
On cold days one thinks of the
wind-break. Why not plan to set oui
grove this spring that viii make {
wind-break?
Spray your trees whether they hav'
a crop or not Spraying in on year
is just as important as In years o
heavy crops.
Evening journal., 1912-04-17

WELL DEVELOPED CASE OF cLUBRooT.
loose. The earlier the plant is infectes
with the disease the smaller Is sssS heA.
produced II the diseased plant f
pulled up one finds that It has q swol
en- and contorted root in place Of th'
ine fibrous roots Of the normal plant
This explains the willing when one re
members that the soil and its dissolve'
food substances are taken up througl
the dbrous roots. When the plants ar
infected at the Seeding stage they or
usually killed before the season is hal
over and the infected areas may b
seen entirely bare Of cabbage Th'
swollen. contorted roots. which hav
robbed the plant OF its food material
begin TO decay IN the soil in the latte
part OF the season and continue tn
process Of decay. aided by frosts ans
soil bacteria. so that nothing Of them
seen the following spring. The disess
is caused by fungus. and the follow
ing methods of treatment are recon-
mended.
Avoid introducing any material int
the field which may carry the germs O
the club root from diseased fields
Guard especially against diseased sol
aud diseased cabbage plants.
Practice crop rotations which will al
low at least three years between crop
OF cabbage. rutabagas or turnips.
Apply stable manure TO the croE
which precedes cabbage. but not TO th'
cabbage crop itself II acid phosphat'
is applied the same rule would hold.
Lime viii more successfully counter
act the club root disease than Other
substances Apply it at the rate Of no
bushels or more per acre one or tive
years previous TO planting the cabbage
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
Z arm 0no
Garden
CABBAGE ROOT DISEASE.

Vlroinia's Experiences and Advice on
Msthods Of Combating Pest.
In describing the cabbage ciubrooi
disease. which has inflicted injury on
the cabbage growers OF Virginia, tbs
agricultural experiment station Of the
state says
When a Geld Is badly infected with
this disease It may appear at the seed
Ling stage as dwarhng Of the youns
plants. but the fields are not usually
badly enough infected the hrst seasoi
to manifest the disease until the cab
bage is half grown. In districts wher'
the disease has Just begun TO get .
foothold the grower notices that th'
plants which are being infected show
tendency TO wilt on bright sunny days
although at night they recover and DE-
not wilt on the following day unless 4
Is again bright and warm Such plant
may succeed in making enough growtt
TO produce a salable cabbage, although
II is somewhat understood and slightly
Evening journal., 1912-04-17
- hMkrgesnnd

mite before the trees are planted. 80
that the roots can get down through
the impervious layer Of soil. It has
recently been found that this is the
cheapest and most effective way Of
preparing holes for these trees
l have found from experience that
10 cents worth of dynamite, in blast
ing stumps OF digging holes for trees
will do more than so cents worth Of
labor. BY using from one-half TO o
whole stick OF 40 per cent. dynamite
placed about four feet deep, an imper
vious subsoil or hardpan can be crack
ed up and loosened for several fee
around.