davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
POISON REMEDIES FOR POISONING

A most disagreeable accident which
(which may happen to you when out in
the woods, is poisoning by poison ivy.
q This is due to the. leaves or twigs Of
this plant touching your hands or
4 face or clothing. II you do not know
what poison Ivy looks like, get some
one to point out the shrub to you, and
then you should try to keep as far
away from it as possible. The leaves
@of this plant are Irregular, oval pointed
and coarse toothed They are always
lin groups of three. Never in groups
Ncf i've as some people seem TO think.
The plant, which sometimes takes the
form OF low shrub. sometimes a
graceful vine, and again sending out
horizontal branches like a tree. has
;Sclusters of small greenish white ber-
5ries.
Iss The poison is contained in an oil
ssgecreted by the plant, and which does
/ mot penetrate the skin very rapidly. If
zone thinks he has been exposed he
SHOULD wash the exposed parts with
ySalt water or hot water and soap and
\ afterwards battle thoroughly with al
cohol or listerine. If you know you
4 have touched poison ivy, Or even if
Il 1ou have been scrambling about in
woods or patches Of brush where ivy
u Id comomn, give your hands a good
washing and scrubbing with sand or
mud, If there is no soap at hand, in
THE first stream or pool you come to.
This may wash off the oil before it
4 has had time to get through the nat
h nra1 protective coating Of the skin.
Direct contact with the poison ivy
plant L. not always necessary to pro-
sduce poisoning. as the poison may be
transferred from clothing, gloves, and
implements. also from towels used by
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
EARLY FLOWING INCREASES
YIELD.

Repeated trials have shown that
early fall blowing gives much better
conditions for a crop of grain the fol-
lowing year than late blowing gives.
While August il Q dry, hot month and
other farm work presses. 1t 10 advis-
able to do az much plowing AZ pos
sible. On clean land no further treat
ment IL needed. On weedy land the
August blowing should be followed
by occasional disking or narrowing,
or by replowing In October.
Such treatment destroys many Of
the weeds and pulvsrizes tho soil. 30
that good supplies Of plant food are
available during the next season. In
addition. it gives longer plowins
season and q chance to do better
work. Early blowing and good plow-
ing are important steps in getting
better than tho average yield.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
MUSHROOMS AND THEIR CULTIVATION

bed will seldom fail az result Of d.
eases or insect depredations. Never
theless, every precaution should be
taken to avoid these difficulties. Some
Of the most common troubles reported
in this country are caused by Fog
ging off," black spot, fungous diseases.
mites, wood lice or SOW bugs" snails,
springtails and larvae Of flies
AS the result Of a serious case Of
mushroom poisoning In a mushroom
growers family recently, the mush-,
room specialists of tho United States
Department Of Agriculture have issued
, a warning to commercial and other
growers Of mushrooms to regard with
, suspicion any abnormal mushro oms
which appear in their beds. 1t seems
that occasionally sporadic forms ap
pear in mushroom BEDS persist for a
day or two, and then disappear. These
are generally manure-inhab biting spe-
cies and may be observed sh ortly after
! the beds have been cased. In the in
, stance cited, however, these fungi ap-
peared in considerable numbers at the
y; time the edible Agaricus campestris
should have been ready for the mar
| ket, and the dealer supposed it was
probably a new brown variety and
tried it in his own family. AS re-
suit, Ave persons were rendered abso-
lutely helpless and were saved after
several hours only through the assist
ance of a second physician who had
had experience with this type Of poi
soning.
In the opinion OF the Department,
this case is peculiarly significant and
! demonstrates that the grower must be
| able to distinguish Agaricus cam
pestris from any of the wild forms Of
s; mushrooms that may appear in the
beds. Under the circumstances, the
department strongly urges every
grower to make himself thoroughly
/ familiar with the cultivated species
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

tive organs for at the time one de-
velops tho other develops. But the
size Of the comb does not always prove
| to be a good guide In the selection OF
egg producers, but nearly every good
layer has a comb Of good size, variety
considered.
Many tests have been made by COM
pairing the birds in each pen. selecting
the two out of ten having the larges,
com BIS and the two having the small
est combs, while the other six are con-
sidered medium. OF course, there are
some strains which have larger combs
than others, but we consider the COM
parative test fair 70 all pens.
Comparing on a basis of 100 per
cent for the highest producers. the
average Of Is tests Of all varieties
shows medium sized combs 100 per
cent largest combs 80 per cent and
smallest combs 81 per cent.
The good layers usually have me-
dunn sized, well-developed combs.
while many Of the high layers have
| large combs, yet a large per cent OF
the noproducers have large combs.
which makes it unsafe to select from
size of comb alone.
Melting Test.
Questions are often asked as to
which Is the best hen, the one that
molts early or the one that molts late.
In order to determine this question
the month Of October was taken as the
month for observation. W
1t was noted that OF the hens which
molted early would not lay in October,
but the one which molted late might
continue to lay during this month.
It was noted that Of the hens which
laid the greatest number Of eggs dur
ing October 70 per cent of them were
the highest producers for the year.
All hens which laid during October
averaged 1T eggs per hen. while all
hens which did not lay In October
averaged 1853 eggs per hen.
The best layers mott almost all over
at once. which is done late in the sea-
son.
The theory Of this Is that the best
hens have circulatory and digestive
systems which are capable Of doing a
large amount Of work. and when con-
centrated on the building Of either
eggs or feathers the work Is done read
lily. This kind Of a hen continues to
produce eggs till winter forces her to
mott.
Although many of the points men,
toned are Of value to the breeder who
wants to improve his flock in a general
way by wedding out the nonproductive
yet the only method Of selection which
can be relied upon definitely is the trap
nest and the trap nest which catches
the hen and holds her till she Is re-
leased is the most satisfactory, for 1t
is Just as important to know tho egg
laid by a certain hen as 1t is to know
that the hen laid, for 1t Is in this way
that we are able to pedigree the chicks
when Matched. The trapnest 10 the
surest and best method Of selecting
the high egg producers. 1T IL advisable
to trapnest during the breeding season
a least
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

Hinder the most favorable circum-'
stances it is unnecessary and undeslr-
able to water the Mushroom beds ZOE
several weeks after spawning, or untA
thew are loaned or cased. II they
dry out rapidly and some water 10
necessary. it should be given as sur
face sprayine, for water in quantity
app Piled to the young spawn will almost
cause the latter to damp on
An examination Of the bed ABOUT
two weeks after spawning Is desirable
and If it Is found that the spawn Is
running" the beds may be cased with
loan. Casing consists in applying
layer of loan from 1 to l u inches
deep to the surface OF the bed. Inis
loan should have been secured some
time In advance and carefully worked
over or screened to get rid Of the larg-
est pebbles, Jumps. and trash When
applied 1t should be barely moist. Sub
sequently, If watered at all, 1t should
be merely sprinkled in order to pre-
vent any drying out OF the bed.
Neither a heavy clay nor sandy loan
should De used for casing purposes,
but almost any other soil Is good.
As already stated, the spread ding
spawn should receive no water, or,
at least, as little as possible. When.
however, the mushrooms begin to
appear, more water will be re-
quired. and q light sprinkling may
be given once or twice each week or
as often as the conditions demand.
Beds which come into bearing In
proper condition should never be
drenched. 1t has been found by ex-
perience that under the most favor
a BILE conditions a bed will require &C.
casional sprinkling, since. owing to
continued evaporation, there will be a
gradual loss Of water, at least after
| the mushrooms begin to appear
Sprinklings should be made after the
mus hrooms have been gathered. and
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

the loan disturbed by the reno II
Of mushrooms should always receive q
light sprinkling.
f., When a bed has ceased to bear, or
Is no longer profitable commercially.
it should be taken down and every
particle of the bedding and casing ma
terials removed from the cave, cellar
or house. The manure Is still valu-
able for field and garden purposes, but
it is wholly useless and even dangerous
for mushrooms because 1t Is not only
exhausted with reference to mush-
room growing. but may also harbor
the diseases or enemies of the mush-
room. When the bed is removed the
house should be thoroughly cleaned.
and, If possible, sprayed or fumigated.
IL conditions remain constant there Is
then no reason why another crop
should not follow Immediately. ~.
Under suitable conditions and with
the exercise of constant vigilance as
to general cleanliness, the mushroom
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
GRAIN FOR THE SKIM-MILK
CALF,

Calves are usually fed whole milk
for two or three weeks then gradual
ly changed to skim-milk. About the
time Of changing begin to feed little
grain, but do not think that 1t is nee
essary to use oil meal or any other
high-priced feed, high in protein. or
fat, or both. Experience at the Mis-
souri, Agricultural Experiment Station
shows that a mixture Of two parts OF
corn and one part Of oats, by weight,
gives as good results as oil meal and
rea dy- mixed calf meals often pur-
chased at much higher prices. Bran
is not especially good for the young
calf because it Is too laxative. The
gra in mixture should he fed imme-
diately after the milk, and neither
she uld be fed too literally or scourf
may result.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

Place the refrigerator in . shady
place where the air will circulate
around 1t freely. II buttons and but
tonholes are used on the canton
flannel instead of buggy hooks, the
cost should not exceed 50 cents.
A companion convenience to the
iceless refrigerator for the hot sum-
mer days is the nreless cooker, which
may be made as follows:
A wooden or tin lard pail. lined
with two thicknesses Of paper and
provided with close-fitting cover.
may be used for tho outside container
of the cooker. Allow for 3 inches OF
packing on all sides and at the bot
tom Of the pail A gallon oyster can
will serve very we'll for the nest,
which should be wrapped on the out
side next to the packing with asbestos
and 4 piece of asbestos placed under
the bottom to prevent the scorchins
OF the packing when hot soap-stones
are used. Shredded newspaper and
excelsior make a good packing. Pack
this very tightly around and to the
top Of the nest tho top Of which
should be about ) inches below the lid
of the outside container. A piece of
cardboard cut to At inside the lard
can with a circle cut out Of the center
around the top Of tho oyster can or
nest will hide the packing and make a
neat finish. Place = s-inch cushion OF
unbleached muslin. stuffed tightly
with excelsior, on top Of the lid OF
the nest. When the top of the out
side container is placed on and hooked
down, it will be tight enough to cause
a pressure. If tin pail Is used for
the outside container, 1t may be
enameled white, or wooden pail
stained brown, making . neat-looking
appliance for any kitchen. Regular
aluminium fireless cooker utensils
may be used for cooking the food in
the nest, but any kind of vessel with
a close fitting top and ono that fits
closely in the nest is suitable.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
Hot w Gather Helps
Homemade Fireless Cooker and lee
less Refrigerator Add to the Com
fort of the Farm Home.

Many homemade devices which add
members of the family are being
made and used ia demonstration work
on the farm with splendid results.
An iceless refrigerator may be SIM
ply and cheaply made which Is ex-
cellent for cooling milk or water. The
refrigerator consists Of a wooden
frame covered with canton flannel or
some similar material. 1t Is desirable
that the frarre be screened. although
this Is not absolutely necessary. Wicks
made Of the same material as the
covering rest in a pan Of water IN
top Of the refrigerator. allowing the
water to seep down the sides. When
evaporation takes place the heat Is
taken from the inside, with conse-
quent lowering of the temperature.
On dry. hot days temperature Of 80
degrees can be obtained in this re-
frigerator. The following description
will aid in the construction of this
device: ..,'
Make a screened case az feet high
with the other dimensions IL by Is
inches. II solid top 10 used, simply
place the water pan on this. Other
wise At the pan closely into the open
ing of the top frame and support 1t
by 1-inch cleats fastened to the inside
of the frame. Place two movable
shelves in the frame, IL to Is inches
apart. Use a biscuit pan IL inches
square on the top to hold the water.
and where the refrigerator il to be
used indoors have tho whole thing
standing in a large pan to catch any
drip. The pans and case may be
painted white. allowed to dry, and then
enamsled. A covering of white can
ton flannel should be made to fit tho
frame. Have the smooth side out and
button tho covering on the frame with
buggy or automobile curtain hooks
and eyes, arranged 50 that the door
may be opened without unfastening
these hooks. This can easily be done
by putting one row of hooks on the
edge Of the door near the latch and
the other just opposite tho opening
with the hem on each side extended
far enough to cover the crack at the
edge Of tho door, so a. to keep out
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
observations Made From Egg-Laying Contests
National
Poultry Station
Some Outside Tests Bearing On the Same.

With the progress of civilization and
- the country becomes more thickly
populated the methods of farming are
schanging from the extensive to the in
tensive, and as this change takes place
IL Is natural that the attention of the
farmer is turned to quality as we'll as
quantity. This rule applies to poultry
the same as any other farm product.
Ts The first step to improve the quality
OF poultry was the poultry show. The
poultry show has done much to estab-
fish certain characteristics in poultry,
such as size shape, color, head points,
etc. but the show had little or nothing
10 do with egg production, which, to
the general public, Is just as important
sas the show points
Following the poultry shows, but on
- parallel with them, were the egg
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

the plant. When there Is reason to
believe that there has been an eX-
posture to the poison, repeated wash
ing with warm water and strongly
alkaline soap as soon as possible is
advisa BILE.
There is no one remedy that will
cure all cases Of ivy poisoning, and in
severe cases a physician should be
consulted. Specialists Of the Depart
ment of Agriculture have found the
following methods and formulas use5
ful in many cases: At the outset
removal of/the cause of the irritation
nay be accomplished by cleansing the
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

4 aging contests In poultry show one
Sslearns the points in which one bird eX-
sells another from an exhibition stand
point but the lessons learned in an
aegg-laying contest are of a different
nature. These lessons deal with egg
\ production, housing, feeding. etc.
First Pullets to Lay.
ii Some breeders contend that the first
Spullets to lay make the best egg pro-
ducers. In order to try this test. the
4 pullets In each pen were taken as a
dock, for in most cases they were the
eDame age.
The order in which they began lay
Ting and the number Of eggs produced
4 by each hen are as follows: First to
Slay in each pen averaged $50 eggs;
Asecond, It's third, 1853; fourth. 1855;
NTH 1853; sixth ISL: seventh, 1872;
eighth, 1877: ninth, 14S: tenth. 1923.
It must be borne in mind that the
zen hens which were sent to the con-
hest were all selected from flocks and
were supposed to be very much alike
En- esq production, but the first hen In
more eggs in the year that the last one
No lay.
s1n0uence OF Change of Climate on Egg
Production.
Nj Many questions have been asked in
regard to the influence of the change
AOf climate on egg production and what
So6ect is produced by shipping hens
from the north to the south or from
the south to the north
ss At first thought one would think
that the relation OF the hen to climate
would be the same as the relation of a
U plant, 70 climate. For example some
Selaim that it makes a difference with
crops as to whether they get seed from
the north or the south and that to ship
Il hens either north or south would have
the same influence. but after giving
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL
HERBS. .

Among the industries being revived
In England IL the cultivation of med
cinal herbs. t,s
The old physic garden was part
and parcel OF old English country
life, but herb-growing died out in tho
nineteenth century, before the impact
of foreign competition. and today
most medicinal herbs are scarce and
some are unprocurable
Women who have gardens are be-
ing urged to grow badly needed herbs
II help make up for the shortage OF
drug: producing plants and keep down
the prices.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
HIGH-HEADED TREES
FOR COLD CLIMATES

The tendency among successful
apple growers at the present time is
toward the medium or low-headed
rec with the first branches about
three feet from the ground. Such
trees have many advantages and with
modern implements of cultivation can
be worked at much less expense han
formerly. In localities where deep
snow is the rule. rather than the ex-
ception, the tree with higher head
will, undoubtedly prove better adapted
than one headed at less than four feet.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
Danger From the White-Pine Blister Rust
In 1909 Immense Numbers Brought
Widely Distributed Before the
Presence Disease Them Was Discovered

blister rust can reach them only
through shipments Of diseased nursery
stock; consequently the supreme inn
portance Of preventing such ship
ments. All 5-needle pine stock should
be grown for seed In the general To-
cality where the trees are to rs
planted. Each state west of tile
Missouri River should Immediately
enforce an absolute prohibition OF tho
shipment Of 5-needle pines or of cur
rants or gooseberries from east OF
the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
Seed may be shipped with entire safety
so far as this disease Is concerned.
The Importance Of such state quaran-
tines can not be too strongly urged.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

| tHe SUBJECT muCn tnOugnt we tnlnk we
should not compare the two for the
| reason tina; the hen continues her
| growth and development throughout
the entire year, and her reproductive
powers are not limited to certain sea
sons as with plants. We note tina,
good egg yields are recorded in the
north during any one season and about
| the same records are made In the
south at the same time and hens sent
= from either place to the EXperim ent
Station are on about an equality in this
! respect
The pens from Africa. New Zealand
and Australia We're handicapped be-
cause they came from the southern
| hemisphere and in order to reach here
by November first they had to leave
during their spring season and come
immedia tely into our fall, the seasons
being exactly opposite. For this rea-
son they were necessarily hens or pull
lets developed in the winter. but in
spite of all that they we're not at the
| bottom of the list so far as climate Is
concerned. The records in this contest
| indicate that change Of climate has
temporary effect upon egg produc-
ton, but where kept for an entire year
in one place after the change 1t makes
little difference as to the kind of a
climate from which the hens come.
Much more depends upon the breed
ing.
/ We should always consider records
Of more value than theories, so we are
giving the record for last year, which
in general way tells omething of
the latitude the birds came from.
All hens from the latitude Of British
Columbia averaged 161 eggs: Michi-
gan to Massachusetts, 142: Iowa to
Pennsylvania, 1865; Missouri to vir-
glnia, 1853; Arkansas to Ala bama. 1853:
and Texas, 40, while the pens COM
ing from South Africa, New Zealand
and Australia averaged Jas eggs.
Breastbone Test
In order 70 find out the influence Of
crooked breastbones on egg produc-
ton, the same comparison was made
as follows: Straight breastbones
breast bones.
1t was found that the hens with
straight bones laid the highest average
number Of eggs, and considered at 100
per cent, the hens with slightly crooked
breastbone laid 91Go and the ones
with decidedly crooked breastbones
averaged SO per cent.
The Industrious Hens.
While We have no definite data on
the time each hen went to roost OR
came from the roost. yet observations
Of certain hens lead US to believe that
the best layer is the hen which Is busy
both early and late. We are not sure
which expression Is correct. The busy
hen Is a laying hem or The laying
hen Is a busy hem but are inclined to
believe that there Is some truth in both
expressions. so much SO that neither
expression should be used to the ex-
clusion of the other.
Location ON the Roosts.
A number of observations were
made to determine the location of best
hen at night while on the roost.
The roosts were on level the point
to be observed was to see if the high
i laying hens selected any certain place
| to roost relative to the front or back
This series of observations indicat ted
! that there was no difference for good
hens were found on all parts of the
roosts.
- Size OF Comb.
There Is evidently close relation
between the comb and the reproduc.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
POTATOES RUINED BY WRONG
-. $751;. PLANTING.

Potatoes, II planted shallow. take
longer to mature, and are not as Wig
orous, and do not give as big returns
per hill as II set deep enough in the
soil. The foliage is not as dense, or
as we'll colored. and consequently the
plant Is not able to Withstand drought
or recover from insect ravages.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14

the warm, outside air and retain the
cooled air. This dress or covering will
have to be hooked around the top edge
also. Two double strips one-half the
width of each side should be sewed on
the top of each side and allowed to
extend over about ~ or inches In
the pan Of water. The bottom Of the
covering should extend to the lower
edge of the case
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-09-14
NORMAL FOWLS.

Overgrown fowls are no better IN
any particular than those Of normal
size The breeding, lcare and selec-
ton designed for increasing size. had
better be devoted to the development
of laying qualities and table quality
inst cad of quantity.