davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
Mental House Cleaning.

The majority of people need a men,
tai house cleaning. Mental filth and
scum never contribute to clean living.
Learn to tackle big problems and con-
tribute your mite to the worlds prog
ress. When the mind sees things in the
right perspective you can build noble
structures on the concept. And as you
build the ideals will expand in scope,
taking breadth and altitude as the
mind dwells on "the worth while"
There has never been a greater chal-
lenge for men Of giant mind than now.
Yet so often what CLOVIS in promise is
little more than the effervescence of
fetid ideals. Men need the clean life.
Ut offers nothing it cannot fulfill. The
progress Of it may be slow, but it rises
10 heights never reached by men of
degraded mentality. You can reform
the past If you think and do right.
Step into the forefront and lead men
put of the present unrest into clean,
noble living that will exalt the nation.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
SNAKES ONCE WERE LIZARDS
They Have Undergone Form
# Evolution.

northumberland that word in
eludes almost all modern scientists
declare the snake, as we know it today,
Is merely the offspring of the lizard.
The family is traced back hundreds of
thousands of years to a time when one
Of the semi-sea monsters crawled out
On the land and elected to stay there.
Among the species was one with very
short legs. AS he numbered along over
the ground he discovered that by fiat
tening his belly to the ground and
working. his ribs that the leverage thus
gained helped him along faster.
He came to depend more and more
upon this method of movement and
nature took it's usual course in elm
mating organs or limbs not in use.
The low lizard lost its legs and be-
came crawler. AS the centuries
passed natural selection left these with
long bodies, as they could move faster
than the ones with the short bodies,
and therefore the breeding soon be-
came a matter Of length until the
snake as we know it today resulted.
Another species remained in the wa
ter a great deal but crawled about the
bottom, and from that came something
that we would today call a sea SER
pent, q creature about As or so feet
long, with wide and tooth-armed jaws.
1t has been extinct for many centuries.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
By aLieutenant
in the
United States Navy


" on use non-skid tires, don't your
L And rubber heels, and chew your
food, aud are careful not to stick head
or arms out of the window? Then
there's accident insurance. dentists,
and pure food laws to keep you out
of trouble.
But do you have a list Of things that
might happen? And do you keep that
list in sight? I've ten-spot says YOU
don't.
In the navy we do. Ammunition and
guns are of course the dangerous part
of our equipment, almost of our lives.
After years of experience and many
accidents we have been able to cata-
lOgue all the possible misfortunes that
might befall loading crew. We have
devised complete set of instructions
which, if properly carried out, consti-
tute stitch-in-time against all such
miss-stitches as fire, explosion, and
destruction of the ship.
This list is called the warship's
safety orders.
Almost the first safety order is that
they all shall be printed and posted
in every part of the turrets and near
all guns. Men must know them back
wards and forward, and one at time.
Men must know this safety first" cate
chism so perfectly that when the emer-
gency arises no instant shall be lost
remembering just what to do.
Safety orders are of two kinds, pre-
ventive and. stop-it-ive. The former
discourage the DEVILS visit. The latter
entertain him after he has arrived. OF
the former some samples are those in
regard to ammunition: Don't take
naked lights" into magazines. Don't
drill with 'live'-that is, loaded-am-
munitiOn. Don't expose too many
charges at one time-twO or three are
the limit with the big guns. Don't
handle shells and powder bags rough
ly-they are strong, but much stronger
If they go off in your hands.
Most care Is taken at the guns
themselves. After each shot the plug
man must sponge off his breech-block.
Suppose $50 lbs. of smokeless powder
are showed in for the next shot. Sup
pose the red-hot plug is swung home to
stop the powder. Before it locks the
whole mass may ignite. And the only
possible advantage that can come out
of such carelessness is the afternoon
off you may get while burying the
ashes Of your shipmates who were in
that turret. Safety orders say
SPONGE" And, believe me, we
SPONGE!
There are over 200 safety orders.
No more important set of commands
exists in the fleet No day passes
without some drill and instructions in
Guiding them. And the result is safety.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14


the nest, six Of us, little fuzzy chicken
hawks, only little babies! We were
as white as the snow in the winter
we've been told and we still are white
like snow which hasn't been on the
ground long they say!
IAN old rattlesnake was trying to
get into our nest. He wanted to kill
US and to take away our home.
"But the man who saved us saw
what was happening. He did away
with the old rattlesnake who was do
ing such a mean thing and such a
wicked thing and then when we were
safe he brought us home with him,
for they say we, the white chicken
hawks are very, very unusual.
"We're being fed on raw liver-de-
Thousand other nice and tempting
things. But let US always be CRATE
full to the one who saved us from the
Jaws of the old rattlesnake"
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
PLINY CREDITED WITH YARN
Ancient Roman Said to Have Origina-
ted Remarkable Story Concern
ing Habits Of Tiger.

According to Pliny, when hunter
wished to catch tiger cubs he must be
provided with a very fleet horse, and
have another In reserve. when the
tigress finds her lair empty she darts
forth and tracks them @by the smell
When she comes up to the hunter he
throws one of the whelps to her. with
which she returns to her lair. Then she
rushes back, and he throws another to
her; and this goes on till he reaches
his ship"
Equally interesting is the account in
the "PhysiOlogus' which explains that
"the hart desireth the water brooks"
because it had been inhaling the breath
of dragons. So having filled it's stom-
ach from the brook, it browns the
dragon out of it's hole and Stays it with
its antlers.
Unicorns seem to have given much
trouble in those days, and were exter-
minated in most unsportsmanlike
fashion. '"The hunters place virgin
near the spot where the unicorn has it's
abode. The unicorn, seeing her, runs
and places it's head in her lap, doing
her no HARM" This very natural &C
ton proves his undoing, for then COM
eth the hunter and killeth it."
Here is the reverse of the picture:
"But If she be not pure maid the uni
corn will not sleep, but killeth her."
This legend Is also carved at Chester,
England.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
His Collection.

There is curious game played by
educators, which consists in sending
questionnaireS to some hundreds, or
some thousands, of school children,
and tabulating their replies for the
enlightenment of the general public
The precise purport Of this game has
never been defined; but its popularity
impels us to envy the leisure that edu-
Gators seem to enjoy. A few years
ago 1,214 little Californians were
asked if they made collections of any
skind, and If so, what did they col
lect? The answers were such as might
have been expected, with one excep-
ation. A small and innocently ironic
hoy wrote that he collected "bits of
advice" His hoard was the only one
that piqued curiosity.-Agnes Rep
4plier, in Atlantic Monthly.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14

HERE is a strain of the mystic in.
i mariners which will never die.
For safety's sake they hold to mathe-
NAUTICAL precision when necessary. But
deep in the long night watches come
over again the old apparitions Of the.
sea.
Even in the navy this holds. There's
the thick main armor belt poured and
forged by formula. There's the nice
completely of the thermometer. There
are drop-fOrged cranks and pistOns,
and glistening oil-tempered torpedo
tubes.
Yet who has not heard the whisper
of fog on. the armor shelf? No doubt
Columbus knew that the lips of thick
weather ON it's way can always warn
the keen-eared ship captain. Though
the truth of the matter is that thick
weather comes with calm, and the
wash of sea alongside is then more
noticeable.
And who, in spite of thermometers
(wind velocity measurers), does not
know that westerly wind will work
evil with ones compass? Though the
scientific fact is that homeward
Founders into Queenstown started this
myth. They were right too. For with
weeks on westerly trades the earth's
forces induce "a slight new magnetism
into the ships iron and so works
evil with the compass needle"
There is the "well-known attraction
Of land on ships" which the old ras-
calls used to bring up in court after an
inexplicable grounding. They used to
get away with 1t too. But can you
imagine a better creed when one has q
fifteen-mfIlion-dollar man-of-war and a
thousand lives on ones hands than to
believe that rocks and shoals are draw
ing the helpless monster into danger?
Is there better spirit to keep man
eternally vigilant and alert?
Some old beliefs are very real. Local
magnetic spots are not devils holes
as was first supposed. Off Madagascar
and in several parts Of the South Paci-
fic are areas of iron-sand bottoms or
something Of the sort. British cruisers
have several times reported sudden
and extreme variations of their COM
passes at these points.
On the other hand equinoctial
storms March II and September 2D
are pure myths. So are weather
changes with changes of the moon.
And it's lunacy to believe that after
noon sights are less dependable than
those of early morning unless ones
grOg allowance is too great.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14

lied rock. It Is the most concentrated
form Of lime and, where transpOrta-
ton is an important factor, it may be
the most economical form to use. AIR
slaked lime may often be obtained
cheaply as waste product, and then
may well be used. But pulverized
limestone is used much more than any
other form In Wisconsin, and is gen.
orally the most convenient form to
use.
How Soon Does Lime Give Results?
If the lime is we'll mixed with the
soil it usually gives results the first
year. The maximum benefit usually
does not appear until the second or
third year, or even later. An acid
condition in an upland soil is usually
the result Of many years of teaching,
and an acid soil may be said to be
Economically sick" Lime is the spe-
cific which always effects a sure cure,
bat it takes several years. To apply
lime to the soil is to return something,
which has been taken away, for the.
limestone deposits come from the
teaching of the soil. These limestone
deposits are like the farmers manure
heap-bOth come from the soil, and
both must be returned If the soil fer
tility is to- be maintained.
Here Is the method of procedure:
(D Have the county agent, expert
ment station, or some enc else famil-
lar with the method, test for acidity
the soil that is to be put into alfalfa,
clover, soy beans, canning peas, sugar
beets, or other medium or high lime
requirement crop the coming year or
year later, and determine how much
lime, if any, is needed. Always have
the soil tested before buying lime, for
lining may not be needed
(2) If the soil is acid find out from
the county agent, experiment station,
or some other source where lime may
be secured most advantageously, and
apply it, preferably in the fall, to the
plowed ground. Otherwise apply it
early in the spring. Mix the lime thor
oughly with the plowed soil. Only In
case of emergency apply lime as top
dressing after clover and alfalfa fields
have been started.
90 Leave an unlimed strip and
watch results continuously from year
to year.
(4) Use phosphate and potash fer
tilizers with lime, where needed.
(5). When time permits have all the
fields tested, and if they are acid ap-
ply lime regularly to one or more
fields each year.
(6) In the course of five to ten
years retest the lined fields to see II
more lime is needed.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
CROW MADE SHIP ITS HOME
Treated Kindly by Sailors, Bird De-
clined to Leave Vessel When
Il Reached Port

Many years ago. as the whaling
ship Diana was returning from voy-
age In The Arctic ocean, her captain
and crew were surprised one day to
rec a crow, in a state of great exhaus-
zion, futter into the rigging. The
nearest land was more than 200 miles
away, SO such visitor was quite un-
expected.
With great care and gentleness the
bird was caught, and after receiving
rs much attention as any storm-tossed
traveller would require, it was offered
Its liberty again. But, though thor
Dughly restored to health and vigor, 1t
refused to leave the ship. With loud
eaws Of contentment it would hop
about the deck as though that were
its real home, and when darkness set
Tied down upon the ocean, 1t retired
into the rigging, there to roost as COM
fortably as any of its stay-at-home
Kelations among their leafy elms.
When the Shetland islands were
reached, the captain of the Diana sent
lis feathered passenger On shore, nat
orally thinking that this would be in
accordance with its wishes; but the
next day, when the ship was 40 miles
farther on the route to Hull, and was
quite out of sight, the sailors saw
dark speck In the sky which grew and
grew, till, to their establishment and
delight, the passenger they had left
behind f1uttered joyously on board.
eawing its satisfaction at reaching
home once more, if not reproving them
for giving it the slip.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
Unhappy Ant Queen Is Rossed.

Like hens, most species of ants
have a queen, and, not unlike human
queens, she leads an existence that
is not always happy. She is sur
rounded by courtiers, who, on the sur
face, are her humble slaves, and not
only feed her, but act as her escort
wherever she goes. But let the queen
where else than the spot picked by
the workers, and she soon finds out
that the state is greater than the in
dividual. The circle of courtiers that
surround her step briskly up and give
her sharp bites until she agrees to
their wishes and takes the path they
have planned.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14

financial hardships among farmers
arises from the natural tendency Of
the buyer to purchase as large a farm
as his entire capital will secure. This
results in Il struggle to get along with
out the buildings and equipment nee
esSary to make farming success
Unless some system of farm credits
is evolved tenantry will become prob
lem that the country must face before
many years, for the increase in ten
antry is constant, and any widely dis
tributed tendency in the wrong direc-
tentiOn.
The soil must be kept young, and
the simplest method of doing this is
to use the animal fertilizer incident
TO stock raising. The best way to
market corn, oats or hay is turn it
into pork or beef.
The size of the annual wheat crop
will probably not be diminished when
the present grain-growing farms are
turned to stock raising and grain
growing. because under proper rotation
the yield will be so much to the acre
that the average standard will be
maintained
Many American farmers are inclined
toward the national sin of waSteful-
ness. The care of their machines is
of the highest Importance. Yet costly
machinery stands outdoors exposed to
the weather all over the country.
The farmer has been wasteful of his
soil and Of his opportunities through
specialized rather than diversified
crops, lack of care in selection Of seed
and neglect in preparing and cultivat-
ing the soil. 1t will take time and ed
ucation to eradicate these practices.
But the change has begun. He is find
ing it profitable to be painstaking. AS
he adopts more enlightening methods
his net returns improve. AS every
branch of science is moving forward
to better things by gaining knowledge,
so it will be to the great advantage OF
our nation.-Cyrus H. Mccormick.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
States Duty to Its Settlers.

"The state owes duty to its set
tiers, and that duty should take the
form of service" says Dean Fl. L.
Russell of the University of Wiscon-
sin.
"a state can serve it's settlers" he
declares, "by inventorying It's land as
analyses, by showing improved meth
DDS Of land clearing processes, by
demonstrating best-adapted machinery
and materials, by providing expert
mental farms, by employing county
agents, by building good roads, by
supplying better schools, and by bet
tering the social life Of the farming
community"
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
BADGER FARMERS
FEED THEIR SOILS
Results Justify Liberal Use of
Lime, Which Corrects Acid
Condition.

Soils, as well as men, may be in.
disposed
When you see a field which, year
after year refuses to grow good
stands of clover or alfalfa, it will be
entirely safe to lay at least a part of
the blame on something or some one
else than the dealer who sold the
seed.
It will take but little time, labor or
money to find out whether or not you
are right in concluding that the soil is
acid and needs lime in one form or an.
other.
Soils, as you know, are made up
of a great many different substances.
But these can be divided into two
great classes: acid substances and
muriatic acid, acid phosphate are all
acid substances, burnt lime and caus-
tic potash are basic substances.
Nature Has Best Way.
When acid and basic substances are
mixed they always join together and
form new substances that are neither
acid nor basic, but are called neutral.
In most new soils nature has COM
bined these acid and basic substances
to form neutral substances.
In the cropping of soils the basic
substances are used and leached away
by the rain water much more rapidly
than are the acids. This results in an
over supply of acids, and then, of
course, the soils are acid. This is the
main reason why upland soils become
acid. Marsh soils become sour large
ly because the rotting organic mat
ter forms too much acid.
Lime Overcomes Acid.
Naturally if there is an excess of
acid the way to correct this condi-
ton is to add some basic substance,
such as lime which is the cheapest cor
receive we have for soil acidity.
Some crops, like the clovers and al
falfa, do not grow we'll On acid Soils
AS we need these crops in our sys
tenn of diversified farming we should
see to it that acid soils are corrected
It is an easy matter to know wheth-
er or not soils are acid. And, OF
course, If a soil is acid it is important
to know whether it is but slightly or
very acid. If it is not very acid, it
will need but little lime, but if it is de-
cidedly acid it will require much more
lime to get it back into good balance
Until recently we have been testing
soils for acidity by means of the blue
litmus paper test; this, for number
of reasons, was not as satisfactory as
is desirable. Recently a new test has
been devised at the Wisconsin expert.
nent station by the use Of which we
can tell not only If soil is acid, but
at the same time how acid it really
is. This test is fully described in
bulletin which will be mailed to Wis.
consin farmers who request it.
Lime, for correcting soil acidity, can
be secured in several forms. Burnt
lime, air-slaked lime, and pulveriZed
lime rock are the most common forms
used.
Burnt lime is the common lime used
IN making mortar. 1t is usually put
In piles in the field and allowed to
Stake before spreading. Fifty pounds
of burnt lime are equal to nearly 1OC
pounds of air-slaked lime or pulver.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14


listening" said the sixth little white
chicken hawk.
"A narrow escape" said the third
little white chicken hawk, lis when
an escape is just made, very, very
narrowly. 1t means that there is not
much room to escape, but if one is
very smart and spry and all such
things, one can just manage to es-
cape. There is no such thing as q
wide escape and If there were such a
thing it wouldn't mean much for it
would mean that an escape was easy
enough to make when there was so
much room in which to make it.
"Do you all see now" asked the
third little white chicken hawk.
1--WE always have SEEM" said the
first little white chicken hawk. "That
Is we have seen ever since we could
see."
That's funny joke" the others
said.
But you know what l mean" said
the third little white chicken hawk.
II mean that I hope you now all IN
derstand my explanation"
II do" said the second little white
chicken hawk.
$50 do l." said the first little white
chicken hawk.
II understand perfectly" said the
fourth little white chicken hawk.
"And I understand too," said the
fifth little white chicken hawk.
II also understand" said the sixth
little white chicken hawk.
"Good," said the third little white
chicken hawk.
But you tell of the narrow escape"
said the second little white chicken
hawk to the first little white chicken
hawk.
eyes," said the third little white
chicken hawk, ''you tell the story of
the narrow escape. In fact you didn't
really need an explanation of what
narrow escape meant. You were
the one who used that expression"
Eyes, understood" said the first
little white chicken hawk, but l
wanted the others to understand the
meaning of the expression too, and
you are always so good about explain
Ing"
THANK you," said the third little
white chicken hawk.
"Of course" said the first little
white chicken hawk, "they all know
about this escape and they know that
it was very doubtful there for time
whether or not they would escape,
They just didn't know the express,
sion"
"Tell us the story" said the third
little white chicken hawk, $50 that we
will ho nuorlact.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14


ingly grateful to
the man w h o
f GU n d us a n d
saved us and who
is now caring for
u.s."
II will tell the
story of our es-
cape, our narrow
escape" said the
first little chicken
hawk, in a squeal-
ing voice. "We
all know of it,
but it would be
well to tell it
again so we would
all be grateful to
the one who has
saved us.
flyYy ~ b
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14

" Hdt Is Tie
difference between
a narrow escape
and a wide eS-
cape?' asked the
second little white
chicken hawk.
"Oh, / know the
answer to that
= question:" sal d
the third ! little
white chick e n
hawk.
Tell it to us
all them" said the
fourth little white
chicken hawk.
by all means"
said the fifth lit
tie white chicken
hawk.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
Still Expecting Something.

Irate Father-in-Law-It thought when
you married my daughter you said you
had expectations. What are they sir?
I repeat, what are they?
Son-in-Law-Well, if you don't know,
sir. I'm sure 1 don't. / understood that
Transcript.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
Curse of Embonpoint.

'The prima donna refuses to sing"
whats the trouble?" asked the
vaudeville manager.
"She says she won't follow the aero
bats"
'"That's just like these song birds.
TIL bet she'd give ten years of her life
ito be able to turn a HANDSPRING
uBirmingham Age-Herald.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
Cinch II

Miss Mugg-f you were me- dear,
would you be married in the spring
or the autumn?
Miss Keen-If ! were you, and had
actually secured man, / would ar
range the wedding for the earliest date
possible.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-04-14
Containers Expensive.

1t is computed that from tenth to
a quarter of the cost of foodstuffs in
the United States goes to pay for
crates and other containers that are
thrown away instead Of being used
second time.-Brooklyn Eagle.