smithclay/nortonstories huggingface dataset:
Year: 1876

three or four dollars to Get ready for use.
1t is continually broken, and considerable
portion of the working time is lost in patch
ING the thing. The tarm-nen work from
sunrise to sunset, the actual day being about
the same as ours here in Philadelphia, though
the climate is much warmer than ours. For
all this long service the compensation is
twenty-five cents per day, and at harvest
time they get q half bushel Of wheat extra.
They grind their own corn, mixing wheat
and maize together, making a sort Of black
bread, which is eaten with onions or cactus
berries. and this forms almost their sole food.


We talk about our taxes, our corruptions,
our robberies by men in public positions,
who in some respects instead Of our servants
become our masters. We are bad enough
in these respects, we may be even worse
than we are thought to be, but we are a long
way from being in a condition like this.


We take up this Palestine case because it
represents a very different phase of civiliZa-
ton to that often referred to. We look at
Italy, Spain, Ireland, and similar places
which are under a severe theocracy, or else
to those countries where drunkenness, MUIR
der, robbery, Or similar crimes prevail, and
look to the existence Of these facts as the
cause of the want of progress; but here is
people who are free from these particular
vices, and who are not so despotically ruled
as regards mental choice, and who, in so far
as their material prosperity is concerned, are
just as bad as they.


The American farmer has his troubles
He does well when he tries by every means
in his power to make these troubles less
but with all the worst of these he is a thou
sand times better off than the farmers o.
other countries, whose system of govern
ment is so very much inferior to his own.-


Germantown Telegraph.
Year: 1876

for winter use. Some people prize the shall
lot for picking. If planted in the spring
they do well, but are not ready for use as
early rs if set out in the fall


The most pungent Of all the family is the
garlic. 1t seems as if the essence of whole
bushel Of onions was concentrated in one of
its little bulbs. The root or bulb is compos-
ed OF dozen small bulbs called ''cloves."
Garlic is so much used in the south of Eu-
rope, that the American traveller at first gets
the idea that everything he eats and drinks
has been favored with it. The little cloves
are planted in the spring six or eight inches
apart, and in August the tips will die, when
the bulbs are ready to gather. They grow
the best in light, rich soH.-Tch's Floral
Guide.
Year: 1876

There are good many members OF that
respectable family so celebrated forfragrance
we mean the onion tribe. Some of them,
of course, are well known and appreciated,
as they are very likely to be for they have
apeculiar way of attracting attention, though
they may be too modest to speak for them
selves. Others are not so popular, though
perhaps not unworthy Of a passing notice.


The leek in many countries is quite extern
sively grown. In America it is found in the
markets of our large cities, and in some par
ticular sections, but generally in the country
is almost unknown. The leel is very handy,
bearing good deal Of freezing when in the
ground, without any injury, and therefore
in climates not too severe is allowed to re-
maid in the ground during winter, to be
gathered as needed. This, of course, makes
it very desirable in many localities. In very
cold climates it is taken up before winter and
preserved in earth, about like celery, though
not needing so much protection. The leek
forms no bulb, and the thick stem, which is
the part used, must be blanched by earthing
up The leek is priced for soups, and is Of
ten boiled and served as asparagus. Culture
as for common onions.


Chives is small and not very important
member of the onion tribe, quite hardy ev-
erywhere, and will grow for years from the
same bulbs and in the same spot. In old
times it was the custom to make little bor-
der of chives among the herbs The leaves
are as slender as fine as a knitting needle,
and appear in punches early in the spring,
and are cut and used in the raw state, and
may be shorn several times during the spring,
1t is propagated by divisions of the root.


Shallots are somewhat similar to chiyes.
but larger and better, the roots being quite
hardy, they are kept in the ground during
winter, and in the spring one bulb will sep.
arate into half-a-dozen or more. They are
then taken up, diyided, and bought and sole
as Young onions. The shallot ripens about
the middle Of summer, and can then be takel


up to be planted in the autumn, or retained
Year: 1876

We have noted frequently, as the occasion
arose, how far superior the American farmer
is in every respect over the European; and
how much of this superiority is due to the
maintenance of purely American Institutions.
The subject presses itself continually on our
attention, in connection With events as they
almost daily rise. Here is a letter before us
from Palestine, giving graphic account Of
the agriculture of that region. The people
themselves, setting aside their peculiar views
and practices, are by no means q bad set.
They are remarkably sober; indeed, they
affect a contempt for European civilization,
on account of the prevailing drinking habits
of those countries. They are honest to a
remarkable degree. and then their industry,
in their own peculiar way, is far superior to
that Of Italy, Spain, or some other south
European peoples. And then land is COM
paraJiyely cheap. In many places it requires
irrigation; but on the whole the natural ad-
vantages are really superior to much that
we have in our own western country, While
the moral element in many respects is equal
to what we often find among the pioneers of
the far west.


But there is nothing to stimulate ambition
nothing to make a man look higher. He is
born a laborer, he is a laborer, he must die
a laborer. Every man must know his place,
apd he must keep it. There can be but little
invention in society like this. The rulers
are satisfied, the rich are satisfied; that is
they may grrmble and fret, but they have a
sort OF an idea that the sorrows and suffer
ings are all right in the sense that what is to
be will be, and so they must endure without
effort for any better things 1t may be that
the merchants are satisfied, though this
would be a remarkable phenomenon but
these are by no means a numerous class, and
are confined chiefly to those who send the
farm products to England and bring back
for the richer ones those goods which En-
gland loves so well to sell, but which these
Palestine people might just as well make fol
themselves if their civilization would lei
them understand it,


So we find farming pretty much as it wa:
in Noah's days. Wheat is mostly brough


in on the back Of camels, and trodden ou


by the feet of mules, though here and there
two and three horse threshers have been in
troduced from England. Maize is cut OF
below the ears, and the grain tramped ou
in the same way. The best farms now hav
at least the modern fan for blowing out tn
chatf. The granary is simply a hole dug il
the ground, and lined With chaff to keep on
the dirt. The English plows are yet unpoI
ular. They cut forked stick. On one en-
of the fork they put a broad iron shoe, lik
cultivator-tooth, and a pair of oxen ar
hitched to the end Of the other fork, and tn


plowman takes hold of the end beyond whel
q the forks unite. The clumsy thing weigh
'F about thirty pounds, and even these co;
N
Year: 1876

THE prime business of agriculture is to
produce desirable plants in sufficient album
dance, of the best quality and with the great
est economy. 70 do this with the highest
success and with that rational intelligence
which is generally supposed to be distin-
gushing characteristic of the lords of crea-
ton, demands q knowledge of vegetable
anatomy and physiology, far more intimate
and thorough thanh has ever yet been attained.
Year: 1876

.. WHEAT.


Two copies of the Mark Lane Erpress,
lately received, as also circulars of grain
dealers in London, quote Oregon wheat as
bringing higher price in the English mar
ket than California club. We feel confident
that some misunderstanding exists in the
continual quotation, in direct dispatches, of
California club at an advance over Oregon
wheat. These copies of the Mark Lane Ec-
press bear date in December, at the very time
when these quotations have been received.
The direct dispatches are evidently correct
in other particulars, and we do not believe
that any intentional error is made in what
we object to. The news received is impor-
tant, and we are glad to credit the Oreqonian
with the effort to furnish prompt and reia-
bic intelligence Of the markets, and we refer
it to its files Of the Marx Lane Erness for
proof that cur objections are we'll taken.


In these late reports only one variety OF
wheat in the whole range of the market is
quoted as worth more than Oregon wheat,
and that's acertain variety produced in Aus
tralia. We are happy to be able to state
that the Salem FIGURING Mills Company,
Francisco agent, has purchased one hundred
bushels of this particular variety of Austria
liam wheat, and that it is now on the way
up here. The intentiOni is to have this wheat


well sowed by some good farmer who will
give it the best possible show, and so test its


adaptability to our soil and climate The


peculiar excellence that secures it a better


price is its strength-the flour made from it


being stronger and more lively. If it sue


ceeds here, we can raise and import seed and


cultivate it here in any desired quantity.


MEASURING HAY.-Please state by what
rule it is customary to calculate the quantity
of hay (timothy, or other kind) and straw
in any given space? j. G. w. The weight


of hay cannot be determined with accuracy
by measuring; but some experience or q
few trials will enable the owner to ascertain
approximately without great deviation
Fine, flexible hay will pack closer than
coarse stiff hay; and that which is cut early
: will become more solid than dry, stiff, late
cut hay. The degree Of dryness, when the


hay is drawn in, also affects the result. The
compactness will, Of course, vary with the
: height of the NOW or stack. AS general
average, however, under q pressure OF ten
| feet or more, and with a medium degree OF
the other influences we have mentioned
about five hundred feet of timothy will weigh
!, ton. Six or seven hundred, or even more
:, sometimes, are required for clear clover +
l Western Rtaat.
Year: 1876

In the trial Of White VS.. Lee


at the October term of our Cir


cult Court, involving a con-


struction of the exemption laws,


His Honor, Judge Guild, deliv-
cred charge to the jury from
| which we take the following as
fully sustaining his reputation
as a profound jurist and able
lawyer:


"Our Supreme Court has very


properly adjudged that the ex-


emption laws made in behalf
of poor persons shall be liber-
ally construed and enforced;
for instance, a horse and yoke
Of oxen, cart and two horse
wagon are exempt by the words
Of the statute. Our Supreme
Court, Chief j ustice Nicholson
delivering the opinion, have
scIcmnly adjudged that horse
is an ass and an ass is a horse,
belonging to the same species.
While Judge Nicholson is good
authority in the law, he is equal
ly distinguished as a horse and
assologist; and hereafter a horse
must be regarded as an ass and
an ass as a horse. It is known
in the early days Of Judea, the
ass was the animal principally
in use, either for riding or for.
draught; yet history leaves us.
in doubt whether the ass is the
prOgenitor Of the horse, or the
horse the progenitor of the ass.
While it is a mooted question
whether they germinate from
the same root, yet amidst the
darkness we have the light of
our chief justice that they are
Of the same species.


"In view OF the liberal con-
struction given by our Supreme
Court l have decided that a
buck-wagon comes within the
species of wagons exempt, and
the parties have acquiesced in
that decision. Now the poor
man and family may sleep in
their own cabin, drive their own
ass, ride in their own buck
repose under their own
gourd-vine and peach tree, and
there is no one to make them a.
fraid." - GdlL0tin ETGDeiner. 4
Year: 1876

A merchant had just as well
expect to get rich by closing


his doors and keeping his goods


concealed from public view, as


TO hope to succeed IL business


without advertising, while his


contemporaries are continually
exhibiting their stocks to the
public gaze and inviting calls
from purchasers. 1t is just as
natural for the subscribers of
newspapers to buy Of those who
advertise in it, as it is for chill
dren to follow soldiers when on
parade. The simple fact Of
seeing certain goods published,
after morning, has an
irresistible attraction that will
tastcn itself upon the mind and
never fails to guide each reader
to the very store at which his
or her wants can be at once
supplied. Every merchant of
common sense knows it to be
so; and yet many of them fail
to resort to the very method to
make sales which is used to ir-
luce them to make purchases.
Year: 1876

Recently an officer of St.
Albans, Vt, having two insane
persons to convey to an asylum
for the insane at Brattleboro',
called one Of the lunatics aside
and asked his aid in keeping
watch of his companion during
the journey and then did the
same with the other. The two
lunatics sat side by side, silent
ly watching each other through
the whole journey, and they
have continually kept guard o.
yer each other in the asylum
ever since.
Year: 1876

Ope0Cn.


Mr.. George Nordhoff, the in


telligent Washington CORES


pondent of the New York Her.


aid, sends the following special


to his paper in relation to the


amnesty debate. As a matter


OF justice to the Southern Rep


resentatives it should have gen.
Ieral circulation:


"The amnesty debate is sub


stantially closed. The general


opinion this evening among the
democrats is that they have


been led into a trap and wanton-


ly sacrificed. There is a great


deal of grumbling and dissatis-


faction at the turn matters have
taken, and it is a noticeable fact
that this dissatisfaction is great
est among the Southern Demo-
Gratis. The greatest number of
these are of strong conserYa-
tive tendencies. They have.
come here with a desire to stir
up no bad blood and to let by
cones be by cones. They have
not taken very decided stand
so far in the counsels of their
party, most Of them being new
men, but they were full of dis
gust at the manner in which the
Louisiana question was drag
ged into the House on the first
day Of the session, which was,-
as many of them said, against
their better judgment, and they
now deplore the amnesty de-
bate as injurious to the party
and reviving memories and pref
udices which had better pass a
way. 1t is probable from what
leading Southern men now say,
that if the question had been
left to them for determination
they wonld have urged that Mr..
Blaine's substitute should be
with a mild protest a.
gainst the exclusion of Davis,
Or that Mr.. Randall's bill should
not be brought forward at all.
they deplOre Mr.. Hills speech
as extremely injudicious, and it
S openly said that the night be-
fore he spoke Southern men,
Oers and Senators who knew
lim urged him not to speak
Northern members feel the
speech and the whole debate to
De misfortune, and several de-
clare that it would lose their
party thousands of votes.


"The Democratic side stilE
lacks deisipline, and there is a
disposition among some of the
eadcrs to act without full con-
nltatiOn with the rank and file
II with each ether. In this
aspect the Republicans have an
advantage over their
opponents. 1t begins also TO
C suspected that the Southern
Democrats have, as a body, and
a few such men as
'lr. Hill, more moderation and
feeling than the
lass Of the Northern men on
heir side. ] t was noticeable
O-day that almost all the mem
crs who served in the South
III army were strongly opposed
, the debates and to Mr.. Hills
peech, and many of them de-
lare that they would have been S.
sady to accept the Blaine sub
ltute as a practical measure
hich both Houses. will pass"
Year: 1876

a correspondent of the New
York Tribune, who lately saw
the Sultan of Turkey riding
out, says: He rode in car
riage drawn by four fine horses,
and the authorities had, as is
the custom, covered up the pit
falls Of the pavement along bis
route with six inches Of sand,
we'll watered and rolled. His
Majesty enjoyed a comfortable
ride over well made roads; but
after he had passed, the sand
was all swept up and moved in
carts for use next time, and the
pitfalls returned.
Year: 1876

A person who would throw a
way a barrel of soft soap, or a
box full of hard soap, would be
called waSteful. Alter barrel
of soap has been diluted, and has
passed throug the washtub, the
elements of fertility in the mas
will be even more valuable to
growing trees and plants than
if applied in any other manner
Year: 1876

At the rate things are going on
the New York Sun thinks it is an
interesting question whether Bris-
tow will be turned out of the Ad
before be gets a Que
proportion of its members in the
penitentiary,
Year: 1876

The exactness with which the
New York po<r-ofiice lransacts
business was illustrated 10y an IN
cident, last week. The previous
day, when there was a great rush
at one of the money order win
dows, a mistake was made by
which gentleman received one
dollar less change than was due
him When the cash was made
up at night, a surplus OF one dol
lar was found, an examination
was made, the place where the
mistake occurred settled, and a
note addressed to the gentleman
telling him to call and get his dol
lar. Meanwhile he had written
to the superintendent, making
the Identification complete, and
the dollar was returned.
Year: 1876

A Rhode leland coroner's jury
last week, in the case of child
killed by its drunken father, re-
turned verdict that the person
from whom the father bought the
liquor, was guilty OF the murder.
Year: 1876

Prince Bismarck has given them, as described
in our correspondence. The withdrawal OF
official relations from the press, though perhaps
meant only as punishment, is likely to prove
of service to German newspapers by compei-
ling them to be independent and to employ
more enterprise in obtaining news.
Year: 1876

The transfer of the Pension Bureau to the
War Department is advocated on various
grounds, chief of which is great economy
which might thus be effected. Quite as i'm
portant, however, is the fact that if so trans
ferred the business would be quite sure of be-
ING honestly conducted.
Year: 1876

On the one hand it is reported that Gen.


Babcock will not resign his position at the
White House, and will not ask for Military
Court of Inquiry; on the other there is
prospect that the House will call for all cor
respondence and papers relating to Gen. Bah
cocks trial II is by no means certain that
the st. Louis verdict has finished the matter.
Year: 1876

In Canada the Minister Of Finance estimates
that there will be a deficit of about $5OO,0O0
in the revenue for the current fiscal year. lie
proposes, however to let this adverse balance
stand over to next year, and will make no
change in tariff or other taxes. by adopting
this neutral course Mr. Cartwright leaves un-
decided his policy in regard TO either Protec-
ton or Free Trade. He says that he is op-
posed to experimental legislation" at present,
and deems it more important to raise revenue
than to adopt a new fiscal system.
Year: 1876

Prof w. G.. Summers address on the cur
sency question, reported in other columns.
takes a common sense view of the subject,
and tears away many of the fallacies which
have been thrown around it. lie shows that
the stand-still policy is impcacdcablc. The
lbsurdities of convertible bond schemes and
the grecnback theory are plainly Indicated


rho address Is of special service in its display
If the real causes of the present depression i"
business, and in proving that the Resumption
act has had no more to do with hard times
than would the resolves of a debating society.
Year: 1876

Whatever may be the preparations the hos
tile Sioux have been making to harass the
border settlements, there is now little danger
of such an attack. The Sioux will have all
the fighting they want if the expedition under
Gen. Crook, now on the march from Cheyenne
and described in our correspondence from
thar point, shall find them under arms.
Year: 1876

Saws the New York World: Mrs.
Swisshelm expresses wonder that any
song birds are found in the United
States, since cats are so numerous here,
and proceeds to show pretty conclusive
ly that they have done more than man
himself to extirpate some OF our most
valuable prairie fowls. This calls to
mind the statement made some years
ago by patient observer Of the habits
of these beasts of prey; he declared that
two cats upon his farm killed over three
hundred young partridges In one season.
And more recently the protest came
from Kansas that these animals were
killing off the birds that ate the grass
hoppers. This is a very bad report Tor
pussy. Now the economist pertinently
asks If the food which tho City or sixty
thousand feline providers of our city
consume were saved, whether there
would not be more left to feed some OF
the starving children; and to put the
finishing stroke upon the business, Mrs:
Swisshelm intimates very strongly that
the cat is in a measure responsible for
the grasshopper plague. After this it
will be difficult to find modern Cowper
to defend the sleek and bloated hypo-
crite that purs before the CRATE fire, and
that is only waiting for night to come,
to Danish sleep.
Year: 1876

The extraordinary downpour of solar
heat this summer has set the scientific
wopdermongers to guessing anew as to
what burns to produce SO much fire and
keep it up for thousands of years with
out diminution. The difference of heat
from one summer and another has di-
rected attention of late to the earth's at
mosphere as being responsible in certain
of its states for great extremes OF heat.
The interior heat of the earth is also
being brought forward in fanciful the
ory of interaction between it and the
powerful rays of the sun. Physical phi
losophy is at present at loss as to the
source of the suns fire, but it can de-
monstrate that the heat generated in one
hour by the sun is equal to what would
flow from a combustion of layer OF
solid coal ten feet thick entirely sur
rounding that mighty orb. The theory
that the sun is hot globe, gradually
cooling or burning out, is now going out
of fa|hion, since it can be established
that no heat generating substance, not
even the most highly concentrated car
bon, would be at all competent to main
tain the suns combustion. If the sun,
whose mass and diameter are known to
us, were solid block of coal and had a
sufficient supply of oxygen to enable it
to burn at the rate necessary to produce
the effects we see, it would be complete
ly consumed in less than 5000 years.
There are several theories-that the
suns surface is fed by stream of
meteors, thick as snowfakes, such as oc-
casionally stray through our atmosphere,
and are set on fire by the friction, and
the spectroscope's revelation of magne-
SUM burning, and the theory Of tremen-
dous attraction of gravitation OF the
suns mass toward its center, producing
the immense condensation, fire and ra-
diation-all well argued.